Being a knight, a paladin, had been a family tradition for years. Their family line had carried the honor for longer than Kuron could even trace through the books holding their lineage and it was expected for every son to carry the mantle when they came of age. Become an apprentice to a knight and learn the ways of the brotherhood before earning their own banner. It should have been easy and he should have been able to follow in his older brother's footsteps without issue.
Except that an accident when he was an apprentice had left him without his right arm from the elbow down.
They said it was a miracle that he even survived. That he was lucky. He didn't feel lucky. It felt like a curse. The sad looks that his father gave him--the disappointed way the man would glance at him whenever the subject of knighthood came up. The sympathetic looks his brother would give him whenever their paths crossed. His mother...she could barely look at him without tearing up.
It all became too much for Kuron and at fourteen he left. Slipped away in the night with a simple letter wishing them well before disappearing into the darkness on horseback--one skill he'd thankfully never lost.
That was seemed like so long ago.
He was twenty five now and while he carried no real banner, he followed the way of the Paladin as best he could. He'd adapted to life with only one arm, sharpening his skills and learning to wield a sword deftly. He was swift on his feet and could best most he took on in a fight, able to hold his own on the road as he traveled from place to place looking for the next job that would put a meal on the table.
Sliding off the back of his horse, Kuron smoothed his hand against the animal's flank with a gentle smile as the smokey gray animal tossing it's head and bumping it's nose against it's rider's chest.
"Easy, girl," he murmured as he looped the reins around one of the posts outside the pub, bracing his hip against it as he tied it with one hand as he'd taught himself to do ages ago. Once it was secure he made his way inside, hood drawn up and cloak tucked over his right shoulder to hide the missing arm for now, the young man making his way towards an empty corner near some of the windows on the far side. It wasn't busy as most nights probably were, something he was grateful for, but he could feel a few pairs of eyes on him and cast a brief glance around to take note of who was where.
For the lovely Aqua
Except that an accident when he was an apprentice had left him without his right arm from the elbow down.
They said it was a miracle that he even survived. That he was lucky. He didn't feel lucky. It felt like a curse. The sad looks that his father gave him--the disappointed way the man would glance at him whenever the subject of knighthood came up. The sympathetic looks his brother would give him whenever their paths crossed. His mother...she could barely look at him without tearing up.
It all became too much for Kuron and at fourteen he left. Slipped away in the night with a simple letter wishing them well before disappearing into the darkness on horseback--one skill he'd thankfully never lost.
That was seemed like so long ago.
He was twenty five now and while he carried no real banner, he followed the way of the Paladin as best he could. He'd adapted to life with only one arm, sharpening his skills and learning to wield a sword deftly. He was swift on his feet and could best most he took on in a fight, able to hold his own on the road as he traveled from place to place looking for the next job that would put a meal on the table.
Sliding off the back of his horse, Kuron smoothed his hand against the animal's flank with a gentle smile as the smokey gray animal tossing it's head and bumping it's nose against it's rider's chest.
"Easy, girl," he murmured as he looped the reins around one of the posts outside the pub, bracing his hip against it as he tied it with one hand as he'd taught himself to do ages ago. Once it was secure he made his way inside, hood drawn up and cloak tucked over his right shoulder to hide the missing arm for now, the young man making his way towards an empty corner near some of the windows on the far side. It wasn't busy as most nights probably were, something he was grateful for, but he could feel a few pairs of eyes on him and cast a brief glance around to take note of who was where.
Just in case.