Species:
Lukuo
Looks:
(male)
Age:
25
Occupation:

Trades

Primary Trade:
Climbing, Journeyman
Secondary Trade:
Medicine, Journeyman

Out of Character

Player:
Denizen

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Kalum Phalanx

  • Agile
  • Beguiling
  • Creative
  • Cunning
  • Friendly
  • Patient
  • Tenacious
  • Description

    PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

    At the very pinnacle of his height, Kalum 'Phalanx' reached near the five feet seven inches mark, give or take a quarter of an inch.  His ears added another four and a half inches; this allusion has, in compiling information for this biography, resulted in varied accounts of how Kalum 'Phalanx' was perceived.  Thusly, some accounts indicated he was five feet eleven.  Regardless of the absolute specifics, educated guidelines do tell us he developed beyond five feet five inches, and never reached six feet.

    Unlike many Pendragons (and indeed many subspecies) of the time, it is unclear if Kalum ever possessed special markings which denoted his demeanour, mentality, livelihood, hobbies or interests, health, wealth or family standing; he was not Graded.  Biological re-creations have, however, turned up some very interesting facts.

    Similar to residents of the time, he could entertain both a quadrupedal form as well as a bipedal one.  There were stark differences between the two, though; in quadrupedal form, Kalum resembled a mix of the proud and honour-bound Anubi, the dominent Pendragons and smatterings of Yki, which were a little more clear on his legs than in any other feature.  Arguably, this would therefore have made him a Lukuo; the stronger gene was that of the Anubi make-up - mainly, he bore the features of the terran serval, coyote and schipperke.  Traces of what would have been fox genes were detected, too.

    Most noticeably at first were the coyote and schipperke genetic similarities.  His posture in quadrupedal form loosely resembled a serval.  His stainless black, moderately thick, fur was similar to a schipperke.  Ultimately, this much is evident:

    Kalum 'Phalanx' was a seriously mixed cross-breed.  A hybrid to some© Alexander 'Denizen-v1' Whitfield 2011.
       
    Reflecting his coyote genetic similarities, Kalum's ears sat more centrally on his skull and reached only an inch or so further than those of Earthen wolves' or foxes' ears, plastered with the same black tone as his entire body.  Rather rarely, the inside of Kalum's ears were lined with smaller, more receptive fibres.  Each fibre reacted to subtle shifts in pitch, tone, volume, depth and frequency; and with a matte black finish, there was no easy way to discern the inside from the outside.  This was the sum total of Kalum's coyote genetic similarities.

    In researching further, some genes resembling a fox steadily grew more obvious.  Affecting the skeletal structure of his tail segments was the biggest clue.  Made relatively short and thin, he had no exceptional talent in this department.  The tail operated no more than a simple accessory.

    Rich grey-purple eyes - set against his mono-tonal pelt - naturally created focal points.  There was nothing particularly strange about his eyes; other than the colour of the iris.  Such a shade was more notably recorded among the Anubi and Lukuo - the stronger genetics in Lukuos residing on the Anubi's side, and generally even more strongly among Anubial males. 

    It has been suggested that Kalum's visual spectrum was a little hindered, but may have been more capable of seeing hidden electro-magnetic fields that ordinary eyes could not.  It wasn't unknown in the time of the Pendragons for certain species to have thermal vision, so Kalum's own vision may not have been a one-off occurrence.  If it was true, then Kalum would have possessed the ability to sense changes in the fields surrounding the 'dragons near him, not to mention a superior ability to watch electronic equipment from a distance, such as electric fences, security cameras, televisions in other rooms, telephones, air conditioning equipment, monitors, electronic keypads, digital watches, ticking vehicle engines, computers, hand-held personal devices (such as PDAs, metal detectors, breathalysers, UV security torches, scanners and concealed weapons like tazers), aircraft, mobile communication devices, recording equipment, polarized surfaces and anything else electrical or emitting or surrounded by electro-magnetic fields.  He would have had advanced warning if something was going to go wrong (like a surge from crossed wires, or if multi-socketed plugs were going to overload) - provided he knew how to interpret the signals.  However, Fronima discharge was more than likely to go unnoticed.

    Again, if this was true, then Kalum may have avoided larger cities due to the vast number of advertising boards and generators.  It is possible that he may have suffered headaches from such bright emissions.  While we cannot support this hypothesis, it stands to reason that he may have perceived electrical equipment in the same way we perceive powerful lamps or solar glare.

    We will concern ourselves with Kalum's bipedal form because, digitally, this was the form constructed first.  He was well set; broad at the shoulders, he tapered desirably to a twenty eight inch waist.  Abdominally, he sported dense muscular tissue, suggesting he was particularly physically active and fit.  It appears his body didn't suffer too much strain when pushed to achieve this state of fitness - there were no ruptured arteries, tears or internal bruises that may have been evident in average Pendragons of the same time if they had forced themselves into a similar form.  Therefore we surmise he inherited the genetics from the dominant Anubi parent's DNA.  This conclusion is being challenged with the probability Kalum may have believed he could never have been too fit.

