Birvan's Characters
Name: Bones, Mr. Bones, uncle Bones
Real Name: Samuel Boones
Age: 58
Gender: male
Occupation: Storyteller and Rumour Seller
Appearance: being nearly 60 years old, age has left quite a few marks, but mostly superficial. Despite his greying hair and the wrinkles, he's still very active and full of energy, though it usually only shows through the entusiasm of telling his stories and the sparkle on his blue-grey eyes
He usually wers the same attire all the time, the brown and green clothes and his red hat. The only thing that often changes are the feathers he uses to addorn his hat. He has quite a good collection of them, mostly from woodland or game birds. The more rare ones he only uses on special occasions
Personality: through the years he has calmed down a lot, but he still has the same energic curiosity from his earlier days. Since young he always loved meeting new people, hear their stories and share his collection with others. Because of that he's quite open to new ideas and new perspectives, but that doesn't mean he's going to give up on his own beliefs. He's just flexible enough to take several different views at the same time
Though he loves to say his job is lying for a living, he's not really a liar. His job is to tell stories and that's a different matter. As for rumours, he simply gathers what he hears and tells the most likely ones for those who want to hear. The reputation he gained for his accuracy is only the result from his long experience from dealing with all types of people and knowing how to filter the useful information form the little pieces he hears here and there. Unlike others he doesn't believe in making up rumours just to gain some coins
His love for telling tales doesn't suit everyone though. Some people dislike him because of that, others because they can't stand his habit of nagging people to pay him a drink in exchange for a story or two. He can be a bit annoying sometimes, but he has good intentions
Another thing about him that sometimes offends people is the fact he's so neutral. He doesn't like to take sides, but because he's so impartial with the rumours he sells, some think he's just doing on purpose against them. But from his point of view he's just selling what he heard, not what he made up, so it's not his fault if the said rumour goes against that person
Likes: listen to new stories, meeting new people, telling his tales over a good drink, feathers...
Dislikes: being called by his real name, liars, disrespect...
Story: Samuel was born in Hollowberry, 4th of 9 children, son of one of the many farmers and sheepherders in that town. He was considered the most adventurous and troublemaker of his family, often causing trouble instead of doing his chores
Since he had no interest in the farm like his siblings, his father put him to work under one of merchants he knew, in hope his son would stop fooling around and take things more seriously. But instead of settling down, this only opened new possibilities to his adventurous tendencies
He was everywhere, from the darkest street to the highest hills, making connections with all types of people. If it wasn't for his good social skills attracting new business, the merchant would likely have sent him back to the farm long ago
Some time later he found himself traveling to other towns and discovering all types of people, places and experiences. He was falling more and more in love with travels and all tpes of possibilities it brought
One day he met an explorer, who wanted to sell a rare article to the merchant, and told stories about the adventures he'd been through. In the end Samuel quited his job and went to work with an explorer the merchant knew and he had met in the past
The next few years he roamed around the less inhabited areas of the kingdom, meeting new people and learning new things. He never found any of the hidden treasures himself, but he saw his share of rare items during his travels
More than once he thought about settling down and raising a family, but he never managed to create roots until his age caught up with him. He decided to stay in Loghedge, one of the good spots to collect new stories brought by the travelers that lived even further into the wild borders of the kingdom
Taking advantage of his wide collection of stories and experiences, he started working at several taverns and pubs as a storyteller, bringing new clients eager to listen to a good tale and getting payed with a free meal and occasional coins. Also he gained reputation of being a reliable source of information, to the point of starting to sell the rumours he picked wherever he went
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Name: Old Gerta, Elkweed Witch
Real Name: Gerta Elkweed
Age: 53
Gender: female
Occupation: former Seamstress, Cunning Woman (aka Witch)
Family: Iris (cat), Adam (wolfhound), Ivy (goat)
Appearance: age has not been kind on Greta, as she suffers from cataracts on both eyes and a mild case of rheumatism that acts up when it's about to rain. Her hair still has most of its caramel color of her youth but she carries many wrinkles earned by the hardship of her life, making her look somewhat older than she truly is. Her clothing is as worn out as her appearance, used and reused so many times it's hard to tell the original color
Personality: ever since she was kicked out of Loghedge, Greta never managed to completely trust people. It takes a long time to earn her trust, but despite that she always offers her services in exchange for some food, clothing or other services that help her survive. But to those she trusts or has a liking, she will offer valuable advice and sometimes a meager meal
Although she's nearly blind and has a calm demeanor, one should not mistaken her for an easy target. She survived the harshness of Ironwood and has a hidden strength under her old and seemingly peaceful attitude. If given the chance she is quite capable of giving a wolf second thoughts, cursing loudly and waving her heavy cane like a weapon. She is the Elkweed Witch and she won't be taken for a helpless fool
Likes: her animals, a warm fire, sunny days, freshly baked bread...
Dislikes: food stealing animals, preconceived idiots, the Church, rainy and cold weather...
Story: Born and raised in Loghedge, Greta was the youngest of 5 daughters and 2 boys. Although something completely outside of her control, this was her first step for being considered a witch, since it was a well known "fact" the 7th child having always a strong affinity to magic
Her parents weren't wealthy, so both of them worked to sustain their family, her father as blacksmith and her mother as seamstress, leaving their children under the care of their elderly grandmother until they were old enough to help with the chores. Greta had always been quiet as a child and she had a profound amazement of all the stories her grandmother told her
It was this woman who carved Greta's path as a cunning woman, or at least provided her the knowledge to practice magic outside of the canons of the Church. It was a tradition passed down from mother to daughter through lore, but in her case refined by her grandmother because she was the 7th
This tradition existed in many families and were not something grave enough to report to the Church, since small household magic was hardly recognized as such. But what caused her to be pointed out as a witch and an heretic was the bad intentions from another woman
She was 15 when a local baker asked her parents her hand in marriage, but a close friend of her had fallen in love with that man and decided to do everything to claim him as hers. Knowing of Greta's birth position, she used that to accuse her of heresy for practicing illegal magic. It didn't took long until the Church found the herbs and small talismans her family used and expelled her out of Loghedge
Without means of travel, she was forced to take refuge in one of the abandoned huts in Ironwood, where she still lives today. The first few years were the hardest, as she tried to fend for herself against the dangers of the forest, but the little help her family and their connections could provide helped her survive. Still the poor conditions had an effect on heal, or so she believes, as the cataracts slowly started to steal her from her eyesight in later years
Also as the years passed she put her knowledge to good use and became known as the Elkweed Witch. Occasionally villagers come buy and bring her food and clothes in return of her services in guessing the future, prepare talismans or cures, when the Church can no longer provide answers or becomes too costly for them. And because of the connection she established with the local wildlife, the hunters who intent to look for game in her area often ask her permission, to avoid a curse to fall on their heads
