Varjo Tapaava (The Deadly Shadow)

Varjo Tapaava (deadly shadow)

Varjo Tapaava

Varjo was raised by loving, though stupidly liberal parents. They never told him “no,” so he was very accustomed to getting what he wanted. He was impetuous and selfish, and very much spoiled. He was always very quick, agile, and clever, so he never learned the value of hard work, as he always had a natural leg up on his peers.

Being a spoiled, gnomic child, he was never satisfied. After several roes with his parents, he thought he could do better for himself on his own and struck out. 

He repeatedly failed to find an honest means to provide for himself, and had no luck making any friends. His attitude quickly drove away anyone who gave him a chance. He returned home to his parents only to be met with indifference and scorn. Feeling unwanted everywhere, he returned to the slums, bars, and brothels. Low on cash, he was not welcome in the Inns or taverns; he was forced to become a dweller of the streets.

He picked pockets for money, and stole meager portions to stay alive. One day he was noticed by a leading half-orc of the thieves’ guild. The half-orc took him in and trained him. Varjo quickly realized that he had quite a penchant for picking both locks and pockets. His lithe fingers allowed him quick, deft movement that could easily go unnoticed. He was trained by the rogues, but always desired more than the mere subsistence he was relegated to as the low man on the totem pole.

One day he robbed an old potion lady’s shop but got poisoned by what he took. It fascinated him, as he was so affected by it. The possibility of such great power became an obsession he could not shake. The guild tried to discourage him from dallying in poisons, but he felt it was because they were not as intelligent as he. That became the spark that began his drive to ascend beyond the likes of his fellow-thieves and seek out mastery of this art.

While he was learning his craft of poisons and fatal attacks, the guild became unstable. The leader of the guild (Skupina Voditelj) was away scouting a large take, and that is when Los ZmijaDah, a particularly greedy human rogue, decided to attempt his coup. He had been rallying followers for some time, but his ego was far larger than his actual support. Rather than rising to power and “dismissing” any dissenters, he split the guild and started a small war within.

His rival Kamien Kulak was the guild-leader’s right-hand-man (or half-orc). He saw that ZmijaDah was intent on being a tyrant, and Kulak had loyalty to the order of Skupina. He defended the guild against the uprising, but his severe lack of charisma and leadership made his efforts to unify the guild against the rebellion almost entirely counter-productive. The battle was far from glorious. Some died, many fled, and the guild was shattered forever. As the battle drew to a close, ZmijaDah and his two best guards began to slaughter the wounded survivors, one of whom was Varjo. As Los ZmijaDah approached Varjo, Kamien flew through the air and tackled Los. As they wrestled along the ground Kamien yelled to Varjo, “Run! Do what you must to survive!” And Varjo did. Those last words would echo in his mind for years. They would form the motto of his life. The basis upon which he made every decision. He would never forget that day. The day that Kamien gave his life for him. Every day that he lived would honor the sacrifice that his mentor had made.