User blog:WhiteWolfSteve2016/Dear Helena, Early Years

Dear Helena,

High Priestess/Mother Aria got me this journal today and says it will help me to write in it from time to time. I’ve decided to address it to you, Goddess Mother, you who saved me that day. Something dark came and slashed at my face in the woods and I ran. I don’t know what it was that took my family but I heard a sweet voice in my head that guided me to hide under our family’s shrine to you by our hearth. All the noise went away and I felt safe and warm. When I came out it was messy everywhere and dark and everyone was gone. I just left and started walking through the woods. An Elven woodsman found me and bandaged the gash over my and eye brought me here.

Dear Helena,

I still don’t have any idea what happened to my family. Sister Jill says they are gone. I miss them so much. I live here in the Great Helenite Temple of Fairwater now. I’ve begun helping out all the priestesses with their duties and doing chores. I help clean and serve. I like it here, but it’s not my home in the Forest near Brookland. (week 1)

Dear Helena,

The priestesses here have really been helping me cope with the loss of my family. Today after a long talk with Mother Aria and after a lot of crying I went back to my room and just looked out my window and watched people walking in the streets below. Some seemed happy and some seemed distracted, some seemed angry with their own families…there was no reason to it as far as I could tell. Helena, I get the feeling like that is not my walk in life. Do you have something else in store for me? I continue to serve you with joy. (year1)

Dear Helena,

Sister Jill has started letting me help with the rituals and rites in the Temple in my spare time. I feel like I have purpose now. I have come to accept the fate of my family and honor them with my service to you Mother. I also really enjoy helping throughout the inn, and love hearing the stories of all of the visitors from across the realm. The woodsman Eltaor, the one that brought me here, visited again today and his lessons on Elvish are really paying off. He told me of far off Howling Rise and Rangers and Druids there. I’ll probably dream of adventure again tonight…I usually do after his visits. (year 4)



Dear Helena,

So I’ve pretty much mastered all of the tasks around the Inn and Sister Jill allows me to accomplish many holy tasks unattended. Mother Aria has asked me to attend to her during important rituals on several occasions. I’m honored. They say that my diligence and attention to detail reflect credit upon you Mother and I’ve earned my increased responsibilities. It is humbling. I only wish to serve. These Priestesses have taken care of me since I was ten years old and I live to assist their service to you Helena.

Today a group came into the inn to eat dinner and as usual I was helping out around the commons so I went to attend to them. A girl with them caught my eye…she is a few years older than me, but I think she likes me too because she kept looking at me! I did my best to concentrate and give them great service, but she kept smiling at me. I dropped a drink heading to another table while catching a glimpse of her looking at me. Before she left, she caught me and asked if she could see me some time, her name is Margaret. I almost blanked. I tried to play it cool and was like yeah sure, I’m always here. She said she would come and get me and maybe we could take a walk and get to know each other. She is really cute! I went and told Sister Jill I was so excited and she turned the brightest color of red I’ve ever seen. I don’t think she even knew what to say so I just left to come and write to you in my diary. (year 6)

Dear Helena,

Margaret and I had a wonderful time tonight! We walked through the park and talked until late into the night. She is very bright and beautiful. I’m in deep smit. I walked her home and she kissed me! I don’t know what to do with all these emotions I got back to the Inn and stayed up late helping in the kitchen and cleaning up in the commons because my mind couldn’t rest. I had to tell you Mother before I went to sleep though…The sun’s probably coming up soon. I’m gonna pay for this. Worth it. (year 6)



Dear Helena,

Something terrible has happened! Margaret recently travelled to The Golden Keep with one of her friends and should have been back by now. Her family sent trackers and guards to search…they returned saying that she had become lost in the wilderness… and they couldn’t find her. The wilds are a dangerous place and they accept her fate. I can’t believe this! I’ve been struggling to accept this, but I pray that she is in your arms Mother. I’m sorry I haven’t written to you in some time, I was spending a lot of time with Margaret…such a wonderful person. Sharp witted and observant, we would talk about things that we thought were wrong in the world and how we would fix it. She also was sensitive to my emotional side and kind to me even though I hadn’t interacted with many people outside of the clergy and workers in the church. (year 7)

Dear Helena,

I have been thinking and praying a lot lately about what to do with my life. I could stay here and help out around the Inn forever, but I think everyone knows I need to go see the world. I feel drawn to Howling Rise. Margaret and I used to talk about making things right in the world. Maybe if I could train to be a Ranger, I could learn how to help make the wilds a little safer...I could help bring those lost in the wilds back to home and hearth, safe in your embrace Mother. I will discuss it with the Priestesses this week. I feel at peace with this course of action. I am so thankful for everything they have done for me here but I am ready to move on to the next phase of my life Mother. (year 8)



Dear Helena,

This week has gone by so fast. Mother Aria agreed to let me move to Howling Rise and train there. One of the new clerics here has a sister in HR and helped us get a letter from Aria to HR to help me get accepted to the school. I’ve packed up all of my things and put most of it in storage and put a few things in a backpack and said goodbye to everyone. I’ll join up with a trade caravan first thing in the morning and begin the long trek through the woods West to Howling Rise. Watch over me Mother.



