Ichor Eteocles

Level 20 Bard/Cavalier

### Relationships

Alden Felstad (Friend), Kaska Tanavin (Friend), Issorar (Friend), Kesten Garess (Boyfriend), Faraway (Teacher), Syldaer Anyolks (Former Lover), King Castruccio Irovetti (Father), Rhiann Eteocles (Mother)

### Born

Pitax, 21st of Kuthona (December), 4589 AR

## Campaign

### Occupation

King, Adventurer, Duke (Formerly), Baron (Formerly), Street Performer (Formerly)

### First Appearance

Kingmaker Episode 01: Brambles & Bandits

*"So, uh... where did you get that dog?"*

*-Ichor to Kaska about Issorar.*

Ichor Eteocles is one of the Player Characters in Kingmaker, played by Ritz. The estranged bastard son of a nobleman, Ichor set out to explore the Greenbelt on behalf of Brevoy in order to make a name for himself. This decision lead to his role as the King of the nation of Kilcela amongst many other adventures afterwards.

## Description

Standing at 6'4, Ichor is a tall and lean young man with light, near platinum, blonde hair and blue eyes. His clothes have consistently been composed of a white, red, and blue color scheme. He usually wears the Diadem of Intellect, a crown of gold with a icosahedron gem which glimmers the colour of the rainbow, which he stole from Vordakai. Ichor is described as attractive quite often, and is noted to be a twunk in body shape.

## Personality

Being the paragon of society, Ichor is quite outgoing and charismatic. He often acts proud and confident, cracking jokes and throwing insults and jabs at enemies, as well as teasing his close friends and flirting with NPCs. That being said, while he's confident while in control, his grip can loosen when he's placed in high stress situations. Ichor is an emotional man who's been known to get bogged down by his troubles and his past, of which he keeps many details of secret whenever possible, even to his closest friends.

## Abilities

Ichor is a spell caster, but has a multitude of different abilities that he uses on and off the battlefield. Weapons in Ichor's repertoire have included: Rapiers (Thundering and mundane), a Lance, a Ranseur, the Rod of Lordly Might and Storm Flash, his current weapon of choice- an electric rapier which he took from Baron Hannis Drelev. He often pairs the lance with his trusty steed, Hengroen. Ichor possesses a vast amount of spells, all of which he stores inside of his combination journal/spell book. Many of the spells within were copied from the stone tablet spells of Vordakai, discovered after slaying the cyclops lich. He tends to circulate between a few select spells, but on special occasions he wilds out. Ichor started out as mainly support, using buffs to help his friends, but has since grown to be a hard hitter in his own right. His favoured spells include Sound Burst, Spirit Blast and Teleport. Though rarely used (partially thanks to his own forgetfulness), Ichor does have many magic items found across several dungeons/adventures. He is known to wield a Staff of Necromancy, the Rod of Lordly Might, Alden's old Knapsack of Halflingkind, and a Diadem of Intellect, which he proudly wears in his everyday attire. He's also known to have a pocket stage, which he wishes desperately to use more.

## History

Born in 4589 AR on the 21st of Kuthona, Ichor Eteocles is the illegitimate son of King Castruccio Irovetti of Pitax and a peasant woman by the name of Rhiann. He had a seemingly rough upbringing without the support or acknowledgement of his biological father. Ichor's mother died while he was still young, around the age of 10 or so, leaving Ichor to fend for himself by performing on the street, singing and telling stories to those passing by. He soon took to frequenting taverns, making use of his sticky fingers and charisma to make ends meet. He was a bit of a bar-fly before quitting that life to go adventuring, where he met Alden Felstad, Kaska Tanavin, and Issorar.

