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haruspicis) wrote2026-01-20 09:50 am
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Artemy Burakh (Артемий Бурах)
Pathologic
A surgeon, a butcher, a ripper, a son.
Artemy Burakh returns to his hometown after seven years after receiving a letter from his father, only to find his father murdered and the Town slowly being strangled by a mysterious plague and a people who barely seem familiar anymore. While attempting to process the death of his father and the burden of his legacy, Artemy finds himself thrown together with two other healers, a Bachelor and a Changeling, and together, they attempt to make sense of and cure this deadly plague.
- Enduring
- Brave
- Determined
- Gentle
- Supportive
- Compassionate
- Practical
- Intelligent
- Resourceful
- Curious
- Frugal
- Obsessive
- Sensitive
- Reticent
- Overly critical
- Sarcastic
- Overworks
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Trained from a young age, Artemy learned about the herbs, the tinctures, the rituals, but when he was barely 20 years old, his father forced him to leave the only world he's ever known to study medicine outside of the Town, effectively exiling him until he learned enough to be able to return. Always the dutiful son, Artemy did attend medical school and excelled in it, set to graduate when the revolution and subsequent civil war resulted in his being drafted into service, thus delaying or denying him his graduation. Artemy then served as a field medic for the army, while also being trained to fight. It was during this time that he received a letter from his father asking him to return to the Town.
The war made that difficult, as railways and whole trains were either being sabotaged or requisitioned for the war effort, but he finally manages to find passage on a freight train heading back to the isolated town. On arrival, he's accosted by three men who believe he is a murderer, and in self-defense, he kills them. Once inside the town, he learns that his father is the man who was killed the night before and that the Town is up in arms attempting to find the man responsible.
To add more grief and tension to all of this, Artemy soon discovers that the citizens of the Town, Kin and Russians alike, are being afflicted and killed by a mysterious plague that no one knows how to cure. He meets two others, the Bachelor and the Changeling, who, through their own unique methods, are also attempting to save the people of the Town and Artemy joins them with his own skills and talents while also rediscovering his roots as one of the Kin.
- Has never eaten a strawberry
or raspberry - Mapped his hometown as a child
and created secret little caches of
trinkets; he's forgotten where
most of them are - Has held a rifle only once and never
wants to touch another - Is allergic to cats
Surgeon Though he is called by some a "medical school drop out", Artemy did complete the majority of his education in medical school and only "failed" to graduate because he was drafted into the war as a field medic, thus preventing him from finishing the degree. He is a good diagnostician and doctor in his own right, but where he truly excels is in surgery, where he's been described as having "golden hands". Steady, sure, and skilled, Artemy can work miracles with anything, partly due to his education but also from his need to learn how to handle emergencies on the battlefield where he doesn't have access to all the resources that would be found in a hospital or a clinic.
Herbalist Having grown up in the shadow of the Steppe and often venturing into it as a child, Artemy is familiar with the various herbs and plants that grow both in the town and in the Steppe beyond. The most common of these herbs are called twyre and are separated into 3 types based on color, and there are 3 rarer herbs that Artemy is aware of. In various combinations, they can be turned into tinctures that can heal, provide immunity, ease symptoms, and assist with diagnosis. The tinctures themselves are difficult to tolerate and will cause pain or distress with overuse, so Artemy is careful with dispensing them.
Menkhu In his people's language, menkhu means "Those Who Know The Lines", and is a special title granted to spiritual leaders in their community. Menkhu are, by the laws of the people, the only ones allowed to "open bodies" as in their culture, breaking skin is forbidden and therefore most sharp objects are outlawed. Aside from autopsies, however, menkhu are the only ones allowed to perform surgery. The spiritual nature of the role, and specifically The Lines, are parts that Artemy still struggles with as he has been away from his people for a long time, but he sees The Lines now, and believes in their power.
Alternative Label Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s.