Sagiro
Rodent of Uncertain Parentage
Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 148
The following was mostly written by PirateCat as part of his character's backstory. I've made some small additions and changes.
cue flashback
It is just over 10 years ago, and a straight rain is falling hard and cold. Mellendiel Brightmirror peeks out the window of the rickety covered wagon and watches trees and farms roll past, blurred by the downpour. Idly he rubs a swollen bruise on his face, still sore after four days. A neighborhood kid had thrown a rock at him while he was preparing to leave Tal Korum, cutting his cheek and slightly chipping one of his tusk-like lower teeth.
He thinks about the kid – an older boy of almost thirteen called Spark. Spark is considered a good lad in town, smart, helpful, always respectful of his elders. Nobody had seen him throw the rock, and no one would have believed Mellendiel had he felt like complaining. But Mellendiel had said nothing. Plenty of kids had hurled stones at him over the years, and he at them. But now he was leaving them all behind, and there was no point in continuing any feuds. He is being taken to Tal Hae, the Great Wooden City, to be made a slave of the church.
No one had ever actually used the word “slave,” but Mellendiel knows that’s what is meant. His grandfather, Cormin, has been telling him for years that someday he would be shipped to Tal Hae to be made a ward of the Church of Delioch. They’d show him. If Mellendiel thought his grandfather a harsh taskmaster, he would be in for a rude awakening in Tal Hae. The Church would be unwavering in its discipline, and would not be anywhere near as patient as his grandfather with his truancy and thieving.
Mellendiel hates his grandfather, and that hate is returned in kind. Only his kindly grandmother Sarabel has kept Cormin from administering even more severe beatings all through the years of his youth. Still, Cormin is quick to apply a healthy bit of corporal punishment for any number of misdeeds. Mellendiel often deserves it, to be sure, but that does not soften his sullen resentment. He knows the source of his grandfather’s hatred, and his own helpless role therein. Cormin has never made any secret of the tale of Mellendiel’s birth.
Mellendiel’s mother, Saramin Lightbellow, had lived in Tal Korum with her new husband Dalsmith. Only three months after their midsummer wedding the town was overrun and partially burned in an attack by the Heartcarver Tribe of orcs. By the time the Stormknights arrived or any militia was organized, the orcs had looted the town and returned to their hills. It is thought that the fairly rare attack occurred at the demand of the tribal shaman, Gruschak of the Five Eyes, who predicted that the winter would be harsh and thus the tribe would need additional food stores to survive. Ironically, the following winter was the mildest in fourteen years.
During the attack, Dalsmith was cut down by three orc soldiers while defending his forge and his wife. Saramin was discovered sometime later -- horribly abused and bleeding internally, she had survived the attack, but was lapsed into a deep sleep from which even the Healer’s apprentice (for the Healer had been slain in a single blow by the Orcish champion) could not lift her.
In the weeks that followed, Saramin’s parents were summoned, for they were worshippers of Delioch and could care for the girl. Under their care Saramin regained her consciousness but not her wits. She would slip into and out of a delirium, never truly understanding where she was or what had happened. Worse, it was soon obvious that the girl was pregnant. No one knew for sure whether it was a child of Dalsmith or of the orc raiders, but both Cormin and Sarabel Brightmirror prayed for the best while fearing the worst for their daughter.
As Saramin’s time grew near, her health worsened and her delirium grew worse. Concerned, her father Cormin left Tal Korum for the Church of Delioch in Tal Hae, in the hopes of bringing back a more experienced Woundtender than the village possessed. Cormin’s foresight was wise, but luck was not on his side, for Saramin went into labor that same night he left.
The labor was a long one, and the small wooden house often rang with screams of pain. Saramin was lucid through part of it, and despite the pain, she begged her mother to care for the child if she could not. Secretly, Cormin and Sarabel had agreed that if the child were orcish, it would be better for all concerned if the baby were left in the wilderness; Sarabel agreed to her daughter’s wishes nonetheless.
When the baby was born, it was clear that the child was not entirely human. The baby boy had a grayish-black tongue, and the shape of his face carried the hint of an orcish strain. Other than this, he was a healthy screaming child, and Sarabel was able to hold and feed him before she finally died the next day. When Cormin returned with a Healer, it was to find his daughter dead and his wife stubbornly refusing to give up the inhuman baby that had killed once already.
The child was taken to the Brightmirrors’ home under Sarabel’s protection and over Cormin’s protestations. There they named him Mellendiel, and old elvish name meaning “Unexpected”, and raised him as best they could.
Mellendiel’s childhood was not especially pleasant. Other than a neighbor’s large dog, he had no friends to speak of. The village boys all taunted him and threw rocks when they could, and gangs of boys beat him up whenever they caught him. Pieter Roofswallow, one of the worst bullies, made up the nickname “Coaltongue.” Mellendiel became a loner, sullen and angry, and spent much of his free time tormenting his pursuers with malicious pranks.
