The History of Hengst PferdRitter

The History of Hengst PferdRitter

Wed Jan 13 22:25:56 1999

The enclosed document being the brief history of the warrior, Hengst

PferdRitter, as requested by Sir Mogul and penned by Zilo, Mage of

Althainia.

The valley, that would have to be where I would start the story of

my life. I was born the first son of Maller PferdRitter, Baron

of PferdeHeim and my mother Ingrida. Our home was a small keep at

the entrance of an alpine valley in the mountains north and east

of Althainia. To say we were removed from the world would be an

understatement. Our little community, the Hamlet PferdeHeim and

our home PferdeSchloss, was very self contained and protected. Our

biggest threat, the giants of the mountains, cease to bother the vale

for fear of my father's troops. My siblings and I were raised to the

hunt and saddle, for horses are a stock in trade for our village,

bartered for those things we required from the outside world. That,

along with a little farming and mining, provides all we need. My

upbringing was always under the teachings of Austinian, my instructor,

Hrosmarshal Uhri von Seydlitz, my fathers Seneschal. It was he

who gave me my first teachings of the sword and lance. I rode the

alpine ways, honing my skills upon the beasts and foul brethren

stalking the dark places of the land, for it was our vigilant policing

of these creatures that kept us safe, our men-at-arms well trained.

It was a happy, peaceful time.

Nearing my eighteenth year, the few visitors we recieved to the vale

began to speak of the dark clouds of war sweeping over the world, of

soldiers marching to battle and the death that crept like a plague.

The giants became bolder, making new forays. Evil was on the rise.

At the peak of it all, I fell victim to an ambush, beset by a small

host of hobgoblins bent upon my demise. I was a fool, traveling the

woods alone. Backed into a tiny granite cleft, my fallen mount blocking

the entrance, I would not last long. My salvation came in the form

of a unicorn, one of the protected in our vale from before a PferdRitter

had settled there. White luminescence hovered in a cloud around him

as he set my tormentors on their heels, dropping three of them with

hooves and horn as they stood stunned. This new twist unlike any they

could imagine, for all knew of the elusive unicorn of the vale, it was

rarely seen. As the remainder melted into the pines, he turned to me

and nodded once. Hrosmarshal Uhri and my father's troops found me

standing near my mount, alone. My recollections of what time that

passed, if any, gone. The unicorn, gone, none of them had seen it.

My life spared, I am certain, by the will of Austinian that day.

My path clear to me, I would help others as the unicorn had helped me.

Find those distraught and in need and render what assistance I could.

My father and Hrosmarshal Uhri agreed, they felt it a good idea for

me to travel from the valley, to learn of events in the world and do

what I could. Ultimately, I would return, when it was my time, to

safeguard the vale, better for my knowledge. Better fit to carry the

burden of Baron. My mother feared for me, but in time, admitted it

was for the best. With everyone's blessings, I left the vale.

The world outside my mountain home was alien to me. The bloodshed

and conflict was horrid. People fighting in the very streets of the

cities. I sought refuge in the hallowed walls of the Church of

Austinian, the very air seeming to renew my spirit and resolve. It was

soon after finding this bastion that I discovered the Order that

resided there and their leader, Lioness. Never had I dealt with the

elves that ventured as far as my home. Lioness quickly became my

mentor as I had found my home away from home and my new teacher.

Within the ranks of the Order I sought to aid all I could, growing

in strength for my efforts. Working to staunch the wounds that war

wrought upon the ravaged peoples of the lands. An insatiable

curiosity to explore the land and learn of all the wonders I had

never dreamt of grew upon me quickly. Knowledge is power and the more

I knew, the more I was able to be of help. Seeking out opportunistic

creatures that sought to take advantage of the constant conflict

that raged across the land and beat them back were needed. This was

my element, to be of aid and thwarting the base creatures of evil.

Time passed quickly for me within the Order and soon I found to

further my knowledge in the standing of a holy warrior of Austinian

I must seek teachings from another source. To walk the path of a

paladin I needed the wisdom of the Knights of Gareth Keep, it was

something Lioness, in all her wisdom, could not teach me.

So I entered the Knighthood with the blessings of Lord Seal and a

large sacrifice of treasures I had gleaned from those beasts that

hoarded them I had slew in my travels. I squired to Sir Mogul and

quickly sought to learn and be of assistance in any way possible.

The trials I have faced as a squire within the Knighthood are unlike

any I had encountered before. The evil the Knighthood sought to

vanquish were more cunning than I could have imagined, moreso than

any I had encountered in the past. The dark knights of Eclipse,

the spiteful Malice, the sinister mages of the Black Robes, the

scourge of the Pirates, all were soon hunting me. The leaders and

generals were my opponents, sending me packing time and again.

