Kat (Bread)

''In [Kat]'s head, the longing for a story to tell pales in comparison to the thrill of a life of an ongoing lie. Across the sea lie friends, family, a reputation, a home; but the endless possibilities of the new world could entice even the most notable of adventure-seekers. After all, the fate of [their] friend lays waste under layers and layers of gossip and unclear writing, and the least [they] could do after failing to stop him from crossing these waters was find out the truth. Ah - the truth. It was that small token of honesty that always made the lies more thrilling - buried under words of deceit and distractions was the idea that many longed for. Perhaps [their] new companion deserved to enjoy one bit of [their] own truth...''

"Actually, Elias," the elf says, eyes locked on the distance as Elias walks away, "I think I'd like to be called Kat now."

- An excerpt from Kat's name reveal

Appearance
As a changeling, Kat's original form is that of pale white skin, colorless eyes, and white curly hair that reaches their jaw. They were first seen sporting leather armor from the Grounded Highlands Kingdom but eventually switched to less identifiable studded leather armor of the same design.

Throughout the project, Kat was sighted to take the forms of varying races and companions, modifying their images in height and build. Most notable are those of Deniase Heirlaen, Colchan, Vyn'synner Hymn, Jillian Sunmeadow, and Kha'el Druggo. From encounters with otherworldly beings, Kat also sported two symbols on their left hand that occasionally glow - the on the back of their right hand and  on the index finger of their right hand. In addition to his mark, Kat also gained a serpentine tongue from the King in Yellow.

At the end of the project, Kat took off with The Lyres and The Arrow in the form of Kha'el, having convinced the party, with the help of Kha'el himself, that they were Kha'el's brother.

Personality
Kat was easily one of the most sexually active and sexually deviant of all of the settlers in Eden. They were known to be extremely involved in trickery and the bringing of misunderstanding and confusion between settlement residents and those that they met with during adventures, often times being referred to as anti-diplomatic. Although they sometimes played out the act of being the victim of misunderstanding themselves, it was clear that they were never actually negatively affected by the way Edenians treated them and, in fact, orchestrated the hatred towards themselves for the pleasure of physical pain and ill language.

It is unknown to Edenians how exactly Kat might have acted prior to their arrival in the New World, but it is noted that Kat did feel remorse for the loss of their friend Deniase Heirlaen along with several others in a friend group in the Grounded Highlands Kingdom, implying they weren't terrible to everyone they were acquainted with.

Kat did not reveal their name until the near-demise of Eden. Throughout the project, they introduced themselves with a variety of made-up and stolen names. Written, these names are usually placed between two question marks.


 * Made-up Names. ?Karen?, ?Katherine?, ?Cool Kha'el?, ?Jillian Sunmeadow with blue hair?, ?Two?, others.
 * Stolen Names. ?Deniase Rhudae?, ?Orphan?, ?Vyn'synner?, ?Colchan?, others.

Racial

 * Shapechanger. Kat had the ability to change their appearance and voice. They mastered the art of doing so as far as modifying their race, coloration, hair length, and sex. They were also able to adjust their height and weight, but only as much as to remain size medium.
 * Changeling Instincts. Thanks to their shapechanging ability, Kat was skilled in the art of deception and insight.

Background

 * Guild Artisan. Kat was a somewhat renowned potter in the Grounded Highlands Kingdom Production sector and was commended for their excellent skills with their hands.
 * Curse of the King's Lies. Kat's connection to the King in Yellow improved their ability to deceive.

Class
Aside from the usual Bardsman abilities such as Ritual Casting, Bardic Inspiration, Song of Rest, Font of Inspiration, and Countercharm, Kat's involvement with the College of Eloquence gave them the following abilities:


 * Silver Tongue and the Actor feat. Kat's ability to deceive and persuade were honed to the point where it almost became very hard to tell if they were being truthful or to avoided being persuaded by them. In addition to this, Kat had mastered the art of mimicry and dramatics, making it even more difficult to identify them from the original person.
 * Unsettling Words. Kat's sharp tongue was enough to put hostiles at unease when attempting to save from attacks.
 * Unfailing Inspiration. Although usually lying, Kat was also persuasive enough to drive others to succeed, providing companions with the willingness to carry on even after failure.
 * Universal Speech. Language had become a tool to deceive, and thus, Kat had gained some ability to converse even with those they usually could not.

