Mugger

Mugger is a warped human, resembling a crocodile, created by a twisted mage tampering with the Anima Mundi. Played by Raltin Avarr. This character was created in the early Summer of 2013.

Poor Yet Happy
Mugger was not his original name, it was the experiment name given to him by Connan Vargus's apprentice (A mage whose life's work has been the study of life energies), who split off from his teacher to conduct his own experiments. Mugger grew up in the poor district of Varrok, and was a hard working person, he eventually met his wife Anne and they were married at the Saradominist church in the city. They stayed as such for several years before they were taken.

Captured
Mugger and his wife were stolen from their home at night by mysterious black robed figures and taken down into the sewers of Varrok, where they were caged and experimented on by Connan's run-away apprentice. Using Dragon blood as a template and mixing it with that of a Crocodile, the apprentice injected it into Mugger and used his blood magics training to tamper with the Anima Mundi and warp the man. Mugger's wife followed soon after with a fish-blood mixture, though she was not as badly warped as he was, retaining much of her human features.

The experiment stripped them of much of their memory, Mugger retained enough to remember he and his wife were married and originally came from the world above. He managed to rally his fellow prisoners and they revolted, breaking free of their cages and killing the apprentice and his assistants. The mutants then fled deeper into the sewer system. In time, many of the experiments lost their sanity and turned feral, the few that did not ended up being attacked by the corrupted. Mugger and Anne kept out of harm's way by taking refuge in the sewer system's water ways where the other creatures could not follow. Eventually Anne made a mistake and ended up being attacked by the corrupted experiments, Mugger arrived too late and killed the other creatures in hate-fueled revenge. It was when he was building his wife's funeral pyre out of stones and loose bits of vegetation that he was found by Alliance order members, tracking down rumors of creatures in Varrok Sewers.

He attacked them in a rage, thinking them to be more cohorts of the apprentice blood mage, but they managed to hold him off long enough for the noise to attract the corrupted experiments. Mugger forgot about the fight and ran to the sewer gate to pull a lever and close off the tunnel, but found the lever to be stuck. Putting aside his aggressiveness for the moment, he called for the Alliance member's aid to pull the lever down, and so it was. After calm was restored, the members explained themselves and Mugger told his story as well as the other creatures. After finishing putting his wife to rest, the members offered Mugger sanctuary and a promise to help cure him, and so he followed them.

Safety
The group of Alliance members he followed eventually reached a small base on Karamja in a pocket plane, where Mugger decided to takn up residence did not venture outward from for some time. He later spoke with the owner of the pocket plane, a man who had been infused with a demon through infernal rituals. They spoke much on the topic of blood and the change in each others live's as a result of what they both had become. Mugger learned much from the man later regarding the higher powers of the world; such as gods and spirits, as Mugger had grown up as a peasant and never managed to learn much about such subjects.

Back to the World
It did not take long for the order that Mugger was being protected by to start to dissolve, and this was unexpected. Mugger was forced to leave before events proved unfavorable, and left the pocket plane to go out on his own. Having learned much from the order, he was ready to take on the challenges of life on his own, and had a standard knowledge about the majority of Gielinor. Discovering that Morytania was the land of monsters in his studies, he resolved to go there and discover what he might about its inhabitants, perhaps even try to fit in.

Morytania
He took refuge in the swamps that dot the land throughout the fetid environment of Morytania, and snuck into Canifis under the natural shadows of the land, observing the bar patrons to aid in his study. He caught sight of a two women in the bar one night, one human and the other a mix of strange races. The human suffered from a terminal illness and the other offered to change her into what she was. The human woman agreed and followed the other, unknown to them, Mugger followed them through the swamps. He watched as the human woman was turned into some sort of demonic creature, and as the first woman left, the newly changed woman stayed where she was for a moment. Mugger turned to leave, but stepped on a stick, making a noise that alerted the woman, and he was discovered. The woman told Mugger she would not harm him, though he did not believe her and fled, running for the waters and escaping her view.

Visit to the Academy of Heros
He decided to follow the scent of the original demonic woman, and ended up swimming down the river salve to a building he had never seen before. He used his claws to climb up the cliffs, and did the same to reach the roof. He crawled to the edge near the inner plaza and looked down, spotting the woman he had scented. It did not take long for him to be discovered by some of the academy members, who could sense auras and knew that something was on the roof. Mugger became paranoid, and started to flee, sliding down the northern roof, but ended up being cornered. A mage began to cast a spell to trap him using sand, and Mugger began to be taken over by an animalistic fear, and thrashed about wildly to try and escape. Eventually he was pinned, and he yelled at his captors in fear, proving to them that he was a sentient creature, not just a monster. Without being given a chance to explain himself, he was told to leave, and that if he returned he would be killed. Feeling spurned and yet again cast out of any chances of socializing, he jumped off the cliffs and dove into the water, swimming back to Morytania.

