|
This is a work in progress, but I don't care if you guys read it. This way Baldy can edit it as well and just have one copy.
Rigby Twigman
Rigby was born in Lavender Winds, an area of the ancient Yeti Forest. It was named for the many Moonray flowers in the area that release their petals into the wind. Rigby was always a popular boy, ready with a quick smile and a joke. As he became a young man, he became known for two particular things. The first was his profession, growing blackberries. He could coax them into growing anywhere, and they were always perfectly tart. It was mostly in the fertilizer, of course, which was a family secret. The second thing for which he was known was his amazing pranks. Pranks are a way of life for pixies, but Rigby took it to a whole new level. His pranks were talked about by everyone in Lavender Winds until he did the next one. This made him quite the player.
Pixies do not marry for life. They do not die of old age, so they can become extremely old before they piss off the wrong adventurer. Marriage for a few thousand years would get unbelievably dull. Instead, they marry for ten years at a time. This gives them time to make new pixies and raise them for a few years. It also allows the male pixies a few tries to perfect their proposal prank techniques. Unlike humans, who may divorce after some number of years, these marriages just end and they go their separate ways. In some cases they may renew their marriage for an extra 10 years, but the most ever recorded was a 30 year span. Family lines and names are tracked through the mothers. Eventually, Rigby realized that most pixies his age had been married two or three times, and he had not been married even once. Though he certainly enjoyed the insanely hot pixies, he couldn’t imagine being attached to one for more than a few nights. That was until one spring morning when he espied Amira Summerday, a beautiful young pixie, with her golden green hair glistening in the sun. They spent many days together by the pond doing the dance with no pants, and Rigby started to feel something new to him. Just as pixies only marry for a few years, they do not have the concept of “boyfriend” or “girlfriend.” It really only gets as far as “friends with benefits.” No relationship is exclusive except for marriage. Rigby could not stand the thought of sharing her with anyone or, even worse, what would happen if she married someone else. Since she had not been married before, it was custom for him to ask her father. Her father consented.
A proposal prank is very important to pixies. It must be charming and loving, and the magnitude is to be considered. Typically a young male pixie will start with something simple and build up through the centuries. But this was Rigby Twigman, not a typical pixie with a small prank. He needed something to top every prank in memory. He had her father bring her to the Blossoming Bluffs where he would have his prank ready. He saw them approach from his hidden position, and he set things in motion.
And that was when disaster struck. It began when a hawk saw the doves. The herd of bunnies then began to stampede straight into Amira and her father. A wolf saw the bunnies, and that’s when the chaos struck. It ended when Rigby was still flying towards them to help. Her father pushed Amira out of the way of the wolf, but he took fangs to his heart. Amira was maimed with a scar across her face and a useless hand.
In the days that followed, he never bothered to find out whether she could forgive him. He could not face her. His guilt and loss was unbearable. He did not joke, and he did not smile. Even his blackberries suffered. His guilt consumed him. After a few months, he said farewell to his parents, packed his things, and left Lavender Winds. He did not know where he was going, but when your own demons are chasing you, anywhere will do.
He meandered the Yeti forest for nearly a year. He never went hungry, of course, and he was perfectly comfortable. Eventually he spotted a tower rising up from the forest floor. He went to investigate, flying up to the upper window. A man inside in yellow robes saw him out the window and offered a greeting and invited him in. His name was Clyde the Fantastic. Well, that was how Clyde wanted to be known, but so far no one else had taken to using that moniker. Clyde was a wizard, and he was convinced there was some hidden power in this forest. So far he had not discovered it, but he built his tower here to study. He also offered a deal with Rigby. Clyde was excited to have a helper who knew the forest, and he was willing to pay. Pixies are basically tiny communists, so he had never even seen money before. He was unsure about this deal, but while they were talking Clyde offered him some cheese. Pixies don’t eat meat, and generally exist on nothing but various fruits. Cheese was something entirely new, and it was made clear that there would be all the cheese he could eat. Rigby agreed, and he even got his own bed on a shelf by the window.
He helped Clyde for nearly a decade. Most of his tasks involved finding samples of various plants in the forest, but he also helped in the laboratory. He learned a lot about wizards, but strangely gained no experience. He also helped teach Clyde what to avoid in the forest if he didn’t want to get hurt. They became good friends, and the end of his service was not the choice of either one. While searching for golden mandrake on a cool fall day, he was captured by a slaver.
