Forum Thread

I was born to a loving family that loved life and nature which is not unusual for my race being Elvish but we were a particular branch of elves, Wood Elves, we lived a sedentary lifestyle among the trees. Taking care of the forest around us and in turn the forest took care of us for food and shelter.

As elves live for hundreds of years there is no rush to do anything. Our lives were one of a slow pace, plenty of time to learn skills and hone them to perfection.

My parents loved me, nurtured me and were patient with me and boy did they need patience, because I showed no interest in joining in with the rest of the clan at festivals or gatherings. I was always wondering off on my own finding a quiet place to just sit and watch the world go by. I spent many an hour sat with my witling knives, daggers to anyone else, carving from a piece of wood anything that I saw and admire in the area around me, rock formations, flora and animals that might be resting near by. But I never showed them to anyone, I would hide them amongst the grass where I sat giving them back to the land as a show of appreciation to the great creator of all living things.

When I reached the age of schooling my mentor would often get frustrated with my mind wandering off in a world of its own and not listening to anything that he was trying to teach me about my clan history or any form of trade that would better the clan. After a few years he had had enough of my shenanigans and demanded that my parents find a new mentor for me and due to their loving way they involved me in the decision on whom I would be willing to learn from.

So I wandered off to a quiet spot and sat and meditated on the problem. I was so engrossed in my thoughts I didn’t see or hear the two humans encroaching on me until it was nearly too late. They sure are lumbering idiots, so noisy and not a care at al for the forest around them. When I did notice them I scooted up the tree I was sat under and just watched them bumble their way around. Suddenly they stopped and pointed I followed their fingers and saw a black panther and her cub play fighting off in the distance they looked so cute the cub trying to emulate its mother and tripping over its own paws more often then not. Next thing I saw was these two humans firing off a few arrows and striking the panther but killing it then they charged it and the cat roared scaring the cub so much it ran off. The cat tried to leap at the humans but they had swords drawn and as it came down from its leap they struck it in the underbelly and it fell to the ground devoid of life. They then proceeded to skin it for no reason other then to sell its skin for profit.

Once they were done I was so cross that they wasted its life just for a skin and profit. I got down from the tree and went to the poor animal then noticed very faintly in the dirt the prints of the cub leading away from the area so I followed them. They lead to a small gill and a small cave at the base. I approached carefully so as not to scare the cub and concentrating so much on what I was doing I didn’t notice the nest of baby birds in a nest resting in the rocks until the birds started to make a lot of noise. I bent down to cave and the little cub cowering as far back as he could. He looked so scared. I sat beside the opening quietly and just waited hoping that the cub would venture out and thinking what its name would be.

While I was sat there it started to mew and I wondered if it was hungry or thirsty so looking around I spotted a small brook so I grabbed a piece of wood and carved a crude bowl out of it. I gathered some water in it from the brook and placed it outside the cave and waited, again scaring the birds above so I took a look at this time and realised it was a nest of ravens. I whispered to myself so that’s your name, Raven is what I will call you after the birds that are looking out for you and your colour is so black just like them.

Eventually the cub was so thirsty it tentatively made its way out to the bowl of water and started to drink never once taking it eyes off me. When the cub had had its fill it just sat there staring at me so I reached out and picked it up, held it in my arms and comforted it knowing what I now wanted to be and took the cub home with me.

When I arrived home my parents were anxious about me bringing home a wild animal but indulged me and listened to what I had to say. I want to train in beast mastery I told them. The shocked look on their faces said it all. My mother exclaimed that she and father had hoped I would follow in their footsteps and wood to create things to help with trade relations with other races and that was why I always hid my appreciation of wood carving from them I knew it would end up being my life and I did it out of enjoyment not as a career. But I really want to do this I told them and put on the tears that always seemed to work with both of them. So they went to the elders who decided if that was what I wanted to do I should train under Goron who had befriended a werewolf and taken on a name to reflect as much when he became an adult. But I had five years to prove that this was what I really wanted and if after that Goron felt I had no aptitude for it then I was to do something for the clan instead. I was told to be at his study by daybreak the next morning.

