The Story of Enomdar The Effortless

In Felwithe an elf child to be named Enomdar was born, son of Brandin Lightwonder, who, at the time of his son’s birth, was a member of the High Paladin Guard of Felwithe. Brandin’s ancestry was marked by a long line of Mithaniel Marr followers all of whom (as far as can be traced) chose the Paladin lifestyle. It is believed that the Lightwonder line can be traced all the way back to the days of the great Edril. Stories tell of a man bearing the name Lightwonder being a member of the fabled Legion of Wind, fighting along side of Edril in the defense of Kethlin from Clan Crushbone.

Brandin chose a local merchant’s daughter as his wife, Enallei Leafbringer. Sadly Enomdar Lightwonder would come to know very little of his biological mother, for she would reach an unlikely and tragic fate.

It was early Fall in Faydark and once again came the annual celebration of the elves’ victory over Clan Crushbone. As was tradition, the day was generally a joyous day of relaxing, enjoying food, wine and the company of others. The day then came to its peak with a ceremonial march to Crushbone, whereupon members from each guild of Felwithe would proceed into the pitiful stronghold and lay waste to any Orc soldier who was dumb enough to stand in their path (which usually left very few Orcs standing, seeing as how they are most certainly idiots, at best). Immediately following the “laying waste” proceedings the mages present would summon cake and ale for all, and end the day of celebration with a grand firework display.

This early Fall day started much like all the rest; young Enomdar could be seen playing in the grass amongst the other children near the lake in North Felwithe, the smell of smoked fish in the air. As the hours past it came time for Brandin and the other paladins along with those chosen from the other guilds to start their march on Crushbone. Much of the celebration was taken to just outside the gates of the great city to bid the party farewell, and many would choose to continue their relaxing and picnicking on the grasses bordering the forests, including Enomdar and his mother.

Brandin Lightwonder and the other adventurers arrived to a quiet and unusually empty entrance to Clan Crushbone. Traveling further it became apparent that things were not as they always had been. “These stupid orc’s must all be sleeping in the middle of the day!” Brandin thought amusingly to himself. Unbeknownst to the proud paladin, his amusement would not last, much like the day’s waning sunlight.

As dense as he was, Emperor Crush was not completely devoid of a brain. In the previous months he had visited Antonica and the home of the Ogres of Oggok. There the Emperor convinced the ogre leaders to help his orcs carry out a devious plan against the elves, to be held on the day of their yearly victory celebration. So the day came and the ogres arrived on the shores of Faydwer and somehow managed to march to Greater Faydark without being detected by Gnome, Dwarf, nor Elven eyes. Along with them came a number of Iksar slaves, consisting of male, female and child, who were given the task of carrying all of the ogre’s supplies and equipment. (It is mostly unknown why the Ogres had any Iksar slaves at all, but some believe it could be due to their alliance with the Trolls, who in their beginning regarded the great sky dragon Trakanon to be their God and savior from extinction. It was Trakanon and other dragons that waged war on the Iksar and Trak himself did not leave the battle field without himself being deeply wounded, and so by this loose association originating from Trakanon’s battle with the Iksar, to the alliance between Ogres and Trolls, some think the Ogres keep theses slaves as an unusual token to keep in remembrance their allies’ scarred history.)

The orcs and ogres met east of Felwithe and waited for the elven adventurers to depart to the north. All were silent until Emperor Crush gave the yell to charge on the gates of the grand white walled city. On the way to the gates many who were outside the walls were slaughtered and the gates guards were quickly dispatched of, and the evil army flooded into the ill prepared city. Fortunately the majority of Felwithe’s forces had remained behind, as it is never necessary to send a party of much size to overcome the defenses of Clan Crushbone. The army of orc and ogre gained a fair bit of ground just inside the city but were pushed back before reaching the city’s bank, which they had hopes of looting during their would-be romp though the elves’ homeland.

The Pixies that lived amongst the woods of Greater Faydark relayed the word of this attack until it reached the ears of Brandin and his fellow travelers. At speed they arrived back to Felwithe in time only to catch a few Orc and Ogre under their blades as they were making their escape. Brandin Lightwonder’s sword tore tendon from knee and met the chin of at least dozen of the fleeing foe before all was said and done. Never again would Brandin’s sword be swung more valiantly than or with as much passion as on that day.

Among the hundred or so dead and wounded townsfolk outside the city walls, did Brandin find his beloved Enallei’s body lying motionless. He knelt to her in disbelief and upon turning her body over, saw only the butt end of a dagger, thus confirming the sinking feeling which had overcome his heart and mind just moments previously.

