Rohan Hawkshill

Rohan was born on 6 Ches 1334, the Year of the Blazing Brand, in Calimport, under some strange but not all too unusual circumstances. His father, on a spree of indulgence, had come to the city to partake unhindered of its delights. He met a prostitute, Jaunie, and secured several nights with her. He found himself desperately in love, and offered to spirit her away, to rescue her from her hard life. She was just naive enough to believe him, despite the Courtesans' Guild's strong advice to the contrary.

Sure enough, after sobering up, Edgar realized the reality of his decision, so he did what any upright noble would do. He gave her a pittance of cash, and promised to return for her as soon as he could.

Jaunie found she was with child, and, having only a handful of gold, and the prospect of at least temporarily ruining her career, she decided to pursue a harder and nobler path: she became a household servant, earning a pittance of what she once did, but at least having a home, now that she had left the guild.

She labored as a servant for 9 years, and her son did nothing to make it easier, always underfoot, often getting in trouble for poking into places he wasn't supposed to. She had kept all the gold Edgar gave her, and when her son was old enough, she used it to pay for some modest tutoring for his ostensibly noble upbringing.

She was able to pay for his education in maths, history, and etiquette, and even teach him passable Chondathan, the language of his father. He had a fine set of clothes (as fine as she could manage), for when his father some day returned.

Meanwhile, in Cormyr, Edgar Hawkshill was settling uncomfortably into the role of master of the house, after his father Herod's untimely death. He found himself with no heir, and not much respectability as he was unmarried well into his thirties. Finding not many other options, he decided to journey back to Calimport and make good on his promise.

Jaunie was truly stunned that he had returned, but she made haste to impress him with her son. Edgar was less than thrilled to learn of his son, already 9 years old, but had to admit the boy had been well reared, if a little rough around the edges. He had also forgotten how beautiful his son's mother was, and found himself falling in love all over again.

The next few years were a dream for Rohan; they made their way across the desert, and across the vast tracts between his mother's and father's land. The boy was introduced to novel concepts, like snow and cold winters, but also the culture and splendor of a mighty, stable, and ultimately good kingdom. The family moved into Edgar's house in Arabel, a small but respectable mansion in a classy part of town, and there he began his life as a noble.

It went well, for a time. Jaunie never adapted to the role of noble wife, preferring mostly to stay indoors and tend the house, as she had done for a previous master for 9 years. She was almost unbearably demure in public, as she had thought she was meant to be, but Edgar's peers only saw her as what she was, a former prostitute bought, paid for, and imported from Calimport. He soon stopped taking her to the really good parties.

For her part, she never stopped doing right by her son. She insisted on tutoring him, with whatever of her husband's money she could appropriate, and ultimately was the driving force behind his enrollment in the Purple Dragons. She may have been very shy in public, but she wasn't stupid; she knew how they thought of her, and wanted her son to have the respectability he would need to survive in this alien land.

At the age of 15, Rohan joined the Purple Dragons, to begin his initial 2-year term of service. He found their culture to be very open and engaging, unlike the young noble sons that were meant to be his peers back in Arabel. While he made no friends among the nobles, few enough of whom were in his branch (light infantry) anyway, he found the camaraderie, the energy, and the shared miseries of soldiers in training to be right up his alley.

He enjoyed his training; though he was never very strong, he was quite athletic in his own way, and took to combat training with aplomb. He enjoyed the respect he earned with his physical accomplishments. Later in his training, he began to learn the basic skills of the scout, and found himself naturally adept at stealth and observation, and even thievery.

After his first 2-year term, he was eager to sign up for another, this time as a member of corps of scouts, but first he was granted a two-tenday leave to return home.

At home, he found things had taken a turn for the worse. His father had been steadily failing in all his endeavors, and was now deeply in debt. He had became angry and defeated, and often turned to drink. He had been banned from the Temple of Sune for inappropriate advances, and had gotten in trouble with the secular law on a number of minor points.

Rohan witnessed his father abuse his mother, and naturally stepped in to defend her. He found that his father had strength his own drill sergeants never had, an inhuman strength, fed by his terrible anger. Still, he was able to outsmart him, striking at his weak points as he had been trained. With his father disabled, he spirited his mother away, despite her stubborn cries to the contrary, and sought the sanctuary of the temple.

He did not speak to his father again, but he left him a note saying he was returning to the Purple Dragons. He didn't say where his mother was, but he advised his father to seek guidance from the Church. He would soon earn a decent salary, and could aide in the family expenses, but he could not help his father conquer his own demons.

Not knowing whether he would be disowned, Rohan simply returned to the Purple Dragons to follow the path he preferred.

Not two tendays after he began his service in the corps of scouts, he was called in to his commander's office, and informed that his father had committed suicide. Worse, his estate was in arrears, and would likely go up for auction if he did not return to defend his claim. He was granted indefinite leave to sort out his family business.

In Arabel, Rohan found that things had been proceeding poorly in his absence. His father had never properly registered his son as a noble heir, and his wife could not be found. Therefore, the property had passed to the High Lord, who auctioned it off. The auction had concluded literally hours before Rohan learned of it, and his home had been sold.

(to be continued...)