Emperor Barkhan Aeturna (a.k.a. The Lich King)
Physical Description
Barkhan is undead, and thus lacks the ability to experience many physical conditions. His body is rotting and withered and his skin and flesh is mummified and torn.
Has Arcane casting abilities so absurdly powerful and potent that they exceed even the highest mortal standard and enter the realm of demigods. As he is a Lich, and a special one beyond compare at that, he is immune to aging and almost all mortal conditions...including age and death.
When he chooses, his mere presence is said to inspire such overwhelming terror and fright that mortal creatures will be paralyzed with fear almost instantly, even those normally immune to such things...his touch is said to be capable of withering and destroying all forms of life, and he is a necromancer of such legendary aptitude and supreme power that he is said to have unlocked all the secrets Necromancy has to offer him...his hordes of undead are endless and powerful far in excess of the norm, and he can create minions and undead even when no body exists to fuel such a spell.
Finally, he is said to have created and single-handedly mastered the ability to implant souls into hollow bodies, such as undead, constructs, or others. He is famous the world over for this ability, and many often bring the corpses of their treasured dead to him from far and wide in the hopes they will be blessed and have their loved one returned to them.
Mental characteristics
Little is truly known of Barkhan's history before he became the Lich King of Venau, as he has gone to painstakingly thorough efforts to eradicate every scrap of information on his personal history from the annals of history wherever they could be found...leaving scholars and historians only to muse on what his history could possible be that it would drive him to erase it so.
It is loosely known that at one point long ago he was the lord of a different kingdom whose name has been lost to history, that was said to be located almost exactly where Modern-day Venau is located...though the fate of such a place is unknown, it is assumed some tragedy befell it. Long, long after this ancient kingdom of his had fallen and become rubble, Barkhan is believed to have taken part in many heroic acts during the Age of Heroes, most notably being a member of the group that attempted to stop the calamity known as
The Sundering, which saw a dark cabal unleash ancient technology to bring devastation to the Endless Sands and the Desert Elves that lived there.
Once his role in that was complete, it's believed that Barkhan, reeling from the failure of his group and inability to protect the desert, retreated to the site of his once mighty empire, now forgotten, and wept among the ashes of his failure. In time, as the scattered survivors eked out an existence amidst the frozen glaciers and snow of Venau, Barkhan began to gather them once more under his banner, uniting the tribes and villages that had fallen to infighting and warring for so long and crushing them with surgical precision in countless acts of strategic genius which saw him supplant himself as a supreme figure in the eyes of these now simple people. In time, as he conquered the lands and united all the tribes that dwelled there through violence or words, he soon brought them together and founded Old Mortheim on the grounds where the last tribe of Venau capitulated to his undead army and hordes of followers.
Even further before that, though even less is known of it, it is believed Barkhan may have even existed as far back as the Age of High Humanity over nearly 4000-5000 years ago...and though he now exists as a Lich beyond compare, a popular theory exists that before his death and rebirth he may have been a High Human.
Though, altogether little is known of him before the founding of Venau...as those who delve too deeply into his history often are called to his unholy palace in Mortheim, or are simply paid a visit by his guard...and soon, they altogether stop their line of inquiry.
Barkhan is such a lascivious man that he can and will have sexual relations with almost anything so long as it is remotely attractive and capable of fornication. His sexual exploits are the stuff of legend, and he practically oozes charm and sexuality such that his natural magnetism is said to be supernatural, and he uses it gladly to bed all manner of creatures and perform all manner of strange sexual relations with them. Man, woman, construct, undead, ooze...it matters not to Barkhan.
Though he has established the prestigious Venau Academy for the Sciences and Magics, the Lich King himself is believed to have been mostly self-taught, having spent his untold eons of life honing his necromantic craft and his skill with magic and sorcery in quiet contemplation within the bowels of his profane citadel in Mortheim...and before that(and still, when he retreats into solitude), atop his storm-wracked tower and personal retreat known as The Tower of Rodaar, or by its colloquial name, "The Deadman's Needle".
Personality Characteristics
Consumed by a desire for more knowledge, more power, and more understanding of everything and anything. Constantly wants to improve his craft and hone his skills.
Driven to keep history alive and prevent the Modern Day from repeating the mistakes of the past.
Wants to protect his country and those that call it home no matter what.