Burgh De Rott
A few days previous to this event, Mugger had been unable to act while he saw a female human knight become captured by Vampyres. He had observed this woman and grown partially attached to her slightly insane behavior by watching her through the windows of Canifis bar, and after her capture he took it upon himself to save her. Following her scent, he tracked her through the swamps of Mort Myre and to the small city of Burgh De Rott. He scented the air once more and found the woman he had been searching for to be directly on the other side of a large stone wall, and finding a large grate, he ripped it from the wall and began to dig away the bricks in order to make the hole large enough for him to squeeze through.

This alerted the Vampyres that now lorded over the former knight, which was none other than Talya and Rosemarie Foryx, and they rushed to see the damage of the wall after hearing the noise. Catching scent of them before they could spot him however, Mugger submerged into the waters and was out of sight as they rounded the bend. Thinking it was an average intruder, Rose ordered that Vyrewatch assume positions on the ballistae surrounding the wall. Mugger then submerged deep into the river, and began thinking of a way he could get in without being detected. A solution formed in his head, and he swam to the bottom of the wall and began digging at the mud below the stone structure. With this, he was in the water on the other side of the wall within moments. As this happened, the two Vampyres pushed the former knight into the water as punishment for some misdeed. It was this instant Rose had realized her mistake, as she detected Mugger's life aura underneath the water as he swam through the hole he had dug. Rose began to try and manipulate a water current to push the creature back out the hole, but Mugger was the master of his own element, and easily outswam the magic current.

As Talya began trying to help the enslaved knight out of the water, Mugger burst from the surface, jaws closing on one of the knight's feet and dragging her into the water all within the course of nearly half a second. Rose used blood tendrils to grap ahold of one of her slave's wrists, just as Mugger neared the hole under the wall. This resulted in a very short game of tug-of-war, and as this began to happen; magic was used to begin to heat up the water to near boiling. Mugger weighed the consequences, he knew that if he continued to pull then the knight would be ripped apart or boiled alive by the hot water, of which Mugger knew he could withstand but she could not. He opened his steel-trap jaws, which unexpectedly sent the knight flying out of the water and into Rose, hitting her. Mugger then escaped out the hole in the wall at the base of the riverbed and fled into Mort Myre up the river, ashamed that he could not rescue the knight.

Discovery
One night outside Canifis bar as Mugger was thinking of ways to free the woman knight from imprisonment, he was viewing the activities of the patrons from his usual hiding spot outside, when two patrons began arguing. The two patrons were Lark Mallavian and a human man. The nature of their discussion was one that greatly annoyed Mugger, and after the bickering had reached the climax; with yelling and near blows, Mugger grabbed a large log nearbye and with a savage roar, threw it through the wall. The roar alerted Lark, who mist-formed as the large log crashed through the wall, and the human dove out of the way as it sailed through the air toward him. The human left, not wanting to get involved in events further, while Lark decided to pursue her unknown assailant.

Lark exited the bar through the gaping hole, and observed the tracks of Mugger which lead to the water. She searched around the pond located behind the tavern and found a large boulder blocking the trapdoor that lead to the basement of the establishment. Breaking the boulder with magic, she went down the trapdoor and found to her astonishment that the filthy basement had been cleaned to a degree. She explored the basement which now had become Mugger's lair, and discovered two things: the pool of water in the basement was a water filled tunnel that Mugger used to get in and out, and Mugger's journal. Lark read the entirety of it, feeling both touched and saddened by the depressing tale contained within.

She spoke to herself then, stating her sympathy for the outcast monster, and decided to mark the letter M on the table with her own blood as a sign she had been there. Unknown to her however, the head of Mugger was just so slightly protruding from the water on the other end of the basement, and he had heard her claims of sympathy. Mugger then breathed deep, catching her scent and memorizing it so that he would be able to pick Lark out from the rest of her kin. As Lark left, Mugger resolved to follow her closely for a while, in order to make judgement on whether or not to reveal himself to her in time.

A Game After Dark
After following Lark for a time, Mugger decided to make things fun. After the woman drank one too many, he tapped on the side of the tavern, causing her inebriated mind to make her want to investigate. Lark walked outside to the side of the tavern and saw the water in the pond sloshing about, and she knew instantly who it was that was badgering her this night. She started speaking out loud to the pond, and this attracted the attention of one of her aquantences, who came to watch. The aquantance, who's name was Marie, started to think Lark was losing it. Meanwhile, Mugger started to taunt Lark using a catfish as a puppet, squeezing the head of the small fish he had caught to make its mouth move like a puppet.

