Zume Frostpaw

Man-At-Arms Zume Frostpaw of the Freehold of Wildgard

"Get back here."

Biography

When I was in my Junior year of High School (2005), my interest in medieval combat and culture didn't go unnoticed. One of my friends approached me and told me he knew about my medieval interests and so offered for me to join him and a few other people at an Amtgard group in Stagecoach, Nevada. This group was not active nor did any participation count since there wasn't even any application in process. I had a look at the rulebook they had with them and decided immediately upon the Assassin class. It seemed very interesting and the fact that some of my favourite characters from video games or MMORPG's were Assassins or some form of Assassin such as a Ninja. I pulled an old black robe costume out of my closet from Halloween a couple years before and cut it up and threw together some makeshift Assassin garb for my first time participating in Amtgard. I was surprised to see that only one or two other people there actually bothered to garb up so I felt kinda out of place. As though I wasn't supposed to garb up but they reassured me and even said that they were impressed that I had made the effort. I had never fought with swords before whether they were real or fake so I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I went out and beat down their "Assassin Guild Master." It was fun and I was hooked. Unfortunately due to work when I got out of school, I was unable to participate in Amtgard by any significant amount until 2011.

In 2011, Sylver Snowlynx and myself made a cross-country trip that took us to six different Amtgard chapters from California to Maine and it was a fantastic way to determine how we wanted to build our Amtgard chapter when we started one. It was an amazing trip.

Role-Play Biography

(To be added)

Role-Play Story

As the morning sun began to wash away the night sky, a thick fog settled over the forest and valley surrounding the Kingdom of Araile. A young human child of ten years named Zume rose with the sun and spent his morning in the forest before the rest of the village awoke. He would often spend his time running around the woods, listening to the birds and watching the animals. Zume had two distinguishing marks which often made him the primary target of jokes and ridicule among the children in the village. They were both in the shape of hearts. One was on his right eye and one on his right buttock. He enjoyed this small measure of peace he found among the trees, away from the sadness and anger he felt when around the other children. The animals never made fun of him.

As the fog began to dissipate, Zume sat watching the village, wishing he could just run away and live among the animals as one of them. As he sat there he heard some crunching behind him. He knew there was nothing but animals there, however he heard something this time that he would never forget. He heard a voice. “Why are you so sad, child?” He turned around and saw a large grey wolf standing there, looking right into his eyes. Startled, Zume yelled and ran back to the village. He looked behind him as he ran and the wolf was gone. He looked back to the village only to find a group of the king’s royal guard standing right next to him, mocking him and laughing. “A squirrel scare you?” said one of them as he laughed openly. “Get back home kid, before we throw you in the dungeon for ignoring the boundary.”

One of the guards reached for Zume’s arm. Still obviously startled from his encounter and now irritated by the mocking even by adults now, he let out an audible growl, spun around and attempted to bite the guard’s wrist. The guard was wearing a leather bracer but it didn’t stop the bite. The other guards pulled Zume off only to find a long line of teeth marks on the guard’s bracer, several holes and some blood dripping through. Two of the guards took Zume home. As they walked, Zume looked back only to see the guard he bit walking away, cradling his arm, obviously in pain.

When they got to Zume’s home, his parents came running out. One of the guards addressed them. “Korlim, Sar. Good morning.” “What happened? Why are you escorting our son?” asked Korlim. “He attacked one of the guards. We should probably go inside.” replied the guard. As he walked for the door with Zume and his parents he turned and addressed the other guard. “Wait out here.” He turned and went inside.

“I’m sorry to bother you with this so early in the morning, but this is not the first incident.” said the guard. He removed his helmet revealing who he truly was. “I am Rumar. I am also one of the king’s royal guard and a Kinto.” He seemed to be an animal but walking upright. “I.. I thought the king had killed all of your people or drove them into the wilderness.” Said Sar, obviously confused and frightened. “Not all. There are still some of us remaining under these helmets. Don’t be frightened though. I still obey the command of our king, though I do not agree with it. I am here to help both you and your son.” said Rumar. “I don’t understand. Now that you have revealed yourself to us all we have to do is turn you in. You are putting yourself at great risk for a misbehaving child.” said Korlim as he laughed. “You’re right. You don’t understand. This event has put you in danger also. Your son is a Kinto.” explained Rumar with an extremely serious face.

