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Post by lordyam on Oct 15, 2019 0:36:47 GMT -5
Given how big the Hyborian Age was it's always been silly that conan has been the main focus. One of the things the age of conan novels did well was focus on other characters in Conan's age even if the execution didn't always work. Personally I think such creativity should be fostered and as such I'm creating this thread to encourage others to submit their ideas for characters. It's open to everyone so please feel free to submit any characters you wish (that is if they don't blatantly screw with the canon. No Conan having a badass sister who goes with him everywhere thank you very much).
I'll start things off with what is honestly the only one of my OC's here who I truly think has stood the test of time (most of the rest being attempts to recycle dark horse comics ideas).
Queen Khajara of Turan Part 1
Khajara's life started out relatively humble; she was a servant in Khauran's royal palace. She wasn't rich nor was she able to read, but since Taramis was a benevolent monarch she was happy. She had a roof over her head, she had a pleasant if routine existence and she was with her parents who loved her very much. This existence did however make her rather sheltered and left her with a romantic view of the world (something Captain Conan commented on when they had a conversation.)
Her existence however was shattered when Salome came and overthrew Taramis. Khajara was as shocked by the seeming change over Taramis as everyone else, but she tried to go about her life. However, this only lasted two weeks before one of Constantius's men tried to force himself on her. Khajara, having dignity, refused and even kneed the mercenary in the crotch when he persisted. Since they were still consolidating their power and wanted to ensure somewhat positive relations with Turan Khajara wound up being one of the first batch of Khaurani youth shipped off to Turan as slaves. Khajara was ripped away from her father's arms and loaded onto a wagon manned by Turanian slavers. It would be the last time she would ever see her mother alive.
Despite her desperate prayers to Ishtar the slavers successfully made it to Agraphur, where things went from bad to worse. On the auction block Khajara was bought by a Turanian nobleman named Fahri, who was the living embodiment of everything bad about civilization (in this case he was a slovenly pig who boasted that "There are no virgins in my household".) Khajara as such endured a great deal of verbal and physical abuse from her master, but even then she tried to keep an optimistic view of things. Unfortunately this could not last forever. A month into her stay Khajara was dragged from her quarters to her master's bed chambers. There, in his opulent bed, he forcibly took her virginity from her. Ultimately this proved to be her breaking point. As she broke down crying another one of the slaves (an elderly female named Halide) comforted her and they ended up having a conversation. During the conversation Halide told her "There are two types of people in this world. The weak who are trampled underfoot and used as playthings for the pleasure of others, or the strong who exert their will. We slaves are the weak, doomed to a life of toil and hardship at the whims of the strong." This struck a chord with Khajara, but whereas Halide had accepted her lot in life Khajara decided that she wasn't going to. Rather she would become the strong so that no one could EVER abuse her again.
So she bided her time. She convinced her master she had become pliant, sharing his bed with him even though she detested him and playing up her servility so that he would let his guard down around her. She also took the time to fully learn the Turanian language. Ultimately her gambit worked. Her master was part of a conspiracy against King Yezdigerd which planned to assassinate him in a "hunting accident" when he visited Fahri's estate. Since her master was convinced she was merely a slave she was able to hear everything that was being plotted, and so she had all she needed to warn the monarch. Realizing that the monarch would be grateful if he saved her life, she began to formulate a plan..... When the King came to visit she danced before the monarch, managing to balance brazenness with a coy sense of mystery so as to hopefully attract his attention. Yezdigerd was impressed with her and soon afterwards Khajara was able to sneak out of her quarters and meet with Yezdigerd. She warned him of her master's plot, asking only that afterwards she not be sold into slavery. Yezdigerd cautiously agreed and sure enough her master's plan was foiled, with Khajara taking great pleasure in watching her abusive master be led away to his fate. While the other slaves were sold off to various owners Khajara was rewarded for her bravery by being taken in by Yezdigerd himself as a new concubine.
