Qamos Eclypse

[Marshal]

Character Name: Qamos Eclpyse
Account ID: He_who_lives_a_thousand_lives

Qamos grew up on a small ranch just outside of Whitehorn, in a place known as The Ride… His parents were humble farmers who raised horses and cattle, and were usually content to just live out their days on the ranch. Qamos' father was a musclar man, who spent most of his time breaking in wild horses for the Nobles in Whitehorn, occasionally being invited to various festivals to show off their familes ranching abilities. Qamos' mother spent most of her time tending to the household and raising the children, mainly Qamos and his 4 brothers and 3 sisters a rather large family. About 2 months after Qamos' 8th birthday, his father received an invitation from the local lord to attend the Midsummer festival. He had always promised Qamos that when he was old enough he would bring him along on the ride to the town, and teach him about bartering and conversing with nobles. Qamos spent many years asking his father if he was ready, and it wasn't until this year that his father decided to bring him. Qamos was excited, he had always wanted to travel and see the world, having never left his family ranch he didn't know what was out there. From the moment they left the ranch Qamos was filled with wanderlust and a desire to meet other people from the land around his farm.

The ride to the city proved uneventful and peaceful... Qamos asked his father all sorts of questions about the land, his desire to learn pleased his father greatly. Qamos' father had always been a peaceful man, who prayed to Mielikki and lived his life in as much balance with the land as he could, and he believed teaching his sons to do the same would indeed please the Lady. They arrived at the town of Whitehorn and were approached at the gates by two guards who seemed to recognize Qamos' father. After some conversation the guards introduced themselves to Qamos with wide smiles on their faces, they as well were pleased to see the Eclpyse family was doing well. They were then explained how to get to the fair grounds, that unlike most years had been outside the walls, this year was to be held inside the walls at the Lord's Estate due to an increasing number of goblin activity in the region. Qamos' father seemed slightly concerned for this and proceeded to the Shrine of Mielikki. He taught his son about the Lady of the Forest and her teachings. How men can live at peace with the wild, and how by only taking what is needed all life can flourish. He also explained that to take from the wild is alright, but one must give back where they can... plant tree's and crops... breeding horses and cattle to replace those lost was the proper way of a farmer. Here he taught Qamos to pray, taught him about the gods and their struggles on the land, and how if you are devout enough they will hear your prayers. Qamos didn't fully understand what his father was getting at, and just listened. How could their be gods, beings of great power he thought to himself and what did they have to do with his day to day life he couldn't really understand. His father prayed for many hours at the shrine, praying his family be kept safe in his absense and praying his crops would flourish to feed his family through the cold seasons. Qamos prayed along side his father, but he didn't understand what he was praying for, so he just said... "Ummm. Hi. I'm Qamos, nice to ummm meet you. Thanks for keeping me safe all these years." Qamos figured that he wasn't worth the noting of the gods, and just shrugged it off, however he did feel a calming and peaceful feeling flow through him.

