Legends of Belariath
Halfmoon
The Origins of Halfmoon
On a midsummer night, when the moon had waxed to its first quarter, a tiny elven child was born to noble parents in the town of Verdspar. The birth was met with great ceremony by both of the apparently proud parents, his mother - Starrina - and her husband Silivar, despite the pale complexion of the babe. Little is known of the tragic events that followed - brief glimpses and insinuations only of a rivalry between the husband of Starrina and a stranger to the town. But rumors of this mysterious high elf who moved like a shadow in the night persisted to trouble the child as he grew. And always there was a distance between the father and son, never spoken of but deeply felt. Nor did he speak of the injury sustained in some primal feud suffered shortly after the birth. But as the child grew into a young lad, the bluish tint of his pale skin emerged, and with it a strange foreboding among the elders of the clan about what this child might someday become.
Named for the perfect semicircle of the night's brightest light which shined that fateful night, this Halfmoon was sheltered by a loving mother from the vague whispers of his kinfolk. In his childhood innocence he could not understand and only vaguely could he perceive how he was politely shunned by others of his age. Yet he sensed, subconsciously perhaps, that he was somehow special and treated with deference and caution by his instructors. From his maternal grandmother he learned the art of elven music, gaining skill with the lute and learning to employ his baritone voice. The study of music became his only solace during these dark days. Early in life, he showed a strong affinity for the arcane arts, and despite his mother's wishes that he should pursue the path of the healer, he steadfastly chose another destiny. Instead of gaining expertise in the ways of healing, he seemed rather to prefer those magics that aid in combat while training simultaneously in the martial arts. The ways of the forest and the night became his specialty, and so he avoided to some degree the silent stares of his townsfolk who lived by day, feasting in the evening and resting the dark hours away.
As a lad he at first gave little note to the paleness of his complexion that seemed to so set him apart from his kin, but as he matured and the bluish tint of his skin became more and more prominent, he could hardly escape the hurtful comments of his peers. They too began to whisper when they thought his back was turned, their conversations abruptly ceasing whenever he appeared. Many were the indiscreet elven lads who dared insinuate anything about his background or parentage and many felt the sting of his dagger. Most learned quickly to steer clear of the mysterious young elf but some dared him further and paid the price for their rashness.
With growing doubts, Halfmoon began to secretly investigate the cause of his shunning. Through stealth and cunning he gradually began to unravel the mystery surrounding his origins. It was whispered that his sire was in fact a criminal and not the noble Silivar, that this sire was one who had raped and brutalized many an elven maid, and that Silivar had hunted him down and exacted the ultimate vengeance in the wake of Halfmoon's birth. In the struggle, it was said, Silivar's foot had been crushed in a trap laid by the criminal. The noble elf had finally prevailed, but the injury had left him lame for the remainder of his days. Confronting his mother with what he had learned, she at first tried to deny the fact, but was forced to reveal the truth at the young elf's relentless insistence. His criminal sire had been of the clan of nocturnal elves, nomadic loners who called no place home. These elves, by their shunning of the daylight, had acquired through many generations the pale bluish tint of the skin which made Halfmoon's origins so clear to the knowledgeable elders. His mother refused, however, to divulge the name of the hated elf that had raped her and brought about his own existence.
Distraught, Halfmoon fled into the forest, withdrawing from his homeland and wandering the distant northern hills for many months. It was during this time that he happened upon an elderly sylvan hermit who lived in a hidden cave. He had come upon a swarm of goblins that had ambushed the old woman. While her magics dispatched one after another of the goblins, their numbers were to great for her to withstand alone. Halfmoon rushed in to aid in her defense and the two managed to prevail through their combined magic and his own trusty blade. Thus, he befriended the old hermit, Dysadria, called a witch by sylvan elves and driven from their community because of the dark prophecies that she made which invariably proved true. He stayed with her for several weeks, learning some of her magics and tending to her until she recovered from the injuries sustained in the goblin ambush. It was she who foretold Halfmoon's future - that he would travel far and wide and eventually come to a strange town inhabited by creatures of every race and kind - that it was here that he would make his fame and here that he would ultimately learn the full truth of his origin. It was she too who promised that in the fullness of time, he should meet there his ideal mate, the one who was to someday make him complete.
