A/N: So, you are interested in the tale of Tawni...
Well, here begins Tawni's story. If you guys want an archetype comparison going into this, Tawni is a mix of the peaceful lord (she only fights if she feels like she has no choice, and tries to avoid killing unless there's no other option), the dancer (since the gypsy class in Orobia is actually a promotion AWAY from becoming the dancer), and the heroine (she is the female lead to this story). Also, just in case you were curious, this isn't REAL Roma being used in this chapter. I, for the life of me, couldn't find a real Romani language translator online, so I used Romanian. As long as it sounds foreign, right?
...I'm sorry to any real Romani reading this and are offended.
Alright, I've delayed enough. Let's get started.
Summary: About five years after the tragedy known as the "Widowing Massacre", life has gone on in Orobia despite the war. In the town of Cubes of the kingdom of Cruibia, a caravan of gypsies were hired by the local duke to perform a play in the honor of Cruibia's late queen. However, the play is interrupted by a group of slavers, who wish to take advantage of the chaos. Unfortunately for the slavers, these gypsies are far from helpless...
Tawni's Tale, Chapter 1: "The Gypsy Storyteller"
Throughout the world Orobia is on, there exists many, many nomadic tribes. These tribes, known as the "Romani", originated far east of Argelia, traveled there, and eventually came to Orobia. It is mainly due to the fact that they are ostracized for being traveling criminals that prevents them from ever settling down, but they do what they must to survive. This is where their more common title, "gypsy", comes from, as they tend to "gyp" people. They traveled from place to place, seeking a true home. Whether or not they will truly find it in the sands of Orobia, one has yet to see. But even they, who live outside of the norms of Orobian society, have norms that must be followed.
The Romani believe in honor, purity, and generosity in their society. They are actually quite hard workers when they are given opportunities. They are very energetic, and if given a chance, actually reliable.
For even they have been affected by the war between the nations of Orobia and the Argelian Empire. Some Romani are more subtle about it….
The Kingdom of Cruibia, Town of Cubes—Marketplace
The streets of Cubes were alight in celebration. Around a massive statue of the late Queen Minoo, a crowd was gathering. Two lance-wielding soldiers watched the crowd, partially out of boredom. The foot of the statue was turned into a stage for a group of olive skinned people, wearing colorful clothes and golden jewelry.
"So," the first guard said, "what do we have here, today?"
"It appears to be a group of gypsies," the other guard replied. "This must be the entertainment that came at the request of Duke Kamyar."
"Why would the duke choose to hire thieving vagabonds to honor his late sister this day?" the first one asked.
"Maybe he likes our flair?" a female voice asked. The two looked up behind them to see a young woman, about 17 and approximately 5'6", sitting atop of the wall they were leaning on. She had long raven hair, with dark blue streaks running through it, sticking out of the red scarf atop her head. She was wearing jewelry, being a pair of gold hoop earrings and a gold chain necklace with a purple gemstone hanging off the middle. A red loose shoulderless blouse covered her medium sized bust, and she wore a long blue flowing skirt over a pair of brown shorts with a slit up the right side exposing a pouch strapped to her leg. On her feet were a pair of plain sandals. She was rather beautiful for a young woman.
"And where have you been, gypsy?" the first guard asked. "Hopefully not stealing wallets of good people." The gypsy then surprised the two of them by flipping over them and landing in front of them.
"Relax, Sir Guard, the coin I have is nothing I did not earn," the gypsy woman smirked. "We'll be on our best behavior, gentlemen. You have my word." The two guards looked at each other, before looking back towards where the gypsy stood… or at least, where she once stood, as she had disappeared into the crowd.
"Bloody gypsies," the first guard scoffed. The guard, meanwhile, did not see the group of rough-looking people walking by, grinning.
Up at in front of the crowd, a giant of an older man with graying black hair beneath a rather festive looking turban, wearing a blue and gold tunic under a long red cape and black pants stood. The man smirked at the crowd, and cleared his throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, both young and old,
We have a treat for you, today.
Witness and celebrate the tales, brave and bold,
Of Queen Minoo in our simple play!"
In a wagon, a small brown rabbit looked up at its owner. The gypsy woman from before, now clad in a white and pink dress with her head covered by a pink hijab and intentionally marred her face with dirt, smiled at the rabbit before petting it.
