Aster Goldsign// Kiingerim Dwarves// Musician

Name Aster Goldsign

Age 250

Sex Male

Race Dwarf

Tribe Kiingerim Dwarfs

Occupation Travelling musician

Title The Blind Minstrel

Height 1 Ped, 1 Fore, 1 Palmspan, 1 Nailsbreadth, 2 Grains

Weight 2 Pygges, 2 Ods

Hair colour Silver

Eye colour A very light blueish green, that makes his eyes look kind of like glass marbles

Appearance
Aster is short, stocky and muscular, with a strong jaw and broad shoulders. His legs are very short and his torso gives him all his height, even though he isn't very tall, only 1 Ped, 1 Fore, 1 Palmspan, 1 Nailsbreadth, 2 Grains and he weighs 2 Pygges, 2 Ods.

He has a short beard that only goes half way down his neck, that is silver in colour. Underneath his beard he has a scar that he has had for around fifty years, which embarrasses him greatly, because he knows better than most that to keep his lively hood going, he needs to look presentable, which is hard for somebody who doesn't know what they look like. He has light, blueish green eyes, that look glassy due to his blindness.

Clothing
He wears soft brown cloth pants and a leather coat over the top of a cotton shirt, His boots are old and one has a large hole right where his toe ends. Although he works hard, he doesn't have much money so all of his clothes are old. He has a belt where he straps a pouch to keep his coins.
In the pouch, there is also an ornate brooch from his mother that he never lets leave his side.

Personality
Although he is blind, he is very strong minded and wont take anybodies nonsense. He is usually underestimated about how much he can do being blind but because of his dog which shows him around he can move considerably well.
He has no temper, it is almost impossible to make him angry, if he ever begins to fell anger bubbling up in his stomach, he usually stops, sits down and starts to play a tune on his Fíoelì, instead of allowing his temper to get the better of him.

Aster hates to talk about his past, it is something he just cant bring himself to do. He is also a little withdrawn around new people and although he will happily talk to them, he will try to steer clear of meaningful conversations unless it is really pushed by the other person. Aster likes meeting new people it will take a while for him to be a friend to that person but he does like new people, its just hard for him to get enough courage to go up to somebody new.

Strengths
   Subtle music: He can bring peoples hopes and dreams alive by one play of his Fíoelì, he can relax the most angry ogre, calm down a distressed old man, even send a dragon to sleep (metaphorically speaking) with the correct song

   Brute strength: He is very strong and this allows him to walk further than most and it also means that he can carry much of his pack, and take some of the weight off his horse Hero.

   Spying: People talk in front of musicians, and Aster with his keen hearing has become a very apt spy, he has never needed to use it but he is sure it will come in handy one day

   Tiffan: His guide dog, whom he loves so dear, Tiffan helps him enormously, by leading him around and being his eyes for him. Tiffan is also a bit of a protector to Aster, because he is blind she helps him walk freely, but the main reason is Aster is her master and that is what dogs do, she would lay her life on the line for old dwarf.

   Sharpened Senses: Due to his being blind, the four other senses Aster holds are all very sharp, and since his hearing has been inceased, his musical talents are also highly tuned, making it easier for him to make some money.

   Hero: Asters loyal horse, he is the one who Carry's Aster around, as Aster likes to keep moving allot and finds it hard to walk for long distances by himself it is Hero's job to carry him when he gets tired.

Weaknesses

   Blind: Aster cant see a thing, and hasn't been able to for his entire life, this makes him very sad as just once he would have liked to see his daughters face, or the beauty of a cave, or the colour of his guide dog.

   Depressed: He has had so much sadness in his life, everything that could go wrong for him, has gone wrong and now when he wakes up after an almost sleepless night, it usually takes him around three hours just to muster up the strength to get up, and even then he vomits when he does, not because he is sick but because he is that sad.

   Allergies: Aster is deathly allergic to nuts, if he even touches one he comes out in a rash, if he eats one though, his throat will close up and kill him, luckily when he first discovered this his mother had had a wind mage over for dinner and that mage managed save him.

   Getting Old: Aster is starting to get old, and as he is starting to get old he is now feeling some of the problems of age, for one he is a little bit arthritic in his right knee which makes walking and the cold a bit of a pain. His memory is also not as good as it used to be, making it hard to remember some of his songs.

History
Aster, although he was blind, had a relatively normal childhood. When he was about eighteen he found an old woman who played the Fíoelì in a tavern and because he didn't have a master at that time, he attached himself to that old woman, and soon became an apprentice to her. He now had the dream of one day becoming a great entertainer. By the time it was his decades time for their Baregozar he was 88 and he was more than ready and very excited to perform his Wirrurt. This was him in front of the elders playing an original piece he called blacksmiths calling, which he wrote for his father, who was a blacksmith.

