Karsek

Karsek, also known as Experiment C 141, is a warped cockatrice that is humanoid in shape, who was created by the Arposandran gnomes serve as an elite guard for their city. After a few months of service, the gnomes discovered he had a flaw they did not intend during his creation; he was deathly afraid of fire. The gnomes attempted to terminate their creation, but he evaded their clutches and escaped to the outside world through Arposandra's sewers. Karsek now roams the land on a voyage of discovery; learning what he can as he survives a world that does not understand, and who's majority of residents would seek to destroy him. This character is played by Raltin Avarr.

Arposandra
Karsek began as a captured cockatrice from the Fremennik provine's slayer dungeon; taken by Arposandran Shadow Soldiers from his home. He was one of many deadly creatures that the twisted Zamorakian gnomes were attempting to create elite soldiers from, and despite all the odds; Karsek seemed to come out of the warping as a success. It was only a few months later, during his rounds, that the gnomes discovered he had a fatal flaw. A nearby lab suffered an accidental explosion; which ignited the building. Karsek, who was supposed to be conditioned to protect his gnomish masters, was unable to enter the fires and rescue the lab workers, and the gnomish soldiers noted his fear of the blaze while they were forced to rescue the endangered workers.

It wasn't long after that event that the gnomes decided to terminate him as a failure; as they couldn't simply release him into the sewers like they did with most of the failed creatures, for Karsek was too intelligent for is own good. Karsek obeyed the gnomes as he always had as they prepared to execute him, but as soon as it was revealed that they planned to kill him that he decided to take a different course. Frightened at the prospect that he would be killed, another flaw in his design that the gnomes thought did not exist, he reacted swiftly and wounded several of his detainers before escaping out into the city streets. The Shadow Guards attempted to pursue, but Karsek, with his longer legs, was faster on his feet as he evaded them and made his way to the sewer dumping grounds; where they released the failed warped creatures.

He rushed through waves of aggressive monsters, and lost the Shadow Guards in the turmoil. He soon emerged onto the edge of the poison wastes near Tirannwn, and saw true daylight for the first time, which he despised with a hiss. He fled East, trying to move away from the glare of the setting sun, and found his way to the territories of Yanille and the ogres. As he traveled, night began to fall, and the darkness comforted him as he continued on his way; he soon discovered that he liked the night. As he neared the cities, it soon dawned on him that he no longer had to obey the gnomes, that he was free to do as he wished. Using what he knew of language that the gnomes had given him during his creation; he named himself Karsek, and liked it, for the gnomes never allowed names other than numbers for their creations, and the creature relished in his new freedom of choice. It was then he decided to seek out new, more lenient masters to obey; as obedience came to him naturally, and so then began his journey of discovery on Gielinor.

Kandarin
As Karsek left the forests near the ogre city, finding the ogres to be unpleasant creatures, he soon came across the city of Yanille. It was as he walked up to the gates that three guards began to yell in alarm at his sight; as he was unfamiliar with the need to disguise himself while among humans. The guards attempted to attack him with swords and arrows, and acting in defense, he ended up killing two before the survivor ran back into the city to find reinforcements. Karsek had discovered that humans were his enemies, and left the city behind as he journeyed once more into the wild. He traveled along the coast until he neared port Khazard; discovering more humans there, looking like warriors. Karsek new that he was adept at killing, but even he would be pressed to survive against such numbers if the soldiers decided to attack him like the guards at Yanille.

Using his head for problem solving, Karsek saw ships in port, and one appeared to be loading large amounts of cloth onto the docks. He swam out to the ship and boarded the cargo hold when none were looking. He selectively picked out set of drab brown robes, along with some Khazard cloth insignias that he saw on the armor of the soldiers, and heavily covered himself in them; even wrapping his beaked face up with cloth as he donned a hood. He then managed to successfully maintain a low profile as he blended in with Khazard's men, and as he looked upon the soldiers he remembered something; he had lost his weapons while he fled Arposandra. Not having a knack for conversation; although capable of speaking the gnomes preferred that he listen and not talk, and created him thusly, Karsek decided to follow and listen in on the conversations of the soldiers to find out where the port's armory was.

It was not long before he found out, and using his skills he was able to gain access to the armory undetected. He looked at the selection of armor and took a set of studded leather, as he was not built for heavy metal protection. When it came to the choice of weapons, Karsek was not sure what he wanted. As he scanned through the selection of armaments he soon found something that caught his eye; a shiny black dagger of some unknown material, whether it was metal or not he did not know, but he knew one thing: he had to have it. He broke open the heavy glass of the container that the dagger was in, not knowing that he was stealing an obsidian dagger that had been imported as a gift to General Khazard himself. Karsek quickly left port Khazard before anyone could pin the thefts to him, and he fled North once more along the coast.

