Haruspex

Pathologic 2=

Artemy Burakh — also known as the Haruspex — is one of three playable characters, alongside the Bachelor and the Changeling.

Description
"The Haruspex is blood and organs... ...The Haruspex’s overarching idea is the interconnectedness of everything and restoring the connections... ...The Haruspex hears (rhythms)... ...The Haruspex: water + forward vector."

- [from the game’s design documents]

"The Haruspex, a butcher, a killer, one could even say a murderous psychopath, gets the warmest character arc. It’s about love."

- [from the game’s design documents]

Artemy is the son of Isidor Burakh, the Town's only physician and a menkhu - the spiritual leader of the Kin. Through the story, he is tasked with discovering a solution for the outbreak.

Background
During his childhood Artemy was friends with Grigory Filin (better known as Bad Grief), Lara Ravel (nicknamed Gravel) and Stanislav Rubin (more often called Stakh). Artemy claims that they used to disappear for weeks, enjoying their freedom in a way that children of the Town normally cannot, according to Khan. Artemy studied the steppe lore and medicine under Isidor's guidance, learning the fundamentals of surgery and herbalism, all closely tied to the Kin's perception of the world through the concept of the Lines - connections between things both of physical and spiritual nature.

At one point however Isidor came to a conclusion that it would do his son well to seek knowledge outside of the limits of the Kin and the Town, and sent him away to study medicine elsewhere. Artemy left his hometown for several years, and in that time he grew distant from his roots as a man of the Kin and started to see their ways as backwards. He had been studying surgery for some time until the war broke out, taking away his chance to graduate.

His unnamed mother was not from the Kin and died while giving birth to him.

Haruspex Route

 * → See Plot: Pathologic 2

At some point while studying Artemy receives a letter from his father, in which Isidor expresses great concern, warning his son of some great trial that awaits him, and urges Artemy to return to the Town. He stows away on a train headed there and, in the middle of September, returns home to find it changed beyond recognition.

Upon arriving in the Town Artemy is attacked by three men at the Train Station who believe that he is responsible for the murder of his father, Isidor Burakh. He must seek out the people in the Town who know him and would be willing to vouch for his innocence. He gains the aid of two of his old childhood friends - Lara Ravel and Bad Grief - but finds his relationship with Stanislav Rubin unsteady as he believes Artemy is guilty of the murder he is charged with. Finding his reputation crushed beyond the trust of a few friends Artemy finds himself lost. Through the help of his friends and with the unexpected aid of Big Vlad Artemy is able to restore his reputation and reconnect with his Town.

On the morning of the second day Artemy goes to see his father's body in the Cemetery. Unfortunately he discovers that the Earth will not accept Isidor's body as it is said that there is a debt still owned. Artemy is to take the burden of his father's legacy upon himself and allow Isidor's body to be buried. There is a possibility that he may refuse it instead, having his father's body burned. At the funeral awaits Aspity, who tells him of a list of children his father took care of. Artemy does not know why his father picked these children, and he does not know why a strange Steppe symbol called the 'Udurgh' was among his father's list.

While some of the children are in places Artemy cannot reach he is able to speak to Capella who tells Artemy that they were to become the Town's future and that is why Isidor taught and protected them. It then falls to Artemy's shoulders to continue to watch these children, doing all that he can to keep them safe - a task that becomes more difficult once the Sand Plague outbreak begins. The plague will begin to attack his List as soon as it is able to, knowing that it must destroy them in order to destroy the all important Udurgh. The plague often communicates with Artemy in the form of an Executor, coming to him in strange - often mocking - visions that disappear as quickly as they appeared.

For many days the identity of the Udurgh remains a mystery. Artemy may ask those who know the language of the Steppe to discover that they believe the word means "a body that contains the world", "something living that consists of many parts.". It is up to Artemy to interpret the meaning of the phrase and choose for himself what he believes the Udurgh is.

