Thread: Korvosan Chaos - Characters

Larsen Pike Age 29 Height 6'0 Weight 195 Eyes Teal Hair Black Larsen Pike was raised by a decent enough family in the vast Midlands district of Korvosa, living only slightly below middle class. His father, a semi-professional athlete as well as mercenary, was a devotee of Kurgess, something that influenced Larsen heavily growing up, as Larsen would be both competitive and make his prayers to Kurgess, particularly before competitions. Like so many able-bodied and decently raised boys seeking to improve their station, Larsen went into the Korvosan Guard once of age at his father's urging. It had not been an easy transition for him, as the guard required far more structure than he'd become accustomed to. The stiflingly lawful nature of Korvosa became even more magnified within the guard, the lawkeepers of the society. His training brought him to be introduced to two new deities, Iomedae and Titivilus. Both were lawful deities that favored longswords, and both quite prevalent within the guard. Technically, Iomedae was the prevalent one, but the goddess of paladins was prevalent everywhere. It was Titivilus, a minor deity Larsen had not known of, that surprised him. Nonetheless, as he trained in swordplay and learned the laws of Korvosa, the two became more prominent in Larsen's life. Despite some adaptation, Larsen soon tired of orderly patrols with the abundance of formalities and constant nuance of Korvosan law. In order to avoid becoming too burned out and ruining his career, he volunteered to patrol the catacombs, which meant a far less formal work environment, more autonomy, suited his interest in history, and not to mention paid a little better, as there tended to be a bit more...challenge in what a guard might encounter. The catacombs beneath Korvosa are vast, with so many interconnecting tunnels and caves and former grave sites and collapsed vaults that there was enough danger of death just from getting lost. Add to that the number of illegal experiments performed by necromancers, an infestation of derro, ratfolk, deadly scavenger animals, and maybe the occasional criminal hiding out, and one could see why such a patrol route would pay more. With his low light vision and sharp mind, Larsen was a bit better suited to such locations, but they were initially terrifying. Some of the veteran patrollers would invoke prayers to Nyarlathotep, and over time, Larsen began to as well. The chaos of the catacombs could not be controlled, only embraced. If the predators tried to trick him, he'd learn their tricks and trick them back. Maybe it was the dormant magic below, or simply the stress of the environment helping him to reach potential, but it was while beneath the city that his powers began to manifest. Believing himself to be possessed of the talent to be a great sorcerer, he took some of the money he saved up and sought training at the Academae, the cost somewhat offset due to his membership in the guard. There he met Meridrahne. The next year began as a very happy one, the exhilaration of learning magic, freedom from the strict structure of the guard, and the company of a beautiful young woman with whom he shared countless hours and at times what seemed like a romantic relationship. The divine guidance of Nethys required only that he pursue magical strength, which he did. Unfortunately, as the year wore on, he realized that he lacked the innate magical ability that the more talented to include Meri seemed to have. Also, over the year, Meri learned that she lacked romantic interest in Larsen. There was no disaster-he passed the adept's course and Meri remained his friend-but the year ended with significantly less joy than it began on. Larsen returned to the guard, and Meri took lessons in scroll scribing. About two and a half years later, he was contacted by Malistra, who enticingly arranged for Larsen to escort her through the catacombs so that she could look for signs of ancient religions from previous civilizations. They've remained in contact since, talking over obscure and deceased gods and sometimes venturing back under Korvosa.