[hider=Grendel]
[hider=Appearance][center][img]https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/eladriells-dd/images/9/99/Barbarian.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190331084929[/img]
[i]Human Form[/i]
[img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/92f123d4-3e8a-420e-80e0-874c44bc4cc1/d5r87mg-de1c5e26-5bd3-4f79-a38a-de02da7de23e.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOTJmMTIzZDQtM2U4YS00MjBlLTgwZTAtODc0YzQ0YmM0Y2MxXC9kNXI4N21nLWRlMWM1ZTI2LTViZDMtNGY3OS1hMzhhLWRlMDJkYTdkZTIzZS5qcGcifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.NdtI0aJT9a9XXdJxUJnP9nLVwZ8stcNiolQhArG0Nl8[/img]
[i]Beast Form ([url=https://www.deviantart.com/zoppy/art/Night-Werewolf-348063640]source)[/url][/i][/center][/hider]

[b][color=SlateGray]Name:[/color][/b] Jaakiv Wilhelmson/Grendel

[b][color=slategray]Physical Description:[/color][/b]
[indent][b][color=slategray]Human:[/color][/b]
As a human, Jaakiv is a tall, blond, muscular man of the wilderness, standing at 6'2" (1.88m) and built rather muscularly, weighing at a healthy 210 lbs (15 stone/95 kg), looking much like what one would call an ancient Viking. He has piercing blue eyes, usually has a strong, focused expression on his face, and long, unkempt hair and beard. His body sports elaborate tattoos all over his body.
[color=slategray][b]Monster:[/b][/color]
In Beast form, Grendel is a fearsome giant werewolf covered in white fur, standing nine feet tall at full height and weighing about a half-ton. He is incredibly beefy and tough, and has a terrifying presence, capable of striking fear with his massive size, feral form, and icy cold eyes.[/indent]

[color=slategray][b]Class:[/b][/color] Lieutenant (Lt.) of Draygon

[b][color=slategray]Personality:[/color][/b]
Grendel is gruff, moody, and sullen, having no patience to deal with humans and preferring to work with beasts of the wilderness. He is a man of few words, and dislikes conversations. Nonetheless, he tends to be rather snarky, commenting snidely on events and conversations. He deals with merchants and such people only when he needs something, and tends to be less than diplomatic in bartering and dealing. This attitude extends even to other Lieutenants of Draygon, as he dislikes the whole lot of them and finds them unlikeable monsters. He remains polite and loyal to Draygon because of the hold his master has over him. He is also a determined foe and a focused hunter, single-mindedly following a hunt to its conclusion.

However, despite his gruff attitude, he is an honorable man, rarely making oaths and vows but following them faithfully when he does. His word is his bond, and he never acts in bad faith. Should someone save him, he will make a point of sparing their life [i]once[/i], or giving them a large head start if they ever meet again. He also has a soft spot for young girls, since they stir whatever embers of humanity still lurk in his despairing heart by reminding him of his kind, beautiful daughter.

Grendel is also full of self-loathing and despair; he had a wonderful family life, but it was all torn away from him, mostly by his own hands, leaving him as nothing but a monster serving an even greater monster. His contempt for the other Lieutenants extends also to himself, as he considers himself nothing but a monster, an assassin working for a vile being, too cowardly to take his own life and end his misery. This sometimes leads to drunken binges in human form, resulting in entire kegs of particularly strong liquor being consumed to drown his sorrows. From time to time, he will try to atone for his actions by helping random travelers survive the wilderness by clandestinely dropping off food and supplies, trying to keep it secret from his master. However, he knows he has gone too far in the service of evil, and accepts his damnation bitterly.

[color=slategray][b]History:[/b][/color]
The man known as Jaakiv Wilhelmsen was a skilled hunter living in a remote village with his wife and daughter. While the villagers treated him with suspicion for his hermetic lifestyle, his beautiful wife Hilde and lovely daughter Gretchen remained his anchor to society, and a calming effect to his temper. He hunted wild beasts for food and furs, and collected herbs to sell to the villagers, and was a skilled trapper and wilderness expert.