Dear Helena,

Until today our journey has been pretty uneventful. Five bandits attacked us as we rolled through a forest path. Their arrows killed two of our guards before we knew what was happening. Tremond and Caloran. Good men. I froze at first, not knowing what to do. I feel horrible about it now. Once I snapped out of it, I rushed to aid the remaining guards, having grabbed the wood hatchet that I had been using to get firewood when we break for camp. We emerged victorious, but I killed two men today. I had never really thought about it much before, beyond, maybe killing “bad guys” as a ranger, but here we are. Today I looked men in the eyes and killed them. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to stay and bury our men and the bandits and give them their last rites. The caravan leader insisted we leave immediately. One of the remaining guards brought me a sword that the bandit leader had used and gave it to me. It was a decent sword. He said I did good…then he looked down and walked away. I miss home Mother. Is this the world we live in?



Dear Helena,

We’ve arrived in Howling Rise, and I will start my training soon. This city is NOTHING like Fairwater. The City is a beautiful extension of the forest and the people live in harmony with nature. In the middle of the city is an enormous Tree much larger than even the great Inn of Helena in Fairwater and the ceaseless winds that blow here create a current through the great tree that create a beautiful haunting ‘howl’ that apparently give the city its name.

I’ve been assigned student quarters and got a schedule. I’m super excited to start. My room-mates names’ are Harold and Keith. They seem pretty nice.

Dear Helena,

These last few months have been exhausting. It has mostly been physical conditioning and equipment familiarization. Sun up to sun down. Apparently I was already in pretty good shape because I only got yelled at first for not pushing myself hard enough, even though I was always finishing towards the top in all of the events. So I started challenging myself to always work harder, not just for myself, but for the other guys, because of lives depending on me. I started to get even stronger and faster. Today I defeated two challengers in the combat simulation. I wonder when we get to start learning about nature and survival skills.

Dear Helena,

The instructors have finally announced Phase II of our training. The physical conditioning will continue, but we will start learning advanced skills based on aptitude. We will also be meeting some of the elder instructors soon. Our trainers seem really excited about that so I guess it is a big deal. I will be getting advanced training with melee tactics while still getting practice with my longbow so I remain proficient. After that I have a Nature/Animals class, a basic magic class, and then a class with one of the elders…I don’t know what it is…

Dear Helena,These last few weeks have been intense. The "mystery" class has been with Elder Alexander Dalca. He is a wise Ranger with so much soul in his eyes. There are only two other students in our class. He is teaching us about studying our opponents or something. I feel like I am way behind the others…Elder Dalca insists I am in the right place and is incredibly patient with me so I put maximum effort forth. I feel like I’m missing something right now though…Basically, he says you can learn to discover your opponent’s weaknesses and exploit them. He has us studying about the elements and quizzing us on the spot and tyring to predict by behavior and appearance what a creature might be resistant to or weak against. He showed us different types of armor and how an arrow or small sword is more effective than an axe or greatsword against certain kinds, and how a maul or hammer could smash through other types when arrows are doing nothing. Just something to think about. Elder Dalca says that sometimes it can take a long time for the skill to "click", but the ability to figure it out it a split second on the battle field could save all of your friends' lives. He says that there are worse things than bandits in the world..I wonder what he means by that. He also heard that I killed a couple of thugs with a hatchet and has been teaching me some techniques to use the axe in my offhand while using my longsword in my right hand. Apparently the axe is his favorite weapon.



Dear Helena,

Something important happened today. While practicing bow, which the melee students do twice a week, Elder Aurelia came in to check on our progress. My entire body got warm like I had a fever. I had heard of her before, everyone says she is the nicest person they have ever met. The whole town considers her a second mother. They said she is the oldest Ranger on the council, I didn’t even think about the fact that she is a Half-Elf…she is the second oldest member of the Council of Nine, after the ancient Elven Druid. I almost passed out when I saw this woman today. She’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. I tried to take aim at my target like I was supposed to and was off…at least I hit the target.

Suddenly she was upon me, offering tips to improve my aim. She was on her tip toes whispering in my ear, adjusting my stance from behind. She left one hand on my shoulder and I took a shot. Luckily, I hit the bullseye. Pleased with herself, she trailed her hand across my back as she walked away. I thanked her as she left.

The other students were looking at me weird. I tried to play it off. I had the biggest smile on my face. Everyone just kind of looked around awkwardly for a minute. Our trainer told us to knock it off and get back to work. I couldn’t shoot straight the rest of the day.

