Jicho Deux
Jicho Deux (a.k.a. Zico)
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Jicho's body is horrifically deformed from years of brutal torture and experimentation. His flesh is covered with scars from battle, wounds, and sutures. His body is crippled by a hunchback. His face is deformed into a resting scowl. His hair is patchy, thin, and unkempt.
Identifying Characteristics
When Jicho accepted his pact with Yrrga, it permanently altered his body. The middle-three fingers of each of his hands have erupted into 12-14 inch claws, each with a razor-sharp tip, which articulate at the first knuckle. Jicho uses these claws in place of scalpel to slice flesh during experimentation.
Apparel & Accessories
Jichos clothing is sparse and spartan. He normally wears a set of simple black vestiments with a hood. He walks upon a crooked staff of the Gulthias tree, which he uses to punish misbehaving test subjects and focus his black magics. When forced into battle, he dons a wooden shield embossed with the symbol of Iuz - a grinning human skull.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Jicho was captured during a raid on his village by the Green Dragon Vorgansharax, The Maimed Virulence. Vorgansharax's servants took him to the nearby city of Schwaewald, which they had occupied and tortured him, experimenting with different poisonous concoctions and surgeries. The torture broke Jicho's mind and body, corrupting him into following the Green Dragon as a dark god. When Jicho learned that the dragon gave praise to Iuz, he became a follower as well.
Jicho was eventually released from Vorgansharax's lair as a show of "good will", during a tentative peace talk between The Harlade Confederation and the dragon. Negotiations broke down, and the dragon was slain by the Confederation, sending ripples through the Harlades and leaving Jicho without a master. Jicho turned to Iuz more intensely and secretly began investigating necromancy as a way to prolong suffering.
To fund his experimentation and provide him with easy access to biological reagents, Jicho joined The Huntsmen's Guild. His religious motivation made him a relentless hunter, and he became known for taking any job which involved the dead or undead.
In 550, Jicho travelled to the Citadel in Raviernruck and accepted a guild contract to hunt a werewolf in the nearby town of Portage. He made a hunting party with Felicien Targete, Grimes, and two others; and set off for their hunting grounds. During the hunt, the party wandered into the mists surrounding Sigelruck Valley and became trapped. Jicho sensed that his connection to Iuz was severed by the valley's discontinuity with the other planes. Arriving at Sigelruck Town, Jicho's party was approached by Ismark Kolyanovich and they were hired to escort his sister Ireena Kolyana through the valley to Vallaki. Along the way, Count Strahd von Zarovich harried them and demanded that the huntsmen release Ireena to him. The huntsmen immediately complied and Jicho assisted with tying up Ireena and handing her to Strahd. As he slept that evening, an entity - or chorus of entities - spoke to him in his dreams. They offered power and knowledge which could help him to prolong the suffering of others, if he would do their bidding. He agreed and, over the next several nights, they delivered him premonitions and information which helped him in his quests. In the city of Vallaki, the voices demanded that Jicho begin making nightly sacrifices to them, as a means to discipline his soul. He sacrificed the lives of three townspeople who were held in the stockades, and a further two held in captivity following a coup attempt by some local cultists. After Gaston joined the huntsmens' party, Jicho sensed his lust for power and offered to share the message of the voices with him. He and Gaston sacrificed a further three Sigelaen folk. Pleased, the voices directed Jicho to find a temple of amber buried within a crevasse on Mt. Ghakis.
Within the amber temple, Jicho found vaults of amber containing black shards. Contained within where the souls of ancient evil gods and powerful beings. Jicho located the source of a voice which spoke to him most powerfully and consorted with it. The entity was called Yrrga, The Graftsman, and it offered Jicho the power to mold and restructure the flesh of the living in exchange for delivering it from its prison and to fresh stock to experiment on. Jicho agreed and took the entity within his own body. Jicho's party became preoccupied with an alliance with Ismark and an immediate war between the dark powers infesting Felicien Targete and Strahd von Zarovich, but this didn't concern Jicho terribly. He continued to follow the huntsmen as they rescued Ireena from Castle Ravenloft, and made plans for Strahd's final demise. When Felicien destroyed Strahd's mortal body at the battle of Argynvostholt, Jicho used his magic to notify the party to begin their assassination of Strahd's immortal essence. Jicho used the opportunity to run for the mists and escape the valley back into the material plane, and Cordeca.
