Pwyll

A light drizzle covered the forest ground, as the full moon barely managed to send some of its light towards the hatching dire spider eggs. The shells broke one after another, filling the ground with young freshly hatched spiders. But out of one of them crawled not a spider but something more fae, an Arachnus.

Though the dire spiders soon disbursed, leaving the Arachnus Hatchling behind. A creature stepped out of the shadows, another, yet adult Arachnus, armed with a crossbow. Their eyes met and the older males eyes flickered without something that wasn’t known to the hatchling. The adult dropped his crossbow and carefully approached the hatchling, speaking in a calm and reassuring manner. He had been visiting these parts of the woods for several days after discovering the nest. The chances of an Arachnus hatching were slim, but not zero. He wanted to give this young one a better life than he had.

The man, named Tadgh, did exactly that, taking the young hatchling with him to his home in the capital and raising him as if he were his own son. He was a well off and influential man within scholarly affairs, with connections to the court. His wife, an Arachnus woman by the name Ciara, was a sickly, yet loving woman, mostly supporting her husband in his endeavors in any way she could.

Pwyll, the name the two decided on for their adopted son, grew up well mannered and highly educated, especially for an Arachnus, giving him a good starting point in life. But he soon had to realize that life wasn’t as kind as the first people that he had met in life. Pwyll found himself bullied during his education for his sickly and slender appearance. He grew to dislike others and was on a path to dislike anyone his age, when his parents took in another Arachnus youngling that his father found in the woods. Pwyll was skeptical at first, but grew attached to the younger one rather quickly, taking on a protective big brother role.

Their family unit of four was further extended once their father picked up another Arachnus young from the streets. Though unlike the first addition, they were mute, due to losing their tongue in a previous alteration. The already lingering hatred towards those of higher standing began to anchor itself into Pwylls heart and grew over the years of mistreatment towards himself and his family.

While their parents never showed it towards their adopted children, the financial means of the family began to look more and more dire. Pwyll overheard his parents talk about their financial issues one night and began taking matters into his own hands. There were enough rich families in this town and didn’t need nearly as much money and riches as they had. And so began Pwylls life as a thief.

He quickly became skilled at it and made it a routine to sneak out once no one was awake to notice. He only stole what wouldn’t be noticed, never too much to make it noticeable without bookkeeping, or stealing things of great importance to an individual. The money was later snuck into his parents hidden savings, one coin at a time to not arouse suspicion. This sneaky approach didn’t solve their issues however, the trickling couldn’t cover a drying desert.

More drastic measures had to be taken. Pwyll approached his parents on a calm evening to talk about their current financial situation. Offering to quit his education to work as well, but his idea was shut down.

Pwyll had to find a different way, without exposing what he had been doing in secret up until now.

One night, as he was stacking out a house, he spotted a different figure approaching the house. He was about to leave it be, but a turn from the figure's head revealed that it was a Sluagh approaching the house. Against his better judgment, Pwyll followed the creature into the house. There he found the lifeless body of the man of the house in front of the creature's feet. Blood dripped from his knife, as he pinned down the screaming Dryad woman of the house.

The eyes of the Sluagh and Pwylls met, a flash of confusion, yet curiosity flickered in the creatures eyes. He ignored the woman's screams as he held his bloody knife towards Pwyll. It was an offer. Kill the woman, or die by this blade. Pwyll took the knife without hesitation. The Sluagh stepped back as Pwyll performed his first assassination.

The two strangers left the house, being led into an alleyway shrouded in darkness, away from anyone that might still be out at this hour. There he was offered another deal. Speak no more of this, or join the Sluagh in his assassination business. As his status as a Sluagh didn’t allow him much access to clients, he suggested Pwyll take on the scouting of potential clients. In return, he would get his share of the reward and be trained by the Sluagh. Pwylls hands tightened around the knife he had bloodied, as iron as his decision to join this alliance with the Host of the Dead.

With this alliance in place, Pwyll began reforming his approach. He began mingling more, his interests aligning more with those he saw as potential clients. Always an ear open for gossip and the latest tea. He began a public relationship with a Dryad, appearing as if he had changed his views after meeting the young woman. Though he holds bitter hatred and disgust towards her. His parents were happy to see him seemingly turning towards the better, with a bright future ahead of him.

Pwyll told his parents that he was helping an old man with his daily business on the outskirts of town, which got him some extra money. While his parents weren’t super keen on the idea at first, he was allowed to pursue it as long as it didn’t take over his life. Little did they know, he was beyond the point of no return.

Pwyll became the ears of a Sluagh within high society, while maintaining the image of the perfect son and member of society. He had stopped stealing at this point, to not create additional risks. The path behind him and before him was covered in blood and death. This was his past, present and future that he was more than willing to brace, if it meant the well being of his family.