op back again with more additions. rip to my non-Warriors followers.
barley: after growing up in what is essentially a street gang, a young man decides to defect after the gang’s leader attempts to murder his sister to punish him. fortunately, he’s able to help his sister escape, though she’s fatally wounded. he brings her to a safe and loving home, where she’s nursed back to health and cared for. he leaves her there, and they don’t see each other again for a long, long time. he wanders the countryside for a few months, before settling down on a nice farm, wanting nothing more to do with his violent past. he prefers to keep to himself, though he’s friendly to the people living nearby, and agrees to take in a boy who is forced to run away from a dangerous situation (see above). as the years pass, the two become absolutely inseparable, and they’re happy. years later, he finds out that his brothers have become the new leaders of the gang, and he’s forced to fight against them, finally hitting his breaking point when they mistreat his partner. eventually, his partner passes away due to an illness, and firmly believes that they’ll be reunited in death one day.
scourge: a small, timid boy is abused by his siblings and neglected by his mother. he frequently makes up tall tales to try and make himself sound more intimidating, to no avail. however, a stroke of dumb luck makes one of his fearsome stories appear to be true, and his peers become wary of him. he eventually runs away, and meets two other youths in the woods, one of whom beats him up very severely. he’s saved by the other boy’s companion, but he never forgets the encounter, or lets go of his anger. as the years pass, he makes his way to the city, and after several scrapes, decides that the only way to get respect is through violence. this leads to him getting in several fights, using clever and somewhat underhanded tactics to make up for his size, culminating in his killing a man in an extremely violent and gruesome fashion. his reputation now solidified, he then begins collecting followers, and becomes the leader a violent and ruthless gang. he is now far worse than anything he pretended to be in a youth, and his sanity has definitely taken a toll. even his own followers are afraid of him, due to his tendency to kill those who step out of line. he eventually is approached for help by the very same boy who beat him up all that time ago, now all grown up and not remembering the incident at all. he’s offered the chance to help take over a society he looks down on, and agrees. however, when his new “ally” steps out of line and pushes him too far, he kills him on the spot, shocking everyone involved. he then leads his followers in a great battle against his enemies, in which several die, before finally being killed himself by his enemies’ leader – unbeknownst to either of them, his half-brother. after his death, his soul vanishes into nothingness.
sol: a man lives in comfort, but is intrigued when he meets a woman who prefers a difficult life of fighting, ceremony, and living by a code. he helps her escape when she’s captured, and asks to go home with her, to which she agrees, allowing him to join her faction. he uses sneaky and underhanded tactics to get things done, much to his friend’s disapproval, and frequently tricks others into doing the hard work for him. when he doesn’t climb the ranks fast enough for his liking, he engineers a scenario in which he can be a hero, kidnapping his friend’s child so he can rescue them. he’s found out, and promptly banished. years later, some children from another faction come across him while he’s roaming the countryside, and he asks to go with them for shelter. they agree, and are surprised by how much he already knows about their way of life. they think he might know something about a prophecy they’ve heard, but he doesn’t say anything. later, he manipulates another faction’s leader into renouncing the gods, though he’s later banished once again when his deceitfulness is discovered. he’s accused of a murder (which he actually is innocent of, for once), and attempts to take credit for saving three children (which he absolutely did not do), meaning no one trusts him as far as they can throw him. from there, he pops in and out of the heroes’ lives, and his true motivations and goals are completely unknown. he’s charming and usually very polite, and almost never loses his cool. by now, most people know he’s out to screw with them, but no one’s entirely sure why.
cinderpelt: a bright, energetic girl is raised to be a soldier, which has been her dream since birth. she has a close and trusting relationship with her mentor, and is set to become a great fighter. but then, tragedy strikes, and before she can finish her training, she’s hit by a car and permanently disabled. she’s utterly heartbroken over the realization that her dream was not to be, but trains under her faction’s medic to one day be her replacement. it’s hard work and she’s not naturally gifted at it, but she trains, studies, and learns a lot. she is so wracked with guilt the first time a patient dies on her watch that she vows then and there to never let it happen again, though her mentor gently explains to her that losses are inevitable. when she eventually assumes the position as her faction’s medic, she diligently works to protect her patients, and remains a trusted confidant to her former mentor, as he rises to become a leader. she also, on one occasion, treats two sick members of an enemy faction, despite putting herself at risk of infection, and despite the fact that she’d get in huge trouble if she was found out. she believes in the gods’ power and prays to them for help, but also understands that they don’t control everything – “sometimes, a storm is just a storm.” the gods give her a secret test of character, showing her a vision of her own death. despite her fear, she faces it with dignity, and dies saving the life of a pregnant woman. her reward is that she’s reincarnated as the newborn daughter of the woman she saved, though it’s a very long time before she regains memories of her past life.
