| The King of Thieves |
The King of Thieves
by Septim
Rell was born in the town of Rausbor in the year 2059 AX (After Xaran). His father was Pelagius, his mother was Mara. He had no brothers or sisters, and he would get no education, for he was the son of a peasant, and he would work until the day he died.
***
"Son! Come here," said Pelagius.
"Yes father," said the boy who the villagers called Rell, which meant "quick" in the old language, for nobody but the boy's parents and the boy himself knew his real name. The villagers were correct to call him quick, for he ran faster than most adults, and was more agile than many of the best thieves. Rell was six, but he was quite intelligent. He was walking before he was a year old, and we was talking before two. He could jump quite high for his age, and he could hide quite well. Had he been born to a noble family, he would've been a Duke, but a far greater destiny awaited young Rell, but for now, all he could think about was running to his father. He was standing out in the field with a broken scythe, he looked upset, but he hid it as soon as he saw his son approaching. He was a man of around thirty, his hair was brown, his eyes were blue, and they displayed a mixture of sorrow and happiness that couldn't be explained. He was tall, around six feet, but lean. If an wise man were to look at his hands, it would be known that he had carried a sword before he carried a scythe.
"Son, I need you to go borrow Mr. Vadav's spare scythe, mine just broke," said Pelagius.
"Yes father," said Rell as he ran swiftly through the fields. Across the dirt road was the home of Mr. Vadav. He owned more land than most of the peasant farmers, and was quite successful, but he was no noble. Rell found him in his stable mucking the stalls.
"Hello young Rell, what brings you here so early?" asked the kind Mr. Vadav.
"My father's scythe broke, he wants to know if he can borrow your spare," said Rell.
"Well alright!" said Vadav with a kind smile. He walked over to his shed where he grabbed the scythe, he then walked back to Rell.
"Here you go, tell your parents that they're invited over for dinner," said Vadav.
"Okay, thank you Mr. Vadav," said Rell as he ran back home. After going through the fields, he reached his father who was still waiting for his son to return.
"Thank you son, go play with Renald, I'm sure he would like some company," said Pelagius.
"Thanks!" said Rell before running back towards the farm's gate. However, as he was nearing it, the town alarm began ringing. Rell walked out into the road to see horses approaching, their riders were fierce, but barbaric. Their leader had a large beard. They did not stop for Rell. They continued their ride, and would have trampled young Rell had it not been for Mr. Vadav. Who tackled Rell out of the way.
"When you're going to be trampled, don't just stand there and look at the pretty horses, my Lord, thought you were smarter than that!" yelled Vadav.
"Yessir," said Rell with an obviously scared expression.
"Those were raiders, run to your father, tell him what I said, I must prepare," said Vadav before running back to his farm.
Rell sprinted up to the farmhouse where his father was standing with his mother. Mara was two years younger than Pelagius, but she loved him dearly. She was around five feet, eight inches, and her face was quite beautiful. Her eyes were the same as Rell's, emerald green, but her hair was dark red.
"Father! The men are raiders! Vadav says they are raiders!" yelled Rell.
"Raiders!? Get inside!" yelled Pelagius.
Rell ran into the farmhouse to his mother while his father ran upstairs, he came back moments later with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. A cuirass was protecting his chest, and a barbute helmet was protecting his head. He was in the uniform of a Xaranian soldier.
"Son! Stay inside!" yelled Pelagius before leaving the farmhouse. Rell ran to the window and saw him talking with Mr. Vadav, who was dressed in the same armor and was holding a similar sword. The two then ran down towards the town center. Rell would never see his father again. Minutes later, Rell saw smoke coming from the town center, and he heard screams of fear, pain, and sorrow. The screams would haunt Rell for his entire life, for he knew inside that one of them was his father dying at the hands of a raider. Five minutes later, the horsemen returned down the path, but instead of going the way they came, a few went to Mr. Vadav's home, a few went to Rell's.
"Come on!" yelled Mara as she opened the back door. She held in her hand a small dagger. Rell ran out the door with her and through the fields. Rell looked behind him and saw three horsemen riding behind him. They held bows and were aiming arrows. Mara looked and her face turned white, she then let go of Rell's hand and began running to the left.
"Run! Don't look back!" screamed his mother.
Rell obeyed his mother's last wish and ran into the forest. The horses slowed down so that their riders could aim and Mara was shot with three arrows, one in her neck, one in her heart, one in her stomach. She did not scream, she simply fell to the ground with blood coming from her wounds, staining her clothing. Rell did not see his mother's death, he was running, running as fast as he could, away from Rausbor, away from death.
