The Red Right Hand

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> *"Should intermittent vengence arm again / His red right hand to plague us?"* - John Milton, *Paradise Lost*
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The Red Right Hand was the second in command of the Rack Cult, and the founder of the original Crimson Cult. Clad in ancient black armor, with a right hand wreathed in red flame, the Red Right Hand acted as the will of the Rack made manifest. Despite this, he is notably gentler and more courtious towards followers than the Rackman, yet just as eager to kill for his god. Since the fall of the current Rackman, the Red Right Hand lies dormant, and only his infernal trident remains.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

> *"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!"*
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At an imposing 9'5 feet, the Red Right Hand was an imposing figure upon the battlefield. His armor was not the ashen gray of Netherite, but the red-tinged hue of a purer alloy, now lost to time. Adorned with golden ornaments and wreathed in fine red cloths, he wears the colors and insignia of the Crimson Cult with zealous pride. As befitting of his title, his right hand is consumed by a red flame, a symbol of his eternal servitude to the Rack. A single, unblinking red eye pierces through the darkness of his helmet, the form of which is reminiscent of a Spanish morion. Once, he must have had flesh beneath his ancient battleplate, but now the armor might be all that is left.

### Personality

> *"He's strangely... nice?"*
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The Red Right Hand is nothing if not loyal. Unquestioning in his service to the Rack, the Red Right Hand is as dependable a second-in-command is going to get. This devotion extends towards the rest of the Cult, its members under his protection and favor. In his leadership, he is practical and no-nonsense,

Despite being a revered warrior-saint more akin to an archangel than any mortal, the Red Right Hand remains courtious and even warm to any follower who wishes to speak to him. In the wane of the Crimson Cult's power, every disciple counts, and the Cult cannot afford to lose acolytes to mere callousness. None of this kindness is given to the enemies and heretics of the Cult, towards which he becomes the mad, fanatic crusader of myth, too focused on serving his Lord to pay mind to frivolous things like "differing viewpoints" and "respect for one's opinions". What is disturbing about the Red Right Hand is the heel turn in which his demeanor changes, how he is so quick to speak of purging heretic scum as he is to ask if you would like tea.

## Recollections

### Ancient History

#### The Hunter of Cinnabar

> "*In this book I shall write my coming and going, so that I will remember myself, and others will remember me."*
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Before the Red Right Hand, and before the Rack, there was Akra. A young hunter of hoglins with a penchant for gardening, Akra lived in the small farming village of Cinnabar. He was a seasoned

#### A Crimson Flower

> "*It was alive. I knew this truth as how a hunter knows when he is being hunted: instinct."*
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#### The Slaying of the Hoglord

> *"They spoke of violence, so we responded with violence."*
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#### Rise of the Nitheren Empire

> *"I am that virtuous, lone gardener. My rule is just and oppressive."*
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#### Ascendance

> *"YOU WILL FOREVER BE MY DIVINE VENGENCE, MY ANGEL OF DEATH, MY **RED RIGHT HAND**."*
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