The Journals of Darketh Arania
   

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The Family Lisanden

I have been staying with the Lisanden family here in Britain for several days now. Master Arlyss and his kin have been nothing but kind and supportive of me. They have taken me in and all but changed my name in making me one of the family. They are a diverse group of individuals, all aspiring in different professions and interests. There is Xanthos, the eldest brother. He is a strong warrior and takes it upon himself to be the protector of the family. Master Arlyss is a master tailor, and has already taken to mending my road worn clothes and making me some new ones. He is also a skilled mage and has offered to teach me the ways of the craft so that I may follow in my father’s footsteps. I am still in awe of the fact that my father was interested in Magery. I knew him to be only a simple merchant and craftsman, but, from what Master Arlyss has told me of what is in the Tome, he was a very skilled mage as well, almost as skilled as Arlyss himself. But I digress. Among the other members of the family are Rafaela, a kind and gentle woman who is very skilled in the ways of music. Her songs can calm savage beasts or provoke those that are at peace into becoming warlike. There is also Gavin, the family banker. He is the one to contact for matters of money and handles all of the family expenses. Lastly, there is Kregan, the youngest of the clan. He is close to my age, only a couple of years older. He is the reckless one, fancying himself a treasure hunter. He is always off picking some locked chest or searching for the big bounty. He is also a skilled Archer, a trait I hope he will agree to practice and develop with me. I am happy to have found a place to belong. I foresee this to be the beginning of a lasting and wonderful kinship.

Pitching in and the First Hunt

The last few days I have spent learning what I can from every member of the family that is willing to teach. But I am beginning to feel like a freeloader. It has been weeks, and I do not feel as if I have contributed to the household expenses at all. Master Arlyss says it is not needed of me to help pay the expenses, but I feel I must. Despite my hatred for the merchant’s life, I went and took what money Arlyss had given me and bought myself an axe. There are many small forests near the outskirts of Britain and I spent much time out there chopping trees to begin making bows and arrows. As Master Xanthos recommended to me, I bought an axe that was a little too heavy for me. The first few days were very tiring, chopping away with the too heavy axe, and I had to stop often to rest, but soon, I could feel myself getting stronger and more used to the weight. When my stash was large enough to sell, I attempted to take it to one of the local merchants to sell. Unfortunately, I was not prepared for how well outfitted this vast city is. The merchants had no use for my hand made arrows. They already had hundreds and thousands they were trying to sell. I came back to the house dejected at my plan to help failing. It was then that Master Arlyss made a surprising suggestion. "Why not go out and use those arrows you have made and hunt with them. I can use the hides to make leather armor and you may also be able to find some money, if you kill the right things." I was excited at the proposition. Master Arlyss spoke to Master Xanthos and the next morning, we went on the first hunt. It was a successful day. I shot several hind, wild sheep, even a wild boar. I took the hides back and gave them to Master Arlyss for his use in making his goods. I was happy to finally be contributing. I also found some money while we hunted. I tried to give this to Master Arlyss, but he refused. He instead took me down to the East Bank of Britain and had me open an account at the bank. I feel as if my life is finally beginning to take a shape. I am on my way to being an adventurer.

A New Look, A New Feel, A New Friend

Though it was not the day of my birth, I felt as if it were. The Family showered me with gifts of all sorts. From Xanthos I received a fine new axe which he said was imbued with magical properties. From Kregan I received a fine new bow to shoot my many arrows with. According to him, it was also imbued with magical properties and was found during one of his treasure hunting trips. But it was Master Arlyss that spoiled me the most. From him I received many wonderful gifts. He had used the hides I brought him from hunting to create a fine set of leather armor which for like a well made glove. He also presented me with a matching cape and kilt to wear with my new armor. But the grandest gift was waiting for me in town. I donned my new armor and clothes and set out with Master Arlyss for the city. I felt like a true adventurer in my new clothes and many people looked at me differently than they did when I was wearing my simple merchant’s clothes. We finally made it to our destination, the local stables. Inside, Master Arlyss led me to one of the stalls and motioned me inside. There, in all its beauty, was a magnificent steed. "He’s yours, young Darketh. Care for him well and he will serve you with undying devotion." I stepped forward and the steed lowered his head to me. As I stroked his head, a name sprung into my head. "I will call you Artax." I said into the beasts beautiful eyes. He whinnied and nodded his head as if approving his new name. I think the two of us will have many good years ahead of us.

