Post by Taran of Caer Dallben on Mar 9, 2011 16:21:20 GMT -8
~~~Friends in High Places~~~
~~~The Basics~~~
Character Name Taran of Caer Dallben
Character's Origin The Black Cauldron
Affiliation—Friends, High Council, Faerie Courts, Unaffiliated, or Untouched? High Council
What is your character's status? Are they a hero/heroine, sidekick (includes non-speaking animal sidekicks), guardian, princess, High Council Member, Faerie, Inner Circle, Client (villains in a formal deal with the Friends), Agent (villains allied with the Friends but not in their debt), or Villain (unaware/not working for the Friends directly)?
Your chosen status will become your Custom Title.
Hero
~~~About My Character~~~
What is your character's history? Are they on the side of the Friends, the High Council, neutral, or are they unaware of the conflict? What has happened to them in their lives to make them the way they are today?
Taran doesn't know who his parents are. His earliest memories are of the old man Dallben and working on the farm that surrounded the old man's small house. He also remembers that even in his early childhood, he longed to be a great hero. Only heroes really gained any respect in the real world, as Taran well knew. After all, who else could keep the kingdom of Prydain safe except for the great heroes of the world? So he spent his days dreaming of being a hero one day, facing the armies of the Horned King singlehandedly, never afraid and always the victor.
Sadly, he didn't ever get the chance to prove himself as a hero. Instead, he was forced to care for, of all things, Dallben's prize pig Hen Wen. Of all the things that Taran had hoped to do with his life, being a pig-keeper—and not just a pig-keeper, but an assistant pig-keeper—was not one of those things. Instead, he had hoped that by now he would be able to join the war against the evil Horned King. But there was always an excuse that Dallben would give him, preventing him from going out and partaking in the sort of adventures that he longed to have. "You're too young. Who would tend Hen Wen? I am getting too old to be left alone." No matter what argument that Taran came up with, Dallben would be able to tell him no.
This went on for several years, until Taran was in his early teens. By now, he was starting to become more and more wrapped up in his daydreams, rather than focusing on his chores. Dallben noticed this and it worried him a great deal. All that the old man could think to do, though, was to continue trying to get Taran to take his duties as assistant pig-keeper seriously. Unfortunately this did not work at all. If anything, Taran only began daydreaming more and more. Finally, Dallben was beginning to grow very frustrated with his young charge when one day, while Taran was trying to bathe Hen Wen, the young pig began to go into a sort of fit. Taran had never seen Hen Wen act like this before, and he couldn't begin to imagine what was making her behave so. Taking the still-frightened pig into the house, Taran was even more confused when he saw that Dallben had placed a small bowl filled with water on the ground. When Taran asked for an explanation, the old man explained that he had to consult Hen Wen's "powers." Dallben made Taran swear to never reveal what he saw to anyone before the old man began to stir the water in the bowl, murmuring a sort of incantation.
"Hen Wen, from you I do beseech, knowledge that lies beyond my reach. Troubled thoughts lay on your heart. Pray you now, those thoughts impart."
The pig lowered her snout into the water, which began to glow and showed images of the Horned King and his horrible gwythaints searching for something. It wasn't until an image of a large cauldron appeared in the water that Dallben really became afraid, and when Hen Wen's image appeared, the old man hastily stopped the vision. He explained to Taran that the Horned King had discovered Hen Wen's powers, and would use it to find the dreaded Black Cauldron if Taran didn't take Hen Wen away and hide her. Taran didn't like the idea of running and hiding, but he couldn't say no to Dallben. With Hen Wen in hand, Taran led her through the forests towards a hidden cottage where they would hopefully be safe.
But not even that was going to happen. Taran's tendency to daydream had never been so ill-timed, as he soon lost track of Hen Wen and began wandering through the trees to try and find her. At one point, he thought that he had found her, but instead found himself in the company of a strange furry creature that called itself Gurgi. The creature wanted nothing more than the apple that Taran had been using to try and bait Hen Wen into coming back, and Taran was more than willing to give Gurgi the apple, just to be rid of him. But it seemed that Gurgi—who insisted on calling Taran "Master"—seemed to have at least some use, as he claimed to have seen Hen Wen. Taran followed Gurgi's directions, only to find a pair of gwythaints attacking the young pig. Despite his efforts to save her, Hen Wen was captured, and Taran followed her to the Horned King's castle.
Inside of the castle, he was discovered to be Hen Wen's keeper, and forced to make her use her gift to show the Horned King the Black Cauldron. But the Horned King's eagerness to find it was too great, causing Taran to run off with Hen Wen before the pig could reveal the location of the Cauldron. While Hen Wen escaped, Taran was captured. Within the dungeons, he met an odd young girl who introduced herself as Princess Eilonwy. She seemed amused when Taran told her that he was merely an Assistant Pig-Keeper, and not a great Lord or warrior. Still, she allowed him to join her in the tunnels that twisted their way beneath the great castle. During their wanderings, they discovered the burial chamber of the king who had first built the castle, and Taran soon found himself the new owner of the old king's sword. There was another unfortunate victim of the Horned King, a bard by the name of Fflewder Fflam, who they tried to help escape before they were discovered.
