Rowan Timothy

Rowan Timothy is a Sheepskinner Werewolf, originally from Arkandale. He is presumably a member of the Timothy family, although the exact nature of his relationship to Nathan Timothy and Alfred Timothy is unclear. Given that he was already old-aged by the time of the Grand Conjunction, he may have actually been born in Arkandale's False History, leaving his relationship to the Timothy family in doubt.

Background

Rowan was already of advanced years and suffered badly of osteoarthritis when Arkandale was absorbed into Verbrek in 740 BC. Fearing for his life under the rule of the Cult of the Wolf God, which stated the old and the weak should die, Rowan promptly fled across the border into Dementlieu and came to live in Chateaufaux.

Although he was relatively fearful and cautious by that point in his life, Rowan had a considerable history of murder behind him - and had been cunning enough to loot his victims and save up the money they carried with them. With the funds he brought into Dementlieu, Rowan founded the magazine le Trepannier, reasoning that there would be a market for the kind of medical malpractice his creation reported on. He also had a clever plan to use the magazine to make himself useful to his younger kindred and so dissuade them from tracking him down and killing him.

In addition to peddling horror stories of the worst possible ideas of 'therapy' to ever be practised on the mentally unwell, and in addition to secretly providing advertising services to torturers, Rowan uses his magazine to send secret messages to his younger relatives. Those capable of reading the code of lunar phase decorations at the top of each page of le Trepannier can find directions to soft targets, dates and places for allies to meet, warnings about lycanthrope hunters, and other such useful information. The pack that Rowan instructed in the use of the code (and persuaded to subscribe to his magazine) can afford to live spread out wide, with le Trepannier keeping them appraised of important business and organizing their hunts. In return, they watch over Rowan so he can enjoy his golden years in relative peace.

Current Sketch

Le Trepannier proved more profitable than Rowan had expected, in part due to investments from 'interested parties', and has allowed him to semi-retire in style; he has a very comfortable villa in Chateaufaux with a couple of on-site nurses for when his arthritis flares up. He is still active as the editor of le Trepannier, as it is his 'territory' and the main reason why he is still alive. (Not to mention, he has to personally encode the messages to his pack and see to it that they are duly printed on time.) However, he will no longer be found skulking in the underbrush on foggy nights or chasing terrified prey under the full moon; he can afford to pay a private chef or to go down to one of Chateaufaux's fine restaurants.

Rowan certainly needs the good graces of his younger kin, as his activities have not gone unnoticed back home. Alfred Timothy has denounced him for his heresies against the Wolf God, and it wouldn't be the first time that he has needed the protection of his pack to take down an assassin before the creature could reach him. Some nights, Rowan feels torn between the idea of training an apprentice to take over for him so he can flee further into the civilized Core and his fear that the pack would instantly turn on him if he made himself obsolete...