The two Vampyres started arguing about Lark's mental health and drunkenness and Lark picked up a fist sized stone to throw into the water and prove her point. The stone came sailing out of the water not soon after, hitting a Werewolf citizen in the head, to which Lark took as the proving of her story. Marie, knowing now that the story was true, decided to play at Lark's inebriation, and claimed that her story was still false. Mugger then began to push bloodwine bottles he had stolen onto the shore, and Lark could not resist, and she began to drink even more, as well as using the bottles to prove that Mugger existed to Marie.

As Lark reached to grab a bottle floating in the water, she fell in, and Marie then came to grab her and haul her out of the water. Mugger grabbed one of Lark's legs however, forcing Marie to start pulling, and as the woman heaved heavily, Mugger let go, causing Marie to fall backwards and Lark to launch airborn slightly. Mugger let his snout out of the water to take a breath after this, and Marie took this to her advantage, and punched the protruding piece of Mugger's head. Mugger's explosive temper sparked at this, and his full head lifted out of the water, letting loose a deep gutteral growl, causing the air to vibrate nearbye. The noise rattled Marie's and Lark's bones and teeth, and Lark looked up from laying on her back, exclaiming while pointing at the Mugger's head that she was right. Lark fell back down onto the dirt, passing out from the drinks while Mugger submerged once more. Marie dragged her friend away from the pond and the rest of the night passed bye with little else occuring.

Making Amends
He decided to try and risk a return to the academy of heros one day, and resolved to give them a gift of some kind without exposing himself. He swam south down the River Salve, and ended up along the Eastern coast of the Kharidian Desert. He found a large oasis of teak trees, and decided to cut them down as a gift to the academy. What Mugger did not know however, is that teak trees are valuable, he didn't even know exactly what teak was, and his intent was to cut enough logs so that the academy could use them to burn and keep warm on cold desert nights. He eventually cut enough timber, and placed the large amount of wood into a very large burlap sack. He reached the cliffs at the base of the academy and used his large fists and claws to scrabble his way up, while holding onto the sack with his strong jaws. He reached the top and worked his way around the edges of the academy walls. He reached the front wall where the gates were and used his massive strength to throw the sack to the gate, and left shortly after. The sack was found by a few members of the academy, and once they emptied the sack they found a grimy cloth note written in charcoal. The short note read: "from a friend".

A Bite to Remember
Once more did Mugger venture out into the desert, and found a rock deposit containing some ore. Using his thick claws, he dug out a large amount and stuffed it into the sack, which he had recovered. He once more threw the sack towards the gates after he climbed the cliffs and reached the edge of the academy wall, and this attracted the attention of a girl named Ash, who was an archer at the academy and was there during the first time the sack was thrown when it contained teak logs. Ash ran after the source of the thrown sack, and could not find the owner, but did find the tracks in the sand. She followed the tracks to the Eastern cliffs, the edge of the academy that looks out to the ocean. She saw claw marks at the edge of the cliff and looked down, spying the heavily cloth-covered Mugger as he was about to drop into the water below.

She called out to get his attention, and so she did, but it broke his concentration as he was descending, and Mugger's grip slipped. As Mugger's grip slipped, it ripped out a section of the cliff wall, which caused the upper cliff above which ash was standing on to crumble. Ash did not pay attention to this and so she began to fall. Another person by the name of Devon happened along at this moment, having decided to follow Ash since she just walked away from a conversation earlier to pursue the secret persona who kept throwing a sack full of gifts to the academy gates. He ran to the edge of the cliff to investigate, and found that Ash just managed to grab a hand hold on her fall downwards, but this did not last long as the soft sandstone began to crumble once more, so she pushed off the cliff face and started to dive. She soon noticed why Mugger had climbed to the bottom before going into the water however, as the water below was noticably shallow for a dive.

She leveled her dive out as best she could, but ash still scraped her stomach on the sharp rocks on the bottom, causing her to start bleeding. Devon, who was an archer himself, readied two arrows with a rope attaching each other together, and plunged one into the dirt beside him while knocking one onto the bowstring. After he shot down the arrow, he noticed the dark shape of Mugger under the water farther off, and thought that the shape was a shark. He knocked an offensive arrow as Ash began swimming for the rope. As this happened, a real shark caught onto the scent of Ash's blood in the water, and its fin broke the surface as it began swimming for her.

Mugger caught sight of the shark, and began swimming to intercept it while still remaining under the water to stay concealed. Seeing two dark shapes; Devon knocked a second arrow. Ash was hurrying as quickly as she could, but was still not to safety as she started to climb the rope. Just as the shark was about to move its head out of the water to make a bite at Ash, Mugger intercepted it, and the two watchers just managed to see a blur of movement as a large green set of jaws slammed downwards on the neck of the shark.