    This claim has not been deeply studied, although evidence is mounting to support it.

    His legs had two layers of fur.  The first layer was moderately thick and would have trapped measurable amounts of heat against his body to maintain his blood temperature in Mia or if he had travelled to Trilok.  The second layer consisted of hollow fibres.  However, unlike the Yki, they were no longer than one centimetre.  As such, these hairs served little purpose.  They would have failed miserably at retaining even the smallest amounts of heat.

    His paws were softly rounded.  Both in quadrupedal and bipedal forms, Kalum's palms and pads were black, but had a more dusty, leathery coating.  The difference in tone was clear around the edges - e.g. his finger tips and palms.  Dark grey denoted the boundaries of his palms and pads.  These boundary lines were thin, but no less noticeable.  However, the dark grey was limited only to these boundary lines; his palms were still as black as his main pelt.  In quadrupedal form, his pads were soft tissue.  In bipedal form, this soft tissue was replaced by thin, black fur.
       
    When Kalum fully tensed his upper body, his fitness levels showed itself for what it was.  Smooth, well defined curvatures lined either side of his forearms and biceps.  His shoulders, too, showed two very distinct muscle groups.  Kalum 'Phalanx''s chest size increased from forty two inches, to forty four inches.  His neck size also increased, from sixteen inches to seventeen inches.

    There is no doubt Kalum entertained a variety of physically demanding activities.  Given his upper body to lower body strength ratio, he probably climbed or scaled tall landmarks frequently.

     

    PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION

    Kalum 'Phalanx' was, to my colleagues, a mystery case.  I have to admit that while he was eventually psychologically an altogether understandable case, I struggled to comprehend the complexities that so intricately made him what he was.  To understand Kalum, you have to ignore social acceptances.  Bear this in mind, for this document is as concise and thorough an explanation you can get.  After all, I didn't make it to this position for nothing.

    Let's begin, shall we?

    In his younger years, Kalum was an impressionable nioti of Ramath-lehi.  With excessive exposure to society, his expanding perception of society should have developed along with the crowd.  But what really happened was something truly fantastic.

    He bears the signs of pride and abuse; loneliness and contentment; sensitivity and solidarity - signs that are not evident in other Pendragons of the time.  Typical cases throughout history are one or the other.  To clarify:

    You either had a Pendragon who was proud, content and solid, or abused, lonely and sensitive.

    Of course, depending entirely on the gender at times, sensitivity was often to compensate for abuse.  Showing friends and total strangers kindness was enough to justify their own troubled memories; redefining "kindness" despite hardship meant such troubled Pendragons could reap some positive rewards from life, knowing they had made someone else happier along their way.

    It was, and is, a selfish, yet, at face, selfless, service, meant to do one thing: better understand the roots of their own difficulties.

    With a proud, solid and content Pendragon, few of these signs showed.  They were already satisfied with their lives and struggled some to perceive why so many others around them could suffer or appear to succumb to "minor issues".  Unmoving and unwilling to try new things, such Pendragons could float along amongst the groups, happy they could covet no more.

    There was, of course, a more realistic middle-ground, in which a Pendragon would understand hardship and luxury.  More often than not these individuals were more abundant than the two extremes laid out above - because life wasn't perfect.

    Kalum was none of the above, and because of this his perception on life was extreme.  Having developed an understanding of life beyond the norm, and perceiving actions and reactions in his own way, he could believe anything he wanted to believe, and substantiate those beliefs based on the general reasons associated with those thoughts.  As such this made him uncontrollable.  And, while at a young age Kalum was impressionable, this soon became a façade - a mirage he wanted others to see - a device if you will, something he grew to know how to manipulate and bend at his will to achieve whatever he wanted, for any number of reasons, all fully justifiable in his mind.

    Additionally Kalum was well educated.  His upbringing was perhaps better than the norm.  He was born into a strong family; such is clear from the way he carried himself.  Perhaps a family that, itself, had struggled but yet succeeded - either by the sweat of their brow or good fortune.  Either way, lessons were learnt both domestically and academically.  But the biggest lesson for Kalum to learn was not of himself or his classmates, but it would be of his family.

    His eyes are a major sticking point for me; I read a lot into them.  It is from them that I get the impression he felt betrayed, in a clandestine way.  Kalum was a master at hiding his feelings or - at least - showing them in such a way to be perceived as something else.  Some could say he was misunderstood.  Betrayal, it would seem, is what may have made Kalum more aware of the unintentional darkness in everyone around him - even those whom he considered to be the closest of them all.  Nevertheless, this darkness only appears to have gone as another 'lesson'.  It is typical to say that most teenagers would have felt immense distress if they believed they had been betrayed, and would have spent quite some time mulling over the pros and cons of their predicament.  Kalum, though, appears as though he developed a knack early on for recovering.  As honourable and admirable as this may be, I can't help but feel this made him dangerous.

