THE UNCHAINED

The Kal-a-nar Empire is a harsh, cruel realm that dominates the northwest portion of Shaintar, fully a fifth of the total landmass of the realm. The Empire has commanded even more in the past, and still would if not for the valiant efforts of the Southern Kingdoms and their allies. The people are cold and determined, and yet they nurse a smoldering flame within that can erupt in a blaze at any moment. 

The Empire exists under a strict caste system that has little opportunity for personal achievement outside of the military. Only through the path of a warrior can one hope to ascend beyond their station, and even then such advancement is often over the fallen bodies of comrades and commanders. The military holds sway over all else in the Empire, and the demon-enhanced Warlords are supreme over everyone save the Emperor himself (who is believed to be the same man who took the throne thousands of years ago).

At the bottom of the social order of the Empire are its slaves – those captured from other lands, as well as anyone who is not human within the Empire’s borders. Once born a slave, there is no escape from the hard life of a slave.

No escape, save the Blood Pits.

There, in the arenas that are scattered across the whole of the Empire, slave-warriors and vile creatures battle to the death for the amusement of the Empire’s citizens. The Az-Junin (“Eldritch Lords”), Az-Shur (“Fire Lords), and Az-agkar (“Death Lords”) tamper with beasts and beings alike to create “ultimate warriors,” making it so only the most powerful and skilled combatants can ever hope to survive past their first competition.

The supreme among these fighters know that they fight for the only prize worth winning in the Empire – freedom. Those that last through the course of an entire season are promised their freedom, as well as a raise in status and the opportunity to advance in Kal society (unless they are non-humans, in which case they are simply freed and banished to the Southern Kingdoms, where they are far more welcome).

Only one man has ever defied this process, choosing instead to use his freedom to win the same for all his brethren, as well as all the Kalinesh people.

That man is Jerik Tul.

Jerik Tul

The Dregordian warrior known as Sskolloss, a hero to every member of that reptilian species that had been captured and enslaved by the Kal, lay at the feet of the one man who had ever beaten him in the Blood Pits. Jerik Tul had just won the Grand Tourney, and it was now his right and his duty to slay his opponent and claim his prize – freedom, and the title of Sadar Nom (“Celebrated Name”) to elevate him in the caste of the people. Instead, he spared the Dregordian, helping the lizardman to stand. As a gasping hush fell on the crowd, he addressed the Emperor himself.

“This day, I take my prize and I leave this place. Call me what you will – it means nothing to me. This day, I am free, and every free breath I take will be for one goal. One day, I will see all of you free, as well.”

He turned to walk out of the arena, and even as a hundred soldiers moved to stop him, the Emperor waved his hand to stay them. He told his advisors,

“He will not last one month. Let the people hear of his failure after he has been given a chance to try. It will be a much greater lesson for them.”

This was one of the Emperor’s most painful mistakes, for Jerik Tul did not fail. In fact, his rebellion has grown impressively over the last few years. Now he is the Empire’s greatest enemy.

Endra Shard

She had trained for years under Jerik’s tutelage, learning to survive and even thrive in the Blood Pits. When he had found her, she was but a child, meant to die alongside a dozen others at the hands of yet another vile beast created by the mages and acolytes as nothing more than a “warm up” for the main events. He managed to use his influence to rescue her, and she has been with him ever since. When he walked out of the Grand Tourney that day, he made only one stop. He went to his tent and gathered some of this things, and she was among them. No one made any attempt to stop this, since trying to would result in more than a few dead soldiers before she went down.

She is absolutely devoted to Jerik Tul, and therefore, to his cause. If, for some reason, he decided that setting himself on fire was the right thing to do, she would jump into the flames. She knows no other way than to follow him, and she would do so into the depths of the Abyss or the farthest reaches of the Nether. And she would do so fighting like no one else can.

Skeezer

The goblin spent years subtly honing his mental powers in the depths of the Imperial sewers, where he worked to clean the worst refuse of the capital’s residents. He had known since he was a child that he was special – that he could manipulate forces barely understood in the northern lands. He knew that his powers alone would not help him escape, however; he needed something else to make good his bid for freedom.

