Haruspex

* Pathologic 2
* Pathologic

This entry contains potential spoilers for *Pathologic 2*. Read at your own risk.

*Come now, you haven't given us any time to change the set!*This entry contains potential spoilers for Pathologic 2. Read at your own risk.

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 English Voice | Tom Zahner

Artemy Burakh — also known as the **Haruspex** — is one of three playable characters, alongside the Bachelor and the Changeling. He is currently the only playable character for the main game of *Pathologic 2*.

## Description

Artemy is the son of Isidor Burakh, the Town's only physician and a menkhu - the spiritual leader of the Kin. Through the story, he is tasked with discovering a solution for the outbreak.

## Background

During his childhood Artemy was friends with Grigory Filin (better known as Bad Grief), Lara Ravel (nicknamed Gravel) and Stanislav Rubin (more often called Stakh). Artemy claims that they used to disappear for weeks, enjoying their freedom in a way that children of the Town normally cannot, according to Khan.Artemy studied the steppe lore and medicine under Isidor's guidance, learning the fundamentals of surgery and herbalism, all closely tied to the Kin's perception of the world through the concept of the Lines - connections between things both of physical and spiritual nature.

At one point, however, Isidor came to a conclusion that it would do his son well to seek knowledge outside of the limits of the Kin and the Town, so he sent young Artemy away to study medicine elsewhere. Artemy left his hometown for several years, and in that time he grew distant from his roots as a man of the Kin and started to see the traditional ways as backwards.He had been studying surgery for some time until the war broke out, taking away his chance to graduate.

His unnamed mother was not from the Kin and died while giving birth to him.

## Appearance

The Haruspex has an intense stare, with blue eyes and short dirty blond hair. He has a visible stubble on his face. He wears a butcher's outfit of green cloth with brown hide straps around his shoulders, as well as strapped under his stomach, which a large green flap covers. He has similar straps on his thighs, and matching green pants. Several buckles hold the hide in place on his clothing. He wears chunky brown boots. Under his green smock is a blue sweater that Lara Ravel made for him.

## Plot

### Haruspex Route

*→ See Plot: Pathologic 2*
At some point while studying, Artemy receives a letter from his father. In the letter, Isidor expresses great concern, warning his son of some great trial that awaits him. He urges Artemy to return to the Town. Artemy stows away on a train, and, in the middle of September, arrives in his hometown, only to find it changed almost beyond recognition.

Upon arriving in the Town, Artemy is attacked by three men at the Train Station who believe that he is responsible for the murder of his father, Isidor Burakh. He must seek out the people in the Town who know him and would be willing to vouch for his innocence. He gains the aid of two of his old childhood friends - Lara Ravel and Bad Grief - but finds his relationship with Stanislav Rubin unsteady, as Stakh believes Artemy is guilty of the murder he is charged with.

Finding his reputation crushed except for the trust of a few old friends, Artemy finds himself lost. Eventually, though, through the help of his few allies and perhaps with some unexpected aid from Big Vlad, Artemy is able to restore his reputation and reconnect with his Town.

On the morning of the second day, Artemy goes to see his father's body in the Cemetery. Unfortunately, he discovers that the Earth will not accept Isidor's remains, as it is said that there is a debt still owed. Artemy is to take on the burden of his father's legacy upon himself and allow Isidor's body to be buried. Alternatively, Artemy may refuse, instead having his father's body burned. At the funeral awaits Aspity, who tells him of a list of children his father took care of. Artemy does not know why his father picked these children, and he does not know why a strange Steppe symbol called the 'Udurgh' was among his father's list.

While some of the children are in places Artemy cannot reach, he is able to speak to Capella, who tells Artemy that she thinks Isidor believed the children on the list were to become the Town's future and that is why he taught and protected them. It then falls on Artemy's shoulders to continue to watch out for these children, doing all that he can to keep them safe - a task that becomes more difficult once the Sand Plague outbreak begins. The plague will begin to attack his List as soon as it is able, knowing that it must destroy them in order to destroy the all important Udurgh. The plague often communicates with Artemy in the form of an Executor, coming to him in strange - often taunting - visions that disappear as quickly as they appear.

For many days, the identity of the Udurgh remains a mystery. Artemy may ask those who know the language of the Steppe to discover that they believe the word means "a body that contains the world", "something living that consists of many parts." It is up to Artemy to interpret the meaning of the phrase and choose for himself what he believes the Udurgh is.

