Karnessa

Neither wholly giant nor entirely mortal, Karnessa embodied Thassilon’s hunger for supremacy - ruthless, arcane, and patient. Birthed in Runelord Alaznist’s secret flesh-forges, she was crafted as a perfected champion: rune giant power tempered by azlanti supremecy and adaptability, built not merely for slaughter but for conquest.   Alaznist armed her with an unrivaled weapon. The Shard of Wrath, one of the seven Sihedron fragments, was set into a triple-bladed glaive and reforged as Wrathmourne, a killing edge that burned with wrathful evocation and resonated with its wielder’s rage.  

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War for Torvus

When Alaznist discovered her rival Karzoug, Runelord of Greed, had birthed a secret pocket dimension called Torvus to breed soldiers from human and devil stock, she struck. Alaznist sent Karnessa, rune giant legions, and Thassilonian troops to invade and destroy the experiment. Karnessa’s orders were explicit: ensure the army’s success under the command of rune giant Halvara, but if Halvara faltered, remove her and claim control.   The invasion was brutal but decisive. Karnessa and Halvara crushed Karzoug’s twisted legions and shattered his stronghold. Yet victory came at the end of Thassilon. Earthfall struck Golarion; no retreat or recall came. The portal to home died, and the conquerors of Torvus were stranded in an empty, half-formed plane.  

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Birth of Sanctuary

With no way back, Halvara and Karnessa turned survival into strategy. They forged a refuge from the ruins of war, naming it Sanctuary. Halvara claimed the throne and was hailed as queen, but the people knew the truth: Sanctuary endured because of Karnessa’s cunning, Wrathmourne’s power, and her unyielding protection.   Halvara’s unease festered. She saw her crown’s shadow lengthen beneath Karnessa’s legend and feared being supplanted. The queen challenged her war-captain in secret, trusting her giant’s size and might to prevail. Karnessa proved deadlier—magic and wrath honed to surgical precision. The duel ended in silence and blood.   The people mourned Halvara without learning the truth. A grand necropolis, the Black Sepulcher, was raised to honor the "fallen queen." Karnessa assumed rule, cold and pragmatic, yet not without purpose: she still sought a way to reopen the way home and return to Golarion.  

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Legacy of Wrath

Karnessa’s long reign hardened her into a patient tyrant and protector. She built and commanded Sanctuary’s death wards and forges. She created the Keystone of Wrath, a single master key able to pierce Halvara’s defensive sigils should allies or heirs need to break the city’s seals.   But hope of escape never came. When Mak’ar the spellweaver lich reached Torvus, he shattered Karnessa’s dominion, enslaving the city she built. He bound her with her own wards and tortured her for the keystone, seeking entrance to the Black Sepulcher’s protections. Eventually he was able to bypass the protections using his own arcane means, but the keystone could not be used against Mak'ar.  And so, the torture continued until the day Lucius Blackthorn arrived at Sanctuary. Mak'ar left Karnessa alone, and in that reprieve she was able to escape her bindings. A group of heroes arrived to break her prison and claim the path she once forged.   When the group's leader introduced themselves as Declan Noble and the Ruinlords, Karnessa knew it was a sign. In her tortured state, she missed the nuance of the name and believed they were Runelords from Golarion. She rewarded them, as was her custom in presenting warbound treasure to her Runelord Alaznist.   Freedom would soon be hers.