I hardly slept all night, I had been told by my parents if I wanted the cub then it would have to sleep with me and I would have to take care of it during the night if it wanted anything. Raven mewed all night, constantly wanting something to eat or drink so I spent the night trapping small animals unsuccessfully for most of it but what I did get he ate fast and came back looking for more. I know knew why big cats hunter big animals if their young was this hungry all the time.

I arrived at the study with raven in a backpack on my back poking its head out to see what was going on around him at daybreak much the worse for wear, blotchy eyed and yawning. My mentor Goron ushered me inside and sat me down, gave me a four hour lecture on the animal kingdom and how I would learn to communicate and live by the rule of the animal kingdom for the rest of my life. How if I took it seriously enough not only would Raven be my best friend but probably the best protector I would ever need or want. How I managed to stay awake was a miracle because after the lecture we went for a walk for the next four hours and I was asked many question about the surrounding area to see what I knew about the animal world, lucky for me I was not a complete idiot on the matter having spent many hours just watching them play, bask, feed and mate when sculpting in wood. Then it was lunch which we partook of the fruits and vegetation about us. After lunch it was back to the study to have an exam on the days activities. By the time that was finished it was dark and as much as my bed was calling so was Ravens stomach so back to hunting on and off during the night.

Over the next few years in Elf terms my training took on a slightly different track then most my mentor had decided that as I already had a companion that I was to bring it up myself. I was to bond with it and train alongside it to hunt for the good of the clan while I still lived amongst them. So for the first couple of years I spent many an hour running ahead of Raven pulling his food by tree vines so he could learn to track by smell then find and kill it himself. I would then take it away from him, carve it up, cook some for the clan and leave the rest raw for Raven to eat after we had eaten. This was so he learnt that I was the alpha in his pack.

My mentor also said that I would not live long with such a wild if I did not learn a few basic spells and suggested that I also learn the range of spells for a ranger. So my time was spent half in training with my mentor and half learning three spells. Hunters mark, cure wounds and Speak with animals. I also had to tend classes for sword work and bow. I seemed to be doing nothing but training with one person or another but I was determined to be a ranger and not go in the family business.

Eighteen months into my training I could do some very basic conversations with Raven, I was finally hitting moving targets with my bow and curing my own wounds that Raven would give me when we managed to get a few minutes of private time and play fight together getting cuts and bruises in the process. I no longer needed to drag Ravens food he had grown to full size and was chasing down and killing by himself then he would back off and wait for his share without being told too.

The next three years got slower and easier, classes were fewer, Raven would sleep at my bedside all night, not needing food or drink. My hunting skills got better and I would spend more time with my mentor just walking and discussing life’s problems. Raven and I were able to spend more to ourselves to explore the surrounding area, hunting bigger prey and bringing it back to feed the whole clan. I even found time occasionally just to sit and do some carving whilst Raven basked in the midday sun under the shade of a tree. I would carve him in many different poses and then give them back to nature saying a prayer to out deity whilst holding his moon symbol in my hand thanking him for the materials and inspiration for the carving.

By the time another five years had passed I was told that my training had ended and now it was just practice, practice, practice on what I had been taught so far and in another few years the elders might consider me training at the next level once my skills so far were perfected.

So today, my mentor and I decided to take a picnic, and one last walk together to celebrate my training being finished. We had left the clans local area and I wanted to show him where I had spent my days when I just wanted to be alone. We were sat eating and admiring the view when we hot jumped by some Trolls and as we had only been going for a walk I had only bought my sword with me. I engaged in close combat with one Troll and my mentor who had never picked up a weapon tried so hard to defend himself but the troll was much more experienced and my mentor was killed very quickly. Raven had lept to my defence instantaneously and leapt at the troll knocking us both over in the process then proceeded to rip at the trolls throat allowing me to scramble to my feet, take a fleeting look at my mentor and then I grabbed my sword and started to run for home before the second troll could join in the fight.

Just as I reached the edge of the clans home Raven caught up with me. I ran straight to the elders and broke down while I explained through tears what had happened. They sent a scouting party out to recover my mentors’ body and after the service was over I decided I was going to venture out from the clan as I was not prepared to change mentors. So I packed up my backpack, said goodbye to my parents and promised I would return one day. I left at daybreak with Raven by my side.