"Let me tell you of my life. I was born in Scotland in the year 1314. I was given the name Raven Starknight, and my twin brother given the name of Fyrestorm Starknight. My father, Lord Tristan Starknight, and my mother Lady Elaine Starknight. My father was a distant relative of the great King Arthur of Avalon. Shortly after my birth my mother died from an unknown disease. My brother and I were raised by my father and his advisor, along with the numerous castle servants. They taught us how to fight and how to be gentlemen."
"At the age of eighteen a conflict over lands and titles erupted between my father and some other nearby lords. It lead to battle not long after the talks proved to be useless. During the battle, my father was killed and our land claimed by the lords. They destroyed the castle and made our servants their own. Luckily my brother and I escaped on horseback and rode as far as we could. We came upon the coast a few days later, only to sell the horses for seats on a ship heading for Ireland."
"The trip ended abruptly when we encountered a large storm midway through our voyage. The ship was destroyed, I managed to climb on to a large piece of the ship and fell unconcious. When I awoke I was in a house near a warm fire. A short pale-faced woman sat in the shadows watching over me. My mind was a blank, I had no recolection of my past, nor of my name."
"The woman adopted me and gave me a home. She gave me the name of Nicholas Cridhe. I helped out and did work for her, she treated me like a son she never had. She taught me of the old ways, as did the mage that taught her. She taught me to harness a power i never knew i posessed. At the age of twenty-two i was given the gift of immortality."
"As the years flew by i began to remember bits and pieces of my childhood came back to me. I remembered my father, and the fighting skills he had taught me. With that, I took those skills and improved them greatly. I had the occasional skirmish with the average thief."
"After completing my teachings we traveled to England where we made our new home. I stayed with my mother and was later knighted by the King for my act of bravery. After recieving the rank of knight I took shelter in the kings' castle. I stayed with the king till his death ten years later. From their I left to build my own castle, Cridhe Estates. I was given some lands on the coast by the Queen shortly after his death, as a gift for my years of service."
"With my new home complete, a friend and fellow knight, Dragon Knight, stayed for a time. Not long after I moved there a young lady came along by the name of Lady Brittany of the Diamond Isles. We fell in love and became engaged. Little did I know that Dragon Knight was furious with my actions, preaching to me that I stole her from him."
"On the day of our wedding, Dragon Knight murdered Lady Brittany, and fled the area. Outraged and sadened by the death of my fiancee, I swore to hunt down Dragon Knight and let justice take its place. The pain of my great loss brought distant memories flashing before me. I could remember my true name, my fathers' death, and most of all my brother. That day Raven Starknight, brought out Ravynfyre, a long sword detailed with intriquet designs and encrusted with diamonds and gold. Angered, all good was flushed out of me, my teal eyes turned a dark crimson and remained that way."
"For years i spent searching for Dragon Knight, nothing turned up. I did not want to give up, but I reached the conclusion that one day our paths would cross again. When I allowed the anger in me to be put aside I became the man I liked best, Sir Nicholas Cridhe. From that point on my life took a turn for the better."
"I returned to my home, and spent time again with my mother. She taught me how to control my anger and how to keep it from overwhelming me. Once again, we traveled around the country, searching for her many sisters. We came upon some, Garnet, Aurora, Tristynn, Seraphine, and Organa. We stayed some time with them, catching up on the many years they had missed."
"I returned to my castle soon after meeting my new aunts and uncles. Upon returning from my journey, I came across a young beautiful woman, her name being Lady Pepper. We came to know each other quite well, and fell in love. We got engaged soon after, and I kept my eyes open for any sense of danger."
"My mother returned, just before Lady Pepper and I were to be wed. She disapproved of my fiancee, but she insisted that I was old enough to make my own decisions. I ignored my mother's disapproval and proceeded in marrying Pepper."
"Pepper and I lived happily together in my castle, taking the occasional trip to the many parts of England. Then came time for me to journey back to Ireland for some business. Pepper insisted that she would stay at the castle till I was to return. I allowed her to stay, but only if she would allow the presence of extra guards around, and she accepted."
"While in Ireland, I came upon a young girl, Geabrielle Shadowstar, her parents dead, and her without a home. I adopted her and brought her back with me to England. Pepper, not sure as to believing that I had adopted young Geab. She grew furious with me, believing that the only reason I went to Ireland was to bring back Geab. She was convinced that Geab was my daughter from a previous marriage. We argued for some time but the matter was soon resolved."
"Not long after my return, Pepper began making trips back to her home town. She would come and go, each trip lasting longer till she did not return. I was saddened by her leaving. She said that it was family affairs that kept her there, and that someday she would return. We kept in touch, but that too seemed to disapate, leaving me and Geab at the castle."
"Months turned into years, then to decades, I gave up all hope of Pepper's return. I met the occasional lady, but none of them seemed right, just another lonely woman out looking for some company for the night. During this time an old friend came back into my life, Sir Tristan Leodhas. An old friend from my childhood, we were friends when we were younger back in Scotland. He stayed at the castle with Geab and I. Not long after Tristan came around, my path crossed with Dragon Knight. I came across him on a journey to a nearby village on the coastline. I did not hesitate to start trouble with him. We battled, the battle itself not lasting too long. Swords clashed, and blood litered the ground. I emerged victorius, defeating my old friend with nothing but Ravynfyre."
"After the death of Dragon Knight I began to feel better and that justice was done. Tristan stayed at my home for some time. He would help out with work, and kept mostly to himself. He had changed completely, from the loud, obnoxious person i remembered him to be. It was great to have him around again, but it was as if there was something wrong."
