Karna
Race: Deva in Mortal form (closer to a human Demigod in this state)
Age: 65 (Counting the years after his death, somewhere between 2800 and 7300)
Height: 182cm
Weight: 65kg
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White
Scale: Servant
Strength: A+
Agility: A++
Speed: A++
Magic Resistance: C (His Armor nets him some magic resistance, but he is no specialist. However, because his resistance is only taken into account after his armor nullifies 9/10ths of the magic affecting him, this stat is effectively far higher than it seems.)
Magical Ability: B. Capable of great healing using Kalari and has great natural gifts when it comes to manipulating fire. Great mental and magical prowess is also required to use Astras.
Weaknesses: Curses, Anti-divinity weaponry, attacks from the inside of his body, will refrain from using Astras upon anyone that do not have a chance of stopping them. Even if it would render him in an inferior position, Karna will fulfill any promise, which can be abused by opposition being aware of this.
Likes: Friendship, Effort, Reconciliation, Positive Thinking, Human beauty, Parentage (Parents, being a father and children alike).
Dislikes: The words “Communication skills”.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Other Abilities:Kalaripayattu: (∞) An ancient Indian martial art. Without bearing upon strength and talent, it is the ancestor of all martial arts founded on the basis of rational thought. As a student of Parashurama, the sixth Avatar of Vishnu and the founder of the art who Karna surpassed in skill decades before his death, Karna is a master beyond compare at it and the use of the weapons involved with the art; swords, shields, bows, spears, daggers, katars, coil swords, sheats of cloth and sticks amongst others. His “infinity” rank in this skill represents that no one, no matter how many millions of years they practice, can ever truly match Karna in the art of Kalari.
Masseur: The first and most key principle of the art of Kalaripayattu is that one must be able to heal all the damage one does with the art. This manifests in the use of oil massage to relieve joint stress and muscle pressure. During the Age of Gods, where mere words could become spells, masters of the art were able to draw mana in the air into the person they were massaging, rapidly closing their wounds.
Authority of the Deva: As Karna has ascended to proper godhood, he can use his power as such to obtain knowledge about the world, including social norms and to a lesser extend, pop culture.
Discernment of the Poor: The ability to see through and understand a person’s character and thoughts. It expresses the power to grasp the true nature of the opponent possessed by Karna, who was blessed with the opportunity to inquire about the life and value of the weak due to being someone without a single relative. Thus, Karna cannot be deceived by words or actions.
Saint: An inborn ability to greatly influence the lives of people around the Saint through simple actions such as speech. Karna is the Hindu "Saint of Generosity".
Divinity (Sun): (A) Born half human and half god, and having ascended to godhood after his death, Karna receives massive defensive bonuses against sun-related demigods of inferior ranks than his own.
Prana Burst (Flames): A version of Prana Burst that infuses weapons with prana that imparts a fiery effect. In Karna's case, blazing flames can erupt from Karna’s weaponry and armor at will.
Warrior’s Senses: Instincts developed from a life-and-afterlife time of non-stop training and combat, Karna’s senses are far beyond those of a normal human. His eyes can track high-speed objects at a range of 10 kilometers, and his reflexes border on precognition.
Absolute Willpower: Despite possessing weapons capable of leveling entire continents in a single blow, no weapon Karna ever wielded was said to be as strong as his will of iron. Almost any and all forms of Mental Interference can easily be resisted, and even faced with decisive fatal wounds, despite having no particular survival skills against the sort and his lack of immortality, he can easily keep himself alive if he can steel his purpose for doing so, such as to protect others or fulfilling a promise. It is said that he survived for almost an hour after being near-beheaded by Arjuna’s final attack merely to give alms to two Brahmin (who he knew to be his father and Indra in disguise).
Praise The Sun: Karna can refill his mana and heal his wounds faster by praying to his father, The Sun God Surya, at noon.
