|
This article was written by Ahpolki Inika. Please do not add to it without the writer's permission.
|
| Kripta | |
|---|---|
| |
| Title(s) |
Seer In Darkness, The Nightwatcher, Shadow Walker |
| Race | |
| Mask |
Unnamed mask of unknown origin |
| Weapon(s) |
Staff |
| Gender |
Female |
| Age |
Estimated to be at least 3 centuries old |
| Colors |
Black, various greens, grey |
| Accessories |
Amulet |
| Eye Color |
Dark green |
| Element |
May possess some affinity to Earth, Jungle, and Shadow |
| Powers |
Limited psychokinesis, limited access to the arcane arts |
| Affiliation(s) |
Shadow Walker |
| Previous Affiliation(s) |
Earth and Jungle tribes |
| Occupation(s) |
Shaman, leader of the Shadow Walkers |
| Status |
Active |
| Relative(s) |
Mother from the Jungle region, father from the Earth Region |
| Music Theme |
 |
| Pronunciation |
Criihp-tah(?) |
- "I have walked among the shadows for most of my life. Some of them hide the most beautiful of the world's works. Others cloak the most horrid and twisted of abominations."
- ―Kripta to Ekimu
Kripta is an Okotan shaman.
History[]
Early Life[]
Born to a mother of Jungle and a father of Earth, Kripta came into being at some point after the battle between Ekimu and Makuta. Her mother would often tell the younger villager tales of mystical beings and mysteries of their land. Fascinated by them, she took up a job as an archaeologist when she reached adulthood.
During her life, she would travel between the Regions of Earth and Jungle, visiting her relatives. During one such trip, she came across another group of archaeologists, lead by an eccentric elder. This man had in interest in the legacy of the Mask Makers, and had been hunting down their tombs to provide clues on their history. She asked to join them in their quest, and the master was happy to welcome her aboard.
The group hunted for years, trekking the island in search of something connected to the Mask Makers. Eventually, they found a tomb of someform, and managed to break into it. They found a chamber full of relics and runes, with a stone sarcophagus at the center. However, upon full inspection, they realized that it was not for a Mask Maker. Instead, it was a prison for a particular type of being called Skull Priests. One of the crew accidentally triggered a trap, opening a tear into the Shadow Realm. Everything and everyone within the chamber was pulled into it, and Kripta was separated from her friends.
Imprisonment in the Shadow Realm[]
She spent the next few centuries wandering the dimension, searching for her friends and a way out. During her stay, she would often visit the Capital City's archives, learning its secrets. She scavenged the ruins in search of materials, conducting rituals in the hopes of bringing herself home. She began to practice the arcane arts, some of which were forbidden. Occasionally, her actions would draw in the attention of Makuta's guard, and she could often flee to another safe-house to evade them.
During one of her daily raids, she came across a peculiar site. The broken bodies of Makuta's servants littered one of the streets, and a good chunk of it lay in ruin.At the center were the remains of the sarcophagus, and its occupant was nowhere to be found. It didn't take her long to realize what had happened.
For the next few months, she would hear faint echoes, a soft whisper in the air. She managed to follow it to its source, deep within one of the catacombs. There, she discovered the Skull Priestess Ghulmia enacting a necromantic ritual. Raising a personal guard of the dead, she marched her way out of the tombs with the intent of conquering the Capital City. Kripta looted the chamber once the undead sorceress left, hoping for a means of returning to Okoto. However, as the Okotan returned to her hideout, she eyed one a small figure running off from the Mask Maker's temple, with a sack over its shoulder.
She tailed the being, finding herself within a shanty home. To her surprise, it was her mentor. The elder greeted her with a hearty grin, happy to see her alive. The two began collaborating since then, and together they were able to learn of a means of return home. However, as time went on, the old man had grown more and more obsessed with the place. While he was willing to aid Kripta in her journey home, he wasn't too thrilled about leaving himself.
One day, they fell under siege of a surprise attack. Ghulmia had found their hideout, and had her undead bodyguards pillage it. Kripta tried to stop her, but was rendered unconscious from blow to the head. When she came to, she found her home empty. All of her work was stolen, and her mentor was nowhere to be found. However, she did find a trail of powdered dust leading out the door. She followed it all the way to Makuta's fortress, and sneak inside. There, she spied the Skull Priestess speaking to Makuta, offering up her spoils to him in exchange for an alliance. To the archaeologist's shock, her mentor was beside the undead being throughout the meeting.
