Post by Ska'ar Wulfsiger on Apr 6, 2009 16:37:47 GMT -5
What follows are excerpts from the works of Kalos the Bard, recounting the tales shared by a shipwrecked pirate during a winter blizzard. The pirate is still considered an outlaw, and Kalos has been jailed by the Kingdom of Llorac for distributing his tale.
Though I cannot verify the truth in any of the stories told to me by Captain Wulf, I can say that after all the time I spent with the man, he was quite honorable and noble, hardly what one would think of as a pirate, and thus I must believe that every word was truth, even if embellished.
It falls first that I should tell the story of how the Pirate Lord Wulfsige came to be, for this is the most curious and sought after tale of them all, and the last which I was able to garner from him with much coaxing and brandy wine! It all began many years ago deep in the northern lands. It was a secret affair between an influential chieftain's daughter and a lowly smith named Johann. After years of troubled upbringing by the smith's jealous wife, and young Wulfin's inability to find interest in his father's trade, he ran away at the age of 14, never to see his family again.
Wulfin stowed away on a corsair's ship, traveling to the East. He was discovered 2 days into the journey and brought before the unusual corsair. Nina looked at the boy and smiled a malicious grin as the first mate threatened to toss him overboard. Nina had a better idea, however, and employed the boy as an apprentice to her aging boatswain. Young Wulfin learned how to tie rope, hoist sails, stockpile goods, and of course...carry things that weighed twice as much as he did.
The corsair, Nina, began to take a liking to the young boy, and in private while the crew was off trading, she taught him the art of sword-fighting. For hours on end they would fence, as he would learn the footwork, how to disarm, how to parry, thrust, and by the age of 16, he had become quite a worthy opponent for her. He was also becoming quite a strong and gifted young man. However, attention began to be drawn to these discreet meetings, and the first mate became jealous of Wulfin. He murdered the boatswain and made it appear to be the work of the boy. Soon the whole crew was up in arms with torches and clubs, knives, and whatever they could find. Mutiny was in the air, and Nina and the boy were most certainly the targets of the crew's rage.
The next morning, Wulfin awoke half-naked on deck to find the entire crew had died in a mysterious attack. It appeared to be brutal, savage, perhaps the work of pirates. Nina was conspicuously absent, but the boy had managed to escape the attack he could not remember with only a few scratches, and a scar across his right cheek. It was this scar that would help birth his new name as he drifted through the nomadic mountain lands north of the Orient. They said it appeared as if a wolf had devoured his enemies, thus is must be the wolf's victory that saved him. Thus Wulfin the Scarred, became known in this strange people's tongue as Ska'ar il Wulfsiger, or "He who was scarred by the victorious Wolf."
As the story of his discovery spread through the lands, so too did the stories of how the fierce and unusual corsair took the form of a wolf and fought off the mutineers, escaping into the night leaving the boy behind unconscious. As they spread far and wide, they became more and more embellished, and soon young Ska'ar was thought to have become a wolf himself! (He neither confirmed nor denied this story, leaving yet some intrigue as to what exactly did occur that night.)
Thus as he traded and fought with these strange Mongol-like nomads, learning the ways of defending tribal lands, and how to hunt, he quickly earned a mysterious reputation. He also learned how to steal what he needed from the traders without being caught...at least for awhile. By the age of 18, young Ska'ar Wulfsige found himself sailing down the Yellow River, smiling and waving to his angry nomad friends as they shot at him with fiery arrows and rocks from the shores...
Though I cannot verify the truth in any of the stories told to me by Captain Wulf, I can say that after all the time I spent with the man, he was quite honorable and noble, hardly what one would think of as a pirate, and thus I must believe that every word was truth, even if embellished.
It falls first that I should tell the story of how the Pirate Lord Wulfsige came to be, for this is the most curious and sought after tale of them all, and the last which I was able to garner from him with much coaxing and brandy wine! It all began many years ago deep in the northern lands. It was a secret affair between an influential chieftain's daughter and a lowly smith named Johann. After years of troubled upbringing by the smith's jealous wife, and young Wulfin's inability to find interest in his father's trade, he ran away at the age of 14, never to see his family again.
Wulfin stowed away on a corsair's ship, traveling to the East. He was discovered 2 days into the journey and brought before the unusual corsair. Nina looked at the boy and smiled a malicious grin as the first mate threatened to toss him overboard. Nina had a better idea, however, and employed the boy as an apprentice to her aging boatswain. Young Wulfin learned how to tie rope, hoist sails, stockpile goods, and of course...carry things that weighed twice as much as he did.
The corsair, Nina, began to take a liking to the young boy, and in private while the crew was off trading, she taught him the art of sword-fighting. For hours on end they would fence, as he would learn the footwork, how to disarm, how to parry, thrust, and by the age of 16, he had become quite a worthy opponent for her. He was also becoming quite a strong and gifted young man. However, attention began to be drawn to these discreet meetings, and the first mate became jealous of Wulfin. He murdered the boatswain and made it appear to be the work of the boy. Soon the whole crew was up in arms with torches and clubs, knives, and whatever they could find. Mutiny was in the air, and Nina and the boy were most certainly the targets of the crew's rage.
The next morning, Wulfin awoke half-naked on deck to find the entire crew had died in a mysterious attack. It appeared to be brutal, savage, perhaps the work of pirates. Nina was conspicuously absent, but the boy had managed to escape the attack he could not remember with only a few scratches, and a scar across his right cheek. It was this scar that would help birth his new name as he drifted through the nomadic mountain lands north of the Orient. They said it appeared as if a wolf had devoured his enemies, thus is must be the wolf's victory that saved him. Thus Wulfin the Scarred, became known in this strange people's tongue as Ska'ar il Wulfsiger, or "He who was scarred by the victorious Wolf."
As the story of his discovery spread through the lands, so too did the stories of how the fierce and unusual corsair took the form of a wolf and fought off the mutineers, escaping into the night leaving the boy behind unconscious. As they spread far and wide, they became more and more embellished, and soon young Ska'ar was thought to have become a wolf himself! (He neither confirmed nor denied this story, leaving yet some intrigue as to what exactly did occur that night.)
Thus as he traded and fought with these strange Mongol-like nomads, learning the ways of defending tribal lands, and how to hunt, he quickly earned a mysterious reputation. He also learned how to steal what he needed from the traders without being caught...at least for awhile. By the age of 18, young Ska'ar Wulfsige found himself sailing down the Yellow River, smiling and waving to his angry nomad friends as they shot at him with fiery arrows and rocks from the shores...