Valok Firefiend

## **Birth, Abandonment, and the Dark Star**

Valok was born under a dark star, on a long forgotten mountaintop. His mother knew from the moment she laid eyes on him that he was cursed. Where any other member of his race would have been born with markings, said to define one’s fate, Valok just had pale grey skin. He was fateless, cursed. His very existence was an affront to his clan, and his family was given a choice. Either he would be burnt alive in a sacred flame, to purge him from this world and to make sure he would never return, or he would be left to die in the wilds, where nature would do what it saw fit. Valoks family made the choice to burn him, and the pyre was lit. However, as he was lowered into the flames, he cried out, and in that moment, his mother saw that while cursed, he harbored no innate malevolence. She pulled him out at the last moment, leaving him with a burn on his left arm, and went to the elders. After begging them, they allowed her to change her decision. He was to be left in the wilds, for the beasts to take or leave him as nature saw fit.

## **In the Darkwood**

Two hunters were tracking their prey, through the woods, a great stag that they had been hunting for two days now, their determination fueled by pride more than anything. The stag, injured, had led them to a small clearing. They readied their bows, preparing to kill their target with a swift strike. Suddenly, a cry rang out, and the stag ran off into the woods. The hunters, exasperated, stood and began to follow, when the cry rang out again. It was impossible, this deep in the wilds, at the foot of a mountain that most had never even heard of, yet there it was, a baby wailing in distress. Now the hunters knew that this was one of two things, an actual baby,  or more likely, a trap set by monsters. They hoped for the second, because monsters usually meant something that could be taken as a trophy for them to brag to ignorant farmers daughters about. Following the sound, they came upon a patch of bramble, where the crying was emanating from. Peering in they saw something that disappointed them, a small bundle nestled in a pile of leaves. The hunt was cut short, because while the men did not want to care for the child, they weren’t going to leave a baby to die. They immediately knew it wasn’t human, as it was significantly larger than a human, but it couldn’t be a goliath, for everyone knows that a goliaths skin is covered in dark markings. Bringing the baby back to the nearest town, they left him with a merchant who would be traveling soon to another town which had an orphanage. Four weeks later, a baby was given to the matron of the orphanage.

## Early Life and Adoption

There is many a story of a young outcast child growing up in an orphanage run by a mean old crone, but this is not that kind of story. Matron Adelaide was a kind woman, and was in her thirties. Her “orphanage” was no more than a larger than normal home, and barely got by on the kindness of the townsfolk, who would give their scraps to her to make a stew from. The town of Ladesbrook was mostly made of farmers, but prospered due to the fact that it stood as a central location for three other farming towns who used it as a forum to sell their goods. Years went by, and although everyone knew Valok was not only a nonhuman, but an outcast from his own race, he was cared for by the Matron, and treated as almost an equal. He was raised along with the other children, but there was one issue. No human family wanted to sustain a member of a completely different race, and it took until after his fourth year for anyone to show interest in adopting him. A farmer and his wife, with two young boys Valoks age came to town to sell this seasons harvest, and during their brief stay, took a liking to him. Not only did they find a certain charm in him, but they knew that in the future, having a fully grown Goliath working their farm would help quite a bit. That week, Alden and Marta took him back to their farm, and raised him as one of their own.

## **On the farm**

Growing up on a farm suited Valok, and while food could be hard to come by in a family of five, he was well suited to farmwork and was able to haul more than his father by the time he was eight. The town of Porthwhyte was one of the three farming towns connected to Ladesbrook, so almost every family owned a farm of various sorts.  Alden, his adopted father, was a stoic man, who never outwardly expressed affection to his family, but it was obvious to anyone who met them that he loved his wife and all of his children. Alden taught Valok how to handle farm equipment, and taught him the value of trust and loyalty. His mother, Marta, was an affectionate and intelligent woman, and despite his father's complaints, taught Valok the little she knew about reading and writing. His brothers, Marcus and Cal found this new brother strange at first, but eventually came to care for him. Despite being only a year older, they always treated him as a baby brother. When the boys were fourteen, and Valok thirteen, Marcus and Cal got in a scrap with a local group of older boys. There was a sudden blur of grey, and a crack as one of the older boys slammed into the ground, and the others scattered. Standing over them was their brother, already the size of most of the grown men in the town, and much stronger. From that day onward, Valok received daily lessons from his brothers on how to properly fight, everything from how to box in a street fight to using a pitchfork as a way to drive off any unwanted visitors to the farm. During the winter, when Valok was 16, his mother died. While she was still a healthy person, the cold caught hold of her one night and never let go. While her passing was devastating to the family, life became easier with less mouths to feed. Life went on normally, even happily for many years. It was 10 years after his mother's death that his father became too old to work the farm, and two more years until he passed. At that point, Valok began to grow curious of the world, and who he was. Both he and his brothers agreed that without their parents keeping them, it was time to sell the farm and go their separate ways. This took much longer to come about, as they had no ties to anyone outside of their town. Marcus dreamed of being a captain at sea, and Cal had always wanted to be a traveling merchant, buying goods in one city and selling them in far off lands. Valok on the other hand, wanted to travel and learn about what made him different from other Goliaths. Four years later, Marcus was offered to serve under the captain of a small trading vessel, and while older than most taking on such a position, was in good physical condition and did not fear the dangers of the sea. Cal met a merchant, who wanted to retire and sell his caravan and was willing to pass on the names of his contacts. They were ready to sell the farm, and the money was split between the three of them.

## Out in the world

Valok brought the money he had made from the farm back to the orphanage he grew up in. Matron Adelaide was now much older, but still just as kind hearted. He felt that he owed her, and the money would allow her to provide better living conditions for the children, if even for a bit. Then, he set out, and traveled between towns. Everywhere he went, he talked with the locals to see if they knew anything about his plight. Many people shunned him, but others would take him in. Help a farmer fix his cart, and in return have a place to sleep for a night or two. Some people would give him advice, some would give him books passed down in their family that they never learned to read. He learned of his people, of their customs, their languages. He learned about the ancient gods and their fall. A small town herbalist, who was a small time wizard in disguise was the first to tell him that yes, what plagued him was some form of magical curse, too strong for the likes of any small town wizard to break. In return for helping a strange, gruff man set up traps for a monster in the woods on the outskirts of a small town called Warrington, he was given a rusted sword. The man believed that Valok had potential, and that training may even help him be rid of his curse.  While this interested Valok, it was not until another year passed that he even realized that he wanted to take this up as a profession. He returned to the town of Warrington, and the man was still there, expecting that Valok would return.

## **Training**

At this point in his life, Valok was larger and stronger than any human, and took to his training immediately. The man finally introduced himself as Raest, a contract hunter. He was a middle-aged man, hard drinking and rude, yet still well respected, for he was good at his craft, and loved it more than most men love anything. Over the course of a year, he taught Valok to fight with any weapon, and got him used to wearing armor even while moving quickly. Raest told him that his training would take three years. One of basic fighting against men, one of learning every detail about every recorded monster and local legend, and one final year of constant travel and contracts. Valok’s training was cut short when one morning, he awoke to a cold campfire, and an empty bedroll across from him. A small pile of things was left behind, along with a short note.

*Valok,*

*Can’t explain. Have to cut your training short. This gear should help you, I don’t need it anymore. Travel to Kilead, start there. Contracts, housing, whatever you need. I’m sorry.*

*Raest*

While Raest’s disappearance was certainly strange, Valok trusted him, and so he set out for the city in search of answers.