First post.
Tailas rode easily through the jungle, his cloak billowing behind him as Dawn thundered down the ancient road. By sheer luck he had come across it while traveling through the jungles of Q’barra. The road was wide, easily 30 feet across, made from stone and overgrown with patches of grass and small bushes. The trees grew thick on either side, emitting the strange calls of jungle wildlife. Tailas rode as if he were born in the saddle; both the horse and rider were perfectly relaxed as they raced to their destination. Dawn’s long legs effortlessly flew over the ground as she raced on faster than a Vadalis Magebred mount. The steeds of the Valenar are peerless horses on the face Eberron and Dawn was better than most. Most Valenar elves use riding horses, albeit trained for battle. Dawn was a true Warhorse bred and trained by the Valenar Siyal Marrain (Horse Watchers), and she was bonded to Tailas in a way few outsiders could understand. To put it simply; the elf and the horse were one.
Tailas was a mercenary who had turned his back on his people after the war leader Shaeras Vadallia betrayed Queen Mishann of Cyre and formed the realm of the Valenar on Khorvaire. Before that dark day, Tailas had been a Calvary Charger in the Tairnadal Army that had answered Queen Mishann's call for aid. He had fought honorably alongside the Cyrians for over 40 years before the betrayal and that dishonorable act forced him to make a decision; stay on Khorvaire and hail Shaeras Vadallia as his king or return to Aerenal forever. At first Tailas had planned to stay in Cyre, but the day of mourning changed that. So he decided to tour the continent of Khovaire for a few decades before going back to Aerenal. He had been on this continent for over four decades but all he had seen was ruin and war. Now he planned to see what else the humans had to offer.
So he set out on a quest to do just that; see the sights and meet the people. It had been an enlightening journey so far with the usual ups and downs; a comely wench here, brigands to deal with there, but all and in all Tailas was glad he stayed. He lived in the saddle and meditated under the stars when he needed rest. He earned money with his sword and bow. He lived off the land for he was an excellent hunter. It was a good life and one he found he liked very much. The Tairnadal were highly disciplined Elven warriors who lived a regimented militaristic lifestyle. It was refreshing to be able to choose where he would go and what he would do without having to report to anyone but himself. Never the less, everything he did was to glorify his ancestor and bring honor to the Tairnadal, for he did not consider himself Valenar, as he would not call Vadallia king.
As he sped through the trees, he pondered the new direction his life had taken. Before that faithful day, Tailas was proud of his heritage as a Valenar Elf for they were fierce and honorable warriors without equal on Khorvairian soil. If not for their relatively small population they could have ended the last war by conquering the continent themselves. Tailas had no problems with that, what upset him was the manner in which Vadallia had seceded the southern portion of Cyre during the last war. It would not surprise Tailas to find that Vadallia’s actions had ultimately doomed the country and set in motion the events that led to the day of Mourning where Cyre was utterly destroyed in a horrific display of arcane might. Now he wanted nothing to do with Vadallia and the Valenar that followed him, for in his eyes they had lost all honor.
Without warning Tailas pulled hard on Dawn’s reins to stop her in her tracks. She reared and whinnied angrily but stilled as soon as her front hooves hit the ancient pavement.
[Elven]“Did you hear that girl?” Tai asked her not really expecting an answer. He stayed motionless for a moment and listened… there! A faint scream drifted on the wind from the east, there was a slight thumping sound as well, might be drums. Then he heard it again, clearer this time, a scream so filled with torment that it made his blood run cold. “It sounds like someone is being tortured or worse. We can’t have that now can we Dawn.”
He wheeled Dawn eastward without a second thought and galloped into the Jungle. The going was much slower now and he frequently stopped to listen, using the sounds of the drumming to guide him. The screams abruptly stopped after a few minutes and so too did the drumming. But it was replaced by the sounds of battle; metal striking metal and the indistinct shouts of warriors on a battlefield. This too ended after a minute or so but he had his bearings by that time and made his way forward cautiously to investigate the matter.
He was greeted by a strange sight a few moments later when he came upon a Warforged battling a macabre construct. There was also a dead Half-Orc (not sure if carve is still alive) on the ground nearby. He watched the battle only for a moment and then decided that the macabre construct was in the wrong as well as being deadlier opponent. Good, it had been a while since he faced a challenge. Without another thought Tai draws his morningstar and charges forward with an undulating war cry...
