Tanthalan was born in a nearby forest to an elven woman. His mother was quite the free spirit which obviously did not sit well with her elders. She was fascinated with the world and loved to venture out of the forest and explore. Each trip she made went further away than the last. During one of her adventures, she managed to get herself into some trouble with a couple trolls. When she thought all was lost, a man arrived and vanquished her foes with his sword. That night, she thanked him very thoroughly and perhaps embarrassed by what she had done, snuck out late that night. She did not see the man again for many years.
She returned to the forest only days away from giving birth to Tanthalan. It didn’t take long for the other elves to realize something was different about this child. His mother, ashamed and under constant scorn, left the forest while Tanthalan was very young. The early part of his childhood was spent being passed around from family to family.
Tanthalan struggled with his weight when he was young and was often taunted by the other elves. His human side seemed to be the more dominant side. After one particularly bad run in with an older kid, he took off running through an opening in the trees and nearly ran into the tallest elf he had ever seen. He barely caught a glimpse of the elf’s face before he was blinded by a bright flash. By the time he could see again, he realized he was standing on a wood platform probably 100 feet in the air. He made his way down the tree and met the elf that would become his guardian and mentor for the remainder of his childhood. His name was Galenthrel.
Galenthrel met a young elf that was broken. His body was more bruise than anything but that was nothing compared to where he was mentally. He had no confidence and would rather have his nose in a book than look someone in the eyes. If Galenthrel was going to turn this boy’s life around, it was going to take a lot of work.
One morning during his studies, Tanthalan found a scroll mixed in with his books. He had been taught some basic magic but he had never seen anything like this before. It was obviously way above his skill level but he is his mother’s son. While he may have lacked confidence, he was full up on curiosity.
He studied that scroll for weeks. Every time he thought he had it figured out, all he could manage was a fizzle. The scroll hadn’t been touched in weeks. That wasn’t because he lost interest; it was because he had every inch of that scroll put to memory. There was one thing bothering him about the scroll though. The bottom of it was missing a small section. Enough of it was showing that he assumed he knew what it said. But was he right? Could he have that last line wrong? If he was wrong, what could it be? The scroll was written in common although the title was written in a language he had never seen. In fact, he didn’t know if it was a title or just scribbles. Whatever it was, it wasn’t elven.
It was a beautiful day and instead of sitting at his desk in a secluded part of the house, he decided to find a shady spot outside to read. He was perhaps 400 yards from his home and nearly napping when he heard a loud crash that shook the ground. Startled, his first instinct was to freeze. There was another crash and Tanthalan instantly stood up and started to run in the opposite direction. He made it maybe ten feet before he stopped. He had spent his whole life running. Not this time. He reached down and grabbed the largest stick he could still easily handle. He tossed it from hand to hand as he gained speed towards his adopted home.
At first, he didn’t see anything. He approached the North East corner of the building but nothing was there. Quietly he circled around to the front of the house and finally saw the source of the commotion. Standing in front of the door was a creature he had never seen before. It was spider like but also strangely appeared humanoid. He was going to need more than a stick if this creature was a threat. Dissolving any doubts about its intentions, the creature turned and used one of its massive legs to break through the door. It let out a snarl and charged through. Knowing his master was inside, Tanthalan tightened his grip on the stick and cautiously walked in behind him.
To his left, he saw the creature. It was hissing like a snake and leaning forward as if it was preparing to charge like a bull. To his right was Galenthrel. He had a staff in his hand and appeared way too calm considering he was staring at a hideous monstrosity. Galenthrel began to chant. Almost immediately the room began to tighten. It seemed like the air was being sucked out of the room. Tanthalan was having trouble breathing in enough air even though there was enough wind to blow items around the room. Galenthrel’s chant turned into a yell. His voice was like thunder and the walls shook with every syllable. Tanthalan got down on one knee and started to cover his face. He was terrified. His body was about to shut down in fear when suddenly it hit him. He knew what was happening. He knew this enchantment. He had been studying it for weeks!
Sensing danger, the creature began to charge. It hadn’t made it half way across the room yet when Galenthrel lifted his staff and pointed it at him. That was the moment Tanthalan realized what had been missing from the scroll. The staff burned bright red as if it had been lying in fire. A massive bolt shot from the staff and easily found its target. The creature didn’t stand a chance. Tanthalan had just learned magic missile.
