Characters: Argrath
The Great Secret
Heort was the first to meet the Second Son, back in the Great Darkness when the world was destroyed. He followed the trail of the Second Son and learned the secret of the Star Heart. He experienced Everything, only to encounter that which is Outside of Everything. He confronted the Devil’s Face and refused to be devoured by the Void. He survived and recreated the world, distinguishing between the living and the dead. As a result, the Orlanthi call themselves Heortlings in his honor.
All Orlanthi experience at least part of this. Most get to the Second Son, who explains to them the things that lie beyond. Most people are content with that.
But some will have to go farther, and they will see, perhaps touch or (more rarely) even get their own Star Heart and place it into their breasts.
A rare individual sees the place where the Devil’s Face appears and most of them then retreat.
Some confront the Face and survive, emboldened and empowered far beyond normal humanity.
Survivors of the Void are rare, for it dissolves the soul of most who dare to look on it. A survivor of this would have his name added to the list of Second Son, Heort and Harmast. Such a survivor was Argrath.
Argrath and Arkat
Argrath means “Liberator” in the Heortling language. It is a corruption of “Arkat”, the name of an ancient hero who liberated the Heortlings from Gbaji the Deceiver and his Bright Empire more than a thousand years ago.