Kieran Waynoft



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    Character Name - Kieran Waynoft ( in Norwick )

    Kieran Waynoft was born in Ordulin, Sembia to Degarth and Melinda Waynoft. He is the youngest of the two boys, his brother Devlin being 5 years his senior. Kieran was somewhat of a miracle child. His mother was hurt badly in a riding accident while on horseback three years after her first son. The clerics did what they could but there was very little chance that she would conceive again. Melinda was distraught.
    She wanted to have another child before she grew to old to care for them. She had always wanted to have two children because she grew up an only child and didn't want that for her precious baby Devlin. Melinda prayed, composed ballads, did everything she could to win the attention of Lady Firehair. After two years of this, Melinda's deepest wish was granted. She became pregnant with a second child, the one to be Kieran.

    A bit more about Kieran's father first. Degarth was a merchant of furs and other pelts. He was very good at his work, keeping his family comfortable, especially during the winter months. Degarth was skilled in the arts of his trade. His fluid toungue often got him deals where his looks would not. Degarth, while not being ugly, had a nasty scar along his face from his youth. Brash and overconfident, he decided to try his hand at the adventurer's life. This is where he first met the travelling bard, Melinda Couper. He was instantly entranced by her. She was new, mysterious, strong, unlike the girls of his home village. He desired her from the moment he laid eyes on her. Melinda, used to such attention, did not pay it much heed. She was busy in her life questing and learning more about the world so that she could create more works to enchant her
    audiences back in Ordulin. Degarth started his courting of Melinda. Degarth was not a looker. He was plain as plain comes, but he had a certain way with words that made you overlook that. Melinda tried to ignore his advances. However, there was something quite charming about this man. She started to pay a bit more attention to Degarth.

    It all changed at one time, while searching for an ancient mage's tomb, disaster almost struck, still leaving a reminder to this day. Melinda, without noticing the obvious trapwork in the tomb, was about to be sliced into three pieces. Degarth, noticed this and jumped to knock her out of the way. He succeeded, narrowly missing the blades himself he thought. Then it felt like his face was on fire. Running from his hairline to his jaw
    on his left side was a gash from one of the blades. The blood was pouring out of it. Melinda broke out of her shock and tried to help Degarth. The sight of his own blood pouring down his face was too much for Degarth and he feinted. When the rest of their group arrived, they did their best to close the wound without healing magic. The wound healed, leaving a puckered, ugly scar. Melinda no longer saw Degarth's outside appearance, not caring about the disfigurement. She saw who this man was inside that he would risk his life for hers, for no reason other then he did not want to see her dead. This was the turning point in both their lives.

    Melinda Couper was the daughter of a millwright in Tassledale. Melinda was a sprite of a child, almost literally. In Melinda's mother's side of the family, there was a few unions with the Fae folk. This intermingling of the blood has lent fine fae-like features to many women of her line. This also explains the ease of which they seem to able to access the Weave in some form or another with relative ease. Kieran took after his mother in
    her fae appearance. Something that did not go unnoticed by Melinda's mother, who oversaw the birth of both of Melinda's sons. This was very rare, happening only once in the history of the family. The fine faerie features showed plain up Kieran's face showing him to have natural ease to access the Weave as well as somewhat charmed as well. The only
    other male to exhibit these features was Melinda's great grand dame's son. A Gypsy fortunewaever recognized the signs immediately and told Elsa, Kieran's great great granddame, that her song Pitre would be a lover of men, never finding solace in the arms of a woman. This shocked Elsa and her husband. Her husband, a big strong warrior of the North, could not abide by this in his house and so left Elsa alone with this "not really a boy" child as he put it. Pitre became a wandering bard, never settling too long for fear of happening again what had happened before he was able to know the world, shunning because of who he was inside, like his father did without ever knowing him.

    Kieran's grand dame, Kithia, knew straight away that her grandson would be a lover of men, having been raised on the tale from her family history. She vowed to do everything she could to protect this boy from that kind of hurt. She kept this secret within her, watching Kieran grow, adored by both mother and father. Until her death, when Kieran was
    but 4 years old, she was with him as much as she could be, reassuring him, loving him. She set Kieran up with a good start on love, giving freely of oneself for the good of another.

    When Kieran was about 5, his father started letting him tag along on negotiations as long as he behaved. Kieran loved watching his father do business, so he readily agreed. This exposed Kieran from an early age the art of swindle, barter and other merchantly skills. Kieran seemed to have a very good eye for someone without training on what was worth getting and what was not. Kieran's father even gave him small projects to carry out himself. What his father didn't realize is that he was giving his son a wonderful early education in dealing with people that paired with his charm and good looks project him into a live of wandering like his great great great uncle Pitre… but that is for a time in the future...

