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Larjyn is a city at the source of the Sandy River, within the Republic of Chaya, at the far central-eastern edge of the Scavenger Lands.
==History==


*Only official mention in Outcastes (pg. 42)
Guendan was the only child born to [[Delwar]], a noble man, and his wife [[Airylan]] in the prominent city of [[Larjyn]]. Delwar was a scholar who was well trained in history and the knowledge of the ancients. Guen began learning to read and his training in the martial arts at a very young age.
*Birthplace of [[Guen]]


[[Category:Forgotten Suns]]
When Guen was only five years old, Delwar grew sick and over the course of a nearly a year, he grew progressively weaker and eventually died in his sleep. Despite her grief Airylan attempted to shield her son from the trauma of his father’s death by spending a great deal of time with him. She took him to the market places and brought him to shows. She spent hours reading to him and watching him train in the courtyards. Her efforts had a very positive effect on her son. Guen did well in his studies and he was happy, outgoing child, but where he truly showed the most promise was in the martial arts. He moved with a catlike grace and speed that was unrivaled by any of his peers. Airylan began to enter her son in the local tournaments held by the nobles of the city.
[[Category:Town]]
 
The tournaments were a symbol of great importance in Larjyn. Aside from the monetary rewards, winning tournaments brought great status and honor to a family. Marriages and political alliances or mergers were often formed allowing families to move into higher classes of nobility following a series of successful tournaments. There were four class distinctions within the nobility of Larjyn. With The dragon blooded being the highest class, followed respectively by Quarest, Nadan, and finally Ramor being the lowest level of nobility within the city. Each competetor fought within his age group and class and represented his own family at the tournaments unless there was an alliance between families in which case the fighter could fight respresenting the family of his ally in a prearranged agreement between the family. However it was not uncommon for the winner of his class at the tournaments to catch some attention from the nobles in the class above them.
 
By the time Guen was eight years old he had already won enough competitions to have gained the attention of many higher ranking noble families even though he was fighting in the Ramor class. Guen’s accomplishments and the fact that Airylan was a very beautiful widow attracted the attentions of noble lord named [[Zalhryal]] of the high ranking Quarest. Zalhryal had lost his own wife several years back and he felt that he was finally ready to remarry. Zalhryal married Airylan and brought her and Guen back to live with him and his two children. He promised to treat Guen well and further his studies and training.
 
Guen was introduced to Zalhryal’s children shortly after arrving in his new home. [[Dansar]] was a tall, thin lipped, narrow eyed boy with an overly large nose about 2 years older than Guen. He made it clear to Guen within seconds of their meeting by deliberately snubbing him that he considered Guen beneath him. The other child [[Taryn]] was a pretty little girl just a few weeks older than Guen. Unlike her brother, Taryn was glad to have a child her age to spend time with and the two became instant friends.
 
Taryn was an intelligent child who wanted desperately to be allowed to learn and study, but it was rare that even the highest nobles would send a female child to school. As the years went by Guen taught Taryn to read and write. He shared the information he learned in his lectures with her and allowed her to read his books with him.
 
During this time, Guen was now fighting in the Quarest class and winning so many competitions that there was talk of allowing him to advance to a higher age group. His friendly personality and good looks also added to the interest of many noble families with daughters of the appropriate age. Zalhryal was so pleased at this that he came to Guen and asked him what reward he might like to receive for the honor and award money that he had brought to the family. Guen didn’t even need to think about his answer. The money that he was winning was more than enough to pay for Taryn’s formal education and he asked that she be allowed to study to become a monk. The kindly nobleman was so touched and taken aback by Guen’s selflessness that aside from granting his request, he announced from that moment that there would be no distinction between Guen and his other children. Guen would be as his own son.
 
This announcement enraged Dansar who had grown increasingly jealous and resentful of Guen over the years. Dansar was a good fighter and his father had shown great pride in him until Guen came into the family. Now Guen’s fighting skills that far outshined his own were the talk of the tournaments. Dansar had also noticed that Guen did not spend an exceptional amount of time practicing. The fluid fighting movements just came naturally to Guen while Dansar had to spend hours and hours of training to be good at the art. Dansar knew that there was talk of excelling Guen in the tournament levels. If Guen began jumping levels Dansar might have to face him during the games. He could not even stand to think of his public humiliation at being beaten by the lower ranking Ramor that his father had brought to their home. Now to make matters worse, his father was announcing that Guen would be his equal in status. Dansar began to fantasize about getting “rid” of Guen but he tried to push the idea out of his head.
 
