Kanes

Another character backstory. Kanes happens to be an astral elf with draconic blood. Unfortunately, he only knows he’s an elf with oddly colored skin, as he is electric blue. A purposefully poorly made bard that has become fun to play in DnD games. He’s young, naive, and doesn’t actually know anything about himself. At least, nothing important.

The day I left the school wasn’t a hard one. I had never really belonged. The teachers made sure of that. I’m not sure how long I was there. Each teacher told me something different. The head of the school told me I had been at the school my entire life, which was seventeen years. That was eight years ago.

I remember most of what my life had been like. There had been a lot of class time, either with this teacher or that. They taught me to read and write. It was a human school, so I learned human history. It was interesting, but it didn’t help me. I’m not human.

When I wasn’t in session with one of the teachers, I was expected to either be helping in the kitchen or in my room, keeping quiet. I couldn’t disturb the other students. They were the “real students” At least that’s what I had been told. The kitchen staff didn’t like me much. I was too short to be of any real help, so I spent a lot of time in my room. I got really good at twiddling my thumbs.

I don’t remember how old I was when the headmaster told me I would start training with the other students. “You are younger than we’d like but it’s time for you to learn useful skills so you can go out in the world. Start earning your keep.” I was excited. “We are a college for bards. You will learn how to play instruments and give performances. You will also learn the art of persuasion and illusion magic.”

I studied for a few years. The only thing I really picked up, was playing the instruments. One teacher, a kind one, said I had a knack for instruments. The spell casting, the weapon fighting… well, I made a better target than anything. That teacher told me I was good practice for my classmates.

Then one day, in a class to learn how to properly perform poetry to an audience, I became nervous. I had never been nervous before. Playing the instruments in front of people was no problem, but this assignment. It scared me. It was almost my turn and I was standing behind the curtain, when flames shot out of my hands. It startled me and I moved, which caught more items on fire.

It was actually quite beautiful when I stopped to look at it. At that point I stopped panicking and the fire quit spouting from my hands. I had thought it weird, but then realized everyone was screaming, and figured I better try to get out of the building. I tripped though which caused some things to fall, and I ended up surrounded by the flames. They didn’t feel hot, but I closed my eyes wishing I was outside. Next thing I knew I felt grass on my face. It was the first time I’d felt grass.

The whole side of the grand school building burned that day. The headmaster had beckoned me into his office once it had finally been put out. He had already packed up my stuff into a single suitcase which he handed to me as I stood in front of his desk.

“I’m sorry Kanes, but you can’t stay here any longer. Show this letter to the people at the Inn in town. They will give you a room for the evening and some food for your travels. You need to be gone from the town by morning.”

What could I do, but just accept the paper and walk out. I had never been outside the school building before the fire. I knew nothing about the town or the people. I walked into the town. A lot of people stared at me. Looked down at me. I just thought it was because of my height. I learned later that humans aren’t fond of elves. I’ll have to write about that later, but there was a young boy who thought the color of my skin was intriguing. He spoke to me. He was able to direct me to the Inn.

I hesitated before walking in. I had heard about Inns. They provided beds and food for weary travelers. I had never slept anywhere except my room at the school. I didn’t know what to expect. I finally walked in, and handed the note to the one who introduced themselves as the Innkeeper. The woman started crying. She gave me a room key and later that evening a meal was delivered to my room.

Early the next morning there was a knock on my door. It was the lady who had cried. She had a bag of food for me; told me the bag also had a blanket in case I got cold. She then handed me a map and the piece of paper back.

“A map, so you can find your way, and your paper. Use it at the next Inn you come to.” She then left as tears once again spilled on her cheeks.

I didn’t understand why she was crying. Did it have something to do with the note? I thought about reading it, but I wasn’t sure if I was prepared to see what it said. So, I put it in my pocket, then walked out of the Inn. I stood there on the road in front of the Inn looking at the map the lady had given me. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I didn’t know how to read the map.

Looking around, I realized there was only one road, so I could only head in one of two directions. Which directions those were I wasn’t certain, but I picked one, heading towards the sun. I liked watching the sun. It made the sky all different pretty colors. I tripped and fell once or twice, before forcing myself to focus on the road instead of the sky. It was difficult cause the sky intrigued me. I didn’t understand why, but I had a desire to fly.

The road was a winding road, and I walked for a long while. The sun was almost straight up in the sky when I found that I was very tired. I had never done anything this strenuous. I came across a single tree off the side of the road, and decided to sit under it. I was only going to rest for a minute, but I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes, I wasn’t under the same tree.

There was no longer a road in front of me. Instead, I saw an older elven couple laboring in their garden. I knew they were elves because of their ears, but their skin was a lovely olive color. I stared at them for a few minutes wondering where I was and what had happened. Maybe I had walked longer than I thought. Maybe I was still dreaming.

“Come over here boy, and help out.”

Looking around, I saw no one else. So, I walked over and helped as best I could. I think I made things harder, but they said I was useful. They made up a room for me, and said I could stay as long as I liked. Then a year ago, I woke up and they were gone. There was a note on the bedside table. It wasn’t in elvish, but I knew how to read it. “It’s time to figure out who you are. Travel into town and find some adventuring companions. They’ll be able to help you.”