Wolf's Bane

This article about the character. For the gamebook featuring this titular character, see Wolf's Bane.

Wolf's Bane was an Jahksa of Lone Wolf — an evil clone of Lone Wolf. It was created by the Dark God Naar to destroy Lone Wolf's reputation. Wolf's Bane first arrived in Anskaven, murdering Baron Caldar's men sent to escort him, and causing havoc in Toran, including poisoning a well causing hundreds of deaths. Lone Wolf arrived in Anskaven eighteen days later, having been delayed, and was promptly arrested in Wolf's Bane's stead. After Lone Wolf proved his innocence, he set off in pursuit of Wolf's Bane into the planet of Avaros, where Lone Wolf slew his imposter.

He is the titular antagonist of Wolf's Bane.

Etymology

"Wolf's Bane" may be a reference to wolfsbane (scientific term aconitum), an extremely toxic flower. Wolfsbane is a frequent poison in other forms of literature. The name can also be interpreted literally to mean the bane (noun: a source of harm or ruin) of Lone Wolf.

Appearance

An illustration of Wolf's Bane is available at Wolf's Bane: §80.

Wolf's Bane was a Jahksa of Lone Wolf, and as such, his stature and facial features bore an uncanny resemblance to him, except his eyes were cold and black while his body radiated coldness.

History

In MS 5080, Lone Wolf began his return from a quest in Dessi to Sommerlund. During his journey, his boat was sabotaged, and limped into Anskaven's port eighteen days late. In the meantime, however, Wolf's Bane landed in Anskaven in his stead. Baron Caldar sent a welcoming party to meet him, only for Wolf's Bane to slay them. Wolf's Bane then attempted to assassinate Banedon in Toran, but this failed; instead, Wolf's Bane destroyed much of the Guildmaster's Hall, and poisoned the wells of the city in his retreat, causing hundreds of deaths. Pursued by the Toranese militia, Wolf's Bane murdered the Fryearl of Durnfallow and burnt his house to the ground. Some believed that this was a Helghast, but Banedon ruled this out, instead believing that Naar had possessed Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf was then declared to be a dangerous criminal to be shot on sight by King Ulnar V.

Eighteen days later, Lone Wolf arrived in Anskaven, and was greeted by hostility. He was arrested and promptly thrown in jail, where he used his mental abilities to find out what had happened. Banedon visited Lone Wolf in prison, and confirmed he was the true Lone Wolf with a Platinum Amulet. The two then set off for Tyso to pursue Wolf's Bane; Kai Master Firestone, the most senior of the New Order, had dispatched Black Hawk, Star Lynx, Blazer and Steel Hand beforehand to do the same. Wolf's Bane lured all the Kai to the Old Necropolis of Tyso, laced with traps. Deep within the necropolis, Wolf's Bane then froze the Kai Masters, and threatened Lone Wolf that the frozen Kai Masters would be thrown into the Shadow Gate and destroyed, unless Lone Wolf accepted his challenge: A one-on-one duel. Lone Wolf was forced to accept, and the two were sucked into the Shadow Gate to the planet Avaros.

Wolf's Bane travelled to a black glass temple, pursued by Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf encountered an avatar of Naar, declaring that he would make sport of Lone Wolf, to show Kai and Ishir the worthlessness of their champion. Naar then transported the two elsewhere in Avaros, and the pursuit resumed. Lone Wolf pursued Wolf's Bane through a sewer, an alien city, a dragonfly pit, and a floating castle, facing ambushes from Wolf's Bane along the way. Finally, in the banquet hall of the flying castle, Wolf's Bane declared the pursuit over, and offered him a sword to duel fairly with, which Lone Wolf accepted.

During the duel, Lone Wolf gained the upper hand, and moved in for the finishing blow. Wolf's Bane, however, summoned a gull-winged horror from the rafters to attack Lone Wolf. His plans were foiled by the sudden appearance of Alyss, who froze time, declared she hated cheats, and deleted the creature. After she resumed time, Wolf's Bane realised his minion had disappeared, and brushed against Alyss, shocking him. Enraged, he attacked Alyss, but Lone Wolf rushed forward and killed Wolf's Bane before he could.

After Wolf's Bane's death, Naar, thinking Lone Wolf was dead, summoned him to his inner sanctum, despite Alyss' attempts to create a Shadow Gate back to Magnamund for him. Wolf's Bane's body was turned into a fiery meteor and destroyed as a vortex swallowed him, Lone Wolf and Alyss to face Naar. Naar, thinking Lone Wolf was Wolf's Bane, congratulated him, and declared that he and Kekataag the Avenger would travel to Magnamund, through a Shadow Gate created by the Moonstone. Kekataag, jealous, attacked Lone Wolf mentally, before Naar ordered him to stop. Alyss attempted to steal the Moonstone, only to be detected by Kekataag. Alyss opened a Shadow Gate, and Lone Wolf escaped, with his final memories of Alyss encased in a protective shield as Kekataag attempted to destroy it and her.

Combat stats

The fight against Wolf's Bane is one of the most unique in the series, since it occurs at a fixed combat ratio of -4. Special items, psychic attacks, and even Alether all have no impact on this combat ratio. This means Wolf's Bane arguably has the highest Combat Skill of any opponent that Lone Wolf ever faces. However, although Wolf's Bane's Combat Skill is formidable, the duel against Wolf's Bane is relatively easy, because his Endurance is equal to the player's; furthermore, it is possible to acquire a Bronze Disc that reduces Wolf's Bane Endurance by 4 points, and the fight ends once his Endurance is reduced to 10 or below. This means that on average, the player should win this fight with about 10 Endurance left.

If the player has less than 10 Endurance points (14 with the Bronze Disc) beforehand, the fight is won instantly. Thus it is possible to cheese this duel by lowering your Endurance by taking poor decisions and fights beforehand. However, upcoming sections have unavoidable damage and at least one combat encounter, so healing potions are recommended if doing this deliberately.