The first character of the New Year was no easy task,
with the random rolls allowing for many paths. With
the high int my first thought was to take an int based casting class, and
that’s kind of what I went with. The high strength meant he could also be a
decent melee fighter. My final decision on class was Magus with the Kensai
archetype. I also decided to explore a people and place I hadn’t before, and
thus we have a Magus of Varundi descent from the island nation of Jalmeray.
Prasoon Malhotra, the thinking blade
Belonging to the Dalits caste on the island of Jalmeray,
Parsoon was considered one of the “untouchables” from birth. His parents served
the will of the Thakur, Kharswan, toiling away as slaves to the undisputed
ruler of the island. For the most part Parsoon and his family were content with
their lot. They weren’t treated poorly—mostly ignored—and being Dalit was
the first step as a human on the path of enlightenment.
From the outside appearance the Malhotra family seems
content, but Parsoon’s father didn’t treat the boy as if he was his own. The
elder Malhotra had good reason, as Parsoon is not actually his child. The
youngest child may hold the Malhotra name but Parsoon was conceived when one of
the palace guards forced himself on the boy’s mother. Although his parents know
that this is the case, they have never told another soul, not even Parsoon’s
older brother.
In the royal palace the young boy grew up as a nobody,
which suited him just fine. His favorite place on the grounds was the Thakur’s
library, a room the decadent ruler never visited. Texts from the magical to the
mundane sat gathering dust, but opened up a world unknown to one of the Dalit—a world of possibility and enlightenment.
As Parsoon grew his strength began to match his
intellect; what had been a small scrawny boy had begun to become a strapping
young man. Although he still kept mainly to himself, his shy and awkward manner
hiding both his keen mind and incredible strength, he couldn’t go completely
unnoticed. A sword for hire who would occasionally work on behalf of the
Jalmeray government took notice of the boy. The mercenary offered the Thakur a
tidy sum to allow the boy to be practice for his training, but the
keen-eyed warrior had other plans.
The man, a rahasyavaadee yoddha or mystic warrior, sought
to bring a new path of enlightenment to the fore among the Varundi. Whereas
people look to the houses of perfection and their unarmed monks as the pinnacle
of the perfection of Irori, the mercenary with his mix of magic and
swordsmanship believes that his style could rival that of the more traditional
schools. Parsoon was to be his first student with a promise of being raised
from his station among the Dalits to true enlightenment in one lifetime.
The young Varundi took quickly to the training of his new
master, though the two had to hide their deeds from prying eyes. Parsoon chose
one of the traditional weapons of the Varundi, the Kukri, as the martial
implement to channel his growing arcane powers. His training would be cut
short, however, well before he became the perfect balance of the two powers.
Word came from the palace that Parsoon’s mother was once
again attacked by the guards and his father beaten for trying to defend her.
The Thakur, wrapped in his hedonistic pastimes and caring not for the
untouchables in his service, sought no justice against the guard. Parsoon was furious and snuck into the palace where he sought to bring his new
abilities to bear on the guard, but was only successful in burning down
the one place he always cared for, the library.
The younger Malhotra was cornered by the guard and
captured. Brought before the Thakur, he was to be sentenced to death, except
the mercenary spoke on his behalf. Instead Parsoon was branded upon his
forehead, the mark of the pariah, and he was cast out from Jalmeray. He
traveled far from home to the lands of Avistan where no one knew his shame.
Parsoon spends his days as his mentor did, a sword for
hire, but he always longs for home. The love of his mother the only thing that
keeps him going, some of the other household staff of the Thakur send word to
him of his family and these letters he keeps by his side always.
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