Timeline
Started Farming.........................................3
Made friends with Kyle and Tes........................4
Mother took blame......................................7
Freedom & "The Fiery End"............................ 9
Family Claimed farm...................................10
"Lucin Lover"............................................15
Father dies..............................................16
Mother is sent away....................................21
Niki arrives..............................................22
Nikis father teaches him to fight.....................22
"The Great Bar Fight"..................................23
Niki leaves/Rook goes north-west....................24
Finds mothers grave...................................25
Drinks sorrows away...................................25
Arrives in Auria.........................................26
Reunites with Niki......................................26
Meets Ezri...............................................27
Learns to Brew from Crayeon.........................28
Falls in love with Ezri..................................29
Marries Ezri.............................................30
Auria explodes..........................................31
Journey starts..........................................31
Bishop is born..........................................32
Journeys end/Arrives in Reavena....................33
Background
Rook was only 9 when the War of Veld ended. He was born into slavery, as a farmhand to help feed the Xitian army. He had been raised watching the Xitian overlords mistreat the other slaves, as well as watching helplessly one night as they assaulted his mother. This moment in his life would forever solidify his resentment and mistrust of all Xitians. When the time came and the war effort arrived, he watched in horror as the last remaining Xitians slaughtered most of the slaves. "A pointless and cruel last act, something only a coward would do!" he thought, as he watched helplessly. After the dust settled, only seven of the previously nineteen farm workers remained. Most joined with the mobile army that freed them, but Rook's parents were old, and Rook himself, too young. They opted to continue the farm, but to now feed the soldiers in their remaining fight against the Xitians.
In the last days of the War of Veld, the majority of the slaves in the middle realm had been liberated. The worst was over and soon the Xitian threat would be behind the Mesalians. But for Rook and the rest of the slaves on the plantation, their masters were some of the last holdouts in the war. But even they would fall, and on one night, fires consumed the Xitian masters quarters. Insurgents in the Mesalian army had entered through the window of the masters bedroom, and in a swift act, impaled him through the heart. Before perishing though, the Xitian let loose a desperate final act, a burst of fire that quickly got out of control. With everyone alerted, the bulk of the Mesalian forces moved in, with two Lucins leading the charge. Rook was only nine at the time, but as his mother and father woke him up, the smell of smoke and blood thick in the air, even Rook understood the situation, fearful as he was. His father and mother were not fighters, and instead opted to hide their family. They couldn't get out of the fences that had always penned them in, but they did manage to hide in a slightly far off barn. Rook was content to stay by their side, but he began to worry about his friends Kyle and Tes. Neither of them had parents to protect them like Rook did...
Minutes pass, as he debated doing anything... He waited while he thought, crouched down in the hay... But when he made up his mind, he bolted out of the barn, much to his parents yelled commands. He ran to the slave dorms, fast as his small feet could carry him. When he arrived his eyes were greeted with the sight of the shack ablaze. He gulped, steeling his nerves for the first time in his life, and charged into the small barrack-like building.
Seeing through the smoke and he fire proved too hard, but he could hear someone crying. A girl... He knew the voice all too well. It was Tes, under one of the beds, coughing and crying as she pleaded with the gods to save her life. It was here that Rook hesitated.. If only for a moment, but as he went to get closer, to attempt to save his lifelong friend, one of the support beams of the roof came crashing down on the bed. The crying stopped, and so did Rook. Though it was only seconds, he felt like he stood there for hours, just watching. Soldiers of the Mesalian army were quick to get any survivors out, one grabbing young Rook, who was unaware his shirt was on fire, and set him down in the grass outside after putting him out. The soldier went off quickly to rescue more people from the flaming shack. ((Fun fact, this soldier that saved Rook was Nikita's father))
Rook, dazed and confused, went back to the barn.. Or so he thought. He accidentally went into its twin barn next door. He went back to the hay bails on the second floor loft, but didn't find his family. Instead he found one of the more savage Xitian slave masters. Not just any slave master though. This was the one who had assaulted his mother one night, after she took the blame for something Rook and the other children has done. He was cowering in the hay, a feeble attempt at avoiding his demise at the hands of the Measalians he spent his life oppressing. Rook wasn't in the right state of mind. He had just lost his best friend, and saw a man so evil, yet trying to save his own pathetic life... Rook nearly blacked out a moment... His own lifetime of forced subjugation finally coming to surface. In a blind rage, young nine year old Rook grabbed a pitch fork from an adjacent hay bail, and with all the force he had, he stabbed blindly into the bail of hay the Xitian was cowering in. No noise... No flames.. Just a red viscous fluid that slowly seeped out of the bail of hay... And coated Rooks pitchfork, which he left there, skewering the monster. Rook left the barn, returning to his worried parents next door. It would take Rook years to fully remember the events of that night... But not all of it would ever feel real real to him... A distant nightmare.