    He grew to be territorial, obsessive and obscurely perverse.  Recovery, it would seem, numbed his mental state so that very little could shake him.  It's as though nothing mattered apart from what he wanted to have matter.

    Irony, however, has a strange way of finding itself into the darkest crevices of dismay.  Kalum was indeed riddled with irony.  An example of such irony is that he was a charmer.  He held himself with such prestige and elegance that it is without a doubt in my mind he secretly attracted the attention of a number of admirers.  Peculiarly, my professional opinion is that Kalum loved to be loved.  It was perhaps the one thing that fitted into his belief system - like eating or drinking comes naturally to you or I.  But sadly, Kalum doesn't exhibit signs of having given love.  He strikes me as the Pendragon who never knew how, but always wanted to.  This troublesome loop of desire is, I believe, the angle from which my colleagues are coming when they describe him as obsessive and perverse.  Also, given that Kalum had succeeded in his studies, the thought of failure must have angered him.  Failing at a subject area or to achieve a particular external goal is one thing, but to fail yourself must have been a totally different ball-game.  He strikes me as the kind who could never lose at anything, no matter the odds - or at least believed he could never lose.

    So what made him tick?  Kalum operated by a form of code, an algorithm, on some days and at will would adopt a completely new modus operandi with a completely new code structure.  It worked for him.  Those who knew him the most knew the least about him.  The only ones who truly knew Kalum for himself were those who happened to disrupt his intentions.  I will not gamble as to his responses, that's not my job.  What I will say, however, is that he was an unrelenting soul with a penchant for cleanliness, exactness and precision, there are no two ways about it.  So if Kalum were to engage in a more brutal activity, it would be the most well executed act known in the modern times of Ramath-lehi.

     

    HISTORY

    Spawn of middle aged D'seros'ba and Tia'miku, Kalum is recorded to not have a surname.  Commonly, Kalum is said to have adopted the alias 'Phalanx'.  For the sake of clarity, the name of the subject will be restricted to only what is confirmed by records.

    From the age of 2200 (22) D'seros'ba was wealthy.  Having, in his earlier years, worked hard in honest business, he later turned to the less salubrious side of trade and earned a considerable amount more.  Trafficking drugs and arms onto and off cargo ships was, albeit a short lived, lucrative occupation which connected D'seros'ba to countless highly influential individuals.

    Such influential individuals were never satisfied with keeping people around, and informed the authorities of his actions via untraceable means.

    D'seros'ba was caught and prosecuted, but spared harsh penalties.  The excuse provided was, and still is, officially, the prosecution believed the defendant could turn himself around and be his former, successful self.  The real reason conjectured and believed by a wider audience was the authorities wanted to persuade him into providing intelligence into the whereabouts, movements, names and addresses of the safe-houses that drug and arms lords used.

    Aware now of both sides of life, the law included, he stayed quiet.  A bitter web of hatred and fear, and an unappreciative pat on the back from an otherwise supercilious detective, he could weave.  At the time, he had his sights on something more personally satisfying.

    Tiamiku didn't have to work for her money, but perhaps to live.  Living a fairy tale as old as time itself, she inherited her looks, wealth and commodities from her relatives.  She did know the meaning of hard work; but she also knew the meaning of hard living.  For her, both hard work and hard life were intertwined.  A spoiled and damaged soul, Tiamiku developed an explosive tendency, underpinning her 'care-free'  attitude.  Again, neither of these were so far apart as one may seem to perceive.  In actual fact, her care-free attitude was what allowed her pent up aggressions to flow - and never in public, but never alone.

    At times, she was drawn to the concept of prostitution in her younger years to overcome the trauma of her uncomfortably unrewarding lifestyle.  As shallow as it may sound, medical records show scars on her uterus.  When examinations were conducted 17 years into her life, professional doctors determined that she must have sustained an attack for several minutes, on several occasions, at least 5 to 6 years prior to time of examination.  After 5 to 6 years of repeated sexual abuse by family members (there is also a recorded incident of forced bestiality, which accounted for approximately 3% of scarred tissues), Tiamiku grew to accept that such behaviour was acceptable (or at least normal); that all niotie experienced such treatment from their families.

    She was isolated from the public system and mainstream education, resulting in greater availability for those who wanted to harm her further.

    Tiamiku's lure to prostitution came about at the age of 15 when she began to enjoy the treatments - only because the one abusing her decided to read up on how to best handle a young Thill.  Despite suffering for so long and accepting everything, she never built up the courage to venture into such a 'business'.

    Very little happened in her younger years beside her continued abuse.
    Tiamiku and D'seros'ba met more by design than accident.  It would be accurate to intimate co-ordination between D'seros'ba's past and angered, abusive parents.  The importance of coupling such a derailed soul as D'seros'ba and a knocked around submissive shadow such as Tiamiku was obscure in the short run, to say the least.