Their tactics well planned and organized. Not the disorganized

beasts I was used to. As I strive to become a knight I seek to learn

these tactics. To drive them back to their dismal lairs and protect

those who would fall victim to them. My time within the walls of

Gareth Keep has blessed me with the knowing of a good many other

noble combatants. I feel quite lucky to know the Knights of Gareth

and all of their allies. I feel blessed to call them friends. At

this point we have reached the present, the remainder of my life is

yet to be seen. I have discovered my brother Varner has traveled

from the vale. I must go seek him out, it has been so long since

I have had news from home.

A Prayer for a Student – a song of Hengst PferdRitter

Teacher, oh Teacher, finest master mage,

No one ever told me that I would be a teacher when I came to age.

Now I have students, and them I cannot fail,

But what do I do when into the wind one of them wishes to sail?

Teacher, oh Teacher, what do you do,

When a student brings home a spell that's foreign to you?

I could forbid him to cast it, claim it would lead him astray,

But the paths to good are many, and perhaps he should find his own way.

Teacher, oh Teacher, I look to the full moon.

Magic is in the air now, and he'll need to level soon.

Neither juggle or study spellcraft; nor two daggers will he wield,

Falls from his horse; gods forbid he try to strike anything with his shield.

Teacher, oh Teacher, I'm at wits end.

This human cannot be taught, so away for a miracle I must send.

May our Father bless him, and brother Nadrik forgive his sin,

For this noble little human's only wish, is to serve the light as a paladin.

Teacher, oh Teacher, the moon rises and the tide flows in.

I think I know what to do now; it has been a long path for him,

But he is almost there now, and this tide will not abate.

For gods sakes I think he could ride a unicorn, at least send him a mate.

Teacher, oh Teacher, finest master mage.

No one ever told me that I would be a teacher when I came to age.

Now I have students, and they will not fail,

For we will cast a magewind, and into the light we will sail.

- Lioness Tygereye, Bard of the Austinians

A Tale of Sir Hengst PferdRitter

Once upon a time there was an Austinian by the name of Hengst Pferdritter. A warrior of good, he went about the lands exploring and performing the standard set of good sorts of deeds that Austinians like to do. Like handing out free frenzies in the church. I know this because I was there getting frenzied whenever I saw him. I attended church very regularly at that point in my life.

So, in addition to his good deeds and helping improve church attendance; he trained hoping to be a holy warrior someday. A real true to life old-fashioned, fairy-tale Paladin of Austinian. Naturally, the only people in the world who are successful at training paladins are the Knights of Gareth's Keep.

No matter how pious or how hard he swung his shield around, he couldn't quite get the knack of the whole gig. None of the Austinians could really help him either, but for the pious part. So really what they had here was a very pious warrior who couldn't use two swords and dropped his shield a lot.

This sort of behavior could only lead to heartbreak, tragedy, and someone loosing an eye. So the Order's holy mother, Lioness, pulled a few strings, or strung up a few contacts, and got him enlisted in the Knighthood. Naturally knowing that (while he was a very nice, pious warrior, mind you) he would without a doubt run into some difficulties in an army, so she also convinced some renegade elvish crusader of Kwainin to shadow him.

Now, why some renegade elvish crusader of Kwainin was working for the Church, I don't know. No one appreciates a whistle blower on church corruption matters. Especially my grandmama Amberillo who whipped me good the time I took a pair of communion wafers and set them in over my eyes and then asked the high priest to cure my blind. If you think our resident Champion of Austinian's holy wrath is scary, you ain't never seen my grandmama's.

At any rate, the important part is now we have Hengst in the Knighthood, and some mercenary elf lurking about. We can also mention Sir Mogul at this point too, as he was the paladin that took Hengst on as a squire. Sir Mogul is one of the most handsomest, dashing, strongest palies who has ever lived and not taken a vow of chastity.

As you might have guessed, our hero was having difficulties with life in the clan. I also was having difficulties at this time and my church attendance really started to decline. An albino hermit druid by the name of Alyka also was having difficulties adjusting.

She rather enjoyed exploring, and regularly employed our hero as a partner in such endeavors while he was an Austinian. Being rather miffed that her companion had gone off to war instead of remaining around to help her with exploration of the world, she left in a huff, uttered the famous phase 'who needs him any ways?' and went to explore the savage lands by herself.

I'm no battle strategist or great tactician as any of the armies of darkness will vouch for me, but I'm sure we all see the potential danger in this situation.

Druids like to hug trees. Naturally the druidess climbed up the first tree she could.

Tri-kreen like to sacrifice people. Naturally the shaman slept the druid when she first set foot in his tree.

