Kas the Bloody-Handed

 was the vampire lieutenant of Vecna and the original wielder of the Sword of Kas.

The History Known to Ioun
A century before the Calamity, the archmage Vecna achieved lichdom, amassed followers and undead forces, and with them disappeared into the Shadowfell, where they conquered the city of Thar Amphala and there built a tower called Entropis that served as his base. From there Vecna exploited the Celestial Solstice, a merging of ley energies, that gave him the power to open portals at a whim, so that his forces could strike with precision and retreat to Thar Amphala before retaliating forces could muster. Thus he overcame some old enemies and forced them to bend the knee, at which time he slew them and raised them as undead to serve him. One such rival, Kas, was offered vampirism in exchange for fealty as a Vecna's chief lieutenant, and Kas accepted.

Vecna forged for Kas a relic blade with a fraction of Kas's consciousness. In the months of terrorizing Vecna's enemies that followed, he became Kas the Bloody-Handed.

Then, Vecna's foes figured out how to reverse-engineer the Celestial Solstice. Just as Vecna was attempting to ascend to godhood with the Ritual of Seeding atop Entropis, a holy army led by Yos Varda attacked Thar Amphala. Yos Varda climbed Entropis and fought Vecna directly. Vecna defeated Yos Varda but was winded by the effort, and as Varda lay dying, Kas attacked Vecna with that gifted blade in an attempt to usurp the lich. The ensuing battle destroyed them both: all that remained of Vecna were his left eye and left hand, and all that remained of Kas was in that blade.

Notable Items
Sword of Kas