Sorenne

Sorenne was born into a life of wealth and stature on the 26th day of the 4th month of Shorka the Cobra in the year of the Amber Phoenix, 346 years after the victory of Lanival the Redeemer in the busy town of Crossing. Her mother, the only child of a wealthy S'Kra Mur trader, was an opinionated woman, and had a fitting career as a professor of linguistics at Asemath Academy where she told students what to think and in how many ways their differing opinions were wrong.

Sorenne was expected to follow in her footsteps, career-wise. She knew nothing of her father, who presumably died in an invasion just before she was born. Her mother would never speak of him.

From the moment she could speak, Sorenne was thrust into every aspect of academia, despite all her protests. She hated the life at the Academy and yearned to find her own path, but her mother would not be denied.

On her 13th birthday, Sorenne was told that she would be sent to a prominent University in the south. The thought of being stuck forever in a profession she never wanted was so horrifying that she ran away from home in the spirit of teenage rebellion.

With meager funds and an appalling lack of provisions, she soon found herself stranded on the pier at Riverhaven. An old, battle-weary Paladin took pity on the scared and hungry girl, offering her food and shelter in his home near Therenborough.

They lived comfortably in his rustic cabin for a few years. He never questioned her about her past, and she never asked him about his. Over the years, he taught her to fight and protect herself. He was an avid reader, and, in time, she learnt to appreciate the value of books. Perhaps, most importantly, he taught her the principles by which he lived his life.

Two days after her 18th birthday, she returned to the cabin after a successful hunting trip to find her dear friend collapsed on the ground. His heart had grown weary of life and simply stopped beating. Her time in Therenborough was at an end. His death signaled the end of her self-imposed exile, and she knew she had to return home to make peace with her mother.

She returned home too late, however.

Crossing is a city prone to attacks from vile creatures. The night before Sorenne's return, her mother had been killed in an unexpected invasion.

Seeking solace from her grief and guilt at the local chapel, she felt the hands of the Gods upon her: comforting and guiding her. She grew strong in spirit and ventured out into the war-torn streets of Crossing. Sorrow's army was powerful and many valiant warriors of Zoluren had perished.

Dragging the fallen corpse of a mighty Valkyrie, she entered the garden of a glorious temple where an emergency triage had been set up. As she watched people rush to aid the corpses brought there, she felt the whisper of a harp's song brushing her soul while a faint smell of brimstone surrounded her. Glancing down, she saw a golden cobra coiled beside the corpse of the barbarian she had rescued. No one else seemed to have noticed.

Sorenne gazed at the fallen Valkyrie whose soul wept for redemption as her memories slipped away with each passing moment. Sorenne somehow sensed that this warrior was in high favor with the Gods as the fighter spirit offered reverent worship to her God, Everild, to care for her in the afterlife. Without quite realizing how, Sorenne found herself chanting a prayer to the Gods to make the fallen warrior's memories whole....and her prayer was answered!

As a benevolent Shaman knelt down before the healed barbarian, he began to call forth the Gods' gift of life to be given to the dead warrior. The air seemed to quiver with the power of the Holy and the Valkyrie drew breath once again. Offering thanks to the Gods and to all who had aided, the Valkyrie hugged everyone. The exhausted Shaman rested on a pallet laid aside for his use. He looked up to see Sorenne gazing at him in awe, and he winked at her.

It was on that day that she found her calling to serve the Gods.

To this day, she continues to cling to the teachings of her first mentor, incorporating his stern, unyielding principles to the teachings of her Gods...and the city she once hated with a passion became her one true home.

---- THe ENd ----

Last Revised: 06/27/03