Kn-1531: Amarant

Amarant grew up with his parents like any child- except his mother was a practicioner of voodoo so his childhood wasn't exactly normal. Instead he grew up playing with toys made from dead things and bones. So naturally- he began to develop an affinity for them. As he grew older, he became more and more obsessed with bringing the dead to life..under his control. He became enthralled with this idea of being devout enough to his 'god' to be granted powers of necromancy, to control the dead to do his bidding. Though what exactly 'his bidding' is-isn't really clear.

He is loyal to the god of destruction, a god known for aggressive neutrality. As such, Amarant isn't solely good, nor evil. He does things to benefit himself and those around him, but equally causes a path of destruction in his wake when he decides upon a course of action. Most will come away from dealing with him rather bewildered of their views on him or finding him assertively unpredictable.

He leads a small group of loyalists to the god, many refer to it as a cult- even though none of the members of this group are forced to stay there nor do they cause harm to others unless given a very good reason (Such as someone else endangering an innocent). Their true motives are pretty unclear.

Growing up he didn't really bond with anyone in his family. The closest he had to a friend is the 'whispers' from his god and his own ambitions. He didn't persay dislike his parents. He just never became very close with them because even when a child he was adamantly passionate about his own goals and they were just more important in his eyes. His father always seemed in a foul mood to him growing up- so he left him be unless it was trying to demand things from him as a younger child. Though this was usually not met well- he was a bit of an egotistical brat as a kid so he did it anyway. His mother he was more fascinated with- poking and prodding at her things and getting into anything he could get his hands on. Despite her wishes however- her voodoo still hasn't managed to mutate him into having a third eye yet. However, with no other explanation in sight for why the young man was targeted by the whispers of the god- it's a high possibility her voodoo practices opened a window of sorts for him to be contacted in this way.

He lives in an old keep at the edge of a swamp, close enough to home and a place where he could cheaply buy a deed to repair a rotting old building and have plenty of room for his following. Though he operates there, he most often remains in the keep's tower. This is mostly because its somewhere isolated he can think and not be bothered. If that however, is not a viable option, he will just travel into the swamp and vanish for a few days. Usually to meditate or try and teach himself some sort of powers. Hoping each time that his god will grant him one. So far he has had no luck. Whether that's because the god is truly nonexistant, just ignoring him, or simply not pleased with his efforts yet, is also not quite clear. No one has seemed to hear from the god other than he himself- and only in faint whispers. So its entirely possible its all just in his head.

He has little interest in social interactions- but he's far from shy or unsociable. Actually- he's quite charming and charismatic.....if you ignore what he's actually rambling about of course. He's quite witty-and is definitely intelligent. Some question the depths of his cunning- as some of his actions seem pointless...but the small ripple effects usually lean in his favor- whether that's coincidence, or purposeful on his part is unclear. He speaks of evil- but so far his actions haven't ever been particularly bad. He hasn't killed anyone or caused anything disasterous....at least not that anyone knows about. But interacting with him would give you the impression it was entirely plausible he had. Something about the smirk on his face when asked if he's spilled blood- isn't particurally convincing of his innocence. Though he could just be messing with you.

He comes across as entirely cold hearted, but he is loyal to those he has developed care for or who put their loyalty in him. Though he much prefers to work alone, he has amassed a small group of followers over time. He often lies to manipulate them, but has never manipulated them in evil ways- most often to convince them to leave so he can be alone for a while and do his own thing. He does have the problem of having a massive ego- and insulting him is a very, very quick way to incite his fury. Or at least make him run his mouth back at you. He just won't have anyone going and hurting his pride. He has little desire or expense of sympathy towards others- nor does he fear threats. He believes strongly in his diety and the capabilities of 'his' power to defend him. So he would never fear a mortal being- with the exception of his mother. Who's own dark 'power' intimidates him greatly. But a strong majority of the time he just avoids her to avoid her wrath.

Despite his big talk- and his very manipulating and calculating personality, He has no actual supernatural ability of his own. Other then maybe a crazy skill in sewing- he certainly didn't buy his robes at the local thrift store. He most frequently just pretends to have powers to intimidate those who stumble across his temple, while he waits for his god to give him real powers to aid his cause. Amarant has never specified just what it is his cause is, whether its world conquest, death and despair, power, or something somehow more benign. Most presume its something evil though. He can't dress up in robes like that and mess with people's heads and not be called evil.

Despite the times that he does sound simply raving, he does have an enormous amount of clarity and understanding about the world. So he is far from ignorant to the rest of it outside of his keep- but it doesnt sway him from whatever his goals may be. He comes across as an evil villain type, but he has no sort of nemesis or target, nobody tries to stop him, since as far as most people know he's not really hurting anyone. He's just sitting in a castle in the woods by himself worshipping some theoretically believed nonexistant god. He likes kittens and likes the rain and really hates waking up five minutes too early. He will sometimes stop to bring a squirrel some food or help an elderly woman knit. 

He is a man shrouded in mystery and very passionate about his beliefs. Though he doesn't tell others his goals- he focuses on them and will not be swayed into searching for anything else in his life until they are completed. Because of this he doesn't like the company of others much, since he sees them as a distraction more than anything. 

His morality is extremely unclear and very questionable. He presents himself as someone capable of great harm and cruelty, but has never pursued or performed such things. He's a lot of bluster, but no real evil deeds. He's shown more kindness than he's ever shown pain, and while he is extremely unpredictable its best that you don't make any assumptions of him too quick, lest you misunderstand who he really is.