Overview
Basic Details
Rheinhard Volker
Personal Details
* Occupation: Volker works as a personal bodyguard, or mercenary. He is most comfortable serving large groups and families, and is endlessly loyal despite his lack of bedside manner. He expects his job to be done quickly and done correctly, and will do what is asked of him as long as the requests are reasonable. He is a private creature, and is known for cutting the contracts of people who nose too far into his personal life.
* Home: Volker is a wanderer. His clandestine activities usually catch up with him in some form or another, and he is often forced to move locations weekly. He has become better over the years at hiding his indiscretions, so his stays as of late have been longer in one particular area.
* Sexuality: Volker is a homosexual.
Appearance
Volker has the slightly sagging figure of an older man, but that doesn't mean he has compromised strength. Years of hauling heavy loads, including dead weight, have given him massive shoulders and a strong back. A man half his age would struggle to haul as much or as well as Volker, nor be able to keep up with his almost machine-like stamina. Though strong and dextrous, Volker is not fast, preferring to strike from the shadows rather than chase his prey.
Volker is heavily scarred from head to foot, the result of a lifetime of war. Some of them, such as the whip marks across his back or the ligature marks around his wrist, are the products of abuse by his master.
Volker is heavily scarred from head to foot, the result of a lifetime of war. Some of them, such as the whip marks across his back or the ligature marks around his wrist, are the products of abuse by his master.
Skills and Abilities
Volker is the warlock of a wraith known as Oor. Oor is a mesial lord in the Silent Court, or the fae court of the dead, and has owned the Volker family for twenty thousand years. Oor has carefully bred each Volker for a specific purpose, from elegant killers at home in the Fae Courts to maddened killers. Oor views the Volker men as his own personal brand of war dog...which is why the Volker family crest is of a pit bull
Due to having a personal spiritual repairman, Volker can take hits that would kill most men. His pain tolerance is astoundingly high, and he will become tired at a slower rate than a man of comparable age. However this does not mean he is invincible. Oor can only repair so much damage before the body gives out.
Volker's main weapons are a twenty-piece set of knives hilted in the bones of his father, and carried in a case made from the skin of the same. The blades range from a long skinning blade hilted in femur bone, to blades smaller than a finger hilted in phalanges and tarsals. Volker keeps this knife roll strapped to his thigh at all times, and becomes extremely anxious if he doesn't know where it is.
This weapon holds Volker’s place in the Well upon his eventual death, and he takes arduous care of them.
Due to having a personal spiritual repairman, Volker can take hits that would kill most men. His pain tolerance is astoundingly high, and he will become tired at a slower rate than a man of comparable age. However this does not mean he is invincible. Oor can only repair so much damage before the body gives out.
Volker's main weapons are a twenty-piece set of knives hilted in the bones of his father, and carried in a case made from the skin of the same. The blades range from a long skinning blade hilted in femur bone, to blades smaller than a finger hilted in phalanges and tarsals. Volker keeps this knife roll strapped to his thigh at all times, and becomes extremely anxious if he doesn't know where it is.
This weapon holds Volker’s place in the Well upon his eventual death, and he takes arduous care of them.
The Well of Souls
Volker has a unique curse. Every one of his male ancestors lives in his head, and he has limited access to their memories and past experiences. Used mainly as training foibles, the spirits in the Well have been prevented from crossing to the leys, and are trapped. As it stands there are 665 denizens of the Well, each representing a generation of the Volker family.
As such, Volker has a functionally photographic memory. He can review memories, and erase them by snapping the shard associated with them.
Rules of the Well:
There are Four Rooms to the Well:
Current Awake Remnants:
Note: Klaus’ father, Volker’s grandfather.
Note: Huron’s father, Volker’s great-great grandfather.
Note: Lansom’s father, 11 generations from Rheinhard.
