Myrgangeim Swygfyrwyn
 Myrgangeim Swygfyrwyn
--- The Scarlet Hound ---
CHARACTER DESCRIPTION Known as much for the sharpness of her axe as she is for the sharpness of her tongue, Myrgangeim Swygfyrwyn is a violent degenerate first and an avaricious sellsword second. Having been subjected to a lifetime of exploitation, abuse and hardship, the once timid and submissive Myrgan was hardened into a fearsome bitch of a war dog with a bite matched only by her bark. Though her natural propensity towards violence and hedonism means that she's all too happy to while away her days breaking legs and running people through in the service of anyone who pays her the funds to sustain a life of excess, there is more to Myrgan both emotionally and intellectually than meets the eye. So long as she doesn't gouge the eye out first...
Tall for a female Roegadyn with an appropriately larger-than-life personality, Myrgan is an intimidating specimen by any margin. With a face that would be handsome were it not scarred and frequently contorted in anger, disdain or wicked glee; a muscled physique and a piercing, wolfish gaze, much of her work is done by appearances alone -- though the lingering 'aura' of death that shrouds her might also contribute to that. Likewise, her depraved and abrasive personality seeps into her speech and mannerisms, both of which are laden with obscenities and a sardonic irreverence that belie a depth of well-rounded wisdom. All in all, Myrgan can be a thoroughly unpleasant (if not sincere) individual to be around, with clients and acquaintances alike preferring that she communicate through actions rather than words. Given time, patience and an understanding of her many quirks, however, she can prove to be both a lethally effective enforcer and a surprisingly loyal friend... Just don't expect her to stop swinging fists and slinging insults any time soon. "Never thought I was good at much anything 'til I started swinging an axe. Now I know there's little else in this cunt world that was ever any good."
HISTORY & CHARACTERISTICS[edit]
☞ CHAPTER I - PROLOGUE☜
▼ "MY JEWEL -- MY MORNING JEWEL."
Fhilwyda Swygfyrwyn's story has been told a thousand times before. Once the daughter of a Sea Wolf merchant burdened with naivete and an unusually profound sexual appetite, she was publicly shamed and forced out of her family's estate after being found in the company of one of her father's competitors. Without a home or a single gil to her name, Fhilwyda was forced to leave the small village that had branded her a whore and seek her fortunes elsewhere. With no other talents at her disposal, Fhilwyda began exchanging sexual favours for wealth, shelter and, occasionally, safe passage to new ports. Travelling aboard pirate ships, mercantile vessels and even the odd carriage, she made quite the living for herself as a roving courtesan and would often find herself in the employ of scoundrels and noblemen alike. Before long, however, Fhilwyda's promiscuity caught up to her in the form of an unexpected pregnancy. With her profession making the parentage of her child indeterminable, Fhilwyda was forced to put an end to her nomadic lifestyle and settle down at a small inn situated in the deserts of Thanalan known as the Coffer & Coffin. Though her exploits were not quite as glamorous as they once were, the promise of a warm bed and relative security made it an obvious decision. Within a matter of months, her daughter was born. Throughout the Coffer & Coffin, staff and patrons celebrated the birth of the child and drank to her health and good fortune. As she lay holding the newborn girl, Fhilwyda remarked on how beautiful she was and held her as close as she could without hurting her. Enchanted by that same beauty, she named her Myrgangeim Swygfyrwyn -- her morning jewel. ☞ CHAPTER II - THE MAKINGS OF A MUTT ☜
▼ "TWELVE, BUT YOU'RE PRETTY. HOW'D YOU GET TO BE THAT WAY?"