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Post by lordyam on Oct 15, 2019 1:03:03 GMT -5
Part 2
Khajara quickly learned that while her new situation. The King of Turan's seraglio was a cutthroat world of its own, with the wives commonly plotting to advance themselves or their children in the strict hierarchy; any weapon was permitted and there were often shifting factions of allegiances. The undisputed queen of the seraglio was Gulden, a Turanian noblewoman who saw herself as above the other women. So Khajara adapted the same tactic she used in her previous master's household. She played possum, convincing the other women that she wasn't a threat while slowly gathering allies amongst the other wives (some of whom taught her how to read and write). She quickly learned the balance of power, and gained experience in harem politics by both observing and participating in the various power struggles (always making sure to align with the strongest factions so as to avoid making enemies.) In her arrogance Gulden dismissed Khajara as another newcomer who Yezdigerd would grow bored of quickly. At around this time she also learned that Constantius's forces had been expelled from Khauran, and also heard rumors of how Taramis had been impersonated by an evil twin sister. However all that she had endured had by this point rendered her jaded and she did not pay them much mind.
Eventually the time came when Yezdigerd requested to sleep with her. Khajara was bathed and brought before him, but when he touched her she flinched. The memories of her master's previous abuses were still relatively recent in her mind, and despite herself she could not help but react. Yezdigerd was initially angry, but calmed down when she explained herself. While Yezdigerd was a conquering tyrant, he saw himself as an enlightened bringer of civilization; while he would allow his men to engage in such brute activities as rape and pillaging he himself considered it beneath him. As such, they ended up simply talking for several hours. Khajara told him about her past in Khauran and how she still dearly missed her parents; he ended up confiding in her details of his own upbringing (admitting that a part of him wished he could have just had a normal childhood without having to elevate himself over his siblings). She was ultimately sent back to the harem, and as per the rules of the game Khajara falsely claimed to the others that it was a routine affair.
However, Yezdigerd ended up calling her back a few more times, and each time they ended up talking (with Yezdigerd beginning to open up more about his past). Both of them began to develop more and more feelings for each other; Yezdigerd saw Khajara as someone he could truly be honest with rather than a beautiful woman who could share his bed with him for a night. Khajara saw a more human side to the mighty and feared King Yezdigerd of Turan, and realized that he could give her real happiness....provided she play her cards right. Eventually things got to the point where they finally truly slept together; unlike her previous experiences (which had been inflicted on her by her hated and abusive master) this was truly pleasurable for her. Khajara realized that as much as Yezdigerd had fallen in love with her she had fallen in love with him, and so her ambitions finally fully crystalized. While some of the other women noticed a change in her, the truly prominent women (among them Gulden) paid no mind to her....at least initially.
It was around this time that Conan sacked the city of Khawarizm, making off with a great deal of loot and damaging trade. Yezdigerd dispatched his greatest agent Fassir of Shusan (the Red Eagle) to bring Conan to heel, but Conan was able to turn the tables on Fassir and defeat him. While Khajara and some of the other women were dancing for the court, King Yezdigerd received a box containing Fassir's severed head. Yezdigerd was furious, but Khajara had once interacted with Conan. It wasn't a long conversation but it had been enough to allow her some insight into him as a man who, while wily and intelligent, preferred direct action. Pushing a few lingering feelings of guilt down, she waited until she and Yezdigerd were in bed before floating a suggestion. Why not use have someone infiltrate the horde and destroy it from within? At this point Yezdigerd was desperate to try anything so he agreed.
