[CHAR] The Tales of Winding

[Mokley]

^{art by Geoffrey Renault}

Characters

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The Mayor

Mayor Rune Thistlecatch

^{art by Lena Richards}

The Thistlecatches have passed down the title of Mayor of Winding for generations. They are a proud and well-respected family whose ancestry reaches back to the the kings and queens of the time of giants. There is a legend that the Thistlecatches of old had been dragon-tamers, and so their family crest is a dragon wound around a thistle flower.

Rune Thistlecatch has occupied the role of Mayor of Winding since her father, Ambrose Thistlecatch, disappeared in the marsh six months ago. She takes her position very seriously, and is known to be a firm and honest voice among the village council.

At fourteen, she is the second-youngest Mayor of Winding (the first being her great-great-grandfather, Thimble Thistlecatch, who became mayor at the age of eight) and one of the most competent.

The Pooths

The Pooths

^{art by Robert Kondo}

The Pooth siblings are known throughout the village as a collective; they are very rarely seen apart from one another, and so are usually only referred to as the Pooths. Their names are Roo, Loo, Moo, Soo, Boo and Woo Pooth.

The Pooths are very small and easily stepped on, so they carry little bells on their heads that tinkle when they walk. Roo, Loo, Moo, Soo and Woo don't speak much except for small jabberings that seem unintelligible to most folks, but they let Boo speak articulately on their behalf. His is the loudest voice, after all.

They live in a tree outside the watchmaker's shop, where they are employed with watching for thieves and tricky business.

Miss Agatha

Miss Agatha

^{art by Vyacheslav Safronov}

Miss Agatha is a warm and constant presence in Winding. She is quick with a story and is a fantastic listener -- so much so that many in the village will come to her with their troubles, eager for her guidance. She is an avid reader and the most frequent patron of the village library, but she is most known for her shop, her magic, and her tea.

The Curiosity Shop is the ground floor of Miss Agatha's home, and it is filled with antiques and trinkets and otherworldly novelties brought to the village from faraway lands or dug up out of the bottomless Dragon Marsh. Each item has a unique story, which she will tell upon request. Miss Agatha's personal knowledge on matters of history, magic and cultures is known as the finest in the village, her fortune telling as hauntingly accurate, and her tea as the most exquisite ever tasted.

Of all the stories she has told, not one has ever been about herself. She arrived in Winding with a trade caravan six years ago, and that is all anyone knows.

[Fubsy]

Deino Raller

Name
Deino Raller

Age
19

Gender
Male

Race
Harpy

Appearance

Deilo

Standing at around 4'9" with a light build meant for flying, Deino is smaller than the average human. Instead of hair, he has a full head of dark brown feathers that are seemingly always messy. More feathers in a similar dark hue cover most of his body, reaching from his arms down to his hawk-like legs. His eyes are especially unique, as they are a piercing gold and shaped similar to those of a bird-of-prey. The clothes he wears are mostly fit for travel and flight--light jackets, bandannas, and flying goggles.

Personality
Deino is fairly timid, opting to just go with the flow of things rather than take charge. Soft-spoken and kind, he enjoys meeting new people, though often acts sheepish and nervous around them. Deino is empathetic, though he'd rather be the ear that listens than the mouth that gives advice. He's kind and generous to the fault, overlooking other's faults and loves to help others out. Unfortunately, people often take advantage of this and Deino is often walked over like a doormat. He can be pretty klutzy, often stumbling over himself and running into things, but in the air he's calm confident. Deino can be a bit too hard on himself as he often apologizes, even if it's not apparent what he did wrong. Still, he's optimistic and adventurous, with a strong sense of curiosity that fuels his wonder for the world around him.

[BurningCold]

Not willing to waste time here.

[Kaiachi]

---

[Hayazo]

Nich

Nich Thistlemaw

Welcome Nich's Niche Needs

Welcome, welcome! Have a seat. No, not that one, it's spring loaded! I guarantee I have exactly what you're looking for, and if I don't I'm certain I can make it. It's your daughter's birthday you say? I've got a windup kitten that'll make you her favorite parent! Vandals breaking into your home? I've got traps and buzzers galore that'll stop 'em in their tracks. Home installations now 20% off! Need a lock smithed? A lock picked? Well I can smith a lock that'll never be picked, or pick any lock that's ever been smithed. You pick. Where are my watches? Bah! Where's the creativity in that? Everyone has a watch! If you're not sure what you want, then have a look around. No one can peruse my gizmos without wanting something...

What's in the box?

