Hemlock

## Application Sheet

Hemlock was a dull brown male wolf with bright yellow eyes. He spent a considerable amount of time in Highvalley, serving his master, Alyan, as Steward, but was left behind when the new High King Vladimir led the pack out of the Domain. He lingered in the Domain as a loner, struggling to keep himself fed and sheltered, eventually dying in his sleep during the bitter Deep Freeze. He was created and RP'd by mongoosefangs.

## Personality

* ***Servile and Shallow.*** Hemlock's upbringing as a slave has had a dramatic effect upon his personality: shaped in some ways, stunted in others. His spirit was broken pretty early on. Obedience is the path of least resistance, and he's stayed out of trouble over the years by being a model servant with a flattering silver tongue. He's naturally inclined to be extroverted and gregarious, and under different circumstances he might have been very charismatic; as it is, maladjusted Hemlock makes a wonderful listener but not necessarily a good friend. He tends to be shallow, regarding others as objects or symbols rather than individuals. At best his relationships are professional and/or detached and at worst they are outright fake. He's not about to lay down his life for someone else. Loyalty, as Hemlock understands it, is something that can be bought, bartered, or sold to the highest bidder.
* ***Cowardly.*** That's not to say that Hemlock is conniving or malicious. Above all he craves security, and he's not interested in rocking the boat. Every wolf has a place and every wolf in his place. He stubbornly insists that servitude just happens to be his- it's easier than considering the alternative. There is a certain fatalism to his outlook on life. With no ambition of his own, he seeks only to maintain what little status he already has. Hemlock has come to depend on the routine and direction that comes from following orders. He wouldn't really know what to do with himself otherwise, as his sense of self-worth is tied to the master he serves. For the most part Hemlock can be counted on to fulfill his duties without complaint. He's never one to lose his temper; at most he may become a little passive-aggressive. If he's not inclined to help others out of the goodness of his heart then neither does he go out of his way to cause harm. Hemlock is, in fact, a tremendous coward when it comes to any sort of conflict.
* ***Social and Eloquent.*** He can force his way through even unpleasant topics with the bland smile of an accomplished actor, but beneath the polite, eloquent demeanor is a petty and judgmental streak. Hemlock recognizes that all wolves have their faults and with so little social standing of his own, he is all too eager to savor them. Eavesdropping may become a bad habit for him as he thrives on gossip and loves to watch a good drama unfold. This hobby is largely harmless; blackmail doesn't interest him so much as cheap personal amusement, but it has the potential to get him into trouble. Hemlock also holds a distaste for crippled or otherwise 'defective' wolves that stems from his own real fear of being deemed useless and discarded in his old pack. Although this stance might be considered hypocritical of him by some, the fact remains that Hemlock judges wolves on their productivity, and has little tolerance for weakness or incompetence. Pity is a foreign concept to him. When it comes to misfortune he lives by the mantra 'better you than me'.
* ***Observant and Diligent.*** Hemlock likes to learn and is highly observant. He's very good at picking up on things that might otherwise go unnoticed, particularly when it comes to reading other wolves: a flick of the ear, a slight change in posture, or the smallest waver of vocal pitch. Even if his position as a servant does not always give him free rein to speak, using these cues to his advantage allows him to glean additional subtext from a conversation. He may seem more intuitive or empathetic in turn than he actually is. Although Hemlock is, for all intents and purposes, asexual, he may reciprocate flirting if it is advantageous to him- or if it is demanded of him. Short of risking life and limb he may not know when to say 'no'. Hemlock is susceptible to both flattery and coercion, and for all that he enjoys socializing, his actual social awareness is tarnished by the toxic conditioning of his youth.
* ***Repressed.*** As a rule Hemlock is not one to dwell on the past. There are a lot of things in it he'd just as soon forget. Learning to cope as a slave depended on distancing himself from the pain of others, and these days he considers himself  'successful' where less capable wolves failed and suffered for it. Seeing no point in reminiscing on the horrors of Blackfang, he makes every effort to dissociate from them completely. He'd rather not have his way of thinking challenged; to suggest that life could or should have been kinder to Hemlock may dredge up more repressed emotion than he knows what to do with. They say that still waters run deep. In Hemlock's case, the deepest waters are pitch-black and full of grotesque, misshapen things with too many teeth. He will rattle off his resume if prompted but prefers to leave it at that. Ask him how he actually feels about the whole thing and he will likely become evasive.

