Kubo Chase

**Kubo Chase** the Artist

Kubo Chase was born in the middle Netherite Age to unknown parents (no records for his birth exist). It is not known whether his birth parents died or otherwise lost custody of him, but for one reason or another, an orphanage in a northern city received custody of him. From his infancy until he was eleven years old, he lived in that orphanage among common children. He formed close relationships with two girls also in the house -- Petra and Naja -- to the point where they treated each other like siblings. He was adopted, along with his sisters, at the age of 11. But he rose to prominence because of who adopted him -- none other than High Queen Hailith Chase and her wife, Zetha Chase.
He received quality education from royal tutors and took an interest in fine art. Hailith, wanting to help her son develop his skills, invited artists from around the area to give him painting lessons. From childhood, he was quite skilled at making portraits of people and animals. It was said by many, but none did so more than his mothers, that Kubo had a gift from Astel themselves. Throughout their life, Kubo created an estimated 300 or so paintings, the most famous of them being his series of royal portraits. They depict all the Chase rulers going back to Peter the Dragonhearted and Gabriel the Just. By making the series, Kubo began a custom of commissioning portraits for subsequent Chase rulers, the sole exceptions being Gabriel II (who was too self-conscious and refused to have the portrait done) and Richard II (whose original portrait was destroyed.
To the best of historians' knowledge, Kubo was pure human by blood. Fearing that the Enderborn tradition of the Chase lineage may be snuffed out if Kubo married another human, Hailith gently pressured her son to marry an Enderborn or pureblood Ender. Not that her suggestions made much of a difference, because Kubo was set on marrying the sweetheart from his teenage years, a Ender lady from the local haunting. Her name was Kresida, and she and Kubo had a history of sneaking into the woods together at night. Seeing the similarities between their relationship and that of her own parents, Hailith was very accepting and eager to make Kresida a part of the family. Kubo and Kresida had four children together -- Tarlak, Richard I, Audrey, and Kira. Unfortunately, Tarlak died young from tuberculosis, leaving Richard I the next oldest to take the throne. He was named Crown Prince on his eighteenth birthday.
Kubo fell into a deep depression when Tarlak died that he never quite recovered from. He continued to paint, but lost interest in his signature portraits. Instead, he began to draw dour and frightening landscapes. They grew more and more surreal and ominous as his mental health deteriorated, to the point where Kresida was afraid to display them openly in the castle. Fearing for her husband's health and safety, she sought out caretakers and psychiatric help for him. Fortunately, Kubo did not take out his pain on others and remained a just ruler even in the deepest pits of his depression. He was not a cruel or immoral person, just a very broken and sad one from losing his child.
Initially, Kubo refused to interact with the people his wife hired to help him, because they "couldn't bring [his] son back." With time, however, he came around to beginning his path towards recovery. Although he could not be cured of his depression per se, he learned how to live a full life nonetheless. By the time his sweet Kresida passed away, he had come to terms with death of loved ones and did not suffer the kind of mental trauma he had with Tarlak's passing. He had his wife buried with high honors in the family crypt, and he painted the walls with beautiful stars and sunbeams. Kubo himself died peacefully in his sleep three years later, finally at rest.

### During Reign

Kubo continued his painting throughout his reign, eventually making paintings for the previous rulers of the dynasty, as well as initiating a tradition of having a royal portrait done, which only one future Chase ruler refusing to have done.

One famous painting he created was entitled "The Pantheon" which depicted the gods of Initiaism as if they were sitting for a family portrait. The painting was later donated to the Cathedral, where it still hangs today.

## Abilities

* Skilled Painter: Kubo Chase was a master in fine arts, preferring painting in various forms. His works were said to be incredibly life-like.