Acolyte (Eli / Rae)

[Karrl Garm]

Karrl was sitting in the middle of the temple’s main hall. His legs crossed into the lotus position as he sat on the hard, wooden floor. The temple hall was quite plain in look; the same, dark, almost mahogany wood that graced the floor was on the walls, with a scroll on each side of the room. Those scrolls were the teachings on the first monk of his order, Kalvosh, and they have been taught to each monk from the day they were accepted into the order. The teaching could pretty much be translated into one sentence, protect those who need to be protected, and vanquish the evil in ones heart as well as the evil in the world.
Other than Karrl the room was actually empty, which could be deemed strange, other than the fact the apprentices were in study and the monks were either teaching or else were. As Karrl sat there, he hummed a tune. The tune was quite ominous in sound with a slow tempo and a low key. Beside Karrl was his blades, the Kalvoshi sabres, the weapons all monks of his order were taught to use. They looked like ordinary sabres, slightly shorter, but they were in their sheathed, as it was against temple law to unsheathe them in the main hall unless the monk’s life was in danger.

The sabres’ sheathes themselves were black in colour with silver engravings, runes which are on all items worn by the Kalvoshi Monks. Such as his clothing, all black in colour, a tunic, trousers, books and long black, fingerless gloves, with the same, almost Celtic looking runes on them like with the sheathes of his sabres. It was the way they dressed that made them stand out from a crowd, there garb was both plain and fancy, in such a way that makes there dress sense unique in this world, and most people from Anatola could tell when someone was a member of the Monks of Kalvosh, simply because of the weapons and garb they have.

All of all sudden the same tune Karrl was humming sounded from outside the room, just behind the doors. Because of the enhanced humming the tune turned from ominous to beautiful, in a slightly dark way. A few seconds later the doors slid opened and nine monks garbed in the same clothing Karrl was, apart from the fact they were also wearing robes of the same design as the rest of their clothing. They were in two rows of four, with the ninth monk just in between them placed about two steps back from the row the ninth monk was the only person out of the nine with his hood down.

As the door opened incense wafted into the room as the front two monks were holding metal containers dangling from long, thin ropes. The incense, even though wafting through the room quite easily was quite subtle in its smell, well, for incense that is. Eight of the monks walked to either side of the room four on the right wall, four on the left, two of them stood on either side of the teachings so what separated the monks on either side was the teachings alone. The ninth monk and elderly man walked to the front. This elderly monk was in fact the head monk of the temple, as, like Karrl, his hair was silver in colour, but it was much, much longer, with both his hair and his beard softly touching the floor.

When the monks had taken their position Karrl’s eyes opened. At the same time as the monks stopped their humming so did Karrl, he had opened his eyes about the same time as they all stopped humming. He sat there for a moment or two before getting to his knees and bent into a bow, his knuckles pressing against the floor. He stayed in this position for a few moments before getting up, retrieving his blades as he did. He stood there for a moment or two taking a few deep breaths before walking to the front and taking to his knees and bowed his head low. His face was calm, but there was a tint of excitement in his hazel eyes.

The elderly monk looked down upon Karrl with a soft smile on his face. This monk was in fact the same one who brought Karrl into the order all those years ago. He was happy this day had finally come, but he had to admit, he was a little surprised it had come so soon, very few in the history of their order had had this day at such a young age, and no one had done it earlier. Karrl was in fact, one of the youngest to receive these honours in the history of the Monks of Kalvosh. Finally the elderly monk spoke, “Recite the words that have been passed down from Kalvosh himself.”

Karrl knelt there his mind calm, his body stuck in that bowing position, until the order to recite the words came, “My mind is calm, my arm is strong, my heart is pure. With my blades I shall protect, with my fist I shall strike. My blades are a shield, a shield to protect the world from evil, my heart is the cure to the poison. I am no longer a boy, I am no longer a man, I am a monk, I am a warrior, I am a shield and a sword, I shall now and forever more give my happiness to the ones who I shall serve and protect. I shall lay my life down to protect the world from evil, and I shall serve the world as a Monk of Kalvosh.”

The elderly monk smiled a bit more before speaking again, “Arise young one, for you are no longer an apprentice, but you are not quite a monk. Arise as an acolyte of Kalvosh and receive the gifts of Kalvosh.” He waited until Karrl had arisen. Karrl’s head was still bowed as he stood there, slightly taller than the elderly monk. He head monk raised his hands and the two monks who were second in in each row stepped forward.

When they reached either side of Karrl the first one handed a simple looking amulet to the head monk whilst the other placed a set of robes around Karrl’s shoulder. At the same time the head monk placed the amulet around Karrl’s neck and as he did this he spoke once more, “May this gifts protect you, protect you so in turn you may protect, for your road is long and filled with many perils, but known this young one, when you return you will be celebrated as a true monk of the order, farewell young one.”

