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SisterTheresa

09-26-2007, 03:59 AM

Atharl sat on one side of the large dining hall, watching his father pace back and forth. Not much on Norrath could annoy Yerlan D'Ten as much as finding failures in his own bloodlines."This is unacceptable ... completely unacceptable." These words were muttered over and over under Yerlan's breath. But there was good reason for them. He found out his youngest son was a complete failure in every rank task he was given.Yerlan finally stopped pacing, causing Atharl to suddenly sit up straighter. "What happened? Has the bloodline thinned so much over the years with foolish breeding with Humans and those ... other elves?" Yerlan fell into a nearby chair, his anger completely exhausting him.Atharl looked up to his mother, who sat quietly in the corner by the door, working on a crossstitch. Ula D'Ten never spoke much, leaving that to her husband. Her expertise was in finding those little things that people let slip in conversation. Ula looked up from her needlework, and motioned her head to Yerlan, telling her son in no words to pay attention to his father."Atharl. Tell me you are not a failure ... tell me there is still strong Tier'Dal blood in your veins. Look at your family. Your older brother is a well known Shadow Knight. Your elder sister is an Inquisitor for Queen Cristanos no less. And my sweet Rutah, becoming a budding Assassin ..." Yerlan trailed off to see his youngest daughter happily stab a small ratongan doll.Atharl swallowed. It was never good when his father began comparing his children. The D'Ten family were all alike in strength and purpose, and one slip in that strong chain brought disaster. And it seemed Atharl was this slip in the chain."Now son. We have done everything we could, your mother and I. You have failed at every task given in Neriak to you, and brought shame to your family blood." Yerlan sat back in his chair taking a deep breath as he did. "I feel there is only one course left in this matter." He stood and walked over to an antiqued desk, pulling open a drawer and removing a small box. Yerlan took this box and returned to his seat, lifting the lid. The contents of the box were many small letters."Your son failed the Bruiser exam ... your son failed the Wizard exam .. we regret to inform you your son failed ... shall I go on Atharl?""No father." Atharl answered, in a small voice."How disgusting. Perhaps our blood has thinned into a weakling." Yerlan snarled, throwing the letters back into the box and slamming the lid shut, making Atharl jump in his seat. "You will listen to me closely, Atharl. This is your last chance to even hold the family name. You will go over to Freeport and train there in the Militia as a Guardian. You seem to have a knack for letting things beat you down as it is."Ula lifted a slim eyebrow, intrigued at this odd decision. The D'Ten's never left Neriak for any reason except in direct order from Queen Cristanos. She kept her peace, watching her husband stalk over to Atharl.Yerlan leaned forward, inches away from his son's face. "You will leave tomorrow morning with a letter I shall give you. Take nothing save the clothes on your back. Do you understand?"Atharl nodded quickly, trying not to look afraid. He has never been alone before when crossing the Commonlands and wasn's sure what he would run into while alone. Yerlan took a step back and waved his hand, in essence dismissing Atharl from his sight. The young Tier'dal lept to his feet and raced up the stairs to his room.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Making it through the night was sheer torture. He couldn't sleep at all thinking about everything that could rip him to shreads or suck his soul out. By the time the next morning came, he was tired, pale, and ill. As he made his way to the kitchens, his mother stopped him with a small brown package."Here son. Your father is still sleeping off a small draught I gave him with his night time wine. But I wished to speak with you. Come and sit." Atharl nodded and took a seat across from Ula. His mother sighed and placed her hands over her son's."Atharl. This is not an easy time for any of us. Especially your father. His bloodline means everything to him." Ula sighed, shaking her head. "Times have changed since the Shattering. Norrath is changing so quickly." She smiled sadly. "I have packed some dry foods and bandages in this package. Take it Atharl, and go swiftly. Write me when you make it to Freeport."Atharl stands when his mother does, the lady Tier'dal leaning over to kiss her son on the forehead. "Go quickly, son. You should make Freeport before nightfall.""Goodbye mother." Atharl tried to smile, but failed. Instead he hugged Ula tightly, picked up the brown package, and left his home and Neriak for the Commonlands.

