Anatolius of the Far Sands – Soulforged Wanderer

Many centuries have passed since Anatolius forgot the sight of his homeland: the great Anshani Empire of Edrador. A name he knows now only in words. A place he is often asked of, but can never offer more than a snide comment in reply. Anger burns in him each time it is brought up, both for the tiring topic, and the remorse he feels in forgetting. Did he have a family? A wife? Children? Who was he before his emperor deemed his dying soul worthy to be cast in a living coffin of stone and steel. They were thoughts that often crept into his mind, expelled soon after, for he distracted himself with vices and pursuits of gold and blood. For if there was one thing he retained beyond his overt memory, it was his skills as a warrior. Honed as a tracker, hunter and swordmaster, Anatolius was the perfect tool in a slaver’s arsenal. Hunting slaves through the savannah and dunes is all he now remembers. All he knows. His memory is etched with the wailing cries and faces of those he dragged back to their masters, bloody and beaten, or run through with his blade. Many of Sudd Tohst’s wealthiest slavers had employed him over the years, funding his own lavish life, though he seldom made use of his lavish manse, servants and banquets. His home was his sole place of respite from the bloodshed, his only time to reflect. Thus every waking moment he spent there, he did so in company, inviting nobles, sheikhs and warlords to enjoy the fruits of his labour, in turn earning him more favour among them. Yet in recent years, the coin of Sudd Tohst’s nobles has begun to tarnish, their pay overshadowed by the far more generous gold provided by the Hinatali, whom the nobles had recently suffered a humiliating defeat against. Hearing of Anatolius’ changed allegiance to the Sun Elves, the Sudd Tohsti nobles razed his home, executing his servants or enslaving them for their own desires. Now, with nothing to return to, Anatolius remains in Hinatal, awaiting a sign or job that might see him leave the golden city. Yet, for now, he is bound to the will and coin of Hinatal’s elite, who are now employing him to uncover a rumoured cult that has infiltrated the city.