"Ține minte rolul tău, Calypso {Remember your part, Calypso}," the gypsy requested. She then turned towards the carriage's entrance.
The man on the impromptu stage pulled out a simple red flute and began to play a song. As if on cue, several gypsies appeared, and began to dance to the beat of the flute, awing the audience. They saw a choreographed rainbow of gypsies on the stage, before the rainbow gave way to reveal a young woman clad in pink and caked with mud. The woman began to sing.
"Born to a poor family from the slums of Cubes,
Minoo started quite down on her luck."
At this point four other women came to her side.
"But a band of friends helped her escape,
And upon a new path she struck!"
The five women began dancing together in sync at a fast pace, while the old man and several others played instruments alongside them.
"Minoo was first joined by Farah,
her one tried and true best friend.
Together they traveled through Orobia,
Staying by each other until the end.
"Next came the group's heart Kalia,
A pure and rather gentle soul,
who sought to heal the wounded and sick
No matter how high the toll.
"Then came beloved Etti,
who had a great and mighty mind
Minoo always relied on her
whenever the five were in a bind.
"Finally, there was Adre,
who was small yet quite strong,
her surprising might and daring
have been the subject of many a song!"
Soon enough, though, the five women were "confronted" by a group of "bandits". The young gypsy woman took out a dulled blade… for performing reasons, of course. The other women also brandished practice weapons as well. While "fighting" off the "bandits", the blue-streaked woman in pink continued her tale.
"Even when facing mortal danger,
Minoo was not one to be afraid!
She set out to find the sands' treasures,
leader of her loyal brigade!"
The "bandits" were defeated, and applause was offered from the crowd. Soon enough, the man who introduced the little musical came back, still playing his flute but dressed in ragged clothes, and humbly bowed to them. They curtsied back, and danced on by him.
"Heroes they were to the common folk
in an age of fear and strife,
facing off brigands and monsters and the dark
while trying to improve their way of life."
The five women soon saw a rabbit enter from the side, which hopped around them before hopping into the lead dancer's head. In the rabbit's mouth was a scroll, and she dropped it into the lead's hands before hopping away, while she opened the scroll. She gasped in quasi-horror at its contents.
"Trouble had emerged from the west
when a war had been declared.
Minoo feared for her drafted brother's life
and struck out to see him spared."
The five women danced in frantic, as if to imitate a mad dash. But the five of them stopped when a smoke bomb erupted, and in front of them, a chest of gold trinkets and a rusted sword laid in front of them.
"But on their way back to save him,
They discovered a great treasure horde.
Little did the maidens know, of course
the power that rested in the sword…."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The town square shook, and everyone looked to see a building now on fire. The pair of soldiers looked at each other. "Is that… the Temple of Rerci!?" the second soldier said. "Oh no!"
"We ought to do something about it!" the first said, and the two ran towards it. The gypsies on stage all looked scared and concerned… but the one in pink. She then stepped forward, and calmly looked at the panicked audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm!" she told them. "There will be people heading to save the temple. And even if it falls, your faith in Rerci will keep her going so when She is free, she will bless all of you."
"Remain calm!?" a male voice asked. "Wise talk coming from a godless gypsy! How do we know this wasn't you or your people!?" There were murmurs, partially in agreeance with the guess.
"And what purpose, pray tell," the woman retorted, "would that accomplish, good sir? If we wanted to cause trouble for you, blowing up a holy temple would NOT be a part of it! We don't even have that strong of explosives. Think: who'd have the most to benefit from this? Not us 'godless gypsies', but anarchists or people who would want to sow panic." The crowd calmed down, somewhat. "I don't know what exactly is happening, but I know two things: one, panicking and pointing blame are not going to help anyone! And two, before you even consider blaming us, we were all right here, dancing in front of you! You all are our witnesses, just like we are witnesses to you!"
A laugh broke out, causing the gypsy woman to look at the rough looking group from before storm in, pushing through the crowd. "Well, well!" one of the men grinned, standing in front of her. "Beautiful and smart! I'm impressed with your sharp wit and tongue!"
"I take it that you're the one who's responsible for this interruption," the woman asked. "That was incredibly rude. I suggest you apologize to these nice people... and pay for all of the damages."
"We don't apologize," another of the ruffians scoffed. "We enslave!"
"Enslave?" the woman asked.
"W-W-Wait!" the accuser from before gasped. "That man… he's the leader of a band of slavers!"
