Name: Achak Adahy
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Height: 6'6"


Aliases:
   Adan Draugole or Veryamorcon to the elves
   Wildling in the gladiatorial pits
   The Hunter, or just Hunter, to the Peas'mak or those from the Peas'mak War
   Tracker Wolf, or just Wolf, to the Tekken bounty hunters

Appearance:

Even among the human barbarians, Achak towers over those around him. He has grown into a tall, muscular adult, the epitome of barbaric perfection. His long black hair hangs loose over his shoulders, blowing in the wind just as freely as his spirit soars. Though his expression is stern and focused when he works and his glowering gaze smolders, when enjoying free time he is quick to laugh and smile. His white skin has taken on a more tanned color due to time spent in the sun and his general lack of outerwear.

Since he spends most of his time in the wilds, his clothing is minimal and allows for maximum mobility and stealth. Leather and fur covers what needs covering, and good, solid boots adorn his feet. He wears bracers on his forearms, a wide, mighty belt for a little protection, and a necklace of fangs and teeth about his neck, a trophy taken from a winged serpent kill when he was younger.

His road has been long, and conflict and danger are old friends. When working, a strap stretches across his chest and back where he hangs his two blades and shield. One blade a gift from his adoptive elven village. The other blade and shield booty from his adventures. All three are well cared for, as he trusts his life to them every day. Gifted by a friend whose path has long since parted from his own, he keeps a great battleaxe for use in truly violent times (though usually it remains strapped to his mount). Not a stranger to war, he still keeps his armor in good repair and carried on his mount as well. When expecting great trouble, he sometimes dons his helmet, scale sleeve, and spaulder on the opposite shoulder crafted from the skull of a horned beast he slew.

Personality:

It has been suggested that he reflects the wild nature of the lands in which he was raised, sometimes shifting emotions as quickly as the weather can turn from a bright sunny day to a raging thunderstorm. Though just as the wilds have an underlying nature that does not change, so too does he. He remains loyal to those he calls friends and family, be they human, elf, or animal. He loves life, and loves living it among friends.

Surviving his trials growing up taught him to be strong willed and focused. Though the elves who saved him tried to civilize him, he has never entirely left his wilderness roots behind, and there are times it becomes obvious he is out of place in "civilized" humanoid society. There is what you can do, and what you cannot. That is not to say he believes the strong should rule the weak, but rather to do what needs to be done. There is no law greater than following your nature. When conflict arises, you either conquer and win, or survive, escape, and grow stronger. The only alternative is death. This is not to say that honor is unknown to him. He knows honor, and tries to live an honorable life. However, push come to shove, he tends to revert back to the wild.

Warrior. Tracker. Hunter. Achak has made his past work for him. His skills, earned through years of blood, sweat, and tears, have helped him to prosper. Though he still prefers spending time among animals, for they know their natures and are more honest about them, since the elves brought him in and taught him to live as a man he has tried to find a place among them.

Strengths:

Savage Warrior: Having grown up in the wild from a very young age, he fought and lived with the great beasts of the forests and jungles, where only the strong survive. He learned to fashion tools, clothing, armor, and weapons from the materials at hand, using the rocks, wood, and vines as well as tooth, claw, hide, and bone. From harsh experience, he developed survival skills to deal with weather and the environment, as well as finding food and water. His body grew strong through strife and combat to keep his place among his animal families. What he lacks in traditional combat training, his past allows him to make up for it with savagery and iron resolve.

Natural Bond: Being raised among the animals of the plains and forests, he learned to mimic the way animals moved through the habitat. Running, jumping and leaping, swinging through trees and on vines, climbing, and swimming all became second nature to him just as walking, running, and riding are learned in human communities. He developed a sense for when weather would turn bad, and when danger drew near. Beside his panther brothers, he stalked prey. With his wolf family, he learned of the developed an intuitive understanding of all the animals he encounters.

