Early life
At age 4, Tijl Morgenster was captured by the
Labarean Empire. His father, Wolf, was an important figure in the Free Cities and the capture of Tijl bought the Labareans influence. Tijl was taken to
Hervik, Labar, where he was raised by the gnome
Seyder Shacklesmith in accordance with Dorgothian doctrine. Seers in the Free Cities had prophesized the boy would become a leader of men, and while the gnomes did not subscribe to such mystical notions, they prepared for the eventuality by raising him as a leader who would act in the interests of the Labarean Empire.
When he was 17, Tijl was transferred to
Nossed, the port city of
Silimanis. There, he was supposed to stay within sight of the Labarean elites that brought him, but still he became exposed to a human society that was markedly different from that in the Labarean homeland. Morgenster became intrigued by humans and often found ways to sneak out of his quarters at night, to mingle with humans in the docks. He heard that Silimanis had not always been under control of the gnomes and that it was actually a border region. He heard of a magical land called
Zhai and of a kingdom of elves where slavery did not exist. He also heard of the hardships that other humans experienced under the rule of the gnomes.
Tijl had a knack for card tricks and other games and slowly started to make a name for himself among the humans. One day, at age 19, he was asked to accompany a group of friends from the docks to
Hilltower, for an annual harvest festival where they could make money together. Morningstar knew he was not supposed to join the humans, but he could not resist the temptation and decided to run away from the gnomes.
The journey to Hilltower was a transformation for Tijl. His friends showed him historical sites, explained the plight of humans and told him of the Free Cities, a safe haven for all humans that existed north of Labar. Morningstar had heard of such places, but they had always been described with contempt by the gnomes and yet his friends made them sound like wonderful places. He knew he had to see the place through his own eyes one day.
OF course, the Labareans had not been happy with Tijl's departure and had sent out troops looking for the young man. Having spent a month in Hilltower, the group of friends was ready to return to Nossed but along the way they ran into a Labarean patrol that recognized Tijl as a fugitive. The situation escalated and the groups started fighting, with Tijl and his friends getting the upper hand and accidentally killing one of the soldiers. They fled, but were chased by the other patrol members. To save his friends, Tijl broke loose of his party and steered back towards Hilltower, with the patrol indeed following him and not the others.
After an intense chase, Tijl managed to shake off the patrol in the streets of Hilltower, where other performers were still packing up. With a quick move, Tijl jumped on a wagon of equipment and hid himself, even when darkness and hunger came. During the night, the wagon started moving and he found himself traveling eastwards in the caravan of a circus.
After discovering Tijl, the circus members took him aboard and promised to feed him if he would join their group. Tijl honed his skills at acrobatics, card games and other performances and while he never joined the circus band if they went back to Silimanis, Tijl became a part of their family.
Adventuring life
In early 903 LC, at age 21, Tijl came upon a book titled
Legends of Laeryll. It inspired him once again to set out on a path of discovery, and he decided to leave his new family and travel towards elven lands, where the roots of the continent lie. Traveling alone was harder than he had anticipated, though, and he arrived in the independent town of
Nadi almost penniless. As luck would have it, however, Tijl came upon a call for men put out by one
Gondwen Huckstone, the proprietor of the
Scared Hare Inn and the associated brewery
Hedgehog Brewing. There, he found out he was not the only one looking for work, as he was greeted by a large band of adventurers.
King's Swamp
Together, they set out to help Gondwen resettle in King's Swamp, in elven lands. They were supposed to travel after him to move his inn and brewery, but the party got more than they bargained for. At the end of the year, Tijl had rescued Gondwen from forced labor for a narcistic hobgoblin, killed a blue-haired wizard sent from the depths of the World Beneath, helped uncover an ancient mine, helped destroy a mirror crafted by the lich queen
Morsyana and stopped her from striking a bargain with a horned demon. In the process, it was revealed to him that when he was a young boy, he had been used to blackmail Wolf into compliance of some sort. He also found out there was a belief among some that he, Tijl, would be a 'liberator of men' and that the gnomes were hoping to plant him as a leader among humans.
Once these adventures were finished, Tijl returned to
Pellvyr, where Gondwen offered him shares as payment for his help. Gondwen was planning to set up shop in the ancient mine and to turn Pellvyr into a booming town again. Tijl accepted the shares, in addition to the riches he had obtained through his adventures, but remained frustrated that during their course he had been robbed by
Bor Durlyne Durlyne and
Ballelds Landidith. When it became clear he was not welcome in Pellvyr, as he had been part of a racketeering operation and the destruction of the
Bullywug Bar, Tijl decided to flee towards the elven city
Prydisyrr as quickly as he could.
The Kingdom of Laeryll
When Tijl arrived in the elven capital, he found it in chaos. The
Festival of Light had just ended and the city was filled with abandoned stalls, remains of festivities and visitors packing up to leave. As he traversed the streets, he suddenly saw a familiar face plastered on the wall: a poster that showed the face of Ballelds and offered a reward for information on his whereabouts. Poster in hand, Tijl decided to investigate and he started asking around about Ballelds and
Bor Durlyne. News had it that a young orphan had been approached by someone like Bor near the Alchemist's Guildhouse and it was there that Tijl came across Bor, who was being ambushed by the Silimani Gunslingers while trying to escape on a large cart.
Journey through Qosid
Tijl sped after the cart as it tried to leave the city and followed it on the road northwards. The cart had been joined by a royal carriage and guardsmen, and Tijl approached the caravan to offer his services, which were accepted.
The caravan was headed towards
Thellur, he was informed. On the dangerous road there, the group had met Aron Staal, a goliath demon hunter who was chasing an infestation of gnolls, caused by the wolf demon
Geehynki possessing one. Tijl and the others joined Aron to follow the trail of the demon-possessed gnoll and reached
Yhahivit, where they overcame the demonic creatures and rescued
Magyor the Gull, the sole survivor of the commune. Magyor explained that Yhahivit had been punished by
Morsyana for the commune's involvment in Morsyana's defeat during the
War of the Sisters. This meant Tijl had crossed paths with the ancient queen once more.
The party continued towards Thellur and reached Yhaoltum, where they were received with much hospitality. Yhaoltum was a commune founded by navy fled from
Silimanis and it patrolled Lake Olt to provide security to the region. During the stay of the party, the commune came upon a Labarean vessel transporting weapons. Tijl and the others discovered that the weapons were due for delivery with
Suru living near Lake Olt, but in this process one of the gnomes was killed and the party had to return to Yhaoltum for a communal hearing. They were not found guilty of the killing (to the chagrin of commune Representative
Snakke Hith) and instead persuaded the commune to join the war effort.
The next stop for the party was
Oltumur, where they hoped to meet with
The Traveling Word. In Oltumu, the group became embroiled in a ghoul infestation beneath the ancient port city and discovered the remains of
Bryn Gwythun.
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