"I have to say, I'm disappointed that you prevented the crowd from running in various directions," the slaver said, gripping the gypsy girl's chin. "Fine livestock is so much easier to catch when separated from the herd. That's the problem with being too sharp, I suppose. Oh well… good thing more of my people are around town, but no matter. I'll have fun dulling you before selling you, gypsy filth."
"Oh, I'm afraid my wits and tongue are not the only sharp things you'll find if you don't let go of me in the next three seconds," the gypsy replied, slipping her right hand back. "One… two…"
"Oh, please!" the slaver said, looking at the sword at her side. He grabbed it, and held it up. "It's a fake sword. You can't hurt anyone with this!"
"Three," the woman said, flicking her right leg up to reveal a bronze dagger strapped to the pouch on her leg, and grabbing the dagger while the slaver was surprised. She then rammed the dagger into his arm, forcing him to back off.
"You little bitch!" he growled, grabbing with his free hand the dagger before pulling it out, and taking a quick drink of a vulnerary while the woman twirled backwards. "Ooh, you're going to regret that!" Before he could make good on his threat, his knife met a flute… which had been sharpened. The old man from before had blocked the knife. He then pushed the knife back, making the slaver back away.
"Trebuie să fii atent cu atacurile tale, fiica mea {You have to be careful with your attacks, my daughter}!" the old man said, standing in front of her.
"Îmi pare rău, părinte {I'm sorry, Father}!" the woman said with a bow. She looked to see a couple more of the slavers brandish their weapons. "Se pare că acești brigăzi sunt supărați {Apparently these brigands are upset}."
"Atunci hai să-i distrăm, Tawni {Then let's entertain them, Tawni}," her father nodded. He then whistled. As if on cue, a smoke cloud erupted in the middle of the stage. A young, pale skinned, gray eyed, curvy blonde woman, clad in a yellow and black belly top, a yellow veil over her lower face, a black belly veil over her otherwise bare midriff connecting to her long yellow skirt, a jeweled yellow headdress, and a pair of black slippers emerged from the smoke, brandishing a magic tome.
"So, I guess we AREN'T doing the play, anymore?" the woman asked with a frown. "That's quite the unfortunate twist of fate. But I see these ruffians are not going to be easily swayed."
"Sorry, Nasira," Tawni said, "but we have a different problem. I know you just recently joined us, but would you mind?"
"I'll gladly assist you and your father, Tawni," Nasira answered. "After all, heroines assist those in need."
"I was more expecting Akiba to get here first," Tawni's father responded. He was answered by the steps of a a camel, and a woman atop of it. Said woman was rather tall, with short black hair, and wearing a set of green and white armor atop her mount, brandishing a sword. "There she is."
"Indeed I am," Akiba smirked, throwing it to the old man. She pulled out her own axe. "So, just the four of us against these louts? Fine by me, Guaril."
"Hi, Mother," Tawni smirked. "Let's deal with these true criminals, shall we?"
"First things first," Guaril interjected. "Tawni, your dagger?"
"Right," Tawni said. "I'll get it back." Tawni then waited for the lead slaver to approach her. She then ran by him, and smirked when he turned around. He then noticed her twirling her knife, and looked at his empty hand. "It's my trademark Pickpocket ability. I can take anything in your inventory just by seemingly attacking you. Of course, it leaves me open, later, but it's kind of worth it." He growled, and brandished a whip.
"You need to learn your place, wench!" he growled before whipping at Tawni, who dodged it. He was distracted by the cry of one of his men flying through the air, landing between the two of them with a sword wound.
"Said 'wench' is my daughter, sir," Guaril interjected, twirling his sword. "You will NOT be insulting her in my presence and getting away with it." The slaver then whipped at him, only for Guaril to disappear via a smoke bomb, and reappear behind him. Unfortunately for Guaril, he also missed his strike.
"A trickster, I see," the slaver leader grinned. "There's only one trickster in all of Orobia who answers to the name of 'Guaril'. I know who you are… and how much a certain pair of men each want to see you DEAD. Wonder which one will pay more for your body?" Guaril's eyes widened for half a second before scowling.
"Father?" Tawni asked herself aloud. She was interrupted by a gust of cold wind breezing past her, slamming into a barbarian that was about to sneak up on her. Nasira approached her.
"Tawni, you must focus on the villains!" Nasira chided.
