Post by RavenHeart on Oct 26, 2004 21:52:17 GMT -5
In the northern highlands of Celtic Ireland, an Ogress named Gratka was wandering in search of food for her yunglings. Finding nothing, she wandered closer to the base of the mountains where she dwelled, and saw a small package at the edge of a small stream. Upon inspection she found that the package contained a small human child, near death...
The Ogress decided to keep the human child and raise it as one of her own, and after many fights concerning how to cook the child, the tribe Gratka was from realized that the babe was one of her own and she would kill any who tried to take him from her. As a young child, whose life was wrought with hardships, the babe began heading away into the human settlements near the caves where he was being raised. Slowly, over time, he stole weapons and armour for his family, earning him the name RavenHeart. Desiring to find the mother and father who abandoned him as an infant, RavenHeart began to scour Ireland for his true parentage. RavenHeart returned to Gratka, as he realized that your parents aren't those who create you, but those who raise you and love you as one of their own. Years passed and RavenHeart desired the companionship of one of his own kind, and struck out once again, vowing to return to his family when he found a life mate. During his search, he soon found that till he found a name of a human he would never be taken seriously, he chose Dhugal Mac Ardri. now that he had a name, he thought it would become a simple matter to find a mate, unfortunately the mating habits and rituals of humans were very different from those of Ogres. Floundering in his search, Dhugal joined up with various armies serving as a scout, traveling the world in search of warfare....
Growing up in the southern hills in Ireland, Kelabeth led a rather normal life, until her husband left the Isle. He left so as to help the Scots in their plight with the Romans. During this time, she grew weary of life in his little village, and feeling all alone, she longed for her parents. Still maintaining the farm while her husband was gone, her in-laws decided to take her back to their house, and sell their son's cottage, and fields. Kelabeth was heartbroken by this. A few years later, the raids began. These raids were of an odd sort, yes there was plundering, but not much. What these tribesmen wanted was blood, not the flow of an open wound, but the kind of blood found in lines, be they noble bloodlines or not, some of the raiders were known to take more than just a few "wives" during these raids. Over the course of about 6 or 8 months, many of Kelabeth's friends were taken during these raids, she began to hope to be taken as well, for her life there could be no worse than here with her in-laws...
The town soon realized that to allow women out at all would be to invite the savages to come take them, the constable decreed that no lady would be seen in public until the Tribesmen were killed. While the orders were being carried out, a final raid took place, and one Dhugal Mac Ardri, seized Kelabeth, and swept her away. Fearing what she was told about the raiders, and curious as well, Kelabeth soon learned, that while yes, many of the men in this tribe did indeed have several wives, but they also beat them in public, and treated them as property, not as people, yet this Dhugal was different, in public she called him Lord, or Sir. He never beat her, for any reason, and in private, when no other tribesmen were around, he treated her as an equal, and told her of many things which are not what they seem...
Very mysterious was he, but very kind as well. They soon fell in love, you see Dhugal was alone in the tribe in one way, until he took Kelabeth, he had no wives, and since taking her, he has taken no others. The two of them migrated along with the tribe for a few years, before one lone night in 393AD when Dhugal had Kelabeth pack everything up, and they left in the middle of the night, crossing the English Channel on their way to Rome...
It seemed that Dhugal had gone mad, and Kelabeth wanted to run away, but she knew by now she loved him dearly and could not go. Somewhere in Gaul, Dhugal told Kelabeth of Rome, where they had running water and other wonders. She was awestruck. He then told her how he was going to become part of their downfall, his words very cryptic. They spent the last of their silver buying furs to keep them warm on the long trek over Alps and down into the heart of Rome herself. Dhugal's stories began to turn to the bloodshed which was brought upon the peoples of Earth by Rome in her quest to be such a grand and glorious empire...
She began to understand why Dhugal was saying the things he did, he wasn't mad, it was about justice. In the hills coming out in northern Italy they made camp one last time before they would enter the grandeur which was Rome. Dhugal told her of his last visit to Rome, and that he learned of phalanxes, and tortugas and other fighting styles of the Roman army, and was going to find his place among the strongest band of barbarians to help take down the mighty empire...