Myrgan quickly sprouted into a robust and physically gifted child. Though her lumbering frame often left her feeling awkward and unattractive, she took pride in any opportunity to show off her already impressive strength. As a result, she found gainful employ as the Coffer & Coffin's woodcutter and would often spend hours at a time chopping firewood in the glaring Thanalan sun. As Myrgan grew into a capable young woman, however, Fhilwyda's clientele gradually trickled into a handful of dwindling regulars. Already considered over-the-hill for a woman of her profession, the presence of Myrgan around the inn often made would-be customers too uncomfortable to consider indulging themselves. Embittered by her untenable financial situation and her fading looks, Fhilwyda would often take out her frustrations on her meek and submissive daughter. Often referring to her as "Mutt" to remind her of her ambiguous paternity, she would spend much of her free time drowning her sorrows and harshly criticising Myrgan's every word and action. On the few occasions where Myrgan forgot her place and defended herself, she would even resort to throwing empty bottles and locking the girl in her closet. By the time Myrgan had reached the age of ten, her near constant abuse had manifested in a serious, violent temper that would often surface when pushed too far. On once such occasion, she attacked the son of a passing merchant for criticising her looks and clawed his face, an action which was only overlooked when the innkeeper of the Coffer & Coffin paid the merchant off. Realising then the dangers of her fierce anger, Myrgan did everything in her power to repress it, becoming even meeker than before. Eventually, Fhilwyda was threatened with eviction from the Coffer & Coffin for a failure to pay her debts. Though the innkeeper offered to retain Myrgan to give her peace of mind, Fhilwyda refused to be thrown out of her home of twelve years and into the life of a vagabond. After one of her few remaining clients expressed a perverse interest in the ripening Myrgan, Fhilwyda made the reluctant decision to coerce Myrgan into selling her body in order to bring in new clients. After the unsuspecting Myrgan returned to their room following her daily errands, she was confronted by her mother and a Highlander mercenary. When she uncomfortably asked for an explanation, Fhilwyda explained that she had already been paid a hefty sum of gil by the mercenary in exchange for her daughter's "first time." Mortified, Myrgan pleaded for her mother's mercy. Though Fhilwyda sympathised with her daughter and harboured a warped love for her despite the years of abuse, the threat of homelessness deafened her to her sorrowful begging. Left alone with the mercenary, Myrgan desperately resisted his attempts to manhandle her. After being viciously beaten by the man, the young Roegadyn girl managed to grab hold of the woodcutting axe she kept underneath her bed. As the mercenary prepared to take her, an enraged Myrgan wildly swung at him with the axe, embedding it in his head and killing him instantly. Shaken both by the mercenary's actions and her own, Myrgan sat shocked and splattered with blood until her mother returned to check up on her. Fearing retribution from the mercenary's fellows, Fhilwyda's already frayed sanity finally snapped. Blaming Myrgan for all her misfortune, she grabbed a nearby fruit knife and lunged at the girl. Though Myrgan tearfully tried to reason with her frenzied mother as she evaded her, she was eventually forced to hold up her axe in self-defense. At that moment, Fhilwyda slipped on the mercenary's blood and fell forward, lacerating her neck on the axe's blade. As she lay bleeding out in her daughter's arms, Fhilwyda was filled with remorse for her years of cruelty and selfishness. With the last of her strength, she pushed the bag of gil the mercenary had paid her into Myrgan's hands, commented on how beautiful she was and told her to run. Leaving her mother's lifeless body behind, Myrgan fled from the inn she had once called home and ran into the Thanalan night, tears still streaming down her bloodstained face. After staggering through the Thanalan desert for days without food or water, Myrgan eventually collapsed from exhaustion. It was in this state of deliriousness that she was stumbled upon by a couple of nomadic slavers transporting a carriage of similarly procured prisoners. Impressed with her obviously sturdy frame and her blood-soaked dress, they slapped the unconscious girl in chains and ferried her with them to Vesper Bay. Throwing Myrgan and her fellow soon-to-be slaves into their ship's lower deck, the slavers set off from Eorzea with their human cargo in tow. Their destination: the eastern shores of Thavnair. ☞ CHAPTER III - COLLARED ☜
▼ "IF IT MEANS NEVER AGAIN BEING A BEAST, I CAN BE A MONSTER."
Arriving in Thavnair, Myrgan was stripped bare of her bloody gown and given tattered rags to replace them. Still shellshocked and grief-stricken by the events that prompted her to flee the Coffer & Coffin, Myrgan became despondent to the point of catatonia. Despite frequent threats and beatings from the slavers that captured her, she remained mute and unresponsive, a part of her hoping that they would simply kill her. Though she was taken to a number of slave auctions in the hopes of pawning her off on some lusty aristocrat, her complete lack of vitality made her a hard sell. it was at one of these auctions, however, that she caught the eye of Caliban Crowler -- a young midlander slave whose companionship had been so valued by his aristocratic master that he had effectively become like his son. Sensing a familiar hopelessness in the girl, Crowler managed to convince his master to buy her, rationalising that the average full-grown Roegadyn is worth three regular men. After she was purchased and taken back to the estate of the aristocrat, Myrgan became a frequent target of Caliban's playful teasing. Though she initially remained despondent, she soon became trusting of the boy after he revealed the tragic circumstances of his own abduction into slavery. Before long, the two teenagers found themselves smitten with one another and eventually became lovers. As Myrgan became closer to Caliban, she came to learn of the cynicism and rage that broiled beneath his facade of lightheartedness. Though he played the role of the grateful servant when around his master, Caliban felt nothing but scorn towards the man for robbing him of his freedom and calling it a mercy. He resented the wealthy upper classes that profited