Caradin

## Caradin of Mlawa

"*I admit, **I have seen the truth**. The Dead King is coming. **It is inevitable**. Ragh nar Roog is **inevitable**. Our only hope is **victory**. And if the girl is this Hero, then she must be **prepared**. We may not have been **chosen**, but the task falls to us. We must put aside our differences, our hatreds and our feuds. If we succeed, perhaps one day we can settle them. But for now...**we stand together**. Agreed?*"
—Caradin unites the company and the Knot in preparation for Ragh nar Roog[src]

**Caradin of Mlawa** is a warden of the Basilisk Discipline who, unlike other members of his guild, has pledged allegiance to one of the many factions of Pydwell, namely the Thalmonian Empire. Obeying the orders of his emperor, Awaer van Peron, Caradin headed north to capture Minerva an Kett, the last survivor of Clan an Kett. Caradin subsequently crossed paths with his old rival Hermoor MacDuff, reigniting the ancient blood fued between the Basilisk and Manticore Disciplines. After successfully capturing Minerva, Caradin challenged MacDuff to a fateful duel; despite losing his arm, he remained in his emperor's service and was granted a new piece of imperial technology: a prosthetic arm. As the new field commander of the Empire's forces in the conquered Caellon, Caradin led an army on the city of Hog, planning to assimilate the giants into the Empire and use them as soldiers. Caradin faced MacDuff on the battlefield and thus Minerva, who invaded his Beach and showed him the soul of the World Serpent within her. Now believing in the coming of Ragh nar Roog, Caradin abandoned the Empire to aid the company and the Knot in preparing for the Dead King's arrival, with the vow that he and MacDuff would one day finish their blood feud once and for all.

## Overview

### Personality

"*I fight for a cause, **vagabond**. I have a purpose. And what do **you** have? **Nothing**. No meaning. No cause. Do you know what that makes you? **Nothing**,*"
—Caradin taunting MacDuff during their duel[src]
Caradin is a seasoned warden who ascribes to the Order's traditional role as honourable knights and protectors of the innocent. He believes that, despite its flaws, only the Empire can truly unite and lead the people of Pydwell, and is willing to die for the sigil of the Great Sun if it achieves this goal.

## Powers, Equipment & Abilities

### Powers

* **Enchanced Physiology:** As he was grown in a cloning device, treated with magic, and subjected to intensive training for years, Caradin has been artificially enhanced to the peak of human physical condition.
	+ **Enhanced strength:** Caradin is significantly stronger than the average human, able even to put up a fight with the likes of MacDuff and Zolton.
	+ **Enhanced endurance:** Caradin is able to sustain and recover from wounds that would easily disable or even kill an ordinary man. He can drink a variety of toxic potions with little effort.
	+ **Enhanced athleticism:** Caradin is able to fight and give chase far longer than the average human, allowing him to keep pace with the most agile of people and creatures.
	+ **Enhanced coordination:** Caradin possesses exceptional hand-eye and body coordination and thus balance. During combat, he fights with a mix of elegance and dirt and is capable of feets of great agility.
	+ **Enhanced senses:** Caradin's senses of hearing, smell and sight are all dramatically enhanced. His sight is so exceptional that he can catch or slice incoming arrows mid-flight, and he can easily see in the dark; he can smell blood, poisons and strong scents from a considerable distance; and his hearing is so sensitive that he can hear heartbeats. His senses are so sensitive they can sometimes overwhelm him.
	+ **Slowed aging:** While the magical enhancements to his body do not make him immortal, Caradin, like all wardens and other magic-treated individuals, ages at a much slower rate than regular humans. In his fifties, his appearance is similar to that of a healthy male in his early thirties, albeit worn and rugged from a life on the road.
	+ **Accelerated healing:** Though by no means invulnerable nor in possession of a natural or unnatural healing factor, Caradin's enhanced body is able to heal from cuts and wounds relatively quickly.
* **Beach Perception:** As a result of extensive experiments and magical treatment, Caradin, like all wardens, is able to perceive the Beach when he enters it in his sleep.

#### Former

* **Mark of Ymiir:** Like all members of the Old Order, Caradin bore the Mark of Ymiir on his right hand; the Mark allowed Caradin to cast simple spells that gave him an edge in combat. After losing his arm to MacDuff, Caradin lost the Mark of Yimiir.
	+ **Fire casting:** Caradin can cast either balls or streams of fire-like plasma that weaken enemy armour or burn them to a crisp entirely.
	+ **Shockwave:** When surrounded by opponents, Caradin can generate a large kinetic force that knocks back any objects or people caught in its path.
	+ **Barrier:** Caradin is able to generate a small barrier that repels both physical and magical attacks. Caradin is unable to cast a large barrier to protect others, and it only stays active as long as he concentrates on the spell.
	+ **Manipulate:** Caradin can induce a mental "cloud" in weak-minded opponents to force them to do as he says, usually for the purpose of calming them or infiltrating hideouts.
	+ **Dark magic sensitivity:** The Mark of Ymiir is very sensitive to dark magic and burns Caradin whenever he is in the presence of such magic.

### Equipment

#### Armour & Apparel

* **Prosthetic arm:** After his arm is severed by MacDuff with a wristblade, Caradin was gifted a golden prosthetic arm by Awaer van Peron.

#### Weapons

* **Saturnite sword:** Caradin wields a saturnite longsword on his travels across Pydwell.

### Abilities

* **Master combatant:** Caradin is a ferocious combatant with decades of experience in several forms of combat. His reaction speeds and muscle movements are lighting fast, giving him exceptional assault and defence skill. He is a master of six different combat styles and among the finest swordsmen on Pydwell.

## Relationships

### Hermoor MacDuff

"***Motherless cur!** You have no honour!"
"I don't pretend to,*"
—Caradin and MacDuff following their duel[src]