Traegan's Notes

[VDub]

A small leather bound journal, kept by Traegan on his person. It contains thoughts on people, places and things of note to him...

((Please don't meta-game this journal.))

[VDub]

As Selune takes the sky, the half-elf makes camp. Once food is hung and tent is pitched, he quickly prepares a fire. Keeping the flame low as to not attract too much attention. Pulling his journal out he quickly presses quill to page, jotting his thoughts down. Once finished, he powders the page and tucks everything away. Traegan cooks up a stew from from ruffage he was able to gather and a couple rabbit he took with his bow before enjoying the night allowing sleep take him.

[VDub]

After his clandestine encounter, Traegan takes a room at the Blade and Stars in Baldur's Gate. Once settled, he pulls out his journal and pens an entry...

[VDub]

Traegan sets up camp in the shadow of the Shrine of Peace. Hoping that it's divine energy will keep the skulking denizens of the forest at bay for the night. Once camp is established, he pens an entry into his journal.

[VDub]

Deep within the wood, Traegan makes camp for the night. With a hunter's moon overhead, he pulls quill and ink and pens an entry. Once finished, he prepares a bear steak over hot coals, consuming his fill before nodding off as the cool breeze washes over him.

[VDub]

It had only been a tenday or so, but the ban from Ducal lands was taking it's toll. The half-elf did his best to clear his mind from the happenings of that evening, but they played over and over in his head like a programmed image. For protecting his brothers and sisters of the Vanguard, Traegan had paid a steep price. Left on the outside of those he sacrificed to protect...

He tried to establish a routine. It is what saved him while traversing the land between his home in the Dalelands, to the here and now. Early to rise, hunt, prepare a meal, forage, scout, hunt once more, prepare another meal and make camp for the night. This was his mantra, this was his way of anchoring his mind and not allowing it to run free with thoughts of abandonment and loss.

It had been several days since he last laid his eyes upon another Vanguard. No doubt, they are busy with some plot or another within Ducal lands and are not able to reach out at all. Sure, they had summoned him to climb the rocky crags of Speartop, but once finished, they quickly dispersed into shimmering light as they teleported north. Back to Ducal lands.

He had sent a call to the rest. A plead for help. He asked that those that were present send an accounting of what transpired that evening with the tiefling. His plans were to use those accountings as he writes the Dukes to ask for forgiveness and inquire if there was some quest he could do in their name, to clear his. Only one had answered the call as of yet. Tristan. The thought brought a smile to the weary hunters face, if but for a brief moment. He had known his brother in arms would answer the asking. He waited for the others, hoping they wouldn't ignore him in his time of need.

The routine was what kept his mind from racing. Isolation causes the mind to concoct fabrications and draw assumptions. Those thoughts would be his ending, his death without release. Time would tell how this would pan out. All he could do is continue to plug on. Mind on task, until the next sun rises...

[VDub]

With the expedition into the Cloudpeaks fast approaching, the wayward half-elf took the time to gather the supplies he'd need for the journey. A length of rope, grappling hook, pitons, crampons, snowshoes, pack sled and a few bundles of arrows were all purchased at Cloudpeak Outfitters. A tent, lean-to and bedroll were gathered from the merchant stalls in Beregost. Thunderhammer provided the hand axe that he needed for processing firewood. All this along with a few wolf pelts and a snow tiger hide, Traegan felt he was prepared.

When weather permitted, the hunter would take to the mountain trails, scouting. Staying well away from any troll patrols. Counting heads and staying low in the fresh pack snow. He would skirt the cliffs, taking out the occasional yeti as he maneuvered to gain sight on the troll movements. Each foray into the blustery pass, he would seek to gain new knowledge on the Vanguards adversary.

The Company would be exposed to the climate for what could be days. Traegan took the time he had to learn the landscape. Watched as the nature gods shook the mountain side with avalanche, attempting to learn the way of it. To either avoid his Company being buried, or using conditions to bury their enemy. Perhaps a well placed arrow could start the process. Smokepowder, maybe?

Traegan grew restless as time passed. There were only a few days left...

[VDub]

As dawn broke over the Cloudpeak Mountains, a vision of carnage lay around the quiet mountain village. Smoldering corpses of trolls stacked atop one another. The smell of death, thick in the crisp mountain air. The half-elven archer walked among the bodies, pulling arrows that could be saved and checking them over for any advantage gleaned from what remained.

