I have decided to share with you all the tale of how I came to Puddleby. Well, here it goes...
My story truly began in Towns End, Khorobit when I was at the age of 16. A draft had been put into place and, seeing as I was quite the adept fighter, I was on the list of people that would be going to war. The small army was going to be used to crush a small rebellion in Keril, however, seeing as I was a teenager and was quite rebellious myself, I fled from home.
I hid myself away on a ship that was at the docks, sneaking past a scruffy looking man who was loading things on board. I knew that if I was going to escape the draft I would have to escape Khorobit completely. I had been stowed away for quite a while when I was finally found by a dark haired, tough looking girl. I was staring down her rapier, which was at my throat, when we were interrupted by war cries from the other people aboard the boat.
As I saw the people rushing towards the edge of the ship, brutally fighting back an invasion of the ship, I put two and two together and realized something: I had boarded a Darshak ship. The girl who had had her rapier to my throat turned and ran to help her crew fight. I took this as my best opportunity to escape. I slipped away towards the back of the ship hoping to be able to jump off and swim back to Towns End.
Unfortunately, I was backed up to the wall by the invading forces. It didn't take me long to realize something unique about these specific type of Darshak. Their rotting skin and tattered clothing told me that they were already dead.
I fell backwards into a barrel filled with scimitars and took that as a sign from fate to fight back. I fought hard and to the best of my ability, leaving a group of 4 or 5 undead Darshak slaughtered upon the blood-stained floorboards. I looked around and saw the original crew members of this Darshak ship still standing, while the invading forces were being thrown overboard.
The girl who had threatened my life mere moments before, came over to me and looked me in the eyes. She acknowledged the fact that my fighting skills surpassed some of her greatest fighters and smirked as an idea came to her mind. She introduced herself as Kiril Drakesblood and I gave her my name and the reason that I had boarded her ship. That was when I was offered entrance to her crew of Darshak, which I accepted with a smile.
Time passed and I became close with Kiril and a few other members of the crew that sailed upon the Crimson Drake, which was the name that Kiril had given her ship. Kiril told me stories about her past and explained to me that the reason she had become a Darshak captain was not unlike the reason I joined her crew. Mobius had put her on a ship set to the island of Puddleby, exiling her for aiding a rebellion in Nordfell. However, Kiril had hidden a small kitchen knife in her left boot which she used to slaughter the guards that were escorting her. The thrill of killing the guards and stealing their ship set off a trigger within Kiril that drove her towards becoming a Darshak.
Elkridge Serpentooth was another pirate who I had become well acquainted with. Elkridge had established a respectable name for himself within the Darshak community and was said to have successfully stolen one of Emperor Mobius's treasure chests right out from under his nose. Because of Elkridge's reputation Kiril had sought him out personally and bribed him into joining the crew.
Another man I had met, who was only two years older than I was, went by the name Andor. He had proven himself to be a great fighter in order to join the Crimson Drake, much like I had to Kiril. He originally came from Brimoa and was inducted into Kiril's crew after cutting down some of her strongest fighters during a raid of his town.
The very first adventure I went on with my new darshak crew was to the Isles of Gathner, where a darshak priest resided. Kiril informed us that she would need to speak with him about who exactly had sent the invasion on the day that I joined the Crimson Drake.
When we reached the Isles of Gathner, Kiril told us all to stay put while she went and spoke to Endren, a darshak priest with direct connections to the Dark Temple, where she had assumed the invasion had come from.
We waited for quite a while on the ship as Kiril talked with Endren. Finally she emerged from his humble temple and came back to us with a dark expression on her face. Endren had informed Kiril that in order for the invasions to be called off she would need to retrieve an item for his master. That item was the legendary Nerve of Hell'toth.
The Crimson Drake sailed for quite a distance, heading south to the dreaded Island of Hau'dim where the treasure chest containing Hell'toth's Nerve was said to reside. Upon arriving at Hau'dim we were encountered by various illusions of dreadful monsters that disappeared as we swung our weapons at them. These illusions were followed by flying bat-like beasts and horribly disfigured skeletons that sought our flesh and blood.
