Kuranes
From GURPSworld Wiki
Biography
Kuranes is a secretive and mysterious man. His boyish looks and pale green eyes hide hundreds of lifetimes. Often he can be heard making odd fluting noises and sometimes laughing seemingly to himself. He rarely ventures far from his secluded quarters at the Promethean Foundation. He is known in some circles as a collector of oddities. The weirder the items the more likely you'll see him at an auction for them, always sure to note the highest bidder.
The Story of Chet Porter
In 1934 Chet Porter was born to parents of Greek decent (Orren and Daphne Poulos) in Astoria, New York. When Orren heard his wife was pregnant, he decided to change the family name to give his child a better chance of success. He chose Porter. Besides being a strong name, also not too dissimilar from Poulos, it had a strong meaning, "gatekeeper"; his child would have the keys to unlock whatever doors challenged him.
Despite all the joy at his birth and his fathers well wishes, Chet spent his life as a terrible insomniac, experiencing unspeakable nightmares when he would eventually pass out from exhaustion. In utter desperation his parents sought a cure. After seeing many doctors, scientists, and outright quacks, the Porters gave up hope and ceased looking. Driven to despair Orren and Daphne were institutionalized shortly after Chet's sixth birthday, leaving him in the care of his maternal grandmother Helena.
Everything changed one day when Helena chanced upon an article ridiculing the art of meditation. The story instead kindled a new hope. At great expense Helena took her grandson to Texas where a man named Jose Silva promised results. After a month of intensive therapy and training, Chet went to sleep on his own, willing himself to sleep through autohypnosis. When he awoke he was disoriented and spoke in a language none could understand. Now and again as he spoke Helena could make out a few words in Greek although they sounded weird to her ears. Chet then did something she would remember the rest of her life.
He mumbled a song of sorts and did a small dance then spoke in Greek, the language she knew best, "I had almost forgotten your help, thank you". As he said this she couldn't help but notice that this child was speaking to her as an adult, with comprehension well beyond that of a six year old. Further, against her wishes, Chet's parents had raised him to speak only English. The next day when Chet woke he spoke in nonsense, a beautiful singsong nonsense. Helena cried out "Chet, what is happening to you?" He sang his song and danced his dance and again spoke to her in perfect Greek. He said "My name is Kuranes.". He got dressed and walked out the door, and she never saw the boy who was named Chet again.
Months later Helena got a call from Jose Silva, he had recorded what Chet had said upon waking that first day. A linguist had identified it as Ancient Greek. Stunned she asked about the nonsense he spoke the following day. Silva then told her that it was absolutely a fully formed language and in no way nonsense, although, it matched nothing known.