Brahmastra: A powerful mantra acquirable only by the grandest masters of the arts of war by meditating on the god Brahma. It manifests as any kind of weapon the wielder can imagine and can then be fired. By invoking it’s name and chanting the mantra out loud, the mantra’s true purpose, that of a weapon of mass destruction, can be deployed. It’s destructive power is comparable to a high-yield nuclear warhead, and causes horrific environment damage in the affected area, killing plantlife as well as causing aftereffects like sterility for both genders if they come within proximity of the area. The Brahmastra cannot be avoided once it is launched.
Karna cannot activate the Brahmastra due to the curse that made him forget it’s Mantra.
Brahmashira: The ultimate mantra, only ever possessed by Arjuna, Ashwatthama, Drona and Karna himself. An ungodly weapon possessing four times the firepower of the Brahmastra.
Karna cannot use this ability due to his curse.
Equipment:Kavacha and Kundala: Karna’s golden armor and earrings, fused to his body at birth by his father Surya to protect him from all harm and leave him a single connection to his true kin. Made from solidified sunlight, it is virtually unbreakable and will restore itself rapidly if damaged. So long as Karna is clad in it, 9/10ths of all damage dealt to him will be nullified, physical, magical, conceptual or otherwise.
Brahmastra: See above.
Vijaya: Karna’s bow, given to him by his master Parashurama as a gift of pardon after he cursed Karna in a fit of rage. The bow automatically creates arrows as he draws the string.
Vasavi Shakti: A spear of lightning that belongs to the Thunder God Indra, a javelin that inflicts a concept of mortality upon anything it hits, allowing it to kill and destroy otherwise invincible, immortal or unkillable targets. Similarly to the Brahmastra, it has the condition of "will never miss". Despite being his strongest weapon, Karna is extremely hesitant in it’s use due to the sheer power commanded by the spear, and it is very much his last resort, only to be used on beings that cannot be defeated otherwise that pose a great threat to the world. To use the Vasavi Shakti, however, Karna must forsake his golden armor.
Nagastra: A powerful Astra that Karna can use as an arrow. Inflicts horrendous amounts of damage through sheer brute force, and causes thousands of poisonous snakes to fall down from the sky and attack anyone nearby.
Bhargavastra: Parashurama gave this astra to Karna. It caused great damage to Pandava's army. This Astra possesses Parashurama's skill in archery. It could bring a shower of extremely powerful weapons of the gods from the sky, each equal or superior in power to even the greatest items of mortal craft.
Mohini: Completely destroys any illusion or magic in the proximity of the arrow itself. Upon being fired, the effect is spread over a wide area, instantly dismantling things like magic fields or Reality Marbles. If the arrow collides with a magical object, the object will, unless it is one of supremely high order (in which case it will only temporarily lose its functions), be made useless.
Suryastra: Creates a dazzling light that dispels any darkness and dries up water bodies.
Spoiler for Origin (Warning: Absurdly long) :
Origin:
Karna (कर्ण) is one of the central characters in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga (present day Bhagalpur and Munger). Karna was one of the greatest warriors whose martial exploits are recorded in the Mahābhārata, an admiration expressed by Krishna and Bhishma within the body of this work.
Karna was the son of Surya (a solar deity) and Kunti. He was born to Kunti before her marriage with Pandu. Karna was the closest friend of Duryodhana and fought on his behalf against the Pandavas (his brothers) in the famous Kurukshetra war. Karna fought against misfortune throughout his life and kept his word under all circumstances. Many admire him for his courage and generosity.
Childhood:
The form of Karna, who didn't know his own mother's face and who questioned whether his mother was motivated by dishonesty, couldn't be called beautiful. Though he possessed his father's brilliant authority, his form was stained black. His countenance was cruel, and his every action was violent. Because of his lack of a true mother, he didn't learn the subtleties of human emotion and spent his days being considered a nuisance by the people around him. That was how Karna was raised, but he didn't hate his mother or his surroundings. Instead, he accepted everything. His mother and father were the ones who gave him life so he thought that no matter what kind of person his mother was, he should not hold contempt for her, as if there was anyone he could hate, it was only himself.