At this point, Khajara's star in the seraglio had risen to the point where even Gulden had to take note of her. Furious and determined to reclaim her position in Yezdigerd's bed Gulden began to plot against her. Unfortunately for her her arrogance had long irritated the other wives to the point that many of them had gravitated towards Khajara instead. As such Khajara was able to easily redirect poison meant for her to another wife she disliked, and soon afterwards Khajara sprung her trap. After giving the most challenging dance in her life, she asked Yezdigerd a boon. Yezdigerd and agreed....and Khajara asked for Gulden's head on a plate. When Yezdigerd expressed shock Khajara spun a story about how Gulden had tried to poison her (which was true) but that by sheer chance the poison had gone to another wife instead (which was false). Gulden could only stammer in shock that Khajara was lying....but unfortunately for her Yezdigerd believed Khajara. He ordered Gulden be executed. Later in the seraglio Gulden's severed head was presented to Khajara on a platter, in full view of the other wives. This act quickly cowed the few wives who were not on board with Khajara into compliance.
Soon afterwards Yezdigerd's infiltration gamble paid off. Kerim Shah was able to manipulate Conan into striking at the city of Sultanaphur with all of his allies, where the Turanian army and navy were quickly able to crush them, with very few Kozaki successfully fleeing the battlefield alive. While Conan himself was able to evade capture, his second in command Djebal was captured and brought back to Agraphur to be executed. Yezdigerd, having already fallen in love with Khajara, decided to reward her by fully marrying her and making her his chief wife. The slave had become a queen.
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Post by lordyam on Oct 15, 2019 1:27:12 GMT -5
Queen Khajara Part 3
Conan however, was not idle and sprung into action to save his friend. Ultimately he and the few remaining Kozaki infiltrated the city and staged a daring rescue. Conan was able to abduct Khajara and from a fair distance demanded the release of his friend; otherwise Khajara would die. At first Yezdigerd refused, but as Conan began to cut her throat Yezdigerd caved and ordered the release. Conan held onto Khajara until both were able to flee successfully by boat. The experience was traumatizing for her, but it reaffirmed that Yezdigerd's feelings for her were genuine. Khajara also learned that she was pregnant soon afterwards, which was joyous news to the both of them.
Unfortunately while the common Turanian citizens considered the act romantic too many in the court it was a disgusting act of weakness. Shortly after Khajara gave birth to her first Ardashir they received the devastating news that the attempt to conquer Vendheya had failed, in no small part due to the interference of Conan of Cimmeria. Other nobles saw it as the opportunity they had been waiting for and an attempted coup was made on the lives of Yezdigerd, Khajara and their son. The plan was narrowly thwarted and Yezdigerd initiated swift and bloody vengeance upon not just the participants but their entire families as well, which effectively cowed the nobility for the time being. Yezdigerd would soon resume his conquests, spreading outwards yet again.
As time passed Khajara continued as Yezdigerd's queen. She gave birth to two more sons, and eventually, ten years after she had first left she became pregnant with a fourth child. However, aside from her children, who she adored, she was an ice cold creature of ruthless efficiency. At around this time there was a diplomatic visit to the Kingdom of Khauran and Khajara realized that despite the length of time a part of her had never completely gotten over what had happened to her. Feeling that she needed closure, she was able to persuade her husband to let her go with the delegation, ostensibly to help out with the negotiations but really so that she could get a sense of closure.
Khajara arrived in Khauran to find that the Kingdom had largely recovered from Salome and Constantius's depredations. The Kingdom had even managed to recover most of the youths sold into slavery during that time. Khajara accompanied the delegation, and realized that she felt like a stranger in her own homeland. The meeting with Taramis was tense, with Taramis profusely apologizing for what had happened to her; while Khajara did receive proof that Salome was in fact real she realized that she didn't particularly care. If anything, all it proved was that Taramis had been a weak monarch. After the meeting concluded Khajara tracked down her father, who had moved to the outskirts of Khauran. While she was saddened to learn that her mother had died in the intervening years she was overjoyed to see her father again, to the point where she hugged him while breaking down in tears. Unfortunately the good feelings did not last. Her father, while happy to see her again, was upset to see what kind of person she had become. Her harsh words about Conan, as well as her attempts to justify Yezdigerd's expansionist policies further soured things and Khajara ultimately left barely holding back tears (which she stopped holding back once in the privacy of her litter). Khajara bitterly realized that she had indeed become one of the strong....but that she had sold her soul in the process. Even worse....she was absolutely ok with it.
