Ah, I remember vaguely when the Crushbone Orcs raided Kelethin that cold and rainy day. My mother woke me up and urgently said "Nerion, we must leave quickly." I was wondering what she was talking about until I heard the faint sound of Orc war drums in the background, and then I realized what was happening. We gathered our things and set off just before the first wave of Raiders arrived. Weeks past, and soon turned to months. My mother and I had traveled for 4 months until we came upon the human city of Freeport, in a land far away from home.

Freeport was nice, humans were different, but they accepted wood elves as there own. My mother got a job at the Freeport Inn, just north of our home. Close to a year after we were settled in, my mother met a man named Krugan Kruelblade. The townsfolk all told stories of Krugan, saying that he was a legendary warrior, killing dragons, giants, and many other things. My mother and Krugan began spending a lot of time together, and as soon as I know it they were married! The ceremony was held just after my 7th birthday in The Temple of Solesek Ro, in the Lavastorm Mountains, several days journey from Freeport. After the ceremony there were festivities. Food, ale, fireworks, everything one would imagine at a great party. At the age of 7, this came across as boring, and I began to venture around. About an hours walk from the party site, I stumbled across something I had never seen before, a dark elf girl, my same age. It was scary at first, for I had heard stories of the dark elf, and how they were evil. As several minutes of just staring at each other past, I became to feel more comfortable and slowly made my way closer to her. Everything was fine now, and we began to talk. We talked for hours and hours, about everything and anything. She told me her name was Teneli, and that she lived several hours away in the city of Neriak. Teneli and I became best of friends just in the few hours we had talked. As sunset approached, I heard Krugan yelling for me down the path, and told Teneli that I had to leave. I didn't see Teneli again for years.

Back in Freeport, I attended school during the day, and afterwards my step-father Krugan, would teach me combat skills. He said that I had a connection with nature, and that when I found it, I could do powerful things. Years past, and I was growing stronger in both my combat skills and my connection with nature. I found that I could call upon weeds from the earth to tangle the feet of my foe, slowing their speed down. I could also summon roots from the ground to stop something's movement entirely. I could surround my body with magical thistles, which would damage anything that attacked me. As the years past, I learned "swords, and shields are good, but a good bow and arrow are irreplaceable." This is my motto still to this day. I would rather use my bow to kill an enemy from a far, than to brutally beat it with melee weapons. By the time I was 18, I was deadly with my bow. I could kill black bears in the nearby Eastern Commonlands with just one shot of my bow. I could even score critical hits with it; much like a warrior can with his sword. Life was good. My mother was the happiest I'd ever seen her, my days were filled with fun, and my step-father Krugan was the best. That would all change soon...

It was a lovely fall day in the Eastern Commonlands. A nice breeze blew from the south; leaves of all different colors covered the ground like a fresh coat of snow. As usually, I was out hunting for that evening's dinner. I made my way to the edge of Nektulus Forest, because I had tracked a large pack of wolves to that area. As I approached the wolves to make my kill, I sensed people nearby. Several minutes had passed, and in to view came a caravan of Freeport Militia. It seemed as if there was a cage on the back of one of the wagons, and as I came closer to the wagons, I noticed several dark elves in the cage. The militia had been running a patrol in Nektulus forest, and had taken several dark elf prisoners. As I grew even closer, I noticed that one of the entrapped dark elves was Teneli. I suddenly stopped, and thought for a moment, "what is going to happen to her?" I followed the caravan back to Freeport without anyone knowing they were being followed. The next day, I walked up to Guard Munden at the gates and ask him "I heard we have some dark elf prisoners." I tried to sound like I hated the dark elf, like the rest of us. Munden told me that they had taken prisoners, and they were to be executed tomorrow at noon. I tried to control myself, but the rage poured through my veins. At that moment I drew my sword, and began to attack Munden. I picked a fight that I could not have won, and I paid the price. I found myself in the local jail with a busted nose and a bloody lip. I had to find a way out and save Teneli, and sure enough, several hours later, Krugan came to get me. The next day, I was forced to watch the executions for punishment. At that moment before she died, she saw me. We looked into each others eyes for only a few seconds, though it seemed like hours, I knew what I had to do. Memories of that day in Lavastorm Mountains streamed through my mind, and just like that it was over, and my best friend was gone. As the crowd cheered, I told my mother and step-father that it was time for me to leave. They both responded with "huh?", but I didn't even bother telling them. At that moment I promised myself that I would turn my mind and body into a weapon, and seek revenge on those people responsible for Teneli's death. I went home, gathered my things, and wrote my mother a note telling her that I loved her. For the first time in my life....I walked out of the Freeport knowing that I wouldn't be welcomed back.


----"We looked into each others eyes for only a few seconds, though it seemed like hours, I knew what I had to do."

----"My name is Nerion, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."