Skarthion

"There is no sweeter chalice than that of fresh blood."

―Skarthion, Dirge of the Skulltaker

Once a servant of the Skull Army, now an individual Diabolith who makes full use of his undead state.

Early Life
Skarthion was born the son of the Vortixx Empress, Seymoria, and a commoner. His father was killed in front of his eyes due to the scandal that would arise should news of the union become public, and Skarthion was abandoned to the streets of the capital. Like most children his age on the streets, he faced constant adversity from oppressive law enforcement agencies and regular roundups of children for either reassignment or euthanizing were a constant threat for slum infants.

He was adopted by a sympathising woman who held clandestine meetings in the slum district in Tudaria's capital shortly before a huge campaign by Seymoria was led to eradicate all vagrant children. He was forced, once again, to watch close friends and associates die in the ensuing chaos. His adoptive mother kept him safe and educated him about the world, with her connections allowing her to requisition books and technology to keep his mind sharp. However, when returning from an errand on night, he was caught in a group of fifty men who were rebelling, using makeshift bombs and weaponry to assault the law enforcement agency.

At first, the men were victorious, taking the agency outpost and their weaponry. They began distributing it throughout the slum, and several thousand inhabitants simultaneously rose up against the regime in the area. Skarthion's adoptive mother took him and the two left the slum, with her saying it was only a matter of time before the slum was destroyed. Sure enough, several days later, his home was obliterated by a small nuclear device, and there were no survivors. Skarthion vowed revenge for the downtrodden who had been killed mercilessly in the slum.

Rebellion
As Skarthion grew older, he also grew more intelligent and looked into rebellion movements around the planet. His carer still held secret meetings to help rebel groups, and he persuaded her to let Skarthion come along for one of them. It was then that he saw the extent of rebel operations against the Tudari empress, and, struck by awe at their determination, joined a resistance movement without his adoptive mother's knowledge.

During his initiation, he showed talent in independence and problem-solving, although his inability to work with others effectively meant that the resistance was reluctant to take him. Knowing that every possible member was needed to fulfil any sort of successful rebellion, they took him on as a lowly maintenance worker. He resented this treatment at first, but would later come to be thankful for the opportunity to learn new skills and have time to plan out his future.

When news broke out that Seymoria had been murdered by her daughter, Sybilia (thus making her the new Empress), there were celebrations in many disadvantaged areas. Seymoria had been a cruel, merciless ruler, whereas Sybilia had publicly spoken out on several occasions on her mother's actions. On national broadcast, she delivered her crowning speech, but finished it by brutally slaughtering all of the men at her processions with a chemical weapon which only affected males. She decreed that her mother's actions had not been significant enough, and led a campaign to exterminate males from the population entirely until they made up only 10% of all Tudari.

Resistance groups planet-wide reacted with all-out force, but found that support they had expected to gain from sympathetic females was vastly outweighed by the technology Sybilia had been harbouring in secret. With no way to prevent infection due to the chemical weapon, and no cure once one was infected, practically all resistance crumbled. The leader of Skarthion's resistance cell succumbed to the disease, and, with the cell in chaos, all hope seemed lost. Skarthion rose above the mayhem and took command of the cell, accumulating resources and creating expensive but effective protection against the infection.

Now the largest remaining resistance cell at nearly three million strong, with reverse-engineered technology rivalling that of Sybilia's, Skarthion led the cell to numerous victories across the planet. When their cell reached ten million active members, he led a direct assault on Sybilia's palace, and expected to find the Empress inside. Instead, an atomic device had been rigged to explode inside the entire capital. Frantic evacuations took place, but when the atomic device went off, eight million of Skarthion's cell were still in the capital. A further one million perished from radiation poisoning shortly after.

With a vastly decreased fighting force, Skarthion's cell was easy pickings for Sybilia's vast military, and she personally executed Skarthion and the rest of the leaders of his cell via breaking their spine-a way of death reserved only for the worst criminals. The rebellion was finished, and Sybilia's rule over the Tudari people was absolute.

Reanimation
Some one thousand years later, Tyranis was beginning his siege of the Imperian Confederacy and dispatched Bartherious to obtain a colossal undead army for his conquest. Bartherious travelled to many worlds, negotiating for access to crypts, mass graves, and burial grounds on planets such as Dachigah, Odine, and even some areas of Magnus Imperus. He arrived on Tudaria and was promptly attacked by the elite bodyguards of Sybilia's throne room. Bartherious dispatched them with ease, raised them from the dead, and marched into her throne room. He placed the Seal of Tyranis on the floor, announcing he was one of Tyranis' lieutenants, and forced his way into negotiations for corpses. Sybilia directed them towards the mass graves used for members of the rebellion, and, after exchanging technology, Bartherious raised some three hundred thousand Tudari and took them with him off-world.

Skarthion was one of the three hundred thousand. His mental training whilst a member of the resistance and the genetic engineering he underwent in order to become resistant to the infection meant that, when he was raised, his body was inhabited by his spirit which had spent some time in limbo in the Realm of Might. He was one of only three in the Skull Legion, as it was named, who retained any semblance of his former self.

For the almost-century that Tyranis waged war, Skarthion served as a member of the Skull Legion, immune to many direct orders that conflicted with his nature (such as the murder of children), but mostly unable to control his actions. He was present at the Battle of Midnight Ridge, and witnessed Kratindikur's effortless decimation of the Skull Legion. When Tyranis was defeated by Ignithitus and the rest of the Primis Major, Skarthion, Feiz, and Zinnia all retained their sentience and escaped to forge their own path.

