The air hung heavy with the stench of blood and iron, now graces with the stillness of death. Urdn'Varn stood amidst the fallen Selûnite hunters, his breath ragged as he surveyed the aftermath.
Tillybell approached Urdn'Varn cautiously, her eyes scanning the bodies around them before settling on him.
"Urdn'Varn, the The battle here is done, so now.." she began softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I need your help." She exclaims, a sound of sorrow tinting her voice.
"..There are others like me, werewolves trapped by their curse. I heard rumors of their suffering before I came to aid you.. and now for some reason, now that I'm near you.., I can Feel them.. their pain..,
.. it's calling to me!"
As Urdn'Varn turned to meet Tillybell's gaze, a mix of sorrow, anger, and determination flickered within his eyes.
"Tillybell, I will gladly help you do whatever it takes to free your moonkin," he replied. "..But first, I must hide all the metal from these Selûnites, less the others may find my home."
"Then.." Tillybell says before suddenly expelling silver light masked by foggy shadows.
Within seconds.. Her Lycan form seemed to peel away from her skin and fall to the ground, her size shrinking generously as she transforms into Her original form;
that of a halfling. "let me help you!"
"What was that!" Urdn'Varn exclaims, as he stands before Tillybell's now halfling form, his wings fully extended expression of his shock and awe.
"That was astonishing! Is this due to the effect of my gift, the power Lady Shar has bestowed upon me!?" He says.
"I think s so. Well kind of.. It's more of a skill.
Something I had to train myself to do.."
She pauses for a second, letting the weight of her words sink in, obviously flattered by Urdn'Varn's new interest in her and her abilities.
She places one hand on her hip and the other under her chin before continuing to say. "..Actually I've learned I can also take on the form of a Worg, ..but I don't like to do that cuz it's too hard to move around in... Fast as hell it is though."
Urdn'Varn caught off guard by her statement stands there, looking at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Enough about me though, let's hurry and hide these weapons and the armor like you said so we can be off, ..I'll tell you more about myself later."
She says before kneeling down in front of her and unstrapping the breastplate from One of theSelûnite Hunters.
Intrigued yet irritated Urdn'Varn looks at Tillybell as she attempts to ignore the subject. "..Very well then, let us hurry and complete this task, so we may go and save your Moonkin."
With heavy steps, Urdn'Varn and Tillybell moved among the fallen Selûnites, stripping them of all their weapons and armor.
Each clang of metal reverberating like a mournful dirge, a reminder of the life stolen from him and the blood that had been spilled for his freedom.
Before leaving, Urdn'Varn reported to the Worg Queen, his piercing blue eyes glinting with determination. "Qween Nazareth, I must go to aid the Justiciar, I am not sure how long I will be gone.., but for now,
I would like you to order a couple of the worgs to guard these caves, and keep there contents hidden until I get back."
Seeing the importance in he words, Nazareth agreed to his request,
and bid Urdn'Varn farewell for the time being, and together, Urdn'Varn and Tillybell stepped through a shimmering onix and midnight portal, leaving behind the site of their hard-fought victory.
Their journey.. spanding longer than two weeks, was a grueling odyssey of pursuit and peril.. for the forests and mountains they where about to traverse were known for being unforgiving to all those who dared to cross them. As they set off, the air was thick with tension, and with every passing day, their resolve deepened, but so too did the grim reality of what they had to face along the way.
The first of the werewolve's they found was two cursed souls who had been captured by a cunning Tiefling showman.
By the time Urdn'Varn and Tillybell had arrived two Werewolve's already were being paraded around as a grotesque carnival attractions.
The Tiefling, known only as *Averia the Marvelous*, used silver chains and cruel enchantments to keep the werewolves subdued as they paraded their suffering in order to delight their gawking crowds.
As Urdn'Varn and Tillybell drew closer to the grounds of the carnival, they could hear the wicked ringleader as she announced the suffering of the two werewolves whom they had come to rescue.
"Come one, come all! Witness the savage power of the *Moon-touched Terrors*! The Majestic beasts known as; *Were-Wolves*."
Averia announced to her fans, brandishing a staff that glowed with a sickly green light, as Chains of gleaming silver wrapped tightly around two werewolves' wrists, legs, and necks.. imbued with necromatic magic.. designed to sap their strength, and force them into obedience. Whenever one of them attempted to resist her commands, Averia would activate the power of her staff, sending a wave searing pain coursing through their bodies.
