Kellan the Shrike

Protecting the Mistwood from intrusion is a difficult – but immensely important – task for the Sylvan. Those Watchers responsible for such duties must balance the need to keep their and their people’s homes safe against mercy shown toward those whose trespassing is accidental. Often though, the former takes priority, for the risk of a transgressor doing harm, deliberately or otherwise, deeper within the Mistwood is too serious a threat. Commanding the border guard is therefore a great responsibility. Most recently, an Elf known as Kellan assumed that duty after an extended period of service along the northern border. Though young, Kellan’s skill with a bow is exceptional, and he showed a ruthless streak that won him favor with the other border guards, if not the Sylvan Court. Kellan’s reputation rose when a migrating Ogryn tribe pierced the edge of the Mistwood. They cut and occupied a clearing, wiped out the initial Sylvan patrol that discovered them, and mounted the warriors' dismembered remains on the sharpened branches of the nearest trees as a crude warning that this territory was now theirs. News of such slaughter and desecration enraged Kellan. The Sylvan Court ordered the border patrols not to attack until a large enough force had been gathered to eliminate the invaders swiftly. Scorning such caution, Kellan gambled by leading an immediate, unauthorized retaliation. Striking from the treetops, his warriors rained arrows down on the Ogryn, and neatly avoided their every effort to strike back. Wherever the Ogryn tried to break boughs or tear through the foliage to find an enemy, they found it empty. Elven archers flitted like birds from branch to branch, melting back into the shadows whenever the Ogryn rushed them. At times the defenders of the Mistwood were caught out by the sheer ferocity of their enemies, shaken from the branches and trampled or caught in exposed positions – the speed Kellan demanded from his assault meant that there was no room for error. Still, the Ogryn could not endure against the ruthless hit-and-run tactics. Disdaining his heavy losses, Kellan continued until the invaders had been wholly eradicated. When the forces sent by the Sylvan Court arrived, they found Kellan mounting the remains of Ogryn on the outermost trees, impaling them on sharpened boughs or amid thickets of thorns. It was, he coldly claimed, a warning for those who believed the Mistwood was a place that could be claimed and tamed. Word of Kellan’s victory spread swiftly, and he earned the name 'Shrike', after the so-called butcher-birds who impaled their insectoid or verminous prey on thorns or sharp twigs. Kellan embraced the reputation and, while the Sylvan Court did not approve of his reckless and brutal act, it was not uncommon for the remains of more egregious invaders of the Mistwood to be decorating its borders, a dark warning that served to do the work of the Watchers for them, and ward away many potential trespassers. Not content merely with protecting the Mistwood, Kellan led raids against enemies who had either recently struck against the Sylvan, or who appeared set to encroach on their territory. These strikes – retaliatory or preemptive – occurred beyond the Mistwood’s borders, and were considered by some Sylvan to be unnecessarily vicious. They were also a risky gambit, taking place where the Rhythm was weaker. Kellan, however, has always returned victorious. For that, he has been granted command, with some misgivings. There are rumors that the aggressive Elf has designs on the role of High Watcher, the supreme commander of the Mistwood’s defenders. The current incumbent is progressing in years, and should the honor of such high rank fall to Kellan, his ruthless nature would fit well with the ever-more warlike beat of the Rhythm.