Ka the Preserver
| Ka the Preserver | ||
|---|---|---|
| A feathered, winged serpent colored amber | ||
| Aliases | Genjoo, Ka'ar, Kalaktatla, Father Earth, The Amber Serpent | |
| Alignment | Lawful Good | |
| Divine Rank | Hierarch Immortal | |
| Pantheon | Mystaran (Matter) | |
| Portfolio | Protection of life, Preservation of knowledge and culture, Healing, Prosperity, Wisdom, Magic, Hollow World, Lizardkin, Lizardmen, Tortles, Stone giants | |
| Domains | Matter, Law, Good, Knowledge, Healing, Protection, Scalykind | |
| Home Plane | Library of All Knowledge (Beastlands), Seeing Glade (Elysium) | |
| Worshippers | Dinosaurs, Reptilian Creatures, Wizards, Healers, Sages, Scholars, Stone Giants | |
| Favoured Weapon | Heavy Mace | |
Ka the Preserver is an Immortal of the Sphere of Matter from the Dungeons & Dragons setting of Mystara. Although not the oldest of his kind, he is amongst the oldest of all Immortals, as he began life in the primordial past of Mystara as a motherfucking dinosaur!
History
In these ancient times, Ka was an Allosaurus-like predatory theropod, one that uniquely developed the ability to think and reason, instead of just living by instinct. Driven by curiosity, his new-found mental abilities allowed him to discover the existence of magic, making him one of the first wizards in Mystara and a founder for the art of arcane magic in that world. Needless to say, being a 13 meter carnivorous dinosaur wizard made him pretty much invincible.
With hunting now effortless, Ka began refining his magical talents, maximizing his memory and intellect in order to serve as a living receptacle of knowledge (writing, sadly, wasn't one of his inventions), developing techniques to enhance his lifespan in the process. Eventually, though, Ka got lonely; after a millennium without anyone to talk to who could talk back, he was getting rather fed up with it all. His efforts to find something, anything, that he could have a conversation with ultimately led him into the path of Terra, one of the few Immortals older than even Ka was.
Intrigued by this strange new being, Terra offered to sponsor him in undertaking the Trials of Immortality. Eager to learn more and to have others to talk to, it goes without saying that Ka agreed to take the trials. Deciding to follow the footsteps of his patron and attune to the Sphere of Matter, Ka underwent the Path of the Polymath, allowing himself to be reincarnated several times over to complete the same spiritual quest in multiple lives. Needless to say, he succeeded, ascending to the ranks of the Immortals long before humans evolved from the neanderthals, or else we wouldn't be sitting here talking about him.
The Path of the Polymath bred in him a strong attachment to life itself, making him very interested in all races. Ka rejoices when a new race is born or created, and weeps at the sight of a race perishing. He champions all sentient life, to some extent. As a result, throughout history, Ka has always sought to intervene when a species is on the risk of dying out, hoping to prevent anything from being lost. Initially, this just took the form of moving the endangered populations to newer, hopefully safer areas, but all that changed the day that a huge meteor crashed into Mystara. Exploring the crater where it had impacted, Ka discovered the Hollow World, the inhabitable interior of Mystara, and immediately realized that this was the answer to all his desires. Teaming up with Ixion and Ordana, and despite the protests of his arch-enemies Fugit and Simurgh, Ka shaped the interior into a vast preservation ground, where all of the endangered or extinct species could find an assurance of survival in their original form, pristine and unchanging.
To this day, Ka mostly divides his attention between managing the Hollow World, indulging in his love of expanding knowledge, and looking after the races that he personally created, predominantly lizardfolk and tortles.
Personality
Ka loves both life and learning, cherishing any opportunity to expand his knowledge or to explore the diversity of the world around him, and encourages this behavior in his followers. However, despite all his millions of years of study, he hasn't quite gotten over the fact he's still a motherfucking dinosaur. As a result, when attacked, he fights back with primordial savagery, and even insulting him can potentially throw him into a murderous rage if he takes it hard enough.
Aspects
Like any Immortal who's up there in power, Ka has multiple identities and physical appearances that he is worshiped under by the denizens of Mystara.
In his true form, which is also known as Genjoo, Ka appears as a giant theropod dinosaur with amber-colored skin.
In his identity as the Amber Serpent, Ka appear as a... Gold Dragon. In fairness, Ka was created before Amber Dragons were a thing, so you could present him as an Amber Dragon instead. Either way, he can appear in whatever age he likes, from hatchling to great wyrm.
The aspect known as Kalaktatla appears as a couatl with, you guessed it, amber-hued feathers and scales.
When he takes the form of Father Earth, he appears as a gargantuan tortoiose described as "amber-shelled". It's unclear if this means his shell is amber colored, or if it's actually made of amber; go with your preference.
Finally, in his only non-reptilian aspect, Ka is known as Ka'ar, a tall and powerfully built humanoid of indeterminate race with amber-hued skin.
Relationships
As a protector of life and knowledge, Ka has a vast array of allies amongst hist fellow immortals.
Some of his best buds are Ixion, Ordana and Korotiku, who cemented their place as his best buds by helping him to get the Hollow World up and running, something they still help out with today.
[[Terra]|Terra (deity)]] and he have a special relationship; she sponsored him to become an Immortal in the first place, but also, the two of them are lovers. That didn't stop them from competing for the position of Supreme Hierarch, but they don't hold a grudge over it.
Of course, Ka's goals give him enemies too. For reasons that should be pretty obvious, he disdains all of the Entropics dedicated to the corruption and destruction of living species. He holds a particular enmity for those Entropics that have influence on the history of the populations that he protects, like Atzanteotl (Azcans), Thanatos (all the Hollow World), Hel (beastmen), and Demogorgon (lizardkin and carnifex).
Ka's enmity for Atzanteotl increased when the latter created the Tchaltilka, as described in Dragon Magazine #315.