Name: One-Armed Gus
Race: Human, Mixed (Human and Vantha)
DoB: Spring 45, 474 AV
PoB: Avanthal
Title: Hunter
Skills: Hunting 78, Stealth 71, Longbow 68, Tracking 66, Longsword 61, Butchering 54, Tanning 51, Wilderness Survival 47
Gnosis: None
Additional Info: Gus was born and raised in Avanthal, and lived there as a hunter for more of his life. He was one of their best huntsman, though not a particularly sociable man. He had a wife and a daughter, and for the most part they kept to themselves in a cabin he built.
In Winter of 516 AV, when Morwen failed to bring winter to Mizahar, Gus couldn't tolerate a blatant disruption of the natural order of things. He and his family up and moved away from Avanthal, and the man built a new home deep in the wilderness of Taldera. But even for the most experienced of hunters, the wilderness is an incredibly dangerous place. While out hunting, a Dire Grizzly Bear could smell food within his cabin. The grizzly investigated, and found Gus' wife and daughter cooking, terrified of the monster that was sniffing around. A single scream from his daughter startled the curious bear, and it knocked over the pot of cooking stew. Logs from the fire rolled out, and it didn't take long for the place to go up in flames while the bear ran off.
Gus returned to find his cabin burned to the ground, his wife and daughter as charred corpses, clinging to one another in the corner of the ruins. Gus' trained eyes quickly found the bear tracks, and guessed what had happened, and the man was wrought with vengeance. So he stalked the bear, and slew it. But the man did not follow his code of a hunter. He let the bear's corpse rot, not using any of it. Nor did he stop with the grizzly that accidentally killed his family.
Gus went on a rampage bender. He tracked as many bears as he could, and slew them all, males, mothers with cubs, those that slept in hibernation. But it was not to last. Oriana found him. And she hunted him, like he hunted her children. She chased him all over Taldera, purposefully letting him stay ahead of her just enough to not be captured. But the man was given no rest. Eventually he collapsed, unable to move on further, and Oriana stood over him.
She knew what had happened to his family. She knew it was this man's fault, for being careless and full of hubris. Death would be too kind to him. This man wanted to die. The demigoddess made him stand up, look her in the eyes, before she ripped his right arm clean off at the shoulder. He would never use a bow again. She left him with a simple warning.
"If you so much as lay eyes on my children again, I'll take your eyes. If you touch a bear's hide, living or dead, I'll take your other arm. If you chase one of my children, I'll take your legs. You will father no children. You will not kill yourself. You will live to the end of your natural days, knowing that your own foolishness led to this."As he stood there, clutching at the bleeding wound where his arm was, she gently ran her fingers over his clothed chest. Cloth and skin tore open as if by a true bear's claw, and then the goddess disappeared into the forest.
Gus still managed to survive, and traveled south, and eventually found himself at the North Ravok Outpost. As it was still being built, he was initially turned away, but soon Gus began providing crucial information to the patrols about animals patterns and trails to keep them away from the most dangerous of monsters. Samara firmly believes the project would've been delayed a further two years if Gus hadn't shown up and helped. As such, she allowed him to build his hut in the Outpost, where he keeps to himself.
Gus now spends his days in solitude. His reputation within the outpost is well known, but the man only provides aid when it is needed. But Samara believes that if a hunter is determined enough to get to know the man, that Gus will be of more use.