Ash climbed very quickly after that, adrenaline surging through her system. As she reached the top she collapsed to take a breath, and the two looked down at the water. The water was soaked in blood and the decapitated head and body of the shark was floating on the surface, rimmed with teeth marks around the bite area. The two returned to the inside of the academy walls to mend Ash's scrape wounds from her unfortunate dive, and after this happened they once more heard the thump of a heavy object hitting the ground outside the academy gates.

Ash was the only one who bothered to investigate, and was treated with the sight of the large shark that had attempted to attack her; its disembodied head, along with the body itself, impaled on a long stick. She laughed at it for a moment, then noticed something large and white glinting from the neck of the shark. She walked over to it and pulled the object from the shredded meat, finding it to be a gleaming white tooth as long as her middle finger and of fair thickness. The tooth was not the shark's. She was somewhat amazed by the tooth and decided to pocket it, then she walked back into the academy to prepare for a healthy night's sleep.

Enslaved
Mugger returned to Morytania after his previous venture, and stayed in the South of the land in the snail trails to remain nearbye the cliffs on the other side of the Salve that bordered the trails. It was one night he was hunting for snails to eat that he caught the sound of wingbeats in the fog, and he knew vyres were on the way. He looked around in panic and could not find any deep water to hide in, and so formed an idea out of desperation. He ran to the nearest clump of reeds and rolled into a ball in order to resemble a rock. A group of vyres landed and began talking about the latest round up of humans. They saw a strange trail of footprints leading to Mugger's hiding place, which was the one thing Mugger had not anticipated.

They followed the tracks out of curiosity, and found what appeared to be a large mossy rock. The underling vyres were suggesting they poke it, at which the vyre captain named victor strided over, pushing them out of the way and used his claws to strike the "rock".

Mugger reared upwards in pain and roared, some blood flowing down his back. The vyres lunged at him, their instincts preparing them for combat. The four vyre underlings, after a struggle, managed to wrestle him to the ground. Mugger continued roaring, starting to hurt their ears, and yelled in a fury that he would crush them in his jaws. It was his furious words that likely saved his life, as the vyre captain who had been watching this whole time was preparing to kill him. At hearing Mugger's words, the vyre captain judged he had a measure of usefulness. A second group of vyres showed up, as the area they were in was an intended meeting place.

The captain named Victor thought that Mugger would do well as a heavy labor slave in the Daeyalt Ore Mines, and remarked on this. Mugger roared in fury, and stated he was not a slave. Victor told him to be quiet, and stated he looked like a creature who enjoyed meat, telling Mugger they would give him human flesh to keep him alive in the mines. Mugger was infuriated by this, and with fury in his voice; told the captain that he was not a monster like victor was, and that if he ever got out of the mines, he would find victor and kill him. Victor just laughed at this and used a blood spell in an attempt to knock Mugger out cold, but it did not do the job, and so he had to do so a second time; which finally made Mugger black out. He was later taken to the mines.

The Gift of Blood
Mugger was taken to the mines, and was rolled in on the tracks on a large metal cage. During this he was slightly drugged, and was not entirely alert. Two juvinate guards opened his cage, prodding him with metal rods to make him step out. As he stepped out, his pupils narrowed and his eyes turned red, and he began attacking the juvinates. His jaws clamped over the male juvinate's upper body and Mugger lifted upwards, shaking the juvinate like a terrier shakes a rat, which caused the vampyre's spine to break. The female juvinate grabbed a chain attached to a shackle locked on Mugger's right wrist, and attempted some restraint while calling for vyrewatch. Mugger yanked his arm, and the juvinate foolishly did not let go of the chain. She was flung through the air and was impaled by a stalagmite. Several vyrewatch showed up after that and restrained Mugger, forcing more sedatives into him. After this, the vyres attached his chains to a very large iron ball so as to slow Mugger's movements and make him easier to deal with in the mines.

While all this happened, a recently enslaved miner named Andrea was watching. After Mugger was successfully re-drugged, the vyres set him to work, and Mugger used his claws to scrape away at the Daeyalt ore. As his skin made contact with the ore, it glowed brighter than usual; responding to some hidden cue that Mugger did not care about at the time, due to his sedating. The slave named Andrea walked over cautiously after the vyrewatch left, and approached slowly; not sure if Mugger was dangerous. She tried talking to him, but she could not get a response from his drug-addled mind. Andrea went back to digging, and eventually the sedatives began to wear off on Mugger. He looked over and observed Andrea struggling to fill a quota placed on her by the vyres, then looked down to the massive amounts of ore he easily scraped from the walls.

Mugger grabbed a large handful and tossed over the ore, causing it to land in the pile Andrea had dug. She looked over in surprise at the big lizard, and started walking over. She saw the chains and attempted to break them with her pickaxe, but to no avail. As this happened, Mugger's head shot towards her direction in order to look at her, this caused her to stumble back in fright and land on her hind end. She stuttered and whispered in fear, exclaiming she only wanted to help. Mugger, still fighting off the sedatives, whispered a simple "thanks" to her. It was not long after that event that the mining day was up, and both their quotas filled. Mugger found a patch of flat rock and layed down for the night, and Andrea did as well but at a distance. The other slaves stayed far away from Mugger, keeping in seperate tunnels while Andrea was the only one who remained close.