After prayer at the shrine, his father took him to the Lord's estate where they were escorted inside and off towards the stables. The Lord had two reasons for the invite, the first was that Qamos' father was the best Horse rancher in the area, and had raised all of the Lords horse's himself, so he was given a certain amount of respect by the Lord. Secondly, one of the Lords prized steeds was ill, and in a sour mood. It would not let anyone near it to clean or feed it, protesting with kicks and headbutting, biting and the like. Qamos' father was taken almost immediately to the stable that held the horse. He told Qamos to stand back, well out of harms way and he would do what he could to help the horse. His father began speaking softly to the horse, whispering soft words to the horse and kept his distance from the stall. The horse kicked and pushed and bit hard at the gate keeping him, seeming not to hear the words his father spoke. His father kept his pose, he kept the whispers coming, soft and smooth his words, they seemed to leave common and change to another language and Qamos could no longer understand what his father was saying. He watched patiently as his fathers words became harsh and almost scolding, then soft and rythmic almost moments later the horse stopped kicking, stopped screaming it's angry tones at them. His father took a step towards the horse, the horse stopped moving, almost as if held in a trance by his father, their eyes locked and his fathers words becoming calm again, almost as if soothing to the horse. The words reached into the horse, almost as if speaking to the beast within the horse and scolding it for being rude, yet telling it everything would be alright. His father advanced more, and slowly opened the gate, his hand reaching up to rub the horses nose softly, his strange words never stopping. To Qamos' surprise the horse nuzzled into his fathers touch, as if longing to feel the warm embrace of an old friend, one who's very pressence made everything okay. Qamos' father's hand slid down the horses side and down it's leg then grabbed firmly and lifted the horse's hoof up. It was then Qamos realized why the horse had been stomping around angrily... clear as day the jagged piece of a broken and rusted dagger had wedged itself deep into the horses hoof between the hoof and the horseshoe... the cut was quite deep and no doubt caused the horse incredible pain anytime it put it's foot down. His father noticed it as well and began softly speaking to the horse again in that strange language, almost as if explaining what he was about to do would cause it alot of pain and discomfort, but it would be over just as soon. The horse seems to brace itself for the pain and his father pulled out the broken piece of rusted metal out of the hoof and tossed it aside. He spoke quickly in another stange languange and then touched the horse's hoof. The wound closed almost instantly, no scar, no bleeding, nothing. This was the first time Qamos had ever seen magic, had ever seen his father perform magic and it made him question just how much the gods do listen. He was filled with questions and truely amazed by his father, even more so then before. His father explained that the horse was simply trying to tell the stable hands that there was something sharp in it's foot that it couldn't get out, and was getting frustrated asking for help when they could not understand it. The Lord was overly thrilled and invited them to dinner in his estate after the festival. He handed Qamos 2 gold and said "Don't spend it all in one place, but go enjoy yourself lad, I need to speak with your father." Qamos was super excited, he had never had so much money and immediately rushed out to the festival grounds, helped himself to all sorts of foods he had never tried, played games of all sorts, and even met many of the other young boys and girls from the area.

Later that night Qamos' father returned to the festival grounds, and found Qamos.. he explained that they had to leave right away, and to say goodbye to his friends. The Lord had provided his father with two fast riding horses in return for helping his wounded horse, and Qamos and his father left with haste. They rode and rode, and shortly after nightfall they made camp along the road south. His father explained that they would build no fire tonight, and they would sleep in shifts. He explained there were dangers about the land, and Qamos was to remain as quiet as possible. Qamos slept first...full from supper and all the excitement he drifted into a deep sleep, dreams of adventure and the festival filled his head as he slept. He slept to long.. the morning sun was bright and woke him from his sleep. He looked around, and his father and the two horses were gone. Qamos looked around, and he saw that he had been covered by dirt and dragged into a small ditch on the side of the road. Something had happened during the night and his father had hidden him. Qamos looked around and could see that there was blood on the road, and a couple of dead creatures he had never seen before, but knew by the description they were goblins. Qamos panicked... he was out away from home and hadn't really paid to much attention to the route they took. He was lost.

Qamos checked the goblins on the road, and saw that they had been killed by some sort of bladed weapon. He tried to remember what his father was wearing, and never had he seen a sword on his father... so who killed the goblins.. and where did his father go. Qamos panicked again. He knew he lived south of the town, so he ran... he ran and ran... he ran until he couldn't run anymore. Down the road he travelled, until he recognized the area a little more... He saw smoke in the distance, and at first he thought it was the fires burning at his neighbours farm... so he ran towards the farm... the closer he got the larger the cloud of smoke grew... then he realized his neighbours farm had been overrun by goblins, and it was burning... on fire! The fires were spreading and spreading fast... He looked closely but could not see any movement on the farm... he ran towards the house. As soon as he reached the the patio he looked into the open window and began to puke... the smell of burning flesh filled his nose. His neighbours had been killed and dismembered, and placed on spikes in the house before it was lit on fire. Qamos had never seen such horrific acts and it took him a moment to compose himself and gain his bearings again. He began to worry, and ran off towards his family ranch. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him, and tears began to fill his eyes as he could see his families ranch on fire as well... The smell of dead flesh burning again filled his nose, he could see the cattle were slaughtered, the horses lay dead in their pen. He reached the gate around his families house and could see the tiny figures moving in the house... he could hear the screams coming from within, the sounds of battle filled his ears. He grabbed a broken stick and proceeded to run into the house, they were ready... he received a blow to the shin as he entered the house and went tumbling forward, smashing into the wall. He quickly picked himself up and spun around face to face with the most disgusting looking goblin. The goblin was armed with a tiny rusted dagger and thrust it towards him, Qamos dodged and slammed a fist into the tiny creatures face, then another and another. The goblins grip on it's dagger lessened as Qamos repeatedly pounded it in the face, it dropped the dagger and tried to grapple him. The two struggled around, rolling through the living area each desperate to defeat the other. The goblin got the upper hand, it pinned Qamos' one arm and had him flat on his back, it bit deep into his shoulder and as Qamos screamed in pain his head arched back.. what he saw burned it's image forever into his mind. He saw his mother, his father and his sisters and brothers, their heads separate from their bodies and jammed on pikes in the kitchen. Rage filled Qamos, the pain of the bite lessened and he blacked out.

