Player Name : Nicholas Knight
Character Name : Drekar Stormhowl
Gender : Male
Preferred Pronouns : He/Him
Class : Warrior
Age : Born in the spring of 245
Race : Ulven
Hair : Brown.
Eyes : Silver
Birthplace : Járnúlfur
Appearance : Silver eyed and fangless, Drekar can usually be seen sporting his pack colors if he isn’t in his chain.
Relationships: Son of Drakkon Ironhide and Stali Ironhide (formerly Stali Bloodfang), older sister Dreki Ironhide.
Rumors : – Has a silver tongue to match his silver eyes.
Backstory
My first memory is of the name “Stormhowl” being bestowed upon me. My mother claims the name came to her from Gaia, as my first cries resonated with the storm’s thunderous roars.
“Stormhowl, now that’s a name that’ll strike fear into the enemies!” A loud, booming voice rang out, followed quickly by a hearty laugh. This voice I would quickly come to learn belonged to my father. So began the high expectations placed on me by my father.
As soon as I was able to stand on my own, it was as if my father was preparing me for the training to come. At first, it started out as simple play fighting—giving me a toy sword and having me chase him—but the older I grew, the more it became like actual training. My father didn’t give me special treatment either; I don’t believe he held back a single moment. Many times I would return with a missing fang, though as they grew back, they became much more blunted, and eventually my “fangs” were no longer fangs. It wasn’t long after that that I made sure to avoid anything near my head, fearing what else I might lose.
Thankfully, I took to combat quite well, though my father would say that’s to be expected, being his son. Most of my time spent with my father was spent training or shadowing him in his day-to-day duties as pack leader, though there were times when I was left with my mother. My time spent with her was much different than with my father. To compare them would be to compare a storm to a gentle breeze. It was through her that I learned the love that I have for my pack, my craft, and Gaia.
One morning, as I was getting ready to see my father for more training, my mother beckoned me to her as she stood in the entryway of our home, looking down upon the village of Járnúlfur. “Come, child, look around you and tell me what it is you see.” Their voice was barely above a whisper. Quiet and withheld. Not unsure, but gentle like the dew on the morning grass.
Unsure how to answer, I couldn’t help but sheepishly say the first thing that came to mind: “Uhh, people?”
Where my father’s laugh is loud, thunderous, and typically draws all attention to him. My mother’s is much more tame. “Family, our people, our home… Do you know why I am reminding you of this?”
“To remind me what I’m fighting for?” I began to squint, trying to read her face, as this felt like odd timing for such a conversation.
“Yes, I want you to always remember your home… I will never forget mine, and I hope you never will either. May it give you strength in the days and trials to come.” Her tone when referring to home always felt sorrowful, but I couldn’t help but wonder why she chose now to talk about this. “Go on, pup; I’ve held you for long enough, and your father is waiting for you.”
As I made my way to my father, I couldn’t help but look back out of confusion and concern until finally I came upon my father and many other young ulven. I’ve seen this before. It all makes sense now—the worry of my mother and why she reminded me of our values. I, along with these other ulven, am unblooded and yet to prove ourselves. I’ve seen my father send many groups of unblooded warriors out with a veteran warrior to look after them. Now it was my turn.
As we all stood in line before my father, he began to walk down the line, eyeing each and every one of us. “Unblooded, a title given to those who have chosen the path of the wolf, the warrior… But they have not yet proven themselves in real combat. It’s time for you to shed this title like a winter coat and prove yourself to be worthy,” he paused, stopping dead center of the line before continuing with his usual speech, or so I thought. “Normally, we would send you out with a veteran, one who has claimed many trophies, an Iron Wolf… But this year my son will be accompanying you, and thus you need no Iron Wolf to guide you pups!”
Immediately all eyes were on me; the pressure was immense, and I couldn’t help but go wide-eyed in shock. He’s leaving these unblooded to me; who is also unblooded? Is this some sort of test? “Fa-” before I could speak, another voice expressed their concern. “Is that really okay? Even with a veteran, I’ve heard tales of sometimes not everyone making it back.”
My father smirked as if he were fully confident in me. I have no idea why he would be so confident; I’ve never done anything even remotely close to leading a hunting party! “That’s exactly why it’s okay, because all of you will return with trophies in hand! Now, you have until sunset to return… May her gift protect you.” And with that, he walked away, leaving us with our own thoughts. Though it wasn’t long before someone spoke,. “So, what’s the plan?”
