Garn’nuth

Garn’nuth the White was the second child of King Calculha of Atlantia and Crown Princess Majistra of Mu. Born with albinism that seemed to interfere with his ability to channel magic as naturally as his sister Ahri’ahn, he ultimately made a tragic pact with the Abyssal Dark that led to his downfall and disappearance into the shadowy pathways of the Darkworld.

Garn’nuth is inspired by a segment of Arion’s backstory, specifically the concept of his evil brother called Garn Daanuth. Both were created by Paul Kupperberg for this 1980s Arion and Arion the Immortal series.

Biography

Childhood

Born in 4125 OC during the reign of his father Calculha, Garn’nuth was marked from birth by his striking white skin and hair. While his elder sister Ahri’ahn showed prodigious magical talent from an early age, achieving the rank of magnus before her 21st birthday, Garn’nuth struggled with even basic magical practices. His sister’s presence seemed to help stabilize both his mood and even enhance his magical abilities, but her fostering in Lansinar as part of the Lansinar-Atlantis Accords left him increasingly isolated and withdrawn.

Unlike Ahri’ahn who inherited their father’s wisdom and their mother’s passion, Garn’nuth manifested their mother’s volatile temperament without the balancing influence of their father’s patience. His inability to live up to the magical legacy of his parents, combined with his sister’s absence, led him to seek alternative sources of power.

Pact with the Abyssal Dark

The Abyssal Dark, a shadow demon formed from the ichor of Ichthultu and a fallen Old Power, had been defeated by Calculha and Majistra during their courtship. However, the entity maintained a presence in Atlantis, whispering to those who felt powerless and offering forbidden knowledge. It found a perfect target in the struggling son of its old enemies.

Garn’nuth began secretly studying the darker aspects of magic under the Abyssal Dark’s tutelage. The demon offered him access to forbidden knowledge and darker magics than even the Old Craft contained, preying on his fear of powerlessness and resentment toward his magically-gifted family members. Through these dark teachings, Garn’nuth finally gained the magical power he craved, but at a terrible cost to his psyche and soul.

Betrayal and Fate

In 4676 OC, Garn’nuth’s pact with the Abyssal Dark culminated in open betrayal against his family. Together with the shadow demon, he attempted to kill his father and mother. Only Ahri’ahn’s intervention, drawing upon knowledge gained in Lansinar combined with her raw magical strength, prevented the assassination. In the ensuing magical battle, the Abyssal Dark was banished back to the Darkworld, but Garn’nuth was pulled into the shadowy dimension with it.

His mother, Majistra, refusing to abandon hope for her son, spent over a century searching for him in various mystical realms and attempting to find a way to redeem him. Her quest drove a wedge between her and Calculha that would take 140 years to heal. Ultimately, she was forced to accept that Garn’nuth’s soul had become eternally lost in the pathways of the Darkworld.

Family

The family tree illustrates Garn’nuth’s father, Calchulha’, and her brothers’s descendants.