A Dark Knight of the Soul (repost for title)

[Kalthanan]

Ol' Toothless moaned slightly as he licked his dry lips and scratched his itchy scalp. An annoying tick had found a home in his greasy, matted hair, and it was driving him mad. Peering and squinting at the morning sun, Ol' Toothless the storyteller-turned-beggar sighed and noted that it was going to be a hot day - a wine day, if he could afford wine.

Muttering to himself, he settled down in his usual spot by the Great Fountain of Waterdeep, and watched as the Bazaar before him slowly began to fill with people. The City of Splendors attracted many different people from near and far, and Ol' Toothless hoped that today was the day that someone would take pity on him and buy him some wine.

"Ol' Toothless!"

Scowling, he looked around and noticed a gaggle of young street urchins rushing towards him, their eyes gleeful and eager.

"Bah! What do ye kids want of this old 'un? Be off with the lot o' ye!" he moaned, waving his gangly arms about.

"We wanna hear a story! Yes, a story!" the children cried, as they mobbed him.

"Feh!" he snorted, "On such a hot day, I'll not be telling ye no stories and adding to the dryness of my throat!".

"Please, Toothless?" one begged.

"We'll steal you some food!" chirped another.

"I have money.."

The last statement hooked Ol' Toothless like a hungry fish. His eyes narrowed as he focused his attention upon the dirty copper coin extended by the grubby waif. With that coin, and three more of its kind, he could afford to buy a bottle of cheap wine. He pondered snatching the coin forcefully from the child, but thought better of it. Elite guards and watchers roamed about and did not take kindly to the bullying of small children. Besides, there were more of the nimble little buggers than him, and they could easily mob him and outrun his weary legs.

Sighing at the thought of actually having to work for the meager offering, Ol' Toothless gathered the children around him, and prepared to earn his one copper piece.

"So, what story shall I tell today, my l'il gnats?" he offered.

"Tell us of the history of our City!" piped one.

"No no no, tell us of the fabled dragon that dwells in evil Undermountain!" cried another.

"I wanna 'ere a story 'bout dem ugly trolls an' how the 'oly warriors smacked dem 'round!" grumbled yet another.

At this point, a tall, fully-armored knight passed by and overheard the last comment. Digging in his belt pouch, the knight produced two copper coins and handed them to Ol' Toothless. Smiling, the tall figure bowed and continued on his way, heading north and then east into the Guild of the Holy Warriors.

"Thank ye kindly, o generous priest! A thousand blessings to yer Patron for such a compassionate follower," shouted Ol' Toothless to the departed paladin.

"Wut uv ow stowwy, Toofless" urged one of the bedraggled children, tugging on his sleeve.

"Eh? Oh yes..the story..let me think," mused the beggar.

A wicked gleam sparkled in the eyes of Toothless, as he cackled and collected his thoughts.

"Here's one ye brats haven't heard before," he continued..

"Little is known of the mysterious figure that walks the Realms under the name of Kalthanan N'Drithrander. Some argued that he was spawned by fearsome demons of another plane, and others claimed that he was a dreaded undead knight. None of these stories are true, however."

Ol' Toothless paused to take a drink from the fountain, looked around to make sure he still had the attention of the lice-ridden children, and went on..

"According to old records long forgotten by most, Kalthanan was once a knight that served in a Holy Order that was renown throughout the Realms. Young and dedicated, he was the epitome of what a Paladin should be; polite and compassionate, truthful and just, honorable and chivalrous. He loved and served his deity, Tyr the Even-Handed with the utmost passion. Valiant deed upon valiant deed did he complete without the slightest thought of reward save the knowledge of his contribution in the everlasting fight against Evil."

"Oh! Did he slay any dragons?!" exclaimed one of the freckle-faced urchins.

"I bet he was the one who strangled that displacer beast with his bare hands!" challenged a short, fat one.

"HUSH!" spat Toothless, "Be silent else I end this story here and now! I have no patience for interruptions..."

Pushing and shoving at each other, the children finally settled down and began to listen once more.

