Iredane Surehorn

Iredane was born amidst the cowfolk village to a primarily Bóhtarr (“minotaur”) family - two minotaur parents, with a half-elf grandmother. Her childhood was a rather happy one, though she found herself favoring the more physical work typically handled by bulls, rather than domestic and family work. Her family, and village, were supportive of her inclinations, however, and encouraged her to explore her instincts.

Although he had once been happy to play with his sisters, Iredane’s brother Tohrrin eventually began to grow distant from them, instead becoming close with his cousin, Delhau, and their friends. He grew to believe that she was wrong to do “bull things,” rather than tend to the family as cows were meant to, and grew jealous of his older sister. It was clear she had a natural strength and finesse that drew the attention of her elders, paired with a determination and sense of responsibility that exceeded her age. She was often given praise from the adults, which caused Tohrrin to stew in his envy. As the moons went on, he grew to resent his sister, and grew distant from most of his family. Iredane was sad to lose her brother, but eventually she learned that she could not control him - his jealousy and bitterness was his own. She instead grew closer to the elders of the village and her other family members, and often sat down with them to listen to the history of the village and her family.

She remained an active youngster, however, and grew to be physically strong, rather buff for a female of her species and easily rivaling some of the bulls in height and build. She took strongly to both carpentry and forestry, often patrolling the forests that surrounded their pastures and fields. As she grew into adulthood, she adopted the role of Warden, a protector, maintaining the forest and keeping an eye out for dangers that grew close to the herd.

While young Iredane continued to gain the respect of her village, Tohrrin continued to cause trouble. He slacked off, started fights, and was generally delinquent. He was constantly trying to prove himself as better than the rest - and while the cowfolk appreciated friendly competition, his tactics and demeanor were anything but friendly. He became somewhat of an outcast among the rest of the village, though it was mostly self-inflicted - the cowfolk valued family far too much to discommunicate one of their own for anything other than the worst of offenses. But it remained that he was largely unpopular among the herd, aside from the few equally rowdy bulls that he liked to hang around.

More than once, Iredane attempted to reach out to her brother, but each time he scorned her, and eventually she stopped trying. She was largely content with her place in the world - she had her village, her herd, and her beloved forest, and she was well-loved and respected. There was a part of her that longed to see the rest of the world, though not forever - she would always love her village, her woods - but more than she found herself able to. She never vocalized this, however, for fear that her people would disapprove of her yearning. Besides, she had work to do - she didn’t have time to entertain fantasies.

Though generally safe in their hidden, secluded village, the cowfolk still had to worry about the ever-present threat of intrusion by those that chose to see them as monsters, as plenty of Vorinthia did. Protecting the location of the village was of utmost importance, and those that patrolled the borders of their village amidst the forest knew to give any unfamiliar humanoids a wide berth. While other beastfolk dealt with intruders in their own ways, the laws of the Bóhtarr were clear: Protect the village with your life, but only in defense; do not provoke, and do not engage.

But not everyone agreed with the village’s pacifistic approach, as the herd would discover. A shock rippled through the herd when Tohrrin stumbled, bleeding, into the village one day - followed soon after by his attackers, who boldly wore symbols proclaiming themselves beast hunters.

As her shocked herd scrambled in their panic, it was Iredane that sprung to action. Fearless and enraged, she held her own against the attackers, slaying one and mortally wounding the other. Despite her victory, she did not walk away unharmed - the ranger’s war hounds had viciously bitten at her limbs, and the barbarian had managed to snap off the end of one horn, leaving Iredane with permanent scars.

When questioned, Tohrrin claimed that he and Delhau had been gathering wood when they were attacked out of nowhere, and had fled to the village for protection - but his story didn’t quite seem right, and each time he told it, details seemed to change. But his lies were put to rest soon enough - the village elder knew a woven tale when she heard one, and eventually the truth came out.

Tohrrin and Delhau had discovered the beast hunters in the outlying forest, and rather than alert the village and ruin their chance at glory, they attacked. Tohrrin managed to strike down one of the humans, taking them by surprise, but they were a group of seasoned beast killers and struck back without hesitation. Delhau was killed as they tried to escape, and the injured Tohrrin led them right to the village.

Though thankfully there were no additional cowfolk casualties, many had been injured, and the border guard on duty only just barely survived after being brutalized and left for dead by the hunters. Tohrinn was dishonored by the village, as he had proven that he could not be trusted. And though it was his own actions that condemned him, he refused to accept the blame. He only grew more and more bitter, disgusted with the village and his place in life.

But while Tohrrin was shunned, Iredane was revered as a hero by the rest of her herd. She had never wanted glory - only to keep her family safe - but her brave actions earned her the adjulations of the village regardless.

She didn’t bat an eye when Tohrrin eventually left the village, storming off in a huff of fury and self-righteousness. While she had once been somewhat sympathetic to her brother, she now felt only disgust. His idiocy had nearly gotten the village destroyed, and for what? Respect he felt he was owed? It was an embarrassment.

His absence changed little for the village, and Iredane and her herd carried on as normal up until the unthinkable happened. The sky got stuck. Night never fell, and the sun never rose. The sky was perpetually twilight-grey. Something was very wrong with the world.

The village elders grew worried, sensing strange forces at work. They called upon their young hero to investigate, despite her initial hesitation. Though she hadn’t the slightest clue how she could fix the sky, and feared leaving her home, she would not deny the elders - and so her journey began.