Arl'cane

**Arl'cane (r-ul-kin)** is an old man and one of the first residents of Barmwich, North Carolina; he was part of an unknown tribe. In 1632, the entire tribe vanished without a trace, leaving him and a two-year old toddler as the only ones left. The toddler vanished a few years later, causing Arl'cane to go mad, but he recorded everything that had happened in his journals, becoming ancient texts to the current residents of Barmwich.

## Biography

Not much is known about the early life of Arl'cane, however in his journals, he wrote that his father was a hunter like he was but also drank daily and would abuse Arl'cane and would slap his mother across the face. Because of this, his mother would be "very distant" with her son, rarely talking to him. In his early teen years, his father, after violently beating his family, was mauled to death by an unknown creature outside his home. Arl'cane witnessed the creature lumber away but never told anyone.

In 1632, Arl'cane (now much older) became a resident of a new town called Barmwich, founded by a tribe. Years later, in 1638, Arl'cane was out hunting; however when he returned to town, the entire population vanished. The only person there was a two-year old toddler. Arl'cane began raising the boy; not knowing his name, he simply called the child "boy".

In 1640, the boy began having nightmares about a tall gray man standing in the trees at night, telling the boy he's going to eat him. Arl'cane assumed they were just nightmares, until he felt someone watching him and the boy at night. One year later, while farming, the boy vanished just like the tribe did three years earlier. Arl'cane was very distraught over this, searching day and night for him until he realized the boy will never be found. He made a memorial for him in the center of town, burying his favorite toy under the great tree.

After this, Arl'cane went mad, his journals indicating this. Arl'cane began praying to the "sun god", stating how he's never prayed before in his life. The moon began talking to him, telling him where to find the boy and how one day he'll "ascend to the land above", and how he should kill himself to get there quicker. The tall gray man from the boy's nightmare began watching Arl'cane at night, the latter only seeing the lanky legs of the man. Footsteps would circle him while farming and doing other chores outside.

Sometime in 1642, the moon taunting about death and the gray man watching him at night finally got to Arl'cane, now fully insane. He took the spear that belonged to the old tribe chief and looked up to the moon, who told him it's time to ascend. Even though he never found out, Arl'cane *knew* that the gray man was behind him watching. He also saw the boy at the entrance of the camp, holding his favorite toy. Arl'cane closed his eyes before shoving the spear into his heart. He fell to the ground and heard the moon chanting something, he heard the footsteps circling him, he saw the lanky legs but not the boy.

Over ten years later, colonists from Europe discovered the camp and the rotting corpse of Arl'cane. Next to his body was a message written in his blood: The Gray Man Is Always Watching. The colonists also found Arl'cane's journals, the journals eventually becoming ancient texts to the modern people of Barmwich.

Arl'cane's journals are considered the most important things in Barmwich's history, as they describe the origins of the original tribe and document what is considered the first "weird" thing that has happened in Barmwich (the tribe vanishing without a trace). And while Arl'cane's name isn't known to most, the few that do know his name, try to "honor" him, by searching for any remnants of the missing boy he took in.

## Trivia

* Ultimately, the demise of Arl'cane is a combination of multiple things: childhood trauma, mental illness, delusions, paranoia, paranormal activity but is mostly just the overall strange essence that is Barmwich.