Greetings,
It is I, Xermillion Glass, once again with our tales of tortured souls.
This week, we will be talking of Keeku, an up-jumped urchin from a small hamlet just outside of Solveria proper. The same sub-species of Feline as Naan is.
Keeku does not talk much of himself or his past. He'll mention Naan and his contempt for him, he'll mention his work as a soldier and his lack of a master, but that is all you'll get from him.
Naan, however, is a different story. As he is want to do, Naan will talk until you can no longer hear.
To hear him tell it, Naan was playing one day, the way that only the son of a king may play and found Keeku in an alleyway. They became fast friends and Naan begged his father, Toffer, to allow Keeku to move into their estate in Solvenia. Toffer allowed it, and thus Keeku became, essentially, a live-in friend for Naan.
As the years went by, Naan grew into his lordship and Keeku was by his side the whole way. Keeku ended up as a retainer to Naan and the two of them were even more inseparable than before.
Neither will talk about the rift that drew them apart, Keeku is angry and seems to blame Naan, but Naan only speaks sadly of the incident.
In any case, Keeku left Solveria and came to wander, a Grey Spear they call them in Solveria.
What happened after his departure, none can say other than Keeku - and all he'll say I've mentioned before. At some point, he lost his ears. At some point, he found his queer machine that he wears. At some point, he died, but none of this can be given a time frame or elaborated on, unless Keeku himself decides to grace us with his explanation.
It is also odd that Keeku is actually of Glass blood. Not the fact that some street urchin cannot be, as there are members of our blood amongst all the strati of society, but the fact that he and Naan are both of my blood and they are both Felines from the same region.
I know only what Naan tells me of his heritage, everything, but he doesn't seem to believe that the two could be related. Keeku wouldn't be the first bastard of royal blood, however, but that is purely speculation on my part and should be treated as such.
Main
Keeku's main defense is his short-hafted halberd. He had some other name for it, but I do not remember it. He swings it, as one would, though one handedly, leaving his other hand open for his queer machine that I mentioned earlier.
From the shroomer, he can learn to: knock those struck back, increase the arc through which he slices, or repair his physical defenses based on those struck.
Secondary
The machine that I speak of is some sort of open-ended combustion contraption. He sticks smooth, iron spheres into one end, adds some compound of ground charcoal and sulfur, and ignites it. This launches the ball in an explosive manner, rushing forth, faster than an arrow can. This does massive damage to those it strikes, as one would expect, but it also emboldens Keeku, as if the pain of his enemies makes him forget his own.
From the monkey, he can learn to: cause the ball to explode on impact - healing him for each foe struck, push the ball faster - allowing it to pierce those struck, or to increase the amount by which he is emboldened when striking a foe.
Dodge
Keeku is also quite agile, he knows how to turn a foes attack, harming them and protecting himself. He cannot hold his stance for long, however.
He can learn to: repair his physical defense on riposte, knock those affected backwards, or stun those nearby as well on success.
Ultimate
Keeku's pride is his little machine. His most potent ability, is to somehow jam a dozen or so balls in at once and fire them skyward. They fall quickly, presumably not being propelled as far as there are so many of them, and fall to the ground in an arc around him. These, of course, harm those struck, but also stun them as well.
From the Shroomery, he can learn to: fire more balls at once, increase the time foes are stunned for, or increase the overall area that is affected per ball.
And there we have Keeku, another enigma, save for his childhood, which we have Naan to thank for.
Next week, we will be talking of Tabitha Lin, a forlorn and quiet soul. From what I can gather, she was in the process of dying when the curse took hold. Not the most pleasant of revivals, I can assure you.
Until next time,
Xermillion Glass