Short Story: The Travels of Keras of Selyr


 * Author: Nathan
 * Google Document

* The journal opens up on a roughly drawn map of the continent, crisscrossed with lines of travel. It seems that Keras must have walked half the world with this book in his hands. On the page following the map the words 'Travels of Keras of the Selyr Tribe ' are written. The next 20 pages have been clearly ripped out with the journal proper starting on the first intact page.*

Firstlight 24th 592

I left. I guess the stares got to me in the end. People walking by wondering why someone was just sitting by some burnt ruins. All I have is the pack I had left at Serin's house and whatever survival gear I had left in my tent.

I've decided to make for the imperial capital to try and start anew. Thankfully the compass my dad sent me all those years ago was still in my tent. With the sun to my side I'm making my way north and nothing will stop me.

Firstlight 29th 592

Travel is going well. I can definitely see these trail rations getting boring after a while.

Got a glimpse of a massive stormbank forming on the edge of the horizon. I've decided to set camp early and dig an extra deep trench.

Firstlight 30th 592

I was right. The storm rose just as night fell. The rain poured and the wind howled but I would have slept soundly if It weren't for the lightning. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I was torn back to reality by a cacophonous bolt ripping its way from the heavens. My tent’s flaps were blown open as a ball of lightning coalesced before me. Its dreadful brilliance illuminated my compass going wild on top of my pack. Seeing that fulminous specter chilled me to my very core. I couldn't keep my eyes closed for another moment that night.

I took stock of the damages at first light. In a cold sweat I scrambled for my compass. Despite its erratic behavior, it appears to have returned to normal. None of my supplies were destroyed, and I've set out once more - a little shaken but unharmed.

Bloomshower 4th 592

Just came upon Lake Blackpool. I feel like I'm making great time to Falas. Soon enough I'll be able to find some work and begin to rebuild my life.

I stopped off for the rest of the day as it seems that another storm is coming in. Hopefully it's a bit lighter than the last one. I want to get some more solid sleep, I imagine if I push it I'll be within sight of Falas within the next couple of days.

Bloomshower 5th 592

That storm last night was something alright. I got woken up by the wind ripping the map from my bag and out into the lake. I tried to dive in after it but the wind had whipped the lake into a fury and it had disappeared before I made it to the water. Thankfully I'm at a pretty much straight shot to Falas from here or else I would be in deep shit.

I'm just about to set back out into the woods. Here's hoping for clear skies.

Bloomshower 12th 592

Something is wrong. I should be in sight of the capital by now but the woods just seem to stretch on forever. I'm getting low on food and water. Here's hoping the city is just over the hill.

Bloomshower 14th 592

My compass is broken. I swear it was working a week ago but now it’s broken and I've been wandering around the woods in a giant god damn circle for 8 fucking days. I'm back at the lake. I can only think to follow the lake around to Falas or something. I don't know but I'm out of food and worried.

Bloomshower 19th 592

The first storm broke my compass. It must have. That is the only way I can think of that would allow me to get this off course. I'm not on the shore of Lake Blackpool. I imagine I never was. Instead I am on the western shore of Lake fucking Faicia nearly half the world away with no map no compass and no fucking food. I'm just going to walk the lake and try to follow the river north to Laketon. I should be able to live off the land on the way there. If I head into those woods I'll be lost forever.

Bloomshower 30th 592

I think that date is right. I don't know because it's been raining this slow steady drizzle for the last week. All of the days have been sliding by. God I'm hungry. I haven't been able to travel very far and I'm sleeping more and more. I've been basically stuck in the same area taking shelter by a pair of oddly shaped boulders that provide a much needed windbreak.

I can't believe this all started because I was out late at Serin's house. I just wanted to get away for a while. And now here I am lost in the woods, who knows how far away from everything I've ever known. I just want to go back but I don't think I ever will. I think I'm going to die out here.

Sunpeak 4th 592

Yesterday I saw a deer. Its antlers had somehow got locked in a snare. It seemed so absurd. There it was just sitting there unable to move as I walked up to him. All I had was my knife. I looked in his eyes as I sat there. Unable to move. Time just crawled as I held his life in my hands weighing it against my own. My fist shook as my body screamed at me to kill him. I was just stuck running my eyes over his form. One antler cracked where the snare had caught it. A huge white patch on his chest. Eyes staring at me, questioning me. My hand unclenched and my knife fell from my grip as tears welled in my eyes. I couldn't do it. I knew I was going to die if I didn't do it but I couldn't stare him in the eyes and end his life. I untied the snare and let him run free. I'm so tired. I just want to wake up not hungry.

Sunpeak 5th 592

I shouldn't be alive. When something shoved me awake yesterday I don't know what I thought it was. Almost expecting the grip of the nameless god’s messengers, I was shocked when I groggily reached around and found soft fur. I pushed myself up and saw that it was a buck. His broken rack of antlers and huge white patch in the shape of a tree on his chest clued me in to the fact that I had met this deer before. It continued to headbutt me as if it wanted me to get up. As I stood it shouldered into me and began to walk away moving it's head as if I was to follow.

