The blood poured down Gujek's face, running into his nostrils and mouth. He spat and snotted, moving his hand to cover the gash running from his forehead to his eye.
He heard the laughter of the other children and his face grew hot. He looked to the ground, his eyes immediately moving to the blood-stained stone at his feet. He toed it, considered picking it up and throwing it back. But he didn't. He just grew angrier.
This wasn't the first time he had been mocked and bloodied by the other children in the tribe. But it would prove to be the last.
Anger such as he had never felt welled up inside of him. But rather than act, he began to laugh madly. He stared at those near him, cursing them in his mind. His foes ceased their laughter and stared at him, growing visibly uneasy by his odd behavior. Moments later, they turned and ran in unexplained terror.
He was shocked. He turned behind him to see if there was someone large and terrifying that caused their behavior. He stood alone. But something had changed inside of him. There was a presence. It burned with anger for those had done him wrong. And while it didn't speak, it directed - instructed - him to speak to the tribe's shaman.
Despite his terror, he did as directed.
That was five years ago.
In the intervening years, he became a student of the shaman, learning the ways of vengeance and uncovering the potential of scars to unlock the power that resides inside him.
About three weeks ago, the shaman announced that the time of his instruction had ended and that Gujek was to head to Sandpoint to pursue his purpose.
With no idea what that meant, he left all he knew to live among the Others and pursue some meaning. He had arrived in Sandpoint two days ago and found lodging at an inn. Despite the strange stares and wide berths he was given, he had largely been left alone.
