Krakout's Story

I feel that it is necessary to share with you my beginnings in this world, my mistake in joining the guild and my epiphany a few years later…

First I must tell you of the lands from where I come. In Bro’jeck, the lands of my birth, there were many thriving communities, much like here in Cosrin. Most of the lands were ruled by a king with an iron grip, he ruled through fear, from the capitol, Minore, in a very much anarchistic society. Many were kept as slaves, treated as a lower class, equal only to cattle. If you wanted something, then it was assumed that you would take it, if you could. There was little care for the life of another who was not kin. To look back we were little above animals.

I was the third son of a proud and mighty Giant warrior, to his second wife, a Human blacksmith. My father was the general of the king’s armies, and it was expected of me to learn martial skills, so learn I did. Physically I was no match for my, eventually, eight brothers, but by my 16th birthday, despite being considered the runt of the family, I was able to best them with most any weapon. And as such it was I who was picked to be my father’s first lieutenant. We had many glorious campaigns in the first year, securing all but a small corner of the lands for our king, and quashing several rebellions. I was becoming used to getting what I wanted when I wanted it and all seemed well, perhaps too well!

Early in to the next year we received reports of an army rising from the unconquered lands and “liberating” our territories. We were not slow to react and mustered a huge force to beat them down. Our journey to oppose them took many weeks, the lands of our king being that vast. Slowly more vivid accounts of the attackers came to light. A great army of unbeatable foes, crushing all in it’s path. As we grew nearer a meeting, the reckonings of the size of this army grew too, though we put more stock in the likelihood of confabulation, we did not wish to underestimate the enemy and swelled our ranks at every post. What we had not counted on however was that the enemy was an almighty undead horde, overflowing with the corpses of our dead comrades!

When we first sighted the opposition, several of our legions ran in fear. By this time we must have been outnumbered by at least 2 - 1, but we charged into battle all the same, knowing that if we could not stop them here, then it was unlikely that anyone else in the lands would survive! Furiously we all fought, but as we battled it soon became apparent that we were very likely to loose - every time we dropped two of their’s, we would loose one, good enough figures to win perhaps, but then all three would rise against us, making our situation even more grave. We soon had to retreat, replan, and launched small sorties to slow them down. It was agreed that we needed to stop the source of the Necromancy and then drop the force, for until then, any real attack would be pointless. My father led the majority of our forces in a full frontal attack, while I led a much smaller, yet highly skilled, force in a rear attack, where we hoped there would be less forces and an easier path to the true enemy. For many hours we all fought, then I caught sight of a young lady in the midst of the crowd, I would have questioned my sanity had her eye’s not glowed at that moment and alerted me to an unreasonable power within. I reasoned that she must be the necromancer behind this horde, but how had such a young person accumulated so much power and knowledge I wondered!

Fighting on towards her, I discovered that she had around her a vampire bodyguard. Moving in, we found them to be most troublesome, our metal weapons merely shredding their bodies, before they regenerated lost limbs and body parts with the blood from one of my kinsmen. They also had great strength, my brother’s torments when I was younger served me well there. The vampires actually took down more of my force than any of the previous army we had battled through! Eventually I forced my way through to the woman, who was casting another spell. As I looked upon her she seemed at times to be almost ancient, before glancing again to see this young lady. She muttered about being unable to stop her, that she had “existed for millennia and shall do so for a long time to come”, then targeted her spell towards me. I dodged it, one of my men was not so lucky. She threw several more in my direction, one of which I stopped with my sword, It melted and I had to revert to my trusty battle-axe! When I struck at her, she blocked with a staff, her strength beyond matched mine and she threw me back like I was insignificant. We fought like this for some time, me attacking, her blocking effortlessly and knocking me away, before in a lucky swing I hit a charm around her neck. It must have amplified her own power as many of the lesser undead dropped to the ground unsupported by the magic now and our greater forces rallied to destroy the remaining foes. She realized her vulnerability at this point and teleported out, her bodyguards morphed into various animals and escaped quickly.

