Shadow Blade

Colin Makis Hardworth , Private

The history of Colin Hardworth took many years to collect and even now, I cannot guarantee it is accurate. Much of it was taken out of letters from Colin to his mother and the people still living whom he’d known that I visited. I managed to visit the village of his youth and even met some of the village lads he wrote of. This is a simplified version of his life.
~ Goldfinch Reach, Historian

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Early Years

Colin Hardworth was born during the Years of Reprieve, sixty-seven years after the First War ended, in the village of Greensboro, Baphis. His father, the Evil Duke Lithel Corman, never acknowledged him, and his mother, Lila Hardworth, a quiet farmer’s daughter, rarely spoke of the affair. Despite Thora Eren, the village gossip, attempting to pry, no answers were given.

As an illegitimate child, Colin faced social ostracism and frequent abuse. He was a small boy with eyes as green as the hills around him and hair the color of sand. Solemn and sensitive, he avoided the village lads, preferring to tend the garden with his mother. His only friends were the rabbits and antelope in the hills. When he rescued a baby antelope with a broken leg, the village boys mocked him, suggesting he should eat it. Undeterred, Colin nursed the antelope, which later followed him around, much to the boys’ chagrin.

One significant incident occurred when Colin was thirteen. Discovering three boys drowning a kitten, he intervened in a rage, leaving one with a broken arm and the others with bloodied noses. After that, the village lads steered clear of him, and their parents, fearing this "sign of the devil," warned their sons to stay away. Colin often disappeared for days, returning more silent each time.

Marriage and Family
Colin met Gilla at his graduation ball, an event where the school had relaxed its rules, allowing the men to invite their sisters and mothers. Gilla, the younger sister of one of Colin’s fellow students, was his opposite. With hair as dark as pitch, eyes as blue as a summer sky, and boundless energy, she captivated him immediately. She began chatting about her older sister’s son, her father’s merchant business, and everything in between. For the first time in his life, Colin laughed. It was love at first sight for both of them. A year later, they married. Colin was twenty-three, and Gilla was nineteen. Colin, having received an education in business, decided to set up his own establishment, focusing on the selling and trading of horses. Two years into their marriage, Gilla gave birth to their son, Mathin, named after her father. When Mathin was a year old, war broke out, and Ullivikk called its men to battle.

Education

At sixteen, Colin informed his mother that he was leaving to earn his way into school. He wandered for weeks, living off the land, until he reached Ullivikk, known for having the best schools at the time. Free from the prejudices of his village, he found that people no longer looked upon him with contempt. He secured a job in a lord’s stables, where his talent with animals quickly became evident. Soon, he was earning enough to enter school.

Colin’s school records show he was a quick learner, often startling his professors with his rapid learning. He graduated at twenty-two, just as political tension between Baphis and Skillia was heightening.  His letters home during this period expressed his deep concern. He despised the idea of war and worried about being caught in the middle, as Ullivikk had pledged to honor its treaty with Baphis if war broke out.

Mental Trauma

Colin avoided conscription as long as he could, but when he was eventually forced to join, he refused to accept a weapon, detesting violence and death. Instead, he was assigned as a doctor’s assistant, where he was mocked once again, this time as a coward. He reverted to his silent ways. The army traveled to Skillia, attacking its borders.

While camping on the edge of Skillia, Colin received a letter from Gilla announcing the birth of their second son, whom she named Colin. Two weeks later, newspapers reported that Donnos, Skillia’s ally, had attacked the capital city of Ullivikk, targeting the merchandise areas. Colin was granted leave and rushed home, only to find his home burnt to the ground, with the bodies of his wife and sons buried in the rubble. His father-in-law and brother-in-law, who lived across the street, had also been killed.

With the help of his sister-in-law and her husband, Colin silently buried his family. When his sister-in-law offered him a place to stay, he declined and returned to the army, requesting a transfer to the front lines fighting against Donnos.He wrote to the general, informing him of his willingness to carry a weapon now. Recognizing Colin’s skill with horses, he was placed in the cavalry. Colin’s regiment still speaks in awe of his first battle. He rode at the front, his mouth set in a grim line. When the call for the charge came, he led the attack with such ferocity that the Donnosans were stunned. After the enemy retreated, Colin was found still fighting furiously with a man twice his size, despite having an arrow in his right thigh and a deep gash in his left hand. He was brought back to the medical tent, still standing. The men, who had heard rumors of Colin refusing a weapon, could not believe it until they met several other transferred soldiers. One of these soldiers, Jehon Fletcher, had previously bullied and mocked Colin. Even after his transfer, Jehon’s protests and stories did not cease, but Colin continued to ignore him completely.

Shadowblade
Around this time, Colin devised a plan he would follow until his death. The first deaths in the enemy camp occurred one night, with ten Donnosans stabbed straight through the heart. No one heard their cries. A few weeks later, another tent full of men was killed, this time Skillians. Over the next year and a half, approximately six hundred men were killed in this manner. The Skillians called him ‘Shadowblade,’ while the Donnosans referred to him as ‘Devil’s Blade.’ Other names emerged, such as ‘Nightblade,’ ‘Reaper of Men,’ ‘Death Reaper,’ and ‘Ghost Swordsman.’ Soon, the men of Ullivikk and Baphis began to hear of these tales, which grew increasingly outlandish. Legends claimed the number of men killed reached into the thousands. I have attempted to find accurate records of these deaths, but most sources exaggerated the figures immensely. Everywhere the army wandered, Colin would slip away and kill a tent full of men. The Skillians and their allies became fearful. Some talked of setting traps, while others believed it was a ghost and refused to participate.

Death
In another battle, Jehon Fletcher witnessed Colin fighting. Colin saved his life, leaving Fletcher stunned and terrified. Fletcher never teased him again. Colin met his end in the middle of Skillia. After stabbing three men in a tent, one of them must have heard something. He woke up, and a fight broke out, waking the rest of the men in the tent and beyond. When the fight ended, Colin and eight men were dead. Wrapped in a black cloak with his hair and face smeared with charcoal, he had truly become a shadow. The Donnosans contacted the army only miles away and sent Colin’s body back with ceremony. A man who kills eight others at his death is not to be held in contempt. The shock among Colin’s comrades was immense. They had seen his fighting skills, but no one had suspected he was the Shadowblade. To them, he was just ‘Colin.’

Date of Birth

January 2, 1184

Date of Death

September 12, 1215

Circumstances of Birth

Illegitimate

Circumstances of Death

Killed

Birthplace

Greensboro, Baphis

Place of Death

Tolla, Skillia

Sex

Male

Eyes

Green

Hair

Blonde

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

White

Height

5'9

by Shalyn, Made in Inkarnate

Baphis and Surrounding Areas