New Allies and the First Great Adventure

I returned home today from a hunting and gathering trip to one of the local wood to find a new face in the house. A family friend, a warrior and mage called Zoar, was visiting with Xanthos. I was introduced and sat to listen to their tales. They told stories of many great adventures. "And what of you, young one. What tales do you have to tell?" Zoar asked. I admitted to having none. I told of my hunting trips with Xanthos and my practice and learning of Magery with Master Arlyss. "Well this will not do at all!" Zoar exclaimed. "What do you think, Xanthos, shall we take this adventurous youth out and show him what real legends are made of?" "A fine idea, Zoar." Xanthos said with zeal. "Shall we take him along to Covetous with us? What do you say Darketh? Care to see what greater dangers inhabit this world besides birds and hind?" I leapt at the opportunity. I went out and fetched Artax and together, by way of a magical gate created by Zoar from a rune Xanthos had in his pack, I followed to the cave known as Covetous.

It was dark in the cave but Master Arlyss had already begun my Magery training and I was able to cast Night Sight on myself. Once I could see my surroundings, I took in the sights. The cave was still dark and very dank, the kind of place one would avoid at all costs unless you were looking for a fight. I could see Zoar and Xanthos making their way deeper into the cave where the sounds of battle could be heard echoing back to us. It sounded almost as loud a great battle between two armies. I followed them in. As we delved deeper, several other adventurers passed us. Some were beaten and bloody, others covered with blood but not their own, riding tall and proud carrying back the spoils of their kills. As we turned a corner, we came upon a mounted warrior engaged in battle with a horrifying creature. The beast had the body and talons of a bird, but the chest and head of a woman. It was fighting fiercely, already losing blood from several deep sword wounds. "What manner of creature is that?" I asked Xanthos as he rode up beside me. "It is a harpy, a vile creature. If you can manage to kill one, they are a great source of feathers to make arrows." As we watched, the warrior took one last swing and landed a fatal blow to the harpy. It fell dead on the ground, a pool of crimson blood spreading around it. The warrior got down off his horse and searched the body. He removed some gold pieces from a pack the harpy had and started skinning the feathers from its body. We journeyed on, leaving the warrior to his task.

At last, we heard Zoar call from up ahead of us. He had engaged a harpy of his own and was busy defending from its blows. "There you go young Darketh, Zoar has lured one in for you. Let your arrows fly." Xanthos told me. I pulled an arrow from my pack and let it fly. My hands were shaking too badly and I missed the Harpy by a good deal. I closed my eyes, calmed myself as Master Arlyss had taught me, and threaded another arrow. This one hit the mark, embedding itself into the Harpy's side. The beast screeched in rage and turned toward me, it's eyes like fire. I quickly threaded another arrow and let fly again. Once again, I missed. The harpy charged me, its wings spread out in anger. I galloped away, putting distance between myself and the harpy and stopped to shoot another arrow. I hit the harpy in the shoulder and it screeched in anger again. It charged faster than before and before I could turn to move again, it was upon me. Its razor sharp talons ripped at my armor, but did not penetrate. Master Arlyss had done an amazing job. The creature did, however, manage to bite my arm. My own blood began to flow. I kicked the vile beast off and started back up the tunnel toward Xanthos and Zoar, stopping periodically to shoot another arrow. I reached Zoar and Xanthos with a bit of a lead on the beast. Xanthos saw my wound and applied a bandage, stopping the bleeding. As he was finishing, the Harpy caught up. It was badly injured, but still coming, numerous arrows impaled in its body. I knocked another arrow and let it fly. It was my best shot, piercing the beast right through the heart and it fell dead at our feet. "Congratulations on your first real kill, young Darketh. You are becoming quite the warrior." Xanthos said. "Well met, Darketh." Zoar cried as he slapped me on the back. I felt such a pride welling up inside me. My first real kill.

