Valorin Irelenas
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Login: AscensionPath
Character: Valorin IrelenasBackground and Origins:
Valorin was the only child of an elven naval captain in Waterdeep, who moved east to the city of Peltarch twenty years ago to attempt to establish trade links with the west, and to start an elven trading house in the city. The civil war in the city however claimed his parents, before they could succeed in their aims; their lives claimed in the violence while he was away from the city in a prayer retreat and meditation in the name of Mystra. He had trained since an early age in his devotions to the faith of mystra in the Temple of Wonder, Waterdeep - as well as being put to sea as a junior officer in the Elven Naval Armada of Evermeet.
**[Year 1450 - 5th after Midsummer
IEN Cecropia Dawn, Imperial Cutter
Location: Southern coastal reaches, Coastal Patrol.
Personal Journal of 2nd Lieutenant Valorin Irelenas](565b5c2c8b)**
Our first day of patrol passes easily, a modest wind blows from the northwest making good headway around the point of the shore. The quarterdeck under Captain Deleril is a well ordered place with the almost silent orders of the officer of the watch carried out easily by junior officers and their ranks with none of the shouting, brutality and idleness I hear from some more experienced officers tell of the ships of humankind.
My duties are a pleasure to perform, taking the watch and in junior second in command of the elven marine detachment under Lieutenant Elberen. The males and females of the marines are an impressive sight, with the delicate elven blade of the naval spellswords over finely wrought chain. The Lieutenant and i get on well, though has a tendency to offer his polite respect to me rather too often considering his senior rank, himself aware of my devotions to the faith of Mystra. I asked him politely today to treat me the same as any other junior officer, to which he was accommodating. I look forward to joining them in combat against the often land based banditry who ambush supply trains after they make landfall. I am told we are promised some escort duty in the coming tendays.
Prayer is somewhat difficult at times aboard ship, but I have taken upon myself to lead the spellsword marines in short prayers upon the morn. and evening when they retire to their quarters to commit their incantations to their mind. It is an honour to do so, despite only the humble prayers that befit my station. Mystra willing the marines shall prove firm in their devotions and the lady will smile upon our endeavours.
It was my first night upon the watch this eve, just prior to my writing this journal upon the morn of the day before I shall meditate for some time prior to prayer. The winds rose up upon the eve, and the ship had to tack for some distance to bypass the border of a brewing storm windward off our starboard keel. Two of the marines as well as a full Lieutenant of the navy stood watch as well as ratings of the navy about their duties, and upon midnight a few of the ratings I found stood staring at the distant storm as Talos raged his power upon the waters and on some distant island, a few of them muttering nervous words between them. It was pleasing to lay a hand upon their shoulders and speak to them, I found myself using the words of the high priest of the Temple of Wonder to reassure them.
“Fear not the wonders of the realm, be they be the works of the gods or of mortals, for in all the power of the storm, wind or the movement of the earth the weave is about us, it is within us and it is above us all. Think of the mystery of the weave and the beauty of the weave and the mysteries that are beyond our ken shall surely become clear. In the ladys’ name Fear shall be replaced by determined will, and confusion shall be replaced by wonder.”
The morning watch passed quietly this day with only a distant sighting of a number of human trading coasters further ahead of our course to the south. The evening watch however was a dark few hours, where in a brief rolling low cloud a spike-prowed human vessel emerged landward of our position out of an inlet at full sail, meaning to pass behind us. The configuration of the vessel was un mistakable, and our ship was low in the water, just following a strong turn to the west to tack onto a changing wind. The deep crimson solid colour of the ships ensign was unmistakable as a small warship of a pirate fleet that was common in these waters. The temptation of the humans to make for a lone elven ship was too much, and as a cutter with only archers to defend us as would be normal it would be a none too difficult prize.
The boat closed upon our rear quarter, and fired its prow-mounted ballista missing the mainmast by a few feet but pinning a mustering archer to the deck killing him instantly as the alerted crew hurried to stations.
In a well rehearsed tactic though, our ship turned as if caught off-guard, and my eyes shocked by the sudden onslaught, as arrows flew between the closing vessels. I noticed many of the elven archers were below decks ready for the winning tactic of the elven navies. I looked toward the rear raised portion of the ship across a blood-streaked deck in places and the occasional fallen kin; and as the pirate vessel moved to ram our ship from the rear hatches emerged in three groups of three the elven spellswords raining arcane power onto the enemy vessels. Typically the first spell volley of the first three spellswords to emerge was designed to take the enemy ship by surprise, one of them picking out the pirate manning the ballista as he became almost rigid his hand fused to the firing mechanism. The second spell was a firey ball that enveloped most of the maindeck, setting the sails afire. The final spell set the human pirate ship fighting one another as they seemed to randomly stand stupidly doing nothing, turn to strike at their fellows or simply jump overboard to escape the burning ship. After the standard duty watch of 9 spellswords was upon deck the pirate ship was an inferno and those crew lucky enough to survive had taken to small boats or clung on to driftwood for dear-life. The spellswords were merciless in dealing with the pirates, unsurprising but it pleased me to see our captain turn our ship about to lower our small launch to pick up as prisoners those who would have surely drowned in the chill waters.
In the ladys' name…
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Reviewed - XP Pending.
