The Origin of Varus Silvertongue

Varus Silvertongue
by: Stan Lingle

Jorah Argentson was a talented diplomat and served in (his/her) majesty’s diplomatic corp. He was not royalty; his parents were respected merchants in town, and provided him with opportunity and a good education at the city’s college. He excelled in academics and showed an aptitude for history and politics, and flair for public speaking. By the time that he graduated, he had attracted the attention of the diplomatic corps. They offered him an internship upon his graduation. He rose through the ranks with talent, hard work, and an easygoing manner. He was also a singer, which proved to be a very useful tool and helped his diplomatic missions. Music had an amazing way of defusing tense situations and helping bridge cultural differences. There were several other musicians in the diplomatic corps, and they usually offered to sing and perform at diplomatic social gatherings with any musicians that cared to participate. It was not unusual to have diplomats and even royalty join in the entertainment.

In his thirties, he was dispatched to an elven kingdom whose borders had been closed for some years. The diplomatic party was brought to the elven capital and granted and audience with the king and queen. They presented many gifts to the elven royalty and were greeted warmly. A long night of feasting and music were well underway when Jorah saw the Queen speak to a beautiful elven maiden, who pointed to Jorah. The maiden came over and introduced herself. L’ianna Arduvain was as beautiful as she was talented. Jorah was instantly smitten with the her. She told him that the Queen had requested a performance with the two of them, and he gracefully accepted without hesitation. They were engrossed in a discussion on music theory and harmony when her queen reminded them they were expecting a performance sometime this evening. After a few minutes of discussing common songs and possible keys, they came forward and bowed to king, queen, and assembled royalty and diplomats. Their combined voices and instruments rang out and amazed the assembled group, and they sang for some time. When they finally ended the set, the throne room was filled with cheering, clapping, and congratulations; mainly from the humans, but even the elves were unusually demonstrative. The Queen requested an encore. Jorah and L’ianna spent many hours together after that. The diplomatic mission lasted many weeks, and they became inseparable. She showed him the city and the woods all around. Their voices and instruments could be heard at various times throughout. It’s very difficult for two bards to be discreet. Everyone soon took note. The diplomats were worried that this dalliance would offend the elves, and they were correct. Many of the elves had no desire to see a human with one of their most talented artists. Those who did not agree with the opening of the border used this as the perfect example of why the elves should remain isolated.

When the diplomatic mission drew to a close at last, Jorah asked to stay as a liaison with the elves. The lord in charge of the mission denied his request and ordered him to return with them to prevent any further diplomatic tensions. Upon learning this, L’ianna asked her king and queen to let her accompany the humans back to their lands and act as a representative of the elves. This request was quickly denied as well. L’ianna told Jorah she would run away with him, but he begged her not to do so, as this could cause a diplomatic incident. He promised to return to her as soon as possible. They spent the last few days together, greatly saddened to leave the other. They spent the last night in each other’s arms. Many noticed their sadness in parting the next day.

A month or so after the diplomatic party had departed, L’ianna began to suspect something that she had not thought possible. She had always been taught that elves and humans could not easily have children. It was extremely rare, and even if the woman did conceive, few of the babies survived past birth. But there had been something about Jorah. She had never felt like that singing with anyone else. The two of them were magical together. After two months, she knew it was true. She was carrying his child. She kept it quiet as long as possible, and even thought about trying to run away and escape the kingdom. A few months later, she could no longer hide it, and word quickly spread. The elven community was shocked and divided, and although some were accepting, not everyone welcomed the news. There had not been such a thing in some years in the kingdom, although given the longevity of the elves, most of them knew half-elves. Some of the elves welcomed the child as a sign that there should be peace between the elves and humans. The king and others did not agree with that opinion, but they said little openly.

L’ianna gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child was gorgeous, even more attractive than most of the elven babies. Even those that did not approve could not deny the beauty and charisma of the child. He cried very little and was content in his mother’s arms. She named him Varus Argentson Arduvain.

