Rolf

A simple man with a simple purpose, Rolf was raised a warrior and trained in the ways of monster hunting from an early age by the organization that rescued him from a werewolf attack that left him the sole survivor of the small village he was born to: The Night's Song.   Rolf never spoke much during his early years (not that he does much of that now, either), but committed himself fully to his training and studies. He was exceptional not in that he was the best swordsman, marksman, or scholar, but in that he was far and away the most dedicated. One of the Night's Song's signature training regimes is a seemingly impossible obstacle course; meant to teach the value of failure and overcoming it. Rolf didn't get the memo, and instead spent months attempting different ways to tackle the obstacle course. To this day, he remains the only recruit that succeeded in overcoming it.   As a fully-fledged operative of the Night's Song, Rolf was always dispatched for the most open-ended cases, with his determination and problem-solving capabilities (and skill with a blade and magic) almost always resulted in positive outcomes. During his tenure, he found himself growing close with fellow operative Venatrix, who was an elf that joined up shortly after he completed his basic training.   Indeed, their burgeoning relationship proved to be the ultimate test of Rolf's loyalty and reliability, as the demon growing within Venatrix's psyche had grown to the point where she could no longer be trusted to wander the world unaccompanied. Initially, Rolf had followed his orders and kept his knowledge of the demon to himself. However, when Venatrix was placed under house arrest within their Compound, he could no longer bear to watch, and shirked off decades of training and discipline and sprung her from her cell, aiding in her reunification with her adventuring party and going on the run.   Rolf was ultimately caught and reprimanded for his actions, but continued to serve the Song while his fellow operative Ezekiel was charged with tracking Venatrix down. Fortunately for both of them, Venatrix had caught the attention of the King of Sigil, who offered his royal protection in exchange for her aid. Because of this, Rolf and Venatrix were able to settle down, at least for a while.   After The Long Shadow Conflicts, Rolf and Venatrix spent some time travelling and thwarting evil as they came across it, but all good things must come to an end. The demon in Venatrix's head one day suddenly and explosively took full control of her and allied itself with The Heralds of Aevilok, captured Rolf, and then "allowed" him to escape in order to set a trap for The White Tower Alliance. Fortunately, the trap failed, Venatrix was rescued, and the demon was finally and permanently exorcised from her mind.   Now all that remained was saving the world from Cataclysm, which Rolf intended to commit himself fully to, in the hopes that he can finally retire to a vineyard in the hills of Cognance with Venatrix and never have to pick up a sword again.   Naturally, as a mere human, Rolf was fated to die long before Venatrix. Not to be deterred, the latter sought ways to prolong the former's lifespan. Whether she succeeded remains a mystery, but as far as anyone knows, there is no headstone of Rolf's to be found anywhere in Archaios' cemeteries...