Loki Wytehart's Blog - Posts Tagged "loki"

Cormac and Julian Redstone

Cormac was a human orphan from birth. His mother died while delivering him, and his father was so distraught over the loss of his wife decided that he wanted nothing to do with the one that was responsible for her death.
He was raised in the Concordone region by a farming family that for some unknown reason, felt compelled to take him in.
His step father was not a loving man, and forced Cormac to sleep in the barn when he became a teen, as the family shack was “too good for a bastard child such as him”.
His step mother had more than enough love, and would always comfort Cormac after one of his step fathers “lessons in life “which was what he called the beating he got for something he did or didn’t do.
What Cormac did receive from his step father was enough hard work to bulk him up into a very strong young man. His muscle tone was very good as a result of the daily physical labor that his step father required of him as payment for his room and board.
When Cormac was old enough he decided it was time to leave the farm, while his step father was in town getting supplies.
His step mother and the other five children of the family gave him what they knew the step father would not miss, as a way of showing their sorrow in his leaving.
Cormac never begrudged the others in the family. He knew he was not born to this family, and every day was a blessing with how the others treated him.
He never saw the others again after that day, but as fate would have it, the step father was returning home before Cormac reached the end of the farm.
The step father was glad to see the “boy” leave, but the belongings he had didn’t belong to him and he could leave the same way he arrived…naked.
When Cormac refused, the father (with a definite air of alcohol on his breath) took a swing at Cormac. Cormac stepped away from the swing, but followed up with a swing of his own.
Years of pent up anger were in his swing, and when Cormac connected with the step fathers chin…the impact lifted the step father three feet off the ground and landed him ten feet back. The man was knocked out cold.
Cormac traveled from town to town, picking up odd jobs to get food or lodging. When he saw that someone was down on their luck, he shared half of what he had.
He was cleaning the stables for a nobleman in the Mattesonia region when the nobles’ son came into the stables and chose to show Cormac that vagabond travelers were well beneath his noble stature.
When the lesson was over, and the nobles’ son had been trounced with very little effort by Cormac, the nobles’ son asked Cormac if he would like to stay with the family and learn proper fighting techniques…though his style seemed to work so far.
Cormac lived with the family for about two years. It was enough time for him to learn how to fight while riding a horse, how to use a sword or a mace, and how to defend himself with a shield.
Hand to hand fighting, it was decided, was not necessary for him to learn, as he seemed to have that lesson well in command.
The noble, a paladin for the governor of the region taught Cormac some of the skills that paladins possess and when Cormac was ready to leave the family, the noble had Cormac go to the regional training grounds for paladins to complete his training.
The ideals of the paladins seemed right to Cormac, (honor above victory, death before dishonor) and he was a sponge to all that the trainers had to show him.
He mastered all forms of fighting, be it on horseback or foot, hand to hand or with a weapon, on offense or in defense.
When he was ready to leave, the head trainer offered him a position as a trainer, but Cormac felt that his service was to the people and not to those that served nobles, so he began his travels…again.
His journey took him to all of the regions in Kambarington, and he never turned his back on those less fortunate than him.
He earned his way guarding caravans or rich merchants, but never stayed with them after they reached their destination. He never felt attached to anyone or any group.
His travels took him to a region east of Kambarington, to the Elf kingdom of Argyle, where he heard of an academy that trained a high level course in warfare.
It was very hard to qualify for enrollment, and even harder to complete. The graduation rate was two percent of all that entered.
Cormac tested to see if he could qualify, and was surprised to find that he scored the highest of all of the entrants. This only made it harder as now he was a target for the other students and the instructors.
Two years later, Cormac finished the course as top graduate, undefeated in any form of combat…by student or trainer.
The offers of employment were many, as every noble that attended the graduation waged a bidding war for his service. Cormac refused them all, and left the academy with nothing more than what he had arrived with, but he sat a little taller in the saddle of the horse that he had been awarded.
Word of his feats traveled the land quickly, especially the tale of his helping a family rebuild their farm after bandits had burned it to the ground for not paying for protection.
He even followed the bandits and came upon them as they were attacking a caravan of nomads. With sword swinging in a blur, and using the techniques from the academy, he rode into the fray.
With his efforts, the bandits were killed, but he was injured in the battle. The families of the caravan had suffered great injuries from the bandits, but they cared for him as one of their own.
After Cormac was able to recover from his wounds, he went from injured to injured applying the skills of a paladin…the laying of hands.
His relentless, selfless acts saved many lives that day and he is forever remembered by the caravan that he saved…for they were the first of the Freeman.
After the Great War, Cormac was sent to a small town in Pennsylvania, where as a member of the National Guards he met Loki, who had just joined the unit after finishing some active duty time in the Army.
The two became friends, and Loki introduced Cormac to Syrus and Drake and role playing games. The four became best of friends, spending weekend’s role playing, or just being together.
Cormac made a career of the military, and his training was that of an infantryman, with a secondary as a mortar man.
The military seemed a very good fit for him, though he couldn’t say why it felt like a comfortable fit for him.
Being a Guardsman meant he serve the state first, and was used to assist residents during a natural disaster…such as floods.
He saw much “action” helping families during a recent flood, and helping those less fortunate always seemed second nature to him.
During the Second Baltazor event, Cormac met with the Freeman, to try to persuade them to join arms against Baltazor, and that was where he met the leader Julian Redstone.
It was during that meeting that she recounted the tale of the day the stranger rode into the fray as their caravan was being attacked, and that stranger was Cormac.
Because of her tale of his heroic, the Freeman did join arms with the Alliance of the Races, and they were instrumental in the war against the Horde.
Julian was so taken in by the actions of Cormac (both from their earlier encounter, as well as during the Second Event), that she offered him membership into the Freeman, and later became his wife.
After the defeat of Baltazor, Cormac settled down with Julian Redstone and they built a home at Druid Lake…one of three in the lake valley.
He even took her last name as his own, as he never had a last name, since he never really belonged to any family.
The solitary orphan had finally found a community that called him friend, and someone to share his life with.

