(Anti-)Tristan Hiregaard was the worst crimelord of a bad province, Smuggling, prostitution, extortion, Hiregaard ran it all. Not just through brutality, but through blackmail. He owned the king. He owned the lords. He owned the people. Even the vistani feared him. Few had the courage to cross him and those that did paid a heavy price. So when (anti-)Tristan found a vistani boy stealing from his castle, he brutally and painfully murdered him. He even went so far as to tie the final knot in the boys ra to signify death and sent it and the boys body back to his tribe, daring them to do something about it. The tribe knew that anything they did in reprisal would be visited back on them 100-fold. They had no choice but to let it go but that wasn't enough for the boys sister, (anti-)Rozalia. She left her tribe that night after burning her possessions and effectively making herself an outcast and darkling, all because stopping (anti-)Tristan was more important. She knew that no one in the land had the courage to topple (anti-)Tristan Hiregaard so she cast a curse upon him that he would topple himself and because she no longer existed to her tribe, his vengeance could not come back on them. Not long after she cast her spell, however, she was accosted by bandits in Hiregaard's employ. It seemed her quest for justice had ended before it began, when suddenly, the bandits were accosted and driven off by shadowy figure that would only identify himself later as (anti-)Malken. Recognizing him as the only one with courage enough to topple Sir (anti-)Tristan, (anti-)Rozalia joined with this mysterious stranger on the way to (anti-)Bergovitsa. There, while posing as a horse trader, (anti-)Malken challenged each of (anti-)Tristan's illegal interests. Suddenly people began to think that maybe (anti-)Tristan wasn't so unstoppable after all, for no matter how skilled or numerous the thugs he confronted were, (anti-)Malken always managed to best them. (anti-)Tristan would always remind, rather brutally, anyone who became too rebellious, that (anti-)Malken had yet to cross paths with himself. (Anti-)Tristan also turned to magic to locate his elusive foe. After murdering his son, (anti-)Ivaar, and his best friend, (anti-)Sigfrid, both for rising against him, (anti-)Tristan finally learned that (anti-)Malken was, in fact, himself. and they've been battling over the people of (anti-)Nova Vaasa ever since. Much to (anti-)Malken's sorrow, one of the first casualties of this war was (anti-)Rozalia.
I based this on the Novel which to me is the definitive Tristan/Malken. If someone else wants to do one based on the gaming materials, I encourage them even though, to this day, I STILL will not acknowledge them as definitive.
