Destiny's Child-Tan

[Lyrewyn]

Name: Tan
Race: Elf
Profession: Monk
Birthplace: Vilhoun Reach
Age: 120
Deity: Bahamut
Alignment: LN
Description: Shorter than average elf with a lean strong body. Clear, bright gray eyes and silk-like gray hair; an unusual coloring for an elf.

Background: Night blanketed the forever wind-swept mountain monastery. Hidden away for a millennia, its walls being far more ancient than anyone knows. Lui knew the sounds of his home and something was amiss. A foreign sound mixed in with the familiar coming from the Dragon's gate. He cautiously opened the gate, only a crack, to listen. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the unfamiliar sound. A cry...like that of a new-born calf or a wounded animal. Pushing the massive gate a bit more, Lui spots a basket on the ground. He hurries to grab it and bring it in before the yetis find it. Closing the gate, he turns his attention to the baskets contents. “Oh my...Master Shensu must see this!” He hurries off to find the old grandmaster easily navigating the great halls and corridors of which he had become so familiar.

Lui approaches the always open door of the Grandmaster's humble chambers and abruptly halts himself before going to far. “Master, master, I have found something...you must see.” “Enter child, show me what you have,” was the calm wisdom-laced response from the old grandmaster. He has been here since the beginning. No one knows his real age, only that he is far more lived than anyone here. Only his golden eyes betray him for what he is. Lui enters and as customary, bows reverently before the Grandmaster. He brings up the basket and unfolds the tattered blanket to reveal its contents: a baby, an elf child, now asleep in the warmer air of the monastery. Shensu looks at the creature and waves for Lui to bring the child closer. Closing his eyes, he lays the back of his hand to the child's forehead as if taking his temperature. Shensu smiles catching Lui by surprise for he has never seen the Grandmaster smile before. “Master, what shall we do with it?” Taking in a deep breath, “This one we shall raise as one of our own. This child has a destiny greater than any before him.” Waving off Lui he casually tells him, “Go now and seek out Mother Wan and charge her with his care.” Lui hurriedly scurries off into the darkened corridors to find Mother Wan.

Shensu then closes his eyes and dreams...appearing through a fog his eyes rest on the great wrym seated on a grand throne, “My lord, the child is here.” In a deep, resounding but patient voice, the grandfather of all dragons says, “Good...train him well Shensu and send him to the Sword Coast where his destiny lies.” Shensu, bows reverently and again closes his eyes as the fog rolls in revealing again his own quarters.

For the next 120 years, Tan grows strong and swift breaking all records for meeting the rigid requirements of the monastery. As happy as he is, he is saddened by the fact his time to leave is soon. As the Grandmaster has told him during their many private talks, he must travel outside the monastery and learn the world. Leaving with little but the found farewells of his fellows, and the skills and knowledge of his training, he moves down the great mountain to seek the world. Shensu watches the lad exit the gate and nods to Tan's last wave. He cannot help but think of the trials his master student has yet to undergo.

...to the current time. Tan arrives the Sword coast and is in awe of all he has seen. Woefully ignorant of the world at large, he is clearly amazed at his new surroundings. So many different peoples, sights, sounds, and smells. He feels like a lost child in the wilderness. He is taken aback by the other elves, of which he has never seen, as they speak to him in a strange yet beautiful language. He comes across an elf named Lasiren who offers him an opportunity to learn his heritage and the language of his kin by joining this new elven community outside Gullykin. Tan cannot believe his good fortune to find such a group willing to help him. His journey begins, his destiny lies before him as he remembers Shensu's last words to him, “Seek the Dragonborn of Bahamut, for there lies your destiny.”

Possible plot hooks: Integrate Tan into the dragon story line of Tiamat.

[Lyrewyn]

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