Characters: Ithuriel
Name: Ithuriel
Occupation: Prince, adventurer
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 280 pounds
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Ethnicity: African descent
Known relatives:
Education:
Aliases/nicknames:
Distinguishing characteristics:
Skills/abilities:
Ithuriel is arguably one of his world's strongest men. But he's also fast, quick & agile. The barbarian is a superb athlete.
Place of birth: Aston, capital of the Kingdom of Kahnuri
Marital status: Single
Brief personal history:
From age three, Ithuriel was raised solely by his father, Tzumé. His to-be-named mother was a powerful oracle & sage. Multitudes of Aston's citizens lauded her skills. But she wanted more.
Even as a single father, Tzumé raised Ithuriel well & quickly climbed the ranks within Kahnuri's military. After a stellar academic career, leaving Kahnuri's highest university at 21 with the equivalent of 2 post-graduate degrees, Tzumé became captain of a Kahnuri cohort patrolling the Kahnuri-Sandeh border. (Sandeh is Kahnuri's eastern neighbor.)
Despite the decades-old truce between all The Nigritia's royal houses, peace between Kahnuri & Sandeh had always been tenuous. Caution between such neighbors would always be wise. During his 2 years on the border, Tzumé's cohort found a tribe of massacred nomads. Evidence showed that the attack had occurred a couple of days earlier. After inspecting the tribesmen's clothing & accoutrements, none of the Kahnuri soldiers could identify the nomads or from where they might have come. The cohort cremated the numerous corpses. Tzumé retained a few items from the murdered people that seemed important & delivered these to his superiors.
By 32 years old (Ithuriel was six), Tzumé had worked up to the rank of general. As the general's son, Ithuriel took full advantage of his access to—arguably—the continent's best legionnaires & soldierly training. The big boy was a military & martial arts prodigy.
Tzumé retired from the military after five more years, entering private life & politics. Due to his intelligence & country-wide contacts, Tzumé had amassed a fortune. Quite a success for this middle class born man. Having come from relatively humble beginnings, Tzumé was uniquely qualified to help the king implement the political & social changes that all Nigritian royal houses were employing. The majority of Kahnuri citizens loved him. Everyone in the "ruling class"—whether they were foes or allies—respected him. When he was assassinated, Tzumé was Kahnuri's most revered statesperson.
At this epic's inception, Ithuriel is 20 years old. Traitors throughout The Nigritia are secretly working in concert to overthrow their respective countries. These rebellions will have varying degrees of success.
But these selfish, short-sighted coups create absolute chaos across Alk'bulaan. To execute this revolt in Kahnuri, Tzumé & Ithuriel need to die, so they are one of the rebels' prime targets. After his father's sacrifice to save him, Ithuriel kills as many of those assailants as he could & escapes.
(Necromancy in conjunction with Kabandha enables the various countries' royal plotters to communicate & simultaneously execute their coups.)
But the determined plotters from Sandeh & Kahnuri are still searching for him, using their natural & supranatural means to locate & assassinate Ithuriel. They don't want to take any chances, remote as they may be, that this quite capable warrior might come back for some payback.
Throughout the story, Ithuriel will carry & wield his father's former sword, Liwâ. Once the blade is broken & refashioned in Wa-Koku (that era's "Japan"), the barbarian changes the sword's name to "Shin Liwâ."
Locar is a port town. Ithuriel, with help from family friends, is planning to catch a ship headed east. He needs to get as far away from The Nigritia as possible. Once safe from the schemes on his life, he'll be better able to plan his revenge. He's heading for Madragar (today's Madagascar) on a neutral merchant ship. Madragar is not part of The Nigritia, due to its enmity with Nyanjarrah—the Nigritian nation which it neighbors.
Written and illlustrated by Robert Roach