Rikan Serkesh, a mage of many sorts(editing)

There are two kinds of people in this world: The kind that are labeled by society by their cast and those who strive to be much more than that. A young mage by the name Rikan is such a person. He was given a people, a class, and a profession but that would not be enough for his restless heart and searching mind.

Raised by his uncle Rikan was taught to be a gentleman, well versed in philosophy, chemistry, and mystical crafts known to the world as magic.  "Magic is neither good nor evil, its how you use it my lad." as his uncle would always say. There was controversy among his people if there was such a thing as good or evil magics. But most of them were sure there was such a black art known as voodoo. On the island they dwelt there were two casts of people: the mages who dwelt in the frigged icy mountains that bordered the island and the Ma'abi  who dwelt in the sandy barren desert plains between the mountains. The island was also surrounded by a reef said to be home of dangerous man hunters known as mermaids.  Latter on this became an outpost of a shady corp. known as "Pathfinders" who apparently eradicated and drove the mermaids from their home. There was a bit of ethnic racial difference between the two classes. The mountain mages had fair skin, like Caucasians and the desert tribesmen were very dark skin like Africans. Their culture was even more vastly different than just their skin tones too. Mountain mages dwelt in wood or stone houses with warm hearths and peaked rooftops while the Ma'abi lived in tents or mud huts. Most of them were cattle or goat herdsmen, and none accept the witch doctors of each tribe were allowed to practition in magic arts with their exception  of an apprentice. Rikan took favoritism towards their culture and spent much of his adolescent years among them.  Compared to the complex lives of the mountain mages they were very simple, yet it was more adventurous, and the fresh air was so liberating. He found their magic and tools to be fascinating. Voodoo was so dark and mysterious it drew his young heart like a moth to the flame, and some of their inventions were interesting like the boomerang, and a spiked little ball launched from a sling. The Ma'abi were also very fierce warriors, masters of the throwing knife. Yet some of their traditions were frightening. Murder was punished by being burried alive, the sick were believed to be cursed and were roasted to be eaten. Infants who were born diseased or disability were eaten too. Adultry was brutally punished by cutting open the abdomen and putting a cat inside them then stitching them back up.   Mages of the mountains saw them as savages but Rikan had a slightly different perspective.

Rikan first encountered them when he was wandering around in the foothills of the mountains. He was alone and to his surprise and horror a lion burst from the glade and let out a roar that shook him down to his bones. He felt the urge to move and flee but a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and a voice shouted "No run! - No run!" an elderly Ma'abi man stood behind him holding a spear and threw it right into the roaring lions mouth. Rikan saw the bloody spear come out the other side of its throat before it fell dead at their feet.  "Roaring lion is coward, and old. He no run, his bones are soft and break. Man lion no hunt either, woman lion hunt. She quiet, she wait, she hide, and she jump on you from behind. Old man lion yell loud to make you run. You run and you run into the teeth of young woman lion who learning to kill." The old man told him. He also noticed he was wearing a mask on the back of his head. He was latter told that the mask fooled lions into thinking they had eyes on the back of their heads and kept them from being attacked from behind. Karmudd A'ddid was the name of the elder who saved Rikan that day and after some convincing became his teacher in the arts of voodoo. A'ddids daughter,Enissa,  helped convince him to take Rikan under his wing, she had a great deal of affection for him was why. Unfortunately Rikan did not feel the same for Enissa.

During a festival to celebrate a yearly harvest Enissa took Rikan by the hand and lead him to her tent to show him she had laid out the finest linens and even some lion hides on her bed. The sheets also smelled of strong perfumes. "This is uh..very nice collection you have here Enissa - ah good god Enissa!" He turned around to see she had removed the loincloth and cloth wraps from her chest that the women wore and stood naked in front of him. "Rikan let us make love and become one." She told him. Rikan just looked away and scratched the back of his head. It wasn't that the witch-doctors daughter wasn't beautiful, she was a gorgeous dark goddess with a splendid body and dazzling complexion but he wasn't interested in love. She wasn't the one for him, and now it would be hard to tell her so late.   Being smitten with him A'ddid couldn't help but notice and questioned him why his daughter wasn't good enough. Rikan did his best to explain and the old man understood then apologized for his daughter. He then suggested that maybe the island is not enough for him, that his heart longs for more beyond the mountains and the sea. He told him again of the mermaids and the shadows that now lurk on the reefs. "Pathfinders they call them...perhaps they can find you a path."

Pathfinders indeed found him a way across the sea to where he lives now but not after nearly being killed by one for crossing into restricted waters. Never had he seen humans who possessed no skill of magic, or seen any that can swim like dolphins. He was on the docks when one burst from the water and slashed at him with a knife cutting his collar bone. A few inches closer and he would have saw an end to his adventures there. He cast a spell to defend himself but before the incantation was complete the figure burst from below the water again and he found himself in a painful arm lock. He managed to negotiate peacefully with them and barter with them a deal for safely delivering him across the sea. His encounter with the organization was brief but taught him the very important fact that he would have much to learn and his drive to become more powerful grew. He latter encountered Svetlana Loveless on one of his jouneys noting she moved like a pathfinder and wore the same uniform for female officers. She commented that he might make a brilliant general one day.

Recently since beginning his adventures in a new land he came across one who would be his servant and companion. He found a man standing over a woman clad in armor who appeared to be a viking. A sword was at her throat and the man was asking if she had any final words. Rikan would not stand for this, he cast his magic and sent the man flying with a powerful blast and saved the woman. She huffed when he asked if she was ok and stated that he should not have interfered as it was a matter of honor. He apologized and charmed her with her words, she forgave him and offered herself in his service as a life debt for saving her. Her name was Evangelyne a barbarian of the far tundra north lands. She was always quite loyal to him, sometimes arguing with him but he usually won because he just had a better way with words and she doesn't like to admit but he is much more clever and cunning than her. What he liked about her the most was her barbarianism reminded him of the Ma'abi, and being around her was like having a little piece of home. He once fought her when getting on her bad side. She was quite drunk and he was trying to help her and tried to take her beer mug. "Hey now Eva, cmon, I think thats enough lets go home..Eva?" - "KKYAARG!" and smack she decked him with a solid right hook. He didn't know that in barbarian culture, taking someones beer was just asking for a fight. It was VERY disrespectful. She hit him so hard his bells were ringing for two days and she didn't even have her steel knuckle gloves on. The next thing he saw was the ceiling of the shady ladys inn and then Eva on top of him. "Now Eva lets think about this-gah.." and it was good night for him, Evangelyne grabbed him by the lappels of his robes and head butted him right between the eyes. He knew she was strong and had a temper but he made note not to start with her when she's drunk or take her beer after that. He did challenge her to a dual a while after that when Eva arrogantly compared her brute strength to his own.  He surprised her by outwitting her and trapping her with his magic and she ended up hog tied by his snares. He didn't like to get his hands dirty in a fight, and it just wasn't in him to hit a girl.  He gained her full respect after that and she never challenged him again, not while she was sober at least. He also beat her at a game of chess every time. sometimes Eva thought she could win but just when it seemed over he had another trick up his sleeve. A true genius at heart.

Rikans adventures on his home island may have come to an end, but his new trials have just begun. There are two kinds of people: those who let their society define them, and those like Rikan who move on to learn everything they can to be unique, and stronger than they once were.