Name
Dragna; The Ghostwolf of Southern Centripax; Claw of the Hidden City
Race
Human, Outlander
Age
Mature Adult (32 Ordinations)
Physical Description
Dragna is freakishly tall for a human at seven feet seven inches. Hirsute, with a dark complexion, his imposing countenance is further amplified by a wicked scar that ravages his throat and left facial hemisphere, though in recent years he's grown a wild black beard and long mustache to hide most of it. The jackal which caused these scars in his infancy also robbed him of his voice and stole one of his eyes. He usually covers his open left socket, which only accentuates the emotive importance of his surviving eye, a soft blue than grays or greens depending on mood and surroundings. He favors drab colors and bolter (deer) hides.
History
Dragna was born to an outland tribe of arid plains nomads. They were an isolated people influenced heavily by totem spirits, ancestral dead and the primeval Mother figure. One in their number, the widow Sutshe, fiercely believed in these supernatural elements and whatever she or the elders deemed portents. However, the most outstanding omen she ever experienced was also the one which she forever rued, come about when she left her infant in order to fetch water. Lacking the advanced building of the empire, the nomads lived in collapsible tee-pees which were often packed and moved across the plain. Unchecked, a jackal stalked into camp and found its way into her son's crib. When Sutshe returned, she discovered her son's throat half-torn and his left eye missing. In a protective frenzy, she pounced on the jackal and ripped its own throat out. Then she rushed her baby to the elders, who miraculously saved him.
From then on Dragna was seen as a marked child, though the tribe could not decide whether cursed for being attacked or blessed for living. It didn't help that he grew to abnormal proportions for any man, seven feet seven inches. For thirty long eras he lived an uneasy life of stares and whispers, with only his mother's love to guide and protect him.
One night, a jackal entered camp and stole a baby girl from Dragna's neighbor. She was not as lucky as the giant and found dead two brightenings later. The father grew irate, blaming Dragna for attracting the evil spirit. The next night, Dragna was dragged out of his bed and beaten close to death by the little girl's father, uncles, and brothers. Eventually, at Sutshe's begging, the elders stepped in. As the giant slowly recovered, rumors spread he was to be banished, perhaps even stoned. Sutshe begged him to leave for safer lands. Dragna agreed, truthfully having pondered leaving for many eras.
Thus he set out in the dead of night with his mother's blessing, a small cache of rations, a cheap dagger, and his preserved eye as a charm for strength. He stole, stalked, and suffered his way into the Dolwoods where he grappled with a new life in the forest.
His experiences were dangerous and varied during an era in the Dolwood. First was the initial shock of foraging, hunting and building shelter in a completely alien environment (
House of the Elements). He also had a few close calls with several Dolwood inhabitants, including branch-breakers (bears) and howlers (wolves). He even embarked on a long hunt to slay a crazed and murderous howler, what he thought of as his true rite of manhood (
Grandfather Wolf). That same winter Dragna defended his home against dwarven slash-and-burn farmers, killing all but one as warning the Dolwood is off limits (
The Long Night). He'd suddenly found a new purpose besides simply surviving day to day, that of guardian.
One era later a dwarf named Cosiah Brimstone came hunting for Dragna, who many dwarven farmers in Southern Centripax were fearfully calling Ghostwolf (
O Little Hunter). A dangerous and desperate game of cat and mouse almost saw Dragna's end, but he managed to escape, falling through a sink hole which emptied into a series of caverns below the Dolwood.
Trapped in the self-labeled Underworld, Dragna was frantic to find a way back to the surface. After some excruciating time alone and lost, squeezing through passages by his fingers and toes and fighting off giant spiders, his situation grew even more dire upon discovering a group of vysstichi explorers (
Jackal Moves). While attempting to find the underground route from Herozzal to Primus Gaudeo, the dark elves were also lost. Dragna saw potential guides for his escape and secretly followed behind, or so he thought. The dark elves laid a trap and the giant fell for it, ending up a prisoner and a slave.
Though some wanted him dead, Dragna was used as part of a cruel joke between two rivals and kept alive, stumbling blindly through the unknown passages to insult the vyst scout. After days of roaming, they encountered a long-lost splinter sect of vysstichi painted in blood and commanding untold numbers of mud-skin goblins. The Herozzali, and Dragna with them, were forced to fight for their lives, losing one in the process.
Having gained the trust of some of the elves, and proving his worth in a fight, the vysstichi allowed him to remain unfettered. A loose member of their group, Dragna continued on with budding feelings for a dark elf princess named Charis. They were intercepted by a second, larger horde of goblins and bloods that resulted in the death of three other Herozzali. In the chaos, their group was split, and Dragna forced to flee with a cowardly bodyguard and the wounded Charis (
A Devil On Either Shoulder). Lost and outnumbered, the trio explored the further caverns trying to somehow reunite with the rest of the party.
They stumbled upon the epicenter of blood power, a long-forgotten trade post that marked the ancient path between Herozzal and Primus. They did their best stealthing through the outskirts of the base, but eventually wound up caught. Trebor, once Charis's bodyguard, betrayed them for his own life and damned them to the whim and abuse of the bloods, who the trio had discovered were devote Rakians. Their high blood, a nameless elf with nothing but malice in his stare, subjected Charis to public, repeated rape while Dragna was forced to watch. And the culmination of the humiliation and horror saw Dragna, possessed by an unclean entity known as Brak, rape his beloved. During this prolonged agony, the giant was mentally and spiritually obliterated. In the emptiness he came into contact with his animal spirit, the very same creature that had caused him so much suffering: the Jackal.
