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The Coming of the Silver Archer

Your father was a master bow maker of the highest rank among your town. Thus you had a grand feel for them as you grew up. You learned much from the druids who frequently came to your elven city and while you felt at ease in nature you knew there was a little something they seemed to be missing. As you grew in age wisdom and skill you learned that magic could be a powerful ally, even if only to aid your natural abilities. You searched out master sorcerer and learned the basics of controlling magic from him. Although he was sad to see you go he knew that the arcane arts were not your true calling.

You returned to your home city to find that it had been destroyed. While you looked through the rubble The Great Wolf Spirit came to you in a vision and told you that while most of the city had escaped the carnage your family and friends along with several others were defending it while the others left and had been there when it fell. They were nearly all killed on the spot. You also learned that the attackers were mostly human and dwarven mercenaries who had been paid but a handful of coins to do they slaughter. With this knowledge in hand you vowed vengeance against them. Taking your father's last completed and best bow you went to avenge the deaths. While you may not have been there when it happened you would make sure they would know you had lived there.

Gaining some followers from the escaped citizens as well as many animal companions and forest animals you stormed the enemy camp. You began the attack while most of them slept but being outnumbered they aroused early in the raid. As they came out of their tents you and the others were able to pick off nearly half of them before they became any threat to the fighters entering the other tents. Things seemed to settle down abit and you could tell you had grown in power even since before the raid began but you still had a feeling something was strange. You had not seen your father's body in the city and there were no signs of prisoners. As you pondered this your keen elven senses alerted you to the sounds of another nearby camp not far away.

You gathered the rest of your troupe and made way to the other camp. Being ever so stealthy so as to avoid detection you surveyed the enemy hold up. You could easily see that there was what seemed to be a prisoner hold among the makeshift structures. You could also tell that something would have to happen to make this a successful raid. As you walked back to where the others were resting the wolf spirit passed thoughts to you once again. She said, "You have done well to come this far but I can see that you are still not at your full potential. Rely on ALL that you have learned and there will be no one that can stop you." With that the spirit left you. Telling the others what you saw in the camp made them both hopeful and fearful. A prisoner hold would mean they could save some others but with as many mercenaries as there were it might not succeed. Seeing the fear in their eyes you told them also of your encounters with The Great Wolf Sprit. They seemed to realize that with a deity watching over them there was no chance they would fail.

Your men formed up and made way to a hill on the way to a camp. You realized that since learning magic you had yet to really use it. Marching to the city you knew that with all of your skills it would be easy to overtake the camp. Stopping at the edge of the forest what you did next astonished the rest of your party. Nocking an arrow to your bow the blade end began to glow. Aiming for a tent on the other end of the camp you let the arrow fly. As it flew through the canvas and into the tent the whole area was engulfed in a fireball sending the tent skyward. You had to hush your followers from cheering as they could see you had used much energy to do it. Looking back at the camp you could see many others running out of the tents still in pajamas and mostly unarmed. Apparently they thought the explosion was something one of the mages in their group had done, a spell gone awry. Seeing this opportunity many of the elves following you wanted to rush in but you commanded them stop once again. Grabbing a hand full of arrows from one of the other elves back you put them all to your bow. Concentrating you let go of them and with only a moment's hesitation they all flew forward and pierced every man and dwarf in the camp. Those that could still walk began hobbling to their tents. At this you motioned the others who ran forward with swords waving and a glorious elven war cry. Few made it to their tents before getting struck by the blade of the graceful elven attackers. With victory at hand with hardly a battle you walked into the camp knowing you had learned more today than any other.

Believing you had won you sat on a log by the fire letting the others clean up what remain of the camp. You had forgotten about everything else as you studied what you knew and learned that day. Suddenly you heard a familiar voice, your father. However he was not happy. As you looked up he was being held with a single mercenary to his back and a knife to his throat. Standing up and grabbing your bow you looked around and noticed you had left your arrows once you thought you had won. Seeing you had no arrows the mercenary didn't bother looking at you longer and was watching the others. The wolf sprits voice rang suddenly through your head, "Have faith in yourself and in your bow." Raising your bow you pulled the string and with every ounce of power you could muster a shadow of an arrow appeared, nocked and ready to fire. Taking aim you saw your fathers face. He could see you and said under his breath, "I trust you." Seeing this you let go of the string. The arrow flew by your father's head and pierced the shoulder of his captor. Suddenly the mercenary's eyes rolled back into his skull and you could sense he was leaving the plane. After a happy greeting with your father you receive confirmation that you had just killed the last of the raiders of your city.

After taking all of the others to the hideout for those who didn't follow you into battle stayed you were granted a feast and a place among the heroes of the city. After the feast you went out into the woods, sat down and laid against a tree. Closing your eyes you could see The Great Wolf Spirit. She said unto you, "you are a brave and valiant fighter elven one. I grant you my blessing in all things; I will watch over you and provide for you. However such things are not without a duty to me. You must watch over my wilderness and do what must be done to protect it from all that would threaten it. It may seem as though I ask a lot but is it not already your duty as an elven ranger? Now tell me if you accept my blessing." With a happy heart you say, "I do." The wolf spirit smiles and escapes from your mental vision. When you open your eyes you realize that your elven clothes had turned into a cloth even finer and that all of your belongings had been touched by The Great Wolf Spirit. With a shine in your eyes, a smile on your face and a bow in your hand you have now begun your journey.