// my apologies for whoever has to read this. I got carried away
Name: Barail Anemsalanaw
Class: Cleric / Fighter ( 12 - 15 / 5 - 7 )
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Deity: Folian Spae
Race: Human
Age: 24
Domains: Animal Good
Bio and Description:
Elaine and Sehularn Anemsalanaw. Elaine was a simple woman, who lived quietly and alone in Dalanthar, working for the local seamstress. Sehularn was a rather important figure in the Temple of Folian, an exceptional Ranger and devout follower of the Longstrider, having made a respectable name for himself in many earlier campaigns.
Few expected the human woman would have such an effect on the elven Ranger, but she did, and after a chance meeting between the two across the Rolling Hills, the two became lovers and Sehularn quickly gave up much of his responsibilities at the Temple to be with Elaine, a fact many of the clergy their were angered and dissapointed by.
But living quietly in Dalanthar, their love grew and brought them a son, Barail Anemsalanaw.
Although not regarded kindly by the village folks due to his seemingly vain nature and arrogance, Sehularn loved and doted over his son, albeit being rather strict with him. He insisted the boy learnt as much elven as he did common, to which Elaine agreed, preferring to see the father spend more time with the son than roaming the forests and hunting. This hindered the young half-elf at school a little, as he knew only half as much of each language as he should, and fell behind in classes due to not understanding many of the words of common which others his age already knew.
But time passed and he quickly adapted, becoming a fairly intelligent, quiet and shy young boy. Sehularn taught him the customs and ways of Folian, to which the young boy seemed in awe of, listening to many stories around the fire at night whilst his mother watched with a smile, tanning leathers or fixing hems for the tailor shop.
But business began drying up in Dalanthar, trouble from passing adventurer's and the Orc stronghold nearby forced many civilians to leave, and so, at the age of six, the family moved to a little house within the walls of Hurm, where Elaine was quickly hired again by the local tailor's, her work having carried some repute there. Sehularn worked a little for the local milita, and often did small jobs around the dock area when he could to make a living, but still spent most of his time with Barail, and soon began taking him on little visits to the Temple of Folian.
Barail can still recall some of the muttered words and shocked looks when his father lead him into the grove. He spoke in hushed whispers with many of the clergy, some who seemed to answer the elven ranger rather stiffly and walked away. But two greeted his father warmly, and it was these two who he would remember.
He was enlisted, much to his surprise and joy, into the school of Folian, and spent the rest of the day in classes there with the other children, many of which he befriended instantly. It was agreed by the end of the day, that Barail could have a secured place as a pupil in the temple, and Sehularn and Barail began making regular visits to the temple for his teachings.
It was upon returning from the Temple one day, Barail had lagged behind his father a ways, and when approaching his home, saw his mother and father carrying a woman into the house. Intrigued, he rushed ahead.
" Who's that mommy?" he asked, out of breath standing in the doorway, watching whilst his father placed the woman carefully on a cot in the back room.
Elaine smiled softly at him and pulled him close. " We don't know yet Barail. But she was in trouble....and what do we do when people are in trouble?"
Barail smiled brightly and piped " We help!"
Elaine laughed and ruffled the boys hair. " That's right son, we help."
The woman lay asleep for some time, and eventually emerged from the room in his mother's night-gown, looking startled and confused. It turned out she was elven, and had recently been involved in a ship-wreck, Barail's mother having found her by the beach and hurried her to her home. She seemed lost and confused, and when asked where she was heading, the long pause she replied with caused concerned looks between Elaine and Sehularn. Whole conversations could be held between these two when their eyes met, and with a slight nod to each other, they turned to the lady and offered her a place to stay.
Her name was Liasanya, and likely because his parents didn't ask, she didn't speak much about her past. They let her keep the room in the back for her own, and gave her some small chores to do such as minding Barail to make her feel at home.
Barail took to her like a sister after a short time, questioning her about almost everything he saw and teasing her as children do, learning much more of the elven language from her.
