Name: Dan Lagh'ratham
Aliases/Nicknames: The Red Beast
Age: 41
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 215 lbs.
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Right - Gray, Left - icy blue and azure
Occupation: Slayer, hunter, destroyer, traitor, "adventurer"
Personality: Greedy and intensely violent, Dan Lagh'ratham is motivated only by power, money, and the search for his daughter. He is noted infamously for his exceedingly violent responses to even the most minor of annoyances. He has shown numerous times that he will go to great lengths to achieve his goals, mutilating his own body to harbor relics and artifacts of power. Dan tends to make bad decisions quickly, choosing the wrong side for promises that always tend to be false, only for the hope that in the end, he will be reunited with his daughter again. Time, and the curse slowly killing him has managed to temper his fire somewhat. Though still quick to irritate at perceived and real sleights, Dan is far more likely to ignore threats he knows are beneath him. Vicious sarcasm is used more often than his axe, but if pushed, Dan will kill without hesitation. The curse may have taken his teeth, but at the end of the day, he is still a highly trained, and highly skilled killer. Still, he's become much wiser in picking his battles, and has little interest in starting them spontaneously.
Appearance: Dan is a tired, pale man in his early forties, with black, slightly wavy hair, granite-gray eyes, and a thin lipped mouth that twists easily into mocking sneers and vicious snarls. Time and violence has not aged him well, and it would be difficult to consider him a good looking man especially with the scars that carve abstract designs over his flesh. He is usually dressed in a white long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, a black vest and black pants, all made of vlince (purchased here). Dan never wears shoes anymore, preferring to have skin contact with the soil of Althanas, regardless of any formalities he may be pressured to observe.
Weapons: Primarily, Dan enjoys the use of a large, mythril bladed great axe with a delyn core and haft. The weapon has a thick, cleaver like blade, which is forged of a heavier mythril ore than most weapons made with the metal, and thus has a duller, grayer shine to it. Seldom used, he recently purchased a steel crafted, over-under double barrelled fifty caliber handgun (purchased here). It is a top-break action design that must he hand loaded when expended, and is usually holstered on his left thigh, unless he wants to appear less threatening. It has 20 rounds of ammunition.
At a visit to the Auction House, on the same day he bought Tal'Erbaugh's Eye, Dan bid on a new item of interest - a knife the auctioneer called The Blade of Death. Dan gleefully bidded against Letho Ravenheart for the weapon, the lawman wanting to destroy the cursed thing, while Dan only wanted to possess the weapon and dominate it. The weapon is of titanium construction, with an odd looking, hollow, glass-like hilt. The legend behind the knife, as told to him by the auctioneer, tells of two lovers who were also warriors, one died in the midst of battle and it sent the other into a blood rage. He killed friend and foe alike until he found the gauntlet of his lover, spoke his own epitaph, and took his own life. If the legend is indeed true, the weapon has essentially been baptized in blood and fury and regret - concepts all too familiar to Dan. When held in hand, the blade pulls and pushes his hand, seeking out everything living and breathing around him in an intense and nearly incomparable bloodlust. It demands a sacrifice, two quarts of blood to be bound, and once it has had its fill, it will be finally sated. Of course, Dan has denied the weapon its fill repeatedly, greatly preferring it in its rampaging state. If the weilder sacrifices half his blood, and half another's, they will be telepathically linked to the other forever - Dan did so with the man he bought the weapon with, Eric Anglekos, though the man seems to have vanished, and his blood has disappeared from the knife's hilt. There is a small notch on the tip of the blade, and when thrust into the body of another, the blade drinks from the victim in this way, sucking their blood through the notch. It was sold with a gauntlet that calmed the weapon, but Dan did not recieve it.
Items:
Kikurin
A small jade plaque with three small, white indents carved into its otherwise ornately decorated face, this artifact, upon being invoked, allows Dan to become invisible to the naked eye, for five minutes at a time. Once all three indents return to the color of jade, however, the artifact must be exposed to moonlight for an entire night before recharging. Dan has impanted it into the very center of his chest. While it could be useful for combat, the transition to transparency takes too long, making it useless. (Useable only in quests - no fights or boss battles.)
Smaug's Pipe
A long, thin, silver tobacco pipe once used by the great dragon when walking the human world in their sheep's skin. The pipe can of course be used to simply indulge in a nice smoke; however, whether it be simple enchantment or some of the dragon's power having worn off on the pipe, at least twice a day, upon taking a drag from its contents, its possessor may breathe a plume of fire while exhaling that can cause painful burns to anyone caught in the blast. In order for its power to recharge, the pipe must be set and left in hot coals for one hour.