off the misery of people like himself and Myrgan and had been secretly organising a revolt of all the slaves in his master's employ prior to Myrgan's arrival. Though Myrgan timidly tried to discourage him from doing anything dangerous, Caliban refused to live his life in servitude and submission. Though Myrgan (who had befriended the aristocrat and become accustomed to the stability of serving on the estate) initially refused to aid him in his uprising, she eventually became convinced of the true injustices of slavery after witnessing their master savagely whip one of the lesser slaves half to death. Using her position as a serving girl to act as a spy, Myrgan informed Caliban and his cohorts of the weaknesses in the estate's security and the individual vulnerabilities of the aristocrat and his family. With this information, Caliban executed a revolt that fully capitalised on these weaknesses to terrifying effect. By the time the dust had settled, the aristocrat and his family were the only survivors of the conflict not fighting in Caliban's corner. Somewhat taken aback by Caliban's anger and ruthlessness, Myrgan watched in horror as he hacked the man who once treated him like a son to pieces. When he then turned his sword on the aristocrat's wife and children, Myrgan intervened and begged him to stop. Unfazed, Caliban informed her that the only way to live in a cruel world was to be cruel and resolved to "be a monster" to ensure he would never be treated like an animal again. As Myrgan watched from a crowd of cheering slaves, Caliban slaughtered the women and children in cold blood. With the freed slaves all going their separate ways, Caliban retained his closest lieutenants and resolved to take through force what the world had denied them. Though Myrgan hesitated to accept her lover's offer to join him after witnessing his uncompromising slaughter of their former masters, seeing the fire in Caliban's eyes and the smiling faces of the slaves they had freed finally convinced her of the truth: the only way to survive in a world that had made her a perpetual victim was to become crueler than those who would do her harm. Departing from the burning estate hand-in-hand, Myrgan, Caliban and those that followed them embarked on a life of plunder and thievery, becoming the gang of highwaymen and cutthroats that would soon be known throughout Thavnair as the Many-Chained Men. ☞ CHAPTER IV - LONE WOLF ☜
▼ "THE PAIN IS A DELIGHT, MONGREL. ONCE YOU KNOW THE DARK AND LONELY, YOU'LL PLEAD FOR THE PAIN."
For a while, Myrgan and Caliban enjoyed a life of crime and passion leading the Many-Chained Men on a hedonistic crime spree across Thavnair. No longer the weak-willed and awkward girl that she had been before Caliban's revolt, Myrgan had developed both physically and emotionally into an intimidating and competent criminal willing to do harm onto the gang's many wealthy targets in the interest of self-preservation. Despite her shift in personality, however, Myrgan still had reservations about Caliban's increasing preference towards unnecessary violence, as well as his unwavering hatred towards the wealthy regardless of individual circumstances. Acting as the voice of reason amidst the escalating savagery of Caliban and his crew, Myrgan strove to keep the Many-Chained Men focused on making a profit as quickly and as cleanly as possible. Sensing Myrgan's apprehension, Caliban used his ill-gotten gains to purchase two exotic Thavnairian kukri knives -- one for himself and one for his beloved. Charmed by the gesture, Myrgan temporarily put her concerns about the gang on-hold and agreed to participate in a carriage robbery Caliban had planned. Ambushing the merchant carriage on its way to Radz-at-Han, the Many-Chained Men were surprised to discover that it was all part of an elaborate trap by the city guard to capture the Many-Chained Men. Members of the Radz-at-Han city guard sprang forth to apprehend Caliban's gang and, in the ensuing chaos, Myrgan was thrown from her horse and wounded. Though she called out for Caliban's help, he decided that the Many-Chained Men took precedence over Myrgan's own safety. Without a second glance, Caliban and his gang retreated, leaving a heartbroken Myrgan to be taken into custody alone. Known to be a prominent figure in the Many-Chained Men, Myrgan was quickly thrown into the darkest dungeon in Thavnair where she was routinely tortured for information by the warden and sexually abused by several of the guards. Warned that she would "plead for pain", she spent months bound in chains, constantly being flung from one torture to the next in the cold darkness of her cell. The only thing that allowed her to retain her sanity was the rage that she had finally allowed to consume her. She was angry at Caliban for turning his back on her, angry at the men who treated her like a plaything and, perhaps most importantly of all, angry at herself for allowing her emotional attachment to Caliban to get the better of her. Driven to single-minded determination by this anger, Myrgan managed to steal the dagger of one of the guards and stash it out of sight. When the guards came to have their way with her a few days later, Myrgan lured them in and attacked with the dagger, butchering them in cold blood. With her abusers taken care of, Myrgan crept through the dungeon until she reached the warden's office. Holding the warden at knifepoint, she demanded that he return the kukri confiscated from her at the time of her imprisonment. She then drove the knife into his stomach and left him to bleed. Having exacted her revenge on the men who had made her life a living hell for almost a year, Myrgan left the dungeon on horseback and rode for the nearest port. There was nothing left for her in Thavnair -- it was time for the Mutt of the Coffer & Coffin to return home. Stowing away aboard what she believed to be a mercantile ship headed for Limsa Lominsa, it wasn't long after the vessel's departure that she was discovered by the crew and taken before the ship's captain. Myrgan discovered, to her surprise, that she had actually stumbled onto the ship of famous Thavnairian smuggler Balthazar Az-al-Rael. Impressed by the cynical young Sea Wolf's ferocity and courage, Balthazar decided against throwing her overboard and instead offered her a place as a deckhand in his crew. Though reluctant to place her trust in anyone so soon after Caliban's betrayal, Myrgan accepted his offer and departed from Thavnair in the company of thieves. ☞ CHAPTER V - PACK OF THIEVES ☜
▼ "YOU BELONG TO NO ONE, LITTLE WOLF."