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Rell was sitting against a tree, crying, for his life was gone. His father and mother dead, his home burnt to the ground. His whole life...gone. He did not know of anything outside the village, he knew of his country, Daran, and the countries of Xaran and Restar, but nothing else.
"Crying like that won't help you," said a kind voice.
Rell looked up to see a man of roughly forty. He was holdin*beep*ew bow, and a quiver of arrows was on his back.
"W-who're you?" asked Rell.
"I am Jarol, and I am a hunter. I saw the smoke, but I came too late. I'm afraid I wouldn't have been of much help anyway," said Jarol.
"Did you find my father?" asked Rell, "He had a sword!"
"I found only one person alive, he told me to look for you," said Jarol, "He wanted me to look for you."
"What was his name!?" asked Rell.
"Vadav," said Jarol.
Rell was relieved, yet sad at the same time. For his father was dead, but a friend was alive.
"Let me take you to him. He's hurt, but he'll live," said Jarol as he picked up Rell in his arms.
***
Vadav was sitting down against a tree, his sword arm was wrapped in a cloth damp with a strange liquid. His left leg was also cut, and it too was wrapped in damp cloth. Rell was carried to the tree, and Vadav looked up.
"Thank the Gods," said Vadav.
"How did you live?" asked Rell.
"I don't want to tell you the details, you're too young, but your father made me promise to take care of you, to find you," said Vadav, "Your father and I, we fought in the Third Restarian War together. After the war we found Rausbor and built farms. I will take care of you, I will raise you, but first, we must both find a home."
"I live in a cabin a few miles away, the land is mine, but you can build a house there if you'd like. I don't do anything with the land," said Jarol.
"Thank you Jarol, you're a good man," said Vadav.
"Only one without a heart could turn away an orphan," said Jarol.
"True," said Vadav, "Let me rest a bit, then you can lead..."
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Jarol took the injured man and the orphan to his cabin, where they lived until Vadav recovered from his injuries. After he recovered, he began building a cabin. It was completed before winter. Over the course of eleven years Rell was taught many skills. He learned several from Vadav including horse riding, swordsmanship, tactics, reading, writing, hand to hand combat, and farming. From Jarol he learned the arts of tracking, archery, herblore, cooking, and how to live off the land. At night, Rell would read. He read many things including history, literature, and science. But, during the spring of 2076, Rell's life was torn apart once again.
***
Rell rode through the wilderness on a mighty brown horse. The horse's name was Zerisar, and it was once the property of Lord Valtar. Vadav thought that Rell had bought the horse with money from hunting, Rell did not like lying to his foster father, but the nobleman was a cruel one, and it was quite okay with Rell. His face was clean shaven, but his brown hair was medium length. He was now able to beat Vadav in swordfights, and was far more accurate than Jarol with a bow. He could make excellent potions from herbs and plants. Stealth came naturally for Rell. He was intelligent, charismatic, and brave. But nothing could get rid of the dark dreams of death that plagued his mind. As he rode up the cabins, he saw something unexpected. Ten Restarian troops stood outside the cabins, Vadav was outside talking to them, Jarol was nowhere to be seen. Vadav's blade was buckled at his side. Rell rode into the forest and tied his horse up before hiding behind a tree. He then began listening.
"-farmers you say? You're have a sword..." said the officer in charge
"I am an old soldier who has just settled down," said Vadav.
"Let me see your sword…" said the officer.
Vadav suddenly drew his blade and slashed the officer’s neck open. The officer fell to the floor and the nine other soldiers drew their blades. Vadav parried two attacks and an arrow flew from the treeline, striking a soldier in the ribs. Rell too shot off an arrow, striking another soldier. Suddenly, from behind, Rell heard a twig snap, he drew his father’s old longsword and turned around to see two soldiers approaching. Rell ran forward and attacked one, the soldier blocked and the other attacked. Rell then ducked under the sword and kicked the soldier down. He then brought his sword down low and cut the soldier’s legs out from under him. He then turned and cut the other soldier’s throat as he was getting up. He then held his blade to the legless soldier’s throat. After shoving the blade through he ran back to his vantage point and saw, to his horror, that Vadav was dead. Two stab wounds had left him dead, and six men were dead around him. He then turned to look at where Jarol had been to see two soldiers carrying his body from the forest. Three men were left, they would be easy. Rell shot two arrows, one striking the one standing in the clearing in the neck, the other slaying a soldier carrying Jarol’s body. Rell then ran forth and drew his blade, the soldier had his out, and their blades clashed with a mighty clang. After a minute of fighting, Rell slew the soldier and ran to check Jarol. He was dead; his bow could not protect him against two enemies who were less than five feet away. Rell then ran to Vadav, he too was dead. Rell’s family was once again dead. But it was not as bad as the first time, for he had slain Vadav’s and Jarol’s killers. Rell walked to the cabins without a word, and after packing many things into saddlebags he gave Jarol and Vadav a proper burial. He then loaded up the saddlebags and rode off. He did not know where he would go, but he wanted to get away from the cabins. He could not stay…
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[[OOC: By the way, I'm going to do a Helav type thing, and as most of you weren't around for Helav, I guess I'll explain. I'll insert your character into the storyline if you'd like. Just specify if you'd like him to be a cameo or a character of importance...:-). Also, try to do it with messages, don't want this getting all cluttered up. Not trying to copy Cedric, but it does get annoying...screws with reading the story. ]]
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[[OOC: We shared the idea ;)]]
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Rell rode through the wilderness for what seemed like days, but he knew it to be only twenty miles. He knew that Zerisar was getting tired, so he stopped at the next stream and let him rest and drink. Rell set up camp, and as he was gathering wood for a fire he noticed smoke in the distance. He got on Zerisar and rode the short distance to the source of the smoke.
