This back-story will serve for both my male Nord and female Breton characters. Their histories will be interlinked, but have startling different consequences on the people they become. Apologies for the length, but I got a little carried away.
Koba Drakgnyr was one of the men chosen to hunt the witch. Four warriors would go, from their Nordic settlement on the Carth River, just south of Solitude, and ride into the mountains where the witch’s cave was said to lie.
There had been rumours in the village of necromancy and the practice of dark arts in the area. Some claimed to have seen people who they had already known to had died. Some said to have seen strange lights and sounds in the skies. And some of a mysterious woman seen in the nearby caves.
But Koba did not believe their tales. He knew the witnesses to be drunk on mead half the time. Nevertheless, the village elders chose him to go hunt this plague and he would do his duty.
He and his three Nord brothers found the cave with ease. The bones of many animals lay outside. They drew their swords and entered, their fear of dark magic nearly drowning their natural courage and lust for battle.
Deep into the cave, they saw the flame of a torch. Approaching as stealthily as they can, they found a woman asleep on a blanket, just underneath it. Arcane paraphernalia was strewn around her, as were ancient scrolls and spell books. They had found their witch.
The witch rolled over and Koba saw her face for the first time. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He thought she was a Breton, but couldn’t be sure. He wasn’t the only one who felt the pang of lust, for so too did his Nord brothers.
That was when the witch awoke. She leapt to her feet in alarm, her face an expression of utter fear.
“Quickly! Before she casts a spell on us!” cried Dvhorkan, the eldest.
The other two restrained her, as Dvhorkan raised his sword to deliver the first and fatal blow.
“Wait!” said Koba. “Just because we know nothing of her magic, doesn’t mean she has done wrong.”
“Don’t be a weak girl!” Dvhorkan yelled at him.
Humiliated, Koba’s anger rose. He struck Dvhorkan hard, but not hard enough. Dvhorkan hit back and landed a lucky blow, felling Koba to the ground. Stunned, the last thing Koba heard was the young woman warning:
“If you harm me, I promise you will pay dearly.”
Dvhorkan laughed. He put his sword away. He wouldn’t be needing it yet. Koba knew what Dvhorkan and the other warriors would do next. They would assault her in a way only men can, before executing her. Koba passed out before he could intervene.
When Koba finally came around, the young woman was gone. Only the three bodies of his Nord brothers kept him company. They had been obliterated. Koba was unsteady on his feet, but made his way out of the cave and onto the path to home.
Arriving back at the settlement, a truly horrific sight greeted him. The whole village had been massacred. And standing amidst the carnage, was the young woman from the cave. She had been waiting for Koba to return.
With a single, powerful incantation, the bodies of the fallen all got to the feet. The woman had arisen the dead.
“What you did to me,” she began. “I will do to you and all your kind.”
The zombies of the village all turned on Koba, wishing to destroy him. With horror, Koba drew his axe and cut them down. His friends. His family. Everyone. He didn’t stop screaming.
By the time it was all over, the witch had disappeared. The only people Koba could see were a brigade of the Imperial Legion, who had just witnessed Koba massacre his entire village.
Languishing in his cell, waiting for execution for multiple murder, Koba vowed to somehow escape. He would get vengeance on the stupid Imperial Legion for not believing his story. He would forever have a suspicion of magic and a hatred for all users of it. And he would always be on the lookout for the most beautiful woman he had ever seen… so he could cut off her head with his axe.
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