Role

Chapter 1

Darkness crept over the horizon.

The foreboding gloom swept over the land, sinking deep into the castle walls. The candles and torches
withdrew in fear as the unnatural wind lurked through the cold, empty halls. Traversing further and
further inward, the ominous presence of despair and helplessness enveloped the inhabitants that took
refuge within the great hall.

Arkhun shuddered as a cold chill violently caressed his body, sending uncontrollable violent shivers
throughout his back. He sat back in his chair, listening, watching patiently as the council members and
his father discussed the most recent occurrences that threaten their land. As he sank back, the great
hearth behind him began to sooth his cold, aching body.

Since the return of life to Thera, his family, the line of the Soulhammer stood watch for generations over
their land, but the times were changing, and even upon the wind the foreshadow of their fate taunted them.
The councils voices grew distant and dim as he dwelled back in memory, his life was never one of grace,
royalty, simplicity, or even luxury. His life has always been one of hardship, he learned and grew with
the land, his food, sheltered, all earned by the test of his hand, the patience of his mind, and the focus
within his heart.

Arkhun was never one of rash decision, even in the greatest of risk he always acted with perfect
calculation, his patience knew no limits, and while he was not one to be outspoken, he quickly gained
the admiration and respect of his elders. His voice, when spoken, and even his gaze was one of
authority.

Just as he had learned from the land, how to hunt and how to live, he learned the art of war from the
greatest of warriors. Each day he participated in mock confrontations, his tests consisting of a variety of
adaptations and combinations of weapons and numbers, but no weapon had attracted him more than
the two-handed blade. With the first time he wielded such, he felt as one with the extended blade. Its
length, width, and even its weight became an extension of his own body. The challenge of the art to
wield it making its all the more irresistible, for only the most adept would dare wield it knowing such
limitations in close quarter combat. But becoming with the blade, he not only became success, he
excelled.

Arkhun was rocked back to consciousness as his father stood hastily from his seat.


his father bellowed.