Blackblade

In a world as unforgiving as Trevast, with ambitious nobles and turncoat priests galore, there has always been a constant demand for hired killers, sell swords willing to do the unthinkable in exchange for some small purse of coins. This is such a man, born to a lowborn family in one of the free cities of Luska - his true name has never been recorded (thanks to his own devices paired with the lack of such records for those not of noble birth) and instead he goes by the name he gave himself, Darren Blackblade.

His history is known mostly by his reputation, namely his professional track record - which is diverse and varied to say the least. It is known that he trained for some time at the Valdez ‘Blades of Castelli’ court, before a secondment with the rangers enabled him to cross the border in the dead of night and set up on his own. He was turned down from the main mercenary groups that criss cross the land, due to his unwillingness to assign a name to himself and to remain anonymous.

As such he headed out on his own, and is first recorded as doing so in the records of the Chancellor of the Free City of Luska itself - in which he began as a hired blade, or ‘Bounty Hunter’, with little more than a blade at his side, and a set of leather armour ‘borrowed’ from a dead bandit. Over the course of the following months he tallied in more Bounty Sheets than anyone in the Free Cities history, building his reputation, and his arsenal - to unprecedented heights.

With his reputation growing, so to was the style of clientele he was attracting; and soon the Nobility and Guilds of Luska called upon his services. His aptitude for contracted killing grew, and he took classes from different trainers in various schools of combat - developing his infiltration and ranger skills to enable him to trace quarry across Trevast and even beyond. Records exist of the man known as the ‘Vengeance’ heading over the seas (which would explain some of his more novel gear) and carry out jobs there.

Whatever happened since then, it is assumed that he fell into the debt of the King of Luska himself; and remains on permanent retainer for the Monarch himself.



Noted Equipment

Due to the nature of his trade, he is often seen entering a township in a small traditional ‘Wagon’ in which he is known to live. Within this wagon he stores a wide range of equipment, such as Repeater Crossbows, Spears, Scimitars and much more. Naturally, he cannot carry this all with him at any one time, and thus when out and about, he tends to carry a bandoleer of throwing knives, a scimitar and a repeater crossbow, alongside two hand axes.

Armour Wise is known to wear his trademark hat and scarf on the lower half of his face, with a stout leather jacket. Mail is placed under the coat, so as not to encumber movement.His main focus is on speed and stealth in combat - not force.

Noted Kills

Maria Du Valdez - On the instruction of a foreign client, he poisoned the first wife of the King of Valdez, with an exotic toxin that sickened her child, and killed her in the process of birth. To this day it is unknown that he was behind it.

The Black Horn of Asken - Another one of his noted contracts saw the young Bounty Hunter take up ac contract to track down and dispose of a renowned Bandit Chieftain in the Valdez Mountains. Tracing him across the snows, he took a crossbow bolt to the eye from the cover of the trees.

Skills

One of his main skills is in the tracking of prey, and he can do this thanks to his Ranger skills. Alongside this is very talented in the creation of toxins and poison; with an aptitude for bizarre weaponry and swordsmanship. Due to the fact he has never had to directly face a well known swordsman from another Kingdom, it is not known how well he would fare, but judging by his reputation, it would be fair to assume the fight would end quickly.