When Rook was 15, he had been working the farm for over a decade. His father had taught him everything he had known, but had been spending more and more time in bed, but promised Rook he'd recover. It was at this time that Rook met a girl. Her name was Amber, and she was 17 years old, and to Rook, a stunning red headed Lucin beauty. He had met her on the job. Every harvest (or whenever Rook could find an excuse) Rook took the family's wagon out to the town, and one of his stops was the very large villa just outside town.
The home belonged to Ambers father, who had helped free the area during the war 6 years prior, and had sent for his family to join him, and a mansion built for "his more than gracious efforts to free the Mesalians". For the towns folk, it was widely known that the man had, besides his Lucin wife, several Mesalian mistresses. This resulted in the family having around 17 legitimate children, and no one wishes to guess how many illegitimate. Among them was Amber, who would be standing on the porch every time Rook would show up.
She was always there to greet the young man, and seemed keen to watch him as he unloaded the crops to the family's storage. Especially when Rook would remove his shirt in the summers heat. Rook would catch her shooting him glances, and he fancied her as well. This continued for months, before she started to bring him drinks and snacks, and Rook started to find excesses to pass by the villa.
One night, as Rook was returning from a trip into town, he took the long way home, passing by the villa. Amber could hear him coming as across the wooden bridge in the wagon, and came to greet him. Rook had been working hard that day, and was covered in sweat and dirt. With a sly grin, she offered... More insisted that he use their open bath, and that it was the least they could do for all the work he does. Rook, being the slightly dense man he was, accepted with gusto. He happily entered the open air bath, and for a moment, relaxed... Something Rook rarely got to to since... Ever. But soon he heard a noise.
Turning, his eyes met with Amber, wearing a towel, and nothing much else. He was quick to try and cover himself, but Amber had already trapped the young Rook. That night Rook became a man, and felt at one with the universe. Afterwards Amber excused herself to go "freshen up" and let Rook stay a moment longer. It was here that the night quickly went downhill. In a loud roar of wind, the door to the bath flew off the hinge. Amber's father stood there, a burning rage in his eyes befitting a Xitian. Behind him stood Amber, her towel now sporting rips and a suspicious red stain that hadn't been there when she left. In an instant the pool Rook was in started to freeze over. Rook would have tried to talk the situation out, but fear for his life made him jump the fence, and scramble naked to his wagon, cracking the whips hard to make an escape. The wind chased him down the road, but the more distance between him and the villa the better.
Amber had planned this all out. She was the ultimate middle child. 8 older siblings, 8 younger, and her, right in the middle. She wasn't gifted with her Lucin powers, nor was she overly smart or athletic. She just wanted her father's attention.. And she used Rook to that end. Framing him for raping her, she tossed poor Rooks feelings aside. So ashamed was Amber's father, that he would be seen as weak by the Mesalians, that he took his wife and only their pure blooded children, and departed back to the Aether Realm.
Rook was devastated, and would struggle for days to try and sort out what had happened. He would never quite trust a Lucin again, and he wouldn't date again until arriving in Auria. He focused on farming, and taking care of his family. If there is any silver lining to this, it was that Rook would prioritize his family over others, any day.
Six years begin to pass as he and his family slowly acclimate too free life. Now with adequate food and sleep, he grew strong and tall. His father and mother had become to elderly to do much work, and the time they spent in slavery took their toll. It was a cold summer night when his father passed away. Rook stood by his side as he tried in vain to tell his son the vital things a man needs to know to truly be a man. It was a solemn moment for Rook, one he would always remember. As he fought back the tears, he looked to his mother, who just had an expression of despair. He knew he would have to take care of her, as well as the farm. It felt unbelievably empty without his dad. He missed his fathersâ tales of great heroes of the past, who stood up to defend those who couldn't defend themselves. It was just him, his mother, and the perpetual cloud of gloom that hung over their home.