SisterTheresa

09-27-2007, 02:02 AM

The trip through the Commonlands was thankfully peaceful, due to Atharl finding a caravan to ride with. Well, ride would not really be the right term. He was told to sit in the cart with food that already smeled rotten from the sun above, and the wagon didn't have good padding on the axle causing more than a few large bruises.As the caravan neared the gate to West Freeport, Atharl leapt from the wagon, a bit shaky on very sore legs, and grabbed the small brown package that his mother gave him. He waved thanks to the driver, and the caravan slowly clamored on down the road. Atharl looked upwards at the city before him, the Overlord's Palace a sore mark against the dusk that spread over the sky.Tucking the package under his arm, Atharl strode up to the gates of West Freeport. He heard wood grind against metal as magic opened the large doors to give him entry. He felt the eyes of the guards there on him, and he did his best not to look spooked. It was not until the gates closed solidly behind him did Artharl let out the breath he was holding.He had only visited Freeport once with his family many years ago. The reason was lost to Artharl at the moment, but he remembered clearly the angled streets and magical flame that lept in the torches around the city. He slowly walked down the cobbled street, moving quickly aside when Militia guards strode by.It did not take long to find the Militia Headquarters in West Freeport. Shouts of commanders giving drills were heard in tandem with the sound of metal clashing against metal. A tremor began in Atharl's stomach at that sound, past memories of failures surfacing in his mind. He did his best to squash them, willing his feet to walk towards the Militia doors."State your business." A gruff voice came from Atharl's left, just as he climbed the few stairs to the main door."Aaagh! I-I'm here to see t-the Recruiting Officer." Atharl managed to stammer out. He turned to see a towering human in Freeportian armor glaring down at him with a scowl on his face. Green eyes under heavy brows searched Atharl's face, then landed on the package under his arm."What is in the package?" the human asked, slight curiosity in his voice."It .. it's something my m-mother made for my trip here." Atharl slowly took out the package from under his arm, which the human officer grabbed and opened. Inside was some dry cackes and vegtables wrapped in pastry. The human took a cake and pastry, handing the package to Atharl."My mother used ot make such things when I was younger," the human mused, his face softening a bit before realizing Atharl was still standing there. "Hurry up inside. The RO is about to call the new recruits to their assignments." The human grinned, pushing Atharl not to gently inside the Militia building. The young tier'dal stumbled a bit, bumping against a large wooden table, jostling the papers and quill sitting in an inkwell."Watch it you lummox!" a gnome shouted, coming up from picking out a book that was under the table. "I already cleaned up after that blasted ogre's mess. What do you want?"Atharl reached into his hip bag and pulled out the letter his father wrote the night before, handing it to the gnome. With a snort, the gnome opened it, 'hmm'ing and 'I see'ing as he read it. Sitting down at the chair behind the desk, the gnome picked up a quill, dipped it in ink, and began scratching on a clean piece of parchment."Commander Herlon is just about ready to wake the other recruits for their assignments. Here is your bunk number and room. Get moving." the gnome handed Atharl the paper, which the young tier'dal took, and pointed to a door on his right. Atharl bowed to the gnome before half sprinting half walking through the doorway and down the hall. He checked the number etched on a gold plaque above each room he came across until he saw the one he was assigned.Quietly opening the door, Atharl entered. The dim light coming in through the window shone on four beds, three of which were occupied. Doing his best to quietly shut the door behind him, Atharl made his way to the empty bunk and laid down. Exhaustion took over, despite the lack of padding in both mattress and pillow. He prayed for a small amount of sleep.

