Post by moviedave on Oct 31, 2016 16:15:58 GMT -5
Prologue:
Children should be seen, but not heard.
That was the lesson growing up in a castle on the mountain. Ok, sure, it was nobility, so no one is complaining. It is just a fact then when you are the middle child of seven kids (even if you are the oldest male) there is always a “forgotten child.”
The truth is I liked it that way. Stay out of the way of the adults, and I could pretty much spend my time as I pleased. There was many an occasion for adults being held up at Castle Stormwatch, since the family has been of prominence for so many generations . I would put on my best manners so that people thought I was part of the festivities, and then would sneak away and find out all the little secrets that our guest had. I would eavesdrop on conversations, spy on people when they though no one was looking, and even search their rooms and belongings. I would never take anything, I’m not a thief. I just enjoyed learning all I could about everything, including the people around me.
In fact, when we didn’t have guests, I could hide up in the rafters in the kitchen and listen to the staff. That turned out to be the best place to hear the gossip. It is amazing how much false information is out there, but I could often track it back to the nugget of truth it started with. The kitchen also taught me the fine arts of both food and drink, through a decade of watching and tasting what worked and what didn’t in the kitchen.
When activity was low, I would round out my time reading every book in the library, and playing games of both skill and chance with my father’s Prime Minister. I guess Alfred was supposed to be making sure I was getting the education I needed if I ever had to take over this place, but I made that easy on him. Keeping me from learning things was a harder task.
It’s a good thing, too, since I found out about many underhanded things that were happening under everyone else’s noses. I would deal with many of them myself, or with the help of our adopted family member Thunder. She’s is a story by herself, but she is like a sister to me and was often my partner in crime (stopping it, of course.) She was with me when we stopped Jafar, my father’s vizier, from releasing a demon in Castle Stormwatch and destroying the entire complex. That one was a bigger deal, and resulted in the death of Thunder’s master, who had been training her in the sorcerer arts.
Now we are being forced to spend time back with my distant cousin Guile Drakkus. It’s not a bad thing, we spent summers there and would hang out with him and his friends. The worst part is his dad is kind of a jerk. Oh, and there was the summer we stumbled across the Vengeful Wyrm that used to rule the land. That sucked. Rumors are persisting that he is returning.
One thing before I left Castle Stormwatch. I had a long heart to heart talk with Grandmother Maddox. It seams that as good as I have been about staying in shadows and learning what’s going on behind the scenes, she has been keeping an eye on me and helping me without my ever knowing. She let me know that she has been part of a Secret Order that keeps watch throughout all the lands in an effort to keep things safe. She gave me some tips on how to best throw a punch, using more skill than strength. How to Channel my inner Ki and use it to my advantage. When I can get back to spend time with her, she said she can teach me to use my Ki in other ways as well. She said I am a Candidate to join “The Order of Shadows.” Her parting gift to me was a Silver rune carved bracelet (or Bracer) and instruction that…
“Children of the shadow, should be neither seen, nor heard.”
Children should be seen, but not heard.
That was the lesson growing up in a castle on the mountain. Ok, sure, it was nobility, so no one is complaining. It is just a fact then when you are the middle child of seven kids (even if you are the oldest male) there is always a “forgotten child.”
The truth is I liked it that way. Stay out of the way of the adults, and I could pretty much spend my time as I pleased. There was many an occasion for adults being held up at Castle Stormwatch, since the family has been of prominence for so many generations . I would put on my best manners so that people thought I was part of the festivities, and then would sneak away and find out all the little secrets that our guest had. I would eavesdrop on conversations, spy on people when they though no one was looking, and even search their rooms and belongings. I would never take anything, I’m not a thief. I just enjoyed learning all I could about everything, including the people around me.
In fact, when we didn’t have guests, I could hide up in the rafters in the kitchen and listen to the staff. That turned out to be the best place to hear the gossip. It is amazing how much false information is out there, but I could often track it back to the nugget of truth it started with. The kitchen also taught me the fine arts of both food and drink, through a decade of watching and tasting what worked and what didn’t in the kitchen.
When activity was low, I would round out my time reading every book in the library, and playing games of both skill and chance with my father’s Prime Minister. I guess Alfred was supposed to be making sure I was getting the education I needed if I ever had to take over this place, but I made that easy on him. Keeping me from learning things was a harder task.
It’s a good thing, too, since I found out about many underhanded things that were happening under everyone else’s noses. I would deal with many of them myself, or with the help of our adopted family member Thunder. She’s is a story by herself, but she is like a sister to me and was often my partner in crime (stopping it, of course.) She was with me when we stopped Jafar, my father’s vizier, from releasing a demon in Castle Stormwatch and destroying the entire complex. That one was a bigger deal, and resulted in the death of Thunder’s master, who had been training her in the sorcerer arts.
Now we are being forced to spend time back with my distant cousin Guile Drakkus. It’s not a bad thing, we spent summers there and would hang out with him and his friends. The worst part is his dad is kind of a jerk. Oh, and there was the summer we stumbled across the Vengeful Wyrm that used to rule the land. That sucked. Rumors are persisting that he is returning.
One thing before I left Castle Stormwatch. I had a long heart to heart talk with Grandmother Maddox. It seams that as good as I have been about staying in shadows and learning what’s going on behind the scenes, she has been keeping an eye on me and helping me without my ever knowing. She let me know that she has been part of a Secret Order that keeps watch throughout all the lands in an effort to keep things safe. She gave me some tips on how to best throw a punch, using more skill than strength. How to Channel my inner Ki and use it to my advantage. When I can get back to spend time with her, she said she can teach me to use my Ki in other ways as well. She said I am a Candidate to join “The Order of Shadows.” Her parting gift to me was a Silver rune carved bracelet (or Bracer) and instruction that…
“Children of the shadow, should be neither seen, nor heard.”