Kindled Spirit [Added]

[Anonymous]

Kindled Spirit Volume I

For two days now I have roamed the wilderness avoiding the ominous threat of death from the wild animals that inhabit this very forest. My life, which once had been blessed with the finest of linens and the tastiest of wines, has since rested with the simple blade I had stolen from a sleepy guard the morning of my departure two days ago. For years my father berated me for my studious nature but his claims that I had failed to walk the path of my great ancestral warriors has hurt my conscience deeply. My silent departure from the bungalow was simply the first step of many that will show him that I am not the weakling in the family! By slaughtering a bear and bringing the pelt back home I may just gain back the respect and honor of my father.

For hours, I sat behind a rock quarry that sheltered me from the cruel elements of the outdoors. How can it be that the elements are so different when viewed from the window of my house? My fear and apprehension left me weary after two days of constant watching and my stomach craveed for the friendly taste of sweet Flin and jellied bread. I heard then a rustling in the distance, at first dulled then growing ever closer. Could this be my mind playing tricks? I waited silently by the rock. Then from the bushes I heard the sweet sound of success, an inhumane growl from a monstrous beast. The large monster emerged from the thicket and here before me stood a huge bear standing roughly my height while on all fours. My fear was overrun by a will to prove myself; I didn’t run away from my family for failure!

I jumped out from behind the rock and charged at the bear, taking a feeble slash at its hind leg. It turned around and to my great dismay its skin began to harden; I have only angered it. Its eyes were like fires dancing in its head and the beast’s paws seemed like large shovels. Its huge claws rose high off the ground and began its course towards my very frame. Stumbling backwards I put my short sword out to parry his blow, but the bear was simply too strong. My rusty blade shattered on the icy forest floor and the claw riped through my chest with upholstered pain. It was soon thereafter that I saw blood, a revelation indeed to the novice warrior, but I fear it has not come under an auspicious circumstance. I am but a boy and too young to die at the hands of such a mighty beast.

Kindled Spirit Volume II


When I woke my vision was blurred and I could scarcely make out the figure of a large Nord in the dim light. A cursory examination of myself revealed that my wounds had been treated and a large bandage was wrapped around my chest. My eyesight cleared in time and I could see the man cooking something over the fire pit. He wore nothing but pants and was as muscular as an enraged ogrim. Oblivious to my whereabouts and my reasons for being here, I slowly stirred and feebly began to swivel my neck. A single fire lit the cave and several odd-placed crates were thrown along the wall. The simplicity of the hovel was unnerving to me and I wished only to be back home now, in the comfort of my family and our luxuries. It was then that realization struck; this setting was oddly familiar to me from the various tales that I had read about in my studies. Could the man standing before me be a bandit? If so he must have others with him, but as far as I could tell, we were the only two people in the single-roomed dwelling. Nonetheless, precautions must be taken for it was likely that I was being held for a dear ransom. I began to rise, stealthily as possible, but the pain from within my limbs overcame my will to rise and I fell with a resounding thud. My noise seemed to attract the Nord and he seemed alarmed at my fall. He amiably urged me to rest, and I, in no shape to take on such a burly man, had no choice but to comply.

When it seemed as if he had finished cooking his meal, the Nord looked towards me and offered some meat by putting it by my sandals. The meal smelled like diseased rat meat, yet looked oddly scrumptious. Determined to regain my strength and delirious from the lack of nourishment, I ravenously ate the food, pausing only briefly to taste the unknown edible in the bowl. "Bear Jerky" the Nord announced after seemingly taking much amusement at my initial apprehension as to what I was eating. The very mention of bear cleared the temporary amnesia I had been experiencing. I wished to ask if the great bear I fought had been slain but I needed to look no farther than his table to answer my question. There lay the pelt of the great beast I had encountered in the forest. My eyes feasted on the sight, and I could only wonder as to how one man could bring down an animal five times his size. The Nord sat still, silently chewing his meat like a guar and watching my every motion. His eyes followed mine to the great bear pelt and he quickly answered my question without it even being asked; he oddly gave the impression as if he was reading my mind. “Aye, I killed the bear, and 'tis a shame the pelt has been ruined by your sword. You're lucky I didn’t leave you out there in the wilderness for ruining such a prize.â€Â￾ His oddly prophetic manner greatly disturbed me as I again became alarmed at the whereabouts of my sword. If this man were indeed a bandit, not to mention a swarthy warrior, my only hopes of escaping his lair would lie with the rusty blade. Under my covers, I reached for the scabbard and was most pleased to find it. However, the blade was gone. The Nord laughed and displaced my anxiety. “Ho-Ho, your rickety dagger is in ten pieces strewn across the ground at least two leagues from the door of this cave. You were quite a fool to bring such a blade into the wilderness.â€Â￾ I soon grew weary of his presence yet was eternally grateful for the food he had brought me. Perhaps there is a bit of compassion amongst even the most villainous of thieves. I prepared myself to rest more, but was curious of this helpful stranger. “My name is Ilkurok." I rasped, "What is yours?â€Â￾ Startled by attempts to talk and perhaps hiding his true identity, the Nord spoke. “My name is of no importance to you but if you must have something to call me by let it be Alof.â€Â￾ He replied. At this I was satisfied and soon was fast asleep.

