Kalika

Kalika
Status:	Alive
Guild:	Ranger
Race:	Elf
Gender:	Female
Location:	Crossing (Ranik Map 1e)
Type:	guild leader
Relatives:	Tomma
Tasks:	delivery

Description

Kalika is a tall Elven woman with stormy grey eyes. Her hair is a ginger color, caught in a wide band of leather and wood. She wears a soft brown doeskin vest over a light green cotton blouse. In addition, a black leather belt cinches her leather trousers to a narrow waist. A delicate mug of tea rests comfortably in her hands.
A plain falchion is strapped to her left hip, its hilt glowing with a soft, barely visible light. A silver and gold knotwork wedding ring encircles her marriage finger, sparkling in the dappled light of the room. She whistles a merry tune as she works, sounding much like a woodlark trilling in the clear air of the forest.

Appearance

You see Guildmaster Kalika Sylvenshade, an Elven Ranger.
She has stormy grey eyes which are offset by her smooth tanned complexion, and her long ginger-colored hair is pulled loosly back by a wide leather and wooden headband. She is beautifully ageless.
She is in good shape.

She is wearing a soft grey-white cape made of mapha arzumos fur, a thigh quiver, an elegantly carved ash longbow with golden tassled tips, a long mesh weapon harness, a shoulder-slung ebony leather haversack, a sheer white flowing tunic with golden ivy leaves embroidered along the hems, a silver and gold knotwork wedding ring, a diamond and ruby studded platinum ring bearing the crest of the Ranger's guild, a braided golden rope tied around the waist, a dark green leather thigh pouch branded with the Ranger guild crest and some white leather moccasins.

Conversation Topics

• GUILD: Kalika looks up at you and smiles. Setting aside her mug of tea, she clears her throat and says, "Well, Rangers aren't your run-of-the-mill types. Mostly we don't much like the city, since we have dedicated ourselves to the world outside of civilization. Ya see, when everyone got together and started building places like this city, there were a few -- a very rare few -- who saw that if everyone got together and huddled inside their villages and towns, there would be no one to keep back the very things *outside* that they were running from."
  

"So, some of us gave up the water wells, the firesides, the feather beds and instead took it unto ourselves to preserve the glory of the meadows and the silent beauty of the forests. Our mattresses are the soft moss between the roots of the great oaks, our hearths a roaring campfire, our wells the rushing streams. Those of us who have become accustomed to the world outside of the city limits have grown to love it, and many have fought, and died, to preserve that which we have sworn to protect...even if it means that we sacrifice our very souls to save the soul of the wild lands."

"Above all else," she says softly, "we are free. More free than the Trader forced to be ever moving, more free than the Empath bound to their patients. We are the wind, the hawk on the wing, the soaring spirit of the sky and the patient spirit of the earth. Our gold is sunlight, our gems are flowers, and our life...is the world's."
With a smile, Kalika picks up her mug and reverently stares into its depths.

Ranger Introduction Speech

The Ranger gazes at you with cool, steady eyes. "Our Guild is for the protection of the wild places of this land," she says. "Our ways are those of forest and glen, highland and valley, woods and plain. The rigid ways of town and city, buildings and walls are not for us. We learn the ways of tracking and of using nature's methods to hide our comings and goings and we learn of her bounteous hand in providing food and healing plants. We travel the hidden paths of Life magic when we have made good progress in our skills. If you feel drawn to the wild places of this land, then perhaps your path lies among us." Once more, her deep, sparkling eyes gaze into your own.

Kalika looks at you and says, "To join us, you merely need to do just that. Just JOIN to become part of our ranks. Be very sure of your choice, for once you take the Path we offer, you cannot turn aside or go back without great penalty."

Kalika appoints a Journeyman Ranger to guide you in the paths you have now chosen. With astonishing speed, you are tutored in the ways and crafts of the Rangers. Your head spins from the accumulation of lore and you feel you could no longer become lost even if tied in a black sack and dropped into the endless seas.

When you finally recover from this onslaught of knowledge, the Journeyman leads you back to Kalika who smiles warmly at you as you are prepared for induction into the guild.

Guildleader Kalika approaches, flashing you a wide smile, "Welcome, friend, to the Ranger's Guild! I hope you didn't get lost finding us." She chuckles to herself.

"Stick around and I'll give you some helpful tips."

Kalika goes on to say, "It is a good thing you found us, and wise to remember where we are. Here is where you shall learn all matters that concern Rangers."

She grins and winks at you.

"If you know anything about being a Ranger," she goes on to say, "then you know we are most comfortable within walls of living cedar, not dead stone. In fact, you might even say that the free, open elements are where we are in our element."

She chuckles again.

"The confining walls of the city will eventually weaken us."

"To get yourself started off on the right foot," she says, "I recommend that you get yourself outfitted. A sword, some armor, a shield, and a backpack ought to do it right. Also seeking out and speaking to other Rangers will aid you greatly, especially ones who are elders to you."

"Learning is power," she says with a wink. "Within the cool green shade of the wood and on the banks of the laughing streams shall you learn. Driving back the things that would defile those sacred places and curing that which has been damaged by those same forces is where I think you shall find peace. Learn the ways of the twig and the branch. Forage and study them. Observe the habits of the woodland creatures. Follow them and know their tracks. But always remember to return here...and learn."

Apparently done, Kalika smiles and returns her attention to the mug of tea in her hand.

Circling to 100

Kalika smiles at you as you approach, already seeming to know your query. She steps down from her chair and hugs you.

Settling back into her seat, she says to you, "You've come a long way within our ranks. I ve watched you grow and mature from a mere tenderfoot into the Ranger standing before me today. I, as well as my fellow Guildleaders, am proud and honored to welcome you among the elite of the Guild. You've reached a level of expertise that some lack the initiative and dedication to ever imagine. Congratulations! Bear in mind that there is always something new to learn and experience. Keep up the good work, my dear!"

Kalika leans closer and whispers in your ear, "In your travels, you might wish to stop and ask Tolle about hunter's bows. He is keen on ways to further enhance a bow and make it better for hunting from the shadows."