Elven Rescue: Found in the wilds by an elven hunting party, his history and life were quickly discernable to the experienced woodsmen. The elves took him in after years in the savage wild and tried to bring his mind back from where it had fled to survive his harsh circumstances. They taught him of elven society and their ways. Though he was physically older than their children, they treated him as one of their own. To help with his rehabilitation, they taught him what they knew of tracking and forestry in hopes of helping him bridge the gap between his life in the wild and rejoining people. He learned hunting and tracking, how to train and care for animals, as well as first aid for people and animals. When he stopped sleeping on the floor by the fire, the elves threw him a big party and started to teach him more of society. He learned to use some more traditional weapons, since he was obviously destined to be a warrior, as well as general lessons about human society. The elves taught him more social skills so he could fit in, including how to play the flute that lulled him from the wild and the surprising discovery that his time living with the wolves had left him a good singing voice.


Neutral Aspects:

Unusual upbringing: Obviously the animals were not big on spoken or written language. The elves tried to correct for this. However, they taught him what they knew best: Elven. They later added the more common human tongue, but while elven was like a second language for him, human was a third. An elven accent remains to this day and he is still a little slow when he tries to read human, but even worse he still occasionally growls, hisses, and roars when he tries to voice his thoughts and emotions.

Hey! I know that guy: He is on the large side for a human, and tends to be intimidating to those around him until they get to know him. Reflecting his savage upbringing, he tends to be loud and without guile, wearing his emotions on his sleeve as it were. Given he rides a great stag moose found and trained during his travels, he is very memorable to those he encounters. Considering he has built up a reputation from his time in the arena (savage and blood thirsty warrior), the Peas'mak war front (deadly and persistent hunter), and another from his adventures with the bounty hunters (expert tracker, friendly, and professional), he is pretty quickly recognized by anyone familiar with the above.


Weaknesses:

You can take the animal out of the wild, but: The elves did their best to teach him how to be a human rather than an animal. However, the lessons of savagery and survival he grew up with were ingrained in his soul. It might be more accurate an assessment to say the elves did a superb job helping him to build a civilized mask to wear over his wild heart. In times of great emotional distress, or when he just slips, that wildness tends to come out.

What is honor: He learned his lessons from the elves well. They taught him of honor and being a member of civilized society. However, rather than something he understands as a member of that society, it's more like something he read in a book. He knows what it is, but does not always understand it. similarly, he never fully understood the intricacies of societal hierarchies. He knows kings and such are at the top, same as an alpha wolf is head of the pack. However, he tends to think of such things in terms of the animals he grew up with. Thus, nobility and such are simply aggressive people who hope to take the alpha's position, and not necessarily any more important than commoners. Similarly, he can be a bit naive sometimes as he does not fully understand the intricacies and subtleties of human society.

The Stuff of Nightmares: The elven villagers were only partly successful in curing his nightmares. Though he has, for the most part, conquered his fears, he is still instinctively uncomfortable with magic. He left the elves willing to keep an open mind. When he returned to his barbarian tribe, they showed him a different view. The arcane is to be feared and hated, as is all black magic. When confronted with such things, beat them with a big stick until they stop moving. He spent enough time among them reconnecting that their view rubbed off on him. So now he has had to reconcile the two view points of the elves and barbarians. The natural world has many miracles (from gods and nature spirits), and so the powers of priests and shamans are mostly acceptable, but black or unholy magics are despised. Unnatural practices such as mumbling nonsensical words and wiggling your fingers to produce effects that defy nature, such as what the practitioners of arcane magic do, tend to trigger his reaction. After enough time spent with someone, he can overcome this to a degree (how much they help that process affects the success rate), but he is never fully comfortable with arcane casters and will never trust those who use black magic.


Notable Equipment:

Typically Worn
Elven Bastard Sword
Longsword
Daggers
Bracers
Belt

Typically on Mount (Stag Moose; saddle and saddle bags)
Battleaxe
2 Spears
Daggers
Meditation Flute
Fur cloak
Barbarian Armor: Achak’s acquired different pieces of armor overtime. Currently he has an open faced helmet and spaulder adorned with the teeth and horns of his prey, a scale sleeve, and a large round shield


Animal Companions:

Stag Moose: Picture a deer or elk the size of a moose. In addition to the brown fur and muscle, a scar runs down one side of his body bearing witness to the battles he has carried Achak through. Still he remains well-behaved and calm under pressure. Since Achak found him caught in a trappers snare and freed him, he has remained a loyal friend and mount.