The following years dragged on, and his mother wasn't getting over the loss of her husband. Coupled with the increasing threat of the ever expanding civil war, he came to realize that she would be safer somewhere else. Even after the purge, the lands were dangerous, and he had heard rumors from traveling merchants that some of the people in the area had been starting fights with each other, the skirmishes even escalating to the point of murder. After some convincing, his mother agreed to move to the North-west forbidden lands. There was much talk of people going there in hopes of finding safety from the Xitians, and similar dangers. Luckily his mother had stayed in contact with one of the former slaves, and they agreed that they would take her with them the following day (in return for a small fee which Rook agreed to pay behind his mothers back). He brought her to the docks, and gave her all the money he had saved. Her eyes welled with tears as she said goodbye. Neither of them wanted to admit it, but they both knew. She was old, had lost the man she loved, and wasn't long for this world. This was most likely the last time they would see each other. She hugged him tightly, and told him how proud she was of him, and how he had grown into a fine young man. He fought back the tears, and stood on the docks, watching until their ship was nothing more than a spec on the horizon.
He had come back to the farm, like everything was normal. He now had to maintain the entire place with no moral support. Time slowly passed, and much of the farm was untouched. Rook just wasn't motivated like he used to be. He spent a whole year tilling just enough land to sustain himself. He wasn't living, more just going through the motions of life. It was in this dark part of his life that a breath of fresh air blew across his farm. One early morning, he heard a knocking at the door. He assumed it was the same people who had been coming to pester him about buying his land over the last few weeks. Irritated at their consent advances, he flew open the door and yelled "The only way you're getting this land is if I bury you in it!" But, to his shock, it wasn't the pests, instead a small family stood in front of him, looking mildly shocked. They had heard that a farmer was without help, and were hoping he would offer them jobs. Feeling a tad guilty about telling them he would bury them in the ground, he reluctantly allowed them to work and stay there. It was an older couple, and their 17 year old daughter named Nikita. The young girl was more apt at tending to the livestock then harvesting the crops, but her father was a strong man, who had helped rid the world of the Xitians back in the War of Veld. With is help, Rook was able to bring life back into a large part of the plantation.
Only a week after they had moved in, on a day when Nikita and her mother had gone to town to sell some of the surplus, a gang of three bandits jumped the fence onto their land. Rook and Nikitas father had been in the barn, and watched them enter. The two simply looked at one another, and both split up. Rook went to the loft of the barn, to grab one of the pitchforks. As he climbed back down, intending to charge in and assault the bandits, he was caught off guard. He had made a bit too much noise fetching his weapon of choice, and the bandits had surrounded him at the base of the barn. The largest of the three threateningly slid the side of his saber across Rooks neck. Rook winced, expecting this to be the end, but suddenly, like a crack of lightning, the bandits saber went flying into the air. It seems that in the chaos, Nikitas father had gone to get his old army weapon out of his chest. As if not a day had passed since he last used it, he skillfully disarmed the other two, tossing one of their swords to Rook. Now two against three, and only our heroes with weapons, the bandits took off running into the woods. They watched as the assailants disappeared, and when it seemed safe, they looked at each other with a big grin. For a moment, Rook remembered how his father, on his death bed, had told Rook that, it wasn't courage that made the man, but what he did with that courage. The girls returned later that evening, and when they asked about the cuts and bruises, Rook simple said "We were just getting rid of a few rats." and left it at that.
After that, Nikitas father taught Rook the finer points of how to handle a sword, telling him that he would feel better if Rook knew how to defend himself and others. The rest of the year went on, and Rook felt exhilarated to learn something outside of tending to a farm, and he grew especially close to Nikita, who he considered to be the younger sister he never had. She struck him as a very smart girl, who was perhaps stronger and more cunning then she let on. Her father had built a target practice range, and try as he might, Rook could just never hit the center with the Bow. And when compared to Nikita, who had no problem facing each shot at any range, he abandoned trying to master the weapon, in favor of focusing harder on the sword techniques. Both Rook and Nikitas father knew why he was so eager to teach them to defend themselves...
On a night much like any other Rook found himself in a bar, enjoying the night off. Niki's father has spent the majority of the day teaching Rook the finer points of defensive fighting. The ways of waiting for your opponent to spread himself thin attempting to break through your defenses, and then striking. Rook was already three mugs of beer deep, and was carrying on a lively conversation with a large drunk man about "what he would do if a Xitian dared walk into the bar".
Rook humored the man, but the drunken oaf took it condescendingly. He started yelling, and the barkeep told him to shove it. Of course he didn't, and after a thrown drunken punch that hit a very large man, Rook found himself in a good ol' bar fight.
