Nighthawke
Bound
But...no one told me that the fireplace was just decorative!
Posts: 5
Joined:
May 18, 2009
From:
Arizona
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| Post title: A Ranger's Farewell
Submitted June 2, 2009 at 12:12PM. | |
By way of explanation, this is an RP story I wrote for my old guildmates in Everquest One when I left the game. Some of you may have seen this, but I felt that for those who don't know me, I would give you a sample of how I write. Yes, I am grammatically challenged at times, but...what the heck 
I have posted it here for your enjoyment/perusal. Feel free to comment if you wish.
The ranger padded slowly through the forest of Faydark, cloaked in the form of the wolf he always liked to wear when he was wandering the woods of his home. For many long years he had wandered the world he knew, and there wasn't a place or a Plane in all of the known territories he hadn't looked upon.
He had taken part in many things in his life. Great victories over enemies that to many were no more than legend, bitter defeats at the hands of merciless foes, and rare times, like now, when he could walk alone and reflect upon his life.
It was different this time, though. The feeling of weariness and melancholy that had been building in him over the past years had come to a head. The love of his life was gone, along with so many old and dear friends, departed into the mists of time where they now existed only as memories. Often their images would flash before him, both in dream and waking sight, and it was then that he felt the most lonesome.
"Tunare." he thought, the ache in his soul now almost a viable pain, "I am weary of this life. The joy I once gained from the battle against evil has been replaced by the pain I feel due to the absence of those lost to it. I long to be at peace again...to rest in your presence...to feel joy like I once did. I am empty inside for the most part, and I feel like it will never heal. If I could ask only one thing of you, it would be to once again walk in a forest where the adventure seems never to end, and feel the joy and contentment I felt when I was young. Please, Goddess, if there is such a place, let me find it."
He padded on, silent and rather morose, knowing inside that Tunare was a busy goddess, and in general had her hands full taking care of the woods and creatures he loved so much. But as he nuzzled his way through a bit of brush into a small clearing, he noticed that it was bathed in a strange golden light. He also noticed that it was quiet as a tomb. Not one background noise of any kind was discernable. His curiosity was piqued, but the many years as a ranger put him instantly on guard, and he stopped right at the edge, all his heightened senses activated to their fullest measure. Finally, that insatiable drive that had made him what he was to the core of his being couldn't be denied, and sure enough, he eased out into the center of it with a quiet and a caution that could only be bested by a rogue. Once there, he stopped and sniffed the air for scents, then panned his head around, listening to that now almost palpable silence with wolf ears. Little wonder then that he had to physically force himself not to flinch when the sound of
the voice washed over him.
"I heard your cry, ranger. Do you truly wish to move on from here? To go to the place that you long for?"
The question hit him like a lightning bolt, because it wasn't just audible, it seemed to ring in his head and fill his entire body. He also knew exactly who was speaking, the knowledge of it coming to him as soon as the voice struck him. Still, his brain didn't want to accept what his very soul had already acknowledged, so he bumbled out a response, the incredulity and amazement in his tone very obvious.
"Tun...Tunare? Goddess?".
"Yes ranger." came the response. Her tone was as refreshing as a drink from a clear, cold spring, washing over him and lifting his spirit, touching him to the core. "It is I. Did you really think that I wouldn't hear the prayer of one who has served me so long and so well? Someone who has frequented my Plane simply to look upon me? Of course I heard you."
"I....I..." was all he could get out. He was quite in awe, and for one of the few times in his life, was at a total loss as to what to do or say next.
The voice came again, rather amused and playful, as if she was well aware of the consternation he now felt, and was toying with him as she would a close friend out of pure fun and mischief. "You're rather funny when you get surprised. Do you know any more of the alphabet?"
"You....you..." He managed to reply.
"Well, that’s another vowel. What's your feeling on the letter "Y", she asked, her tone even more relaxed and playful that it was at first.
Much to his mortification, he realized that she had anticipated that his next response was, indeed, to have been "Why?". Summoning up all the dignity he had left (which at that point didn't seem like much to him) he said softy, "You honor me, Goddess, with your presence. Simply tell me what you require of me, and I will do it for you, or die trying." He wasn't boasting. It was just a simple fact that they both
knew to be so.
Suddenly, she appeared before him adorned in her elven avatar, but not larger than life as she sometimes appeared. She looked like the high-elven female that he had always seen when he went to the Plane of Growth to look upon her. Unconsciously, he sat back on his haunches, totally forgetting that he did, in fact, still appear as a wolf.
Smiling down at him, she said softly, "As I said, I heard your prayer. I have come to ask you if you are weary enough of this plane to depart it. Do you want to stay here and mope about for another age, or would you like to come stay in a part of my realm that very few get to see, much less visit?"
Her voice took on a tone of love and compassion, "You will be able to walk in peace once again, in a forest where each day brings a new adventure. There is much I would have you do, if you are ready. Many of your old comrades are there, and they have been waiting for you."
"They...they have been waiting? But....how could they know I'd ever come..." He found some voice at last.
"You will understand after a time." She replied. Then came the question, in a tone that indicated finality.
"Are you ready?"
The wolf looked around. He knew now, that this was the last time he would ever see his beloved Faydark, and yet, he realized that his memories of it would never be sad. For a time, he drank it in, and then, finally, he looked up at her, meeting her eyes. He felt no fear at all, only joy and contentment. She reached down and placed a hand upon his head, gazing at him as if she had found her long lost
companion. The clearing began to glow even more brightly, and as it did so the wolf lifted his head to the sky.
Sadly, there was no one there to see it, but had there been, they would have heard the wolf let out a long, last howl. A cry of the ages, one of joy and contentment. And then they faded from view, wolf and goddess, as if the light breeze of Faydark had carried away a small cloud of mist.
The ranger had found his peace...
"Here he lies now, where he longed to be.
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
and the hunter home from the hill"
Inscription on the tomb of Robert Louis Stevenson
Inara: "What did I say to you about barging into my shuttle?"
Mal: "That it was manly and impulsive?"
Inara: "Yes, precisely. Except the exact phrase I used was 'don't'."
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