As he walked North, he came upon the Necromancer's Tower South of Ardougne, and saw that a group of armored men from Ardougne's guard force were attacking a group of black robed men. Having had negative experiences with warriors, and associating the dark colors the necromancers wore as something positive, he liked dark colors, he rushed to the defense of the necromancers. He used flashes from his eyes to weaken and cripple the guardsmen, being careful to avoid letting his gaze accidentally harming the black robed men. As the necromancers thought they were under a new threat, they quickly took notice that the strange creature in brown robes was not harming them, and started to kill the armed warriors as they fell under the influence of Karsek's deadly gaze.

After the guardsmen were dealt with, the necromancers were cautious as they approached Karsek. Karsek, managing to use his poor skills at speech, quickly tried to assure them he meant them no harm, and his rasping snake-like voice was taken as a positive sign by the evil necromancers. They asked him if he would like to enter their home, and Karsek obliged. He stayed for a day, and even revealed what he was to the necromancers. They took it upon themselves to help Karsek, even if he was the strangest thing they've seen crawl into their home, for he had saved their lives, and they decided to tell him of places where he might be able to go, even giving him a map of Gielinor to aid him in his travels.

Out of all the places the necromancers had told him of, one place stood above them all as one that sounded like it would be sanctuary to him; the dark kingdom of Morytania, the land of monsters and beasts. Declaring his intent to go there, the necromancers warned him of the creatures called ghasts, and decided to create a dark pouch for him; enchanted to hold a special mix of some dark fluid that acted as a poisonous deterrent to the horrific creatures. Karsek left the next day after thanking the necromancers, and began his long journey to the fetid swamps which he felt would provide him with a home.

Into Asgarnia
He skirted around Ardougne as much as he could, avoiding the city, and he journeyed up the and around the coast through the village of Catherby. Using his superb climbing skills, he quickly traveled over white wolf mountain; even killing some of the wolves and eating a little of their meat, raw, the way he liked it. As he ventured down into the village of Taverley as night fell, he was crossing a bridge when he heard an armored woman advertising about slayer assignments and killing things, which caught Karsek's attention; he liked killing things. This woman, as it turned out, was a slayer master named Spria. Curious as he was, he approached her, doing his best to look non-threatening while cloaked in his cloth disguise. Despite his odd voice, Spria did indeed talk with him.

He asked her questions, and Spria told him of the famed skill of killing monsters, and of the slayer masters. Karsek was drew to the word master, and decided that if he was to serve one, it would be one that used him for his skills; his ability to kill. He asked if there were any other slayer masters, say, in Morytania, and Spria told him of the slayer master outside Canifis; the demon Mazchna. Pleased with this, Karsek bid farewell to Spria, and continued on with his journey. Following his map as he left Taverley, Karsek continued South West to the village of Draynor, and into Misthalin.

Misthalin
Karsek skirted around the edges of Draynor manner, avoiding the large estate as he made his way to Draynor. He found the dark little town to his liking as he passed through at night, using it as an opportunity to get a glimpse of the undefended human village. It was as he passed through that he heard a woman shouting praises of "her master, Sliske". Again, the word master caught Karsek's ears, and he moved in to investigate. As he neared the emissary of Sliske, the demonic human Relomia, Karsek was caught off guard regarding her appearance, and this made him even more curious. The emissary welcomed him and asked if he would take Sliske to be his god. Karsek decided to learn of this "god", and asked Relomia to tell him of this "Sliske".

Relomia lectured Karsek of the ways of the Sliskeans, and Karsek found that the philosophies of Relomia's god appealed to him. He declared to her his support of the god, and Karsek was brought into the fold. The emissary gifted him with a shadowy mask symbol, which Karsek took with pride; taking his place among the followers of gods on Gielinor. Despite his newfound godly master, Karsek wished to have another mortal like himself as a secondary master, as the ways of the slayers still appealed to him greatly. He continued on to the town of Lumbridge, where he stayed for a few days in the swamps nearby, feeding off the resident giant rodents as he planned his next move.

Kharidian Keepsakes
Karsek was soon faced with the problem of Al Kharid; as he would have to go North or South around the city to reach the river pass into Morytania, and he was watching the docks between Lumbridge and the Kharidian city when another ship caught his eye. He saw wealthy goods; fine silks, shiny metals, and impressive weapons being shipped through the city gates. He was impressed with the display of power and wealth that he witnessed, and he decided that Al Kharid should "share" some of its prosperity with him, as he would need more than just the dagger he took from Port Khazard to make it in Morytania. Once more under the cover of night, Karsek quickly over climbed the wall surrounding the city, his claws and natural agility giving him the edge, as he wanted to avoid being noticed by the gate guards.