“Where’s my Enomdar!” he shouted to some nearby guards. They responded that they did not know but Brandin did not hear they’re replies, nor any other sounds but the beating of his own heart as his head sung wildly around for any signs of his dear son.
His still keen eyes spotted movement in some nearby brush and upon rushing to it, much to his surprise, found an Iksar child whom had become lost and left behind in the commotion of battle. Seeing this Brandin became even more flustered, but this Iksar was concealing something in his arms.

“Praises to Mithaniel!” Lightwonder exclaimed as from out of the brush and the arms of the young Iksar crawled his even younger son. All hope was not lost as the ever-grateful father looked into his sons eyes for what seemed an eternity, much like he had looked on Enomdar upon his birth. A certain untouchable but ever-present bond had come between the two children on that day, and Brandin took it upon himself to raise this Iksar, however in secret, to the best of his ability. Being a seasoned traveler and wise to the ways of many of the inhabitants of Norrath, Lightwonder had decent knowledge of the Iksar language and was able to teach this child a good bit of Elvish, in turn becoming better skilled at speaking the Iksar tongue.

This Iksar was named Revuk, but could not answer Lightwonder’s questions about his last name, for he did not know it himself. Revuk was tended to for the most part outside the city walls, for his own safety; only on rare occasions would Brandin bring Revuk into Felwithe and into his home. A small hut was constructed for Revuk to make his days and nights in Faydark a bit more comfortable but he seemed content nonetheless.

Many years passed and the boys became like brothers as Enomdar spent as much time as he could playing outside the city walls with Revuk away from the eyes of the ever watchful guards. In school Enomdar never seemed to gain much preference for one subject over another, and while being a fine student for Elven standards, he never excelled in any one thing, as if almost by choice. Enomdar’s father taught the young Iksar what he could as his time permitted, but Revuk seemed go grow in knowledge almost innately as time passed. He would also be seen practicing an unknown fighting style, something none of the elves could have ever taught him, something that must of arisen from his Iksar instincts.

Brandin Lightwonder had put down his sword after his wife’s death, though he continued to teach and train others who chose the way of the Paladin, and he of course hoped that Enomdar would do the same. He was 30 by this time, still young as far as elves go, but most elves by this time had chosen to be an apprentice of one trade or another, or become a member of one of the cities guilds. Brandin could not get his son to come to any decisions; Enomdar seemed content to spend his free time away from school attempting to swoon his female peers, or adventuring around Faydark with Revuk.

Around this same time Enomdar’s father’s heart began to mend, and he began to court a local elf by the name of Kerrani Wintergreen, with intensions of some day taking her
hand in marriage. Enomdar very much liked Kerrani and was excited at the idea of having her as a mother as he had not experienced it as most children do. A year past and Brandin and Kerrani wed, and with this Enomdar not only gained a mother, but a step-sister as well. Kerrani had a daughter Vellera Wintergreen, who was a fair bit older than Enomdar, and had, some years before, joined Felwithe’s Magician Guild and worked for them during the day as a merchant selling magical items and spell scrolls to the local magi.

As Enomdar spent more time with his sister he began to learn about the way of the magician. Vellera made her brother her project, determined to get Enomdar to focus on something, and as far as she could tell he did seem to warm up a bit to the idea of following in the way of the magi as she had done.

A few more years past before Enomdar finally made the decision to officially declare his desire to join the magician guild. Although Vellera had been teaching Enomdar magic for many years by this time, it was by no means a way out of going through beginner’s training the same as everyone else, nor did he want to skip it. By now he was hungry for knowledge and the basic principles which the early training taught were a necessary step for anyone of the Magi following, regardless of skill. Needless to say Enomdar was quite a bit older than everyone in his class, and likewise his physical strength surpassed that of even the older mage apprentices being that he came from the blood of paladin decent. And although mages were given some basic combat training this was not what interested Enomdar the most, and most times Enomdar had to sit out from these sessions anyhow because it was silly to match any of his classmates against him in practice.

So the day came, after his class completed a year of training, to finally test what they learned so far on the monsters that roamed Faydark. The instructors affectionately, but only amongst themselves, referred to these outings as “recess” in light of the human tradition to break from study for play (though the Elven teachers would never have admitted to using a word from the Human language with affection The day started just around the city’s walls, with various bats and spiders as targets, on which the students practiced their melee skills and their lesser flame spells. This was child’s play for Enomdar as he had much experience already with this from his days roaming the forests with Revuk.