The attack had been quick. The Vanguard had barely set camp before the sound of crashing trees echoed through the snow filled valley. They had stood bravely against the onslaught of trolls as they attempted to overtake Crestin. Sword and shield, spell and arrow, nothing was held back from the troupe as the trolls numbers kept stacking against them. Though the situation was dire at times, the Vanguard's heart carried them through the thick of it and on to morning.

Traegan made way to the stables to check on Mane Attraction, the horse assigned to him by the Company. He approached the mare with apple in one hand and a soft touch to the snout of the creature. He would feed the apple to her as he whispered close to her in Elven.

“I know that was a lot to deal with, my beautiful steed.”, he spoke soft and in a low tone as the horse seemed skittish from the attacks. “I have to ask of you once again, girl. We need to set out into the surrounding area and find where the remaining trolls retreated to. I need you, girl.” Mane's big brown eyes almost gave a knowing look to him as the words were spoke.

His half-even hand caressed the snout and jaw of the horse as he spoke. “Steady now.”, he spoke as he placed the saddle blanket across her back. The horse twitched a bit but remained calm. “That's it. Good girl.” He would them place the saddle on her back, tightening the straps. Once the bit and bridle was in place the Ranger of the Vanguard mounted his horse.

“I'll be back before you know it.”, He stated to his Captain and Sergeants as he took to the trails that surrounded the village. He would look for any sign of retreat. Look for the direction and try to ascertain numbers. Once past any area he thought the Company or the villagers would have been, he looks for the tracks of those that direct the horde of trolls.

He would spend a few hours, traversing the mountain trails. Taking in what information he could, as he bonded with his mount...

[VDub]

His orders were clear. He was to help defend the village of Bekkreguard from the trolls closing in on them. With time his enemy, the half-elf gathered what supplies he could from the outfitter in Nashkel. Rope, arrows, a bag of oats, various other bits a pieces, and enough rations to last a tenday. He packed all this away on his pack sled, bound and tethered with rope, and stored at the Belching Dragon until needed.

The rest of his time is spent going over plans and tactics with fellow Vanguard, working with his horse, Mane, and sharpening his broadheads. He would visit the tanner to have a warm saddle blanket made for Mane from a couple snow tiger pelts he had gathered while patrolling the pass, along with lining his boots and leathers with a third.

In the evenings, Traegan can be found at the Belching Dragon. Either telling lies over a drink to the locals, or talking with fellow Vanguard at a back table. His mind was consumed by the mission ahead, ever the thought lingering that all this planning was for nothing.

Things go sideways with the Vanguard, you can't prepare for that.

[VDub]

From the moment he took a step into the forest he could hear them working to surround him. Yips and chitters heard from the brush. Growls and the snapping of teeth became louder and louder the deeper he moved under the canopy.

“Come and get me you mother f*$#@^%s!”, he yelled into the woods as he drew an arrow from his quiver. This was to be a cleansing. Both of the woods and of himself. He had slipped and let something show he shouldn't have. Weakness. This wouldn't stand with the hunter. He was a weapon. Plain and simple. To be pointed at a target and let loose. No thought or emotion just the target and the arrow's flight.

THUD, THUD, THUD! Three arrows find purchase in the skull of a gnoll that came too close to him as his mind raced with thought. “How could you think you'd ever be more than what the world had created?” His eyes snapped focus on another group of gnolls closing in on him. Two of the demonic dog-men that attacked were let loose from this plane within seconds, the third he allowed to close the gap.

“Take it!” He yelled at the gnoll. “Take it, rip it from me and return me to what I was!” The gnoll was only too happy to oblige, tearing into his flesh tooth and claw. The half-elf yelled out in pain as he pulled an arrow from his quiver and repeatedly stabbed the gnoll in the face until movement left the monstrous beast. Now drenched in the blood of his enemies, Traegan returned to a previous state. One of survival and blood. There are no longer friends. Just friendlies and targets. No emotion, just the hunt.

As he stalked his prey through the woods he was once again primal. No thought, only the kill. No emotion, only the target. Never again would he let weakness creep into his life. There was only him. A weapon. He would hunt his prey until his quiver was empty, leaving a trail of death in his wake.

