Role

Chapter 1

Tales, as he was known by his friends and family, was always so curious,
and this is where our tale begins. He grew up in a tiny wood-elven village
north of Galadon, where his kin scraped a living out of the plains. Tales,
a child of great beauty, was beloved by all, for he seemd to live a charmed
life, his inquisitiveness getting him into scrapes that he always managed
to escape unscathed. As he grew towards adolescence, however, this
relentless curiousity and desire for adventure soured him on the life of
his simple kinsfolk. There was nothing else to see, no more adventures to
have, and he grew bitter and unhappy. Tales, no longer, he insisted on
Talisin.

Until he left, abruptly, without saying goodbye. A note would have to suffice,
short and to the point. "I seek a life elsewhere. Do not worry. -Tales"

Now, at this point in a story, our protagonist might wander, hungry, alone
in the vast world for which he was unprepared, and we would chastise him
for abandoning his folk. But, alas, this is no tale of morality, just the
truth. Talisin's charmed life continued, for a time, and he quickly met a
travelling circus. The performers, seeing him, on the cusp between beautiful
elven child and adult, were eager to take him in. His chores were simple,
cleaning, needlework, and the like--whatever the performers needed. And in
return, he travelled, and saw the great cities of the world.

Talisin fell in love with the beauty of the circus, both the outward splendor
of the performances, and the dirty, often grim, lives of the performers.
The showmanship thrilled him, and this, you might say, is the inkling of the
idea that later led him to the Bard's guild.

Given the, well, younger ears in the audience today, the next part of this
story is rather light on imagery. Ever since he joined the circus, the
ringmaster had looked on Talisin with great envy, desiring his youth and his
looks. One night, after a rough performance where little coin was made, his
desires overcame him. Talisin returned to the wagon of the ringmaster later
that evening, sword in hand, and woke the older man. Talisin's eyes blazed
with rage as he tossed a second blade to groggy man. The battle was clumsy,
inexperienced youth against age, but when the ringmaster lay dead on the
floor, so too was ended Talisin's time with the circus.