Abraxas

Abraxas is a Wight that is suspected to have been created by the necromancer Anyanka at the end of the Fourth Age, shortly after he was slain in battle. He has been nicknamed the "Millenium Soldier" for his thousand years of service. In reality, he was slain and raised during the Second Age shortly after the Mahjarrat allied themselves with Zaros and used to be a devout follower of Het and Tumeken.

Appearance
Standing at the same 6'5" as he did in life, Abraxas is never seen unarmed and seldom caught unprepared. He is most commonly seen armed with a longsword or a horseman's pick war hammer.

Stalwart, he boasts broad shoulders and a powerful frame. The would-be hole from when his heart was removed and missing cavity in his chest where his rib-cage was destroyed has since been patched with heavy wire and a metal plate, though a tell-tale green light still peeks out from all of the places the metal plate doesn't cover.

Favoring heavy armor and sword and board while guarding, he is often found fully kitted for the front lines whenever he is watching over either of his charges so as to be able to better defend them should something happen. When wearing his helmet, his voice resonates somewhat as hollow.

In the rare instances when he is out of armor, he can be found wearing traditional Menaphite regalia. His apperance while he is in civilian clothes suggests that either regeneration after being killed restores him to his original state or that his looks are the product of illusions and glamors, likely so that he does not alarm the company he keeps, as he is most often found in the Asgarnian court.

His accent is unmistakably Menaphite.

Personality
Largely silent, Abraxas seldom speaks unless he is directly addressed.

Suspicious and paranoid by nature due to the way he was killed, he is wary of strangers, though not particularly distant with those he knows, he remains a rather withdrawn creature that largely keeps to himself and tries to keep himself busy. He expresses a certain measure of confusion when he is questioned about his past or his person and flat-out refuses to respond if the person questioning him is not a close friend or ally of his creator's.

Should he be lured into actual conversation, he expresses that even in the stasis of un-death, he takes a certain measure of pride and enjoyment in combat and that it's one of the few things from his past that he can enjoy. He dabbles heavily in what he considers to be 'graveyard humor', which is heavily steeped in irony. He has been known to try to shock himself into feeling something by committing a series of what can only be called war crimes and abhorrent acts. The General is prone to living vicariously and attempting to feel something through the lives of others, be it positive or negative.

Unlike most Wights, he possesses higher cognitive functions so that he can properly strategize and while he states that he leaves things like manipulation "to his betters" (a group composed of most non-undead), Abraxas has been known to manipulate conversations and purposefuly feed others false information, though never for his personal amusement.

Known background
In life, Abraxas was professional gladiator that was employed by Zarco Industries. Scoped out by the Mahjarrat Exenstrandros, more commonly known as Xandres Zarco, in the arena due to his prowess in combat, he was kept under close study by Exenstrandros and his mate Anyanka.

He was supposedly taken down in combat by a man by the name of Cade armed with a poisoned blade. Abraxas succumbed to the infection of his wounds and to the poison some few days after being pulled out of the arena and sent out for treatment.

On his death-bed, he seethed, raged and prayed for an opportunity to get revenge against those that had wronged him, that had ended his win-streak, finished his career and ended his life.

Not wishing to squander the talent of one of the best swordsmen they had ever hired, he was brought back to life as a servant and wight to Anyanka and, to an extent, Exenstrandros.

Driven by blood-lust, revenge and a desire to become the best weapon-master in the world, he was given a measure of free-will to perform his duties and be able to fight as effectively as he can. His measure of free-will allows him a free range of thought that he applies mostly for tactical purposes. As his primary function while not on the field is to guard his creator, he has been known to disobey direct orders from her to stand down if he believed that she was not in a position to properly make that call or if she was in true danger. Though he obeys and is subject to her direct magical control, it is in his 'programming' to use his judgement to make calls.

As of the Sixth Age, he is one of the figureheads of Anyanka's army of undead and the Mahjarrat is seldom seen without him at her side. Wherever she goes, it's fair to assume that he's not too far away, ready to jump in at a moment's notice to intervene and guard her. He has been spotted guarding her when she is presenting herself as Lorelei as well.

History
Born in the Menaphite city of Uzer during the Second Age, Abraxas Khaldun is the son of one of the well-known Menaphite courtesans of her time and of a prestigious military commander. Much of his early life was spent in training and he was largely educated by scholars and blademasters so that he could eventually come to follow in his father's footsteps. As an only child, he was often smothered and spoiled by his mother for even his most insignificant achievements whereas his father was somewhat more distant, which only drove him to better himself.

