Solanthos was born in a small elven town called Greenwood almost 150 years ago. His father was the mayor of the town, a former adventurer whose family had run the town for many millenia, while his mother was a beautiful and well-revered mage amongst the Elven Orders of Wizardry. They led a peaceful life with few hardships. Solanthos was generally accepted amongst his peers, but he tended towards introversion, preferring to study and read books.
Solanthos excelled in his studies. It became quickly apparent at a very young age that Solanthos would share his mother's thirst for knowledge and penchant for matters of the arcane. His father knew that this would be the best path for the boy despite his personal desire for Solanthos to be a strong and powerful bladesinger, so from that early age he started teaching him self-defense and attack techniques that even mages could use. The boy wasn't very strong, so he taught him how to use his agility to avoid attacks and showed him the art of throwing small weapons to keep foes at bay. When it was time, Solanthos headed off to the Towers for his arcane training.
Greenwood was only two days' travel from the Towers, so he went back home to see his family and friends whenever he got a break from his studies. His masters at the Tower all sent them brilliant praises of his natural ability with magic. He developed a particular affinity to the Astral Plane, quickly grasping the theoretical concepts of interdimensional travel and creating objects from what seemed to be nothing at all. As most elves, he shunned death magic from an early age; mastering the powers of the dead held no appeal to those who fought to preserve life and enjoy beauty. He also tended to avoid the powers of enchantment, as they simply held no interest to him. Solanthos much rather enjoyed outwitting his adversaries instead of taking command of them, and since all of the elves in the Towers were immune to such magic anyway, few people cared to learn the spells during their studies.
Solanthos returned home from the Towers during a fortnight break to visit, arriving well into the early morning hours. He walked up to the door and ran his hands over the familiar wards on the door to dispel them, but his attention quickly averted to the flash in the window. What he would see in that flash of light would be burned into his memories forever - his father laying face down in a pool of his own blood, his mother facing a dark-cloaked figure accompanied by several orcs. Tears stained her cheeks as she held her hand high in the air, the source of the flash. Then, complete and utter darkness.
Solanthos was disoriented as he felt his way around in the dark. He heard chaos inside as the orcs clamored and ran into each other trying to regain their bearings. He fumbled for the door handle, but found it to be red-hot. He then smelled the smoke, and had the horrible realization that his home was burning inside. In a flash of adrenaline and rage, he put his palm to the door and uttered a few harsh words. The the door blew off its hinges, and even through the darkness he could hear that several of the orcs were collected and thrown into the opposite wall, their bones making sickening sounds as they were crushed between ironwood and oak. He reached for the ring on his left hand, one his mother had given him to use in case his magic ever got out of hand. With one word, the ring would dispel all of the magic in the area, revealing the trespassers that had threatened his mother and killed his father.
He spoke the command word and the darkness fell away to be replaced by a far worse scene; the figure stood behind his mother poised for attack. She saw his reaction and turned to her attacker as the sword entered her ribcage. He pushed her unceremoniously off his sword and she crumpled to the ground, barely able to breathe. The attacker then rushed toward Solanthos. It was all happening impossibly fast. He took a step, wiling something, ANYTHING...
... and then was five feet behind his attacker. He felt the warmth of the magic around him and knew his mother was still alive. He knew that somehow he had hopped through the Astral Plane to get behind his target, but didn't know how. He also knew that his dagger would connect with his disoriented attacker in the precise spot it needed in order to kill him almost instantly. He didn't think, or have time to think. He just KNEW.
He threw the blade and it sliced, end over end. After two perfect rotations it implanted deep in the back of the cloaked figure's neck, leaving him gasping through a ruptured windpipe for air as his body went into shock. Solanthos turned to his mother, who was fighting for breath as well, and then heard a chant he didn't recognize from a voice he didn't recognize. His mother's eyes widened and she mouthed one word... "Run."
He took off toward the door and turned back just in time to see his mother engulfed in flames, and another more sinister thing attacking her. It wore the tattered robes of an ancient archmage, robes that had long since rotted and decayed. Its skeletal hand reached for her face in longing, whispering and hissing an incantation as she drew back in horror. She began to glow bright blue as Solanthos could feel a great shift in the magic around him.
The blue light gathered around her until it became almost blinding. Solanthos felt holes ripping in the fabric of reality as all of the magic in the area were channeled through her body. The energy, the pure mana, crackled throughout the room, dancing around him, intoxicating him with its power. He heard his mother within his head as loudly as he heard his own thoughts.
"Please go. I will do what I must."
He turned toward her but she flicked her hand, shoving him through the door with magical force.
"Please run now. You can save yourself. Know that I love you always."
The energy consumed the entire house, and then everything flashed white. Solanthos took a step forward, and was suddenly hundreds of feet away watching the explosion. Another flash, and he was a mile away. Another flash... then... nothing.
---
Solanthos woke up in his room at the Towers. Bleary shapes sharpened and formed images, and he soon was able to recognize his Headmaster and several of his peers standing over his bed, many with relieved expressions on their faces.
The Headmaster explained that a lich had been targetting his mother for some time hoping to one day steal her life force and use their combined magic to enter the world again as a powerful mage. However, he underestimated her abilities and she was able to banish him back to his phylactery. In the process, however, the entire house was consumed. He wasn't sure how Solanthos got back to the Towers though. Solanthos couldn't cast a powerful spell like that yet, but he suspected it was caused by his affinity for teleportation combined with the powerful magics that surrounded him that night. Or perhaps it was his mother protecting him one last time before sacrificing herself to temporarily banish the evil lich. Regardless, Solanthos swore that he would avenge the death of his mother one day, once his power grew strong enough.
He also knew that the only way to gain that power would be to leave the Towers, leave Greenwood, and begin exploring the world. Fortunately, the opportunity presented itself almost immediately in the form of an old friend... and a stranger named Cauchmar.
(to be continued...)
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