Laxuri

Laxuri
Status	Active
Race	Rakash
Gender	Male
Guild	Thief
Instance	undisclosed

  Laxuri comes from a small Rakash family that lives in the wild more then civilization. He grew up playing games of hide and seek and proved quite adept at them. Over time, as a pup, his perception and his ability to remain hidden proved to grow beyond those of his brothers and sisters. A strong sense of pack mentality, looking out for one another, and kindness swelled within this Rakash, by the time he was a teenager he already earned respect from his family, elders included.
   
   It was during his years as a teenager that the lessons of his youth began to be molded into hunting tactics. Stealth, communication, trap making and use, small edged weapons and his ability to brawl with the best of them were all honed into assets for hunting and survival. While many of his peers were taught to respect nature, Laxuri was always a bit more mischievous and had a knack for "finding lost things" as he put it. (Never you mind he was the reason why said things were lost, and he always "found" them later and returned them to their proper owners). One of his Uncles took interest, and was always amused by his antics and took Lax under his wing as a pupil to help perfect his abilities. This family believed that instead of directing youths to certain talents, it's a far better way to let the children develop their naturally found interests. It takes all kinds to help care for a community after all.

   Uncle Raphius, or Raph as he now was allowed to call him, taught Laxuri slowly at first. Watching over him from afar since Laxuri's earliest day, Raph understood Laxuri already knew about loyalty, being able to keep a secret, knowing that the pack comes first above all things, and that Laxuri possessed a good hearted nature in general and would grow to be a fine Rakash, one the family would be proud of. There were many things left to to teach him, and some Raph feared Laxuri might never understand, so the work was still cut out for him. So began the time of lessons.

   At first the training was simple. A strong focus on stealth tactics, how to step on what part of the floor to create the lest sounds, what type of environments are easiest to camoflauge into, the differences in times of day and how to use the levels of light for each phase to your advantage, how to judge what items are worth stealing (not only for monetary value but also what is lest likely to be noticed missing) and just as importantly how to defend himself in combat situations. As he was a special case, compared with the other children's training styles, he clearly stood apart from the rest of his peers, though he certainly had no lack of kinship from his peer or companionship from the opposite sex. 
  
  Time went on, and he developed his skills to a passable quality, professionally speaking. He really loved what he was learning and Laxuri loved his Uncle even more for taking the time to teach Lax what he knew. As time went on however, Raph seemed to be distracted and as even more time, Raph seemed to be heavy minded and to Laxuri, this would not do. Laxuri needed and explination, and decided one evening to approach his beloved Uncle and ask what might be wrong. This action, changed Laxuri's life forever.

  At first Uncle Raphius puffed his cigar, blowing shapes of deers and ships by the campfire, and thought deeply, and then, after what seemed like an eternity, he turn to Laxuri and began to speak with a heavy heart. "You Laxuri, may be the one person who might understand my situation. Would you truly wish to hear what I am willing to reveal to you now, some things even the rest of our pack don't know? I have seen you are willing and you know how to keep a secret, and I love your understanding of loyalty, which are the only reasons I am willing to confide in you, but know that what I am to share can never be spoken to anyone else." Laxuri, loving his Uncle so, agreed solemely so that his Uncle can finally have someone to talk to about what's on his mind.

 "When I was a young lad myself, I took some years away from our pack. During this time I sailed the waters in hopes to learn all I could about the world beyond the simple encampment I grew up on, which as you know many never leave. I was young, hopeful, hungry, and poor, not an easy mixture but it led to my meeting many folk of all kinds. A ship was looking for a crew, and before I knew it I was a pirate serving on a vessel and the sea was my home.." Uncle Raphius inhaled another cigar and puffed out smoke that resembled a ship, as he stared at the stars above them "and the world was much larger then even I thought it to be. There are all sorts of things out there, not just folk as you know them to be. During my days I've seen nymphs and goblins, undead hordes and even gargoyles flying over head. There were many a threat out there and boldly my crew and I stood against them bravely. You see, what I hope you have learned so far in your own journey is that evil wins because the good people who  are aware of it, either through fear or a sense of not being strong enough, never stand against it. If you learn anything from my boy-o, learn that no matter the cost, or what people say, do what is right in your heart and never back down. If you won't stand against the evils of the world, who will?"

 Laxuri took his uncles words to heart and listened intently, mulling over all the implied meanings as well as the clearly stated ones, turned to his uncle and responded "Out of my love for my pack, and more so my appreciation and respect for you I give you my vow. I will never back down from a fight worth fighting for, I will always do what's right in my heart, and I will never doubt myself in doing so. I know I'm not the smartest, or the swiftest, or the strongest out there, but I conviction will remain strong always. But I don't understand uncle, if you travelled so far, and have seen so much then what brought you back to our pack, and what troubles you now?"

 Raph took a deep breath and turned of his cigar, breathed in deeply, turned to Laxuri and matched his eyes and softly spoke.

"Because old debts need to be re-payed. Sure, ignorant folk saw my crew and I as scum, thieves they called us, but there is something most don't grasp. Among even thieves, we have a sense of honor. "Thieves" as people call us, come in all kinds and many varieties. Collectively we are kin, in many ways like our pack here, and are family. I owe a debt, one to society, and I have received word from contacts I trust, that the law givers of the lands have not only never stopped looking for me, but have now found where I am, with all of you. It is time now, for me to leave and turn myself in, to face whatever so called Justice they have in store for me, because if they come here, they could harm you all. I am not so selfish. If you ever wish to learn more, go to a city called Crossing and look for a man named Kalag. Where he might be hidden in this time, I don't know and can't say, but perhaps if you work with him, you can learn more. At the very least he can continue teaching you the arts and ways more then I can now. Never forget, the pack comes first, always."

  As the hour grew late, the bade each other good night and went to their wagons. In the morning, Uncle Raph was no where to be found. The pack scoured the area for any hint of a trail or idea what might have happened but Laxuri kept silent about it, as he was asked to. That afternoon Laxuri found a parchment in his belongings with only two words written. Never forget. It took a few days for Laxuri to find the perfect moment, and when it presented itself, his packed what few possessions wouldn't weigh him down, and snuck off so none could notice, and made his way to Crossing.