"She's not wrong, Tawni," Akiba agreed, slashing down the stunned barbarian. "You're kind of a glass cannon."
"Right," Tawni admitted. She tightened her grip on her knife, and spotted a mercenary among the slavers. She then slashed him with it a few times with her knife, wounding him. He turned towards her, but Tawni blocked his blade with her dagger. "Good thing daggers are good at reducing strength," the gypsy pointed out. She then flipped back, making him hit only the ground. Tawni then finished the fight by striking him with the blunt side of her knife.
She turned to see her father fighting the slaver leader. She recognized his class as that of an explorer, a combatant class that sneaks through ruins and takes treasure, but fights with whips. Her father was struggling with him, so she decided to sneak up on him, and take his whip, disarming him. Guaril took this opportunity to slash the leader. However, it wasn't a deep slash, leaving him alive, but hurt.
"A fost o performanță excelentă, Tawni {That was an excellent performance, Tawni}," her father smirked at her while she handed him the stolen whip. He used it to bound the slaver leader. A crowd had gathered, and even the city guard had showed up. "Cred că ar trebui să plecăm acum {I think we should leave, now}."
"De ce, părinte {Why, Father}?" Tawni asked. One of the guards walked over to the band of gypsies.
"Which of you is in charge of this band of rabble?" the guard asked.
"I am," Guaril answered, standing in front of Tawni. "Guaril Dighton at your service. This is my daughter, Tawni, my wife Akiba, and the dark mage here is Tawni's new friend… we can't place her accent, but she's not Orobian or Argelian, and we call her Nasira."
"Akiba?" one of the guards asked. "As in… Lady Akiba, the Queen's Guard Commander? Where have you been these past ten years!?" Akiba frowned.
"It's a long story," Akiba said. "But I retired from that life. Now, I'm with Guaril." Tawni shot her mother a confused look. Both of her parents were hiding something from her.
"A pleasure to meet you all," Nasira curtsied to the guards. Tawni giggled at the blonde's action.
"Well, Mr. Dighton… we have thank you for helping catch this scum. Surprisingly, the Duke and his nieces, the Princesses, were both impressed. We'll see they're punished."
"Thank you," Tawni nodded. Turning to her father, she asked, "Now that I think about it, slavery is illegal in eastern Orobia, and these men have bounties on their heads, right? Wouldn't that mean there's a reward?"
"True, there probably IS a reward," Guaril admitted. "However… I have a distinct feeling we aren't going to be able to collect."
"That feeling is true," the guard replied. "Even though you saved a lot of lives, today, vigilantes aren't exactly welcome here in Cruibia. The only reason I don't run you lot in is because you saved so many people. My generosity is only good for the next hour. I suggest you pack up and leave." Tawni looked at her father, surprised.
"Does this have ANYTHING to do with us being Romani?" Guaril questioned.
"Hey, I let you lot perform," the guard replied. "You're lucky that we DID. Now, be thankful, take whatever gold was agreed upon, and leave. Half an hour, now, for being rude." He then marched away, leaving Tawni scowling at him.
"(Oala a numit ceainicul negru {The pot called the kettle black},)" she whispered to her father. He shook his head.
"Wait, we're being kicked out of the town after we saved it?" Nasira asked. Tawni sighed.
"Oh, right, Nasira, you're new," she remembered. "Yeah, this is sadly the life of a group of vagabonds like us Romani. Even the times we do good, we're 'rewarded' with suspicion and backhanded thanks." Turning to Guaril, she said, "Father, I'll take care of cleaning up the stage, you can collect our payment. But… afterwards, can we talk at camp? You are the rom baro of the caravan, after all, so you're probably busy."
"And as rom baro, I can make an excuse or two so we're not disturbed," Guaril reminded his daughter. "The elders won't mind too much." He gave her a quick hug, and she smiled before turning back to the stage, Calypso running up to her. Nasira walked behind Tawni.
"I have to thank you again for letting me be a part of this caravan, Tawni," Nasira said to the woman placing her pet rabbit on her shoulder. "I know I'm new to Orobia, but… that's quite the act of kindness."
"So why did you come to Orobia, Nasira?" Tawni asked, picking up some of the supplies. "It can't exactly be the war. Your dialect isn't Argelian nor is it any Orobian accent I've heard of. I can't place it."