Peregrine Falcon: Hatched and raised from birth, this falcon has been well trained by Achak. Her blue-grey and white feathers are fairly typical for her species, as are her keen eyes. She often preens and cares for her appearance as one might expect of a vain creature. However, her nobility extends beyond her appearance. She proudly stands over her kills as proof of the skills she has worked hard to perfect, helping Achak in hunt and battle.

Wolf: Achak came across and befriended a lone wolf during his time fighting in the Peas'mak war. Its black and grey fur helped it move stealthily through the forests at night, hunting beside his new two-legged friend. When the war ended, with no pack of his own, he decided to stay with his new "pack of two" and has accompanied Achak ever since. His sense of smell has been invaluable helping Achak track down prey and bounties.

Owl: A recent addition to Achak's unconventional friends, this little great horned owl is still an infant. Found injured in the wild, Achak nursed him back to health and he decided to stay for the easy food and company. Since he's still too small to be of much use, Achak has taught him a few simple but cute tricks. He's taken to his role with ferocity, though, and has developed a cute begging face that is hard to rival and harder to resist.


Likes: Animals, wilderness, those who like the above, music
Dislikes: wizards, witches, black magic, unnatural things, evil
Habits: Playing his flute to relax, speaking with his animals, playing games with the owl


History:

Born to one of the great barbarian tribes living in the Valley of the Winds and Wetlands, Achak was frequently taken into the wetland forests by his parents and he loved it. Before his third year, tragedy struck. On one of their visits, his family happened upon a black sorcerer and his demonic familiar in the forest. His father held them off just long enough for his mother to hide their son before leading the familiar away. After days of waiting, Achak crawled out of hiding and found his beloved forest terrifying.

His cries attracted the attention of a passing wolf who had just lost her cub. Taking pity upon the mewling child, the she-wolf brought him back to her den and nursed him to sleep. Over the following months, she raised him as her own and when the time came to rejoin the pack, she brought Achak with her to present to the others. His time with his parents and tribe now a distant memory, Achak became one of the pack. For years he learned along side of his wolf brothers and sisters. When the pack separated each year, he explored the forests and jungles, and found new families and friends.

For years, he became adopted son and brother to gorillas and monkeys, hawks and eagles, panthers and tigers, and all sorts of different animals. It would be more accurate to say he became a son of the Wetlands' forests and jungles. He struggled and fought, lived and loved with his animal friends and families. Then tragedy struck again.

A stormy night brought a wandering monster passing through the jungle and the pack's territory. To protect their own, the pack sprang into action. The battle was fierce but short. The wolves chased the monster away, but not without cost. In the aftermath, Achak's mother wolf and several others lay dead. Achak and most of the wolves were injured, but with his mother gone it was hard for Achak to recover. Though he was unaware at the time, others were pursuing the monster that night. An elven hunting party followed close on its heels and took note of the young human fighting alongside the wolves. Once the monster was gone, they returned to check on him. Quickly realizing what he was, they sent word to their village to send help. Over the next few months, they secretly provided herbs and food for Achak while he recovered and played hauntingly sweet melodies on their bamboo flutes. Though frightened at first, he began to associate the food and herbs with the music and assumed it was the great spirit of the forest. The elves were able to slowly coax him back to their village where they took him in as one of their own.

The forests and jungles were all Achak knew, so the elves taught him what they knew of forestry, tracking, and woodcraft. Their hope, that this blending of two worlds would more easily allow him to transition back to humanity. He enjoyed their lessons, but for a long time he still slept on the floor by the fireplace with the other dogs. Worse, his return to living with people caused memories to stir, and his nights were wracked with nightmares of black magic and demonic familiars. Still, these were good days. He learned the elven language and ways. He played their games, and ate their food. Eventually, they won him over and he began to use a bed. Though the nightmares continued, they considered this a turning point and focused more time on reintegrating him to human society.

