That was what Papa had told her long, long ago. She remembered sitting on his knee, his arm wrapped around her, –
(how he had barely touched her the first time she wandered into his room, and how he held her so closely now, so naturally, as Papa had grown to like being called ‘Papa’)
– and his beard a little bit scratchy when she tucked her head into the crook of his neck. He laughed when she scrunched up her face, and so she hugged him often, because those were the only times the lines on his face didn’t look so sad.
“What did Mama like to sing?” She had asked, and remembered as well the way he looked at her then. It was love in his eyes, just as much as it wasn’t. He missed Mama; if Michalis’ pretty crimson eyes were like firelight, and Minerva’s like springtime poppies… then Papa’s eyes looked like the speckles in the dirt whenever one of her siblings rushed from training to the infirmary without saying hello. Hurt. He missed Mama, but Mama had gone on ahead and left Maria in her place. That was called sadness.
A soft and childish palm touched his jaw despite the pokey, prickly stubble, and then Papa’s eyes looked like firelight, too – quieter, softer, sadder, but still just like Michalis. The thought made her happy, so she smiled again, laughed again, and Papa’s eyes crinkled up again, too.
“...Hmm? Now, what are you giggling about?”
“Your eyes are pretty! I love them!” Her other hand found the other side of his face, and the world shook as Papa’s laughter slowly, slowly began to rumble deep inside his heart (that, she had determined then-recently, was the inside where all the important things were!). “I bet Mama loves them too! Can I hear? What Mama loves!”
“Loves,” he had echoed, and looked at her in a way she could not understand back then, and could not remember to understand now. Then: “Oh… very well. How could a father ever say no to his daughter?”
“Maria’s magic!” A fingertip bopped gently against his nose; it was love in his eyes, and that was all.
He kissed her forehead. “Maria’s magic.”
The crook of his shoulder and neck was as cozy as it always was. “Let’s see… Mama loved the green forests and blue skies, and all the songs she could sing about them. Ah, but not the ones from the courts– heavens, no. She loved the ones that floated up from the villages in festival times, and the way they filled the air. My little duckling, your Mama loved Macedon just as much as she loved you…”
---
She remembered, too, just how much she had loved seeing Papa’s eyes twinkle– and oh, how she had begged Minerva to take her out to the markets just one more time, pretty please, for Papa? How Michalis had passed by and scrunched up his brow so super bunchy, only to say it would be much safer for them to go on his wyvern, where she could sit in his lap – for safety. She remembered how they had watched the sky paint the whole town orange, and how they listened to songs all night long, and… no, she didn’t remember what came after that (not the way Michalis’ brow unknotted as he picked her up, nor how warm it was in Minerva’s arms).
One song– just one song, young Maria latched onto with all her heart, practicing her singing until their kind and gentle smiles turned more and more delighted, and her own voice grew bolder and surer.
(There was never any danger of Papa overhearing; she never sang near his room, and he for his part never strayed from it)
Only then had she tottered into his room, so full of excitement and anticipation that even a tired king straightened up in his seat, his chin lifted from the throne of his knuckles in earnest interest. Maria dusted off her dress just to be extra sure, then folded her hands together, sucked in a breath–
–and Papa’s expression crumpled away. His chin returned to his knuckles, then melted further unto the palm of his hand, and when his face was cradled in both of them, Maria stopped; and when his shoulders began to shudder, when he began to sob and shake, she laid her arms against him, too small to hug him the way he needed, and stayed quiet until she fell asleep.
She looked to salves and bandages after that– to the gentle, voiceless warmth of magic, to healing hurts and making smiles blossom. She did not sing that song again.
---
Papa never saw her use a staff. Michalis’ pretty eyes looked more and more like Papa’s. Minerva never stopped smiling, but she forgot to keep laughing. And Maria sang once more, just to herself. Macedon was with her again when she sang, even in her tower.
---
And now she is sixteen and she knows many songs. A lyre sits awkwardly in the crook of her arm, and there is a ‘photograph’ in the corner of her room with a stranger who holds one; she never remembers their face once she looks away (it makes her sad; forever and ever, she’d said, but they were lost along with the thousand thousand lives she once and never lived). Nevertheless, she plucks a string experimentally, listening in silence as the note dances a single step of a long forgotten dance. Another beat passes, and then her voice rises softly in its wake. Papa is not here anymore, but she thinks that leaving the songs in dust and memory is a kind of sadness, too.