I walked with it for what must have been hours, using his back as support for my weakened legs until we came upon a campsite. The woman sitting by the fire was just as surprised to see my emaciated form holding on to a deer as I was to have a deer lead me to safety.

I would think it a dream if not for Pandora (the woman whose campsite I had been led to) happily confirming my story over a well cooked pheasant. I will probably be feeling the aftereffects of this journey for weeks but thankfully Pandora has offered to house me in the local house of Cysebelle in Quadroad. Yeah! I missed Laketon and somehow made it all the way to just outside Quadroad.

I attempted to retrace my steps back to my camp to retrieve my clothes and tent but the storm must have altered the landmarks. Luckily I had my pack on me when I left so I still have this old journal and my writing supplies. However I have burned the pages relating my fights with my mother and father prior to the fire. They seemed so distant as if I was reading notes from some other person. I think I'll stick around in Quadroad for a while before I catch a caravan to the capital. I don't think I will be traveling alone for a while at the very least.

Sunpeak 12th 592

After exploring my options in Quadroad I have come to the conclusion that if I had made it to Falas I would have been destitute within the month. In the week or so I have been in the city, I have had no luck finding work and I have completely worn through what little savings I had. It has only been through the kindness of Pandora and the other priests of Cysebelle that I have been able to sleep with a roof over my head and food in my belly. The fact that they offer so much to a stranger in exchange for some simple jobs astounds me.

However it has not been all bad, I have met more new people in the last week than I had in the previous 20 years living with the tribe. Sure some of the Artisans and clerks who I have tried to apprentice myself to have been rather unpleasant but I have found some real diamonds in the rough. Most notably the apprentice paladins and their trainers have been eager to hear the story of my wanderings through the wilds. The apprentices were also more than happy to trounce me at cards which took a hefty bite out of my meager wallet.

The only other thing of note is that I have been traveling armed since my arrival. As I have yet to be robbed I imagine that this is an unnecessary measure however, I still am not convinced of this town's safety. For now I will bear with the discomfort brought by the weight of my borrowed broadsword.

I shall write again in a few days when I find some gainful employment.

Sunpeak 23 592

Maybe my search for a skilled craftsman to work under was doomed from the start. It feels as though I have knocked on every door in this city and I have nothing to show for it. The best answer I was able to get was from a farmer who seemed willing to have another able hand when the harvest rolled around.

Following in the same pattern, the denizens of the house of Cysebelle have grown on me. Even the senior apprentice Alphonse, who finds it impossible to speak to me without spending half his time prodding me for information, has shown me more kindness than the rest of the city combined. He even offered to help me train with the broadsword I had borrowed from the armory. I took him up on the offer and we met in the training grounds not long after with wooden blades. We bowed and I took the stance I had always seen my father use, confident that I would at least be able to get one or two solid hits on him.

I did not. In fact, he had me on my ass within 10 seconds of the duel’s outset.

Following my somewhat… lacking performance in the spar, the temple's aging master of arms decided to take me under his wing and “forge me into a true warrior.” The cringing look the trainees gave me after my confused acceptance should have clued me in to what I had in store.

To put it bluntly, Tiberion Lasthearth is an incarnation of evil. The physical and mental strain his training put on me was intense and unrelenting. I was finished after only a single round of ‘Tib’s Torture’. Despite the pain I could see that the old man was no slacker in the skill department no matter what his workout sessions may lead you to believe. I decided to train on my own from that point on but to see what knowledge I could pick from his brain.

On a final note, even though I resolved to never travel alone in the woods again, I have been having dreams of wandering through the underbrush.

In these dreams, separate from worldly thoughts such as fear or hunger, the distant call of the wild places of the world fills my soul. In each dream the terrain and foliage may be different but there are constants. The path wandering through the twisted trunks of trees. The trails of thousands of animals. The moon hanging above, bathing the world in pale light. A wind dancing between the tree branches. A melody, soft at first but growing louder with each step.

The dream ends upon reaching a clearing. Sitting in the gap in the forest is an gnarled oak tree. Every time just as I set foot in this ancient place; I awaken, feeling disoriented and tired.

Some part of me wonders if these dreams mean anything, but the larger part can't help but notice the fact that I am surrounded by Cysebellian imagery almost every second of the day. Either way if I have to choose between weird dreams or sleeping in a tent, I'll take the dreams any night.

Green Harvest 1 592

I'm not sure if there is even a point to me logging my attempts to find work outside the temple anymore. After a month of scouring the city for open positions, I have turned up nothing. It seems I will have to return to my original plan of traveling to the capital. Now I'm sure I could find a caravan headed to Falas by this time tomorrow; however, I have decided to stay in the temple until next Sunpeak. Hopefully between the jobs I do for the temple and the work I can do for harvest and planting seasons will allow me to gather some cash. With that much needed nest egg, I could survive in Falas job-hunting for a greater period.

I will admit that some part of my reluctance to leave was the temple of Cysebelle here and the people contained within. I have grown comfortable in the routine here and am not entirely fit mentally for travel. Alongside that, I imagine that without my gracious help running around the edge of town, the temple herb stocks would run low in hours.