It is Artemy's responsibility to use his Menkhu knowledge, passed to him from his father, to aid in stopping the Sand Pest outbreak. Artemy knows that his father once created medicines by mixing herbal tinctures and human tissue. He may test a number of infected human tissues but they will always end just short of his goal, providing only an antibiotic that can slow the disease instead of a Panacea that can eradicate the disease completely. Artemy may discover that bulls are immune to the Sand Pest during a sacrifice at the Ragi Barrow and decide to test the claim. The claim is true, but useless, as the two types - bull and human - are incompatible. As no human can survive the disease long enough to be of use and bull antibodies do not transfer well into human blood in order to extract the antibodies needed to fight the Sand Pest Artemy believes that he will need a creature that by all accounts shouldn't exist: a half man, half bull - a minotaur. Should his experiments bring results and he is able to sleep on his thoughts, he will be able find a Panacea by travelling to the Ear in Shekhen, the abandoned steppe village. The cure works, though its quantity is severely limited. Later with the aid of Oyun he is able to venture into The Abattoir and discover the coursing living blood that can provide for the Panacea. He discovers that beneath the town courses this blood, as the Earth is alive and the Plague is its pain.

During the outbreak Artemy is tasked with reuniting himself with the Kin and becoming a leader to them, bringing them together as a whole. He may choose to return the Kin once living inside of the Termitary to Shekhen. It is through their union that he may ask the Kin a number of questions and discover who killed Isidor Burakh and, more importantly, why.

In the later days Artemy is to obey the commands of two new players - the Inquisitor and the General. As one of the few doctors in the Town he becomes crucial to stopping the plague and, by extension, he becomes vital to the two player's goals. Alongside the Inquisitor Artemy determines that to save the Town and destroy the Plague the Polyhedron - who's spike he discovers buried mere meters from the Earth's living, beating heart - must be destroyed. If the Polyhedron is destroyed the Earth will die but the blood that will seep from the ground will be enough save the survivors of the Town. This choice, however, is not the only choice. If the Polyhedron is to remain the Earth will continue to live and those close to the Earth will be immune to the Sand Pest. This choice will also return magic to the Steppe, summoning the great Auroch's - once believed to be extinct - back to the Town.

It is prophesied a number of times during the week following his return that Artemy is to spill a river of blood, and that he will drown the Town with it. As the end grows closer it becomes more and more obvious what such a premonition may have been referring to.

On Day 11, Artemy is given the choice to destroy (Diurnal) or preserve (Nocturnal) the Polyhedron, which will either provide the blood needed to cure the town and create a future, or allow the Plague to continue, allowing the Earth to reclaim her domain. The two choices - past and future - are incompatible and something must be lost. It is here where he must decide what he believes the Udurgh, and by extension his father's task, truly was.

Pathologic: The Marble Nest
"If only I knew whether he'd made that "panacea" of his..."

In The Marble Nest, it is revealed that Artemy perished sometime before the tenth day of the outbreak. The vial of Panacea that the Bachelor retrieves from the drugstore (formerly Var's shop) is the only one produced before Artemy's death. The Bachelor is unable to bring it from the store, as there is a guardsman who will take anything that he retrieved from the store, and smuggling it out the back window will result in it breaking.

Given the nature of The Marble Nest, as well as the implication in Pathologic 2 of the various "attempts" to perform their play, this is likely not Artemy's ultimate fate.

Spoken Dialogue

 * → See Haruspex/Spoken Dialogue

Description
"How do they call upon the menkhu, the faithful of a Warden kin? Known by their hands, for they are butchers; known by their eyes, for they are surgeons; they who follow the lines; they who are the leaders of the Kin; they who speak to udurghs; they who know the secret art of haruspicy. What is a haruspex? Reading the future in the entrails, he knows that a body bears semblance to the Universe. His scalpel follows the lines of the body; his steps follow the lines of his kin's fortune. A haruspex that can tell a true line from a false one is entrusted with power. A haruspex who is confused by his path gets buried into the deep black flesh of the Earth. This is the story of a person who has avoided the contradiction eager to rip a doomed life apart, masterfully fulfilling his true purpose in the process."

