Along a rocky shore sits a child looking out to the sea, his reddish-brown hair blows in the salty wind. Another older boy starts running but stops suddenly after seeing the child and yells” Hey, you red eyed freak! There's a meeting in the center of the village!” he starts to turn away and see’s the child is not moving from his spot "Come on get moving before I come over there and make you move!”. The child gets up reluctantly and turns to see the older boy has already gone to the village.
With his head down, he walked to the center of his village to see a large mass of people. "Ronin, Ronin my boy where are you!?”
“There you are. Where have you been?” the boy looks up to see his father the villages blacksmith.
“I’ve been by the shore looking at the water” He spoke with a fake smile trying to hide his eye along with bruises around it. His father takes a hand and slowly lifts his chin and smiles at his son.
“Come on up you go.” He exclaims as he lifts Ronin on his sholders and proceeds to walk through the crowd. Then he points to a paper posted on the side of a building.
“See that?”
“Yeah, what is it” Ronin asked his father.
“It’s our new home, it’s Elantirs.” He exclaimed with a smile so big Ronin thought that he had torn his face.
Ten years later most of the inhabitants have all left for Elantirs or have been killed by bandits, now the only ones left is the blacksmith and his family. Ronin has gone out into the decerped felids to cannibalize the farming tools. He had gone out and has brought a cartful of steel back to his family's house. He had pulled the cart to the back of the house and was about to unload it when he heard a loud crash by the front of the house.
“Do you think that this is enough for our protection!” an unknown voice yelled.
Squeamishly his father answered back.” This is all we have.” Then Ronin slowly walked in with a smiting hammer in hand and had caught the attention of the bandits standing over his father.
With a wicked grin, the leader said, “Now there is something worth our protection.”
Over whelmed he rushed out of the cathedral. He ran through the white and empty streets until he came upon an opened field with a signal tree. Is this by your will too, he thinks looking up at the sky. He looks to the tree and with a smirk he walks to it and sits. Slowly he draws is sword and holds it up to the light. Gently he rubs his fingers across the blade as he does specs of brown and red fall to his lap. “That blade cares a sad story doesn’t kid.” startled he jumps to his feet, sword griped tightly. There standing in front of him is an older man “Sorry about that. I did not mean to startle you.” the man exclaims.
“By that stance, it seems like you’ve been in a fight or two.” curiously he loosens his body and puts his sword down.
“Who are you?” He asks.
“I am just an old solder. What's your name boy?” Said the man as he begins to sit against the tree.
“My name is Ronin Darbinyan.” He said with narrowed look.
“Well Ronin Darbinyan please sit I wish to speak with someone and you are the only one here.” He with a smile and patting the ground beside him. Ronin listens to the man and sits with him. The man holds out his hand and asks Ronin” May I look at your sword Ronin.” Ronin hesitantly hands him the sword. The man takes it with care and looks it up and down as if he was reading a book. “What a triable story you carry.” He said to the blade as if he was talking a friend. Still holding the blade, he asks Ronin. "Ronin, have you chosen what you want to become?”
After hearing the question Ronin turns his gaze up toward the sky and answers the man's question. "To be honest I haven't decided if I wanted to stay here”
With a chuckle” So your one of those people aren’t yah!” Ronin looks back at with a confused look. “Listen Ronin it doesn’t matter how or who brought you here. What matters is what you do once you are here.” The man said with a smile. As he gets up, he had one last thing to say to Ronin. “I see you as a Templar, if you wish to join go the meeting hall and talk to Commander Tremrith Slatvizla.”
It doesn’t matter how or who brought you here. What matters is what you do once you are here Keep repeating in Ronin’s head as he sits under the tree. He glances back up to the clear blue sky for a moment, the events that brought him here flash in front of him like an illusion. Then his gaze falls to his blade placed a crossed his lap. With a slight smile Ronin picks up his blade and starts to head off to the meeting hall. As he walks, he is greeted by a line almost to the entrance. Taken back by the amount of people he takes his place in line. “You're the boy from the cathedral, the one who insulted Goddess Nira.” Startled Ronin quickly turns to see the girl that he had sat by during the first meeting. Ronin bows his head “I am truly sorry for that I was angry and confused.”
The girl looked at him wide eyed, but then she smiled “I except your apology, but what are you doing?”
Ronin looks up “I am apologizing.” He said. As he looks at her, he notices that she is a Meladrin “Oh you’re a Meladrin.”
With a confused look she responds “Yes. So, is that way of apologizing a Resveled custom?”
“No, it’s my custom, I feel like it is a way of showing respect.” He responded. He looks past the girl he sees that more people have come in and appear to be annoyed that they have not moved with the line. "I think we should move up” he said with a nervous tone. Reliving that he had not given his name he says "Ronin.”
"What?” The girl asks with a confused tone
“Ronin, it’s my name.” he said without looking at her.
With a smile she says, “My name is Aetheldaeg.”
Before they could say anything else to each other Ronin was at the front of the line. “Name and skill” exclaimed Commander Slatvizla without look up from the paper she was holding.
“Ronin Darbinyan and I am a swordsman.” he says with confidence
“Alright go with this soldier please.” Said Slatvizle finally looking up from her papers and pointing to the soldier standing off to her left.
“That will not be necessary Commander, I'll take him.” said the man who had talked to him.
“Farran? You will take him” replied the Commander with a shocked look.
With a smile Farran exclaims “Yes, and I'll take him as my apprentice too.”
“But Farran.” Commander Slatvizle said with a worried look on her face.
“I know Termrith. It'll be fine” He said still with a smile on his face. He then turned his gaze to Ronin and said, “You just going to stand there or are you going to come with me.” Without saying a word Ronin fallowed Farran to an open room with wood dummies scattered around, there was slashes and pieces missing from most of the dummies. “Now Ronin, I have something to give you.” he said with his back turned from Ronin. He then turns with his sword drawn, he then kneels and raises the sword to Ronin. “Please take it.”