Neverending Nights

Race: Mind Ripper
Occupation: Devourer of Brains
Place of Birth: Netherblack
Known Relatives: Mother (Unknown Name), Father (Unknown Name)
First Appearance: Neverending Nights – Thirty Six: Mind Over Matter
History: Hank the Mind Ripper, along with his two closest friends, Frank and George, fellow Mind Rippers fled their home of Netherblack, because they felt it was just too dark and depressing. (Not to mention the selection of brains to devour was becoming pretty slim pickings!) The trio of Mind Rippers decided to take refuge in Smirkwood, a large forest known to generally make people happy (this was due to the pollen within the forest which often caused those traveling through it to experience sheer moments of bliss, thus the name “Smirkwood” because everyone always had a smirk when leaving the woods). This “bliss” effect often allowed the trio of Mind Rippers to ambush the unsuspecting travelers through the woods.

The trio of Mind Rippers is discovered by Peter and Grayson, as well as Pawl (who at this time had been reincarnated into a Minotaur). They found that they could not possess the three would be heroes (Peter’s mind was too blank, Grayson’s mind had the fiery sword protecting it, and Pawl’s mind still appeared to be a dwarven mind). The three Mind Rippers agreed to let the three heroes go, on the promise that they never speak of seeing the Mind Rippers in the forest.

As it would turn out, Grayson put a bounty on the three Mind Rippers once the Dragon of Silver Lake had been slain – forcing the three Mind Rippers to return to Netherblack, where their fate remains unknown.

Eyes: White
Hair: None

Accessories:

MAGIC: Like all Mind Rippers, they are able to possess victims and devour their brains, gaining the knowledge of their victims.

Race: Human
Occupation: Fighter, Sidekick
Place of Birth: City of Neverending
Known Relatives: Mother (Unknown Name), Father (Unknown Name), Peter The Ranger (Half Brother)
First Appearance: Neverending Nights – Episode One: Heroes?!
History: Even in his youth, Grayson was always a “Ladies Man” – more of a Lover, Not A Fighter. It was rare to ever see Grayson without a woman close to him. Early in his teenage years, however, he met a girl that would change him forever. On a trip with his mother to the small town of Galana, Grayson met Ruth – who he had told his mother was “The Girl Of His Dreams” – at the Sparrow’s Nest Inn, where she was a waitress in the serving room. Grayson returned frequently to Galana to meet and speak with Ruth, before eventually asking her out.

About a year later, as Grayson was walking though the City of Neverending, he bumped into a Dwarf and knocked him over. The Dwarf was none other than Pawl the Dorf. Grayson helped pick up the books that Pawl had been carrying (“How To Be A Dwarf”, “Dwarves: Speak It And Be Heard”, “Lord of the Dwarves”, etc). Grayson did not recognize Pawl’s unusual accent – and asked him about it. Pawl had said that he was from the Vista Kingdom of Dwarves, but still it was not an accent that Grayson had heard before. Grayson befriended the unusual sounding Dwarf, and the two became companions.

Grayson soon discovered that most of the Dwarves were actually annoyed by Pawl, as well as his accent – and most referred to him as “Pawl the Dorf” (mispronouncing “Dwarf” on purpose because of his inability to speak with a proper Dwarven Accent). Grayson shrugged off the other Dwarves, and continued to maintained a strong friendship with Pawl. To thank Grayson for his kindness, Pawl gifted him with a sword that he had forged himself. The sword was unbalanced and blemished, but Grayson nodded and thanked Pawl regardless. Pawl eventually introduced Grayson to Peter the Ranger, whose Uncle owned the Red Dragon Inn (the most popular Inn in all the land).

Peter often talked about how he would live off the land and explore the wilds, far beyond the City of Neverending. Grayson was enamored by the stories that Peter told; the wild adventures and the daring escapes. Grayson expressed an interest in venturing past the walls of the City of Neverending; and Peter agreed to take Grayson on some of his adventures, but there would have to be training first (which sometimes involved mixing up King’s Leaf and Poison Ivy). Most of the time, this training involved camping in the backyard (which was several acres in size) of Peter’s Uncle, who owned the Red Dragon Inn.

Grayson’s girlfriend, Ruth, soon became jealous of the amount of time he had been spending with Peter. She began obsessively stalking Grayson, to make sure that he wasn’t actually with another woman. (She frequently confused Peter as a woman from the back, because of his longer hair). Grayson knew that there was only one thing left to do – and that was to break off the relationship with Ruth. Ruth had gone so far off the deep end when Grayson broke up with her, that it changed Grayson – and he became shy and reclusive when it came to women.