She began accompanying them to the Temple of Folian, and after some time, Lia herself began taking Barail more and more to his lessons there, leaving Elaine and Sehulran more time to themselves for work and pleasure.
Barail enjoyed his time at the school immensely. When a child realises they have an exceptional skill in something, they delve into it and work much harder than any other.
His tutor was a miss Valaria La'Elis, a wise, elven lady, although very distant, she never smiled or frowned, or showed any kind of emotion, which caused the children to hold her in some reverance. She was immensley patient with the children, and taught them how to call upon the blessings of Folian and follow his customs. Barail, having already learnt much from his father, quickly excelled and became top of his class.
Another tutor he had was a large ranger named Karn, who instructed the children, if they chose of course, in the fighting arts. Again, Barail excelled and worked hard to master holding two-weapons instead of the one. Often he would be defeated by the other children weilding only one, but Barail would simply smile and clamber to his feet, picking up his swords and saying " I will get it next time. I will learn."
Upon seeing the young boys determination, by now aged fifteen, Karn began teaching the boy after school when he could, the extra lesson's helping the young half-elf to excel even further.
Life was good for the young man, until tradgedy struck, as it often does, in 1408, when Barail was sixteen, when Lia and Barail returned to Hurm from the Temple, to find a massive crowd at the gates, shouting and screaming, angry and cursing, a line of City guards holding them back. They kept back from the crowd a little, and noticed town criers wandering through the crowds, shouting at the top of their voices.
" A plague has come to Hurm! Hurm's gates are closed! No one is allowed entry or exit from Hurm until the situation is resolved ! Please move away from the gates! "
Lia and Barail looked at each other in shock, feeling lost. The crowd ahead was angry and small fights were breaking out, but Lia noticed several tents back aways on the field, and motioned Barail over to them. Here, the Friends of Hurm society had made a makeshift refugee camp, offering what little they could to the people who now found themselves homeless, forced to wait till the plague ended.
Although the idea of returning to the Temple came up, Barail refused and would not, determined to wait out the crisis and find his parents. The time they spent there was an ordeal for both of them.
By day, angry and grieving people mulled around the camps lost, fights became common place, and lawlessness reigned, the city guard being too under powered to be everywhere.
By night, the smell of the burning bodies, which were tossed from the city walls wrapped in white rags into a huge pile and then cremated, hung heavily in the air, and screams of grief could often be heard coming from over the city walls.
But also, unexpectedly, Barail had a worse time of it. When Lia was away receiving rations from the Friends of Hurm, or Barail wandered into the woods to hunt for a little extra food, he found himself targeted. Three older boys, scraggly looking, covered in rags and looking half-starved, leapt on the young man unaware. They beat him up, being careful not to make a mark on his face which would attract attention from the guards, and stole what little food and coin he had, leaving him in tears on the floor in the woods.
He never spoke of it to Lia, and returned that day to sit by her quietly, watching the flames from the funeral pyre lick the night sky.
This continued several times, and Barail became paranoid, always watching over his shoulder for the next time they would jump him. He tried to fight back several times, but they were too big and too many, and kept stealing food from him, which ultimately caused him to go hunting even further for food, or else Lia would begin to wonder.
It was one occassion, hunting, when one of the older boys appeared, demanding Barail's daily rations. He glanced about. There was only one today....only one boy had turned up. A tear trickled down his face as he stood firm and said "No."
A flash of steel caught the sunlight, the older boy drew a knife and took a few steps forward, his eyes glittering dangerously.
Fear choked the young half-elf, and he grabbed a nearby branch from the floor and held his ground.
" I said No!" he cried, waving the branch in front of him. Then the older boy charged him.
When the adrenaline passed by, Barail looked at his feet to find the older boy dead. A strong hit from the branch had knocked him from his feet and, it appeared, in the fall had hit his head off a boulder. The older boy would trouble no one again it would seem.
Shocked and ashamed of what he'd done, Barail cried like a child over the corpse. There would be repercussions he was sure, there was only his word it was in defense. And then it was, that a voice seemed to creep into his head, cold and calculating, telling him what he had already been secretly thinking in the back of his mind. He blinked, shocked at the very thought, and looked to the skies through tear streaked eyes.