It is Artemy's responsibility to use his Menkhu knowledge, passed to him from his father, to aid in stopping the Sand Pest outbreak. Artemy knows that his father once created medicines by mixing herbal tinctures and human tissue. He may test a number of infected human tissues but they will always end just short of his goal, providing only an antibiotic that can slow the disease instead of a Panacea that can eradicate the disease completely. Artemy may discover that bulls are immune to the Sand Pest during a sacrifice at the Ragi Barrow and decide to test the claim. The claim is true--the Bachelor can confirm the bull's blood seems to contain antibodies against the plague.

However, on its own, this discovery is useless, as the two types of immune system - bull and human - are incompatible. No human can survive the disease long enough to be of use in helping to develop a cure, and bull antibodies do not transfer well into human blood, and therefore cannot be used to innoculate the remaining uninfected people.To use the bulls' immunity to find a Panacea, Artemy states that he would need a creature that doesn't exist: a half man, half bull hybrid - a minotaur.

Should his medicinal experiments bring results and he is able to sleep on his thoughts, he will be able find a Panacea by traveling to the Ear in Shekhen, the abandoned Steppe village. The cure works, but its quantity is severely limited. Later, with the aid of Oyun, he is able to venture into The Abattoir and discover the coursing living blood that can provide the essential ingredient for the Panacea. He discovers that beneath the town courses a river of this blood, as the Earth is alive and the Plague is just it's immune response: the result of pain and injury the townspeople have inflicted through industrialization and works like the Polyhedron.

During the outbreak, Artemy is tasked with reuniting with the Kin and becoming a leader to them, bringing them together as a whole. He may choose to return the Kin housed (then later imprisoned) inside of the Termitary to Shekhen. It is through their union that he may ask the Kin a number of questions and discover who killed Isidor Burakh, and, more importantly, why.

In the later days Artemy is to obey the commands of two new players - the Inquisitor and the General. As one of the few doctors in the Town he becomes crucial to stopping the plague and, by extension, he becomes vital to the two player's goals. Alongside the Inquisitor Artemy determines that to save the Town and destroy the Plague the Polyhedron - whose spike he discovers is buried mere meters from the Earth's living, beating heart - must be destroyed. If the Polyhedron is destroyed the Earth will die but the blood that will seep from the ground will be enough save the survivors of the Town. This choice, however, is not the only choice. If the Polyhedron is to remain the Earth will continue to live and those close to the Earth will be immune to the Sand Pest. This choice will also return magic to the Steppe, summoning the great Aurochs - once believed to be extinct - back to the Town.

It is prophesied a number of times during the week following his return that Artemy is to spill a river of blood, and that he will drown the Town with it.As the end grows closer it becomes more and more obvious what such a premonition may have been referring to.

On Day 11, Artemy is given the choice to destroy (Diurnal) or preserve (Nocturnal) the Polyhedron, which will either provide the blood needed to cure the town and create a future, or allow the Plague to continue, allowing the Earth to reclaim her domain. The two choices - past and future - are incompatible and something must be lost. It is here where he must decide what he believes the Udurgh, and by extension his father's task, truly was.

### Pathologic: The Marble Nest

In The Marble Nest, it is revealed that Artemy perished sometime before the tenth day of the outbreak. The vial of Panacea that the Bachelor retrieves from the drugstore (formerly Var's shop) is the only one produced before Artemy's death. The Bachelor is unable to bring it from the store, as there is a guardsman who will take anything that he retrieved from the store, and smuggling it out the back window will result in it breaking.

Given the nature of The Marble Nest, as well as the implication in *Pathologic 2* of the various "attempts" to perform their play, this is likely not Artemy's ultimate fate.

## Spoken Dialogue

*→ See Haruspex/Spoken Dialogue#Pathologic\_2*
## Screenshots

* Haruspex's in game portrait
* Haruspex's full model
* Haruspex arriving in town during the opening cutscene
* Haruspex arriving in town during the opening cutscene
* Haruspex in the Day 1 pantomime
* Haruspex in the Day 2 pantomime
* Haruspex in the Day 5 pantomime
* Haruspex in game
* Haruspex's corpse in a dream from the *Pathologic 2* Alpha
* Haruspex's corpse in a dream from the *Pathologic 2* Alpha
* Artemy in the Cemetery
* Haruspex outside of the Theatre in the Diurnal Ending

## Official Art

* Haruspex's card portrait in the Pathologic tabletop game
* Haruspex's remake promo art
* Haruspex's inventory silhouette
* Haruspex remake concept art
* Haruspex's *Pathologic 2* Alpha full model

