Theron Darrowick

Theron Darrowick is the son of Geron and Anwen Darrowick, the older adoptive brother of Svana Embry, the husband of Jemma Darrowick, and the father of the late Aeron, Rorin, and Brenna Darrowick. Through his marriage, he is the son-in-law of Rorick and the late Bridda Weaver, as well as the brother-in-law of Breya Weaver, and through his sister's marriage, he is the brother-in-law of Rand Embry and the uncle of Anya Embry.

He was born and raised in the hamlet of Brom's Hollow though, after marrying, lived in the village of Oakengrad with is wife and children.

Following his confrontation with the Beast, Theron discovered that he had been cursed with lycanthropy. This ultimately forced him to leave his family, both to keep them safe, as well as to hopefully find a cure.

Personality
Theron is generally a kind, quiet, and well-meaning man who is seemingly always prepared to offer help to those in need of it. He has a profound sense of honor and duty, and won't turn away from any fight or responsibility that he perceives to be his. He is also completely devoted to his family, especially his wife and children, showing no hesitation to eliminate any threat that comes to them, no matter the cost to himself.

However, since becoming a lycanthrope, Theron has noticed changes in his own behavior, such as being quick to irritation when interacting others, and growing more apathetic, cynical, and threatening as times passes. He greatly disdains these new traits, and the curse that causes them, driving him to seek out ways to rid himself of them as soon as possible.

Early Life
Theron was born and raised in Brom’s Hollow; a hamlet located west of the village of Oakengrad, on the eastern bank of the Umbradal River, and just within the Umbradal Woods. His mother, Anwen, was an herbalist, while his father, Geron, was a woodsman, and owner of a lumber mill. Due to his mother’s role as an herbalist, Theron was often exposed to the sick and weary, and was taught from a young age basic herbalism and medicine. He was also taught to always offer help to others should they need it, even if they have nothing to offer in return. He frequently helped his father in his duties as well, who taught him much about survival and the wilderness. It was from his father that Theron learned how to woodcarve, a skill he would go on to greatly enjoy partaking in.

During his childhood, he was close friends with Rand Embry who he, and his younger sister Svana, often spent time with. Prior to that, he also became well-acquainted with the Weaver sisters, Jemma and Breya, following the outbreak of the White Plague, as his mother often visited the village to aid with the sick. While his memories of a few of their interactions are blurry from being so young, he does remember Jemma having been the meaner of the two.

Teenage Years
During his mid-teens, Theron began to work more closely with his father, showing a desire to one day take over the lumber mill. As such, he was introduced to more dangerous work, learning how to cut wood, and helping in it's delivery to Oakengrad. During his frequent visits to the village, he often managed to squeeze in time to interact with the Weaver sisters; especially Breya, who he had secretly fancied since childhood.

At some point, Theron realized that he had fallen in love with Breya and, when both came of age, proposed marriage to her. While admitting that she had feelings for him as well, she turned him down, firmly believing that they would not be happy in the long-term; if they married, she would remain in Oakengrad and come to resent him for holding her back, and he would come to resent her, as she confessed that she didn't know if she would ever want to start a family, something Theron greatly desired.

She left Oakengrad a few days later, leaving a broken-hearted Theron behind.

Rebuilding
Breya's leaving continued to effect Theron weeks after. While he did his part around the mill, he did so with a clear lack of energy, and he stopped visiting Oakengrad outside of work. The free time he did have, he spent either aimlessly wandering or sleeping. While his family attempted to talk to him about his shift in demeanor, words didn't seem to work. It wouldn't be until Jemma appeared in Brom's Hollow, intent to buy wood for renovations for an old building, that Theron began to reemerge.

At her personal request, Theron was to prepare and deliver the wood she ordered. And, due to his craftsman skills, he was also commissioned to build the shelving units she needed, as she was working to open a bookstore. Theron begrudingly did the work, though grew irritable when Jemma would poke and prod at him, as she always had, during his visits. Everything finally came to a head when, one day, Jemma dryly mocked Theron's proposal to Breya. It was one of the few instances Theron had ever been driven to such anger, and is remembered, even after all these years, to be the only time he had truly frightened Jemma.

Following that, Theron refused to continue his deliveries and her commission. It wasn't until a month later, after Jemma seemingly swallowed her pride, that she would apologize for the comment, and Theron would get back to work. Following the confrontation, all of Theron's family took note that Jemma had been the only person to continously get a rise out of him since Breya had left, as he would frequently make heated comments about her.