After fighting back the onslaught of enemies we continued on into the holding place for Hell'toth's Nerve, Cur'men Cave. For a short while we explored the mysteriously quiet cave, keeping our eyes pealed for a treasure chest. That was when we spotted a large cliff leading up to a room filled with such chests. Kiril, being the best climber aboard the Crimson Drake, quickly scaled the cliff and entered the room, finding that each treasure chest was locked. However, as she looked down there appeared to be one small brittle key beside her foot. She explained to us that Endren had warned her about this part of the quest. Apparently of all of the treasure chests hidden in Cur'men Cave only one of them contained any treasure -That treasure being Hell'toth's Nerve- and that the key could be used only once before it broke, so picking the correct chest was vital.
All hope would've been lost at that point, had it not been for the appearance of a strange Sylvan girl beside me. She introduced herself as Ileadia, a girl of mystical power and no memory of her life before waking up in Cur'men Cave. We explained our situation to Ileadia in hopes that she had some information regarding which chest contained Hell'toth's Nerve. Ileadia then offered us a sort of trade-off. She would find Hell'toth's Nerve for us if we allowed her to accompany us on our ship. We quickly agreed and awaited our prize.
Ileadia began to glow as she faded from my sight. A few seconds later, however, she appeared floating above the room of treasure chests, glowing ever brightly as a flash went through the room below her. As if she had just lifted a great illusion, all but one treasure chest faded into incorporeality, allowing Kiril to rush over and retrieve our treasure from the only real chest left.
Ileadia working her magic in Cur'men Cave.
As we sailed back to Endren's temple Ileadia elaborated on the powers held by Hell'toth's Nerve. A magical item crafted by an order of highly advanced Mystics back before the Ascendancy, it was originally designed to contain all the world's pain and hatred. However, when Hell'toth -the keeper of the Nerve- became corrupt he began using the artifact to convert the pain and hatred into large bursts of flame, which he spread to various villages. Once the rest of the order found out about his betrayal they sent their purest member, Vaehan, to put a stop to Hell'toth's wraith.
Vaehan, unable to defeat Hell'toth in battle, instead grabbed the Nerve and cracked it, leaving it whole but damaged. Vaehan then used the cracked nerve in order to absorb all of the flames that Hell'toth had produced, but such healing came at a price. And that price was Vaehan's life.
Andor and I had grown incredibly close over those few months that we were at sea. So close, in fact, that we had fallen in love. His charm, wit and fencing abilities all sent a chill down my spine, leaving me speechless each time that I saw him.
The crew altogether!Endren had informed Kiril upon her re-entrance to his temple, that we were to hold onto Hell'toth's Nerve for the time being, and that proof that we had found it was enough to keep the invasions at bay for the moment. However, all was not fine in the year that passed upon the Crimson Drake, regardless of the fact that we would no longer be plagued with invasions of undine.
Everyone was equally surprised to hear the news that I had brought upon them. However, a different and unique emotion was also brought into each individual as I admitted my pregnancy to them.
Ileadia was ecstatic, informing me that she was incredibly happy for Andor and me, and that she would help take care of the baby in anyway possible. Elkridge Serpentooth was nervous and didn't seem to know how to treat me in the condition that I was in. Andor, although he had already known about the baby, was as speechless as ever. However, the most perplexing of them all was Kiril's attitude. She was afraid.
I had never seen the great Kiril Drakesblood show any sign of fear before in the entire time that I had known her, yet now she shivered and shook with emotions unbeknownst to her. She was the first one to remind me of the dangers of being a Darshak, and that dangers like that can not be met by a pregnant woman, lest she risk losing her baby. However, an idea graced Kiril's mind as a smirk wiped the fear from her face.
We set sail for a new destination that day. The Crimson Drake was heading to a place which contained magic that could somehow release all of the risks of my pregnancy. We were returning to Hau'dim Island, but this time instead of going to Cur'men Cave we would be heading to a place far more menacing: Reaper's Field.
