The Exile's Revenge

One of the most popular Wastern legends and campfire stories, The Exile's Revenge goes by many many names, and has many tellings, but the ones included in this article are the most popular.

Legend speaks of a boy who was exiled from his town. Of course, he wasn't mighty pleased about it. See, he wasn't kicked out for killin', or fightin', or stealin', no. The people of his town chased him off for no reason other than he didn't look like them, and they didn't much like that. This boy was the same as any other in the town, 'cept for the two curlin' horns that protruded from his skull.
Though this town was like the rest of the Waste, and it didn't have no one what could rightly call themselves a real cleric, it was home to an angry preacher. And as you and me know well enough, those what manage to keep their faith here in the Waste are the ones you really need to fear, for their zealotry is magnified ten-fold. This preacher managed to convince the town that this boy was The Devil Himself in disguise, and that they oughta take up arms 'gainst him.
This boy, though he cried, couldn't do much 'gainst an angry mob, so he had to go. But afore he climbed into that train, he turned to the people what had cast him out, and he issued them a warnin'. "I'll be back," he said, tremblin' with rage. "I'll be back, and you better believe I'll be bringin' the anger of Hell with me." And the people laughed, as he turned away and entered the train.
But many a year later, the people weren't laughin' any longer. For that was when another train rolled into the town, and out stepped a man no one recognized. He wore a hat over his head, and he was a good few heads taller, but sure as the Sands are death, this drifter was the same boy what had been exiled years before. And when he took off that hat, revealin' those curlin' ram's horns, the people of the town knew as well.
What happened next can't be described by anyone with even a quarter of a heart, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. The anger of Hell itself had certainly been brought on the same train that man had returned on, for nothin' less can explain the carnage wrought on that day. Come the morrow, nothin' was left of that town 'cept for a scorched wastebone and a single man, a swingin' on a rope. That very same preacher what had exiled that boy all those years ago, given that what he deserved.
No one heard from the exiled man after that day. Some say, after his job was done, he walked on down into the Hell he'd brought to earth, and lived the rest of his life at The Devil's side. Others say that The Devil took his due when all was said and done, and the exile was consumed by his own fires. Perhaps, after seein' what he'd done to not just the men of that town, but all its women and children too, he lept onto the sands and allowed himself to be devoured, not willing to live with the guilt.
Regardless of the details of the situation, remember this at the end of the day. Firstly, never give one of the marked folk a reason to seek vengeance against you, for they have methods of securing the means to do so. And secondly, revenge always ends in ashes and tragedy, for all parties involved.

This telling is cetainly not the only one that exists, just the most popular. In some versions of the story, the exile is female, or a vampire. The method by which he brings about his revenge varies as well. Sometimes it's a cloud of darkness, or mist, or smoke. Sometimes he carries it out with a simple firearm. The basic structure of the story is always the same, though.
The story may or may not have any basis in fact, but there are some locations in the Waste that could possibly be where the town once stood, before the exile destroyed it. The most popular of these locations is the wastebone known as Ashrib, upon which a town of the same name has been built. Ashrib does not share the typical yellowish-brown color with other wastebones. Instead, the massive stone ribcage is stained a sooty black, which has led many to claim that it is where the exile carried out his vengeance many years ago.