Several months later on Guen’s 15th birthday the announcement came that Guen would be excelled to the next level of competition which would allow him to fight against 16 and 17 year olds. This also meant that Dansar would have to fight Guen if he wanted to win the competition.
 
Taryn loved the martial arts. She often liked to watch her brothers on the training fields. She would go down and sit along the sidelines wishing that she could be part of the action. In truth she was could hold her own at the art, having been sparring for years with Guen in their spare time when others were not looking. She hated the fact that being a female held her back from so many things and Guen was the friend to whom she confided her feelings. Taryn had wanted to learn to fight and Guen hadn’t been able to think of a good reason why she shouldn’t learn and so he had trained her.
 
While Taryn was down on the fields watching the training, a stray wooden spike that Dansar had been attempting to work with flew dangerously close to her head. Taryn had quickly left the field but as she was leaving she heard Dansar being scolded by the instructor for being clumsy with his weapon. Later that evening, Dansar confronted Taryn blaming her for his embarrassment on the field. Taryn attempted to explain that she had not meant to be in the way, but Dansar warned her not to come down by the training fields again and slapped her hard across the face.
 
Guen saw Dansar hit Taryn and he ran across the room to her defense. He took Dansar down easily and warned him never to harm Taryn again. Dansar considered going to his father about Guen’s interference, but Zalhryal would no doubt find a way to excuse Guen and his father would also find out how easily Guen had beaten him. At this point Dansar decided that Guen had to be removed permanently. He would just have to wait for an opportunity.
 
Opportunity came several weeks later during a multi-family trip to the countryside. Guen’s abilities in the martial arts had gained enough public attention to attract the interest of many of the dragonblooded within the city. They watched his cat like movements in combat with extreme interest and suspision. One dragonblooded noble named Kyndel noticed the obvious resentment that Dansar held for Guen. Wanting to see if Guen was indeed a potential lunar exalted, he persuaded Dansar to help place Guen in harms way. Kyndel promised that if Guen was not an exalted then Dansar would be rid of Guen altogether, if he was exalted the dragonblooded would deal with him.
 
Later that day, Zalhyral sent the two boys to fish in the canal for dinner. The canal was filled with fish, but it was also filled with hungry crocodiles. The land where Dansar was standing at the edge dropped suddenly in an almost sheer 10 foot drop into the canal itself. The edge of the land was slick with moss and wet rocks. Dansar nearly lost his footing and as he looked down to the crocodiles below, he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked over at Guen who was preparing to drop the fishing line into the water. Dansar called Guen over to the slippery area of rock. Feining an interest in something floating in the water, Dansar got Guen to lean over the edge. At this point he pretended to lose his balance and knocked Guen into the canal. As a crocodile lunged for Guen, Dansar pretended to be horrified and shouted that he would get help.
 
Guen struggled under the water with the large crocodile, desperately trying to get away. A soft voice seemed to call out to him. “You will survive”, she said. Suddenly he found himself tearing into the alligator like a rabid animal. He managed to surface and get some breath. He clawed the animals eyes and savagely bit at its softer underbelly. The animal released its jaws from his leg. The animal lunged at him again. Guen dove down and he scraped up a rock from the canal bottom and rammed it between the crocodiles jaws. The animal thrashed about in rage but instead of fleeing he stayed and using another rock he pursued and bludgeoned the animal to death. He dragged the dying animal to the side of the canal. What happened next was like something out of a nightmare as he was unable to stop himself from devouring the animals heart. His leg was badly torn although it was not bleeding. He was covered in the crocodiles blood. The animal was torn wide open. He had no idea how long he had even been at it. Suddenly he became aware of shouts. His stepfather was shouting and running frantically along with several dragonblooded noblemen toward a piece of land which sloped more gently down to the canal. It took Guen several seconds to realize the source of the man’s hysteria. Taryn stood several yards away looking at him. As soon as he turned to her, she started walking toward him. Horrified at what he had done and afraid of what he might do next he warned the girl to get away. She continued to walk over to him saying his name cautiously. Reaching she out she grabbed his hand and tried to look at his wounded leg.
 