((Purchased here.))
The Eye of Tal'Erbaugh
"The mummified eye of the Mystic Tal’Erbaugh still gazes at the world with an unnatural intensity. Its ice blue iris and surrounding area is still smeared with veined streaks of the azure blood of the man who the eye once belonged to, and if held in the palm of one’s hand the eye pulses uncomfortably, as if somehow still alive. If the Eye is set into a piece of jewelry and prominently displayed then it grants the wearer one use per day of the Mystic races signature Mystic Protection spell, completely blocking a single strike by forming a shield of glass around the wearer which fades once the attack is blocked. If the bearer of the Eye actually removes their own eye and replaces it with Tal’Erbaugh’s then the glass shield formed by the Mystic Protection spell actually explodes outwards into shards of glass as a living Mystic’s would, causing harm to everyone around the Eye’s owner unless their foes immediately drop to the ground."
The words straight from the mouth of the auctioneer himself, Dan of course cut out his own eye as soon as he purchased it, and replaced it with Tal'Erbaugh's plundered own. That means that once a day, Dan can surround his entire body in a shield of glass called Mystic Protection, the trademark of the Orlouge family. This shield will shatter outwardly in an implosion of wickedly sharp glass shards when struck by an external force, fileting any poor sucker that's standing around him. (Won at the auction house here.)
Skills
Non-Combat
Barbaric Knowledge
There aren't many who have ever met the slayer who would say that he exuded in intelligent air - and that's precisely how he likes it. While Dan may not be as polished or crammed full of equations and poems as a scholar from Beinost or the Radasanthian academies, he knows practically every legend and myth there is concerning each nation. He is familiar with the lore of many races and clans. He is also familiar with magic, and can recognize many common and uncommon spoken and written incantations, runes and glyphs - he may not be able to use it, but he has always taken notice when anyone has used it on him, or around him. And due to his time under the Forgotten One, Xem'zund, Dan has learned many things he shouldn't have, and also has some knowledge regarding the Eternal Tap and its nature and history.
Literacy
In his travels, Dan has learned to speak, read, and write a number of present, commonly spoken languages of Althanas, from, of course, the widely used Common to Raieran Elf to the Fallien tongue. His years spent amongst the people of the desert nation as Renuanupadin has allowed him to learn several different dialects of the languages which the tribes use. He has also learned the dead tongue of his Saraelian ancestors, and being at the side of Xem'zund helped him learn how to speak Infernal and Demonic tongues. While he's received no sorcerous training of any kind, Dan knows how to allow his elemental magic to leak into his voice, or press it into it if he wished, allowing his voice to give a greater impact than before.
Combat
War Machine
Dan has spent almost more than half his life in combat, his experiences intensifying in more recent years. It has shaped him to fit into a dangerous mold; he no longer flinches, or hesitates to spill blood, and seems to enjoy it. Dan has become legendary with a sword, though prefers his own blades (stone made with terramancy). He's very well versed in the use of an axe and a knife, as well. While he has no discernable, specific discipline, Dan's mixture of savagery and massive brute strength makes him deadly in both unarmed and close combat.
Awareness
Being connected to the earth beneath his feet has given Dan a new outlook and insight. Some call it strategy, some call it paranoia, but Dan prefers to just look at it as being aware of your options at all times. Dan is always taking in his surroundings, always aware of what's around him, from the dirt beneath his feet to the stone ceiling above him to the hills around him. He is fast to use anything and everything around his body as a weapon or shield, whether it's stone or another person.
Abilities
Greater Cellular Control
Dan's demon blood allows the activation of a thus dormant ability to regenerate damaged tissue. Wounds heal under the slayer's discretion, unless it is damage that hinders his ability to think to activate it (Such as a strong blow to the head). Thus, smaller wounds often go unnoticed or simply shrugged off. This is not a passive ability; Dan must be aware of the wound, and command his body to heal, which means he could be overwhelmed with flurries of wounds, or even bleed out through numerous small ones.
((Smaller wounds, stabbing, surface cuts, light burns, and slight lacerations and the like, can be healed in a few minutes (1-2 posts). Larger wounds, such as severe burning, strong poisons, deep cuts, bullet wounds and the like can be healed within seven to eight minutes (3-4 posts).))
