Valen Kaiser III, The Would-be King of the Seas

Valen was the youngest of 10 children born into a family of Gray Elves that lived in the wooded city of Silverwind. However, unlike his brothers and sisters, it was clear that Valen had absolutely no talent for Druidic magic. Refusing to be the black sheep of the family, Valen worked hard on improving his body instead. Speed, balance, and agility became his magic, along with a pair of finely crafted swords he had specially made for himself. He spent his time either in solitude, or with the soldiers of Silverwind, honing his skills and learning how to use his grace to his advantage. After a while, things started to get boring for Valen and he found himself longing for a way to escape the monotonous life he had in Silverwind. Finally, a glorious day came when word came to Silverwind that Keldaerin was under attack from the largest Drow invasion that had ever been seen…Ok, so it wasn’t a glorious day for Keldaerin, but it was for Valen. This was his chance to show what he was capable of with his swords; to prove that he was just as good as any Druid, if not better. Against the will of his family, who believed that Valen’s lack of magic made him ill-equipped to be of any use in a fight, Valen set off with the other soldiers for Keldaerin in order to help fortify the city and stop the Drow forces from invading. Although not officially a soldier himself, Valen was often found standing at the front line, dancing around his enemies as he cut them down. His blades found the chinks in every suit of armor, biting at whatever vulnerability they could find. The men he fought along side of all found themselves impressed, and even invigorated by the display. After the Drow were driven away, Valen decided to remain in Keldaerin. There was nothing for him in Silverwind; just a boring life of no action and constant distain from an apathetic family. Truly, he could find adventure here among the Humans. The men looked up to him, and the women swooned over his charm and physical appeal. Not only that, but the constant threat of Drow, Goblins, and all manner of dark creatures gave an assurance that he would be able to make use of his swordsmanship. Things, however, did not seem to work out that way.

After the Drow invasion, no other attacks came to the Humans. Valen had already learned what little he could from the Human troops, and Dwarven soldiers were too brash and sloppy in their technique to even warrant his attention. Even the pleasurable company of the women in the city taverns was beginning to bore him. With Silverwind to the South, Deepholme to the North, and nothing buck muck and mud to the East, Valen decided to turn his attention to the West, to what seemed the only means of escape: the open water. Several times during his stay with the humans, a Captain by the name of Jack Teagues would come into port to pick up and deliver goods. He was both well known and highly respected by the people of Keldaerin, Human or otherwise. It was a reputation that earned him the nickname of the Jack of Hearts. Valen spoke with the Captain, requesting that he come on board and be made a member of the crew. Knowing that this was a trade ship, it seemed reasonable that Pirates and raiders would be around looking to ransack a ship loaded with valuable cargo. Valen believed that he was just the swordsman Teagues needed to defend the ship. Captain Teagues agreed to the deal, but warned Valen that he must be willing to work for his meals, and that those who do not pull their weight have no place on his ship. Valen agreed. Once again, things did not work out as planned. For four months, Valen stayed on with Captain Teagues, learning all there was to know about sailing and maintaining a ship, but no fighting ever came his way save the small scuffles between crewmates that helped pass the time. Valen was often found standing on railings or rigging, looking out over the horizon to see if there was any oncoming danger. Either that or he would be laying around looking up at the sky in boredom. One day, Valen was called into Teagues’ quarters. The Captain had grown weary of Valen’s attitude; refusing to engage in manual labor and uphold his end of the deal that was made back in Keldaerin. Valen tried to say that it wasn’t his fault, but the Captain cut him off mid sentence. Teagues reached into his pocket and took out a silver coin. Valen’s fate would be decided in a game of chance. If he won, he would be allowed to stay and not have to worry about doing manual labor. If he lost, he would be dropped off in the next port. The Captain flipped the coin and Valen called it in the air…he lost. Captain Teagues stood up, handed Valen the coin and whispered something into his ear. At first Valen had a look of shock on his face but that slowly changed to a smile, and Valen couldn’t help but find himself laughing aloud. Several days later the ship docked, but not where Valen expected.

Instead of being taken back to Keldaerin, Captain Teagues was dropping Valen off in the small slum of Rudstow, further to the South. If nothing else, there at least would be plenty of fighting to be done, and women were just as numerous here as they were in Keldaerin. It had been 4 months that Valen had been at sea, so obviously he needed to make up for lost time in that regard. Before he stepped off the ramp and onto the dock, Captain Teagues called out to Valen, and said to him that he was indeed a great swordsman, but he will never be worthy of the sea unless he learned that there’s more to life than what he wants for himself. With that, the ship departed, leaving Valen behind to fend for himself. As he walked off the docks, Valen took out the silver coin that Captain Teagues gave him and looked at it, remembering the Captain’s words to him. As if from out of nowhere, an idea came to him. He smiled to himself and walked the coin through his fingers before returning it to his pocket and headed for the nearest tavern. He had a lot of work to do if he was going to make his plan to come to fruition.

M.I.A.

July 04, 2010