It did not take Mugger long to begin to dream. He started to dream of his past life, short snippets of it floating by; a brief glimpse at his wedding and the simple life in Varrok after the marriage. It quickly turned to a nightmare however, as memories of the experiments from the sewers flooded back. As this happened; Mugger became distressed in his dreaming state, and the ore on the cavern walls around him began to glow more brightly. Mugger awoke with a start, and a brilliant white and blue flash of magic flickered for a brief moment across the mines, and faded as quickly as it had begun. After this; the glowing from the ore ceased. Andrea was woke by the sound Mugger was making and the lights coming off the ore, but oddly the blue flash did not register with her. She looked over at Mugger, who once more layed down, but did not attempt sleep, as he was too troubled to try.

Andrea got up and walked over, then stuttered while asking if she could lay down next to him. Mugger nodded and Andrea cuddled up to the large frame, shuddering at the warmth he provided from the cold stones and damp air of the mines. It did not take long for conversation to start. Andrea revealed that she had came from Ardougne originally, but a demon had kidnapped her from her home in the night; then teleported her to Meiyerditch for a vampyre who had summoned it for the express purpose of taking citizens from cities across the Salve. Mugger told her about his short history, mainly about why he was the strange monster she now saw. She reassured Mugger and hugged him slightly, telling him he was not a monster; him having helped her fill her ore quota and killed the two juvinate guards, thanking him for sharing his words with her. Mugger was happy at this, as he had finally made a human friend. Eventually the topic of food came up, and Andrea offered him some bread, at which Mugger refused; saying he could go weeks without food after a good meal (his metabolism being very slow), telling her she should save what she finds for herself. They later fell asleep.

Three weeks passed and Mugger's condition remained somewhat healthy, while Andrea's did not. She was beginning to feel the pains of hard labor, and Mugger helped out as much as he could; helping her fill her quota. It was during these few weeks that Mugger payed the most attention to the strange effects he was having on the ore, and tried to discern the connection but could find none. Two months passed and Mugger was beginning to feel the strain himself, while Andrea was starting to rapidly deteriorate. From time to time a vyre would enter and throw a drained corpse at Mugger for food, but Mugger refused to eat these, instead burrying them as the people deserved. His burrying of the dead did attract rats however, and he used this to his advantage; him and Andrea using the rats as a food source. It reached the point that the vyres were impressed with how long Andrea had survived, while they did not care so much about Mugger.

Three more months passed, and at the end they were beginning to die of starvation and exhaustion. Mugger and Andrea layed in a heap on the floor, both looking like skeletons with how thin they had gotten. It was then that two vyrewatch came to look upon the collapsed frames. One began to drag Andrea away so she could be used for drink in her last moments of life. Andrea noticed the key to Mugger's chains on the vyre's belt and weakly managed to unlatch it with a finger, the key landed on the soft dirt with little sound. She whispered to Mugger to not forget her, and at that moment; something in Mugger broke. Energy that had been building up in him and attempting to break loose for the entirety of his time in the mines suddenly broke free. The Daeyalt ore, a product of the Stone of Jas while it was under Morytania, was synced to the energies of the dragon blood inside Mugger, and the energies finally made union with each other; unlocking a hidden gift that layed dormant in Mugger.

The blue light flashed once more, but did not stop after one second, it continued throughout the mines and spread like light from a torch in a dark room. Mugger stood up, grabbed the key, and unlocked his bindings. He looked around weakly at the world, which was now shrouded in a strange hue of blue. He hurried as quickly as he could after Andrea and the vyres, not knowing the purpose of the magic that was eminating from him which was being sustained by the glowing ore across the mines. He reached Andrea and the vyres, but stopped as he saw nothing was happening. He quickly figured out why; as they were unmoving, frozen in time as time refused to move, with the fangs of one of the vyres frozen just inches from Andrea's neck. He moved forward, and with a feeling of ironic justice, he bit down on the head of the defenseless vyre and jerked with his jaws; snapping the vyre's neck. He dispatched the other vyre in a similar manner. He then picked up Andrea and began walking up the stairs that lead out of the mine.