One day, his daughter caught severely ill, and the only medication was a rare herb in the mountains. A fierce blizzard was blowing, and the nearest apothecary was miles away, so Jaakiv set out to save his daughter. Despite his skill in surviving and his determination to return with his daughter's salvation, he was soon overcome by the blizzard. Finding himself about to perish, and knowing his daughter would follow soon without the proper medicine, he called out to the gods, anyone who could help him, pleading for help so he can save his daughter. Just when all hope was lost, a strange man found him, and offered him the strength to survive the storm so he can return home and save his daughter. Desperate, Jaakiv accepted the deal, and found himself imbued with inhuman strength and durability, allowing him to complete his quest and return home with the much-needed herb. His daughter's recovery was quick, and Jaakiv was overjoyed.

However, not long afterwards, Jaakiv became more distant, more brooding and temperamental as a result of his new powers. He was harder to reach, and his wife often had problems calming him down. His neighbors accused him of harming their cattle, either directly or by setting up traps. He vehemently denied it, but his short temper made his denials hard to believe. Indeed, Jaakiv was surprised by these accusations; he would never hurt his neighbors or their property, and made sure to hunt in wilderness. He was sure these were all fabrications or bigotry at work, all of which made him even more foul-tempered towards his neighbors. Even his daughter was afraid of what was happening to him.

One night, his neighbors came forwards with proof of his misdeeds, all the while Jaakiv insisted he was innocent. The arguments got out of hand, finger-pointing turned to shoving, and the villagers' anger got out of hand, and they assault Jaakiv. While he was a skilled fighter, he was unarmed and initially tried to avoid hurting others, but soon they had dogpiled him and were beating him with sticks, knocking Hilde to the ground when she begged them to leave him alone. In that moment, he lost control, gave in to his beast side, and let loose.

It was a village of a few dozen people against a rampaging monster; none of them had a chance. He tore through his tormentors, tearing flesh, shattering bone, and smashing in doors, walls, and windows with contemptuous ease. Only when the village was silent did he stop. And in that moment, he realized the depths of his deeds.

Not only had he slew his neighbors, but their families as well. His own wife was the first to fall, trying to hold him back as she desperately pleaded with him to return to his senses, only to be cut down by a stray swipe of his claws in his berserk rage. He had torn down the small wooden houses the villagers lived in, burying any survivors under stone and wood. Only his daughter Gretchen still lived, her life hanging by a thread after her father dropped a wall on top of her in a blind rage. Unable to help her, he howled his sorrow, grief and folly to the skies, wailing at his folly and the harm his hands have wrought.

And that's when the mysterious man reappeared to Jaakiv. He could not bring back his wife, or the villagers, for it was too late for that. However, he [i]can[/i] save his daughter, help Gretchen recover, give her the chance of a life. All Jaakiv had to do was serve him obediently. Jaakiv, knowing he had damned himself with his own hands, accepted.

Now he serves Draygon as the fearsome Grendel, a hunter and assassin, seeking out targets and slaying them to appease his cruel master. He rarely lives among humans anymore, preferring a solitary life in the wilderness, only coming to civilization if he needs something he can't make on his own, posing as a strange hunter traversing the wilds. Sometimes, a lost traveler can expect to find food and drink when they wake up, a seeming gift from the heavens. But for the most part, Grendel is known as a monster hunting the wilds, ambushing convoys and travelers at his master's command.

