What do we know about the man known as Bacchus? Some worship him as a god while others remember him as an ancient Malkarnen monarch. The fact that he was a king is indeed recorded in history providing you known exactly where and how hard to look. One such text I was fortunate to purchase off a scoundrel known as Venn Levan who assured me that he had personally plucked the work from a burning building, when the Scum recently sacked Londinium.

I feel that before I go on I should point out that although I call him King in this account, Bacchusâ gender is not easy to decide. Some historical accounts actually list Bacchus as a women and one ancient text, a poem by a bard known as Philanthius, refers to Bacchus as the fairest Queen Malkarn ever had. Whether this was meant as a compliment or a parody I simple cannot tell. Yet it certainly sows doubt as to the truth of what we know about Bacchus.

Alas although the name Bacchus is recorded in many places, little else is known about Bacchus the King. No exact dates are given for when he ruled although it is obvious that this was in a period pre AF. We can gain little information from the Church of Bacchus, who guards its secrets with fanatical vigour. Fortunately sages specialised in the fields of religion and theology have pieced together the occasional slipped secret and agree with this time scale and place Bacchus and his exploits before the creation of the Heartlands.

Most accounts of Bacchus also speak of his companion and bodyguard, Senilius. Little is known about Bacchusâ mysterious companion or where he came from. One common fact is present in all of the descriptions given of Senilius in various folk stories. Each and every story describes him as a half goat and half man, the classic definition of a member of the Fey called a Satyr, one of which I was luckily enough to see first hand in Albion earlier this year. Yet, could not Bacchus himself also have been a member of the Fey? Even the lay follower of the Church of Bacchus knows of his playful antics and childish ways. With what we have seen from the return of the Fey this certainly coincides with their behaviour. We also see further coincidences between Bacchus and the Fey; both are well documented as having a fanatical hatred of undead and believe in some form of reincarnation. Coincidence perhaps, after all if you mix with Fey you are certain to pick up a thing or two. Yet, one more piece of evidence presents itself to possible aid this case. Certain Fey have been known to have animal characteristics that present themselves every now and again. A story I remember from my own childhood when, like many, I was brought up to the background of the religion of Bacchus, talks of Bacchus having a the ability to bring about a change to his appearance so that he took on the characteristics of a Lion. Although some may say that this alone is not evidence that he is a Fey, after all, beastmen possess a similar ability, we are not looking at this one fact alone. This combined with all of the other evidence suggests that there a strong possibility that Bacchus was Fey.

Bacchus is certainly remembered as a brave king. One story tells of how he singled handily charged a group of Titans who had downed a group of his soldiers. Legend says that the Titans ripped his body apart and that all that remained was his still beating heart. Yet this was not to be the end of Bacchus, somehow he returned from this defeat at the hands of the Titans. Some say he rose from the plane of the dead, corrupting his pattern as he forced his way back to the land of the living. Although the church of Bacchus refuse to give their account of how Bacchus survived destruction at the hands of the Titans, they do however refuse to accept his pattern has ever been corrupted. A text that was formally preserved by the Mages guild does possibly shed some light on the situation. A master mage who claims to have mentored Bacchus in the ways of Magic talks of his pupil possessing a powerful regenerative power that would save him from even the most deadliest of wounds. Perhaps this is how Bacchus survived that day, or perhaps the Church of Bacchus hides a very dark secret indeed.

Bacchus was certainly not immortal and did eventually die. Yet history does not record any of his line taking power after his demise, a very strange occurrence indeed. My first assumption was to assume that a rival royal household grabbed power from Bacchus and forced his descendants to become outcasts. Upon further investigation of the matter I came across an account talking of the harshness of the world after the demise of Bacchus. At first I thought that this was the proof I needed for an outsiders garb for power. On further reading of this text I discovered this was not the fact. The account talked of a time when Malkarn was in chaos not due to a non-benevolent king but rather than the total absence of a king. There was no one to take over as Monarch when Bacchus died.

The mystery of where his household and children went is one that I have not yet solved. Like so much surrounding Bacchus much information has been hidden or muddied by the Church of Bacchus, in its fanatical obsession with secrecy. Another great mystery is the location of the king's grave. Surely the Church of Bacchus would know the location of such an important religious place. Yet if they do they certainly aren't letting the lay follower know. Some insist that Bacchusâ hatred of the undead would have insured his corpse was burnt, something fundamental to the Church of Bacchus. Even if that was the case we can be certain that a man as important as a king would have been honoured with at least a shrine.

One possibility is that the shrine did exist and that it was lost underwater when the great floods came. This is backed up by an account I have already spoken of. The same man who spoke of the chaos surrounding Malkarn without a king also spoke of his visit to Bacchusâ shrine. He spoke of a magnificent shrine made of white marble decorated with but a single phrase:

"He was never to be found where he was but always here, there, and nowhere at the same time".

Perhaps one day that shrine will be found and we will know for certain the truth about Bacchus. Was he man or woman? Was he man or Fey? Was he man or abomination? Was he man or god?