Artemy is a severe, restrained man with a sharp gaze. He tells rough, even cruel jokes and is generally sarcastic. Those that fear him think he smells of blood. However, for all that, Artemy is straightforward, honest, and comes to the rescue in times of need. He uses violence only when it comes to matters of duty and honour—and the smell of blood is relative. In fact, one of the herb brides says Artemy smells "like autumn earth, and the smoke of burnt leaves."

Big Vlad describes Artemy as follows: "He stands out from the crowd, my friend... You will know him at once. He is quiet—unlike the others... and has a Steppe phenotype. There's a deep wrinkle on his forehead. He'll wear protective garments... I bet they'll be stained... with blood."

Background
"Artemy Burakh is coming back to his home town after an absence of ten years. Born to a family endowed with a caste right to cut living beings open, he was preparing himself for this line of work since childhood. Artemy's father, Isidor Burakh, a wise man and philosopher well-respected by the locals, had admitted to the limits of traditional knowledge and sent his son off to study modern medicine in the academy. Artemy has been travelling from town to town learning theoretical and practical surgery for several years now. Suddenly a mysterious letter appears with his father giving him notice of his impending demise and begging Artemy to return and accept succession. Unwilling to wait for a regular freight train, Artemy follows the rails through the Steppe until he's caught up with by a small shunt locomotive. This is how young Haruspex arrives in the Town."

- "Sacrifice" Route Introduction

Artemy Burakh; a haruspex, an oynon, and the only heir to the greatest local shaman: Isidor Burakh. He is a member of a menkhu family, which according to local custom gives him the ancestral right to dissect bodies.

He left the Town-on-Gorkhon at the age of 16 to study surgery at the Capital. He's been defined as a "vagrant scholar"—indeed, Artemy has lived in more than a few places while learning medicine, prior to his return home at his father's request. Not much else is known about Burakh's background, and it is probably safe to assume that Artemy does not remember much of it himself.

Gameplay Abilities
Unlike the other two playable characters, the Haruspex begins with no starting or special weapons, and only can use what is obtained during the game. Artemy is the only playable character who can take organs from dead bodies, as in local tradition only "Those Who Know the Lines" (menkhu and butchers) may dissect bodies. He can trade said organs with the hunchback for medical supplies. He can gather herbs as well, and unlike the other playable characters, may trade them with Worms. Both organs and herbs may be also be useful for making healing tinctures in the distiller inherited from his father.

The Haruspex can also gamble on rat racing or fight in the Circle of Suok for rewards.

Bachelor Route
The Haruspex is initially elusive, only appearing in the accounts of others until several days have passed. The Bachelor hears both that he is accused of murdering his father, and that his benefactors believe he is innocent.

The Bachelor requires his assistance in retrieving a Living Heart for his Vaccine, so breaks him out of prison, where he has been arrested on the orders of Alexander Saburov. The Haruspex is focused on his own goal of creating a Panacea, but agrees to help. Later, he can be found in the Termitary working on his Panacea.

Haruspex Route

 * → See The Haruspex's Route

Artemy's main objective is to fulfill the obligations of his father. His route is called The Path of Sacrifice.

Because he is an oynon, or sage, he cannot afford to allow the dead of his family to have outstanding commitments. If they do, he shall be divested of the right to his title. The Haruspex relies upon the traditions and wisdom of his ancestors; he is a menkhu first of all, no matter how long he lived in the Capital.

He strives each day to create a Panacea, in the hopes of being able to cure the Sand Plague, and believes that the future of the town rests on the survival of those that are Bound to him. Whether or not this is the case is dependent on one's disposition.

Changeling Route
The Haruspex works to take up his role in the Kin, while avoiding pursuit by the Bachelor and the suspicion of Alexander Saburov. The Changeling is able to help clear his name with her adopted father, or implicate him.

The stakes in his rivalry with the Bachelor increase over time. This often toes the line of deadly, with the two of them attempting to find the other's whereabouts each day. The Changeling is able to help or hinder the Haruspex as she chooses. The Haruspex is also willing to reward the Changeling with Panacea for revealing her sister's daily hideouts.

Spoken Dialogue

 * → See Haruspex/Spoken Dialogue