Magical

 * Instrument of the Bards, Mac-Fuirmidh Cittern. During their first adventure together, Yoda gave Kat the cittern for the sole reason of them being a bard. Yoda said that he found the instrument in one of the abandoned houses in Eden. Kat primarily used the instrument to disappear from situations and to wreak havoc.
 * Instrument of the Bards, Cli Lyre. The lyre had an outspoken hypersexual personality. It was a gift given to Kat by Elias who got it from Akhekh, the ancient gold dragon working under Jahrssos of the Dragon Council.

Relationships

 * Apsara Benjakalyani. Kat accompanied Apsara on her first adventure for Eden to the town of Bluvaria. When Kat invited Elias to adventure the New World with them, Elias passed on the invitation to Apsara and Kat allowed her company to serve as their protection as they travelled. She is the arrow of The Lyres and The Arrow.
 * Astarte. Kat first met Astarte in the form of a large chicken, naming him Colonel Sanders, in the abandoned living area of the Earth Genasi Nomads to the southeast of Eden. Kat signed a contract with Astarte to break Leon's, leader of the nomads at the time, legs. Kat agreed to spite the King in Yellow but requested they consumate the pact. Astarte was able to revert to his new form for the hour. Kat grew fond of the chicken for his kind words and sexual personality, referring to him as their f*ck chicken, and brought him on their next adventure where he prematurely died. Kat found that they were unable to resummon the chicken and had given up on him, but it was later made known to Kat through Astarte saving them on one water adventure that they would be in contact until Kat's death or until Kat's eventual delve into warlock pact magic.
 * Azrael. Kat had the strong urge to sleep with Azrael for her personality and large breasts. During a water adventure together, Azrael attempted to scare Kat with the thought of commitment, but rather than freak out, Kat played along and pushed for Azrael to marry them. The two never got married, however, and Kat never got to sleep with Azrael.
 * Deniase Rhudae Heirlaen. Deniase was Kat's original reason for coming to Eden. Kat has claimed over and over that their friendship with Deniase would easily outweigh that of his with anyone in Eden. In front of Edenians, however, Kat was always witnessed badmouthing the half-orc. Through a conversation Kat had with his grave, overheard only by Jim Potter, it was revealed that it was Deniase's idea that Kat shows up with his form. The history between the two goes back to the Produce Sector of the Grounded Highlands Kingdom. They grew up together within a close group of friends. Deniase also named one of his Bag of Tricks animals after Kat; unknown to him, however, was that Katherine was not their real name. At some point in time, Deniase had a crush on Kat.
 * Diandra Exonia P. Vali. Kat has both a love and hate for Diandra. They find her to be attractive with her personality and appearance. The hate stems from the blame Kat puts on Diandra and Eranthis for Deniase's death. The two first met during Kat's first adventure for Eden. During a basketball game against half-giants, Kat took on a modified version of Diandra's form, male and 7'11.9999" tall.
 * Elias Eustoma. Along with Apsara, Elias also had his first adventure for Eden in the town of Bluvaria. Elias was taken onto Kat's griffon when they turned invisible. It was after the fact that he witnessed Kat take his form and flash guards in the town. Although their relationship started rough, Kat was able to deceive Elias into thinking that they were just the second-hand brother of Kha'el that just wanted a friend. The day before the departure of The Silver Sea Fury, Kat convinced Elias to stay with them to venture the New World and live the lives that bards should. It is Kat's intention to hide their true identity from Elias until either of them die, hoping to crush him with a lifeful of lies. The two are the lyres of The Lyres and The Arrow.
 * Eranthis. Upon first acquaintance, Kat attempted to play the victim of Eden's speculations. The pleasantries were short-lived, however, as Kat built up an unnerving sexual atmosphere and made remarks against Deniase. That same evening, Kat assaulted Eranthis by kissing them without consent. To Kat's surprise, they were met with passive aggressive kindness as a response. This is what piqued Kat's interest in Eranthis. Until the time Eranthis and Diandra kidnapped Kat, Kat made many attempts to start conversations with Eranthis, irking them in the process. When they were kidnapped, it was revealed that Eranthis was the one person that unwillingly saw Deniase off for his surrender. The three put together a plan to find out what happened to Deniase, but it never pushed through. Although Kat had a seething hate for Eranthis, they still continued to try to tempt them into using their shapechanging abilities in the same way they did - for trickery and deceit.
 * Hastur, The King in Yellow. During their first visit to Krashka, the town of horny orcs, Kat's party encountered a strange cave with a large statue inside. This was that of the King in Yellow. After several attempts to trigger something, the king began to speak, discussing back and forth with the party to serve him and spread his name. After Kat's own attempts of asking the otherworldly being to sleep with them, Kat decided to just accept the deal and not do as the king says. The mark on the back of Kat's right hand is that of the King in Yellow.
 * James Mortini. James Mortini is Kat's adoptive father. Both he and Kat grew up in the Grounded Highlands Kingdom Produce sector. He was a potter and passed down his skills to Kat who eventually shared his renown in pottery making. He worked for Denis McLane Rhudae.
 * Jim Potter. Jim was one of the first Edenians that Kat encountered. The tension between the two was constant, fiery, and exciting, and it briefly saddened Kat when Jim met his demise. Jim inflicted some of the most physical pain on them. Jim was the only person to witness Kat talking to Deniase's grave.
 * Kassandra. On Kat's first adventure for Eden, they ventured to a village of half-giant amazonian women. Kat saw this as an opportunity for exotic intercourse and continuously made remarks towards several of the women there. This enticed Kassandra, daughter of the village leader, and a game of basketball was played to settle the adventurers' refusal to sell Kat to the village. Despite winning the game, Kat still offered Kassandra a night together. This was, apparently, Kassandra's first time and she had fallen for Kat. When it came time for the adventurers to leave, Diandra had struck a diplomatic agreement with the village leader requesting their aid in war. Kassandra, being the ambassadress of the village, accompanied the adventurers back to Eden, and despite Kat not wanting her to come along because they felt they would be restricted with her around, it was to everyone's dismay that Kat had Kassandra in the palm of their hands. Kassandra and Kat spent much of their time making love in the surrounding areas of Eden and as the war progressed, Kat eventually bid Kassandra their goodbyes, informing them that they would be returning to their own land. At the time, it was the truth but Kat only said that to make Kassandra go home.
 * Kha'el Druggo. It might have been Kha'el's childishness that caused him to be more entertained than angry at Kat copying his form. Kha'el ended up being one of Kat's closest companions, joining Kat in the lie that the two were twin brothers. Until the end of their time with Eden, the two remained friends. Kha'el's form is the form Kat was last seen using.
 * Riff. Riff is bonded to Kat as their greater steed. Riff is a griffon that showed a preference for Elias.
 * Trey Heatherly. Although the exchange between the two was short, Kat was briefly romantically attracted to Trey for his straightforwardness and for flirting back with Kat with the same energy and confidence.