Introduced to combat for the first time in his early teens, he went on to marry a woman by the name of Samia shortly after he reached majority so that he would not die without continuing the family name. His wife later gave him two sons and a daughter, whoms fates are still unknown to him.

Keeping to his strong points, he became a prolific commander in his own right, going on to command a large force. He was attributed two dozen significant victories during the Zarosian-Kharidian war and was particularly skilled in developing strategies meant for small-scale, covert and intelligence operations, only to later be raised to a higher ranking and face new challenges as a military commander. Second to none in knowing how to best utilize everything at his disposal, both in terms of artillery and humanoid resources, he worked closely with their Mahjarrat allies of the time.

Shortly after the Mahjarrat changed sides and rallied under the Zarosian banner, Abraxas was on a routine check-up in an encampment with several of the units stationed there. Charged of defending an important border pass, they were attacked early on in the day, a few days after the Uzerian-born Menaphite had been sent out. Their force pused back the small, pittance group of Mahjarrat and demons impressively for some time due to the tactical advantage of their position until Abraxas was slain in battle and raised.

Their main tactician and strategist murdered brutally by their enemies, the Kharidian force was distabilized briefly. When they regained their bearrings, one of the Mahjarrat raised Abraxas as an undead Wight and used him against his former allies. Unable to resist the magical compulsion that forced him to act, the military commander watched helplessly as he became a passenger in his own body without control over his thoughts of actions.

The Kharidian line eventually surrendered, only for most of them to be slaughtered, regardless of the white flag and they were raised as either mindless undead thralls or Wights themselves.

While Abraxas was used as a weapon in most of the major conflicts following the Kharidian-Zarosian war, he was not used in the God Wars, presumably because his master did not participate. He was first given a measure of independance after Thammaron attacked Uzer so that he could defend his former home. Shortly after this event, he developed a measure of loyalty for the necromancer that had created him.

When the weapon-master came to fully terms with his undeath and new (un)life millenia later during the Fourth Age, he was granted free-reign. Unlike many other long-lived creatures, Abraxas retains a nearly impeccable memory of the events that have occured in his very long life. Much of the Age of Mortals was spent with the Mahjarrat Anyanka, guarding her as she slept and dreamed.

He has chosen to simply allow his family name to fall into disuse. Despite being suspected of being the thrall of one of the first generations of Amaranth which are considered to be siblings of Lorelei's, he has refused to take up the name for himself.

When he is addressed formally, he is generally only refered to as "General Abraxas".

Abilities
Unlike the Lieutenants of his Lorelei's's army, he possesses no skill or affinity for magic, though he can be summoned by Anyanka's side at will. While the others are used to raise the dead to bolster their ranks in battle, he is the only one that truly holds an officer position as most would understand it and fulfills officer duties appropriate to what is needed for an undead army; directing and erecting appropriate defenses in accordance to terrain and weather, acquiring weapons and armor for his troops if possible and devising strategies and tactics for use on the battlefield.

Where the army goes, he goes, transmitting commands to the Lieutenants on how their assault should proceed, directing them all, though Anyanka herself is in control of the army and possesses a sort of veto ability. She has been noted to never make use of it thus far, deeming Abraxas more than capable of occupying and fulfilling the duties required of his position.

As a swordsman, he is without second. Unaffected by fatigue, he isn't slowed down by any wounds he might sustain in combat. Nor living nor dead, he cannot be weakened by a Salve Amulet. Should he be slain in battle, he can be summoned again once he has fully regenerated. The only way to truly kill him, or any other Wight, would be to break the spell. As he already has his free will, his heart would need to be retrieved from wherever his creator saw fit to hide it, though the control she exerts on him is already minimal, at best. That done, someone wishing to destroy Abraxas would also need to locate the artifact Anyanka uses to direct, summon and loosely control him. Should all of this be accomplished, Abraxas would crumble to dust, as his body is old and his years would catch up with him.

Trivia

 * The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote a short Gnostic treatise in 1916 called The Seven Sermons to the Dead, which called Abraxas a god higher than the Christian God and devil that combines all opposites into one being. Abraxas is mentioned to be the supreme deity by the scholar Tertullian and is attributed the creation of Mind, Providence, Virtue and Wisdom from which principalities, powers and angels were made. He created the material world and has demonic qualities. He is said to generate truth and falsehood, good and evil, light and darkness with every word and action and ruled all 365 heavens.
 * The name is also said to come from the Egyptian "Abrak" which means "bow down" or "adore".
 * In D&D, Abraxas is the Demon Lord of magic words, arcane secrets, and talismans.
 * Khaldun's Arabic meaning is "Eternal". Similarly, it is considered to mean "Immortal" in Egpyptian.