We continued deeper into the cave, killing other harpies and avoiding clever traps. More then once, I stepped into a trap and found my body racked with pain from poison. Xanthos quickly healed me and we pressed on. We started to see that less and less adventurers crossed our paths. Most of the ones we did see were badly injured and leaving. One stopped and spoke with us. "Turn back good fellows. There are gazers ahead." He said and shuffled off. "What's a gazer?" I asked my two companions. Neither answered. They merely drew their weapons and pressed forward. It was then we came upon another fight. This warrior was fighting what looked like a floating ball. As we watched, the young warrior fell, injured and unable to move. The floating ball began to lower itself for the kill, but I let my arrow fly before it could. I hit the mark and the creature turned. Never in my life had I seen such a horror. It was a floating ball with one huge eye taking up most of its center mass. Around the ball were several stalks, like tentacles, each tipped with another eye. But the worst part was its sneering maw filled with dozens of razor sharp teeth. My blood ran cold and I found myself unable to move. Pure fear coursed through my body. I had never been more afraid in my entire life. Zoar and Xanthos both charged, engaging the beast on two sides. As I watched, it struck at both of them at once, firing magic spells from it's many eyes in both directions. I finally regained my composure and let fly with more arrows. One of them struck the beasts center eye and it roared in pain. It turned its attention toward me and started firing spells at me with a speed I have never seen, not even in Master Arlyss. All at once, I felt my body weaken. My strength faded from my muscles, my mind became fuddled, and I could not seem to aim my bow. The creature began to shoot rays of energy at me, impacting my armor and sending me flying off Artax. It loomed over me, rending my body with its sharp teeth as it bombarded me with magic. Both Xanthos and Zoar were attacking it from behind, but its attention was turned completely toward me. I could feel my blood beginning to pool around me from cuts and lacerations that were too numerous to count. Finally, I lost consciousness.

When I awoke, it was Xanthos over me, tending to one of my wounds. Zoar was busy rummaging through what looked like a pile of brown goo. I looked closer and saw that he had cut the dead gazer open and was looking around in its innards. "What happened?" I managed to squeak out to Xanthos. "You shot it in its center eye. Apparently, it didn't take too kindly to it and became enraged. It attacked you and wouldn't let up, even after Zoar and I began cutting off its eyestalks from behind. You lost a lot of blood, but I've bandaged the wounds and stopped the bleeding. You'll be fine after a rest." "And what of Artax?" I asked. "He's fine. He was attacking the gazer right along with us. He's over there." Xanthos said pointing. "Let's get you home so you can rest. Can you walk?" he asked. "I think so." I said as I stood. I climbed onto Artax and Zoar opened another gate for us to return home. As Xanthos passed through the gate, I could barely hear him muttering under his breath. "Arlyss is probably gonna kill me for getting him hurt." I followed him into the portal, I looked back. My first adventure, though ending in injury, had been a success. I was on the road to becoming the great adventurer I always wanted to be.

A Fierce Foe Faced, A Good Friend Lost

Silence greeted me as I rose from my bed this morning. All of the house members had left for the day and I was alone in my thoughts. Seeing as how no one was available to go hunting with, I decided I might as well go out and stock up on arrows for my next hunt. I gathered enough food for a day out and headed to the wood near the house.

