3. Bear

Bear


  • Character name: Bear
    Player log in: beng4eva

    Not much is known about the enigmatic figure known as Bear asides from the obvious. He's big, loud, and hairy. The story behind how he came to find himself in Jiyyd is an interesting one to say the least.

    Born to a humble family of woodcutters, his parents were never wealthy, and they were never noted amongst the scholars of their realms. They didn't have any great list of accomplishments, and they never travelled more than a days walk from their home in their entire life.

    Which bored Bear to tears. He longed to see the world, and to sample all that life had to offer him. His parents tried to teach him the value of a good education, that life could be great at home, but he was determined. At the age of 8 he got his first taste of life in the real world when he snuck away at night to go down to the local tavern.

    The next morning his parents were greeted by a knock on the door from the local constabulary, with a very sore and sorry looking Bear being pushed along in front of him. holding his head to stop it exploding.

    They gave him extra chores to do as punishment, but all this did was reinforce his desire to see the world. He started sneaking out more often, getting drunk and starting fights with other boys.

    This continued for several years.

    Eventually, his parents decided that enough was enough. It was obvious to them that nothing they were doing would teach the boy about the values of a simple life. By this time, they'd pulled out most of their own hair in frustration, and Bear had cut a LOT of firewood in punishment. This of course had given him the kind of build normally associated with orcs and draught horses.

    They pooled the funds that they had been saving in the hopes of sending him to a school for the gentry and instead sent him to a monastery, deep in the woods. There, they hoped that he would learn more about peace and the tranquility, as opposed to brawls and drunkenness.

    After a journey of several days, guided by the local constabulary (who were more than happy to see him gone for a time) he finally made his way to the monastery. He was expecting some kind of foreboding temple, with clouds of incense pouring into the sky day and night, or perhaps a dark cave that rang with the sounds of combat and meditation.

    Instead he found himself looking at a funny old dwarf with no clothes on and a beard that reached to the floor.

    'Ere, who's this farker eh? the dwarf called out in a hoarse and deep voice.

    My name's Bear, Mister dwarf said Bear, feeling quite unsure of himself and a little peeved.

    Oh, Bear it be eh? Well, ye nay look like yon bear… an' ye nay smell like one neither. Wot kind of wanker do ye take me for, Mister Bear said the dwarf, cheekily.

    Bear howled in rage, threw down his bag, and charged at the dwarf. As he did this, there was a twinkle in the dwarfs eye. He clutched at something beneath his beard, and his formed changed into that of a bear. He swatted at Bear and smacked him to the ground without any effort whatsoever.

    As Bear fell, his head bounced against the ground, and he passed out. When he woke up several hours later, he found himself alone with the dwarf.

    How did you do that? He asked, his head still ringing.

    What? Turn into a bear? It's the power granted ta me from me god, Uthgar, as one of the last shaman of the tribe. An' if ye play yer cards right, I might be able ta teach ye how ta do it too.

    The next few years passed in a blur for Bear, as he learnt more about Uthgar and the almost extinct Blue Bear tribe that the dwarf came from. He underwent combat training, and learnt how to focus his mind to avoid all distractions when he needed to.

    Oh, and he spent a lot of time cutting wood too.

    On his sixteenth birthday, he decided to commit his life to serving Uthgar, and to be a shaman of the Blue Bear tribe, if Uthgar would have him. After undergoing a vision quest and generally eating various things that had him tasting purple and hearing velvet, he eventually saw a blue bear. It wandered into the woods, snuffling the ground. He followed it.

    A month later he emerged, with the symbol of a blue bear tattooed onto his chest and a feral look in his eye.

    Since then he's been roaming the land, looking for lost members of the Blue Bear tribe, getting drunk and into fights, and generally having a lot of fun.

    But, you say, this doesn't answer how he ended up in Jiyyd.

    And you'd be right, because I haven't gotten to that part yet.

    After a particularly large fight in a tavern in Ironspur in the Galena Mountains in nearby Damara, he decided that laying low whilst those with a score to settle sought him out in the more populated places. So he headed East, out of the mountains, and wandered through the lands until he found a nice quiet town with good cheap ale.

    Jiyyd.


  • reviewed, xp pending