As a member of Balthazar's crew, Myrgan quickly bore witness to the roguish smuggler's nobility and skill. A brilliant knife-fighter, Balthazar's first mission following Myrgan's induction involved smuggling Garlean defectors out of Garlemald. Equipped solely with his daggers, Balthazar used his combat prowess to make short work of a patrol of Garlean soldiers who stumbled upon their operation and treated the defectors with nothing but grace and kindness. Taking notice of Myrgan's interest in him and her own kukri knife, the benevolent pirate decided to take the young girl under his wing, instructing her both in the art of knife-fighting and the trade of smuggling. It was after the first of these sessions that Myrgan revealed to Balthazar her sordid past and her lingering feelings for Caliban. In response to the girl's assertion that her heart still belonged to Caliban, Balthazar reassured her that she 'belonged to no one'. Thus began a relationship of mentor and apprentice that spanned from Myrgan's late adolescence and towards her early adulthood. Myrgan stayed with Balthazar's crew for a number of years, learning the finer points of combat and smuggling. Becoming something of a sidekick to her captain, Myrgan was rarely seen out of Balthazar's company and the two embarked on a number of globetrotting, swashbuckling adventures together. It only seemed natural, therefore, that Myrgan would develop a precocious crush on the man, despite his being three times her senior. For Balthazar's part, he saw Myrgan as a daughter and made a point of politely rebuffing any perceived flirtation. Myrgan, however, became increasingly disgruntled with her mentor's womanising ways and would often harbour a thinly veiled jealously towards his various romantic conquests to the point where she would even sabotage them. After the tension between Myrgan and Balthazar came to a head with a failed attempt at seduction by the former, Balthazar was convinced that the young girl's obsession with him would only hold her back from realising her true potential. With no small amount of reluctance, Balthazar finally decided to release Myrgan from his crew and return her to the home she had forgotten. Making a stop in Limsa Lominsa to "resupply", Balthazar insisted that Myrgan leave the ship and continue on her original quest to return to the Coffer & Coffin. Though the lovestruck Myrgan initially refused to leave, Balthazar echoed their first real conversation, insisting that she truly belonged to no one -- not even him. With that, the two shared an emotional goodbye. As Balthazar and his crew sailed into the sunset, Myrgan swore to one day reunite with him after becoming the person he knew she could be. ☞ CHAPTER VI - THE SCARLET HOUND ☜
▼ "ANGER IS A RAGING FIRE. IT CAN FUEL OR CONSUME, BUT IT WILL NEVER STOP BURNING -- NOT UNLESS YOU'RE FIGHTING, FEASTING OR FUCKING."
With her smuggling days behind her, Myrgan embarked on her personal pilgrimage to the Coffer & Coffin. Adopting a pseudonym, she booked the room she had grown up in and spent the next few weeks aimlessly chopping wood to earn her keep. After learning that her mother had been buried on a hill a short distance from the inn, however, Myrgan decided to finally give herself the closure she needed. Journeying out to the hilltop with a bouquet of her mother's favourite yellow flowers, Myrgan sought to reconcile with her for what she had done. When she came face-to-face with the headstone itself, however, she was suddenly overcome with uncontrollable rage. With a furious howl, Myrgan cleaved her mother's headstone in two with her woodcutting axe. When her senses finally returned to her and she had realised what she had done, the tormented young Sea Wolf came to realise that the past held nothing but pain and anger for her. She left the Coffer & Coffin that same night, placing the yellow flowers beside her mother's ruined headstone in apology. For a while, Myrgan attempted to recapture the sense of belonging she had felt as a member of Balthazar's crew. Returning to Limsa Lominsa, she sold her services as a deckhand to any ship that would have her and would usually take her leave just as suddenly. After a number of unfulfilling stints aboard a variety of ships, Myrgan eventually found herself serving in the Sanguine Sirens. It was during a routine transfer of contraband materials that she was caught by the Brass Blades of Ul'Dah and arrested for piracy. Given a choice between serving out her sentence in a dungeon or winning her freedom in the Bloodsands, a dangerously understimulated Myrgan opted for the latter. Having been taught knife-fighting by Balthazar, she was certain she would best any opponent that came her way and be back in the world within a matter of months. Upon arrival at