How long Qamos was out for, he cannot determine, but when he came to he was outside laying on the edge of a small forest. His body ached, he was covered in blood and gore, none of it his own. He looked himself over, and felt a huge pain in his head as he moved. His breathing slowed as the pain shot through his head making his vision blurry, he passed out again. His sleep was filled with visions of his family's pain, how they had been overrun by these goblins and killed, and for what.... the goblins hadn't taken anything, hadn't eaten the cattle killed, or the horses... they just killed for no reason. Then images filled his dream of the town and the festival, of the Lord and his family, images of a wave of goblins filled his head... overrunning the walls and the town like a snow blanket in winter. The death scream of the Lord woke him from his sleep, sweaty and breathing heavy he sat up... rain beat down around him, he was soaked. The rain had washed away most of the blood on his body, how long had he been out he wondered. "SNAP" a branch broke just in the edge of the wood. Qamos scrambled to his feat and looked around. At first he saw nothing, it was late at night and the rain was so strong it was making it hard to see. He looked down to where he was sleeping and he could see a clearly defined set of boot prints leading off away from the noise.... he looked closely at the print and could see a small bear paw symbol where the heel of the boot had pressed into the mud... the bootprint made by a man and not a goblin. "SNAP" another branch broke behind him, he could hear whispers of some vulgar language in the woods getting closer. He followed the tracks away from the edge of the woods, he hadn't even made it a few hundred feet from the forest edge when he heard the goblin warcry as hundreds of the monsters came rushing out after him. He followed the tracks at a fast pace, and soon they just disappeared... he kept running. Lucky for him he was slightly faster then the goblins, he felt himself lighter and able to endure more, run faster... so he did.... Thoughts reveled through his mind of Mielikki and were soon quickly clouded over... he ran through the rain, heard the thunder and the only light was that of the occasional lightning strike. He ran and ran, until he reached Whitehorn, carried on by some otherworldly force, he managed to make it to the gate by morning.

Qamos was immediately stopped at the gates by the two guards. They did not recognize him at first as he was covered in mud and dirt. Qamos breathed heavy as he ran towards the guards, they realized who it was moments before Qamos collapsed in their arms from fatigue... uttering "Goblins... army..." before passing out.

Qamos awoke inside a small building, he had been cleaned and redressed and layed in a bed to recover. He could hear the sounds of battle and commands being issued forth by commanders, he rubbed his eyes and slowly rose out of the bed. He adjusted the new clothes to his form and walked to the doorway. He could see that he made it to Whitehorn in time... the town was undersiege but seemed to be able to defend itself well, the brave men on the walls fought off the initial goblin attack and had settled in to taking pot shots at straying goblin forces. The guards noticed him in the door way and walked over. "We offer you thanks young one, had you not warned us of the coming army we would have been taken by surprise. The Lord wishes to speak to you at once please come with us." The guards led Qamos off towards the Lord's estate, where he was greeted by a clerk and told to wait in the gardens, the two guards returned to their posts.

After some time, the Lord came to speak with Qamos, he brought with him several servants who carried trays of food and drink, and they shared lunch together in the peace of the garden. Qamos could barely hear the battle from here, a sense of calmness and peace about the garden reminded him of his prayers at the shrine. The Lord asked him to explain how he knew the army was going to attack, and Qamos explained of his trip south with his father, his fathers disappearance and his families demise at the hands of the goblins. He then told the Lord of the strange tracks he found, and asked about the symbol within them and the Lord simply smiled. Qamos a little nervous at the smile asked him what it meant. The Lord said nothing but asked Qamos to follow him to a corner of the garden, where a small shrine had been errected and held the symbol he had seen... the bear print. This is the symbol of Gwaeron Windstrom, the Master of Tracking, Master Interpreter of Woodland Signs, the Tracker who never goes astray... the mouth of Mielikki he explained. The Lord explained that if Qamos had truly seen this symbol in the bootprint then he was indeed blessed, and that the Master of Tracking had shown him the path to safety. Qamos asked the Lord to be allowed a moment to pray at the shrine as his father had taught him. The Lord respected Qamos' request and left the garden along with his servants, giving Qamos the chance to be alone...

