Gaius the Gleeful

The corrupt nature of the Cult of K’Leth means that those in its upper echelons are consumed by the desire for power and the need to retain it. For all but the indispensable Soul Shepherds, there is the perpetual threat that they will one day find themselves mortally wounded with no new body to inhabit. For those without power and influence, this is not an unusual outcome. Because of this, politicking is rife throughout the innermost parts of the cult, and good reputation means a great deal to its members. But there are a few who see past the tribulations involved in trying to hold on to immortality. They prefer to live life as though they are in their last body, to indulge their obsessions rather than waste time scheming. Among their number is Gaius the Gleeful. Gaius was an odd child, and suffered for it. The son of a knight of Kaerok, he proved highly unsuited to follow in his father’s footsteps and was prone to muttering to himself and giggling at the most inappropriate moments. He was physically unexceptional, and was easy pickings for the sons of other knights who bullied him mercilessly. His bouts of uncontrolled laughter earned him the nickname of Gaius the Gleeful. His father despaired, considering him an embarrassment, and found that his beatings could not drive out his son’s strangeness. As he grew up, Gaius became fascinated by the jesters of Kaerok’s court. He delighted in their antics and outrageous costumes, and was enthralled at the way courtiers – so cold and suspicious of Gaius – giggled and rollicked at their performances. One particular jester grew to be the object of Gaius’ devotions. The jester’s name was Brambles and Gaius attended his every performance. For his part, Brambles indulged the young man’s questions and curiosities in ways no one else had ever bothered to. With this new happiness in his life, it didn’t occur to Gaius that Brambles would have anything at all to do with the series of corpses that had were discovered one month close to court – each with a wide grin carved into the victim’s cheeks. One night after a performance, Gaius sought out Brambles in a castle corridor only to find him disfiguring the corpse of a noblewoman. Shocked and confused, Gaius ran. Seeing an opportunity, Brambles raised an alarm, casting the fleeing young man as the murderer. Gaius evaded his pursuers, but knew he could never return to his old life. Stripped of his knighthood and forced to live a life of exile, Gaius came to embrace the role in which he’d been falsely cast. If Brambles wanted to play, then Gaius would prove he could play better. Posing as a humble beggar, Gaius returned to Kaerok. It didn’t take him long to find his first victim – a noble’s son who had beaten him as a youth. He murdered the man and cut a smile across his face then left the body in Brambles’ quarters. Then he watched from afar in giggling glee as the jester was seized and dragged away, all the while protesting his innocence. One good performance, it seemed to Gaius, deserved another. Still disguised, Gaius attended Brambles’ execution where he overheard a conversation among a number of the nobles. Their topic was the exile of Gaius the Gleeful – not the bloody deeds that they attributed to him, but his silly giggle and misfit ways. Stung that people were still dismissing him, Gaius took his revenge, killing his critics one by one. Playing the role Brambles had cast him in, Gaius became a killer whose legend grew with every murder. It was only through one man’s weakness that Gaius gained the possibility of eternal life as a killer. Rudolf Marren, ostensibly a wealthy Kaerok merchant, returned home one night to find the leering death-jester waiting for him. Gaius was used to ignoring the pleas and promises of his victim, but Marren had something to bargain with. He told Gaius that he was part of a secret society that had unlocked the secret to immortality. If Gaius would spare him he would induct him into its ranks. In that way, his theater could continue forever. And so it was that Gaius the Gleeful became a member of the Cult of K’Leth. To this day, Gaius indulges his crazed delights across Anhelt – a prancing, giggling nightmare whose tracks are marked by an infamous bloody grin.