Character Overview
The Basics
Name: Karrkh Ti'Praaal
Race: Katta, Pantheri. 1/8 Tabbiri, 1/16 Leopardi
Age: 36 as of year XXVII. (This is the equivalent of a 40-year-old human.)
Location: Medonia
Wealth Tier: Sterling.
Karrkh has some leftover high-quality items from when she was in tier Ardentium, but she currently has no income, and no access to any property except what she had personally on her at the time of the Xet invasion - most of which was spent on her medical care. She has a small amount left over for traveling expenses.
Physical Description
Karrkh is a mature adult Pantheri Katta, 5'8", with dark-chocolate-brown fur and almost invisible black rosettes. Her eyes are green. She is left-handed.
Since the war, the fur on her ears, tail, a slash down the left side of her muzzle, and a ragged splash all down her right side (typically hidden by clothing) is light gray, with a thicker and smoother texture. This will typically be taken for an unusual form of post-injury fur, akin to scar tissue; but an exceptionally nosy and/or knowledgeable person may be able to identify it as fungus rather than fur.
Since the war, Karrkh has a chronic cough and shortness of breath.
Since the war, magical healing is potentially dangerous to Karrkh's health, as the fungal growths are her greatest current health problem, but also vital to her ability to, you know. Breathe.
Personality
Karrkh is weary, and discouraged, and afraid of her own body, and unsure where to go from here. Her insecurity threatens to boil into anger and aggression.
In better days she was a loyal friend and boss, and a responsible and practical steward of the well-being of her House. She tends to take all burdens onto her own shoulders and stew in her stress.
She is a faithful M'Taerowlite, a worshipper of the Katta deity of life, death and rebirth.
She fears and hates magic, but can be persuaded to give individual mages a chance.
She has a taste for coffee, cream, and kattamint - preferably all together.
Background
(Offscreen) Karrkh grew up in Arakmat, went to Prime to seek her fortune, (RPed) and upon enrolling in the Legion she was sent to Medonia to join the city guard, which had been decimated by the Pox. She rose to the rank of Lieutenant and was inducted into Medonia's katta noble house, House Jenapple.
(Offscreen) After her term of service, Karrkh went back to Arakmat to be with her family; but eventually realized that Medonia had become her home, and returned. (RPed) When she returned, she was informed that all members of House Jenapple with inferior standing to herself had died of the Pox, making her the new Baroness Jenapple.
Karrkh spent many eras as the head of House Jenapple, which primarily involved making appearances, and managing the House's business interests - most notably a tree farm and paper mill, but also, at Karrkh's behest, a controlling share of the local printing press.
(Offscreen) After the Xet attacked the western provinces, the conventional wisdom held that they would be coming for Enamoria next. Karrkh liquidated as many of the Jenapples' assets as she could, and sent them north with her trusted second-in-command Shira to be deposited in the relatively safe haven of Jaedaxia. Before Shira could return or send word, the Xet invasion began.
Karrkh, as a trained fighter with an excessive sense of personal responsibility, volunteered for the defense of the city.
Despite her distaste for magic, she shelled out for a protective druidic amulet which was designed to "bandage" minor injuries with mycelial growth.
Karrkh incurred extensive injuries during the invasion. These included flash burns on the back of her ears and her tail; contact burns on her right side, through her armor; a nasty gash on the face; a half-crushed pelvis; and micro-shrapnel damage to the insides of her lungs. These injuries should have been beyond the amulet's power to save her from - however, after being exposed to both magical and anti-magical attacks, the amulet shorted out, released all its power at once, and performed feats of healing well beyond what it was designed for. This left Karrkh with systemic fungal growth in all of her wounds, including inside her lungs. (Indefinite)
Karrkh's recovery has been slow. Given the extent of her injuries, and especially the myriad small perforations in her lungs, none of the healers who have seen her have been willing to risk significantly disturbing the fungus holding her wounds closed; but while the fungus remains, the wounds aren't properly healed.
Finally, after eras of recovery, she is well enough to travel, and to investigate the fate of Shira and the Jenapple fortune.
Hooks and Hanging Threads
- One of the Jenapple properties, the Baronial Mansion, was located in what is now the Faillegrove Swamp. All of its easily transportable goods were evacuated to the Jenapple Estate before the Xet arrived; but it's possible Karrkh mistakenly left something important there. What did she leave? What horrible creatures have moved into the manse in the meantime?
- Earl Shira of House Jenapple. (Aqua's NPC). Karrkh's right-hand Katta and closest friend, who disappeared after Karrkh entrusted her to transfer the House's wealth to Jaedaxia. What happened to her? What happened to the money?
- The magical fungus growing in Karrkh. What problems and/or abilities will it cause?
- Important people last known to be in Arakmat:
- Khrikal Ti'Praaal, Karrkh's brother and littermate
- Rraela K'Daahmi, Karrkh's niece, last known to be in the care of her mother T'rralka K'Daahmi. She would now be 16 eras old, and a young adult.
- Joby and Joi Jenapple. These are two Cheetari, children of the old Baron, who would now be young adults. They are the only known living members of the original Jenapple family.
- Karrkh is a penny dreadful villain. She had a brief romance with Ra'ari "Roy" Aarcha (Aqua's NPC), the author of the romance novel series Kannonball Kira: The Krazy Katta, in XIV-XV PF. The relationship ended over extremely predictable personality conflicts. In more recent entries of the Kannonball Kira series, a new recurring villain has been introduced: a dowdy, middle-aged Pantheri woman known as the Baroness, who is jealous of Kira's romantic and sexual success, and tries to come between the heroine and her hero-of-the-week.
- Given her noticable off-white patches, it's unlikely that anyone would currently connect the Baroness to Karrkh.
- Karrkh is aware of Roy's bullshit, but has no knowledge of what happened with him or the series after the Xet invasion of Enamoria.
- I have no idea what this was about, but I found it in the character sheet draft from 2007, so here it is if you want to make something of it:
If Karrkh finds this dress, she will buy it. Immediately, and without really knowing why.
A full-length, shimmering dress fell down to her ankles, allowing her bare toes to poke through. The fabric was light and moved fluidly, like shining silver moonbeams on a southern sea, viewed from just below the surface of the water, without the oppressing dampness. It was all one color, yet it seemed to change as the light hit it, from dark steely grey to the lightest of silvers. The sleeves of the dress were of a different material, diaphanous and wispy like the cirrus clouds that scudded over Chaendar. Though on closer examination she could tell that they were of the same shimmering color, at first glance they appeared to be cloud-white, contrasting translucently with her rich, immaculately groomed fur.