Qamos knelt in front of the shrine and clasped his hands together as he had been shown by his father. Thoughts of his father and family filled his mind as he did this, he remembered his brothers laughter, and his sisters joy... his Mothers constant look of approval and his fathers prideful words. He cried. He cried until there were no tears left, and when he could not cry any longer he prayed. He thanked Qwaeron Windstrom for showing him the way to safety, the asked that he could show his family the same gift and see their souls through the fugue into the warm embrace of Mielikki. Qamos explained that he knew little of the way of the gods, but if Qwaeron was willing to guide him, he would praise him for the rest of his life. A warm feeling came over Qamos, he felt as he had never felt before and he felt his connection to his diety. The warmth took the negative feelings away, made him believe his family would find peace and he too would be alright. He vowed he would do what he could to follow in Gwaeron's footsteps and aid others along that path as well, that he would live his life at peace with the wild as his father had. Qamos spent many hours knelt in front of the shrine praying, night fell upon the town and the sounds of battle became but a whisper on the wind. Qamos fell asleep.

The next morning Qamos awoke to a servant serving him breakfast... she fed him and told him the Lord would like to speak with him after he had eaten. Qamos ate and then was brought to the the Lord in his study.. After a long period of silence the Lord offered Qamos a position in his staff until the time at which he was old enough to find his own path. Qamos agreed, having nowhere else to go, the offer of the Lord pleased him. Qamos' only request was that he could spend some time with the horses as his father had. The Lord was pleased with this and agreed to let Qamos aid the stable hands during his free time. The town inevitably held off against the goblin attack and siege and Qamos' found himself enjoying the security the town had to offer. The Lord took a liking to Qamos and had him schoolled, a gift most commoners would never hope to achieve. Qamos was schooled in wilderness lore, politics and warefare. He was taught to speak Elven as his father had, as well as dwarven and goblin. Qamos excelled in school, his thirst for knowledge was great and he spent many years in the servitude to the Lord and his family, however his wanderlust always kept urging him to leave.

On his 16th birthday, the Lord of the town offered Qamos a position with the hunters of the town, a job of great prestige and work. Qamos' had kept his faith in Qwaeron Windstrom and felt his wanderlust growing stronger and stronger over the last few years. He politely refused the offer, to a little of the disappointment of the Lord. He explained that since the day his family died he often had dreams of travelling the world, seeing what lay over each horizon and living a life away from the town. The Lord seemed pleased with this, and bade him to follow him down into the basement of the estate. The Lord explained that long ago, before he was Lord of this small town, he was an adventurer. He too worshipped the Master of Tracking, and had plyed his trade throughout the North, until eventually retiring here in the town. He handed Qamos a set of leather armor, a bow, a longsword and two short sword. He strapped them all onto Qamos, and handed him a backpack full of rations and a few other much needed things for the road. He explained the life of an adventurer was a dangerous path... but if he could he would still be out exploring the roads of fate. He looked Qamos over with a proud look and a bit of a smile. "You may not have been my son at birth, but you have made a place in my heart as any son would. May you find your Silent Path as I once did, and follow your heart and dreams to each new horizon. I doubt I will ever see you again, so know you go with my blessing and should you ever return I would gladly welcome you back into my home." Qamos' eyes filled with tears of joy, he felt as though he was truly appreciated and he hugged the Lord. "I will never forget you, and the generosity you have given me." The Lord nodded with a smile at Qamos' words and brought him back upstairs and out into the garden. "When you are ready to leave go stand in front of the shrine and push your foot into the ground and leave a circle of six footprints in the ground, the heel of each print nearly touching and the toes facing outward, then say the name of your god." Qamos walked over to the shrine and did as he was told... he placed the prints as the Lord had described, then invoked the name "Qwaeron Windstrom"... he disappeared.

Qamos felt the world leave him for a moment, his vision blurred as if he had become mist on the wind, travelling with the force of a gentle breeze across Toril, as his vison cleared he was standing on a dock.. the wind of the sea blowing through his hair. He looked around at the place he had arrived in and could see the dockworkers hard at work... they hadn't even noticed him arrive there and when he asked one of them where he was, after a strange look from the man, the man replied "Why your in Peltarch lad, Jewel of the North." With that Qamos set out into the city with a smile on his face... what adventurers did this new land have in store for him...

[Black Rider]

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