Artax and I rode about for most of the morning seeking out small birds to hunt. I found several and felled them with what arrows I had or my axe if I could get close enough. By mid day, I had accumulated enough feathers to fill my bag and set out to chopping wood for the arrows. Sitting in the shade of a tall oak tree, I set about to carving the large tree logs into shafts for the arrows. Artax wandered close by, eating the stubby grasses scattered throughout the forest. The wood was teeming with life today, and all the animals scampered around us playing gleefully. A family of hind came by and began to graze right next to Artax, noticing neither of us or dismissing us as no threat. I even had a magpie sitting on my shoulder for a short while. It was as peaceful and serene a scene as I had ever witnessed. A group of rabbits came bounding along and stopped at my feet, looking up at me while I carved my shafts. I tossed them some bread and smiled as I watched them eat. The noises of the forest surrounded me and filled my ears with life.

So suddenly, all of the sound came to a stop. The hind family, as well as the rabbits all looked up and began to sniff the air. They all bolted, running far off deep into the forest. I stood and looked around. I could see nothing, but Artax came up behind be and nuzzled my arm, still sniffing the air himself. He suddenly turned his head, looking out into the brush. I followed his gaze and saw a pair of eyes rimmed in red and surrounded in black fur watching us from the bushes. I leapt onto Artax's back just as the creature emerged from the brush. It was a wolf of some sort, but larger and more fearsome looking that the normal wolves I had seen in the forests. Its black fur was matted down with a sticky liquid of some sort and saliva dripped from its bared fangs. Artax whinnied and stomped his feet at the wolf and it growled back in return. It moved slowly towards us, staring me down as it did. As it got closer, I noticed a familiar smell coming off of it and realized the sticky liquid matting down its fur was blood. My instincts took over and I drew my bow. I then though back to Master Arlyss's lessons. I remembered his words about wolves. "Most will not bother you if you leave them alone, but there is one wolf that will attack on site, without provocation and without mercy. That is the Dire Wolf. Avoid them at all costs, young Darketh, for they are pure killers and you will not be able to survive a fight with one." At remembering this, I turned Artax and ran.

The wolf followed, staying close behind and gaining the whole time. We galloped through the wood, dodging trees and bounding over fallen logs, almost tripping once, always heading back towards the house. As we finally cleared the trees and came into the open field, I could hear the wolf close behind, panting and growling as it gave chase. I could see the house rising in the distance and hoped either Arlyss or Xanthos would be there to help me escape the snarling beast chasing me, but I never got the chance to see. I felt a great thud on my back as the wolf leapt up and tackled me off of Artax. My breath left me as I hit the ground and the wolf pounced upon my prone frame. It gnashed at me, trying to tear my throat with its sharp fangs. Luckily, I had donned my armor before leaving and it made little progress against the hard leather. Its fangs did continue to work as I wrestled with it, eventually piercing the leather and my skin as well. The blood began to flow and I began to get weary. I looked up and saw Artax also attacking the wolf from behind as well. I had lost too much blood to move and watched from the ground as the wolf turned and attacked Artax. I barely had time to see it's long fangs slide into my best friend's throat before I lost consciousness.

I opened my eyes expecting to see the bright lights of the afterlife and instead found myself lying on a bed in a dimly lit earthen room. I tried to lift my head and found I hadn't the strength to do so. I let out a loud moan. "Oh, you're awake!" I heard from somewhere. I reopened my eyes and looked over to the other side of the room. An elder man, dressed in brown robes sat in a chair reading what looked like an ancient book by the candlelight. "Welcome back to the world of the living. I wasn't sure you'd last through the night." He walked over and bent down close to me. "Who are you?" I whispered, for that was the loudest I could talk. "I am Wydell. I live in these parts, offering my healing services to whoever wanders by. You've had quite an encounter," he said. "What happened?" I croaked. "I was out looking for some herbs when I came upon you and your horse being attacked by that wolf. I managed to fight it off, but not before it did considerable damage to you. I tried to heal you in the field, but I needed stronger herbs and medicines so I brought you back to my house. That's where you are now. Deep under the woods and safe." I started, recalling the last thing I saw before passing out. "Where is Artax?" I squeaked. "I'm sorry, I was unable to help him. The wolf had hurt him pretty badly and I was not able to bandage the wounds. He passed while I was attending to you." I felt the sobs come quickly and could not hide them. I cried. Not since the passing of my parents had I cried like that, and to be doing it in front of a stranger made it all the worse. I attempted to raise my arms and hide my face but could not. I was too weak. "Don’t try and hide your sorrow, young friend. It is alright to mourn the passing of a loved one." Wydell said as he stroked my head. He let me cry till the sobs diminished. I brought myself together and asked of my things. "I was able to grab your pack, but I had to leave your weapons and armor behind. I could not carry you and them together. Do not worry about such material things. They can be replaced. Your life can not." I started to cry again and slipped back into sleep with tears coursing down my face.