***
Buildings were burnt, people were dead. Children, fathers, wives, none were spared. The few that had defended themselves had at most one body next to them.
"Xalan..." muttered Rell as he walked through the streets.
No nation is pure, both are evil...
Rell gathered what money he could find and left without a word. When he returned to his camp he let Zerisar finally rest, and as he sat on a log, he thought about his future.
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As he thought, his view of the world changed. At one point in his life, he had thought Xalan to be the good guys in the war, the saints, they were pure and benevolent, but what he had just witnessed: death, brutality, and destruction, could not be avoided. Xalan was as guilty as Restar. He had been foolish to believe an Empire above such brutality, he would never be that foolish again. But, for now, he had to make money. The merchants of the road never used guards, they had not needed it. Raiders never bothered with merchants, there was not enough killing involved, not enough blood. Rell would change that, he would soon be known as the world's first highwayman, but he would not kill children, he could not, there was nothing to be gained from it, it was also the most evil thing a man could do. He would never kill the unarmed, for that would make him as bad as those he hated. And he would never steal from the poor, for they were troubled enough. He would be hated by the rich and powerful. He would soon be known as the Hrall Road Bandit, and eventually, the King of Thieves.
***
The Restarian Military was a powerful one, and it had many soldiers. And with a many soldiers came the need for pay, for few worked for free, and nobody would die for free. The job of a soldier required nothing more than courage, and in return, they recieved twenty gold coins a month, a bed, and three meals a day. Twenty gold coins per soldier, and there were over two hundred soldiers at Fort Yertol. The month's payroll was arriving by caravan, and the total inside was four thousand four hundred coins. Four thousand for the soldiers, and four hundred for the officer in charge. Those soldiers would not recieve their pay. As the caravan went through the forest, Rell watched from a tree. There were three wagons, one of them full of gold, two full of the month's food. Rell nearly laughed, for Restar, with all their soldiers, could not spare five soldiers to guard nearly four and a half thousand coins. Only three men guarded the caravan, and they were the ones steering the wagons. Without a word, without a prayer, Rell took an arrow from his quiver, aimed, and fired. It zoomed through the air and went through the neck of the man steering the wagon in the front. The second nearly crashed, and the third did. Rell then shot off another arrow, striking the man in the back. The man in the middle did not draw his sword, he simply fell to the ground and placed his hands on his head. Rell smiled.
Smart...
Rell climbed down from the tree and put away his bow. He drew his sword and walked towards the soldier. Then, without a word, the soldier drew a crossbow and fired at Rell. Rell barely dodged the bolt as it zoomed past him, and walked forward. With one slash, he severed the man's windpipe. The man fell to the ground as a mixture of blood and oxygen began to form a foam on his neck, but Rell did not look. He walked to the middle caravan and checked it: it held food. He checked the one in back: it also held food. Then he checked the one in front: it held the gold. He whistled and Zerisar came out of the forest. Rell let the horse that was previously pulling the wagon go, and used Zerisar instead. He pulled it down the road a ways, then off the road onto a small path. A half an hour later, he was at his camp. As he opened the che*beep*ll of gold he gave out a cheer of victory. The three deaths did not bother him, their blood was not needed, but they would've fought, and he preferred to have as little fighting as possible. Within fifteen minutes, the wagon's Restarian crests were gone, and Rell was gone.
