Blood of Haven: Background

About twenty years ago, a little boy named Uriel was born to Victor and his wife in the small village of Haven. Uriel grew up normally and became especially close to Jochebed, the wife of the headman of the village. After Victor’s wife died, Jochebed became Uriel’s mother in everything but name. She loved Uriel dearly, and he loved her.

However, when he turned five years old, Uriel began to manifest signs of the Blessing, a strange mutation that gives great power. The villagers thought that he was dangerous and demanded that he be killed.

Jochebed did not want Uriel to be killed, but she knew that the villagers would not allow him to stay. So she browbeat Victor into exiling him into the wilderness instead. Victor was too afraid of his fellow villagers to stand up for his son but he did not want to kill him either. He agreed to the plan. One night, Victor and Jochebed smuggled Uriel out of the village and left him in the wilderness. The villagers thought that Uriel was killed. Victor was happy that Uriel would no longer trouble his position in the village and went on with his life. But Jochebed never forgot Uriel and she prayed every night that Uriel would be kept safe. Yet she resigned herself never to see him again.

Years passed. Uriel did not die. Instead, he came into his own in the wilderness among the animals, sustained by his iron will and burning desire for revenge. He learned to control his power, avoiding most of the dangerous twisting, mutating side effects of the Blessing.
Now the time is right. Uriel has gathered an army of animals that he has molded and shaped with his power. He calls these beasts his “houns”. Now he will avenge himself on the village of Haven.

All is not well in Haven, either. After her husband died, Jochebed became the leader of the village. However, she does not hold the respect of the people. Rather, Victor is slowly earning their respect. Many of the villagers look to Victor for guidance and protection instead of Jochebed. There has been no talk of ousting Jochebed yet. Not quite yet.

Victor is enjoying his growing prestige in the village. He likes having people look to him for leadership. But his rise in status has only increased his fear that his secret will be discovered. If the villagers were to discover that he had not killed his son…. The possibility is too horrifying to contemplate. He might be driven to desperate means to keep this secret safe.

The youth are also restless. They sense that "Grandma" Jochebed is losing the reins of power and are not pleased. The quiet, happy village is about ready to explode from the underlying power struggle that is slowly unfolding.