Origin of The Wyrmsbane Family

It all begins with a mighty warrior who went by the name of Odikar.

Many ages ago, in the dawn of our kingdoms, Ohaku was rapt in chaos. The kingdoms were ravaged by both man and beast alike, but back then these monsters were far more numerous and vicious than their human counterparts. And none were more atrocious than the Basilisk, a dreadful cretin that plagued the early Kingdom of Aera. It was said if one were to lock eyes with the Basilisk, they would freeze in terror, ensuring their death, for even a single drop of the Basilisk's venom could turn a man into stone. Few creatures have ever been such an open defamation against the glory of Path as the Basilisk.

Odikar was a young frontiersman, who owned a small goat farm that was part of a chain of settlements not far from the capital. Life was simple: Odikar lived off the land, and it provided just enough for he and his goats. But on one tragic night, the Basilisk swept across the chain of settlements, slaughtering all of the helpless frontiersmen in its wake. All but Odikar, who was cloaked in the grace of Path, and the Basilisk passed over him.

Now the next day when the King had heard of the travesty that had befallen the settlers, he gathered the bravest knights throughout Aera to avenge their fallen and finally slay this beast. But when Odikar arrived in his court and announced that he could kill the Basilisk on his own, the King scoffed,

"The Basilisk has already killed *dozens* of my greatest warriors! Why would you, a simple *farmer*, fare any better against the monstrosity?"

"Tis simple," Odikar declared, "For I have been blessed by Path herself!"

The King too was a devout follower of Path and understood the importance of her blessing. He equipped Odikar with a sword and shield of the finest Aeran steel, and sent him on his way. And so, Odikar braved the mountains of Aera and climbed to the apex of the Wyrmspeak, where the Basilisk had made its lair deep within the mountain.

It's lair was a large cavern at the mountain's center.  Bones were scattered about, remains from the countless warriors who had tried to kill the beast, and failed. As Odikar entered the cavern, he was greeted by the voice of the Basilisk, it dripping with malice as it echoed throughout the chamber,

"Could it be? Another deluded follower of the Path. I do wonder how many of you your god shall send to the slaughter before she realizes it is a futile endeavor. Tell me, what makes you different from the lot that I have just devoured?"

Odikar shouted back into the chamber proudly,

"I have received the blessing of Path, and just as she shall guard me from your treachery, I shall guard her and her children from beasts such as you!"

The Basilisk erupted into a malevolent uproar,

"How audacious for something so insignificant. Tell me, 'blesséd one of Path,'  what is your name so that I may know whose bones I will be gnawing upon."

"You shall call me Odikar Wyrmsbane, for I shall be the last name you hear before you are slain!"

Suddenly, the Basilisk revealed itself to Odikar, the spines that lined its back rattled as venom dripped from its snarling maw. The two locked eyes, and to the beast's disbelief, Odikar did not freeze in terror. Path had given him great courage, and Odikar did not feel fear. In one quick motion, Odikar plunged his sword into the beast's belly. The Basilisk had finally been slain.

On that day, Odikar proclaimed that his descendants shall be known as the Wyrmsbanes, and that they shall use the talents that Path has blessed them with to hunt the beasts that would harm the followers of the Path. Their sigil, a serpent coiled around a downward facing sword emblazoned with their family words "Guard the Path", depicts that feat and reminds us to this day what their noble endeavor is.