At home, things weren’t much better. He received distant affection from his grandmother, who tried to protect him from the worst of his grandfather’s rages. His Grandfather, however, grew progressively colder and more distant to him. His grandfather grew more and more religious, often spending hours praying while Mellendiel would do chores about the house.
Mellendiel survived in this unhappy environment until age 11. In the winter his Grandmother took ill and died within two days. The death plunged his grandfather into a black depression, and it was but two weeks after the funeral that Mellendiel found himself being taken by wagon to Tal Hae.
That was four days ago. Mellendiel’s grandfather has hardly spoken a word to him during the journey, which is a blessing to the boy. In a few hours they will arrive in Tal Hae, and he will never have to see his grandfather again.
The driver curses as the carriage becomes stuck. The dirt road is sodden, the wheel-ruts filled with mud in the heavy rain, and Mellendiel is ordered out to help push. He does so with neither complaint nor enthusiasm. Half and hour later he gets back into the carriage, drenched and dripping. His grandfather glares at him, as the wagon lumbers slowly forward.
As the hours pass and the daylight wanes behind the sheets of rain, the farms become more numerous outside and they start to pass other travelers on the road. A few minutes later Mellendiel is staring wide-eyed at the towering wooden walls of Tal Hae. He has never seen a city before – the crowds, the shops, the clusters of beggars and urchins in the streets. A few minutes later the wagon is pulling up to a large wood and brick cathedral, the Healing Hand symbol of Delioch prominent above its façade. His grandfather motions at him to get out.
A man stands outside the church, awaiting his arrival. When he sees the half-orcish boy, his lips quirk in a cruel smile. Mellendiel sees that the man’s face is covered with scars. “You’ll get yours soon enough,” his grandfather laughs. “As I’ve often told you, the Scarbearers of Delioch understand punishment. You’ll finally pay right for your behavior.”
Mellendiel gets out and stands in the rain, and the scarred cleric walks over to speak briefly with Cormin. “I am called Califax,” the man says. “This is the boy?”
Cormin nods, and pushes his grandson forward.
“See if you can’t make something of yourself, make up for all the pain you’ve caused” are the last works his Grandfather says, before he rides away from the Church’s gate in the old black wagon.
One of the first things offered to the new initiate is the chance to choose a new name, as a symbol of his new life in the church. Mellendiel immediately chooses “Dranko,” an orcish word meaning “Unwelcome.”
The following was mostly written by PirateCat as part of his character's backstory. I've made some small additions and changes.
cue flashback
It is just over 10 years ago, and a straight rain is falling hard and cold. Mellendiel Brightmirror peeks out the window of the rickety covered wagon and watches trees and farms roll past, blurred by the downpour. Idly he rubs a swollen bruise on his face, still sore after four days. A neighborhood kid had thrown a rock at him while he was preparing to leave Tal Korum, cutting his cheek and slightly chipping one of his tusk-like lower teeth.
He thinks about the kid – an older boy of almost thirteen called Spark. Spark is considered a good lad in town, smart, helpful, always respectful of his elders. Nobody had seen him throw the rock, and no one would have believed Mellendiel had he felt like complaining. But Mellendiel had said nothing. Plenty of kids had hurled stones at him over the years, and he at them. But now he was leaving them all behind, and there was no point in continuing any feuds. He is being taken to Tal Hae, the Great Wooden City, to be made a slave of the church.
No one had ever actually used the word “slave,” but Mellendiel knows that’s what is meant. His grandfather, Cormin, has been telling him for years that someday he would be shipped to Tal Hae to be made a ward of the Church of Delioch. They’d show him. If Mellendiel thought his grandfather a harsh taskmaster, he would be in for a rude awakening in Tal Hae. The Church would be unwavering in its discipline, and would not be anywhere near as patient as his grandfather with his truancy and thieving.
Mellendiel hates his grandfather, and that hate is returned in kind. Only his kindly grandmother Sarabel has kept Cormin from administering even more severe beatings all through the years of his youth. Still, Cormin is quick to apply a healthy bit of corporal punishment for any number of misdeeds. Mellendiel often deserves it, to be sure, but that does not soften his sullen resentment. He knows the source of his grandfather’s hatred, and his own helpless role therein. Cormin has never made any secret of the tale of Mellendiel’s birth.
Mellendiel’s mother, Saramin Lightbellow, had lived in Tal Korum with her new husband Dalsmith. Only three months after their midsummer wedding the town was overrun and partially burned in an attack by the Heartcarver Tribe of orcs. By the time the Stormknights arrived or any militia was organized, the orcs had looted the town and returned to their hills. It is thought that the fairly rare attack occurred at the demand of the tribal shaman, Gruschak of the Five Eyes, who predicted that the winter would be harsh and thus the tribe would need additional food stores to survive. Ironically, the following winter was the mildest in fourteen years.