Slayer's Bond
Dan has acquired a strong connection with all of his weapons, even the most recent. He can summon them from thin air, and have it vanish in the same manner. Also, he can summon it to his hand if it is at most, thirty feet away. This skill has a chance to fail if Dan is attempting to summon the weapon(s) under situations of extreme duress or intense pain.
Stone Heart
Dan's body has been strained to the breaking point so many times that it has actually adapted to his dangerous life. He can lose twice as much blood as the normal man before passing out, and greatly increases his pain tolerance, which means so long as he has a reason to, Dan will not stop rising to his feet until he is killed. His body produces practically no fatigue toxins during physical activity. Dan can exert himself for a period of one and a half days time without sleep, food, or water before beginning to tire. His body is also highly resilient to damage, and the only ways to kill him seems to be immolation or decapitation – a pierced heart can be regenerated.
Titan's Body
Dan is precisely as strong as a human being that engage in regular, intensive exercise. While he can no longer smash and destroy metals with his hands, he still has little trouble lifting other full grown men into the air, and can lift at maximum, three times his own weight.
Terramancy
The innate ability once possessed by all Terran Saraelians to manipulate the earthly elements, which include stone, dirt, plant life, sand, metal, wood, and glass. Structures or items created by Dan with this ability have the strength of dehlar so long as he holds influence over them (if he would happen to drop a knife he created out of stone, it would break just like stone). His ability to manipulate metal is average, allowing him only to alter the direction or movement of metal with his signature on it (things belong to him) by employing magnetic fields. His ability to manipulate dirt is fairly simple; he can sterilize it and use it to help speed along the healing process of the wounds of others. Glass is a simple element to manipulate; Dan can create simple and complex statues amongst others. He can project his magnetic control in concussive blasts that manifest in a transparent, blurred ripple. The force of these blasts are entirely concussive, and can stagger on a strike, and break bones if struck repeatedly. The mass of earth he is capable of manipulating can only weigh up to thrice his weight - anything beyond that is beyond his grasp now. His range of manipulation is a max of twenty yards.
While suffering from Xem'zund's Last Curse, Dan can not access his True Saraelian forms. I intend on reworking them when I eventually unlock them, I'm leaving them in for future personal reference.
Quote:
Saraelian Form [Root]
Dan’s birthright, after the Seal of the Hybrid was removed rather roughly by his brother, Dan bled out the blood that made him human and swallowed the earth to become a Terran. When invoking this form, Dan’s skin alters into demon hide (teir ten hide, comparable to sea serpent scale) and takes on the color of lead, with many cracks running through it, glowing green from an inner light. His eyes lose definition and burn a chartreuse color, and rough obsidian horns emerge from his forehead. While he remains in the form, both Soul Link and Cellular Control are locked, and any weapons currently summoned into reality with his Soul Link are dismissed. However, he is able to create a spear of strange jade stone that is warm to the touch, and has the tensile strength of steel. He can manipulate its form with his Terramancy, and add additional blades and spikes to its body. If broken, the spear can be remade.
As he has only just eased himself into his full power as a Saeralian, Dan can only hold this form for six posts at a time without risk to his body.
There are several changes to his biology with the ascension to a full blooded Saraelian demon. If kept out of the sun for more than three days, Dan’s body will essentially wilt; becoming skeletal, robbing him of all of his strength. This is a jealously guarded secret however, and he will give it to no one. More so, if he is resting in clean water, or in the sunlight, for over an hour, his wounds, even fatal injuries, will close. In the summer, his hair will darken to a black color, in the fall auburn, in the winter, a light brown streaked with gray, and in the spring, a rich brown.
Saraelian Form [Branch]*
A further mutation of his Saraelian D.N.A., its unknown if any of, at least, the Terran subrace of the species has been capable of achieving this next step in evolution. In this form, Dan’s height is increased by nine feet from his usual height, for a total of fifteen feet, and his mass is increased to nearly two tons. The lower half of his body takes on an equine form and dully shining chitinous plates the strength of young dragonhorn manifest on his lower body, torso, arms, and face. Though his strength remains doubled from its base amount in his human form, the real power of the Branch form is its new adaptability. Dan’s arms can alter their shape to meet with new, threatening situations. He can access the form of an axe, a shield, a three pronged short claw, and a lance. Additionally, he’s able to form a bow, and can form stone arrows with his Terramancy. The pull on the bow is nearly one ton of force. Though it’s unclear if it’s possible, it feels as though there’s even farther to go, beyond the Branch form.
