Post by Dia on Sept 6, 2010 13:57:27 GMT -5
Aaron Drakun was the mere age of sixteen when he drew blood for the very first time. He was camped deep in the woods with fifteen of the king's soldiers, and a Serelohim whom he served as a squire. Hobgoblins attempted to raid the camp in the middle of the night. A few losses were taken as the hobgoblins burst into the tents of sleeping men, but the two that burst into Aaron's tent had the unfortunate luck of finding the young boy practicing on a combat dummy with a broadsword. Aaron smirked and shoved the combat dummy into the path of one of the charging hobgoblins, delaying it long enough so that he could swing wide and slice open the throat of the second hobgoblin. As the first regained balance, it thrust its blade at Aaron, clipping his arm, but opening itself up to a shoulder check from the boy, knocking it to the ground whereupon Aaron slammed his sword down through its heart. When finally Aaron's master reached the tent and got inside, he found Aaron wiping the blood of the hobgoblins from his face, though he was otherwise drenched with thanks to the messy efficiency of the broadsword. Impressed with the boy's valor, the Serelohim offered Aaron the chance to join him in the morning as he would lead a counter strike against the hobgoblins; an opportunity that Aaron gladly took. So began a very bloody and glorious career in combat for the boy.
Aaron's prowess was not entirely shocking for his age, of course. He was taller than most sixteen year old boys, standing already just under 6', and with broad shoulders and a muscular build, he was as physically capable as any soldier in the king's army. All that mattered was skill. But skill was no issue when the boy had been a squire since the age of eight, when his father, a merchant with connections within the church of Ilihum and the order of the Serelohim, had managed to pull strings to have his son taken in as one. His life from that day forward became the care taking of weapons, armor, horses, and whatever else the Serelohim requested of him. This left him with many opportunities to observe some of the finest warriors in Eirene as they trained, and to mimic them with the weapons and armor he was charged with caring for during his spare time; just as he was doing the night the hobgoblins attacked.
Aaron's skill in combat only continued to grow as he got real field experience. Upon turning twenty, the Serelohim decided that it was time for him to begin his final stage of training before he would be initiated. He would be sent out to do the duties of a Serelohim without the title itself, merely to prove that he could do it. A task he gladly accepted, as it was his chance to go his own way, and fight his own battles. But only a few months into his journey, he received notice that his father had perished. The symbol of Myrtorc, the leader of the Pokvaren, had been scorched into his father's chest, as some form of ritual sacrifice. His father though was not the only one slain in this manner at this time. A bounty was out on the apparent killer, a knight of the Fallen, to be brought in alive and be hung publicly for his crimes. Aaron himself took up the bounty, and hunted the man down. It was in a small inn along a desolate road in the eastern provinces of the kingdom that Aaron finally caught up to this knight of the Fallen. There they fought, without any regard for the inn or its patrons. The building was set ablaze by the candles of shattered tables, and a number of people died in its flames. But in the end, a bloody and wounded Aaron emerged from the smoldering structure triumphant.
While Aaron was quite pleased with his victory, and found satisfaction in it, it was not viewed quite as favorably by the Serelohim. The knight was desired to be executed publicly for a reason, to send a message to his kin, a message that was missed when he was slain in a desolate region of Eirene. Furthermore, the loss of life in his defeat was considered very unfortunate, and some even felt it was possibly a small victory for the knight before his death. Though the Serelohim also sympathized for Aaron, given the brutality of his father's death. In the end, no action was taken to punish Aaron, but nor was he rushed off to be initiated into the Serelohim. He was sent back out to continue his journey, and make amends for his mistakes.
Aaron felt differently. He felt he had done exactly what was necessary. The man had killed his father, and would had killed everyone in that inn had he not shown up. So a few lives were lost, but how many were saved? Yet he was made to feel as though he had done wrong, rather than praised for his good deeds. If this was the thanks that was due to a Serelohim that did their duty, then Aaron was uncertain he wished to become a Serelohim. His thoughts grew dark as such, and in dark places Aaron began to hear the whispers of Myrtorc.
Aaron's prowess was not entirely shocking for his age, of course. He was taller than most sixteen year old boys, standing already just under 6', and with broad shoulders and a muscular build, he was as physically capable as any soldier in the king's army. All that mattered was skill. But skill was no issue when the boy had been a squire since the age of eight, when his father, a merchant with connections within the church of Ilihum and the order of the Serelohim, had managed to pull strings to have his son taken in as one. His life from that day forward became the care taking of weapons, armor, horses, and whatever else the Serelohim requested of him. This left him with many opportunities to observe some of the finest warriors in Eirene as they trained, and to mimic them with the weapons and armor he was charged with caring for during his spare time; just as he was doing the night the hobgoblins attacked.
Aaron's skill in combat only continued to grow as he got real field experience. Upon turning twenty, the Serelohim decided that it was time for him to begin his final stage of training before he would be initiated. He would be sent out to do the duties of a Serelohim without the title itself, merely to prove that he could do it. A task he gladly accepted, as it was his chance to go his own way, and fight his own battles. But only a few months into his journey, he received notice that his father had perished. The symbol of Myrtorc, the leader of the Pokvaren, had been scorched into his father's chest, as some form of ritual sacrifice. His father though was not the only one slain in this manner at this time. A bounty was out on the apparent killer, a knight of the Fallen, to be brought in alive and be hung publicly for his crimes. Aaron himself took up the bounty, and hunted the man down. It was in a small inn along a desolate road in the eastern provinces of the kingdom that Aaron finally caught up to this knight of the Fallen. There they fought, without any regard for the inn or its patrons. The building was set ablaze by the candles of shattered tables, and a number of people died in its flames. But in the end, a bloody and wounded Aaron emerged from the smoldering structure triumphant.
While Aaron was quite pleased with his victory, and found satisfaction in it, it was not viewed quite as favorably by the Serelohim. The knight was desired to be executed publicly for a reason, to send a message to his kin, a message that was missed when he was slain in a desolate region of Eirene. Furthermore, the loss of life in his defeat was considered very unfortunate, and some even felt it was possibly a small victory for the knight before his death. Though the Serelohim also sympathized for Aaron, given the brutality of his father's death. In the end, no action was taken to punish Aaron, but nor was he rushed off to be initiated into the Serelohim. He was sent back out to continue his journey, and make amends for his mistakes.
Aaron felt differently. He felt he had done exactly what was necessary. The man had killed his father, and would had killed everyone in that inn had he not shown up. So a few lives were lost, but how many were saved? Yet he was made to feel as though he had done wrong, rather than praised for his good deeds. If this was the thanks that was due to a Serelohim that did their duty, then Aaron was uncertain he wished to become a Serelohim. His thoughts grew dark as such, and in dark places Aaron began to hear the whispers of Myrtorc.