    Indeed what it came down to was a forecast of ill wills and even more ill tempers.  Revenge by proxy, it would appear, would solve the problems experienced by both ominous parties, watching their puppets introduce themselves in Chafuo.

    The combination of ills was exactly what back-fired against those who pitted their hopes on a knock-down, drag out fight to end either or both of them.  Where Tiamiku lacked the conviction to move on with her life, D'seros'ba had done the opposite, putting his foot in many-a-door and learning from his lessons.  Where Tiamiku was never given the chance to excel, D'seros'ba knew the taste of success and failure.  Where they both thought they had something close them, to befriend and secure them, they both found themselves unwanted and tormented.

    This would gel them for many years until their deaths.

    Shortly after meeting, they both became aware of zealous onlookers - runners - who would report every movement of the pair.  To spite everything expected of them, both D'seros'ba and Tiamiku headed to their nearest Anubial priest.  D'seros'ba, bearing heavy and easily noticeable Anubi genetics, believed that Tiamiku would benefit from an unofficial promise of protection by being inducted into D'seros'ba's understanding family of pure Anubi.

    Speculation over Tiamiku's purity rose and fell like the tide, because she was Yki.  Medical records of the time state she was pure Yki, and indeed, when corroborated with our evidence, there are no medical discrepancies.

    Shortly after marriage, Kalum was born.  Genetics from across the ponds collided to make him truly unique, in appearance and in intellect.  He weighed 18lbs 6oz while unhatched - 14lb exactly hatched.  Tiamiku suffered from birthing to such a heavy cub and his shell; her many scars reopened and caused excessive bleeding.  Technology allowed her to recover quickly, but never completely.  Kalum, however, was still their bundle of joy.

    Both proud parents decided the best course of action for Kalum would be to preserve his innocence - something neither parent could recapture for themselves.  They both agreed on allowing him the opportunity to learn as much as he could, having showed significant strides since his first day in the world of Ramath-lehi.

    Seven was the normal age at which a Pendragon would be allowed to attend a school - namely the famous Janardan Academy.  However, having privately educated Kalum since he was hatched, he swiftly showed massive strides in all things mathematical and scientific; while only grasping the basic concepts, his interests would lay the foundation for extended education.

    D'seros'ba believed in two things: power of the mind and power of the body.  Of the latter he knew more, but that was not to suggest he knew little of the former.  As parents, they decided between them that Tiamiku would choose the placement that would best suit his mental abilities, and D'seros'ba would choose his nioti's physical endeavours.

    The most risky placement was Dula Ukupani Vyj Sha Vledhs Devsap - the Gale Academy for the Flight Gifted.  Kalum was flightless.  There was one aspect of the Academy that was paid for especially for him - on a part time basis.  The acrobatics side of the curriculum.  It meant, unfortunately, that Kalum was forbidden from mixing with the other students.  To do so would certainly jeopardize the Academy's reputation.  Therefore an agreement was signed in which it stated:

        Kalum - nioti of D'seros'ba and Tiamiku - will, from the age of five and until such a time circumstances change out of requirement or request, be under the tuition of an unnamed, fully qualified instructor, who is in no way endorsed by, supported by, attributed to or from whom the Dula Ukupani  has, does or will benefit, for the betterment of Kalum's personal physicality.  Training will be monitored solely by Kalum's family.  The Dula Ukupani takes no responsibility for Kalum.

    Kalum studied acrobatics for two years.  He worked hard to learn difficult maneuvers.  At the end of his time at the Gale Academy for the Flight Gifted, Kalum had progressed successfully to develop his own flavour of acrobatics.

    Just before he was moved to attend another institution, he had grown to thrive from jumping off high places.  His acrobatic skills tied in with private study of gymnastics and an old free-form style - Parkour (the art of movement that empowers the "Traceur" with an almost incredible ability to navigate terrain - be it urban or rural - to reach greater heights and achieve greater distances).  All his study and practice increased the strength in his legs and upper body.  Being so young, it was hard to determine how much stronger he had grown, but his movement was a good indicator.

    Yet no matter how awkward the obstacle, Kalum started calculating fast routes to the point when said routes took him to the support beams of the large, indoor sports arena.  It took some time before he began tempting (ultimately cheating) death by leaping from the beams to wall mounted objects, such as light fitments.  The adrenaline rush he received is recorded to have been unlike anything he could otherwise have received from other, less dangerous, activities.  Kalum's personal trainer was turning a blind eye to these activities, specifically, because he himself was physically unable to stop his pupil. 

