((Hey folks, first post on these forums, thought I'd start with the introduction of a young Calahan, hope you like it))
Humble Beginnings
Prologue
The story starts on a farmhold in the Hillsbrad foothills, set thirteen years before present day Warcraft and 7 years after the Second War. The character in question is a young 17 year old named Calahan Scully, he's roughly six foot tall, with a head of long brown hair. Spending his childhood and adolescence both working the lands of his home farm and sailing the odd ship from Southshore harbour has left him in good physical shape. His parents are both farmers, a kindly sort though Calahan's parents were always more distant to him, lavishing most of their attention on his older sister who'd always take pity on him. Any questions directed about his family's history would always be turned aside, the only real indication that there was any was a series of unexplainable scars that lined his father's stomach and arms, clearly signs of warfare rather than any accidental wounds. The only real link Calahan has ever picked up on to where his roots may lie is an old family heirloom, a shotgun adorned with strange markings and unusual design, and it's here the story begins.
Chapter 1
He held his breath, carefully lifting the shotgun off its mounting and swinging the strap around his shoulder, making sure he made no sound. Easing himself back down to the ground he hurried over to the door, pausing to take one last look at his home before darting out into the cold, yet welcoming night. Running away from home, it was so romantic, so adventurous! Just like all those great heroes he and his friends so often talked about in the pub. Pa would be furious, he thought as he moved up into the familiar foothills that he called his home, not that it had ever really bothered him before. Frowning to himself as he shook his head, he was damned if he'd be spending the rest of his life stuck here in the middle of nowhere with now't to do but watch the grass grow. It was adventure he craved, fortune, fame! That dark man at the inn earlier had made it clear to him, if you wanted something out of this life, you had to take it.
After some ways climbing northwards towards Alterac, Calahan stopped and gazed back over Hillsbrad whilst the high wind whipped at his overgrowing brown hair. The sun was rising and covering the landscape with its golden rays that illuminated the fields and meadows in such a beauty he could only stand and stare. He'd never been this far from the farm on his own before, the urge to return was overbearing, but the gods seemed to deem otherwise as he shook himself and pulled his leather jacket tighter, turning around and pressing up into the freezing cliffs of Alterac.
Picking his way along the narrow track he was blissfully unaware of the set of eyes watching him from the cliffs high above with the mixed interest and anticipation one would expect of a predator. Deciding that enough was enough Calahan grunted and sprawled himself out besides the track, happy to take the weight off his feet after most of a day's walking. Rooting through his pack the youth eventually found what we was looking for, taking a greedy bite out of the bread and a long swig from his waterskin. In later days he'd still swear that he had heard absolutely nothing as something collided into the back of him, forcing his hands behind his back and pressing his face into the ground harshly. Staring at the ground, struggling vainly he cried out, "Gerro'f you filthy swine! Let me go and I'll show ya' how to fight!".
He yelped painfully as he got an elbow in the ribs for his trouble. To his dismay a voice leaned down to his ear to speak softly "My my, quite the lip you've got on you farmer boy, though I do doubt you have much bite to accompany that bark of yours". Almost suddenly the weight on his back was removed and he shot to his feet, scrambling past his jacket for a shotgun that wasn't there. Looking up hurriedly he glanced over at his attacker, stopping short and staring. The figure in front of him was the slender and supple one of a dark haired girl, it wasn't her body that had him captivated or the fact that she was pointing a loaded gun at him, but it was those blue, piercing eyes. She looked to be in her late teens, much like himself except better nurtured, obviously not from one of the farms but not quite the look of a bandit despite her leather armour and accompanying swords. Presently she giggled and smiled widely, clucking her tongue in a disapproving manner before speaking in a rich, full accent that he'd never have expected, "Seen everything yet, farmer boy? I must say this is one impressive shotgun..tell me..where did you steal it?"
"Steal it!? I'm no thief! It's mine by rights, it is! Please miss, I'm just a traveller-.." he replied warily, eyeing the two barrels of imminent death that were pointed at him.
