The Woodsman

Pull up a seat and let me drink you a story of a terrified boy and a vengeful man.

There was born Victor Fyne of the famed Fyne family, son to Mikhale Fyne, a master smith if ever there was one. The boy grew up among the forges of the Nyreuil smithy watching his father pound out marvelous works for the Hathaine royal militia. Mikhale's work was lauded far and wide, sometimes even shipping to distant countries. Victor, the oldest of five, helped his four sisters every day in whatever way he could until one brisk morning his father, hoping for a protege, brought young Victor to the forge.

The hot and tiring training made the boy sweat each day until he too could create wonders of his own. Then his father told him,

"Son, you have no gift for the armory, but I swear your weaponry glistens like the Dwarves who taught me. The king will be pleased. We labor for a great nation Victor, we protect the future. You make me proud to be a Fyne."

The next day the sun rose a little higher and shined a little brighter and the forges were a little cooler. That night, hell came a little closer.

He never saw them, the dark Elves, he never heard his parents scream. The town slept through a massacre. Assassins. We fought a ruthless enemy to employ such tactics. The brightest and the best were slain in the night. Generals, priests, farmers, teachers, doctors,..........smiths. The war efforts were temporarily sabotaged, buying the enemy time.

Victor was no professional smith and he needed to support his sisters so he sought the help of a friend. His father's best customer, Sargent Ubrecht showed Victor the door to a military career.

"You take a liking to weapons boy.", he said.

"Yes sir, the faster to kill with."

"You can be a great soldier, boy. Use your anger to save your homeland."

Ubrecht taught Victor many ways of combat and even a bit more. "The Drow, they are called, those that took the town and your parents, Victor. You'll never want to fight a colder foe, a darker evil then those creatures. Learn their language, learn their combat style, hunt them. I can teach you how."

Many satisfying years passed as Victor rose in rank, affording more comforts for his family. As he advanced he learned much, hearing more, seeing more...........until he saw it with his own eyes. That day he passed the king's chambers and overheard an elven voice.

The king was conferring with a Drow.

They were caught, Victor knew.

A poison dagger and a yell came his way as he fled out of town.

Corruption.

He left, confused and bewildered to roam the woods alone and eventually wandered upon an old, nameless druid, who was meditating amongst the trees of the forests just across the border in Prendor.

"Who are you, sir?", asked Victor.

"I can teach you focus and help you find an answer."

In that moment, Victor realized he had no home, no life to return to and was a threat to his sisters' lives.

"I will stay with you, old man, what must I do to learn?"

"First, you must learn to understand your surroundings, listen to it, watch it, experience it, befriend it. Then, you must hone your relationship through discipline, courage, and justice. Then you may understand yourself and your enemies and what it means to exact vengeance."

More years passed as he grew to manhood under the druid's tutelage, fighting as the hand of the forest, protecting his new home, and watching the betrayal of men again and again.

"I wish to travel now in search of my adversary, old one. It is my blood oath. Do I have your blessing?"

"It is good, my time has finished and you have learned much. Leave me now and use what I have left behind to continue this work. We are both passing."

With that, the boy once known as Victor Fyne, with no one left to know him, lost himself and his identity in the forests of the countryside.......hunting.

His current whereabouts remain unknown. It is believed that he somehow still keeps contact with his sisters.

by Jon Bohrer