Diago Darkthorne
Titles:	King, The Blood Tyrant
Gender:	Male
Races:	Tuatha De Danann, Higher Vampire (fey)
Age:	233
Occupation:	Warrior
Faction/Kingdom:	Darkthorne/Belathian
Alignment:	Chaotic Evil
Status:	Alive
Relatives:	Bohan(deceased,father),Edu(deceased,mother)
Height:	7'
Weight:	326lbs
Eyes:	yellow
Hair:	silver

Diago Darkthorne, the aristocratic son of Bohan Ath Cortha Wildthorne and Edu Nightbane, and former chieftain of the Greenthorne clan was the leader of the Darkthornes. He was the constant target of attacks by the Dark Effigy to drive him mad and turn him into a pawn. He was known for his war mongering, cruelty, and charisma. He quickly proved himself as a hero and became a member of the “Morning Star” crew. He was a great hero of his race and quickly turned into one of their greatest enemies.

Diago became a Darkthorne upon drinking the corrupt blood of a Darkthorne. He swore to lead the Darkthornes on a campaign to become conquerors of the known lands. He then led a campaign against other thorne clans, killing them all except for barely a handful. He united the Darkthornes by strength and fear, an iron rule.

Diago taught Eseer the way of the pits and allowed him to join the Darkthornes. Eseer would split the Darkthornes, turning many against Diago. In the end, after the two armies clashed, the warlords met on the field of battle. Eseer managed to get the upper hand and defeated Diago. Diago was mocked and banished to the shadow lands. There he remained until a breach, in reality, allowed him to escape. Diago has not been seen since.

Diago grew up in a very dark place. His father was a great hero among the uncorrupted tuatha clans beyond the veil. Many of the other clans followed his father into battle against the corrupt Tuatha, the Darkthornes. Their clan lived in the remote wilderness between Regalia and Belathian.

Diago's father rarely showed any emotion, he was known for his strength and skill in battle. A tuatha from a neighboring clan came to Bohan with information about a weakness in the Darkthorne's defenses. Bohan had never seen this tuath before, but for some reason, he believed him. He led his clansmen under one banner against the Darkthorne's flank. It was a ploy, and the Darkthornes came in on both sides. In the battle against the Darkthornes he died along with many of his clansmen. Diago was left with his mother, who was just as cold as his father, and now set on revenge. Manece used a powerful artifact to destroy Edu and the thorne army along with many of his own Darkthornes. Diago's home was burning around him, that is when an airship, the “Morning Star”, flew overhead attracted by the smoke.

He boarded the “Morning Star” and left with the crew his home burned behind him. Diago fell into a great depression. His clan was destroyed, everyone he knew dead, and he was alive.

Diago found some solace and purpose aboard the “Morning Star”. He was haunted by dreams of his father and mother, he didn't want to repeat the mistakes of his parents. Despite this, he was sullen, pessimistic, and depressed. He tended to be aloof and reclusive, this caused the other crew members to not trust him. Despite all this, he managed to befriend some of the crew members, captain River Daniels, Suldes Erewyn, and Ryder De Vaus.

Diago had visions of his mother alive at his family's estate. He convinced the crew to return and indeed found her alive. She had been brought back to life by some dark sorcery. She begged her son to turn his back on the crew, to join her and serve her master. The restless dead began to rise from the ashes of the forest. Diago and the crew found themselves caught in a battle. Ryder was slain while trying to break Diago from the fear of his mother's visage.

Diago flew into a rage and slew his mother, he then turned his rage on his dead clansman. He was so consumed by his rage that he did mistake Suldes for a foe and struck the young female elf. He snapped from his rage picking up Suldes's limp form, he and the crew fled to the ship.

The crew of the “Morning Star” were asked to attend a summit in Vanguard concerning the growing threat of the Darkthornes. The Darkthornes at the time had become allies to the orcs, gnolls, goblins, shadow elves, and employed numerous mercenary forces. It was agreed that if they did nothing now, they would most likely pay later. The crew of the “Morning Star” were asked to join the offensive for they extensive knowledge of the terrain.

River agreed, Diago, however, felt that the humans were too weak to ever route the Darkthornes. The coalition forces marched towards Belathian with the “Morning Star” at the head. The Darkthornes were not prepared for a battle this early, but rose to the challenge. General Haile, General Siebrycht, and General Sokanon lead the coalition forces. The armies were devastated by the might of the Darkthornes. The “Morning Star” was damaged and listed, many of the crew fell overboard including Diago and Dromi Dreammyst.

Dromi an elven druid fought beside Diago and the crew that had fallen. They watched as the “Morning Star” was forced to retreat with the coalition forces. Diago cursed the crew and flew into a rage, his vampiric side surfaced and he feasted on one of the Darkthornes. His veins began to burn and his mind was filled with twisted thoughts and emotions. He collapsed to the ground, Dromi and the remaining crew circled around him. She used a spell to heal Diago while one of the crew sought a way for them to flee the battlefield.

