Character 92 - Herlish Insigal

This week’s character started out as just a skinwalker descended from wererats with a good dexterity. The oddities came when we realized he has both older and younger half-orc half-siblings as well as older and younger full blooded siblings. We added to that growing up in the mountains of Nex, of which there are two ranges, where pretty much everything outside of the magically protected major cities is a blasted wasteland. So with this odd mixture of background bits and dexterity with wisdom as the next follow up stat, I decided to go with the ranger class this week.

Herlish Insigal

The story of Herlish really starts with the story of his mother. She was a woman with little to no luck throughout her life. She was born in Lastwall, a place at constant war with the orcs of the Hold of Belzken. Unmarried, she bore a half-orc child, although she had never had any untoward contact with any of the orc raiders. It is believed that one of the many half-orc warriors who come to Lastwall to live down their heritage is the father but Anka never said and fled the frontier country with her child.

She made her way to Absalom and managed to secure a husband despite having a bastard half-orc child. The man was a gruff former soldier who sold his services to any who would hire. This included a merchant who was traveling to far off Nex. So Herlish’s father uprooted his family and they took the long trip across the inner sea to Nex, and from its capital Qauntium to the city of the fleshforgers, Ecanus.

Ecanus was where Herlish was born, although his parents had already spawned one boy child. Herlish was a twitchy child and as he grew up he was constantly bullied for his nervous reactions. The young boy found solace in watching all the bizarre creation going around him. Although he could never quite grasp how these oddities were made, he cherished the art of creation and many of craftspeople would show him how they made their ideas come to life.

Ecanus was also a dangerous place, and the merchant his father worked for did volatile, although not illicit, work. When you buy and sell living creatures crafted by magic, accidents are bound to happen. Some of the beasts shattered their bonds on the small estate of the merchant and sent his staff and their families running. Herlish’s father stood firm in protecting his charge but fell in the battle, leaving Anka with now four children, Herlish’s younger sister having only recently been born.

The fleshforges often require living flesh to create the monsters that are birthed from the vats. Although many of these are unintelligent animals or horrors not worth mentioning, some unscrupulous crafters will use sentient creatures to fuel their creations. In Nex slavery is legal and the fleshforgers will often buy slaves just for these purposes. But sometimes those slaves escape.

Orc and half-orc were often used as stock for these experiments because of their durability. Those that escaped started a secret underground based out of the Barrier Wall mountains to help others avoid the horrific fate of being immersed in the vats. Herlish’s older sister Alysse got herself involved with these freedom fighters and dragged her younger half-sibling along.

Since Herlish was human he could pass more easily among the oppressors, and he did this willingly, flaunting the law for his sister and loving every minute of it. The young man was adept at keeping to the shadows although not every excursion was without incident. Herlish was slowly learning the tricks to battling the creations of the fleshforgers.

Some of the beings they rescued were already changed by preparation rituals or even just proximity to magical and alchemical substances. But they were not the only ones that saw a change come over them. Whether it came from his mother or father’s side he didn’t know, but Herlish’s found the ability to alter his own shape. He was able to take on aspects of a rodent and minor abilities attributed to wererats, of whom he realized he was probably kin.

As things became more serious Herlish and his older sister went to their mother and got her to leave the city and take up residence in the stronghold in the mountains that the rebels were using. There she married yet again, a half-orc with some mutations due to experimentation. She bore one last child, another half-orc bringing her brood to a total of five children.

Herlish and his sister still fight the good fight and their younger brother seems eager to join when he comes of age. Life may not be easy for the odd family but they’re still happy.

What did you do with your skinwalker? What class did his background dictate for him? Who did he have both a younger and older half-sibling? What law or oath did he break?

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