Draegan the Undying
Appearance
Draegan once stood tall and proud as a wandering knight. Since his dark rebirth, however, he stands crooked, stooped over as if burdened by an invisible weight. The very manner in which he carries himself is unnatural. He walks with a strange gait. He drags his massive sword on the ground in his wake. His bones are charred and ashen with soot, blackened by fire. His eyes are two glowing blue orbs of flickering flame. Within his chest where his heart would be if he were living is a magical core of blue flame that can explode with power, wreathing his entire body in a raging blue fire. This core can also issue massive quantities of black smoke which escapes through the spaces in his bones and his armor. Once polished and fine, his plate armor now is tarnished by soot and battered by countless battles. His helm, which entirely covers his head, resembles a fierce dragon. When traveling, he will opt to wear a hooded cloak to keep the elements off of him. In his undeath, he will sometimes wear either his helm or the hood and a scarf to conceal his undead nature.
Skills and Abilities
Eternal Flame: A magical core lies where Draegan's heart used to be, which provides the magical energy needed to keep him animated. The core acts like a furnace that converts souls into magical fuel. Everything and everyone that Draegan kills has their soul sucked into the core to be used as fuel. Draegan's soul is also inside of the core, and whenever he is defeated, he may rise again at the expense of a part of his own soul. Losing part of his soul erodes both memory and emotion and makes him more and more like a mindless undead. The core cannot be destroyed until Draegan's soul is entirely consumed as it a manifestation of his powerful will. This also makes Draegan extremely resistant to any form of mental manipulation unlike other undead.
Undead Body: As a magical being with no flesh, Draegan cannot feel pain. He cannot be hindered by weather effects. He does not need to breathe, eat, drink, or sleep. He cannot grow fatigued or tired from physical exertion. Draegan cannot be poisoned either.
Eldritch Efficacy: Infused with eldritch magic, Draegan possesses monstrous strength rivaling even the Giants. His speed and reflexes are unnaturally keen, his massive sword a blur when he wields it. This makes it difficult for even the most skilled opponents to keep up with him. Unfortunately, for all his speed and strength, his body is under constant strain, which makes it vulnerable to attack.
Hellfire Mastery: Harnessing the flames from his core, Draegan infuse searing blue flames into his attacks. He can coat his body in them as an extra protective layer. He can coat his sword his sword to inflict burns that attack the body and spirit. Additionally, he may project and manipulate his own flames as he sees fit. He is immune to the effects of his own power.
Will of the Dragon: By voluntarily choosing to consume his own soul all at once, Draegan gains the strength of Dragons. He his flames become as potent as the Dragons of old, and above all, he will not fall until the last of his soul is consumed entirely. When this happens, Draegan will die his Final Death, never to rise again.
Personality
In life, Draegan was a lively, personable man. He knew what it was like to be one of the little people, having grown up on a farm in a village near Vel Anir. He believed in the merit of hard work and being kind and generous to others. After joining up with the Anirian Guard, he believed in protecting the people, not waging war to domineer over them. After a particularly brutal deployment in the Guard and further disagreements with the philosophy of the Anirian government, Draegan decided to take up his sword and become a wandering knight on the road, helping those he could along his travels. He was discharged honorably and set off to see what the wide world could offer him. He made coin doing odd jobs for the troubled people he met. Monster exterminations, eliminating bandits, etc.
Draegan upheld his personal code of honor with a rigid hardheadedness the likes of which was extraordinary. Many of his friends would describe him as stubborn to fault. Once he made up his mind, there was little anyone could do to change it. Though despite his bullheaded ways and code of honor, he wouldn't blindly leap into danger. He was smart and had the wherewithal to listen to his friends' advice. As the years passed, he grew increasingly pessimistic about the treatment of the people by the large cities and world powers. It was only when he met Magnan Smithson and learned of his idealistic view did Draegan feel hope again. He admired his friend's vision and sought to help him achieve it no matter what it cost him.
In death, Draegan is much more subdued than he was in life. Though his personality remains, he struggles to reach the same depth of emotion as a Death Knight. This is only further worsened by the deteriorating condition of his soul. Still, he remains as noble in death as he was in life, still seeking to better the lives of the little people.
Biography & Lore
Born in a small village on the outskirts of the city of Vel Anir called Barisford to a farmer and his wife, Draegan grew up as a farm boy with large aspirations. He wanted to learn the sword and fight monsters and earn fame and glory like many children his age. His father Daris and his mother Ilene had his older brother Dale, him, and his younger sister Alice. His elder brother was set to inherit the farm, which was fine by Draegan's book. As the second son of his family, he was given a tidy sum of funds when he came of age and set out to made his fortune in the world, bidding his family a fond farewell.
His first destination was Vel Anir, the big city. After the first few nights of drink, gambling and wenches, a near penniless Draegan arrived on the doorstep of the Anirian Guard. They whipped him into shape, teaching him the ways of the blade. He eventually grew into the role of a knight of the Anirian Guard. He was considered something of a prodigy with the blade by his mentors and often went on deployment to further refine his skill with actual combat experience. In the span of a year, his superiors placed him in charge of teaching new recruits like himself how to wield the blade.
Draegan spent eight years with the Anirian Guard, a term of service that ended with one particular deployment when the government was enforcing one of its policies. Shorthanded, his superiors assigned him to what amounted to shaking down a village for protection money. Draegan found this especially despicable when he saw how little these people had. They were struggling to get by as it was. Disgusted with the state of affairs, he resigned the day after returning to Vel Anir.
Taking it upon himself, Draegan set out as a wandering knight who would lend his sword to protect and aid anyone who was really in need. He provided for himself on the generosity of others and the occasional odd job or errand he did for some merchant or other. He would never take money from those who couldn't afford it. He spent the next several years traveling like this, enjoying the simple pleasures of life.
Along his travels, Draegan made the acquaintance of Magnan Smithson. Mag had idealistic ambitions that made an increasingly pessimistic Draegan reconsider his path in life. The two became fast friends, and in the end, Draegan offered his sword to Mag to help him accomplish his goal.The pair traveled together across the countryside, eventually coming to a city a little to the west of where the southern tip of the Spine touches the Allir Reach.
When they arrived, they learned that the standing army was absent, away in war, and that a massive legion of orcs was headed to sack the city. Knowing it would mean their downfall, Draegan chose to stay and stand with his friend, protecting the people while they evacuated. They were buying time. He fought with the ferocity of a dragon, taking blows that would have felled most other men. He refused to die until everyone was safe. He refused.
While Magnan led the final retreat, Draegan stayed behind. He proclaimed that he would catch up with them once he'd claimed the orc commander's head. That was the first and last time that Draegan had ever lied to Magnan. Alone, hopelessly outnumbered, Draegan unleashed a furious scream dove into the orc horde. When they found his body, he was surrounded by a field of corpses. Kneeling, with his hands tightly grasping his sword even in death, he loomed over the dead body of the orc commander. His last strike had impaled the orc through its skull.
The remaining orcs took his body before it could be properly buried and set it ablaze in a heap of their other victims. They told stories of the man with the dragon's roar who kept rising up shouting "I am not done!" His body was eventually recovered by a traveling caravan who buried him by the sea.
Years passed, but still the fire in Draegan's soul did not go out. He was eventually summoned to a mysterious god's chambers and offered a deal. Draegan accepted the terms and when he next awoke, he remembered nothing of his encounter with this strange being. He could not move. He was buried under something cold. With a defiant hand, he pierced the ice encasing him, reaching into the realm of the living once more as a Death Knight.
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