As he walked the streets, many fine goods and weapons caught his eyes. He began noting what he wanted from the closed shop stalls and businesses, and he picked which targets he would hit that night. He chose to raid the clothes store first, which was not as well guarded as the weapons and armor stores he planned to steal from next, and entered from the roof. He found many fine garments, but he only wanted what best would suit him, and picked fine dark blue and purple cloths, trimmed with gold lace. Despite the extravagancy of the cloths he took, he was surprised to find that they were quite strong; built to withstand the harsh elements of the Kharidian desert. He then moved on to the armor store.

He gained access from the roof as the clothes store before, but was forced to move stealthily to avoid the sights of a rooftop guardsman. He entered the shop from a skylight and began searching for a light yet strong armor to wear. It was not long before he found a dark stained, fashionable, yet functional light-weight metal and hide armor; which was commissioned to be crafted for Al Kharid's spymaster. Karsek, it seemed, had expensive tastes when it came to what he wanted. He did what he could to combine the fine desert cloth of the clothes store with the armor; and created a rogue-ish outfit that he found to his pleasing. The armor of the spymaster even came with a pleasant surprise; the sorceress of the city had enchanted the hood of the headpiece to darken the face of the wearer, and make them harder to distinguish, though Karsek would only discover this later.

He quickly left the armor shop and set his sights upon his last target; the weapons store near the palace steps. He attempted to enter from the roof as he did with the other shops before, but was greeted with the sight of a rooftop guardsmen; who spotted him as soon as he cleared the edges of the roof. Reacting to quickly to avoid the guardsman sounding the alarm, Karsek sprinted at the man, who had his bronze scimitar in hand. Karsek drew his stolen dagger as he rushed the man, who did not have time to shout for help due to the surprise of a hooded stranger rushing at him after somehow leaping to the top of a three story building. The guard attempted to block the knife with his scimitar, but to Karsek's great surprise and delight, the strong obsidian dagger shattered the bronze blade of the guard, and continued on through with a stab to the man's chest.

The man spat out blood as his lungs were pierced, and Karsek covered his mouth as he lowered the man to the ground; stabbing a few more times for good measure. Karsek entered through a rooftop room and descended the stairs, carefully and silently walking through the bedroom of the shop proprietor, and into the main body of the shop. He was pleased with his dagger, but he needed a weapon that he was conditioned to use by the gnomes; a ranged weapon. He searched the shop over, and to his surprise he found an outlandish looking small crossbow that could fit on the forearm of the wielder. He took it, pleased to have found a new toy, and continued to loot a few steel throwing knives and darts.

After his looting spree was over, Karsek fled the city, eager to leave before the hunt for the thief and murderer would begin. He scaled the West walls of the city, and ran through the short strip of desert before he hit the riverbank of the Salve.

Settling In
Karsek quickly crossed into the fetid, cool swamps of Morytania, and seeing that the pouch the necromancers had made for him to repel the ghasts was working, found the swamp to his liking. He looked at his map and discovered that the village of Canifis, where the slayer master Mazchna could be found. He began a trek North to find the village, which he sighted through the reeds. He knew he could not live in the village, perhaps visit it from time to time, but not live in it. He began searching the swamps nearby, hoping to find a place to den, but he did not want to live out in the open of the swamps; he missed the caves he was born in outside Rellekka. He began using his eye for detail to try to find some sort of hollow that he could hold up in when a small hill with an old rotting wooden door caught his eye.

He walked over to it, and used his strength to push open the old doors; and found to his surprise that a small twisting, maze-like cavern was beneath. He entered and quickly began exploring, finding giant rats to feed off of, and several small rooms that twisted on through the cave passages. It was as he was searching for the perfect one to call home that he discovered a large wall made of bricks, which his forked tongue scented blood on the other side. He began investigating the wall, and on his side he found what looked to be an indent, like a door handle, on the surface of the bricks. He pulled, and was greeted by what appeared to be an abandoned storage cellar, with a ladder leading to who knows where.

He decided to investigate, and as he ascended the ladder he discovered what he did not expect to see; the back end of Canifis's tavern. He had actually discovered a home that led him strait to the village that the slayer master dwelled by, and was finally content with his choice of a home. Over the course of several days, he explored the caverns that he had chosen to take up residency in; familiarizing himself with the maze-like passages, and even discovered a strange tunnel into a crypt, which in turn led to a large crypt with a strange glowing red altar of skulls. As he ventured further, going past the second crypt and down the tunnels, he found, to his horror, a long abandoned lab full of equipment and cages that reminded him of Arposandra.

