Dirth

Dirth is a character from the story series Morytania. He is a resident and the leader of Burgh de Rott and acts as the main character for the series.

Family roots
Dirth's ancestors have been living in Burgh de Rott for generations, and Dirth's ancestors were some of the only residents cured for the mutated Mort'ton virus which had plagued Burgh de Rott in the past and later returned. The cure given to Dirth's ancestors affected the following generations, and when the virus returned Dirth was immune to it ("Infection").

Early life
Dirth was born in Burgh de Rott, and his father was the leader of the village. During his youth, he witnessed the death of his brother Hirtho at the hands of the Theristika ("Murder in the Masses").

When his father grew old and knew he was soon to die he had to choose a successor for village leader, he initially chose James who was a year older than Dirth. His father had also felt he could not rely on Dirth after Hirtho's death and Dirth felt his father blamed him for it. Dirth, with the help of the Wanderer plotted to kill James during a walk through the swamp. They decided they would lure a shade from Mort'ton to kill him, which they seemed to accomplish. This event haunted Dirth for the rest of his life ("Dead Man Walking").

Later life
During much of his time as leader, not much change had happened, with the only notable event being his unsuccessful expedition with the residents through Mort Myre Swamp which resulted in the death of many. Since this event, Dirth has become a much more angry and cautious person, determined to save the life of anyone ("Welcome to Morytania").

As time progressed, Dirth became aware of an increase in Vampyre activity, with him picking up on the fact that Lord Drakan was watching them ("Murder in the Masses").

Dirth encountered many points of his past around this time. Firstly he was haunted by the spirit of Hirtho, who was in fact the reincarnation of notorious murderer Apoca Lypse. Hirtho had to be stopped by the Wanderer who used a powerful crumble undead ("Murder in the Masses").

Not long after, a man claiming to have once lived in Burgh de Rott arrived, with Dirth recognizing him to be James. James had survived by hiding in the swamp. The Wanderer did not interact with James, but Dirth constantly felt uneasy with him around, and eventually revealed the whole truth about the murder plot, which James already knew about. After hearing Dirth's side of things, James offered to make peace with him and the Wanderer. While walking through the swamp, a shade attacked James and killed him, mirroring the events of the past. James believed it to be another murder plot, which he continued to believe until dying to the distress of Dirth who was now unable to make peace ("Dead Man Walking").

The Vampyre attack
As Vampyre activity grew and grew, Dirth felt an attack was imminent. He also claimed to hear music in the night, which he recognized to be "The Last Shanty". Dirth believed it was a cry for help from Meiyerditch. The Wanderer also heard it, but instead believed it to be from Drakan. Eventually convincing the Wanderer to risk it all, they journeyed to Meiyerditch where they discovered a presumed dead group of the Myreque who had been hiding away in the Sanguinesti Region. As the Vampyres discovered their arrival, they planned to escape. Dirth and the Wanderer had to turn back to rescue Elle's young cousins who had been left behind. They managed to rescue them and return to Burgh de Rott. At the village, a swarm of Vyrewatch descended, which the villagers tried to fend off using flaming torches which led to a fire breaking out ("The Last Shanty").

Dirth was the first person to emerge from the wreckage a few days later, and helped rescue other survivors as well as successfully rebuild the village ("The Village That Burnt").

Deinoscorpio
For years, the Deinoscorpio had remained active yet quiet in Mort Myre Swamp. Dirth first had a proper encounter when he and Tamron accompanied the Wanderer into the swamp to monitor it, only to be captured by the creature. In the Deinoscorpio's burrow he also encounters the mysterious entity the Shadow. After managing to escape, Dirth and Tamron have their memories wiped of the events by the Wanderer ("Descent Into Darkness").

Personality
Dirth was for quite some time, a content man who had come to terms with the fact that he would probably remain in Morytania forever. After his failed expedition however he has become more determined, and now he has much more energy and hope within him. He values life as well as the company of others ("Welcome to Morytania").

Dirth is also known to be very uncomfortable inside due to his past actions and encounters, being seen incredibly sad and reduced to tears at times ("Murder in the Masses").

Dirth is not frightened of risking his life, and has shown extreme bravery at times ("The Last Shanty").