By this time Zalhryal had made it down the embankment. Looking up Guen saw the look of disgust in the man’s face. He tried to flee but Taryn was still holding on to him. Misjudging his strength he attempted to shove her off of him, but the force of the shove sent her slamming onto the ground several yards away. Unable to control or understand what was happening Guen fled into the forest. The dragonblooded pursued him but lost him in the thick woods.
 
Guen remembered little of his actions for a period of time after fleeing from his family. He knew that he was acting like a savage beast and that he had incredible powers and energy. His leg had fully healed in rapid time and he did not even bear a scar from the hideous wound. Eventually, he was found by [[Jaguan]] a lunar exalted who brought him back to his people. Here Guen learned of the lunar exalted who they once were in ages past and who they were now. He learned how to use and understand the new shape shifting abilities that he had developed. Guen was given a set of trials to perform and then initiated into the Caste of the Changing Moon and was given the lunar name Tygon. He had always known about the banishing of the lunar exalted to the wylds and the destruction of the solars. He knew that the dragon blooded hunted Solars and Lunars still to this day, but had never had much interest in politics.
 
During this time, Guen decided that he could not stay in the wylds. He did not wish to become a monster preying upon those that he came across. Many of the lunars that he met seemed completely insane. Living in the wylds could drive anyone insane but from what he could learn those who were the most crazed and out of touch with reality monsters were the ones who had been the kindest and the most gentle. The actions they were driven to by their bestial instincts shattered their minds and left them forever broken. He did not wish to live the life of a barbarian. He found the actions of most of the lunars here in the wyld to be disgusting and horrible. He wanted the life that he had before all of this had happened. Guen had learned to control his animal nature and use it to his advantage. He believed that while the vast majority of them were indeed monsters, there were some lunars who were capable of being decent people. These could learn to control themselves and function in a regular society if only the dragon blooded were out of power. Guen believed that it was the dragon blooded who turned the minds of the people against the celestial exalted. He came to believe that the dragon blooded were even worse monsters than most lunars for driving the lunars to a world of insanity and forcing them to become the monsters that the humans feared so much. In his eyes, the cowardly dragon blooded forced the lunars into the wylds because they feared the greater power possessed by the lunars, just as Dansar had pushed him into the canal with the crocodile. Guen believed that the dragonblooded had to be removed from power and the eyes of the people needed to be opened to their true nature.
 
After nearly a year in the wylds, Guen headed back to the city. He had to get back to a rational place even if just temporarily. He missed most of the people that he had known prior to his exaltation. His life here had been one of comfort and happiness. He did not want to believe that people could be so cold hearted as to turn their backs on a loved one so easily. He had to believe that their actions were the direct result of all the stories and teaching of the dragon blooded.
 
Wandering through the city, he shifted to the form of a hawk and flew into the courtyards of his former family. Without really thinking about it he headed to the area of the courtyard that had been his and Taryn’s favorite meeting spot. It was a secluded area surrounded by trees and vines. This had been their spot for studying and sparring. If one was upset and needed to talk or they planned to sneak out and enjoy a warm summer night, this had been the standard meeting spot.
 
When he landed in the trees, he was surprised to see the girl sitting on the grass in the corner reading a book. She had food and drink with her which meant that she had probably been making a day of it. He dropped softly to the ground and changed to human form. He began to approach her slowly unsure of how she would react to him, although he knew that she had tried to help him that day by the canal. He called her name softly from a few feet away. She turned and looked at him for a moment as if not believing what she was seeing. She started to rise and for a horrible second he thought that she was going to start screaming. But then she ran to him and hugged him happily. “You finally came back”, she said. “ Did you go to the Wylds”? They sat down and Guen explained his story to the girl to the best that he understood it all. Taryn understood a great deal of what he was talking about because she had spent much of the last year reading and researching about the lunar exalted. She warned him that his exaltation had brought the family under a lot of suspicion and disgrace. His mother was heartbroken. Dansar in an attempt to redeem their family honor had taken a position with the dragon blooded working to hunt and destroy the celestial exalted. Dansar was also determined to destroy Guen in particular, blaming him for everything that had ever gone wrong in his life. She added that although Zalhryal had not publicly defended Guen, his silent disapproval of Dansar’s actions led her to believe that he had not completely abandoned his adopted son. This only served to further fan the flames of Dansar’s hatred. Guen was not surprised that Dansar would be teaming up with the dragon-blooded. But he would not hunt him down and leave Zalhryal with no sons. He would not kill Dansar unless he had to. “ He pushed me in with the crocodile”, he said quietly.
 
