Scrapeknee's page

(age 7) "You will like Sandpoint, I think, my little hawk," The Shoanti woman told her son as they rode towards the named town, "We have family there, and an old friend who shed blood with me once."

The boy was young, very young, but not so young to be incurious about exploits of battle, "Tell me the story?" He said hopefully, "Who are our relations, what outsider fought by your side?"

The mother smiled, she had little OjWoj now, right where she wanted him, "I will, but first, as we travel by night, can you name the stars?" She gestured, "And tell us which ones will guide us? If you do it well, I will tell you all about the battle with goblins!"

OjWoj couldn't point his finger and start pointing to constellations fast enough!
**** (Age 10)
"You're making him answer you only in Shoanti?" Sheriff Belor Hemlock asked of his brother, "He lives here, in Sandpoint, now. He needs to work on his Common more here."
"Not all of us are so quick to abandon our heritage, brother," Garridan Viskalai said icily in the Shoanti tongue, "While he works, he answers me only in our true tongue. So he won't lose it with time or age or with hanging around the tshamek " That meant outsider. OjWoj loved his uncle, he loved both of his uncles, but he did wish Uncle Garridan wouldn't use that term for his friends.
Hemlock frowned, but kept his temper, "You shave his head, you won't let him talk in common around you... it's hard enough just being a kid without you trying to make every moment a test of his Shoantiness. Our sister wouldn't want that."

OjWoj winced. WAS he past hope at being a true Shoanti now? He still had his child name. There was no deed worth a proper adult name, nor a rite of passage held here. What would mother think of him? What would she want?

His uncles continued to argue about him. He hated when they argued. When he could, he slipped away, to go gaze at the stars.

**** (Age 14)
"Shoanti did not invent stargazing," The fisherman's son sneered, "They're PRIMITIVE, they didn't INVENT anything."

OjWoj bristled at that, "I didn't say they invented it, I said they discovered it, and it's SHOANTI Stargazing. It shows us things, sometimes even tell us things. You can read the stars for advice and..."

"Sounds like a Varisian Fortune Teller trying to scam folks," The Fisherman's son snorted.

"WATCH IT," Warned the Varisian girl nearby, and she said "Shoanti probably have their own star gazing stuff, that's all he's saying."

OjWoj shot her a grateful look, "Right! Look, even I learned a little when I was a kid."

"Did not," The Fisherboy, who was REALLY getting on OjoWoj's nerves, just flat out called him a liar.

OjWoj wasn't the best fighter among the boys, but somethings required either rolling up the sleeves, or ... "Dare me." He said.
"What?" The Fisherboy said, confused.
"Dare me to read the stars for you. I can tell you what they mean or..." OjWoj explained.
"FAH," Fisherboy replied, "That's not a dare. You could make stuff up. " Then a sly look crossed the youth's features, and he said "I dare you to read the stars... from the top of Deverin Manor!"
"That's one of the highest buildings in Sandpoint, and near the bluff!" The girl was alarmed.
"I DOUBLE DARE" The Fisherboy grinned, "If you're scared, 'Little Hawk' just say so."
Ojwoj wished word had never gotten out what his name meant. LITTLE hawk was just so... embarrassing. His temper up, and his honor proded, OjoWoj spat in his hand "FIne. I'll go up there at midnight, read the stars, and be back before morning. I'll even tie a cloth to the top of it to prove I was there. Then, I'll tell you what the stars told me. They don't always speak to even true wisemen, but I can at least relate which stars were where. Then you apologize, AND..." He told the boy "You end up doing my dusting chores for a week."
The boy wrinkled his nose
"or ," OjWoj grinned, "Are YOU scared?"
The boy glared, and said "And if you chicken out, you got to do MY chores. Deal?" He held out a hand.
The girl whispered, "OjoWoj, you're not that good a climber. Don't do it."
OjWoj was honorable, he was decent, he was not always wise. Ignoring her, he spat into his hand like the Varisians sometimes did, and said "DEAL" And they shook.

****
The girl had been right, OjWoj had nearly slipped more than once. But finally, he made it to the top, and he lay down and admired the view, feeling exhausted but triumphant. He stared at the stars, remembering what his mother had taught him.

"Come on, tell me something?" Then he realized he was being rude, "Please? I am OjWoj, of the Shriikirri-Quah." That wasn't entirely true "I am Little Hawk, of Saindpoint." That wasn't entirely true either, "I am ... lost between two worlds but I am no liar, and you are all I have left of my mother. Please, share what you know?"

Nothing, the stars WERE pretty, but he couldn't read into them as his mother said true star favored could. Oh well, not all Shoanti could do it anyway. He sighed, at least he had the flag . He tied it up, trying to get it to stand up between the chimney and a shingle.

A voice called out "is someone up there? SWEET DESNA, what are you DOING?"

A shingle came loose.
And the little hawk discovered , despite his name, he had no wings. He fell, and fell, and fell. It seemed to take forever, and he found himself looking up at the stars. THIS Time, he swore they were trying to tell him something. He didn't remember the impact... but he was told when he woke up, his first words had been "Fire, Blood, and Sin" And then he had passed out again.

**** (Age 18)
OjWoj limped along as he got onto the horse to help patrol. On a horse, he was as quick as anyone. He had to choose a life path , and it was either going to be working at the Inn with one Uncle, or helping the militia and guard with the other. Not like there was a third option, was there?

Even now he got some looks from townsfolk, ones of amazement that he was ONLY lame in the leg. OjWoj couldn't blame them. He should have died. Yet the leg was ALL that was broken when they found him, and a limp that could not be cured was a small price to pay for his foolishness four years ago. Yet, he had gained something too. The stars seemed to beckon more than ever to him. It was as if, in return for his leg, they had waken something in him. He didn't tell anyone. They'd think he was mad, or full of himself.
At least he'd earned a cool nick name "Scrape Knee"; which he kind of liked, because it did make him sound very tough, like a multi story drop was but a scratch!

His Uncle Belor gave him an order, "Short patrol tonight, Nephew. Swallow tail festival is soon, and no, you're not on duty. But you can tell my brother you are so you get time off for it rather than working the White Deer half the time" He winked.
OjWoj shook his head, "Sorry, Uncle, Wouldn't be honest to lie like that."
Belor sighed, "Of course not. As you like."
OjWoj smiled, "I know. Got the worse traits of both of you" he said speaking of the brothers.
"Actually" Sheriff Hemlock observed, "I was thinking you had the best traits of your mother"
OjWoj Smiled at that. And he decided he WOULD try to attend the festival as much as he could. Mother would have wanted him to.

Where his Uncle Hemlock defies traditions, but is a benevolent man, and his Uncle Viskalai clings to the old ways but isn't always as nice, Scrapeknee is kind of in between. He is a well behaved, decent, honest, tradition respecting young man. Of course, torn between two worlds, he sometimes is unsure which 'right way' is THE right way. Scrapknee wants to visit the hawk clan one day, maybe to learn about his heritage from the source. And to pay his respects and.. yes, under go a rite of adult hood if it is possible. Yet he also knows he has duties here at Sandpoint, and folks who count on him.
He would be okay with putting his own dreams aside for the greater good, if he knew more about his dreams and was sure what the greater good WAS.

OjWoj is now out of the 'goofy looking' phase of his teen years, having filled out to a handsome enough fellow. He has abandoned the shaved look and now keeps his dark hair to the shoulders. Scrapeknee's eyes are a warm amber. Like most Shoanti, he has a ruddy tone to his skin. He is not the most atheletic fellow but he's in tune enough. His clothing is a mix of Shoanti and local fashion when he thinks about fashion at all.