Korrin Sakete(767-840) was an oscuri Vindicator that presided over the refounding and subsequent rise of Alteros. An accomplished doctor, teacher to many, and firebrand for the acceptance of Azrael worship and the oscuri peoples, his mark on the face of Valmasian politics during the late 700s to early 800s contributed to the resurgence of the oscuri population from roughly seventy individuals to one thousand at the time of his death.
Appearance[]
An old man with fluffy white hair, almond-shaped Egyptian blue eyes, and chocolate-colored skin. An intricate latticework of green covered his body, the rieka circuits marking him as an oscuri. He stood at 6'2" in his prime, thin and even perhaps gaunt. While his skin was immaculately smooth and velvety, a result of his Sarradian heritage, it was broken by a large scar across his abdomen just below his belly-button and a star-shaped scar on his throat, both remnants of a fight with Ouriel and Elenora Melym.
History[]
Childhood and the Adventurer's Guild[]
The details of Korrin's childhood are largely unknown to the public. One of the twin children of Zahilekim and Namarre Sakete, Valmasia's two most wanted criminals at the time, he and his twin sister Faylen were raised in secret though reports of the children appearing in Byson date back as far as 775. During the Plague, a small oscuri boy believed to be Korrin was spotted as one of Byson's defenders from an assault of a small army of yokai and a plagued sorceress.
His entrance onto the world stage was as the Guardian of White in the Adventurer's Guild, a continent-wide organization formed after the end of the Plague intended to be an apolitical force of benevolence in the world. As a founding member, administrative head of the Byson branch, and assistant to Tilandre's Guardian of Blue Katya Eldor, Korrin's primary focus was to offer the struggling survivors and orphaned children of the Plague work, food, and a vocation. Despite initial hostilities from the locals due to his race and family name, the young Guardian worked closely within the community to establish apprenticeships with local businesses and cultivate a generation of ambitious and hard-working Bysonians. More than a few in the eastern militaries decades hence once proudly wore the guild's badge, and most of them had gotten their start directly under Korrin's watchful gaze.
A secondary goal of Korrin's was to responsibly contain and redirect the negative impulses of occult users towards productive ends. While not entirely successful in this, his work towards this would shape later policies once he took his place on the continental stage as a village leader.
The Tomb of Gawain[]
A phenomenon that shook the very foundations of Valmasia, Korrin was a key participant in the destruction of the spectre of the Knight of the Round Gawain and claiming the Sigil of Kraus. The adventure came at great cost however, as he lost not only his grandfather but his twin sister Faylen to that cursed place. This event has been referred to, mostly by Korrin himself, as the "Death of Justice," though most consider that to be a hyperbolic title attributed to a traumatic experience for the man.
Rise of Modern Alteros[]
Crediting his decision to join Vindicator Azeil and Ed Akinseer's attempts at restoring Alteros to "prophetic dreams," Korrin gave Guardianship of Byson over to his apprentice, Hecate Rosengard, and threw himself headlong into the cause of restoring the village razed by Uriel Melym. Tenaciously defending the budding settlement and its leader at the time, Korrin weathered exile from Byson due to publicly exposing then-Queen Chandra Avharain's hypocrisy in allowing oscuri to be lynched in the streets while being Namarre Sakete's star pupil, hotly debated Alpheral in the heart of Wanderer's Valley, and generally championed the cause of Alteros's existence.
Not all of his enemies came from without, however. Gross mishandling by Azeil had left much of the resources gathered on Alteros's behalf left to rot, and so Korrin focused his energies on managing the budding village's reconstruction and establishment.
Assault on Wanderer's Valley[]
Perhaps the one point of contention during this time was Korrin's very vocal and visible participation in an attack by Alteros upon Wanderer's Valley. While Korrin himself swore he did not kill a single member of the Valley, and surviving eyewitnesses begrudgingly admit he sought as peaceful a solution as possible and even advocated for the sparing of the fallen valleymen, these same witnesses are quick to point out that not only is it hard to determine lethality in the chaos of battle but that Korrin's stated reasoning for his "mercy" was that they may spread word of Alteros's power. Korrin has gone on the record as calling these people "idiots."
