3. Callon's background

Callon's background


  • The rain beat softly on the roof of the two story house in the upper district of Luskan, and to most, the sound would be calming. Not to a young elf, who fitfully turned in his sleep, his thoughts going to the happenings a tenday before. He remembered everything that had happened. His thoughts brought him back to that place in his mind's eye…
    His tossing became more restless, and he awoke in a cold sweat. A woman's cry pierced the silence of the house. He quickly got up and grabbed an old short sword his father had given him for protection in Luskan's streets. Quietly, he slipped down to the landing on the stairs. Crouching, he could see a woman on the ground, her face all bruised and swollen. A man stood over her, his fist clenched. His heart began to race; he hoped this was a dream, a nightmare- anything but real.
    The woman sobbed and the man shouted, yelling at her to be quiet before she woke their son. The young elf padded his way to the bottom of the stairs, the man in full view, his back to him. He saw the woman's face clearly now. Where once there had been a smile so kind and tender, now there was blood. Dark splotches covered her face where her blood had pooled under her skin. The young elf's heart doubled in speed, and he began to tremble. His face creased in pain and anger. The woman did not see him, nor did the attacker.
    The elf's knuckles clenched the hilt till all blood left them, leaving them a pallid white. He moved slowly, picking his steps methodically as to not be heard.
    He stood behind the man now, not more than three feet away. The man looked much like him, save for his hair had turned a stark white. Then the woman saw him, saw the blade he carried.
    "N...no....don't" she sobbed. The man, not understanding drew his fist back to strike her again.
    "Do what wench? Hit you?" he began to swing his fist when a white hot pain stopped him. The man fell to the ground, crying out. As he fell, the woman saw the boy clearly then, she saw the sword hilt in the man's back, and she saw the look of determination in the boy's eyes. The man lay coughing not more than four feet from her, blood pooling under him. The man began gasping for air and coughing. "What...what have you done to me Callon?" the man asked.
    Callon stood there, unmoving, his face made of stone. He whispered low, "I have stopped you...”
    "I...." the man coughed harshly, "help me son...please."
    Callon looked at him, his eyes narrowed. "No...I have no father anymore. He left when you came here, and began to beat my mother." His eyes grew cold. "Now, you will slowly die, and when you reach the Abyss, the last thing you will remember is me." He slowly moved to withdraw the blade from his father's back. "Give my regards to Loth." He twisted the hilt and drew it out, dropping it to his feet. Blood gushed from the wound now, and from the man's mouth. The woman sobbed, balling into a fetal position.
    The man's eyes became dull and grey, his breathing stopped. Callon fell to his knees crying.

    Four years had passed for Callon and his mother, Myli'na. Even though the loss of his "father" had burdened them financially, the two had never really been happier. They were free. Neither had any obligations to high society anymore, no longer did they have to give lip service to someone because they were supposed to like them. Never had his mother smiled so. But still, a pain of what he had done burned in him.
    They had managed to find a small flat near the wharf, it was not big by any standards, but it was home. Callon had taken a job as a dockhand to help pay the bills, and occasionally he did some "seedier" side work to add food to the table. Myli'na had worked as a server in one of the taverns.
    Many nights, Callon was brought back to the events that took them out of their home...when he committed the murder of his father. And every time, he cried, seeking forgiveness for his crime from the gods. Never had he found it.
    Until one wet and stormy night, he cried out to Erevan, the elven god of change. He begged for forgiveness and as his tears fell, he felt serenity wash over him. He felt calm and collected, but still the guilt was there.
    Then, he heard a voice; it seemed to come from the corner of the room, from some shadows. "Why do you mourn his passing so, child? Surely the world is a better place without his cruelty." Callon jumped and spun, looking for an attacker. No one was there. Then he listened to the voice, reading its tone. There was no malice in it, there was compassion.
    The voice spoke again. "Do not mourn the fall of your father, he acted as one without honor, as one who is N'Tel"quessir. The change was for the better no?"
    Callon swallowed hard and spoke, his voice breaking, "I...I do not cry for him...I cry for my self, I cry for my mother...if I had not..."
    The voice finished his sentence, "if you had not taken his life, your mother would be in his place. You did as any son who loved his mother would."
    "Wh...who are you?" Callon dared to ask.
    "I have many names, but I believe you called me Erevan." As the name was uttered, a swirl of grey smoke lifted from the floorboards, forming into a mist that obscured vision. The mist parted and an elf clad in a robe of black and dark green stood there. "You called out to me, and I answered you my child. I know in your heart the pain you feel. It will ease in time, but never leave you completely."
    Callon fell to his knees.
    The avatar smiled. "You need not prostrate yourself before me child. I have come to give you a message, that someday, you will find hope. Your life will take on a meaning you cannot begin to understand now. But know that I will always be watching over you. I know where your life will lead, and you can achieve a better life for those you love."
    "Wh...what will I become?" Callon in shock of the situation asked.
    "A guide to the lost, a beacon to a soul that sees no light, sees no hope. You, my child, will lead a daughter out of the darkness, as I do to you now. I do not ask you become a priest, but that you learn to see what is not seen. Follow your feet and I will guide them." As the avatar uttered the last few words, it darkened and slowly melded back into the shadows. "I will be watching over you, my child."
    Callon stayed knelt, looking about for the Elf. He was gone. He could not help but smile now.

    Life was good for Callon and Myli’na for years, as though a terrible burden had been lifted from their hearts. She had heard what had happened to him that night, and she saw the change in his life almost immediately. Now he prayed nightly for guidance, not crying anymore from the prayers. Even if he had been deluded and had seen an illusion, it did not matter. He was happy now.

    That happiness left him one balmy summer evening however. Myli’na had been sick for a tenday with a foul fever. He returned home that night and found her near to death, her breaths coming in shallow gasps, her forehead almost too hot to touch. She smiled when she saw him and beckoned him to come and sit near her. With tear filled eyes, he obliged.
    “Your god spoke to me as well, my son. I know I am dying, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it. The priest of Corellon had come this afternoon, while you were at the docks.” She had a calm look, her eyes still shining as always. “I have not long here, son, but Lord Erevan had come to me, to tell me to not fear this change. I know now that I will be in Arvandor, in the fields and meadows there.”
    Callon wept softly, nodding to his mother. “I know…your heart is pure, and I know I shall see you someday again, but I will miss you until that day, mother”
    She smiled again, “you have led one soul into the light Callon, even though this body suffers, I know it will be passing soon, and that I will soon be in the court of Corellon. Do not cry out of sorrow for me. I will always be here, my son” She reached out and put her hand on his heart and smiled. He held her hand until it relaxed and fell to the side of the bed. The smile never left her face. Tears streaked his cheek, but he did not weep for his loss. He knelt next to her and said softly “Lord Erevan, guide her unto your side and keep her,”

    After her passing, he took care of the remaining affairs that were left, sold what he could not carry on his back and left Luskan. He traveled to Silverymoon and from there took a caravan east. After wandering for two years, he walked into the gates of Norwick.
    As he opened the gate, he felt that serenity wash over him again. Callon smiled, knowing Lord Erevan had directed him here, to this small farming community.

    Login: Callonfast
    PC: Adriell woodstalker and Callon


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