“I shall prove my worth, I shall prove my head calm, I shall prove my arm strong, I shall prove my heart pure.” With the final words spoken he placed his sabres on his belt and fastened the robes. As he lifted his head he placed his hood up, “Until my return.” With that he turned to face the monks and bowed his head before finally bowing to the head monk. Finally a confident smile was placed on his lips and he spoke one more before leaving the main hall, “And my worth shall be proven amongst all things. Until then, see you around old man.”

It did not take him long until he had left the main hall and the temple itself. When he had reached the exit the sun had just fully risen. Looking around he saw masses of trees just below him and all around for miles on end. The same confident smile was on his face, “Well, now to get this show on the road hey Karrl.” He chuckled a bit before making his way down the large hill on which the temple was placed. His movements were sure footed and fast, because, he was excited to leave, due to the fact he had not left the temple since he had first arrived all those years ago, as was the rules of being an apprentice.

His journey through the forest was uneventful, as no beasts came near the trails and no bandits would dare venture into the forest of Kalvosh. However, despite being uneventful it did not take away from the fact it was a long journey. When he had finally left the forest the sun was actually setting, yes, the trip from the temple to outside of the forest took an entire day, even with Karrl’s natural speed and agility. As he reached the boarders of the forest he took a couple of deep breaths before stepping out. Looking up he knew it would not be wise to travel at night, not on his first night out, so he looked around and smelt the air, it did not seem like it was going to rain, so, he sat down and rested against a tree and got ready to sleep.

WORD COUNT: 1,506

[Eli Jupiter Lux]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, width:100px; background-image:url(http://i41.tinypic.com/s67p7b.png)][atrb=vAlign,top][style=border:10px solid #3b3b3b; border-radius:5px; height:100px; width:100px; margin:7px; background-image:url(http://i45.tinypic.com/oay783.jpg);][/style][style=background-color:#3b3b3b; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-left:15px; padding-right:15px; font-family: times new roman; font-size:10px; text-transform:uppercase; letter-spacing:2px; width:220px; transform:rotate(-90deg); -moz-transform:rotate(-90deg); -webkit-transform:rotate(-90deg); -o-transform:rotate(-90deg); color:#fff; text-shadow:1px 1px 2px #000; margin-left:-60px; margin-right:-160px; margin-top:100px; margin-bottom:-70px; border-radius:10px 0px 0px 10px; text-align:right;]you can grow but remember empires always fall [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,bTable][atrb=style, width:300px;][style=background-color:ffffff; height:380px; overflow-y:auto; overflow-x:hidden; text-align:justify; font-family:arial; font-size:10px; padding-top:0px; padding-bottom:0px; padding-left:15px; padding-right:15px;] The night seemed pretty quiet, the only thing that disturbed the silence was the occasional rustling in the leaves of the trees. Eli was patrolling the area before deciding on an area to make camp for the night. His left hand was rested on the hilt of his sword, his right hand settled at his mouth as his chewed his nails. A bad habit that usually acted up when he was bored or nervous, tonight it was due to boredom. It seemed like his sword was something that didn't have any use lately, not that Eli wanted to use his sword on anyone. The thought of some entertainment did appeal to him, perhaps a sparing partner, he could always make a dummy out of branches and leaves. Eli shook his head, his messy head of hair shaking about as he banished the thought. His fighting style was burned right into his bones, he didn't need to practice in the middle of the night. Rest was a higher priority, even higher than that was food. He could feel his stomach grumbling as he thought about it, "quiet you..." Maybe settling down was a good idea, the soldier sighed stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning about. Almost ready to just plop down Eli ran and hand through his hair, "firewood... firewood..." The man muttered to himself as he made a list in his mind of what he needed for camp, he turned into a bit of the wood in search of kindling and dry wood. So obsessed with building his fire that he wasn't really paying attention to where he was walking. Heavy boots kicking up the dirt floor as he walk, Eli didn't even notice the boy that was lean against a tree as he passed it. Nearly tripping over the boy Eli let out a little shout, stumbling about trying to catch his balance before he toppled right over. The man managed to catch himself, grabbing hold of a tree branch and pulling himself upright. "Lord of Chaos!" the man cursed turning to look at the boy who was probably trying to get some sleep. "Sorry there lad, didn't even see you there," Eli ran a hand through his hair and let out a little embarrassed chuckle. It wasn't like him to not pay attention to his surrounding but his growling stomach had him distracted, "I didn't step on yuh did I?" [/style]

[style=font-family:times; font-size:9px;]MADE BY RIVER OF CTL and OTE[/style]

[Karrl Garm]

As the young monk rested against the tree he was finding it very hard to sleep. He laid there in a position he had found himself falling asleep many times in the past. It was like the top half of his back, the shoulder blades and chest area resting against the tree, whilst letting the rest of his body slump somewhat. He did not know why, the beds within the temples were almost as hard as the ground, well, they pretty much were the ground apart from a thin mattress and a pillow to rest his head, not luxury, but then again, it had never bothered him before.

