Heirs of Sea and Shadow - The story of Arcan Rees, Act 1, Scene 2

Heirs of Sea and Shadow - The story of Arcan Rees aka Sinder

Act One

Scene Two

_____________Start Character Sheet_____________________________________

I am a DEMONSPAWN RANGER trying to be HONORABLE despite my HERITAGE. I am the first of my line and will be known for HONOR and EXPLORATION. My home is in Isa Verys, a CABIN that is HUMBLE and PLAIN.

Combat 6 Fight* 7 Flee

Explore 5 Bold 4 Cautious*

Social 3 Aggressive 2 Empathetic*

Skill 7 Ranger* 7 Noble

Weird 6 Demanding 6 Sensitive*

TAGS: Ranger (5), Honorable (4), Heritage (2), Explorer (9), Loner (9), Friendship (1), Evil (1)

*( #) denotes Dynasty information / Possibility of genetically passing down.

Wounds Minor ( ) ( ) ( ) Major (X ) ( ) Yourself ( )

Status Effects: Exiled

Resources: A supernatural effect or ability (2), Home (1)

Friendship - Kodo Alestr (Healer) - How did they meet?

Foresters - Respected

Isa Verys - Tolerated

Upbringing Roll - Raised by EVIL forces

Time Tracker (monthly): 1

Exp: 5

____________________End Character Sheet________________________

Time Elapsed: 1d30 days (27) Downtime

Dynasty Event (1) - An old lover who betrayed you once turns up asking forgiveness.

Random Race : Lunedd

Name: Tasha Page

How do I know her: ?

How long since I have seen her? (D6 years) 3 years

Scene 2: Dynasty Event. Type: Flashback.  Key Words: Distance, Anger, Come to blows with

Three years earlier: Arcan (he had not yet fully accepted the nickname Sinder from the foresters at this time) is huddled in the back of the warehouse shivering against the cold. Rarely did he come into town, but when the snow continued to fall and food became scarce he was left with few options. Taking any work he could find to get supplies, he had snuck into the warehouse to sleep out of reach of the elements. The fact that he was here uninvited nagged at his sensibilities but he was desperate and what did these people know of him, his pain, his loss or his life? Who were they to judge? He knew he was being petty. Sleep came with difficulty and only in small intervals. The cold would take hold and he would have to jump up and down and run around for a little while before laying back down. His thin and worn blanket did little to stave off the cold.

Oracle: Does someone know he is in the warehouse? (60) Yes, but...They do not intend harm.

Her name is Tasha, the daughter of the local innkeep. This is his warehouse. She had spotted a boy sneaking into the warehouse a few days ago. She had toyed with the idea of telling her father but when she had discovered it was Arcan, the curiosity of “the boy with the demon blood,” intrigued her. She wanted to know more about what made this young man tick. Did he have the same wishes, wants….desires as the other Lunedd boys. Were the rumors true? Did he have scales on his back, did he eat his meat raw, and were his genitalia really barbed like a thorn bush and surrounded by small horns?  It was said that if a woman, not of the tainted blood, were to lay with him, they would be left bleeding and most likely die from the ordeal. Such were the stories told to the young girls of Lunedd to sway them from being lured by the charms of a demon spawn. It was these thoughts that urged her to sneak out to meet the boy that first night. A large sac hidden by the shed after dinner is recovered and she quickly made her way to the warehouse to see him up close, to see if the rumors were true. At first she fears he has left when she enters the dark building, but soon the unmistakable sounds of a boy shivering in the night cold comes to her. She smiles to herself and sneaks off to spy on him.

I want to see if Arcan can notice her but don't think it should just be left up to the Oracle.  There is a very good chance of major harm if he is discovered. +1 explorer, -1 cold / hungry, -1 exhaustion; explore  (cautious) 7 + 2 -1 = 8 fail. Explore current number set to 4. Status effect: starving (1 exp)

At first she just watches but quickly becomes bored. Feeling the weight of the sack on her shoulder she moves forward. Arcan doesn’t notice her, he has the blanket pulled over his head and is shuddering violently. The sense of wonderment is quickly replaced by pity. Dropping the bag to the ground she goes to pull out the old blanket she had taken from her Grams. The sound of the bag hitting the floor causes an unexpected reaction from the boy. He throws himself hard against the back wall and brings his arms up into a defensive position. As though he is expecting to be repeatedly struck. In the dim light she can see his eyes are wide and deep with fear. He stares at her, rolling over in his head different things to say, but none seem right or will come forth.

Arcan wants to befriend her, or at least sway her opinion, to keep her from saying anything to anyone. The risk is minor. -1 evil, -1 loner, Social (empathetic) 5 + 2 = 7 fail. Social current number set to 2. Status effect: Shamed (1 exp)

Tasha is unpacking the blanket, “I also put some cold venison in here. It's not much, but better than you have had recently by the looks.”

“Please...just go!” Arcan is still pushed up against the back wall. The force and manner of his tone were regretted and as soon as the words were uttered but there was no taking it back now.

Tasha looks him up and down, throws the sack down into the dirt and without a word she leaves the warehouse. He wants to say something to make her stay, to let her understand, but his mind can’t find the words. He watches her go. His mood grows darker.

Oracle: Does Tasha tell anyone? (41) No.