Oh, nothing really. Just some tools of the trade. cogs, gears, springs, nuts, and bolts. Lockpicks, caltrops, rolled up trip razors... what's a trip razor you ask? Haha, ask the last naughty vandal who tried to break in to my shop. With this set of strings and springs, I could take down kings! Well, not really, but it has to rhyme. Rhymes are good for business you know... But enough about the box. My notebook is much more interesting. No you can't look! These blueprints are my intellectual property! You'll have to wait till I build 'em and sell 'em.

[Bubsy 2]

Prince Rowan

I can see Him. I can see Him, I can see Him, almost, I can almost see him, hiding in the corners of the corners, just beyond the peripheral. I can hear Him, his voice, scratching, tickling, whispering, but not a whisper, no longer a whisper, now a yell, a plea, a scream, I can hear it in the back of my head. It sounds unpleasant but... but it's not. My God, it's not. It's the opposite. It's joy and bliss, the light of one thousand suns filling my mind's eye, the promise of ecstasy, pleasure, but above all, above it all an eternal peace. His voice, radiating in my head, filling it with his light, he speaks to me. My God, he speaks to me. He tells me things... he tells me His will, His word, He tells me I am his prophet and he is my God. I'll make them see. I'll show them all, the heathens, the heretics, they've turned away from His light to worship their false Gods and their false kings but by my God they will see.

Oh, they will see.

I didn't always see his light. No, even I, as devout as I am, I didn't always understand. I was born to a vain father and a vain mother in a vain kingdom that only had the trappings of His light, the promise of it, but it was hollow and empty. It was a godless kingdom that was destined to be mine. That's right, I was royalty once. Still am, I suppose. Oh, they loved me. Oh, how they loved me. On the day of my birthday the plebeians cried my name, declaring that I would be the king to make everything change, to solve their problems, to bring them peace, the one foretold by some wrinkly false prophet to unite their lands.

Oh, I brought them their change.

I can still remember the first time I felt His light. The first time I looked to the sky, saw the sun and the clouds, felt the warmth of His light on my face and I knew, I knew that I would be the one to tell them His word. I could hear him, it was only a whisper then, a hint of a trace of an inkling. In time it became clearer, and clearer, until I knew what I had to do. They were Godless mean, they couldn't understand Him, their vanity blinded them, raised a shroud between them and His light. I shed their royal blood with my own hand. Oh, yes I did, that was His will... His voice, His command. Throw the kingdom into chaos.

Oh, I did, the wars are still going.

I left their heathen lands, left them to the grave they had dug for themselves, the bloodshed they had deserved. They had deserved all that came to them, I can assure you. The truth is their kingdom, my kingdom, all the others were the same. Decadence, opulence to an extreme degree, they could not be shown His light. They were blind to it, could not comprehend it like infants, babes suckling at the shadow of nothing. I needed to go somewhere else. Somewhere simpler, newer, cleaner, fresher, a place I can still change. Winding. Winding, that's the word that keeps coming to me.

Oh, they must be the ones that will see the glory of Skinith.

---

People have always found me attractive. I'm not really sure why, to be honest. I've never really find myself, or for that matter anyone else, particularly attractive. But people have always liked me, gravitated towards me. I guess it's that whole royal blood, perfect genes thing. That's what I think at least. I'll try to relate my physical appearance to you as best I can. I'm twenty-three years old, for the sake of context. I stand at about 5 foot 8 inches, I weigh somewhere around 140 pounds by my estimate. I am fair of skin, my face hard, cut, angular, I suppose a face that would be traditionally defined as handsome. I have a scar across the bridge of my nose, a small one in a prominent position. My eyes are green, a deep green, green of the forest's leaves. If there is one quality about me I like it is my eyes. Deep and piercing, a deep gaze would make the prettiest, most pretentious ladies at court swoon. Although that was likely partly due to me being the prince of the realm, and of course that isn't the reason I like them. They merely please me. The shadow of a stubble has begun to appear on my face, and I don't particularly care to shave it. My hair is black, beginning to grow long, waving and flowing to my shoulders. It's been a while since I've seen a barber. And yes, I'm a Human. Winding is a diverse place, certainly, but I'm sure I'll be able to fit in there.

[Bombardier]

Talk shit, get shit thrown at you.

