Laryk, Nightmare Wolf of Stuler

The Legend of Laryk tells the dark story of a forest dweller who protected the wilds that he and his clan called home by slaughtering the people of Stuler.

Birth of a Wolf and Stuler
It is said that Laryk was not born to man, but to a clan of wild wolves. Some say that he came from the womb of the alpha herself, some say that he was stolen from the cradle, and some say that he is even a son of Tarad. No matter where his origin begins, they all lend credence to Laryk being regarded as a master of the wilds, the very forest he dwelled in seeming to bend to his will.

Laryk bowed his head to no man. Calm as the flowing river that runs through his woods and silent as the leaf falling from the oak tree, Laryk was said to be like a spectre. The perfect hunter, he spent his time spent hunting with his family taught him the thrill of the hunt. It is said that he hunted with Tarad himself during his Walk.

Living on the edge of the forest sat Stuler, a town whose baron led hunts deep near where Laryk called home. Stuler was filled with men who had taken the profession of mercenary, the enemies of Life. The baron had heard of the man living amongst beasts and wished for Lyrak to lead his army in hopes of conquest. Eventually, the baron and his men found Laryk waiting for him. Laryk, tired of hiding from being forced back into society, confronted him peacefully, telling him to turn back. Enraged at his wishes being ignored, the baron plotted and sent his men to kill Laryk's wolf family.

The Rise of Nightmares
Laryk had been hunting alone when he returned to his home with his family, but when he arrived, he found the dead pelts of his slaughtered family. Enraged and knowing that it was the baron of Stuler who had done this, Laryk pleaded to Tarad for a way to enact his revenge. Tarad, the Eternal of Wild Things and Passion understood the pain that Laryk was feeling. The baron was a cruel and heartless man and went against everything that the Eternal taught. Tarad instructed Laryk to bring the pelts of his fallen lupine brothers to him and fashion them into clothes and a cloak. Tarad told Laryk that his new clothes would give him the strength of the wild during the full moon and stealth unknown during the new. Laryk, from their fangs and teeth, crafted a knife and prayed to Mogarag for a blessing upon it. Mogarag, touched by the sadness and despair he sensed in the Master of the Wilds, granted the knife the ability to pierce through any defense, like a fang tearing through the soft flesh of a man's throat. Mogarag gave this knife the name "Vorzith." However, Mogarag warned Laryk that Vorzith's ability to pierce through any defense would only work under the light of the stars.

Empowered by the Eternals of Death and Magic, Laryk set his sights on the town of Stuler. Sneaking in under the light of a new moon, he used Vorzith and slit the throats of every soldier who called Stuler their home. But this wasn't nearly enough to quell Laryk's rage. The people who would dared called themselves civilized had taken his family from him. However, dawn had arrived and Vorzith would not even pierce flesh. So Laryk took shelter in the forest and waited for nightfall once more before continuing the slaughter of the people of Stuler once more. None were spared from his wrath. Mercenary, man, woman, child, beast; all were slain by the Nightmare Wolf of Stuler.

Laryk hunted for five nights as the people of Stuler cowered in their homes, afraid to leave the safety of their shelter. Those that tried to flee where caught in man-traps, unable to do anything but wait for their death. But even that was not enough. Eventually, there were none left of the town besides the one who had given the order to kill the Nightmare Wolf's family: the baron. Laryk stalked into the castle where the baron had fortified himself. However, as the knife of tooth and fang descended towards the baron's throat, dawn broke and the baron engaged in a desperate struggle for his life.

In the end, he was no match for a man who had been reared by wild animals his whole life and fell, but not before visiting a grevious wound on Laryk. Bleeding desperately, Laryk retreated into the forest, leaving behind a town of cooling corpses and crimson blood. Many have different endings to the tale of the Nightmare Wolf of Stuler, but they are all legends. It is thought by some that Laryk, having avenged his family, lived in peace for the rest of his days. Others think that he succoumbed to his wounds and perished before the next night.