Diago awoke, his eyes yellow and his mouth filled with rows of vampiric fangs, dripping paralytic venom. He grasped Dromi in an iron grip and plunged his mouth filled with daggers into her exposed neck. She lay dying as he began to rip the rest of the crew and the Darkthornes apart. His bloodlust subsided and he was faced with the reality of his actions. He fainted to the ground amidst the corpses of his allies. When he awoke, he could hear the sound of drums and cheers of a crowd. He found himself in the fighting pits of Belathian, Manece say atop a balcony overlooking the pits.

He informed Diago that if he wanted to live, he would have to fight and kill.

Diago welcomed the prospect of dying in the pits, but his instincts wouldn't let him. He was a survivor, he could hear the voices of his fallen friends in his head accusing him, mocking him. The world had wronged him at birth, destiny was a cruel mistress. His only hopes were to die with honor or to find a reason for living. As he fought and killed, his conscious slowly began to wither and die. He began to enjoy bathing in the blood of his defeat and broken enemies. Those who challenged him knew only fear and prayed for death.

The crowd loved him and he had discovered a new goal in life. With every victory, he would look up at Manece and he would plot. One day slaves brought in from a skirmish in the Kordic lands began a rebellion. Diago was able to make his way to the balcony and knocked Manece into the pits. He jumped down and declared the right of Kromac Onrac. Manece accepted his challenge and the two dueled in the pits, Diago won over Manece and ripped out his heart, eating it. The Darkthornes hailed him as their new leader, and they saw in him someone that would lead them to a new era.

Day and night he was plagued by visions, sent to him by some unseen being. This dark shadow was the same shadow that had raised his mother. At first, he wanted nothing to do with this shadow power. Instead, he wanted to focus on increasing his own power. His sudden ascension to the leadership of the Darkthornes was not without resistance. The Darkthornes had four noble houses, each had long been the ones to rule. The believed they were the ones born to rule and to conquer. He had their children kidnapped and blackmailed the four houses into submission. He then created a new house, named after himself.

He first sought a power that had been whispered to him by the shadow. He left his second in command, Celian in charge and ventured beyond the veil of Theras, into the lands of Ayenee. There he found many individuals with the power to absorb their enemies fully. He found one willing to impart the secrets to him. When he returned he found that the nobles had retrieved their children with the help of Celian. Celian was now a puppet to the houses. They sent their assassins at him, he ate their essence.

Now it was clear to the house leaders, but it was too late. Diago was stronger now and he was enraged. When the slaughter was over, he turned his sights on Celian. The halls of the citadel echoed with screams into the night. He set about a plan to destroy the “Morning Star” to get his revenge on his former crewmates. He would have destroyed the vessel had it not been for a young thorne passenger, Reese Blackthorne. The young druid shielded the vessel from Diago's shadow blast. As the vessel sailed off.

Diago pursued the remaining free clans outside Velusia. They were crushed beneath his armies, given a choice, join or die. Many chose to drink the corrupt blood and the Darkthornes swelled with new blood. Diago was not satisfied with the outskirts of Velusia, he wanted more. The voice in Diago's head urged him to take Velusia.

Diago instead pursued his own plans, the dark heart of Cassandoria. Rumors said a dark god was slain and that its remains were kept beneath a temple there. Diago and his forces arrived there and entered the temple. They were halted by the temple guardians, but the Darkthornes cast off their cloaks. The bulky, gray-skinned figures stood well over 6ft tall, Diago was at a staggering 7ft. They were horned like devils, with claw and fang to match. They moved like apparitions, dancing in the shadows. The temple priests fell, the guardians with them.

Diago strode triumphantly down to the lower reaches of the temple. He gazed upon the black beating heart, it pulsated in a pool of black blood. Diago returned with the heart and sealed it away in his vault. He intended to use it to create a pool from which one could drink and become a Darkthorne. It would allow him to create endless Darkthornes and replenish their number. The thorne clans inside Velusia's borders were slowly dwindling. If he could simply out number them, he would win one way or the other.

Diago launched a campaign against the Blackthornes. Instead of defeating the Blackthornes he drew their attention. They stormed the citadel and destroyed the dark heart at great cost. Zane Blackthorne fell in battle against Diago, but managed to severely injure the Darkthorne leader, with his sword “stardust”.

Diago spent years recovering from the wound, he cursed Zane wishing he had never met the on they called the black swordsman. His gut burned and turned, he could never make the pain cease. As the years passed the pain ebbed. It was around this time that he discovered Eseer at the behest of the shadow. The shadow wanted Eseer to be slain, Diago, however, threw Eseer to the pits. He saw someone with potential, but no goal. Eseer fought as Diago did in the pits and eventually rose up and escaped.