As he broke to the surface, he found all of Meiyerditch under the spell, the massive energies being sustained by the countless ore rock beneath the ghettos. He shuffled along, not bothering to dispatch any other vyres, for he did not have the strength to multitask at the moment. He found the crumbling Western wall of the city and with what little strength he had left; broke through the brick, causing him and Andrea to slide down the slopes and towards the Barrows. As Mugger left Meiyerditch behind, the spell broke and the city snapped back into real time. Mugger began a weak walk across the swamps, desperate to find something to help Andrea and himself. Andrea, who passed out when the vyre was about to bite her, woke up in that instant. She weakly asked if she was dead, and Mugger told her to hold on. Mugger quickly reached an area he recognized as the Snail Trails, and found an abundance of the creatures sliding around. He quickly killed a few and fed one to Andrea to keep her alive, and ate some himself. It was then that vyrewatch started flying towards the Trails from Meiyerditch, and Mugger knew they had to leave.

Mugger walked quickly, Andrea passing out again, and he reached the edge of the River Salve, and waded across. They were finally safe and out of Morytania. Mugger had one final task to complete, and he began walking South, soon finding his feet touching sand. He reached the Duel Arena under the cover of night, and as he stepped foot near the Arena, his nose caught the scent of blood and medical supplies at one tent. Keeping concealed in the shadows behind the canvas of the tent, he placed the unconscious Andrea into the light from the torches at the opening of the public tent. It only took a few moments for the Kharidian healers to see her, and came rushing. Mugger turned away in the distance, beginning to walk to the North. It was as Mugger was out of hearing range that Andrea snapped awake, and weakly called his name, the healers of the tent thought she was having delusions about a thug attempting to mug her however. As Mugger walked away, he hoped he would meet Andrea again some day, and thanks to him; she had a second chance at life.

A Tense Reunion
Mugger decided it was time to return to Morytania, perhaps for the last time, to recover his journal. As he made his way through the swamps, he reached Canifis bar and was about to go down into the cellar when the scent of vampyres caught his nose. He growled with anger and decided to investigate, crawling for the shadows of the side of the building in order to look inside the windows like he always used to do. As he looked in, he sighted a few vampyres, but one he was familiar with was once more Lark Mallavian. He growled in discontent and left to enter the cellar. Lark heard something and decided to investigate. She left the table and her fellows without a word and headed for the cellar as well.

Lark entered the cellar and was greeted by the sight of the large frame facing in the opposite direction, picking up a book left there a long time ago. Mugger caught her scent and growled in his deep-voiced way, then turned, his tail smashing the table his journal and a blood mark that Lark had placed in the past had been on. The ten foot figure loomed over the somewhat short vampyre, and Lark greeted him in a wary way; stating that they finally met at last. Mugger instantly voiced his newfound hatred for vampyres, telling her he has no love for her kind. Lark sneered at this, replying that he should not be so quick to judge. Mugger, with great hatred in his voice, shortly told her about the torment placed upon him and the humans in the Daeyalt Ore Mines, how he had slaved for six months before nearly wasting away to nothing. Lark was filled with contempt about this, stating she had nothing to do with those mines, and that they worked good sources of food to the death in them, which disgusted her.

Mugger told Lark that even though she was not involved, this could not atone for the misdeeds she has no doubt done in her life as a vampyre, and the cruelty her race shows as a whole. Lark told him that she was more like him than he realized, for she had been changed into a monster without her own consent as well, that she was forced to live the way she did, that he should not blame her for the faults of the rest of her kind. Mugger walked strait to her after she said this, and lowered his head so he could gaze her right in the eyes. At that moment, he told her this;"I /will/ have justice for what was done... but it will not be on your head. Let it be known that from this day on; the brood of Drakan will suffer in my jaws. You can either be my ally, or my enemy, it is entirely your decision, but be careful which you choose..."

Mugger then walked past her after saying this, walking into the water tunnel he had dug for quick escapes in the past, but did not leave yet, glancing back to look at her. After hearing Mugger's words, Lark pointed to the smashed table which she had placed the blood mark upon, telling Mugger that her decision was made a long time ago. Mugger then told her that the next time they met, he hoped it would be under more favorable circumstances. At this they both left, Lark up the ladder and Mugger through his tunnel.

The Desert
It did not take long for Mugger to realize he would need resources and allies for his revenge against the vyres, and so he thought long and hard about how he could win such a prize, seeming as he could find no trace of myreque to contact and join. He eventually remembered his lessons on gods and geography during his time in the order before it crumbled, and his thoughts turned to the god Crondis of the desert. He thought that this would be as good a ruse as any to introduce himself into any sort of society, and planned to reveal himself as an emissary to the desert goddess of modesty. Although he only planned this to get into society, he decided the teachings of Crondis were indeed good values to be had, and made the decision to follow her as his god for the time being, deciding to see where it could take him.

A Clever Ruse
Mugger eventually aquired a desert style weapon and shield in methods he was not exactly proud of, but it did the trick. He then swam along the coast in order to reach Menaphos, and did eventually achieve his goal. He marched into the city, the guards kneeled as he walked by, maintaining an appearance that suggested he had a purpose in being there rather than looking sheepish and out of place, thinking him to be the divine aspect of Crondis. He then walked to the palace of the pharaoh, the guards continueing to make way for him. He stopped in her throne room and drew his weapon and shield.

