Darkusha Dhakaan is the hobgoblin head priestess of the Temple to the Dark Six in Cliffton, known to the locals as The Black Chapel. She was a Lhurusk Paaldaask (Spellcaster War-Leader) in Darguun during the Last War, and fervently fought for independance alongside her goblinoid brethren. The spellcaster squad which she commanded was on the frontlines of a close border skirmish with Cyran forces when a Cyran caster wiped out the entire squad with a well-placed fireball. Darkusha had never been a fervent believer in the power of the gods, but when she rose from the smoldering wreckage of her squad she began calling to the gods for aid. She asked the Keeper for her squadmates souls to remain with her for the remainder of the fight so she could exact vengeance with the power of The Fury, and in answer The Six blessed her with the ability to heal and save half of her squad. She then led her squad to hunt down the Cyran Mage-squad which had dealt her the humiliating blow, and with the power of The Devourer rained Hail and Lightning down on the enemy squad.
After this battle she turned to the active worship of The Six and her Paaldaask squad became one of the most feared Dar assets on the field of battle. She was given an honorary post in Rhukaan Draal at the Keeper's temple there upon her retirement from active military duty when the war ended. When the Brelish took Isla Mogrova, Darguun offered Darkusha to be their priestess as a show of good will between the two nations, so Darkusha took the job as a Priestess and Ambassador with great honor.
Darkusha reveres The Keeper above the other gods of The Dark Six, as it was he which granted her the ability to do the dark work which she has been doing. She does not care for the practices of Isla Mogrova's high priest, Tarius, and his plans to siphon the most worthy individuals from her clergy into the fold of The Blood of Vol, but she does as she is commanded. She is using her station, and accepted rites of sacrifice, to bolster her own personal strength, and is trying to keep a few of the most devout and powerful worshippers of The Dark Six under her own thumb without Tarius growing to suspicious.
Darkusha is a commanding hobgoblin, standing a head taller than most humans, and carries herself with the utmost pride. Her robes are always pressed and clean, her weapons, armor and tools are always polished, and her rites and rituals are flawless. She takes any slight to her honor or pride as a grave insult which must be corrected, usually with bloodshed and her sending the offending party's soul to the keeper with her prayers.
The hobgoblin presides over The Black Chapel with the same pride that she carries herself, ensuring it is always pristine and operating as it should be. She treats the church as more of a military barracks than a place of worship at times, and this attitude filters out into the community, instilling a strong work ethic and pride in the populace. She conducts most of the ritual sacrifices herself, and is the Master of Ceremonies in most community events. Despite her being a hobgoblin she has fit into the populace almost seamlessly, and all treat her with the respect a high priestess, and true descendant of Dhakaan, is due. When she is not commanding her disciples at the chapel she flits about Cliffton, and occasionally treks into the jungle on a nature walk, and gets to know everyone in town. When she performs funereal rites locals are often surprised at just how well she knew the deceased when she speaks of them; part of this familiarity may be in part due to her unofficial intelligence gathering duties as ambassador to Darguun however.
Kingdom Stats: Darkusha provides a +1 Loyalty bonus to The Black Chapel, as well as producing an additional Minor Item in the form of either 1-6 Potions, or 1-6 Scrolls of a Divine Spell of levels 1-4 .
Female Hobgoblin Sorcerer 6, Favored Soul 1, Escalation Mage 2 (Effective Sorceror Level 8)