So now I have all of these confused feelings of guilt over Margaret. The whole thing is ridiculous. My girlfriend died over two years ago and I don’t know what to do with those feelings, I have a crush on an elf that’s two and a half times my age,, what do I even think is going to happen there? She is practically in charge of the city. “OOOOH SHE TOUCHED ME” What am I 12 again? I need to get this out of my head and concentrate on Ranger school. Prayer and concentration.



Dear Helena,

Magic class has been really interesting. I have been learning to use magic to track and find things and people… it is really fun. We’ve basically been playing hide and seek in the forest. I’m terrible at hiding, but have been one of the best at finding the others when it is my turn. I have also learned to use magic to heal wounded friends. I take great satisfaction in this knowledge, as it is the desire to help others that led me here. In my studies, I learned of more powerful spells that can cause the earth itself to rise up into shapes such as piercing spikes and cause plants to grow swiftly into forms of your choosing. One day I may be able to harness power of that nature. The trainer remarked that it is not often that he has a student such as me that is not a follower of Soltarus, the God of Nature. I explained that while I revere and respect his domain, it is the Bosom of Helena that protects me. Some of the class did not appreciate my different take, but the others had felt my wrath in combat training and seemed more than okay with it.

Dear Helena,

The guys and I were in town on pass after passing phase II, enjoying a band outside of a local inn and I saw her again. Councilwoman Aurelia. She was mingling with some local families and seeing how everyone was doing. Now I feel like I’m stalking her because I asked around about her. People say she has never married; she’s just always making sure everyone is okay. People can’t recall her having a boyfriend for very long or if she ever really had a real boyfriend. Sure guys tried, but no one ever succeeded. That’s not promising. So tonight I just watched her for a little while. She brought an older lady her favorite food; she brought a family dinner and held their baby so the mom could eat uninterrupted. She listened to a guard sergeant tell her something important…I mean really important. At least to him it was. He smiled and thanked her. She hugged him. It made his night. She danced with some kids. She checked on an old man who seemed to be getting ill. Recognizing immediately, she used some magic on him and he shed a single tear and it looked like he said Bless You Lass. A Barmaid said this is the kind of stuff she does around the city every day. In my vanity I thought I caught her looking at me. In my DREAMS. I need to get my head back into school and concentrate on finishing up and heading back to Fairwater where I hear I will be returning as a Vanguard.



Dear Helena,

The final phase of my training has consisted of city guard duty and actual forest patrols. This has been by far the best part of my training, bringing it all together, working in teams. Sometimes our scout party would go out with a senior instructor for extended patrols well beyond training areas for weeks at a time, and a few times we encountered real danger, such as bandits, or cultists, or even giant spiders. Today, we were on extended patrol, and a Dire Bear attacked. I was closest so I slashed and went into a defensive posture. I dove out of the way as it charged, then I counter attacked and it broke my sword! At that moment, it seemed as if all at once, four arrows appeared in its eyes and it fell to the ground dead. I looked around, but didn’t see which group of my team mates had shot it…but we had emerged victorious. It was the biggest bear I’ve ever seen.

Dear Helena,

I have completed my training and today I graduated. I will depart soon for Fairwater. At the ceremony today I saw the ancient Druidess Narita for the first time, she is remarkable. I can sense her power. She gave a speech about our responsibility to protect both the lives of the innocent and to preserve the sanctity of nature…didn’t see THAT coming. The Ranger Elders all said encouraging words. Alexander Dalca warned that the coming days would test our resolve…I wonder what he meant? Elder Kristoff  Banak…I think he was drunk…he told us to go out and make great stories and be brave and never back down from a good fight…a roar of good laughter came from the crowd. Aurelia Jelen…a star from the heavens shining upon us, how could I leave her behind…how could I even think like this…she couldn’t even know I exist. She sees hundreds of students and tens of thousands of citizens. I daydreamed through her whole speech. I think she said something about looking out for each other. I got one more good look at her and then gathered my bag and headed out on the long journey East towards Fairwater. This time I would not travel on the roads…I would travel through the woods using my new skills and survive off the land.

Dear Helena,

Living in Fairwater again these past few years has been nice. I live at the Inn and have settled into some of my old habits, helping the Priestesses out sometimes, but spend most of my days patrolling the swamps with some volunteers, offering assistance to travelers and chasing off trouble makers. Most of the time I feel really good about the work we do, like today, we were able to assist a young couple who didn’t quite make it into town before the wife went into labor. We assisted with the delivery and I was able to use my curative magic to keep things stable. I offered them some of my extra supplies that I always carry and then we escorted them into town to get proper care. I think everything is going to be okay with them. Sometimes I still feel like I am supposed to be doing more though…when I got back to Inn earlier, there was a message for me to have a meeting the next day in the commons with an Elf named Sarantyl Va’Naryst. It said he was on Guild business from Yeti’s Call. Guild business?