I stayed with Wydell for two days to give my wounds time to heal. He notified Arlyss of what had happened and where I was. When I was able to walk again, Wydell accompanied me to the house and left me in the care of Arlyss. I retreated to my room and wept once again, already missing my lost friend.

Learning the Arcane Arts

When I awoke this morning, Xanthos was already up and busy around the house. As I emerged from my room, I was greeted by the maddening smell of venison and drink. Xanthos had already laid out the morning meal and was waiting for me. "Good morning, young one," he said cheerily. "Did my young brother keep you out late hunting again?" I recounted the previous adventure Kregan and I had gone on and Xanthos listened carefully, shaking his head. "Kregan is a head strong fellow and sometimes pushes too hard. I think you need a day off from fighting," he said solemnly. "Let us take a ride on my boat and maybe we'll work on your Mage skills." I wolfed my breakfast and went to gather my belongings. As I emerged from the house, Xanthos was already waiting for me, mounted upon Stryder. I whistled for Artax, and then remembered that he was no longer with me. My heart dropped and Arlyss put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I know it's hard losing a friend like that, but the pain will pass in time." He started off and I followed on foot.

We walked for some time and talked of the Arcane Arts. Though only having studied my father's text and also Arlyss's books for a short time, I was already able to cast several spells. But Xanthos was determined to help me understand the ways of the mage. As we walked, he began to explain. "I am a warrior by trade, but I also understand the need for Mages. Though my brother Arlyss and I sometimes clash from our different life styles, I see his points. Fighting ability is wonderful, it has saved me many times from certain danger, but it is not all that you will need. If you have a mage with you, or even a healer, you will be fine only knowing how to swing a sword or shoot a bow. The mage or healer can tend to your wounds and keep you healthy enough to keep on fighting. But what if you are alone? Knowing how to use spells as well as fight makes you that much more useful on the field of battle and can also save your life. Through Magery, you will be able to heal your own wounds during the heat of battle, and even escape if the odds turn against you. So you see, Magery is an important part of the adventurer's life. I will help you as much as I can, but in the end, Arlyss will be your gateway to mastering your Magery." He continued to talk, telling of times when his knowledge of Magery had helped him get out of many jams. I never tire of hearing Xanthos's stories. Finally, we came to the shore and to The Lost Lady.

It was not a large ship, nor was it a small one. It fit both of us comfortably with plenty of room for Stryder as well. We sailed out and I could feel the soft sea breezes blowing against my face. It was a good feeling, relaxing and comforting. We sailed for a while and Xanthos continued with his grand stories. There were tales of a creature called a Lich, others of Grand Dragons he had felled. Eventually, we came to a stop and began to just drift. "Here you go, young one. Out here, no one will bother your concentration." I began to practice my casting, failing more often than not, but learning something new every time I did. Xanthos sat at the bow of the boat, preparing bandages and looking up every now and then to see what I was up to. It was a productive day, though not able to cast all the spells I tried, and I learned much. At the same time, I was able to relax and bring myself down from the many adventurers I had been going on lately. As we sailed back toward shore after the long day, I contemplated all that Xanthos had said and prepared for my next lessons in life from my adoptive family.