Red

Red is a dark anti-villain who champions order and peace at any cost, quite prepared to slaughter entire worlds if she believes them to be corrupted or in some way offensive to her sense of "right" and "wrong" - she sees herself as a force of good but her ultimate alignment is much harderer to place due to her continual struggle to contain the demonic powers of the Huntsman's Axe.

Birth & Early Life
Red was born long ago to a simple farmhand and was raised with her mother's loving care - although it was uncommon for young girls to be put to work her father was somewhat ahead of his time and believed his daughter deserved to learn the basics of farming: thus from an early age she went with her father to the fields and in time she became very skilled for her age - she found this to be a rewarding experience and always looked back fondly at her childhood as part of a kinder age, one free of the darkness that would befall her in later life..

Coming Of Age
When Red reached her 16th birthday she would embark on the first of her misadventures, her grandmother had grown ill and her parents decided that Red was now old enough to travel to her home deep within the forest - however they knew of the dangers of the forest and warned their daughter to stick to the path and not to stray, then with a basket of medicinal herbs and healing water Red headed out on what was to become her most famous journey.

Along the way she met a fellow youth by the name of Jack, the two connected quickly and she felt immediate attraction towards him - becoming distracted with talking Red soon found the sun beginning to set and panicked as she remembered what she was meant to be doing, running into the forest she promised Jack she'd be back and he in turn promised to wait for her.

However in her haste Red forgot the warning of her parents and strayed far from the path, deciding to take a shortcut she had heard about - one used by hunters - in the process she was attacked by a ferocious wolf and barely escaped with her life into an abandoned cabin: once in the cabin she came across a sight that would haunt her nightmares forevermore - the dead body of a huntsman, horribly mauled yet still clutching a large axe.

Red almost lost herself when the wolf smashed into the cabin, unable to think clearly Red grabbed the axe from the huntsman's dead body and swung it at the wolf, killing the beast in one fel swipe - after the fatal blow was made Red shoke uncontrollably as she felt an unnatural power surge through her body as an uncontrollable bloodlust took over her mind and she attacked the wolf again and again, growing more feral with each blow.. then after a few moments of rage she took the basket and headed off into the woods..

When Red finally arrived at her grandmother's house she collapsed on the doorstep - a few hours later her grandmother had alerted her father of what had occured and he came to tend to her, yet try and he may he could not remove the axe from her grasp..

The Rose
A year past and Red had changed drastically - wherever she went she would carry the strange axe, even keeping it at her side as she slept: her parents tried to talk to her but found her to grow darker in her behavior towards them when they questioned her about the axe, in time they feared she was possessed and tried to have a cleric heal her - yet his attempts were unsuccessful.

Red and her family quickly became outcasts yet despite this Jack still kept in touch with Red and the two became lovers, one day while conversing Jack gave Red a single red rose as a symbol of their undying love, noting that as long as they had each other the rage within her could be contained - since in Jack's mind the power of love could always prevail over hatred.

Red found comfort in Jack's words and they seemed to work, she kept the rose and whenever she was around Jack her behavior started to revert back to her earlier years and she felt happiness..

Darkest Winter
A further two years past and Red, now nineteen, was officially a woman - she and Jack had become engaged and he took her to live with him on his croft and the two seemed to be beginning that old tale of "happily ever after".. however things rarely work out as they should and sure enough Red's happiness was to be shattered.

That winter a great snowstorm fell over the kingdom and Jack was forced to head out in search of wood for the fire, Red was pregnant at the time and unable to venture into the cold but before Jack left she gave him a red rose, a little custom between the two - she told Jack to keep the rose with him until he came back, as a sign of her love - a few hours past when Red heard footsteps outside and a knock on the door, when she answered it she found a uniformed guard.

Red looked down to see a red rose in the guard's hand and he held it out towards her, informing her that Jack was dead - the victim of a bandit attack - as Red broke down into tears the guard moved in to comfort her, letting the rose drop onto the ground below..

Rose Red
Following Jack's death Red began to fall into a depression and not even the birth of her daughter, who she named Rose, could comfort her - she saw Rose as a reminder of her father.. and she hated her for it.

Unable to feel love for anything following the loss of someone so close Red chose to raise her daughter without pity or care, providing only the care necessary to keep her child alive - for eight years she would stay in Jack's old croft with Rose, forbidding her daughter from leaving and only ever exiting herself to get food from the animals in the nearby forest or water from a well near the village.

Every year on the anniversary of Jack's death Red would stand by the window of the house and stare out, as if hoping he would return, Rose knew better than to question her mother and contented herself with playing with a tattered old doll - the single item Rose owned and the only gift Red ever gave her daughter.

Descent Into Madness
When Rose reached her ninth birthday Red seemed to have a change of heart, taking her daughter outside for the first time - she took her out into the village and bought her a basket full of food and water, she then bought her daughter a small red coat, she then took her daughter out into the forest until they reached a clearing.

Once in the clearing Red informed her daughter that she was going away and they she could not following, she said that Rose would be safe in the forest and that although she never showed it she loved her and since she loved her she would spare her the horrors that would come, then she abandoned Rose and headed back towards the village, once she arrived in the village she went on a rampage and began slaughtering guards and citizens alike - the streets soon ran red with blood and the Monarchy ordered an immediate raid on the village by their finest soldiers to stop the carnage.

Taking The Throne
When the soldiers arrived Red instantly attacked, killing them all with terrifying ease - the Monarchy was shocked and began to gather further forces as Red marched towards the city: leaving behind the village, which had been massacred - leaving only the children alive.

Red stormed the city and killed the forces gathered to oppose her before entering the palace, she seemed to be possessed by an unstoppable force and as she stood by the throne the great King looked upon her, asking her why she was doing what this - she replied that she was doing what had to be done for the children: then beheaded the King on the spot and took the throne: the few who survived either fled into the forests or gave up and resigned themselves to serving the new ruler.

End Of An Era
As Red took control she changed the land rapidly, the children were raised under the "care" of the few that had pledged loyalty to her and were taught the reasoning behind the atrocities: Red had slain the old world in order to make way for a new one - one in which the people would be protected by a leader whose power was unlimited and whose reach was infinite, she felt those who had been raised in the old world would always be slaves to its' cruelty thus she had them executed by her own hands - to end their misery: she then decreed the future belonged to the new generations, who she would raise as her own.. ironically Red had taken on the role of a "Great Mother" amongst the enslaved population despite her abandonment of her own daughter.

Beginning Of The End
However Red had made a mistake in abandoning Rose, for despite her young age the girl survived and soon met up with those who had fled Red's insanity - together they formed a band of freedom fighters who work from the forest to try and bring down the mad usurper: however their battle is not an easy one and Red has so far proven invulnerable to any attempts to dethrone her - despite this the freedom fighters continue their struggle against Red out of the knowledge that should they fail then all hope is lost for the future of their world..