Vekarym Gartaan the Unbreakable

Depiction of Vekarym Gartaan the Unbreakable

Gartaan's signature

*"Death is the only righteousness I've yet to face; I can only pray that I die by the sword."* —Vekarym Gartaan the Unbreakable

**Vekarym Gartaan the Unbreakable** was a Buurkarsh male warrior and Vekarym who fought in and led multiple battles, wars, and operations in the Buurkarsh Military and the Legion of Zahkr. He most famously became one of the faces of the War of Legion alongside the Velanese general, Typhis Arenallea, and later became incorporated into the Verian religion having been believed to be the Living God Menir. Originally thought to have left the living realm after the birth of his and Typhis' son, Wolverick, he would later be revealed to have been in hiding in the countryside of Nerren, Imari as rancher under the name Kazda during the Wrath of the Son in 1566.

Born on the 73rd day of Spring in 1498 AGR in Buurkard's capital, Skimarah, Gartaan would begin training as a Werr Siktr in his country's military at the age of fifteen. Specializing in stealth and close-range combat, like many other *Siktrs*, Gartaan would dawn a partial face-covering very early on, a feature of which would later become an inherit part of his appearance. He would be sent on his first operative mission in 1514 for Operation Clipping Claws on the Rauen island Pon af Rau, which at the time was used as a slave camp. The mission, meant to liberate Rauen slaves and build the Buurkarsh military, would result in Gartaan's introduction to Roukin, whom of which would become his closest companion. Shortly after the Buurkarsh invasion of northernmost Pynkantyr in 1522, Gartaan would be promoted to the Vekarym Szaka's second-in-command at just twenty-four years old. Eight years into the War of the Homelands, Szaka would be killed in battle shortly after capture of the Danyan Plains, with Gartaan being named his successor. Only a year later, the Pynkanti capital, Fierver, would be captured and Buurkard would officially occupy the country. In 1531, Gartaan's Pynkantyr would ally itself with Velene, thus creating the Legion of Zahkr.

After formation of the allyship, Gartaan would be introduced to the general of the Velanese Army, Typhis. With Roukin remaining in Pynkantyr to handle the kingdom's affairs, Gartaan and Typhis would lead Legionary armies into Euvalia from southwestern Pynkantyr. In 1537, when closing in on the Euvalian capital, Queen Aesar would ambush Gartaan and Typhis, with Typhis being shot through the back by an arrow. From there, speculation by Buurkarsh was that Gartaan quickly delivered her to a medic, while Velanese troops believed he became possessed by the Verian God, Menir, and resurrected her. Typhis would later be discovered to be pregnant and removed from the warzone and to the holy lands of Vastaria, where she would give birth to Wolverick in the Summer of 1538.

Upon capturing the eastern half of Euvalia and splitting the north and south between Buurkard and Velene in 1548, Gartaan would return to Pynkantyr where he ultimately relinquished his position as Vekarym to Roukin and shortly thereafter disappeared alongside Typhis and his son.

## Biography

*"I have planted the deepest roots in foreign soil and foreign hearts. And to my regret, those roots flourished, and around me came a prison. I am the echo of those before me, and live to be what I was promised from birth: nothing."* —Gartaan in correspondence with Roukin, years after the War of Legion

### Early Life

Gartaan was born in the Spring of 1498 to a Werr father, Kutk Vernoemyr, and a Werr mother, Fera Vernoemyra. His full name was Kutkver Gartaan Ramsik Vernoemyr (Kutkver changed to Vys upon becoming Vekarym). Despite the taboo of *eskefmyron* (same-class marriage) in Buurkarsh society, both of Gartaan's parents had lineage composed of Werr, and were pushed into union by their own families to continue such a trend. Due to the unhappy coupling, tensions were high throughout Gartaan's childhood, with his parents often angry and cruel in behavior.

