Description
You catch a glimpse of a wild looking man covered in mud and matted foliage.
He moves with the fluid grace and naturally confident gait of a lithe animal.
Despite the clay and dirt cake on it, you can see his armor is that of a
warrior, and his various blades are stained dark with something that is not
sap. His amber, curly hair cascades from under his helmet, reminding you of a
lion's mane as he surveys his surroundings. The man's face is dirty and
roughly shaved, but otherwise nondescript except for the startlingly
refulgent emerald eyes blazing through the wisps of hair that fall over his
small, flared nose and his contented smirk, as if he knows something you
don't. Around this happy vagrant's neck hangs a sun, crudely carved from a
bright orange wood. As he moves silently on thorn-wrapped boots, you see that
Role
Atchertene's exodus.
Added Wed Jul 13 21:30:01 2005 at level 6:
Atchertene Ta'Veen was born on a small farm north of Balator. When he was
still very young, a group of bloodoaths pushed his family from their land to
make room for imperial expansion. That night, his father went back to their
house to gather some personal items and never returned. Atchertene stayed at
the orphanage in Balator for about a month, until one night when Atchertene
came upon one of the bloodoaths who had been at his house while he was
resting on his way back to the Palace. As the young duergar slept, Atchertene
crept silenty behind him and, drawing the small hunting knife his father had
given him, roughly slit the warrior's throat, just as the other oaths
returned from gethering kindling from the surrounding area. Without a second
though, the young orphan bounded into hiding in the forest, where he would
remain for a decade.
Atchertene's first revelation.
Added Tue Jul 19 13:28:49 2005 at level 19:
As the stench of the city began to wear off the young Atchertene, so did the
forest also begin to lose it's fear of him. Trees would allow his tiny frame
to rest in their great boughs, the animals no longer left their normal paths
to go around him, and the sun warmed
him in the chilly mornings. Atchertene slowly became a child of the
wilderness, as much as any sapling or pup. In the winter, when food was
scarce and the rumblings of his stomach echoed through the forests, does
would bring him roots they had dug up to sate his hunger. As time passed,
Atchertene learned much from his new family. The lesson he found most
valuable, however, was a simple one. He found that of all the animals in the
forest, none were sad, or regretful, or angry - they simply existed, and
accepted such things as a matter of fact. No matter what tree fell, or which
fawn got sick and died, the sun would still rise tomorrow, the plants would
still reach toward it, and the forest would continue, as it always had. The
sun would not stop, there would always be light and warmth and new growth,
Atchertene realized, and he forgot all about being sad for his family, or
angry at the Palace that had taken them. He realized that no matter what, the
Mother would persist, her cycles renew themselves, and from that moment
happiness and joy have allowed him, as he follows the burning sun and basks
in it's radiance.
Revelation
Added Fri Aug 26 20:34:01 2005 at level 39:
As Atchertene left the Glade one day, he decided to push southward, into
Barovia. As he crept through the forest, he was taken with how dark and
gloomy the woods were, and how they seemed always to be silent as a tomb.
Eventually, Atchertene came upon a small clearing, in which were three good
hearted adventurers. This clearing, of all the wood, was the only place with
any joy, any light. It was the only place that truly felt alive. As he sat
hidden just beyond the glow from their camp, he realized the party hadn't
chosen this spot because of it's relative lightness-rather, they were
responsible for it. It was the music of their voices and the glow of their
spirits that lit that clearing, made it seem a sunny day. Atchertene then
realized that he too could light a dark forest with his goodness, like a lost
child of the Sun traversing the dark wilderness. He vowed that he would
strive to push back the darkness with the inner light of his spirit, bringing
joy and life wherever he went.
This carved piece of bark was found in a dark corner of a distant northern woodland.
Added Thu Sep 29 22:07:19 2005 at level 46:
As I fell to sleep last eve my mind was clouded by doubt and worry, my heart
felt cold and alone. I woke late this morning, though, to a warm southern
breeze and the smell of rain, clear signs of a fast approaching new
springtime. As I laid in a small clearing enjoying the day for the first time
in what seems an eternity, my spirit came to a new epiphany: just as the rain
and wind follow patterns of the seasons, so do all other natural things,
including man. I've been in a winter of my life, and have faltered, much like
a plant that doesn't know which way to stretch to best find the Sun. What I
thought an end was only another season, another pathway to new beginnings. My
spirit now sees how the death winter brings may make room for fresh spring
growth and can once more sing the joy of new life.
To whoever may find this bark, if it is ever found- know that no matter how
long or dark the night may seem, the Sun always will rise again and bring
with it joy and music to fill the darkened void of the winter of your life.
All praises to the Summer Lord, whose auroral splendor will always brighten
Thar-Eris with His goodness.