The three were assigned to be an adventuring party together, and rested at Oleg's Trading Post. Here, they helped stop a bandit extortion plot which plagued the proprietors, Oleg Leveton and Svetlana Leveton. The adventuring party spent time exploring the area and solving various problems, such as Tartuk's plot against the Sootscale Kobolds. Ichor told the others of his past during a campfire trip, but did not mention the identity of his father, instead simply stating that he was a nobleman from Pitax. When the Kingmakers encountered The Hams of Destruction, Ichor quickly bonded with Syldaer Anyolks and had a one-night stand with him. Ichor also befriended Faraway, an elderly bard who took on the role of Ichor's mentor, and Kesten Garess, an uptight former noble from Brevoy. Eventually, the party discovered that The Stag Lord, a local bandit king, had plans to raze Oleg's Trading Post as revenge for the slaying of some of the local bandits. Instead, the Kingmakers infiltrated The Stag Lord's Fort and deposed the Bandit King. Soon after, they were given another charter from Brevoy; this time, to set up their own barony and rule it. Ichor was appointed the Baron of Kilcela and spearheaded the founding of St. Gilmorg.

After about a year, the Kingmakers had set up the nation of Kilcela. As they helped it grow, they uncovered sinister plots which threatened their kingdom, such as sightings of Giant Kobolds, Wolf Attacks, and the looming threat of a Kingdom of Monsters which ultimately culminated in the Battle of Fangberry, the Battle of Kongerike and the slaying of the Kaiju Owlbear in The Kilcela-Kongerike War. Around this time, Ichor was approached by Darisa Gloryheart of the Gloryheart Brigade, a cavalier who intended to take part in the Rushlight Festival some day. In return for giving them land and money to set up, Darisa gave Ichor one of her prized stallions; a horse named Hengroenn. Ichor immediately fell in love with Hengroenn, and took him as his steed forever.

By 4712, Kilcela had grown to be large enough to count as a Duchy, giving Ichor the title of Duke. In late 4712, the Kingmakers realized that several messengers who had been sent to Varnhold had gone missing, and when they went to investigate, found the whole settlement abandoned. Ichor felt particularly anxious, due to the fact that one of the messengers sent was Syldaer Anyolks, sent by Ichor personally. When they discovered Varnhold empty, this guilt grew. He had a nightmare (actually, a spell cast on him by Vordakai) where he saw Maegar Varn's undead corpse. Later, Ichor was the sole target of a Soul Eater which had been summoned by Vordakai to stalk and kill him. This experience deeply upset Ichor, who was already anxious about Varn and Syldaer. The Kingmakers ultimately discovered the threat of Vordakai, an ancient Cyclops Lich from before Earthfall, and travelled to his island where they found both Syldaer and Varn, the former with his soul missing from his body and apparently dead, the latter with the top of his head removed and definitely dead. After dispatching Vordakai and restoring Syldaer's (and many others') souls, the Kingmakers were able to annex Varnhold and bring it under the wings of Kilcela.

In early 4714, the Kingmakers were in Tatzylford when they were warned of an incoming invasion force by Kisandra Numesti, sent from Fort Drelev. The Kingmakers defended the invaders during The Siege of Tatzylford and were so successful in doing so that not a single one of the invaders were able to enter the town. The Kingmakers set out into The Hooktongue Slough in order to investigate reports of Boggards cutting off trade routes and of a barbarian takeover in Fort Drelev. After solving both mysteries and liberating Fort Drelev from its Mad Baron, they found that the problems in the area boiled down to The Cult of Gyronna manipulating The Tiger Lord Barbarians into seeking out an ancient sword which carried the soul of its old wielder- Armag, the first king of the stolen lands. The Kingmakers fought through the tasks in Armag's Tomb and encountered Akatak, a brief companion of the Kingmakers. Instead of killing him, the Kingmakers fought to keep Akatak alive and separate him from the corrupting influence of Ovnirbaane. Ichor's casting of Soothe was enough to bring Akatak from Ovnirbaane's influence, and Akatak went into hiding in order to discover himself in light of his life having been manipulated since infancy by the Cult of Gyronna. During this time, Ichor also became involved in a bard named Trazel Storysong, a poet who seemed to show a flirty interest in the Duke. As time went on though, it became evident that Storysong was in fact the infamous Rainwater Razor, a serial killer Fossegrim who had been manipulating his entourage into killing each other in the name of Gyronna, organizing an attempt on Ichor's life at the hands of Tissi Tosselstrip, a gnome and a friend of Ichor's. Ichor tried to track them down afterwards, only to almost be killed by Rainwater as well, saved by his companions. In light of Fort Drelev (a piece of land which had formerly belonged to Pitax) going rogue, Pitax offered the Kingmakers this former land. This proved enough land to grant Ichor the title of King, something which frustrated him immensely, knowing that his father had done this specifically to undermine the claim that Kilcela had gotten this far on its own. To add insult to the injury, at his coronation, Nyrissa appeared in the form of a storm of leaves and threatened Kilcela. Moments later, The Horned Hunter, one of Nyrissa's cohorts, left the dead body of The Grim White Stag on the foothills of St. Gilmorg. Hours later, Faraway vanished without a trace, leaving barely any reason for why he'd gone or why he'd done so, further upsetting Ichor.

