Kato the Curious (dead)

In the winter of his life, the dragon emperor’s loyal sorcerer Kato the Curious, charged in vain with securing immortality for his master, decided to try to cheat death himself. To this end he made a deal with the demon Ix, a servant of Sathmog, in exchange for treason on Kato’s part.

Kato, who was close to Eledain’s court, sowed lies and discord that contributed to the empire’s downfall. His contract with Ix was as complex as it was convoluted, written on a long scroll of tanned skin in a demonic language whose grammar and vocabulary relied on ambiguous phrasing to allow for ironic consequences in contracts with mortals.

Instead of making Kato immortal, Ix fulfilled his part of the bargain by trapping his tower and the village of Blackridge in a sphere of disjointed time where the last hour of the sorcerer’s life constantly repeats itself. Coincidentally, this is also the final hour for all the villagers of Blackridge, as Kato’s betrayal had just come to the emperor’s attention and a flight of dragons had been sent to obliterate the wizard’s tower and the village as punishment and as a warning to others.

The dragons approaching in v-formation can be seen from Blackridge throughout the time loop, getting closer and closer, until the dragon riders order the village’s destruction and jets of flame erupt from the dragons’ mouths. The cycle begins anew at the moment of Kato’s death. Anyone who dies a violent death in the time loop wakes up exactly where they were when it began.