Enraged, she swore vengeance upon them for their theft. She followed the patrol assigned to store the loot away, intent with retrieving it. They came across a massive vault, protected by archaic runes. Once they removed the spell and opened the door, she slipped in. However, she quickly discovered that she was not alone. Her mentor had snuck in as well, and was intending to pillage it for his mistress. The two fought, with the battle ending in her former teacher being imprisoned in a mirror. Unfortunately, she quickly discovered that her possessions had been taken during the fight, as well as a number of relics. It didn't take her long to figure out who was responsible.
She tracked Ghulmia to her lair, and found the sorceress conducting a ritual concurrently with Makuta's own. She intended on hitching a ride on his portal, hoping to use it to slingshot back to Okoto. Once the Mask Hoarder's had been opened, her's connected to it and opened a tear in the fabric of space. She flied through it, escaping the Shadow Realm. However, Kripta managed to leap after her, and had also left the dimension. They two fought until the Skull Priestess flung the shaman into the sea, and was able to channel her remaining power into teleporting elsewhere. Crawling back onto shore, Kripta began her journey towards the Jungle Region, to reunite with her family. However, she found that they had been killed in an attack by the Shadow Horde.
Return to Okoto[]
Finding a group of survivors from the attack, they filled her in on events that transpired in her absence. Among those were the heroics of the Masters and the resurrection of Ekimu. Armed with this information, she set off to warn Ekimu of Ghulmia's return. Upon arrival, she was nearly shot on sight by a guard on account of her appearance. One of the Protectors had to talk the man out of his hostility, and she was granted entrance. She met with the Mask maker, and informed him of the Skull Priestess's return. With his permission, she has been gathering villagers who wished to help her in her war against the undead sorceress for the next few years. She is still preparing for war against the liche to this day.
Alternate timelines[]
In a timeline where Ghulmia never escaped from her sarcophagus, Kripta eventually gave up on her hopes of escaping the Shadow Realm. She ahd taken to monitoring Okoto and the Realm, taking in an Okotan born of Shadow by the name of Kasere. After Makuta failed to return to Okoto with his plan, he destroyed his Masks of Power and regained composure. When six Okotans were sent by the Creatures to the Shadow Realm, Makuta enlisted Kripta's aid in bringing the City back to the island. It is likely that this version of her returned to life among the citizens after her work was done.
Abilities and Traits[]
While she has always been an introverted individual, she was once more warm and welcoming in her early life. Once someone has gained her trust, she would watch their back for the rest of her life. However, when she was pulled into the Shadow Realm and separated from her friends, that warmer side of her personality seemed to have died. In its place was a more pessimistic view on life, hiding a fractured heart. She mourned the lost of her friends, and was embittered by her mentor's betrayal. Still, she has concern for her people and their welfare, as noted by her desire to fight Ghulmia. However, some of the Okotan people are mistrustful towards her due to her time in the Shadow Realm. It is a fact that Kripta is all too aware of, but not one that she constantly thinks about. She has more important things to worry about.
As the offspring of Earth and Jungle Okotans, she possesses some minuscule level of both tribes' Elemental Energies. However, her imprisonment in the Shadow Realm has cut her off from these, instead replacing them with access to the arcane arts. She possess limited psychokinesis, such as telepathy and telekinesis. She can also project ethereal energies, typically resembling emerald-green flames. She also has some limited access to the Element of Shadow, a power that also contributes to the mistrust of some of the other Okotans.
Mask and Tools[]
Kripta originally bore a powerless Mask of Earth or Jungle. After her exile into the Shadow Realm, she has switched it with a new mask, one that can amplify her powers further. She also carries a staff she carved while in the dimension.
Appearances[]
- Lies in the Light (First appearance, not storyline)
Trivia[]
- She was inspired by Eris Morn, a character first appearing in the videogame, Destiny.
- Her name is derived from "Crypta", which is Latin for "vault, crypt, covered gallery, and grotto".