On the day that Jerik Tul defied the Emperor, there was pandemonium and riotous demonstrations throughout the city. Amidst this chaos, the Dregordian Sskolloss was crucified on the main gate of the Imperial Palace, as a symbol against the defiance of the people. A full-blown riot broke out near the gate, and in that chaos, Skeezer acted.

Using pure mental force, he pulled the Dregordian off of the gate and floated him down into the throngs. He then slipped a healing potion into the lizardman’s mouth (one finds many things of use in the sewers), and the two made their way out of the city even as the Warlords and their soldiers set about pacifying the populace.

Skeezer wanted to make for the Southern Kingdoms, but Sskolloss had other plans. Soon, they found Jerik Tul and became his first two recruits, and Skeezer has never looked back. While he may have wanted to escape at first, now he sees a real chance to prove that the “least” of the Empire’s people would be its greatest.

Sskolloss
All he had ever known was battle. Fighting to the death was the only way; between fights, there was training, eating, more training, and sleep. He began to win many events, and his people began to see him as a hero, a symbol of their strength and power even in captivity.

Sskolloss only saw that he had to keep killing to survive, and he hated it. Still, he refused to give up, to surrender to death or anything else. He knew that somehow, someway, he would one day be able to use his skills for something other than mindless killing. His survival instinct was too strong to ever surrender.

The day that Jerik Tul defeated him, he came to know a kind of respect that he had never known before. Even as they carted him off to be crucified, he felt a kind of peace inside – he knew that, somehow, he had been a part of something bigger, something that would change the Empire forever.

Even as he found himself down among the people, where Skeezer had pulled him off the gate and given him a healing potion, he came to understand that he had a greater task to perform. Ignoring the goblin’s insistence that they flee to the South, he instead began searching for the one man he knew he could follow anywhere. 

Sskolloss never gave up his search, and when he found the leader of the Unchained, he knew he would never give up until Jerik Tul’s dream of freedom for everyone was achieved.

Aerik Starweaver

He looked at the smoldering ruins of his home, and he knew then that his complacency was as much the cause as any demon who had come here. 

He had known that the Az-Shur were more servants than masters of the demons they dealt with, and he had ignored it. He knew the Az-Junin were dangerously close to adopting the path of Flame themselves, and he let it be. He was happy enough to study and learn and record, oblivious to the horrors of what went on around him.

Until those horrors broke loose and destroyed everything he cared for.

It was believed to have been an accident, and the released demonlings were put down quickly. His Az-Junin masters assured him that the Az-Shur cabal that had released the creatures had been wiped out to a man. It did not matter. Nothing did.

Nothing except saving other innocents from what he could not save his family from.

Aerik Starweaver simply appeared in the middle of Jerik Tul’s camp one night and offered his head for the rebel leader’s taking. Instead, Jerik listened to the former Mage Lord, and soon he had the services of his most powerful ally to date. All he must do to maintain Aeirk’s service is ensure that the true monsters of the Empire – the Az-Shur, and their demon pets – are wiped out wherever they are found.

Balderk Soulstone

Many tales of the valiant rebels at war with the Empire made their way southward, and many in the Southern Kingdoms were inspired to go and help with this new bid for freedom. No one was more motivated than the kindly old dwarf, Balderk Soulstone.

He had stepped away from the adventuring life, preferring now to smoke his pipe, drink a fine ale, and offer his aid and comfort to those around him in the Small Stones mountains. However, he began to experience very troubling dreams shortly after he heard the first tale of the man who defied the Emperor and started a revolution within the heart of evil itself.

His dreams showed Jerik Tul, and those closest to him, often at the end of a great battle where they had defeated the Emperor himself. While they enjoyed their victory, people all around them chanted and cheered and called for Jerik to take up the crown and lead them. Always, a bloody and terrible crown appeared on Jerik’s head, and his eyes were full of dark Shadow, and his face was pale and drawn.

Knowing somehow that this was more than a mere dream, Balderk Soulstone came out of retirement and made his way northward. He eventually found the Unchained, and he offered his services as a healer and advisor. He knew Jerik on sight, for his dreams had been clear and accurate, and he was able to convince the ex-slave that he was needed. He eventually told Jerik of his dream, and the reluctant leader was visibly shaken by what he was told.

Since that day, Jerik has sworn Balderk to never allow this dream to come to pass, and the old dwarf has been a staunch supporter and wise counselor since that day.