“I always thought so but there was no way to prove it”, the girl replied. Guen knew that he had to leave before he got caught and brought more suspicion to his family. Taryn had long ago made the decision that she wanted to go with him wherever he went, but Guen feared for her safety and persuaded her to remain behind to keep an eye on Dansar and what he was doing. She knew that Guen had changed a great deal since she had seen him last yet, when she looked at him she still saw the childhood friend that she loved so much and couldn’t let go of. He was very driven now and he had a lot of anger inside of him now. Still, Guen had always been good to her and she had him to thank for paving the way to becoming the cleric that she now was. He had not deserved this fate and she would not abandon him under any circumstances.
 
Guen returned often to spend time with Taryn. Her unconditional acceptance of him helped to keep him believing that he was not a horrid beast. This in turn gave strength to his belief in his goal that without the dragon blooded, good hearted lunars who retained their memories and self control need not live lives of insanity in the Wylds. He also feared that if he stayed away to long, the girl would attempt to come looking for him. As it was, on one occasion he had left after a visit still feeling very upset about what he believed was the unjust killing of a new lunar and Taryn had attempted to follow him to the Wylds. He knew that as a monk she could often justify periods of absence as going to the countryside for a retreat of solitary meditation. Guen was also aware that she would never stand a chance there and he could not lose the one good thing that still remained in his otherwise shattered life.
 
Over the next four years Taryn remained as Guen’s best friend and primary contact with the civilized world, helping him toward what was now their shared goal in any way that she can.
 
Guen is always searching for new ways to take down the dragon blooded. He continues to use his original name as opposed to his lunar name except when he is dealing with other lunars even though he knows that this may make him easier to track. The reason for this is his stubborn refusal to give up any more of the life he once had in an effort to avoid the pursuit of the dragon blooded.

Revision as of 05:34, 1 July 2005

History

Guendan was the only child born to Delwar, a noble man, and his wife Airylan in the prominent city of Larjyn. Delwar was a scholar who was well trained in history and the knowledge of the ancients. Guen began learning to read and his training in the martial arts at a very young age.

When Guen was only five years old, Delwar grew sick and over the course of a nearly a year, he grew progressively weaker and eventually died in his sleep. Despite her grief Airylan attempted to shield her son from the trauma of his father’s death by spending a great deal of time with him. She took him to the market places and brought him to shows. She spent hours reading to him and watching him train in the courtyards. Her efforts had a very positive effect on her son. Guen did well in his studies and he was happy, outgoing child, but where he truly showed the most promise was in the martial arts. He moved with a catlike grace and speed that was unrivaled by any of his peers. Airylan began to enter her son in the local tournaments held by the nobles of the city.

The tournaments were a symbol of great importance in Larjyn. Aside from the monetary rewards, winning tournaments brought great status and honor to a family. Marriages and political alliances or mergers were often formed allowing families to move into higher classes of nobility following a series of successful tournaments. There were four class distinctions within the nobility of Larjyn. With The dragon blooded being the highest class, followed respectively by Quarest, Nadan, and finally Ramor being the lowest level of nobility within the city. Each competetor fought within his age group and class and represented his own family at the tournaments unless there was an alliance between families in which case the fighter could fight respresenting the family of his ally in a prearranged agreement between the family. However it was not uncommon for the winner of his class at the tournaments to catch some attention from the nobles in the class above them.

By the time Guen was eight years old he had already won enough competitions to have gained the attention of many higher ranking noble families even though he was fighting in the Ramor class. Guen’s accomplishments and the fact that Airylan was a very beautiful widow attracted the attentions of noble lord named Zalhryal of the high ranking Quarest. Zalhryal had lost his own wife several years back and he felt that he was finally ready to remarry. Zalhryal married Airylan and brought her and Guen back to live with him and his two children. He promised to treat Guen well and further his studies and training.

