Hestlin
A tall strong man sat on the side of a mountain looking over the forest below and the river to the south. His face worn beyond his years, his posture tired yet resolute, he appeared lost in contemplation. The time had come, but he wondered, was he really ready? Could he go through with the plan? His thoughts wandered to the beginning.
A young man stood at the edge of the forest, only sixteen years old, yet already versed in sorrow. The Dark Wars that began in Vrystoria had started to spread to other worlds. His unit had been sent to close a portal in the hopes of containing the darkness. They had failed. Tired and covered in dirt and blood spatter from both ally and enemy, the handful of remaining warriors searched the battlefield for any wounded. In that moment, Hestlin made a vow to himself and to the universe that he would find a way to stop the darkness, and put an end to the war.
After seeking out the best teachers, Hestlin started his training as a warrior. With greatsword in hand, Hestlin’s renown as a formidable warrior began to spread across the worlds. But before he reached his twentieth year he realized that the enemy could never be defeated by strength of blade alone and he turned to the gods. Beginning with Vynora, he started his study of the Light gods, their motivations and their powers. He learned from Vynora the power of knowledge. He began to seek excellence, and learned how to use the knowledge he acquired for things that previously would have been claimed to be impossible. Fo taught the value of all life – human, creature, and plant. A bear named Brell formed a strong bond with Hestlin. Brell would rarely leave his side and many times their bond strengthened Hestlin and together they averted disaster. Magranon held the secrets of domination. Perhaps the hardest lesson of all was that before he could master or control anyone or anything else, Hestlin had to master himself.
The hope, that the answer was within the powers of the light gods, drove Hestlin to learn the strengths, the secrets, and the limitations of the powers of light, and in the process master himself. As the time passed the knowledge and wisdom that he gained brought him to a point of realization. In order to defeat the darkness he would need to understand the darkness, to be able to think like those who possessed the darkness. With other options exhausted, he resolved to study of the ways and powers of Libila and the powers of sorcery. He steeled himself against the darkness and determined not to think about the horrors of his own actions that were yet to come.
He started the journey into darkness with caution. He kept safeguards in place so he wouldn’t lose himself completely to the darkness. He embraced Vynora’s urging to seek excellence. Seek the truth in all things. Go anywhere in your attempts to find it. He went many places that deep in his heart he never wanted to see, and learned truths he didn’t want to know. He clung to Fo’s admonition to strive after beauty and harmony with nature. Keeping animals close by at all times to help him come back to harmony with nature, he especially clung to Brell. Many days only Brell stood between Hestlin and pure darkness. He trusted Magranon’s promise that you will conquer all evil and one day you will stand at the top of the world and sing. During this time, mastery over himself was not easy and many times he turned to Magranon for strength.
Even with every safeguard available in place he almost lost himself. As he immersed himself in the teachings of Libila he became the hate and the deceit. Lured by the promises of power he descended to the point where he was willing to sacrifice Brell, and his last connection to light. When the moment came that he picked up Libila’s scythe, an earthquake saved Brell’s life by distracting Hestlin long enough to remind him the value of life. He knew then he was ready. After thanking Fo for the earthquake, Hestlin began his real work.
While he gathered the support of Vynora, Fo, and Magranon, he was able to deceive Libila, hiding his true intentions from her. Thus he was able to draw on the powers of them all. With a deep understanding of the powers of dark and the powers of light, Hestlin began mixing the two. He tested spells and enchants with components of both dark and light. Many of his first attempts failed, but with each try he managed to discover a little more about which tenets of each could be mixed and what the results were. Many of his enchanted items found their way into battle and helped to slow the tide of darkness buying Hestlin time to finish his masterpiece.