    So obsessed was Kalum with jumping from high places that injuries, allegedly, never made him think twice.  Concerned his training had gone too far, his parents took him to a doctor for his injuries, then on to a psychologist to solve the mysterious obsession.  The psychologist  informed D'seros'ba and Tiamiku of a condition known as "Catapedamania" - simply the 'obsession of jumping from high places'.  Advised they could do nothing to stop it, they ended up giving in, and splashed out tens of thousands of Khasi to have built Kalum's very own park, underground - which measured 350'x100'x285', approximately.  Later these dimensions were halved, somewhat negating Kalum's growing love for free running.  On the other hand, what it appeared to have done was improve his reflexes and toughen his muscles.

    Despite this, most would assume Kalum retreated to his underground home-away-from-home, but he wasn't narrow minded enough to do that.  Kalum is reported to have spent more time with his parents than in the basement.  For a while, he seemed to have shaken his Catapedamania.

    His parents trusted he was safe enough to put back into mainstream education - this time more as a pupil than a secret.

    At the age of 9, Kalum was enrolled into the Pjudym Shyjm Collegiate Institute (PSCI) to get a flavour for as many subjects as he could.  This is where he developed a liking for Mathematics, Mechanics, Sciences (notably Anatomy and Physiology, as well as reading up in his own time on Quantum Mechanics but never truly understood it well enough).  During his time at the PSCI - all of 2 years - he grew to acknowledge the fact that his vision was different from everyone else's around him.  In Mechanics classes, he scored top marks for properly, "sensibly", handling electrical equipment.  Mathematics and Science taught on a screen or a board made learning for him extremely difficult, because his Electro-Magnetic vision couldn't easily differentiate between the plain board and the ink or digital marks being displayed.  To resolve this issue, whenever Kalum wrote anything down, he held his hand behind the paper, which would - to him - silhouette the characters against the fiery swirls of royal purples and pinks being exuded from around his hand.

    He could only study Anatomy and Physiology on volunteers, or if he acted similarly around skeletons and replicated organs, being to either hold it against someone to distinguish its size and shape, or hold his own hand behind it.  The former was chosen more often than not.  However, after several weeks of struggling, Kalum opted to study from volunteers.

    He gradually became exceedingly skilled by adaptation to draw accurate representations and diagrams of anything he could see - without looking at the page on which he was drawing.  At the end of his 2 years, Kalum had progressed like swings and roundabouts; he at times did very well, when at other times he struggled immensely to cope with his vision.

    Lecturers quickly classified him as being visually impaired.  But where there's a will, there's a way.

    Tiamiku, now an unofficial lecturer in Physics with electro magnets and gravitics, devised a way Kalum could keep up in his studies.  By using a concept as simple as "Etch A Sketch", she commissioned the manufacture of a polarized screen made from tens of thousands of minute discs, held between two magnets, oppositely charged.  She also had made a pen which neutralized the polarity across the screen.  In essence, what happened when Kalum wrote was that the discs would "flip" to a darker shade, creating the illusion of writing.  To Kalum he didn't see what he was writing, like we would see black ink on white paper.  He saw white paper around black ink, and his only way to discern between one mark and another was how the "white paper" stopped and started around each character.

    With hindsight, Tiamiku commissioned several books worth of these thin sheets of magnetized metallic fragments, so her son could keep writing.


    Unfortunately, this did not solve the issue of board learning, an area in which he would never do well.

    There was one more simple way to adapt to this hindrance: every lesson Kalum attended, he recorded, and had transcribed for him by Tiamiku.  Rarely failing that, he would accept help from the lecturers, and some class members who knew of his difficulty.

    With this assistance, Kalum swiftly snapped up his grades, walking away knowledgeable, confident, in all his lessons learnt.

    At 12, he moved to attend Azsampap Apokuseym, near the Krokino Prison, for a year and a half.  It was here where he was sadly introduced to the side of life none of us want our children to know.  Due to the close proximity of Krokino, troublesome Lukuo instigated a brutal precept in life behind bars.

    The elemental shield in place at Krokino Prison wouldn't interfere with his vision.  Kalum was (pointlessly) blind folded and encouraged near the indestructible fortress; when his blindfold was removed, he could make even more sense of the madness within.  The unabashed gang of Lukuo could only imagine what young Kalum could see: a fight between two enormous Pendragons left one with his internal organs spilled all over the floor.

    Initially, yes, Kalum was frightened to think it was possible.  But the colour and heat faintly rising from the heap of tissue was unlike anything he'd seen before.

    From then on, after every class at the Azsampap Apokuseym, he stood in the exact same place as he did before, and watched the faint purple shapes, mingle, sit, talk, fight, kill, eat, eat their kill, use the bathroom, change, sleep - even once in a while he saw some have sex (but, to him, the combined auras were nothing more than a confused mass at that distance).  This continued until it was time to leave, but the result of the numerous brutal fights Kalum had vaguely witnessed was a drug.  Not only was he attracted to the colour, he was equally attracted to the attitude of the depleting aura.

