I grew up tough, but I didn't know it…then. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss. I was born to a land that can snuff out life in an instant, and frequently does, even to those familiar with it. Orphaned at the tender age of seven, everyone, and everything, I had ever known was gone in one night of fire and blood.

My future, like all the people of my race, was always bleak. Survival is always the prime concern and conditions in the Sea of Fire are neither optimal nor conducive to such; death is always a close companion and frequent visitor to many family groups. It has become an accepted part of our lives, that we would lose so much, so often.

Wealth in the Sea of Fire, at least among my people, isn't measured as much by what you have, but more in how little you have lost. Loss comes in many forms, but physical possessions, always replaceable, have little meaning to my people as a form of wealth. What we cherish and value most is family and friends, camaraderie, bravery, and, above all else, loyalty to ones clan.

Sharing and philanthropy are also important parts of our lives. If a family group needs something, the community works to see that they get it, whether it is a new tent, the replacing of a lost goat or yierka, or even some sort of service. We share just about everything with each other. It is not a matter of what is right or wrong, but a matter of survival; what benefits the clan benefits all.

My life changed drastically in one night, whether for better or worse is irrelevant. To say I could have been this or that had my life not been so irrevocably changed really has no meaning. I know now that this was as it was supposed to be; I am who I am because of those events and nothing can change that.

Am I weathly? Then, according to the standards I see around Wehnimers, I was dirt poor. I was an orphan taken in by strangers, living around people I did not know. I had no possessions, no friends, and no reason for being. I felt I was just taking up space and consuming much needed resources…a burden to an already overburdened people.

Now, after many years among other races in many parts of the world, and after gaining some much needed wisdom (usually a very painful process) I have come to the conclusion that I was never poor. In fact, with the love of my life, Phever, and Eclipse my companion by my side, and all of my friends who I have fought and bled beside, I am the richest man walking Elanthia.

It doesn't matter how many silvers you have, or how expensive your weapons and armor are. What makes you wealthy, beyond measure, is the love and loyalty you have for those that you cherish, and that they have for you.

I am Tehir, and yes, I am wealthy…beyond measure.


General Radeek Andoran
Drakes Vanguard
Defender of Wehnimer's Landing
Black Raider of the Mir'Sheq

Only the dead have seen the end of war - Plato

http://radeekandoran.blogspot.ca/

http://thetehirchronicles.blogspot.ca/