The Rise of a Knight

[Taiah]

Papa finally succumbed to his illness even with Taiah by his side taking care of him as best she could while Caiah earned coin for the family until the accident that killed her. Now with one body they both share, Caiah and Taiah leave on the first ship set to sail, carrying just the bare necessities between them. One sword and a sheath for Caiah, dancing shoes and a lute for Taiah all the while attempting to reconcile the strange state the sisters find themselves in..hoping possibly to get answers along with insight into their elven heritage. At the northern shore of an island while the ship stopped for repairs, Caiah and Taiah elected to disembark along with others anxious to see their new home...anxious for the new beginning. Having been raised near the human settlement of Ayondyre where Papa moved after Mama died, both were excited at the prospect of seeing and learning from other elves at a place someone said was called Tol Vanima. It shouldn't be that hard to find on an island... both figuring they could simply ask the first person they met. Stepping around the palm trees, her hand moving to her forehead to block the bright rays of the sun from silver eyes, Taiah whispers to someone not seen with a worried frown on her face "Caiah I think we are lost".

Days pass as they wonder if anyone else was on the island having seen only part of a presumed empty settlement. Suddenly two men, one calling himself the Jarl and a woman block their way. With long silver hair almost reaching the top of her boots, Taiah raises her hands slowly showing no weapons while answering the man's angry voice "We were just leaving, we didn't know elves weren't allowed here". Ignoring the strange looks received at the whispers back and forth..an argument develops between the sisters...Caiah wanting to defend her elven heritage and Taiah just wanting to leave. Suddenly the men and woman begin laughing among themselves talking about crazy elves then nod "This one will make a good example". Before Caiah could take over their body and pull the sword from it's sheath they were chained and dragged to Nordmark barely conscious as a large metal collar was locked around their neck. The Jarl then began his questions finding out about each separate sister and their background. "You will make a good slave and a warning to other elves to stay away from here".

Many months pass with some failed attempts at escape while Caiah fought the strange monsters where they were chained vowing to her sister as she writes on a parchment unable to speak coherently without their tongue, removed in one of the tortures, "I will get strong enough to get us loose one day". Taiah reaches to feel the iron tattoo poured onto a cut on her cheek in the shape of the Nordmark dragon shivering at that particular memory among many as she reads the parchment her sister left for her tucked into the front of her armor nodding hoping one day to be able to fight against this...her with words and Caiah with her swords.

[Taiah]

Fight the gnoll, use what spare time she had to work on removing the chain from her collar then fight more gnolls. Unable to talk to her sister except to leave parchments, the loneliness of their existence was keenly felt. Trying to stay out of sight of the barbarians as much as possible in the forest of the gnolls proved easier then she thought as Caiah occasionally got a new sword, could pick some apples, replace her threadbare armor, and gradually became stronger.

One day to her great surprise slashing the same area of the chain while waiting for another gnoll and absently wondering if this sword would break as others..the links fell apart without any preamble yet she paused as dark eyes unbelievably followed them to the ground. Instead of immediately leaving the area, Caiah began to slash at another gnoll until glancing at her sister pointing east anxiously. With a chuckle and shake of her head as if clearing her mind, she suddenly turned and ran...leaving the gnoll far behind as her long legs swiftly moved past the bandits, then prepared to fight the goblin until hearing strange ancient words of a mage. Slowing her pace, Caiah stopped some distance from a man strangely speaking elven wondering what she was doing there as he curiously stared at her collar then eyes narrowing, his gaze moved past her shoulder westward as if suspecting how she obtained it. Giving him a nod was all it took for a portal to lead them both into a land of beauty...the sisters were finally home.

[Taiah]

Taiah opens her depot and one bag in particular...all the parchments they wrote to different people flutter out. Reaching randomly for a few, she sometimes frowns, sometimes smiles holding one after another in the lamplight reveling in the memory of each. The parchments ended with Isilwen's great magic bringing speech back to the sisters...vowing to always be there when called, they bade Isilwen farewell turning to the dream formed with the first days capture at Nordmark and continued as they stood in front of a guild board. One parchment in Caiah's writing stands out:

There will be revenge sister.

The writing underneath in Taiah's hand spoke volumes:

We can do better, help many more...read the The Aim of the Knighthood