On an interesting sidenote, Tiberion has been pushing me to take up a more permanent position here at the temple. I have no idea what the man thinks I could do around here unless he intends to groom me as his replacement. As it is, the only positions open are those of clerics and paladins both of which require training I lack.

Green Harvest 14 592

I wonder some days if all it takes for something to go wrong is for me to write about it in my journal. As it stands, I am now a paladin initiate having gone through the first of my six trials. Until now I have not had time to record the events leading up to my initiation, but now with my first bit of freedom I will recount the events.

Late in the afternoon on the Seventh, I was passing through some of the shadier outskirts of Quadroad on the way back to the temple. The day was warm and I had something or a bounce in my step. I had managed to fill my pack with herbs before dinnertime and I had worked enough odd jobs to purchase a pillow for my bed. So focused was I on my recent good fortune that I almost didn't stop when I heard shouting from an alcove between the buildings.

Well, never let it be said that I am an overly cautious man.

I made my way to the alleyway and peered around the corner. In the shadows of the buildings I spotted a gang of four surrounding a fifth smaller figure at the back of the alley. The men were armed with iron maces that occasionally crackled with static. Their demeanor and the way they brandished their clubs made it utterly clear they wanted something from the person they were surrounding. I noticed this all as I was already approaching, unbuckling my sheath as I went. In my eyes anyone willing to threaten someone in a back alley was probably not worth negotiating with.

My feelings were vindicated when I got a better view of the victim and realized it to be Pandora, the priest who's campsite I stumbled into after my ill-fated trek through the woods. The idea that someone who saved my life was being harassed like that was the tipping point. In three quick steps I closed on the fellow in the nicest clothes and swung my still sheathed broadsword at his head. The man I assumed to be the leader of this band of slavers dropped like a sack of rocks.

The entire crowd surrounding me gaped in shock. I can only guess that having a guy sneak up and interrupt their conversation with an assault put them on the back foot for a moment. I tried my best to capitalize on the opening only to be pushed back by a hail of blows as the pair closest to me attacked. The ferocity with which they attacked shocked me. As I reeled back from their swings I was given a rather harsh reminder. Not only were these men better trained and faster than me, I had also allowed myself to be surrounded. The third fellow took this opportunity to send his mace into my ribs. I will admit to screaming when the pain of the impact was then doubled by the discharge of his weapon’s static charge. My muscles involuntarily clenched and unclenched causing the sword to slip from my hand.

Once I was unarmed the two I had been facing turned back to Pandora whilst their companion did his best to beat me into a bloody pulp. I had begun mentally making my peace when a wave of heat washed over my battered form. I almost couldn't throw myself back fast enough as a column of flame roared from the heavens and incinerated the brigands and the spot where I had been standing.

As the flames cleared, they revealed Pandora clasping her amulet between her hands. It didn't take much of a leap of logic to figure out who incanted that flame strike. Feeling suitably grateful for her spell, I was able to force my aching arm into the air in a half wave before I collapsed to the ground.

I'm not sure how long I was out but it was dark when I came to. I was laying in my bed just listening to the voices beyond the door. As I made to rise from the covers I found my body in a much better condition than prior to my impromptu nap. Fewer bruises and a lack of broken ribs clued me in to the healing I received.

I guess the noise of me stirring must have carried into the hall as not a minute later, Pandora and Tiberion walked into the room looking concerned. After several moments of us all speaking over one another, finally Tiberion forced both me and Pandora into chairs then began to explain the situation.

As it turns out, the men who beat the tar out of me were slavers looking to capture Pandora. Apparently her sylvan blood makes her a valuable prize for a band such as theirs. Unfortunately for them, a priestess of Cysebelle is rarely willing to go quietly. In fact if she hadn't been attempting to discover the identity of their employer, she could have defeated them handily without any misguided intervention from me.

However in spite of my lackluster showing against the brigands, I must have impressed them somehow. I can only infer this from the offer they made me after I told my side of the story. A place at the temple as a paladin initiate. All I would have to do is pass a simple, safe trial. Now I can say I accepted the offer and I can say I passed the trial. I am however not at liberty to discuss the details off the testing beyond that it was neither simple or safe.

As it stands I will be learning at this temple for the next five years. That is not to say I will be trapped here but I must return for the first night of spring each year to complete my trials. After my sixth and final trial I will be considered a full paladin with all the rights and responsibilities that the position entails. It is a long road ahead of me but I can't help but think it's the best path.

(Several pages have been torn out at this point but the fragments remaining show that they were some sort of ledger Keras used to keep track of his funds. The numbers are noticeably rather low.)

Winter's Dawn 3 593

It's amazing how time can fly when you're kept busy. In the last 3 months of schooling I swear I have spent more time with a polishing cloth than I have sleeping. It makes me wonder some days if they intend me to battle evil with shining brass plates or something.

The good news is that

Yeah, I'm never going to finish this.

But I guess that doesn't matter because you know how this story ends.