    At about 7, his brother, Devlin was now the leader of his own gang of young thugs. When he saw what his brother could mean to his gang, he started paying more attention to his brother. Kieran who always wanted his brother to love him took it as a good sign that his brother was now paying attention to him. He would do anything for Devlin to win his love
    and approval. This longing played right into Devlin's plans. Devlin was starting to get a reputation in the neighbourhood. Already other kids who he and his gang had bullied were telling their parents who would probably talk to his parents soon. Having a beaut like Kieran on his side would only improve people's impression of him. See, Devlin had a vicious
    streak in him a mile long and about as wide. He liked hurting other people. But if he paid attention to his bratty younger brother, who was sweet as apple pie, people would think it impossible that he did the things accused of him. Kieran followed his brother unbeknownst to him what his brother's true motivations were.

    Kieran was a boon to the gang. Things prospered after that. He was sometimes able to convince a rich merchant to give him a gold if he acted like a begging child. This was easy and even fun for Kieran. Already he had started to feel the tinglings of magic. He was able to call forth a small ball of light sometimes... more often then not, he couldn't but the fact that he could he kept secret from everyone, even his brother and mother. He
    thought they would think he was crazy. Little did he know that his mother, of whom he bore such a resemblance, was an accomplished Spell Singer, the rarest of bards. She would have encouraged and fostered Kieran's growth in this with pleasure. However, Kieran never benefited from this. It was his secret.

    Devlin had dubbed Kieran "puppy" early on. His big green puppydog eyes were able to sway the most hardened of mother's to forgive his brother. He loved his brother so that he didn't mind lying a bit to the mother's, because he believed his brother when he said they deserved it. Kieran constantly tried to convince his brother not to hurt other kids, but Devlin always came back with some rejoinder about how much he trusted and loved Kieran and how he was only doing what was right. Kieran, not wanting to disappoint his brother, usually crumbled. To Melinda and Degarth, Devlin's interest in Kieran was amazing. Before this Devlin didn't want anything to do with a younger brother. Melinda had caught Devlin sometimes looking like he was going to kill his brother, but these moments seemed to pass Devlin's countenance fast. Melinda wasn't sure of what she saw, but it worried her only a bit. Standard sibling jealousy is what she thought it might be. She watched but nothing ever happened that she saw.

    When Kieran was 14, his world came crashing down on him. Devlin was still a bully and brute. But this time he had gone too far. Devlin had killed another man. He came to Kieran all bloody and begged him to lie for him, to say that the man was about to hurt Kieran and his brother was only protecting him. Kieran couldn't let his brother get away with murder. The violence sickened him, but killing was too much. He couldn't stand by while his brother got away with it. He refused to tell any lies for his brother this time. This enraged Devlin who drew his dagger again and lunged with it toward Kieran. Kieran winced and spontaneous a barrier of solid magic came between him and Devlin, slowing Devlin and causing his blade to vere off. Kieran afraid for his life, did the only thing he could think of doing and ran as fast as he could as far away. The only person he knew would listen to him would be his mother. He sought her out in the family's home. Melinda, no longer as young as she once was, was sitting by the fire humming a song quietly to herself. She did this often when she thought of the old life, of adventuring. Kieran had seen her in these moods often and wouldn't have bothered her except he was afraid of Devlin for the first time in his life.

    Kieran reached his mother and flung his arms around her and started to cry. He didn't care that it wasn't manly to cry. He was scared. His life came tumbling down around him. He realized for the first time that his brother had been using him all this long time. This hurt little Kieran more then anything. It hurt that his brother was so cruel as to try to kill him for saying no to lying for him. Eventually the crying turned to sobs the sobs to sniffles. Slowly Melinda pried the story from her hurting son. Slowly the anger began to burgeon on her features. Devlin had gone to far. Having deceived her and his father with his show of attention and affection for his brother that was only for show. Melinda reached up upon the mantle for her harp which she had never left. Slowly she caressed some words on the harp and slowly the world around Kieran began to shimmer like when the magic shield came into existance, except this magic sang. It thrilled Kieran, dispelling his fear. He knew his mother loved him and would protect him from any evil that would come.

