Blaikoth

## Blaikoth, The Half-Wolf

**Blaikoth** is a legendary half-wolf warrior living in the wilds of northern Pydwell. The avatar of the Lord of Wolves, he seeks to spread his master's influence among wildlings that dwell in the north. As a result of an unholy union between him and the witch Vedma, he is the father of Hermoor MacDuff and thus the source of his balvorn curse.

## Biography

### Background

#### Origin

Little is known about the man that would become Blaikoth, the Half-Wolf, although there are two theories.

According to wildling stories, Blaikoth was once a noble knight, possibly even a warden, that guarded the frozen wilds of northern Pydwell from monsters, bandits and blood mages, as he was sworn to do. During one of his adventures, he faced a particularly powerful ulfhedinn, a unique form of werewolf, and, despite proving victorious over the beast he was afflicted with the beast's curse. Against his will, the noble knight would partially transform every moon, but was able to control his animal madness; during the full moon, however, the knight would lose all control, transforming into a ravenous half-wolf that would feed upon the very people he was sworn to protect. The knight would awake the next morning, naked and covered in blood.

As a dedicated warden, the knight prepared to take his own life, but was stopped by the spirit of Radagon, Lord of Wolves. The Wolf God offered the knight a deal: the ability to control his transformations, including during daylight, in exchange for sparing all cursed beasts and spreading the Wolf God's name throughout the north. Convinced that his curse could be used to save innocent lives, the knight reluctantly agreed to Radagon's offer.

Bolstered by the Wolf God's spirit, the knight continued his travels across the north. True to his word, he spared any werewolves he came across, offering them the word of Radagon to calm their beastial natures. The knight would transform at will to face the few enemies his sword and skill could not match, and his mind remained unblinded as a half-wolf.

However, soon the knight became drunk on the gifts of the Wolf God. He would spend fewer and fewer days as a man, and even fewer as a wolf, remained instead in a half-wolf form dressed in his knightly black armour. The knight found better company in the beasts of the wild and the reverence of the wildlings, and eventually abandoned towns and villages entirely. Over time, the Mark of Ymiir that had been branded on his palm disappeared, and he now had no cause but to serve his master. Eventually his man form and wolf forms vanished entirely, leaving him trapped between the two. He now wanders the wilds, half man, half beast.

The truth is less clear. There exists few texts on the culture and beliefs of wildlings, in large part due to their nomadic nature and hostility to outsiders. The few records that have been made repeatedly mention a half-wolf warrior, a greatsword on his back, travelling across the untamed regions of Pydwell, shielded from prying eyes by blizzards and forests. There is no record of a warden that became afflicted with lycanthropy; wardens, after all, are designed to be highly resistant to any form of blood curse, the only exception being those born with such curses. The few scholars that study the Wild Lords believe that the creature Blaikoth is nothing more than the avatar of the Lord of Wolves.

## Overview

### Physical Appearance

Blaikoth is described as a true half-wolf: the head, feet and claws of a wolf attached to the body and mind of a man. He is said to wear a suit of black armour engraved with the icon of his master, and is always draped in a thick coat to shield him from the piercing winds of Pydwell. Upon his back he carries a fearsome greatsword that is said to spread the werewolf curse to those it cuts.

## Relationships

### Vedma

Little is known about the relationship between Blaikoth and Vedma. As avatars of opposing Wild Lords, Blaikoth and Vedma were thus enemies; however, at the command of their respective masters, the two lay together to produce a child, one that would become the Shadow designed by the Wild Lords in preparation for Ragh nar Roog. According to Vedma, she and Blaikoth fell in love, but only for a moment, and once the child was cut from her womb the half-wolf returned to the wild.