#nelanth

[zanpyreanor]

[Story] Payday

The young rangerlings that reside at the Pyreanor boarding house receive their Farstrider stipends for on the first of every month. Those who served on the front receive a bonus, an upgrade in paygrade, a sort of trainee + rank. After the rangerlings collected their gold, they went to the Pyreanor and Zan paid them for however many hours they worked since the 15th.

Maren, Wynthar, Tidanel, Hanathia, and Nelanth sat around a table in the game room and counted their earnings, set aside their spending money and their debt paying money. They were slowly paying down their debt to Quel'thalas for their upbringing, except Nelanth who was paying back Keylorian for paying back his debt.

Nelanth frowned at a thought. Keylorian said he didn't have to pay it back if he didn't want to, that it was part of his adoption and that he could if he did want to. Nelanth did want to, he felt undeserving of Keylorian's kindness, his one ear capable of standing up properly wilted into a droop, prompted by his guilt.

Then Nelanth looked at the other four, the ones who were unadopted, who had no family outside each other and possibly the residents of the Pyreanor. His own reaching out gave him an advantage over them. It separated them. It made him different. He was a have while they were have-nots. His guilt increased. How could he do this to his friends? To abandon the plight they all shared. He didn't ask for help for his debt, it just happened.

Nelanth's ear perked. He had an idea and shuffled with the debt paying gold. He divided it up into five parts. He stuck his spending money in his coinpurse and one of the smaller five piles in another baggy for Keylorian, and then slid one pile of coins to each of the other four.

Wynthar glance at the gold Nelanth slid to him, the freckled ginger elf raised a brow, "Nel. You need this for yourself."

Nelanth shook his head, "When Mister Keylorian adopted me he paid my debit. I want to pay him back but he said I don't have to. He never said I had to pay him back as fast as I would have to with the state. I can take longer and help you be free of your debts sooner. It's the least I can do. If you want, you can always pay me back later, but you don't need to. It's a gift, because you're my friends."

Wynthar eyed Nelanth, "I don't know what to say."

Maren, the cold and calculating rangerling who went grey at an early age from trauma grumpily addressed Wynthar, "You say thank you." He then looked to Nelanth, "Thank you."

[zanpyreanor]

[Story] Steady

Nelanth Everfell was a tall and lanky nerd of a young Sin'dorei, with blonde hair, glasses, and an impotent left ear that refused to stand upright. Among Kemnebi's litter, he ranked 7 of 8 despite having more formal training than Kae or the Dawnraker twins. Often considered clumsy, he developed a habit of careful movement, which included taking time to regain his balance after movement.

Months ago, Nelanth asked Keylorian to be his father. He admired the elder and his even temperament. He was surprised when Keylorian tentatively agreed, and recently Keylorian filed paperwork for official adoption into his household.

Nelanth was further surprised that Keylorian told him that he no longer needed to pay his debt to the state for the care and upbringing he received. To add icing to the cake, Nel learned Keylorian wanted to restore his father's Lodge so that Nel and the Dawnraker Twins, who turned out to be his biological sons made from stolen material taken from a fertility clinic, would be able to inherit something.

Keylorian had studied Nelanth, how the boy moved, and realized something was very wrong with the young man. Keylorian decided he would do a spell-based investigation of the boy and what the elder monk found was defects in his inner ear, in the vestibular system. A strong pain medicine, an extreme healing, and a cleanse later, Nelanth found his previously dizzying world still and steady.

The boy had apparently suffered some degree of vertigo for most of his life. In spite of the defects, Nel had continued with life and tried to adapt, trying to hit a target while suffering chronic disorientation is not easy.

It would take time for Nelanth to adjust to living in this new strange still and steady world. He felt as if he'd been on a boat, then disembarked, and the floating feeling remained while he got his land legs back. Hopefully, after the adjustment and relearning phase, he would finally thrive.