Carrion

Carrion is a hero in Arcanium.

"Umbra taught him all he needed to know. When he returned, it was as the mercenary necromancer, Carrion."

Description
From the official site: Those who manage to catch a glimpse of Carrion’s visage through his dark hood normally recoil in horror, and even the most battle-hardened warriors quickly find business at the other side of the street. Carrion’s pale, skeletal face holds little trace of flesh. He stares out at the world through two pinpoints of red light floating in his empty sockets. Swathed in dark robes, he walks briskly through shadowed halls, avoiding daylight in favor of the gloom.

His hand clutches a staff of gnarled wood festooned with a crystal, bones, and feathers. Pouches hang from his belt; his leather boots and his book seem bound by the hide of some unknown creature. Food spoils and grass wilts in his presence, and every room he enters slowly fills with the insidious smell of decay.

Carrion was originally named Corbin, a young hyena who had the great misfortune of being born in the Scorched Lands. Corbin hailed from a slave family belonging to Salaas, high priest of the Black Shard. Salaas treated Corbin and his family cruelly, seeing them as little more than the refuse he forces them to subsist on. Thus, when Corbin reached maturity, Salaas foisted him to his favorite acolyte as a gift.

The high priest dreamed of becoming the Black Shard’s Arcanium Champion, and continually petitioned it to give him its blessing. Yet for years the Shard remained silent. Refusing to give up and admit his unworthiness, the high priest then named his favorite acolyte as a Champion and brought him to the Shard. To everyone’s shock, the Shard ignored the acolyte, choosing instead the young attendant standing behind him. Corbin.

Upon receiving the Shard’s dark gift, Corbin isolated himself in the wilderness for years to study magic. Umbra taught him all he needed to know. When he returned, it was as the mercenary necromancer, Carrion.