[VDub]

The hunter moves about his camp as Selune still hangs in the night sky. Gathering what he needs for his hunt, he pauses and looks up to the moon as it bathed him in a glowing light.

“Why must you haunt my thoughts and dreams?”, he asks the night sky. “I need not the reminder of words spoke. Remove them from mind and leave me be.” With that he turns from the moon and prepares his tools for the hunt.

There had been a wolf that had followed the hunter through the Sharpteeth a day earlier. White of fur and larger than most. It was to be his trophy. By the setting of the sun, the pelt would be his. Gathering his quiver, making sure it's full, the half-elf hunter left his camp, stepping into the woods.

As he made his way through the thick foliage, thoughts raced through his head. The prayer spoken to him by the priestess played over and over in his mind...

“Do not let your heart sink with the fading light, Night is not all dread and shadows. Look closer and you'll see the wonder. Give your spirit the opportunity to dance with the stars, bathing in the light of the moon. Lady of Dreams, give him wisdom to see into his true self. Shield him from the mask he has chosen to wear. Give him the eyes to see through the haze that is blood. Guide him back to the path he already walked. Hear my plea, Daughter of the Night Skies.”

The feeling of emotion pushing to the surface, the Hunter pushes it back. Focusing on the hunt before him. With daylight barely breaking the canopy of the forest, he pressed on. Kneeling to check for signs of passage, He had found the trail. The prints that the wolf left were large. The size of his hand with fingers spread. This would be the one. The kill that pushed the hunter to a place he would never return.

Quietly stalking, Traegan peered out into a forest clearing. There before him was the wolf. Resting on a granite bed covered in thick forest moss. The wolf raised it's head, looking directly at the hunter as he peered out through the dense forest undergrowth. He had but a moment. It knew he was there. Smoothly and quietly the hunter drew an arrow from his quiver, nocking the arrow and slowly pulling the bowstring back to rest at his cheek.

The arrow raced through the rays of the early morning light as it pierced the trees. It did not find purchase however, passing through the wolf as if it were an apparition. Angry, the hunter drew two more arrows, nocking them together and letting them loose towards his lupine target. Those too passed through the beast as it then slowly stood. Eyes still upon the hunter. They looked at him with intelligence for a brief moment before suddenly darting off into the thicket.

The archer gave chase. Firing arrows after the wolf as it slipped and darted through the forest floor like a wisp of smoke. Cursing his aim, the hunter continued on. Persuing his prey through the Wood of Sharpteeth. The Great wolf suddenly stops and looks back at the hunter, causing Traegan to stop and aim.

As he peered down the line of sight of his bow, just past the wolf, his eyes caught something. A sight he had not seen since his childhood under the boughs of the Cormanthor woods. A hunter's shine. Releasing the tension on the bowstring, Traegan returned his weapon of destruction to a relaxed state. The wolf made no movement, still looking back at the primal hunter.

Cautious steps were made as he moved closer to the wolf and the ancient shrine. There upon the obelisk stone was a crude depiction of an arrow with green fletching. What looked to be several rusted and tarnished arrowheads lay at its base. As the half-elf's attention turns to the shrine, the great wolf that he had followed through countless tracks of the forest, faded into a mist, returning to the forest around.

Now, the hunter stood before the shrine, shadowed by a rocky outcropping. Falling to his knees before the obelisk, he drops his head low. Memories of his brother and himself running through the thick forest with their uncle played over in his head. A brief vision of his mothers face, the look of disappointment upon her visage. The hunter then throws his head back to the sky and releases a guttural yell into the trees around.

As this sound tears through the woods, another sound can be heard accompanying it. The howl of a wolf. Looking up, Traegan sees the great wolf once more, it's silhouette blackened by the bright glowing moon behind. “Why do you show me this?”, he asked the silhouette. He heard no answer, just watched as the wolf turned away and disappeared into the forest...

[VDub]

I look for peace down long dark roads.
Where shadows creep and will erodes.

I look for hope where there is none.
No time to do, what must be done.

I look for love where none is left.
It's locked away where pain is kept.

Too blind to see the trail ahead.
Off path to find it lined with dread.

I'm numb, There's no emotion here.
No feelings left to interfere.

So now I go. It's time to leave.
To live a life of no reprieve.

Goodbye to peace and love and hope.
Forever chased by length of rope.

[VDub]

(This is a continuation of Cinta's post you can find that here.)