“Come…” She plucks another string, and a smile slowly unfurls across her lips. “...to the green mountain forest… 🎶”
Listen, listen. All your headcannons are great and each has something special.
but Jaskier being a DnD class bard, using spells, having chaos repressed within himself and hiding it from Geralt along with anyything about his past that would expose him as a competent human being capable of fending himself during their trips is literally god tier.
Imagine if he used spells like Speak Thought to persuade people (and maybe Geralt) to do things, or Blindness/Deafness, or just anything really, it would be badass
fecipher twitter, 19-12-2019: "Lewyn: Drifting Prince of Wind" and "Lewyn: Resurrected Wind"
[Card Showcase] Prince Lewyn of Silesse once fought side-by-side with Lord Sigurd. Now, years after Sigurd’s tragic demise, he counsels his son, Seliph, offering him his guidance on the right way forward. Like the wind itself, that shepherd of warm light, he imparts great courage and the strength to fight - and like the wind itself, he will, in time, vanish, changing course for parts unknown. (Illust. BISAI)
Card stats/skills:
B19-069N Lewyn: Drifting Prince of Wind
Bard/Cost2
Yellow/Male/Tome
40ATK/20SUPP/1-2RNG
"You must have quite a bit of time on your hands, to go to all the trouble of bringing war unbidden to other lands, hey?"
[BS] Successor of Forseti [BOND] [ACT] [Flip this card face-down] Choose 1 <Tome> ally. Until the end of the turn, that ally gains +10 attack and acquires <Flier>. ([BOND] is only usable when this card is in your Bond Area.)
"It falls to you to honor the will of all who lost their lives along this path. You must never forget the light for which they strove."
"I am the wind that shepherds the light." [TRIGGER] When you deploy this unit, reveal the 4 topmost cards of your deck, and stack them beneath this unit.
"Bring that warm light to the world." [ALWAYS] During your Deployment Phase, you are able to deploy <Yellow> cards stacked beneath this unit as if they were cards in your hand.
Geas with the God of Wind [TRIGGER] At the end of your turn, send this unit to the Retreat Area.
I’ve seen a lot of confusion in the fandom about what a Bard is, how a Bard acts, and how a Bard's path to full development and growth might look, in its purest form.
Some of this is because our canon examples of Bards, in Gamzee and Cronus, are heavily afflicted and influenced by a variety of factors that strongly tint how their Class as a whole is perceived. Some of this is just because people see the ridiculous codpiece and write the whole Class off as a joke. As a Bard, myself, I have some opinions on this topic.
I'd like to start with some common misconceptions about Bards, then discuss how early-stage Bards may appear to lack or be afflicted by their Aspect, followed by an outline of the path a realized Bard might take.
Being a Bard means:
You are likely to spend a portion of your early life ghosting your inverse Class (Maid) and opposing Aspect heavily.
You are likely to have a contentious relationship with your own Aspect and find some elements/expressions of it deeply flawed and frustrating.
You are still fundamentally motivated by your own Aspect, and by that conflict you experience with it.
You most likely have avoidant tendencies and are difficult to pin down firmly.
You have an immense capacity to change your own course and reinvent yourself.
Being a Bard does NOT mean:
You are a terrible person.
You are abusive, evil, or unhinged.
You are incapable of growth.
You are actually primarily driven by your opposing Aspect in disguise.
In more depth, Bards of any Aspect are likely to begin their narrative in a position of lacking or being denied the Aspect that rightfully belongs to them. On the theme of inheritance, their parent or caretaker may be out of the picture or otherwise afflicted, leaving them shortchanged somehow. This lack or loss may also be partially of their own unconscious doing, for various reasons.
A young Bard of SPACE may be trapped in one location, with no idea of the property they actually have access to, potentially cut off from access to green and growing things, and may feel a need to avoid changes or new experiences, or perhaps expressing themselves through visual, tangible art.