    Like his Catapedamania, his interest  was more than healthy.  At 14, only half a year later, he studied how and why a Pendragon would make such a mess.  Combined with his knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology, he showed a frightening interest in front of his parents - particularly D'seros'ba.

    Having been around the world and having seen many things in his time, D'seros'ba knew of death, pain and suffering.  He had also seen mutilation.  Very much unlike his nioti, D'seros'ba's medical records indicate he reviled such experiences.  Tiamiku had a weaker ability to cope with such a concept, let alone vivid imagery.

    Thinking that Kalum's zealous talk of disembowelment and mutilation was nothing more than a short-lived phase - perhaps even chat from the Azsampap Apokuseym - they cautiously ignored him.

    A few days is all it took for  Tiamiku and D'seros'ba to take action.  They confronted the Azsampap Apokuseym and inquired as to the content of the lessons their nioti had been undertaking previously.  Having proven to the parents that nothing in their timetable included such horrific notions, they endeavoured to determine the cause of his interest.  They realized the proximity of Krokino to the Azsampap Apokuseym and assumed correctly that he'd spied into the closest possible cell to the outer walls.

    When Kalum refused to stop speaking of his attraction to the colours, they employed their psychologist who previously diagnosed him.  The verdict?  Cacospectamania: The obsession with staring at repulsive things.  Despite Kalum's naïve efforts to explain he wasn't attracted to the hulk of organs, there was a part of him that lied, because the only way to enjoy the colours was to produce the mess.

    Some years later, after intensive counselling, both heart broken parents felt the need to have him educated further, but in somewhere unlikely to have him exposed to violence.  As was the destination of hundreds of Pendragons of all denominations, he - at 16 - attended the Janardan Academy to study Botany under Oran Daro, Sociology under Hysteria d'Kraix, Healing and Medicine under Xas Kiisdor and Writing & Literature under Telbajaia Medhstkhelp.  It was a well rounded timetable that kept Kalum away from trouble.

    Indeed Kalum's conditions had no time to impact his new lifestyle.  So he resigned himself to proving the doctors incorrect by passing all his units with as many high grades as possible.  His studies didn't stop at the Academy.  He very studiously continued researching and completing tasks at their luxurious home situated near the foot of the Nyong Mountain Range.

    However, his grades were shy of what his parents hoped he could achieve.  During his studies, he could not shirk the experiences of the past, and the yearning to jump from places normally too high for the average pendragon - who would perceive such heights as frightening - returned.  As a direct result, when Kalum concluded at Janardan, he immediately took to his Catapedamania, almost in celebratory style.  He scaled the wall of the Academy, without acknowledging the dozens of curious young 'dragons, and did what came so naturally to him.

    The physical endurance required to scale the Academy wall lead him to scale other buildings, but didn't always want to jump from them.  He had found a substitute for enclosed spaces.  From that point on, more did it interest him to climb as many walls as he could (and couldn't) than it did to reach the top and leap to other buildings.  So much more strongly was this urge that almost every vertical, uneven surface between Janardan and the Nyong Mountain range was climbed by him - anything from bus stops to narrow alley ways; from scaffolding to more even surfaces like the sides of apartments, using the window ledges as foot holds and grips.  Where there was a will, he certainly found a way.

    Again, this interest went too far, resulting in D'seros'ba and Tiamiku revisiting the Psychologist.  All three were getting all too familiar with this particular trip, to the point where the Psychologist only needed to see the first few letters of Tiamiku's name to know it was about Kalum, and was probably getting more serious.

    He concluded, within minutes of asking questions, that Kalum had instantly developed an acute interest that was far above normal, and that which bordered on a sport. Branded as a Stegophilist, Kalum was less and less affected by the steadily growing list of "conditions".  He was gradually beginning to see them more as attributes that made him who he was - ones with which most were unfamiliar.

    12 seasons past.  For those three years, Tiamiku and D'seros'ba were relieved to discover that Kalum appeared to fight against all of his conditions.  There seemed to be no reason, but both nervously proud parents could finally look at their young Arden without feeling as though he was going to further defame their names.

    Kalum's official last stop in education was the Cajseu University.  He never missed a day; he was never late.  At 19, Kalum spent 4 years studying advanced courses.  The University never divulged the details of his courses during his stay, but we do know that he showed a distinct interest in surgery.  Half way through his course, the University recommended Kalum for an apprenticeship in an hospital in Watani.  He was under constant scrutiny while being permitted to assist in minor surgeries.  His job details were simple: he had to ensure the hygienic standards of all surgical utensils and equipment.

    His apprenticeship shone on all references and résumés.  His long list of qualifications made him one many employers considered first.

    Three years into his University course, we can confirm that Kalum accompanied a large crowd of Ardens all around Ajita, Watani and Chafuo.  They frequented all manner of pubs and clubs.  Unlike several in that group (most of whom were arrested some years later for drug abuse and theft), Kalum steered clear of the drugs.  Alcohol entered his system upon occasion.  He did enjoy drinking himself merry, but refused to go much further.  Only once on record did he get drunk, as reported by a bartender in Chafuo.