" Folian....w...what should I do?" he begged. But no answer came from the heavens. Instead, the voice in his head persisted. " You know what to do." it spoke.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Barail hurried off to the Refugee camp and stole one of the white sheets used to cover the plague victims. Under cover of darkness, he returned to the dead body, rolled it up, and dragged it the long distance to the funeral pyre, dropping it into the pit along with the rest cast from the city walls.
He stood a moment, staring down into the pit, to the body of the dead boy he had killed. He began shaking with horror at what he had done, and what lengths he had gone to to hide his secret. But still, the voice spoke in his head, " Everything will be all right now."
Secretly, he knew the voice was his, but he praised Folian, and seemed to take comfort in the belief it was Folians. If Folian guides my steps, he muttered to himself on occassion, then this is where he brought me.
He returned back to camp and sat by Lia, quietly and solemnly, and soon began sobbing. Lia put her arm around him like a brother , assuming the wait and the general misery of the place was getting too much for the young half elf, and, for the last time, watched the funeral pyre flames reach the skies.
The next day, the town crier's announced the cure had been found.....and finally, the gates of Hurm opened.....
When the first refugees poured into Hurms opened gates, Lia and Barail were swept along with them, clinging to each others hands as they were pushed and jolted by the impatient crowds. Eventually, they made their way to the docks area and headed slowly to their home, ever aware of the shouts and callings behind them, calling for people by name or wailing in grief. They could only imagine what those sounds meant, and the reality of it brought home what they might find.
They entered their home and stood in the doorway, numb, shocked and stunned. The place had been ransacked, it barely resembled the place the two had lived for so many years. Nothing remained that seemed recognisible, a fire seemed to have been set-up in the middle of the house, and ash and debris lay strewn across the floor. Water dripped in through a hole in the ceiling, and the house had the smell of mould and stale water.
They remained stood in the doorway, holding each others hands tightly, staring numbly at the remains of the house, when a familiar face appeared in the doorway, one of their neighbours, of who Barail used to play with his daughters.
His eyes were grief stricken, it appeared to them he must have aged a hundred years in the few weeks that had passed. He looked at the two sadly a moment, murmured something about parents, then shook his head solemnly and walked out.
Tears flooded down their eyes as the realisation hit them, and visions of the both of them sat watching the funeral pyre fires each night came back to them. On which night, they wondered sickeningly, had they watched their parents burn?
It was Lia who spoke first, tugging at Barails hand and gently dragging him from the house. " We have to go"
The journey back to the temple was long and arduous, neither of them having prepared well or expected the journey. Lia was forced to rely on Barails woodslore skills to provide food and shelter during the journey, although he ate little and spoke even less, seemingly consumed in misery.
Eventually, they returned, exhausted and scraggly,back into Folians grove in the Forest of Fogs, and were instantly cared and doted over, news of the tradgedy having already reached the Clergy.
Barail did not recover fully from the events, and it showed during his time back at the Temple. Lia began spending more time with a friendly Ranger, leaving Barail to concentrate solely on his studies. But misery and depression ate away at the now quiet and solemn young man. He became quick to anger and impatient, and it ultimately showed in a practice duel he had with an older student.
The older student, more experienced and disciplined, kept defeating Barail, and after a few losing bouts, anger and rage flared in the young half elf, and the next round he launched a vicious attack on the older pupil, battering his sword and shield with his two blades until the older pupil stumbled and fell to the floor. Still he continued, swinging his two swords wildly and pummelling his opponent on the floor, until Karn himself had to intervene and pull him back.
After that, and coupled with the fact Barail could often be found muttering to himself whilst alone, the other pupils began watching him with fear and kept their distance, leaving the half-elf more time in solitude.
It was then that Valaria stepped in, seeing something in the young-half elf she perhaps recognised. Although he never told her anything of what happened in Hurm, she tried to teach him to contain his emotions, to control them and not let them become apparent to everyone.
