------------- The Lions of Martek – Rashad

“Apparently, I was fated to live amongst heavily furred creatures. This was perhaps the reason we became known as the Lions of Martek. I sensed that the Pouarr was wild and free with her passions, though she exercised some restraint following our first meeting. It would be several weeks before I sampled the pleasures of that not so delicate flower. Others of our growing band, however, would never sample the delights of the flesh. Much is their loss.”

“Rashad is the one who comes to mind. It had been my thought that only the priests of certain faiths declare themselves both celibate and chaste. But for all practical purposes, those of the Kar’Thane order might as well be monks. Such is their code of conduct. So high and mighty were his morals that I feared he would yet decide to exercise his piety upon me. Were it not for the moderating presence of others of calmer demeanor and more practical heads, he might well have.”

“I met Rashad several days after my encounter with Nightfire. I was on the east side of Kaibar, on business I would rather not mention. There was always the threat that certain groups or organizations would take advantage of my lack of formal affiliation. Perhaps the worst of these threats were the infidel Tarkanian dogs that invaded every corner of the empire and three other kingdoms as well. They owed their allegiance to demon Gods and nature spirits. Who can trust such people? Godless pigs.”

“Needless to say, on this particular day, the blessings of my mother ran out and I found myself accosted by a half dozen Tarkanian ruffians. As the fight ensued, I was hard pressed to escape with my meager life. That’s when a flying whirlwind of sand yellow fur leapt into the fray. A strange sound pressed my ears, a buzzing, humming sound like nothing I had ever heard, and a light of pure blue-white split the shadows of the alleyway. All too late I recognized the sight and sound of the fluxrift of a Kar’Thane. I expected the Tarkanians to be disemboweled or cut wholly in two. Alas, it was not to be. Some odd power of this particular Kar’Thane allowed him to merely club the brigands with his fluxrift rather than hack them to pieces. Such was my poor fortune. No doubt I will yet have to see a dagger in their throats by my own hand.”

“The Kar’Thane was a Hebat, one of the desert Fellnari, who looked like a lion standing as a man. He was young and fresh to the world outside the Kar’Thane Academy. His acrobatic skill, agility and stealth rivaled my own. Were it not for his presumption and high moral tone, we might have become good friends. As it was, it would take many months before we even learned to trust one another.”

------------- Credits

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