The slaver was named Bly Muti, and he clearly specialized in the exotic slaves. He was an awful human. Rigby was bound with a magic chain, and he was put in a cage in the back of a wagon. There were other sprites in there, but none of them had much to say. They spent a long time traveling without knowing where they were going. Eventually he came to a market and was sold to the son of a Sultan (feel free to change to more appropriate principality) named Naeem Hilal. Naeem was not a good master, but not awful. His friends, however, were horrible. His job was mainly as a server, and his friends made Naeem beat Rigby if he was late, or even if he wasn’t. They regularly threw things at him, yanked his chain, and poked and prodded him regularly (though not sexually). They called him “flying dog,” and he was not permitted to speak.
All of his food was drugged to repress his magical ability and, Rigby assumed, for the amusement of the humans. There was a strong hallucinogenic effect that caused him extreme terrors and often left him not even knowing where he was. He tried not eating, but he could only hold out but so many days. This became his pattern. He would eat as little as possible, experience the awful drugs, and perhaps remember who he was for a few hours before he had to eat again.
At first, the nights were the worst for him. In the darkness, he experienced horrible visions that would not end until he passed out from sheer exhaustion. Eventually on one night more lucid than others, he focused his energies all night and managed to create a tiny permanent image of Lavender Winds in his cage. In his image there was himself and Amira as he felt they should have been. By the dim light in the palace, he could just see the image. By looking at his home and concentrating on making the two little figures dance around, he escaped most of the terrors of the night. He would also talk to the two figures just to hear his own voice.
This lasted for thirteen years. Rigby was travelling with Naeem through the city (whatever that is) when there was an uprising. The coach was overrun by rioters. They were pushed back, but not before Rigby was grabbed as loot. He was transported and quickly sold again, but this time for far less money. These peasants didn’t really know what he was or his value. Fortunately, they also did not drug him, and he could feel some of the stronger effects wearing off.
He was sold to a man named Rodrik. He was a merchant, which made him wealthy by peasant standards. Rodrik licked his lips and rubbed his hands together while making his purchase, and when they got to his home Roderik indicated that Rigby may soon have a much larger asshole. Rigby was instructed to take off his tiny clothes and then step out of the cage. Fortunately, Roderik was stupid. He did not understand the importance of the magic chain, and he felt a smaller chain would not get in the way as much. When he took off the magic chain, Rigby made a break for it. He grabbed a couple bags, a bit of gold he saw, and a small knife (dagger!) before flying out the window.
He found himself in an unknown city (or town). He knew he would feel the effects of the drugs for some time. He knew he was not himself yet, but he was confident he would recover. He used the knife to cut up one of the bags, and he was wearing a black velvet “robe” that said “APPLES” upside down in huge letters and was cinched at his waist with a bit of string. He has very orangish hair, and his skin has a greenish tint. His wings are his mostly lovely feature, long and elegant, with a beautiful array of colors. He is 139 years old, but he feels much older. From a high rooftop ledge, he looked out on the world through his bright violet eyes and was torn with emotion. He was free, but he had no home. On one hand he felt he deserved what had happened to help atone for his errors, but on the other hand he did not feel that he was absolved yet. Despite that, he could not help but raise a tiny fist and whisper “World… I’m going to fuck you up.”
(Possible meeting)…
He spotted an elf in the crowds, an elf who looked like a priest. He was generally fond of elves, and fey creatures need to stick together. He approached the elf and they struck up a conversation. Rigby told him some of his past, and he showed him a lovely large bag he had. If the elf was willing to wear it on his back, Rigby was willing to ride around in it. He knew some spells, and would help out on his quest as he could.
Father is Memphis Broadleaf, and he is 1923 years old. He’s a bit of a player and has only been married a dozen times or so. He makes pixie longbows. Through him, Rigby has only one half-sibling.
Mother is Ollisa Twigman, and she is 652 years old. She has enjoyed being married, so she has been married ten times. She is the blackberry grower. Through her, Rigby has six half-siblings. That’s a lot for an immortal species.
_________________
Do the asparagus look threatening?
|
