Shagrius Hanzman

*"Release the hounds." - Houndmaster Hanzman handling a Belzken hobgoblin.*

## History

Shagrius hails from the somewhat chaotic nation of Nirmathas, a place where freedom is in high demand. In fact, in such high demand that forcing someone to obey your word might get called several hurtful things. The fledgling nation's vulnerability to such places as Molthune and Belzken still required some measure of order and safety be mandated in the form of the slightly famous Chernasardo Rangers. These freedom fighters kept back the forces of Molthune from getting any sort of foothold in Nirmathas, though at the same time also fought back against most forms of unification and order due to their love of freedom.

Shagrius was not one of them. Though he was raised in Nirmathas, he couldn't stand to see such a fractured community. He could get *why* people enjoyed their 'freedom' from government and oversight so much, especially given the nation's history, but in his opinion it seemed that nobody was taking heed of the lessons that nature was trying to teach them.

The natural world had order all of its own. To the untrained eye it might appear that the Fangwood and other such forests were utter chaos, but to those with real experience and training, everything fit into a little niche. To prove his point, Shagrius took to animal training at a young age, asserting order over the chaotic formlessness that any animal's young life consisted of. Though he earned his fair share of scratches and bites, Shagrius was able to train various animals to perform many different tasks. He had a natural talent, it seemed, for working with beasts.

Of course, most people considered this more a cool skill than actually proving any sort of point about nature having order or whatever. Rather than argue about it, Shagrius took this in stride, deciding to at least make use of his natural talent by defending the people in perhaps a more consistent way than the Rangers did. He took to living in the outskirts of towns for months at a time, training animals for those could pay while providing security for travelers in the woods from both beast and fey. Occasionally, he even had opportunity to sic his beasts on the orcs hailing from the Hold of Belzken. He established a little infamy in doing so, mostly thanks to the fact he was somehow able to command three different wolves at the same time in order to rip apart most any threat to him. The man and his wolves could handle themselves against a variety of threats, and woe betide the single foe that found themselves prey to the wolves' gnashing teeth.

Life was good for Shagrius, at least until he found himself prowling the mists in an altogether different forest. He had to shake his head for a moment, then sit down. This forest was not the Fangwood, nor was it any of the others he had visited in Nirmathas. His wolves howled in confusion as a wave of new scents suddenly assaulted them.

The small party eventually made its way to the City of the Lost after being given directions from the Mistwood Rangers that had mostly just assumed he was one of them for a few weeks. While the people weren't exactly overjoyed at the wolves following along at Shagrius's feet, most people changed their minds when the houndmaster allowed people to pet his faithful beasts. These people, most of all, seemed like they needed *something* cheery in their lives.

## Appearance

Shagrius, true to his name, has shaggy, somewhat unkempt blonde hair. He stands somewhat above average in height at 5'9" and tends to dress simply in leathers and traveler's garb. His skin is well marked by the scratches and bites from the animals he's spent a lifetime training, but the easy smile on his face and the laugh lines near his eyes tell the tale of a man who prefers to spend life happy over being miserable.

## Personality

A hunter who loves to laugh and loves his animals, Shagrius at times seems like something wholly alien to the Beyond. Though he vastly prefers to spend his time with his three wolves, he doesn't avoid spending time with people either.

Shagrius enjoys joking around with other people when he can and especially likes the easy camaraderie that comes with adventuring with the sort of people who would willingly leave the safety of the City's walls. He's a fairly selfless sort of man, willing to take on the burdens of others, but a staunch supporter of society and order. The chaos of Nirmathas left a bad taste in his mouth, and thus he has little patience for those who refuse to play nice and get along with others.

## Friends

Rex - The first of Shagrius's wolves, Rex is the most alert out of any of them. Most of the time. He enjoys being scratched behind the ears and taking naps in the sun.

Red - Red, named for the tuft of inexplicably red fur along his chest, likes to wander all about wherever he goes. He rarely enjoys staying in one place, and loves playing fetch with whoever will accommodate him.

King - The 'Alpha' of Shagrius's pack, King leads both Rex and Red in battle and in life. He seems a little too proud of himself, and gets upset if his fur isn't kept carefully groomed.

## Enemies

Shagrius despises the hobgoblins of Belzken, not just due to their evil but due to their perversion of his ideals of order. Though they might respect hierarchy and a lawful society, they've twisted it to suit their evil ends and thus ruin the image of a decent society for everyone! No wonder the people of Nirmathas abhorred Shagrius's desire for law!

Shagrius also isn't a big fan of anyone who might cause overt damage to nature without being willing to repair it, i.e. foresters who don't plant two trees for each they cut down. Those people just aren't sensible.

## Aspirations

Shagrius would like to form his own clan of rangers someday, especially since this place seems to require it. The Mistwood Rangers are a good start, but they're a bit too specialized for his taste. Perhaps a wider branch of Beyond Rangers would be even better! An explorer's guild, for example, would be great in his opinion.