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The Story of Kavel Bloodmoon
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The Story of Kavel Bloodmoon
Kavel Book 1 - Bloodmoon Born - Prologue Part 1
Kavel Book 1 - Bloodmoon Born - Prologue Part 2
Kavel Book 1 - Bloodmoon Born - Prologue Part 3
Kavel Book 1 - Bloodmoon Born - Prologue Part 4
Kavel Book 1 - Bloodmoon Born - Prologue Part 5 - Epilogue
Kavel Book 1 - Bloodmoon Born - Hunters Rescue - Introduction
And now we are ready to start. Images are just from his past shots I liked, only the main image is new.
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From the Archives of the Black Wolf Company – The History of Kavel Bloodmoon
Kavel Bloodmoon was left with the Khajiit known as Do’Tesh at the Temple of Arkay in Falkreath. The Huntsman had charged Do’Tesh with the raising and care of the child. When Do’Tesh dared to ask why the Prince had only said it was to keep a promise made to the infant’s mother.
Do’Tesh trained the child in the ways of the hunter, the scout, and the ranger. Much of their life was spent in the wilderness, away from people and their politics and many questions. Do’Tesh had learned early on that Kavel was one of the true blood; a natural werebear versus one who was infected with the werebeast disease. So had decided it would be best to avoid people as much as possible.
Besides Do’Tesh there was another trainer, one that helped teach Kavel the ways of the Shaman. It was the spirit of his Uncle who had sworn to watch over him even upon his death at the hands of the Crimson Raven. His visits were rare but Kavel always treasure them even though he found that he made for a poor shaman.
Another reason Do’Tesh wanted to avoid the city was because Kavel had bad blood with the Jarl’s son. Spoiled rotten the boy had started to bully two poor kids in the city that Kavel had grown friends with. One was a boy named Thresh and the other a kind girl known as Fey. The bad blood came to a head when the children became teenagers and Kavel beat the Jarl’s son almost to the point of death after discovering the teenager trying to rape Fey. He and Do’Tesh were exiled from the hold, their lives spared at the request of the High Priest, a close friend of Do’Tesh.
A year later Fey sought him out, saying that Thresh was being charged with theft from the Jarl but Fey didn’t believe it. She said he had been framed as Thresh and she had become a couple and the Jarl’s son, now the Jarl, could not stand it. She wanted Kavel to free him from the jail and help them escape to Cyrodiil. Kavel agreed.
It was tragic mistake in the end for they were caught but the Jarl’s men. In the fight Thresh was killed while fleeing and only Kavel and Fey escaped. Lost in grief Kavel did his best to console Fey. Over time they grew close and with some reluctance Kavel agreed to marry the young women, now eighteen. Their marriage lasted only a year. Kavel could stand the claustrophobic city life and Fey grew distressed and paranoid over Kavel’s long absences. He caught her cheating on him one night and ended the relationship.
A darkness entered his soul and he turned to mercenary work in Markarth. His Uncle tried to persuade him to turn away from the darkness but Kavel was too angry and stubborn to listen. As the darkness grew it blocked Kavel from his shaman past and found he was no longer able to communicate with his ancestor’s ghost.
It was in Markarth that his dark good looks attracted one of the Priestess of Dibella. She proposed a deal and Kavel accepted. He became a male escort and body guard for the wealthy women of the city. Just another word for a prostitute. He turned to drugs and had his nipples pierced by one of his wealthier clients. But she was a twisted soul and her sexual demands became more and more demented and dark. In a fit of rage one night Kavel killed her and he was sent to the silver mines for life.
He escaped, thanks to some of the forsworn he had met. Thinking he may have found some new friends he joined their cause, not knowing their ancient history with Hircine. His new friends betrayed him and sent him to the hagravens. They wished to corrupt him totally, to turn him to the dark side of the Beast, to make him a werebear briar-heart to use in their fight against the Nord’s and the Empire.
