Khabal

Authored by David Bennett

Character Biography

Spiral Nomads live in super giant arcology ships that drift through the deep black between the galactic arms. They come into the galaxy proper to resupply and to diversify their genetic pool. No-one knows how far their kind have roamed or even if they originated in the Milkyway galaxy.

In the Nomad society, children stay with their parents until they’re three years of age. At that time they are taken into a room where the tools of the various trades/professions are on display. For three days, the children are watched closely for which one they gravitate to the most and that becomes their life.

Khabal became a Quarm. He was trained and conditioned for what he would be in life, an elite assassin.

The Quarm have extensive, bioware, nano tech, and are extensively genetically engineered with enhanced range of motion, heightened perception and reflexes, increased agility and dexterity, increased muscle and bone density, and rapid healing. This does not make the Quarm immortal though they are very durable and can even survive the vacuum of space for several minutes unprotected.

In their extensive training the Quarm learn all the methods of dealing death to all types of beings. It is rumored that the Quarm even know how to kill the Q. This rumor is true, the Q know it, and it makes them nervous.

The Quarm are organized in units called a hand. There are five Assassins as the fingers and one handler as the palm. Khabal is the last of the fingers and the palm has retired releasing Khabal to act of his own volition.

The Step is an innate ability to the Quarm, as natural as breathing. When a Quarm is about to use this ability they somehow force the moments of perception, for all things within natural or transmitted perception of the Stepping Quarm, to synchronize allowing them to move nearly instantaneously in the between moments. While a young Quarm may only have a step distance of ten or so meters, a seasoned Quarm can step in ranges of the low hundreds of meters. Quarm can string multiple Steps together to cover incredible distances in moments. The step is limited and relatively short distance, even the best don’t usually string more than 12 steps together, Khabal can do 8. After that he’s nearly exhausted. If he does a ninth, he’ll likely pass out from the exertion. It is not a phase step so Quarm can’t step through solid objects, The step needs an open pathway. Others can be carried in the step but, each additional person counts as a use and may be injured due to the rapid accelerations and decelerations involved.

The Quarm can travel the Realm Between Shadows (Shadow Gate). This allows the Quarm to travel nearly instantaneously between shadows no matter the distance. In this between realm time is mutable, a moment or thousands of years can pass in the shadow realm and only a moment could pass in the light realms. This ability also allows the Quarm limited control over shadows allowing them to be “stretched”. The Quarm can have this happen in various ways depending on if the Quarm wants to create a bit of drama. It could flicker in the moment of the step or appear to crawl across surfaces to embrace the Quarm and drag him slowly in. Shadow gate cannot be done with any shadow that is created by the Quarm. Containing a Quarm could take little more than a durable empty room with bright lighting and nothing inside it to cast shadows. Others can be carried through the Shadow realm but risk their sanity from exposure to the eldritch beings that reside there.

Kahbal has had a long career. He is the last surviving finger of his hand. The Quarm are organized in units called a hand. There are five Assassins as the fingers and one handler as the palm. Quarm society can be harsh as if the palm dies before retirement, the fingers must give up their lives as the fingers of a hand cannot survive without the palm. If they live long enough for the palm to retire, 30 years, Quarm are usually released from the hand to act on their own. The retirement can happen earlier based on performance of the hand and Khabal has performed extremely well. To note a contract with a group of aliens that desired seven star systems to teraform. They hired the Quarm and Khabal was sent to clear all life forms from the worlds of the seven systems. He accomplished the feat in seven days earning the palm a significantly early retirement.