*Must remain in the Root form for two posts before activation, lasts for four post.
History
It should have been another stupid, simple day. He should have gotten up, showered, dressed, ate breakfast, and went to school like any normal fifteen-year old. Instead, he woke up to a dead family, dead friends, zombies, demons, vampires, overturned cars, fires, and a gloomy, blood-rust colored sky. Though frightened out of his wits, one of the last surviving members of the human race, then known as Dan Wilson Gosnell, decided it would be best to stay on the move, and threw his shoes on, grabbed his keys, and ran out the door.
He had taken no more than two steps when something fell upon his back, knocking him to the ground. Hitting the ground hard, the soon-to-be slayer was stunned, numbingly feeling the rotting fingers clutch at his neck. As the putrid breath washed over his face, he cried out, wanting to live, and pushed, slamming his elbow into it's jaw. He was rewarded with a grunt, and a wet snap, and the thing tumbled off his back. Scrambling to his feet, Dan ran towards a police car, abandoned in the middle of the road, only looking back once. He wished he hadn't.
Scrabbling at the concrete walk was something that was impossible, a dead man, somehow animated. His skin was spongy, and fell off in places, colliding with a wet slap on the concrete. His filmy eyes rolled aimlessly in moldy sockets, trying to find its prey. It's broken jaw still moved, trying to snap chunks of something out of the air. He shuddered, and yanked open the cruiser's door.
In the seat sat a blood soaked body, the badge pinned to his shirt breast was the only thing that allowed Dan to identify him as an officer of the law. After hesitating, wary of the body, Dan snatched the dead man's .45, two extra clips, and slammed the door, running around the side of the house. He quickly started his car, and left his house forever.
Doubting that the gun would work on....zombies, the only word that came to mind, he set his destination as a nearby weapons shop, knowing they had good swords, daggers, and knives. The store was quiet, and during his search he remained unperturbed. Carrying arms and pocket full of weapons, Dan began to head to the door, but dropped them all when he noticed a glint of well tempered steel and lacquered cherry wood in the shadows of the storeroom.
It was a katana. A very well designed sturdy katana. Ignoring the other weapons, he took it and quickly left. Later, listening to an old, automated rock station on the radio, with the car stopped, Dan unsheathed the blade and looked it over. He was unaware that the blade was of the Wilmhearst Family Slayers, and was also unaware that he himself was Wilmhearst. He decided at that moment, as he sheathed the sword, that he would survive. And to do so, he would kill.
So, over the next eleven years, he gained expertise, scars, and muscle mass, burning away his child's fat. At twenty-five years old, he was a strong warrior, though ignorant socially, and was ready for greater opponents than what earth was offering him. It was then that news of the portal and the monks of Ai'brone reached his ears.
The monks had heard news finally of the tragedy of earth and had come to the devastated planet to offer refuge to the strongest. They boasted that their land, Althanas held some of the strongest that time could name, and intrigue, powerful weapons. Of course, this drew Dan like a moth to a candle flame, and before he knew it, he was on the green grass and under the blue sky of Althanas.
Over the next year, Dan learned he was of the Wilmhearst family, and their twenty-seventh generation. He crossed swords with many of Althanas' warriors, participated in both the Serenti and The Cell, aided the Alliance in the Bazaar War, coming out on the winning side, and enjoyed a brief stint as the second in command of the Order Within Chaos. During the course of The Cell, however, two of Althanas' most powerful killers came to his attention as a mercenary, bounty hunter, and slayer; Max Dirks, a man good with his gun, and Valentina Snow, a vicious cannibal who Dan discovered to be the Weendigo. Through way of a cheap shot, and a well placed shadow portal, both thrust him from the tournament and bought them his constant, vigilant, vengeance.
After the Cell, Dan began to train in the Citadel, felling a few powerful opponents, including Luc Kraus, an arrogant geomancer who strives to gain the slayer's respect. After he had his fill of battle, Dan joined the Black Hand, combat sign of the Red Hand and a clan of elite warriors. A few months later, he caught a messenger trying to sneak out of Keller Hall, hoping to avoid the man with the huge sword's attention. Dan learned from him that Lord Ithermoss was dying, and was at the half-drake's side in only a few moments. The Red Hand's founder gave him one of his first weapons, a broad-bladed iron katar, one of the many gifts given to others who had assembled. Inspired by Ithermoss’ rough life, the slayer set out again, even more determined to return the Earth to what it had been at one time.