## Notes

* His name is occasionally spelled as 'Artemiy', such as in *Pathologic: The Marble Nest* and the original *Pathologic* English translation.
* In the original draft of Pathologic, his name was Artemy Kryuk (крюк = hook).
* The practice of haruspicy was a religious process dating back to ancient Babylon, in which a religious figure known as a "haruspex" was trained to inspect the entrails of sacrificed animals. The belief was that these entrails contained supernatural messages and prophecies.  In the game, Burakh uses haruspicy to find a cure for the Sand Plague.
* In the *Pathologic 2* Alpha, the first dream experienced by Artemy where he relives his attack in the trainyard is almost entirely different, with the bodies of his attackers scattered around the lodge in the Cemetery next to his own dead body. This dream was reworked for the full release of the game, where the player does not see Artemy's own body from a third-person perspective.
* At several points through the game, Artemy can make reference to serving as a field medic during the ongoing war, such as in his conversation with Lara Ravel at the Basket on **Day 4** and when examining the Rifle.
* According to a conversation with Katerina Saburova, Artemy had an older brother named Ersher who died young.
* In a talk with kids in the town Artemy has an option to mention that he used to have pets, such as hamsters, mice and rats, as well as say that he is allergic to cats.
* Artemy has never eaten a strawberry or a raspberry and has only ever seen them in books.
* Artemy was born in September.
* Artemy is able to adopt the Wonder Bull from a Kinsman named Loy. If he does, the bull will live outside the Haruspex's Lair for the rest of the game. Talking to the bull on **Day 11** unlocks the achievement "Wonder Bull".
* The Haruspex's appearance is based on Nikolay Dybowski, the head of Ice-Pick Lodge.

## References

1. ↑ Wrong. Children have many places of their own. Me, Stakh, Grief, and Gravel would sometimes vanish for weeks… *- Haruspex Route, Pathologic 2*
2. ↑ Lines represent the paths between things. The links that connect them. The laws that govern our lives.Between evil Sky and kind Earth is a Line. The veins of our lifeblood are Lines. A Line carries the inevitable retribution for evil deeds. Family ties, the way children reflect their parents… Those are Lines, too.
3. ↑ "Local medicine… can do a lot. Although, while studying, I started to see it as backwards. But it did work at times." - *Haruspex Route, Day 2 Pantomime, Pathologic 2*.
4. ↑ I'm a halfbreed. I only have steppe blood on my father's side. *- Haruspex Route, Pathologic 2*
5. ↑ My mother died giving birth to me. I don't remember her, but I need no other. *- Haruspex Route, Pathologic 2*
6. ↑ Gravel once knitted a sweater for me. I asked her why it was blue. She told me that blue is the color of morons, and never made me another. -Sewing Box's Touch description, *Pathologic 2*
7. ↑ Seems the Burakh prophecy is true, huh? Each Burakh will spill a river of blood. Or drown the Town in blood, maybe—the wording varies. So it goes. So much death…
8. ↑ You'll spill a ton of blood, Burakh. Tremendous amounts. A river of blood. Family blood. Beloved blood. You will drown this town in blood, and soon. Unless you trust me. - *Haruspex Route: Changeling, Day 1*
9. ↑ It's been foretold I will "spill a river of blood" soon. Guess someone will find their death under my knife, after all. *- Haruspex Route, Pathologic 2*
10. ↑ - Pathologic Alpha - The First Dream (Youtube)
11. ↑ Yandex.ru - Interview with Ice-Pick Lodge
12. ↑ Direct image- *"(...)We took the description from our very first development doc: Haruspex was the ripper back then and his name was Artemy Kryuk (крюк = hook). He was a much more terrifying character."*
13. ↑ Wikipedia - Haruspex
14. ↑ - Pathologic Alpha - The First Dream (Youtube)
15. ↑ "I've held such a rifle in my hands only once before. I'd prefer to not think about that day." *- Haruspex's Rifle Touch details*
16. ↑ **Katerina Saburova:** Isidor's son. Artemy, is that right? Or is it Ersher?
**Haruspex:** No, Ersher was my older brother. He died young. I'm Artemy. *- Haruspex Route, Pathologic 2*
17. ↑ **Child:** That's a great plan! You sure know a thing or two about cats, don't you?
**Haruspex:** Not really. I had a hamster when I was your age. I'm allergic to cats. // I kept mice and several rats. No cats allowed in the Burakh household. *- Haruspex Route, Pathologic 2*
18. ↑ **Taya Tycheek:** Strawberry… It's a nice white berry. I saw it when I was in the Tower. It smells so yummy! And raspberry. It can also be red or white, but in truth, it's yellow. Yamar goe bee, so pretty! So tasty!
**Haruspex:** Don't think I can manage that. This town's never seen any strawberries or raspberries. // Never eaten those. I've only seen them in books. *- Haruspex Route, Pathologic 2*
19. ↑ **Девочка:** Аты-баты, шли солдаты, дышишь степью — дышишь ватой. Кто родился в сентябре, тот за сутки и помре.
**Гаруспик:** Я родился в сентябре. *- Haruspex Route, Pathologic 2, Russian*
20. ↑ **Girl:** One and two and one and two, breathing the Steppe air is like breathing in cotton. One who is born in September will die the next day.
**Haruspex:** I was born in September. *- Haruspex Route, Pathologic 2, Unofficial translation from Russian*