Through a heavily one-sided deal, Charis bargained their freedom and soon met up with their former group mates. Together they completed the journey to Primus, drained and wounded, rising in the Hidden City (
The Legend of Tom Barber). If any good came of the bloods' atrocities, it was that Charis and Dragna had formed a wordless bond, sharing in their mutual grief and somehow drawing strength from one another in its wake.
In Primus, the group made for the Temple of Haya, though Dragna was quickly steered to the stables. Already overwhelmed by horrible memories, primal spirits and what could be love, Dragna had to compete with the urban jungle. Fate found him a proper guide, an unlikely surrogate mother by the name of Rose. However not even the caring halfling could protect him from the webs of dark elves and the cruelty of men. Dragna ended up kidnapped while defending Charis and bound in the clutches of a devil of a man named Tom Barber. After being subjected to all sorts of physical and personal tortures, Rose broke him free, where he proceeded to lead tanners alongside Rose and Preyth against the barbers. After killing his tormentor Tom, he was titled a name he truly embraced, Dragna the Claw.
A month later, finally conscience after recouping from grievous wounds, Rose explained the Herozalli were secretly involved with the kidnapping, wanting Charis to be captured so as to flush out their enemy. All his pain and suffering and for what? Dragna realized he'd gone as far as he was willing to go with the dark elf company, said goodbye to his little mother and only real friend, and abandoned his hopes for love with Charis.
He went looking for a new life.
One era later, despite warnings, Dragna braved the Arakmat in winter (
House of the Suns and Moons). He regained his humility far too late, trapped in the wastes with thinning supplies. However, a tiny representation of himself manifested on a rock, intent on helping him survive. Believing it a vision guide sent by his ancestors, Dragna and his Little Self ventured across the deserts...
Ghostwolf
Legend Title: Ghostwolf
Location: The shallows of the Dolwood and nearby settlements, limited to Southern Centripax.
Recognized by: Massive height, one eye, wild beard and hides, use of the atlatl, and a wolf's head mantle.
Description: After Dragna killed all but one of a group of dwarven farmers using slash-and-burn methods to clear shallow parts of The Dolwood, a grim image was burned into the survivor's memory forever. Since Dragna had come out to face the farmer wearing the head of the Grandfather Wolf, the stout fellow attributed his likeness to wolf specter. He fled back home, telling all who would listen about The Ghostwolf of the Dolwood. Cosiah Brimstone, a ranger out of Zerdargia, was sent an era later to investigate. He confirmed the Ghostwolf's existence, but was unable to catch him, thus furthering the legend despite Cosiah's insistence its just a wildling man.
Fame: Superstitious dwarves, lumberjacks and farmers near the Dolwood attribute bad happenings and strange sightings to the Ghostwolf. Dragna, and anyone fitting his unique description, might possibly be a fugitive in Zerdargia after their ranger Cosiah Brimstone's failure to apprehend him.
Relative Threads:
The Long Night
O Little Hunter
The Legend of Tom Barber
The Claw (Unofficial)
Legend Title: Dragna the Claw; The Claw of the Hidden City
Location: The Hidden City, limited to Primus Gaudeo.
Recognized by: Massive height, one eye, horrendous scars, brawling, rage.
Description: After Dragna killed the infamous Tom Barber in the Battle of the Saw, the giant's allies in the tanners guild dubbed Dragna as Dragna the Claw for his ferocity and clawed appearance.
Fame: Positive with the tanners guild, hated by the barbers guild, negative with smaller street gangs and muggers in the Hidden City.
Relative Threads:
The Legend of Tom Barber
Skills and Abilities
Secrets of Foresight
Level 2 Tracking/Hunting
(+7 XP; Started with Level 1 Tracking, Level-up 2 [GM Selene])
Level 2 Wilderness Survival
(+8 XP; Started with Level 1 Wilderness Survival, Level-up 2 [GM Tisiphone], [GM Kalinda])
Level 1 Atlatl
(+3 XP; [GM Tisiphone])
Level 1 Brawling
(+4 XP; [GM Tisiphone], [GM Kalinda], [GM Anne])
Level 1 Stealth
(+3 XP; [GM Tisiphone], [GM Kalinda])
Totemic Shamanism Experience
(+1 XP; [GM Kalinda])
Ambidexterity
Threads
House of the Elements
Wilderness Survival +1
Tracking/Hunting +1
Grandfather Wolf
Tracking/Hunting +2, level up
Wilderness Survival +1
Atlatl +1
The Long Night
Atlatl +2, level up
Tracking/Hunting +1
O Little Hunter
Wilderness Survival +2, level up
Jackal Moves
Brawling +2, level up
Wilderness Survival +1
Tracking +1
Stealth +1
A Devil On Either Shoulder
Stealth, +2 level up
Wilderness Survival +1
Brawling +1
Totemic Shamanism +1
The Legend of Tom Barber
Brawling +1
House of the Suns and Moons
In progress...
One-Eye
In progress...
Peer-Modded Threads
Flowers in the Blood
Demda
Waking Up Alone
Rushnak
Linear Mode