She now fully understood, Dhugal was a spy, a scout, and a ranger, for they had lived from the land for several weeks now, and she had seen much of Dhugal's homage to the forests, almost religiously. He taught her much of his herbal knowledge, but she soon surpassed him outright in natural healing abilities, it seemed to come from within her. In fact, it did come from within her, and when combined with her herbal skills, there was not much she could not handle...
Theodosius was Emperor and Dhugal somehow managed to get into the Roman army for a time, Kelabeth worried much during this time, as she could not be near her husband to ensure his safety. The hardest part was while he was gone during the campaign against Arbogast, the usurper. During that campaign, the fighting drew near the home that they had bought, and Kelabeth saw much bloodshed. Late one night, some noise woke her up, she rose to find a man in her room, he collapsed on the bed. It was her husband, Dhugal. She healed him and asked what was going on, he replied, "There is only one command left of the enemy in this quarter, and it is run by a Celt." After a great crashing sound a man came into the room, looking for Dhugal. It was Kelabeth's first husband, she never knew he survived, her heart grew until she realized he had turned coat and was working with the Roman Army and was even a general, betraying her and all their families. Dhugal then reached out for his mace, and smashed the man's skull into the wall of the little hut. Dhugal sat and embraced Kelabeth for a very long time...
Eventually ending up in Germanic Europe, Kelabeth was allowed to serve with the scouts under Alaric I. During this time Kelabeth and Dhugal held a private ceremony in front of a Druid and were formally married. She was behind the line, healing the Visigoths during the sacking of Rome. Disgusted when he witnessed the peace talks between the Visigoths and Rome, he returned to Ireland sometime around 412, the two of them found her old in-laws farm unoccupied and took residence until a storm destroyed the crop, and lightning struck the house. Weary of life and homesick for his family, he headed north once again. Upon arrival at the outskirts of his village, one could smell death and decay all about, his tribe had been slaughtered, with no trace of the enemy at all. Screaming in rage, he vowed to find the beings responsible and has been a brigand ever since...
The Ogress decided to keep the human child and raise it as one of her own, and after many fights concerning how to cook the child, the tribe Gratka was from realized that the babe was one of her own and she would kill any who tried to take him from her. As a young child, whose life was wrought with hardships, the babe began heading away into the human settlements near the caves where he was being raised. Slowly, over time, he stole weapons and armour for his family, earning him the name RavenHeart. Desiring to find the mother and father who abandoned him as an infant, RavenHeart began to scour Ireland for his true parentage. RavenHeart returned to Gratka, as he realized that your parents aren't those who create you, but those who raise you and love you as one of their own. Years passed and RavenHeart desired the companionship of one of his own kind, and struck out once again, vowing to return to his family when he found a life mate. During his search, he soon found that till he found a name of a human he would never be taken seriously, he chose Dhugal Mac Ardri. now that he had a name, he thought it would become a simple matter to find a mate, unfortunately the mating habits and rituals of humans were very different from those of Ogres. Floundering in his search, Dhugal joined up with various armies serving as a scout, traveling the world in search of warfare....
Growing up in the southern hills in Ireland, Kelabeth led a rather normal life, until her husband left the Isle. He left so as to help the Scots in their plight with the Romans. During this time, she grew weary of life in his little village, and feeling all alone, she longed for her parents. Still maintaining the farm while her husband was gone, her in-laws decided to take her back to their house, and sell their son's cottage, and fields. Kelabeth was heartbroken by this. A few years later, the raids began. These raids were of an odd sort, yes there was plundering, but not much. What these tribesmen wanted was blood, not the flow of an open wound, but the kind of blood found in lines, be they noble bloodlines or not, some of the raiders were known to take more than just a few "wives" during these raids. Over the course of about 6 or 8 months, many of Kelabeth's friends were taken during these raids, she began to hope to be taken as well, for her life there could be no worse than here with her in-laws...