The day was capped off with a trip north to Orc Hill to test more advanced skills. During that first year, a few of the students, including Enomdar, had learned and gained mastery in summoning elemental forms for use during battle. These students took turns attracting the attention of the unsuspecting orcs and, using their pets and their damage spells, dispatched of the foul beasts one at a time. The instructors of course kept a wary eye and could easily put down numerous orcs at a time if trouble arose. Enomdar’s turn came and he promptly sent his pet down the hill, attracting not one but four orcs. The instructors became a bit tense but knew his skill was quite a bit higher than the other students so they waited to take any action. Enomdar to this point had not shown the instructors the extent of his sister’s teachings, but with 3 orcs rushing at him he concluded that this was the perfect opportunity! Enomdar began to chant as the orcs grew dangerously close, and with a sudden movement of his arms to each side came a blinding flash as hot flame circled his body and spread for 30 feet in every direction, instantly turning the 3 orcs into limp piles of charred skin. Enomdar gathered that most of his classmates were shocked at this feat, for he gave a look behind him and saw that they had jumped back quite a few feet with some even falling backwards to the ground. Enomdar remained calm and turned his attention back to his elemental and the remaining orc. After first using healing magic to restore some of his pets heath, he then sent a long bolt of flame which hit the orc and sent him running, after which Enomdar quickly strode to the fleeing beast and finished the job with one well placed stab from his dagger.

There was a bit of a pause as Enomdar walked back up the hill but as he appeared his younger classmates erupted into cheers and applause. The instructors agreed that they would not keep Enomdar in the classroom for the required 3 year period, but instead granted him a full magician’s title and presented him with his first Art Keeper’s Robe. Upon hearing the tales of Enomdar’s act on Orc Hill, his father Brandin spoke to him.

“My son, my dear, dear Enomdar. I know I tried to push you at times to make decisions that you were not ready to make, and I hoped that you would follow in my foot steps and the foot steps of my father and his father before that. But now I see that you truly do have unique gifts and I hope that you will embark out in search of truth, using your skills to bring honor to Elves all across Norrath. You are able to do, with the bending of your mind and the gentle swing of your arms, acts which would take more than all the power and strength I possess to accomplish. I am hence moved to bestow upon you, Enomdar Lightwonder, the title Enomdar The Effortless. Use this name when others ask it of you, so that they may know the immense power you posses within your hands and your mind. You can be sure than any who snicker will be singing a different tune when their eyes bear witness to your skills with magic.”

Enomdar had last seen his “brother” Revuk 4 year before this, not long after his father remarried and Enomdar’s interest in magic had begun. He had memories of Revuk speaking of a “dark rebellion”, that he was compelled to join. He assured Enomdar this was not dark rebellion in the sense of evil foes rebelling against what was true and good in Norrath, but rather a gathering of adventurers from all races as ways of life working together in one mind for the purposes of Good. Enomdar, remembered playfully boasting with Revuk that in no time he would come of age and be able to join him in these great battles.

Enomdar was not far off, as it turned out, as jokingly as the statement was intended. Not long passed before Enomdar found himself scaling steep icy cliffs in the far off and dangerous lands known as the Dreadlands. Having grown in power immensely in just a short amount of time, Enomdar amazed himself at times with how easily he dispatched of giants, drolvargs and tundra yettis alike. It was in the Dreadlands that Revuk and Enomdar crossed paths for the first time since Revuk had set out on his journey 4 years before. He was headed to a place called Karnor’s Castle, but stopped to tell Enomdar of his many adventures and also of how the dark rebellion had made little progress and basically had all but ceased to exist.

Revuk did not depart without good news, however. Seeing Enomdar in his current form convinced him to tell the young elf of a certain band honest of and good-hearted individuals who called themselves The Valiant Spirit, and how they were looking to expand their numbers. “I would like nothing more than to adventure with you once again Enomdar, I’m sure if I put in good word with their leaders they will gladly allow you to join their ranks.”

Enomdar thought for a moment. He had not forgotten the attack on Felwithe that took his mother from him. He had long since gotten his revenge on the Orcs during his younger days, but still longed to do unto the Ogres as he they had done unto him. “If I am shown the way to the lands of Oggok, and given permission to exact my revenge on these foe long due unto me, I will, with my full commitment bind my heart and soul to these Valiant Spirits of whom you speak!”

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