But at that time, the king would not see with his heart. He feared what the humans represented. Soon after, diplomatic tensions rose, and the elven king closed the borders again. Jorah and L’ianna both wondered if their relationship had precipitated the king’s actions. They both wrote letters to each other constantly, but none were ever delivered.

L’ianna raised the child in the village, and the elves were impressed with his beauty and grace. He was agile and quick, and played games with the elven children. Some children taunted him, but he had a quick wit of his own, and often turned a mean comment into a laugh. As he grew, his mother taught him history, and told him wondrous stories, legends of elves and dwarves and men. Tales of magical creatures and their lairs. Every day they sang and played together and wandered through the woods. She often told him of his father and promised he would meet him some day.

The Queen did not agree with the King’s decision, and subtly noted the boy’s achievements. Over the years, the King saw the young boy grow up among the elves, and his heart softened. He saw that the union of human and elf had been a good thing. Varus had passion and energy, and seemed to get along with everyone. The King decided to open the borders once more, and to send a diplomatic mission to the human kingdom. L’ianna was summoned to appear before the King and Queen. She was assigned as one of the cultural liaisons for the diplomatic mission which would establish an embassy there. She would take Varus so that he could meet his father and live among humans. L’ianna accepted the assignment gratefully and informed Varus of the news. The journey was uneventful, and the elven diplomatic party was welcomed. L’ianna introduced Jorah to his son in an emotional meeting. Father and son were overjoyed.

Those were happy years for Varus, getting to know his father, seeing his parents together, and living in a human city. So very different from the elven township. Hustle and bustle everywhere, seeming chaos compared to the quiet sylvan woods. He attended school and roamed the fascinating city streets, quickly making friends and mischief around the city. The variety of races also fascinated him; humans, halflings, dwarves, gnomes, and more.

When he was 15, his parents were dispatched on a risky diplomatic mission. They forbade him to go with him. Two months after the mission left, it was reported missing. After 6 months, the mission was given up as lost. No one returned and no bodies were found. Varus was devastated.

He lost interest in school and started roaming the streets and performing in taverns. A traveling troupe of entertainers with singers, musicians, actors, dancers, jugglers, and other performers came to town. He went to all their performances and was enthralled by the atmosphere. It helped him forget. Some members of the troupe noticed his attendance and his singing. By the time the troupe was ready to leave town, he was asked to join as an apprentice performer.

The next couple of years were spent constantly on the move from one town to another, staying for as long as they could bring in a decent crowd. There were plays, concerts, musicals, circus acts, and any combination thereof; whatever might appeal to the crowd. He learned about costumes, makeup, voices, theatrical effects, and all manner of making the mark believe that the make-believe was real. His talent as a singer and musician ensured that he was in most of the musical numbers. He might warm up the crowd with a fantastic story or a couple of songs, or start playing his fiddle or bodhran as the other performers assembled. He loved performing on stage, and quickly gained notice with his handsome looks, ringing voice, and musicianship. It certainly did not hurt that he was a mysterious half-elf; most people had never seen one. The troupe also promoted the more unusual members of the company to lure in customers. One night, after the show was done and the troupe was drinking, they dubbed him Varus Silvertongue and used that for his stage name. As he became more comfortable on stage and more proficient with his music, he felt power flowing through him. As time passed, he started to be able to control the power to create small magical effects.

After some time with the troupe, Varus noticed that others would come and go with them as they travelled. He overheard that some of them were from bard colleges or other organizations. He slowly began to piece together that they were often members of the same group referred to as The Wanderers. After several years, Gareth, the leader of the troupe, came to him and told him about this group. They were a group of bards, rangers, druids, and other individuals that were not loyal to institutions or formal organizations. They worked to help ensure that others were not oppressed by royalty, government, or other organizations. Gareth asked if Varus would be interested in serving in such a group. The boy quickly agreed, and became an apprentice to The Wanderers. He was sometimes dispatched to deliver messages to others or perform other duties that he was not allowed to discuss with other members of the troupe. He also asked Gareth to let him know if he heard anything about his parents.

The troupe returned to his home town and performed several shows. Varus considered striking out on his own, traveling town to town and searching for any clue about his parents.

While in town, he receives a letter…