At the behest of his mother, Theron invited Jemma to Brom's Hollow for dinner. Much to his surprise, she seemed thrilled at the prospect, and was even amicable toward him throughout the evening. It was one of the first instances that Theron felt that she didn't outwardly hate him. Bewildered by her change in attitude toward him, Theron spoke with his mother about it afterward, who stated that perhaps Jemma tormented him simply because he refused to give her the time of day otherwise. She then suggested that Theron stop looking inward, and to take into consideration the people around him.

Theron took his mother's advice to heart and began to reach out to Jemma more often outside of work. While the results varied at first, as she was seemingly caught off guard by his sudden interest in her time, her attitude slowly changed. The time they spent together only grew as the months passed, and after Theron realized that they complemented each other well. By year's end, they seemed insperable.

Pursuit of Jemma
Not even a couple of months into the new year did Theron realize that he was beginning to see Jemma in a romantic light. Initially he chose not to disclose these new feelings out of fear of being rejected again, but later due to feeling conflicted that it was Breya's sister that he had been falling for. This was only made worse by Jemma subtly hinting at her own feelings, hoping that he would act first, and Theron being too cowardly to do so.

Just as Theron was about to reach his wit's end, what some thought would be the worst thing to possibly happen happened; Breya returned. Due to the shock of her return, Theron's attention quickly shifted, leaving Jemma upset and disappointed, and feeling as if she'd always be his second choice. She reverted to old herself tenfold, acting as if nothing had changed in Breya's absence, and pushed Theron away.

After learning from Jemma all that had happened in her absence, Breya confronted Theron. She berated him for his indecisive nature towards Jemma, and had gotten so mad that she slapped him. He admitted that had been indecisive, but only because of Jemma's relation to Breya. When asked if he loved Jemma, he responded that he did, without hesitation, catching Breya by surprise. She told him sternly that if he loved Jemma he shouldn't let her go so easily, and resolved to finally let go of her own feelings for him. After admitting that they both needed the closure, and making the promise to always be there for one another, Breya accompanied Theron to speak with Jemma.

Due to Jemma's stubbornness, she refused to see Theron at first, leading to one of the few times that Breya got confrontational with her. While the exchange was very much a heated one, and many tears were shed, with Breya's help Theron was able to convey his true feelings for Jemma, who accepted them. Not much time after, Theron and Jemma announced their engagement to his family.

Recent History
Theron and his family lived in relative peace until two years ago when a creature dubbed the "Beast of Drahamir" began to continually attack, and kill, the villagers of Korst and its outlying lands. Due to the rising number of deaths, both Theron and Jemma were extremely vigilant and worried for their family; worry that eventually came to be justified.

One night on their trek back to Oakengrad, Theron and his children were attacked by the Beast. Having managed to pull its attention from his children, Theron and the beast faced off. The skirmish was quick, and deadly, with Theron somehow managing to successfully slay the monster, albeit having been gravely injured in the process himself and being forced to rest for a fortnight thereafter.

When Theron finally awoke and was asked about the skirmish, he stated that he hardly remembered anything. He learned that he had quickly become a folk hero to the people of Drahamir; possibly even beyond due to slaying the beast, as well as being the only survivor of such an attack. However, he also learned that when he was found, the body of a man accompanied him rather than that of a wolf. With a heavy heart, his mother informed him that the Beast had been a human who carried the Wolf King’s curse - lycanthropy, and that he himself now carried the curse. Following his plea for a cure, she admitted that she had none, as none was known to her. When asked what he was supposed to do, she tearfully admitted that he would need to make a choice before the next full moon; when he’d become the monster he destroyed.

Theron was left in a state of shock following this despite other’s attempts to celebrate his heroic act. He ultimately revealed his fate to Jemma, after much prodding, which she didn’t take well. Restlessness followed for many nights, and it wasn’t until after Theron passed out and had a nightmare of hurting his family that he made the choice to leave. Jemma was very much against this, though was ultimately unable to stop him, even after lashing out in both anger and sadness. Theron made it clear that he had no intentions of allowing the curse to keep him from his family; he was going to find a cure, even if he had to travel to the ends of the world to do so. He dejectedly said farewell to his children, who were both saddened and confused, forcing him to explain that he was sick and that his sickness was dangerous. He then promised them that he would return upon getting better.

It has been around two months since then. Theron has traveled mostly off-road, with the goal of reaching the capital, in hopes of learning where to find the extremely rare wolfsbane flower, as well as the location of the Berenfort, at the Askyrian Archive. He has also been forced to shift under the full moon twice, though, as of currently, he hasn't hurt anyone.