Kae

"A hellning man; his skin was a light shade of red, his horns resembling those of a ram."

A hellning hailing from the far northern country of Kheranthar. His parents were cattle ranchers. Their farm in Needlefall was inherited by Kae's cousins, as he’s an only child and showed no interest in continuing in his parents’ footsteps. He visits their graves regularly and sends money home to his cousins whenever he can.

Kae is fast approaching his middle years, though he has nothing to show for it yet beyond the tiny crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes when he smiles. He’s slender and rather tall for a hellning, having gained some extra inches through the pact with his god. He has red skin, chestnut brown hair, brown eyes, and a pair of large curved horns. His Kherantharese accent comes out most often when he’s agitated or singing; he’s not the greatest singer, but knows a lot of folk music and country songs. The accent can be described as ’folksy’ – the northern drawl is unmistakeable to most peoples on the continent.

Hellnings are the distant descendants of lower devils who fled from the Below eons ago. In severing their ties with their origin they lost any magic they had, and are the only mortal species incapable of learning magic. Through his pact Kae is able to overcome that limitation, though he’s reasonably skilled with the rapier, too.

Pact with Kajo

Kae sought out the god of knowledge at the age of 24 and pacted with them to learn magic. Though warlocks are technically servants of the gods they are bonded with, Kae is more a disciple than anything else. He has a keen interest in everything magic, something he and Kajo have in common, and their partnership has been mutually beneficial in many ways.

His name, Kae, was given to him by Kajo. The name contains a seal and acts as a tether between them. The resemblance in their names is intentional as Kajo derives the names of their warlocks from their own, marking them as theirs.

Kae bears his god's mark - a scar in the shape of an uneven circle with a four-pointed star in the middle - on his left arm. It is one of the many changes Kajo did to his body upon Kae's request when they made the pact.

On warlocks

A warlock is a sorcerer whose magic comes directly from a deity instead of being an innate or learned ability as it is for other magic users. The price of this magic is the warlock's mortal soul; the warlock dies and is born anew, their physical form remade by their patron-god in order to survive the touch of divinity. This process is known as the Deathless Death. A mortal soul cannot reside in a divinely reconstructed body, ensuring the soul cannot return to its original host. Sometimes the remade body is identical to the original, sometimes not.

Warlock magic is unique in the sense that it requires no preparation, channelling or rituals in the way most other magic does. How the magic manifests depends on the patron-god's powers and personality, and there are often some traits that carry over from god to devotee. A pact forges a mental link between the two parties, and they are able to communicate at a distance. As the warlock's magic is borrowed in nature, their god can feel when their power is being used.

The most notable restriction to warlock magic is related to crossing the borders of realms, being able to enter the Beyond either upon their patron-god's summons, via making a suitable offering, or, if need be, by expending their magic to make the crossing instantly. This is generally unadvisable, however, as it drains the warlock's power and leaves them vulnerable until their magic regenerates.