Carrion

Alias: Cahariin (Lost name, pronounced Kah-Hah-Reen)
Race: L'na Dawn
Aspects: Body 2, Mind 2, Soul 2
Sex: Male aspect; Height: 3' 3" (at shoulder); Length: 5' 6"; Weight: 130 lbs.

"The others are not our enemies. Ignorance is our enemy, and if not fought it will destroy us all."

Character Description/Notes: The L'na Dawn known as "Carrion" did not always bear such a disreputable moniker. In times long since passed, his name was not synonymous with decay – it was instead Cahariin, and he was an accepted member of the wider peoples of Ai. That was, of course, before the Event... before the other races found their ways to his world.

Like nearly all horrible misunderstandings, it had started simply enough. Soon after the stars had first appeared over Ai, Cahariin's slumber was interrupted by the intrusion of strange bipeds... creatures from another world. They had found themselves inexplicably carried from their own home to that of the L'na, and were lost and afraid – especially of the large being which had arisen from its den to question them. They prostrated themselves, named their tribe as "Churl", and begged what they assumed to be a god-spirit for passage back to their homeland.

For all the strangeness of the event, Cahariin found himself curious about these beings. What were they? How had they found themselves here? Probing the local ebb and flow of Ai's mystic currents, the L'na discovered a strange gap – and when he led the wayward Churl to it, he discovered a crackling gateway of bizarre orange energy which matched its location. Through the passage was a barren, rocky plain to which the alien bipeds flocked with a cheer. As quickly as they had come, the Churl were gone... but they were only the beginning of the visitors that would soon be arriving upon Ai. Cahariin, for his part, was glad to greet them.

Being an eater of the dead was not a stressful or demanding life. One simply found and ate what others had left behind, aiding in the passage of death into new life. This left Cahariin with plenty of time and freedom to explore; few among the manifold creatures of Ai took any notice of the scavenger in their midst. As a result, the L'na was the perfect scout... and, soon enough, the perfect guide.

Whenever Cahariin discovered a new creature upon the face of his home during the course of his wanderings, he would offer greetings and aid – a most welcome gift for most, as few who originally discovered themselves in Ai had intended upon going there. The idea, as he had conceived of it, was a simple and elegant one. By offering guidance, he could get the wayward beings home... and in the meantime he could learn about these creatures that were appearing with greater and greater frequency. Perhaps he could even offer them some guidance in more meaningful ways than simple directions.

It was in this way that the L'na slowly became the unofficial ambassador of Ai – which slowly became a problem all its own. At first, of course, it was a joyful realization that those he had helped in the past were so grateful for the assistance that newcomers stumbling into his home had actually been warned to seek him out if they found themselves there.

Then, however... then there came those who were either unwilling or unable to return to their own worlds. A team of Apoc High-bred arrived with strange instruments and a stated desire to learn about and document Cahariin's world. A node of Klik sought to harvest resources from the wealth of Ai. Even the Churl which had first accidentally stumbled upon the L'na Dawn’s home now returned intentionally, leading a hunting party for a rite of passage ritual and seeking to slay a powerful creature to prove their strength.

What was Cahariin to do, in the face of such things? There was no keeping these beings out of his existence – their worlds had become linked by forces more powerful than he could even begin to comprehend. The only response he could conceive of was to work to minimize the problems such outsiders might cause while attempting to educate them on how to best coexist with his people.

He guided the Klik with words of sustainability and environmental management while presenting them with trees in need of culling and deep-earth mineral veins. He explained the cultural value and importance of the L'na sacred sites to the High-bred researchers, all the while stressing how vital it was to avoid the perception of having violated them with an "alien" presence. He even set the Churl upon the trail of a beast which had escaped into Ai from their own Earth, directing them in their hunt to solve two potential problems at once.

Not every interaction had successful conclusions, however, and the constant tide of visitors never seemed content with what they had already accomplished. Indeed, "visitors" soon ceased to be an appropriate word... they were quickly becoming "homesteaders," constructing settlements for themselves within the boundaries of Ai and pushing further and further against the tolerances of the L'na. It was only a matter of time before the Wardens – self-designated protectors of their homeland – ceased to tolerate what they termed an invasion.

Tensions were high, and Cahariin was torn in his loyalties. He felt that isolation was not an answer, and indeed he claimed friends among the newcomers... yet the L'na also felt the mystic ties to his home that were the birthright of all his kind and was pained by the damage caused to it. A balance was nearly impossible to find, and soon events cascaded out of control.

It was almost inevitable, but Cahariin was nonetheless shocked when violence broke out around him. The Klik survey team he was guiding apparently possessed unmentioned affiliations with a squad of clear-cutting harvesters, a fact the Wardens had discovered without bothering to inform him. Instead they simply attacked, slaughtering the mechanical humanoids – and when he tried to defend his charges from what he perceived to be an unprovoked assault, he was dog-piled by his own people and beaten into submission. Even then he hoped that would be the end of it; he had faith that, their rage expended, the Wardens would be open to his questions about his treatment.

He was unbelievably wrong. Dragged before a summoned council of his peers, Cahariin was accused of treason against his race and his home and summarily ejected from the tribes of the L'na. Even his name was stripped from him. Instead he was dubbed Carrion, as "you willing join the interlopers in feasting upon the body of your world as if it was already dead." Robbed of his place in Ai and declared an official nonentity among his fellow L'na, the newly-pronounced "Carrion" was abandoned to his fate.

Now the exiled L'na lives amongst the camps of the "invaders," seeking to find a peace between the colliding worlds. He knows that he may have made mistakes, as the scars on his neck and body remind him, but every day he lives with them he learns and soldiers on towards reconciliation. That it is possible is his greatest conviction – his people may not believe such a truth, but Ai herself does. Her endless magic still responds to his call, even if the L'na are blind to it, and this gives him hope.

Of course, experience has tempered his aspirations with caution. Now his potential employers are required to earn his trust and friendship to gain the guidance of his years of hard-earned wisdom. Those who would seek to hire Carrion must prove their spirits noble and their intentions pure – but any with such qualities would be wise to avail themselves of his aid. To this day, the advice for those who find themselves flung into Ai from those who have been stuck there before is simple:

"Seek out the creature they call Carrion, and you will be safely brought back home."

Tactics: As befitting a guide in the multifaceted environs of Ai, Carrion possesses skill with the more benevolent abilities his bond with Oaze can provide. Whether his charges need to cross a roaring river in flood or escape from a predator through the forest canopy, the L'na exile can produce a solution. Of course, these are not his only abilities... but they are his most commonly-used ones. Carrion practices avoidance whenever possible, throwing up a cloud of blinding fog and fleeing if violence seems likely; after all, he's experienced the repercussions of fighting back before. It is only when cornered that he will actively harm others to defend himself.

Of course, pushing Carrion to that point is decidedly unwise. He has many tricks up his sleeve beyond even that contained in his magical abilities, and though he is loathe to enter combat the L'na outcast is quick to try and end it by whatever means are necessary. Those who would attempt to again threaten him or his charges will be met with force and fury from three disparate worlds – after all, Carrion has picked up some prize possessions in his years of service to the "outsiders" and knows how to use them. Few L'na would ever dream of pulling the pin to a grenade, but fewer still would expect one amongst their number to use one against them in self-defense... and Carrion has sworn that he will not become an unwitting victim again.