The battle over, we assessed our losses, 80% of our troops had perished, including my brothers, and my father had sustained a serious wound. We headed back to the capitol unsure where the mysterious necromancer had gone and to raise a new force. We did not wonder too long where she had gone however, because once we approached Minore we realised she had beaten us home! There was little left of the city but ruins and dead bodies, those that had survived were racked with a terrible, painful disease, my mother among these. After doing what we could to make the survivors comfortable we set straight out after the remaining undead force. We didn’t really hunt them for revenge so much as pride, it was unknown that we could loose. We caught up with them on several occasions, now knowing our foe meant we were better able to deal with them and though we often lost men on our side, we too dwindled their number. We followed them for miles, even crossing the oceans to strange, unfamiliar lands, until there were only 4 guards and the necromancer her self left. I don’t know why but at this point they decided to make a last stand. We had no more than 18 men left ourselves. My father’s wound had healed somewhat by then, but still caused him great pain. While several of the men took on the vampires, my father, the remaining troops and myself tackled the mage. She again showed great strength and skill, holding all of us at bay, picking the men off one by one, until the only people standing were her, my father and me! We fought for sometime before she paused, cast a spell and then transmitted it down her staff to my father. He instantly displayed severe signs of the illness suffered by the others his wound turned gangrenous almost immediately and he fell to the floor crippled in agony. I fought on for many more hours, while my father died in excruciating pain. Slowly we both began to tire, and she managed to break my left clavicle. I began to swing my axe wildly with one hand and struck lucky with thudding blow into her ribs, where the axe lodged, I was unable to pull it free. I had penetrated half way into her body with that blow and used the last of my energy, if that was not enough, then I had lost. She started screaming, yelling that I had only destroyed her body, that she would still reap death across the world and suddenly an aura formed around her. It crackled and sparked like a thundercloud and then it arched at me and zapped what little reserve I had. As I collapsed and slowly faded into unconsciousness the aura floated out from the woman and away. The last thing I remembered is an innocent young woman pleading for me to help her.

I awoke several days later in a strange building. I could remember nothing. There was a man there, getting on in his years, who introduced himself as Brother Kadfail. He told me how he had found me on Tymore Hills, that everyone else was dead and he had almost taken me for dead too. He had brought me back to the guild and looked after me for days, applying pastes to my wounds and praying for my soul. I thanked him for his help and tried to set out to find who I was. I was yet still weak and Kadfail insisted I stopped for a while longer. Over the course of seven months I regained my strength and slowly, through techniques of meditation Brother Kadfail taught me, I remembered all that had happened. Soon I was insisting that I must try to find this spirit that had possessed the woman. And eventually Kadfail gave in, he offered to walk me up to the hills so as I might start my investigation from there. We had just left Moorgate when we heard screams coming from Darkwell Wood. Kadfail said we should check it out and since he had cared for me, I figured it was the least I could do. In a small opening a short way into the woods we found a little girl being approached by three big trolls. “We must save her,” The good brother said. I shrugged my shoulders, I had no weapon, I had lost it on the hills, so I quickly found a sturdy branch for a makeshift staff. Launching myself at the trolls I quickly stunned one and distracted the others, I signalled Kadfail to grab the child. With my atention elsewhere, one of the trolls clobbered me badly, I flew across the clearing into a tree. I had been out of practice for too long! I got to my feet and prepared for another attack, only to see Brother Kadfail approach slowly but with purpose, I was astonished, “he’s dead!” I thought to myself! However he had dispatched all three trolls in a matter of seconds, barehanded! We returned the girl to Moorgate and I considered what I had seen, an old man, unarmed, killing three trolls like they were harmless infants! I realised now what power monks held and figured if I could learn this power then the next time I met this spirit in human form I could destroy it totally! I learned from Kadfail of the quest to defeat the Dark Beast, I quickly finished the creature and joined the guild. I did not participate in any activities other than to train in my new skills. I was taught that as I increased in Spiritual Karma I would be able to harm less physical things and realised now I had chosen wisely, revenge would be mine soon and I would soon be able to prove our family unbeatable, restoring pride.

Then one day, when I had been in the guild for nearly 2 years, a strange monk approached me. He told me of how he was from Ikiurr, a monastic island within the lands of Bro’jeck, famed for the monk’s abilities to heal. My mother had been moved there and though they had done everything they could she was now dieing! Strange, but I had fought on as my father lay dieing at my feet, it had not bothered me, he had been struck down in battle, he would die a honourable warrior. Many of my friends, and all of my brothers, had died in the wars before, I had thought little of it, such is the path of life. Many of my friends had died before the wars, in land disputes, bar brawls and from offending passers-by, but that was our way, our custom. But now, perhaps I had been in the guild too long, as my mother lay dieing miles away, I suddenly felt upset. I actually thought of loss of my mother as a bad thing, something that shouldn’t happen. I returned to Ikiurr with the monk and nursed my mother until she passed away. I stayed on for another 6 years learning what it is to be a monk, that the power is tempered by the compassion. That the raw aggression I feel can be channelled to a fine tool.

I have returned now to serve as a useful member of our guild, I will still search for the spirit that lead me to these lands, but not for revenge, not for pride, simply so it cannot harm anyone else!

Krakout