As he watched from behind a tree, hiding on the outside of the carnival grounds, Urdn'Varn's blood boiled at the spectacle. "No more... no more shall you suffer." he whispered, a promise as much to himself as to the prisoners. His gentle posture now shifting into one of rage.
Seeing this, Tillybell placed a steadying hand on his head, her eyes hardened with determination. "Don't worry.., We'll save them, no matter what it takes. But for now we must be patient, We must wait, ..till the time is right to strike." she vowed.
Later that night, just before the sun started to rise, Urdn'Varn and Tillybell moved stealthfully through the carnival, hoping to be as silent as their shadows.
As they drew their way closer to the main tent, the scents of roasted nuts and meats, accompanied by the clamor of drunken laughter.. masked their approach.
With speed and precision, they disabled the guards on duty, and eventually.. they managed to reach the cage that was holding the imprisoned werewolves, who are now in their humanoid forms, cowering together in the far corner of their cage.
"Please Averia, just leave us be. My brother can barely stand as it is." The female in the cage cries, expecting the ring leader to be standing before them.
"I'm not Averia, and don't worry.
..We're here to help free you." Tillybell whispered as Urdn'Varn picked the four Silvered Locks that secured the cages door.
The twins staggered forward, their limbs trembling from years of abuse.
As they reached the edge of the cage, Tilly Bell extended her hand and said,
"You're free, ..now hurry and follow us."
After being rejected kindness for so long,
one of the twins fell to their knees, and tears began streaming down his face. "Thank you," he rasped, his voice raw with emotion. "I thought me and my sister would be trapped forever, that we were going to die by the hands of that f**king Tiefling."
"There's no time for crying, we must hurry brother." The other twin says, ..But as they started to leave, Averia appeared from behind a tent and raised their staff, sneering at Tillybell and the twins. "You stupid halfling.., You think you can steal my property, I'll show you... *Aghw*!" Their words silenced, as Urdn'Varn stepped forward from the shadows, fury radiating from his eyes as a flash of moonlight danced across his dagger. With ease, Urdn'Varn slashed the ringleader's throat, and seconds later, Averia fell to the ground, shattering her staff into a thousand pieces.
Later that day, Tillybell took the twins to the Sharran Church she calls home, to live amongst her fellow Apostles.
After arriving at the church, Urdn'Varn invoked Shar's gift she had bestowed upon him, channeling his power and slowly, their monstrous forms began to rise once again now covered in chains of silver.
For a moment, the twins suffered once more as their souls cast judgment upon themselves, but by the end of the next night, two more Wulvenvir had been freed From there in thrallment.
..And under Tillybells orders, the twins were accepted into the Sharran Church, now freed by the power of Glepner's Judgment.
About a week later, Urdn'Varn and Tillybell found another lone Werewolf, hiding deep within a cavern, once used by dwarvern miners. However, by the time Urdn'Varn and Tillybell had reached them, they had already been driven completely mad by the Lycanthropic curse, and unbeknownst to them, the man within the beast was incapable of feeling any remorse for their crimes or the lives they had taken, ..and so, for the first time a werewolf was crushed by the Mystical Silver Chains of *Glyphnir's Judgment.*
As their fury deepened, the chains tightened with every struggle. The Werewolf snarled, clawed, and howled trying to break free of their restraints, but the silver links of the chain soon began to sprout thorns as it constricted mercilessly around the beast, cutting deep into its fur and flesh.
The more they tried to resist It's grasp, the closer came it came to death.
As Tillybell watched from afar, tears began to form in her eyes, "What the hell is this, what is happening to them Urdn'Varn,
The chains, they are crushing them!"
Urdn'Varn's face began to fill with sorrow, as he tried to explain what was happening. "I'm sorry Tillybell, but I can't stop it.." he cried, as he watched the magic take it's effect.
"this Gift, *Glyphnir's Judgment* is just that.. it's a hex that judges ones soul."
As he wipes the tears from his eyes, he tries to console Tillybell.
"When I was first bestowed this power.. Shar told me.. that if I were to use it on a Lycanthrope, who is as no sense of remorse.. they would be judged accordingly."
By the time Urdn'Varn finished speaking,
the werewolf fell dead before, crushed by the chains' unyielding grip, and the truth that now lies before them was undeniable,
for the spell's judgment is absolute.
As Tillybell looked down at the corpse, she came to realize the fate that could have befallen her, if not be for the pain, loss, and sorrow in her heart that The Followers Of Shar cherish so dearly.
Five days later they came across a child who managed to survive an attack from the prior werewolf a week before who had just begun to start their transformation.