At age twelve, Gartaan's father died. Despite Kutk and Fera's turbulent relationship, the grief of his death drove Fera to the further mistreatment of her son. She became increasingly abusive and neglectful, often forcing him to sleep outside in freezing temperatures or beating him over minimal grievances. Fera's punishments only lessened when Gartaan was called upon to begin training in the Buurkarsh Army when he was fifteen. Only a few months later, she would be attacked by fraktim, and with Gartaan as the only witness, he would watch her bleed out instead of helping.

Gartaan would become one of the Army's best warriors, moving up ranks despite his age. At age twenty, he would join the military's first operative teams, Senos, and be one of the Buurkard's first *Siktr*, a class of Werr specializing in stealth combat.

### Operation Clipping Claws

In 1520, the Senos operative team would be sent to scout the shores of the Rauen en Schna slave camp island, Pon af Rau. After a month of monitoring the island, the Army would invade and capture the it, taking most of the slavers prisoner or executing them, and liberating the enslaved Rauen.

Here, Gartaan would meet Roukin, enslaved and deeply traumatized after years of torture. The two, despite an initial language barrier, would become close companions over the years, Roukin enlisting in the Army and being trained as a *Ferva* (infantry soldier).

Operation Clipping Claws, as Gartaan's first operative mission, became the first demonstration of his capabilities in the field and in hand-to-hand combat. He would receive his first rank promotion that was directly ordered by the Vekarym.

### War of the Homelands

In 1522, with Gartaan now as Vekarym Szaka's second-in-command, the Buurkarsh would invade northern Pynkantyr. For six years, the Buurkarsh Army would fight their way south to the capital, and over halfway there, Vekarym Szaka would be killed in combat by Pynkanti soldiers. With Szaka dead, Gartaan would usurp the title as Vekarym and begin reconstructing the strategy of his men. Only two years later, they would reach Fierver.

In mid-1530, King Denhar Dreykkeres would die, and his wife, Queen Santyne Keril-Dreykkeres, would take the throne. Under her rule, Pynkanti forces would increase efforts in trying to push out the Buurkarsh Army. With the culminating forces of former Pynkanti territories aligning with Buurkard's, however, Fierver was fighting a losing battle. Keril-Dreykkeres sent a messenger calling for an audience with Gartaan, and when met, she attempted and failed to assassinate him herself, resulting in her death and the surrender of Pynkantyr to Buurkard.

### Formation of the Legion

Despite the War of the Homelands drawing to an end, Pynkantyr's involvement in the War of Legion (then titled The Great War) was an obstruction to Buurkard's control of the country. Seeking to end conflict between southern Pynkantyr and northern Velene, Gartaan would correspond with the twin queens, Sissel and Elenor Septivus, who only agreed to cease the Pynkanti-Velanese battles if Pynkantyr aligned itself with Velene in their war with Euvalia. Ultimately, Gartaan's militia voted to participate in the war and the Legion was formed.

### Recession and Disappearance

After the birth of his son, Wolverick, Gartaan would relinquish his position as Vekarym to Roukin. Shortly after, he and Typhis would abandon their positions as leaders and change their names to Kazda and Nimue Kazdany, fleeing to the Imarian countryside in a farmtown called Nerren. There they would build their own ranch and raise Wolverick unaware of their pasts and his true patronage.

In 1544, Gartaan and Typhis (as Kazda and Nimue) would have a second child, Syvaia, but she would die at age 6 from illness.

### Death and Burial

During the Wrath of the Son in the Winter of 1566, Wolverick would capture and publicly execute Gartaan and Typhis in Ocira, Vastaria. The two would be buried beneath the former Fountain of Ocira until Wolverick's execution in 1571, when Queen Fyfiera of Pynkantyr would have Gartaan's remains unearthed and returned to Buurkard to be buried in the Land of the Vekaryms.

## Personality and Traits

Gartaan was noted as being a very serious but enthusiastic leader. He was known for his very grand and powerful speeches to his army, his impressive war strategy,