Mimic Occupation[]
After the successful overtaking of Byson by the invading force of mimics, the natural next stop was of course their neighbor Alteros. A doppelganger of Korrin's mother, dubbing itself The Necromancer, approached Alteros with an ultimatum: The Vindicator, Azeil Vindictus, would face the monster in single combat to determine the superior. The winning faction would be the dominant partner in whatever proceeded. Should the Vindicator fail to meet this challenge, the mimics would sweep over Alteros and claim it by force.
Azeil disappeared, with no word or trace. In an attempt to minimize the damage to his people and village, Korrin challenged the entirety of the oscuri race for the titles of Vindicator and King of Alteros. Immediately upon defeating the last challenger, he turned and battled The Necromancer for dominance and lost. While this horribly crippled him for years and allowed the mimic forces to occupy Alteros as a dominant force, it granted its citizenry a degree of freedom and spared them the torment of a yokai-flesh diet and the looming spectre of random dissections Byson's people suffered under occupation. Some time afterwards, Azeil reappeared and was beaten even more handily than Korrin was. The mimics' dominion over Alteros was complete.
Despite the original intent after the liberation of Byson, the young mimics could not help but expose themselves to outsiders and so Korrin was forced to officially and loudly declare that mimics were a recognized independent race within Alteros. While controversial, the alliance with Central Valmasia coupled with Korrin's charisma and passion stayed the hands of many who would have likely marched immediately to eradicate the threat.
Execution of Alpheral/Exodus from Alteros[]
While mimic forces continued to antagonize most of the west, allying with bandits from the Sarab and occultists of the Black Circle to assault Wanderer's Valley, Korrin befriended the leader of the bandit faction via mutual feelings of helplessness in the face of frustratingly overwhelming bloodlust. In exchange for assistance in securing the Valley through political means and future trade support, Alpheral of the Valley was delivered to Alteros on the cusp of the big attack. Korrin challenged Alpheral to a duel to the death, as recompense for Alpheral's part in the exile of Korrin's mother, and ended the old man's life with a dagger made of the Sacred Knight's own golden blood.
Unfortunately, despite rising tensions and the best attempts of both Korrin and The Necromancer, now calling itself Sareen, the mimics continued to attack any village they felt weak enough to pick off. During one of these marches, Korrin led his people west to Wanderer's Valley. Much to his frustration, however, his allies there had disappeared under mysterious circumstances and so what was to be a tense but quiet visitation where he helped strengthen his allies' grip on the reins of the Valley became an almost hostile and incredibly awkward visit.
Upon the slaying of the Source, the malevolent driving force of the mimics, Korrin returned his people to Alteros and maintained a friendly and mutually beneficial relationship with Wanderer's Valley until its final destruction.
The Rise of the Empire/Korrin's Abdication[]
Ruling more or less without major incident until Aria Hirano took the throne of Nostvale, Korrin's close and tumultuous work with the Champion of Valmasia Anariel Melym resulted in talks of reparations for Danarium's enslavement and attempted genocides of the oscuri. A settlement was reached, Alteros's coffers doubled overnight with the promise of more to come once conflict between Danarium and Nostvale was settled, and Korrin marched Alteros against Nostvale. He fell in battle and disappeared from the scene, and the soldiers of Alteros more or less quit the field or switched sides once again under the command of Vindicator Qaelthan.
Korrin did not resurface until years later, when he was spotted in chains within Nostvale but with a curious lack of guards or seeming interest by the leadership of the Empire. Just as suddenly as he appeared he disappeared, to return to Alteros in a position of authority as Vindicator and general advisor to the throne.
The Fall of the Empire/Korrin's Death[]
After the fall of the Empire, a series of events that left Korrin the de facto leader of Alteros once again, he quickly handed the throne to his daughter, the revolution-friendly Tulise Sakete, and retired to an advisory position. Surprisingly, in this time he seemed to redouble his efforts to proselytize and be as active as possible, almost as much as when he was king. While his daughter held the crown, many turned towards Korrin for approval instead.
Vindicator Korrin Sakete died in battle against one of Kokb'ael Kzer-za's Genocide Machines, exsanguinating himself after being impaled by a spidery limb to ensure his allies could strike the killing blow.
