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| - Billow was born into the Clan of Katar, a notable clan of Skullspear founded 5th 336. The Katars were born when an ugly beast of a man, Elbon, proved his kindness and love to a widow, Lalas. This man was tall, brawny, had a twisted face, a harelip, and the intelligence of a man half his age, but he was gentle, and noble, comforting that woman. Her husband, a top lieutenant of Gohr the Free, had presumably been killed at the Battle at Mammoth's Grave (fought between Gohrish Rebels and the Lionlander Slave Army). Gohr himself had been lost, as a massive blizzard had overtaken both forces, ending in the deaths of most of the Lionlander nobility. In actuality, the learned interfered, kidnapping Gohr and taking him to that Earth's Temple of Ninety-Ninehalls (where he would meet Mother Skystone, and the Southern Sage). Gohr took but one thing with him, her husband's chains. Elbon was a powerful man, and his sons, and daughters proved to be to, but they also inherited the beauty and intelligence of their mother, who herself had been instrumental in Gohr's Rebellion. She chose their house's name from Gohr's last name, Krathor. Clan Katar ended a long-held prejudice the Yockish, and Lionlanders had against the so-called Giants. Now, they were sought out by the House. Centuries later, Billow, not even the strongest of his brothers and sisters, was born as Belo Katar. His Trial of Nineyears (in Yockish culture, a one-month period of surviving the Yockish Wilderness) was a breeze. His body was built to survive the harsh climate of the Far North. He downed mammoths, found fresh water, camped in the underground forests, and prayed in the tundra. He became as a King in the Ice, and was one with the countless nameless gods of the cold and the water and the shadow. Then came the Darksong. He was a lanky, dark-skinned, sallow man, with horns and wings and claws. His voice was bitter, and biting. He wore dark robes, unafraid of the predators in the snow, or that the slaves would see him. The Darksong was the only man alive who could compete with the strength of a Katar, and could easily down any other Yockishman. They met in the snow, and together they sang the song of creation. The chains of hate rattle between them. Billow became the Child then. The Darksong said to Billow, "Silence your song... lest your people suffer for it." In the end, Billow was less-experienced, and honor-bound to not escape. At about the River Naye, their mammoth died, slain by an ice lion. Billow was forced to carry everything, while the Darksong whipped him like a beast. They arrived at their destination, the Wall of Mother Bear, where Haslenn Hasset was waiting for him. She was the ex-wife of Erz Black, and the Finder of Billow. Several months earlier, right around the time Billow was captured, she had a dream of his battle with the Darksong. She worshiped the countless nameless gods and their child. Billow was sold to her, and Billow was himself honor-bound to serve her. She told him that his Trial of Nineyears was not over. First, he had to understand true suffering, and only then would the love the gods have for him help. Billow was given as a gift to Erz Black. "This man is a Katar, a powerful clan of barbarians, the like that make the best slaves, and he's obedient too. Not like to escape." The Darksong, meanwhile, hunted down, and captured every Katar, at the behest of Haslenn Hasset. As expected, once captured, they all stopped fighting. Save for one, Erel Katar. Erel was weaker than Billow, but he fought the Darksong countless times on their way to the Wall. The other slaves were safe in the hands of other tailors. Erel considered slavery an abomination, and had spent most of his life freeing Yockish slaves, reprimanding his family, including Billow, for practicing such an awful thing. Erel would prove troublesome. The Darksong himself took him all the way to the Calm Isles. They met with Billow. For the sake of his honor, and for the gods of his mistress, Billow broke Erel mentally then, crushing his brother's spirit. However, from then on, Billow made it to his goal to one day leave slavery and kill the Darksong. In a distant, hot land, ruled by foreign men, Billow lived as a slave. Then one day, Erz told him to kill Erel, whose apathy and brokenness infuriated Erz's brother, Oloz. In that moment, he understood. He was given a halberd, Erz's own, a prized heirloom, given to the Calm Isles by the Old King Kazlor himself. Billow killed both Erz and Oloz then. In Sefenlander Script, the words "Syren" were magickally engraved along the halberd's cheek. Billow was beloved by the gods. The magicks of the halberd, and the deaths of Erz and Oloz, which were seen by tens of nearby slaves, immediately caused many of the newly-free to instantly rally behind Billow. "You are all free. Freedom is not a gift, or something to be taken. We have always been free. Slavery is a lie, a most-grievous sin. Mothermarket is a monument to their sins, and I mean to burn it to the ground." Within hours, every Katar was free, and almost every slave master dead. Mothermarket was razed, and its ships stolen. Haslenn Hasset arrived just hours earlier. She asked him what he meant to do with the love of the gods, with an army of ex-slaves, and as likely the most physically powerful man on this Earth. "I mean to destroy slavery. I will lead my army west, and destroy slavery in the Farwestern Empires." Although he was beloved by the gods, Billow was not a strategist. He was lucky, however, and managed to destroy slavery in much of the eastern Delklands, likely contributing to its decline. After heading west, Billow landed on the lagoon that Parthshore was built on. He tossed Erz's head, in a jar of vinegar, into it. "King Mattes? You are the one who gave out that order, if I'm not mistaken? The order to kill so many people. The order to attack mine own Lady's hometown. The order to use poison gas on innocent civilians. The order that killed my brother, and made him tear out his own throat. On that Tarsday, was it you who made that mistake? It was, wasn't it? What is it they call you, now, 'the Merciless?' My, I think 'the Mistaken' would be more apt. - Hang him. " — Billow "the Slave" Katar, 1st Master of the Coldlands, to King Mattes II "the Merciless" Marr before having him hanged >Name: >*Belo* is a Yockish name which means "chief," and comes from old Beyerlander *bel*, "lady." The "-o" was appended on to it to make it sound more masculine. The names Billow, Billowelm, Billowelk, and Bill are derived from it. Billowelm comes from Billowelk, which comes from Billow + Yockish *Beloulk*, which itself comes from *Belo* + Farwestern *Ulk*, occasionally meaning tree. Specifically, the word *Ulk* meant "Delklands" in Yockish. The name essentially means "Delkish Belo." >The name Katar comes from the surname of Gohr Krathor. Krathor is the Lionlander word for Mammoth. Ultimately it comes from the ancient Farnorthern word *kra*, "snow," and acient Beyerlander *þrol*, "Slave Master," and figuratively just "Master," meaning together "snowmaster.” As in a sense mammoths are masters of the snow.
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