Grayson and Peter’s friendship continued to flourish and bloom. One night, at the Red Dragon Tavern, while Grayson and Peter were sitting there drinking, he suddenly found himself being yelled at by a dark haired woman. It took a moment, but Grayson recognized her as Ruth. When he tried to talk to her, she snapped at him that, Ruth was ‘dead.’ She did away with the blond hair and dyed it pitch black, and took up the name ‘Andrea’ where she would ‘travel the world’ and find herself. Grayson could only nod and shake his head in agreement, as she stormed out the door. Peter looked over at Grayson and said, “You’re right. She’s crazy.”

Little did they know, in a few moments, their lives would be changed forever. Just as Ruth (or Andrea, as she liked to be called now) left the bar – two Knights of the Bloodhunt walked in, proclaiming they had rescued a maiden from a band of barbaric trolls. Inspired by the Knights, Peter and Grayson thought that they could adventure out into the world to find fame and fortune as well – and, with any luck, become (in)famous, so that they’d never have to pay for another drink again. (As it turned out, after three years of mooching off Peter’s Uncle, he finally cut them off).

Venturing out to the Wishing Well, Peter and Grayson resorted to an old trick that they mastered; fetching coins from the Well to pay for their drinks. This time, however, they decided that they would use the money to pay for some equipment for their grand adventure. As they were standing at the Wishing Well, two Gnomes walked by, talking about a Dragon they had seen in the hills (which seemed ridiculous, since Dragons had not been seen in the world for several thousand years; but there were always stories about them and how much treasure they had). So Peter and Grayson got it in their head that they would go out and kill one of these mystical dragons and become rich and (in)famous. Peter fetched his bow and arrows (which were not real) and Grayson’s sword, which had been the one that Pawl the Dorf had forged for him. Seeing the sword, made Peter think of Pawl, who he ran to meet up with and a purchased a map of the world far beyond the City of Neverending. Pawl, who as a Dwarf, had done a bit of traveling around the world had a map that he sold to Peter.

It did not take long, between following Pawl the Dorf’s map and Peter the Ranger’s lack of direction, for the duo to get turned around and lost in the woods. Wandering around for quite some time, they eventually found a path and began following it – which led Peter and Grayson to the small town of Galana. Grayson cringed with fear, dreading the idea that Ruth (Andrea) might have returned to her home town and see them passing through. However, the first person they encountered was Poppy the Salt Vendor, who sold them a few bags of salt. From there, they went to the Sparrow’s Nest Tavern, where Ruth (Andrea) had previously worked. Grayson confirmed (with several employees) that Ruth had indeed quit and left Galana (with a strange blond woman with a red dragon crest), which put him at ease.

While in the Sparrow’s Nest Tavern, Peter expressed the fact that they needed to also look like heroes, before they could be considered as such. Peter and Grayson approached a small Halfling wizard by the name of Alan (“The Astounding!”) who was also in the Sparrow’s Nest Tavern. They questioned him about how to make money, only to have the Halfling wizard eventually pass out from being overly intoxicated. Peter and Grayson knelt down to check if the Wizard was all right and noticed he had a small pouch of coin, which Peter took – with the intention of paying the Halfling back once they killed the Dragon. (Peter intended to kindly reward the Halfling for this “loan” with more money than the Halfling knew what to do with). Little did they know it had been a Magical Pouch that they had taken.

Leaving Galana, they continued to venture forth where they encountered a Gelatinous Cube (or “Ice Cube Monster”). In the ensuing combat, Grayon’s sword perished as the Gelatinous Cube devoured it. The duo had managed to defeat the Gelatinous Cube, however – (more on accident than anything) – when they struck it with the salt that they had purchased from Poppy the Salt Vendor. Now, with Grayson without a sword, and their cheap armor covered in Gelatinous Cube goo – they knew they needed to replace their armor and weapons. Pawl the Dorf’s map next took them to the city of Stonefrost, where they met several vendors. Amiee the Armorer provided them with new Chainmail armor, while Ronald the Wreckless provided Grayson with a new sword and Peter with a new bow.

Grayson’s new sword was magical in nature; it’s blade drenched in mystical fire. As they left the City of Stonefrost, they found none other than Pawl the Dorf standing at the mouth of a cave – the very same cave they were needing to pass through. After a brief exchange with Pawl, they learned that Pawl had gone inside and had been startled by a “bugbear” and lost his map. (It had actually been Charlie the Goblin who startled him). Peter and Grayson agreed to go with Pawl through the caves. Peter and Grayson become separated from Pawl and when they tried to keep warm by setting up a campfire inside the cave they passed out from smoke inhalation. Peter and Grayson searched briefly for Pawl the Dorf, but never found him – so they assumed, since he was a Dwarf, he knew his way underground better than any of them. Of course, as scantily detailed as Pawl the Dorf’s map was, it did not take long, once again for the duo to be lost in the caves.

