Audric was born in the summer of 1685, in a small village, to a landless knight by the name of Garren and his wife Magdalene. Garren took the name Stormcliff after being knighted. Audric was the second youngest of three brothers, both of whom outperformed him in every way. Audric always felt as if he was the black sheep or the odd child. His older brother, Rory, was a better fighter and his younger brother, Peter, received all the affection from his parents. When Audric was twelve squired for a knight by the name of Horace for a time. Horace was quite the fool, knighted by some miraculous blunder it seemed to Audric. A knightship wasn’t the only thing Horace acquired by blunder, he also managed to receive a lance through the heart when Audric was just fifteen, two years after beginning his squirehood. Horace had gotten drunk and slighted the wife of another knight who promptly challenged him to a jousting match. Audric despised the fool and after his death, he set out on his own. His father had no lands, so Audric sought to bring power to the name Stormcliff. A few years after he left, his mother came down with a sickness that took her that same year, his father followed the year after. Audric had always been religious as his father was and his father before him, that was until word came to him that the village he grew up in had been raided, razed and captured by a band of outlaws. Audric sent word to his brothers of the sacking, who were too busy to come to their aid. Audric rode to the nearby villages and gathered a force to bring justice to the outlaws. As he rode through town, his beliefs were chipped away with each charred body he passed. How could a God be so cruel as to let this kind of slaughter take place? That was when he realized that only man could bring justice to those who deserved it. After slaughtering the bandits, Audric’s force disbanded. Audric rode north to the Kingdom of Curonia to seek a purpose.
The clatter of hooves was drowned out by the rain that poured down on them, soaking their cloaks. The band of men rode through the destroyed town, Audric at the front. Raindrops sizzled on the dwindling flames that had engulfed the houses. To think this burnt pile of rubble used to be my home, he thought. Bodies of the former townsfolk littered the streets, some of them he recognized. Garry the butcher lay slumped over a wagon with his cleaver still in hand, though his neck had been savaged, his head near fallen off. And there lay Wyman the blacksmith sprawled next to Rickard, both their bodies being pecked at by crows. Audric remembered all these men, he had grown up with them, and even though he hadn’t been too fond of them it was still disheartening to see them butchered like this. They passed by Audric’s old home, his parents were long dead so the house must have been abandoned or in someone’s else’s possession. The ride through the town filled Audric with sentiment despite its horrendous state, and memories from his youth came rushing back into his head. So much ambition and passion all faded away into the cold bitterness of reality. Not that he was any less bitter as a child, having your brothers outperform you at everything takes a toll on your happiness. Audric mostly kept to himself, solemn and spiteful. He hadn’t changed much now that he was nearing twenty-six years of age, except that now he was a better fighter.
Audric pulled on his cloak, tightening it around his body, they were nearing the wooden holdfast at the end of the main road. He saw the top of it rise above the houses and he heard faint laughing and shouting coming from within. They dismounted their horses and drew their weapons, there were about twenty of them.
“These men will face justice for the crimes they have committed,” he exclaimed.
The men cheered, and off they went, further into the town. The holdfast was decorated with the bodies of the fallen villagers. Men were hanged from flagpoles instead of banners and heads were mounted on spikes. Give a man a sword and he turns into an animal, Audric thought to himself. Two men stood watch outside the gate, they were quickly dispatched by archers.
“The wood is too wet to start a fire,” one of the men said.
“How many are in there? Ten? Twenty?” Audric asked.
“Fifteen, doubtless most of ‘em will be drunk,” the man replied.
“We storm the fort then,” Audric commanded.
The men got into formation in front of the big wooden gate with shields and spears, they burst through the unlocked gates and found themselves in a dining hall filled with men who suddenly turned quiet. Audric’s men speared and slashed their way through the dining hall, they butchered about half the men before the rest yielded. Those men were undoubtedly regretting their decision to surrender as they were swiftly herded down to the town square to be hanged, all the while Audric’s men screamed “Justice!”... that word, justice, it rang in Audric’s head… justice… justice… justice...
