Kerghan

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[edit] Kerghan the Terrible

Kerghan is the main villain in the the 2001 computer game Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. He is also the founder and progenitor of the furtive necromatic organization known as The Derian Ka.

[edit] Biography

Kerghan's life took place during the ancient period known as 'The Age Of Legends, a time in which Arcanum was united under the rule of an elvish council of mages, wizards and philosophers . Due to his proficiency in the arts, Kerghan was the only human ever permitted to join the elvish council, and due to his unique status the mage was desperate to please his elvish peers.

Having taken up a solitary life in magical research, Kerghan eventually stumbled onto the discovery of a new college of magic - the study of Dark Necromancy. Although originally frightened of the possibilities, Kerghan quickly abandoned any form of morality concerning his studies, and delved too deeply into the darker side of the art. His groteqsue experiments soon moved on from animal carcasses to the bodies of other humans, which he saw as more complex and intruiging. After only a short period of reflection on his work, Kerghan began to develop numerous dangerous ideologies concerning the validity of life.

The elvish council became suspicious of Kerghan's isolation and sent their leader Nasrudin to discover what the human was up to. When the results of his work were discovered, the council were outraged and planned to banish him from amongst them, stripping from him his power, authority and resources.

However, things did not go as planned. Arronax, the son of Nasrudin, was quickly gaining power in the council, backed by a gaggle of sycophants and power-mongerers. Due to his belief that elves were destined to rule the land of Arcanum, Arronax despised the status which the council had granted unto Kerghan, and saw this as a perfect opportunity to be rid of him. He demanded that Kerghan be banished into the Void, a mysterious and dark realm to which the council had sent all of their past opponents. Knowing that Arronax had enough power to discredit him, Nasrudin grudgingly obliged, and had Kerghan banished into the Void.

This was far from any sort of solution.

Once Kerghan had been banished into the Void, he became deeper convinced of his previous beliefs. For within the Void, Kerghan was able to enter the realms of Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and others. He noted the sorrow with which the ghosts of the world wished to be exorcised, and at one point almost slipped away into what he called "the place where souls go to die" - the very end of existence. Compounded with his past ideas, these experiences gave rise to his belief that all life is in fact chaos, an accident in the workings of the universe, and the only way to create some form of peace and order was by bringing death to all living creatures.

In order to expand his power, Kerghan continued to practise his dark arts within the Void. Although these endeavours made him hugely powerful, his mortal form was twisted beyond all recognition, turning him into nothing less than a shell for his nihilistic ideologies, and the dark magic which corrupted his mind.

In a few years Arronax was also banished to the Void, and discovered what the necromancer had been doing. Upon realising Kerghan's intentions, he gathered his magics and attempted to make war with him. However, due to his continued dabbling, the almost demonic Kerghan proved more than a match for the elf and imprisoned him in his fortress. Originally, the necromancer used Arronax merely as someone to whom he could demonstrate his power, but quickly formulated a plan which would allow him back into Arcanum.

Taking on the guise of Arronax, Kerghan reached out into the world and called to the dark elves, the philosophical offspring of Arronax's demented ideas. He told them that he needed a way to break the wards of the Void, which were maintained by the Panarii Church - a group of sages and wizards who followed Nasrudin's teachings. Within time, Kerghan talked the dark elves into manipulating the Church and sending him the Black Mountain Clan, a group of dwarves who could build him a gate 'out of the Void (see the page on Gilbert Bates for more details. It his efforts to return to Arcanum which the player must either thwart or aid.

[edit] Character Themes

Throughout the game - much like his pawn Gilbert Bates - the player may find individual hints towards Kerghan's reasoning, and his beliefs as to exactly why he walked his path. The ultimate danger he represents is the loss of morality in order to accomplish a higher goal, as seen in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". Having discovered a new form of power, Kerghan abandoned all respect towards life, as he saw these things as being detrimental to the progress of his work. As the dwarven King-in-Exile, Loghaire Thunder-Stone says in a conversation in-game:

...humans act first, think later...and feel last of all....

Kerghan is a perfect example of this pitifully human trait. Fearing his own shortcomings as the only human on the elvish council - as well as the ramifications of his human lifespan measured against the longevity of the elves - Kerghan became so eager to please his peers that he delved into forbidden arts, believing that he could somehow utilise them. He soon attempted to rationalise his doings with a series of ill-thought justifications and philosophies, and fell prey to believing them himself. He also epitomizes the much-quoted phrase of Nietzsche: "When you stare long into an abyss, the abyss also stares back at you.". Having given the dark powers of magic free reign over his mind, body and soul, Kerghan became a corrupt parody of a human being.