Aanparon was an excellent student, best in his class and considered one of the best in the area. He planned to continue his studies and applied to train with Elliph the local wizard, not the greatest wizard in the land, but a good one, fair and honest. The day it was announced Aan had been accepted was a turning point, but not for the reason Aan expected. After Aan celebrated with his family he went to tell his girlfriend Deena, and now that his future was secure he intended to ask her to marry him. So much for good intentions.

When Aan got to her home (she was orphaned recently and lived alone) something didn't seem right. It was early evening, but the house was dark except for one light in the back. Aan drew his dagger and entered to make sure she was okay. He opened the door to the back room and found her in bed with Firthe, eldest son of the local lord. As the two scrambled to get dressed Aan asked her why. Her response was "A girl's got to make money some how. And this line of work is more fun than any other." Aan was angry, but had no intentions of hurting any one. As he turned to leave he took a parting shot at Firthe, "Wait till everyone hears Firthe can't get it on his own, he has to pay for it."

Aan still relives the next few moments in his dreams at night. Firthe was so incensed he grabbed his long sword and went after Aan. Aan heard the commotion and turned to face him, dagger still in hand. Firthe's fatal error was forgetting his trousers were still around his knees. Off-balance Firthe dropped his sword as he fell forward, impaling himself on Aan's dagger.

Aan quickly sized up the situation. He had just slain the lord's son. His faithless girlfriend had no reason to back his accident story. His life in these parts was now forfeit. He swiftly took all he could find on the lord, not much as Firthe only had enough coin to pay for the evening. Aan also took Firthe's long sword. He brandished it menacingly at Deena, who now was convinced Aan would kill her as well. When Aan asked her how Firthe had gotten there Deena told him where Firthe (and presumably other visitors) tethered his horse. Aan then tied and gagged Deena and left her next to the body.

It wasn't Firthe's best horse, but it was his second best. Not being wealthy enough to afford his own horse, Aan was no expert, but being a farm boy he had worked with borrowed and rented horses some, so he knew the basics of husbandry. He checked the saddle, nothing in the saddlebags (Firthe was after all only going whoring, he probably didn't think he'd need a lot of supplies). Aan mounted up and headed for the nearest big city, due east, with no concern for covering his tracks. He stole some supplies from a farmhouse on the way (he never liked Smyts anyway).

One hour out of town he doubled back, turned south for awhile, then headed west, avoiding the town. He regretted not being able to tell his family what had really happened, or good bye, but he knew the lord would have his house watched. He also expected the lord would send a patrol to the nearest city to find him, which is why he doubled back and headed the opposite direction, and this time he covered his trail.

He traveled west for nearly a month, raiding farms for food, narrowly escaping angry farmers on three separate occasions. The one thing he made sure of was the horse stayed well fed. If one of them went hungry it would be Aan, not Jelph (Aan named him after a favorite uncle).

Then one day he rode into a large city, bigger than any he had ever seen. Unable to find work, he turned to stealing to support himself and the stable he paid to care for Jelph. Needless to say, he was caught. One day, thinking he was unobserved, he tried to steal some meat for lunch. As he reached to take it he was grabbed roughly, his hands were bound behind him, he was blindfolded, gagged and roughly hauled away. He expected the worst. He was taken to a small room, hands bound and blindfolded, but the gag was removed. He was thrown down onto a chair and a gruff voice asked, "You've been caught stealing. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Aan answered, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for stealing?"

Aan, assuming he would be jailed regardless, responded, "No, I'm sorry I was caught." Aan expected a slap in response. Instead he received several chuckles.

Aan had been caught by the thieves guild. They were upset that he had been operating in their area without discussing it with them. He explained he knew nothing of the trade, he merely stole for survival. They said they expected that, that the only reason they captured him was they felt he showed promise, his talent for thievery was too good to be wasted on petty theft. He was initiated, trained and put to work. He spent the next two years pulling odd jobs for the guild, rarely stealing anything he wasn't ordered to.

Then one day he was called to a special meeting, along with four others, before the head of the guild. It seems the Master was ready to retire, and he wanted to appoint his successor. All five of the summoned thieves were fairly young, and none could understand why they were there. The Master explained, "I don't believe it would be in the best interest of the Guild to appoint any of the more experienced members as the new head. I've chosen the five of you. Naturally only one of you can lead, and none of you would be accepted by the majority of the Guild at this time. So, I will continue to head the Guild for a period of five years. Five years from today I will name my successor. Which means each of you has exactly five years to make a name for himself. And I think you should know, since I can't appoint a dead man, there will be those hoping to be appointed that will be attempting to get rid of you. I suggest you get started on your fortunes immediately, and I would recommend getting the hell out of town until you've raised yourselves some sort of power base. Good luck. Now get out of here."

This was very recent. Aan set off to make his fortune, knowing that for at least the next five years he could never trust anyone. He's not that excited about the possibility of leading the guild, but he figures he better at least get strong enough to protect himself, or get as far away from here as possible.

The future: Someday Aan would like to return to his studies of wizardry, but he knows that must wait at least until this Guild leadership is settled.

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