With a grin, he gladly joined in. He ducked in time to dodge a flying chair, as it gracefully left through the window. A lanky man then took a swing at Rook, who took the blow to his jaw, only to return it. It is said that among people you shouldn't get into a bar fight with, a strong farmer is among the top of the list. Rook KO'ed the skinny man with a powerful punch to the side of his head. As the man fell, someone grabbed Rooks shoulder, spinning him right into an oncoming fist. Rook staggered back, landing on the bar. He shook it off, a slight trickle of blood down from his nose, and he pushed hard off the bar, tackling his assailant, and driving him into the stone wall. Following a series of punches to the gut, the man slid down the wall in defeat.
By this time, most people had fled the crowded bar, except the fighters. It came down to Rook and the first drunken oaf, who was more than eager for a fight. He grabbed a large bottle by its neck, shattering it and waving around the remains at Rook. Rook took a step back... Wondering why he had to ruin a good bar fight by bringing weapons into it. He kept retreating with each stab of the bottle in his direction, until his back bumped against the wall. Rooks eyes widened as the sharp bottle rushed at him. If Rook wasn't a young man, he'd of been stabbed, but he quickly fell to his knees, and bolted between the man's legs. Or at least he tried. The drunken oaf brought the bottle down, as it jutt into Rooks thigh.
Rook screamed, grabbing the leg of a chair that had shattered, and broke it over the mans head. The oaf fell, and the bar shook, leaving Rook bleeding and in pain. He managed to limp back to his wagon, and cracked the whips, while laying on his side in the drivers seat. When he got home, he was quite a mess. The cut wasn't bad, but Rook was covered in booze, blood, and sweat. After Niki's mom cleaned out the wound, her father kicked his ass for letting his guard down. Rook learned a powerful lesson the hard way, but it would serve him very well in his coming future.
The fighting, now recognized by most as a civil war, was raging across the continent, as well as news reports of flashing blue lights, and disappearing citizens. Fearing for their safety, Nikita convinced her parents to move to the north-east, far away from any threat. Rook considered going with them, but then something dawned on him. 'People had been disappearing in the north-west. The same town where he had sent his mother to be safe. He couldn't stand not knowing if she was okay. He told Nikita of his choice, and after a goodbye dinner, they set off. They parted ways at the docks, with Nikita and her family heading east, and Rook west. The waters were choppy, and the small boat was being tossed around like a leaf in a river. He spent the majority of the trip in his small cabin. Rook was not one for the sea life, and the constant swaying of the ship had gotten to him before they had even left port. Finally with the dawn of a new day, they arrived at the small sea village. This was it, Rook would find his mother, and make sure she was safe. He would be reunited with his only remaining family, and life for him would get better.
And Rook did find his mother, and as he sat by her side, tears rolled down his cheek. He fell to his knees, and pressed his forehead against the cold stone grave. "R.I.P. Susan Connors" it read, standing over the cold earth. Rook was crushed, and full of doubt. 'Was it the right thing, sending her here; was it the best thing to do? Would she have been safer with me in the mainland? Did I do this...?' He had never been this low, and he spent the next week, along with most of the cash on him in the local bar. He wanted to crawl in a bottle, and never come out. And it was in this bar, one dreary night as he drank himself to dullness, that he saw his mother. She was standing before him, and he could see her mouth moving, but couldn't hear it. "Mom... I canât hear you! Please, Mom, tell me what to do!" She paused for a moment, and tried to speak again. Rook just shook his head, and she looked discouraged. "Please, I don't know what to do... âWith that, she pointed to something on the counter of the bar. Rook looked closely at it. It was a small tooth pick, one that had been carved to look like a small sword. Before he could question it, he awoke to the bartender nudging him. It seems he had fallen asleep at the bar, quite literally downing his sorrows away.
The dream stuck with him. He felt that there was something he was needed for. Something he had to try and do. When it came to it, he needed somewhere to be if he was going to ever find out. With the farm abandoned, and most likely taken over by squatters, and this place that made him sick in the pit of his stomach, there was only one place left he could go. He headed back to the docks, and since he had slipped away the bulk of his money, he hid away on a boat, heading to the North-East. The ride was uneventful for the most part. He hid himself in the bottom decks, while listening to the others talk about the ever-mounting civil war, and its far reach. As the boat hit land, he snuck off without being seen, and set off to find closest town. He heard some people on the boat call it Auria, and he figured, what a better place to start his search then there...
![[Image: rook4.png]](http://imageshack.us/a/img823/1358/rook4.png)
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The Fiery End