Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tonks" data-source="post: 2997864" data-attributes="member: 42402">I know I said I wouldn't do a write up for the Hadozee fighter, but after an idea hit me this morning I went ahead and jotted it down.Ghent: Hadozee Polearm fighrer (glaive spec) who will be focusing on the feats in Dragon Compendium. I will list them all out as he takes them if you accept that source.[sblock=history]Although the hadozee take pride on being a peaceful race, it would be foolish to assume they achieved that peace by remaining ignorant in the ways of combat. Drawing their guardians mainly from young males seeking to increase their chances of taking a mate, Ghent sought neither the fame of service, nor the luxury of a mate. He wished only to learn the skills of a fighter and towards the end of his training, to find a ship that would carry him away from his homeland.Ghent’s lineage was neither impressive nor unimpressive, as his parents were simple gatherers of fish and fruit that the islands provided for them. They did however embrace the tenants of being fruitful and multiplying, bringing Ghent into the world as their seventh child. While the islands and their extended families ensured that Ghent and his siblings never lacked for anything, he often felt out of place among his carefree people. While his brothers and sisters went to the cliffs to go diving, Ghent would watch the older males practice with their weapons. He would then run into the woods to practice the maneuvers he saw with bamboo weapons he made for himself. It was not long before Ghent’s spying became common knowledge and he was allowed to join as a squire, a courtesy title given to young hadozees who wished to play soldier when they were young. Ghent soon proved though that while he was young, he did not merely wish to play at learning an adult’s art.Although he was gifted with size and strength at a young age, Ghent’s parents were not comfortable with having their son engaging in close combat training and begged the teachers to keep him away from battle drills without making it obvious that they were doing so. This selfish act on their part turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Ghent, as it allowed him to be introduced to the ceremonial weapon of the hadozees; a glaive.Initially he practiced only with a heavy wooden replica of the weapon, allowing him to grow accustomed to the weight and length, and after a year of focused practice, he was handling the complicated drills assigned to him with ease. Surprised at Ghent’s seemingly natural talent with the weapon, it was decided to allow him to begin practicing with a real, although unsharpened, weapon. Again Ghent pursued his practice with the weapon with a single minded determination that was beginning to draw the praise of the true fighters and scorn from the older males who were being upstaged by the young protégé.The next spring allowed Ghent to be considered for acceptance as a student instead of a squire and his parents knew their youngest could not be persuaded to consider any life outside of soldiering. Giving their consent to him, Ghent packed his few belongings and moved into the young male barracks. At the age of fourteen, Ghent already had two years of training on those who joined simply to be guardsmen by the fall mating season and after upstaging many males who he faced in the placement outings, he was selected for advanced training. The next three years passed in a blur as Ghent seemed to live only for the hours he could train and disassociated himself further from his family. This distancing would prove to be his undoing when his family was approached in regards to the marriage of Ghent to the daughter head of the royal guards. Seeing the promise in any children that Ghent would father, the older soldier assumed that Ghent would comply and be pleased with the reward for years of hard work, training, and service. Although Ghent had been untested in true combat, he had fared well against the normal threats to fishermen and harvesters on the islands and the chances of him ever being needed for more than that was remote at best.Delighted with the offer, his family said yes immediately assuming Ghent was aware of the offer as well, but when the news finally did reach him, Ghent’s reaction was far different than his parents’. Enraged by what he saw as a betrayal from the mentor he trusted above all others in his life; Ghent left the islands of his people rather than be seen as little more than breeding stock. Taking only his armor and blades, Ghent turned his back on his people and swore he would not return until he was seen as a true warrior in all eyes.Three months later, Ghent arrived in Sasserine and although he has only been in the city a short time, he has already bested three men who thought he was nothing more than a talking ape. How long he remains in the city is anyone’s guess though.[/sblock]</blockquote>

Verification