Guen was introduced to Zalhryal’s children shortly after arrving in his new home. Dansar was a tall, thin lipped, narrow eyed boy with an overly large nose about 2 years older than Guen. He made it clear to Guen within seconds of their meeting by deliberately snubbing him that he considered Guen beneath him. The other child Taryn was a pretty little girl just a few weeks older than Guen. Unlike her brother, Taryn was glad to have a child her age to spend time with and the two became instant friends.

Taryn was an intelligent child who wanted desperately to be allowed to learn and study, but it was rare that even the highest nobles would send a female child to school. As the years went by Guen taught Taryn to read and write. He shared the information he learned in his lectures with her and allowed her to read his books with him.

During this time, Guen was now fighting in the Quarest class and winning so many competitions that there was talk of allowing him to advance to a higher age group. His friendly personality and good looks also added to the interest of many noble families with daughters of the appropriate age. Zalhryal was so pleased at this that he came to Guen and asked him what reward he might like to receive for the honor and award money that he had brought to the family. Guen didn’t even need to think about his answer. The money that he was winning was more than enough to pay for Taryn’s formal education and he asked that she be allowed to study to become a monk. The kindly nobleman was so touched and taken aback by Guen’s selflessness that aside from granting his request, he announced from that moment that there would be no distinction between Guen and his other children. Guen would be as his own son.

This announcement enraged Dansar who had grown increasingly jealous and resentful of Guen over the years. Dansar was a good fighter and his father had shown great pride in him until Guen came into the family. Now Guen’s fighting skills that far outshined his own were the talk of the tournaments. Dansar had also noticed that Guen did not spend an exceptional amount of time practicing. The fluid fighting movements just came naturally to Guen while Dansar had to spend hours and hours of training to be good at the art. Dansar knew that there was talk of excelling Guen in the tournament levels. If Guen began jumping levels Dansar might have to face him during the games. He could not even stand to think of his public humiliation at being beaten by the lower ranking Ramor that his father had brought to their home. Now to make matters worse, his father was announcing that Guen would be his equal in status. Dansar began to fantasize about getting “rid” of Guen but he tried to push the idea out of his head.

Several months later on Guen’s 15th birthday the announcement came that Guen would be excelled to the next level of competition which would allow him to fight against 16 and 17 year olds. This also meant that Dansar would have to fight Guen if he wanted to win the competition.

Taryn loved the martial arts. She often liked to watch her brothers on the training fields. She would go down and sit along the sidelines wishing that she could be part of the action. In truth she was could hold her own at the art, having been sparring for years with Guen in their spare time when others were not looking. She hated the fact that being a female held her back from so many things and Guen was the friend to whom she confided her feelings. Taryn had wanted to learn to fight and Guen hadn’t been able to think of a good reason why she shouldn’t learn and so he had trained her.

While Taryn was down on the fields watching the training, a stray wooden spike that Dansar had been attempting to work with flew dangerously close to her head. Taryn had quickly left the field but as she was leaving she heard Dansar being scolded by the instructor for being clumsy with his weapon. Later that evening, Dansar confronted Taryn blaming her for his embarrassment on the field. Taryn attempted to explain that she had not meant to be in the way, but Dansar warned her not to come down by the training fields again and slapped her hard across the face.

Guen saw Dansar hit Taryn and he ran across the room to her defense. He took Dansar down easily and warned him never to harm Taryn again. Dansar considered going to his father about Guen’s interference, but Zalhryal would no doubt find a way to excuse Guen and his father would also find out how easily Guen had beaten him. At this point Dansar decided that Guen had to be removed permanently. He would just have to wait for an opportunity.

Opportunity came several weeks later during a multi-family trip to the countryside. Guen’s abilities in the martial arts had gained enough public attention to attract the interest of many of the dragonblooded within the city. They watched his cat like movements in combat with extreme interest and suspision. One dragonblooded noble named Kyndel noticed the obvious resentment that Dansar held for Guen. Wanting to see if Guen was indeed a potential lunar exalted, he persuaded Dansar to help place Guen in harms way. Kyndel promised that if Guen was not an exalted then Dansar would be rid of Guen altogether, if he was exalted the dragonblooded would deal with him.