Karsek chose to leave and not investigate that particular passage again, at least not for the time being. He then chose a nice solitary room in the cavern to which he would call home for the first time, and began his solitary life in Morytania; only leaving to hunt for the slayer master and feed on what poor souls found themselves too weak to resist him.

Personality
Karsek is may be a monster in appearance, but he has a highly developed mind, gifted to him by the gnomes that created him, as they wanted an elite killer and protector; one that was capable of solving problems on its own. Although intelligent, that does not mean he does not indulge in his baser desires; as he loves the taste of flesh, be it alive or dead. Although he will eat almost any type of flesh; he will not consume gnomes, as this was unexplainably added into his "organic conditioning" during his creation. Despite his disgusting appetite, he has a formal respect for other creatures capable of killing, and does not attack sentient beings who are, as he puts it, "worthy of their lives", unless provoked. He does, however, have a habit of killing and eating the weak and the worthless, such as the shriveling bloodstock humans that the vyres keep in Meiyerditch.

He was created to serve, and he still carries this function even if he would not like to admit it, and has the desire to seek out a master worthy of his skills. He finds this need fulfilled often by the slayer master Mazchna, whom he takes contracts from for creatures that live in Morytania, and in his worship of Sliske. Even though he still has the slayer masters and Sliske, he still seeks others to serve temporarily as suits his fancy, but prefers to assist and serve non-humans, as he has come to dislike humans for their actions against him. Almost fearless, Karsek has one mental weakness; he is deathly afraid of fire, and shies away from it if there it presents a threat, but is fine with harmless amounts of it, like on a torch.

Appearance
Karsek, when unclothed, perfectly resembles a humanoid cockatrice without a tail and wings. The tail was taken away during his warping process by the gnomes, and because it was easier to repurpose the wings instead of growing new limbs; his wings were repositioned and reconfigured into arms. Because of his wings becoming his arms; his arms tend to have a few more feathers on him than the rest of his body. His body is mostly covered with reptile scales, excluding the forearms and the feet, which are covered with avian scales, while there are some places on his body that have a few feathers here and there that add a decorative touch to his appearance. His eyes, like a cockatrice's, are a piercing yellow, which glow when he uses his inherited death glare. When clothed he looks much different; human even when he can conceal all his features. He prefers to wear a mix of dark colors with light armor and some cloth, which adds an assassin-like appearance to his person.

Abilities
Karsek is, by all accounts, and affront to the natural order; being a near perfectly created monstrosity. He was gifted with a highly specialized predator's intelligence, fast reflexes and agility, advanced senses, strength, and jumping prowess that would make a kangaroo jealous. By all means, he has everything at his disposal to become the greatest tactical killer or thief Gielinor has ever known, but he prefers his slayer tasks and hunting of wild game. Karsek, like the cockatrices he was created from, is capable of using his eyes to weaken, and even eventually kill those who are not prepared to defend against such a threat. Although he can use his eyes to kill, he instead likes to get up close and personal if he knows he can overpower his enemy, as he likes the bloodshed. As such, his claws and hooked beak can be quite effective in close encounters, and they even aid him in traversing walls and obstacles.

If forced to defend against a superior enemy, he will often attempt to flash them with his eyes and make a hasty getaway instead of entering into conflict. Compared to other creatures, his internal systems are an amazing and complex design by the gnomes; he is immune poison and disease, has the aforementioned bodily mechanics above, does not require sleep, and can digest nearly any kind of meat, including bones; even if the remains are foul and rotting of decay, which was added into his creation when the gnomes wanted an easy way to feed him, and found it efficient to have him consume the rotting flesh of the failed experiments. His snake tongue gives him an added edge when it comes to tracking; as it is able to scent and point him in the right direction. Combat-wise, he is incredibly accurate with ranged weaponry, and is likewise skilled in short bladed weapons. Although his skills can almost make him seem magical, when famed assassins become so legended that their abilities are confused with black sorcery, he is actually quite poor at anything magic related.

Other Information

 * He holds racist views towards humans, do to their treatment of him after he escaped Arposandra.
 * the gnomes of Arposandra are still hunting for him, as Karsek still holds knowledge of their city, and they do not want word of it to reach the wrong ears.
 * He actually has sharp teeth in his beak, which are hidden behind it. This set of teeth also includes a set of hypodermic fangs, which can inject a mild venom, similar to a rattlesnake bite (albeit not as deadly), into his victims.

Trivia

 * This character is a recreation of an older character that was retired and deleted due to it being a custom-content race. This character has been heavily adapted off the original character it was based off of, and remade to fit quite nicely into lore.