Bernard Taylor
Druid
Bernard Taylor was the village leader of the Wrathfall village in the Many hosts of Igrathad. He lived there with his wife Elizabeth Taylor and daughter Jody Taylor. Bernard was a good man, a man of the people. Everything he did, he did for them.The Many hosts of Igrathad mainly consists of goblinoids, giants and other non-goblinkin humanoids that are outcasts, different from the humans, elves and dwarfs you mainly find in big cities. the other villages are mostly run by goblinkin and orcs. Each leader is paired with a representative from Rosohna, for Bernard it was a younger human called John Smith. John helped Bernard with all the politics regarding the other villages and the political talk regarding Rosohna.
Bernard did not care about politics, he cared only about his people and his family. He was mostly found helping the farmers tend to the crops or to patch up wounds here and there. He was a devout believer in the Raven queen, and with a couple of other villagers, he held ceremonies in his living room to honor her. He believed that everyone can practice their own faith freely and made sure that all rituals/ ceremonies that did not harm others could be practiced without interfering. Another deviation from the other villages was the fact that there was no slavery, for every man would be free. All these beliefs and ideals made him famous under the people, but not under the other village chiefs. They knew they had to get rid of him, but if they tried to do it by force, they knew that the villagers would fight for him, and take his side. No, if they were to take his position, they had to bring the villagers to their side. So, they invited Bernard and John to a meeting for Bernard to teach them the ways of becoming a more down to earth leader. ofcourse, Bernard jumped to the opportunity. With Elizabeth watching over the town, he went to Dodafir to meet with the other leaders and their representatives.
When he arrived, they immediately started with talks. The head butler introduced everyone one by one.
From Kranad, the bugbear village, Khalk and his representative Blundyth
From Broonbobah, the goblin village, Tazzunn and his representative claddath
From Aruuth, the orc village, Zhurrulk and his representative Dave
From Oshinik-Ka, the hobgoblin village, betoth and her representative Coloara
From Weathfall, the humanoid village, Bernard and his representative John
From Dodafir, the hill giant village, Stotulk and his representative Brorn
The talk took ages, but little did Bernard know that it was all to win time, because in the meantime, spies infiltrated Wrathfall to destroy the good Taylor name. They dressed up as the Aurora Watch asking if the villagers knew about the kidnappings and sudden appearance of the undead in the area. People didn’t know, and panicked. They started rumors that Bernard was so nice just to lure people in and slave away. They told them that, even though he is a strong believer in the raven queen, he practices necromancy and that he uses the corpses of their beloved to enslave people. They even went as far as to plant a necronomicon in his house. After weeks of these rumors spreading, the infiltrators asked the villagers for their help on a raid on one of “Bernards” wagons to slay the zombies protecting it and freeing the slaves inside. After seeing the zombies and the slaves near a carriage with the Taylor crest on it, it was the last straw for the villagers. They saw Bernard as a thread to them, and their way of life. They went to his house, screaming of justice and freedom, but when they found the planted necronomicon they flipped and burned down the house with wife and child in it.
When Bernard came home, the villagers were waiting for him. They took him out of his carriage and took him to his burned house. On the way there they told him his “crimes” as Bernard pleaded that it is a set up, that he was being framed, that, even if he would do those things, he would be a lot smarter, but they were having none of it. They build a gallows on top of the ashes of his old house. He saw the burned remains of his wife and child, and that is when his anger took over. With all his might and willpower he conjured the wrath of the earth as plants as big as houses devoured the village with in the middle a giant tree. Bernard let no-one escape, everyone would feel the pain he was feeling, everyone had to suffer. Plants smashed houses to pieces and tore man and women apart piece by piece. When the dust cleared, there were few who escaped his wraith. The village, now nothing more than a lush jungle. He heard a voice, the voice of the raven queen. “Touch the tree, I have a gift for you.” He walked to the massive tree in the midst of the destruction as he placed his hand on the bark. The tree shrunk and formed a simple quarterstaff as he heard the voice of the raven queen once more. “The power of your wraith has been sealed. Go forth into the world, and do what you do best, heal.”
And so, Bernard took his staff, and wandered off into the world, to heal the sick and injured. To protect and atone for his wrongdoings. May the Ravenqueen guide him to his destiny, to a place where he belongs.