Brade: A brave and kind young man born in Volta. Brade is skilled in all things seaworthy, and quite gifted at navigation. Much to the chagrin of the others, he has a talented singing voice and often raises old shanties from his time alive. He is a student of the cutlass and is considered a Success by Oor.
Note: Nestor’s father.
Huron: Shy, stuttering, and missing an eye from Oor’s abuse, this introverted Volker never got off the ground career wise. He is kind, thoughtful and empathetic, and genuinely tried to change his fate. He failed catastrophically. He is a student of the trident and is considered a Failure by Oor.
Note: Aluid’s father, Volker’s great-grandfather.
As such, Volker has a functionally photographic memory. He can review memories, and erase them by snapping the shard associated with them.
Rules of the Well:
* Only male members of the family can enter the Well, and only after they have produced a male heir.
* No spirit can leave without the weapon they used in life destroyed.
* The spirits are fully functioning beings, but without any autonomy outside of the Well.
* People can be brought into the Well if Volker covers their eyes with his mouth and pulls them in. They cannot enter by themselves.
* The Well records Volker’s health, current mental state, past kills, and tracks sexual health by way of books. These books are indestructable, and maintain records of every Volker who has ever lived in the Library section of the Well.
* The Well is a living record of Volker's memories, that can be reviewed, replayed, and displayed at will.
There are Four Rooms to the Well:
* The Arena: A large lit sandstone arena with four inches of soft sand, under which lay cobblestones. There is only one entrance that leads back to the main blackness of the Well. The Arena allows the remnants and the current host to practice combat. It is impossible to die here; one will only sink through the sands and re-emerge whole again.
* The Library: So called because it keeps the books of deceased Volkers recording Mental Status, Physical Health, and Sexual Health records.
* The Storage: Not all of the Volkers are awake. The storage is a long black hallway where the remnants not active are lined up neatly. They cannot speak or move, and are only awakened by the owner of the Well. This does not deter shenanigans being performed on their unconscious persons, however...
* The Office: Volkers are forbidden here, and it can only be opened with a golden shard floating above in the Well itself. This office records current breeding plans, keeps the books of the current host, and allows the owner of the Well to review memories.
Current Awake Remnants:
Aluid: A vivacious ten year old who functioned as a companion to Oor when he was alive. He was killed very young, and maintains a childlike personality in the Well. He is considered a Failure by Oor.
Note: Klaus’ father, Volker’s grandfather.
Ferenzi: A willowy, white-haired Volker with a long history in the Winter Court. Elegant, refined, and polite, Ferenzi was popular among fae courtiers. He is a student of the claws, and is considered a Success by Oor.
Note: Huron’s father, Volker’s great-great grandfather.
Nestor: The only Volker who could rightly be considered a genius, Nestor has a talent with all things pharmacological and chemical. He was mainly a poisoner when he was alive, and exists to study the fabric and spellwork of the Well itself. He is a student of the rapier, and is considered a Success by Oor.
Note: Lansom’s father, 11 generations from Rheinhard.
Brade: A brave and kind young man born in Volta. Brade is skilled in all things seaworthy, and quite gifted at navigation. Much to the chagrin of the others, he has a talented singing voice and often raises old shanties from his time alive. He is a student of the cutlass and is considered a Success by Oor.
Note: Nestor’s father.
Huron: Shy, stuttering, and missing an eye from Oor’s abuse, this introverted Volker never got off the ground career wise. He is kind, thoughtful and empathetic, and genuinely tried to change his fate. He failed catastrophically. He is a student of the trident and is considered a Failure by Oor.
Note: Aluid’s father, Volker’s great-grandfather.
Klaus: Volker's father, the newest addition to the Well. Klaus is an unhinged psychopath. He is deeply and disturbingly creative with torture, and goes out of his way to cause as much misery as possible. Klaus wants out of the Well, but maintains a twisted loyalty to Oor. He is a student of the knife, and is considered a Success by Oor.