Reaper's Field was a place of evil said to be greater than any such darshak priest or undine. It was home to the most menacing creatures on the planet, and there we were, seeking their help. The Reapers recognized the scent of death upon our group and allowed us entrance to their temple where we explained our situation to them. The Reapers smirked, cast a spell upon me and then immediately ordered our departure from the island.
It wasn't until we came to the end of Reaper's Field when I noticed something very peculiar happening inside of me. I stopped for a moment, attempting to stop the world from spinning as my dizziness overcame me. I fell onto my back and watched as my stomach began to grow in size, as if my pregnancy had been placed into fast forward.
And so right then and there, in Reaper's Field, I gave birth to a baby girl, whom I named Senalda. Senalda began to grow, from infant, to toddler, to a beautiful 5 year old girl all in just a few minutes. Unfortunately I was informed by Kiril that this was not a happy occasion at all, for a woman who gives birth in Reaper's Field is condemned to death. This information was also confirmed by the Reapers that were advancing towards us.
We quickly boarded the Crimson Drake and set sail as far away from Hau'dim as possible. However, the Reapers had somehow boarded the ship as well and grew ever closer to me. Upon my request Ileadia grabbed Senalda and ran down into the confines of the ship for safety.
While the Reapers came towards me, Andor acted on instinct and ran towards Kiril, snatching Hal'toth's nerve from her pouch. And as our enemies began to cast their death upon me, Andor held Hal'toth's Nerve high, redirecting their magic into himself, killing him and leaving me alive. Kiril, Elkridge and I took no mercy as we cut down the Reapers that had vanquished my beloved Andor.
The very bloody battle that took place on the Crimson Drake
Ileadia, Kiril and I at Andor's burial site.After burying Andor in Brimoa it took months for us to even think about pillaging or raiding again. However, not long after we got back into the swing of things, Elkridge Serpentooth was captured by Mobius's guards. A message was left behind for Kiril stating that if she wanted Elkridge to remain alive she would have to make sure that the island of Puddleby remain under control, claiming that too many exiles had escaped back to the Mainland.
Kiril knew what she had to do and thus she turned the Crimson Drake around back to Gathner Island, where she would have her final meeting with Endren. This time she took what remained of her Darshak crew in with her to meet with Endren. I watched and listened as Kiril made offers of coins and treasures -including Hal'toth's Nerve- in return for the alignment of the forces of a Darshak Priest named Necro. With that alliance formed, Kiril began to sail the Crimson Drake east towards Puddleby.
On our voyage to this new island we were encountered, however, by some very vengeful Reapers who sought to end our lives for killing their friends. All had seemed lost as the group of Reapers began to work their magic, however a large group of Necro's warriors appeared onboard the ship and fought the Reapers back, leaving many casualties on both sides. With the dying breath of the final Reaper, a spell was cast upon me and as he wasted away, I disappeared into nothingness.
When I awoke I was on an island filled with Agratis and after a year or so I began to accept the way that things were. However, as time went on I began to notice a small place not far off that other Agratis called "The Land of the Exiles."
After visiting this town a few times I took a liking to it. The people there were friendly and welcomed me with open arms. However, I hadn't decided to stay until I found out that this very island was Puddleby, where the Crimson Drake had set out to conquer.
I began to ask people if they had heard of Kiril Drakesblood, hoping for any type of response at all. Unfortunately, the response I had gotten was grim indeed. I didn't believe that she was dead at first. That is, not until I saw the weathered sign in west town which held a message from Kiril herself.
It was at that moment that I made a vow to myself that never again would I kill a living thing, that my life would be devoted merely to healing others and myself. And that the only things that would ever be cut down by me ever again, would be the forces of Necro, the creature who betrayed my best friend, Kiril Drakesblood.
Well, that's your basic summary of how I arrived here. I may choose to share some more stories with you later on, such as tales of the lives of Myself, Elkridge Serpentooth, Kiril Drakesblood, Andor and Ileadia Pre-Crimson Drake.