He kneeled immediately after doing so, and stated his intentions to become an emissary of Crondis at the temple of lesser deities in Sophanem. The pharaoh, not at all phased by Mugger's sudden appearance, was instantly wary, she having a paranoia of plots schemed by Amascut the devourer. Debate over this was issued forth between Mugger and the pharaoh, which ended in her still being suspicious; but allowing him to inhabit the temple in Sophanem on the condition that he did not yet begin his teachings of Crondis.

On the inside, Mugger was overjoyed at being able to walk among civilized people again, but he stayed calm on the outside and thanked the pharaoh for her time. He told the onlookers in the room that he would enjoy their company at the temple if they deemed him worthy enough to speak to, and he looked forward to getting to know them all. He then left for the temple in Sophanem. On his way there, it suddenly occured to him that he would have to think of a menaphite name for himself, and felt idiotic that he did not go in to the palace prepared for the event if any of them had asked his name.

Opening Page
Let these pages serve as the recordings of a person who has had everything stripped from them, to have had a life of ordinary occurances, only to have been thrust upon the world with little recollection of who he once was. Should I be slain in a misunderstanding, or should I succumb to bestial ways, know that these once were the thoughts and stories of someone more than a monster, for one should never judge a book by its cover, which I fear will be my fate; to die at the hands of one who would think themselves a hero for killing that which is more than it first appears to be.

Entry One
I have taken to writing, something I thought I would never do. It has been nearly a week since my wife has passed, and my life continues to only grow stranger. I have arrived at a small home outside Brimhaven in what is called a "pocket dimension", and have been given adequate quarters in the basement there. I have been introduced to others that do not think of me as strange, a pleasant surprise but a confusing one. These "alliance members" have seen much more unlikely things than myself, and seem eager to have me join their ranks, but I have yet to accept. Though in truth, there are indeed stranger things than myself here in this place, the other day I managed to get a glimpse of a large dragon made of metal in the backyard, when I asked the others about it they told me it is a host body for an old friend of theirs. Likewise, the owner of this home is a demonic man, but not a demon himself, adding further to the bizarreness of this place. Another person I have met is a rather advanced alchemist named Billy, who wishes to study me in order to find a cure for my condition, but has yet to produce any results. All the recent happenings are taking a toll on me, I need to clear my head a bit, perhaps I will go out into the jungle outside this place and relaxe for a while if I can find a waterway.

Entry Two
My fits of rage continue to persist, in the sewers at least I had room and privacy to ensure nothing dangerous happened, but here... I grow afraid that I may eventually hurt someone... it may only be a matter of time. I continue to isolate myself and attempt to remain calm, even taking up a sort of meditation period. We spend our whole lives building walls so that we might protect ourselves, but those walls are useless when the enemy comes from within. When you are defenseless, the enemy shows himself, it is our fate that the thing we fear the most is the thing we carry deep within ourselves... if I cannot control my anger, then it will swallow who I am. I fear that i may eventually end up like the others, a mindless beast. I pray that day never comes.

Entry One
It has been long since I last recorded my thoughts, and I must be careful, for the damp environment of this land is not suitable for pen and paper. The order dissolved, but I learned much in my short time there, and I am forever grateful for the tutorings i recieved. Progress for a cure was not achieved sadly, but I've grown to accept my fate, for this is a new life for me, and I will make the most of it that I can. I have learned to better control my anger, though it can be difficult at times, we will see where this land of shadow and pestilence will take me.

Entry Two
This account shall be brief, as the outcome of these events brings me more pain to mention than I care to feel, and I would rather not have the full detail of these moments recorded in the writings of my private thoughts. I resolved to follow the scent of a demonic woman I had observed one night, and it lead me to a large building atop some cliffs nearbye Al Kharid, where I proceeded to scale the walls from the river i had traversed. I had found the roof but it was not long before I was discovered, and after my attempted escape I was temporarily captured. After the painful exchange of words in which I was not allowed to share my own thoughts in, I was released and told to leave lest I be killed. I will write no more, for this is all there is to tell of this sad event...

Entry Three
Grief strikes once more, it seems I am destined for nothing but woe. A woman came to Morytania not long ago, and I shadowed her for a time. She did not seem much at all sane, but a seemed harmless and benevolent, full of good intent. It is with deep regrets that I was not able to prevent her capture from the Vampyres, and so i vowed to help her in any way that i could. Events came to a head when i traversed through the swamps and found a small township surrounded by high walls of stone, which i later discovered to be called Burg De Rott. There i enacted a plan of rescue, for she had already became a slave, but this attempt ended in failure. I am shamed at my own incompetence, if I had been more careful then she may have been freed, but the Vampyres discovered me, and I was forced to retreat. I reflect now on my failure, and mourn that this most innocent of women is now likely dead, as I cannot seem to pick up her scent, so she is either being held somewhere, or the worst has come to pass. I will feel sorrow for her, as I do not suspect this strange woman had any close to her, and it is the honerable thing to do if there are none left to mourn her loss.