Name
Anzo Käfer

Age
28

Gender
Male

Sexuality
Heterosexual

Race
Humanoid Dung Beetle

Occupation
Guard

Appearance
Anzo has the characteristics of an insect, more specifically a dung beetle. Standing a little over 8 feet tall in addition to boasting a large, brawny build, this bug is a rather intimidating sight. Barely noticeable due to the onyx black color of his body, his dark eyes decorate his rather plain head. He's completely hairless and the only thing on his body that differs in color are the 3 white scarabs adorning his back. The beetle always sports a sort of natural armor in the form of his shell-like exterior. The only noticeable thing he carries around is a sack full of balls of dung, lots 'n' lots of dung balls, and the bag itself also has many holsters and pockets on the exterior for weapons plus his telescope.

Personality
He possesses perhaps the worst trait for a guard, laziness. It isn't that the bug doesn't care about the villagers, he definitely does; it is just that guarding can get so boorrriiiinnnnngggggg. If not napping at his post, Anzo will probably be off cracking jokes and eating food with said inhabitants of Winding that he loves so much, and being quick to make friends, he has plenty of people to do ignore his duties with. He's impulsive and ultimately humble, knowing damn well how crappy a guard he can be and how good sandwiches taste.

Skills & Abilities
Marksmanship
Incredible Strength
Great throwing Prowess
Social Skills

[Illogical Jim]

The Priest

Name: Father Mortain Greenfield, Priest of Naram, at your service.

Age: Fifty-two, if you really must know.

Gender: Male of course. I suppose my title would be 'Mother,' otherwise.

Sexuality: Celibate, and that's all I will say on the matter.

Appearance: Well, take a look-

Father Mortain is a fair-skinned human of average height. His hair, although almost totally gray, has yet to thin appreciably. His eyes are brown. Though his youth has long since departed, he is still in good health for a man his age, and makes a point of regular exercise to keep it that way. He is most typically seen wearing a simple brown cassock on his body and nothing on his feet, when the weather allows it. Around his neck he wears the sacred symbol of his order, an emblem depicting a balanced set of scales, cast in silver.

Personality: Well, for one thing I've never much cared for the attitude- prevalent in my order, you understand- that harsh regimentation is the best way to guide a flock. I just don't think that would fly in this village.

I always try to speak kindly, even to strangers and non-believers. Especially to them, in fact. Behaving justly is easily the best way to win converts. Not to mention it's the right thing to do, of course.

Skills: I was trained as a seminarian in the finer points of rhetoric and theology, and received rudimentary instruction in the healing arts. As a boy I was also taught to read and write, to manipulate sums, and I managed to pick up a little bit of herblore as well.

Drawbacks: Might be I'm a little too trusting. I've been called gullible before, after all. I'm a little overfond of imbibing on festive occasions, for which I must do proper penance.

Brief bio: Not much to say, really. I was born here, as any old-timer could tell you. My father worked a plot outside of town, just as his father did, and his grandfather, and so on. My brother and his family work the plot now. And do a fine job of it, I might add.

After reaching adulthood I went off to train for the priesthood in the big city, and spent several years wandering afterward, as is traditional. When my traveling was finished, I was dispatched at my own request back to Winding. Our previous priest in residence- Naram keep him- had died several months earlier, leaving the post open.

I've been tending the shrine to Naram ever since.

I am taking up a collection to repair the roof, if you're feeling generous. Surely you noticed the drip pans in the narthex?

[Kidd]

Kahya

Kahya Tarom | ♀ | 26

The Journey

Kahya is many things: a widow, a scholar, a warrior. Specifically, she's a cartographer from south of the southern desert, beyond the Petrified Wastes. The kingdom she comes from is a large and thriving one, fueled by the wide river it sits on. With food and resources aplenty for the citizens, the throne is able to invest in academics--only, there is only so much to teach. But there is a lot to discover. And so a team of scholars and warriors was put together in order to explore and document the world in the name of Kahndaq. Kahya was one of the members and one of the only to be trained in both combat and academics. Her husband was also selected for his prowess as a royal guard.

The group departed Kahndaq as seven. However, the Petrified Wastes proved hostile and difficult: all but Kahya perished, and she barely survived. With a broken wrist and limited supplies, she seeks hospitality in the Village of the Winding.

Kahya

Kahya is a confident and proud woman, but also gentle and kind. At her core, she's introverted and needs time alone; however, she's friendly and accommodating even when someone can't take the hint. She has a simple sense of humor and dirty jokes will still make her blush like a maiden. Although her journey has already suffered multiple hardships, she is also stubborn and intends to keep going. Besides, she's unsure she can currently return home in her state. The desert and the Petrified Wastes proved difficult enough for seven of them. Still, she refuses to let the loss of her friends and husband go to waste; she will contribute what she can to Kahndaq's growth.