They ran away from the servants of the Horned King, and Taran discovered something amazing about the sword he had taken from the burial chamber: it was magical! Able to defeat any weapon that he faced, Taran felt worthwhile for the first time in his life, and began to fight his way through the castle, Eilonwy and eventually Fflewder following after him. Once they had escaped the castle, Taran and Eilonwy got into a fight over who was responsible for their escape, but they quickly apologized, just in time for Gurgi to join their group.
Gurgi had seen Hen Wen's tracks and told Taran this. Following after the small creature, they soon found themselves sucked into a whirlpool created by Doli of the fair folk, ruled by King Eidilleg. With the help of the fair folk, they were told where to find the Black Cauldron, and soon they found themselves in Morva, a bog that was inhabited by three bizarre witches; Orgoch, Orddu, and Orwen. The witches were not about to allow the travelers to simply take the Black Cauldron, and so Taran agreed to give them his magical sword in exchange for the Cauldron. Unfortunately, there was a downside to taking the Cauldron. They could not physically destroy it, but only destroy its power. And even then, that would only happen by sacrificing one of their group.
Before they could even attempt this, they were once more captured by the Horned King, and forced to watch as the Horned King used the Cauldron to create an army of the undead Cauldron Born, who would destroy all of Prydain. But Gurgi sacrificed himself to save the others. Once they escaped the collapsing castle, Taran made the three witches from Morva bring Gurgi back in exchange for the Cauldron. Now, with Eilonwy, Fflewder, and Gurgi, he is travelling wherever Dallben, an agent of the High Council, sends them, Taran fighting to protect those in need while Eilonwy teaches magic.
Describe your character's personality. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their passions? What qualities do they have that are good or bad?
Taran is a young man who has difficulty accepting his own self-worth. He is very hard-pressed to admit when he is wrong, as well. Very determined to always be the one who is correct, no matter what is going on. This leads to a great deal of arguing with Eilonwy in particular, as she has no issue proving him wrong. Now he has begun to improve in some ways, but he is also quite stubborn, making a lot of these changes in his character very difficult for him. Still, he is very young, and he has time to change. That, and his affection for Eilonwy gives him a reason to change.
If your character is listed on one of these pages, please copy their entry here. Will you be playing by this description, or are you going to take a different spin on things, and how so?
"Taran and his friends were recognized by the High Council for their defeat of the Horned King and were all rewarded. Taran was given a new sword (but without magic powers) and now teaches new recruits how to properly fight with their swords, Eilonwy travels with Taran and teaches magic to some of the Princesses as well as others who are willing to learn, Gurgi was taught how to cook by Johnny Appleseed so that the little creature wouldn't have to steal anymore, and Hen Wen is currently used to help the High Council figure out which worlds the Friends will attack next. And Fflewddur? Well, he now roams about Prydain singing of the heroic exploits of not just Taran, but all the other High Council heroes as well."
I will be playing Taran by this description, as I believe that Dallben is in the service of the High Council and would get Taran and Eilonwy in contact with the High Council members to prevent their being harmed by the Horned King again.
~~~Sample~~~
Give us a small sample of how you will play your character. Give us at least three paragraphs.
It was almost impossible for Taran to feel anything but frustration with Eilonwy at this point. She was always just so…infuriating! Were all girls like this, or just young princesses who had a hard time letting anyone else have a say in anything? Kicking at the wall of the small stable where his horse, Melynlas—a gift from an old acquaintance of Dallben's—was housed, Taran swore loudly as his foot throbbed in pain. Looking up from his stall, Melynlas snorted a little and seemed to give Taran a look of disapproval for his language.
"What?" Taran snapped. But he soon regretted this as the horse turned his head away from him. Sighing heavily, he walked over to stand beside Melynlas and stroked the horse's neck with a weak smile. "I'm sorry," he said gently. "Eilonwy is just so annoying sometimes! You understand though, don't you?"
The horse snorted again, turning to nuzzle against him affectionately. He took this as an affirmative answer, and Taran returned to stroking the horse's neck, sighing heavily. At least Melynlas didn't feel the need to always judge him. Though…to be fair, Eilonwy did apologize whenever she knew that she'd made him angry about something. All he had to really do was wait a little longer, and then she would come apologize like any real lady did. Smirking to himself at that, Taran prepared for a short wait.
~~~Bonding~~~
Why this character? What draws you to them? What makes you want to play them?
The Black Cauldron is a favorite film of mine, as it is based on one of my favorite series of books, and Taran has always been one of my favorite heroes, as he is someone who is able to change over time. Not to mention that there's Eilonwy in the role of Princess, and I always enjoyed her interactions with Taran.
Who else do you play here?
Maleficent and the Spring Sprite