Urdn'Varn and Tillybell confronted the tortured child with heavy hearts, knowing of their peril.
"Please, don't be afraid." Urdn'Varn implored, extending a hand to the afflicted child. "We can help you.. if you let us."
The werewolf child lunged at Urdn'Varn with a snarl, it's eyes blazing with bloodlust.
But their attack was interrupted by Tillybell as she transformed and grabbed the young halfway enthroped child.
"Hurry Lord Varn, Cast your judgement before they fully transform!" Tillybell shouts.
With haste Urdn'Varn raises his hands and begins working the weave in order to cast Glyphnir's Judgment apon them.
As the magic took effect, Tillybell released the child as they fell back to the floor.
Together her and Urdn'Varn waited to see what judgement the young Lycan would receive.
Soon the child returned to normal, and began to cry as the memories locked deep within their mind began to surface.
The child turned out to be an orphan, who ran away after their village was attacked by a werewolf, and so Tillybell decided to take the child to be raised by the Twins who they had saved before him.
Urdn'Varn and Tillybell brought the three freed werewolves, now reborn as Wulvenvir, back with them to the worgs later, where Nazareth lie waiting for Urdn'Varn's return.
As they reached the other side of the Justiciars Portal, The Worg Queen stepped forward from the shadows and nodded slowly at Urdn'Varn and the others.
"Urdn'Varn.. You have proven yourself in blood, though pain, and in mercy!" she declared, her voice echoing in the minds of all present. "You once hunted amongst my children as an equal, .. But now Lord Urdn'Varn... The pack follows you."
She pauses, catching her breath before continuing to say, From this day forward, you stand beside me, as a leader of the worgs..
And so I grant to you, My three oldest to command as your own!..
come forth G'nash, Vaunch, and Ghoult; come now before and kneel before your king!"
The three mighty Worgs approach Urdn'Varn and bow before him, then spit in a pile before him. —As is the Worgian way of swearing a Blood Oath.—
Urdn'Varn greatfully accepts her offer and takes the worgs as his own before introducing the Wulvenvir whom he brought with him.
During his announcement, some of the worgs report a group of goblins nearby.
After a short interrogation, they learn that the Goblins belong to a group that claims they used to live at the old Ruins, long before the Selûnite's took it back over.
The goblins eager for revenge, welcome Urdn'Varn and his companions as their allies. Once everyone comes to an understanding, they all spend Three nights praying to Shar and partying with a Goblin and Bugbear tribe that lives on the far side of the Upperdark Forest.
Over the next eight months, Urdn'Varn, spent most of his time crafting a forge hall in the back of one of the caves far away from his home, with the help of the Goblins and Gugbears that also worship Shar.
Together, they then began smelting down, then reforging the weapons and armor gathered from the fallen Selûnites.
While building the Forgehall, Urdn'Varn and the others attracted the attention of a small group of Traveling Kobold blacksmiths' who agree to help teach Urdn'Varn their traditional ways of Smelting metals and forging weapons and armor ment for their kind. Together they worked tirelessly making sure every ounce of the Saloonites metal was re-forged into Urdn'Varn's own custom design of elegantly crafted, Sharran Apostle Wargear. For months, each day and night echoed with the clang of hammers, the ringing of anvils, the hiss of cooling steel, and the incantations of Shadow-Magic used to craft these powerful weapons.
As Urdn'Varn worked tirelessly, he gave thanks to his goddess, for in his mind.. each weapon and piece of armor he forged, marked the birth of a new age.
A mother later, during the night of the eclipse, as the last of the newly crafted armor cooled, Urdn'Varn gathered his allies before him, their eyes filled with anticipation.
"Tonight we shall Hunt the Selûnites, and together, strike their temple to the ground!" He declared, his voice firm and unyielding. "With these weapons, Armor, and our strength, we will make them all pay.. The Selûnite's must be made to see the error of their ways."
As he finished his speech, the Worgs growled and snarled in agreement, their fangs and claws gleaming like the armor they had donned.
Behind them stood the goblins, bugbears, And even a few Kobolds with their newly acquired armor and weapons, hooting and howling as they sing their songs of war.
The four Wulvenvir who stand beside Urdn'Varn, *now partially armored*, howled along side them, adding a mix of human-esc and beastly charm as the moonlight highlighted the determination in their Lycan faces.
Together, they were ready to fight as one under Urdn'Varn's command.. not just for pride and vengeance, but for their freedom from years of Selûnite oppression they have suffered.