Overall, Hemlock strives to be an upstanding member of his pack, even if he is ultimately motivated by self-preservation rather than loyalty or pride. There is nothing he dreads more than the idea of being cast out to fend for himself and he'll do whatever it takes to stay in his alpha's good graces. To that end he is diligent and civil towards every wolf he meets, if not always entirely honest about his true feelings. He wants to be well-regarded by all and live out the remainder of his life in whatever comfort and security he can manage.

## Pre-Group History

Hemlock was born to a pair of lone wolves living far west of the Domain, though he remembers little of his birth parents or younger sister. The young pups were scarcely weaned when a large, militant pack called Blackfang swept through the land. As the loners resisted, they were slain and their children confiscated. Separated from his sibling, castrated and earmarked for slavery at an early age, Hemlock would grow up never knowing a real family or a life beyond serving others.

The first few years were rough as Hemlock was passed from master to master. Some were decidedly less gentle than others, and the young wolf learned very quickly that there was little hope in fighting back or trying to run away. He had a clever mind and a quick tongue, though, and where other thralls faltered or failed Hemlock learned to talk his way out of trouble- even if it meant simply redirecting his master's fury onto someone else.

Over time he became known as a trustworthy, faithful, desirable servant, and when Hemlock was about five years old he was assigned to a high-ranking family. For once he enjoyed a position of relative comfort and familiarity. Assigned to escort his masters on their rounds and deliver the occasional message, Hemlock was mostly an ornament to them. Those early days of physical drudgery slipped from his mind. He was a servant, yes, but a superior one! The old family matriarch even found it amusing to flirt with him from time to time. Under her protection, Hemlock lived as well as a bound wolf could.

But, masters come and go. By the time the old matriarch died Hemlock was seven, no longer in prime condition himself, and had overstayed his welcome in some of the family's eyes. When Blackfang's alpha expressed an interest in forging an alliance with distant Highvalley, his masters took the opportunity to pawn him off as a 'gift' to the Wolvenking. The alliance ended up falling through- something about 'vile slave-keeping butchering barbarians'- but now Hemlock finds himself serving among the Lowbloods of Highvalley, with a whole new social maze to navigate.

## Group History

Hemlock, upon his arrival, was granted a place as the Steward to High King Rodwen's brother, Alyan. He was content with this lot in life. He met several wolves, Highbloods and Lowbloods alike, inlcuding Nightingale and Yuaei, but for the most part, he spent most of his time with Alyan. Alyan didn't request much of his Steward, apart from one key piece of information: to awaken Alyan when he had night terrors.

At the Full Moon Socials, Hemlock tended to be quite polite, speaking only when spoken to, and remaining close to Alyan, but he seemed to enjoy the events nonetheless. He performed his duties as a Steward excellently, according to Alyan, and he would quickly be promoted to a Gamma.

Not everyone was friendly to the lowblood ex-slave, of course. Although Alyan was a good master, other wolves in the pack - like Firth - made him wonder what wolves *really* thought of them. After all, it *seemed* (to Hemlock) that Rodwen had appointed Firth as *his* Steward because he found him *amusing* - so what did that say about Hemlock's appointment? He didn't want to know.

Still, he was diligent in his duties. He met Amara, one of his master's nieces, from Aryn, and she caught him up on some juicy Domain gossip - wolves had stolen a young female from their pack, named Merrill. Hemlock promised to keep his ears open for any news of her.

Then, Highvalley was stricken with a flood. Hemlock performed his duties of search-and-rescue admirably, though he never managed to find any of his missing packmates, he was able to at least clear some areas as 'searched'. Still, it was difficult for a wolf who didn't like water to do this kind of work, and, in his older age, Hemlock found that he was growing a bit ill...