Ascendance
With his immortality assured and his powers boosted immeasurably by the absorption of some of Tyranis' energies, Skarthion set his sights on the liberation of his people and stowed aboard a trading vessel run by Tudari women. He masqueraded as a corpse set for burial, and, when aboard, freed the male slaves and led an uprising. He broke the spines of each of the women and incinerated their bodies, throwing their ashes out of the airlock. His new fledgling rebellion donned robes and decorated them with sprawling patterns, along with the words "Skeleton King" engraved along the hood.

Proclaiming themselves as the cult of the Skeleton King, Skarthion promised the freedom of the Tudari people from Sybilia's oppressive reign and led his cultists to Tudaria. He landed and made short work of the landing pad guards, and began his path of vengeance as he passed through the capital, easily shrugging off heavy weaponry and any attempts by Tudari army personnel to impede his progress. Sympathising women and any surviving men rallied behind him, and with the capital being the main location for male slaves, his army soon grew to resemble the early beginnings of the Skull Legion itself. His entourage were not armed, however-his cult leaders spread his hero-worship and they merely chanted as his indomitable form marched ever closer to the main palace.

Sybilia called all of her personnel back to the palace, expecting mayhem and infighting to arise outside the walls of her fortress, but instead, Skarthion's cult of personality rallied all those who were abandoned by the law enforcement behind his banner, and with little effort, he tore apart the front gate to be met with weapons fire from energy weapons. He withstood their fire and slaughtered each of the women before him, instructing the members of his army (save for his cult leaders) to remain outside.

He stepped inside the throne room and exchanged a short dialogue with Sybilia before she initiated combat. After a short fight, she removed his left arm from the socket, brought Skarthion to his knees, and she held up his arm in celebration to the rest of her court. However, Skarthion was far from finished, and, rising to his full height, he grabbed her by the neck and stared into her eyes with his empty sockets as he choked her to the point of asphyxiation. At the last moment, he dropped her, and snapped her spine. He then rose her from the dead, and ordered her to attach the severed arm back to his body. She complied, and the rest of her court surrendered, begging for mercy. Skarthion had none to give.

With the old leaders of the Tudari people entirely eradicated, Skarthion called forth his cult leaders and proclaimed them the ministers of his state. For the next fifty years, he ordered all women who were not proven to sympathise with the plight of males prior to be put to slave labour, although the next generation of women children born would not experience such treatment. He considered one generation of retribution was all that was necessary.

However, the women sent out a distress call to the Imperian Confederacy, who sent a messenger to assert that Skarthion's rule was unlawful and that his connection to Bartherious made him suspect. He was ordered to stand trial on Magnus Imperus for "crimes against the living." Outraged by the tone in which the messenger delivered the decree of the Primis Council, Skarthion slaughtered him and raised an army to wage war. His immense powers allowed him to blitz a path to Magnus Imperus, where he momentarily took control of the weakened Vitacis. He was defeated by the Primis Major via beheading, however, and his armies were deported back to Tudaria, with the area placed under quarantine much like Molikonglia.

As he was beginning to experience a 'final' death, Tyranis spoke directly to Skarthion's spirit and offered him a choice-become one of the Apex Dozen and save his people from oppression forever more, or die and know the Tudari people would go back to living under an oppressive matriarchy. For Skarthion, long a lover of his people and the cause they stood for, it was an easy choice. He was risen and reinforced with immense powers and tools which made him one of the most formidable in combat of the Dozen.

He has since been on the hunt for Feiz and Zinnia, determined to find them before Bartherious and raise them to his level in order to better safeguard the future of the Tudari people.

Living
As a living Tudari, Skarthion had dormant fire and ice powers which were mostly inhibited by genetic manipulation by scientists of the Empress' regime. He wore a powerless helm which was to enable telepathy. He carried no tools of significant worth for any period of time. He was, however, an accomplished technician and a charismatic leader who was able to inspire members of his resistance cell even when all hope seemed lost. He was a good fighter in combat, although his large build meant he could be unwieldy.

Reanimated
As a member of Bartherious' Skull Legion, Skarthion was clad in cheap, primitive armour designed to stave off basic attacks and provide a small measured of improved durability to members of the Skull Legion. His sword was rusty and ineffective, although due to Bartherious' magic, it had better cleaving power than one might suppose and he himself possessed improved durability due to his undead nature. His mind, whilst free of Bartherious' influence, could not maintain control of his own body, however.

Diabolith
As a Diabolith, Skarthion's powers were vastly increased due to the absorption of a generous amount of Tyranis' energy. His power was further supplemented with practice during the fifty years of his uninterrupted reign. The rediscovery and reforging of the legendary sword, Kelkorna, improved his tooling further. When raised to become a member of the Apex Dozen, his bones were reinforced with Magnum Steel and he was made virtually indestructible.

Personality
Skarthion was a man hardened by the oppressive matriarchal rule, and was willing to make sacrifices for the greater good of his cause for liberation. He was, however, guided by an almost fanatical devotion to the plight of his compatriots and saw no measure as too great to safeguard the future of his people. He was a cultured man who did his best to fulfil the wish of his adoptive mother to become educated. Whilst he could be an utterly cold and heartless individual when dealing with individuals such as Sybilia, and her court (who were amongst some of the worst offenders in Tudari society), he was not devoid of mercy and intended to spread out gender equality after one generation of retribution. He was a firm ruler, but the hero worship generated by his cult meant that he was almost universally looked up to as a caring leader figure and he did not, as the Empress' had done previously, use violence to resolve disputes groups may have with his rule (unless they were groups wishing to re-establish matriarchal order).