In contrast to his appearance, Karna was an exceedingly virtuous and perceptive child. Possibly the cause of that was because, while he was the child of a god, he was also a child without a single relative, for which he was granted a boon. Karna was blessed with the opportunity to question others, their lives, and their value. As a result, he chose, of his own free will, the path where he persisted in his own fastidiousness. He believed that as he was born with more than others, he should display a 'proof of his life' greater than those of other people, since if he doesn't do so, the people without power would not be rewarded. What Karna had was simply the conviction to live without bringing dishonor to his father's authority and without shaming the people who compensated him. "Though he may be relentless and ruthless, he is also full of majesty," is Karna's stance given form.
Adolescence:
Karna, who had grown to be a young man, participated in a conference of the Kuru family. At this conference, the five Pandava brothers indulged themselves in the martial arts they were so proud of and so famous for. The third son Arjuna's skill at the bow was especially magnificent, to the point that he was praised as having no equal. When the grounds were united as one voice looking for someone to equal the Pandavas, Karna leapt up to participate and displayed martial prowess far superior to even Arjuna's. Karna challenged Arjuna to determine which of them was superior. But to challenge Arjuna, a member of the royal family, one must be higher than a Kshatriya (military or royalty) and Karna looked to be a Vaishya (merchant class) or a Shudrya (a slave). Karna, whose challenge was refused due to the difference in status, was a laughingstock. The one who saved Karna in this situation was the eldest of the one hundred princes of the Kaurava clan, who opposed the Pandavas, Duryodhana. He became interested in Karna and announced that the son of a charioteer should from that day be considered the King of Anga.
This is how Karna was saved from disgrace, but his foster father, who had heard of his promotion, appeared and established his foster son’s status. The five Pandava brothers further ridiculed Karna, who displayed martial arts superior to their own, saying, "The son of a charioteer should have a sense of shame." These words enraged Karna. If it were about himself, he would accept and be resigned to anything, but he would not allow insults toward his foster father. Even if it was a foster father who announced himself out of greed, to Karna, he was the father who raised him, who Karna should take pride in. The antagonism between Karna and the five Pandava brothers had become something he could not step back from, but sunset had come and the curtain was drawn on the conference. From then again, Karna, as the friend of Duryodhana, who saved him and treated him as a king and equal, lived as a guest of honor of the one hundred princes of the Kaurava clan.
Kurekshetra War:
What awaited him many years beyond that was a cruel battle against the five Pandava brothers, particularly the great hero Arjuna. The antagonism between the Kauravas whom Karna entrusted his bow as a soldier, and the Pandavas that Arjuna led intensified and finally became a war with their territory in the balance. That war is called the Kurukshetra War, and that is where Karna's life came to an end. Karna continued to wield his strength in the hopes that the one hundred Kaurava princes, and consequently Duryodhana, would be victorious. On the Pandava side, the only one who could oppose Karna was Arjuna, but even Arjuna could only be resigned to the fact that facing Karna directly equaled death.
To ensure his own son's victory, days before the great war, The father of Arjuna, the god Indra, abused one of Karna’s oaths to take away his armor. Karna had sworn that anyone who came to him during his daily prayers in the noon and asked for something would not leave empty-handed. Indra disguised himself as a Brahmin (hermit) and came to Karna during his prayers, and asked for alms in the form of his armor and earrings, fused to Karna's skin at birth to give him immortality. Karna knew beforehand that he was being deceived (Having been warned by his father Surya, but also having figured the trick out himself), and yet he, without hesitation, pulled forth his spear and cut off his radiant armor and earrings, spilling his blood all across the garden they were in. When Karna then handed Indra the beautiful golden pieces of the sun, he admitted to seeing through the god's disguise, shaming Indra even further. When the now-regretful King of the Devas asked him why he would ever comply to such a request, even when he knew he was being tricked, Karna answered: "There is no need to hate you. It is simply a matter of being a step ahead. In fact--yes, Though you are a god, you are also a father. Such a thing brings me joy." Though Karna had lost the the only proof of his existence, the invincibility his dear father gave him at birth, he never stopped proceeding to the battlefield. He did not care that when he had lost his golden armor he had hastened his own death. Indra, who was touched by how gallant a figure Karna struck, asked why. Why did he continue to fight, having lost his armor, but without reproaching Indra, who had hatched this scheme out of love for Arjuna?