In fact, what started out seeming like a cold became something worse. Much worse. Hemlock hovered on the border of life and death in a fever-haze, vaguely aware of Alyan and healers who reminded him of his sister coming to his side. He was lost in memories of his past, but eventually, though worse for the wear, Hemlock recovered. Alyan was immensely relieved.

Other wolves had fallen sick, though - King Rodwen was particularly concerning. Vladimir, his eldest son in the pack, was appointed to the Regent and ruled in his father's stead. His first announcement was that he was going to end the search for flood survivors. When the wolves gathered to hear what he had to say, Roran, another Steward, protested the ending of the search, and when he scanned the crowd for supporters (especially other Stewards), Hemlock gave him none. After all, what did either wolf *care?* The missing wolves weren't related to them in any way. Masters come and go, and Hemlock always thought.

The sickness had left Hemlock feeling his age, though, and Alyan, much to his surprise, tried to help his Steward the best he could. But when Rodwen died, the pack split - some wolves went to new packs, and other wolves followed Vladimir to new lands. Hemlock wanted to go with the Highvallians, but nobody waited for him when he began to slow, and finally could travel no further. And Alyan had gone to Chandor. Hemlock had made the wrong decision, been left alone, and now had nobody.

As a loner, life was difficult. He struggled to find prey and places to take shelter. He traveled deeper into the Domain, seeking some kind of place where he could easily find prey and take shelter, and his journey took him towards the lands between Vale and Vektren.

While here, he met a reddish-furred young male who was collecting herbs - Phaeton (using his brother's name as an alias - Orpheus). Phaeton had found a dead fawn and Hemlock approached, trying to play to Phaeton's better nature, praising him, using 'sir' and 'master' when addressing him, and pleading for just a mere *morsel* of the fawn, he would do *anything* in exchange. Eventually, Phaeton, who was pretty uneasy about the whole encounter, told Hemlock that he would be permitted a bit of the kill if he could find linden. Hemlock agreed and set off, eventually finding the herbs and bringing them to Phaeton, and getting some meat.

Then it was Hemlock alone again, desperately trying to survive.

But his age and poor health caught up with him when the coldest winter to ever hit the Domain struck: the Deep Freeze. *The aging Steward spent months wandering the Domain, scavenging and begging where he could... but he never was quite the same again after his illness, and when the harshest winter in memory covered the land in ice and snow, he could no longer bear the cold as he once had among the mountain peaks. One night he went to sleep and simply never woke. For a wolf who had spent all his years in servitude, who could not even bring himself to believe in a better life- perhaps it was the kindest, gentlest fate, and perhaps he welcomed the final rest. Eventually his body was found by some pale wolves, though not the ones he had been seeking...*

## Trivia

* Hemlock is neutered. Others may notice that he sounds or even smells a little different from an average male wolf. (If it's in-character for your wolf to mock him for it, go ahead- you will hurt neither his feelings nor mine.)
* He loathes water with a near-feline intensity and won't swim or go out in the rain unless it is ordered of him.
* Hemlock doesn't like to eat in front of others, because he has never been able to shake the ingrained habit of bolting down his food as fast as physically possible - as a young slave, he never knew when his meal might be taken away.
* His MBTI type is ESTJ, probably, and although he's not really 'villainous' I would tentatively peg his alignment as Lawful Evil.
* His Hogwarts house would be Slytherin.

## Quotes

* "...it was only a dream, my lord. Those things can't hurt you anymore. You *survived.*" (reassuring Alyan, waking him from a nightmare, *What I'm Here For*)
* "Ah, right to the point. Forgive me, sir, I won't dance around the subject. I was passing through these woods when I scented fresh meat, and the trail led me... here. A respectable hunt, to be sure, you must be very skilled! Yet you see the state I am in. The slightest morsel would be greatly appreciated. I would not be so bold as to take it from you, but surely you cannot finish this whole feast alone..." (trying to win over Phaeton, to get some meat, *The Dilemma*)

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* mongoosefangs's deviantART Gallery