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Over the next two years, Rell became the terror of the Vraxen Road between Xala and Festafa. During that time, his fortune grew and he hired a small band of followers, including Antonis and Ernest Xarxes, Gorris Farilor, Paul Zarrock, and . Then, without warning, he set off from his base of operations in Cidel to finally get his vengence.
***
Tyralus, the Raider King, sat upon his throne. Since the day he killed Rell's parents, he had grown in power. Instead of a barbaric ringleader he was a barbaric Chief, if that was the correct word. He was massive, but not in muscle. He had eaten so much, that a horse could no longer support him, his raider days were over. Even as Rell was outside their small stronghold, Tyralus was stuffing his face with meat and bread, his massive three hundred pound frame straining the throne he sat on. Rell was disgusted, and he could've easily killed the Raider King with an arrow, but Rell had better plans, he wanted the world to know who slew Tyralus.
***
"Hahaha!" yelled Tyralus as he watched his slave dancers dance in front of him. The women were clearly disgusted by the pig of a man before them, but there was nothing they could do. Two guards stood near them, both were the best and brutal the Raider King had at his disposal. If they went out of line, they'd probably have a night of rape in for them. As the two women danced and Tyralus watched with sorrow that he could never have the enjoyment of sex again due to his weight, the guards in the barracks were having their throats cut by a man he had failed to kill nineteen ye*beep*arlier. The party went on, during which, guards that went missing went unnoticed.
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Finally, two arrows zoomed through the air and found their marks, the heads of Tyralus's two guards. The slave women screamed in a mixture of fear and joy, and Rell stepped out of the shadows. He had covertly killed every last one of the guards, and when Tyralus called for them, none came.
"Hello Tyralus," said Rell.
The Raider King could not get up due to his enormous weight.
"You killed my mother, my father, my friends, everybody I knew! You killed children, babies, women, the unarmed, why?" asked Rell.
The Raider King said nothing as he continued to struggle to get up, when he did finally manage to get up, Rell kicked him back down.
"You are a disgusting fool. Nobody will lament your death..." muttered Rell as he drew his sword and cut off the Raider King's head. Finally, after all the years of waiting, he had killed the man he hated most. He then grabbed a keyring from Tyralus's dead guard and unlocked the bracers of the slaves.
"You are now free, slaves of Tyralus, free to do what you wish!" said Rell, "And if anybody asks who killed the Raider King, it was I, Rell, the King of Thieves!" said Rell.
The slaves said nothing, and then one man walked forth. His body was thin, his once brown hair was gray and patched, and his face now had a beard, but it was Pelagius.
"My...son?" asked Pelagius.
"Father!" said Rell, "I thought you were dead!"
Pelagius nearly fell, but Rell ran and caught him.
"I thought the same of you...my son," said Pelagius weakly.
"They...they found your sword! They said they found your body!" said Rell.
"One of them knocked...knocked me unconscious. Somebody must've...picked up my sword and kept on fighting," said Pelagius.
"Father, eat this," said Rell as he handed his father some of the Raider King's cake. Pelagius ate it, then leaned back.
"Don't die father!" said Rell.
"Die? What are you on about?" asked Pelagius with a grin similar to the one Rell displayed at times, "I have something to live for now."
Rell helped his father up and led him out of the camp, behind the treeline, Zerisar was waiting. Rell helped his father up and led Zerisar off into the wilderness.
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Rell walked through the gates of Cidel and down the streets with his father.
"This city...I've been here before," muttered Pelagius.
"This is Cidel," said Rell.
"Ahhh...I have been here, two years before you were born. I visited your Uncle, my brother, here. He died in battle, poor Calus."
Rell said nothing until they reached a large building. Antonis walked out.
"Sir!" said Antonis, "Who is that?"
"I am Pelagius, father to Rell," said Pelagius.
"He said you were killed!" said Antonis.
"He was right to think so," said Pelagius.
"Antonis, have the door opened. My father needs rest," said Rell.
"Yes sir!" said Antonis.
Rell led his father inside and up a flight of stairs. He then walked through a hallway and reached a large wooden door. He then opened it to his quarters.
"These are my quarters father, they are now yours," said Rell.
"Thank you, I need to rest now. I am tired," said Pelagius.
"Of course, father," said Rell.
Pelagius walked to the bed and went to sleep, Rell then left the room. He never thought he would see his father again after that terrible morning, never in his wildest dreams.
***
Pelagius slowly recovered over the course of two months. He regained his health. In the end, he decided that he could not steal anymore. He had become the Thief King of Cidel, but his father was ashamed. There was no such thing as a good thief, his father said. And with that, Rell stopped his thieving and began a revolution.
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[[OOC: The story is over. It will continue in "The Revolution". What did you think...>_> ]]
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