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Post by Von K on Oct 15, 2019 13:42:32 GMT -5
You could drop a link to your blog in your sig if you wanted Char Vell. Lordyam, that's quite a full on character arc you've posted for Khajara. I'm still considering whether to post some brief character sketches from my old fanfics. I've more characters from undrafted outlines but I'd not post details of them 'till the yarns themselves are written as it kills the impetus for me to share them too broadly before the yarn they're in is told.
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Post by Char-Vell on Oct 15, 2019 13:49:33 GMT -5
You could drop a link to your blog in your sig if you wanted Char Vell. Oof!
I've been overlooking the signature box all this time. Thanks!
I think I misunderstood the OP, I should have done a character sketch instead of posting those links. Sorry.
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Post by Char-Vell on Oct 15, 2019 14:55:15 GMT -5
Okay. Sigyn of Asgard.
Below is a cringe-worthy "Probable Outline of Sigyn’s Career" I wrote a while back, for a sort of "bible" for the series.
I've contradicted some of it in subsequent stories, and there are adventures suggested in it I didn't write, and ones I did write that aren't mentioned.
Perhaps an update is in order, or perhaps I've already put too much thought into this?
Where, and to whom, Sigyn was born is unknown. Some of those in awe of her legend name her "Ymir's Other Daughter". Those less charitable posit she was the offspring of some polar man-ape sired unwillingly to a captive Aesir woman. At an age of no more than two winters, She was found wandering naked among the frozen wastes of Nordhiem by a far-ranging Aesir hunting party. The hunters brought her back to their village, (a remote and barbaric settlement, even by Aesir standards) and gave her over to Fenwulf and Alfhild, a couple renedered childless when their son was carried off by wolves. Naming her Sigyn, they cherished her as a gift from Ymir. Sigyn thrived in the harsh, austere environment, growing remarkably tall and strong, and by necessity becoming skilled in the use of the axe, the spear and the bow. So it was that even before her fifteenth year , her adoptive tribe spoke of her prowess in battle against Vanir and Hyperborean raiders, and the hunts of great beasts she undertook with her childhood friends, Radulf and Embla, (also a foundling, the raven-haired adopted daughter of the villiage shaman.)
The tales of a villiage elder, Beothor, who had traveled widely in his youth, fired Sigyn’s imagination and planted the seeds of her future wanderlust.
Sigyn gained her first taste of life outside of Asgard when a hunting party from her tribe was captured by Vanir and sold to the Aqulionian navy as galley slaves, she followed them, and while attempting a rescue, was enslaved herself. After escaping, she contended with a crazed witchdoctor and his army of prehistoric beasts on a mysterious island (Under the Sign of Jhebbal Sag).
Avoiding returning to Asgard, (and possibly avoiding a semi-arranged marriage to Radulf) Sigyn joins a company of Kothic Mercenaries, where she learns the finer forms of civilized combat. However she finds being the sole female in a mercenary company distracting (for her and the mercenaries) . After a particulary brutal and unpleasant campaigns in Nemedia and Aquilonia, she decides the life of a sellsword is not for her.
Departing the company on good terms she returns to Asgard. Returning to her tribe after a years absence, she finds that she has been declared dead by the tribal elders and that Radulf has married another girl, the daughter of one of the tribal elders in question. And this new wife has already born Radulf one child. Angered at how short of time had passed before Radulf impregnated this other girl, Sigyn again leaves her tribe for the exotic south.
Along the way, she encounter a blizzard and stops to ask for shelter at the keep Ullirsborg. There she finds that Hyberborean Witchmen have made of with the Lord Ullir’s daughter, and placed an enchantement upon all within the keep that prevents them from following. As Sigyn was not present when the enchantment was laid, She tracks the Witchmen to their lair and prevents them from sacrificing Ullir’s daughter to Tsathogua.