    All the while Kalum was enjoying himself, as University students did at the time,  another condition was developing.

    As a result of hanging around with the large group of Ardens, Kalum was introduced to the side of life more animalistic than civilised.  Barre one, everyone in the group was promiscuous.  Usually under the influence of drugs and alcohol, they sought out willing Thills to do with as they pleased.

    Despite never being present during any acts, and consciously fighting to deny he was staying around because he was addicted to the concept, Kalum was perturbed by the concept that he could have been slipping into the same rut as his friends. 

    Taking it upon himself, he decided to visit another student in the University.  A Thill who went by the name, "Kinoni" was studying Psychology.  Kalum chose not to ask her occupation having heard rumours of her desired path.  He saw "Kinoni" more as a friend than a doctor.

    Whenever they talked, it would carry on into the early parts of Nehlt-Sena.  On one occasion, "Kinoni" was much less formal than on times past.  The idea that Kalum was apprehensive - at 22 - about having someone he could call his own was laughable.  Although it is believed she didn't laugh, it is believed that Kalum learned another way of life, trusting "Kinoni" words completely.

    However, trust and application were two different things, and something that haunted Kalum up until the day of his graduation, one year later.

    The ceremony that took place on his special day was the same as all ceremonies that had taken place every year before hand, and indeed took place afterwards.  In conjunction with the Chief Psychiatrist who contributed to this report, we analysed medical readings, which indicated the Kalum was uptight on that day.  Some would say frustrated, and they would be correct.  Even when he took to the stage to receive his honours, Kalum couldn't shake the choking anxiety of the reality that he hadn't been able to use the words, "Thill'sla", unlike all of his friends.  "Kinoni" herself had used "Arden'sla" - much to his hatred.

    Kalum retreated to Chafuo once more, to think.  Hitting a relatively popular nightclub, he soothed his nerves with the heavy base and electrifying trance beats that Jipd-Sena. 

    What it did for him was more horrifying than one would expect.

    His desire to say, "Thill'sla", grew into more of an obsession.  At first, he was more interested in sharing his time with Thills in an effort to become more comfortable around them -to calm his anxiety.  But when "Kinoni" talked about her Arden'sla, Kalum felt betrayed.  He was deeply interested in her, but never took his chance to tell her.

    He felt even more betrayed when "Kinoni" died from AIDS.  He felt angry at himself for letting her die because of someone else.  He knew that, because of his reservedness, he wasn't carrying any diseases.  He knew she would still be alive.  Battling with himself that night only reminded him of the Honnemdrejp Academy.  The tenuous link was that "Kinoni" loved to play music.  Her particular forte was acoustic guitar.

    Staff reports suggested that Kalum was the odd-one-out at that time.  While almost everyone in the club was up and dancing, drinking and laughing, he is reported to occupied a plush couch.

    Another report suggests that Kalum was at the bar; the most recent information tells us that he was leaning up against an external wall spinning an object between his fingers.  Said information also tells us that the witness (aged in her late 80s) noticed that the object was metallic.  It is unclear what the object was.

    We could not corroborate this sighting by cross referencing security cameras in the area.

    Liaising with the Chief Psychologist, we were able to determine (from the numerous reports and his expert advice) that the pounding base tones afforded Kalum the opportunity to remember the (as stated by six other students) overpowering sound of "Kinoni's" solo jamming sessions in her dorm, locked away on the edge of her bed. 

    If Kalum were to have watched her through the dorm walls before her death, then her fiery pink-purple representation he could have so easily recalled.

    The following day, Kalum made his way back to Swaraj - somewhere he hadn't been for at least 4 years.  He stopped in at home to see his parents again. Initially to his delight, Kalum found he had three younger sisters now.  Kiera (3), Aemi (2) and Saidhbhin (2) (Sigh-veen, seemingly Celtic in origin.  She was nicknamed "Vena" and later endeared "Vinus").  The news that his underground park had been demolished in his absence didn't appear to both him as much as being around his sisters;  a sensation he couldn't explain meant that he couldn't stand being around the nioties.  They meant to him what he never had.  He knew that when they were older, they would snap up any Arden they wanted.  A part of him wanted to protect them from the cruelty of the outside-world; he didn't want them to befall the same fate as "Kinoni".  But when he related them to "Kinoni", he felt betrayed again.  He stayed for the rest of the day.

    Kalum felt alienated from himself and ultimately his expanding family.  He was happy for them, and cherished them all, but he couldn't help but feel that the main thing missing in his life was prolific, more than adequate and easily obtainable for everyone else.  The emptiness and temporary depression spurred on his obsession with needing a Thill'sla of his own.

    The time code from camera footage, obtained from various sources, including Kalum's home, vividly indicates that Kalum departed from the luxury home Nehlt-Sena -at 2:25n.s.

