Agel

“The tale of the feckless king is a common one in Adan Degom. Every culture, every nation within the realm has a tale to tell. A warning to rulers of minding their ways lest their carelessness get the better of them. In Toloska, we do not care for such things.”

“Our story. A true story. The true story is not about the king. No. It is about his retainers. That is the warning we tell. The truth all others forget. Ignore.”

“You know this story? No?”

“Then I shall tell you. I shall you of the first Toloskan king. Toksun, who was great and feckless. Of his retainers, who the story is truly about.”

“For you see, Toksun was a great war leader, but a terrible ruler. He brought our people out of the deep green of the Heghelwos Mahr, across the rivers, to this fertile great bowl we have named after him. He brought death to the Tarathans and drove fear into the hearts of our cousins, the Jenkaz.”

“But the wars were over. Our people had a home. We no longer feared the many Bes of our homeland. We were free and unafraid. We made wine and babies. The fields grew golden and we prospered.”

“But Toksun grossed and grumbled. He let his sons, Geza and Mika, mere boys, handle the affairs of the people. He held feasts and hunted wolves, but was ever restless and bored. Bad choices he made, and the people suffered in silence, but he gave it no mind.”

“One day a traveling skald came to his court, sharing tales of a great beast in the heart of the land. A boar like no other in size. Strength. Destruction. Yet, content to stay within the heart of the woods it called home. A curious oddity.”

“The few who had went to roust it out died or fled so far they left the country, screaming their fear as they raced by. And yet, it gave no chase beyond the borders it had claimed.”

“This roused Toksun, for he was a man of action. He called forth his court, a hundred stout men and women of war. His boon companions in the times of conquest. At once they set out to face this beast, who until this time, dwelt in peace in the heart of a great wood.”

“And so, with the skald as guide, they fell upon the boar’s lair. The skald warned them all that this was no simple beast, but a Horror from when time was not time. From before the burning of the Garden and the betrayal of Goliat.”

“It was a monster of muscle and rage. Yellowed tusks and angry flames. It was fearsome, but content to keep to itself. To attack it would be folly.”

“This skald was well known in the land for their wisdom. She had seen much and learned much in her travels across Yggdrasil. Her words spiked worry and fear within the retainers, but they said nothing.”

“Though in Toloska, every man or woman of age may speak truth to the king with freedom from fear, they kept silent. And so, in silence they began to charge to their death.”

“In pairs or small groups, the king sent them into the lair to roust the beast. In those numbers they died. Hour by hour. Death by death. They gave no protest to the careless king, simply following his orders with no questions on their lips.”

“This went on until only two retainers remained, his old horse groom, Ludvik, and his young sword bearer, Orzma. He demanded that they follow their fellows into the darkness and face the beast in honor of their king. In unison they declared they would not, and walked away from Toksun, all the way back to his hall.”

“The feckless king finally realized his folly, and in penance charged into the heart to face his well deserved death. Ludvik and Orzma returned to the young princes and were rewarded for their stout hearts in the face of foolishness.”

“For, as I said, in Toloska, only a fool follows a fool into the horror’s house.”

~ From Taubha’s Lesser Book of Names

Agel is well known for their desire for isolation, peace, and quiet, very unlike other members of House Tekskwiegh. Vengeance is known to sit in his heart, but the target of his ire is unknown. Some scholars believe that perhaps the source of his need for revenge fell during the Madness that changed him into a flaming boar the size of a mammoth and his satisfaction is unattainable.

In game play, Agel is a classic questing beast for adventurers. He is quick to rage and designed for causing destruction, but he has rules he will follow, such as never leaving his domain unless forced out. He will engage in conversation with those who discovery him, but such things rarely happen, as people naturally fight or flee when faced with a monster of his size and shape.