Appearance

Physical Description

Typical half-elven build honed and shaped by a lifetime working aboard ships and practicing swordplay.

Facial Features

Thin, neatly trimmed goatee.

Identifying Characteristics

Pointed ears that mark his half-elven heritage.

Apparel & Accessories

Always carrying his prized lute, rapiers and his pet Monkey, Troubadour.

Special abilities

Magic Spells, Music, Singing, Rhyming, Swordsmanship

Mentality

Personal history

Tristan was born at sea, the bastard son of a traveling elven dignitary, whose mother was a lowly serving wench stationed on the traveling schooner, The Seabreeze. His human mother was enamored with the handsome - already married - elf, and the two spent many adulterous nights together during his sea voyage. Once he made landfall at his destination, the two never saw or heard from each other again. Tristan's mother did not know she was with child until weeks after the ship had put back out to sea.
 
Lo and behold, several months later Tristan was born on a stormy night aboard The Seabreeze. Being a bastard child, he took the ship's title as his surname, as was the custom. The ship's crew looked after the child as one of their own, as his mother was a beloved part of their sea family. As such, Tristan was raised in part by a myriad of cultures, personalities and customs. He lived aboard the ship among the crew up until the age of 15, which was when boys were given a choice to stay aboard and join as an official crew member, or seek employment on another ship. As much as he loved his mother and crew family, Tristan had bigger ambitions that pried him away from The Seabreeze. With a weary goodbye, Tristan set out at the next port in search of new adventure.
 
With his upbringing among a crew of seasoned sailors, it wasn't hard for Tristan to find a job aboard another ship. At an early age, the young man was a quick learner and seemed to excel at whatever he put his mind to. Over the next several years, he moved from ship to ship working at many different jobs aboard all manner of sea vessels, and traveling all over the vast seas and oceans of the world. It was aboard one of these ships that Tristan found one of his true callings.
 
Troubadour's Pride was a huge merchant galleon, well known for traversing the furthest reaches of the world and carrying all manner of trade goods and merchants along with it from port to port. Tristan had been working on Troubadour's Pride for nearly a year as a valued crewman when he met the esteemed traveling bard, Julian Alfred Pankratz - better known by his nickname, Reynaldo. Julian booked passage on the vessel often enough that he was considered the ship's resident performer and bard. Being of equal adventurous spirit, the two hit it off immediately and often spent time after hours comparing their many escapades in far off places in friendly competition. Julian eventually tutored Tristan in the ways of music, performance and grandiose aplomb. All of which came incredibly natural to the young man. During one stay at a busy port town, Julian surprised Tristan with a beautifully ornate and exquisitely crafted lute to call his very own. "An exquisite tool befitting an exquisite owner." is how he described it upon presenting the gift.
 
Because of it's grand reputation, Troubadour's Pride often carried the most valuable of trade goods. And typically with the expensive goods came highly trained guards to protect the investments of the traders. Along an atypically long voyage across the ocean, Tristan became friends with one of these guards - an elf named Silvanoshei, unparalleled in his skill with the sword. Half-elves are typically looked down upon by true blooded elves, but Silvanoshei looked upon Tristan with admiration and reminisced back to his own youth, seeing the boy's eager outlook on life - a gift of his human blood. Silvanoshei was exceptionally adept using a rapier sword, and spent the many months of their sea voyage training the lad in different techniques. Tristan exceled most in one such technique called the blade flourish, which he adopted quickly. As they finally came to the goods' final destination port, Silvanoshei wanted to leave his endeared young apprentice a parting gift, and secretly stole one of the enchanted swords he was charged with protecting. The weapon was a finely crafted rapier that was enchanted to be able to hover and fight on its own! These "dancing swords" were very rare, expensive and sought after, but Silvanoshei felt it a fitting gift for his gifted new friend. Overcome with gratitude, Tristan humbly accepted the rare gift and pledged to seek out and find Silvanoshei again someday to repay him in kind. Though he truly wanted nothing in return, Silvanoshei was happy and hopeful to think of their friendly reunion someday, and accepted Tristan's pledge with a gracious bow before setting off.
 
