Raylith was the second basul born to Wo’dean who was a flyer in Tormerac’s forces. Like Ta’bain, Ceranth’s chaimeach, Wo’dean was blessed with four shasulas and only two basuls. Raylith grew up somewhat carefree amongst all those females. His eldest broar was not as lucky, having been trapped to study the teachings of his chaimeach. This freed Raylith to forge a friendship with, slightly older, only by a year, wild child named Curze.
By the time he was forced to settle down into a position within the community, Raylith chose ground crew after one of his friends was badly injured attempting to bond with an unwilling Wind-dodger. The two, Raylith and Curze having been raised close to the chieftain’s residence, soon caught the attention of Ceranth, a rather brooding fellow obsessed with rules and duty, something neither of them knew very much about. Now suffering the misfortune to be under his command, Raylith slowly discovered that there was something about Ceranth’s ways that started to appeal to him. He had never had any real sense of duty, other than ‘hunt for your family as well as those stupid stew pots.’ And of course ‘help out where you can.’ All that had been ingrained into his head from the moment he and Storm began hunting together. This was different; Ceranth’s training gave him a sense of importance, that somehow he mattered to the fabric of the whole. He soon became Ceranth’s second, who was over a huge number of ground crew warriors which learned to fight as a team and not individually. However, Raylith was not the only one that benefited from his paring. Ceranth started to smile more. He even drank and hung out around personal campfires just to talk; it was a side of him few had ever seen before.
Raylith and Curze were known to have a way with the ladies. But Curze was always planting seeds of doubt in his head whenever a prospective female caught his eye. Raylith began to think Curze just didn’t want to be a lone bachelor. The Ol’Sackay villages vast in size offered unsettled warriors and females from other villages a huge selection to choose from. But as with all things, there are rules over this as well. Playing around with a future partner’s body is restricted to petting. Sex was meant for the time of claiming, leaving many to take the act of petting right to the edge of crossing the line. Raylith was one of those almost line crossers. He loved females and the fact that so many came to their village looking for a mate was like a fat shulet standing there waiting to be plucked. That was the Raylith before the exodus. Life on the other side took on a darker more duty-driven tone to get back. The devastating attack of the Black Clutch and the subsequent loss of so many good warriors and friends all but killed his youthful antics. Having to cut off a child’s arm was something he could never un-see. Then not knowing where Ceranth was just dug a deeper pit in his belly.
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