Wayrider
A Wayrider, from the old word "Wegenreiter". The Wayrider is a figure carved from the bark of the old world; stoic, solitary, and tireless. A guardian of the forgotten paths and worn trails that wind through the deep woods, rugged hills, and borderlands between towns. Neither knight nor outlaw, he serves no crown, yet commands the respect of both peasant and noble.
He is the last to tread the road after sunset, and often the first to rise with the frost.
Wayriders are:
Messengers between isolated hamlets and towns where no post reaches.
Road-guards who escort the desperate through forest passes.
Survivors, walking in lands where others fear to camp.
In some regions, they are hired; in others, they simply arrive. No one knows how they choose their paths. Some say they are exiled soldiers, others say cursed men paying off old debts. Some say its for money.
In folk tales, a Wayrider’s arrival means change; sometimes salvation, sometimes doom.
Children say they ride with ghosts.
Old women leave out bread near road markers, hoping the Wayrider will keep the wolves away.