Artemiy Burakh

I'm entirely aware that Artemiy Burakh is probably one of the most obscure characters anyone could possibly play, short of playing a straight up OC. (I'm the only one who roleplays him on dreamwidth, as far as I can tell). For this reason, I thought it'd be a good idea to give some very brief and basic information about who he is, for anyone who's curious!

What canon is Artemiy from?: Artemiy Burakh, aka "The Haruspex", is one of the three main characters from the psychological horror indie game Pathologic, developed by Ice-Pick Lodge.

What is his world like?: He's native to a small, nameless town in a place referred to as "The Steppes", presumably the countryside in Russia. The town is an old-fashioned and traditional place with a shaky time period (though it seems to be somewhere in the early 1900's). The technology, fashion, and manners of speech are all old, and the town itself is home to a number of superstitions and cults involved in worshiping the Earth and performing blood sacrifices. In the game, a horrible plague breaks out in town, and the goal of the game is to put an end to it.

Who is Artemiy?: Artemiy is a native to the town and the son of an influential leader within the town's cult. His family holds a sacred right to cut open bodies, and while traditionally this right was used as a divination practice, Artemiy and his father took to becoming surgeons. Artemiy left the town ten years before the start of the game to study modern medicine in the city, returning when his father sent him an urgent letter saying that he was going to die. When he arrives in town, Artemiy discovers his father has been murdered and that a plague has broken out. It's his job to fulfill his father's dying wishes of inheriting his place within the town cult, get to the bottom of his father's murder, and find a cure for the plague.

Personality Snapshot: As a part of his original setting, Artemiy has a strange speech pattern where he speaks in fancy language and metaphors. It's not too terribly 'out there' in terms of speech patterns, but it's definitely not modern sounding.

Artemiy is a lonely sort of character. He doesn't put very much trust into others, and has become somewhat anti-social, preferring not to speak to others unless it's necessary for his own devices. When he does speak to others, Artemiy tends to speak with a sort of bluntness and even sometimes biting sarcasm, and is particularly nasty to those he doesn't like. He also doesn't respect women very much, due to his traditional attitude. Despite this, Artemiy is actually extremely fatherly towards all children and he speaks very kindly and softly to any of the children he meets. Artemiy finds the innocence, wisdom, and infinite potential in children something to cherish and preserve.

Artemiy is a very traditional man in general, and by extension, very superstitious. He believes in the religion of his town 100%, which means he believes in the sacredness of bulls and the ground, is terrified of demons and going underground, and finds the concept of utopia to be heresy.