    Eventually Devlin did return to his birth home, having washed and cleaned himself of his foul deed. Melinda welcomed him in, but wearily. Devlin seemed not to notice. He went as usual toward Kieran to give him a hug. This time however Kieran flinched away. He could not bear to be touched by the maniac who would kill him because he refused to lie for him. Devlin did notice this and then looked toward his mother in fear. He knew that his brother and told on him and that this could mean a lot of trouble for him. He heard from others that his mother once slew an orge, so he doubted she would have much problem with him. He knew he couldn't win an outright fight. His only chance at getting out alive he believed
    was to try to get Kieran between him and his mother. Truly, his years of devotion to the Goddess of Pain, Loviatar was taking its toll. He believed his mother truely capable and wanting to kill him so warped were his perceptions. He deftly plunged for Kieran only to have a few things happen at once, Devlin collided with a barrier of noise so powerful that
    it bounced him back. To Kieran this manifected itself in a powerful display of light and sound that nearly knocked Kieran out, but Devlin couldn't hurt him in this box of sound. And at the same instant a loud shout of "Stop!" was heard throughout the house. Devlin stopped dead in his tracks, unable to move but fully able to perceive around him. Devlin was stopped facing directly toward his mother and saw for the first time the pain this was causing her. This seemed to please him, even if he couldn't show it with his usual rictus grin, his mind bathed in the pain.

    Melinda prepared to cast one of her more powerful bindings through the chords of her harp weaving into a cadenance and cocooning Devlin in a powerful web of musical strands. The imbolized Devlin realized this was not his death. That he would have to face what he had done and face the scorn of his father. Devlin wished it had been an easy death instead of
    this torment. What he didn't realize is that the Mistress of Pain was a capricious mistress and sometimes the pain of one of her own followers was a sweeter nectar to her. So she didn't hear his pleas with her to end his pain so that he might continue to serve her. To her, he was already serving her the most delectible dish, his suffering.

    Devlin was later tried and found guilty of murder and sentenced to be hung. Kieran nor Melinda would go to the hanging, but Degarth, distraught over what his eldest son had become had to see the proceedings. Devlin was broken in spirit however. His brush with pain had drained of him the will to live. He no longer cared that he headed toward the eternal pain of Loviatar's dungeons. He realized for the first time that he would actually miss his family. That he truely loved them. But it was too late for him, his wicked ways having paved his path to this end. Kieran, despite his hurt, still cried. He still wanted Devlin to just love him, like he always wanted. Kieran was a very sensitive boy, a legacy of the same blood which had just protected him. His life was charmed and he was special. His mother, now knowing the big secret, gathered up the money to send her son to live with her family for awhile to hone his magic skills. She didn't want to leave her son, but Degarth
    was despondant over the death of his pride. She couldn't leave her husband like that.

    Within days, Kieran was amidst a group of wagons heading from Sembia toward great Impultir. There Kieran would meet with family he hadn't known he had ever had, a powerful family of spell casters. Here he would study and perfect his Art. He stayed there for about two years, mastering the focus needed and the lore of magic. He even studied a bit of the art
    of healing. This training brought him to his path today.

    After mastering his initial lessons, his teachers wanted to send him to SpellWeaver Keep in far north Norwick in Narfell. His mother knew of the reputation of this school. She knew her son would love it there. She readily agreed and soon Kieran was on his way, adventuring and learning his way in the world alone at the age of 16.

    Before leaving, his teacher brought him to a special glen outside the manor. Here resided some of the fae folk who were family to Kieran as much as his teachers were. Brol, his main teacher, gave Kieran a gift, a golden whistle and a pouch. This pouch contained all sorts of rich treats. Brol explained to Kieran that he was going to go meet his new friend.
    His grand dame had asked her own familiar, Ti'li'li to eventually serve Kieran. The dragon readily agreed, knowing she would be lost forever without a new master. And she thought the boy had great potential. Thus she returned to her own when her former master, Kieran's grand dame passed from this world.

    Kieran was taken to the glen and told to call to Ti'li'li with the whistle. If the dragon agreed to follow her, she would appear and the treats were for her, to convince her that she should stay. Kieran dutifully followed these instructions. When in a comfortable spot he whistled with the whistle and called to Ti'li'li, "Come to me Ti'li'li", in a sing song voice. No sooner had he called then the most beautiful creature he had ever spied came into sight in front of him. She was stunning, shimmer and shinning her long tiny toungue reaching out and flicking Kieran on the nose making him laugh. Immediately, Kieran remembered the treats and reached one out for the dragon. Ti'li'li quickly flew in and snatched the treat and swallowed it whole, her cheeks bulging. This image made Kieran break out in to fits of laughter. This was the start of the greatest of friendships.

    Kieran then set of admist another caravan, this time of gypsies, toward Norwick and his future...



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