[color=slategray][b]Abilities:[/b][/color]
Grendel is a skilled hunter in both human and beast forms, and is a highly skilled warrior and assassin.
[list][*][color=slategray][b]Human[/b][/color]
While Grendel is a self-taught man with little formal education, he can read decently enough, while his writing is a rough scrawl. His main skills, however, are in hunting, survival, and fighting.
[list][*][i]Strong Warrior:[/i] Grendel is a fierce and accomplished warrior, capable of fighting with weapons or barehanded, killing beasts many times his size in human form and equally skilled against human foes. He is also very strong, even for a healthy grown man and skilled hunter, and can best most men in a wrestling match easily.
[*][i]Silent Hunter:[/i] Similarly, he is incredibly skilled in stealth and hunting in the wilderness, ambushing prey before they even know he's there. He can also set up cunning traps to capture, wound or kill humans or beasts, and skills at 'steering' a hunting target into an ambush or trap.
[*][i]Sharp senses:[/i] Grendel has sharper senses than the average human, and an especially strong sense of smell he can use to track people's scents.
[*][i]Persistent Predator:[/i] Grendel possess great stamina and determination, and can follow his target for weeks on end, relying on his skill at foraging to obtain food and tools before quickly resuming the hunt, never giving his prey a moment's rest.
[*][i]Master of Beasts I:[/i] Grendel has a power to control vicious beasts and communicate with them, but it is rather limited in his human form. He can communicate with ravens and use them as his scouts to track his foes, and has limited control over small rats.[/list]
[*][color=slategray][b]Beast:[/b][/color]
In Beast form, Grendel becomes a terrifying, werewolf-like creature with incredible strength, stamina, and skill, with strongly enhanced senses that allow him to track prey relentlessly.
[list][*][i]Beastly Strength:[/i] Grendel is much stronger in Beast form, and can tear a man limb from limb just using pure strength. He's also a very agile fighter, deceptively fast for his size, and incredibly tough to boot, making him a much more dangerous foe to fight. To top it off, he retains his fighting skill and experience even in beast form, adding to it his prodigious strength.
[*][i]Teeth and Claws:[/i] Grendel long sharp teeth and claws, capable of tearing through flesh with ease and ripping apart targets. These claws make it harder to use tools and weapons, but he can still make a decent trap or two in beast form.
[*][i]Superior Senses:[/i] Grendel's senses are boosted to insane degrees, allowing him to be a very skilled hunter and tracker. Try as they might, his foes cannot cover their tracks for long, and he [i]will[/i] find them.
[*][i]Silent Hunter:[/i] Grendel continues to be a dangerously skilled assassin, and while he is a powerful fighter he is also incredibly quiet when he goes on a hunt, allowing him to take his prey by surprise. He also possess incredible stamina, and will tail his prey for weeks on end.
[*][i]Master of Beasts II:[/i] In his Beast form, Grendel has greater power over the beasts. Not only does he have complete control over crows, allowing him to use them as swarm attackers in reckless attacks, but he can summon hordes of rats of all sizes or even packs of wolves and/or dire wolves as companions. This allows him to set up ambushes and cover a wider area when on a hunt.[/list][/list]

[b][color=SlateGray]Equipment:[/color][/b]
While he is an accomplished warrior and hunter in beast form, Grendel is an experienced hunter, and prefers to come prepared. As such, he has a considerable equipment list with him at all times:
[list][*]Heavy Axe (for combat)
[*]Throwing Axes/daggers
[*]Hunting Knife (footlong)
[*]Rope and stakes for traps
[*]Composite bow and quiver of arrows, made by himself.
[*]Herbology kit for poisons and medicines
[*]Necklace of teeth from wild animals he's hunted
[*]A locket with a sketch of his wife and daughter in it[/list]

[b][color=slategray]RP Notes:[/color][/b]
Jaakiv is meant to be a tragic villain, one forced by circumstances to serve a cruel taskmaster. His only concern is to serve Draygon so that Draygon can heal Gretchen. He has lost so much, he cannot lose his daughter and the only good thing remaining in his life. He tries to do small acts of good to atone, but knows that given his master, he is surely damned, and grudgingly serves as a hunter and assassin. Two things he seeks above all else; saving his daughter, and redemption. Given the proper motivation, he might even join the heroes, but they have to convince him they can save his daughter.

Grendel refers to himself as Grendel, a recognition of the monster he's become. However, assuming you meet him in his human form and manage to win him over, he'll give his name as Jaakiv, as though out of a desperate attempt to remind himself of the better person he once was.

Oddly enough, Grendel is based on a [i]heroic[/i] PC of mine from another forum, Sgt. Jake Wilson, a WW2 US Army Ranger with survival skills and a nasty side that comes out in desperation. He wasn't a werewolf, but fought them instead.
[center][hider=Beowulf][h2]BEOWULF[/h2]
[h3]Verse III: Grendel the Murderer[/h3]

When the sun was sunken, he set out to visit
The lofty hall-building, how the Ring-Danes had used it
For beds and benches when the banquet was over.
Then he found there reposing many a noble
Asleep after supper; sorrow the heroes,
Misery knew not. The monster of evil
Greedy and cruel tarried but little,
Fell and frantic, and forced from their slumbers
Thirty of thanemen; thence he departed
Leaping and laughing, his lair to return to,
With surfeit of slaughter sallying homeward.

[i](source: [url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16328/16328-h/16328-h.htm#III]Gutenberg Project[/url])[/i][/hider][/center]
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