    His movement from there has been difficult to document.  We do know where he ended up at 7:33, however.

    Again, using the reliable security cameras at the Honnemdrejp Academy for Young Thill, and enhanced imagery recognition software, we detected Kalum picking a spot by the perimeter.

    Kisura Awa'taka (17 - often mistaken for 23. Height: 5'5".  Dress size: 14.  Cup-size: 36F.  Hair: 3'9", natural, jet black.  Fur: Very light grey.  Mode of dress: casual, very loose, gothic.  Eye colour: Purple.  Ethnicity: Anubi) is seen to have gone to the courtyard outside the school.  Her portfolio of work included advanced classes in instrumental backing and conducting, and excelled at acoustics and reed instruments.  She had also applied to The Rage and The Watering Hole in Watani to brighten up their décor by painting full length and height murals -for anywhere between 20 Khasi to 50 Khasi an hour.  Her work was initially showcased in museums in Chafuo.  She once sold a large painting in Ajita.
    © Alexander 'Denizen-v1' Whitfield 2011
    Kisura was popular at the Honnemdrejp Musical Academy for her soft, confident nature.

    She was later reported as having been killed in her dormitory.  An autopsy points towards a physical struggle that lasted moments.  Her throat was slit from ear to ear.  Epithelial traces and fur samples pointed towards an anonymous individual with no record.  It was a first hit and cleanly executed.

    Her fiancé, X'topher Constantine, had proposed to Kisura hours before hand, and was under the impression Kisura had returned to her dormitory to "hink it through". 

    While it cannot catagorically be confirmed that Kalum was responsible for Kisura's murder, following the release of Kisura's death, medical notes show that Kalum made at least five separate visits to impartial psychologists and doctors to better understand what he was becoming. The fifth session states that Kalum expressed a fury unseen in previous times.  Ultimately, he was unofficially diagnosed as having:

    •     Aidoiomania: Abnormally strong craving for sexual intercourse.
    •     Melomania: Craze for music
    •     Aphrodisiomania: Abnormal sexual interest
    •     Gynaecomania: Abnormal obsession of Thills.


    And perhaps the more worrying condition was:

    • Tomomania: Irrational predilection for performing surgery.


    In addition to these, rumours regarding an expansion of his Aidoiomania circulated amongst said psychologists who filed an - until now - undisclosed document, which voiced their possibly unwarranted concerns, and outlined that they believed Kalum was suffering from compounded symptoms, each as strong as the next and almost incurable.  They also stated that if Kalum could not overcome his emotional and mental issues, he would go on to experience the irreversible effects of:

    • Gymnogymnomania: The overwhelming urge to spy on Thills while they undress.
    • Oligomania: The obsession with few thoughts or ideas.


    While in themselves individual conditions, they stem from the same, basic problem that Kalum was unsatisfied with the quality of love he received during his life.

    Kalum sought so hard to find love that it turned against him.  In actuality, he cared, and wanted to care, for every Thill he came across, but the over-riding betrayal he associated with every niotie on Ramath-lehi (either rightly or wrongly) made him begin to hate even more (perhaps more appropriately) the Ardens of Ramath-lehi.

     

    What follows is a brief but detailed account of 3 assaults in which we can confirm Kalum 'Phalanx' was involved

     

    After a short period of time, Kalum affirmatively assaulted and dispatched an Arden and a nioti - Alino and Brilick.  Both "paid the price" (as given by the Chief Psychologist) for "Kinoni's" death.  Kalum splayed the Corpus Cavernosum of both males, using a hot blade.  Likewise, Kalum killed another - a niotie of 12 - known as "Ebhan".  Her body was found to have been bisected extraordinarily.  It is doubtful that he had more than one attempt, but the evidence is being reviewed by another, third party, department. 

    A deep, single stroke incision began approximately half way along the Urethral Opening, bisected the bladder and ended at her clavicles.  Her clothes had been discarded to perform this act.  Surprisingly there was no sign of struggle - as though the noitie had committed herself to it willingly.  In fact, the clothes were folded properly and set beside her corpse neatly.

    Fragments of metal recovered from her bone marrow proved that the highest quality conventional surgical scalpel and high grade metal was used.  The metal was determined to have been folded 20 times.  The relevance of the folding means that the blade comprised of 1,048,576 layers.  Swords were often folded 10 to 15 times (1024 - 32768 layers).  By conventional means, folding more than 20 times would have weakened the metal due to loss of carbon when the blade was heated.

    The incision was too clean to have been any less.

    Kalum.  Afraid of what he couldn't achieve.  Dangerous because he knew too much.  Safe to be around because he knew that much more.  He was inventive in his methods.  My records of him stop here.

    And although I am still unable to say where the name "Phalanx" has come from; Case Kalum "Phalanx": I conclude my findings.

     

    [And bleedin' well done for getting this far XD there should be an achievement for that].

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