Contest Entry – The Story of Suhuy Firriell

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SUHUY FIRRIELL

Character Name: Suhuy Firriell

The Story of Suhuy Firriell

 

 

Night. Darkness. In a deep dungeon a lonely horseman rides, surrounded by ogres. The music of his lute cuts the silence of the night like a knife. A voice quiet and confident whispers more and more faintly: “Hey, see that monster? He said that your mother…” And a fight begins. A new monster. And a new whisper… The ogre’s facial expression changes as he moves directly towards the horseman with grim determination. The hands of the man arise, dancing fingers weaving a pattern of arcane symbols, lips moving almost silently, forming the words: “Kal Vas Flam”. The dungeon is lit for an instant by a flash of fire. The light of the burning ogre reveals a contemptuous grin, and a voice venomous and pleased whispers: “Such a critic…”

——

Far in the sea, there is a small island. Very few people come to it, and why should they? The island is small. Only a couple of towns, some villages… There are no palaces shining in the night, no grim dungeons where virtuous knights descend to battle the Evil groaning and creeping out of tombs… An ordinary island. Ordinary people. The Firriell family lived on that island. It was rumored that a curse gravitates upon the Firriels, most neighbors said that something was wrong with their heads, and the most diplomatic people named this family “eccentric”.

Old Ogust Firriell, a well-known traveler (although malicious people asserted that he simply wanted to run away from his wife), had three sons.

The elder son, Cyrano Firriell, was brought up as a craftsman. At his 19, being quite good at working with smithing hammers and sewing needles, he decided on making a strange thing. Having armed with old books, drawings, rulers, squares, and other technical tools of the most whimsical forms and purposes, he started creating a Golem… It proved to be a good, sturdy golem. Two villages combined their efforts for stopping, binding and burying that creeping and groaning cadaver. Perhaps in hundred years the first dungeon will appear on the island under the place where the golem is buried. A dungeon where Ancient Evil tries to get out of a tomb, creeping and groaning.

The youngest son, Uuz Firriell, has been of romantic, enthusiastic, and extremely impressionable nature since his childhood. Once his father has brought a box of old books from his travels. The books were very old, eaten by worms and time. Uuz gave them to an old, weak-sighted bookbinder who did his best to restore them. As a result, Uuz received 3 books that looked just like new: “A Welcome to Virtue, written by Lord B.”, “The Manual of a beginner Chivalrymancer, printed in Umbra”, and “The book of Cooking. Who eats whom?”. The impressionable young man read all these books, and then he has decided on devoting his life to serving the Virtues (the Virtue of Wraithuality has become his favorite). When Uuz made his way to Sosaria, he entered a Paladin order, and he managed to stay a valid member for all of three days. Possibly his bad knowledge of Sosarian language betrayed him (only then he was taught that the virtue name “Horor” right spelling through letter n), or possibly the drum that he presented to the Order was the reason – who knows? But he was asked to abandon the Order.

The second son, Suhuy Firriel, did not like to work since his childhood, was hard of hearing, was known for his malicious manners and liked quarreling – so he made almost a perfect bard. Almost … Especially taking into account that elven blood was flowing in his veins.

From one of his longer travels Ogust Firriell has brought a small, inhumanly pale child with pointed ears. The history does not tell us how Solomey Firriell reacted on such a visual evidence of adultery, but the witnesses who still live at this time say that night the house was lit by candles, and the next morning Ogust has rapidly left on an even longer travel…

The life of the only person of elven blood on the whole island was hard… The long life of the elves also means long childhood, and Suhuy was noticeably less in size and weaker than other boys of his age. In boyish fights he preferred either running away (gracefully and dexterously), or lying (beautifully and devotedly), or… trying to invoke magery that slept in him. But the latter was dangerous. Very dangerous. Neighbors threw strange glances at him, whispered of cunning faeries sneaking in houses at nights and swapping human children for changelings, of ill-natured faeries dancing in the woods at night and enticing careless travelers to their hollow hills, of awful fairies depriving cows of their milk and cutting fishing nets… And Solomey constantly reminded young Suhuy of his debt to the society, telling him that he must do a lot of good to suppress his malicious fairy-like nature. The village fool’s tales of distant countries and legendary battles and reading from an incunabula left from a village witch who died of gout several years ago were the only light to him. However, when Suhuy realized that Kind Deeds go even better when supported by evil words, his life has become a bit easier.

