User:Arlo
General Information
Name: Arlo Wrassesmith
Titles: Right Hand of The Scourge, Shark, Secretary of Valhalla, Member of the School of the Wolf, Member of the House of Leather and Steel
Pronouns: They/He
Species: Kelpie
Realm: Kaer Morhen
Unit: School of the Wolf
Started fighting in 2024
Events attended
- Field of Bones XIII
- Northland's Mind the Goblins
- Gathering of the Clans XII: A Fistful of Boffers
- Breach on Belletyn
- Armageddon XXII
Gallery
(photos will be added once I figure out how to embed them :D)
Lore
Arlo grew up where the Buina and Gwenllech rivers crossed. Their parents found them abandoned when they were young near the edge of the water. They didn’t know where Arlo had come from but felt compassion towards this infant with hooves instead of feet, wrapped in seaweed, sleeping on the shore and decided to take them in. Arlo became part of the family and was proud to use their parents last name of ‘Wrassesmith’. Once they had grown a bit spent their days foraging and fishing with their father and learning fiber crafts from their mother in the evening. They always felt a strange draw to the water that they didn’t see shared by the rest of their family. For all their longing, they couldn’t understand why so they spent their days listless around the river’s edge, picking small plants they found and catching fish. Due to their nature, they had few friends but learned whatever they could about the world around them, spending many an hour studying the plants they grew and fish they caught. Eventually their parents informed them of their past, neither of them were quite sure what they were but suspected they were some sort of fae. In order to keep them safe, they were made modified boots to cover their hooves for whenever they would leave home. They had a garden packed with vegetables which they tended to with their brother, traveling to town to sell whatever they had excess of. It was a simple life but Arlo loved it. Unfortunately for them, peace could never last. News of monsters was spreading quickly with stories of villages and homesteads being devastated by horrendous attacks. They saw the people in Daevon and Vattweir living in fear of what may come and they saw their family struggling to keep brave faces in the face of this new danger. They didn’t know what they could do until one day, they crossed paths with a traveling Witcher in Daevon. They didn’t catch his name and didn’t offer theirs but meeting him helped them figure out what they wanted to do with their life and how they could protect the world they love.
The best way they could protect the people they cared about was to learn how to fight for them. While it was one of the hardest decisions they had to make thus far, they knew that it was their time to venture out into the world and try and make a difference. They had heard tales of a place where mythical heroes had been trained and so they decided they needed to go to Kaer Morhen. They traveled to Daevon, intent on finding the Witcher they had met before. He was apprehensive about bringing a child to the valley but Arlo’s will was steadfast and he accepted the duty of bringing them along. They traveled by land, trekking across the plains and tree filled hills. Small monsters crossed their path with While the journey was long and difficult, they made it to the stronghold in one piece.
Arlo was brought down Witcher’s trail and into Kaer Morhen, the School of the Wolf, introduced by the warrior that had brought them there. They had no interest in becoming a Witcher themself but knew the warriors there to be the most skilled in combat in all the lands so they made their case and asked to be taught how to fight. They spent some time training there with any Witchers and travelers that they could muster the courage to approach, learning what they could from whoever passed through.
It was there that they made their first blade, only passable in its make but sturdy enough to fulfill its duty. They were gifted a shield by a fellow trainee at the School of the Wolf, Fodder, who was a Witcher in training at the time but officially became a Witcher not long after. They met many whose names would drift through their mind till the end of their days.
While at Kaer Morhen, they ate with many others who had come to train and through this discovered an odd habit of theirs. No matter how bad the food or horrendous the drink, if any was left at the end of the night they would stay out late in order to finish it. They didn’t want things to go to waste and they were willing to pay the meager toll to prevent that. This did little to benefit them aside from earning them strange glances from the resident Witchers but they did it nonetheless.
One day, they met a Witcher at the School of the Wolf by the name of Jericho. They quickly became friends, with Jericho becoming one of the people they trusted the most and one of the only people they were comfortable enough around to share the happenings of their life with. While he hadn’t shared with them his whole story, they understood that he was hesitant to trust people which left them surprised but glad to be one of those lucky few. They didn’t know it yet but Jericho would become someone they could trust and knew would have their back in the battles to come.
Another guest was an orc who walked with a confident stride, someone whose power radiated off her and who seemed to know it. They were dressed as though they were prepared to fight but they seemed to hold no animosity towards the crew. Jericho seemed surprised to see them there but welcomed them anyways and introduced them to the crew as the crone queen of the Unseelie Fae, an unexpected face to see on their ship. Turns out that they were familiar with Jericho and had claimed The Scourge as part of their fleet if ever they would need to go to war. They had killed things most people wouldn’t dare dream up so despite their trepidation, the crew’s trust in their captain won over and they welcomed the Queen heartily.
They visited all manner of locations with and without the rest of their crew. While Arlo loved their life above The Scourge once in a while they needed to venture out on their own and make new allies and enemies of their own. They once took a journey to the Northern Steppes in hopes to gain a fistful of boffers. Pirate life paid quite well but having the chance to develop their individual skills as a warrior wasn’t an opportunity they wanted to pass up.
While visiting, Arlo made a near fatal error. Having been assigned a quest to retrieve the hat of a fearsome pirate captain in exchange for coin, they tracked him down to where he spoke with his entourage. Their approach was quick and quiet, allowing them to snatch his hat from his head and flee as fast as their feet could carry them. They turned as they ran and saw him drawing his axe in rebuttal, only increasing their need to run, quickly depositing the hat at the Kinky Cactus for their reward before bolting away. They later met Magnus again and apologized, expressing their remorse and mild fear for their wellbeing.
They attempted to fulfil another bounty but this individual was guarded by four wizards who challenged anyone who approached to a magical game of summoning objects: rock, paper, and scissors, to determine the victor. In order to claim this bounty all four wizards must be defeated in succession before challenging the leader. The first wizard was disarmed without a hitch but unfortunately the others were not so easy to beat. This left Arlo listless as they had failed at this task and had to walk away in shame, joining the leagues who had tried and failed before them.
They visited another gathering by the name of Armageddon and this one they arrived at with the majority of the crew of The Scourge by their side. They helped when they could to keep things running smoothly and to improve the experience of their friends. The rains came harsh and unforgiving but they and their comrades worked to make the best of a dismal situation.
One day at Kaer Morhen’s honor circle, Arlo received an award known as ‘Great Expectations’. They worried about not being able to live up to who the elders thought they could someday become but the braid didn’t feel like pressure. It felt like encouragement, a promise that they would continue to grow, change, and improve throughout their life. Without Kaer Morhen they could have seen themself floating through their days, lost with nothing to tie them down and a wanting for something they could never have. They felt lucky to be there in that moment and to get a kiss from the man they loved. They were with friends, and they were safe.
On The Scourge, Arlo was adept at their daily tasks, fulfilling the role assigned to them to the best of their ability. They warded off the stress and pressure their position gave them by throwing themself into their work. When they needed to destress and the ship was stationary they would jump off the top deck and swim down as deep as they could, letting the air in their lungs run out before opening their gills. They would float there for a while just breathing and being, their hooves just above the bottom of the sea before returning to the deck. The crew wondered why they always seemed to end up sopping wet but they decided it best not to comment on their soggy state.