During a short trip between ports, Tristan befriended a merchant traveling with a small menagerie of exotic animals he was intending to trade at their destination. One such animal quickly caught Tristan's eye and he offered to buy the animal then and there on the ship before making port. Not one to pass up a sure sale, the merchant eagerly took Tristan's gold and uncaged his new companion - a young spider monkey birthed in captivity - its parents taken from a distant jungle, and raised by the merchant to be used as a pet. Tristan aptly named the creature Troubadour, and the two bonded immediately into a mutual friendship and adoration of each other. Tristan has spent several years training Troubadour to do all manner of tricks and helpful actions for the lad, and when he's not running around the ship, the small monkey will sit obediently on his master's shoulder.
 
Another in Tristan's long line of new friends and allies made upon Troubador's Pride was a travelling wizard seeking passage across the sea. The wizard, Alatar, was also drawn to Tristan's bright and friendly personality, and would often sit on the ship's bow late into the night, talking with the young lad about his own wonderous adventures, experiments and stories. On one of these such nights, Alatar was showing Tristan a simple cantrip where he would conjure several colored orbs of light and dance them around the ship, while Troubadour wildly chased the lights trying to catch them. As one of the lights hovered next to Tristan, he absentmindedly reached out to grab it, and Alatar was astonished to see him able to catch and absorb the magical light's energy into his body! Alatar taught him the simple words to the cantrip and was again astonished to see Tristan able to conjure the magical light himself! Apparently, the very elven blood flowing through his veins was a magical conduit allowing Tristan to use the arcane energy himself. Alatar spent the remainder of his voyage tutoring Tristan in the ways of magic, and teaching him as many spells as the lad was able to comprehend and absorb during their limited time together. Before his departure, on their last day together, Alatar left Tristan with an amazing gift that he would forever be grateful for. Alatar set up a ritual that would permanently alter the very being of Tristan's monkey, Troubadour. He was able to bind the small creature to its very own pocket dimension plane, and infused the mundane creature's very body with arcane essence, transforming it into a creature of pure magical energy. From now until the end of time, Troubadour is able to return to his own magical plane of existence - a lush and beautiful magical jungle where he could run free - whenever he is in danger or at his master's will. Tristan will also be able to summon his now magical and immortal monkey friend from its plane whenever he chooses, allowing Troubadour to do his bidding in the material world. Alatar bid them both goodbye the next morning as the monkey's namesake pulled into port.
 
Tristan now still serves proudly on Troubadour's Pride, sailing around the world, visiting exotic far places, and meeting more and more interesting passengers along the way.

Education

No formal education, as Tristan grew up on a ship along with the crew. Over the years, he learned many things from a veritable pleathora of people from all over the world. He has been tutored in several areas by masters of their trade, imparting their skill and knowledge on to him.

Employment

Currently works as a deckhand on the huge merchant galleon, Troubadour's Pride.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Defeated the Pumpkin King

Intellectual Characteristics

Quick whitted, sarcastic & jovial.

Morality & Philosophy

As changing as the sea itself.

Known Languages

Common, Elvish, Halfling

Personality

Motivation

Tristan enjoys sailing into new ports and making new friends over a flagon of ale.
 
Freedom. The sea is freedom—the freedom to go anywhere and do anything. (Chaotic)

Savvies & Ineptitudes

In a harbor town, Tristan has a paramour whose eyes nearly stole him from the sea.

Vices & Personality flaws

His pride might very well lead to his destruction.

Personality Quirks

Tristan may stretch the truth for the sake of a good story.

Hygiene

Always as neat, tidy and clean as he's able to be.

Social

Contacts & Relations

His "family" crew aboard The Seabreeze. Many friends and aquaintences he's met on his countless sea voyages and trips to port, including;

Family Ties

His mother is a serving wench aboard The Seabreeze, and his father is an elven dignitary that likely has no idea of his existence.

Social Aptitude

Very, yes.

Hobbies & Pets

He has a pet monkey named Troubadour.

Speech

Eloquent, dashing, sarcastic & jovial.