The town soon realized that to allow women out at all would be to invite the savages to come take them, the constable decreed that no lady would be seen in public until the Tribesmen were killed. While the orders were being carried out, a final raid took place, and one Dhugal Mac Ardri, seized Kelabeth, and swept her away. Fearing what she was told about the raiders, and curious as well, Kelabeth soon learned, that while yes, many of the men in this tribe did indeed have several wives, but they also beat them in public, and treated them as property, not as people, yet this Dhugal was different, in public she called him Lord, or Sir. He never beat her, for any reason, and in private, when no other tribesmen were around, he treated her as an equal, and told her of many things which are not what they seem...
Very mysterious was he, but very kind as well. They soon fell in love, you see Dhugal was alone in the tribe in one way, until he took Kelabeth, he had no wives, and since taking her, he has taken no others. The two of them migrated along with the tribe for a few years, before one lone night in 393AD when Dhugal had Kelabeth pack everything up, and they left in the middle of the night, crossing the English Channel on their way to Rome...
It seemed that Dhugal had gone mad, and Kelabeth wanted to run away, but she knew by now she loved him dearly and could not go. Somewhere in Gaul, Dhugal told Kelabeth of Rome, where they had running water and other wonders. She was awestruck. He then told her how he was going to become part of their downfall, his words very cryptic. They spent the last of their silver buying furs to keep them warm on the long trek over Alps and down into the heart of Rome herself. Dhugal's stories began to turn to the bloodshed which was brought upon the peoples of Earth by Rome in her quest to be such a grand and glorious empire...
She began to understand why Dhugal was saying the things he did, he wasn't mad, it was about justice. In the hills coming out in northern Italy they made camp one last time before they would enter the grandeur which was Rome. Dhugal told her of his last visit to Rome, and that he learned of phalanxes, and tortugas and other fighting styles of the Roman army, and was going to find his place among the strongest band of barbarians to help take down the mighty empire...
She now fully understood, Dhugal was a spy, a scout, and a ranger, for they had lived from the land for several weeks now, and she had seen much of Dhugal's homage to the forests, almost religiously. He taught her much of his herbal knowledge, but she soon surpassed him outright in natural healing abilities, it seemed to come from within her. In fact, it did come from within her, and when combined with her herbal skills, there was not much she could not handle...
Theodosius was Emperor and Dhugal somehow managed to get into the Roman army for a time, Kelabeth worried much during this time, as she could not be near her husband to ensure his safety. The hardest part was while he was gone during the campaign against Arbogast, the usurper. During that campaign, the fighting drew near the home that they had bought, and Kelabeth saw much bloodshed. Late one night, some noise woke her up, she rose to find a man in her room, he collapsed on the bed. It was her husband, Dhugal. She healed him and asked what was going on, he replied, "There is only one command left of the enemy in this quarter, and it is run by a Celt." After a great crashing sound a man came into the room, looking for Dhugal. It was Kelabeth's first husband, she never knew he survived, her heart grew until she realized he had turned coat and was working with the Roman Army and was even a general, betraying her and all their families. Dhugal then reached out for his mace, and smashed the man's skull into the wall of the little hut. Dhugal sat and embraced Kelabeth for a very long time...
Eventually ending up in Germanic Europe, Kelabeth was allowed to serve with the scouts under Alaric I. During this time Kelabeth and Dhugal held a private ceremony in front of a Druid and were formally married. She was behind the line, healing the Visigoths during the sacking of Rome. Disgusted when he witnessed the peace talks between the Visigoths and Rome, he returned to Ireland sometime around 412, the two of them found her old in-laws farm unoccupied and took residence until a storm destroyed the crop, and lightning struck the house. Weary of life and homesick for his family, he headed north once again. Upon arrival at the outskirts of his village, one could smell death and decay all about, his tribe had been slaughtered, with no trace of the enemy at all. Screaming in rage, he vowed to find the beings responsible and has been a brigand ever since...