Starke

Ederik Herz (Stepfather, NPC)

Hani (Adoptive Sister)

Roric and Mokai (Brothers, NPCs)

Liza (Sister, NPC)

Fitu (Cousin)

## Application Sheet

Starke is a large pale gray-and-white male wolf with yellow eyes and several scars. Related to Fitu through their birth pack, Starke took care of Hani prior to her joining Aryn. He lived in Vale for a time, and resided briefly in Heyl before taking up the lifestyle of a loner. He was created and RP'd by Aerial-Vew.

## Personality

* ***Sage, Curious, and Open-minded.*** Since his time in Heyl, Starke's desire to learn has grown. He's met many on his journey Home and back to the Domain with varying beliefs and ways of life, and he's found that he enjoys understanding it. This knowledge has allowed him to meet others with an open mind and greater patience than before.
* ***Spiritual*.** Though not overtly religious, Starke does recognize Heyl's Icadorityl as a deity of reformation. She is the strength in his limbs, the peace in his mind, and the warmth in his heart. With her, Starke knows that he can change for the better.
* ***Protective and Fiercely Loyal.*** It will always be Starke's nature to protect those he loves, and he is more than willing to defend with violence should something threaten his loved ones. His time of flip-flopping allegiances have been left behind and he will stand with the ones he abandoned so long ago.
* ***Aggressive.*** Starke has worked very hard on reigning in his aggression, but that doesn't mean he has completely succeeded. Life as a loner still clings to him. If pushed too far, he will snap. Disrespect and anger directed at Starke will be returned in full, so it's best to watch your tone around him.
* ***Impulsive.*** He may have changed in his time away from the Domain, but Starke's lack of thought in high tension moments has only gotten worse. When faced with a difficult situation, Starke will simply act with little to no regard to how it may affect the future. In the moment, his decision is best and he will move on instinct. Consequences are Tomorrow Starke's problem.
* ***Humble, but Arrogant.*** In an argument or fight, Starke will almost always assume himself to be superior until proven otherwise. To question his abilities when they are needed most would guarantee failure, but should he fail regardless, Starke will take the loss gracefully. He knows to respect those who best him or display admirable traits.

## Pre-Group History

Starke was born to a large pack in the far north many miles from the Domain. His grandfather and his parents ruled over the pack as royalty. Being an only pup, Starke was revered by all his pack mates as the young prince, for it was likely that by the time his grandfather retired, he would be of age to take over the pack. His position at such a young age made Starke an entitled and arrogant pup; snobbish and demanding of his subjects. Both of his parents, inexperienced in raising children, turned a blind eye to it, but his grandfather despised it. Determined to straighten him out, his grandfather took him on as an apprentice and trained him. It wasn’t long before Starke learned to appreciate his grandfather’s teachings and the two grew very close. By the time Starke was a juvenile, he had grown distant from his parents and pack. His parents were negligent and his pack was foolish. He loathed all but his grandfather. Then one day, a stranger wandered into their territory. She was a weak and pathetic creature named Aya, accepted into the pack only because Starke’s grandfather pitied her. She was disliked by most everyone in the pack, except Starke. Where others saw a slow and unskilled cur, Starke saw an intelligent and mysterious woman. He stood up for her when she was abused by their pack’s pecking order, and even fought those who went too far. It took them only a few days to become best friends, and after a few months, they were already talking about running away to start their own pack.

It was around then that a terrible illness found its way into the pack. It struck all who were too young, too old, and too frail, including Starke’s grandfather and Aya. The sickness baffled their healer. She could find no cure. Starke’s grandfather passed peacefully, but since Starke was still too young to rule, his father took control of the pack. He ordered them to abandon anyone who showed signs of the illness. Outraged by his father’s lack of compassion, Starke and Aya left, but she too was eventually consumed by the sickness. Left pack-less and alone, Starke broke. His mind and heart were racked with pain and guilt.

Truly on his own for the first time, Starke turned to thievery and violence just to stay alive. He let himself wither to a husk, physically and morally, remorse plaguing him with every step further from his homeland.

Frail and starving, Starke one day stumbled upon a young female with a freshly killed rabbit. Famished, he attacked her, but when she resisted, he let go and willed her to end his pathetic life. But she didn’t. Instead, she took him in, nursed him back to health, and showed him compassion where he deserved none. Her name was Hani. Shaken by such kindness, yet eternally grateful, he stayed with her. He couldn’t save his grandfather or Aya, but such a kind soul like Hani needed to be protected. He promised to always be by her side. They grew as close as brother and sister and indeed thought of each other as kin of real blood.