Arcan expects someone to come barging in and snatch him up. He contemplates running, but the truth is, there is nowhere for him to go. The snow is near 3 feet and still falling. He will die if he heads out in this and he knows it. It won’t be the first time he has had to spend time in the jail. The smells coming from the sack bring him out of his forlorn thoughts and his stomach rumbles. The herbs of the venison wafting through the air makes him ravenous. If he is going to jail, at least it will be with a full belly. He spends all night awake and waiting, but no one comes. The blanket, though old, is thick and warm. He drifts off to sleep just as the first rays of light filter through the wooden slats of the warehouse.

It is late morning when he hears the door to the warehouse slam shut. Arcan stands and begins gathering his things. At least the jail feeds him one meal a day. “Now listen hear Arcan Rees,” Tasha is already speaking to him though she can’t see him yet, “when someone goes out of their way to do you a favor it's not polite to dismiss them like a diseased rat that's raiding your larder.” She steps into view, finger pointed in his direction, another sack slung over the other shoulder.

“Thank you”, he says quickly, more out of shock than anything else.

“Now there, that wasn’t so bad was it?” A smile spreading on her face.

And just like that a miracle happened, well at least to Arcan. They had a conversation. They spoke of the village, the snow, Tasha’s family, truth be told Tasha did most of the talking and Arcan listened but it is something to this day that Arcan, now Sinder, will always remember.

So it came to pass that she visited often that winter. She somehow made arrangements through her father for Arcan to work through the winter months and in exchange he was afforded a tiny room in the inn's basement, as well as a meal snuck to him by Tasha, now and then.

Time of rest: 26 days. Replenished: Status effects of shamed and starving healed. Social current number reset 3.

Now that he was staying at the Shepherds Lodge Inn it was easier for Tasha to visit, which she did often and sometime late into the night. She learned if all the stories told of the demon spawn were true and Arcan learned a hard truth. No matter how hard you worked, no matter how honorable you were, some people would only ever see him as demon spawn.

Oracle: Do Arcan and Tasha get discovered by her parents? (40) No

Does someone else notice their closeness? (39) No, but...she leaves him unexpectedly

Then one early spring day, Tasha begins stops visting. She makes excuses, doesn’t talk to him in the same manner when he does see her, and sometimes that isn’t for days. The closeness which he had come to enjoy disappearing with the snow. In the course of 2 weeks, it was if they were strangers again.

Then one morning as he is carrying wood into the main hall of the Inn he sees her seated at a table. Her parents on either side as they all enjoy breakfast. She notices him, he knows she does, but she will not even make eye contact.

“Hey Arcan, who gives you permission to oggle at my daughter in such a manner?” Her father, John Page, is teasing him, but with a note of seriousness. Arcan was nervous, he had considered this path several times, now a chance lay before him. The old Arcan would have lied his way out, no more.

“I am sick of this hiding.” he says while staring at Tasha.

Arcan wishes to tell Tasha’s father the truth with hopes that they will be allowed to be together. He is risking exile from the this family, possibly the community and perhaps even physical harm should the wrong people become involved. -1 Heritage, +1 Honorable, Social (Empathetic) = 6, Fail. Social Current Number set to 2. Status Effect: Exiled, +1 exp

“How dare you?!!” Tasha roars with indignation dripping from her voice. “Like I could ever love something like you….you…..,” her face contorts into disgust as she turns to sob into her father's chest, “you are not one of us! Please father, PLEASE, make him go.”

John Page is a reasonable man, but he would do anything for his only daughter.

Oracle: Does John Page make Arcan leave? (42) No

“Surely we can discuss this dearest? He is a young man after all, all young men do foolish things in the presence of pretty women.” It is apparent that John is upset and he stares at Arcan while he brushes his daughter's hair back and brings her face level with his.

“I caught him stealing from the kitchen. He is always watching me with that look on his face. He was trying to watch me at bath.” she is rambling at this point, a steady stream of accusations and alleged dishonesties. “HE TRIED TO KISS ME! MAKE HIM LEAVE!!”

Oracle: Does John react to this? (58) Yes

As Arcan steps forward to try and talk to Tasha, to make an attempt to figure out why, why is she saying such untruthful things, he sees her father's face turn red with rage.

“I trusted you! I gave you a home and invited you in among my family. This is how you repay my kindness?” He steps up grasping the hatchet near the fireplace and turns on Arcan. “My father said never to trust your kind. I am a fool!”

John is swinging for the fences and wants to seriously injure Arcan. Arcan wants to disarm him before someone gets hurt as he has no ill will toward this man. He did, after all, help Arcan when he was in need. He is also the father of the women he loves. +1 ranger, +1 honorable, Combat (fight) 7 - 2 = 5 ; success. Combat Current Number set to 7. Exp. 1

John slashes wildly, untrained rage guiding his swings. Arcan quickly dances out of the way and when John overextends he firmly kicks him in the chest sending him flying backwards into the table where they were at breakfast.

Oracle: Is there a clear path to the door? (64) Yes, but….he will lose everything here.

Arcan assess the situation. Looking one last time at Tasha, he can see her crying, sobbing, not for fear or her stated crimes, but something else that Arcan doesn’t understand. “I am sorry.” he says to the room in general, and to Tasha specifically. He quickly leaves through the door and runs straight out of town.

Arcan takes up work with the foresters, he embraces the nickname Sinder. He earns a reputation for himself as a ranger and explorer among the folks that border the Demon Wastes. For close to a year he does not return to Isa Verys. When he finally musters the courage, he learns that the Pages had sold the Inn almost a year previous and had moved. If the rumors were true, they had made a new home in Never City.

End Scene.