Tindle VanMora
Tindle has a very big heart, although it doesn't always show. She has a wry sense of humor, an infectious smile and a presence about her, a sort of magnetic charm that people can relate to. Tindle tries to give most people the benefit of the doubt, making her a bit soft-hearted, which has caused her trouble on more than one occasion. She is still somewhat naive, having very little worldly knowledge. Despite this she is smart and can learn relatively quick.
Tindle does have deep set insecurities about intimacy, based on moral values as well as her traumas in Fardarlin and with Khahadi. So she tends to ignore or avoid affections unless she's confronted directly, because she's unsure how to handle it. She is very self critical, and will beat herself down more than she should. Tindle will close up when she is emotionally over-loaded, avoiding others and being generally quiet. However when pushed or cornered she can get extremely angry, even violent, and becomes a raging force of nature that no one would want to face down.
She hates it when people try to protect her or make decisions for her, for she wants to show she is capable. This has proven to be a very difficult issue for her, given she's had many instances where others have wrestled control of her life from her hands. Tindle struggles with her identity, wanting to prove she's just as good as any son; however deep down she just wants to be accepted for who she is.
Hestus VanMora moved to the city of Rionia with his family when he was a child. Hestus grew up in Rionia's walls. Hestus, when he became of age, joined Rashnal's army and eventually became the Captain of the Rionia Guard when he was twenty-five. About ten years into his service he met Elayne. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant and an educated woman. Hestus courted her for a year before he asked for her hand in marriage. With his service to Rashnal completed he took his pension and his wife and move north to the village of White Springs. They purchased the inn and fixed it up.
Happily, Tindle Lorelai VanMora was born on Icedawn 4th, 3099 ADW. Yet due to Elayne's health she was unable to give birth to more children. Tindle grew up in the village and was an energetic, happy and helpful child. She did many things around the inn to help her parents, like carrying and stacking supplies, chopping firewood, and helping out in the kitchen. Tindle was eight years old when Rashnal went to war with the northern nations. Hestus was too old at the time to rejoin the military, although he helped house soldiers as they traveled to the front lines. Growing up with military presence made a lasting impression on Tindle. With the war at her family's doorsteps Tindle watched her father practice the sword, and after some time and persuasion he began to teach her sword stances, 'Just in case,' he would say. When she was not learning with her father, her mother was teaching her basic cooking, mending, and how to treat minor wounds.
From youth she wasn't like typical girls, into dolls, sewing, music or art. She always dreamed of adventures, loved the stories her father would tell her of Rionia and his time there, and the stories she'd hear from the army regiments as they came through. So whenever she had spare time she and her best friend Lydia would instead be out running in the fields, climbing trees, and playing in the forest. Tindle would often pretend she were a knight, a soldier or a hero fighting enemies, rescuing the princess and saving the world.
When Tindle turned eleven and her life took a dramatic turn. First was the loss of her friend Lydia, who died of an unexpected illness. Tindle took Lydia's death very hard, and her normally happy-go-lucky persona turned to the more sarcastic, bold and blunt attitude she possesses now. The second was her encounter with a demon, and the aftermath.
Hearing the family's storage barn door beating in the wind she woke up and went to shut it. She had been placed in charge of locking the barn for the evening, and she swore she had. With a lantern in hand she went to the barn to find the lock broken. Entering she called out, thinking it was one of the local boys breaking in. However a shadow spooked her and she dropped the lantern, catching the storage baskets on fire. She was trapped. Something then lifted her off her feet and carried her over the flames. Once outside she found she was looking up at the face of a man-creature. He apologized and even deposited a satchel of coins in her hands, swearing he had meant to pay for what he was taking. It then disappeared into the night, leaving her dumbfounded next to a burning barn.
The creature had saved her life, yet it also caused her a great deal of grief. With their family's supply barn gone they were set back for the winter months. Her father was beyond furious, and Tindle accidentally overheard her father's heated words. - "I swear, if she were a boy this would have never happened!"
And so Tindle spent the rest of her childhood trying to be the boy she believed her father wanted. Her indifference in girly things grew, and she would often hang out with the boys around the village. She became a rough and tumble sort, a tom boy, and even gave the boys a few shiners, her infamous fiery hot temper sparking to life. She became somewhat infamous, but not bad as per say. Some found her charming and amusing, while others thought she was unruly and wild. However she proved she was capable, working hard and doing her best, showing she was just as good as a son. Yet somehow she felt it was never enough.
The years passed, and Tindle was now nineteen. The war in Auraton was over and their town was celebrating along with the rest of the now united kingdom. The festivities were beginning to take their toll on stocks, so her mother sent her on an errand to get some herbs she had run out of. It was a good half hour walk to get them, but she had been there many times before, so Tindle took her time and enjoyed the fresh air and freedom of the outdoors.
However, when she returned everything was destroyed. The village was in flames, and the bodies of soldiers and those she knew littered the ground. Tindle found her father's broken body surrounded by some dead orcs just outside the inn's rear door. Her father had fought bravely, but there had been too many. Her mother's body was just behind his... their hands clasped loosely together, as if they reached out to each other with their last breath. Tindle clutched their bodies and sobbed for hours.
Once the tears stopped falling she dug a grave for her mother and father behind the inn. As she set them into the earth she removed the large ring from her father's finger, her house symbol of a hawk in flight. Saying a prayer she buried them together. Alone, afraid and heartbroken Tindle fled her home with what little she could find.
This is where Tindle met the legendary demon hunter, Xeno. Some would call it an accident, she calls it fate. She began to follow him, uncertain of where to go, and practically forced him to teach her more about fighting. He tried many times to get rid of her, but she was unnervingly persistent. Now practicing the sword as Xeno's apprentice, Tindle has traveled a long way since that fateful day in White Springs, into northern Auraton, parts of Lagunis and Thelahar. She's seen and experienced horrors many wouldn't believe, met people of good and ill nature, and seen and felt the effects of war first hand. And so her story continues...
Note: Tindle's exploits after leaving her home can be read via the Dark World RPG forums.