Strykssen

Born to a poor wheelwright in Stirland, Strykssen grew up apprenticed to his father and expected nothing more than a life as a simple artisan. Yet somehow that did not seem enough. Bright enough to realize there was more to life and greedy enough to want it, he often watched other children playing and coveted their wealth, their freedom, and their happiness. “If only I had their money,” he often thought, “if only my family was as rich as theirs, I too would be happy.”

When he was ten, Strykssen was walking back from delivering a new wheel to a merchant when another boy pushed past him. “Out of my way, peasant!” the other boy shouted as he shoved by. Strykssen, already tired and cranky from the long tiring walk, was incensed by the insult and by the stranger’s fancy clothes. He flew into a rage, grabbing the other boy by his fine cape and hurling him into a nearby wall. There was an audible snap and the boy collapsed, dead. Strykssen discovered he felt no remorse as he stripped the dead youth of his clothes, money, and fine dagger. But when he returned home and his parents learned what he had done, they were horrified. Strykssen’s father wanted to take the boy to the authorities straightaway, but his mother intervened. She gave Strykssen what money she could, and some food, and told him to run far away before the guards came for him. Torn between grief and elation, Strykssen obeyed. He left and never looked back.

Over the next few years, Strykssen survived by working when he had to and stealing or killing when he could. He learned how to pass himself off as the gentleman his stolen clothes suggested, and he used this guise to get close to most of his victims. Eventually, he found himself in Middenheim and settled into a role as a minor noble of the court. During a Chaos incursion, Strykssen used the tumult to eliminate a few rivals and consolidate his stolen wealth, securing his position there.

After the war, one of Strykssen’s acquaintances approached him. The man struck up a conversation about power and privilege and the right of some men to do as they wished, and Strykssen discovered they had very similar ideas about the world and their rightful place in it. After several similar conversations, the man revealed that he was a worshipper of Khorne, the Chaos God, and he invited Strykssen to join him and others in that worship. Strykssen agreed, and at the first convocation, he discovered a fellowship he had never known before. When he looked upon the statue of Khorne and felt the God’s thoughts washing over him, Strykssen felt as if he had finally come home.

Strykssen became a devout follower of Khorne, and the God rewarded him for his zeal, granting him greater wealth and some minor power over other men. Their leader hatched a plot to create gates disguised as idols, which would allow Khorne’s minion to enter their world in the flesh, and Strykssen eagerly participated. But outsiders discovered their plans and destroyed each of the idols. They attacked the final idol in the main worship chamber in Middenheim, just as Khorne’s Daemon was stepping forth. Strykssen witnessed the arrival of the demi-God but wisely fled during the battle, escaping both death and detection.

Afterward, Strykssen felt the Daemon’s thoughts in his mind. The Daemon was angry, angry at the intruders and angry at the followers who had abandoned it in a time of need. Strykssen pledged himself to atone for his error, and the Daemon took immediate advantage of that oath. It bonded itself to Strykssen and charged him with finding a way for it to step forth fully. Khorne knew of a powerful artefact, a gauntlet left behind by another Daemon that had once walked the earth, and the Daemon told Strykssen of the item. The gauntlet’s power might be sufficient to bring the Daemon forth. The item was in the Border Princes, however, so Strykssen crept across the mountains and into that territory, seeking its location. He also learned of a Chaos Cult nearby, though they worshipped a rival God, and felt the power of the item they possessed, the Jade Sceptre. But it was heavily guarded against his Daemon, and Strykssen knew he would need servants and dupes to reach it.

He sought out the strongest prince in the area, Artilli Levrellian, and presented himself as an advisor. Using his Daemon-given powers and his well-honed skills at subterfuge and flattery, Strykssen quickly won a place on Levrellian’s council and rose from there to be the prince’s chief advisor.

Strykssen’s place at Levrellian’s side is merely a means to an end, however. Strykssen cares nothing for Levrellian or the petty politics of the Border Princes. His only goals are to obtain both the gauntlet in Karitamen’s tomb and the Warpstone in the Jade Sceptre. With those, he can release the Daemon chained to his soul and allow the creature to wreak havoc upon the world.

Strykssen is very smooth and has long experience at talking his way past nobles and commoners alike. His manners are impeccable except when he gets angry; then, his low origins reveal themselves. Strykssen is a true follower of Chaos and delights in mayhem and bloodshed. He is an adept killer and enjoys watching his victims suffer before their final demise.

He is also utterly ruthless and kills and maims without compunction or hesitation, sacrificing even those closest to him to accomplish his goals.

A tall, narrow man with piercing eyes, Strykssen has the bright stare of the fanatic, and though he pretends to be tolerant and patient, his eyes light up at the sight of blood. He dresses very well and carries a handsome sword but prefers to use the slender dagger at his side and the barbed knife hidden in his boot. Unfortunately, Human flesh was never meant to house a Daemon. Its touch has begun to warp Strykssen, and he is mutating uncontrollably. If he does not find a way to release the Daemon soon, the mutations will kill him sooner rather than later, and the Daemon will lose its access into the Old World.

Source

 * pg. 17
 * pg. 18
 * pg. 18

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