Horema the Stalwart

Horema was moving before the first branch snapped, a grey shadow between the trees. "There they go again," a food merchant whispered, nudging their apprentice. "The timber wolf pack is testing the outer edge of The Heart of the Forest." From their stall, they watched the masked figure intercept the alpha, not with brute force, but with a series of movements that seemed to unnerve the beast until it turned tail. The locals call them ‘the Stalwart’ for this. They are always there when the wilder parts of the forest encroach on the clearing. The apprentice, however, once saw Horema by the stream without the Kamen. The eyes were just as intense, but their mouth was a tight, uneasy line. They looked like they were counting the seconds until they could hide their face again.