It was only thanks to the heroic rescue by a handsome knight by the name of Signar that Kavel escaped his dark fate. Signar took him to the Temple of Kyne in Whiterun to heal. His physical wounds healed quickly but the darkness on his heart had grown bitter and strong. Slowly, and with great patience, Signar began to bring the man back to the light. They became close friends. Too close Signar realized too late how vulnerable the young man was. Kavel wanted more from Signar then Signar could give and he was forced to reject Kavel’s shy and hesitant invitation to bed one night.
The next day Signar found the man and all his belongings missing. Kavel had retreated deep into the woods north of the tundra. Filled with despair he planned on ending his life. He collected deadly nightshade and poisonous mushrooms to make a fatal poison, unaware that Signar was out looking for him.
While brewing the concoction Kavel heard a faint noise, like the crying of a hurt animal. At first he ignored it but it became more insistent. Swearing at the distraction he got up to see if he could find the poor animal to either help or put it out of its misery. A born tracker and hunter he followed the sound, his keen nose every now and then picking up the scent of the animal. Hours passed by and it was only when the sun began to rise did Kavel realize how far he had traveled. Yet before he could consider the implications he finally found the poor beast. It was a young cave bear, clearly a runt for it was abnormally small considering the size most cave bears grew to. Around it were two dead death hounds. For such a little one it had fought bravely, killing its attackers, but now dying of its wounds.
Kavel knew this little beast, with the heart of a true warrior, did not deserve to die. So he stayed with it and did his best to clean and bandage the wounds. He set up a small camp and made simple healing mixtures out of herbs that he applied to the wounds. Soon the cub began to grow strong again. Knowing they would need food, Kavel hid the cub as best he could in a small shelter made of tree boughs and went in search of food.
He had just snagged some rabbits when he heard the bear cub, who he had started to call Rumper, cry out in pain and fear. Dropping everything he ran with all his might back to their make shift home, transforming in the process to his powerful werebear form. He arrived just in time as a hunter has shot the bear with an arrow and was preparing to shoot again. When the hunter saw Kavel in his beast formed he screamed in terror and took off into the woods. Kavel wanted nothing more than to chase after the coward but was afraid for his young ward. With supreme effort he turned back to his human form and rushed to the side of the little bear.
It was a good thing he had stayed as the bear was losing blood fast. Kavel removed the arrow and did his best to seal the wound but he knew his skill at healing was not enough this time. Picking up the bear, his mouth and eyes set in determination, he began the long walk back to Whiterun. The pace was slow as the bear weighed nearly as much as he did but Kavel refused to give up. For almost two days he traveled without sleep, pausing only for some water and food and to check on Rumper. He was at the point of collapse when Signar found them. Together they got the bear to the Temple for healing.
It was a tense and awkward meeting afterwards, made more so because Kavel insisted on tracking down the hunting and making him pay. They argued heatedly and finally Signar decided to go with Kavel, hoping to find a way to stop him. It did not take long for Kavel to track down the hunter, his werebeast abilities helping him to find the scent. He traced the man to his camp and confronted him.
The man pleaded for mercy on his hands and knees, claiming he was just a poor hunter who had been looking for an easy meal and some quick coin for the pelt. Kavel called him a craven coward, a hunter without honor for trying to kill an injured cub. When he pulled out his sword Signar stepped between them. Do this Kavel, he said, and we will no longer be friends. This man has begged for mercy, let him go. He is not worth it.
But Kavel’s eyes were cold; none would get away with trying to kill the bear he had taken under his protection. Something from his past, his heritage, demanded justice in a way he could not explain. A twisted form of revenge perhaps on those who had slaughtered his tribe. As a last act of friendship Signar did not want to fight Kavel. Instead he frowned, his eyes sad, and then turned his back on both of them and walked quickly away.
When the deed was done Kavel returned to get Rumper. Of Signar he found no sign and he left Whiterun as quickly as he could. Depressed and filled with grief he swore to never have anything to do with people again. He returned to the woods with Rumper at his side, heading North to the cold wilds near Dawnstar. During his travels he found himself being tracked yet no matter how he tried he could not find his tracker.
