"Let me spin you a tale of long ago, of a boy and his father, and the hardships they endured."

"There once was a mage, a powerful mage, who lived in a citadel of stone and silver, overlooking a vast valley that was full of trees, grass, and abundant with wildlife. He was court magician to royalty, and had a beautiful wife. One day while looking through the deep libraries of the citadel, he found a passage to the lower levels, where arcane lore of millenia gone by had been hidden. This discovery led to new prosperity for the king and queen, for within these books were spells and knowledge to keep the citadel safe from enemies, keep food in the larders when winter came, and cure disease and sickness among his people."

"This knowledge brought happiness to his people and to the mage, but what brought him more happiness was that his wife was with child. Two months into pregnancy, the wife became ill, and none of the priests in the citadel could help her. The mage was told that nothing could be done, that both child and mother were lost. The mage frantically searched through the tomes he had found, delving into all subjects allowed and forbidden to try and save his child and his wife. None could be found. In his frantic search to find the knowledge to save them, the mage became eccentric, and the people talked of alliances he had made with dark powers to try and save her. Through her love for him, the wife managed to hold on until she gave birth, but she died while bringing her child into the world. At birth, the populace decreed that the child was not hers but the son of the devil, and that it should be killed. The father, seeing the child as his only link to his now dead wife, took him into his arms and fought his way to the catacombs, sealing them behind him in a blaze of magic. Neither father nor son would ever be seen by the citadel again."

"The story does not end there. The child grew, having no friends to play with other than magical constructs and animated furniture. The child grew, learning healing skills and arcane knowledge from his father, who became his best and only friend. But the lore his father had researched started to take its toll. He became more manic, more obsessed with darker knowledge, even going so far as to teach some of it to his son. He created weaker undead, and had his son use them for sparing partners to learn combat. He started to lose his temper often, and more than nought the son was the target of his aggressions."

"Then, one day, a man came into the catacombs. He was elvish, but very refined, and very dark. He looked at the boy with a more than an interested stare, and talked to the mage about 'alliances against the mortals in the citadel', and 'the powers that the dark gifts can bring.' The mage had a look of obsessed power in his eye, and seemed to accept his offer. When he asked what the price would be for such an alliance, the man looked over at the son and pointed. The mage started to consider the offer, the a look of shock ran through him. He yelled at the man to leave him and his son alone, and to leave quickly lest he raise his power against him. The man looked upset by the outburst, but not surprised. In a burst of strength, the mage was thrown across the room, splintering tables when he landed. The man turned towards the boy, eyes glowing red and fangs showing. He was a vampire. He picked the struggling boy up in his arms and lifted his neck to his teeth, when a bolt of lightning separated the two. The boy landed shaken on the ground, while the vampire hissed and retreated to the center of the room. The mage stood up from the shattered remains of the table, but did not look like the refined elven gentleman the boy had known. His robes were tattered about him, his skin was gaunt and drawn, and two blue pinpricks of light shown from where there had once been eyes. The boy's father was a lich. For how long, who knows, perhaps even before his mother was pregnant, who is to say. The lich had obviously maintained his appearance for the boy's sake, but needed all of his power now to confront the vampire."

"The battle that ensued was an awesome display of magic. Tunnels collapsed, rooms were shattered and portals to other dimensions were ripped open. It was obvious, however, that the lich was fighting a losing battle. The vampire had come prepared, while the lich had been conjuring playthings for his son. Right before the vampire struck the fatal blow, the lich picked up his son, forced an amulet into his hand, and threw him into one of the portals. Before the son's view of the room disapeered, he saw his father engulfed in flames, dying under the vampire's laughter."

"The boy landed in a town of many portals, many gates. By human standards he was not yet seven, yet had learned more arcane knowledge than most do in a lifetime. He fought all his life to survive, killing what he had to and living by the scraps of others until he could make a name for himself."

"That name was Chakan."

--Toris Stonewillow ("Chakan"), describing his past

Authored by: Ken Lipka E-mail me: krlipka@yahoo.com

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