Bakgrund - Kahdar "Kahrsaid" Abdul-Muqtadir

Growing up in a nomadic trader and warrior tribe from the vast desserts of the east Kahdar was hard trained from early years by the strict society necessary in such a harsh place. In his young teens he showed magic talent and was sent of to apprenticeship under a lone sage of their clan. By tradition sorcerers lived alone as hermits only occasionally mixing with the rest of society. His work was hard but Kahdar grew fond and formed a close relationship with his mentor – Ghulam of the yellow sands, as close as he had with his father. Still he met his family a couple of times a year when they happened to pass through the region where Ghulam had his house.

One day however Ghulam had a terrible accident as a spell backfired leaving him mortally wounded. Kahdar brough him back to their house and tended his master for several weeks but to no avail. Ghulam died and Kahdar was in despair and rage for not being able to help. After several days of raving Kahdar finally desided to clean up the house and return to his family. Riding through the warm dessert Kahdar arrived to the camp of his clan late one evening. The camp was in full battle as the clan was under attack from a raiding gang of dessert bandits. As Kahdar came of the hill he saw his family getting murdered in front of his eyes. In rage Kahdar called upon the mightiest spirits of the dessert to slay the intruders. But the spirits were too strong and turned upon him, possessing his mind and body. Kahdar was helpless and could only watch the rest of the camp being ransacked and burned, a few surviving women and children carried off as slaves before darkness took him.

By the cruel twists of fate Kahdar was not discovered and thereby spared the doom of his kin. Struggling with the daemons for days Kahdar finally came to balance as the spirits settled within him. No longer the same man he felt his powers had changed. Though no longer being able to reach his own innate magic he felt the power of the spririts within him surging through his body. He struggled to resist the spirits as he made his way through the dessert, feeding of cactus larvae and dessert rats, towards the nearest town Al-habar. Aimlessly he joined a caravan heading west for trade.

Only a couple of days before reaching their destination, the city of Singard, Kahdars sleep was haunted by the spirits. During the nonsensical flows of places and people within the dreamworld the spirits constantly urged him to use their magic and rise to glory and power. Like in a trance he woke and stood up and looked around, the world swirling in colours and light. The guards looked at him quizzically  but then resumed their posts. Unable to control himself the energy welled up inside rushed through his arms and out as he slew the closest guard with a purple ray of light. People in the camp rose with a start from the commotion and started screaming and running but it was too late. Kahdar hunted them down, swirls of energy lashing about him and bolts shooting from his arms until none remained alive. Then he collapsed and fell into a sleep of utter darkness.

It was early dawn when Kahdar came back to consciousness and found the corpses scattered about him. He was not horrified by the dead or what he had done, for he had fought with his clan on numerous occasions and he had no feelings towards the members of the caravan. But the spirits had bested him the previous night and he was not a person to yield, as his people had not to the harsh desert sun. Kahdar was now resolute not to let himself be taken by the ghosts of the sand. Though they whispered in his mind before he could close them off - “Give in to us and all our power shall be yours”. Taking what provisions and equipment he needed from the slain and continued the travel towards Singard. For weapon he took only a dagger carried by another Bedouin for, being a sorcerer among his people, he had never been trained extensively in any other form of combat. With his jaw set, determined steps and dark eyes Kahdar walked further into the foreign lands.

Past Singard he traveled onwards and stopped only as he came to the wealthy merchant city of Flanvell near the coast where he got a position as a common guard in one of the richer families. During a normal assignment in the city, guarding the family head's chief retainer, Kahdar managed to kill an assassin with his newgotten magic. The family was delighted at his skill and promoted him to be a part of the retainers body guard. Kahdar was pleased at the position and improved income, never revealing that he had no intention to ever use his powers again. But use it he did, he found it ever increasingly difficult to control it and soon he started even killing very dubious threats. The family did not mind at first, their might and status were great and they hardly cared as long as their retainer was kept safe. Though in the end it became too evident that Kahdar was targeting innocent bystanders as well as real threats. And one cloudy, gloomy morning he even killed one of the other body guards after which the family sent their soldiers to kill or capture him and he only barely managed to escape the city.

As Kahdar sneaked outside the gates the rain started dripping and soon it poured down from the sky as if the gods had emptied their water carafes over the land. Through the evening and night Kahdar trudged on with the lightningfilled sky above until he came to an ancient ruin of sorts. In a circle stood giant oblong boulders in pairs with flat stones laid across their peaks and Kahdar stumbled into their midst where he fell to the ground. As he looked to the clouds above he felt the power of the thunderstorm and he felt the power within himself. And drenched by the rain, in the element so far from his home land, he succumbed. Magic again surged through his blood and he was lifted of the ground on a veil of darkness and shadow, purple lightning dancing among the mysterious stones. He was the center of the storm and he liked it. The dancing shadows and flashes reached their climax and Kahdar howled as he was struck by a bright lightning from above. Everything went bright white, then black and he fell into a dark void.

Kahdar awoke in the morning spread eagle gazing up at a crystal blue sky. He was one with the spirits. Not even bothering to raise his head he threw a giant arch of purple light at one of the stones and he heard it crack and crumble to the ground. He laughed and laughed at the power that was now his.

Still not sure exactly what to do, Kahdar proceeded to the coastal city of Fenyond where he heard of a expedition sailing to unknown countries. Because the family of Flanvell was, most likely, still hunting him and he felt it would be a new beginning in his quest to explore and increase his powers he decided to join. For the first time in his life Kahdar set foot upon a ship at dawn just an hour before the journey began. On board he met an odd party of adventurers – a young cleric (that Kahdar somehow liked immediately), a small female druid, a human (at least Kahdar though he was) wizard and finally and most strangely an elf ranger. Kahdar had never before met an elf and was intrigued by this new race. A any length he got along well with the group and decided to throw in his fortunes with them. And so they sailed towards new adventures. 

©Text copyright to Axel Tojo 2010.