Personality
Volker is a humorless creature. He is not an educated man, having had no formal schooling, but he is far from stupid. He shows a talent for anatomy and physiology, which drew him to butchery and in turn cooking. He is very particular about how things are done, and this has earned him accolades among wealthy nobles needing a capable cook.
Due to his predatory nature Volker hunts and consumes his fellow man. He does this much in the fashion of an ambush predator, hiding in the shadows before seizing his prey by the throat and strangling them. Volker is patient, and will stalk a prey item for hours before making the final decision. It is also worth noting that Volker despises waste, and will take days ensuring that every possible piece of a kill (human or otherwise) can be used in some way.
Despite his predatory ways, Volker is surprisingly perceptive and gentle with people he sees as non threatening. He ultimately desires nothing more in life than a family, and tends to ‘adopt’ the broken and abandoned.
Volker leans toward logic, and has difficulty with empathy. He will always take the route that makes the most logical sense versus the one that will save a life or preserve.
Due to his predatory nature Volker hunts and consumes his fellow man. He does this much in the fashion of an ambush predator, hiding in the shadows before seizing his prey by the throat and strangling them. Volker is patient, and will stalk a prey item for hours before making the final decision. It is also worth noting that Volker despises waste, and will take days ensuring that every possible piece of a kill (human or otherwise) can be used in some way.
Despite his predatory ways, Volker is surprisingly perceptive and gentle with people he sees as non threatening. He ultimately desires nothing more in life than a family, and tends to ‘adopt’ the broken and abandoned.
Volker leans toward logic, and has difficulty with empathy. He will always take the route that makes the most logical sense versus the one that will save a life or preserve.
Biography & Lore
Volker was an orphan by an early age. He was the product of a rape between his father Klaus and his mother Erme. Erme Volker attempted to raise her son well, but by the age of four Volker was showing the same predatory urges as his father, killing small animals and harming other children. Unable to cope, Erme hung herself in the barn of their home.
Volker watched her body for three days before Oor showed up. Unbeknownst to Rheinhard, Oor had carefully planned the pairing of Klaus Volker to Erme, and had been watching him since his birth. With Erme’s death, it fell to Oor to raise him until he was ready to receive the Well. Rheinhard was taken back to Witherhold, Oor’s estate near the Silent Court.
The estate held another captive; a dragon named Chaceledon. Chaceledon had raised dozens of the Volkers, including Klaus, and was tasked with raising Rheinhard. The two formed an incredibly close bond, to the point where Rheinhard views Chaceledon as his true mother. Chaceledon is the singular man who has nothing to fear from the Volkers. The dragon even attempted to free them by taking on Volker’s warlock bond, but it failed catastrophically. Dragons are inherently creatures of heat and fire, and the Well began burning.
Desperate to save his dying children, Chaceledon begged Oor to take the bond back. The wraith did so, but only under the condition neither of them would try to escape.
Rheinhard serves Oor quietly, slowly plotting his escape from the wraith’s clutches.
Volker watched her body for three days before Oor showed up. Unbeknownst to Rheinhard, Oor had carefully planned the pairing of Klaus Volker to Erme, and had been watching him since his birth. With Erme’s death, it fell to Oor to raise him until he was ready to receive the Well. Rheinhard was taken back to Witherhold, Oor’s estate near the Silent Court.
The estate held another captive; a dragon named Chaceledon. Chaceledon had raised dozens of the Volkers, including Klaus, and was tasked with raising Rheinhard. The two formed an incredibly close bond, to the point where Rheinhard views Chaceledon as his true mother. Chaceledon is the singular man who has nothing to fear from the Volkers. The dragon even attempted to free them by taking on Volker’s warlock bond, but it failed catastrophically. Dragons are inherently creatures of heat and fire, and the Well began burning.
Desperate to save his dying children, Chaceledon begged Oor to take the bond back. The wraith did so, but only under the condition neither of them would try to escape.
Rheinhard serves Oor quietly, slowly plotting his escape from the wraith’s clutches.
References
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