It was only when a vicious snow storm blew in that they were attacked and separated in the Domain. Devastated at the thought of losing his little sister forever, Starke joined the nearest pack, Vale, in hope that she too would think to look for him there...

## Group History

But it wasn't meant to be. While Starke remained in Vale, slowly building a place for himself within the pack, Hani was miles away and unaware of Starke's presence in Vale. Still, Starke held out hope and waited years for the moment she'd find him. Life in Vale was simple enough until grave days fell upon them and the pack was thrown into a Dark Age. Angered and frustrated by their new leaders, Starke left Vale in search of his sister in Aryn, guided by information from his packmate, Nyru, who had met Hani some months prior.

When Starke finally reached Aryn, he was near exhaustion, and in a last desperate attempt, howled for his sister.

To his surprise, Hani and her packmate, Lawson, found him. Overjoyed, Hani and Starke tearfully reunited. He was shocked to learn that Hani, too, had built a life of her own within her new pack. She had become a high ranking member of Aryn's society, a skilled hunter, and fiercely loyal to her new friends. While Starke was impressed by the feats his little sister had accomplished, they ultimately meant very little to him. Aryn had just recently been a part of a devastating war with a neighboring pack; it wasn't safe for her to stay there. He told her to leave with him so that the two of them could go back to how they were before. He believed all they needed was each other. Hani refused. Starke, taken aback by his little sister's bold new attitude, *demanded* she leave Aryn. She refused again. Hani would no longer meekly follow his commands- she had a new life, a new family- she didn't need him anymore. Lawson stepped forward to defend her when Starke refused to accept her decision. This sent Starke into a rage. He turned the blame on Lawson for corrupting his sister and attacked him only to be intercepted by Hani. A vicious fight ensued, and Starke lost himself in his hate and heartache, devastated by his sister's betrayal.

In the end, Starke lost. He was beaten and broken, completely overpowered by the two of them. He accepted that he would die at the fangs of his sister, but again Hani spared his life. Starke fled Aryn, swearing he'd never go back, and journeyed for days until exhaustion and infection finally caused him to collapse on the outskirts of Heyl. When things seemed nearly hopeless, he was discovered by his cousin Fitu and taken in. His recovery was slow, but bit by bit Starke regained his strength. With nowhere else to go, Starke decided to stay with Heyl and his cousins in an attempt to find new purpose.

Fate did not favor Heyl either. An earthquake and flood ravaged their lands, and shortly after Fitu joined their pack with another, a curse fell upon their land, unleashing a terrible sickness onto all. Food and water became poisoned by the sickness, claiming many lives and driving away others.The only way Starke was even able to survive was by staying away from his packmates and nearly starving himself. Only after many months did the illness began to fade, but Starke couldn't shake the memories of his family pack's own sickness or all the devastation he had caused to others as a result of it. There was no more peace within him. Starke had to make it right. Knowing his pack would be fine without him, Starke pledged himself to Icadorityl, slipped away from Heyl through the Sea Pass, and began his journey back Home, knowing he would lay eyes upon the Domain again one day.

## Trivia

* Because he's from the far north, Starke greatly enjoys the snow and cold.
* Though he once hated water, swimming as a hobby grew on him during his time in Heyl.
* Spending time with his little brother Mokai made Starke realize just how much he enjoys mentoring the younger generation.
* He's a bit of a clean freak and doesn't like to get close to ill wolves without an intense cleaning afterwards.
* Starke wishes to avoid other religions and beliefs to avoid another incident like the Curse of Pajackok.
* Being raised as a prince, Starke has amazing posture.
* Starke does not like silence. He may not be a great conversationalist, but having younger siblings that never stopped talking made him accustomed to the constant background noise.
* Starke uses his scars as constant reminders of his past mistakes. Here's how he got his scars:
	+ The small scar on Starke's jowl is from his grandfather - Starke had abused his rank to harass Laurel when he was young, and was punished for it. This was the first of Starke's scars.
	+ The large, jagged scar across Starke's back is from a hunting accident - while recklessly trying to take down a caribou himself, a misstep near on the mountain left him skinned. He was lucky the injury wasn't worse.
	+ The scars on his muzzle and eye are the remnants from the fight with Hani and Lawson.

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* Aerial-Vew's deviantART Gallery