Urgo grunted as he pulled at his step-father's plow. He did this without complaint, even as the man lashed him to spur him on. Urgo allowed his mind to wander as he moved, picking up the pace. He thought of the times that his best friend (likely a fighter type PC, likely even one that becomes the Knight of Solamnia) taught him the arts of swordplay, sharing the day's lesson from old man Bertram.
Bertram was an old Knight that settled in the small town of Solace. For some reason, he rarely talked of the old ways, which was fine enough for the people of Solace. Bertram was quiet, and it took <Fighter-type PC> months of begging and proving his dedication, before the old knight taught him even the basics of swordplay. Every day, after hours of grueling practice, <Fighter-type PC> came to Urgo and taught him, effectively giving himself a tremendous sparring partner and reinforcing his own training.
"Urgo, put the plow away, then go and pick up firewood from old man Cutter," the old farmer barked as he threw the leather straps over the handles of the plow and headed back to the house.
Urgo moved quickly, happy to be done with his chores and hefted the plow over his shoulder, wincing only slightly at the pain of the raw flesh on his back. He knew that his step-father was unhappy with his situation, and he took it out on him. Urgo was happy to receive the punishment as long as it did not find its way to his mother.
Urgo's mother used to be a Lady, married to a rather prominent Knight of Solamnia, whose keep rested high in the Vingaard mountain range. It took years until the young half-ogre was able to convince his mother to share the story of his birth. With hesitation, she began slowly...
---
It was winter, she was happy, it was her husband's Oathday. She had put on her best dress, and was headed downstairs to the meeting hall, where their friends were to have gathered. She found her husband pacing back and forth near the front doors. He was clearly concerned. "Dearest, what is it?"
He opened his mouth, but didn't have the chance to speak. The doors exploded inward... and soon the place was overrun with ogres! She remembers screaming, but her husband's guards were no match the leader of the savages! Soon the beasts had slaughtered the guards... she felt one of them grab her and pin her against the wall as her husband squared off with the leader. She could barely breathe. The ogres formed a ring around the knight and their leader, cheering and hooting.
The fight wasn't long, maybe a minute. The savage captain toyed with her husband, battering him with his giant mace. By the count of 30 heartbeats, the knight had one arm hanging limply at his side. He couldn't effectively use his greatsword, which dragged uselessly at his side. Then, after a few jeers, goading him into swinging wildly, the ogre crushed her husband's ribs, leaving him in a heap on the floor. That was when he signaled the beast that held her...
The leader ravaged her again and again in front of her dying husband...
---
She woke up to chaos, shining symbols of the kingfisher, swords, and roses, moving around her. She says the rest was a blur, and Urgo did not blame her. He felt horrible for making her relive the event, but he needed to know. Urgo asked why she kept him, why hold on to something that would just bring her so much pain? All his mother told him was that she and her husband had been trying to have a child for so long... now the gods laughed at her, blessing her with a child, but not with her husband. She could not explain it, perhaps it was to spite the gods, perhaps she felt that with the proper nurturing, she could raise him to be a good and honest man. She kept him well groomed, and clean, taught him humility, she had done a good job.
---
Urgo knew the rest of the story, she traveled across the plains and ended up in Solace. There she met the man that would be his step-father. The same man, that treated him like an animal... Someday, he swore, someday he would know more of the man that should have been his father. The man that died in the castle that day. He looked on, he had to get firewood from Old Man Cutter. Maybe he would see his friends this day!