"Upon one of his holy quests down near the southern plains, Kalthanan helped in the rescue of a barbarian caravan that had been ambushed by trolls. The large caravan leader and his shamaness wife became close friends with Kalthanan and they both insisted that he return to the village with them and stay for a period of time. Slowly, over the weeks, some say that the barbarian shamaness cast a spell of love over Kalthanan and caused him to lust after her. Confused and embarrassed over his sudden longing for the married woman, Kalthanan took his leave of the village and set out to purge himself of the vile feelings of lust within his body. "

Toothless ended the sentence with a bone-rattling cough that turned into a sneezing fit. After the sneezing ceased, he gulped hungrily for air as the concerned children watched on. Splashing water from the fountain over his hot skin, Ol' Toothless licked his lips and prepared to tell the next part of the tale...

"Many more months pass, and by some coincidence, Kalthanan found himself near the same barbarian village once more. This time, while her husband was out hunting, the shamaness professed her love to the naive paladin and told him how badly her mate had been treating her and her children. Filling his head with lies and honeyed words of love, the scheming temptress seduced Kalthanan into helping her and the children escape from her husband's iron grip. There was a confrontation when the large chief arrived back at the village unexpectedly, but the paladin lied to the barbarian and managed to escape with the woman and her children."

"Ugh! Is there kissing in this story? I hate kissing!" hissed one of the small vagabonds.

Ol' Toothless glared at the child for the interruption and paused to recall where he had left off.

"I saw a pair of rutting pigs once..Is that wot they did after the kissing?" chirped the fat one.

Ignoring the question, the beggar leaned forward and proceeded with the story once more..

"On the way back to the City of Splendors, the barbarian woman managed to convince Kalthanan that she had feelings for him and thus planted the seeds of his eventual destruction. That night, his resolve crumbled when she came to him and urged him to love her.

Committing adultery, the once proud and noble paladin took yet another step onto the path of darkness. She renounced her marriage to her husband and became betrothed to Kalthanan. In his mind, the paladin did not feel that he was doing wrong. To him, he was saving this poor soul from the evil and abuse of a cruel and heartless man.

As more months went by, Kalthanan became more and more distrustful and jealous of her. She surrounded herself with suitors even though she was betrothed to the paladin. Soon enough, she left him and ran off with another man.

Broken hearted and angry, he realized the error of his ways and approached the head of the Holy Order to confess his unholy deeds in hopes that the Order would grant him a quest to atone for his mistake. Instead, they stripped him of all rank and title, and promptly excommunicated him for his wretched sins."


"It means they kicked him out of the Church," quipped Toothless, before the children could say a word.

"Angry and bitter over the turn of events, Kalthanan turned to the streets and eventually learned to find comfort at the bottom of a rum bottle. After a year of slumming in the confined streets of Waterdeep, Kalthanan (in one of his usual drunken stupours) one early evening found himself wandering about in the forest to the northeast of the city.

Becoming lost, he staggered around in the near darkness until he stumbled across a couple frolicking in a stream by lantern light. Clothes, armor, and a sword were strewn along the bank, and as Kalthanan peered closer, the woman turned out to be none other than the barbarian shamaness.

Rage filled his thoughts as he rushed out of the bushes. In a fit of madness, he snatched up the sword and brutally butchered both helpless victims into bloody gibblets."

The smelly and dirty children stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Ol' Toothless as he continued to describe all the gory details of the carnage that ensued..

"Realizing that he was descending further and further into darkness and evil, Kalthanan prayed in hopes that his deity would grant him forgiveness and guide him to salvation. An answer never came, so he fled back to Waterdeep under the cover of night. News of the horrible murders soon spread among the populace of the city, and it wasn't long before the Watch captured Kalthanan for the slaying of a commoner and a guard of Waterdeep. Somehow, someone had seen something and pointed out the homeless ex-paladin as the murderer.

Imprisoned, and sentenced to execution, Kalthanan managed to escape and took the life of a fellow paladin in the process. Fleeing from Waterdeep in the stolen gear and on the mount of the dead knight, Kalthanan headed east to infamous Bloodstone Keep.

Bloodstone was home to thieves and murderers, harlots and villains. Kalthanan hoped that somehow he could hide out there until he could figure out what to do next. With paladins and elite guards hot on his tracks, he fled through the forest and finally lost them in the rocky crags of great Mount Gandar.

