Post by Stingray888 on Aug 9, 2013 23:20:21 GMT
Chapter 1: The end of an era
I am Arakrull. I am a Drow. Living underground with my family, in a land far from the place I'm currently writing this in, we were respected amongst those in our clan. I lived a relatively peaceful life (at least as far as one can, being of Drow decent) and heir to the family records and ancient tomes they collected over the ages...
That all changed about 15 years ago when a terrible famine occurred underground. It lasted at least 10 years with no sign of letting up. During this time, neighboring clans fought for any food they could get (above and beyond typical reasons for fighting each other). Our clan fought for and defended those things they considered important, not just food. As the skirmishes continued and our means to fight and defend ourselves slowly dwindled, sacrifices had to be made. Our clan gave higher consideration to things of a material nature over food and we suffered greatly. After much time and effort, the situation turned desperate. We, as a clan, were forced to seek food elsewhere, specifically the surface lands. Teams of raiders were sent out to find and acquire any and all food they could carry by whatever means necessary. I was selected as one of the food finders. Before I left, I took it upon myself to hide many volumes, from our library, in a hidden location. Most of our teams were either scattered or never returned from their foraging missions. My team returned a week later with goods taken from a distant human farming village. What we found, after our return, no one was prepared for. Our entire clan was completely wiped out, apparently from one or more rival clans. People were missing but most were clearly dead. Everything we owned was either destroyed or taken. The team dispersed, each member searching for anyone that might have survived of their blood line or anything they could scavenge left in the ruins. We all decided to split up and make our own way and our own life after we assessed the situation. Joining other Drow clans would be impossible, they would be killed on sight. Staying and holding our ancient homeland would be suicide with so few of us left. Leaving, yet staying together as a group, would draw too much attention. We had no choice but to go it alone, everyone for themselves. Luckily, the tomes I hid away were not discovered but all the rest were lost forever. I spent the next week carefully transporting the remaining books and ancient writings to a hidden location on the surface world. Once that task was completed, I set out to find the quickest means of transport I could find. I wanted to put as much distance from my former home that I could, as quickly as I could do it. Having plenty of time to think about what direction I wanted my life to go in, I decided it was best to forgo the worship of Lolth and change my outlook so as to better be able to survive in an unfamiliar and unpredictable world. Not wanting to feel the pawn of some higher power, I thought it best not to follow any and carve out my own path based on my desires and wishes. But what purpose would I have now? Clearly I cannot live amongst the surface peoples. They would not like to seeing my kind around. I'll have to live someplace remote and be self taught in whatever course I choose to pursue.
After a time, I came to a port village where I booked passage to another port, some distance away. I had all my personal belongings loaded on board including all the books and tomes. I sold some token items to pay for passage and little money was left to me after that. I still had some food left to me, acquired from the raids a few weeks ago, but it was going fast. During my time in the port village and the trip overseas, I kept myself completely covered up save for my eyes so no one could see my skin. I spoke little and used hand gestures to get my point and meaning across to those I dealt with.