Given his great size and temperament, it was obvious he would be a warrior. So, they taught him to use weapons other than the crude daggers and spears he had learned to cobble together in the wild. They gave him lessons in human society and their language. Since he might need a trade other than fighting, and considering his already extensive understanding of animals, they taught him how to raise and train them. Knowing this could prove to be a temptation for him to slip back into his wild ways, they showed him how to play the meditation flute and meditate on life hoping this would keep him grounded. They also showed him the magic of nature, trying to cure his nightmares by showing him how magic could be helpful and beautiful.

Years passed and he developed into a young man. On his final night in the village, he reflected on his past and his future, and decided he could not have the one if he did not first face the other. So, he bid the elves a fond farewell. Proving once more their wisdom was greater than his, they expected it and gave him a parting gift and feast before he left. The next day, he traveled back into the wilds. He found his old wolf pack. Though things had changed, the reception was still heart warming. Before long, he left them to travel to his adoptive mother's resting place. Night had just fallen by the time he made it. Offering a prayer for the spirit of his mother, he left to find his birth tribe.

The journey was short. It happened to be the time of year when the tribe was close to the Wetlands. He soon encountered a hunting party returning to camp and let them bring him in. He was able to connect with people from his distant past, people who knew his parents and remembered him as a baby. He remained with them for several years, becoming an official hunter and warrior of the tribe and doing his best to fit in. However, the tribe was no longer his home and, when his close tiger friend died, his heart pulled him elsewhere. He left to find his own place in the world.

Not wanting to be on his own, he found a small group of adventurers to spend his days with. Their adventures were many. They traveled the lands, fought battles, and helped those they could. He accumulated an assortment of treasures and arms until the day the group said a fond farewell and parted ways.

Still young and not ready to settle down, Achak wandered awhile but his blood boiled for conflict. His travels carried him to the Crow gladiatorial arena where he volunteered to fight. For a year, his blades sang their song of death as he battled man and beast. Though his stay was short, he built up quite a reputation in the arena. His savage strength and will to survive making him a force to be reckoned with and a face to be remembered.

Though his conflicts within the arena were great, rumors spread of opportunities for greater glory and battle. The war against Peas'mak was escalating, reaching a fevered pitch and possibly climax. Trading the violent shelter of the arena for the less predictable struggle of the battlefield, Achak left to offer his services in defeating Peas'mak. Though he did not condone how the defeated were treated, let alone those Peas'mak citizens not directly involved in the fighting, his survival and combat skills were invaluable in the war effort. He gained a reputation for never letting the enemy escape, tracking them down even days after initial conflict. It was also rumored he could change his shape into a devil wolf, but this was due to his befriending a large wolf during the war who then fought beside him. Eventually the war ended, and the behavior of those people he fought beside left a sour taste in his mouth.

Not wanting to return to the arena, and having nowhere else in particular he wanted to go, Achak traveled the wilderness with no one but his animal companions for a time. Several months of solitude later, he ran into a small group of men. He gladly shared his campfire with them. In turn, he heard about their work tracking down dangerous criminals. This intrigued him and spoke to his need for justice after all the injustice and cruelty he had seen during the war. He helped the men complete their job and followed them back to sign up as one of the Tekken bounty hunters.

For a couple years now, he has made a reputation for himself working for Tekken. Though he is somewhat part time of late, he is professional and skilled. Rather than dealing with those who frequent the known fugitive hot spots, he typically accepts the jobs that require the quarry be tracked down, particularly if they fled into the wilderness. Having made enough money to live comfortably for awhile, he has become something of a  part timer recently. He has taken to traveling again, exploring areas of wilderness he has yet to see and looking for animals he doesn't know. Mostly, he just lets the winds blow him where they will until he is once again inspired.