Valtin Korsak was once a highly ranked commander and dreadlord in General Arikan’s army. He fought at the battle of Tar Valon, and was generally believed to have died there.

Where It All Began

Valtin was born and raised in the Altaran capital city of Ebou Dar. From a young age he frequently challenged (and won) duels, and had a reputation for inventing conflicts simply for the opportunity to face new ones. He originated from the poor side of the river, the infamous Rahad, where plenty such opportunities presented themselves. He enjoyed the brutality and pride of winning, but he did not care about sportsmanship or rules. By sixteen he would flat out stab his opponents in the back.

While anyone could challenge anyone to a duel, typically the nobles only challenged their own kind. Yet they would journey to the Rahad to engage each other. Valtin witnessed many such duels, often placing wagers. When he lost a significant pool of his relatively small purse, his gaze stabbed daggers at the winner, and slunk into the shadows after him.

He followed the nobleman and bid his time. There was no duel between them. Next chance, he ambushed and stabbed the man in the flank, stole the money he was cheated from winning, and left the man to bleed out in the filth.

To his ill fortune, the nobleman was the son of a high ranking Lord. His family came searching for the murderer, but even one as brutal as Valtin could not fight off half a regiment of house guards.

He had to flee the city. He intended to travel north, but was stopped by Whitecloaks inspecting his caravan. When they found seventeen-year-old Valtin, scarred, muscled, and wielding two curved blades, their commander took an interest. He was given an ultimatum: become a prisoner or a recruit.

He chose the latter.

The Climb to Darkness

He did well in the Children of the Light. Oh, he didn’t care about their dogmas, but he could play the part well enough. In Valtin they found a brutal enforcer. He often volunteered to take the role of executioner as well.

His was an obvious convert to the Shadow.

He came to Lord Arikan’s attention after he sparked the ability to channel. There was still the major problem of the taint, and alerts of channelers in their network quickly rippled though the ranks. Arikan normally sent other dreadlords, but given that Valtin was a military man in an organization that he was intimately familiar with, he went himself.

He stayed with the Children of the Light for a few more years for very specific purposes. He studied military strategy and absorbed the movement of armies. Strategy yes, but also the management of supply systems, mass transports of weapons, prisoners of war, and money. Most importantly, he grew his skills in combat. He knew only a fragment of the larger plan, but he was clearly being groomed to join the General Arikan for some future plan. During the battle of Tar Valon, Valtin Korsak served as a fiercely loyal Under-General in the ranks. He commanded fists of shadowspawn and lower dreadlords as a result and attended their General personally.

At one point in the battle, Valtin was injured. He had dueled Asha’man Orander, whose power outstripped him. He likely would have perished but the Asha’man was suddenly called away. His departure was quickly followed by others of the light’s most powerful, and suspicion for why grew among the commanders. The fighting continued for days before the foot soldiers and shadowspawn were defeated in earnest. When it was obvious their General wasn’t returning, the dreadlords left first. Valtin was one of the last to leave the field of battle, his injuries serious.

He attempted to regroup with their leaders at their fortress in the Blasted Lands, but when Valtin arrived, the base was a bloodbath. Anyone and everyone from the ranks that arrived was almost immediately killed. Three of the Chosen were there, but Valtin’s late arrival was his salvation. Of General Arikan’s commanders, he was believed to have been killed on the field. He escaped before they even knew he still lived and journeyed as far from the Blight as he could think to go.

The End?

He quickly discerned that all of Arikan’s network was being culled by the Chosen. He has remained in hiding ever since.

Rebirths

Valtin is a soul spun out by the Wheel frequently. He is an agent of evil balancing the Pattern with darker threads. If there was an evil dark equivalent of the Heroes of the Horn, he would be one. Instead, he is often spun out opposite a great hero and usually perishes at their hand. As a soul, he is strongly inclined toward evil, and his legends are usually retold as the deeds of some sort of serpent, dragon or demon.

Current Incarnation: Zixin Kao