And time passed...

So time passed, and Van's remnants of his family sought out and found the destroyer of his family...but they did not know how to get the vengence they wanted so badly.
As with all things, years passed until one day Van found he had passed his prime, and now was a figurehead in a group of adventures. His responsibilities kept him quite busy, so it was with some surprise when a young lady presented herself to him one day and would not be put off with a hello, have nice day. She insisted on seeing him in private. Van viewed this as a ploy of some sort, but was confident that he was safe enough, so agreed. It was in that private meeting that the young woman revealed to him that she was half-elven, and his daughter.
He was happy and yet sad, because his daughter, Wren, said that his old enemy had destroyed the elven village. She wanted him to go with her to strike back at them, but Van said he needed to gather his forces before he could go with her. Distraught, the girl fled from him, and though he searched, he could not find her. He gathered the family and set out for the fortress that thier age old enemy called home. They arrived to find that the elven lass had tried to sneak in and been caught. So they besieged the fortress while Van and his family found a secret entrance and went in after her. The battles that were fought inside were numerous and hard won, but in the end, they confronted the sorcerer that had so long ago destroyed thier lives. He was in the middle of a ritual, with Wren bound before him, preparing to sacrifice her. Van did not think, he charged, and as he plunged his blade into the black heart of that man, the ritual went astray....and blackness enveloped both him and his daughter...

To save a life

The Elf, it seems, escaped a village that was burn to the ground by undead. And the cat, it turned out, was really a boy who was found wandering the forest...and trained as a druid...and a relative of Van's! Lenadiel, his youngest brother. Lan and Denoany separated at that point, Lan to take his wife to safety, while Van, Len, and the elf maiden named Selena traveled back into the woods to try to save the survivors.
They succeeded, and in the rejoicing, Van fell to the elf maidens charms. But the next morning departed with his brother to their hometown. He would never know what became of the elves after that.

The Druid and the Elf

The trip back required a long trek across the wilderness, and would take some time. They got provisions together, and started out...but the trip was slow, since none of them owned a horse. Along the way, they fought a few battles, but when they went through the last forest before returning to civilized lands, they found something that would detract from the trip altogether.
In the wood, they happened upon a Elven maiden, wounded, barely alive, and with her, a black tiger. Now a paladins touch can heal most wounds, and it was easy to heal them both. The story they told when they awoke was one of true horror, and as Paladins, Van and his brother could not ignore it. Though following it would bring about the seperation of his family once again...

Finding his family

So he set out from his temple home, searching for any survivors of his family. It wasn't too long till he found one, his brother, Lan. Lan was also found by temple monks and taken to their home, raised and trained as a Paladin! Also, Lan had taken a wife, Denonany! So he had both a brother and a sister in law! He was excited beyond all belief at his luck. They all decided to return to Van's hometown and then resume the search...however, this was not to be.

In the beginning there was Van

In the beginning there was a lonely boy who had lost his family. That boy was found by a group of passing priests and taken back to their temple. There he learned and trained till he became of age and struck out on his own, a Paladin. Out into the world to search for his missing family, or avenge them if they were dead. Little did he know the travels he would undergo.