"A few months pasted, and I awoke one morning to find him packing up his possessions. He told me that he was putting my home in danger by staying, and that he must leave. He told me that a friend of ours was murdered only months before he arrived, and that in revenge he killed the villan, along with most of the villan's friends. He swore to me that he would return when all was taken care of. Out of respect for him I would not let him leave without a new horse and armor, which he gladly accepted."
"Not long after Tristan left, i was surprised by what i came across next. On a trip to a nearby village i came across a dark figure asking about me. People i had gathered information from, said an assassin was looking for me, and asking questions as to where my lands were. My path crossed with the assassin, only for me to reconize him as my long lost brother, Fyrestorm. I was shocked to see him alive, as was he. I brought him back to my home, and he stayed from then on out."
"We talked for days on end, learning about what we missed, all those years apart. He told me he was picked up by a ship, shortly after ours was destroyed in the storm. He was raised by a band of assassins, although his attitude did change some, he was just like i remembered him to be. He told me of his travels, and many adventures he had with the assassins. He told me of how the band was captured, and put to death, except that he had managed to escape. He was then came across an old mage, in which he learned of the old ways. He learned as i did, to harness a power he did not know he possessed. He too recieved the gift of immortality."
"He told me of how the mage was murdered, and how he grew furious, starting the Royal Assassin's, and returning to his previous way of life. Until now, his travels bringing him here. He told me that he saw me in the village once, and started gathering information about me. He was not sure that the person he saw was really his brother, but upon our meeting, he was convinced."
"Not long after my brothers' arrival,i came across a young woman, Lady Celtrik Pariax of Darkstone. We talked for awhile, she told me of her life, and introduced me to her sister, Mistress Sierra Avangard."
"I talked and met with Sierra for weeks on end. We enjoyed each other's company, and looked forward to each visit. Before i knew it, I was knee deep in love with her. We took walks, and one day, we ended up by the waterfall on the southern most part of my land. It was there, with the roses surrounding us, and the beautiful wildlife, that i proposed to her. A single tear rolled down her cheek, she accepted."
"But our happiness was short lived. I could not resist the fact that my heart belonged to another. I tried to ignore the truth, and go on with the engagement, but i could not carry it on much longer. The truth was heard, i pleaded that i did not intend on this happening, and that i was truly sorry. I did not blame her when she blew up at me, she threatened to never be seen again, and that she would forget my ever existance."
"To this day i do not forgive myself for breaking her heart. I blame myself, not anyone else, for my unfortunate mistake. I thought long and hard before ever bringing it to her attention, just to make sure the feelings i had for her did not conquer those for the one that held my heart in her hands. I regret the day that i told her this, but i am somewhat relieved that i did not allow it to go too far. Even love has its limits."
"Little did i know, not long after Sierra and i broke it off, she committed suicide. Her sister, Celtrik blames the whole thing on me, and i do not blame her, although she has taken it a bit far. Word soon spread of my new found love and i. As for her name, Lady Angelica. She is truly the greatest thing i have ever encountered in my life. I love her so much. And because of that, i asked her to marry me. I knew she was the one i had been waiting for all my life. She makes me feel so alive, and because of that i believe that i am one very lucky man to have her love. Angelica is truly the kindest and dearest person i have ever met. She makes me laugh and overall, makes me feel good."
"Someone i thought i would never see again has come back into my life, Lady Pepper. She has returned recently with my son, Marcus Anthony. He is only a little guy, about 10 months old. It is so good to see both of them. Mark truly makes my life happy."
"Well, once again, life began to grow a little cloudy. I joined up with the WolfPack. Shortly after i joined, the Royal Assassins came after me for leaving their organization. I fought off many of them, which lead me one day to face Tristan Leodhas. I didn't want to have to fight him, but he gave me no choice. Unfortantely for Tristan, he died. A true friend he was, despite his order to kill me. With Tristan gone, that left Fyrestorm the last Assassin. I'm sure you can guess what happens next."
"Indeed, my own Brother is out to kill me. He swears that he will start killing my family until i surrender to him. He hasn't gotten anyone yet, and he won't. I can sense that we will meet on the field of battle one day and duel it out. As for family, Angelica and i broke off the marriage. I found that i didn't feel the same anymore, i was indeed a changed man, mostly not for the best. I still see her around, we hold no grudges against each other."
"Before i knew it, i came face to face with Fyrestorm, we dueled, and i emerged as the winner. It was hard to fight him, but he threatened my new found love, Claudia. Claudia and i are now engaged, with hopes of getting married very soon. Some other surprising news found me one unsuspecting day. I was out and about and ran into a stranger. Upon studying this stranger, i realized he looked exactly as myself, only with different colored hair. Strange i thought. I talked with him, we talked of where he grew up, and we found out that he had no recollection of his childhood. He said he was adopted by a family when he was a baby and grew up with them. After hours of talking, we drew upon the conclusion that we were long lost twins. With that, he moved into my home, and i gave him my last name. Ambrosius was his name, he was very skilled indeed, expert fighter, which he despised in doing and a real charmer with the ladies. I am glad he is staying with me, and that we found each other. Life will be different now, just have to wait and see."
"With this, i have found that life gets better as time goes on. Tis true. There were many times i thought i would never be happy again, but i was wrong. Life is a great gift, but without love, to me, is nothing but a lump of coal."
*He lowers his head, and turns to look into the flames of the fire. He lies there motionless, thinking to himself, awaiting the future to grab hold of him and whisk him into happy times again.*
Back to the West Annex....