Incredibly, Overwhelming Talented with magic, magical studies, and the arcane. Incredibly talented innovator, alchemist, creator, and master of all magical fields and studies.
Excellent Public Speaker. Very Persuasive and Charming.
Very bad at taking responsibility, doing labor or work he defines as "boring" or "mundane", and doing things that are necessary but banal.
He has a very, very hard time relating to and expression normal emotions or feelings. His removal from mortality for so long has blunted many of his mortal feelings and emotions.
Likes: Solitude, Magic, The Arcane, Studying and Innovating, Physical Pleasure, Doing whatever he wants
Dislikes: Faith, Devout People, Religion, Paperwork, Work in general, Tyrants
Excellent Speaker and Orator, Incredibly intelligent, Master Magician, Great Scholar, Advocate of Free Will and Freedom
Hedonistic, Layabout, Lackadaisical, Lazy, Very Unorthodox with his policies and ruling methods, Notoriously hard to keep in one place
Never walks anywhere. Always levitates at the least, or flies.
When bored or in the middle of conversation, he will begin to slowly rotate in place like a gyroscope.
He will always break down things he doesn't understand and things he think could be improved so that he may make a better version. He needs to improve upon or fix everything.
His body is undead, but he always makes efforts to present a decent appearance. He generally uses illusions to appear as a human when he needs to, and goes to exhaustive length to hide any sense that he may be rotting or undead.
Social
Being a ludicrously powerful mage and the ruler of an entire Country, Barkhan has connections all over the world...from
Tamamo-No-Mae, The Kitsune Queen in the east to nearly all the rulers of the western continent...there are few people he does not know, and fewer still he could not get in contact with if he desired.
He generally only affiliates with his own country. He makes a concerted effort to not align himself with other groups.
The only family Barkhan is said to have are his countless children he has sired with women all across the eastern and western continent, as well as those he has created through experiments. Most live with him in his palace in Mortheim, capital of Venau, but some do sometimes wander outside to make lives for themselves.
Barkhan is very publicly known on many records as despising faith, religion, and the gods. He thinks of those that worship the gods as fools, and believes that being devout or placing your trust in divine powers is nothing but a crutch, and keeps you from doing or finding something you could not find or do yourself.
Extremely charismatic and flirtatious. A very confident and flashy orator, and often uses exaggerated gestures when speaking before large crowds. Is capable of refined manners but rarely decides to use them. Hates complicated speech and things he thinks are "a pain". He has an insanely large Ego, and has a habit of reminding others of his own superiority to them in casual conversation, even sometimes demonstrating his might just to prove a point.
He often uses gestures when talking, and often talks very quickly. Dismisses tangents in the conversation and keeps talking until he's finished. Rarely explains things if others don't know what he's talking about unless he likes them or thinks it to be trivial or common knowledge. Makes no effort to help others keep up with him and expects others to do the work in keeping up with and understanding him.
He has two pets. One is a very large Xenarth, and the other is a very normal dog that he has made into an undead, and occasionally uses for experiments.
His hobbies are generally indulgent and of a base nature outside of his favorite hobby of studying and working on magic and the arcane, such as sexual pleasure, drinking, and others.
Crush and Favorite person to tease (Important)
Towards Barkhan the Eternal
Hated Annoyance (Important)
History
As one of the most legendarily lecherous men in the modern world, Barkhan the Eternal has long been known as a layabout and a hedonist who seeks physical pleasure and excitement in all sorts of places and in all sorts of ways...and to many, it came as no surprise that the chiefmost target of his lecherous attention was Tamamo-No-Mae, Queen of the Imperium.
With his overwhelming magical power, Barkhan often breaks through the wards on Tamamo's divine palace and breaks inside to seek her out and tease and torment her, eager to get a chance to get romantically involved with her...however, despite his overwhelming power, Tamamo often catches the unfortunate Lich-King and enacts countless cruel and innovative punishments upon him. She has tortured him for years on end, shrunk him and ground him into paste, detonated him with magic, and has even polymorphed him into various articles of clothing that she has burned, locked away, and even worn on occasion...yet, each time she kills him, he simply returns to life to torment her more, to her eternal fury.
