Tiberius Akelā

" *Ye know the Law. Look well, O Wolves! "*

Akelā belongs to the Order of the Wolf, an ancient guild founded for the sole purpose of slaying all manner of beasts, including those mythical or fantastical, for the purpose of protecting humanity and ensuring the expansion of its civilizations. Today, few have heard of the order, for they are greatly reduced in number. A former friend of Ahadi and Mufasa, he returns to investigate the tales of continued war. While he has nostalgic interest in the lives of the lions and the hyenas, he has his own personal agenda - to track down his foster grandson, ***Mowgli***, and confirm if his protégé ***The Horned King***, still lives. He is also on the lookout for suitable orphaned boys whom he can accept into the order.

Currently he has accepted a contract with David Lioncourt. He is to protect the Rebellion's journey to the Tennesleys' Forest from monsters and supernatural creatures.

## Personality

To most acquaintances, Akelā is like the passing moon, ever-distant and nomadic in its travels across the stars. He can be described as both a thug and a gentleman, keeping to his own code of honor while being selective in his acts of compassion or kindness. An aged figure, he is comparatively more mellow to village women and children, but is particularly disdainful of traders or greasy-smiled characters intending to squeeze charity out of him. As a widely-travelled roamer, he is resilient and self-reliant, open to helping others (at times for a suitable price) and adjusting his plans according to nature’s whims. Although known for his lonesome nature, Akelā is a man who also acknowledges his own need for socialization every now and then. To students he is fatherly, at times overbearing, sometimes mercurial in his tempers if he intends to push their limits. He possesses an incredible amount of patience, is direct with his words and affections, and honors the Law of the Wolves above all, expecting others of the Order to do the same. He is not prone to letting his emotions get the better of him. A pragmatic master, he will submit young boys to the Trials of the Wild Wolf even if it is a certain, predictable ratio that nine of ten will die; in the hopes that one will make it as a new member of the Order.

## Biography

TBC

Before the birth of civilizations, castles and knights, the Order of the Wolf thrived. Ever since man had tamed wolves and set a portion of its kind on the path of domestication, so did nature and magic rebel against mortal desires. The new blood curse sent many to their doom, but in time the will of man triumphed over disease and so began the Order – to master the wolf, and to ensure human survival. The Order took in human children, all boys, trained them for years and the chosen ones were sent through the Trials of the Wild Wolf – a deadly roulette of survival as each child was given the curse of the wolf and administered a variety of mutagens to reign in the disease. The survivors, less than a tenth of the intake, became true members of the Order, monster slayers charged with protecting humanity from all manner of beasts that go bump in the night. The Order once thrived through the medieval era, but as towns grew into fortresses and forests were razed, the monsters grew scarcer and so did the need and respect for the Order…

The last stronghold of the Order now stands on Seeonee Ridge, a desolate treacherous mountain in Alsatia, in a land across the northern sea surrounding Arendelle. Journeying from Seeonee, an elder of the Order, Tiberius Akelā, seeks the descendants of Ahadi and Mufasa to see if there is any means of keeping the Order on its feet. On his own, he searches for his former students such as Mowgli, and also responds to the disturbing news that a former protege of his, who had never been sent through the Trials of the Wild Wolf, remains alive when time should have taken him. Having also heard of the wars, magic and ranks of undead, he intends to judge the Horned King and see his work to end.

## Powers & Abilities

Members of the Order are, first and foremost, no longer fully human. They are faster, stronger, swifter than elite human warriors, and they have to be if they want to survive constant battles against beasts and monsters that would have otherwise rampaged primitive human societies into extinction. They can imbibe toxic potions or mutagens that further grant them temporary boosts to different traits, such as regeneration, night vision or detection of ghosts. An aged werewolf, Akelā is fully capable of controlling his anthropormorphic form and relies on meditation to keep the lunar instincts under control.

