Kai

"Wyvern spotted near the Western bluffs. Seeking a madman to deal with it. Competitive reward. See Merl at the Cat's Claw." - Nailed to a message board. Curious eyes and silent stares accompany him through every public space. Wary faces peers from clapboard windows as he strides through town squares seeking work… yet he pays them no mind. With trophies from his hunts adorning his black and crimson gear, no contract is too substantial for Kai, The Beast's Bane. Many have speculated as to his background and nearly all have been well off the mark. Is he some plump Lord's son off to prove himself worthy of inheritance, or an adrenaline addict pressing toward an early grave? Perhaps it's merely the glint and clink of coin that drives him into what very often appears to be the jaws of death itself… In truth, Kai grew up a slum orphan and learned early to trust absolutely no one. He begged, stole, and scraped by, becoming more misanthropic as he grew into a tall, bedraggled youth. His only friend? An angry black stallion he managed to spring free from the stables of its abusive owners in one of his more daring escapades. They fell in sync—both angry with the world and in need of kindred company. After saving enough for a small crossbow, Kai guided his steed into the woods far away from the complications of man to live off the land. By their second summer together, he could strike game from nearly a league away, growing strong from the meat while selling pelts to keep his horse fed. Until something fed on his horse... After returning to his campsite one afternoon, the young thief-turned-hunter discovered chunks of his trusted steed scattered through the clearing—even in the trees. Guessing correctly that a dragon had done the horse in, Kai decided on the most logical course of action: tracking it down and putting a bolt straight through its eye. And, that's exactly what he did. Fueled by stubborn fury, Kai followed his horse's blood trail through the woods to a cliffside cave overlooking the sea. He snuck into the dragon's lair and waited for the opportune moment. His bolt struck true and the serpent shuddered with a gargantuan death rattle. While skinning bits of the great beast and extracting various valuable trophies from its carcass, the thief-turned-hunter-turned-dragonslayer had but one thought: "I could get used to this."