Bennin Silverclaw

​One of the shifters most responsible for the decision on the part of the Church of the Silver Flame that shifters were, in fact, a separate race—not part of the evil that was inherent in all lycanthropes according to Silver Flame doctrine—was a powerful warrior and tracker named Bennin Silverclaw. When the Church began its crusade against the werecreatures, Bennin joined in the effort with a zeal matched by only a few of the most fervent human converts. Bennin’s extraordinary abilities as a tracker and his claws coated with magical silver made him a terrible foe of all lycanthropes. The annals of the Church say that he found and killed no fewer than fifty lycanthropes of various types. As with many other crusaders, Bennin found his end in violence. Attached to a large force of knights and clerics loyal to the Church of the Silver Flame, Bennin traveled deep into the Demon Wastes. The mighty expedition was aimed at a particularly powerful cult of lycanthropes that had long used its distant location and growing numbers to become a focal point of those opposed to the Church’s efforts to destroy lycanthropy. Such a lofty goal came at terrible cost. Hunger and the dangers of travel decimated the expidition, leaving them vulnerable. By the time they found the mighty enclave, they also stumbled into a carefully laid ambush that nearly finished the group for good. One of their number, infected by lycanthropy, led the expedition into the lycanthropes’ trap. Through the efforts of Bennin and the bravery of a few knights, a remnant of the mighty expedition escaped the trap. Fueled by his hatred of the lycanthropes and still stinging from the betrayal, Bennin led his small band in a desperate assault on the cult’s stronghold. Although the expeditionary force was wiped out entirely, the cult was broken by their final efforts. A final sending told of Bennin’s lone battle against the three most powerful leaders of the cult. Whether the expedition wiped out the cult entirely might never be known, but Bennin and the other brave warriors ensured that it would never again serve as a focal point for resistance against the Church. Adventure Hook: Although Bennin’s final expedition took place more than fifty years before the beginning of the Last War, the Church still speaks of his bravery. Shifters and members of the Church of the Silver Flame alike would rejoice in the recovery of Bennin’s remains, especially the silver claws from which Bennin eventually took his name. Travel to the Demon Wastes is a dangerous undertaking, however, and it is possible that remnants of the ancient lycanthropic cult still linger in the area.​