Being a hermit has a distinct disadvantage in that you don't get out and visit many social events where you can meet people. Another disadvantage to being a hermit is that if you get slept and left for dead, its not likely anyone will miss you. Fortunately the time alone had allowed the druidess to master the powers of the elements. So with all her might her sleeping mind called on the earth and air to send a message anyone who might help her.

Fortunately at this time Hengst was in the clan hall knocking the dust out of Sir Mogul's boots. The dirt fell onto the ground, spelling out a distress message:

'Fair warrior, I have been slept by the Tri-kreen shaman. Stop. Please aid me soon before I am sacrificed. Stop.'

I saw a similar sort of message in my holy beer once. It went kind of like this:

'Datai, you've had enough, Stop.'

Hengst, who by now was very sick of patrol with the knights, sprung into action. Rescues in exotic places are just the sort of thing he lived for, and lance and shield in hand, he raced off to the rescue. In his haste he hadn't bothered to take any counter measures against being slept himself. Mightily and full of holy fury he charged into the shaman's tree, and mightily and full of momentum he collapsed into sleep beside the druidess.

At this point we have to stop and point out that here we have not only a very deadly situation, but also one with the potential for scandal. There might be a delay in Hengst's training as a paladin should it get out in the improper sort of manner that Hengst has been slept with a woman.

Just when things were looking bleak, the mysterious renegade elven crusader arrived on the scene. Naturally he noticed what must have transpired, and took counter measures against being slept. He then soundly maladicted and beat Hengst on the head until he woke up. Now awake, out hero (Hengst, not the elf) gazed on the sleeping form of his friend. A new problem arose in that he had no idea how to rouse her.

Alyka was a monk of the winds, devout to her Goddess, she was granted safety from the attacks of most people. Tri-kreen don't qualify as people as they look like bugs. I don't know about you, but I mercilessly pound bugs with my boots. Nothing like bugs that can spoil an otherwise romantic continent like Tropica. Not that Hengst would rouse her in such the rude manner he was saved himself.

Of course, we all know the most perfect manner to rouse someone from a cursed sleep is love's first kiss. Even a good lustful one can yield many positive results. Nothing in the lands is near as magical or potentially powerful than a kiss. It can turn frogs into warlocks, mermaids into girls, wooden puppets into real boys, boys into men, and priests into sinners. With this one magical kiss, surely any spell or vow of chastity could break.

Came to the Knighthood with faith and knowledge,

Yet in Arkane Town Center this was little edge,

Gentle warrior was little good in a fight,

But he would patrol far and wide as is right,

As we travel onwards we cannot always return,

But always we carry the lessons we learn,

What his wise elders of the Order did teach,

Aside from how to rescue damsels and preach,

Was geography, and what is more,

Magical secrets to aid in his tour,

On his patrol with a simple prayer,

He knew a way to randomly appear anywhere,

Again and again he would ride,

Trying to land where evil did hide,

What he hoped to do, he'd not thought that far,

Thankfully Austinian watched over His rising star,

As we travel onwards we cannot always return,

But always we carry the lessons we learn,

One fateful day his random patrol did land,

On rocking wooden floor he did slowly stand,

In the stinking hold of a beastly ship,

Carefully above deck he did slip,

Anchored at rest in cove vile and black,

Pirates snoozing in hall after their latest attack,

Their pride, The Wraith, needed no introduction,

Sir Hengst took advantage of the rum consumption,

For among the lessons his Elders did avail,

Was how to operate a ship and sail,

As we travel onwards we cannot always return,

But always we carry the lessons we learn,

Plank hoisted, ropes tied, anchor raised,

Mast climbed, sails unfurled, he was hardly phased,

What's a Knight to do with pirate ship found?

Obviously sail to the Armada to impound!

"Avast, Pirates!" called their kender lookout,

But only a Knight above deck to return the shout,

"I haf captured der Vraith, vere should I dock?"

All gaped, amazed, only the kender could talk,

So to Sir Hengst the Armada had praise and thanks,

News of his single-handed feat spread through the ranks,

As we travel onwards we cannot always return,

But always we carry the lessons we learn,

The Pirates were delivered the ultimate humiliation,

For days we heard cries of anger, indignation,

Yet through the din the question arose:

How did Sir Hengst do it? No one knows!

Perhaps Austinian's hand placed him there?

But to one inquiring bard the truth he did share:

Deep within Arkainia's enchanted wood,

Locked in the Crystal palace a portal stood,

Years later curiosity would lead me that way,

The Gods of Magic had closed it, to my dismay.

As we travel onwards we cannot always return,

But always we carry the lessons we learn.

Lorekeeper Datai d'Aggravaine