In 550, Jicho travelled to the Citadel in Raviernruck and accepted a guild contract to hunt a werewolf in the nearby town of Portage. He made a hunting party with Felicien Targete, Grimes, and two others; and set off for their hunting grounds. During the hunt, the party wandered into the mists surrounding Sigelruck Valley and became trapped. Jicho sensed that his connection to Iuz was severed by the valley's discontinuity with the other planes. Arriving at Sigelruck Town, Jicho's party was approached by Ismark Kolyanovich and they were hired to escort his sister Ireena Kolyana through the valley to Vallaki. Along the way, Count Strahd von Zarovich harried them and demanded that the huntsmen release Ireena to him. The huntsmen immediately complied and Jicho assisted with tying up Ireena and handing her to Strahd. As he slept that evening, an entity - or chorus of entities - spoke to him in his dreams. They offered power and knowledge which could help him to prolong the suffering of others, if he would do their bidding. He agreed and, over the next several nights, they delivered him premonitions and information which helped him in his quests. In the city of Vallaki, the voices demanded that Jicho begin making nightly sacrifices to them, as a means to discipline his soul. He sacrificed the lives of three townspeople who were held in the stockades, and a further two held in captivity following a coup attempt by some local cultists. After Gaston joined the huntsmens' party, Jicho sensed his lust for power and offered to share the message of the voices with him. He and Gaston sacrificed a further three Sigelaen folk. Pleased, the voices directed Jicho to find a temple of amber buried within a crevasse on Mt. Ghakis.
Within the amber temple, Jicho found vaults of amber containing black shards. Contained within where the souls of ancient evil gods and powerful beings. Jicho located the source of a voice which spoke to him most powerfully and consorted with it. The entity was called Yrrga, The Graftsman, and it offered Jicho the power to mold and restructure the flesh of the living in exchange for delivering it from its prison and to fresh stock to experiment on. Jicho agreed and took the entity within his own body. Jicho's party became preoccupied with an alliance with Ismark and an immediate war between the dark powers infesting Felicien Targete and Strahd von Zarovich, but this didn't concern Jicho terribly. He continued to follow the huntsmen as they rescued Ireena from Castle Ravenloft, and made plans for Strahd's final demise. When Felicien destroyed Strahd's mortal body at the battle of Argynvostholt, Jicho used his magic to notify the party to begin their assassination of Strahd's immortal essence. Jicho used the opportunity to run for the mists and escape the valley back into the material plane, and Cordeca.
Gain of Function Research Program
Jicho secreted himself away into a lair in Raviernruck and began experimentation in earnest. Following the emergence of The Concord of Black Invasion of 550, he saw an opportunity to perform his experiments on more vigorous stock. Wearing a disguise of flensed skin and illusion magic, Jicho discretely approached the panicking court of Raviernruck and offered enrollment in a secret "Gain of Function Research" program. He assured the court that if they would offer a competent fighter, he would use his magics to make them a super-soldier capable of turning back the hordes of undead spilling out from Sigelruck."They'll be strong, fast, and good at following orders." - JichoJicho received two volunteers to the program: Sergeant Bic Boyd and Corporal Jasmine Jacobs; both students at Harlades Military Academy. In reality, the program was a torturous series of surgeries which grafted parts of a manticore and several other beasts to the subjects. Though successful at enhancing their physical abilities beyond that of a normal human, it also left them scarred, traumatized, and monstrous. When the Concord's horde compromised Jicho's lair, he quickly abandoned it and escaped into the mountains.