In 4715, the Kingmakers attended The Rushlight Festival in Pitax. Ichor was particularly grim during the trip; he was keenly aware of Irovetti's attempts to humiliate him, and over-performed out of spite. Ichor was able to secure a victory over Annamede Belavarah in the Boasting Competition. The three performed exceptionally well, and ultimately were able to win the festival at large, securing Ichor ownership of the Rod of Lordly Might. During this time, Ichor and Kesten grew much closer, climaxing with a passionate, drunken kiss on the way to the Midnight Joust event. However, this proved to be a trap; only hours after The Midnight Joust, Irovetti attempted to assassinate Ichor. The Kingmakers were able to escape, teleporting back to Kilcela, but left behind several close allies, who were captured by Pitax. When they returned to St. Gilmorg, they found The Clockwork Regiment attacking their capital, accompanied by a flight of Wyverns. After fighting these invaders off, the Kingmakers and Pitax entered The War Of The River Kings. While fighting in the war, the Kingmakers discovered Whiterose Abbey. They found that Briar had been kept here for quite some time, under the care of a Genderfluid Nereird named Evindra. Evindra could not tell the Kingmakers as much as anyone would have liked, cursed by the magic of The Eldest, but told them that Briar had been stolen by King Irovetti. This lead the Kingmakers to fight in The Battle of Pitax a final showdown between Ichor and Irovetti. During this fight, Irovetti dismembered Ichor multiple times, but Ichor was able to overcome this with aid from Kaska's castings of Regeneration. With the self destruction of Irovetti's Clockwork Steam-Powered serpent almost killing Irovetti, Ichor was able to have a few final words with him, berating his father for his treatment of his mother and his selfish cruelty before casting Crushing Despair on him, commanding him to atone for his sins and killing him. Moments later, the Kingmakers were quickly warned of a greater problem by Allyson Hawethorne- Pitax had been stolen by the powerful magic of Nyrissa, and it was coming for Kilcela next.

The Kingmakers fought back against The Season of Bloom, using the time to research what little was known about it, Nyrissa, and her long-lost groom, Count Ranalc. Ichor spent many hours in the Zen Garden Library archives, studying the glades. Ichor was badly affected by The Nightmare Rook, which forced him to have more nightmares of Maegar Varn, even summoning a Devourer wearing his face into Ichor's room. During the penultimate Bloom, Ichor was reunited with Faraway-- actually, the dragon Frandyrith who had penned The Book of Kingmaker in the first place. The Kingmakers entered into The First World, into Nyrissa's domain of The Thousandbreaths. After vanquishing several glades filled with Denizens of the Thousandbreaths, the Kingmakers entered into The House At The Edge Of Time. They made their way through the weird time loops and strange guardians, before finally confronting Nyrissa herself in her living demiplane of The Fable. After an extraordinary battle, Nyrissa was on the brink of implosion as her magic surged out of control, and was finally destroyed when Kaska stabbed her through the heart with the horn of a unicorn Nyrissa had killed years ago. When the Kingmakers were returned to the Material Plane by the destruction of the Fable, they found Briar had been restored to wholeness, becoming a nymph once again and healing the wicked soul of Nyrissa into something new and beautiful. The Kingmakers bid their farewells, and returned home. Ichor was crowned King of the Stolen Lands as a whole, from Pitax to Varnhold. He later wrote a memoir of the Kingmakers journeys, leaving a dedication to Faraway, his true father figure, and he lived Happily Ever After.

