Kaladin

I have never known great halls.  I have never been in the presence of royalty, or enjoyed the taste of foods prepared in great kitchens.  I have only ever owned what was needed and nothing more. I was content with this life.  Not having the time to look up helps with not knowing what’s passing you by.  I tilled the land my fathers father had nurtured, and inevitably my future sons would do the same.  I earned no glory in battle, achieved no great feats worthy of a fireside song.  An ordinary life was what I was destined for, how could I abandon this path set before me? 

I made weekly trips to town that were mostly uneventful, save for the occasional Ordo Cervi presence.  Always looking for more recruits, they were either the biggest guild in all the land, or dying faster than any army I’ve ever heard of.  Not that I’ve heard of many armies.  Their green and white colors, the proud stag embroidered and emblazoned on every shield and cloak, had an alluring call I felt especially vulnerable too.  Perhaps it was the lack of belonging I had never known, or simply the call to prove oneself that every man is born with, but one weekly town visit I left my farm and never came back.  Having no plan and no skills , I readily signed the contract I’d seen so many young men sign before me.  For the first time in my life, I felt an energy buzzing inside my very bones.  Like a plant that had suffered from a drought , I received my first rain drops in the form of a simple sword and shield.  

I was addicted.  Never had something felt so right.  My hands had only ever known the shape of a plow and rake.  Taking hold of a sword hilt for the first time, strapping the shield to my arm, I knew exactly why men had fought since the dawn of time.  This primal fire within spoke to me, whispering through crackling embers of violence.  I could see the embers of my soul burning, I merely had to follow them to find the wildfire I was destined to cause. 

My first battle with Ordo Cervi would be my last. 

It turns out my assumptions of their fighting numbers and ability were both correct.  The largest fighting force I had ever seen amassed to my left and my right. Shoulder to shoulder we marched through the damp air, calling and jeering at one another.  The confidence of numbers was intoxicating, truly no army could face us , right? 

It became apparent that Ordo Generals had no mind for the tactics of battle.  Our first great battle ended in clean swords and no ground gained.  The fire within was roaring to be let loose.  I found companions in the ones who felt the same.  Call it stupidity, I call it bravery, myself and others found each other leaving the shield wall.  Glory I never thought I would know was taunting me.  I needed my name to be sung in great halls.  I needed to feel an enemy's flesh tear and rip by my sword.  

The bloodlust never left me.  I tossed and turned all night after the battle, as if I had failed someone or something.  This unknown entity needed me to kill.  It howled out at night and in my dreams.  At the time I did not know what it was, only that I felt watched and judged for avoiding the chaos of combat.  I awoke the next day knowing I would not be a bystander any more.  Gathering the ones I knew felt similar , we elected to start anew, free of the chains of Ordo Cervi.  This decision unknowingly set me on a divine path, putting me in the sights of much greater and darker beings than the simple new gods every child and priest talked about. 

Our group, only ten strong, needed to make a name for itself that would send echoes through the land.  We set out at the next battle with one objective, kill more than anyone had ever killed before.  Kill enough to fill the halls of the underworld.  Kill until there is no one and nothing left.  

This is exactly what we did.  No training and no armor, we fought like wild animals.  No regard for our own lives, we dove into each engagement with nothing held back and a roar of excitement to herald us in.  It was glorious.  Foe after foe fell to my blade.  Arrows snapped and swords deflected off my shield, I was a blur of steel and flesh, claiming life after life until I alone stood tall.  Small moments of clarity found me, after a particularly difficult kill, or a mad dash through the forest.  I would feel eyes watching me, but was unable to see anyone or anything.  Only once did I catch a glimpse of something not exactly humanoid, it moved too fast and was built too tall to be anything I’ve ever heard of.  Before I could pursue it was gone, and my men called for my aid, thus pulling me away from this unusual encounter.

The following days and weeks were an ascent I never believed possible.  Our battle skill had been noticed, and we were showered with guild invites and battle contracts.  Our primary beneficiary, the guild known as Hydra, paid us handsomely to complete many objectives for them.  Most ended with a trail of corpses and a bag of gold.  We weren’t exclusive to battlefield contracts however.  One such notable endeavor was a bodyguard mission.  Hired to protect the Arch Queen of the fae, two things happened that night that would change my life.  Firstly, my band of mercenaries and I learned there’s no love lost between us and the people of the fae.  A scheming and tricky species, we have no interest in ever aiding their kind again.  Given the chance , fae blood will be spilled.