Bound By Belonging, Rather Than Blood (event)
Character: Duke Bhagwant Chatrakath of Jhanadahoo
Who am I?
In the day my hands pluck the heads of my foes, my sword slashes towards enemies of the kingdom and bandits who trouble its traders alike. My mouth helps in reaching a cordial understanding with the rabid natives of the forest that threaten Vastarnai trade. All my body, all of it, in the service of the great Kashti kingdom since I turned nine.
But when I sleep? A different life. My hands pluck petite flowers, soft yet slightly unyielding like a head. My mouth doesn't speak but tastes the bitter grapes. My sword? A mere wooden toy. All of my body, all of it, in a garden of nature, surrounded by the same people of the forest. Why? Why do I feel like this every night, waking up in a bed drenched with sweat and calling for my mama, her face like an illusion, a mirage...
When my king decided to bestow me my highest reward, a duchy in his kingdom, I very well knew why. He wanted me to quell the insubordinate Tanumarei that lived in these backwater woods while rewarding me at the same time. So I marched. In the name of the king of Kashti.
But I couldn't do it...because here and now, looking at the pitiful sight of the oppressed, the locks of trauma clacked open and an intense infusion of rage and sorrow came over me as I realized my dreams were a reflection of my past, and how I was taken away from my home and my people who were just as much in need of a savior as the Tanumarei are now. And I decided, here and now, I would become their savior....
The old king has died, and the new boy king is naive of the ways of kingship. This is my chance. This is OUR chance. With a freshly cut scar on my face to symbolize the bond with my new family, I rally my forces. Let my boots now march to draw blood anew, not for reasons of greed and avarice, but to free my people and myself.
With this scar, I am honor bound to my people.