Later that day, Zalhyral sent the two boys to fish in the canal for dinner. The canal was filled with fish, but it was also filled with hungry crocodiles. The land where Dansar was standing at the edge dropped suddenly in an almost sheer 10 foot drop into the canal itself. The edge of the land was slick with moss and wet rocks. Dansar nearly lost his footing and as he looked down to the crocodiles below, he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked over at Guen who was preparing to drop the fishing line into the water. Dansar called Guen over to the slippery area of rock. Feining an interest in something floating in the water, Dansar got Guen to lean over the edge. At this point he pretended to lose his balance and knocked Guen into the canal. As a crocodile lunged for Guen, Dansar pretended to be horrified and shouted that he would get help.

Guen struggled under the water with the large crocodile, desperately trying to get away. A soft voice seemed to call out to him. “You will survive”, she said. Suddenly he found himself tearing into the alligator like a rabid animal. He managed to surface and get some breath. He clawed the animals eyes and savagely bit at its softer underbelly. The animal released its jaws from his leg. The animal lunged at him again. Guen dove down and he scraped up a rock from the canal bottom and rammed it between the crocodiles jaws. The animal thrashed about in rage but instead of fleeing he stayed and using another rock he pursued and bludgeoned the animal to death. He dragged the dying animal to the side of the canal. What happened next was like something out of a nightmare as he was unable to stop himself from devouring the animals heart. His leg was badly torn although it was not bleeding. He was covered in the crocodiles blood. The animal was torn wide open. He had no idea how long he had even been at it. Suddenly he became aware of shouts. His stepfather was shouting and running frantically along with several dragonblooded noblemen toward a piece of land which sloped more gently down to the canal. It took Guen several seconds to realize the source of the man’s hysteria. Taryn stood several yards away looking at him. As soon as he turned to her, she started walking toward him. Horrified at what he had done and afraid of what he might do next he warned the girl to get away. She continued to walk over to him saying his name cautiously. Reaching she out she grabbed his hand and tried to look at his wounded leg.

By this time Zalhryal had made it down the embankment. Looking up Guen saw the look of disgust in the man’s face. He tried to flee but Taryn was still holding on to him. Misjudging his strength he attempted to shove her off of him, but the force of the shove sent her slamming onto the ground several yards away. Unable to control or understand what was happening Guen fled into the forest. The dragonblooded pursued him but lost him in the thick woods.

Guen remembered little of his actions for a period of time after fleeing from his family. He knew that he was acting like a savage beast and that he had incredible powers and energy. His leg had fully healed in rapid time and he did not even bear a scar from the hideous wound. Eventually, he was found by Jaguan a lunar exalted who brought him back to his people. Here Guen learned of the lunar exalted who they once were in ages past and who they were now. He learned how to use and understand the new shape shifting abilities that he had developed. Guen was given a set of trials to perform and then initiated into the Caste of the Changing Moon and was given the lunar name Tygon. He had always known about the banishing of the lunar exalted to the wylds and the destruction of the solars. He knew that the dragon blooded hunted Solars and Lunars still to this day, but had never had much interest in politics.

During this time, Guen decided that he could not stay in the wylds. He did not wish to become a monster preying upon those that he came across. Many of the lunars that he met seemed completely insane. Living in the wylds could drive anyone insane but from what he could learn those who were the most crazed and out of touch with reality monsters were the ones who had been the kindest and the most gentle. The actions they were driven to by their bestial instincts shattered their minds and left them forever broken. He did not wish to live the life of a barbarian. He found the actions of most of the lunars here in the wyld to be disgusting and horrible. He wanted the life that he had before all of this had happened. Guen had learned to control his animal nature and use it to his advantage. He believed that while the vast majority of them were indeed monsters, there were some lunars who were capable of being decent people. These could learn to control themselves and function in a regular society if only the dragon blooded were out of power. Guen believed that it was the dragon blooded who turned the minds of the people against the celestial exalted. He came to believe that the dragon blooded were even worse monsters than most lunars for driving the lunars to a world of insanity and forcing them to become the monsters that the humans feared so much. In his eyes, the cowardly dragon blooded forced the lunars into the wylds because they feared the greater power possessed by the lunars, just as Dansar had pushed him into the canal with the crocodile. Guen believed that the dragonblooded had to be removed from power and the eyes of the people needed to be opened to their true nature.