When Suhuy was 21 he finally ran away from home. He’s been preparing this for long… Many times he damned his bad luck for the fact that in the whole of Britannia no tailor could be found possessing the Terrible Ancient Secret of Sewing Hoods to Robes! Neither long hair, nor caps could hide his inhuman ears … Fortunately, after one of his journeys his father has brought him a wondrous rarity – a hooded robe of Umbra, the artifact of those happy times when people still knew how to use a thread and a needle correctly…

Having run away to the nearest town, young Suhuy started his apprenticeship at the local magician’s. That was a true magician with a long beard, a pointed hat, a staff with a knob, and chronic hemorrhoids traditional for magicians. Five years of training have not passed for nothing – Suhuy has learned to wrinkle his forehead majestically, to speak Sosarian a little, to gaze into his opponents’ eyes while rolling a handful of black pearl between his hands, to argue on transformation of protoelements and on the intricacies of summoning the essences from other planes of existence… and a small bit of magery, as well. The idyll has ended when Suhuy received a word about his father’s death. A tragical and ridiculous death in a drunk tavern fight…

Having come back home, Suhuy has run into a most ugly quarrel between the members of his family. The lascivious adopted son was told to go away, but he’s been mercifully permitted to take all the “trash” that his father had been bringing from his travels for years. The part of this “trash” was really trash, but among the trash there was a true treasure – a small wooden token with a rune engraved on it and a pair of scrolls of obviously arcane content. Decoding the first scroll took two weeks… It contained the magic of Gate. Gate – the way to freedom.

For the last time Suhuy returned to the place which he’s been calling home since he was a child. He returned to talk to his brothers. Impressionable Uuz has been fascinated by the prospect of meeting True Paladins which protect virtues from people, bring kindness and ever

For the last time Suhuy returned to the place which he’s been calling home since he was a child. He returned to talk to his brothers. Impressionable Uuz has been fascinated by the prospect of meeting True Paladins which protect virtues from people, bring kindness and everlasting peace to everyone, talk to wise men that died years ago, and can return fallen people from tombs. Pragmatic Cyrano has wanted to see mountains which for some reason did not grow on the island. Mountains rich with ore which is so delightful to mine, and with earth elementals full of fertile dirt.

Standing shoulder to a shoulder with his brothers, for the last time Suhuy looked at the boring, old island and created a portal. The brothers have stepped in it. All of them. All bridges have been burnt, the Rubicon has been crossed, no way back. The gate led to the town of Haven.

Upon appearing in Sosaria, Cyrano immediately purchased a pick axe, and then he has rushed to mountains. To dig. The last time when people saw him he stood staring at a heap of ore and his pick axe, puzzled. Those who came closer heard him mumbling: “Hmm… I don’t have enough strength to equip this… Hmm… But I can use this…Hmm… But where do I… Hmm… But why do I do this facing the mountain?… Hmm … ”

Upon appearing in Sosaria, Uuz immediately applied to join a Paladin order. A week later, his best feelings offended, he has bought a liter of ink and a donkey loaded with paper and started to write books about the right ways of Chivalry and about the wonderful benefits for the common good that Necromancy can bring.

Upon appearing in Sosaria, Suhuy immediately bought a new spellbook and a new lute. The trained malicious tongue allowed the half-elf to pit the most disgusting monsters against each other, and refined mind allowed him to weave words into the most dangerous spells. He traveled the world and gained experience – one lute was replaced by another, his spellbook was gradually filled by new spells. After visiting multiple towns his mind was finally set – now he knew the town he’d like to live in.. Valoria. Probably the decision was slightly influenced by the fact that his brother Cyrano has discovered a remarkable workshop in there. Maybe it was due to the fact that his brother Uuz was rather rudely thrown out from a Valorian tavern he was visiting in wraith form accompanied with Horde Minion pet and further has sworn to educate the population of Valoria and to achieve citizenship and legalize necromancy. Or probably it was because the town was full of his half-kindred, elves, and by observing them Suhuy hoped to understand what being an elf truly means. Who knows???

Last modified: March 28, 2011

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