A Doll's Tale
It was about two months later that Kyphon gained the ability to speak. Sat on the windowsill, he cried to the sea of people below.
“Help!” He’d below, but muffled behind the glass of the girl’s second story bedroom, his voice went unheard. It was waifish, airy, and feminine; the sort of voice that would NOT carry over the throngs of the moving crowds of Feolinn. When the girl came home he’d remain silent, not wanting to scare the 8 year old. He had not heart to pound in his chest, no heat spread to his limbs, but his mind was exploding. He had not been to the surface world before. He had never been unable to move. He felt like a prisoner, and his tribe never took prisoners. He would rather be dead and fertilizing the fields of his enemy than in the state he was in. But as the days progressed, and his voice was ignored, he grew desperate.
“Hello?” He said delicately to the girl.
“Nelly?”, the girl was shocked. She had talked to the doll before but never had the doll spoken back. “I KNEW YOU COULD TALK!” She was excited. Her doll Nelly had been her companion ever since her mommy left, and now it was REALLY talking! Not pretend talking! She ran over and picked up Nelly, spinning around and jumping up and down.
Kyphon couldn’t help but feel for the girl. Her mother had passed only a few months ago, and in a lot of ways she was using Kyphon as a proxy for the missing motherly connection. Kyphon wasn’t THRILLED by that, but the girl needed… someone. And it wasnt like Kyphon could just up and leave. Not yet, at least.
As the year drew on, Kyphon found himself providing comfort and acting as a voice of reason to the young girl. He learned her name, Leanna, knew of her friends in the city, gave advice when her and her friends met with disagreements, and spent every night at first cuddled by the girl, and then thrown off the bed at some point in the night. Eventually, he found himself completely at the mercy of the child, being forced to explore the streets of Feolinn with her, meet her friends, and even attend tutoring classes. While Kyphon despised this, he had developed a connection to the girl and was willing to go through it for her. He had tried correcting her, telling her his name was Kyphon, but the girl continued to call her Nelly or Nell, which… if anyone else had called him that he would have protested, but her….
One winters night, Kyphon, having been thinking about his predicament and deciding it was… acceptable for the time being… found himself able to move. It started with a finger, than his hand, and suddenly his legs came to life. His arm, his face. The ability to move after such a long time was…
Kyphon waited after this discovery, and at night, moved to make his way out of the girls room. He opened the window, eyeing the building’s awning, and climbs half out the window, hoping the awning will catch his fall.
“Where are you going, Nell?” The girls voice pierced against Kyphon’s ear. “Are you going where mommy went?” She was tired, rubbing her eyes and sitting up in her bed.
The question was like an arrow shot into Kyphon’s heart.
“No, Leanna. I was… just going out to enjoy the moonlight.”
The two of them walked across the beach, the water from the waves cold against Leanna’s feet though Kyphon couldn’t feel it. Corvis, her father, watched on, having heard his daughters tales of the moving, speaking doll. He smiled, watching the two of them wander across the beach. They did not know he was there, watching, but… if this doll, whoever she was, could bring a smile to his daughter’s face, they couldn’t be that bad.
The years passed, Kyphon and Corvis began working together, sailing merchant goods across the Menagerie Coast. Leanna grew, sharing stories of heartbreak, crushes, friendship, betrayal, what have you with Kyphon. And Kyphon grew to love the family he was now, unwillingly, a part of. Leanna never stopped calling him Nelly and… Kyphon couldn’t care less. This was his new place, and nothing could change that.
The major events and journals in Kyphon's history, from the beginning to today.
A Doll's Tale
It was about two months later that Kyphon gained the ability to speak. Sat on the windowsill, he cried to the sea of people below. “Help!” He’d below, but muffled behind the glass of the girl’s second story bedroom, his voice went unheard. It ...
01:46 am - 04.02.2022The list of amazing people following the adventures of Kyphon.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Corvis: (m. human, 46) Bought Kyphon for his daughter and gave him a job working on his shipping vessels. Great friend for 13 years before an accident at sea cost him his life (maybe). Kyphon blames himself for the loss of his friend of 13 years.
Leanna: (f. human, 21) Kyphon was gifted to her at the age of 8. She is driven, like her father, but not interested in the sea. She has since moved out and works at a tavern in Feolinn.
Torphan (m. Triton, 31): Friend and Rival of Kyphon's. Is missing somewhere in the world in a similar situation to Kyphon though searching for something different. Is probably a stuffed animal of some sort doing stuffed animal things. Maybe.
Rannas: (nb. Triton, 67): Mentor of Kyphon's. Left to somewhere else to do culty things.
Leola: (f. Hag, ???): Sea-hag. Cursed Kyphon with his current form and sold him to Corvis and Leanna.