Ten years ago, in a valley hidden deep in the mountains north of Mt. Hakobe, there was an ancient tribe, it's name lost to the pages of history. This tribe worshiped the spirits that govern the natural order and survived on the most primitive of methods. They hunted, fished, and farmed using tools and implements that predate modern magic and technology. Their worship was influenced by the large amount of spiritual activity in the land they lived on, resulting in a heightened sensitivity to this presence among some of the people born there. among the people born with this sensitivity was a shaman, Mikhael Kazakov, and his son, Dmitry. Naturally, the boy would be groomed to take his fathers place as the tribal shaman; However, that never came to be...
Eventually, it came to be rumored that a great power was hidden in this valley and that the ancient tribe protected it. This power, of coarse, was simply a way of describing the spirits that called this place home and the tribes sensitivity to them. Unfortunately, this tale (as they often are) was misinterpreted, leading some to believe the tribe held some sort of weapon or treasure. It didn't take long for avarice to rear it's ugly head and soon an armed group of treasure hunters made their way for the valley. They went to the shaman and demanded he hand over the "power" they had heard of. Mikhael simply shook his head and said "I cannot show it to you, for it is in earth on which you stand and which you breathe." The man's cryptic words angered the men and again they demanded the "power". Mikhael's response was the same; they didn't ask again.
Dmitry was eight years old when he saw his village burn. When the fighting started, he ran for the grove his father had taken him to so many times before. As he ran, he could hear the screams of the villagers. Try as they might, their primitive weapons were outmatched by the modern tools of the invaders. Dmitry fought back the tears in his eyes and ran for his tribe's sacred ground; the boy was lucky to get away.
This grove was the center of the valley's spiritual presence. Those who were sensitive to it could almost here the humming of spirits passing through. Dmitry hid in the hollow trunk of a tree, hoping the hunters hadn't noticed him. But much to his despair, their leader came striding in front of him, blood on his face. He was a large, middle-aged man with short black hair and brown eyes. It was already raining when he dragged Dmitry out of the trunk and threw him into the mud. As the burly man approached, Dmitry grasped the small knife his father had given him in his pocket. In a panic, he turned and blindly swung the four inch blade at his assailant only to have it twisted out of his hand and slashed across his right collarbone. The man then grabbed Dmitry by his hair and lifted him up before demanding the location of his prize. But when he looked into the boy's eyes, he didn't see a fightened child; he saw the eyes of a wild beast staring back at him, filled to burst with the rage of his tribe's murder.
For a moment, the marauder gave pause; he was awe-struck that such a helpless creature could produce such fury. Then he felt the air chill and shift around him. He could see what looked like glowing smoke circling around him before converging in one place to produce a single entity; a massive wolf. The animal had shining silver eyes and seemed to be made of the smoke from before. The man dropped the boy and the knife both before drawing his own ten inch dagger. The wolf simply stared.
Soon, the other bandits came from ransacking the village and readied their weapons upon seeing the wolf. As soon as they charged, the creature tore through them like a cyclone; those that survived immediately fled. The wolf then turned to stare again at the large man before slowly approaching him. The man backed away, hands shacking, and dropped the large dagger in the mud. "How unfortunate for you..." He could hear the wolf's voice echo, as if it were all around him. Suddenly, he felt an incredibly sharp pain in his gut. He looked down to see the demon-eyed boy leaving the dagger in his stomach. The man stumbled and fell down onto the ground. He struggled to pull himself away through the mud as the wolf kept it's approach. "It seems you've made a grave error in judgement." The man could be briefly heard crying out in terror before being silenced by the great wolf's fangs.
After that, Dmitry traveled alone, Hati guiding him from the spiritual plane. Apparently, Dmitry's raw emotion, combined with the spiritual pressure of the grove, called Hati into the physical plane. In doing so, the boy developed a spiritual bond with the wolf allowing them to communicate telepathically. Hati taught him how to survive; to hunt, make a fire, build shelter, even treat wounds. He'd seen the humans in that valley due it for centuries; he'd also seen them use magic. Hati used this knowledge to teach Dmitry how to summon him again. When he learned this magic, he began to sense the presence of other spirits. Not long after that, these other spirits began to follow him. Originally they were attracted to the presence of the great wolf, but then came to feel the boy's ability to summon them. As the years passed by, his abilities grew. Eventually, he was able to tame an elemental, the highest level of spirit. However, even though he had the willpower to bind it, Dmitry didn't have the magic power to bring it into physical being.
That's when he began to wonder: 'What's this power for?' All this time, he'd thought only of becoming stronger. But why? Dmitry realized then that he had nothing to protect, other than his own life; his spirits needed no protection. It also occurred to him that he spent more time with spirits than he did with humans. 'What am I doing?' he asked myself. The reply he got was from Hati: 'Nobody can decide that for you boy...' It was around this time that he heard about magic guilds, places where mages could go to hone their skills while making a living. Was this his answer? To spend time among his own kind? It didn't take him long to come up with his answer.
