Brand

Background
Born on the first of Stormclaw, in the year 612 ATA, Brand Heartwood was the youngest of six children born to Jassen and Dana Heartwood from the township of Bramblestone. His father was one of the local blacksmiths and by extension, often a veterinarian for horses that came through. Despite this, Brand did not spend a lot of time in the forge - his older brothers came first, and they were being taught their father's craft. One more person in the forge, especially a young child, would just be getting in the way. The young Brand did not really mind this, however. He found his entertainment outside, playing in the fields with the other village children, and carefully watching any bards that might come through. By pestering them, he managed to learn a few tricks, using his small frame and energy to learn to perform some of the more acrobatic tricks, and convincing one bard to give him lessons on the trill, for a small price.

His real passion, however, he found by forcing his company onto the local woodsmith, who did teach him a bit, but eventually decided to try and distract the boy by giving him a kite. In short, Brand absolutely loved the idea of kite flying, and has slowly begun mastering the manipulation of the little flying toy, and even learned to make his own.

Now, Brand has left his home, heading out to see what's out and about in the world. He makes his way by making toys to sell, or other small trinkets as well as the occasional performance for an appreciative audience.

History In Game
Brand met up with Esvan Zahir and his bodyguard Thomas Darksteed early in the year 628, and has since been working for the young lord, in various capacities, as traveling companion, messenger, or just the entertainment for the day. His enthusiasm for kites has faded, and he has taken more to feats of acrobatics, something you might catch him performing in taverns across Fastheld, but mostly in the Black Hawk Tavern of Fanghill.

Before his enthusiasm for kites waned, however, he did manage to make the Dragon Song Kite, a truly unique kite in the kingdom of Fastheld.

The Dragon Song Kite
/^\,  ,  /^\                * The Dragon Song Kite * /  \ |\/| /   \     Unique among the kites crafted in Fastheld, the / .' \/  '. \   Dragon Song Kite was made by Brand Heartwood during /.'.'`\ \/\/ /`'.'.\  his boyhood in the year 627 ATA. Inspired by the '      `|mm|`       '  White Dragon statue in the temples of Light's Reach \WW/          and Crown's Refuge, it is a kite of odd design for \\           Fastheld, a tube covered in white cloth, with a          //            dragon's head on one end. When flying, the head \\           becomes fully inflated, looking out into the distance. //                   \|            The truly unique nature of the kite, however, is the fact that the supports used for it are delicate flute-like instruments, each attuned to a different note. As the Dragon Song Kite flies, the wind blowing through it makes it sing a pleasant melody, altering in pitch by the motion of the kite and the speed of the wind. The melody itself cannot be controlled by the flyer, but it is always a beautiful, ethereal song.

Just For Fun (OOC Stuff)
Brand is a character who has expanded far past his original intent. Originally, he was entirely a joke character, derived from something somebody said that there were only certain skills nobody would ever take as a legendary. The example was: kite flying. I decided to take this as a challenge and tried to take a character who /would/ do just that. For spoilers, in the end, he never did take legendary kite flying, just very good. There were other skills that were more fun to use with him, but he's been a fun, interesting character nonetheless.