## Relationships

### Alden Felstad

Alden and Ichor have a very close relationship, and often find themselves play-flirting with one another, though it's understood that the two have no romantic interest in the other. The two have had numerous heartfelt moments in private, and support one another through the jokey spanking and the occasional noogie.

### Kaska Tanavin

Kaska and Ichor also have a very close relationship, both of them often teaming up to sass and demean enemies. They support each other throughout combat, most often with Kaska saving Ichor from dying during many encounters.

### Issorar

Before starting the adventure, Ichor had never seen a dog nor a wolf, but has grown to adore Issorar. He often makes it a point to pet Issorar. Issorar, meanwhile, is quite fond of Ichor, and will often bring him comfort objects if he notices Ichor is upset.

### Kesten Garess

Kesten and Ichor have a dramatic relationship. Though initially
distrusting of one another, the two slowly became close, both developing for feelings for one another. It took 5 years before either of them
were able to confess their feelings for one another, but they eventually
 worked it out. Kesten also has respect for Ichor and his wielding of
authority; he views Ichor as a just and fair king who stays true to the
River Freedoms and Kilcela's own laws above all else.

### King Castruccio Irovetti

Ichor has an incredibly strong disdain for his estranged father. This is the reason he left Pitax to begin adventuring, and he held an alarming amount of malice for the man up until his death. Throughout Ichor's rulership of Kilcela, Irovetti interfered from the sidelines in numerous ways; hiring Grigori through a number of proxies to undermine him, orchestrating the Siege of Tatzylford, sending an unknown number of spies into the nation and attempting to humiliate him throughout the Rushlight Festival. Ichor's killing of Irovetti was particularly brutal, casting Crushing Despair on the dying man. When Ichor encounters Irovetti again later as an Echo in The House at the Edge of Time, his attitude soured dramatically when he realized who he was speaking to, marking that he still did not forgive Irovetti.

### Rhiann Eteocles

Though a whole lot hasn't been said about her, Ichor seems to be incredibly fond of his mother, and is absolutely hellbent on clearing her name.

### Xamanthe Silverfire

Ichor and Xamanthe are chummy, Xamanthe often teasing Ichor about his crush on Keston, and Ichor teasing them back about their poetry. Xamanthe often walked in on Ichor during particularly compromising moments, and was lead to believe he and Alden were having an unironic affair at multiple points.

### Faraway

Ichor grew very close to Faraway soon after they met, with the former excited to have someone to teach him. Ichor came to view Faraway as a surrogate father figure, learning countless spells and techniques from the bard. When Faraway vanished, Ichor was devastated. He was overjoyed to later be reunited with him, not even caring for a moment who his true identity was. He was simply happy to have Faraway back in his life.

### Syldaer Anyolks

Ichor and Syldaer had a one-night stand early into knowing each other, but did not have further encounters due to the two of them finding each other more compatible as friends. When Syldaer vanished after being sent to Varnhold, Ichor was wracked with guilt, shedding tears to find him supposedly dead later. The two continued to share a close bond afterwards.

## Trivia

* Ichor had never seen a dog before the age of 21. This was because of Irovetti's allergy to canines, and his subsequent outlawing of the species in Pitax. Ichor had seen dogs in picture books before, and upon seeing Issorar for the first time, assumed he must be a dog. This is an incredibly stupid consequence for a one-off joke Ritz made in the first session.
* Ritz was certain Ichor would perish in his encounter with the Stag Lord; he even had a goodbye letter written in advance in his journal, and should Ichor die, he intended to replace him with a former friend of Ichor's from Pitax.
* Ichor was created with the sole purpose of making a kingly character, out of spite against Derry who insinuated Ritz was incapable of playing a serious king.
* Originally, Ichor was intended to be a Wizard or a Sorcerer. Ritz later chose Bard to play into Bardic Stereotypes easier, despite having previously shown distaste for the class.