After a money making scheme at a prize fighting ring whose name he forgets, Dan met the impossibly strong Godhand Striker, as well as Claire and Sonya, who were even stronger, to the point of ridiculousness. They're all currently living in his apartment at Radasanth. His strange feelings for Claire, and the trustworthy camaraderie of Godhand have made the slayer begin to rethink his outlook on life. Could an individual's life be precious? Something not to be taken away? Can he trust the three? If it came down to it, would he lay his life down for them? His heart says yes, but his instincts scream no. And his instincts have gotten him very far up to now.
However, this wasn't discovered yet as soon after, his workload began to make him buckle beneath it's weight. Gild vanished and Damon Kaosi took the title and position of Aegis, giving the slayer the position of The Captain of the Sword. Also, with the Shards of Valori suddenly coming to light, his free time was occupied by Theatre of War battles to acquire the shards. Soon after he registered for the Althanas Adventurer's Crown alongside Seth Dahlios and Oberon Detruire. The three, under the name of The Black Hand, were charged with finding the legendary Lightbringer, the Calan Silaer. It was no more than they set foot into Hrenta Nodos that several explosions rocked the city, and the Demon Army flooded it. They arrested the slayer and took him to Telas Bauhaus, the public execution grounds, and forced him to fight The Raven King, quite a bit more powerful, who he had believed to have killed years ago. When it was apparent Dan was on a fast track to a brutal death, he went through a bloody metamorphosis that showed his half demon characteristics all too well. After killing the monstrosity, Dan was set free due to ancient laws, and caught up to Seth. He passed out, and during this time, a mysterious Demon who was of a high rank in the Demon Army spirited the Lightbringer away to Salvar. After awakening, he had an urge to enter the crypt, were the reanimated corpse of the demon prince Prellatar told him of his past, and his Saraelian demon descendents, and gave light to the lies the Wilmhearst family had been telling him. After sealing the crypt to give Prellatar rest, Dan and Seth made way to Salvar and met up with Oberon, who had went ahead to follow the army. The three made a daring raid on the camp of the six thousand strong force, and just when it seemed they had recovered the legendary weapon, the mysterious demon appeared and broke it, revealing it to be fake. He froze time around the three, and locked them away to deal with them later. With a promise to recover the Lightbringer, and having been beaten so easily, a hellish fury is soon to be dropped onto Belial's head...
After being rescued by the Tel Quissir, Dan and the other two members of the Black Hand succeeded in spiriting away the Calan Silaer. However, during a council of all the teams and the monks in Radasanth, the demons came again, seeking the other Calans, and though fighting bravely, they were all incapacitated. Afterwards, they were liberated again, and the Black Hand broke away from the tournament, sick of the constant attack, and their position as the tournament's whipping boy. When Dan split off from Seth and Oberon, he went back to his apartment, and in the following weeks found himself tied up in an assassination attempt to kill him by the Phoenix Syndicate, who wanted him out of the way so they could use his genetically altered clones to take over the world. They also kidnapped the girl he was keeping an eye on, Linda, and despite his best efforts, she was killed by the Syndicate's head, Jaken, moments before his escape. In a rage, Dan killed Jaken with the Rotslayer and was nearly destroyed in a humungous blast that leveled the Syndicate's headquarters, the Tsukioke Bulding in the upper east end of Radasanth.
Feeling the need for reflection, and solitude, Dan retired to the sands of Fallien, not bothering to tell any of his acquaintances. Without hesitation, his twisted brother, Delerion, inserted himself into his usual life’s routine, and began to ruin his good reputation. Slowly at first, acting as a reckless vigilante, then made it come crashing down all at once, launching a brutal attack on Radasanth, sinking a ship with at least one thousand people aboard while engaged in a battle with a Wilmhearst slayer. Eventually, when news reached Dan’s ears, he rushed back to the place he called his home, and Delerion fled, leaving him with a life in shambles. With no way to fix the damage, and unable to track his brother, Dan left for Fallien again.
Three years pass, and Dan Lagh’ratham faded away.
In time, a tribe in Fallien comes to boast about a Hunter with the strength of a titan. He came namelessly, and when he had proven himself, they gave him the title of Renuanupadin, or Sand Searcher. The soldier’s of the desert nation, upon watching him kill Arta while on a sortie from the Keep, came to name him Ren the Beast. The man named Ren was distant to all, so it came as little surprise when he proposed a leave from the tribe, widely rumored to be one of either redemption or peregrination. He garbed himself in black, and left the sands...for now.