While wandering through the caves – Grayson began hearing a voice in his head that he couldn’t explain. (As it turned out, it had been the Magical Blade speaking to Grayson). Eventually Grayson and Peter found their way out of the caves, only to discover that the exit led to a wide open desert. They wandered through the desert and finally managed to reach the City of Ator. It was there, they met Poppy the Salt Vendor again. Oddly enough, Peter and Grayson also spotted Amiee the Armorer as well as the two Knights of the Bloodhunt in the City of Ator. Thinking nothing of it, they went to the tavern to get a drink. After Grayson got some “entertainment” – the duo left the City of Ator and headed into the Caves behind the City, after discovering that there was a Dragon that lived there.

Unfortunately, when they found the Dragon – it was a Silver Dragon – and like all the Metallic Dragons of Legend – was a good aligned dragon. The Dragon then explained that there was another way to become famous – and that would be to rescue a maiden in distress. Peter and Grayson agree to go and help this woman in distress that the Dragon has directed them to – unaware that Ruth (Andrea) has begun her own quest to track down two men who had taken a Magical Sword from her. After leaving the Silver Dragon, Peter and Grayson found themselves lost in the caves again. Peter managed to start a campfire, that Grayson learned the following day, had been started using the paper in the backpack – which was their map. Wandering aimlessly, they eventually ran into Pawl the Dorf – who, much to their surprise – was a ghost.

Pawl explained that some “evil dwarves” had killed him, and that he couldn’t enter the Light At The End Of The Tunnel, because his claustrophobia kicked in. Grayson was about to debate the logic of a Dwarf, of all the people in the world, suffering from claustrophobia but decided to let it go. They eventually, with Pawl the Dorf’s help, managed to find their way out – but not before unintentionally inciting a War between the Dark Elves and the Dark Dwarves (the very ones who had murdered Pawl the Dorf).

Once outside of the cave, they eventually made their way to Blackmire City where they encountered a Resurrection Priest by the name of Zoe Din. He offered to resurrect Pawl the Dorf for 300 Gold Pieces, which they determined they could not afford. Instead, they went with a Reincarnation Spell – which would transport the soul of Pawl the Dorf – either into an existing body (where he may or may not remember what he experienced while in that body if he ever switched bodies again) – or, on a rare chance it might act as if he had been reincarnated. Though Pawl did not like the idea of not being himself; he opted for that choice, rather than eventually dissipating and becoming an evil spirit to haunt the world for all eternity. Peter and Grayson left Pawl with the Resurrection Priest who explained the spell would take hours to complete.

Meanwhile, Peter told Grayson now that they had flashy armor and weapons; they needed someone to be their arch-nemesis. So they held a “Villains For Hire” try out – and eventually hired Evil Foo for 300 gold. When Grayson questioned where Peter got 300 gold (since he didn’t have it previously when they spoke to the Resurrection Priest), Peter explained he wasn’t sure – he just reached into the pouch and it was there. After a long night, Peter and Grayson headed up to their room (which Peter paid for) and met up with Christine the Chambermaid, where Peter fabricated a story about defeating pirates on the Scarasea Oceans (unaware that Christine the Chambermaid had her own experiences with pirates).

The following morning, Peter and Grayson discovered that Pawl the Dorf had been reincarnated as a Minotaur. (There had been another ‘life’ that Pawl the Dorf had lived, but he could not recall what had happened). Leaving the City and looking for a maiden in distress, the trio encountered three Mind Flayers that lived in The Dark Woods. Though normally extremely dangerous, Peter, Grayson and Pawl had managed to escape unharmed. That night, however – Grayson had a vivid dream about a mysterious, shadowy figure cloaked in black engaged in combat with an army of orcs – and standing his own. When Grayson awakened – he discovered that it’s been the sword’s voice in his head all along. The sword, whose name was Pat, explained that it had been in many great battles, and followed a bloodline – the one that Grayson was a part of.

Several nights later, Grayson experienced another dream, where the same cloaked figure is confronting a woman with a fiery halberd and a crimson dragon on the crest of her armor. When Grayson awoke, Pawl the Dorf (who was in Bugbear form by this time), was killed by none other than Ruth (or Andrea, as she is calling herself by this point) – Andrea the Assassin. Dean the Dragon, in human form, revealed himself. He told Andrea that she is not truly evil; simply misguided. Dean knew that Andrea the Assassin, as the younger, more naive Ruth was merely fearful of being alone. When Grayson had broken up with her, that fear turned to anger and when the Crimson Mother found her, she took that anger and forged it into hate. But a life of knowing only hate, would lead to endless suffering – and that she would never find the happiness she so desperately wanted.

