Chapter 1: On Tanus' Mother by Tanus

[Shortngeeky]

Posted on 17-03-2009 21:11

A generation ago, in the age of Tanus’ mother, trade between the Eastern Kingdoms and the relatively wild and uncharted continent of Kalimdor had just begun. Auberdine had just finished expanding its docks to accommodate the dwarves of Menthil Harbor. From Teldrassil came various crafted goods. From Darkshore came pearls and foodstuffs. From Ashenvale came various furs and herbs. Industrious elves found themselves uprooting their small businesses and sending their wares to Auberdine to be sold to the highest bidder.

Maelis’Alkel was one such trader. Ever the opportunist, she was one of the first to gather her goods into a cart and join the caravan across Ashenvale and north through the Darkshores to Auberdine. Many a dwarf could be found tugging at their beards after negotiating prices with Maelis, for they left with far lighter purses than expected. So it went for many months. Maelis found her purse fat and her life peaceful.

Unfortunately, the peace would not last. As with any trade by sea, pirates were soon to follow. The Bloodsail Buccaneers preyed upon the heavily laden cargo ships leaving Auberdine. The elven capital was quick to respond with an armada of schooners gliding swiftly across the water. These schooners were far quicker and more maneuverable than the pirate ships, designed for crossing the great sea. So the pirate attacks dwindled as the schooners patrolled the waters. But the Bloodsailers were not without their own ingenuity. The Crimson Wake, she was called. She skirted the great tree of Teldrassil, sailed around the then uninhabited Bloodmyst Isles and landed not near the trafficked area of Auberdine, but on the southern edge of the Dark Shores themselves. There, the Crimson Wake unloaded its crew and prepared an ambush. If they could not steal from the ships they would steal from the caravans supplying the ships.

Maelis found herself surrounded. The Bloodsailers jumped down from trees, out of bushes, and behind outcroppings, charging with scimitars bared. The caravan was not used to handling anything more than a wild bear or cat on the road to Auberdine. Still, Maelis managed to string her bow and wound two pirates before she was pulled from her wagon. There were few casualties from the ambush, for the Bloodsailors could sell live elves as slaves just as easily as the goods of the caravan. So, Maelis was bound and gagged with the rest of the caravan.

The Crimson Wake was loaded with would-be slaves and goods. When it finally left its make shift port it was listing slightly to one side and setting very low in the water. The captain fearing that a storm or any minor squall would send them all to the depths, decided to make port on the Bloodmyst isles. There, they would bury the crafted goods and return to pick them up after selling the slaves and perishables.

That night, with the Crimson Wake still docked on the Bloodmysts, would become a nightmare for Maelis. Being one of the few females captured, the crew forced themselves upon her. She put up a mighty struggle, biting, scratching, and kicking. But her struggles only bought her a backhand or punch to the face. The struggle continued until, at last, she was sent mercifully into unconsciousness from the repeated forceful blows.

The dawn broke with cries of alarm from the pirate ship. The raid on the caravan had not gone as smoothly as planned, and one elf, using his innate ability to blend with the forest, managed to escape and inform the schooner armada. The schooners scoured all the known sea routes and then set to patrolling ever expanding circles out of Auberdine. Finally near dusk they spotted the Crimson Wake in port on the shores of the Bloodmyst Isles. Deciding that the pirate ship could easily slip away into the night if the single schooner attacked then, they called to others in the armada to help. The armada slipped silently into a blockading position under the cover of dark. When the dawn broke, the Crimson Wake found itself surrounded in port. They sent the white flag flying and gave up without a fight.

Many of the caravan drivers were shaken but unharmed after their release. Maelis was carried from the Crimson Wake battered and bruised. Her spirit was ever scarred from the encounter. She was taken in by her relatives in a small village of Shadowglen in Teldrassil. They were horrified as the months passed and Mealis’ stomach began to grow. Maelis ate and drank little and as her stomach grew her body waned. She spent much of her pregnancy in a trance-like state, reliving the nightmare aboard the Crimson Wake. Late in her third term, Maelis fell into a fitful, feverish sleep, often calling to unseen ghosts. The relatives feared for her and her child as the fits deepened in severity.

Finally, she awoke in a serene state calling for the midwife. The midwife entered and found Maelis little more than a ghost. So emaciated was she that it seemed as though her great belly would crush her fragile form. During the labor, she let out great screams of agony and nearly swooned many times. Somehow, by shear willpower alone, she remained conscious. Every push drained more color from her cheeks and sent her breath into shorter gasps.
With a great push, a single wail became two, and the midwife hoisted the babe into her arms. Maelis reached feebly to her child. The midwife placed the babe in her arms. “A boy,” Maelis said with a weak smile. “You shall be called Tanus, my child.” Maelis’Alkel sat straighter and held the boy with strength defining her slight frame. “Your spirit is strong, little Tanus, for mine has left me long ago. Know that I love you and that you carry no blame for your father’s sin. Grow, little boy, and don’t look back. I cannot stay with you, my child, for I cannot look upon you in any other way than I do now, with pure love that knows no sadness. I cannot look upon you with regret or with fear. Nor can I find any of his features in you. You must deny your heritage and walk you own path. I am long gone from this world in spirit and so my body must follow…” Maelis leaned back, cradling her child and slept through the night. It would be his first night in this world and her last.




===
Note: Tanushalfelf was originally inspired by the character Tanis Half-Elf from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles. The story above, however, is an original narrative, created by myself.

Mr Mandolin