the Bloodsands, Myrgan promptly had the arrogance beaten out of her. Surrounded for the first time in her life by talented lifelong fighters (many of whom also boasted a physical superiority), her first few matches ended in painful and humiliating defeats. Furious at herself for what she perceived as weakness and a betrayal of Balthazar's confidence, Myrgan would often vent her frustrations by punching the wall of her cell. It was during one of these tantrums that she first drew the attention of her cellmate -- a grizzled and physically imposing Hellsguard warrior named Burning Axe. Though Myrgan first dismissed him as a bumbling hedonistic drunk who babbled on about the merits of fighting, feasting and fucking, Burning Axe soon intrigued her by explaining in very technical terms that her frame and temperament were better suited to the use of an axe. After witnessing one of Burning Axe's fights in which he used his own berserker style axe-fighting to devastating effect, Myrgan approached the Hellsguard and asked for his help in harnessing her anger in the ring. Enticed by Myrgan's impressive well of deep-seated rage, Burning Axe gladly accepted. Over the course of the next few months, Burning Axe instructed Myrgan in the way of the warrior. Likening anger to a 'raging fire', he explained that it shouldn't be ignored or evaded but, rather, harnessed and used against her enemies. Sharpening Myrgan's volatility into a precision instrument, Burning Axe gradually transformed her into an axe-wielding berserker capable of holding her own in any fight. Soon, Myrgan's training was complete and she was prompted by Burning Axe to use an axe over a knife in an upcoming fight against a dangerous and sadistic opponent. Though Myrgan managed to last longer with an axe than she ever did with her knife, she was eventually disarmed and downed by her rival fighter. With no other means of defending herself, Myrgan tapped into her rage and bit into the man's throat with her bare teeth. As her opponent screamed in agony and terror, she ripped his jugular clean from his neck. Coated in blood and viscera that flowed from her mouth like a waterfall, Myrgan stood victorious over her would-be killer -- a predator overlooking a fresh kill. After a moment of awed silence, the crowd began chanting a name worthy of her ferocity -- 'The Scarlet Hound' Years went by and Myrgan continued to use the way of the warrior to decimate her opponents one after another. Before long, she had won enough victories to finally earn her freedom. Infatuated with the thrill of battle and the almost therapeutic role fighting in the Bloodsands had played in her life, however, Myrgan refused to turn her back on gladiatorial combat. Angered by what he perceived as her throwing her life away, Burning Axe confronted Myrgan about her unwillingness to leave the Bloodsands. After a heated argument, the older Roegadyn revealed that he had been forced to enter the Bloodsands after murdering a Sultansworn in his youth and had effectively been given a life sentence. With his many injuries and age finally catching up to him, he had failed to win a match in quite some time and feared that any of his upcoming matches could easily have been his last. Believing himself to be a dead man walking, Burning Axe chastised Myrgan and warned her to get out into the world while she still could. To his dismay, however, Myrgan mistook his genuine concern for an all-too-familiar attempt to push her away. Becoming defensive, she angrily insulted her mentor by calling him broken and pathetic before storming out. Hurt by her words, Burning Axe overindulged his worsening alcoholism just before stepping into the ring against a particularly fiendish opponent. As a horrified Myrgan watched from the ringside, her drunken mentor was killed in combat, bleeding to death in dirt and sand -- an undignified end to an undignified life. That night, Myrgan lay awake with thoughts of Burning Axe's warning running through her mind. Realising her error in judgement and feeling consumed by rage and remorse, she decided to turn her back on the Bloodsands while seeking revenge for her lost friend. Taking Burning Axe's crude battleaxe, Shitesplitter, Myrgan entered the cell of the man responsible for his death and killed him in his sleep. With nothing else tying her to the life she had known, she paid her final respects to the troubled man who had taught her how to fight and escaped into the Thanalan night. For the sake of Burning Axe, Balthazar and Fhilwyda, she would live her life without shame or compromise. Fighting, feasting and fucking... It didn't sound half bad. ☞ CHAPTER VII - BEWARE OF DOG ☜
▼ "YOU'RE A CUNT. I'M A CUNT. WHOLE DAMN WORLD'S A CUNT. DEAD OR ALIVE, THAT'S THE CLOSEST YOU'LL GET TO THE TRUTH."
