Runaway: A Story of Hope
This page contains the text of a book that can be found in game and is IC knowledge.
Runaway - A Story of Hope
Some time ago, in the swamps of Drotid a small female Kobold was hatched. I shall call her Keene (not her real name).
She was a slave. Hatched from one of a clutch of eggs laid by a slave, so she was also a slave.
She lived a pretty miserable life in the swamps, working all hours for ungrateful and cruel Shaahesk masters. They worked her, they starved her, they beat her.
She persevered. Despite dreadful treatment, she survived. No matter what they did to her and what work they made her do, she endured.
As the Shaahesk moved around Drotid and elsewhere, they took their slaves with them. They travelled all over Drotid and sometimes beyond.
One day, during the Lizard War, she realised the Shaahesk troops had moved very close to the border with T'Nanshi. She waited for the right moment and then took her chance.
Then, she ran.
She ran and ran and ran. Terrified they would stop her, or hunt her down and kill her, she ran and kept running. Eventually, not far from Elysia, she met another Kobold. She did not dare stop running but he provided some food and drink for her and they talked as they travelled together. She was amazed to find that he was actually a Free Kobold!
She had never heard of anyone like that. Even more amazing, he was a Champion of O'Ma. He was known and respected in Elysia. Perhaps she had a chance of a real life as a free Kobold herself.
He helped her and guided her to Elysia, where people welcomed her. They assured her she was safe and could live freely in the City of O'Ma.
Slowly, she began to relax a very small amount. She learned to read and write not very well, but she was the first of her family for generations to be able to do either of these.
Then, her worst nightmare happened. The Shaahesk invaded and occupied her new adopted Home City. She hid in terror. She was convinced that they were there specifically to hunt her down and take her back, or maybe kill her. Oddly, it had never occurred to her that the Shaahesk were not in the least interested in trying to recover one lost slave.
Throughout the War, she hid in fear. However, eventually the War ended, the City was freed and the Shaahesk driven away. She was safe again.
Through all of that hardship, there was one thing that helped her cope with the torture and suffering. This also lead to her being granted sanctuary in her new Home in Elysia something almost unheard of for her kind in Drotid.
She was a Mage. She is now happily and safely living in the Ivory Order Tower in Elysia.
The moral of this story is that no matter what ordeal and hardships we have to endure, we must live in hope and wait for our chance. When that chance arrives, we must seize it and run with it wherever it takes us.