Until one day he spotted a great black wolf watching him from a distance. For days this went on until one night the wolf came up to his camp and dropped a rabbit at his feet. The wolf’s fur was as black as night and its yellow eyes glistened with lupine humor. The three shared the rabbit and then the wolf retreated to the forest.
It soon became a nightly ritual, one that Kavel looked forward to. He found himself talking to the wolf at odd times, spilling out secrets and feelings he had never told anyone, not even Fey or Do’Tesh. Then one night the wolf talked back. Kavel dropped the spit he was turning and turned to look at the wolf. The wolf repeated the words only they echoed in Kavel’s head. You are a great hunter Kavel and I would have you as my champion.
It was then Kavel noticed the wolves eyes were no longer yellow but deep pools of liquid ebony and he knew then who the wolf truly was. Prince Hircine, the Lord of the Hunt. He knew the Prince had been watching out for him from afar, he had learned that from Do’Tesh and his mother’s journal, the only thing he had left of her. Yet from what he understood the Prince was now free of his debt and had been since Kavel’s eighteenth birth year.
He asked Hircine why and the wolf laughed and merely said because you amuse and impress me. Depressed with no real reason to go on living besides caring for Rumper he could see no reason not to accept and so he bound himself to the Prince. He expected to see or feel something, some divine magic to occur, but Instead the wolf nodded and then vanished.
The next night the wolf appeared as if nothing had happened. For another month the Prince continued to show up at his camp each night. Usually in wolf form but a few times he appeared as a tall, powerfully built, alpha male. The Prince’s human form always made Kavel unusually nervous for some reason and he often found himself feeling flushed and feverish for no reason that he could explain.
During this time Kavel grew at peace with himself, or at least as close to peace as he had ever managed. As he did he grew back in touch with his shaman heritage and his Uncle once again returned to his side. They spoke little of the past, his uncle accepting that Kavel had to learn from his own mistakes, and instead focused on his training in the ways of the Shaman and what it meant to be a werebear.
It was a comfortable time for Kavel and he always treasured these memories the most, especially during darker times. Days he spent with Rumper and the spirit of his Uncle while nights he would spend at the campfire with Hircine. It was during their nightly chats that he also discovered that Hircine might have been behind his finding Rumper ... but he never did get a straight answer out of the Prince when he asked. A year passed until one day the Prince finally indicated it was time for Kavel to take up his role as his champion. There was something that needed to be done in Solstheim that he wanted Kavel to join him there.
While reluctant to leave the peaceful life he had found he knew he had to live up to his end of the bargain. He also found many long repressed memories and emotions coming to the surface for Solstheim was the home of his tribe, a tribe murdered by the Crimson Raven and the Silver Hand. Perhaps, he mused, it was time to learn about his past and exact out justice for what had been done to his people.
36 comments
Well I wanted to keep things short and I also want some plot hooks to write about later if I wish to so did not want to reveal everything - especially some of the big ones I had carefully planned out.
Lastly the story above is from the Annuals of the Black Wolf Company and while their archivist have many ways of getting information they can't get it all. Also what they do get will be colored by the perceptions of the people, entities, animals, and spirits that they communicate with.
I like your rich story around him. It shows us what made him to what he is. Your writing is as ever excellent. Thank you for sharing your fantasy and your work with us
Kavel was born under a Bloodmoon (hence his name) and does have a destiny tied to Solstheim and Hircine. I would say it is the Wild Magic (a type of magic I have explained in my past stories which is really the unconscious mind of the Dreamer at work ... the Dreamer being the creator of the Universe) who is more the puppetmaster here influencing (but not controlling) both Hircine and Kavel.
I also wonder what a werebear briarheart would have done to the story if the hags had succeeded. Briarhearts are undead and I would think pose a question as to whether or not Hirsine would accept him.
