Elfborn

Chapter 1: Sigils

"And in those days, it was often tradition for the youngest son of a noble family, being without right to land and title, to take some belongings and sojourn upon the face of the land. Such was the case for the youngest of Baron Lev de Marniet, master of the Black Hills and the Gunthior Forests, west of the Lakrath province, and to the south of the regional capital at Schoss Benivir.

But Lash, as was the young man named, wasn't an ordinary son of a nobleman. Where his elder brothers, three in number and noble all, were big men, knights in the king's service, Lash was slender and slight of frame. Despite this, the young man possessed great strength and agility, such that any that were witness to it was stunned and amazed at such power.

So young Lash kept his abilities to himself, not wanting undue attention during his sojourn. Thus disguised against recognition, he cast himself like chaff upon the waters, letting the currents of destiny carry him to whatever place they may. Thus he was cast up onto the shores of a small hamlet in the northern borders of the Kingdom of Askant, ruled by the benevolent Dack van Hethson, fifth in his line. And there he found a place and took root."

- from the writings of the historian Thocrates, Fifth Democratic Alliance of the Hysos, 779 BD.

* * * *

As the sun began its slow descent into the west, it cast long shadows from the thickly treed orchards of northern Askant, seeded between the rolling hills of the agrarian kingdom, providing apples, pears and peaches, the staple crops for many of the district's farmers. But, stretching on either side of the orchards were broad fields of grain where the cereals that fed the kingdom were grown. Wheat from Evindel vied for growing room with local barley and oats, the fields tended by dedicated men and women of the land, true salt of the earth. It was by the sweat of their brow that the bread that fed the people was made.

Stars began to wink in the clear evening sky as the sun sent its last rays chasing shadows over the hills of Askant, their dancing motes also chasing those dedicated men and women from their fields and into their houses. Then, after dining on their simple evening meals, they sought the comfort of their beds, recuperating through the night in preparation of tomorrow's labors.

Lash sighed as he flopped down on the thick pile of dry hay that filled most of the low barn's loft. It had been a long day, filled with the typical tasks that he now found his days rife with. Feeding the animals, working the fields, repairing the master's house ... Quite the departure from the pampered life of a noble.

But, being the youngest of four brothers, he didn't have much of a choice. Either he left Ben Abriel on his own, or he would have left in a box, victim of his brothers' power struggles. Lash grimaced as he laid back. There was no doubt that infighting even now filled his brothers' lives, three years after he had left his father's estates in the Black Hills of the Sothron province. 'And for a schilling, I'd put Max on top,' he thought as the dusk of evening faded into the dark of night. 'He was always the most ruthless of the three, the bastard!'

Hitching the rough, homespun tunic that was his daily uniform closer about his body, Lash wiggled even deeper into the hay. With Autumn fast approaching, the nights were getting chill. Only by getting deep into the musty smelling stuff would he prevent himself waking with cold and knotted muscles, muscles that would cramp and twist with every move during his morning chores. And while Master Farmer Jeck de Whittier was an understanding fellow, he liked having his hired hands hale and whole for a good day's work.

That much Lash had learned in the year that he had been in de Whittier's service, among other things. Another thing he had learned was that a good night's sleep was worth a full purse! Chuckling to himself, Lash pushed the last of his thoughts out of his mind and willed himself to sleep, a talent he had learned while a vagabond on the highways of Tranth, the loose collection of kingdoms that occupied the middle part of the island continent of Hybernia.