Wandering into Brythunia, she becomes enarmoured of a traveling Zingaran minstrel, and follows him as he tours the countryside. This eventually leads her afoul of a Brythunian count who wishes to punish the minstrel for impregnating his daughter, and a Stygian priest from whom the minstrel has stolen a sacred amulet.
Deciding the minstrel is not worth the trouble she travels through Zamora, where after being robbed of a horse in Arenjun, she engages in a violent confrontation with the Thieves guild.
Leaving Zamora in disgust, she finds employment as a guard for a Turanian noblemans harem. She gains further education from Fardis, the scholarly nobleman, and enjoys a luxurious lifestyle, until treachery lands her in a lost valley controlled by a cosmic entity. ( A Deep and Verdant Green).
In spite of her romantic overtures to Fardis being rejected, she escorts him to Khitai, were he intends to live in exile. After seeing him safely to his destination, she roams exotic Khitai, slaking her thirst for exploration and adventure, as well as involving herself in the troubles of others, as when she aids a small band of warrior monks in defending a remote town from the minions of a fallen nobelman.
Arriving later in Vendhya, chasing rumors of lost cities and fabulous treasure, Sigyn rescues a woman who is about to be burned in her deceased husbands funeral pyre. this angers both families involved, and they dispatch a deadly assassin to kill both women. The assassin finds his job complicated not only by Sigyn’s martial prowess, but also a dark, soul destroying secret harbored by the errant widow.
While crossing the plains of Vendhya, Sigyn camps among some strange stone monoliths. There she is set upon by a horde of malformed troglodytes. Nearly overwhelmed the tables are turned by the timely arrival of a mysterious strangely garbed sorcerer, who lays low the monsters with a strange wand that spits fire, his disappears as suddenly as he arrived.
Crossing through Kosala, Iranistan, and the eastern deserts, Sigyn arrives in Zembabwei, where she aids a priest in exorcising a pre-human demon, and debunking a corrupt witch doctor.
Wandering into Darfur, her attempts to aid a tribe of Pygmies against cannibals backfires when the pygmies proclaim her a godess and demand she lead them on a path to world domination.
Returning to the Hyborian kingdoms, Sigyn draws the unwanted attentions of a "pirate king in Argos", who makes several attempts to abduct her. Only desisting when his efforts indirectly result in his fleet being destroyed by a colossal, island sized sea beast.
Staying in Aquilonia, Sigyn is enlisted by that country’s king to deliver a mysterious chest to a Pictish chieftan. The chests contents proved to be problematic.
Returning to visit her tribe. Sigyn finds little has changed. Nearly succumbing to the urge to engage in an affair with the still married Radulf, who is now Chief of the tribe, she departs again for the south, but not before earning the further enmity of Radulf’s wife and daughters.
Sigyn returns to Ullirsborg, hoping to enjoy a visit with the friends she made there, only to find the keep in the grip of an unspeakable horror (Ullirsborg).
Sigyn returns to the Hyborian lands seeking adventure, joy, and warm weather. but increasingly returns to the vicinity of Ullirsborg , mainly to enjoy the company of Biggu, the hulking blacksmith and steward of Ullirsborg, Biggu begins joining Sigyn on her adventures in the south, but finds he does not enjoy lost cities, monster infested tombs and cursed treasure as much as Sigyn does. She makes peace with the family of Radulf ; after soundly defeating his daughters in battle, she offers them a truce as well as lessons in the art of combat.
In time Sigyn bears Biggu a son, Gunnar, and a daughter Hillevi, they benefit greatly form their mother’s vast experience and grow to be powerful warriors as well as wise and noble individuals.
After Biggu’s unexpected death, Sigyn takes her children on a tour of the Hyborian kingdoms. When they return, They find Ullirsborg once again menaced by the Hyperboreans. Sigyn, (now past sixty years of age, but still astoundingly strong) along with her children, stand at the side of Snorri, Lord of Ullirsborg and his arny. At the climatic battle, all seems lost until Radulf and a force of Sigyn’s tribesmen arrive, encircling and destroying the Hyperboreans.
