Leyding, the First Binding

Fenris is pensive for some time after opening the journal. He appears uncomfortable revisiting his past, perhaps confused by his desire to relate it to anyone, much less to a book. Yet, he continues after a time, quietly divulging the next chapter of his existence.

I spent the next four years of my life chained in an underground prison. My watcher was a deaf-mute dwarf named Tyr, some child of House Kundarak with no mark. Funny how the marked houses deal with their embarrassments isn't it? Obviously a deaf-mute could never be an asset to the house in any other fashion, so they send him off to do a lifetime of dirty work for an old ally of the House. I think he was kind and gentle though, for during our four years together he never once hit me, only opened the door of my cell, cheerfully walked down the stairs and placed food in front of me, with a smile on his face the whole time. I suppose that's why I felt bad about biting his hand off.

Not that I felt many human emotions during that time. I must admit I grew feral during that first year, and the wolf took over by the end of the second. And I grew physically as well. Of course all three year olds have grown by the time they reach the age of seven, but I was different; a month before I escaped I was as tall as I am today, and had begun to grow a beard. I suppose it has something to do with my wolf blood, after all a wolf is fully grown after about three years.

Despite four years without exercise I was strong, and I longed to taste fresh air and chase badgers and deer. For weeks I strained against my chains, twisted them and pulled at them, and for a fortnight I fought before finally shattering a link and finishing my four years of torture.

That afternoon when Tyr came I was lying in wait. I watched as he paused in confusion at the bottom of the stairs, baffled by my disappearance. In that moment, while his tiny mind was wrapped in other things, I sprung. I knocked him to the floor and lashed out with my teeth, catching his wrist as he moved it instinctively upward to guard his neck and face. My jaws were those of the wolf at that time, and I tasted the dwarf's blood as I clamped down. I remember the way his breath hit me when his face twisted into a silent scream. At the time I thought nothing of it, but later, during my time as my brother's squire, it haunted me.

I turned a deaf-mute into a deaf-mute with no right hand.

But, I was free. By the time the taste of dwarf blood had disappeared from my mouth I was stalking a herd of wild horses on the border of the Talenta Plains.

Fenris pauses a moment, his face blank. One begins to get the impression he is once again looming over the dwarf Tyr. But then his stony features break into a smile and he laughs:

Heh, I really was so hungry that I could eat a horse. And I did, two of them.

Child Johann's Daily Journal Barrakas 7th 975

When I looked upon my child I knew the Silver Flame could not tolerate his existence. He must have been less than four, I am sure of it. Yet before me was a boy of at least twelve, with whiskers beginning to show on his chin. I gathered the courage to burn him with the light of the Silver Flame, as I had done just before to his mother, but I could not.

Light, I gave life to the boy. I know he is merely a vile reminder of my past sins, and I hate his vileness. Yet... I have decided to hide him in Karrnath, chained underground with a dwarf named Tyr to guard him. He will be fed, but never allowed to escape and desecrate the world.

Da Bears

I had a talk with the Warforged 6709. A very interesting construct, a piece of artifice specialized in artifice. She also seems to be a very young Warforged, no experience at all in the Last War if I don't miss my guess. A few years on the Karrnath front lines would have taken some of her innocence. I like her though, she brews potions that will apparently turn me into a giant for a few minutes. She said something about "postulating that a hafted weapon the size of mine could possibly expand to a sum length of 11 feet". I got to use one today, it must have weighed forty pounds, but it felt like a feather.
The other warforged is impressive. He moves like an elf, not like scraps of metal, and he has guts; today he charged a pair of elephant bears with just his bare hands. I don't know where the bears came from, or why they attacked us, but before we could finish them off the dwarf was mauled to death. Plate mail doesn't do much against a 12-foot bear.
Also, found the party favors. The Captain was tied up in the airship under mysterious conditions, but we've no time to investigate further. This seemed to help most of the others forget their grief over the dwarf's death. Karkanna was his name, may he Travel quickly.

House Deneith Caravan 12 Journey Report

Entered Ardev with all goods and equipment intact. Encountered a group of druids from the Eldeen Reaches; Gatekeepers or something. Traveled a few leagues with them, safety in numbers. Ankhegs attacked the caravan but were handled easily by our complement of guards. The group from house Sivis seemed particularly afraid but were pleased by how effectively they were protected.

Childhood

I began my life with my mother. She was a solitary wolf-daughter, sometimes I suspected she was a full-blooded half-wolf, it would certainly explain a lot about my past. She never changed in front of me though, nothing more than the jaws or the coat at least.

But I only knew her for three years. My father introduced himself to me four years after his little affair with my mother, now a fully-fledged member of the Silver Flame church. My mother had become a skeleton in his closet that had to be erased. Relations with lycanthropes is worse than bestiality to the Silver Flame.

One night the door of our hut exploded inward, followed by a column of flame. In seconds my mother's blood boiled and the flame ceased, leaving only the smell of burnt fur.

"Child? Where are you my child, let me see you." My father stepped carefully in the hut, an orb of light hovering above his hand. Somehow he wore a smile. As if he expected me to run into his arms, happy he'd freed me from my mother the monster wolf.

And then he saw me, and the smile faded.

Party Favors

Traveler take those marked ones, they take such pride in their wealth. My first mission as a member of House Sivis' special guard is to travel to Ardev in search of a lost airship apparently carrying "special goodies" for some annual mark party. I'm traveling with the strangest band I've ever been a part of. I'm still trying to remember them all, I believe there's two warforged, a paladin of the dead elves, two of the least evangelical holy women I've ever met, a cat burglar, a faceless child of the traveler who, fellow child or not, makes me uncomfortable. I hear it was a prostitute to four different armies during the war, but that may have just been the dwarf talking. That dwarf is one of the stoutest I've ever seen, which is saying something. Other than that there's just a gnome, a representative of the house I suppose.
We leave for Ardev soon.

A New Beginning

I have chosen to work for House Sivis for a time. A job opportunity came up when I saved a marked group of archaeologists from a foolish trip to the Demon Wastes. I've become a name in the Eldeen Reaches. I'm not saying they think I'm a legend, I just want to be a ghost. The way I see it, I'll head to Sharn. It's the last place he'll look for me, and disappear among however many thousand souls dwell in that city. House work pays well too, so I've heard, and may even be more exciting than this endless prowling in the Reaches and Wastes.