Shadow of the Past

“Let each Charr I slay rot in this world and deserve no afterlife, no gift beyond death. This much I willl say, for all the innocent blood they have shed. And may that prey upon their minds whenever they look to the shadows, lest they forget.”
-- Kyreth Oakheart


In the dark times that shortly followed The Searing, before Prince Rurik began the exodus of many Ascalonians seeking refuge in Kryta, there was story of a man who preyed against the Charr legions, fighting from the shadows and ruins of what once belonged to Ascalon. He was a solitary individual, avoiding the company of others as he and his equally independent pet, a rare feline simply known to him and other travellers as ‘Friend’, traversed many areas north of the shattered remains of the Great Wall and hunted down Charr stragglers and parties alike that knew not what they fought.

Some thought him to be a demon. Some learnt to fear him. In an earlier age, though, the shadowy figure was thought a man who had everything he wanted, only to lose all by the time of The Searing. He was once a noble, respected, gifted with the bow, and graciously blessed well by the human gods. Some say he even heard them speak to him, lead him, especially that of one goddess, Melandru. Some Ascalonians believed he was her champion, and those who did had their reasons. Whether or not this was true, Kyreth Oakheart was a man who fought the tides of evil and death. He despised it as he did all walks of life that tried to embrace it. Necromancers, even among mankind, quickly learned that the ranger was inhospitable to all servants of Grenth. He had no pity for how they lived.

Still, in the end, Kyreth longed to slay only Charr. Yet in the days that lead to King Adelbern denouncing his son, Kyreth put his personal ambitions aside to aid Prince Rurik in leading his wary people away from Ascalon’s scorched battlegrounds. He was among those who lead the way in securing the earliest paths for refugees to take in reaching Yak’s Bend, silencing many a Charr scout and leaving their skinned corpses to rot in the sun for their kin to see and know that The Beastslayer prowled the area. Their bravest sought to find him and bring his head back as a trophy, although as it came to be that none of their bravest ever returned, it is said the Charr grew bored of trying to hunt him down and hid their fear by calling him a coward who fought them with trickery and honourless ways.

Those who did see Kyreth fight knew otherwise, however. He was quick, very quick, and was said to even surpass the talents of the hero, Aidan. Like Aidan, though, Kyreth almost lost himself to his obsession with vengeance against the Charr, till Rurik’s path lead him into the Shiverpeak Mountains and thus had him slowly forget his hatred for what remained many a thorn in Ascalon's landscape. Although by then Kyreth’s time as The Beastslayer made him a legend to those among the Charr who would remember him as a great warrior to be respected. A legend that would outlive their era...


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Though not originally in the cards, I did want to draw something atmospheric for Kyreth's backstory to begin with, so here we are. Hope you like and comments and such always apppreciated.

Artwork / Kyreth Oakheart - © Kristopher P. Love // Guild Wars - © ArenaNet