Lhoran En'Elon

[XpYtZ]

Well I finaly finished it...to date that is. So here it is for you all to critique(sp) and know.
Now I feel like I\'m acutally a legitimate member of the forums and fan base.

The history of Lhoran En?Elone

Chapter One:
The history of Lhoran En?Elone
Lhoran was his name. From birth a simple hunter with his father. Living in communion with nature, what little there was in the labyrinths. There was always a longing, however for more; a stirring in his heart to a larger goal, though it was seldom allowed any time to go to seed, it none the less did and as the boy became a man, he searched toward strange things that were seldom seen or practiced among his Enkidukai brothers. The art of Alchemy became Lhoran\'s lover and dear friend. Though the tribe was not predisposed to liking it ?especially the small fires and occasional explosions- they allowed Lhoran to practice his hobby with one rule, it must never interfere with his role in the tribe.
Lhoran?s father being a hunter, Lhoran was obviously to be a hunter as well but found himself more drawn to healing his brothers through alchemy than setting out on the hunt. Soon the tribal leaders asked Lhoran?s father to intervene. A challenge was posed. Lhoran was to train in alchemy for four years near the city of Hydlaa with a respected Xacha alchemist and if denied permanent employment at the end of that term he was to return to his tribe and become a hunter like his father. Lhoran agreed and was sent off.
The Xacha alchemist was pleased to have a new student, though he was already brimming with others who wished to learn as well, and Lhoran soon found himself doing the standard lessons and cleaning that all interns were required to do. Though he despised not being able to work with the herbs and devices that were in the main work area he pressed on knowing that some day he would be allowed access to a world his tribe had never known.
Time passed, three years to be exact and Lhoran found himself the head gatherer of supplies for his teacher. Often leading teams of other students, most of whom had never been in the labyrinths, on expeditions for standard and occasionally rare alchemical items. It seemed that his small amount of training in hunting with his father, and the rest of the pack, and his youth in the labyrinths had trained him overly well for the task of gathering materials.
Late in his third year he was sent with one other pupil to the city of Hydlaa to retrieve a rare material that had been shipped there. His mission was to receive the materials and return, nothing more. However once he reached the city he was awestruck by its enormity and the variety of people living there. Instead of receiving the merchandise and returning as required, he received the merchandise and sent a note with the other student to his teacher which read:

Dear sir,
I have come this day to the city of Hydlaa and stood in awe before the temple of Laanx and the statue of Laanx. I see now that there is much more I can learn of the world before the bargain with my father is met. I ask your permission to spend one year in the city and learn of its many wonders before completing my final year in your service. If you are inclined to answer my request would you inform my father and I.
Many thanks
Lhoran En?Elon?

Perhaps it was the will of his tribe for breaking the bargain, or the pride of the alchemist that led to the trouble...

Interlude:
Lhoran attempted to open his eyes but with the first slivers of light that pierced into them from the early rising sun the pain forced him to snap them shut again. He worried at how he could end up like this Hangovers he had had many of since coming to Hydlaa but nothing had been like this. His head spun as he tried to remember where he had been the night before. Nothing was there. The last thing he could recall was being in Kadda?s tavern and than....Nothing. He could hear people speaking near him and strained to hear their conversation. \"We found him in the fountain this morning sir.\" Came the first voice. \"In the fountain?\" \"Yes sir. We thought at first that he was dead.\"
Dead? How could he have ended up in the fountain in the first place, let alone in a manner that would cause someone to think him dead? He continued listening, maybe he could find something out from these men. \"Well he obviously is not dead...Is he?\" \"No sir. He does seem to be terribly injured though.\" \"Have you considered waking him?\" \"Yes sir. Three times we tried before you arrived, but we don\'t know anythin?\' but field medicine.\" A new voice, this one younger than the others and obviously not Enki...Enki?! The guards? That would explain the \"Sirs\" that were being exchanged. At least he knew it was safe to try and get up. With a groan he righted himself, without opening his eyes, and leaned against the cool stones behind him. Suddenly he was quite aware of just how tired, cold, and injured he was. His sides and head throbbed with what had to be the worst bruises he had felt in his life, his legs where like gelatin and his jaw was at least displaced, if not broken. What had happened the night before?
With the strong growl that he had released upon raising the guards had ended their conversation and moved towards him. \"Easy their son. You\'ve had quite the night. Can you remember anything about last night?\" Lhoran attempted to speak but with his injuries he was only able to make the most guttural of noises. \"Well than! I hope that?s the injuries and not a threat.\" \"I doubt he is able to speak with his jaw broken sir.\" \"Broken is it? Doesn?t look broken. Son, this is going to hurt. A lot. But you should be able to tell us a little more afterwards.\" With that Lhoran felt two large Enki hands laid on his face. If the pain from being touched had not been so great the sudden, mind numbingly painful jerk that he felt might have hurt all the more. With a short painful series of pops and a grinding noise his jaw slid back into place. \"Now don\'t you try and work it yet. It needs a couple minuets for the swelling to go down. Meanwhile  we\'ll go and see if that visiting alchemist is up yet. He should be able to help you get some rest. Suddenly Lhoran was filled with strength. The alchemist! He thought. Of course! He fell forward grasping for whoever might still be in reach but the guards had moved away and out of the square to quickly. No, no, no! I can\'t still be here when they return, I have to find a way out of the square. Out of town if I can. At the mention of the alchemist memory had flooded back from the night before. The dark alley, the four huge Enki from his pack and the alchemist blocking him in as he rounded out his evening searching for crystals. People seldom searched this late at night for the occasional crystals that appeared in the streets. Words had been exchanged between the Enki and the alchemist and than darkness. Lhoran was sure that they had thought him dead. Why else dump him in the fountain. None of those things mattered now though. He had to escape before the guards brought back the alchemist. Before anyone from the night before found out that he was still alive.
Crawling with his forepaws as fast as he could he attempted to open his eyes again. The pain was brutal but he managed to see, if only briefly that he was headed for the temple of Laanx. He knew what to do now. If only he could make it.
The seconds passed like hours as he pulled himself toward the temple. Than he felt the stairs, he knew that he had made it half way there. Crawling up the stairs was harder that crossing the courtyard each stair was pure agony. As Lhoran mounted each stair he reminded himself that death was what waited behind him. Death was being brought to him by the guards, and if they had told the alchemist anything of the condition he was in, or where they had found him...Death would be flying towards the square. Eventually there was no, other step to grasp and Lhoran opened his eyes again. Almost there and dead on target. He had to make it, he just had to. When he opened his eyes again he was crossing the doors to the temple. Behind him he heard the sound of the guard that had fixed his jaw ordering the others to search for him. He hoped that he had not left a trail of blood or fur to easy to see. Even if he had left no trail it would not take the guards long to find him here. Everyone came here.
Lhoran was exhausted by the time he reached the well. Twice the guards had missed seeing him only because of a bench or pillar. Inside the temple the light was dim enough that he could keep his eyes open. that had probably saved him as much as anything. He mounted the steps. Down. That was the only way to go now. The guards would never go into the tunnels to search for him and the alchemist would not even know that they existed. it had taken Lhoran a good week to find out that this well was only a passage. And it was the only one of three in the city. Down would be safe if he survived the fall. If he did not survive, it would probably be less painful than what the alchemist had in mind for him. Down.
Crawling and falling. That was his life for three of four days after his decent. Eating whatever he could find and hiding from the many crystal hunters that clogged the tunnels. It was a wonder, considering the power that some of the hunters had for finding crystals that he was never seen or at least that he was never acknowledged. Safe in the tunnels for three weeks.

