The Hall of the Trinity Knights

You play around a bit with the idea of going out into the world and making a name for yourself. But the Trinity Knights are an odd sort. Their members come from all walks of life, both nobleman and commoner. Warriors both famous and infamous have been rejected in their application to join the ranks of the Trinity Knights, while men of no note have been welcomed with open arms. Both the saint and the redeemed sinner have been known to fight side by side within the ranks of the Trinity Knights. And the prowess of the knights, both singularly and collectively, was without equal. Even among elven swordsmen, whose skill with the blade approached the mythical, the Trinity Knights are held in great esteem, both for their martial skills and their unrelenting honor.

And you would make your place among them. This you had sworn to yourself.

The Hall of the Trinity Knights was in an independent enclave, nestled within the heart of the three kingdoms that were referred to as The Trinity. Your kingdom laid many leagues away from the Hall. The obvious first stop on your journey was Lastredast.

Lastredast was a small village that laid on the border between your kingdom and your only neighbor (besides the dwarves), the Kingdom of Torrand. The village was technically independent of both your kingdom and that of Torrand, though Elven and human marshalls patrolled the streets together, keeping it the most law-abiding village with humans in it for many a league. It's primary purpose was to serve as a trading post between human and elven kingdoms. It also served as a 'jumping off' point for those elves who wished to wander in the world.

Clad in your armour, with your sword strapped to your back, you made your way to the village of Lastredast. It was a clean but bustling village, with traders' stalls lining the market square. Hard eyed elves roamed on horseback, hands ready to reach for bow or sword. Equally hard faced men clad in black and bearing the badge of the Royal Trorrandian constabulary also made their way about. As was said by many, there was never a more law-abiding human village than that of Lastredast!

You saw yourself catching the eye of more than one human and elf. Elven maids and maidens were rarely ever seen outside the company of their own kind. You knew you were counted beautiful among elves. Among humans, the beauty of elven women was legendary. You must appear to them to be a dream come to life.

You know it's not just your beauty or your gender that is catching they eyes of your fellow elves, however. When you pass by a pair of elven merchants, you hear one of them whisper "John Doe." Already you are gaining a certain amount of notoriety among your own people as the elf maiden who went out into the world.

You make your way to the Whispering Dragon, THE inn in Lastredast. True, there are other inns in Lastredast. But the Whispering Dragon is the one that draws adventurers from all realms. Elves, humans, even the occasional dwarf makes his way to the Whispering Dragon if that being seeks adventure. The inn itself was established two hundred years ago by an elf and human who had become fast friends in their adventure together. That same elf still runs the inn as a partner with his long dead friend's great-great-great-great-grandson (who has had his own adventures in the wide world). If there is news of importance in the world, one can hear itat the Whispering Dragon.

You make your way into the inn, and the conversation almost stops in its tracks. It seems the idea of a elf maiden seeking adventure in the world is enough to even silence these well-travelled worthies. But only for a moment. Their conversations resumes almost instantly, though more than one eye tracks you as you find a table in a dark corner.

An older elf comes to serve you, placing a glass of elven wine in front of you. Before you can pay, however, the elf says, "Keep your coin, John Doe. It is a tradition of mine to buy the first drink of any elven adventurer about to step out of these woods. In memory of my own journey so long ago." With that, the elf disappears back into the crowd.

You sip your wine as you listen to the snippets of conversation around you. It seems that your appearance is not the only newsworthy event that is being bantered about by the patrons of the Whispering Dragon. A small band of Trinity Knights has come to the Kingdom of Torrand!