Now it was time for Aster to find a woman who liked him, this was very hard, as trying to make a cave when you are blind takes allot of patience and hope, he managed barely, with a little help from his family. One thing he did have going for him was an incredibly glossy beard, and finally one dwarfmaid did notice him, her name was Deseraia the most beautiful sounding and sweet natured dwarf he ever met. They were wed shortly after, he was 93 when Deseraia gave birth to his daughter… Deseraia died giving birth and Aster's daughter grew up with only a father. When Aster was 103 and his daughter was 10 (he named her after his late wife) Aster decided he was ready to start working again so he and Deseraia started on their journey now they made a living off a double act Aster on the Fíoelì and Deseraia on the baroomith. At age 179 Aster was playing in a pub with his daughter when she turned to him and said “I have decided to go a separate way to you, your calling is with music but mine is still unknown so I have to figure out my life, before I can rest.” Aster new this day would come and that night he gave her all the money he had saved up and sent her out to the world to find a suitable husband. Sad to see her go Aster stayed in the caves for years and in that time had a very quiet and very sorrowful life as he was still grieving for his late wife. At age 200 he decided he needed to get out of the caves and get away from his place of grief so he spoke to the elders and they agreed to allow him to take on the title of Kavoninn Yabarrah. As he was leaving his daughter caught up with him and after saying her good byes slipped the brooch her grandmother had given her into his money pouch so that he would never forget where he came from.

He spent years wandering playing for money never being able to settle never quite happy where he ended up, so he did something spontanious, something he would never even think of doing normally, he got a job with a merchant and became the ship Entertainer. This scared him enormousley, because Aster didn't like the idea of being out on water but he went anyway. When the ship first set sail for southern sarvonia he got sick and when they hit land was fired from the ship. He wasnt that sad about it because he never had to go on water again but now he was in a strange land with no family and no one who new him, it was great!

At age 245 he had made his way up to a tiny little village up in the mountains, he made a small house and took up a life as a pub entertainer, it was hard but Aster found it fulfilling. He was even given a dog named Tiffan from the tavern owner, Tiffan was a huge help for Aster not only as a companion but also as his eyes. Plus for his birthday a good friend of his gave him a beautiful horse named Hero, Aster was getting old so having somebody to help carry him was a huge help. After 3 years disaster struck again, a careless blacksmith dropped one of the very hot swords he was making into a large pile of dry hay, and the fire spread all through the town, Aster survived but not by much. Tiffan, lead him and Hero to safety. A small hut with a witch doctor in it was near by and Aster, Hero and Tiffan stumbled across it. The doctor was old and kind and nursed him back to health; he stayed with the doctor for a while, learned everything he could from her, she also tried to cure him of his blindness but was unsuccessful. He left when he was feeling strong. At age 250 aster heard that the kind old woman had died of some unknown illness. Now he goes anywhere he wants to, making a living from his music and for the first time in a long time feeling free.

Weapons
Aster is really very peaceful so his weapon is his Fíoelì, calming and soothing who ever came his way, but if worse comes to worse he has a small hunting knife he uses for skinning animals he finds dead on his travels.

Belongings
Aster doesn't own much but he has the clothes on his back the coins in his pouch the Fíoelì on his back and the bed roll in his bag

Familiars

Name: Tiffan

Gender: Female

Species: mutt

Age: 6 years

Appearance: Tiffan only comes up to Asters waist, so she is a big dog but not a huge dog, she has brown eyes that are big and loving. Tiffan is black with a white tip on the end of her tail that is shaped like a question mark. She wears a black leather leash around her neck so she can lead Aster.

Personality: Very social and easy going, she is very protective of Aster and would never let him bump into anything. When Aster is playing on his Fíoelì she usually just sits next to him quietly, until Aster pics up her lead which means its time to go.

Brief history: Tiffan was born in the same town Aster got Hero, and Aster acquired her as a present and after Aster finished training her she started leading Aster where ever looked interesting. It took some getting used to for her to be able to lead Aster on his horse though.
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Name: Hero

Gender: Male

Species: Sarvonian Draught Pony

Age: 7 years

Appearance: Stocky with brown patches on a white body. He wears a very high quality soft leather saddle. He stands at 13 palmspans from shoulder to hoof.

Personality: Very smart and noble, knows that all he has to do is follow the dog in front of him. Hero is very inquisitive and will not back away as a person comes close.

Brief history: Nothing really special, he was the pride and joy of a horse breeder who was good friends with Aster and for Aster's 244 birthday was given to him as a present as Aster was always saying “I'm a gonna leave this place some day” so the breeder gave hero to him saying "he would be put to better use with you than with me” and that's about it hero has been carrying Aster about for three years and is a happy horse.