Call of the High Clansmen

Messages for the Barbarians' Guild
Tashmaal
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:09 pm
Guild: Barbarians

Call of the High Clansmen

Post by Tashmaal »

Tongues of the bonfire snap wildly at the night sky, and Barbarians gather 'round to listen to what young Tashmaal has learned of their legends. Mugs of dark beer and various other brews catering to diverse tastes stock the tables set up at the grove's edge, and hearty hunks of smoked meat fill the air with spice.

"Brothers," Tashmaal says, his voice and poise rehearsed but with a clear, if apprehensive, confidence, "and sisters. In these past years you have accepted me among you and trained me in the ways of our ancestors. You have shown me how to discern the paths that stretch endless before us, and to choose as only a Barbarian would. You have given a place at your table to one who saw no room. You...you have honored me beyond my most impossible dreams. I am a better man, now that I have known you. Of that there can be no doubt.

"I have called you together to speak of our kinsmen. Our Clansmen. Those whose deeds and ways we might remember to better pursue our own.

"First is Thaak, who needs no introduction but deserves one nonetheless, and may each drop of blood and grain of wood within these halls hear the words and honor his memory.

"Mottled Beast-Lord. First among champions. Founding father and brother. Chosen and trusted by his kindred to shape the foundation of the Clan and the future for all Barbarians. Aye, when this place was but snow and ice and mud, Thaak's vision raised these walls that to this day give us succor. I am grateful that Thaak was chosen, and not some madman drunk on power; though he knew best for us, his plans for the guild were put to vote so that all among him could stand united. Barbarians united could never fall.

"I heard a tale - once told by a Clansman called Skul - that told of Thaak’s hunting. In its telling, I learned something of how Thaak's virtues drove indomitable strength among unity. In honor of both Clansmen, I will share it with you.

"After hours of tracking what he believed a great bear, Thaak found that a group of demons had captured and chained his quarry. He watched them, black blood hellspawn, as they prepared to execute the beast where it stood bound, able to defend itself only on the terms and whims of cowards. Thaak charged, cutting down the fiends and smashing the chains they had used to claim an achievement unearned. They say the demons' howls shook the trees, to have heard Skul tell it.

“Prepared to fight the beast - in truth a mighty ice wyrm - brave Thaak stood fast. The wyrm, though, bowed its head in recognition of honor. Acknowledging one another, Thaak and the great beast parted ways with a profound respect.

“Later that very day, these halls themselves came under siege when the demons sought their vengeance. Our brothers and sisters bled and died and tumbled down through the hells in the black grip of whatever sorcery drove our enemies. Thaak, fighting as ten Barbarians might hope to, led the charge and steeled the resolve of all those who stood with him, Skul himself among them. Our founder placed an Axe of the Barbarians in the hands of each man and woman left standing, bolstering their courage, and loosed the polar bears upon our enemies. They all fought, men and beasts as one, aye, but there was no end to that foul tide. One by one our ancestors fell and rose, unrelenting in their grit, and fell again, until only Thaak endured. Even down to a knee, he ended foe after foe that dared challenge him until the demon general stepped up, fat with hubris, and thought to finish him.

"But then, the doors to the great hall burst from their frames and the lodge filled with blinding snow and cold and the rage of ice wyrms! The beasts had remembered Thaak’s honor and saw fit to aid the Clan in our time of need. Spirits ignited once more. Fallen brothers and sisters ignored their pain and their missing limbs and their spilled blood. True Barbarians one and all, aye, they rose up to stand once more with Thaak alongside the ice wyrms. Axes and tusks drank deep, and in time the demon army was naught but carnage strewn in vast heaps where we now sit. When it was done, the very wyrm that Thaak had aided came forward and affirmed its kind’s intent to ally with our ancestors in those days that followed.