Adopting Burning Axe's hedonistic philosophy as a means of coping with her abundance of grief and lack of purpose, Myrgan spent the next year in excess. When she wasn't drinking herself into a stupor or sharing a bed with whomever caught her interest, she was throwing herself headlong into raucous bar fights and breaking legs for pocket change. Reduced to little more than a feral thug, there was rarely a moment where Myrgan took the time to soberly reflect on her own circumstances. This directionless descent into decadence would eventually take her into a collision path with a small company of sellswords known as the The Brotherhood of Blades. While in the company of a particularly fetching barmaid in a tavern near Costa del Sol, Myrgan's festivities were broken up by the arrival of a band of roving swords from the Brotherhood. Pursuing a merchant who had skipped Limsa Lominsa after conning a particularly vengeful pirate lord, the men decided to ransack the tavern as a treat to themselves. Though the half-drunk Myrgan was mostly content to let them take their plunder and leave, she was spurred into action when one of the men suggested having their way with her barmaid. After her threats fell on deaf ears, Myrgan cut each one of the sellswords down and rode to their nearby encampment with the intention of completely wiping them out. Halfway through ripping out the tongue of the lieutenant presiding over the camp, however, Myrgan was surrounded by reinforcements led by the captain of the Brotherhood, J'raha Tia. Though she seemed all too happy to butcher him and his men or die trying, J'raha marveled at Myrgan's penchant for violence and extended an invitation for her to join his ranks. Persuaded by the promise of loot and bloodshed, Myrgan reluctantly accepted. A natural born sellsword gifted and trained in the art of violence, Myrgan quickly made a name for herself in the Brotherhood. Blurring the line between hot-blooded ferocity and level-headed professionalism, she became known as a force to be reckoned with among both the lower and upper echelons of the company. Climbing the ranks as she cut a bloody swath of carnage, Myrgan went from a low-level grunt to a field leader to a highly respected lieutenant within a couple of years. As much as it was believed that Myrgan's success was solely founded on her unique talents and determination, there was a darker element to her meteoric rise to the top. Caring little for concepts such as honour and solidarity, Myrgan sought any opportunity to advance her own interests no matter the cost. Whether it was sacrificing her underlings to better execute her missions or opportunistically murdering her higher-ups in order to usurp their positions, Myrgan was prepared to stab anyone and everyone in the back for the promise of more gil and power. She had been convinced early into her career as a sellsword that the leadership of the Brotherhood was incompetent and small-minded. Prioritising immediate gratification over long-term prosperity, they refused to expand their reach beyond pockets of La Noscea and shied away from potential conflicts with more ambitious companies. Believing that she could easily do better than the "cunts" in charge, Myrgan took a page from Caliban's book and put into action her plan to lead a hostile takeover. Enlisting a faction of equally disgruntled members of the company and opportunists who would do anything for the right price, Myrgan waited until all the leaders of the Brotherhood were in the same place before leading her insurrectionists in a sudden, sweeping attack on their headquarters. Remorselessly killing or capturing anyone who remained loyal to the other leaders, Myrgan publicly forced the leaders to admit defeat before beheading them one after another. Before long, only J'raha Tia remained. When he refused to genuflect and admit defeat, Myrgan drew and quartered him in front of both the loyalist and insurrectionist factions of the company. As his screams rang through the night, she offered the surviving loyalists a choice -- they could either swear loyalty to her or be killed on the spot. After some uncertainty, loyalists and insurrectionists alike began chanting her title -- The Scarlet Hound -- in unison. Inspired by their chants, Myrgan decided to rebrand the Brotherhood in her own image. Thus, through bloodshed and butchery, the Scarlet Hounds were born. Appointing her most trusted supporters as the new leaders of her company, Myrgan set to work using the resources at her disposal to put the Scarlet Hounds on the map while also satisfying one of her long-term ambitions. It only took a few months of scouting and information gathering to locate Caliban Crowler. Having doubled down on the Many-Chained Men's ruthlessness in Myrgan's absence, he had since transformed his band of cutthroats into a relatively small but highly successful thieves guild operating out of Radz-at-Han. Travelling to Thavnair with a contingent of Scarlet Hounds at her back, Myrgan stormed the headquarters of the Many-Chained Men and killed every living person situated there regardless of whether they were experienced thieves, new recruits or even unaffiliated courtesans. Armed with superior numbers and the element of surprise, the Scarlet Hounds quickly overwhelmed Caliban's crew and brought the man himself before their bloodthirsty leader. Though Caliban did not immediately recognise the towering Sea Wolf as the meek, lovesick girl he had known all those years ago, he was blown away when Myrgan brandished the kukri knife he had gifted her and echoed the sentiments he expressed at the end of his uprising -- "If it means never again being a beast, I can be a monster." Bewildered by the sudden revelation, Caliban desperately tried to apologise to Myrgan for abandoning her, babbling frantically through a list of excuses, pleas and declarations of love. With her heart already hardened by a lifetime of suffering, however, Myrgan simply took Caliban's kukri knife and recounted the events of her life following his betrayal. When Caliban demanded to know why she had returned to Thavnair to seek revenge after so many years, Myrgan simply stated that Caliban, herself and, indeed, the entire world were "cunts". Backed against the wall, Caliban made one last attempt to save his life by claiming that he and Myrgan belonged to one another. With a sadistic cackle, Myrgan assured Caliban that she belonged to no one. She then proceeded to relentlessly torture him for an entire day before killing him and publicly displaying his mutilated body along with those of his lieutenants. As the citizens of Radz-at-Han stumbled upon the grotesque monument, they found the insignia of the Scarlet Hounds and a simple message written in blood at the scene -- "Beware the Hound that Bleeds". With her past self finally buried alongside Caliban, Myrgan departed from Thavnair with her crew, eagerly anticipating a future of death, destruction and decadence as the leader of the Scarlet Hounds. ☞ CHAPTER VIII - A BEAST OF BURDEN ☜
▼ "I'VE STILL GOT IT. AND 'IT' IS A BIG FUCK OFF AXE."