Rumors abounded that Reese Blackthorne was attempting some sort of ritual to protect all of Velusia from some shadowy unseen threat. Diago saw this as the perfect opportunity for him to kill the king. Diago was attacked by Eseer during the attempt and defeated, by Eseer and Reese. Diago, however, refused to die, so Eseer banished him to the shadow realm. In the shadows, Diago plotted and waited, swearing he would have vengeance.

Fang: The blade fang is reportedly forged from the same metal as the Ebony Sword of legends. The blade can absorb energy that is thrown at it by being turned towards it. It could cut through stone, but it could not cut through enchanted items. The blade and the wielder share a bond, the sword takes on the the emotions of those who have wielded it. It is said that the sword has been bathed in the foulest demon's blood and has been wielded by those deemed insane and cruel. It is no wonder that those who wield the sword have an craving to shed blood simply for the sake satisfying the blade's psyche link. The owner of the blade can only die if the sword is destroyed. The sword has been called the fang because of how it craves to drink blood. It has also been called the demon blade, the falling star, and a score of other names over the centuries.

The Eye of the Reaper: This amulet is gold, with a single red blood stone. It allows the wearer to detect the weakness of any enemy they face. The amulet shows the wearer this through illusionary overlays that only they can see. This is only useful in finding out if an opponent favors a leg, is vulnerable to certain substances, chinks in an opponents armor, and certain terrain advantages that would effect an opponent. It can not and will not win a battle without a skilled owner.

Iron: Iron is deadly to Tuatha, it can poison the blood, something only a blood transfusion can fix. It can also make a wound become infected or not heal right. Tuatha are basically allergic to Iron, it is an item not found in their blood or anywhere in their bodies like it is in humans. As such this has caused such rivalries between the humans and dwarves with their dealings with the Tuatha. Humans use iron in so many things that Tuatha can be offended by the most minute object offered them by a human. The dwarves spend their time mining iron and smelting it more than even the humans and some of the runoff from their smelting camps has polluted streams that run through Tuatha lands. Iron also weakens Tuatha in such a way that their regenerative abilities are disabled for a few days from receiving a wound with iron.

Magic Fire: Certain fire produced through magical means can be both deadly and repulsive to Darkthornes with mixed dna from an supernatural race. The magical fire has to be produced at a level that could burn through metal and stone however. It is not of a level that most amateur mages can use. The consistent magical output required to produce such a fire creates a fire that burns so hot is appears white.

Soul Feast The ability to feed on the life force of a victim, but much more. This ability allows one to absorb memories and even certain innate abilities. Diago learned this ability during his time in Ayenee and then used it to increase his strength before returning to Velusia. It worked to a lesser degree in Velusia due to the different physics of the realm compared to Ayenee.

Shadow Walk The ability to move through any shadow and transverse behind the scenes through the shadow realm, to any visible shadow. This acts as sort of a limited version of teleportation. It is limited by the size of the shadow, a small shadow lacks the size to allow one to exit through it. This ability was learned only after Diago was banished to the shadow realms. The shadow realms have numerous mystical locks that prevent the denizens from leaving however, so the ability does not allow him to leave.

Julian's Roleplay Bio

• “I was born in the darkness and in the darkness so shall I die.”- Diago
• “The concept of justice and vengeance, right and wrong, are merely how one decides to view them. I have no view on either. I do what I want, when I want, to whom I want, because I can. It is my right as the strongest to determine the fate of the weak.” -Diago to the Noble Houses
• “Pardon my stony expression, it matches the cold, soulless, existence of my heart.” -Diago to Rebecca Blackthorne
• “You shall live in the pits where you shall either find purpose and live, or realize you are nothing and die.”-Diago
• “I cast you into the pit Eseer, find there your reason to live. Show me that you are worthy of your life. Or you can simply die there, the choice is yours. Do as I do and cast your fate with your own hands. If you find you can't then you will be a slave to another for the rest of your life.”- Diago to Eseer
• “The darkness caresses me like a long lost lover. I do not fear the darkness for we have embraced many times.”- Diago to Gem Sherbrook
• “The black coach of sorrow has stolen everything from me. My heart has bled out its secret wishes to the night sky. My voice screamed questions till sore and silent, but an answer never came.”-Diago to Captain River Daniels

• Created in 2000
• Diago use to prowl the various user rooms on Yahoo searching for victims.
• Diago has been handled by three different players.
• Diago was created as a antagonist for plot to give the Blackthornes an enemy. He was not intended to survive for as long as he has, or develop as much as he did.
• Diago was scheduled to be redeemed in the final battle against the Dark Effigy.

This page was originally created by J on Fri 12-05-17.