“I...I was raised to hold the tales and histories of our elders in reverence, for wisdom and guidance is rife therein. Through our tales, our ancestors live on, burning bright still to guide each of us on our own paths."
Tashmaal
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:09 pm
Guild: Barbarians

Re: Call of the High Clansmen

Post by Tashmaal »

"I would be remiss to not speak of her," Tashmaal continues, glancing around quickly for hair like blood and fire. Not spotting it immediately, an anxious tang threatens to overrun his momentary charisma so he gestures with a nod towards the office door and continues. "Our Guildmaster, Satyana. Only with her blessing and encouragement did I find within myself the strength to stand among you all as a friend, as a brother.

"When I first arrived on your doorstep, I was but a shamed worm. But Satyana did not see a bloodied, disgraced dog. Our Guildmaster saw in me the makings of a Clansman, a Barbarian. Through I had never before picked up an axe other than to chop deadwood for a fire, she found the patience to give me guidance. On many occasions, she has weathered my no doubt tiresome digressions. She has guided me to face down sorcery when no other solution will avail. She helped me to find my path towards honoring the Clan and our ancestors among an often unsettling web splayed out before me. She saw in me a spark that I did not know lay hidden, and has helped me to cultivate it into something that I only pray will help others to find their own path.

"The tasks Satyana set before me were difficult, to say the least; tasks in which only a Barbarian could find success. She...she saw in me a Barbarian."
He pauses, wetting his bottom lip. "I will admit something today. Though I found the strength to confront each challenge, there was great fear in me. Aye.

"I did not fear death. No, there is no escape from death."
A thick-fingered hand comes up to touch his cheek, where a shock of gray has begun to reveal itself at his temple. He smiles, and there is perhaps a content sadness to it. "Only that in dying thus, I would have failed. A failure in the eyes of the Clan, of our ancestors, and of Satyana, whom had harbored such belief in my competence. Another dead dog among the countless lost nameless to history." He shakes his head, sending waves throughout his black mane. "No. With our Guildmaster watching and expecting my success, that sorry fate was never an option. I would not let her down. I would not let you down.

"As I have grown among you, I have watched Satyana extend that same dedication to others who came after me. She has related to, encouraged and guided each and every soul that I have seen pass between these walls. I have no uncertainty as to why the Clan has trusted her for so long as chieftain. I...I do not dare to speak of her years,"
he says, to a snifter of bold chuckles from those gathered, "but I will declare that she has inspired and honored us all in ways both countless and incomparable. She is as fine a Barbarian as I can imagine, and until my last breath, until I lay spent and dying and my heartsblood pours its last drop from my veins, I will stand beside her and defend her honor."

Tashmaal pauses again, stuttering suddenly as if realizing the climate for the first time. "I...I am not one for crowds," he admits. "But I will always embrace a crowd of brothers and sisters. A crowd of Barbarians. Like I would for our Guildmaster, I will stand beside you all. I will defend you until I am broken utterly and unable to raise my spear, my axe, and still then I will hurl myself with gnashing teeth between you and your enemy. I will laugh and revel loudly with you, and share what tales I know. I will do all in my power to guide you in what ways I know how. I...I will give you my meal and my last coin, if you ask it of me." His brow crinkles as he frowns slightly, as if wishing there were more he could offer to this place that had given him everything. "I pray that I will prove worthy to stand among those named your High Clansmen."
vampirss
Posts: 213
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:09 pm
Guild: Barbarians
Temple: Dread

Re: Call of the High Clansmen

Post by vampirss »

From the shadows behind all the brothers and sisters gathered to listen to Tashmaal, Satyana joined the gathering secretly. She knew that crowds were difficult for him, but she also wanted to test how he would do on his own before them all. He may need to lead them someday. He needed to have that ability to talk to his clansmen comfortably and without question. Listening to him speak, pride welled up enough to make her smile - though none could see it. She left when he finished, wiping a tear that crossed her cheek. At her desk, she wrote a quick message then left it where she was sure he would see it.

Extremely proud of you. Well done.
Night Empress Satyana
Cardinal of Dread
High Lady of Twilight, House Umbra
Barbarian Guildofficer
Torturous Temptress
Vicious Vampiress

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