Leadership turned out to be somewhat more challenging than Myrgan had anticipated, however. Though she was a virtuoso with an axe, Myrgan lacked the strategic insight and conventional intelligence to competently lead an entire company of sellswords outside of the battlefield. Though she did succeed in expanding their ranks and influence across Hydaelyn, she eventually became overwhelmed with her responsibilities and began delegating them to her lieutenants with increasing frequency. As if this wasn't enough of a problem, Myrgan also found herself deprived of opportunities to manage her anger through combat. Though she attempted to remedy this through regular sparring sessions and by taking up drawing and painting, nothing seemed to perfectly capture the thrill of life-or-death combat. Despite the many warnings of her lieutenants, Myrgan made an unfortunate habit of abandoning her post entirely to take on assignments independently of the Scarlet Hounds. This constant streak of recklessness coupled with her inability to lead bred discontent among the ranks of the Scarlet Hounds and, before long, many of her former loyalists began to question her authority. Their doubt was only exacerbated by Myrgan's compensatory return to a life of hedonism and excess. In an effort to alleviate the boredom of leadership, she would spend most of her days binge drinking, engaging in wild orgies and blowing large deposits of the company's earnings on the pursuit of pleasure. Realising that the Scarlet Hounds simply couldn't sustain a leader as openly self-destructive as Myrgan endeavored to be, her lieutenants decided to stage a coup. After a visit to a brothel in the Black Shroud during one of her sabbaticals from the Scarlet Hounds, Myrgan became unexpectedly infatuated with Azette Buicard -- a Duskwight Elezen tending the bar. Charmed by the girl's sharp tongue and the fact that she seemed completely unafraid of her, Myrgan let her defenses down for the first time in over a decade. Visiting Azette every day during her stay, she soon managed to win her affections and the two embarked upon a whirlwind love affair. Their feelings for one another were so strong that Myrgan offered to take Azette with her upon leaving for La Noscea, promising to bond herself to her if she did. Overjoyed at the prospect of being eternally bonded to the woman she loved, Azette accepted and the couple returned to the headquarters of the Scarlet Hounds arm in arm. For the first time since she was a child, Myrgan felt as if her rage had completely subsided. Sensing a newfound vulnerability in their lovestruck leader, the lieutenants serving under Myrgan decided to put their plan into motion. Gathering up near unanimous support among the members of the company, they decided to ambush Myrgan during a celebration of her upcoming bonding ceremony with Azette. As everyone reveled and drank, the newly established insurrectionist faction launched a sudden attack on Myrgan and her closest confidants. During the ensuing skirmish, Myrgan evaded a launched arrow which subsequently found its way into Azette's eye, killing her instantly. Overcome with grief and the sudden return of her rage, Myrgan slaughtered a number of her attackers before being riddled with enough arrows to finally stop her onslaught. With no strength left to fight, she stumbled backwards out of the room's window and plummeted into the river below. Thinking their leader dead, the Scarlet Hounds rejoiced and claimed Shitesplitter as a trophy before setting about undoing her damage. Elsewhere, the heavily wounded Myrgan washed-up beside a nearby farmhouse. Its sole inhabitant, a widowed cabbage farmer, managed to pull her from the water and nurse her back to health. Regaining consciousness some three days after the attempt on her life, Myrgan was again wracked by grief and remorse. Though the farmer did everything in his power to care for her, she spent the first fortnight of her stay staring emptily out of the window in her room. One day without warning, however, the farmer woke up to find Myrgan silently chopping wood outside. For the next few months, Myrgan helped her benefactor by wordlessly performing menial tasks too physically grueling for the elderly man to concern himself with. At dinner, she would remain mute despite his many attempts to coerce some conversation out of her. This continued until she suddenly broke her silence one night by claiming that she would be leaving in the morning to kill every last member of the Scarlet Hounds. True to her word, the farmer awoke the next day to find that his stoic guest had vanished, leaving only a large bag of gil behind. Immediately riding for the headquarters of the Scarlet Hounds, Myrgan infiltrated the building in the night and reclaimed Shitesplitter, which had been mounted on the wall of her former office. She then waited for the lieutenant who had stepped into her position to return from his duties. When the man tried to explain that he had no choice but to turn against her after the way she abused her power and insisted that she had lost what had once