Van Richten's Monster Hunter's.pdf - Askadesign.com

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faces while stalking one of the
Created.
In order for the reader to better
grasp the nature of the situation, I will
begin by relating the story of the
gibbering golem's creation and the
onset of its reign of terror.
Fressen Woodhall was born into one of
the oldest families of II Aluk, the
principal city of Darkon. Once, the
Woodhalls enjoyed a considerable
fortune. But Fressen's grandfather had
lost much of the family's resources in
some speculative business ventures, in
a manner fraught with scandal and
shame.
Fressen's father, Edward, found it
difficult to support his family. TOO
proud to accept any handouts, Edward
was away from his family for months
at a time as he struggled determinedly
to rebuild the lost fortune.
Fressen was a lonely child. He
idolized his much absent father, and
desperately strove for Edward's praise
and affection. The boy often became
jealous of the attention Edward paid to
Fressen's own mother, Danalie. Upon
returning home, Edward brought her
small trinkets and talked with her for
hours at a time. Edward and Danalie
were much in love, and they found
their time together all too brief.
As the years passed, Fressen's
jealousy grew. Finally, he resented
even the smallest amount of time that
Edward would devote to Danalie at
home. Fressen's parents strove to
make him understand that Edward
could love and pay attention to both
mother and son, just as Danalie could
love them both. Unfortunately, this did
no good. Fressen soon stopped
speaking to his mother altogether
whenever Edward was home.
By the time Fressen was ten, his
parents feared he had a serious
problem-one which he might never
outgrow. Nothing they did seemed to
1
behavior became violent. Finally, on
the night before Edward set out on yet
another trip, Edward gave his young
son an ultimatum: Be kind to his
mother or be sent away.
When Edward returned from his trip,
he found the life he had known
destroyed. Danalie had died from
injuries suffered when she fell down a
staircase. Although the death was
officially ruled an accident, Edward
feared a darker truth. When Edward
confronted his son, the boy confirmed
his fears: Fressen had pushed Danalie
to her death. Horrified and anguished,
Edward sent the boy to an asylum for
the insane, where he hoped some help
might be found.
Although he had read reports of his
son's condition at first, Edward lost
interest in time, His continued to travel
in the pursuit of his business, and
eventually all his years of hard work
brought financial reward. He took a
new wife. Choosing to leave the terrible
memories of his past behind him,
Edward finally abandoned his son
completely. He sent a letter to the
asylum, stating that his son was to be
told that Edward was dead.
Despite all the doctors' efforts,
Fressen never recovered. He grew up
in the asylum, alternating between
short fits of violence and long periods
of delusion in which he spoke of his
father as if the man were omnipotent
and perfect in every way.
The only positive interaction the
doctors were able to have with Fressen
involved his fascination with anatomy,
physiology, and psychology. When
poring over books on these subjects,
Fressen would become quite agreeable
and even lively. His intellect was sharp,
and as long as he was given new
reading material, he behaved civilly.
Eventually, Fressen was even
allowed to work as an aide to the
doctors. He cleaned the medical
facilities, including the room in which
the bodies of recently deceased