//the bio//
Roland ducked under the boy's punch, landing his knee into the boy's stomach. The boy gave way a bit, and Roland followed through with a elbow strike. Roland then shoved the other boy backwards with a solid kick to the chest. The boy landed on his back and slid a little way along the alley's trash-covered ground. Roland stepped back, wiping the blood from his broken nose. His eyes caught a tint of silver falling towards the boy on the ground from one of the boys gathered in a circle to watch the fight. He saw it as nothing important at the time. He didn't see the outline of a dagger on the ground.
The other boy came at him like a whirlwind. Roland ducked and dodged the lethal swipes. Every stroke came closer to landing on his flesh. Roland had felt the bite of a dagger before, and he had the scars to prove it. Still, he was frightened of the thought of that blade sliding into his arm or torso.
Fear was a powerful thing. Adrenalin pumped through his veins as he ducked into the next dagger stab, coming up with his shoulder into the boys armpit. Grabbing the elbow, Roland torched it down and snapped the arm.
"Enough!" A hoarse voice yelled. Roland's head swung around towards the speaker.
The man stood, silhouetted in the light from the inn. He was heavy-set, and brandished a pitchfork in one hand, a ale bottle in the other. His eyes bore into Roland, who still held the crying boy's broken arm. With slow, staggering steps, he made his way towards the circle of boys around Roland.
When he arrived, he promptly hit Roland over the head with the heavy head of the pitchfork.
Roland awoke in a forest, surrounded by huge trees. He lay on the fall leaves, and his head hurt bad. He lay there for several hours, soaking in the facts and gathering the strength to stand. Finally, once he was on his feet, he set off.
He didn't get far before he found that it would not be an easy feat to find his way out.. He wandered off in the direction he thought went towards Vehl, but it didn't. Little did Roland know, he was wandering in circles. Ever changing circles that didn't take him to a town. In fifteen minutes of stumbling through the forest, he was lost.
"Hello? Hello?" Roland yelled into the forest, but with no return answer. Silently, he sank down to a tree log. He knew there was a very slim chance he would find the way out of here. He shrugged. Make yerself at home, Roland. Ive got a feeling your gonna be here a while. He thought to himself. And with a smile of grim determination, he set to work. Laying a branch across the log, he tried to cut it in half with a rusty sword he had stolen in Vehl. It snapped in half.
"Rusty old piece of junk..." He cursed and threw it aside. Picking up the stick, he smashed it into a tree, shattering it. Roland gathered the pieces and lay them in a small pile. Then, he set about lighting it with no flint.
Three hours later, the fire lit.
And so it continued, each day Roland growing more and more accustomed to nature and less accustomed to the sword fighting he had practiced so long and hard with Mathdew. His shoes were torn to ruin, but he had made some soft fur boots out of deer hide. Roland fashioned a bow from a large branch, and hunted for food. He spent hours wandering the forest in search of eatable plants. Roland found there was an abundance of foods in the wild, if you knew where to look. More food than he had ever seen in the alleys or in Mathdew's hut. He was living better in these woods than he had in the cities. Maybe... He thought, Maybe being here isnt that bad.He moved to follow the animals, and one day they lead him out. Out of the woods, and out of the little area he had called home for years now. He stared at people in awe, they seemed so... different. So formal, so... Roland searched for the word... man made. Men walked around in full suits of metal, brandishing huge swords. People seemed to clear a path and veer away from the strange man with the bow. He just felt so... different.
And so it became his journey, to find a way to become more and more in harmony with nature, as he had fully forgotten Mathdew's teachings as he struggled for survival in the woods.
