“A solitary Man”
by
As a young man, Val’s parents sent him to the
Military academy of Xzax. Upon his graduation, he and several of his classmates
started a mercenary band and gained fame and fortune. The original leaders of
the private army eventually fell into disagreements on whom they should work
for and what they should fight for. The three leaders then decided to split the
army into equal thirds and go their own way. Valraven took his portion and
headed to the east. He found work for the kingdom of P’ruk and gained favor in
the court and the title of a nobleman. Sir Valraven Palindrake was soon
stripped of all his wealth, status and belongings when the kingdom of P’ruk
fell to the Mizrak Empire. Most of his mercenary band were tortured and killed.
Val then turned his talents to silent attacks
and assassination. He vowed to wage a private war against the Mizrak Empire
until he had dispatched twice as many of them as they had of his own men. It
took him nearly two years to accomplish his end.
During that time, he had met and fell in love
with a Mizrak maiden named Sotash. She was a plain women, but full of life. She
knew of Val’s vendetta against her own people, but loved him still. After he
completed his personal mission of death, he gathered Sotash and left the land
of his home for the last five years for realms unknown.
After months of searching, the pair found a
small hamlet called Endor. It was away from any major road or river and mostly
self-sufficient. There weren’t many attacks by monsters, goblins or the like.
Within six months, Val and Sotash had moved into their own house and Val began
to raise cattle. They had twin girls six months later, Reanla and Krysa.
Nearly five years later, Val was out checking on
his cattle late one night and saw a large creature move in the woodline nearby.
Even though he had not fought in over five years, he had trained every day and
was, therefore, in good shape. He drew an arrow from the quiver on his back and
notched it on his bow. Over the last month there had been several attacks on
his, and some of the surrounding farmers livestock. Val had hoped that the
creature had left, but he wasn’t so sure now. Last night, one of his calves had
been eaten. All he could find was the head. Tonight, he was sure the animal was
back. He had spent the day preparing. All of his arrows had been sharpened, and
his faithful Katanna sword had been coated with poison. As long as it was an
animal, and not a mystical creature, Val was as prepared as he could be.
A flash of movement caught his eye and he
stealthily headed for the woodline. Faster than he had ever seen anything move,
a bear attacked him from the woods. He barely had time to raise his bow. The
animal recoiled as the arrow sunk deep into its chest, but not before biting Val
on the left shoulder and raking its claws across Val’s chest. Val drew his
sword when the animal retreated slightly. They stared at each other and the
bear ran back into the forest, a
few drops of blood the only proof that it had been there. Val decided to track
it in the morning, and began to return home. Sotash found Val the next morning
in the pasture; cold and wet from the nights rain, but alive.
She managed to wake him, and though delirious
with fever, he helped Sotash get him home. He was laid up for three days while
his wounds healed and the fever dissipated. On the third day, he awoke and
tended to the cattle as though nothing had happened. The bear that had attacked
him had not been seen again. He attempted to track it, but the trail had gone
cold and he could find nothing but a few broken branches to mark the way.
The following two weeks were building up toward
the twins’ birthday. They were turning five and it was going to be a wonderful
occasion. On the day of the party, the house was decorated and the neighbors
and their children were over with gifts. The twins were laughing and playing,
their golden manes flying as they twirled round and round. The party was a
resounding success and the children had enjoyed themselves so much that they had
fallen asleep before the sunset. It was the middle of summer and the days were
longer. Val and Sotash spent the afternoon as well as part of the evening
before sunset cleaning up and making sure the girls were sleeping well.
The happy couple sat outside to watch the sunset
and sip on a glass of cider. Sotash commented that tomorrow was a full moon and
Val suddenly grew concerned. Though he did not know what for. He shrugged off
the feeling as extra energy because of the party and sat with his wife watching
the sunset.
Val woke up the next morning in the a field near
his home. He looked around, confused, trying to figure out why he was lying in
the field, naked and covered with blood, but by all appearances unscathed.
Looking around, he noticed a calf that was mutilated. He knew that he was not
far from home and headed that way. What he found when he got there horrified
him more than anything he had ever seen in battle.
On the front porch, the last place he remembered
seeing his wife alive, lay his beloved Sotash. Obviously dead. Her throat had
been opened from one end to the other and so deep that he could see her spine.
He knelt down beside her and inspected the wound. It was not a bladed weapon.
But the instrument of death--whatever it might have been- was very sharp, and
the force behind it immensely strong. Looked like an animal attacked her. But
where was he at the time? Why had he been in a field a league away?
The door to the house had been smashed in.
Splintered as though it were but few matches held together with nothing more
than spittle. He ran inside, screaming his children’s names. When he found
them, he could do nothing but hold them to his breast and cry. First Reanla,
then Krysa. He cried over each of them for an hour. He eventually regained enough
composure to dress himself and begin digging the graves. That took him most of
the day. He buried his wife and children in separate graves, marking them with
a memorial stone.
Over the next two nights, Val would black out at
sunset, and not wake up until a few hours after sunrise. It did not take him
long to piece together what was happening. The "bear" which had
attacked him those weeks ago had not been a bear at all, but a large werewolf.
The lycanthrope had infected Val and now, on the night before, of, and after a
full moon, Val would transform into a werewolf himself. On his first night, he
had murdered his family. The second and third nights he had done nothing more
than steal away a few of his own cattle.
Knowing that he now had a month before his next
period of lycanthropy, Val sold everything he owned, told the story that his
wife and kids were already on there way to their new home and left town within
a matter of days. But not before retrieving his long stored battle gear. He was
looking for one specific item, an enchanted silver net that a seer told him he
would need one day. Now he travels the realms, helping those in need, working
for those whose cause is just, and punishing those who cannot be touched by
others.
The first thing he does when entering a new land
is to find a secluded spot where he can hide away during the night. Then, on
the days that he is going to change, he goes to that spot and secures himself
in an enchanted silver net so that he may not roam the countryside and harm any
innocent beings. Once his nights of change are completed, he moves on so as not
to make any ties or relationships. For the ones closest to a werewolf are often
its first victims.
