Rakai Karanovic¶
Rakai Karanovic is a Curcian lord of the Sancturi Imperium, a landholder in debt who was travelling the frontier to hire mercenaries when he was caught in the Hollow that swallowed Harwith. Bound by the blood pact of the devil Hal'Gamesh, he travelled with the company that went out to break it (S150, S138, S161).
Also called: Rakai.
Person¶
He is 42, with "very long, curled, silver hair and brown eyes, with rough brown skin". He stands 5'9" with an athletic build and "an edgy, unremarkable face. He has an air of Sancturi nobility and gestures profusely during conversation" (S150). He has been a warrior, trader and farmer as well as a noble, and wants "Power and Glory" (S150).
"He is very honorable and forthright. He sees no use in deception" (S150). He is suspicious of companions he takes for Riven worshippers, and was "strongly against helping Prince Immeron or Neven Hayes"; he "will try to buy loyalty to his path", and failing that "will likely try to build a rebellion from within the group (buying off or convincing)" (S150).
His debt¶
Rakai "owns a large estate" with eight tenant farmers and "has recently expanded, taking on 12 more tenants" (S150). The expansion ruined him. "He cannot pay his taxes and is looking at land forfeiture and having his citizenship revoked unless he gets a Causa Waiver from the Sancturi Sages" (S150). His case was weak, "as his inability to pay is related to his overextension and misfortune and not to some external calamity or extenuating circumstances", so one of the sages recommended another path: recover a Sancturi artifact from a ruin "watched over by infidels: The Brotherhood of the Sun" (S150). He offered "good pay and if you turn out to be loyal agents he will talk about sponsorship" to any who would help him "slip in" (S138).
With the company¶
Rakai was one of "nine 'mercenaries'" bound at Harwith (S161). He went with the others through Floren to Kilmarn, where he was badly wounded and stabilized, and in the drow outpost beyond took up an Aurumite elven helmet and a kite shield bearing a giant spider (S162, S163, S165). At Miralt he was among those "captured for questioning" by the court of Duchess Lavinia Zul-aw-ta and released after questioning by the bishop (S173). The next record gives him a sword, Frostbrand, with the words "Disciple of Kalar" (S174). His deeds in play are the Sancturi Campaign's.
Gap
The sources do not name Rakai's estate or the artifact he was sent for, and do not say whether "Disciple of Kalar" (S174) describes Rakai, a Sancturi lord turning to the Riven god, or the sword. He is drafted as a companion run by the game master (S138, S150), but the later session notes list him with the players' characters, and they do not say who played him or what became of him after Miralt.