Ugo Volkov

''This is a contribution by Richard Campbell. For further information on contributions please read The Guide to Contributing. ''

Ugo was born, raised, and eventually exiled from a small village in the mountains between Erde and Kopeni. As the village is isolated from outside contact, Ugo only learned of the existence of intelligent life outside of the village in recent years, after he was exiled following the "accident" that lead to the death of his 5th wife, Kruga Volkov.

Biography
Ugo spent the first 30 years of his life living in an isolated village, hidden in the mountains between Erde and Kopeni. He grew up with only tales of the outside world, not even knowing that there were people other than the 100 or so living in the village (referred to as simply 'the village', because, having no concept of other villages, and therefore having no need for names to distinguish them, this is what it is called by the inhabitants).

Growing up, Ugo was always large for his size, breaking 6' at the age of 12, and becoming the largest person in the village when he broke 6'3" at 13.

Ugo's Wives
Note: In this village, women are not given surnames until they are married.

At 14, Ugo married his first wife, Merga. Merga, 26, was viewed harshly by the women of the village, who believed he should be with someone his own age. As Ugo continued to grow to be, as far as the villagers knew, the biggest, strongest person in existence, the women became more and more jealous of Merga, often stating she 'Didn't deserve' Ugo.

Four years later, Merga was found in a crop field with her head caved in. Most in the village suspected that she was murdered by one of the other women, but ultimately no evidence was found of the perpetrator.

Just a month later, Ugo married his second wife, Ruga, 16. Ruga was loved by all in the village, and everyone pretty much expected that they would get together. While the women of the village still envied her, any hard feelings were few and far between.

Two years later, Ruga went missing. After weeks of searching the nearby area, pieces of her clothing were found near a bear's cave. While some had their suspicions, people generally believed that she had simply been attacked by a bear.

A year later, the village held a combat tournament, in which combatants fought with wooden shields and light clubs.

In the final, Ugo faced Helga. Having not seen her fight before, he became overconfident at the thought of facing a woman, and started taunting her, turning his back. He opened his arms and offered her one free shot. She took it. He woke to see her being declared winner, and proposed on the spot. She accepted.

A year later, Ugo was seen limping back to the village, covered in what seemed to be his own blood. He claimed that he and Helga had been attacked by bears. He refused to be attended to by anyone other than Struga. At this point it was widely believed that Ugo had murdered his wives, however as no-one had any proof, and the only person in the village capable of challenging him had just died, he was left alone.

After a few months recovering, Ugo and Struga got married. After 7 years, Struga fell ill. She deteriorated over the period of the next year, and eventually passed away. As it was unlikely Ugo was smart enough to fake something like that, no-one suspected him of any wrong doings.

Nearly a year passed before Ugo married his final wife, Kruga. Only a month passed before she was found dead under a rock near the village. The village gathered together and unanimously exiled Ugo. To avoid any physical conflict with him, they allowed him to take any supplies with him that he requested.

Amongst the bears
Days after being exiled, Ugo was attacked by a female black bear. After managing to kill the bear, he discovered that the bear had two cubs nearby. Feeling responsible for killing the cubs' mother, he took the cubs as his own, wearing the skin of the mother both for warmth, and to gain the trust of the cubs.

Ugo lived with the cubs for the next 5 years, teaching them how to forage and fish as best he could. He decided to take his leave when he realised that the two had grown to full adulthood, and that other black bears were avoiding them due to him, ruining any chance of the two becoming parents.