Crush and Favorite person to tease (Important)
Towards Barkhan the Eternal
Hated Annoyance (Important)
Towards Tamamo-No-Mae, The Dominator
History
As one of the most legendarily lecherous men in the modern world, Barkhan the Eternal has long been known as a layabout and a hedonist who seeks physical pleasure and excitement in all sorts of places and in all sorts of ways...and to many, it came as no surprise that the chiefmost target of his lecherous attention was Tamamo-No-Mae, Queen of the Imperium.
With his overwhelming magical power, Barkhan often breaks through the wards on Tamamo's divine palace and breaks inside to seek her out and tease and torment her, eager to get a chance to get romantically involved with her...however, despite his overwhelming power, Tamamo often catches the unfortunate Lich-King and enacts countless cruel and innovative punishments upon him. She has tortured him for years on end, shrunk him and ground him into paste, detonated him with magic, and has even polymorphed him into various articles of clothing that she has burned, locked away, and even worn on occasion...yet, each time she kills him, he simply returns to life to torment her more, to her eternal fury.
Hated Enemy (Important)
Towards Barkhan the Eternal
Minor Annoyance and worthy foe (Vital)
History
Due to his immense disdain for Undead creatures, perhaps it was inevitable that Kalgar came into conflict with the legendary Lich King, Barkhan Aeturna...as the two met for negotiations as two Kings, the discussions quickly turned sour, and the two ended up in a duel of such titanic proportions that it left permanent city-sized scars on the Vaylkrond Mountains in Northern Venau...and though Barkhan met his end at the hands of his foe, it was not before slaying him nearly thirty separate times, each more deadly and ingenious than the last in a herculean display of magical might. Thanks to his Lich nature, he was able to regenerate from his death, however.
True Son (Vital)
Towards Barkhan the Eternal
Father (Vital)
Towards Lucius Galdrikson
History
Born to the legendary Lich-King Barkhan the Eternal in ways that will never be truly explained, Lucius is commonly believed to be the first and eldest son of his father, borne in a time before The Venau Necrocracy and even before the current age...and just as both are ancient, incredibly powerful mages, they both have a more tumultuous relationship with each other than most other families can claim.
Lucius despises his father, and actively has on multiple occasions made clear a desire to destroy him...while his father on the other hand, while he has never truly commented on his son, has never truly taken hostile action against him, and might even still care for him.
Former Ally (Important)
Towards Barkhan the Eternal
History
As the two founders of The Venau Necrocracy, Barkhan the Lich-King and Van Hawk the Doomknight were two beings that were as thick as thieves...they conquered the frozen wastes of the north together, and built up a nation built on order and equality for all...and, though both loathe to admit it, they were perfect counterbalances to each other. Barkhan, to balance out Van Hawk's ruthless brutality with cold, calculating reason, and Van Hawk, to keep Barkhan from languid torpor and laziness, and to keep his ally focused and motivated, as well as to prevent him from slipping into his fits of extremity and rage when angered.
However, they rapidly fell out of favor with each other over a dispute whether or not to help Naomi Faedra with her rebellion against The Empire of Draconia's tyranny and bigotry against inhumans and monsters...Barkhan the Eternal understood her plight, but, bound by The Elvenwood Accords signed at the beginning of the age which bound his nation and all other western nations to peace as penance for their actions in The Age of Warring States, could not bring himself to violate his word and chose to preserve politics over helping her.
Van Hawk, enraged that his ally and friend would dare commit such an act that he saw a perversion of the ideals they founded the country upon, spat in the face of his former ally and renounced him as a languid coward, taking his undead legions and dullahan knights with him southwards to join Naomi Faedra's fledgling army that would one day become The Inhuman Coalition.
After his friend left him, it was said Barkhan the Eternal would not awake from a depressed fit of languid apathy for nearly a year...and ever since, many believe that none can truly "fix" him like his oldest and closest friend, Van Hawk...the only one capable of truly counterbalancing Barkhan's extremeties with his own. Much like yin and yang, they now drift forever apart...and with Van Hawk's vanishing, their reunion seems eternally out of reach.
His wealth is unimaginably vast, having been accumulated over eons of life as a mage beyond compare. His vaults are rumored to be the envy of gods, and his riches and treasures are so uncountable and vast that none can truly fathom his wealth. Though he rarely talks of it, his wealth is said to be so vast that he can and often does personally fund his kingdom of Venau when it falls into financial crisis. He is supposedly richer than his own country, and has treasures accumulated from all across space, time, the planes, and from nearly everywhere.
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