Bastian Kendall is
Aleph's mentor and the leader of the organization of terrorist physicians known as the
Pox Mundus. Having imbibed the elixer of life from a
Philosopher's Stone, Kendall enjoys eternal youth--but not immuntiy from all diseases. Kendall threatened the system with a collection of deadly viruses called the
Pathogen Vault in order to advance his medical breakthroughs. He almost died from a collapse of his immune system until
Aleph and the Party saved his life. Kendall became the Party's patron as a show of gratitude, and reluctantly agreed to entrust the
Pathogen Vault to them so they could be sure he would never be able to make good on his threats of biological warfare.
Loyalty: 1d6
Influence: 1d8
Faction: Pox Mundus
Allies: None
Enemies: Homyn Kingdom, Academy of Natural Sciences
Salary : +5 Lions per week.
Research Assistance: The Pox Mondus Citadel. Citadel research teams can perform All Nighter alchemy for 1d8.
Early Life
A brilliant alchemist who once worked for the Academy, Kendall grew disenchanted by the Homyn prioritzing alchemical research for warfare over medicine. When he successfully created a
Philosopher's Stone, rather than share his breakthrough, he instead chose to break off from the Academy and formed the
Pox Mundus.
The
Pox Mundus's physicians revoked their oaths to do no harm, instead doing whatever is necessary to advance medical science. Kendall took this tact partly for selfish reasons, as when he attained eternal youth by drinking from his philosopher stone's elixir of life, he did not attain immunity from all illnesses. As Kendall exceeded his natural lifespan several times over, he required cutting edge medical science to keep himself alive.
An Odd Apprentice
In five centuries of running the
Pox Mundus, Kendall never found an intellect that matched his own--that was until he encountered a
Xabron test subject who had been injected with the elixir of life from a
Philosopher's Stone. As the Xabron--who later came to be called Aleph--exceeded its natural lifespan, his mental capacity grew exponentially.
Kendall found in
Aleph an apprentice and a partner. He also reasoned that his short natural lifespan would mean that his metabolism of the elixier would eventually overtake Kendall's own in a matter of years.
Aleph could act as a proverbial canary in a coal mine, giving Kendall a glimpse of the medical issues he himself might soon face himself.
Before that came to pass,
Aleph and Kendall had a falling out over a philosophical shcism.
Aleph wanted to use the philosopher stone to extend the life of other
Xabron, reasoning that others of his kind would share his intelligence if they could just live long enough. Kendall, however, believed
Aleph was special and that the gift of immortality should only be shared among an elite few.
A Brush with the Enemy
Eventually, Kendall's race to cure the ever-mounting ailments of his unnatural lifespan were found wanting. His immune system began collapsing and he knew he didn't have long to live. He sent out his soldiers in search of
Aleph, believing his old apprentice to be the only one worthy of inheriting the
Pox Mundus.
However, some of the underlyings under Kendall's command smelled blood, and launched a coup agianst Kendall to take over the
Pox Mundus citadel.
Aleph arrived with the Party, and saved Kendall by scavenging the citadel for alchemical essences.
Before Kendall could sit up from the operating table,
Royce leveled a pistol at his head and threatned to kill him if he kept threatening the system. Faced with no other option, he relented by entrusting the
Pathogen Vault to
Aleph. That way, he could still take advantage of the threat of using it even if the Party could ensure that he never did. Kendall also became the Party's patron, offering them research assistance and a cut of the
Pox Mundus's profits.
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