Alas, the cost of victory is high. At the center of a ring of near twoscore slain Witchmen, Sigyn is found leaning on her bloodied spear, as if at rest, pierced by a multitude of wounds. Her eyes fixed southward, toward the exotic lands of mystery and adventure she was ever drawn to.
Some say her spirit ascended to the heavens to stand as one of the new pantheon that supplanted Ymir and his offspring as gods of the north. Still others say her spirit wanders to this day, and will aid those who share her lust for adventure and discovery.
The latter legend may lend credence to Doctor Alphonse Conrad’s outrageous report, labelled "fake news" by the mainstrem media, of his archeological expedition to remote Svalbard being attacked by a colossal, cold generating slug, and being saved by the intervention of a spectral “Valkyrie”.
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Post by Von K on Oct 17, 2019 8:22:44 GMT -5
A couple of brief character sketches:
Ukuna, a disposessed Hyrkanian cheftainess who often hunts with her two loyal companions Mongke and Borochai and her trained eagle Ironclaw, who is faithful only so long as he is fed. She longs for revenge on the tribe that attacked and all but destroyed her own. With the remnants of her own tribe she was on the point of being forced into brokering a deal with the imperialistic Turanians. But all that changed when a ragtag band of Kozaki came flying from the south led by a wild adventurer called Conan the Cimmerian.
Crusher Kolev, a huge Hyperborean pit fighter from the Maul who refused to take a dive in a fixed fight for a prominent crime lord and is now on the run with a bounty on his head. He still dreams of the beautiful Zamoran courtesan on whom he always used to spend most of his considerable winnings. He sports a broken nose and a partly chawed ear from a drunken scuffle with a crazed Cimmerian youth.
#
Char-vell, you could maybe find an in-world way of relating Sigyn's life story? Perhaps, as an example, have it be derived by a scholar from the staves written by a love lorn skald who admired Sigyn from afar but who's affections were never reciprocated by her. Just a thought anyhow.
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Post by Char-Vell on Oct 17, 2019 8:41:26 GMT -5
A couple of brief character sketches: Crusher Kolev, a huge Hyperborean pit fighter from the Maul who refused to take a dive in a fixed fight for a prominent crime lord and is now on the run with a bounty on his head. He still dreams of the beautiful Zamoran courtesan on whom he always used to spend most of his considerable winnings. He sports a broken nose and a partly chawed ear from a drunken scuffle with a crazed Cimmerian youth. Crusher Kolev sounds awesome! I see him wandering the earth getting involve in people's problems, Like a Hyborian Dr. Richard Kimble.
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Post by Char-Vell on Oct 17, 2019 9:23:46 GMT -5
Not a bad idea at all. I like it a lot.
Perhaps the scholar’s studies trigger memories from one of his past lives...
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Post by Von K on Oct 17, 2019 13:44:44 GMT -5
A couple of brief character sketches: Crusher Kolev, a huge Hyperborean pit fighter from the Maul who refused to take a dive in a fixed fight for a prominent crime lord and is now on the run with a bounty on his head. He still dreams of the beautiful Zamoran courtesan on whom he always used to spend most of his considerable winnings. He sports a broken nose and a partly chawed ear from a drunken scuffle with a crazed Cimmerian youth. Crusher Kolev sounds awesome! I see him wandering the earth getting involve in people's problems, Like a Hyborian Dr. Richard Kimble.
That's kind of close to what I'd imagined, assuming Richard Kimble was a gloomy 6'8" 320 pound mail clad bruiser who looked like a cross between Dolph Lundgren and Nickolai Valuev.
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Post by lordyam on Oct 19, 2019 12:28:33 GMT -5
You could drop a link to your blog in your sig if you wanted Char Vell. Lordyam, that's quite a full on character arc you've posted for Khajara. I'm still considering whether to post some brief character sketches from my old fanfics. I've more characters from undrafted outlines but I'd not post details of them 'till the yarns themselves are written as it kills the impetus for me to share them too broadly before the yarn they're in is told. Thanks. I had to revise a few things to keep her from being a Mary Sue. But I like that I kept the tragedy in her character. In a way she’s one of Salome’s victims.