Kalthanan managed to get past the Bloodstone Knight by offering up his steed as payment. The black wolves that roamed the outskirts of the evil keep nearly killed him as he continued his journey along the dark foreboding path. Upon entering the Black Gate, Kalthanan came to a shimmering portal. Stepping through, the former paladin was struck down with pain and instantly collapsed upon the drawbridge. Big, burly guards immediately fell upon Kalthanan and dragged the weakened warrior to their lord, the Baron. The evil Baron of Bloodstone Keep noted that Kalthanan was wearing the armor and tabard of a Holy Order, and promptly ordered the 'paladin' to be interrogated, tortured, and then hung.

Hanging from the aptly named Dead Paladin Tree among many other badly decomposed bodies of other paladins, Kalthanan once more begged for the Gods to aid him. He gasped a prayer for salvation from his unholy ways, for forgiveness and for his soul to be cleansed of the evil that had found its way within. The Gods never answered Kalthanan, nor did they give any sign of acknowledging the prayers. Clinging to the last traces of consciousness, Kalthanan cursed the Holy Order and all that it stood for. He croaked for someone, anyone, to heed his call and give him a chance for revenge against all those that had left and abandoned him. All Kalthanan wanted to do was destroy those who had wronged him. With that last breath, he died. Or so they thought."

"Blimey..wot a 'orrible way ta go," whispered a buck-toothed boy to his neighbor. The other boy nodded quickly and leaned in closer to hear..

"Days later, a small group of hooded figures arrived at Bloodstone in a horse drawn wagon. They approached the Dead Paladin Tree and milled about at the base for a time, talking in hushed whispers and low tones. Occasionally they looked up and pointed to one of the many decomposing bodies that littering the branches of the gigantic tree. Finally, the body of Kalthanan was located and cut down. The figures performed a quick rite, packaged the corpse in a shroud, and rode out. Returning to Zhentil Keep, many leagues away, the mysterious priests brought the body to their temple and proceeded with a planned ritual.

Not many know what happened within the unholy temple, but weeks of chanting and prayers resulted in a robed figure that exited the temple under his own will. That hour, the Sun and the Moon had come into alignment and the land darkened as a result of the strange eclipse. In the noon day sky, a dark sun blazed fiercely as the fanatical necromancers reached the height of their ritual. Throwing off the thick velvety robes that concealed him, Kalthanan stepped forth. Gone was the handsome young man with sparkling green eyes, short brown hair, and a well-defined, tanned body. In his place was a frail and twisted mockery of what he once was. He retained his looks, but his skin had become pale and took on a sickly-hue. His hair had become jet black and hung limply to his shoulders, but the eyes where the things that had changed the most. His right iris was as dark and shiny as hard obsidian, and the left was a pure milky white. Kalthanan now spoke with a throaty rasp and there was an air of malevolence about him.

Slowly over the years, evil had taken seed within his soul and had spread like a cancerous growth. That corruption had been fed and nurtured until the day he became an instrument to serve evil in a twisted perversion of his former occupation. He was, in essence, a dark knight. As payment for his actions, Kalthanan not only lost his soul, but was also made an unwitting pawn in the larger scheme of things among the pantheon of gods.

The unholy knight had become a new addition to the side of Evil, and was to be used as a weapon against Good whenever the chance arose."

Wheezing slightly, Ol' Toothless finished the story with a flourish of his hands and looked around at the awe-struck faces of his tiny group of listeners.

"And THAT, my little fleas, is how the Knight of Darkness came to walk the Realms..."

With a nimble dart of his fingers, Toothless took the offered coin from the child and got up to make a quick retreat to the cool depths of Kang's Tavern. He hoped he might be able to buy a few cups of wine for the three copper coins now clenched tightly in his hand. Mumbling a farewell, Ol' Toothless the beggar got up, trundled his way south, and disappeared into the throng of people wandering about the city under the late midday sun...

<I>Darkness falls as daylight fades,
swiftly overrun by shades.
Thieves and villains stalk the land,
and several die beneath his hand.
Be ye sure to watch thine back,
for Kalthanan walks the Realms in black.</I>

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Kalthanan N'Drithrander, Knight of Darkness

[This message has been edited by Kalthanan (edited 07-16-2001).]