Rekh Ka-Harut
Appearance
Rekh is a beast of a Raaka, standing head and shoulders above most of his brethren. His snowy plumage speckled with black, combined with his owlish head denote his clear Strigi heritage. Unlike many of his kind, Rekh wears a full set of plate in favor of the lighter armor found on other Raaka; and forever at his side is an exquisite longsword engraved with runes, called Harut’arash.
Skills and Abilities
Harut’arash- A blade with a singular purpose, it is enchanted daily by Rekh with a number of qualities displayed by the runes on the blade. Among the daily applications are hardness, endurance, and unbinding; the last being applied with greatest care, lest it damage the first two. It has proven time and again the bane of an overconfident wizard.
Flight- Like all Raaka, Rekh is capable of flight. However, due to his preferred fighting style, he cannot take flight for an extended period. His armor may be as light as he would allow, and be customized to allow for his wings, but even his strength knows its bounds. It does however remain a useful talent in combat.
Divine Magic- Rekh is a devout of Harut, and a protector of her people. This has given him the training and skill to use his magical talents in her name. He is most in touch with Blessings, Curses, and Wards; though the other aspects are not unknown to him.
Tongues- Almost all Raaka are fluent in many forms of communication, and Rekh is no exception, even going beyond most and learning the hated Elven tongue, as he himself holds little to that ancient grudge.
Personality
Rekh enjoys a good story like many Raaka, and he’ll have a good hoot at a joke, but he loves a good fight. He’s not bloodthirsty per se, but he finds his greatest work is done with his blade, and he does strive to do good work. He wasn’t always so eager to fight, and indeed there was a time in his life that he abhorred the thought. But he has found a calling in the goddess Harut, and he will claim often a victory at her hand.
Biography & Lore
Born in a barn near a small town in the Spine was no surprising thing. The Strigi Raaka of the Spine were rarely accepted into towns, and even then almost always required to leave before dark, none trusting of the night-eyed Raaka. On the road for the first several decades of his life, he learned to love all growing things and slowly developed a pacifistic view on life. He found joy in solving conflict peacefully, and eventually joined up with a small order in the mountains once his views came to clash too much with the clanmaster.
During his stay with the order, his peace grew. He tended several rare mountain plants by reaching their hiding places by flight; and he grew more in his knowledge of magic, history, and art. He knew his life was meant to be here. Then one day, he found the shrine.
It was a small stone alcove on a mountain’s top, the climb near impossible. From his lessons both with his people and at the order, he knew it had to be ancient Raaka construction. Within, there was a burial slab with a pristine sword lying flat atop it, and behind the slab, a small altar with carvings of a great bird, wings spread over a fleeing people.
Knowing the ancient customs for such a site, Rekh left and gathered up the rare herbs of the mountains and made an incense. Returning, he burned the mixture and drowned in its visions. He does not remember all that occurred in this state, and still is recovering pieces to this day; but when he woke from his stupor many days later, he knew the blade, and how to enable its powers of disruption. But the visions also told him of a great evil that Harut say from her mountain.
Flying down the mountain, he confronted an evil wizard that had attempted to enthrall a nearby village. The ensuing victory was the first of many. Over many a long year, he has vanquished many foes. He always finds his way to that mountain at least once every decade; and the world now knows of Harut’s influence once more.