Kemet

Kemet
Avatar	Danila Kovalev
Occupation	Hunyadi
Biographical Information
Age	622 (as of 164 AYZ)
Birthplace	Tyr
Parents	Unknown
Spouses	Clara Richter
Physical Characteristics
Species	Exekian
Gender	Male
Height	6"2'
Weight	160 lbs.
Hair	White
Eyes	Gold
Skin	Pale gray
Scars	Various battle scars

Kemet is an Exekian aisling. Over six hundred years old, he is a former imperial soldier who briefly rose to prominence in the later years of the Old Exekian Empire, attaining the title of hunyadi.

Following the collapse of the Empire in the First Exekian War, he went into hiding, living alone in a mountain cave for the next century and a half. During this time, he maintained numerous artifacts from the imperial days, including a copy of the Mandorlin written in Old Exekian. These documents formed the basis of Dagda Vormund's translation, which Kemet aided him in creating. After the dissolution of the Cult of Vormund, Kemet was forced to flee. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Kemet is illegally married to a human woman, Clara Richter. Their union is not recognized in either of their homelands, and only holds religious weight among the Vormundists.

Biography

Early Life

Kemet was born in 458 BYZ in the city of Tyr. His earliest memory is of waking up in a makeshift nursery constructed to accommodate the influx of newborns during kluuda. He never knew who his parents were, as his mother abandoned him after his birth.

He spent much of his youth as an orphan on the streets. At around the age of fourteen, Kemet discovered he was an aisling, or dreamwalker. Not long after, he was adopted by Matta, a scholar and alchemist. Matta financed Kemet's military career, all the while reminding him that he had adopted him and raised him up for a specific purpose, though he would not say what.

Eventually, Matta approached Kemet with his plan to incite the slaves to rebellion. Kemet was reluctant to participate, despite Matta's attempts to emotionally manipulate him. He eventually agreed to use his power, and dreamwalked in the minds of the slaves, inspiring them to fight back against their master. As a way of saving himself, Kemet always portrayed Matta rather than himself in these visions; thus, if they were ever caught, they would believe Matta was the aisling who inspired them.

Matta went on to lead an infamous slave uprising, Matta's Mutiny, in which they killed the Emperor's heir, Caspar, and attempted to assassinate Emperor Rokanan. Kemet was unaware of this aspect of Matta's plan, having believed the slaves would flee to Dardanos after they killed their master. Interrogated under torture, several slaves who were involved in the uprising confessed that an aisling had influenced them. As Matta was not an aisling, suspicion eventually fell on Kemet. To prove his innocence, Rokanan ordered Kemet to hunt Matta down and dispose of him.

Out of a sense of duty and a cowardly desire to save his own skin, Kemet betrayed Matta. Upon his death Kemet came into possession of Matta's estate, Casca Dun, which included his library.

After ending Matta's Mutiny, Kemet became secluded, rarely appearing in public and preferring to keep to Casca Dun.

Hunted

During the First Exekian War, the world Kemet knew crumbled around him. He lost everything and was forced out of Tyr.

Heading south, Kemet eventually took shelter in a cave burrowed into Arza Kell, a mountain near the southern border. He stayed in hiding, but was occasionally attacked by humans while out foraging for food and other supplies. He encountered increasingly few members of his own kind, and heard rumors of feudal warfare among the Exekians who escaped to the southern wastes. He chose not to follow them in order to avoid becoming a soldier again. He buried the books and manuscripts he managed to save from Matta's library within the caverns.

The Cult of Vormund

In 162 AYZ, Kemet was badly injured during a scuffle with a group of human farmers. He was found and nursed back to health by the prophet Vormund and his followers. After learning who they were, he allowed them to stay in his cave. He became close to Clara Richter and befriended Gavin Zosimus.

Gradually, Kemet was converted to the new religion. He began to develop romantic feelings for Clara, and they eventually married in a double ceremony with Gavin and Melissa. After Melissa died in childbirth and Gavin was forced to return home, Kemet and Clara agreed to take care of Gavin's daughter Laura until he returned.

While he was friends with Vormund, Kemet did not completely trust him and often sought to experience the prophet's dreams himself. On one such occasion, Kemet sleepwalked through the caverns, followed by Clara. This led to him being discovered by the new cult member Rowan Renard, who had been seeking him out.

To Rowan, Kemet revealed his past and regrets, as well as issuing a warning about the nature of Vormund's prophetic dreams.

Following the arrest and subsequent deaths of Vormund and his son Ethan, the cult was left scattered. Fearing for their lives, Kemet and Clara headed south, bringing Laura with them.

After crossing the river Antoi, they continued on to the border, where they took shelter in an abandoned cottage. The couple rebuilt the dilapidated building, adding extra structures and repairing the house, and made it their permanent home.

Relocation of Laura

Until she was four and a half years old, Laura was raised by Kemet and Clara. This was done to ensure the child's safety during the period of Vormundist persecution in the reign of King Tristan. As soon as possible, Gavin arranged for them to be reunited in the town of Telovet.

Kemet promised the child he would always be there to help if she ever needed him.

Dissolution and Unity

In search of other members of his kind, Kemet frequently traversed the southern wastes, which had become known as the country of Exekia. He swiftly learned of the situation among his people in the south; two rival factions had formed, one led by an Empress, and the other an alliance between the former hunyadi Zimreon and his lieutenant Nechtan, who called themselves the Clan.

Kemet recognized that the Clan would never seek peace with the humans, but the Empress possibly would. Over the next several years, Kemet traveled to her territory and preached to the people, with varying degrees of success. He once managed to get an audience with the Empress, but failed to convince her that tolerant coexistence with Alucarsia was possible.

Fever

In the year 184, the first Exekian kluuda since the fall of the Empire occurred. While staying in a nearby Exekian settlement, Kemet was vilified and harrassed for refusing to help propagate his dying species by mating with a member of his own kind, as it would break his marriage vows to Clara.

News of his refusal reached the Empress herself, and she sent her agent, Rasvan, to make a deal with Kemet. Rasvan initially met Kemet on the road, then tracked him down to the cottage. There, he intimidated Kemet and Clara into agreeing to move to Heliobas, an ancient fortress which the New Empire was using to house and protect newborns and pregnant women from the invading force of King Aldous. In Heliobas, Kemet was made a commanding officer on the basis of his old imperial title (hunyadi) under threat of Clara's life.

Description

Kemet is described as having delicate, chiseled features, pale skin like marble, golden eyes which glow in the dark, and long pale blond hair in loose curls. Among his race, he is not considered attractive, but many humans perceive him to be quite beautiful. He usually wears a black cloak with a large folded collar.

Notes

1. Depending on who is addressing him, he may be referred to as "hunyadi Kemet" or "aisling Kemet". This is generally only a rule when he is conversing with other Exekians, as they tend to place titles in front of names as if it were a family name.

Quotes

"Vormund carried him in from the forest, where he had been beaten by vengeful villagers. He refused to speak for several days, watching them with sleepless suspicion, but eventually he gave them his name, Kemet, and admitted he had been attacked for stealing food. None of them asked what he was doing in Alucarsia, but it was generally believed that he was in a kind of exile."

—Gavin meets Kemet

Trivia

Kemet was what the ancient Egyptians called their country, meaning "black land".

The character's earliest known incarnation was as "Prince Caspar of Thun", and he shared many traits in common with Matta. "Caspar" appeared in a short story called Entropy, which was published on Wattpad as part of the anthology The Old World Lives Anew!

In early drafts, he was named "Apollo".