Fawkes L. H. Fairchild

FAMILY

Reino Hall, 157th Scythe of Relnu

by Dazzlinkat

He sacrificed his body so his soul could save us all

~ plaque on a pedestal near Father's wax statue~

Zeu Lake, 148th Raye of Puliro

by Dazzlinkat

She sacrificed her body so her soul could save us all

~ plaque on a pedestal near Mother's wax statue~

GRANDFATHER: SMART, OLD, AND GRUMPY

The one who raised and trained me.

I love him dearly despite his being quick with his staff when I get up to ... things.

I do not remember my parents. According to Grandfather, I was three when they died and he adopted me. Though they were sainted right after their deaths, nothing is written of what truly happened. Only the plaques set by their wax statues in the Hall of Saints hint at it. I always suspected Grandfather knew more but he never told me. I am certain he was either sworn to secrecy or he felt he had to protect me. When I was older, this bothered me. Whenever I became persistent, he became too bothered with my questions and gave me a rap or three with his staff. Eventually I gave up asking, not wanting the bother of feeling his staff. I still often wonder about them. Maybe someday I will seek the answers on my own.

THE SIMPLE YEARS

Allgods Temple Library

by Pexels

My earliest memories are of sitting on a quilt with my toys listening to Grandfather's voice. He told me stories about whatever it was he was working on. His job at the Allgods Temple Library provided him with plenty of tale-worthy work. Most of the time he worked in the library but sometimes

we were in the spooky archives.

Hey, I was very little then. Being underground was scary!

There were more than books down in the archives. Grandfather had a tale for everything.. I loved his stories. And, though I did not realize it then, he was teaching me history and other things.

Trinkets, jewelry, wall decor and even the fancy lamps in the archives had rich stories.

Like that one over there
----- >

by dimitrisvetsikas1969

by CreativeChimera

When I turned six, Grandfather packed fewer toys to make

room for my study things. Playing gave way to writing words and then sentences. He would still tell me the stories but I had to write them down until my slate or papers were full on both sides. Sometimes there were words of other languages. Along with words, he taught me my numbers. All the maths were fun for me. Grandfather made them games.

Not To Appelkamp

by Tomasz_Mikolajczyk

When I turned ten, Grandfather was about to send me to the Appelkamp Monastery, where all Acolytes of Boki are trained, but something happened. People kept coming over for tea in the evenings and others joined him at work. It was a great mystery to me and made even more so when I could never figure out what they were really saying. They were all too serious for the casual conversations they seemed to be having. I even dared to ask Grandfather but that earned me a rap from his staff and a stern,

"This is grown matters children do not understand. Now keep to your studies."

A few weeks later, he packed me up with his other things and took me with him to his new place of work, the Grand Archives. We brought alot of stuff as he had one of those travel bags that carried more than it should despite looking like the modest pack of a humble old arcane scribe.

"We're about to live in a place that will keep us away from the world for great lengths of time. Be on your best behavior."

Then, for the first time in my life, I walked through a portal.

by cocoparisienne

by Skitterphoto

His new position seemed little different from his old one as he was assigned to the Vaults, a place beneath the

Grand Archives. His work remained the same but much more... vast. There were so many more visitors leaving him less time with me. It was an odd place for a young boy and one where I grew easily bored with having to spend so much time in quiet study. I learned how to sneak off and explore the Vaults, often getting lost until Grandfather, or one of the other clerks found me digging through stacks of tomes or scrolls trying to find an answer to the tale of some strange object. Grandfather only had himself to blame as he instilled such a deep craving to know secret tales in me with all his stories.

Learning Enlightenment

The Wizards

by Dazzlinkat

The visitors who came down into The Vaults were mostly wizards or their apprentices. I learned that only noble-borns and the wealthy were taught wizardry.

Unfortunately, I also learned that such people were arrogantly oblivious to most everything and convinced that only they could comprehend... everything. Things had to be a certain way or it just was not right even if it was the truth. I watched the scribes use that to their advantage. And I learned. Watching the wizards, I also came to realize that many were learning magic because they had to. Whether it was to bring prestige to themselves or their families, their goals in learning was to impress. Most were not interested in the slow magics, the really powerfull spells that took time, effort, and deep knowledge to cast. It was a rare few who did show such interests. Grandfather and the other arcane scribes took care to watch closely. I, being young and uninterested with the tedium of watching people study, never bothered to ask why they needed watching.