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Post by lordyam on Oct 20, 2019 13:46:51 GMT -5
Sigyn is interesting but the idea of her being Ymir's daughter is kinda unusual. Conan was a man after all.
A brief idea I had for Gulden was that she's essentially nobility personified. She's Yezdigerd's chief concubine, but there's no real love there since it was arranged by their parents. She's as cruel as she is beautiful and she is VERY beautiful. Unfortunately for her she's also arrogant. When Khajara arrived Gulden dismissed her as just another concubine and so didn't really take note of her (especially since for pragmatism's sake Khajara even aligned with Gulden a few times). By the time she noticed how far she'd risen Khajara had become entrenched, which was worsened when many of the other wives, long put off by her arrogance, aligned with Khajara. This unfortunately led to her getting sloppy and gave Khajara all the rope she needed to hang her.
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Post by Char-Vell on Oct 21, 2019 9:43:04 GMT -5
Sigyn is interesting but the idea of her being Ymir's daughter is kinda unusual. That information is based Bosco Sateesh's translation of proto-Norse runes discovered in a cave near Kensington, Minnesota. Mainstream scholars dismiss the carvings as modern graffiti and condemn Sateesh as a fraud.
-Or-
That was one of the early ideas I was fiddling with when I felt I had made Sigyn unrealistically powerful in some of the stories. Now I feel it probably doesn't matter. She probably just had good genetics and a protein-rich diet. The Aesir were a robust lot after all.
That said, if I were ever pushed in a corner on the subject, I have a growing affinity for the Man-Ape ancestry idea, it gives her a sort of an Arthur Jermyn-esque bloodline.
I wonder how she'd feel about that?
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Post by lordyam on Oct 25, 2019 19:37:56 GMT -5
Fassir of Shusan (some of this is reposting with modifications)
Born in the city of Shusan, Fassir seemed destined for greatness. He joined the Asshuri of Shusan during the one week recruitment festival, emerging as the finest of all the recruits. He served with distinction for seven years, aiding Shusan's war's of expansion in Eastern Shem, serving foreign armies, and guarding Shusan. Due to his meteoric advance, some predicted that Fassir might soon lead the city guard. Unfortunately, Fassir also had a massive ego to go along with his massive skill, and thus found himself making a great deal of enemies within even his own unit. At the age of 27, Fassir made a minor mistake while carrying out a contract in a foreign city, which resulted in the death of a nobleman's son. His enemies seized upon this chance, and Fassir was humiliated and stripped down, his career in tatters. Fassir was furious; he had given his all to Shusan, yet because of a single mistake they had stripped him of everything. His brother, who still cared for him, surreptitiously supported him and used his connections to save Fassir from a death sentence but Fassir had nowhere left to go. He fled East into Turan and, still a warrior at heart, enlisted in the Turanian military; once again he rose quickly, becoming renowned in Turan's army for his skill with the sword. It was this skill that brought him to the attention of Prince Yezdigerd, who was then 16 years old.
Yezdigerd had enlisted in Turan's army in an attempt to prove himself to his siblings and Father. Not willing to be anything less than second best, but realizing that he had had a sheltered existence, Yezdigerd sought out Fassir for help. Fassir was skeptical at first but ultimately agreed to train Yezdigerd in both the life of a soldier and more advanced forms of sword fighting. The two ultimately became friends, which would ultimately wind up saving Fassir's life. During a raid against the hill tribes, the highborne general he was assigned to work with disregarded his advice and led their forces into disaster; unwilling to admit his failure the man made Fassir into a scapegoat. Fassir was court martialled, but Yezdigerd intervened. He used his own ties to look into the case, and ultimately forced the military to not only clear Fassir of all charges, but to reinstate him with full priveleges while the incompetent commander was the one who was ultimately disgraced. As a result, Fassir became completely devoted to his new patron. If Yezdigerd needed help, than Fassir would be there for him.