A young Bard of TIME may be perpetually short on time, possibly lacking in access to machinery or electronics, and may feel compelled to avoid following schedules, making plans, or even pursuing any musical interests.
A young Bard of MIND may be denied personal choice or decision-making power in their lives, and may be told that they are intellectually sub-par or irrational, so might avoid the pursuit of logic or attempts to reason out the effects of their choices.
A young Bard of HEART may struggle to form a strong sense of personal identity or clearly recognizable empathy, and could be inclined to avoid emotional expression.
A young Bard of HOPE may not be free to pursue imaginative fancies or share their dreams, and could feel pressured to avoid expressing their convictions or wishes.
A young Bard of RAGE may be denied skepticism or doubt, expected to accept everything at face value regardless of evidence to the contrary, and could be driven to avoid the expression or acknowledgment of their own anger or fears.
A young Bard of BREATH may be restricted from pursuing their goals or barred from escaping emotionally taxing situations, and may avoid leadership roles or personal independence.
A young Bard of BLOOD may be deprived of connections or a sense of personal responsibility or prevented from putting down roots, and may avoid both making commitments and building close relationships.
A young Bard of LIFE may be prevented from growth and development in some way, whether physical or psychological, and could feel compelled to avoid healthy eating habits or self-care.
A young Bard of DOOM may be deprived of a sense of causality and structure in their life, through never being allowed to experience the consequences of their actions, and might feel driven to avoid authority or rules.
A young Bard of LIGHT may struggle to be noticed or treated as meaningful, or feel deprived of luck, and might be inclined to avoid pursuing knowledge as well as the spotlight.
A young Bard of VOID may be discouraged from asking questions or exploring potential, as well as evading attention, and may feel pressured to avoid uncertainty, secrets, or confusion of any sort.
At the same time as a Bard shies away from their native Aspect, they are likely to ghost the active creation/provision functions of their inverse Class--Maid--and express a surface interest in concepts connected closely to their opposing Aspect; Space to Time, Mind to Heart, Hope to Rage, Breath to Blood, Life to Doom, Light to Void, and vice versa. Thus, a young Bard of Space (for example) may dabble in music, seem fixated on death and morbidity, or otherwise appear to be creating something Time-related. This shadowing of their inverse role can be quite pronounced, and in a Bard who fails to (or is prevented from) growing into their true capacity, it may linger indefinitely, leaving them very avoidant and uncomfortable around their native Aspect.
As they progress through their story, however, a Bard's superficial ghosting of their Maid of [opposing Aspect] shadow is likely to run dry and fail to satisfy them long-term. What they need, at their core, is access to their own Aspect's wheelhouse, and they are fundamentally driven to chip away at and undermine the elements of it that they dislike and find flawed, not through some deep affection for their opposing Aspect, but through powerful aggravation and dissatisfaction with the weaknesses of their own. Bards inherently understand that an excess of their own Aspect cannot rule, unchecked, and it requires balance and trimming to enable a stronger whole.
Further growth and development of a realized Bard will teach them that their Aspect itself is not only available to them, but can be an effective expression of their will, in their hands. As their access to their Aspect grows, they are likely to be drawn to using it both to 'destroy' others and to weaken said Aspect for the benefit of those around them, when necessary. Again, this can be reflected in a variety of ways, depending on the Aspect involved.
A realized Bard of SPACE may come to possess the understanding that vague and endless patience and flexibility is useless without decisive action, at some point. They may find a talent for artistic protest through graffiti or guerrilla gardening, unleashing their own patience and creativity to combat ineffective uses of space, or turn distance itself into a way to weaken and destroy hindrances.
A realized Bard of TIME may come to possess the understanding that impulsive action can lead to poor results just as planning too rigidly runs the risk of shattering under pressure and being unable to respond to changes. They may turn to music with a strong message or perhaps development of devices, drawing on their ability to problem-solve and act swiftly to eradicate wastes of time, or may use time itself to crumble obstacles.
A realized Bard of MIND may come to possess the understanding that erroneous logic and poor choices are no benefit at all. They may discover a bent for satirical commentary or even teaching, with the right audience and subject--anything which enables them to strengthen and temper the rationale of others by eliminating flaws in it is likely to come more easily to them, and they may employ choices or justice to bring about defeat in those who threaten their side.
