I am Sir Arkemus of Admunfort, Heir of Sir Markus Marquis of the Shield Lands,Second Cousin of Lady Katrina. I was born in 577CY on the Island of Admunfort. I spent many of my younger days the same as most. In school I was very popular. Within a certain crowd. I was a trouble maker. Playing pranks on the school master, skipping lessons to go play, and the occasional schoolyard fight. I remember one incident that involved all three. A young Half-Elf boy and I got it into our heads to leave grounds to go check out an old abandoned house which rumor told used to belong to an old wizard named Thirin, an evil necromancer who delighted in snatching small children and turning them into skeletons. According to the legends he had disappeared twenty years before leaving only the echo of his deeds behind. Well, such a place could not simply be ignored! What would happen if another child wandered in unintentionally. It was most certainly up to me to volunteer to take care of the problem. So Arthur, the half-elf, and I stole some of out fathers gear, sovereign glued the headmaster to his chair, and ventured out into the city. We made it all the way inside the house before any trouble began. Strange noises coupled with the dark rotting walls basically ensured that two boys of only eight years would be unable to think rationally within its walls. A slight misstep by Arthur resulted in me drawing my fathers blade. The spinning blade, for those not familiar, is a very unruly weapon. The agility of a whip and the strength of steel. In the hands of an expert is a beautiful dance on the battlefield. In the hands of a child, a nightmare to all those within reach. Arthur was healed shortly after our screams echoed out of the house, the scars on his back tended to by local clerics. My father, greatly disappointed in my behavior, decided that mine were to heal naturally. The clerics of St. Cuthbert were sent away and the local surgeon was brought in to stitch my wounds together. To this day a pale white scar cuts down my neck and into the middle of my back. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but the next day Arthur decided to get revenge on me. A short scuffle broke out that ended once my stitching broke. The headmaster threatened to patch it with sovereign glue. I knew he had found out it was us, though I never pieced together who it was that tattled.
After that fight my father removed me from school. He said that since I thought myself enough of a man to wield a weapon, it was time to start my training with it. It was the I was given my first sword. Purchased specifically from the worst blacksmith in town to ensure many, MANY, reminders on its proper use. I still use it to this day. And two years after it was first given to me, I took my first life.
In 587CY, Iuz came down and began to take over the shield lands. In Admunfort we thought ourselves safe enough. The armies were being rallied, and we were on an island away from his conquests. We were wrong, he laid siege to the island, blockaded any aid or supplies from entering, and eventually sent in an army to take us down. I helped my father with his weapons and armor then ran off to continue protecting my mother and sisters. In this task I failed, as both my mother and one of my sisters were killed. But I managed to hold off an orc long enough for my sisters Katylynn to escaoe with a small group of others. Once I caught back up we were in full withdrawal from the city. My father eventually caught back up with us, but my brothers Erik and Inbruk feel in combat to horde of zombies. I was told that the line continued through me. I was important now. My job was to keep my Name alive so that future generations could retake their position. But for now, I was to lose my ranking and my lands and leave to study in other lands. “The future is long,” my father said. “And patience is always rewarded.” These are words I have lived by. My training continued into my late teens before I bought my own armor and went off into the world. That is where I find myself today, looking to find my place in a world that no longer has room for me. Someday we will take back my family lands, but until then my sword is for sale.