Grayson confessed that he had loved Ruth – or Andrea – whatever she was calling herself, but she had become so obsessive that he feared for his own life (especially when she threatened his favorite stuffed animal, Mister Snuggles). Ruth (Andrea) listened and knew that what she had done had been wrong – but still, she couldn’t turn back now. She told Daniel to teleport them to the Crimson Draco Mother, unaware that Dean had removed a memory tampering spell that had been placed on Daniel’s mind. Daniel teleported Peter, Grayson, Pawl and Dean to the Crimson Mother, hoping that Dean would destroy Her.

The mysterious figure that had haunted Grayson’s dreams suddenly emerged through a magical portal. He explained that he was not only Grayson’s father – but Peter’s father as well – making them half-brothers! Grayson’s father explained that he could not turn over the Blade of Destiny to the Crimson Draco, or else they would destroy it and there would be no weapon to stop the Dragon of Silverlake. Grayson, in a spurt of unexplainable courage, attacked the Crimson Mother Dragon, causing a massive explosion. When Peter and Grayson woke up – they were in the Crimson Draco Legion prison, where they learned they had been unconscious for several months, undoubtedly by the magical explosion that Grayson had caused by killing the Crimson Draco.

They’re miraculously rescued by Amiee the Armorer, who is dressed as one of the Crimson Draco Legion. She explains that the Silver Dragon had recruited her to help Peter and Grayson. The three of them made their escape, unaware of where Pawl the Dorf had gotten to – again. Amiee the Armorer took Peter and Grayson to their weapons; where Grayson discovered the flame on his blade had died out. Amiee explained that the blade was the Blade of Destiny, and forged to kill Dragons – but after each kill, it has to be reforged in a specific magical forge (that she doesn’t know the name of, as it had been lost through the ages).

The three of them escaped the Crimson Draco Prison and ended up in the City of Pomtom, where they discovered the Crimson Draco Legion had already been alerted to their escape and had been trying to hunt them down. Amiee told Peter and Grayson to hide out for a moment, while she checked with some people from the Armorer’s Guild. She saw the Crimson Draco Legion question two Knights of the Bloodhunt, who happen to be wearing full plate blue and yellow armor. She met up with fellow Armorer Guild Mate, Ann the Armorer and had her forge exact replicas of the Knights of the Bloodhunt armor. She returned to Peter and Grayson and gave it to them and while Grayson was dubious about the disguise, it actually got them past the Crimson Draco Legion.

Amiee learned from Ann and Ed the Engraver that there was someone who might help them locate the magical forge; a man who lived out in the woods named Awyer the Astral Traveler. However, to get to him, they had to cross a perilous graveyard full of the undead. When they met Awyer the Astral Traveler, he had them consume mushrooms – and escorted them through the Astral Plane, that reflected on their lives. Like sands through the hour glass, they discovered the destined one to reforge the Blade o Destiny was none other than Pawl the Dorf!

Peter, Grayson and Amiee were reunited with Pawl the Dorf at the Inn located in Nameless – (the city actually was called ‘Nameless’), it was here that they discovered Ruth (now, with her hair back to its original blond color, and assuming the name ‘Ruth the Redeemed’) had rescued Pawl and had come to help Peter and Grayson. Amiee the Armorer once again used her resources, and discovered that they needed help from Madame Marie and Sam the Smith. Sam the Smith had shown Pawl the Dorf how to forge magical weapons; and Madame Marie was able to use magic to locate the Forge of Eternal Flame, which was needed to reforge the Blade of Destiny. Madame Marie was then able to teleport them fairly close to the Forge of Eternal Flame, deep within the Mountain of Silverlake. The Dragon of Silverlake sensed their presence and sent wave after wave of monsters and magic, to try and stop them; forcing them to split up, so that Peter and Grayson could confront the Dragon of Silverlake.

Standing before the Dragon of Silverlake, Grayson was struck and killed by the Dragon’s undead magic. It then taunted Peter that none would be able to kill him. Peter realized that since Grayson was his half-brother, he could use the Blade of Destiny – which he did to destroy the Dragon of Silverlake. He then used a potion that Madame Marie had given him, to resurrect Grayson. Grayson had no memory of his untimely demise or what happened – so Peter explained that it had been Grayson who killed the Dragon of Silverlake, and that the explosion had knocked him out.

