Skarth the Relentless

In the darkest tunnels of Deep Hollow, the legendary stalker refuge buried in the lightless depths of the Underland, a haurek named Skarth was born during the bitter winter of 510. Unlike the surface-dwelling fortress of Greth or the high mountain territories claimed by other goblin clans, Deep Hollow exists in perpetual darkness, a maze of natural caverns and carved passages where the most skilled hunters of goblin-kind learn their lethal arts. Here, in chambers where no natural light has ever penetrated, the young haurek’s eyes adapted to see in absolute darkness, and his other senses sharpened to compensate for the sensory deprivation that would drive surface dwellers to madness.

Skarth’s lineage marked him for greatness from birth. His bloodline traced back through generations of legendary stalkers, each of whom had earned their place in goblin legend through impossible hunts and tracking abilities that seemed supernatural in nature. Morthak the Silent, Skarth’s grandfather, had been the first stalker to penetrate the defenses of Merrow Hall in the distant Merrow Woods and return with intelligence about patroller tactics. His father, Grimnak Shadowstep, had tracked a fleeing enemy across three kingdoms and through two seasons, never losing the trail despite magical attempts to confuse his pursuit.

But even among such distinguished hunters, Skarth showed promise that exceeded all expectations. By his fifth year, he could move through the training caverns without making a sound audible even to haurek ears. By his tenth, he could track prey through the most confusing tunnel systems, following traces of scent and disturbance so subtle that his instructors struggled to detect them even when they knew what to look for. His natural gifts, combined with the relentless training regimen of Deep Hollow, shaped him into a predator whose skills bordered on the supernatural.

The Making of a Legend

The stalker training in Deep Hollow broke the weak and forged the survivors into weapons of perfect lethality. Young recruits were subjected to years of sensory deprivation, learning to navigate by touch, smell, and hearing alone. Stalker masters taught them to read the stories written in disturbed dust, bent grass, and the faintest traces of body heat left on stone surfaces. Most importantly, they learned patience—the ability to wait motionless for days if necessary, watching and learning until the perfect moment for action arrived.

Skarth excelled in every aspect of this brutal education. His instructors noted he possessed an almost preternatural ability to understand his prey’s psychology, anticipating their actions and reactions with uncanny accuracy. While other students learned to track by following physical signs, Skarth developed the ability to think like his quarry, predicting where they would go before they went there themselves. This psychological insight made him not just a tracker but a true hunter, someone who understood that the mind was as important as the body in determining how prey would behave under pressure.

The weapons training in Deep Hollow emphasized stealth over brute force. Stalkers learned to kill silently and efficiently, using specialized tools that left minimal evidence of their presence. Skarth mastered the traditional arsenal—throwing stars that could be hurled with deadly accuracy, curved daggers designed for silent throat-cutting, garrottes that could strangle without a sound, and the dreaded whipcord that could snap necks from a distance. But his particular genius lay in improvisation, finding ways to turn any environment into a weapon against his targets.

By his twentieth year, Skarth had earned the attention of the Deep Hollow masters, grizzled veterans whose own legendary hunts had become the stuff of goblin folklore. They recognized in him a talent that appeared perhaps once in a generation, someone whose instinctive understanding of the hunt transcended mere training. When he completed his final trials—tracking and eliminating a series of increasingly difficult targets across the most treacherous terrain the Underland could provide—his success was so complete and elegant that the masters awarded him a title rarely granted to one so young: “the Relentless.”

The Hunt That Defined Him

Skarth forged his reputation during a hunt that became legendary even among the stalkers of Deep Hollow. A rogue sorcerer, fleeing from goblin justice after betraying tribal secrets to human enemies, had disappeared into the labyrinthine depths of the Underland’s most dangerous regions. The fugitive possessed powerful magical abilities that allowed him to cover his tracks, create false trails, and alter his scent to throw off pursuit. Three experienced stalkers had already failed to capture him, with one never returning from the attempt.

The masters of Deep Hollow assigned the hunt to Skarth, curious to see how the young prodigy would handle a target who defied conventional tracking methods. The pursuit lasted eight months, taking the stalker through unmapped regions of the Underland, where strange creatures and warped magical phenomena posed constant threats to any traveler. The sorcerer proved a cunning adversary, using his magic not just to hide his trail but to create traps and ambushes designed to eliminate his pursuer.

But Skarth had anticipated that his quarry would rely on magical deception, and he had developed countermeasures that went beyond traditional tracking techniques. Instead of following the sorcerer’s trail directly, he studied the patterns of the fugitive’s previous life, learning his habits, preferences, and psychological tendencies. He identified the places where the sorcerer felt safe, the resources he would need to survive, and the routes he chose when under pressure. By thinking like his prey rather than following his tracks, Skarth anticipated the sorcerer’s movements and gradually closed the distance between them.

The final confrontation took place in a cavern deep beneath the Broken Peaks, where the sorcerer had established what he believed was an impregnable hideout. Skarth spent weeks observing his target’s routine, learning the magical protections that guarded the lair and identifying the one vulnerability that the sorcerer had overlooked in his arrogance. When he finally struck, he did so with such skill that he captured the sorcerer before he could mount any meaningful resistance.