Returning to his town, Halfmoon packed his few simple belongings and prepared to set out on his journey. During his absence, Starrina had conceived with Silivar and given birth to his infant sister, Siriana, the proper heir to Silivar. The concerned parents had announced an arranged marriage for Halfmoon to the daughter of a noble family. This Halfmoon rejected, out of hand, invoking his status as a student of the arcane arts and claiming his right to twenty years of study, thus postponing the arrangement. And so he bid farewell to his parents and town, but just before he set out he was visited by the grandmother. To him she bequeathed an ancient elven lute, passed down to her from her father, an instrument of beauty and grace that has become his most prized possession. It was with mixed emotions of sorrow and relief that his parents watched him embark upon his voyage. The elders of his town were glad of his departure but harbored their uncertainty of what would become of this mysterious youth.
And so it was, that after years of journeying, he came at last to the town prophesied by Dysadria, a place full of strangers of every ilk, the town of Nanthalion in the empire of Belariath. Here he joined the mage's guild at Unigo and pursued his studies of the arcane arts. Here too, his research discovered the truth of his lineage - the name of his sire, and the disturbing reality that he is descended of the line of the notorious Novilunis, first of the nocturnal elves, who was banished from the elven kingdom because of his pursuit of forbidden magics. Here, at last, he has made a place for himself. A place where he may pursue his destiny unencumbered by the overweaning discretion of his elven kin. A place in which only the future shall reveal what may become of this introspective, mysterious high elf.
UPDATE
Since arriving at Nanthalion in Belariath some three years ago, the high elf has pursued his ambitions, joining the Guild of Magic and engaging himself fully in the study of the arcane arts. He has risen through the ranks of the guild and was eventually rewarded for his diligence by the Emporer Stormbringer with an appointment as Headmaster of the Academy of Magic. The magic school has become the central aspect of his life in Belariath as he works diligently to offer students training in the mastery of the arcane arts.
In addition, the high elven mage, now a Senior Arch Mage, has gained skills at leatherwork and in the forging of iron and steel. He is the Leather Armor Specialist at the town's Armor Shop, specializing in functional and decorative leather armors, some augmented with steel implements and decorative touches. He may often be found working the Armor Shop and providing top notch service to the citizens of Belariath.
Halfmoon has also engaged himself in his long family tradition as grovers. His home, a sturdy stone cottage immediately adjacent to The Lonely Inn, includes an orchard of some thirty trees. He owns a more extensive orchard to the north, which boasts 300 fruit trees, apples, pears, peaches, dates and even some walnut trees. He tried his hand at the vintner trade (winemaking) but has set that aside for the time being. A tower has recently been added to the cottage, three stories above and one below ground level. The tower is used by himself and his mate for the pursuit of the arcane arts.
On the personal level, Halfmoon is recently mated to Astarte, a high elven fire magess of great ability, who shares his home. He wears a matching pendant with her, a crescent moon with a diamond studded star at its upper tip, a symbol of their partnership. He is the crescent moon and she his star, a partnership for which he holds great hope for the future together. Twin rings adorn their fingers, enchanted with magical powers. His previous mating to the high elven lass, Laerel, was long in duration, but ended poorly over issues of jealousy that he eventually became unwilling to deal with. Laerel, still a friend, received the vineyards in the settlement of their parting. He was mated for a time with the gypsy lass, Tempest, and defended her honor mightily, causing some concern amongst the nobles, but their union was not to be and they parted ways. The assets of The Moonwinds Trading Company, a venture he had attempted with Tempest, have been sold off, the venture liquidated.
The high elf has made many friends, and some enemies as well. He continues to be a loyal friend to many and a formidable enemy to those that would thwart him. The gift of prophecy grows within him and is sometimes a troubling gift, but it is part of his destiny - a destiny he firmly embraces.
2006 UPDATE
The Guild of Magic and the Academy of Magic are no more. With the changes to the Tower of Unigo (rewritten by this player), he has taken a role as overseer at the Tower. Halfmoon's long affiliation with Astarte has also come to an end and he is a bachelor once again. He continues to reside at Halfholme, a stone cottage with a tower of three stories attached, his small orchard between his house and the road. The big orchard is located along the road to Unigo and promises to yield an abundant harvest this season. Halfmoon continues his work as the Leather Armor Specialist at the Weapon and Armor Shop, and oversees operations at the Tower of Unigo as a spell seller, enchanter and mentor. He is content with his place in the grand scheme of things, with some regrets, but intact in his stature and dignity.
Halfmoon has taken a slave girl, Nova{Half} and is training her in the ways of slave girls. He has his friends and his rivals. You will generally find him at the Tower of Unigo, or if not there, at the Weapon and Armor Shop, or at his home in the forest nearby the Lonely Inn.