Ithos

The lofty standards and exacting nature of the High Elves are their blessing and their curse. Justified pride so easily turns to arrogance, and a bruised Elven ego can be a fearsome thing indeed. Snubbed by those he most respected and denied the title that he was obsessed with, Ithos has become a degenerate example of the worst excesses of the High Elf mindset. From his youngest days, Ithos wished to become the Royal Huntsman, one of the most prestigious titles available to servants of the Aravian monarchs. The Royal Huntsman is the hand of the crown at home and abroad, whose many-fold duties include hunting fugitives, executing dissidents, and spycraft and subterfuge. The Royal Huntsman acts with near-total impunity, answering only to the monarch. Ithos craved the glory of the title, and more so desired the absolute freedom to act as judge, jury, and executioner to the enemies of his people. Though Ithos excelled at the various examinations and trials that would-be Royal Huntsmen are subjected to, when his mind was probed by skilled Aravian interrogators they found him to be too mentally unstable and self-absorbed to truly fit the role. They sensed his true desires: a license to hurt and kill without consequence, unquestionable status, and a shroud of fear to wear. With the blunt scorn that many say is typical of High Elves, they told him point-blank that his temperament was unsuitable and that he was permanently disqualified from the role of Royal Huntsman. Ithos did not take it well. Ithos swore that his examiners were incompetent and that his talents were unmatched, conjuring conspiracies against him in his febrile imagination. When another, anonymous, candidate was raised to the status of Huntsman, Ithos vowed to show the Aravian bureaucrats that he, and no other, was the greatest hunter in the land and the most deserving of the role. Without seeking permission, Ithos embarked on a campaign of savage terror against those he perceived as the greatest threats and humiliations to the Kingdom of Aravia — some of whom were longstanding antagonists to the state, while others were simply those who got in lthos’ way. A notable anti-Elf propagandist of Human stock living in Arnoc thought himself safe in his high tower, beyond the borders of Aravia. His lofty abode exploded in a tremendous flame that lit the night sky like the noonday sun, causing it to collapse and burn to ruin. A trading company run by recalcitrant Dwarves reneged on a deal with one of the Aravian merchant guilds, only to find the president of their enterprise torn to pieces, his limbs and organs scattered around his warehouse and his blood soaking and defiling their valuable inventory. An Orc warlord who dared launch raids against Aravian caravans was stalked and harried until he went mad, even as he fled across Peltas to try to escape Ithos’ reach. Witnessing his friends and companions murdered one by one by his seemingly all-powerful hunter, his mind cracked from the stress and grief, and the Orc fled gibbering into the desert and perished from exposure. More gruesome tales exist, too horrible to relate. When the Aravian authorities heard of lthos’ mad quest to usurp the Royal Huntsman, they were largely appalled. A few in the Aravian ministries of justice tacitly or overtly offered approval of Ithos’ activities, however. They argued for the utility of an unofficial Huntsman, a deniable asset whose goals largely if incompletely overlapped with their own – even if Ithos and his methods lacked the expected restraint and subtlety of those of a true Huntsman. A spirited debate ensued, but in the end royal judgment fell against Ithos and his backers. Whatever use Ithos could be to the crown was deemed to not be worth the ignominy of his deeds, and the likelihood that eventually his twisted judgment would place innocents or even important personages at risk. Those who had examined Ithos were held accountable for his rampage, since they were the ones who rejected and subsequently released him back into the general populace, when in retrospect they should have detained him and his dangerously troubled mind. With bitter irony, the true Royal Huntsman was assigned the task of finding and apprehending Ithos — the ‘impostor’ Huntsman. A deadly game is now quietly unfolding across Aravia, frequently spilling out beyond their borders as Ithos roams the breadth of Teleria in his delusional work. If nothing else, Ithos may soon get his chance to compare his skill to the person chosen instead of him.