Abilities[]
Blood Magic[]
Korrin was one of the few master-level blood mages, branching out into other bodily fluids and even in some instances flinging people about by their blood. He was capable of creating constructs of fine detail out of crystallized blood, and was fond of giving such gifts as jewelry to those he considered most special. His ability to harden and reinforce his constructs was such that they could be used as persistent weaponry, as his dagger made of Alpheral's golden blood can attest. The most common use, however, was in the field of medicine in which the manipulation of blood could act as a styptic, an instant sealant, or any number of uses.
Water Magic[]
Korrin was a prodigious user of water magic, and used it all through his life for both healing and destructive uses. Powerful enough in the art that water elementals and mimics could both be affected by him almost as easily as regular water, making them as susceptible to the stunning properties of blood magic as a human despite lacking the necessary fluid, he has flooded more than his fair share of islands and bridges in his time. On the other hand, he has written several treatises on the benefits of hydrotherapy for the recuperation and sedation of muscles and joint deterioration, in addition to the more common uses of purification.
Rieka Manipulation[]
As an oscuri Vindicator, Korrin had full mastery over his Azrael-gifted abilities. While not notably more powerful in these arts than any other oscuri of his general potency, that level is still a rather difficult one to reach. While wielding it in battle was commonplace, his primary use for rieka was a teaching tool; By gently channeling his energies through a person's mana circuit in a manner similar to the Right Hand of Azrael technique, many a budding magi discovered what it felt like to cast a spell or even feel their mana circuit for the first time. It was also, on rare occasions, a tool for reattaching severed mana circuitry. At the time of his death he was researching ways to generate semipermanent constructs with rieka, though that avenue was tragically cut short.
Holy Magic[]
While not a full master of holy magic, Korrin was a powerful exorcist though out of respect for his occultist allies he tended to suppress this aura. Feeling that the use of holy magic to cure all injuries was "inefficient," he relied on more mundane treatments while finishing with a burst of healing magic to finalize the operation and speed natural recovery more than anything. His most notable use of the holy magic was in cursebreaking, having cleansed many of such afflictions and empowered artifacts intended to negate or destroy curses several times over the course of his life.
Lightning Magic[]
Used almost exclusively for utility's sake, Korrin powered many of his creations with personally-generated electricity and could even embody the element himself if he so chose.
Spirit Summoning[]
While a rank amateur at such, during his self-imposed exile at the beginning of the Empire Korrin endeavored to learn the arts of his grandmother. He had managed to call to the spirits of fallen oscuri, still loyal to the title of Vindicator and willing to serve as assistants in exchange for escape from their tormented memories in the swamps.
Necromancy[]
Korrin Sakete adamantly denied any and all practical use of necromancy by his personal self, but admitted to an academic knowledge of the art. Any and all instances of him controlling or otherwise manipulating the undead are clearly misunderstandings wrought by overactive imaginations and he has never used the principles of the craft to do things re: reattaching limbs, restoring failed organs, or returning a person from the dead.
Soul Transference[]
While taught by Namarre Sakete all of the tools necessary to implement such a procedure, the cleansing of sin magic being the primary practical use that isn't forcing people's souls into objects, this is yet another ability purely within the realm of academic expertise for the man.
Medical Expertise[]
While completely mundane in nature for the most part, Korrin's contributions to Valmasia's medical competency are massive. Advanced prosthesis for even the common man was a goal, and while he never did create a fully functioning arm even a peasant could use he did improve the quality of life for several limbless commoners simply with better mechanical craftsmanship than a hook on a peg. In addition, his insights into the magical limb field have advanced the art more than any one contributor in history. As accomplished a neurosurgeon as one can find on Valmasia, one could say with confidence that he has never failed a brain surgery and he has actually performed brain surgery!
Charisma[]
Bordering on magical in nature it seemed at times, Korrin Sakete was notorious for speaking truth to power with fire and venom and somehow not only surviving but getting away with it completely unscathed. His natural charisma and force of personality seemed to cow even the most hostile opponents into sheathing their blade "this time," and there were only a select few individuals that could stand toe-to-toe with Korrin Sakete in a war of words and not walk away unaffected somehow.
Trivia[]
- By Eternia Power Rankings, Korrin Sakete possessed the following stats: Strength: F; Durability B; Agility F; Magic Power C; Magic Damage A; Intelligence A; Willpower B; Charisma S; Luck D+