In lore we know the Hags have obvious connections to Hircine. Also in lore I don't think Hircine has any strong feelings one way or the other towards the undead (that I know about). I added that based on our own mythology/movies that have done a lot to show a war between Vampire and Werewolf. The classy, educated, undead vampires and the animalistic and violent nature based werewolf (although nature based is also mixed as some see them nature based and others as a twisted abomination of nature). I suppose one could draw many metaphors between what vampires and werewolves stand for in regards to humans and progress.
So lore wise I don't see Hircine having an issue with it. The hags tend to represent the darker aspects of his nature (and lets face it I made Hircine far nicer than the lore is although at least the lore does show he has a sense of honor and indicates he does care for his "children"). From my own perspective, and how I wrote the lore on Hircine and Fenrir, the Hags come from one of the ancient tribes (the Ravens) that roamed the land at the time the gods did. They turned to darkness and tried to corrupt all the other tribes (that were the Forsworn). Only the Wolf tribe resisted and in return most of them were slaughtered. They were saved by the last remaining Elder God, a remnant left over from the previous cycle, who invoked the wild ma which ensnared Hircine.
Anyhow Hircine does also represent the dark side of nature but in my own lore he is not a fan of the hags and especially not the undead. Hircine would reject him if he became undead which is perhaps the whole idea of the Hags ... and there is some lore about the Hags also dealing with Molag Bal.
I was always intrigued about what had happened with Kavel after that hunter found him and too as his apprentice... I also hoped that maybe despite tragic circumstances of Kavel's birth and the death of his family, his life as a child and adult might take another turn and grant him happiness... but looks like nothing is easy in Kavel's life and the death of his friend Thresh and Fey cheating set him in dark place, where his darkness continued to grow and affect him... at least until Signar came into his life, but sadly Kavel's feelings for him were one sided and it only made him bitter. Looks like Kavel doesn't have much luck when it comes to personal life. I guess his marriage of Fey was rushed decision like in some cases of marriages between people which end up in divorce once they find out how different and unfit for each other they are. For Kavel that rushed marriage sadly ended up in disaster. Signar just has other preferences so sadly once again, Kavel found himself rejected. And only thanks to Rumper Kavel managed to find some joy and happiness that might keep away from falling into complete dark...
I can imagine that Kavel's fierce spirit and his uneasy character might have attracted Hircine's attention even if they have never met before and Kavel, pretty much like Erik and even Grim couldn't help but feel raw attraction and excitement for Huntsman which might take an interesting turn in the future. Besides I can hardly imagine Champion of Hircine being paladin character type like Signar so despite Kavel's life hardships, i guess his tough and fierce character keeps Huntsman interested. And I also think it was not just coincidence that Kavel has found Rumper in very moent when he wanted to end his own life. and Kavel's execution of hunter who tried to kill Rumper was kinda justified... despite Signar's opinion.
I am also very intrigued by how Kavel is going to deal with Nelthas and what effect his revenge might have... I also have one idea about Nelthas from Grim and Kavel verse and Nelthas from Dannee's verse but that depends of what you have in mind for Kavel's adventures.
Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful work!
Afraid Kavel lives under an ominous moon (the Bloodmoon infact) and he knows little peace in his life. It is his restless werebear blood and the burden of his past laid on him from the destruction of his tribe. He probably won't find rest until he finds some resolution somehow.
Still between Do'Tesh and his Uncle's spirit he was given a chance to have a good heart and good values - loyalty, honor, and helping the less fortunate. But many other forces have also been pushing him towards darkness and corruption. In the end he had to flee it all and try to find some measure of peace in the forest, what he considers his second home.
Hircine admires his inner strength and ability to stay on focus and control his emotions (versus Grim who tends to embrace his emotions and hence becomes more emotional). And yes there is a good chance it was Hircine that led Kavel to Rumper ... and why Hircine was willing to watch over Rumper in Solstheim when Grim met him at the tavern there. Well that and the fact that Kavel and Hircine also have some form of relationship going on.
Glad you enjoyed this story and thanks for the comment!
I hope that you continue his story!
Whether I continue his story depends a lot on who and what I play. I am pretty sure it will be Fenn, Marrok, or Kavel though.