Karrl was known to be able to sleep anywhere, in fact the monks had often joked if they gave a lava pit a blanket and a pillow he would be able to sleep there. Resting there in a half sitting position he shifted his body from one side to another. It was strange really, he did not know exactly why he could not sleep, but, he had a strange feeling that it might be because this was his first night away from the temple since he was a small boy, all those years ago, well, about thirteen, so not really that long ago compared to some of the other monks..

With all those thoughts running through his head, the fact he could not sleep did not evade his attention. The fact that could not sleep was in fact irritating him to no end, and the shifting became faster and more frequent. As he shifted he could not find the right position to sleep in and he pretty much tried every one, except for sleeping on his head. The sensation of trying to capture sleep and it evading his advances every time was a feeling Karrl was not use to, and he knew for certain he did not want to get used to it.

At one point he thought about climbing the tree and sleeping like the bats did, he had been caught once sleeping like that and thought it might work again. The lack of ability to sleep was irritating and he could not hide the fact he was irritated for every time he shifted he muttered to him and continued to shift and move a little more. From one position to the next his irritation and the volume of his muttering increased. He opened his eyes for a moment or two, but the fact he was so tired made opening his eyes a painful task to do.

Suddenly he stopped, it was not the fact he had found the right way to rest it was the fact he knew if he let his irritation get the better of him he would not find the sleep he was looking for. The fact he had not realised this sooner made him feel a little stupid, and lucky no one was around to see how stupid had had been acting. So, in light of this revelation he started to hum a tune. Now, his voice, it was not exactly a professional singer’s ability, but it had been compared to the sound one heard one playing a violin, smooth and soft.

The tune was one that was taught to the monks when they were young, the way it was hummed and the tune it carried had a very calming effect most of the time. It was a low key song, like most of the tunes and hymns the order had, but it was, like his voice like a violin playing. The way it was sung was like if swaying with turned into music, and as he sung the tune he began to sway a bit himself. After a short while he was calm, and he smiled as he finally felt relaxed enough to fall to the land of slumber. With that he stopped the humming and swaying and found himself calm.

Several moments after he had calmed himself down enough so he could relax against the tree he stopped humming. Where the deep tune filled sound coming from his mouth had stopped, the sounds of the forest took over. The woods seemed to be peaceful, as they usually were, well, from what he could gather from his life within the temple. He loved the forest, and even though he was never supposed to leave the temple, from time to time he had ventured out, but never too far. He had always found the sounds of the forest both fascinating and calming, which was why, when he ventured out he tried to turn the sounds into song, with some success. With him relaxed and the forest at peace he was finally dropping off.

As his lids grew heavy, too heavy to keep them up he was just about to fall into a deep slumber when someone tripped over him, not only kicking him, but dirt into his face. The sudden appearance of not only the person but the dirt startled Karrl so much so it woke him up fully. He looked up at the man with an expression that might scare demons. He had counted his blessings, he was lucky the hood from his robes were up so the dirt did not get into his eyes, just his nose and mouth. Also, due to the hood his expression might go unnoticed. However, needless to say, Karrl was a tad bit annoyed.

He sat there reciting the teachings of Kalvosh in his mind, trying his best to keep his annoyance under control, and calm himself. He did not recite all the teaching that would take several days to recite just once; he recited one passage of the teachings over and over again. My blades will protect to strike in vengeance, my blades shall not strike in anger, my blades shall not draw innocent blood. It took him several attempts but he finally managed to calm himself. When he had calmed himself his expression went from annoyed to his usual calm, and laid back expression. Someone who saw this might actually think Karrl had a mood disorder or something.


At around the same time he had calmed himself he heard the man speak. He sat there in silence, because, after all, all he could really do was listen. It was not like Karrl to sit back and let the other person do all the talking, but he could not think of anything to say really. After the he had listened he got up, his robes, which had ridding up to his knees fell to around his ankles. He stood there for a moment and turned to face the man fully. From his seated position he did not look it, due to the fact his height was made up quite a bit by his legs, but Karrl was a big lad.

He dusted himself off coughing once or twice to try and remove any dust from his mouth and lungs. When he stood there he looked at the man, even though his eyes were hidden by the hood of his robes there was no doubt his expression was that of curiosity. He was tempted to speak, and, when Karrl was tempted to speak he usually did, but, all he could say was one simple question, “Why do you enter the Forest of Kalvosh?” If the young man in front of him did not answer correctly, Karrl would attack, to protect the forest, since, after all, it had been his home for most of his life.

WORD COUNT: 1,256
THREAD COUNT: 2762