At the age of eighteen, Dmitry set out for Hargeon Town, home of Lamia Scale.
Eventually, it came to be rumored that a great power was hidden in this valley and that the ancient tribe protected it. This power, of coarse, was simply a way of describing the spirits that called this place home and the tribes sensitivity to them. Unfortunately, this tale (as they often are) was misinterpreted, leading some to believe the tribe held some sort of weapon or treasure. It didn't take long for avarice to rear it's ugly head and soon an armed group of treasure hunters made their way for the valley. They went to the shaman and demanded he hand over the "power" they had heard of. Mikhael simply shook his head and said "I cannot show it to you, for it is in earth on which you stand and which you breathe." The man's cryptic words angered the men and again they demanded the "power". Mikhael's response was the same; they didn't ask again.
Dmitry was eight years old when he saw his village burn. When the fighting started, he ran for the grove his father had taken him to so many times before. As he ran, he could hear the screams of the villagers. Try as they might, their primitive weapons were outmatched by the modern tools of the invaders. Dmitry fought back the tears in his eyes and ran for his tribe's sacred ground; the boy was lucky to get away.
This grove was the center of the valley's spiritual presence. Those who were sensitive to it could almost here the humming of spirits passing through. Dmitry hid in the hollow trunk of a tree, hoping the hunters hadn't noticed him. But much to his despair, their leader came striding in front of him, blood on his face. He was a large, middle-aged man with short black hair and brown eyes. It was already raining when he dragged Dmitry out of the trunk and threw him into the mud. As the burly man approached, Dmitry grasped the small knife his father had given him in his pocket. In a panic, he turned and blindly swung the four inch blade at his assailant only to have it twisted out of his hand and slashed across his right collarbone. The man then grabbed Dmitry by his hair and lifted him up before demanding the location of his prize. But when he looked into the boy's eyes, he didn't see a fightened child; he saw the eyes of a wild beast staring back at him, filled to burst with the rage of his tribe's murder.
For a moment, the marauder gave pause; he was awe-struck that such a helpless creature could produce such fury. Then he felt the air chill and shift around him. He could see what looked like glowing smoke circling around him before converging in one place to produce a single entity; a massive wolf. The animal had shining silver eyes and seemed to be made of the smoke from before. The man dropped the boy and the knife both before drawing his own ten inch dagger. The wolf simply stared.
Soon, the other bandits came from ransacking the village and readied their weapons upon seeing the wolf. As soon as they charged, the creature tore through them like a cyclone; those that survived immediately fled. The wolf then turned to stare again at the large man before slowly approaching him. The man backed away, hands shacking, and dropped the large dagger in the mud. "How unfortunate for you..." He could hear the wolf's voice echo, as if it were all around him. Suddenly, he felt an incredibly sharp pain in his gut. He looked down to see the demon-eyed boy leaving the dagger in his stomach. The man stumbled and fell down onto the ground. He struggled to pull himself away through the mud as the wolf kept it's approach. "It seems you've made a grave error in judgement." The man could be briefly heard crying out in terror before being silenced by the great wolf's fangs.
After that, Dmitry traveled alone, Hati guiding him from the spiritual plane. Apparently, Dmitry's raw emotion, combined with the spiritual pressure of the grove, called Hati into the physical plane. In doing so, the boy developed a spiritual bond with the wolf allowing them to communicate telepathically. Hati taught him how to survive; to hunt, make a fire, build shelter, even treat wounds. He'd seen the humans in that valley due it for centuries; he'd also seen them use magic. Hati used this knowledge to teach Dmitry how to summon him again. When he learned this magic, he began to sense the presence of other spirits. Not long after that, these other spirits began to follow him. Originally they were attracted to the presence of the great wolf, but then came to feel the boy's ability to summon them. As the years passed by, his abilities grew. Eventually, he was able to tame an elemental, the highest level of spirit. However, even though he had the willpower to bind it, Dmitry didn't have the magic power to bring it into physical being.
That's when he began to wonder: 'What's this power for?' All this time, he'd thought only of becoming stronger. But why? Dmitry realized then that he had nothing to protect, other than his own life; his spirits needed no protection. It also occurred to him that he spent more time with spirits than he did with humans. 'What am I doing?' he asked myself. The reply he got was from Hati: 'Nobody can decide that for you boy...' It was around this time that he heard about magic guilds, places where mages could go to hone their skills while making a living. Was this his answer? To spend time among his own kind? It didn't take him long to come up with his answer.
At the age of eighteen, Dmitry set out for Hargeon Town, home of Lamia Scale.