Kindled Spirit Volume III

“Wake, boy...wake...now is the time to prove your mettle!â€Â￾ the kindly Nord whispered in my ear. I quickly rose from my makeshift bed, fear and confusion swirling through my thoughts. I feared that the Imperials had finally come for the bandit and that I too would be implicated as a criminal. Oh what shame my family would endure! They could never show face in society again and father's hopes for a leading role of the Imperial Knights would be smothered; and for myself, what would become of me? Perhaps years from now another villainous creature will see my rotting corpse in a containment cell in Fort Moonmoth. My apprehension, however, was quickly broken by a fowl, demonic howling. Surely not even Prince Pelagiad himself could not have mustered such a noise, full of anger and madness. I deemed myself out of any temporary social danger and when Alof thrust a spear into my hand, I was obliged to aid him. It was then that he spoke. “I hope you’re ready to fight boy. It is time to repay your debt to me.â€Â￾ Another scratching noise and fierce screaming emanated from the seemingly placid wilderness, and only the old weatherworn door kept us from this unknown danger. Unnerved, Alof remained in the corner donning a leather cuirass; apparently his foe was to be quite tough. Unable to control my own thoughts, I blurted out “What’s going on?â€Â￾ He responded with a resolute voice "There is a Daedra at our door, and it’s not pleased we chose to rest outside its home.â€Â￾ He then pulled out a gleaming two-handed Orcish battle-axe, smiling as he envisioned wiping the blood off the edges of the grand weapon after he had vanquished the fiend. Surprised as I was that the Nord was involving himself, and myself for that matter, in such a petty quarrel that simply was no skin off either of our noses, I restrained myself from any deriding comments lest I anger Alof while still under his captivity. After all, this could be a chance to prove myself, and surely if there was any trouble, Alof would provide cover for me. I didn’t know how long I had rested in that cave but I could only hope the wounds from my previous encounter had healed.

Alof and I stealthily approached the door lest the Daedra have any indication that we were coming. On his own vocation, Alof kicked open the door of the cave that allowed the entrance of a sickening stench. It was then that I saw the vile creature, a Hunger if I recall my studies correctly, a lesser being among the ranks of the foul Daedra themselves. Hagar hoisted his large axe as the stunned Daedra was collecting itself and I began to repeatedly lunge at the monster with my spear. As the axe came down, it sunk deep into the Daedra’s shoulder and in its throes; I was pushed back several feet so that I was completely cut off from Alof. To my right they fought, the Nord shouting at me to help him finish off the Hunger and return inside to heal. As I began to run towards the melee, I was met by another awful sound to my left, the squealish grunt of a Scamp. Forgetting Alof's request, I ran at it and took a feeble kick at its midriff, which seemed to announce my intentions to fight the being. Shortly after my attack the scamp clawed at my leg leaving several deep gashes and bringing about the ever-so-familiar sight of reddish blood flowing from my body. To my surprise, however, I did not feel pain instantaneously; rather I experienced renewed strength and fanatical anger that surged through my scrawny frame. Bleeding profusely, I thrust my spear deep into the Scamp's head and in doing so he seemed lose strength in his limbs. To my rear I heard a thump, and I had no idea whether the Hunger or Hagar had fallen. My momentary burst of power quickly passed away and I began to feel weak and pain erupted in the deep cervices of my wounds. I felt faint and then passed out again, entrusting my security with fate itself.