- Next time Traegan falls to sleep, he would see a strange dream. -

Midwinter coming, the wood elves of the small settlement came together to celebrate, fairy lights hovered in the air, and the street was abundant with food and beverages piled up on long tables by the entrance of the tree-houses. Picking up a honey bread here, a handful of berries there, two half-elven boys were chasing each-other, cheerfully tumbling through the crowd that gathered on the streets. At one corner, a graceful elven woman stood, opening her arms as the boys ran up to her, and she embraced them tightly in her arms. The long hair falling down on the boys' head, the soft smell of the woman made Traegan remember - this was what her mother looked like many years ago.

"Come, cubs, the tale-teller may have already started his songs. You don't want to miss that, do you?"

Indeed, on a small flower field on the outskirts, the tale-teller had already started his rhymes, the wind picked up the sound of the accompanying flute, dragging the leaves of the trees in a dance following the rhythm of the song. The story was one that sounded strangely alien for Traegan - wood elves usually taught it differently to their children - yet, as the silver haired bard sang, it felt familiar at the same time.

"... So it happened, that through treachery and betrayal done by one of Corellon’s own, the One-Eyed God could shatter Sahandrian, Corellon’s sword, and managed to gravely wound the Coronal of Arvandor. Staggering and drenched in his own blood, the question of his betrayal haunted the First of the Seldarine, as he saw the orcish god drawing ever closer. At that moment, a faint shimmer appeared on the horizon, the dancing lights grew and coalesced into a slender, feminine form. Like a luminous cloud, Sehanine walked towards them. Rapidly taking on substance as she came, a shining sword, held point-up before her. It was Sahandrian, now made whole and new. A single pulse of silver light burst from the weapon and engulfed the One-Eye. Blinded and snarling with rage, he dug with his fist in his eye, trying in vain to banish the stars that swam and spun behind his eyelids. By the time the orc lord’s vision returned, the two elven gods were nowhere to be found.”

“Far from that place, Sehanine’s silver eyes swept over Corellon, tears sprang into them as she took note of his many wounds. The Lady of Dreams wiped the tears from her cheek and reached out with gentle fingers to touch the god’s bleeding face. Instantly the mingled droplets on her hand took on a mystic glow. “Children of the moon and the sun,” she whispered. “Behold, my lord, the souls of elves yet unborn.” ”

The shine of the dancing lights dimmed then, as the wind blew away the sounds of music and song. The boys' mother chuckled, amusedly, while hugging them closer to herself. When she spoke, her voice was warm with affection, but at the same time growing distant, as if slowly blurring away in a descending, thick cloud of mist.

"Through blood and tears we persevere, through divine love a yet unknown life we create. This is how much the Seldarine loves us, and you can share the same love, cubs. This is the same love I had for your father."

Had.

Had?

When Traegan looked down on his hands, he was holding the medallion which depicted the symbol of the Lady of Dreams. However, the full moon before the moonbow wasn't a full moon anymore, the space opened up inside it's frame like a crystal ball, drawing in the onlooker's eyes, to get lost in the sight of a different place. The shapes in the distance enfolded and divided, until they drew out a form of a small village, wooden fence run around the settlement, that split in half by a river running down from a waterfall. And the forest around, Traegan could recognize - the Glimmerwood it was.

- And so the dream ended. -

Traegan woke from his sleep clutching his Mother's amulet. A tear rolled down his cheek as he sat up. So real. So vivid was the dream. He could actually feel her presence close to him. Hear the laughter from his brother and the villagers he grew up with. It was the first time in many months that the Hunter could feel the Seldarine. His connection to them.

Syndreth was right. His mother wouldn't be proud that he had taken the lives of Tel-quessir. Struck out against those with the same blood and beliefs. Conflicted, the hunter donned his armor and gathered his things for the hunt.

The dream weighed heavy in his mind that day. He had thought several times to reach out to Syndreth to tell her all about it. She was his only real connection to the Seldarine. But, he never did. She was angry and disappointed in him. He would give her the time she needs before sending to her. Hopefully their friendship could be salvaged. He knew this was a long shot, but worth his efforts.

Before stepping out on patrol, Traegan places his mothers amulet in a pouch on his belt.

"I'm sorry mother. I'll get you close to them, I promise."


///I want to thank Cinta for the amazing RP. The dream sequence was written by her.