Darien was a five-year-old living in an isolated home in rural Pennsylvania when the virus started to spread. He was a precocious child who learned to read a few months before the first case of the virus was reported and started playing chess at the age of three (chess at three is actually possible, since that's when I started playing OOC, granted I wasn't skilled in the slightest at three but that's when I started). His early years were pleasant ones and he had an ideal pair of parents.
Before the plague reached Europe, Darien's cousin John and John's new husky puppies Alric and Anna (great-great-grandparents of Erwin and Elsa) were visiting from the UK. John was 23 at the time and employed as a lumberjack. John's favorite activities with Darien were playing chess and telling Darien stories meant to frighten him. Darien didn't mind as these stories were far more interesting than the usual silliness about princes and princesses and they didn't actually scare him. This visit however, John upped his game with his tales of terror. He told Darien about a race of aliens called Fioliuns that in their natural form resembled giant brains with a beak, covered in eyes and tentacles. That was their natural form, for the Fioliuns could take the shape of anyone they wished or even create new forms to take. The Fioliuns were a wicked and cruel race who loved nothing more than to manipulate humans into harming one another. John also claimed that the Fioliuns had recently started the plague in Asia, working with their allies who had betrayed humanity.
For the first time in John's story-telling, Darien was actually frightened. The plague was real. His parents had occasionally said there were probably aliens somewhere in distant space. Could it be that these hidden beasts of nightmare were real? However, Darien hid his fear. He didn't want to let John win the story-telling game. Instead, he chuckled, thanked John for the interesting story and left him alone for a while. Darien then went to his father and asked in a voice without fear "Hey Dad, did aliens help start the plague in Asia?" To be fair, Darien's father thought his son was joking and snorted before replying "I bet they did. Those pesky aliens are always up to no good." Darien however, was not joking and thought his father was giving a serious answer.
The next time Darien was playing chess with his cousin John, he did something new. He began by saying "Hey John, this time I have a story for you." John raised an eyebrow and said "Well I look forward to hearing it." Darien then told the tale of a man who hunted the Fioliuns and their minions armed only with an axe and a rifle, aided only by his two faithful dogs. A man determined to protect humanity from the Fioliuns and put an end to their wicked ways. Though Darien was five and not the best storyteller, John was nevertheless impressed that his little cousin had managed to weave such a tale and said "That man sounds like a real hero. What's his name?" Darien was thrown by this for a moment and then blurted the first name that came to mind. It was his own. John chuckled and said "Well good for you, hunting the Fioliuns and protecting humanity, just remember not to tell anyone that you're hunting Fioliuns or the Fioliuns might find out and try to stop you." And so, the seeds were planted.
The rest of the visit went on pleasantly but when it was time for John to leave, news reached them that the plague had spread to the UK and the rest of the family (aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins) had all died. With the plague seemingly out of control and no one left for John to go to, it was decided that John should stay to avoid the danger of being exposed to the plague. John stayed with Darien and his parents after everyone mourned and soon found a job. For a while, life went on as normal despite the tragedy. Then, inevitably, the plague reached America. Darien's parents were out on a lengthy cruise for their anniversary when this happened and John had agreed to babysit Darien. Because of this, John and Darien (along with the puppies) avoided the plague due to their isolation while Darien's parents and many others soon were infected and perished. By this time, John had long-forgotten the tale of the Fioliuns as it seemed irrelevant and silly amidst all the tragedy. Darien however, was a small child in his formative years. With every loss of a beloved family member, he had grown to believe in the Fioliuns more and more and with a growing sense of rage to them.
For five years, Darien and John managed to survive off hunting and farming. The dogs had puppies in the third year. Then one day, a gang of armed men found the home. Knowing that nothing good would come of surrender and that they would be caught if they ran due to Darien's still-young age, John, Darien and the dogs engaged in a lengthy battle with the gang. John used the house as cover and shot at the men who were armed with ranged weapons while the pack of dogs fought the thugs in the woods behind the house who were coming in with melee weapons. Near the end of the battle, one thug had made it past the dogs towards the back of the house and found Darien hiding. The thug knew that with Darien as a hostage, John (known to the marauders as "that big bastard who keeps shooting at us") would surrender. Darien brandished the large hunting knife he had been armed with to try to get the marauder to back off. The man laughed and put down his length of rusty pipe, dismissing the ten-year-old as no threat, despite the knife, and reached for Darien. Big mistake. Darien panicked and stabbed the man in the chest. Wounded with a pierced lung, the marauder fell back astonished that this child had managed to harm him so much. The man pulled the knife out of his chest despite the serrated edge making the wound bigger as he did this and advanced toward Darien, determined to kill him. The man knew that with the lack of modern medicine and hospitals, the wound he had been dealt meant death and so, he wanted to at least take his killer with him.
Darien backed away quickly and his hands closed around the axe John had once used as a lumberjack and know used to chop up firewood. With all the strength a ten-year-old full of adrenaline and hardened by years of working hard to survive could muster, he buried the blade of the axe in the marauder's skull. This time, the man went down. Darien then wondered what to do next when inspiration struck him. He had once read a book where a warrior had held up the severed head of the enemy champion to frighten off the enemy force. Darien slowly pried the axe out of the fallen ruffian's head and then, with a few blows, severed the man's neck. He then grabbed the head by the hair and walked towards the front of the house where the battle was raging on. As John watched with shock, Darien held the head high for the marauders to see. The marauders decided that the effort was not worth it and beat a hasty retreat. At the end of the battle, several marauders were dead or wounded, only two of the dogs were left, John was wounded and Darien was forever changed.
Knowing that the marauders might try to come back some time for revenge, John and Darien packed up and left. After long consideration, John suggested that since the UK had been hit with the plague first, perhaps there would have been time for things to calm down a bit over there. Besides, it was the only other place that they were truly familiar with and at least it would give them a goal to reach. After a three-year journey, John, the now thirteen-year-old Darien and a replenished pack of dogs found a town where there was a ship from the old world that could sail them to the UK. In exchange for passage, John traded all but two of the dogs. After a voyage of a few months, they arrived on the shores of the UK.
After another two years of wandering and hunting, John and Darien (along with their dogs) found the town where the rest of the family had once lived. It was a grim find but one necessary for closure. The town had been utterly devastated by the plague and no one had really been left to bury the dead. The scavengers had disposed of most of the remains however, and only bones were left here and there. With the plague long gone from the old bones, John and fifteen-year-old Darien buried the dead and left.
The roving gangs of bandits, though less prevalent, were alas, still present. A few weeks after leaving the dead town, the pair and their dogs ran afoul of one such gang. This time, John didn't make it. Darien of course, did. And so, scarred by all the deaths that touched him and plagued by the delusion that all his woes are due to the Fioliuns, Darien has wandered for the last five years with an ever-changing roster of dogs; honing his various skills and hunting prey both two-legged and four-legged. Now, with a sizeable amount of corpses behind him and accompanied by Erwin and Elsa, his travels have brought him near West Bromwich.