Senwyr (? AC – 353 AC) was a Ranger in the Age of Despair. His tortured life was filled with many losses, tragedy and sorrow.
The Early Years[]
At the age of eighteen, Senwyr and his sister, Lynn, were traveling over the seas with their parents when tragedy first struck Senwyr's life. A horrible storm blew their ship off course near the Icereach. No one on that ship survived aside from the young Senwyr and his sister. The loss of his parents would not be the last loss that Senwyr felt.
The leader of the Arktos tribe and his son, Stonebreaker, found the two children while hunting seals, starved, frozen, and half-dead. The Icefolk saved them and nursed them back to health. As both grew healthy, the two survivors wanted different things. The younger sister, Lynn, was happy living in the Icereach and had found love in her savior, Stonebreaker. Senwyr, on the other hand, grew restless to return to Palanthas to marry his true love, Gisele. He promised to return south if he could convince his future wife.
Not much is known about what happened directly after that, but Gisele and Senwyr did get married and eventually Senwyr found himself employed by the black wizard, Maddoc. Senwyr was displeased by the evil things Maddoc did, but decided to stay on. As the years passed, Senwyr, and his wife, Gisele, had a child and named him Davyn.
It was at this point that Senwyr finally had enough of his master, Maddoc, and saw how truly evil Maddoc could be. Senwyr did not want his child raised near Maddoc's evil taint so Senwyr and his family decided to flee south for the Icewall. Senwyr, his wife, and son, Davyn, fled and almost made it but were caught by the wizard, Maddoc. Maddoc saw it as the worst betrayal, and he decided to punish his estranged servant in the worst possible way.
Maddoc magically altered Senwyr into a souless pet monster he dubbed "the Beast" and ordered the once decent man to kill his own wife, Gisele, and child, Davyn. Senwyr, now the Beast, ferociously killed his wife but would not attack his infant son. Maddoc was angered beyond reproach and decided to punish Senwyr another way and raise his young son, Davyn, as his own. Davyn grew up knowing nothing about his father or his mother; only that a kind wizard had taken him in. Anytime Davyn was around, Maddoc would hide the Beast in the deep catacombs of Cairngorn Keep.
Time of the Beast[]
The Beast still served Maddoc for years though. Senwyr was changed into an unnatural monster created by the black wizard, Maddoc. It was big and built like a bear, but much more powerful. Long, sharp bone ridges ran down its massive shoulders unto its back and along its tail. The Beast's head was flat and triangular, like a snake, yet it had four horns, and its mouth had row after row of razor like teeth. Its eyes were red slits under the creature's brow and seemed to reflect the firelight as if lit from within. The Beast became Maddoc's pet and one of his many monstrous creations.
The Beast served Maddoc's purpose and was hired out to anyone who needed to intimidate his or her neighbors. It was used by the bandit leader known as Gadion for his attacks of vengeance against the town of Potter's Mill. Using a crystal necklace, flat and white, the bandit controlled the Beast and attacked. The first few attacks were only against livestock but soon came against the citizens of Potter's Mill. The Beast killed 4 in the town of Potter's Mill and only a young girl named Heira survived by hiding in a chimney.
When the young girl known as Nearra came to Potter's Mill, the black wizard Maddoc used the Beast to try to unleash the Emergence within Nearra. He had the Beast attack after Nearra and her friends arrived at the seer, Shemnara's house. The Beast attacked and killed an innocent named Tully. Davyn, Nearra, Sindri Suncatcher, Elidor, and Catriona Goodlund tried to fight back against the creature but were losing. That is until the Beast spotted his son, the young ranger Davyn. 16 years before the Beast couldn't kill Davyn and he still could not this night as well. The Beast became confused and retreated into the night.
Later on, when the Highland Rangers kidnapped young Davyn and his friends, the Beast attacked again and killed 3 members of the Rangers and chased the rest away into the night. Davyn, and the elven thief, Elidor were left alone to pursue the monster. They baited a trap for the Beast and attacked. The Beast was killed after Davyn, his own son, shoved a hunting knife into his chest.
Once the Beast was killed, it reverted back to the normal man in shredded clothes, Senwyr. With his dying breath, Senwyr told his son about what Maddoc had done to their family and died in his son's arms with a smile on his face. Senwyr was finally freed from his tortured life, by his own son's hand.
References[]
- Temple of the Dragonslayer, pg.64-65
- The Dragon Well, pg.84, 121-122,187-194
- Wizard's Curse, pg.172-173