“Then why do you advance toward the battlefield?” asked Indra, to which he was responded: "To me, defeat is bringing shame upon my father. Even though death awaits me, I cannot run away." That was how Karna always lived. To him, who lived his life with pride in those who gave him life and raised him, his life was not his own.
Then, he added: "I owe Duryodhana a debt. For some reason, that impudent and timid man is so bright to me. It may be blasphemy against my father but, occasionally, I feel that that sweet light is the warmth of the sun." It was not the fire of the sun that Karna carried nor the absolute brilliance of Surya; to Karna, the sun was the imperfect charm that humans displayed.
Indra, who saw the divinity of Surya himself in that form, gave Karna the Vasavi Shakti, the greatest of all weapons. He had taken from this noble hero something greater than his life. Unless he gave something as compensation, his honor would be stained; above all—he was charmed with him: if it were this man, he could wield the greatest spear, that Indra did not trust to give even to his own son. After, Karna sent off the fake Brahmin, having lost his armor, and headed to the battlefield, as thin as a ghost.
Through several conflicts, pretexts, and mutual hatred, the war between this two camps arrived at Kurukshetra. Things having reached this point, Karna's mother, Kunti, wagered one last gamble: to reveal Karna’s lineage to him and draw him to the Pandava camp. Kunti told only Krishna, who was a friend of Arjuna’s in the guise of a mortal, of the idea, and the two of them went alone to meet Karna. Kunti revealed that she was Karna's mother, spoke how fighting with the five Pandava brothers would yield no benefits whilst weeping, and tried to persuade him that by fighting together with Arjuna, he would attain glory. Karna, without failing to show the friend of his arch-enemy Arjuna, Krishna, thanks, quietly listened to his mother's arguments.
Afterwards he said: "I understand your request. To join hands with the five brothers and return to my beloved family. That would be a story filled with light, without a single fault."
Then, facing the rejoicing Kunti, Karna continued speaking in an even softer voice: "But I wish for you to answer one thing. Do you not feel that those words of yours were too late?"
She was too late in declaring she was his mother. She was too late in looking back upon Karna. "If you do not feel that this is a shame, then please answer. You, who declare yourself my mother, if you yourself have done no wrong, then accept the past without feeling ashamed of yourself."
While Kunti was a selfish woman, that was due to her natural innocence and and simple-mindedness; she was most definitely not a shameless woman. She knew her own deeds, throwing away Karna and not acknowledging him at the conference all those years ago, he who had been born for just her own sake, and in turn knew that she was full of selfishness and reproached herself for that. And for that reason, she possessed a minimum amount of pride. She could not tell Karna, who had been raised alone until now, who was grateful to his foster family, who could never in all his life feel hatred towards another, a horrible lie.
Kunti broke off the negotiation without answering. Karna said this to Kunti, who stood with her head hanging:"That is a deception, a complacent love. The only one your love can save is you. Your love is directed at no one but yourself. But I shall answer that feeling. From hereon, during the war, I will not kill any of the brothers who come to match me. I will only use all my power against my arch-enemy Arjuna."
Karna swore to never to do more than disarm his brothers of the Pandava family who were inferior to him in strength. The countless times Karna allowed the five brothers to go after this was due to this pledge.
After that he concluded: "Return to the place that you obtained with your own hands. ...Though it was only once, I am grateful that you called me your son." Karna opened the castle gate and escorted Kunti out. That was the love that Karna bore for his mother, Kunti. It was not love for his mother at this late point in time but Kunti's resolution to raise "her feelings as mother" in the end... even if it wasn't genuine... That is what he answered. Kunti risked the danger of having her past come to light. To the hero of generosity Karna, such determination is worthy of compensation.