*This entry is painfully incomplete. Perhaps it is your fate to complete it.*

 English Voice | Martin Cooke (*Pathologic Classic HD*)

Artemy Burakh — also known as the **Haruspex** — is one of three playable characters alongside the Bachelor and the Changeling. He is the child of Isidor Burakh, a menkhu, and a man deeply rooted in the local folklore and tradition, but is also one trying to find his place within it.

One day, Artemy receives a letter from his father, warning him of a coming danger and urging him to swiftly return home. Upon doing so, Artemy finds out that his father is dead, gets blamed for the murder of another man, and is forced to fight to restore his name and to uncover the nature of the doom that is about to engulf his hometown.

## Description

*This is the story of a person who has avoided the contradiction eager to rip a doomed life apart, masterfully fulfilling his true purpose in the process.''*

Artemy is a severe, restrained man with a sharp gaze. He tells rough, even cruel jokes and is generally sarcastic. Those that fear him think he smells of blood. However, for all that, Artemy is straightforward, honest, and comes to the rescue in times of need. He uses violence only when it comes to matters of duty and honour—and the smell of blood is relative. In fact, one of the herb brides says Artemy smells "like autumn earth, and the smoke of burnt leaves."

Big Vlad describes Artemy as follows:

## Background

*Artemy has been travelling from town to town learning theoretical and practical surgery for several years now. Suddenly a mysterious letter appears with his father giving him notice of his impending demise and begging Artemy to return and accept succession. Unwilling to wait for a regular freight train, Artemy follows the rails through the Steppe until he's caught up with by a small shunt locomotive. This is how young Haruspex arrives in the Town.''*

Artemy Burakh; a haruspex, an *oynon*, and the only heir to the greatest local shaman: Isidor Burakh. He is a member of a menkhu family, which according to local custom gives him the ancestral right to dissect bodies.

He left The Town at the age of 16 to study surgery at the Capital. He's been defined as a "vagrant scholar"—indeed, Artemy has lived in more than a few places while learning medicine, prior to his return home at his father's request. Not much else is known about Burakh's background, and it is probably safe to assume that Artemy does not remember much of it himself.

## Appearance

The Haruspex has short, scruffy blond hair, and a visible stubble on his face. He has light blue eyes and an intense stare. He wears a brown butcher's outfit, made of thick brown leather and knitted wool. Several leather straps reach across his body, such as around his neck and chest. A large brown pouch sits on his smock, which lays over his stomach. He wears grey pants with heavy beige workboots, and black gloves.

The Haruspex's appearance is based on Nikolay Dybowski, the head of Ice-Pick Lodge.

## Gameplay Abilities

Unlike the other two playable characters, the Haruspex begins with no starting or special weapons, and only can use what is obtained during the game. Artemy is the only playable character who can take organs from dead bodies, as in local tradition only "Those Who Know the Lines" (*menkhu* and butchers) may dissect bodies. He can trade said organs with the hunchback for medical supplies. He can gather herbs as well, and unlike the other playable characters, may trade them with Worms. Both organs and herbs may be also be useful for making healing tinctures in the distiller inherited from his father.

The Haruspex can also gamble on rat racing or fight in the Circle of Suok for rewards.

## Plot

#### Bachelor Route

The Haruspex is initially elusive, only appearing in the accounts of others until several days have passed. The Bachelor hears both that he is accused of murdering his father, and that his benefactors believe he is innocent.

On **Day 5**, the Bachelor requires his assistance in retrieving a Living Heart for his Vaccine, so breaks him out of the basement of Factory Building #3, where he has been arrested on the orders of Alexander Saburov. The Haruspex is focused on his own goal of creating a Panacea, but agrees to help. Later, he can be found in the Termitary working on his Panacea.

On **Day 7**, the Bachelor receives a letter from the Haruspex requesting an Executor's Cloak and a Talon Mask. He also warns the Bachelor not to give the items to the Changeling. He will never appear to collect the items, so the Bachelor can keep them.