## Weaknesses

Due to their increased capacity for efficient violence, werewolves of the Order were seldom welcomed by the commonfolk, if ever. It is said that they also have a decreased capacity for emotions; or that most have trouble connecting with others on an emotional level and often have to fake their expressions, or wrestle with muted feelings that come and go throughout their lives. As mutants, they can no longer reproduce naturally and thus add to their numbers by transferring the disease and then trying to innoculate the subject before the blood curse runs its full course. Contrary to the myth that werewolves are susceptible to silver, destruction of the brain or heart can kill a werewolf, as well as grave injuries; silver is not required, nor particularly useful.

## Equipment

Having lived for over a century, perhaps it should come as no surprise that Akelā has mastered varied skills. He is a horse dealer when the route suits him, skilled with the bullwhip and saddle, lure and tackle. Of weapons he prefers double-edged swords, and keeps a few blades to match their traits and handling requirements with his quarry.

Current Weaponry:

* Double-handed steel longsword, cruciform hilt
* Single-handed steel rapier with a stout flamberge blade

* Single-handed silver-coated steel arming sword, cruciform hilt

```
" Always carry at least two blades; one in your hand , one in your heart. "

```

Other notable items:

* Order of the Wolf Medallion
* Leather harness [ 2 back-mounted scabbard ; pouch with potions and first aid materia ]
* Leather and chainmail armour
* Pouch of magic beans
* Several horses, of crossbred partial Alsatian descent
* Roach, black mare, Alsatian descent

```
" Come on Roach! You're getting too fat! "

```

## Relationships

### Sage Leif Tennesley

Beyond the friendship that the old swordsman displays with the Great Prince of the Forest, lies a darker and more pragmatic agreement. The Order has a long-standing tie with the Tennesley house and Tiberius is the primary point of contact between the two. Tiberius takes on contracts that help rid the forest of particularly dangerous beasts, and the Tennesleys are scheduled to supply the Order with orphans or selected children at regular intervals.

In more recent times, Tiberius met Sage at a dinner hosted by the Lioncourts after the lord had escaped the dungeon. Abandoning a comfy stay at Queen Isabella's castle, he guarded the noble's flight into the night with his son. They stayed at a nearby inn until Sage was well enough to travel by horse the next day. By nightfall, they had reached Kent.

### Basil Tennesley

Having recently met The Fawn at a dinner hosted by the Lioncourts, the werewolf had made light conversation with the young lord until the surprising appearance of Sage Tennesley, who had been presumed dead for years. Although suffering the young noble's temper, Tiberius cannot help but feel the urge to keep an eye on the spirited scout. He grows fond of the boy, but is also greatly aware that he has to re-invoke the agreement between the Tennesleys and the Order; that requires the young lord's trust.

### Seraphina Rose Lupin

He met Red Riding Hood when she was a child, being carried by her father through the snow on the cold peaks near Seeonee Ridge. Knowing by scent that she was the first female werewolf in centuries (and by birth no less), Tiberius immediately brought her and her father to the Order's stronghold. There she was treated for her wounds and later schooled by the Order. A dutiful uncle and one of the teachers during her training, he is exceptionally fond of her and was the one who mentored her on paired journeys before she was ready to set out on the Path by herself.

## Quotes

" *We make problems go away. We’re specialized monster slayers, for all manner of things that go bump in the night*..."

" *I walk a simple Path*. "

" *Being born the son of a noble does not make you noble*. "

" *Now… What if… a monster appears on the thousand and oneth*? "

" *Wind’s giving me blue balls*. "

" *The stubborn old man is back*… "

" *I have no allegiance to your esteemed ‘friend’, nor will I support a man who has yet to present me the evidence that the power of life and death, judgement and law, mercy and grace should belong to him*. "

" *When the upper echelons contest, it is often everything underneath their saddles that suffers*. "

" *Payment for your task will be proportionate to the nature of the job you require of me*. "

" *Do not think us so brutal as to kill one of our own without reason. The Order is a family*. "