A realized Bard of HEART may come to possess the understanding that emotional theatrics and biased assumptions cannot be allowed to run wild. They may have an innate attraction toward fields of psychiatry or counseling, but not with the Sylph's brand of guidance--they are not afraid to unleash their core empathy and strong sense of self in a tactical, no-nonsense strike at the flaws they want to help others eradicate.
A realized Bard of HOPE may come to possess the understanding that foolish naivete and false confidence are no real strength or benefit. They may find the possibility, optimism, and faith exists within themselves to guide others to achieve their own true potential and turn their dreams into reality, or may use the enemy's own braggadocio to bring them down.
A realized Bard of RAGE may come to possess the understanding that confusion and disbelief alone cannot build anything constructive. They may discover that their own doubt and anger can serve as a tool to reform, overhaul, and direct healthy skepticism and frustration towards appropriate targets, or that the restrictive thinking and judgments of the other side can be used against them.
A realized Bard of BREATH may come to possess the understanding that poor leadership and over-investment in badly-set goals pose an obstacle to development. They may find a talent for using their own emotional disconnect from situations and ability to inspire others to overthrow misguided leaders and eliminate muddled objectives, or may confound the direction and motivation of others to benefit their party.
A realized Bard of BLOOD may come to possess the understanding that mindless unity and commitment without question can lead to mob mentality. They may turn to their own ability to coax promises out of people and unify disparate groups to scour away misplaced trust and simple stubbornness, or may turn their opposition into a leaderless mob.
A realized Bard of LIFE may come to possess the understanding that uncontrolled growth, unbalanced self-love, and constant nurturing can be just as smothering and toxic to development as unceasing hardship. They may find ways to use their innate healing to prune away overgrown elements that are choking out the life of the whole, or may turn wealth, food, or physical strength into a way to weaken their party's opponents.
A realized Bard of DOOM may come to possess the understanding that unyielding, inflexible oversight and fatalistic pessimism can stifle function. They may discover a penchant for turning their own authority or understanding of cause and effect into ways to undermine unnecessary obedience or foolish sacrifices, or employ such things as hacking or law as a means of destruction.
A realized Bard of LIGHT may come to possess the understanding that complete knowledge can overwhelm and unceasing attention can damage. They may turn their talents for calculating probability and comprehending factual information toward destroying things held up as falsely important or valuable, for the benefit of those around them, or may use the spotlight itself to burn away opposition to their side.
A realized Bard of VOID may come to possess the understanding of the harm that lies, secrets, and obscurity can inflict. They may hone their own innate instincts for misinformation and gaps in actual evidence to tear down misunderstandings and expose secrets, or use rumors and tactical omission to weaken those who would harm their party.
I hope this helps clarify what I believe Bards are capable of, as a Class. Any other Bards out there want to weigh in on the topic? What fictional characters do you think could be classified as Bards?
So I was playing around with the TRPG website’s character creation menu and was looking at the Special Skills.
Of course, I have to Google Translate that page because otherwise I have no idea what I’m looking at.
And GT, being GT, gave me this as a description for the Bard’s Mythical Anthem skill:
A better description would be “A holy hymn whose warm and soothing melody envelops the target like an affectionate mother; a support song that closes the wounds of allies.”
heya im a bard of void too! but i kinda want to make sure because i am like that so can you tell me what the personality traits are of a bard of void? thank you.
Have you read the Bard Quest post? That gives an overview of what sort of path a Bard of Void would be very likely to experience.The key things to remember are: a Bard of Void may superficially resemble a Light player pretty strongly (specifically a Maid of Light), depending on age, self-awareness, and the point they are at in their natural development, but what is motivating them isn’t the fundamental desire to generate or possess knowledge for themselves, but the need to destroy misunderstandings and clear up errors for the people around them. They are a mildly-Passive destroyer class, and Void-aligned--they need to destroy Void, mostly for the benefit of others.Bards as a class also tend to be fairly evasive. We're capable of avoiding the hell out of things we don’t want to face or acknowledge, especially in early stages of development, until we learn to come to grips with those things that make us uncomfortable.
