I vividly remember my 13th birthday. As a lad, I idolized my father who had died in battle defending our Baron's borders. So I spent most of my youth stick fighting with the other children of my village, dreaming of dangerous quests and victorious battles. My father's sword hung above the bar in my mother's Inn, and one day it would be mine. On my 13th birthday I was to be given his sword, and begin real training. Little did I know how true that would be, and how tragic it would start.

I had just come back from the woods to the east of the village with a cart of fresh wood for our hearth. As I came around to the front of the Inn, I saw an armored horse tethered in front, and the door to the inn stood ajar. I could here a man's voice swear, and my mother pleading with him. I quickly walked up to the doorway, to see a soldier holding my mother's arm with one hand, and pawing at her with his other. She looked terrified and was begging him to let her go.. Then she saw me, and screamed at me to run. But I was frozen by fear. He turned around and looked at me, still gripping my mother, welting forming on her bare arm from the pressure he was applying.

"Well lad!?" he grinned at me.."Either leave, or watch, it is up to you." He laughed and turned away from me. Anger overcame my fear, and pure rage compelled me forward to act. I lunged at his back, screaming and clawing, hoping to overpower him. But it was futile. His strength was more than a match for me. He shoved my mother into the support post next to the bar, stunning her, and tossed me off of his back.

"A warrior eh?" he spat.. "Let's see how tough you are boy!" He raised his sword to strike at me. Then his eyes went wide and his face showed pain. He swung around, and there was blood running down his back. Mother stood there with father's sword in hand, crimson running down the blade to pool along the hilt and over onto Mother's hands.

"I'll kill you, you filthy whore!" screamed the man, and he lunged at Mother with his sword, staggering forward with all of his weight. Mother braced the sword and fell under the man's weight as he collapsed on top of her, Father's sword running through him.

"Mother!" I cried rushing forward to her, shoving his corpse off her. But it was over. The look of pale death had already crept across her face, as she gasped for her last remaining breaths. The soldier's sword had hit it's mark, and she would be gone soon. "Vesper..." she gasped.. "Flee.. son.. the guards.." she struggled to speak "Remember..father..me.." she continued "He would.. be proud....Little Prayer...I love you..." and she died.. there in my arms, my father's sword in her blood stained hands, as my tears fell on her cold and lifeless face..

The next thing I remember is a sharp pain in the back of my head, and darkness. I awoke in a dark cell, my hands shackled to the wall. Over the next few days, I realized I had been charged with the murder of one of our Baron's captain's. The sentence? Life in this cell, to be forgotten and left for dead. But I didn't care.. I had lost everything I had on this earth, and if given the chance, I would have killed myself.

I cried, and cried, even after the tears would not come, I pitied myself. It was then he spoke to me.. "Shut up boy!" I heard him say... from over in the corner of my cell. "They will just beat you again and again, if you don't shut up.."

"Who is there?" I cried into the darkness.

"Me, your cell mate." He replied. "Now shut up"

Over the next few months, I got to know my cellmate well. He was in his mid 50's and had been imprisoned for defying the Baron's father. An ex soldier he believed in the Code of Pwyll, and standing up for that code is what got him imprisoned. Years I spent in that cell with him. Over the years, he told me stories of greatness, and glory. He taught me to read, and to study swordsmanship using sticks. He became my friend.

I can only guess the number of years spent there. The darkness the only constant in our dreary lives. But when he talked, and told stories, I was free. My mind and imagination could go anywhere he described.

And then, one night, his breathing grew sharp, and staggered. "I'm dying boy.." he told me through clenched teeth.

"Gaurds!" I screamed... "Help him! He needs a healer!" I cried... a guard came to the door, and peered in. "Stand back from the door!" he ordered. I backed away, and the guard opened the door, sword drawn. He approached my friend, and looked him over. "Yep, he is dying boy. Nothing can be done about that now." He stated emphatically. "But I'll help how I can." He grinned and then plunged his sword into the old man's heart, ending his life immediately.. "NO!" I screamed... and without thinking lunged at the guard.. catching him off guard, and knocking his sword to the side. I grabbed his head, and wrenched, snapping his neck and plunging him into the darkness behind my friend. I sat there, kneeling at the foot of my old friend, hearing the prison soldiers from up above heading down towards where I was. And I knew there was no escape. I would be joining my friend, my mother, and my father in that journey beyond shortly... and I was at peace...

And then the light appeared "Vesper...there is still work for you to do in this life.." a voice as gentle and as deep as I had ever heard spoke to me from the wall of light.. "Take up the oath of your father, and come save a world that needs you... Come and find something worth fighting for.."

I could feel the warmth of sunlight coming from the portal. And the smell of fresh grass and a brief brush of fresh air blew onto my face from the portal.

"Come Little Prayer, time is short".. said the voice one more time..

Without thinking, I moved toward the light.. and stepped into it, stepping out onto a field of green grass, with rolling fields, and a people in need of protection. A people in need of heros. A place where I could belong, and life freely.

That is how I came to Dereth from Ispar. I have sworn my oath of loyalty to defend it, and protect it. To write that which is wrong, and to protect the defenseless.

Q: How did you come into contact with AC?

A: I picked it up in a game store one day, and its low graphic requirements sold me on it. It was my very first non-MUD MMORPG game to ever experience.

Q:What was your first impression, what made you stay?

A: It was beautiful. And smooth. And full of opportunity. I stayed because of the community.. I met a character named Red Rain, who introduced me to Ja'afar al-Saladin and brought me into the POA. It felt like a place where I fit in, and had a purpose in game.

Q: Who did you hunt, quest or hang out with?

A: I hunted with my friends in the POA, and became good friends with Aris Juhl, Tasha Al-Sanaq, Mandar, Yuzuli Neko, Ygraine, Shaylen, BlackAngel, and many others. Now I am a part of the Covenant Knights, and pretty much hunt on my own. When the POA ended, and Ygraine, Shaylen, and BA left for other games, there really wasn't much left for me.. My playtime became less and less over time, and eventually I left thinking it was for good.

Then, after over a year, I came back to give it another try. It was then that I ran into Saya and Kalista, and joined the CK. They have been a wonderful family, and I enjoy playing with them.

Q: What are you most proud of?

A: I achieved the status of General in the POA before it broke up and Ja'afar left. I am proud of that part of my history. And I am proud of the friendships I made that endured through it all.