Birth
Kat does not know to whom they were born. At the footsteps of a Denis Rhudae's pottery building in the Grounded Highlands Produce sector, a changeling infant was left wrapped in fine silk cloth, sobbing. James Mortini, a middle-aged human working in the building, picked up the child and raised them in his own home after failing to locate a parent.

Early Shapechanging
At an early age, Kat was able to figure out how to control their shapechanging abilities and used this to their advantage when playing with the other children. Fortunately for the adults in the area, James was strict with Kat and taught Kat to not use their abilities in serious situations. Because of the way James worded his instructions, Kat made sure to get into hours of fun to enjoy their abilities without breaking James' rules. It was at this time that Kat befriended Deniase, Woof, and Richard.

Pottery Renown
James was known to be one of Denis' best potters, and despite Kat always wanting to be messy and brash, there was something about the intricacy of pottery that Kat always marveled at. This sparked a yearning in Kat to learn pottery as well, and James, being the loving father he was, taught them the best they could. It did not take long until Kat was also well-known for their pottery skills, becoming one of the most-commissioned potters at Denis' shop at a young age.

Kat's Departure
To Kat, the group of friends that they and Deniase shared was close-knit and like a small family. For an unknown reason, however, Deniase was bent on travelling to the New World - a place with no promise of return. Unable to stop him, the friend group simply saw him off at the port. When Deniase had not written back for three months, Queen Deniasse Heirlaen herself showed up at Denis' shop to request Kat accompany a team of men to visit the New World and check on the representative she had sent. Kat was confused and hesitant at first but later obliged when it was revealed that Deniase was the chosen representative. To their knowledge, Deniase was simply sailing away for fun. And thus, Kat was off.

Arrival
The first sighting of Kat was a ship many miles away travelling towards Eden. The ship abruptly turned to the south, and hours later, a figure appeared on land from that direction. Kat took the form of Deniase - the last form of his they'd witnessed, at least - when they first arrived at the settlement, something the two had previously agreed on. The first thing that Kat encountered, however, was the Hall of Bones where they found Deniase's grave. At the time, Eden was thoroughly convinced that Deniase was dead, and Kat's constantly changing appearance, in addition to the growing suspicion from spies from the Hob Empire, was enough to provoke the Edenians. Kat was nowhere near cooperative and this immediately caused Edeninians to resort to violence against them. This began their terrible reputation amongst Edenians.