On **Day 8**, Vlad Jr. tells the Bachelor that there is a false Panacea being produced and distributed inside of the Termitary under the Bachelor's name. The Bachelor will find the Haruspex in a room on the first floor, right next to the Termitary entrance. The Haruspex tells the Bachelor where he can find several Worms who have been producing the false Panacea and he can choose whether or not to punish them.

On **Day 9**, the Inquisitor asks the Bachelor to find the Haruspex. He finds the Haruspex in the Long Block of the Termitary in the same room where he found the Worms on the previous day.

On **Day 12**, at 9:00, the Haruspex writes to the Bachelor claiming that he knows what to do, but is running out of time. He may be found in Factory Building #3, the same place where he was held captive on Day 5.
*Missing Expand.*

#### Haruspex Route

*→ See The Haruspex's Route*
Artemy's main objective is to fulfill the obligations of his father. His route is called The Path of Sacrifice.

Because he is an *oynon*, or sage, he cannot afford to allow the dead of his family to have outstanding commitments. If they do, he shall be divested of the right to his title. The Haruspex relies upon the traditions and wisdom of his ancestors; he is a *menkhu* first of all, no matter how long he lived in the Capital.

He strives each day to create a Panacea, in the hopes of being able to cure the Sand Plague, and believes that the future of the town rests on the survival of those that are Bound to him. Whether or not this is the case is dependent on one's disposition.

#### Changeling Route

On **Day 1**, the Changeling has a quest to raise her reputation by healing a man the Haruspex injured. She speaks to him at his Lair in the works and discovers that the man escaped and crawled up the river. By following Anna's quest, the Changeling asks Notkin about the Haruspex and can get a Double Barrelled Pistol.

On **Day 2**, the Changeling needs to investigate Aspity, who refuses to speak until she can bring the Haruspex. He is in his lair. Later that day, Anna Angel has a quest where the Changeling discovers the efficiency of the Haruspex's tinctures from talking to some worms and Andrey Stamatin.

*Missing Expand.*

## Screenshots

* Haruspex's in-game portrait in the original *Pathologic*
* Haruspex's in-game portrait in *Pathologic Classic HD*
* Haruspex's full model in *Pathologic Classic HD*
* Haruspex's back in *Pathologic Classic HD*
* Haruspex in *Pathologic Classic HD*
* Haruspex in game
* Haruspex in the intro
* Haruspex in the intro
* Haruspex in the Theatre intro
* Haruspex in the Theatre intro
* Haruspex during a pantomime in the Theatre
* Haruspex during a pantomime in the Theatre
* Haruspex and Bachelor during a pantomime in the Theatre
* Haruspex watching a pantomime in the Theatre
* Haruspex watching a pantomime in the Theatre
* Haruspex at the Ragi Barrow
* Haruspex at the Ragi Barrow
* Haruspex's body during one of Oyun's trials
* Haruspex in the Cathedral
* Haruspex and Bachelor in the Cathedral

## Game Map

* Haruspex's map UI
* Haruspex's map UI
* Haruspex's map UI
* Haruspex's map UI
* Haruspex's map UI
* Haruspex's map UI
* Haruspex's map UI

## Official Art

* Haruspex concept art for the original *Pathologic*
* Haruspex concept art for the original *Pathologic*
* Haruspex Steam trading card art for *Pathologic Classic HD*
* Haruspex Steam badge for *Pathologic Classic HD*

## Notes

* In the original draft of Pathologic, his name was Artemy Kryuk (крюк = hook).
* In the original English translation of the game, his name was written as "Artemiy Burakh.", while his title was written as Haruspicus, a mistranslation of the already existing word.
* The practice of haruspicy was a religious process dating back to ancient Babylon, in which a religious figure known as a "haruspex" was trained to inspect the entrails of sacrificed animals. The belief was that these entrails contained supernatural messages and prophecies.  In the game, Burakh uses haruspicy to find a cure for the Sand Plague.
* There's a scrapped soundtrack called "Haruspex is all alone". It is not included in game, but can be found on Pathologic web-site.

## References

1. ↑ **Haruspex:** I left the town when I was sixteen, so I've got an education in the civilized world and have forgotten two thirds of the specific local practices. *- Haruspex Route, Day 9, Pathologic Classic HD*
2. ↑ Artemy Burakh is coming back to his home town after an absence of ten years. [...] *- Haruspex Route intro narration, Pathologic Classic HD*
3. ↑ *Ice-Pick Lodge Wiki* (Russian)
4. ↑ Yandex.ru - Interview with Ice-Pick Lodge
5. ↑ Direct image- *"(...)We took the description from our very first development doc: Haruspex was the ripper back then and his name was Artemy Kryuk (крюк = hook). He was a much more terrifying character."*
6. ↑ Wikipedia - Haruspex