Kierkan Rufo

Kierkan Rufo was a cleric of Deneir at the Edificant Library in the mid–14 century DR and a colleague and rival of Cadderly Bonaduce.

Description
Rufo was tall, bone-skinny, and always standing at an angle tilting to the side. He had stringy black hair and penetrating black eyes in a pale face,

History
Jealous of the attention Cadderly, a fellow devotee of Deneir, received, Rufo was easily manipulated by a priest of Talona, Barjin, who hypnotized him in an effort to unleash the Chaos Curse in the. Affected by the curse, he was overtaken by his hatred for Cadderly and his lust for Danica Maupoissant and became quite violent. Eventually he was subdued and freed from the effects of the curse.

Later on, Rufo became repentant, seeking to redeem himself for his actions. He accompanied Cadderly, Danica and the elf prince Elbereth to Shilmista, which had come under assault from the ogrillon Ragnor, a mighty ogre-orc half-breed and a member of Castle Trinity. Once again, Rufo found himself manipulated, forced to obey the wizard Dorigen from Castle Trinity and her imp ally Druzil.

A coward to the end, Rufo returned home before the conflict in Shilmista ended. After accompanying Headmaster Avery to Carradoon, he was once again used as a pawn by one of Castle Trinity's wizards, Bogo Rath, and inadvertently caused the headmaster's death—Rufo's final step towards the dark side of his nature. As a consequence, Rufo received a holy brand (a blown-out candle above a closed eye) from Cadderly on the forehead, banning Rufo forever from his order.

Exiled and alone, Kierkan Rufo met up with Druzil once again. The imp, freed from servitude to Aballister Bonaduce through the mage's death, persuaded Rufo to return to the library and retrieve the Chaos Curse. In false hopes of getting rid of the brand on his forehead, Rufo instead drank from the bottle containing the Chaos Curse and the elixir caused his death at the very steps of the Edificant Library.

Three days after his death, Rufo rose from the dead at the mausoleum of the Edificant Library, having been turned into a vampire—the embodiment of the Chaos Curse. He proceeded to seize control of the library, turning many of the other priests into lesser vampires or zombies, with the exception of Brother Chaunticleer, who managed to keep himself safe. So prepared, he was lying in wait when Danica returned to the library. Rufo attempted to take her as his queen, but was denied in this attempt when Danica used a meditative technique to slow down her metabolism, appearing as if she had died.

Cadderly's return led to a confrontation between the old rivals, with a battle of Rufo's evil magic against the clerical powers of his rival. Eventually, as he tried to escape in mist form, Kierkan was caught in a bellows by the dwarf Ivan Bouldershoulder and exposed to the sun outside the Edificant Library. So great was Rufo's power, he denied Deneir in Cadderly's face while bathed in sunlight. Cadderly's power, however, combined with the light of the sun, eventually destroyed Rufo as he himself destroyed the desecrated library.

Abilities
As a priest of Deneir, Rufo did not possess powers worth mentioning. As a vampire though, his physical and magical powers grew beyond imagination. Rufo gained inhuman strength and could change into greenish vapor in order to pass through tiny cracks in stone. A person would heed his command to come close against his or her will. Rufo could even assume the form of a bat. Even in his human form he could climb walls upside down, using the tiniest cracks for a handhold. He could summon a sphere of darkness to shield himself from light or to hide even better in shadows.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Cleric Quintet: Canticle • In Sylvan Shadows • Night Masks • The Fallen Fortress • The Chaos Curse