made her a legendary sellsword, Myrgan claimed that she understood why he had revolted against her and suggested that he try to understand her retaliation. Quipping that she still had what made her dangerous in the form of a 'big fuck off axe', Myrgan killed the man and proceeded to cut her way through every member of the Scarlet Hounds stationed at the headquarters before burning it to the ground. Driven by her reignited anger and a lust for revenge, Myrgan travelled the world killing any Scarlet Hound she could find. Nigh unstoppable in her quest for vengeance, she became something of a boogeyman in the criminal underworld, with some believing her to be a voidsent demon. Though many members of the Scarlet Hounds abandoned their colours in the hopes that they would be spared, Myrgan always managed to track them down and execute them just as well as those that remained within the company's ranks. After about two years of relentless pursuit, she finally brought her quest to a bloody end by bisecting the last known Scarlet Hound -- a former lieutenant who had since fled to Coerthas to start a family. Once the deed was done, Myrgan took the lieutenant's Scarlet Hounds pauldron and donned it before taking her leave. It was only upon returning to Thanalan, however, that Myrgan realised her anger had not subsided in the slightest. Though she had systematically killed every last person who could have been responsible for the tragedy that befell her, there was no relief -- no reprieve from the burning fire she had allowed to consume her. Realising all too late the truth behind Burning Axe's teachings, Myrgan was left with no other choice but to spend what life she had left feeding her fury. Striking out as an independent sellsword, Myrgan became a shadow of her former self. With her glory days far behind her, she fell once more into hedonistic self-indulgence and, robbed of what little morality and idealism that had survived in her up to that point, she masked her inner emptiness with an outer exuberance while turning her axe on innocent and guilty parties alike so long as the coin was good. With her bloodlust and anger still driving her forward like an unmanned juggernaut, Myrgan gave in to her violent and self-destructive impulses more than ever. At the end of all the suffering and loss, the life of Myrgangeim Swygfyrwyn had amounted to little more than someone else's blood spilling into a gutter. She had allowed her rage to burn unchecked and, in doing so, lay waste to any chance of happiness she might have had. Perhaps one day she will find some semblance of peace but, until then... War works. ☞ CHAPTER IX - EPILOGUE ☜
▼ "NAME'S MYRGANGEIM SWYGFYRWYN. CALL ME MYRGAN."
These days, Myrgan remains a roaming sellsword trying to earn back some of her lost coin and reputation through any work she can find. Older, wiser and just as violent as ever, she typically brings a sense of world weary experience and a practiced lack of hesitation to her clients which tells of a lifetime of conflict. Though a part of her still seeks a purpose beyond an endless cycle of battle and bloodshed, Myrgan is more than comfortable butchering just about anyone who gets in her way in the mean time. As of late, she has taken up with Nathaniel Salem -- an entrepreneurial priest of Nald'thal who has come to admire her straightforward way of dealing with pesky problems. Only time will tell how beneficial their partnership will be, but so long as she's being provided with coin, shelter and plentiful opportunities to do what she does best, Myrgan is happy to let the chips fall where they may. After tricking Edda Vincents into accompanying her to the Coffer & Coffin on the anniversary of a particularly traumatic memory from her past, a vulnerable Myrgan offered to train the young witch in fighting in the hopes of fostering a friendship. Unfortunately, an argument between the two led to Edda severely burning Myrgan's shoulder and further reinforcing her belief that getting close to others is a mistake. Since mending her relationship with Edda and becoming somewhat softened by her proximity to Nathaniel's colleagues, Myrgan has purchased a hatchetfish as a pet and named him Chopper. She seems uncharacteristically caring of him for someone who otherwise possesses all the sensitivity and nurturing instincts of an avalanche of sledgehammers. 🗺️ ─ LOCALES/AFFILIATIONS
👤 ─ MIND
🛠️ ─ ABILITIES
🥇 MAJOR
🥈 MINOR
🥉 POOR
⚓ POSITIVE HOOKS ⚓
⚓ NEUTRAL HOOKS ⚓
⚓ NEGATIVE HOOKS ⚓
🛑 WE CAN'T RP IF... 🛑
➕ ─ MISCELLANEOUS
💬 CHARACTER QUOTES
⚔️ KEY ITEMS
⚠️ LINGO
 📺 TV TROPES
💡 CHARACTER INSPIRATIONS
RELATIONSHIPS
GALLERY
CONTACT INFO
►► THIS TEMPLATE AND ITS ICONS WERE MADE BY LUCILE TOWNSEND. DO NOT USE WITHOUT EXPLICIT PERMISSION FROM LUCILE TOWNSEND. CONTACT MEISHALI or KINGSODA @ THE RPC!
|
Myrgangeim Swygfyrwyn The Scarlet Hound
Balmung
"The business'll cost ye, but the pleasure is all mine."
 GUARDIAN DEITY
Nald'thal, the Trader  CITIZENSHIP Ul'dah ☩ ─ VITAL RECORDS
☩ ─ ADDITIONAL RECORDS
☩ ─ RELATIVES
☩ ─ META
☩ ─ ATTRIBUTES
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