" I was hurt....a long time ago" she said softly, " ... and for a long time, I was angry. But I learnt to control my emotions, as you should Barail...."
As Valaria was always held in awe and reverence by many pupils, Barail nodded and attempted to contain his emotions. But it was difficult, the more he pented them up, the more they would suddenly explode on him. He would suddenly burst into tears on occasion whilst sitting in the middle of class, or start a fight with another pupil simply because they looked at him the wrong way. The Clergy leaders looked on at him in worry, and whispers of expulsion ran through the other students.
Val insisted that containing his emotions would be the key, that she was proof it could be done. And so Barail continued to try, with the same shattering results each time, his emotions blowing over the top. Thankfully, he managed to keep much of this from Lia, though she had likely heard of the trouble he was in around the Grove. When he was around her, the last of his family, it seemed he had more control.
It was one night, Barail had had another episode, and this time, tears streaking down his face, he had knocked an older pupil to the floor and beat him up because the boy had muttered "crazy" to him, his tendancy to mutter and talk to himself had become well known.
He had sought out Val for guidance, and was surprised to see her stood aways from the temple with a ranger looking type, all clad in green and carrying a bow. They whispered together a few minutes, then the ranger bowed to her and walked away, passing right by Barail and nodding to him slightly.
Barail stood and watched a moment, and Val slowly came walking back to the grove. He hid a moment behind a tree and watched her pass by. Moonlight glittered on a few tears which trickled down her cheek, and with a sad face, she crouched before the stream and pulled out a slightly drooped and aged lily from her robes.
She toyed with it a moment, smelling it a final time, then dropped it into the stream, the gentle current carrying it away. Wiping her eyes with her robes, sniffling slightly, she made her way back to the Grove.
There and then, bathed in the moonlight piercing the trees of Folians forest, Barail realised he could not remain here. He could not escape what had happened, he certainly could not pent up and keep it hidden as Val had suggested. She herself was not completely immune.
The next morning, he packed his meagre things and prepared to leave, many waiting for him by the entrance to watch him go. Karn handed him a few True and some bread for his journey, patting the young half elf on the back. Val whispered a few blessings to Folian and bade the Longstrider watch him.
Lia stood by the exit, her arms folder, her foot tapping impatiently.
" And when were you going to tell me?" she demaned.
" Er...now..." he smiled weakly, opening his arms for a final hug.
She glared at him a moment longer, looked to his open arms, then back into his eyes. Slowly, she reached behind a shrub, pulled out a small backpack, and shouldered it quickly, a slight smile spreading across her lips.
" Better later than never I suppose."
A week later, they were aboard a ship bound for Hempstead. The sun poured down gloriously on the deck, and Lia stood at the prow, the wind blowing her hair back and looking to the horizon expectantly and enthusiastically.
But Barail stood a little way back. He too was expectant. He too was enthusiastic. But he was also scared.
He didnt know what awaited them. He had been trained to fight, to summon Folians blessings and survive in the wilderness.
Lia could use a rapier with minor skill, and that was all. He feared for her safety, and feared losing the last of his family and being totally alone more than dying himself. But swore then and there he would let nothing happen to her.
I have read the Dogma for a cleric of Folian, and will continue to play the character in a light following this.
Barail is a devout follower of Folian and follows all the customs. Although his habit of seemingly speaking to Folian personally is frowned upon, this he generally does in secret.
He continues to protect wildlife where he can, taking only from the forest what he needs, and practices tailoring often much as his mother did.
As above, Barail performs much as the Rangers of Folian, weaing only leather armour ( eventually, starts with chain-mail) and wields two swords. Not a great lover of green, he will find a colour more suitable. He takes only from the forests and the wilds he needs, and abhores killing of animals needlessly.
//Requesting Elven Ear ( INT 12 )
// This submission is linked to:
http://www.layonara.com/character-su...isperwind.html
// Permission given for using Valaria from LotF
Character Submission - Barail 
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