Legends of Belariath
Tjoden Aurora
Tjoden sits there looking at you with that amused, curious look on his face. He wasn't above talking about himself for hours on end, but had to wonder why at least, "Ok, so you wanna hear about 'my' life? What makes me so special?...You dont have a sister do you?" He chuckles a little and leans comfortably o nthe bar.
He sips his milk tea and sets it on the marble countertop before beginning his story, "Well, I was raised an awful long way from here in a kingdom named Starlight. My family had a little farm on the outskirts of a human city. Don't know why they decided to move out there, but it was an easy life. Chores to do everyday...a good hot meal every night, well, sure we had to wake up at the crack of dawn, but if you've ever gathered your own eggs, you know what it's like to taste accomplishment. Yeah, we had a few chickens, but it was mostly a cattle farm. Mother loved the damn things. Me and my dad, we had to herd them to market without her, but it wasn't that hard I guess. We talked and he told me about the elven city and being a guard and how silver armor was mostly just pretty." He stops a minute to laugh to himself a little, but goes on, "and of course women. My dad had to be the suavest fucker to ever lift a pitch fork. We'd ride into town and all the ladies would wave and swoon. He said 'you don't get a good reputation without having a reputation for being bad'."
Tjoden laughs again and takes a sip of his tea before continuing, "My mother loved him though. She knew she had him by the balls. She would always joke and say he had to be the worst of all the foxes we chased out of the chicken coup. Yeah, it was real nice. Not quite sure why I left the place. Sometimes a guy just gets that feeling, ya know? Like you have to get out and see more. I remember when I first started thinking about being a farmer for the rest of my life. It was like the world was litterally shrinking around me, but where was I going to go? It was a human city, and me and you both know how those fuckers are. Once you're known around a bunch of them its like you have to stab someone in the back just to get a promotion. Ha, unless you're some noble's son or some kind of war hero." Tjoden rolls his eyes and looks off towards the window.
"I remember the night that I felt the world expand all over again." He sighs and sips his tea, dwelling on the memory of the night that would change his life forever. "She was beautiful. Slim, firey red hair, human girl. Did things me I didn't even know a girl could do. I wasn't a virgin when I met her, heh, but I don't think i was a man till she was done with me. She was only staying with my parents for the week because all the inns were full, some kind of festival, and she would talk about all the things she had seen on her travels. Then she was gone..."
Tjoden shakes his head and sips his tea again. His face takes on a nostaligic expression as he continues, "It was really nice hearing about all that stuff. It was just what i needed to make up my mind. I waited about a month. Took the time to think about what I wanted to do and told my parents I needed to set out and seek my fortune. They tried to offer me all kinds of stuff to take with me but some how it just seemed...cumbersome. I wanted to make it on my own. Get out there and carve off a piece of the world just for me. Ha! I was begging on the road in less than a week, moving between soup kitchens and sleeping on the streets. One day I look over at this dude and he's sitting on the corner humming happily. He looked just as rough as I did, but somehow, as people passed, he had a way of gathering attention that made the rest of us seem practically invisible. I watched him for the longest time. He really was rather interesting. Had a way of making people smile, even if it was long enough to drop a few coins on the ground. Needless to say I figured out quick that if I was going to get any of that action at all, I'd have to move clear across town...yeah, you bet your ass I did. Once I managed to get out from under him, I found a tavern on the other end of town. They picked me up as a bus boy and I was doing OK. Stuck to the job for a while, but what I really wanted to do was perform. Late at night, I'd come down from my room and sing on stage. Haha, you'd be surprised how many people can be absolutely enchanted by an elven lullaby." Tjoden's face takes on a faint smile, "And ever since then, it's been from one bar to the other. Its a smart idea. Food, shelter, opportunity, it's all under one roof in a bar. Honestly, I don't see myself working any other kind of life."