Kindled Spirit Volume IV

I awoke in a familiar bedroll with the scent of bear jerky filling the air around me. I groaned aloud, from pain or laziness I do not know. Startled by my noise, Hagar looked in my direction and promptly a smile came to his face. “You’ve been out for one full sun! You took a nasty cut from the scamp but I must admit, you sure gave the beast more than it expected.â€Â￾ I tried to smile but my eyes caught hold of my leg, multicolored with dried blood and poisonous fluids. The sight, however, did not quell my lust for the beef jerky and I ate greedily. Although I was sure that Alof had vanquished the Hunger, I could not be sure and so I asked of the result, hoping to share in the glory and hopefully earn myself another piece of bear jerky. "Did you kill the Daedra?â€Â￾ I asked in hope of a good answer.
“Well sure" he said nonchalant about his accomplishment, "but the blaguard gave me a nasty scar I’ll never get rid off.â€Â￾ He pointed to his bare chest revealing a cragged gash that nearly extended the length of his monstrous torso. “You did good work in killing the scamp. To show my thanks I’ll let you keep the spear you slaughtered it with.â€Â￾ In my confused state during the preparations to fight the Daedra, I had never paused to take a look at the spear before, and I dearly wished to see it now. I had never been offered a gift before and as he presented the gift to me, I was awestruck; the weapon had been made with the finest of metals, radiating gold with a vicious sparkle. The goodwill of this Nord was beyond question, and I assume that I dropped all apprehension of his motives at that very moment. I couldn’t help to feel a little proud of myself for winning the bout with the Scamp after only a few seconds. Imagine what father would say if I returned as Illkurok the Impaler? Truly, that would be a grand day.

Days and perhaps weeks had past since I left my family. I yearned to return my old lifestyle and comforts, yet simply was enchanted with the way of the warrior. However, the attacks were less frequent, the competition less challenging, and the atmosphere became a little duller. There would be days on hand where talking with Alof and resting would be my only occupation; sloth was currently a main part of my life. “Could I go to my home now?â€Â￾ I casually asked one day. If this was the life of an adventurer than it certainly it was little more than a passing hobby.
Not expecting an answer, I was startled when he replied. “Yes, yes I think your wounds have healed properly and your strength is starting to improve. 'Tis sad that you must leave me but surely you have other places to go in your young life. I would ask of you one last request, one that has eluded me for many a season. You must deliver this letter to my love in Tear with whom I was forced away from years ago. You should have no trouble finding her for she is sincerely the most beautiful girl in all of Morrowind!â€Â￾ He handed me the letter as he spoke and pointed me off to the direction of my family’s home. Our parting words were those of advice "Train well friend, and perhaps if you ever if you are dedicated to the task, I will see you again. Until then, the woods are your home. I shall watch for your arrival again." I left my friend in good hopes of delivering his letter, out of gratitude for his own dedication to my well being, but how I’d find the girl... I’d cross that bridge when I got to it.

After two hours of venturing in the wilderness I finally could discern the outlines of my family's glorious estate! Oh what joy filled me and I spent minutes on hand admiring the life of the nobility. I wanted to look good when I returned home, for I was an entirely new person now. There was a lake nearby, and I decided that perhaps a bath before I met my parents would be more congenial to their disposition. Stripping off my clothes and dropping my belongings, I jumped in the cool stream and waded out to the middle of the lake. I thought of how proud my father wouldl be when they saw me, a young warrior who had survived the wilderness himself and impaled several great beasts. As these comforting thoughts came over me I felt something nibbling at my toes within the water. I laughed that my body was starting to become numb and quickly swam close to shore. The nibbles continued in greater force until I realized that I was being pulled under water. Before I could react the thing that bit me pulled me under for several seconds. I managed to get up for some air and quickly groped for the spear but the aquatic monstrosity would not allow me a chance. I desperately screamed for help hoping that Alof had tracked me and would come to my aid. However, help was not to come, I was simply doomed to an eternal struggle with the being, unless I could grab hold of my spear... Wait! What was that on the shore; Father? "Father, help me!" I gurgled aloud several times. He only stood there looking at me, stoically, watching as if this event was fate playing out before his own eyes. I was pulled under water again. I lost feeling of my foot, then the feeling of pain altogether. I was drifting away. I managed to break the surface one last time amid a drifting evening sky, which seemed to make my weapon shine. I grabbed it, desperately looked at my father and quickly plunged into the water, spear pointing towards my death wish.