After nearly a year in the wylds, Guen headed back to the city. He had to get back to a rational place even if just temporarily. He missed most of the people that he had known prior to his exaltation. His life here had been one of comfort and happiness. He did not want to believe that people could be so cold hearted as to turn their backs on a loved one so easily. He had to believe that their actions were the direct result of all the stories and teaching of the dragon blooded.

Wandering through the city, he shifted to the form of a hawk and flew into the courtyards of his former family. Without really thinking about it he headed to the area of the courtyard that had been his and Taryn’s favorite meeting spot. It was a secluded area surrounded by trees and vines. This had been their spot for studying and sparring. If one was upset and needed to talk or they planned to sneak out and enjoy a warm summer night, this had been the standard meeting spot.

When he landed in the trees, he was surprised to see the girl sitting on the grass in the corner reading a book. She had food and drink with her which meant that she had probably been making a day of it. He dropped softly to the ground and changed to human form. He began to approach her slowly unsure of how she would react to him, although he knew that she had tried to help him that day by the canal. He called her name softly from a few feet away. She turned and looked at him for a moment as if not believing what she was seeing. She started to rise and for a horrible second he thought that she was going to start screaming. But then she ran to him and hugged him happily. “You finally came back”, she said. “ Did you go to the Wylds”? They sat down and Guen explained his story to the girl to the best that he understood it all. Taryn understood a great deal of what he was talking about because she had spent much of the last year reading and researching about the lunar exalted. She warned him that his exaltation had brought the family under a lot of suspicion and disgrace. His mother was heartbroken. Dansar in an attempt to redeem their family honor had taken a position with the dragon blooded working to hunt and destroy the celestial exalted. Dansar was also determined to destroy Guen in particular, blaming him for everything that had ever gone wrong in his life. She added that although Zalhryal had not publicly defended Guen, his silent disapproval of Dansar’s actions led her to believe that he had not completely abandoned his adopted son. This only served to further fan the flames of Dansar’s hatred. Guen was not surprised that Dansar would be teaming up with the dragon-blooded. But he would not hunt him down and leave Zalhryal with no sons. He would not kill Dansar unless he had to. “ He pushed me in with the crocodile”, he said quietly.

“I always thought so but there was no way to prove it”, the girl replied. Guen knew that he had to leave before he got caught and brought more suspicion to his family. Taryn had long ago made the decision that she wanted to go with him wherever he went, but Guen feared for her safety and persuaded her to remain behind to keep an eye on Dansar and what he was doing. She knew that Guen had changed a great deal since she had seen him last yet, when she looked at him she still saw the childhood friend that she loved so much and couldn’t let go of. He was very driven now and he had a lot of anger inside of him now. Still, Guen had always been good to her and she had him to thank for paving the way to becoming the cleric that she now was. He had not deserved this fate and she would not abandon him under any circumstances.

Guen returned often to spend time with Taryn. Her unconditional acceptance of him helped to keep him believing that he was not a horrid beast. This in turn gave strength to his belief in his goal that without the dragon blooded, good hearted lunars who retained their memories and self control need not live lives of insanity in the Wylds. He also feared that if he stayed away to long, the girl would attempt to come looking for him. As it was, on one occasion he had left after a visit still feeling very upset about what he believed was the unjust killing of a new lunar and Taryn had attempted to follow him to the Wylds. He knew that as a monk she could often justify periods of absence as going to the countryside for a retreat of solitary meditation. Guen was also aware that she would never stand a chance there and he could not lose the one good thing that still remained in his otherwise shattered life.

Over the next four years Taryn remained as Guen’s best friend and primary contact with the civilized world, helping him toward what was now their shared goal in any way that she can.

Guen is always searching for new ways to take down the dragon blooded. He continues to use his original name as opposed to his lunar name except when he is dealing with other lunars even though he knows that this may make him easier to track. The reason for this is his stubborn refusal to give up any more of the life he once had in an effort to avoid the pursuit of the dragon blooded.