Tevye’s Shooting Stars
In my previous post, I mentioned I have a story to tell about one of my tabletop characters. I recently retired Tevye. He is a Firbolg druid. He is alive and well. He parted ways with the rest of the group, and left with a companion on a new adventure. Like all of my characters, he has an origin story.
Tevye is no stranger to trauma. Here is his first of many traumas.
Tevye’s Shooting Stars
A man hums to himself as he makes camp in a woods. He builds a fire, and unpacks his cooking supplies. He carefully seasons the meat, and places it in a skillet. As the meat sizzles, he suddenly stops humming.
Without turning away from his cooking meal, he calls out softly, “I see you by the tree, little one. You look hungry. Why don’t you join me for a bite?”
A ten year old Firbolg steps out from the shadow of a tree. His eyes do not leave the fire as he approaches. He seems to hesitate before finally sitting down.
The man continues his humming, and finishes cooking the food. He places it on a dish, and serves it to the boy.
The boy looks up from the fire, and stares at the meat for a few moments. Hastily, he grabs the dish, and scarfs it down in a few bites. The man just smiles, and slowly eats his own meal.
After eating, the boy continues to stare into the fire. As the sun sets, his eyes are glazed over as horrors replay in his mind.
The man sets up two bedrolls. He startles the boy by saying, “Firbolgs don’t generally have names. However, I need to call you something. Do you like the name ‘Tevye?'”
Two weeks earlier.
The Firbolg boy runs through the forest. His parents don’t like him being out this late at night, but the weather is too perfect. There isn’t a cloud in the sky.
He approaches his favorite tree, and begins to climb. He reaches the top, where a branch perfectly caresses his body. He reclines and looks at the stars. A smile graces his young face.
His mother showed him all of the constellations. She showed him how to navigate using the stars. He loves how the stars seem to move of their own will.
With his mind filled with happy memories, he begins to drift asleep.
A horrific scream. The smell of sulfur. The boy’s eyes pop open. Something is wrong. He looks towards his village, and sees smoke and fire.
His parents! He must get to his parents! He slides down the tree, getting a few bruises and scrapes for his effort. He starts running only thinking of the ones he loves.
The smell of sulfur overcomes his senses. Several of the tree houses are burning. Luckily, he finds his house still intact. He climbs up, and his parents are relieved and worried to see him. His father tells him to run and hide. The boy refuses. His dad physically restrains him, and tries to hide him in a nearby cabinet.
Two demons break open the door to the tree house. The boy watches in horror. His parents cast entangle, but the demons burn the magical vines. They turn the fire towards his parents.
The screams. The screams will forever haunt the boy.
The demons find the boy. The boy has shut down. The searing of his flesh. The cuts. He does not react. The demons grow bored, and they leave him to burn with his family. The boy looks up as one demon turns and says something in demonic. While focussing on the demon’s words, the boy blacks out.
The boy only remembers snippets of the following weeks. He sees the dancing shadows of the forest as he walks away from his home. He sees his disheveled reflection in the stream he drinks from. He sees his hand pick a few berries. Every vision seems like memories of another, except the nightmares. Reliving the nightmares are his to bear.
Only survival carries him until he hears a humming.
Present.
“Yes, ‘Tevye.’ It is a strong name. It means tree! A tree is tall and mighty. It can withstand many storms! It’s better than my name. My name is Tealic.”
Tevye’s eyes begin to focus, and he straightens up. He seems to like it, but doesn’t say anything.
“Tevye, you are welcome to share my camp tonight. If you so choose, I could use your help tomorrow. I need to get back to town, and report my findings about this forest. It gets lonely out here, and I could use a friend. What do you say?”
Tevye looks up at Tealic. He doesn’t say anything, but his eyes say thank you.
As the fire turns to embers, Tealic and Tevye turn in for the night. For Tevye, the nightmares seem a little more muted.