Bard Mentorship
Despite Kat looking down on those in Eden, they found that some Edenians were actually somewhat powerful. They sought the help of the settlement's quartermaster, half-orc Visago Whitewurt, to help them become a better bard. Before they officially began training, Visago had them perform in front of Eden. Kat performed a piece entitled Sleep where they revealed that the reason they sought help in getting home was that they had killed the crew of the ship they arrived with.

Sleep

Control
On Kat's first adventure, they accompanied a team of diplomats to an unexplored forest. There, they encountered a village of half-giant women. After the events of a basketball game (refer to Kassandra under the Relationship section), Kassandra had fallen in love with Kat. While the two idled in intercourse, the Edenians settled a diplomatic agreement with the village for aid in the upcoming war with the Hob Empire. With Kassandra having fallen in love with Kat, however, the Edenians were now a little more limited in the damage they could do to Kat. To ensure Kat did not do anything too horrible to Eden or to the accompanying ambassadress, Eos Specere casted two Geases on Kat which stated the following:


 * For one month. Geas from Eos Specere. "I, Eos Specere, command you! You will not take the form of someone who has a significant other to cause discord and enmity among the Edenians. Nor will you take the form of anyone we don't wish for you to take." Defying this edict will result in 5d10 psychic damage.
 * For one month. Geas from Eos Specere. "I, Eos Specere, command you. You will not do anything untoward that is considered adultery to anyone's significant other, partner and/or spouse. You'll respect the sanctity of the relationship else take a heavy migraine." Defying this edict will result in 5d10 psychic damage.

Otherworldly Patrons
During Kat's adventures for Eden, they encountered two otherworldly beings. Both are described in the Relationship section (see Hastur, The King in Yellow and Astarte).

Hob Skirmish
Despite finding it trivial, Kat sometimes engaged in the war happening between the Hob Empire and Eden. One example of this is them putting up a stealth mission with the agreement to make sure everyone got out alive, only to leave first. Riko Martin, a satyr that was part of the group, still holds a grudge against Kat for their actions.

The Lyres and The Arrow
With the Hob siege only growing closer and closer, Kat decided to board The Silver Sea Fury, upon Fara Jinky's invitation, to return to the Grounded Highlands Kingdom. As they sat on the boat waiting, however, they were approached by Elias with a Cli Lyre as a gift. After a somewhat emotional discussion, the two came to a conclusion that there was more for them in the New World than in the Old World as bards. Elias invited Apsara to join the party and the three became The Lyres and The Arrow.

The plan they put together was to leave the warzone and get to safety. And then, they would venture around the continent. The three stole camels from Eden and headed east, waiting several miles away in area secured by Eden while the war did its work. During the departure of The Silver Sea Fury and The Tides of Desperation, Kat sang a song they had written entitled Goodbye, Eden to their party mates.

Epilogue
Below is the official epilogue published for Kat:"The tales that bards tell hold places in the histories that shape the world, but like other bards, some of Kat's tales were those of their own.""After receiving Eos' warning of Deniase's 'return', the changeling was only more fueled to find the truth they first sought upon their arrival. There would be, however, no rush in their step. Rather, Kat would take their time building a name for themselves and their party of The Lyres and The Arrow in the forms of songs and stories and faces and touch - the pillars of Kat's whole being.""With each story weaving itself into the fabric of endless tales, a reputation would unavoidably build itself. With reputation would come power, and with Kat's hands continuing to glow bright with more marks of men and fiends and gods, it wouldn't have been long until the otherworldly began to fight for their soul - and they did.""The new powers that their dear friend Astarte, pit fiend of the Nine Hells, would grant them would only supplement the power of tongue that they already had. Kat's words were never ones that stopped after the first listener. They were and always would be words that controlled and were passed on, but even then, the changeling knew to listen. And with stories of Eden's disperse and reappearances moving across lands, it wouldn't have been hard to gather information. Then, all it would take would be smiting a Hob Empire figure to rid the land of the people who left their truth for dead. Maybe they would even get to meet their truth.""Kat only holds onto The Lyres and The Arrow for two things - survival and the ongoing thrill of a lie. Kat wanted for the truth of their origins to only be told when either they or Elias was down to their last breath. It was a lie that would sting the soul where it hurt the most. It would shatter a trust built on emotion and friendship and memories and hope. Only time would tell when that last breath would be. Regardless when, Astarte will be waiting."