Both Korlim and Sar looked very worried and scared. “What’s a Kinto?” Asked Zume. Rumar knelt down and explained to the child “A Kinto is someone just like me and you, Zume. We are half-breeds; both human and animal. There are some who know of us simply as shifters.” Rumar then stood up and heard multiple swords un-sheathing. He looked behind him to find a group of guards who had heard the last explanation. “Rumar… Is that you?” asked one of the guards as they had Rumar and Zume at sword-point. “Yes. It is I. What do you intend to do with us now that you know?” asked Rumar. The first guard put his sword away and motioned to the rest to sheath their swords. “Nothing for the moment. You are still our friend and comrade. We will trust you for now, however this information will not be kept silent for long.” replied the guard. “What do you mean?” asked Korlim. The guard motioned outside and said “The Commander will find out eventually and send for Zume.”

Rumar shifted back into his human form and put his helmet back on. “I will protect Zume and make sure his new identity is kept secret for both his sake and mine.” The guards left and made their way back to the keep. Korlim and Sar sat Zume down to talk to him about the Kintu and what they knew. "Son, what you have to understand is that all those like yourself and Rumar have been driven away by the king, or they were killed." said Korlim. "I don't want that same thing to happen to you." Later that night Korlim talked to Sar and said "I think we should take Rumar up on his offer to protect Zume. See if he can get him into the keep for training. If other Kintu were able to survive under the guise of a guard, perhaps Zume can also and we can still see him." Sar nodded and in-between tears said "You're right. The only two other options take him away from us… forever." Zume heard this conversation.

The next day Zume’s parents sent a summons to Rumar to meet them at their home. When Rumar arrived, Zume was nowhere to be found. "I don't understand it. He was here just a couple hours ago." said Korlim as he walked back out of the house. "I know where he is." said Rumar "I will see to it that he gets into the keep for guard training. This was a good decision you have made for him, now it is his turn to decide." Rumar then walked away from the house and toward the forest.

Zume was deeper in the woods this time than he had ever ventured before. He was looking for something but he did not know what. A sign maybe? Some indication of what he should do. He had just learned what he was. Something people would fear and hate. "Why is this happening?" asked Zume, not expecting any response. "It's happening because you were born into it, child." Zume laughed. "Animals can't talk." He said as he turned around and saw the same grey wolf standing there, staring into his eyes. "If we can't talk then how am I communicating with you?" said the wolf. "Fine. You say I was born into this. What do you mean?" asked Zume. "Those with the ability to shift, known to humans as Kintu, are born with the ability. Not everyone can, which is why your "king" has all but eliminated the Kintu from the population of his kingdom. He views the Kintu as “cursed” or “unclean” and wants nothing to do with them. The few remaining have hidden behind a veil of secrecy; afraid to reveal themselves." explained the wolf. "But how can you know all of this? I only learned about this yesterday and I live in the village. You live in the forest." said Zume, obviously confused by the extensive knowledge of this animal. "He knows because I told him." answered a familiar voice. Zume then turned around and saw Rumar standing there.

Rumar sat down on a fallen log next to Zume and motioned for him to take a seat with him. "I know this is all very confusing and scary, Zume. But you need to understand that the only two choices are to run away or to join the king's guard so that you can still visit with your parents. Now that your identity has been revealed to some of the guard, we Kintu among its ranks can protect you but you have to want it. Protecting those who don't want to be protected is dangerous for everyone and can end with all of us losing our lives." explained Rumar. "I have helped many others in the same situation. Most of them, however, wanted nothing more to do with people who would want to see them dead and so my friend here took them to the other Kintu who have created their own kingdom. If you want to you can leave right now with the wolf or you can come back with me and train to become a guard. One day we will eventually leave but for now those are the only two options I can give you."

Zume took some time to think about it, talking to both Rumar and the wolf. "I'll return to the village with you, Rumar. I can't leave my parents. Although I admit the urge to leave and start a new life is strong. Perhaps I can help you protect others like us. I’m sure you can use the help." Zume then got up off the log with Rumar, said goodbye to the wolf and they walked back to the keep to start his new life as a guard.

(More will be added over time)