[XpYtZ]

Was to long...Second half [please don\'t kill me Moogie ]

Chapter Two:
Waking from another cold night of sleep in the caves below Hydlaa, Lhoran prepared to continue his search for the necessary herbs to keep him alive. Nothing that grew on the walls of the caverns was of much interest to the Crystal hunters that were there. Fortunate for Lhoran they were just what he needed to survive the two or three more weeks while he was down here.
He had tried two or three time previously to venture to the Wind Tower and look about the city. The Azure Sun would wash over him and speed the healing process. He may even be able to meditate for a while in it?s healing light. But each time he reached the winding staircase that would bring him there he was reminded of the difficulty he was still having in simply reaching it. He would never make it to the top. He would never be able to react if he slipped. Instead he had remanded himself to skulking through the caverns and living off what he could find.
In the last weeks he had watched in wonder as the number of crystal hunters had dropped dramatically. Though it made getting around without being seen easier, he wondered where they were all going. He also wondered if anyone from the Guild that he had joined was looking for him. Perhaps they were, and that would be glory. He knew that they would help him back to health and help him hide if need be. On the other hand, he wondered if the strange and drastic drop in the number of Crystal hunters was tied to something; something that had taken the Guild with it as well.
Fear would grip him with each thought of that.
It had been a long time since Talad had last visited the world. At his last coming there had been rumors of a drastic and all encompassing change that he had planned for the world. Some even said that he had promised a new Epoch. But no such thing had happened, and it was now far longer than had been prophesied. Perhaps that was where all the Crystal hunters were going. Perhaps they were setting out in search of him. Perhaps they where leaving Hydlaa to fight whatever held him back. Or perhaps they were all passing into the darkness that Lhoran had battled during the long absence.
Lhorans days had all been filled with thoughts of this nature. At first they were a way of staying sane, alone in the caverns. Later they had become a happy diversion, something to keep his mind off the hours of tedium involved in finding food and herbs. Now all these thoughts reminded him that the world as he knew it might well have changed in his absence and he would not be aware. He would, again be relying on the wisdom of those ?some with less time in the actual city than him- who knew what he needed to. Again he would be scorned and laughed at. He hated being laughed at.
Frustration turning to rage welled up within him and the fear that had resolved him to these dark, musty caverns was consumed by it. Today, he would mount that spiraling staircase and view again the Azure Sun. He would be healed by its power and light. He would be well again.
It took some time to actually reach the stair but with each step of the ladders and stairs that led up, and out, he found more strength. Like a drowning man in view of shore, he struggled to keep himself under control. Struggled to keep his wits about him. One wrong move in his condition and he would be found on the floor below. Though he had never seen or heard of someone falling from the staircase he did not want to be the first. Whatever magic was about the outside of the Wind Tower, he was not willing to test its effects on the inside.
By the time he reached the final landing he was exhausted. He had worked his way this far by carefully balancing the rage that drove him and the fear that held him against a foolish mistake. Seven rungs of a wooden ladder was all that stood between him and the Sun. He could already feel and smell ?hell he could taste the fresh air. But he had to keep his euphoria in check.
Seven rungs.

[Monketh]

Woah.

I have to say that I\'m proud to have you in my guild.  You\'re a much better rp\'er than I, surely.

*applauds*

-Monketh