Hawk
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Minotaur (Racial Class) & Fighter (Lasher Variant)
A Tsarukai (minotaur) warrior from the brutal island of Churkahn, who left his home to earn his name, he is a deeply religious follower of Tsaruk, the saviour god of his race, and he considers his Mark a great priveledge that he is duty-bound to honor, with his life if necessary.
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Age: 16 (rather young, not nearly full-grown, though he is now adult-sized)
Height: 8’-2” (and growing)
Weight: 720 lbs.
Hair: Light brown changing to dark brown down his back.
Eye color: Green
Horns: off-white, black tips. Left horn slightly larger than right.
Hawk, a young minotaur of unremarkable appearance, is large and muscular for his age. It is apparent that, when he gains maturity, he will be immensely strong, even amongst his own kind. He is not beautiful, but his eyes belie more intelligence than most of his race, even among the Bovids. He tends to favor simple dark greens and browns, mainly animal hides and skins, in an imitation of the way his forebears dressed before donning the current finery fashionable at court. He took to wearing a chain shirt beneath his brown leather vest when he “ran away from home” for basic protection in the wilds. He wields a greataxe on occasion, which he has in a clip on his back, but his main weapon is the massive, oversized black steel spiked chain, wrapped around both wrists when it is not tearing into enemies, as is the way of the Charog-Tsargrash. His pants and boots are dark brown, and he wears a dark green leather belt in which he stores valuables. When traveling, he wears a backpack with a bedroll. Around his neck is a crudely carved pendant of wood engraved with the image of Tsaruk.
Recent acquisitions during his travels have augmented his equipment: the black iron spiked chain of his homeland has been replaced by a Venoc-made chain of cruel design. Says Hawk: “I like da idea dat I can use der own spikes against dem.” His armor is of better make, he now sports a large, though rarely used, steel shield, and his weaponry selection has grown to include a massive war-pick, a cold-iron mace, a greatsword, and a huge longbow attuned to his prodigious strength.
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Life on Churkahn, even for the relatively wealthy Tsarukai, was not easy. The island, a tortured landscape of hardscrabble and volcanic steam-vents, was a brutal place, and this was reflected in her peoples. Prior to the discovery of his Mark, Hawk had been brought near death and enslaved not once but twice by denizens of his homeland. But the existence of the Mark changed Hawk’s life forever. A spiritual and introspective minotaur even before the Queza’tal glowed in response to his Mark, the knowledge that he was directly connected to the Old Gods further solidified his religious bent. He vowed that, as a vessel of the Old Gods, he was duty-bound to honor them, and therefore Tsaruk, his patron, with his every action. He became convinced that the Gods communicated directly with him, giving him guidance and aid.
The trip to Mivilious was an education for the young minotaur, but not in the way he was accustomed to. Rather, he was amazed again and again at how accepting, helpful, and inclusive the people he met tended to be toward him. Hawk had been taught since birth that the other, smaller races of the Cluster were at best an annoyance, at worst a threat. As Hawk traveled from island to island, he learned that friendship and trust were better companions than violence and hatred. This attitude served him well when he finally landed on Mivilious, and was forced to trust his fellow Marked with his life from the outset, even before they had reached the beach.
The time spent on Mivilious, and the eventual arrival at the Oracle’s plateau, served to change Hawk further. On Churkahn, his training as a Charog-Tsargrash prepared him only to fight in concert with others of his kind. Solving problems, dealing with puzzles and riddles, and acquiescing, at times, to the direction of others not of his race, were completely new to him. Still, nothing could prepare him for the final Olim that greeted him as he rose on the column of air, up to the Plateau, proclaiming that the group “finds a leader” in the first to take the leap of faith. This perplexed him to no end, since, despite the guidance from the Old Gods, he had never seen himself as a leader. But, as always, the Old Gods provided him with the answer: he was to be the “leader” only inasmuch as he would walk first into danger, being the strongest and most sure of the protection of the Gods.
But his confidence was to be shattered when the Oracles were betrayed and slain. He was confused, sullen, and angry that the Old Gods had chosen to abandon their chosen. He refused to believe, as his brethren would have it, that the Oracles died because they were weak. Hawk constantly fought with the teaching of his childhood and that of his recent experiences, during the sad time that the group dealt with the murder of the Oracles. He became withdrawn and spoke little, giving healing aid only when it was called for as the group tied up loose ends on Mivilious and prepared to leave to chase the murderers.
Setting themselves to the task of destroying slavers was a salve to his troubled soul, and eventually, he came to regain his confidence, culminating in the battle that convinced Hawk that, while the Old Gods had had to leave the Oracles to their fate, the “Last Gathering,” Hawk’s Marked companions, had been afforded their direct protection. During the siege of Shoalbury, as Hawk watched the hordes pour in through the breach, he uttered a quiet prayer to the Old Gods, thanking them for the brief time he had been honored to carry their Mark, and then beseeched Tsaruk to grant him a noble death. The brutal bloodbath of a fight, however, saw the army of the Marked and the townspeople emerge victorious. Hawk’s faith was restored.
As the group continued their onslaught against the slavers, gaining the upper hand each time in the end, Hawk continued to grow into his role as the party’s strong-arm. But he knew, as all young minotaurs do, that he was about to change. Luckily his Change occurred during a long ship voyage: growing a full head taller and twice as much in arm-span in the course of half of a day, Hawk subjected his companions, and the ship, to several harrowing hours of somewhat violent difficulty. After repairs were made to the ship, and he had healed from his body’s trials, Hawk once again thanked the Old Ones and Tsaruk. He had finally become a True Tsarukai.
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To be added at the conclusion of the campaign.
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