"Just a traveller you say? You don't look like a merchant to me, sweety, or a noble..you look like a shepard, except no shepard I've ever met has had such an..interesting gun." She snapped, trailing off to look down the length of the barrel, admiring the intricate designs that were inlaid to it.
"It belonged to my father, it's his..he-..he gave it to me before I left!"
Lowering the gun and smirking at him she shrugged, throwing it back to him, "If you say so..still! Sorry about that little brush in, there have been a lot of robberies around here lately and you can never be too careful, can you?" She spoke again, her tone lowering to a calm, conversational pitch. "Father has been fretting and gallivanting all over the mountainsides with his men trying to root them out, the silly fool, they see him coming a mile off, don't you know?"
Frowning and desperately catching the gun out of the air, Calahan blinked, turning his attention back to this alluring yet seemingly insane girl and holding his mouth open in a look of dim-witted confusion. Eventually he hazarded "So-..you're -not- a bandit?" The girl simply sighed and shook her head, flicking her eyes over him quickly and grinning to herself.
"I can see you're not the sharpest of tools in the shed, are you? No, farmer boy, I'm not a bandit, quite the contrary!" She giggled mischievously and rolled her eyes. Calahan seemed content to sit and listen and look at her as she did to keep on talking. "Daddy has been quite confused, he keeps finding bandits tied and gagged to trees with their weapons piled neatly beside them, the townsfolk of Dalaran have been saying that the evil deeds of the bandits have stirred up an angry spirit from the netherworld, attacking them in their sleep and making them tie themselves to trees for them to be shipped straight into the Alterac gaols! And you know what the best part is!? The men themselves are too embarrassed to admit they got best by a young girl, so it keeps going!" Throwing her head back and laughing pleasantly, she blinked and peered over at the strangely quiet young man sat opposite her. "Have you got a name, farmer boy?"
Calahan snapped his head up, jolted from his daydreaming and offered a small smile "Aye uh, miss, it's Calahan Scul-..Calahan Sanders and uh, could I just ask if you keep your mouth closed about what you just did to me? I mean, I've got a reputation back home and I'd -never- heard the en-.." She grinned, cutting him off sharply and winking.
"I'm Mirenna, and don't worry sweety, it'll be our little secret. I'd -hate- to sully the many tales of your great deeds and heroic endeavours that the rest of your farmer friends must know -all- about" Giggling again and sticking her tongue out at him, he gulped and nodded lightly, the irony clear in her voice totally lost on him as he continued to stare. She clasped her hands together and bit her lip, her eyes lighting up as she pointed at him, talking excitedly, "Oh, I have a -wonderful- idea! You simply -must- join me for dinner this evening, you can tell daddy all about your great deeds and adventures!" To Calahan's simple mind, an invitation to dinner with this girl was everything he could ever dream of, the fact that he had no tales to speak of didn't seem to enter his mind, this must've been clear in his eyes as Mirenna's calculating and playful grin widened.
"Well-..I-.I-.guess I could stop by and rest for the evening-..though I'd hate to be a burden on anybody" He managed, as she seized his arm and began marching him along the track.
"Where do you live exactly miss Mirenna?" He managed, staggering along after her.
"Why, Alterac Keep of course -mister- 'Sanders', if that even is your real name Cal, I'm the daughter of Lord Archer of Dalaran, I'm sure he'll be delighted to meet you!" She treated him to a bright, dazzling smile.
"Did you say -LORD- Archer!?" Calahan started, dragging his heels as she carried on dragging him behind her "You want me to dine with a lord!? -With- his -daughter-!?"
Miressa snapped around in a blur, her face pressing up against his, her cheerful grin dissapearing and a small coy smile replacing it as she genty dug her teeth into her lower lip, whispering seductively "What's the matter Cal? Afraid you're not man enough to handle dinner with a real woman?"
...
