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Romps and Reconstruction in Loka: Steam, Magic, and Mysteries in the Frozen Wasteland.

Character Description

This desert wolf, small and lanky in comparison with most grey wolves, sports a pelt with a mixture of tan, beige, and brown, with spartan black highlights especially on the tip of his muzzle, the top of his ears and the tip of his tail, with more diffuse patterns of black hairs along the bridge of his muzzle to a diamond shape above and between his eyes, and a diffuse black sable pattern along his back. He dons a worn but clean cotton shirt, pants and leather shoes. A leather belt holds his pants snug to his waste, and a holstered pistol old and worn, but appearing solid in design if a bit simple compared with newer firearms.

Notes

Londikin has skills at diplomacy and trade.

Background

Early in the history of Ze’ev — long before LY0 when the first humans emerged from Helio bunker — there was great resistance among ancient rival packs against unity, and there were groups of packs uniting in tribes attempting to rival Ze’ev. Among these was Raga, a collection of wolf packs seeking to maintain a balance and reach out to non-wolf tribes, something considered highly unnatural to many including the fledgeling Ze’ev. Bloody skirmishes gave rise to a terrible war that lead to the brutal defeat of Raga, the children of its leaders tortured before the eyes of those leaders and prior to their own slow, painful deaths. Only a few remnant, scattered packs remained of Raga, which came to be called the Dasyu by Ze’ev. A bit ironically, centuries later when the humans of Helio emerged, many of the ideals of the Raga revolutionized the Ze’ev in a sort of age of enlightenment. Nothing remained of Raga leadership, just a few small, scattered packs collectively demeaningly referred to as Dasyu. As Ze’ev governance progressed, giving rise to the Alphas and Omegas rule of governance, many of what remained of the Raga remnant packs absorbed into Ze’ev until only a few very isolated packs — not even referred to as tribes — remained, among them kSAmavat.

Born to the KSAmavat pack as adventurers and traders on the frontier have re-discovered this all but forgotten pack alongside other isolated tribes and packs, Londikin was fascinated by the tales regaled by traders of the outside world passing KSAmavat by. When he came of age, he joined one — a small band of Heyokan merchants lead by a fox named Abhavaita whom had dedicated himself toward strengthening peaceful bonds between rural Pasu tribes and the Lokan? kingdom through mutually beneficial trade. The Advocates and other raiders frequently plunder especially the smaller tribes, which Abhavaita strove to combat through strengthening the tribes through trade to help bring about sufficient prosperity for the smaller tribes to protect themselves. Because of this, Abhavaita’s trade caravan was uncommonly welcome by a broad swath of tribes, even those known to be reserved or xenophobic. Londikin, though young and inexperienced, learned from Abhavaita’s example and learned to empathize with others, respect their strengths and their weaknesses. Unfortunately, Advocate plunderers saw Abhavaita’s caravan as a threat to their drive to exploit the tribes, and organized an ambush. Abhavaita was badly injured in the first surprise attack, along with most of the caravan’s horses and oxen. The caravan was crippled, unable to flee, and surrounded by well-armed thugs on horseback who picked off the caravan entourage.

Londikin, not an experienced fighter, was protected by others in the caravan, but they all fell, one by one, until finally he alone was alive. He struggled with a crossbow, firing on the raiders from under a cart in the caravan overturned when the raiders had mortally wounded the oxen driving that cart, but he was surrounded, alone and seemingly doomed when warriors from a small nearby Hindvalian settlement tribe came to the rescue and managed to drive off the raiders. Londikin, moderately wounded, was the only one they could save, and the tribe took care of him.

Londikin earned his keep, salvaging what he could from the caravan to build housing for the tribe members, but Londikin was stranded in the tribe for several months until another caravan appeared, and Londikin traded what remained of the trade goods his caravan had for a horse. He bid pleasant adieu to the settlement that had taken care of him, and rode the horse to civilization, hoping to find a new way to help protect the smaller tribes and settlements against raiders and plunderers. The Hindvalian trained him in archery and marksmanship, but Londikin knows fighting is not the solution he seeks.

Londikin still considers himself Heyokan, and a friend of Hindvalia. He is trading what he can carry between remote settlements and the outlying frontier cities, but he has his nose to find what resources — knowledge, allies and material — he can muster deeper into the kingdom to achieve his goals.

Categories: Characters | Pasu