SisterTheresa

10-03-2007, 11:11 PM

Atharl awoke to the sound of banging on a door, and shouting in a mixture of languages. Groaning, he opened one eye to look out the small window above his bunk. From the mere slight shift in position since he laid down, the boy thinks he may have slept for no more than an hour.Sighing, he swung his still clothed body from the bunk, wincing at stiff muscles and bruises from the cart ride earlier. A flick of flame burned as someone lit a match and set the candles in the room alight."Ah! Where the hell did you come from?" a female voice said, almost dropping the match.Atharl, swallowed, wondering if he was in the right room. "T-this is room 27 r-right?""Yes." That voice was gruff, and male."Come on. If we arrre seen still here, we'll get flogged forrr sure." Atharl was sure that voice was from a female Kerra.The door to the room swung open, and light from the hallway shone into the room. An armored soldier stood in the doorway. "Get moving maggots! Out on the parade grounds now!" The soldier spun on his heels and stomped down the hall to the next room.Atharl stood up and stretched. The three others that were in the room made their way quickly into the hall; one female kerra, a female human, and a male ogre. Rubbing the back of his neck, the young tier'dal grimaced, and made his way to the parade grounds.They were easy to find, a large patch of dirt tromped down my numerous armored feet over the years. Atharl took a spot next to the female human from his room and did his best not to fall asleep standing up. It was quite difficult as the light from Luclin shone above, making his eyes droopy."Fall in line! Stand up straight!" A new voice, more commanding came from Atharl's right side and he snapped awake, standing stiffly to the protest of his muscles. A large human in jet black armor came walking down the flight of stairs to the parade grounds, his helmet resting under his left arm. Atharl noticed this human looked old for his race, or perhaps it was just the weight of command that made him old."Alright recruits, listen up! I have no clue why your sorry, weak rumps were sent to me in the first place, but I do not question the Overlord ... and neither should you. So. You have been commanded to make your way to East Freeport where you are to board the boat there. It will take you to an outpost belonging to Freeport. Here is where you will prove if you have the guts to survive in Norrath. If you don't come back on that boat ... or come back in pieces, you are a failure."The soldier walked back and forth in front of the ragged line of recruits, eying each one in turn as he walked past. Atharl felt his knees shake, and prayed he would not fall on his rump. He kept his eyes on the ground as he heard the human approach from his left, and flinched when the man stopped in front of him."What is so interesting about the ground, recruit?" the man shouted, making Atharl snap his head up and feel his blood tinge his cheeks dark blue."N-nothing, sir."The human snorted, and lifted a brow in amusement. "I do hope you get over your fear, recruit. Unless you want to end up like that boy who thought he could swim back to Freeport. Still haven't found his arm and legs yet." The human chuckled, watching for a reaction from Atharl.Atharl swallowed hard, feeling quite sick. The ground beneath him seemed to move and before he knew it, he passed out on the ground.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When he woke up, Atharl found he was in a bunk ... but it wasn't in Freeport. He turned his head and flinched, but saw a porthole that looked out on a vast ocean. "What the?""Ah ... good to see you woke up." A voice made him turn the other way, and look into the face of the female human he stood next to at the parade grounds. "Seems you passed out. But I don't blame you. Had a healer take a look at you, and he said the combination of hunger and exhaustion would have made you pass out no matter what. Here, take this and eat up. But go slow. I heard there are rough waters ahead."Atharl took the offered bread and watered ale, muttering his thanks. Gingerly he took a bite of bread, fighting the urge to gulp it down. His stomach was still a bit queasy from that poor boy's description and as well as the rocking boat."My name is Charmae. I'm training to be a shadowknight like my father. Who migh you be?"Atharl swallowed the dry bread with the help of a swig of the watered ale. "I'm A-Atharl. I uh ... am t-training to be a Guardian."Charmae sat back a bit, a smirk on her face. "A guardian hm? Not many that are Tier'dal that I see. Your kind mainly are necromancers and assassins. What made you choose your profession?"He sighed. "It wasn't my choice. I f-failed at everything else I tried. This is my last c-chance to keep my name."The female tilted her head. "Really? Hm ... so a family failure? I wouldn't have guessed.""Do be nice, Charmae. The poorrr boy is tirrred." A kerra stepped into the small room, with a large ogre behind. They were the two Atharl saw in the bunk room earlier. "I am Threna and this is Rrrunnp. A pleasure, tier'dal. I am trrraining as a Brruiser.""I train as Wizard." Runnp said. This made Atharl raise an eyebrow. He always thought of ogre's as stupid creatures."Yes, the RO was quite suprised at his profession too," Charmae said, noticing the expression on Atharl's face. "But he should have been sent to the mage's guild instead of the militia house.""I know, but he won't stop following me arrround ..." Threna said, sighing deeply. "But we arrre here now. We should worrry about our surrrvival on that island."Atharl nodded. He turned his attention back out of the porthole. The sun was already rising over the horizon. Part of his dreaded this trip, yet another part of him wanted to prove he was not a failure."Land sighted!" came the shout from up on deck."Well ... here we go. Hope you can walk, tier'dal. I won't be carrying you." Charmae grinned, slinging her pack over her shoulder."Yes, I-I'm fine." Atharl stood, his legs a bit weak, but with the help of the wallls around him, he made his way to the deck above and breathed in the salty air of the ocean."The beginning of ourrr adventure." Threna said, staring out at the island that slowly grew bigger as their ship approached the dock.