During the attack, Dalsmith was cut down by three orc soldiers while defending his forge and his wife. Saramin was discovered sometime later -- horribly abused and bleeding internally, she had survived the attack, but was lapsed into a deep sleep from which even the Healer’s apprentice (for the Healer had been slain in a single blow by the Orcish champion) could not lift her.
In the weeks that followed, Saramin’s parents were summoned, for they were worshippers of Delioch and could care for the girl. Under their care Saramin regained her consciousness but not her wits. She would slip into and out of a delirium, never truly understanding where she was or what had happened. Worse, it was soon obvious that the girl was pregnant. No one knew for sure whether it was a child of Dalsmith or of the orc raiders, but both Cormin and Sarabel Brightmirror prayed for the best while fearing the worst for their daughter.
As Saramin’s time grew near, her health worsened and her delirium grew worse. Concerned, her father Cormin left Tal Korum for the Church of Delioch in Tal Hae, in the hopes of bringing back a more experienced Woundtender than the village possessed. Cormin’s foresight was wise, but luck was not on his side, for Saramin went into labor that same night he left.
The labor was a long one, and the small wooden house often rang with screams of pain. Saramin was lucid through part of it, and despite the pain, she begged her mother to care for the child if she could not. Secretly, Cormin and Sarabel had agreed that if the child were orcish, it would be better for all concerned if the baby were left in the wilderness; Sarabel agreed to her daughter’s wishes nonetheless.
When the baby was born, it was clear that the child was not entirely human. The baby boy had a grayish-black tongue, and the shape of his face carried the hint of an orcish strain. Other than this, he was a healthy screaming child, and Sarabel was able to hold and feed him before she finally died the next day. When Cormin returned with a Healer, it was to find his daughter dead and his wife stubbornly refusing to give up the inhuman baby that had killed once already.
The child was taken to the Brightmirrors’ home under Sarabel’s protection and over Cormin’s protestations. There they named him Mellendiel, and old elvish name meaning “Unexpected”, and raised him as best they could.
Mellendiel’s childhood was not especially pleasant. Other than a neighbor’s large dog, he had no friends to speak of. The village boys all taunted him and threw rocks when they could, and gangs of boys beat him up whenever they caught him. Pieter Roofswallow, one of the worst bullies, made up the nickname “Coaltongue.” Mellendiel became a loner, sullen and angry, and spent much of his free time tormenting his pursuers with malicious pranks.
At home, things weren’t much better. He received distant affection from his grandmother, who tried to protect him from the worst of his grandfather’s rages. His Grandfather, however, grew progressively colder and more distant to him. His grandfather grew more and more religious, often spending hours praying while Mellendiel would do chores about the house.
Mellendiel survived in this unhappy environment until age 11. In the winter his Grandmother took ill and died within two days. The death plunged his grandfather into a black depression, and it was but two weeks after the funeral that Mellendiel found himself being taken by wagon to Tal Hae.
That was four days ago. Mellendiel’s grandfather has hardly spoken a word to him during the journey, which is a blessing to the boy. In a few hours they will arrive in Tal Hae, and he will never have to see his grandfather again.
The driver curses as the carriage becomes stuck. The dirt road is sodden, the wheel-ruts filled with mud in the heavy rain, and Mellendiel is ordered out to help push. He does so with neither complaint nor enthusiasm. Half and hour later he gets back into the carriage, drenched and dripping. His grandfather glares at him, as the wagon lumbers slowly forward.
As the hours pass and the daylight wanes behind the sheets of rain, the farms become more numerous outside and they start to pass other travelers on the road. A few minutes later Mellendiel is staring wide-eyed at the towering wooden walls of Tal Hae. He has never seen a city before – the crowds, the shops, the clusters of beggars and urchins in the streets. A few minutes later the wagon is pulling up to a large wood and brick cathedral, the Healing Hand symbol of Delioch prominent above its façade. His grandfather motions at him to get out.
A man stands outside the church, awaiting his arrival. When he sees the half-orcish boy, his lips quirk in a cruel smile. Mellendiel sees that the man’s face is covered with scars. “You’ll get yours soon enough,” his grandfather laughs. “As I’ve often told you, the Scarbearers of Delioch understand punishment. You’ll finally pay right for your behavior.”
Mellendiel gets out and stands in the rain, and the scarred cleric walks over to speak briefly with Cormin. “I am called Califax,” the man says. “This is the boy?”
Cormin nods, and pushes his grandson forward.
“See if you can’t make something of yourself, make up for all the pain you’ve caused” are the last works his Grandfather says, before he rides away from the Church’s gate in the old black wagon.
One of the first things offered to the new initiate is the chance to choose a new name, as a symbol of his new life in the church. Mellendiel immediately chooses “Dranko,” an orcish word meaning “Unwelcome.”