During the final battle with Arjuna, Karna was already without allies; his charioteer, whom he had won the trust of after many days of being talked down upon by him, had fled in abject terror when faced with the full might of Arjuna and Krishna. Karna had a large number of heavy burdens; his feelings towards his younger brothers. Due to his curses, the wheel of Karna's chariot was stuck in a rut. The string of Arjuna's bow was drawn back to its limits. These brothers who, for a long time, were manipulated by Krishna to compete for supremacy, could only in this moment strike one another with all their might and sure enough, Arjuna's bow shot down the sun.
It is said that after his death, Karna became one with his father Surya. Called "the Hero of Generosity," he was a saint with the creed of not refusing when people came to ask or rely on him. The hero who, while possessing exceedingly powerful abilities, was within a tragedy where he was the enemy of his brothers by blood, received various curses, and lost his life without showing his true worth—that is Karna. Shortly after his death, Karna’s identity as the brother of Pandavas was revealed to the brothers by Kunti, whom all of them cursed as they wept in great sorrow and regret when the man they had known only as an enemy was revealed as their eldest brother, a noble man who had spared their lives dozens of times and given his all to repay the friendship of his only friend, Duryodhana. Upon that day, Yudhishthira cursed all women to never be able to keep a secret ever again, and Arjuna was wracked with the guilt of committing fratricide for the rest of his days. Karna’s beloved wife Vrushali went Sati (the Hindu practice of a widowed woman joining her husband in death, typically by cradling his corpse on his funeral pyre) upon his funeral pyre without a single sound of agony, and Duryodhana was said to have cried so much during the cremation that his entire body was soaked in his tears for days.
Personality:
According to the Mahabharata, Karna is the Saint of Generosity. Karna is bad at expressing his emotions, but he has the tendency to become angry when those who have picked him up and those who have supported him are scorned. Even if it is a relationship based only on mutual benefit, to repay a favor with a favor is how Karna lives. Possibly due to that selfless devotion of his, when people came to him, seeking something, he would always grant it to them, as long as they were being truthful. And this was without considering possessions or assets but with him considering the state of their heart first. However, a request for him to "yield victory" will go unanswered, and he would admonish his opponent, as such a proposal would have no benefit for them. "What a ridiculous misunderstanding. First of all, victory is something one must attain for oneself. Is a victory that I give truly a victory for you?" This is not out of ill intentions, but rather because the question of "Doesn't having victory yielded to you cause you to lose at life?" is matter of real worry for him.
Truly, he was an immensely prudent and superhuman hero. He had the virtue to accept differing ideologies, even if they were his enemies', and their accompanying ways of life and respect them as "ways to live." But Karna has difficulty conveying his true nature. Karna's speech and conduct pricks at those true natures. Words and actions meant to deceive oneself, behavior meant to gloss over, conviction. Karna sees through all of those things and frankly states "the true nature that his opponent wants to hide." As a result, he comes to be hated by the majority of his opponents and is forced to fight them as anyone would hate having their faults being spoken of, and often comes to be perceived as “a man who denies and hates everything”.
It goes without saying, but Karna's words and conduct do not contain any disgust at his opponent's faults. For Karna who affirms the position of every human, both faith that is not compatible with him as well as beauty and ugliness that he cannot understand are things to be held in esteem.
“Hear in brief, O son of Pandu! I regard the mighty car-warrior Karna as thy equal, or perhaps, thy superior! With the greatest care and resolution shouldst thou slay him in great battle. In energy he is equal to Agni. As regards speed, he is equal to the impetuosity of the wind. In wrath, he resembles the Destroyer himself. Endued with might, he resembles a lion in the formation of his body. He is eight ratnis in stature. His arms are large. His chest is broad. He is invincible. He is sensitive. He is a hero. He is, again, the foremost of heroes. He is exceedingly handsome. Possessed of every accomplishment of a warrior, he is a dispeller of the fears of friends. Engaged in the good of Dhritarashtra's son, he always hates the sons of Pandu. No one, not even the gods with Vasava at their head, can slay
the son of Radha, save thee, as I think. Slay, therefore, the Suta's son today. No one possessed of flesh and blood, not even the gods fighting with great care, not all the warriors (of the three worlds) fighting together can vanquish that car-warrior.” -Krishna