The Ro

My studies were serious down in The Vaults. I learned that the clerks were actually acolytes of Boki. Grandfather, also an Acolyte, was training me to be one of them. The biggest of these lessons was learning Ro. All the other acolytes eagerly took part in my training, determined to give me as much of the monestary experience as they could. I loved it but their teachings were strict and exhausting. There were other things I wanted to study but I never

by KELLEPICS

had any time. When my frustrations would get the better of me, I would sneak deep into The Vaults, looking for something I wanted to study. Alas, I was always found and hauled back to my studies. Ugh! Complaining to Grandfather earned me a lecture on how I must learn all that the acolytes could teach. Time was short. If I kept on complaining he would rap me with his staff. Its a wonder I am not forever purple! With what few moments I had to myself, I wondered why time was so short that I could not study on my own.

Enigma

by stux

When I was twelve, Grandfather rewarded me with a pair of stone eggs that were each a foot long.

They were a puzzle. If I solved the puzzle, I could take the Trails and become a true Acolyte. For the first time, I had free rein to study whatever I wanted within The Vaults, as long as I kept up with the lessons given by him or the acolytes.

For two years I scoured the libraries within The Vaults before I discovered what to do and hatched the eggs. At age fourteen, I now had two adorable roly poly Gur puppies who grew .... really grew. They became my very best friends who love me as much as I love them. Together we ran all over

by blende12

The Vaults discovering even more things to study. I named them PeyPey and JuJu.

PeyPey

Gur by thevalkyri

He prefers to defend my home

JuJu

Gur by thevalkyri

He insists on going everywhere with me

The End Springs the Beginning

We Must Be Prepared

After the hatching of PeyPey and JuJu, Grandfather took me to the Appelkamp Monestary where I took the Trials of Enlightenment. It took everything I had but I passed them all. The masters declared me graduated and gave me my very own Acolyte's garb. After my graduation, Grandfather revealed to me that he was part of a secret order within the acolytes called the Brethren.

Brother Fawkes is a fine title.

Not only was he part of the Brethren but he was now their leader. He further explained that he only told me now because things were going to be very bad and we must expend all efforts to prepare. And by "we" he meant me as he was going to be terribly busy dealing with things within The Vaults. Most importantly, I was a still a boy so no one paid much attention to what I did. Lists. He gave me lists of things to do and places to go.

Bring this here, that there, pack these here ... no, not like that, like this! With illustrations!

Calamity

by Zotx

Grandfather had a keelboat named the Gosling During the summers we would take a portal back to the world and spend it traveling up and down the Darkwater River. We traded spices for rare supplies he could get on the cheap. Four of the acolytes joined us as his crew. My lessons changed to learned the spice trade and all things there were to know about running a keelboat. Once I graduated, these trips continued with much more determined, and hidden, agenda Grandfather refused to explain. When I turned sixteen, the bad thing finally happened and truly changed our lives. It came to be called the End of Instant, a rather poetic name to the vanishing of portal magic. Though it was terrible, I felt relieved and eager to start our new life which I now expected to be far less hectic. Grandfather, me, and four of his acolyte friends took to living aboard his the Gosling with half a dozen other

Brethren who served as our crew. We became spice traders and my training in them grew more intense, as did my training in all things keelboat related. I learned how to steer, sail, and row the Gosling as we traveled the many branches of the Darkwater. I also learned how to clean it. I know every timber, nail, rope, and canvas aboard that keelboat. So much for the far less hectic life I had dreamed of! My Ro studies continued but in strict privacy within the keelboat's cabin and only when we were away from any settlements. After that first year exhausting year after the calamity, they all named me skipper of the Gosling. It would have felt like a privilege if it had not been so the rest of the them could get up to other business when ever reached a port. Grandfather had plans. Plans he kept secret from me but not the crew ... my, how typical. Then, when I turned nineteen, things took a horrible turn. Grandfather and the crew were all murdered by mage fire. His annoying magical tome was stolen at the same time.