Singer, shapeshifter, and creature of the evening. Harkon Lukas was the Meistersinger of the Demiplane of Dread, cursed to be forgotten.

Some performers create music out of necessity. The sheer creativity inherent in them flows, and so they no extra hold from singing or enjoying than a raindrop can stop to fall. Others flip to the humanities to search out immortality. Driven by a flame of burning ambition, a have to reside on lengthy after their bodily presence on the earth has light, some can create elegant works.

Harkon Lukas, Meistersinger of Ravenloft, discovered that music introduced one other present totally. But earlier than he was the Darklord of the Domain of Dread generally known as Kartakass, he was the kid of lycanthropes.

A Small Wolf With Big Dreams

Harkon Lukas was born to a group of lycanthropes. And no mere werewolf both. The pressure of lycanthropy affecting the Lukas bloodline was notably virulent. And in Harkon, it discovered new energy. Lukas was all the time one thing of a trickster and a sly chameleon. He knew easy methods to mix in with a crowd as naturally as one may breathe.

But on the coronary heart of all of it, Lukas was a creature of ambition. Growing up among the many lycanthropes, he sought to unite his werebeast household, turning them into a military of monsters that will rule the world. When they did not reside as much as his expectations, the younger wolf lashed out at them. And his household turned on him.

Lukas murdered dozens however barely escaped alive. He disappeared from his pack, fleeing right into a nation of people.

Harkon Lukas – A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

One factor Lukas knew was easy methods to management his personal physique. Unlike others of his sort, he was by no means pressured to vary his form. Neither the moon nor the presence of blood and even highly effective magic might pressure him into his bestial kind.

A reality that will save his disguise as he fled to human-dominated lands. There he discovered the safety of strolling as a human. And there, he discovered to vary his form. Like a virtuoso enjoying violin, he might alter the bodily particulars of his physique. Changing the smallest hair or developing with a very completely different persona entire fabric. He is likely to be a good-looking, beguiling man in the future. And a hanging, stunning lady the following.

As he settled into the human world, Harkon Lukas discovered easy methods to manipulate these he thought of his inferiors. Adoration turned his chief weapon. It sharpened the ambitions the Meistersinger held. If he couldn’t rule over a nation of hunters, he would pressure an empire of sheep to bop to his howling.

So Lukas turned a legend, a performer, a instructor, a scoundrel, and a luminary of all stripes. People flocked to him to indulge in his presence.

And when sufficient folks got here, the land’s rulers realized Harkon was a menace. But they realized it too late.

Death, “Rebirth”, and Darklord-dom

Though the officers in Lukas’ new homeland tried to quietly imprison him, taking him out of the general public eye, the folks beloved him. Commoners defended him. Harkon had discovered easy methods to weaponize affection. Even because the royal authorities confronted him, they performed proper into his palms.

When royal brokers got here for him en masse, Lukas feigned his personal loss of life at their palms. The ensuing outrage sparked riots that changed into a revolution. Within every week, the nation had fallen to defenders that bore the red-stained coffin of Harkon Lukas at its head.

As the insurgent forces neared the partitions of the royal palace, they have been met by a monarch. Contrite and humbled by the show, the monarch begged forgiveness and argued for peace. But at the same time as the gang started to be swayed, Harkon Lukas ended his ruse.

He burst from the crimson coffin in wolf kind and devoured the monarch earlier than the assembled plenty. Drenched in blood, the newly “resurrected” Lukas returned to human kind and took up the battered, bloody crown to throngs of cheering. And then the Mists got here.

Harkon Lukas in Ravenloft

When the Mists of Ravenloft cleared, Harkon Lukas emerged into a brand new realm. An unfamiliar provincial land referred to as Kartakass. And right here, Lukas was now not one step away from being topped king. But fairly he was a stranger none might recall.

In the Demiplane of Dread, Lukas is cursed. Though he ever seeks to win esteem and affect among the many folks he is aware of, none keep in mind him. The locals continuously neglect that he’s a related, trendy performer. His works are remembered fondly, however solely vaguely. From a distance.

This is why Lukas should reinvent himself, many times, to attempt to win their lasting love. When he can’t, Lukas as an alternative takes up-and-coming performers as his proteges. Hoping to steal from them their expertise, concepts, wealth, and lives.

Happy Adventuring

Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and now and again eats sandwiches. You can ask him about both at [email protected]

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