Entry Four
Cursed be my anger! A Vyress and a man argued within the tavern I so often frequent behind, and the nature of the bickering increased my agitation to the point of boiling. I grabbed a log and threw it unto the tavern in my rage, smashing through the walls and nearly hurting both patrons in the process. Natrually, I fled to the waters nearbye, and the Vyress came to investigate. This investigation lead to the discovery of my lair, to which I observed her poking around by watching from my water tunnel. It did not take her long to discover this journal, to which she read the majority of. She seemed to simpathise with my story, and now it would seem i may have a chance for socializing, should I follow her and deem her safe to converse with. If I am wrong in this matter then my saftey in this land has now been put into question, and I may yet be in peril. It will take time to find the outcome of this.

Appearance
He looks like a bipedal crocodile with large muscle mass, his eyes are usually yellowish green but turn red when angered. He stands nearly ten feet tall and is around five feet in shoulder width.

Abilities
His thick scales act as an incredibly strong natural armor, and his thick muscles help turn his arms into living weapons. The claws may be used as blade like weapons, having enough weight behind them to pierce into some of the strongest metals, while blows with his thick fists can dent what his claws cannot pierce. His thick and sharp claws on both his hands and feet, with enough force behind them, can pierce into stone or other structures, allowing him to climb on certain structures that would otherwise be considered impossible to traverse. His jaws are incredibly powerful, and no one would want to be gripped by them. Though the muscles that close the jaws are strong, the ones that open them are very weak; as a consequence of this, it does not take much strength to hold the mouth shut. His large tail can act as an even stronger blunt weapon, able to batter down some of the most fortified barriers.

Chronomancy
An incredibly rare phenomenon in the world of magic, very few beings are known to be able to manipulate the flow of time (few in-game examples are Gypsy Aris and the Qbd). Recent events have triggered the magic potential locked away in the dragon portion that now makes up his blood, but on the initial finding of this gift he has been unable to access it again. He will need to go through a long period of training in order to understand and use this rare gift with any real control over it.

Personality
He believes in justice and at heart is a simple person, accepting his fate and leaving it at that. Though he was raised as a peasant and was not knowledgeable, he is eager to learn most things and absorbs information at an amazing rate, able to understand complex situations after only a short time of it being explained to him. Though outgoing in the pursuit of knowledge, he is often quiet and reserved, prefering not to speak much at all during most conversations, prefering to listen. He opens up rarely, and when he does he often has much to say that he had been holding in during his periods of silence.

Other information

 * The blood mixture that was injected into him was dragon blood and crocodile blood; this allowed the mage to use the dragon blood as a template to warp Mugger's life force into something more resembling of the other half of the blood mixture.
 * He knows a little about blood magic, flesh sculpture, and the Anima Mundi from returning to the ruins of the experiment lab and reading the notes left by the apprentice, but not enough to really do anything with the information.
 * Due to the animal he resembles both physically and somewhat mentally, he has an explosive temper and can sometimes be set off quite easily, but he has taken exercises to help him cope; with positive results.
 * The funeral pyre he built for his wife may hint at him having Fremennik ancestry.
 * Due to his thick skin; the only places he can really feel anything are around his mouth, on the palms of his hands, and the undersides of his feet.
 * He is able to lose old damaged teeth and regrow them quickly, much like a real crocodile.
 * He has an incredible immune system, bacteria and other microbes nearly unable to bother him, poison though can be harmful but he handles it better than most.
 * He can swallow large chunks of food whole, and his stomach acid is strong enough to melt down bone.
 * He loves music of nearly any kind, finding appreciation for each note of an instrument or tone of voice.
 * From recent events, he has grown to hate vampyres to a level that it is almost instinctual, the mere scent of one is enough to anger him.

Trivia

 * His name is a breed crocodile.
 * Some inspiration for this character and its exclusion from humanity is derived from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
 * His ability to manipulate time comes from the connection Jas (the Elder goddess of time) has to the dragonkin, which used their blood to create the dragons. It is speculated that the dragonkin are able to manipulate time, as the first dragon, the Qbd, can do so. Dragons cannot use magic to any great extent, as their bestial body shape and savage nature inhibit whatever gifts their blood may have given them, and the Queen can only cast magic with the aid of trapped souls. Mugger, with his humanoid body shape and intelligence, can access these magical gifts, but must learn to do so.