Henry – Par'Adeus and Hadea

Description

Henry is sight to behold by most commoners, and a sight to be feared by crypt-delving adventurers. Being somewhere over 300 years old, Henry's skin and organs have long since disintegrated, leaving behind a walking talking skeleton. Henry hides much of his body under musty old cloaks, usually only having his skull and hands visible. This also conceals the countless carvings of runes that he had etched into his bones.

As far as bones go, Henry has far more than the standard number for a human being, and little explanation for where they came from. In addition to being shoved into every possible crevice in his own skeletal figure, he keeps extra bones in his pockets, strapped to his robes, and in his room. All these extra pieces have created a much larger than usual skeleton as well, putting him at about 8-feet tall. He popped two poorly craved pebbles into his eye sockets in an attempt to make his face less terrifying, but it has maybe the opposite effect he intended.

Backstory

Once hailed as Dr. Henry Everthorne, the Sage of Arcane Remedies, he was a man of brilliance and ambition, a doctor known far and wide for his unmatched medical prowess. However, his pursuit of knowledge took a dark turn when he became consumed by an obsession with unraveling the mysteries of life beyond death's embrace. Driven by his insatiable curiosity, he conducted cruel and unethical experiments on unsuspecting victims, seeking to peer into the realm that lies beyond mortality's veil.

Amid his reckless and immoral experiments, a heart-wrenching revelation shattered his world. His beloved wife, the anchor of his soul, was carrying a child whose parentage hung in uncertainty. Discovering her infidelity ignited an inferno of rage within him, a blaze that consumed their once-happy home and claimed the lives of all except for himself.

In the aftermath of the devastating fire, his senses returned to him, but they brought with them an overwhelming torment. Gripped by guilt, madness, and an unrelenting desire to undo the irreversible, he embarked on a solitary quest across distant lands. He sought arcane secrets, ancient rituals, and forbidden knowledge that could resurrect his wife and unborn child, a quest that would lead him through a series of harrowing encounters and trials.

However, fate was not kind to Dr. Henry Everthorne. Trapped in an accursed tomb alongside his companions, time flowed mercilessly, erasing his humanity and leaving only his skeletal remains behind. Over years that stretched into centuries, he languished in solitude, surrounded by the cold embrace of death, his once-brilliant mind corroded by isolation and despair.

Madness took root within him, twisting his thoughts and rendering him a hollow echo of his former self. With trembling fingers, he etched arcane runes onto his bones, a desperate plea for salvation or understanding. He whispered to the decaying corpses of his companions, hoping for some semblance of connection or response, yet the silence of the tomb was his only companion.