Rask, Builder Of Mountains

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As Mount Mostash guards the glaciers of the frozen North, so does Rask guard the mountains of the South. A fiery behemoth standing taller than the tallest peak, Rask is worshipped as a mighty god in more primitive cultures, and feared wherever else he is seen.

Born in ancient times, Rask is the son of Isidorous, the Black Boar that Twists the Skies, gotten on a barbarian woman in days when the Primordials still ruled the world. Originally as small as an acorn, as Rask grew, he became a flaming mountain of a figure, made of fire and stone, with eyes brighter than the light of the Unconquered Sun. He stormed the South as he pleased, forging mountains with the help of his hammer, forge, and tongs, which served as a focus for his power. Among gods, Rask was considered a weaponsmith nearly the equal of Mars. When the Celestial Incarna desired rebellion, they came to the Builder of Mountains in secret, and seduced him with honeyed words.

Rask eagerly joined the gods' revolt, for he hated the casual cruelty his Primordial father had shown him. In truth, Rask's human heritage had made him soft for the small creatures, and he truly wished them to prosper. After his father had been locked in Malfeas, the Builder of Mountains forsook the company of gods and men, and retreated to finiash his grand task of shaping the mountains of the South.

The Unconquered Sun himself came unto Rask, asking that the behemoth return to Yu-Shan and be treated as the hero he was. Indeed, a place at the tables of the Games of Divinity would be put aside for him. But the Mountain Builder would have none of such idle luxury, as the urge to work had been woven into him at birth by his father. So, the Lord of Yu-Shan left Rask to his labors, and troubled him no more.

Rask did not care for the things of this world, loving only the mountains he forged in his den of brimstone and rock. Eventually, the sleep of ages came upon Rask, and he fell into a deep torpor, from which he only now briefly rises. Even the chaos of the Great Contagion could barely rouse him, before he retreated back into his slumbers. Every year, a few foolish Exalts (both Terrerstrial and Celestial) come to his hidden lair, seeking to slay this king among behemoths; but all either flee, shattered in body and soul and mind, or else are slain.

As he sleeps, Rask speaks through dreams to his brothers Mostash, Hern, and Gulgul, the other mountain-shapers, fellow children of the Black Boar. They love each other, but keep their seperate ways, as they each see their father in their eyes, and cannot abide such sights.

Rask possesses a great starmetal anvil, with an orichalcum hammer and moonsilver tongs, with which he forges mountains. An Exalt with such legendary artifacts could work his Charms on a cosmic scale, but alas, magic such as Rask's only works for himself, his brothers, and the Incarna.

Like his brothers, Rask is slow and steady, moving at glacial speed. He resembles a vast towering man made of stone and flaming magma, easily the size of a mountain. His arms possess the strength to crush entire legions, while his fiery breath can reduce even a hardened elder Exalt to ash. He is not clever, being a bit dim-witted, but his skill as Crafts knows no equal. Rask has one weakness, though: He turns to crystal in the presence of his father, or any of his father's 3rd circle souls. While in this form, he is brittle and can be shattered. Thus, he fear Isidorous as he fears nothing else.

(Nero's Boot)