Köttari

Long ago, at the time of the founding of Stormfield, mages were among the first town citizens. These magicians considered themselves to be innovators and were seen to carry out some rather dangerous magical experiments. The citizens respected them because of their ultimate goal of making Stormfield the most powerful and prosperous city. However, they were also afraid of their unattended and uncontrolled ideas.

Once the magicians received an order from Lord Fitzgerald to significantly increase the combat capability of the army. The mages of Stormfield thought and found an answer on how to increase the power of their army. And they proposed to instill in people the qualities of animals — the endurance of a horse, the carrying capacity of a mule, the speed and strength of a tiger, the eyesight of an eagle.

Unfortunately, after a dozen experiments and innocent deaths, all attempts failed except for one… One of the subjects was injected with cells from a leopard, a wild and lithesome cat. He received the ability to move quickly and silently, as well as withstand long distances. Thus, the qualities of cats began to be instilled in Stormfield warriors so that they could fall from the high walls of the castle without breaking, move silently, see at night and be perfect assassins. But the experiment got out of the magicians’ control. Humans, having received the cells of cats, began to turn into wild cats, eventually becoming half-cats and half-humans. And there was no chance to turn them back to their former human state.

A big scandal erupted around this. As the citizens discovered about the grave failure of the experiment, the various rumors spread that the new superhumans are uncontrollable and capable of killing innocent humans. Subsequently, humans began to lock them in cages, throw stones and garbage at them, despise them…But some of them still managed to escape before they were caught and put on a leash. Half-cats half-humans moved far into the forests, where there had to settle down and learn to live and survive in the new environment. Thanks to their gained abilities, they adapted very fast and in a short period of time have become more dexterous, nimble, with keen hearing and wild instincts. They called themselves Köttari and founded their own small secret community far away from Stormfield. They leaved in harmony with everyone, except humans which they tried their best to avoid.

[…]

A lot of time has passed and future generations have ideally adapted to the new way of life. But after the appearance of Efu, the forest has changed. It began to corrupt and rot, so everyone who was able to run away immediately did it. Köttari also decided to leave and seek refuge in their historic homeland Stormfield, in the hope that humans have forgotten the past. Still, remembering the old grievances of their relatives, Köttari did not expect anything good for themselves. But, to their surprise, they were completely wrong. The people greeted Köttari very warmly due to their intention to help the people in the city resist the forces of Darkness. And thanks to their intellect and abilities developed in the forest, the Köttari soon became very valuable elite assassins, protecting ordinary citizens and dignitaries.

Initially just refugees from the Forest, Köttari still managed to earn fame and respect in Stormfield. In the future, they were also able to provide considerable assistance in the war against Efu.

But they still held a grudge against the mages of Stormfield in their hearts…