Service to Lord Gral

When Lord Gral rose to power, his reputation for strategic brilliance and ruthless efficiency attracted the attention of many ambitious goblins throughout the Underland. But Gral was not content to surround himself with ordinary warriors or even skilled commanders—he sought specialists whose abilities served his expanding vision of goblin dominance. The masters of Deep Hollow, recognizing an opportunity to place one of their own in a position of influence, recommended Skarth as the finest stalker their institution had ever produced.

Gral’s first meeting with Skarth was a test disguised as a recruitment interview. The warlord had arranged a series of security challenges around his mountain fortress, telling Skarth that his task was to identify weaknesses in the defensive perimeter. What Gral didn’t reveal was that he watched every move the stalker made, evaluating not just his technical skills but his tactical thinking and psychological profile. Skarth completed the assignment with characteristic efficiency, not only identifying the defensive weaknesses but also providing detailed recommendations for their improvement.

More importantly, from Gral’s perspective, Skarth demonstrated the professional detachment and emotional control that the warlord valued above all other qualities in his subordinates. The stalker showed no interest in the political maneuvering that consumed most of Gral’s court, no desire for personal glory or advancement beyond the satisfaction of completing his assigned tasks. He was the perfect tool—intelligent enough to operate independently, skilled enough to handle any target, and disciplined enough to follow orders without question or personal agenda.

Over the following years, Skarth became Gral’s most trusted hunter, handling the delicate tasks that required both absolute discretion and guaranteed success. He eliminated rival goblin leaders who opposed Gral’s consolidation of power, gathered intelligence on human military preparations, and tracked down traitors who had fled with valuable information. His success rate was perfect, and his methods were so subtle that many of his targets vanished with no evidence of foul play, their disappearances attributed to accident or natural causes.

The Perfect Predator

Skarth’s effectiveness as a stalker stemmed from his ability to become invisible not just physically but psychologically. His appearance is unremarkable for a haurek—average height and build, with the typical dark tan skin and bristly hair of his species. His yellow-green eyes show none of the crude humor or sadistic glee that characterizes many of his kind, instead displaying the calm focus of a professional craftsman evaluating a challenging piece of work. He dresses in practical leathers that make no sound when he moves, carrying weapons that are well-maintained but bear no decorative elements that might catch light or attention.

But his true genius lies in his ability to read and manipulate the psychological landscape of any situation. Skarth understands that most prey animals—whether literal beasts or intelligent targets—follow predictable patterns when under stress. Fear makes them hasty, isolation makes them careless, and desperation makes them predictable. By controlling these emotional states, he guides his targets toward choices that make his job easier, sometimes even causing them to walk into carefully prepared traps.

His patience is legendary even among stalkers, a profession that demands the ability to wait motionless for hours or days when necessary. Skarth can remain still for so long that forest animals forget he is there, allowing him to observe natural behavior patterns that reveal information about the terrain and the movement of other creatures through it. This supernatural patience, combined with his analytical mind, makes him capable of gathering intelligence that other hunters often miss.

Skarth chose the tools of his trade for efficiency rather than intimidation. Throwing stars are perfectly balanced and sharpened to surgical precision, capable of killing silently at considerable distances. His collection of daggers includes specialized blades for different types of work—some designed for quick kills, others for extracting information, still others for creating the appearance of accident or natural death. His whipcord serves as both weapon and climbing tool, while the various alchemical compounds he carries eliminate scent trails, induce unconsciousness, or create diversions when stealth alone is insufficient.

The Professional Standard

Among the stalkers of Deep Hollow, Skarth is regarded as the living embodiment of their professional ideals. He never kills for pleasure, never tortures for entertainment, and never allows personal feelings to interfere with his work. His targets die quickly and efficiently when death is required, or are captured alive and unharmed when that serves his purposes better. He takes no trophies, leaves no signatures, and feels no need to demonstrate his superiority over those he hunts.

This emotional detachment is not cruelty but a form of respect for the seriousness of his profession. Skarth understands he is a weapon in the service of larger strategic goals, and weapons that develop their own agendas become unreliable and dangerous. His personal feelings about his targets are irrelevant—what matters is completing his assignments with the precision and efficiency that maintain his reputation and serve his employer’s interests.

His fellow stalkers recognize his professionalism and often seek his advice on challenging hunts. Skarth is generous with tactical guidance, understanding that the reputation of all stalkers benefits when each individual performs at the highest possible level. He developed training techniques adopted throughout Deep Hollow, and his written analyses of various hunts have become required reading for advanced students of the stalker arts.

But beneath this professional facade, Skarth possesses a philosophical curiosity about the nature of the hunt itself. He understands that what he does is not simply the application of learned techniques but the expression of something fundamental in the relationship between predator and prey, hunter and hunted. The skills that make him successful are exaggerated versions of instincts that all intelligent creatures possess, refined through training and experience into something approaching art.