I looked around, eyeing up what we had in terms of weapons. Varik with the dane axe, Luufi with a bow, Denal with two swords, then myself, and Astrid with shields. Not the worst combination, though I would have preferred another shield. Before I could complete my thought, another piped up, “I heard that if we don’t bring back a trophy, we get sent to Onsallas.”
“None of us are going to fail.” I interrupted. “Look, I’ll stay with Varik and Denal up front and hold their attention. Astrid, I want you to be with me, but as soon as you see anything eyeing up, Luufi splits off and protects them. Luufi, aim for the legs. A downed mordok should be easier to handle than a standing one. Varik you break their shields; open them up to Luufi.” A moment of silence fell on the group as I surprised even myself, but then again, all plans are easier said than done.
After some last-minute preparations, we headed out, looking at where the sun would be due to the cloud coverage. It was about midday, which left only a few hours left. It wasn’t long after leaving the Ironhide lands that we encountered some straggling Mordok, though for some reason they didn’t engage and rather fled. Though it wasn’t long after that, we discovered why, as a storm suddenly rolled in, and with it, the light of day seemed to almost vanish. We were now a hunting party of unblooded warriors looking to gather trophies in the dark and the rain, making the ground we walk on as unreliable as the Mardrun weather.
It wasn’t long until those same stragglers appeared again, but this time it wasn’t just two; we were now outnumbered six to five. The battle quickly ensued, and thankfully they had no archers, but sadly, everyone forgot the plan as soon as it started.
“ASTRID COVER LUUFI AND DAMMIT LUUFI, I SAID SHOOT THEIR LEGS!” I shouted, fighting the sound of the rain and thunder, as I felt my shield breaking at the mordok’s assault. Varik and Denal were struggling against one who slipped past me, but that’s when I heard it, almost as if they were cutting through the sound of the storm itself. Luufi’s arrows struck rapidly, though not quite true, but it was enough of a distraction to give us an opening.
The battle was over in a few moments, but those moments felt like ages as my shield arm began to grow numb from the assault. Four down, two more to go—the mordok. The original stragglers knew that if they stayed, they would have fallen, so they fled. “Luufi, stop them!” I shouted, turning to look at him, and that’s when I noticed he was out of arrows. Four bodies, five unblooded, and with the storm getting heavier, we needed to head back now, which leaves us with an issue.
“Who gets left out?” breaking the silence amongst us, Denal questioned. We were all questioning it, but before I could even respond, they began to argue. “I cut this one clean in half!”; “You wouldn’t have done it without my arrows stopping it from doing the same to you!”; “Yeah, well, you would’ve been minced meat if it wasn’t for my shield!”
I could feel my anger rising—how quickly they were ready to argue amongst themselves when we needed to get back to the village. Finally, the anger boiled over, and I shouted against the rain and the storm itself, “ENOUGH! I will go without! Now grab your damn trophies before I knock your fucking fangs out! WE ARE MOVING!” And with that, I began to walk back before anyone could say anything else. It was a long, quiet walk back. There were a few times Astrid attempted to speak to me, but I couldn’t have noticed. I was worried about what might happen now that I was returning empty-handed.
The day slowly turned into night as we reached the gates of Járnúlfur. It would seem we barely made it back. I took a moment to look at everyone who was already holding their trophies proudly. I wanted to say good job; I wanted to encourage them; I wanted to do something—anything a true leader would do—but all I could feel was shame that I returned with nothing. Slowly, the gates opened, revealing my father.
With arms stretched out as if preparing to hug us all, my father loudly shouts, “And so the unblooded return, or perhaps Járnúlfur new wolves… Turn in your trophies, and tomorrow we will have one of the daughters forge you your first armament, marking you as one of the Wolves of Járnúlfur and no longer unblooded.” We formed a line to do exactly that, and I decided to remain in the back in hopes that my disappointment would be handled in private.
“You should tell him the truth.” A faint whisper came from ahead of me, Astrid. “If it wasn’t for you yelling at the start of the fight, one of us, if not more, wouldn’t be here.”
“No… I should have pushed harder. Focused more on attacking than defending.”
“If you would’ve done that, who’s to say we all still would’ve made it?” Her response was stern and, surprisingly, cut deep. My failure allowed others to succeed.
Astrid stepped up to my father, holding her trophy aloft. The look of surprise and curiosity all at once appeared on my father’s face. It took him a moment before he collected his thoughts and spoke, “Astrid, we don’t normally take more than an ear or something small, so it may not encumber us, but depending on your answer, I may find bringing a whole arm back acceptable.”
