by Kahwen Markado Archeas

Kahwen's heritage began at the beginning of time. The original Kahwen is the god of birds and storms. He assisted in the creation for the world and made the first birds. He was also responsible for the great flood which destroyed the world.

As the millennia passed the god took many mortal lovers and fathered many children. The most recent lover was a young elven princess who was one of the twelve most beautiful mortal women in the world. The woman soon bore a beautiful daughter who she named Markado, which, in her native language means wings.

The child was raised in the woman's temple and though her mother was constantly busy, all the priests and priestesses assisted in her upbringing. She had a happy childhood playing around the altars and statues of the temple.

At the age of ten a transformation began in the young lady. A pair of beautiful white wings sprouted form her shoulders. Within three years they had grown to full size. The servants of Kahwen viewed these growths as physical signs of her divine heritage. The local peasants, however, saw them as a curse and Markado was not allowed out of the temple alone.

This prohibition chafed at the teenager and as the years went by she became more rebellious and restless. At the age of seventeen an opportunity arose and she ran away.

She spent the next few years wandering the world. She battled monsters, saved innocents, and crusaded for justice. Her wings and other divine abilities gave her an advantage that she utilized for the benefit of others.

She eventually ended her wanderings in a kingdom ruled by a dragon. Markado soon fell in love with the ruler's son, a half-dragon named Seratyn. There was an intense rivalry between them, with each trying to outdo the deeds of the other.

Inevitably they married and took over the kingdom from the retiring dragon. Within a year they had a son that they named Archeas, which means claws.

The couple and the kingdom were happy for more than a year. One day, as Archeas' nursemaid was taking him through the countryside a giant hawk swooped down from the sky. The huge bird snatched the infant from her arms and returned to its nest in the mountains.

Surprisingly, the child did not become a snack for the bird's gargantuan babies. Instead, he was carefully placed next the them. His new adopted mother took him as her own.

A great search went up throughout the kingdom, led by Seratyn. The mountains where Archeas was being raised were to high and treacherous for a truly exhaustive search and the explorers soon gave up. Strangely, Markado did not participate in the search. She seemed to know that the kidnapping was meant to be.

Archeas, for his part, was extremely content. He learned the rudiments of hunting from watching his new mother and by necessity, the language of bird and all flying creatures.

The years passed and eventually all of the toddler's adopted siblings had learned to fly and left the nest. The hawk knew that she could not raise the boy indefinitely, but did not know what to do with him.

One stormy night Kahwen came to her and revealed the next stage of his plan. The next morning, the overburdened hawk, flew to a monastery in a neighboring country and left her son there.

A group of warrior monks lived in the monastery and took the child in and continued his education. He was taught the basics of human life, speech, writing, mathematics, arts, crafts, the rudiments of many trades, and basic social skills. He also learned the abilities and limits of his body and how to push beyond them. He mastered the few weapons which the monks used as part of their martial arts. His happiness continued at the monastery and he enjoyed both the training and the discipline.

Much like his mother, however, he eventually became bored and disillusioned by the monastic life. Unlike his mother, he did not have to run away. The monks felt that when he was ready to leave, his education was done.

Archeas spent the next few years wandering through the country side. He took after both his mother and father, righting wrongs, slaying monsters, and fighting for justice.

He soon met with and joined the other members of Crawling Chaos. The company wandered the land as a group and eventually settled in the Duchy of the Midnight Sun where many of the members went on to obtain political power.

Archeas continued his wandering and unbeknownst to him ended up in his home kingdom. He was immediately recognized by his mother and there was a joyful reunion followed by a nationwide celebration.

He decided to stay with his newfound family a while and learned of his divine heritage. He was taught the usage of more weapons and the theology of Kahwen. He also married a beautiful princess from a neighboring kingdom before rejoining his company in the Midnight Sun.


©1998 James M. Abendroth
Crawling Chaos~