Kenjak Ashevajak

The Bandit Lord Kenjak Ashevajak, Kenjak or Jak, hailed from Chanar Keep, which was located in a region in the Gangrek Mounts of Jacuruku in the Kingdom of the Thaumaturgs.Blood and Bone, Chapter 5, UK MMPB, p.276-299 He was a young man in his early twenties.
== In Blood and Bone ==
Jak's bandit group overran a village in the border regions of the Thaumaturg nation, where they subsequently captured Saeng when she stumbled upon them.Blood and Bone, Chapter 2, UK MMPB, p.107-112 When she recognised him as the Bandit Lord, she stated that she had heard stories about him, so during dinner he asked her to tell them for his amusement. She counter-offered to tell his future, however, an offer which neither of them could back down from. She revealed his fear of the underground, then predicted he would die there. This sent him into a rage, thinking a follower had found out and told her, but when he grasped her, Saeng overpowered him with magic, accidentally summoning spirits of the restless dead before escaping with her Yakshaka brother, Hanu.
Purposely encountering the Thaumaturg, Pon-lor, and his detachment, Jak presented himself as a private guard in the employ of the warlord Khun-Sen - Jak's papers, however, had long been expired. Jak claimed to have been recently attacked by a witch who had enthralled a Yakshaka warrior and offered his services to guide Pon-lor to the location where there were further witnesses.Blood and Bone, Chapter 2, UK MMPB, p.137-142 He despised the Thaumaturgs - his family having been disgraced by them in the past - so he planned to get his vengeance through Pon-lor; hopefully kill the witch, who had badly damaged his authority, leaving him with fewer followers; and take the Yakshaka to the Demon Queen, Ardata, for a reward.
Jak later planned an ambush with Thet-mun, one of his followers, to be sprung at Chanar Keep, a place where only Loor-San - of all his followers - wasn't afraid to go, so Loor-San was to be sent ahead to prepare the Keep. To manipulate the Thaumaturg party into the trap, he maintained his facade that Khun-sen was still active in the region, making Pon-lor believe that the Seven Peaks Pass would be a short-cut that Saeng would avoid, as the locals feared it due to "raiding".Blood and Bone, Chapter 3, UK MMPB, p.197-202 Jak provoked Pon-lor's party into moving with little rest, losing them two men while climbing the pass. Then he lured them far into the Keep with Loor-San's help, before springing his trap. The cursed inhabitants of the Keep, Jak's relatives, attacked the Thaumaturg group, greatly reducing their numbers before the Thaumaturgs successfully withdrew and Pon-lor dispelled the curse. Jak was able to escape while yelling that he would have his vengeance.
Jak captured Pon-lor shortly afterwards, killing his final guard with a pit-trap, but he was unaware of the limitations of the Thaumaturg's power, mistakenly thinking that gagging and binding him would keep him from using his magic.Blood and Bone, Chapter 7, UK MMPB, p.393-396 Some members of Jak's bandit band advised him to just go ahead and kill Pon-lor, but Jak insisted that Pon-lor was worth a lot of money and so kept him alive. Jak continued to have good luck, also capturing Saeng, and therefore Hanu, with no issues. His captives' superior attitudes bothered him, especially as he didn't have complete control over them.Blood and Bone, Chapter 9, UK MMPB, p.515-527 Jak's band was attacked by Himatan natives shortly afterwards, with only a moment's warning from Pon-lor, and Jak escaped with a small group of his followers, including Myint.
Jak's band ambushed Saeng in the Temple of Light - an underground construction located beneath a newer temple - where he was prepared to kill her rather than capture her, madness and obsession having taken over. Before he could act, however, he was interrupted by Pon-lor, who killed Jak's followers.Blood and Bone, Chapter 14, UK MMPB, p.761-769 Jak then took his knife to Saeng's throat and attempted to use her to escape Pon-lor, who used his powers to get Jak away from her and then to force him to choke himself to death, fulfilling Saeng's earlier prophecy.
== Known Mountain Bandits & followers of Kenjak ==
:* Heng-lonBlood and Bone, Chapter 9, US HC p.359
:* Loor-San - Kenjak's right-hand manBlood and Bone, Chapter 5, US HC p.205
:* MyintBlood and Bone, Chapter 7, US HC p.277
:* Thet-munBlood and Bone, Chapter 3, US HC p.141
:* WeerasBlood and Bone, Chapter 9, US HC p.365
==Notes and references==
Category:Humans
Category:Males
Category:Jacuruku natives
Category:Bandits