Kardama

The Midnight Sun

B/W sketch by Mike Winn. Thanks, Mike!

Street-rat. Master thief. Solar of the Night Caste, Chosen of the Unconquered Sun. Kardama is all of these things.

Description:

     A lanky youth, five-foot-ten and slender like a walking staff. Dark eyes dance in a face apparently made for impish grins and sly rejoinders, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin framed by shaggy brown curls that fall down to the nape of his neck. His movements are deft, almost minimalist, but still quite sure for a young man who can't have seen more than twenty summers (and probably has seen fewer). Still, there's a knowing look in his eye and a curl to his lip that gives him the mien of a person older, like he's seen a harder life than some.

     His dress is curiously nondescript, a simple linen tunic and trousers. Clean, serviceable, and surprisingly anonymous. His tunic sleeves extend practically to his knuckles, and his feet are protected by worn-looking ankle boots. A yeddim-hide belt holding a couple pouches is cinched firmly around his waist.

His past, in his own words:

     "I didn't have a name at first. Well, other than 'damned kid'. It's hard growing up on the streets, when your family is destitute and you don't know who your father is. When your options are to steal or starve, you learn really fast how to steal -- and I was a fast learner. Quick on my feet, and I didn't have any compunctions about snatching loaves from some fat noble's basket. Like I said: steal or starve.

     "My mother died when I was fourteen. Ironically, that same year, I picked the pocket of a older guy who caught me... but the funny part was that he was a thief too. Redsky didn't exactly have a 'thieves' guild', but as things started to slowly fall apart, on the Threshold and in the Realm, it got easier for us to work together, link up, share skills. I got my name then, 'Kardama' -- it's derived from an Old Realm word for shadows. I was -- well, I /am/ -- probably the best damned thief in the group.

     "All that changed when I decided to hit a Guild financier's home last year. It was 'the big score', even though if I messed up I'd be lucky if I died. If I was unlucky... well, we all hear tales about the brain-eating faeries. When I got inside, I was... well, I was disgusted. You wouldn't think a street kid would have a sense of ethics, but all I could think of was 'he bought this house, this finery, with the tears of others'. And I /hated/ it. The banker wasn't around -- which is probably for the best, because I could hear a ringing in my ears, like I wanted to scream even though I bottled it up. Everything seemed to leap into crystal clarity, illuminated by the ghostly white light which was wrapped around me like a cloak. I fell to my knees, because every idiot /knows/ what that means, and I wondered if I had enough time to cry out before the Anathema demon ejected my soul and wore me like a hat.

     "That was when I heard the voice. It was like every kid's idea of an authority figure, with enough volume that it should've rattled the world. "A boy can be more than a thief. He can bring hope to dark places, and My light to those who hide their deeds." I knew exactly who had spoken. I knew what I was. And all I could think to ask the empty house was 'Why me?'.

     "You don't really expect an answer when you talk to yourself -- even when you've still got a funny glowing circle on your head and a sizzling energy in your veins like lightning. I admit, though, I just about jumped out of my skin when someone /did/ answer. "Because someone has to." He stepped out of the darkness -- looking like the face I'd seen, but shadowed. Examining me with a slight grin, he murmured, "I am Five Days Darkness, Kardama. And it seems fate has quite the sense of humor. I am the shadow of your master, the Unconquered Sun... and I believe explanations are in order." All I could think to say was, of course, "Let me get the goods first."

     "That was a year ago. I wound up disbursing most of my haul to my fellows in Redsky, and then following Five Days Darkness. As a sifu, he's pretty good. He tells me we knew each other in a past life, and that he's here to collect -- and discharge -- old debts. Frankly, I can think of worse teachers. And now I have a purpose, beyond being just a teenaged sneak-thief. I'm going to steal Prosperity, and Happiness, and shake them out on Creation so everyone gets a share. Sounds fair to me."

Random Info:

     Kardama is equal parts Robin Hood, Phillipe (from Ladyhawke), Ferris Bueller (mostly in his personality, not his work ethic), and even a dash of Captain Jack Sparrow. He loves a challenge, and the more security a person piles on, the more interested he gets in trying to break it. He also has the usual appreciation for pretty girls, a flair for the dramatic when it suits him, and a knack for getting into places he never, ever should be.

     He is the inheritor of a very specific Exaltation: that of Ebon Shadow's Graceful Daughter, the long-gone Night Caste who was the first to learn Ebon Shadow Style from Five Days Darkness. While the shard thankfully has not passed along any specific memories, it's probably only a matter of time.

     Speaking of which, Five Days Darkness has become Kardama's mentor, tutoring him in the Ebon Shadow Style (though he doubtless doesn't need that much help), and offering useful insights to the young thief. It's probably for the best, although who can tell when the god of Calibration is involved?

     Kardama is also working with the Exalted Sage and his circle, but because Kardama disapproves greatly of recent events in Greyfalls, has stolen troop movement information from the very office of Ledaal Kilandros and passed it along to Mnemon Koal, Strategos of the Saltwater Vale.

Season of Water, 771

     An impulse trip to Chronopolis triggered a major flashback for Kardama, sending him back if momentarily to his prior incarnation as Shadow's Grace. While happy to encounter Chronos and Pleasing Sweet Viper, the experience has forced the young man to reassess himself and his goals.

     When his cult sends out a call for his attention, Kardama comes home to Redsky, discovering that a terrible ghost was wreaking havoc in the town by night. Using tactics suited more for an Eclipse or Zenith than a Night Caste, the Midnight Sun manages to talk down the ghost and encourage her to enter Lethe.

     Caught in the middle of the dispute between the Vale and Greyfalls, Kardama nevertheless is pleased with the outcome of things... helping expedite messages between the Queen Pasyra and Mnemon Koal. Thus, he's around when Gilded Rose is kidnapped, and needless to say he's displeased with this turn of affairs.

TVTropes:

     Kardama is of course the Sandiego -- and in Exalted, he may just be able to get away with some of the more outlandish stunts the trope namer pulled off, making him an Impossible Thief. He's also a Gentleman Thief (albeit a young one).