The friendship would continue for many years, and as even as Yezdigerd assembled his own elite band of adventurers from other nations to his side to serve as bodyguards Fassir remained the commander. When Yezdigerd's father died of natural causes when Yezdigerd was 28 Fassir was the one who led Yezdigerd's forces against his opponents. As the others slaughtered Yezdigerd's brothers, their wives, and sons Fassir oversaw the murder of Yezdigerd's youngest wife and her infant son (for it was only Fassir who could be trusted to carry out the task when other men might squirm), strangling the young boy with his bare hands as his mother begged for her child's life before decapitating the weeping young woman as she cradled her child's corpse. Yezdigerd rewarded his closest friend with a Turanian wife, who gave Fassir a son.
Fassir was also entrusted with command over the conquests of Yezdigerd’s most desired prizes; the cities of eastern Shem. At the head of a massive army, Fassir led the Turanian forces in an attack on the eastern city states of Shem. One by one, they fell before Turan, until only the Shusan Empire stood before them. By now Fassir had long abandoned any love towards his former home and was willing to bring it under Yezdigerd's dominion. Still, Shusan would not be an easy nut to crack. Relying on the few friends and family he still had within Shusan, as well as the corruption of certain nobles within the city, Fassir began to undermine the defenses from within. When the time was right, Fassir's infiltrators threw open the gates and allowed the Turanian horde into the city. The Asshuri fought bravely, but they had never believed their city could be breached. As such they were woefully unprepared and fell before the Turanian advance. Once the city was conquered, Fassir executed those nobles who had disgraced him years before. The disgraced soldier had returned a conquerer.
After the fall of Shusan, Fassir began to plan other engagements into the Western city states of Shem; before he could carry out these engagements he was recalled back to Turan to deal with a new upstart. A Cimmerian named Conan had unified the Zuagir and Kozaki raiders into a single powerful horde; this horde had proceeded to burn Kharwazeim, one of the biggest cities in the empire. Women had been captured, slaves had been liberated and one of the Empire's greatest ports was gone. Such insolence could not be tolerated. Fassir returned to deal with the upstart, leaving behind an occupation force in the city of Shusan. After studying up on Conan's exploits, he noticed a potential weakness. Many tribal villages in Hyrkania had come to see the Horde as defenders and liberators against the forces of Turan. Fassir decided that if he could not find Conan, he would make Conan come to him. To smoke Conan out he ordered his men to slaughter 3 entire villages, leaving only one alive from each. They were then instructed to seek Conan out, and inform him of the challenge. He held the forces of one more village hostage; if Conan refused to come by sundown within three days, he would have them all put to the sword. If Conan refused he would loose the respect of many of the free peoples. However, Fassir made a fatal mistake, and that was in underestimating Conan's resourcefulness. Conan did ultimately ride the horde out to meet Fassir, but not before having several of his men infiltrate Fassir's army and persuade many of Fassir's soldiers (who had been conscripted Hyrkanians with no love of Turan) to turn coat. When battle was joined, Conan initially allowed Fassir to think he had the advantage before giving the signal. The turncoat soldiers betrayed the main Turanian army, sowing chaos amongst their ranks and allowing Conan to close in on Fassir. Fassir's attempts to order his forces to slaughter the civilians was undelivered in the chaos of the fighting. The Cimmerian wolf and the Shemite Eagle faced off in a titanic sword duel as their armies clashed around them; despite fighting harder than he ever had before, Fassir ultimately fell before Conan of Cimmeria. His head was delivered in a box to Yezdigered, an act which would earn the Cimmerian Yezdigerd's undying hatred.
Note: This was another profile I felt held up. He's sorta based on Mikhal Oglu the Vulture (I gave him the title "The Red Eagle")
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