LinSkrae is an event character villain.
Character Biography
LinSkrae was a were-rat from a mountainous area. Disguised as a scholar, he offered King Yuri his expertise in helping examine volumes of text in his private library. He revealed his true nature by using his ability to control monstrous rats to attack the kingdom while trying to flee the lands with precious scrolls and books. Though many were recovered, LinSkrae escaped and has not been seen since.
LinSkrae's Deceit
Many reigns had passed before King Yuri was placed upon the throne of Koguryo. Buildings fell into neglect and were long forgotten. At last the King ordered renovations. While repairing the Palace, workers discovered the entrance to an old library with countless tomes of knowledge lying in the dust.
A strange wise man from distant mountains by the name of LinSkrae offered his expertise to the king and wished to examine the volumes. Shortly after, he began to help establish and continue this wonderful place of learning for the kingdom.
Never judge a book by its cover, though... LinSkrae revealed his true nature not a month later by summoning waves of rats to do his bidding. His features no longer that of a man, it was now known this trickster was a wererat and worked to steal all the precious scrolls and books that belonged to the kingdom's library. Though many of the scrolls were recovered with the hard work of brave citizens, a few were simply too ragged to be remotely legible.
-Historian Qantao
LinSkrae's Escape
The vile and filthy LinSkrae had, the kingdom assumed, been sufficiently imprisoned. Magical barriers protected him at all sides, and the rat half of his existence had been murdered; he was but a man now, no longer a wererat. His power was truly diminished. As he sat in the Koguryo Oubliette, he bode his time, shouting insults at his jailers or trying to trick them into setting him free. Truly, LinSkrae was no longer the threat he once was, and was, in fact, a pitiful sight to behold. Children no longer feared him; in fact, they wore his trademark paint during festivals and holidays that emboldened mockery of scary things. (The color of Bluestone the pirate was and still is another popular example.) LinSkrae's colorful diatribes were legendary and made for excellent transcriptions in the gossip columns of the Kogruyo papers.
As LinSkrae was more of a public spectacle now than a powerful sorcerer, Historian Qantao lobbied secretly with the government of Koguryo to transfer his internment to the coming Museum, which was still in the architectural stages of planning. Although initially hesitant, Prince Mhul and his Minister of Peace approved the plan with the proviso that his engineers be allowed to design, reinforce, and enchant LinSkrae's prison cell inside the Museum. Qantao and the Museum Caretaker agreed to this provision, and thus LinSkrae was transferred to a special cell in this very Museum.
LinSkrae's violent and loud diatribes were a popular draw to tourists and residents alike; they encouraged a steady stream of patrons to the museum, as he could always be expected to be yelling rather crazily about something. The man was a ball of potent fury, cursing the citizens who mocked him and vowing his revenge. However, the magical barriers on his cell held him in place, and his power was still greatly diminished.
However, there was one ability which was not diminished, which LinSkrae himself did not even discover until a few years later: he who was once a were-rat was always a were-rat. Although this power had been taken long ago when his rat form was killed, his presence--and discarded food on the floor--soon attracted rodential visitors. One fateful night, as LinSkrae pined for his freedom, he focused himself on one of the rats in his cage, enjoying its freedom; how he longed to scuttle and gnaw once more...
Suddenly, LinSkrae felt himself drawn to the rat he had been staring at, a gargantuan black rat eating his discarded sandwich. He focused, stared intently, and, without realizing it, synthesized with the rat, regaining his were-rat ability. He realized that whatever deaths he died, as long as there was a rat to synthesize with, his powers would be regained. Although turning into a rat is not a particularly useful ability, it is extremely valuable for one thing: sneaking.
Although the bars of the jail had been reinforced with the most powerful protective magic of the kingdoms, they were not designed to imprison the most crafty of nature's creatures: the rat. As rats had freely gone in and out of LinSkrae's cell, it took him all of five seconds to slip through the bars and out the unguarded museum door. LinSkrae was a free man, and would soon terrorize the kingdoms once more. Several months later he began his campaign of revenge, consolidating his power, summoning the totems, and even attempting to resurrect Sagu -- an ambitious effort that would claim his life.
However, the nature of LinSkrae's life is an enigma, as he needs only to find a new rat to synthesize with and spawn himself anew. Neither truly human nor fully rat, we cannot know if he will ever resurface again...
-Historian Qantao