“First can you tell me your full name, as we have you listed as John Doe?”
“My name is Loki Wytehart” replied the man.
“Okay, and where is your home Mr. Wytehart?
“I live in Kambarington, at Druid Lake, in the Sunneria region” replied the man.
“Okay and what brings you to Ponca City?” asked the doctor.
“Where is Ponca City?”
“Ponca City is in Oklahoma, northeast of Oklahoma City, and just south of the Kansas border.”
“What the heck am I doing in Oklahoma?”
The doctor smiled, and said “That is what we are trying to find out. Just a few more questions, and then we can chat.
“Can you tell me what year this is?”
Loki thought for a second, if he was asking what year it was that meant he was in the Other Place. He had moved to Kambarington in 1990, had been there for about ten Kambarington years so about twenty Other Place years…so that made it about…
“2010, I think, not really sure” Loki replied.
“Okay” said the doctor as he finished writing notes in the chart he was holding. He closed the chart, pulled over a chair and sat next to the bed.
“I am having the nurse bring in your personal effects so that we can try to get an idea of what happened, and see if anything jogs your memory.
“You were found along the side of Interstate 35, and since we are the nearest hospital, you were brought here.

I wish to thanks those that recently accepted my invite to be friends on Goodreads. Friends lead to more friends (if they like what they see) and as a new author I am looking for a lot of friends. So thank you Ioana, Rae, Victoria, Cass, and Jonel. I invite you to friend me on Facebook, and check out my author / fan page there as well (Loki Wytehart).

I will be releasing the third book in my Kambarington Saga (The Lost Guardian) on May 16th, and will be running a "Rate my Books" event through my web store, as well as here.

Ratings and reviews are gold to an author, and that is especially true for a new indie such as myself...so watch for details near the end of this week.

Thank you again, my new friends...Welcome to Kambarington, and keep on reading.