Schaewald Tower
Jicho traveled north into the mountains of Auborg, and returned to the ruined city of Schwaewald. There, he found his way to the city's prision tower and quickly re-established his labs. His skill and prowess with flesh-sculpting had become advanced enough that he could begin crafting his own flesh. And so his creations progressed to be more complete, subservient, and genuine monstrosities. Without realizing, Jicho had intruded on the claimed territory of Vilethorn, Son of Vorgansharax. The two treated, and Vilethorn gave him permission to work within his domain so long as he remainded loyal to him as to his mother. Jicho agreed, though never indended to honor the deal. He instead eyed Vilethorn for his scales and draconic ability. In the spring of 551 E4, Jicho was contacted once again by the Concord of Black, who exposed him to the mysteries and power of radiantite. They offered to forgive his prior transgressions against the covenant, if he would only make soldiers for their armies. As a token of friendship, they sent along with their message a human child of with substantial psionic talent, that Jicho might make use of his brain. On 551-07-23, Jicho's lair in the former Prision Tower of Schwaewald was assaulted by both the Bloody Tooth and Red Dragons mercenary group. Jicho was struck down in his lair, just after transfering Yrrga's soulkey into a constructed body. Jicho's body was recovered by a pair of Flaywing Horrorgrafts and extracted from the fight.Gender Identity
Jicho was born, raised, and lived the majority of his life as male. After his body was broken and deformed by Vorgansharax, his ego somewhat died and he lost his connection with his own identity. His subsequent devotion to Iuz did not help his condition.
Once JIcho had broken from Iuz and established a pact with Yrrga, he was able to rebuild his sense of identity. With the ability to flesh-craft his body in his own image, he took the opportunity to become something else. In the summer of 551 E4, Jicho remade himself in a female form - if only in appearance.
Employment
The Huntsmen's Guild
After being released from his mistreatment by Vorgansharax, Jicho joined the Harlade Huntsmen's Guild in order to make money and provide access for him to engage in experimentation on the dead and undead. He served on several Huntsman missions as a cleric, eventually reaching Rank 3 as a hunter. In 550 E4, Jicho accepted a Guild job to hunt werewolves in the south-west of Raviernruck. At the end of the mission, Jicho had become funcionally possessed by Yrrga, and no longer had a desire to act as a member of the guild.Mental Trauma
Jicho has been deeply traumatized by years of abuse at the hands of Vorgansharax and others. He tends to sycophantically follow whoever is abusing him the most.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Everywhere he looks, he see opportunities to improve the gods' natural work: faces that need new eyes, bodies that need new limbs, skin that needs to be replaced. And worse, he feels a deep, spiritual need to make that improvement as painful and lasting as is possible.
Jicho hopes to use Yrrga's tutelage to become a fiend like him, who dispenses pain and suffering.
Vices & Personality flaws
Jicho has been touched by Vorgansharax's greed and has a lust for oppression which can never be satisfied. He can no longer enjoy the simple pleasures in life and must continuously seek out vile methods of suffering and pain.
everywhere i look, i see opportunities to improve the gods' natural work: faces that need new eyes, bodies that need new limbs, skin that needs to be replaced, etc.
Social
Contacts & Relations
When Jicho was more human, he briefly fought alongside Ismark Kolyanovich - who was never aware of the depth of Jicho's depravity, and who did not find Jicho's tortured appearance to be abnormal.
Jicho had a positive relationship with Gaston, prior to their diverging paths.
In Sigelruck, Jicho met the Abbot of St. Markovia and was inspired by his work to graft animal parts upon the Belview family. The abbot's mongrelfolk are the seminal inspiration for much of JIcho's experimentation.
During the The Concord of Black Invasion of 550, Jicho (via Yrrga) had a strained relationship with the The Concord of Black. He was largely independent, but did accept assitance in the form of Illithid technology in exchange for providing augmented supersoldiers to the CoB's army.
Religious Views
After loosing connection to Iuz while in Sigelruck Valley, Jicho has largely disassociated from his worship. Instead, all his devotion is focused toward his apprenticeship under Yrrga.
Speech
Jicho speaks with a notably southern accent, influenced by the Pacageni people.
Alignment
Neutral Evil
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Huntsman 3rd Rank
Date of Birth
520-12-07 E4
Date of Death
551-07-23 E4
Life
20520
20551
31 years old
Birthplace
Small village outside Schwaewald, Auborg
Place of Death
Schwaewald, Auborg
Children
Sex
Male
Gender
Male / Female (at death)
Eyes
Blue
Hair
Brown, greying; long, patchy, unkempt
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale
Height
5' 6"
Weight
165 lbs
Belief/Deity
Yrrga, The Graftsman
Other Affiliations
Comments