“Well, I figured with how hard he was hitting my shield, it would be better to put those arms to my own use than to leave them there to rot.” Her words took me off guard, and I struggled not to laugh, and judging by his reaction, my father was the same.
“Good answer! Now go get yourself some rest!” He let out a hearty laugh as I approached. There was a moment of silence as I held on to nothing. I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eyes until, finally, the silence broke with a sigh.
“You’ve brought back nothing to show; what’s the reason for this?” His gaze felt like arrows trained on me, and his tone was that of disappointment.
“I didn’t fight hard enough; I hid behind my shield while everyone else did everything.” The silence fell once more. What will happen? I’ve never heard of someone returning with nothing. My mind began to race at all the possible things that could happen.
“Drekar, you claimed to have hid while others fought… You were sent in place of an Iron Wolf to assure their safety while also claiming your own trophy, not to hide behind others. For your failure, you will accompany the next shipment of materials to Onsallas, and there you will find your own path until you have proven yourself to Gaia and the Great Wolf. If I recall Stanrick owes me a favor, I’ll have him teach you a lesson in my stead.” And with that, he turned his back on me. Not that I can blame him in his eyes; I failed entirely, and even now I’m lying to him to save the others from such a punishment.
That night, it seemed even sleep turned its back on me, as I couldn’t get a wink of it. Perhaps because come morning I’d have to face them once more before being sent away. What a dreadful thought to fall asleep to; no wonder I couldn’t. Eventually I grew restless and gathered my things in preparation for my departure, finishing just as sunlight poured through the window and with it the sound of footsteps approaching my door.
“Drekar, the sun rises, and we must meet it, my son.” My father’s voice carried through the door. I wasn’t ready to face him, but I must.
My father and I went towards the gate, my mother and sister choosing to stay behind, feigning sickness instead of watching me be sent off. There, ready for departure, sat the next shipment and my punishment. “I already sent a hawk ahead to inform Stanrick of your coming; you should be put to work the moment you get there… I’m sure he’ll beat the fear out of you within a week’s time.”
This was it. As I boarded the shipment, I couldn’t help but look up the hill at my home. It was then that I saw my mother and sister standing outside watching, and I remembered her words, “Remember your home.” One day, I will return… And with that, I left without saying a word. For the next few days, everything was quiet as we made our way along the safe passage my great-grandfather created with the first of the Ironhide. Upon my arrival, it was discovered that the one I was originally appointed to, Stanrick Longfang, had gone missing, and the hawk sent by my father had never arrived. And with that, I was simply treated like a new recruit, someone to put to work, and put to work I was.
I saw the daily struggle the Longfang went through, the constant battle that many go through their lives not knowing, and I was thrown into the thick of it. For the next five years, I stood with them. Though I never truly stood out, nor did I ever feel like I was proving myself to Gaia and the Great Wolf… In fact, I forgot all about doing such; my only goal was to make sure no one standing beside me fell, though many times I failed to do so. With each battle fought and won, I found myself standing more proudly on the line, but eventually I began to worry if I was ever going to return to Járnúlfur. With this worry growing and eating up my thoughts every chance it gets, I went to Runeseer Aslaug for guidance.
“Runeseer… “Before I could finish my sentence, I was interrupted by the raising of a hand. “I know why you’re here, Drekar; your face says it all, and I will do my best to answer it, but I will not answer more than that.” She let out a sigh before continuing. “When you first came here, it was quite confusing, though you adjusted well, you listened, and you’re not stupid. Stupid gets you killed here, and obviously you’re not dead, so that says something. As for the reason you were sent here, I believe you are a fine warrior, but whether or not you’ve proven yourself to the gods isn’t my say. Your mother sent a message asking how you fare, and I told her the minimum: you live.”
“And my fa-,” the hand raises once more. “You already know the answer to that, but first let me speak. I believe you must feel yourself worthy to return, and with that, I believe you must leave and find your own path. In fact, I’m telling you to go, but know this: you are always welcomed amongst the Longfang; here you are one of us; here you are Drekar Longfang. Now, go before I change my mind and have you sit at the front gate for a week!” She pushed me out as she spoke; if anything, this led to more questions. What does she mean by my own path? Where do I even start? I guess anywhere is as good as any. I looked around at Onsallas; this place grew to feel like a second home. Perhaps one day I will return here as well.