Peter and Grayson were able to recover all the treasure that the Dragon of Silverlake had acquired. Grayson used his funding to open up The Bar of Destiny back home in the City of Neverending, where it gained immense popularity because Grayson offered free food and drink for the first year it was to be open. Grayson and Ruth married, but parted ways a short while later, when Ruth left to help the Silver Dragon Legion. Ruth had realized that she had never truly been in love with Grayson, but rather the idea of love itself.

Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Accessories:
MAGICAL SWORD (PAT): Grayson carries a fiery magical sword who goes by the name of Pat, which is a magical sword forged with the sole purpose of killing Evil Dragons.

Race: Goblin (Kobold)
Occupation: Supreme Ruler of the Gobling Nation
Place of Birth: The Dark Caverns Of Goblin Kind
Known Relatives: None Known
First Appearance: Neverending Nights – Episode 49: Return of the Goblins
History: The Goblins rejoiced in never truly having any type of leader or ruler. They simply lived to enjoy themselves (which most frequently meant dancing to some funky beats!) However, their cavern home was a shortcut between two massive mountains and frequently used by adventurers seeking to get from point A to point B as quickly as they could. As a result, the adventurers often mistook the goblins for “evil, cave dwelling creatures” and slaughtered them every time they passed through. A guard was finally placed at the bridge that connected their cavern to the main entrance – and the guard was meant to signal the other goblins to hide if anyone was ever spotted. One such time, when Dink the Goblin was on guard, Pawl the Dorf, Peter and Grayson had all entered the cavern. Pawl had managed to talk Dink into a dance off and succeeded in defeating Dink with his dancing skills. Dink promised the three would be heroes safe passage. Later, Albert the Goblin, Bob the Goblin and Charlie the Goblin all went to go find Dink and discovered that he had let non-goblins pass into their realm.

Eventually, Andrea the Assassin and Daniel the Destructive would come into the cavern, tracking Peter and Grayson and slaughtered many of the goblins. Andrea forced Albert, Bob and Charlie into servitude. In all the confusion, a Kobold who had observed all of this took on the guise and used magic he had found that had fallen out of Daniel’s pockets to proclaim himself “The Goblin King” and began ruling over the goblins.

The (false) Goblin King would eventually capture and imprison Albert, Bob and Charlie later for abandoning their posts; though the three goblins were later freed by Ellen the Goblin (who they had resurrected only seven days before). The four of them escaped the goblin caves and sought out Peter and Grayson, the only heroes they knew, to help them dethrone the false Goblin King and restore freedom to the goblins. They found Peter outside the City of Neverending and he agreed to help, along with Annette the Archer. Together they made their way back to the goblin caves.

What happened next remains untold.

Eyes: Red
Hair: None

Accessories:

WEAPON: The Goblin King has a magically sword that a woman in a lake apparently gave him. It glows red in the presence of goblins, and thus, is always glowing.

Race: Mind Ripper
Occupation: Devourer of Brains
Place of Birth: Netherblack
Known Relatives: Mother (Unknown Name), Father (Unknown Name)
First Appearance: Neverending Nights – Thirty Six: Mind Over Matter
History: George the Mind Ripper, along with his two closest friends, Frank and Hank, fellow Mind Rippers fled their home of Netherblack, because they felt it was just too dark and depressing. (Not to mention the selection of brains to devour was becoming pretty slim pickings!) The trio of Mind Rippers decided to take refuge in Smirkwood, a large forest known to generally make people happy (this was due to the pollen within the forest which often caused those traveling through it to experience sheer moments of bliss, thus the name “Smirkwood” because everyone always had a smirk when leaving the woods). This “bliss” effect often allowed the trio of Mind Rippers to ambush the unsuspecting travelers through the woods.

The trio of Mind Rippers is discovered by Peter and Grayson, as well as Pawl (who at this time had been reincarnated into a Minotaur). It had been George who found that they could not possess the three would be heroes (Peter’s mind was too blank, Grayson’s mind had the fiery sword protecting it, and Pawl’s mind still appeared to be a dwarven mind). The three Mind Rippers agreed to let the three heroes go, on the promise that they never speak of seeing the Mind Rippers in the forest.

As it would turn out, Grayson put a bounty on the three Mind Rippers once the Dragon of Silver Lake had been slain – forcing the three Mind Rippers to return to Netherblack, where their fate remains unknown.

Eyes: White
Hair: None

Accessories:

MAGIC: Like all Mind Rippers, they are able to possess victims and devour their brains, gaining the knowledge of their victims.