Knotai Chapter 1, a dungeons and dragons fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own D&D.

These chapters are scenes of a backstory for a character I am playing. I have many ideas for scenes and I work on them one at a time, focusing on which one seems more interesting for me to write at the time. I will try to put them in chronological order whenever I write a new scene.

In the homebrew campaign that this is for, the Shadar-kai are guardians of the realms and the hands and eyes of the Mistress of Fate. When someone does great deeds in the Raven Queen's name and earns her favor, they are taken after they die and instead of traveling over to any final resting place, are given a choice to become a Shadar-kai. The Shadar-kai are each assigned a realm in which they are constantly reborn into. When there they hunt those who try and defy fate while taking care of any issues that arise that try and destroy the great tapestry.

When they die, they are brought back to the Raven Queen's private area of the shadowfell where they shed their old body and are reborn into a new chosen form. Then they retrain that body in any skills or magic they wish to use for that life before at the age of 100, the elven bodies maturity, they are sent from the shadowfell back into their plane and their access to the shadowfell is blocked until it is time for the current bodies fate to end and the cycle to begin again.

These are the tales of the many lives of one such Shadar-kai.

Chapter 1

Blood sprayed against the old rotting wood of the post as it rattled from the impact. A small fist with rusted bands of metal wrapped around the skin pulled back from the wood before striking forward into it again with more drops of blood flying into the air.

SMACK!

A frail looking arm pulled back and straightened with every punch as a small tear followed a small wet path down a young boy's face before getting wiped away by the matted mass of black hair wiping around his head from his movements.

His lips curled back in an unconscious snarl as the word thrown at him earlier that day played back in his mind repetitively.

"Such a failure. He can't even use magic properly."

"Hey Catastrophe, how are you planning to destroy your world this time?"

"Go away freak, only proper Shadar-kai are allowed in here, not failures like you."

"I heard you blew yourself up again. Guess we finally found what you are good at."

SMACK!

It wasn't his fault that he couldn't do magic properly. He had tried many times. He had tried very hard but it just wouldn't work right. Oh sure, he could do a couple low level spells and tricks but nothing really useful. Every time he tried anything really useful, it went wrong in the worst way possible.

Like that time he tried to resurrect a fallen hero inside of the Crystal Grove. He still didn't know how an eternal blizzard formed out of that. It just didn't make sense.

Or how about during the ancient Wizard War? All he tried to do was cast a prismatic sphere to protect himself with. How was he supposed to know that all the different layers of magic in such a spell would react violently with all the magic being thrown about on the field. He didn't mean to help start the Cataclysm. He was just trying to prevent it, honestly.

And who could forget the Vidian Crater? The one time he tried to use his bad luck with magic, expecting it to go wrong, and it actually worked. Or maybe that was also his bad luck. After all a giant city sized crater around a demon portal that is guarded by a demonic horde who have set up defenses in the crater would definitely be considered bad luck. So apparently trying to use a bad spell to get a good effect doesn't help the issue.

SMACK!

Besides, this last time wasn't even magic. Hell, it wasn't even his fault at all. Some idiot thought it would be a good idea to mix volatile alchemy ingredients in the inn room right next to his as he was sleeping.

SMACK!

One day soon, he swore to himself, they will see that I'm not useless, that I am skilled, that I am important. One day, She will talk to me, and give me a mission that only I can do. And then they will love me. Then they will be in awe of me. Another tear traces its way down his check. And then, just maybe, they will be my friends.

SMACK!

The sounds of flesh hitting wood continued throughout the night as the child refused to give up, refused to bow to peer pressure, refused to acknowledge that little voice whispering in back of his mind.

What if they are right?

Young bleary amethyst eyes opened to the sight of the usual moon-filled sky of the Shadowfell. A look of confusion crosses his face as he wonders at what woke him up.

After a couple moments of silence, his eyes begin to droop closed once again.

"Kraa!"

His eyes snap back open as the sound shatters the silence around him. Listening closer now, he can hear the sounds of a small creature dragging itself along the ground at the edge of the field.

Giving a weary sigh, he rolls over onto his stomach and places his blood encrusted hands on the ground under his chest before painfully pushing himself up onto his feet.

Stumbling over towards the sounds given off, he takes a moment to search the shadows and sees a small black raven with one wing fully extended and dragging upon the ground as it drags itself along the ground with its claws.

"Kraa!" The raven tries to stand defensively against the boy while trying to protect its wing.

He kneels down a couple feet away and picks up a small berry from the ground before holding out his hand and letting the magic flow through his fingertips and into the berry. "I want to help. Why don't you come home with me and we can take a look at that wing of yours?"

The raven cocks its head to the side briefly before hopping forward onto him palm as the magic of an animal friendship spell settles into its eyes allowing it to see that the boy meant no harm to it.

The streets were chaos during the midday hour as everyone tried to take as much advantage of the light given off by the full moon before it begins waning. The young boy showed that his small frail frame had its uses as he was able to nimbly dodge and weave through gaps in the crowds without once jarring the little raven. However the crowds were larger than just the normal Shadar-kai that he had expected. Beings of all different races and followers of many other gods also packed the streets as they used the time to experience all the small city had to offer while it was available due to the council of the gods being held there very soon.

The boy stopped suddenly and had to fight his own momentum for balance as a large insect creature with four arms, each carrying a battleaxe with a wicked black edged blade, seemed to suddenly appear in one of the gaps in the crowd ahead of him. He tried to throw out his free hand for balance but within the first couple inches, his fingers felt a slimy material.

Looking around he started to breathe heavily and his eyes began to fill with the first hints of panic as it seemed the crowds were pushing in on him, with no gaps to be seem. The air seemed to grow heavier and thick, nearly suffocating.

"Kraa!"

The sharp sound brought his gaze quickly back to the raven as his mind snapped out of his panic and back to the issue at hand. He takes a deep breath and pulls the raven close to his chest as he mumbles a heartfelt, "Thank you." His eyes, calmer now gazes around him and what a moment ago seemed a solid wall of bodies was found to have a small gap in it that, if he was quick enough, he could squeeze through.

Taking a deep breath and gathering his wits about him, he once more leapt into the fray as he used his nimbleness and momentum to try and shove his small frame through the gap in front of him.

Suddenly, he was free. Cool, fresh air hit his face as he devoured it by the lungful.

After taking a couple minutes to get his breath back, he set out once again towards his home with the crowds at his back and a new friend, one who couldn't judge him, in his hand.

Yellow pages, faded with age, whispered in the small cabin as the same young boy flipped through them in search of a way to help his new friend. After all, with all the lives he has lived and information he has gathered, he should have learned about caring for birds at one point.

A small frown appears on his face as page after page, notes are written in his own hand about Matrim, a raven companion, and the adventures they had. Life after life, a different face, a different story, and yet also the same raven with the same name.

After thirty pages of stories finally he comes upon an entry detailing a battle in which Matrim took an arrow through one of his wings and the care that was required to patch it up. As he collects the items listed and follows the instructions, his mind ponders over the puzzle presented upon the pages of the book.

His fingers deftly tie off the wrap around the wrapped wing as his eyes settle upon the raven's own bottomless gaze. "You wouldn't happen to be Matrim, would you?"

A minute of silence fills the small cabin before the raven tilts it's head as if in confusion which sets the boy off into small chuckles of laughter.

"Now I'm just being paranoid. But hey, why not carry on the tradition? From now on, your name is Matrim. Does that sound good to you?"

"Kraa!" The raven puffs out its chest as if in acknowledgement of the name.

"Good, and my name is Knotai. You can stay here as long as you need to. After all, that's what friends do for each other right? I've always wanted a friend."