Suffering from numerous irrational thoughts, madness, and dangerous psychotic episodes, a misguided Dan Lagh’ratham formed a criminal ring named the Audeamus, using it to plague citizens and hatch insane plots. After his black outs and episodes became worse and even more frequent, he came to in the small cottage that his lover and daughter lived their pleasant lives in. After realizing he had murdered them both, a sobered Dan Lagh’ratham buried their bodies and set off East, in aimless, guilty wonder. It wasn’t long before his twin brother Derium met him and after a short skirmish, informed Dan that his daughter had at least escaped. Immediately, he began to talk as though the two had spent childhood together, and destroyed a seal keeping Dan from accessing his power. After a brush with death, Dan become a full blooded Saraelian and set forth into Althanas in a desperate for his child.
His efforts however proved to be fruitless. During a sweep of Raiaera, he had a curious dream; a dream of age old evil, talons, and a stone spear. The Forgotten One, Xem’Zund, had carved his mark in Dan’s heart with the promise of power and his assistance in the search for his daughter. Altering his appearance to a man with overlapping scars through his left eye down to his chin, and across his nose and over his left ear, Dan took the alias Kross and followed as a protector when Skie dan Sabrial, daughter of the Starslayer, tried to usher students of Istien out of the country. After a trying battle against one of the Necromancer’s servants, Cydonia, and with a small army gaining on them, Kross finally revealed his true colors and abducted Skie, intent on delivering her to Xem’Zund as a gift.
Dan took some time at this point to deal with some personal business of his own. After killing a half dragon by the name of Jame Whitizard, Dan entered the Dajas Pagoda at a Master level. During his tenure, he was challenged by Sarah Dahlios, one of the most hated parts of his past. After slaughtering her with little effort, Dan contacted his old ally, Luc Kraus, also taking occupancy in the Pagoda. Deciding that current world affairs were favorable, the two once more formed the organization, Audaemus, but found the rings gone when they went to retrieve them. The thieves were bitter agents of the first incarnation of the organization. Dan and Luc tracked them quickly and slaughtered them, though not before some of the rings were lost in a rift. At one point, the seal barring the Saraelian State and his ability to manipulate the earth returned, locking them temporarily.
The slayer's activities in recent times are widely unknown. Rarely seen, even in his ever favored Bazaar, Dan's seeming disappearance has set many of his enemies and the like at edge. He appeared only briefly as a favor to an old friend, Godhand Striker, to help the old mercenary destroy the remainder of Xem'zund's Necrosition. This is largely considered a rumor, since it's well know that the slayer is a part of the Necromancer's forces, but it is likely he aided in the massacre for his own means. During this time, it appears that he has managed to destroy part of the seal, giving him his terramancy back.
The fall of Xem'zund at least left Dan with a bitter taste in his mouth from the betrayal, and once again, nothing but himself at his disposal in his search. Changing his appearance entirely with his cellular control, Dan went into "hiding", taking stock of his options while gathering knowledge on artifacts and relics that may help him find Meredith, his daughter. His moment of respite did not last long; he is currently being hunted by the Raiaeran Bladesingers, presumably for his role in the last war.
However, not long into his absence, Dan suddenly began feeling oddly sick, something he hadn't experienced in many years. As he began to be able to trace the webbing of his veins under his skin from their gray-green discoloration, the slayer began to realize that finally, he was paying for his sins. One of the last acts of the necromancer Xem'zund was placing a curse on his only living lieutenant for his betrayal in refusing to kill Godhand Striker. The curse was meant to be slow and torturous, robbing him of everything that made him the Red Beast. Overwhelmed with both the curse and his waning search for his child, Dan disappeared into Salvar where he spent some years studying, hoping to cure his condition. He found nothing, and soon enough, a depression and malaise set over him, convinced he had no chance, and that his daughter was long gone.
Hope is a vicious creature, though. It finds men and women in their darkest hour, even after abandoning them many times before, and coos and whispers in their ear to pull them futilely to their feet again. Recently, Dan has begun to leave the frozen lands again, but word has spread rapidly of his diminished state, to those who desire the power of his decaying Saraelian blood, and those who want his head on a silver platter.
((I got no idea what's going on or how I do this. [url=http://www.althanas.com/oldworld/showthread.php?32068-Lethal-Husk-(Level-Down-and-Update)&highlight=]Here's the one from the other site.))