"Can't a maiden of darkness have her secrets?" Nasira replied. Tawni raised an eyebrow, more in annoyance than confusion. "...I sense you aren't a fan of secrets, Tawni."
"...I'm not," the gypsy woman admitted. "At least, not of those I'm close to. Apparently, Father's upset at least two men whom want him dead, but he's never told me about these enemies. And also, now that I think about it, Mother DID come into our lives ten years ago… and she married Father almost four years ago, after the Widowing Massacre." She looked at her gemstone around her neck. "I know I'm not Mother's child, yet I still love her. She has practically raised me all this time. But I wonder… if why Father has never talked about my birth mother was because of his enemies?"
"Perhaps he has a point about not sharing," Nasira answered. "If you knew the exact truth, what would stop you from pursuing what your birth mother's dark secrets, and get yourself killed?"
"How do you know they're dark?" Tawni questioned. Nasira shrugged.
"What other secrets would your parents hide from you?" Tawni blinked.
"Well, I believe I'm old enough to actually endure them," she replied. "I'll ask him when I get a chance to talk to him."
"Ask him what, Tawni?" a male voice asked. The two women looked to see a pair of men having walked over. They had the exact same black hair color, green eyes, 5'8" height, and face, but with slight differences. One of the two was clad in red clothes and had red tips on his wild bangs, while the other had on green clothes and had a green turban on his head. While the green-clad man was actually working, the red-clad one was casually lying to the side.
"Sorry that we didn't have our scene, Tawni," the green-clad man said. "I had just washed my camel, too. I think I'd make a convincing King Darius."
The red-clad man asked, "So, was this a secret admirer you were discussing? I assure you, he doesn't hold a candle to me!"
"I'm talking about my father," Tawni frowned, rolling up a carpet. "Kareem, my love life is NOT something I just discuss openly while we're working." She then shoved the carpet into his arms. "Acum, te rog să fii util ca Jamal {Now please make yourself useful like Jamal}."
She then walked away from him to go pack up another thing, while Kareem looked at Nasira. "You heard her, Kareem," Nasira replied. "She was talking about her father. That is all I'm at liberty to say."
"So you WEREN'T talking about me behind my back?" Kareem asked, sounding slightly disappointed.
"You were not mentioned at at all," the dark mage answered. "Now, we must make haste. We're apparently being run out of Cubes." She then walked past him.
"Aye-aye, ma'am," Kareem smirked, turning to stare at her walk, particularly the movement of her hips and rump. He was then hit with a cold gust of wind in the face, forcing him to close his eyes. Nasira had turned back, and placed her finger on his chin to make him look at her.
"Eyes up here, please," she requested. Jamal offered his brother a sympathetic look before patting his shoulder.
"Vor exista și alte șanse, Kareem {There will be other chances, Kareem}," the green brother replied before hauling away a large chest.
Several minutes later, most of the gypsies' equipment was packed up and stored inside a camel-pulled wagon. "Ar trebui să o facă {That should do it}," Tawni said, dusting her hands off. "Acum, pentru a găsi Tatăl {Now, to find Father}."
"Um, excuse me!" a female voice interjected. The gypsy woman turned to see a brunette woman approximately two years her senior with tanned skin, bright brown eyes, a bright red and pink dress over her slim figure with a silver tiara adorning her head, walking up to her. She curtsied before saying, "Greetings, 'Mother'. I am glad to see you."
"'M-Mother'?" Tawni asked. "Wait, you're talking about my character, Queen Minoo… oh my gods, you're one of the Cruibian princesses."
"Indeed," the woman answered. Tawni gave her own curtsy. The princess introduced herself, "I am Crown Princess Yasmin Madani of Cruibia. That was a great play… the parts I saw before the battle were very accurate, by the way. How did you learn all of that, Miss…?"
"Tawni." She thought about it for a moment. "When Father agreed to do this for Duke Kaymar, I volunteered for the part of the late queen," Tawni explained. "The Duke, knowing much about his sister, was willing to tell me quite a bit. I just worked a lot on the song."
"I'd love to hear more," Yasmin beamed. "There's quite a bit of information that Father and Uncle Kaymar haven't exactly told me."
"Well, normally, Princess Yasmin, I'd indulge you," Tawni said. "However, the City Guard has made it clear they don't like our kind around here." Yasmin sighed.
"I'm sorry about that," Yasmin said. "I'll have a word with the guard responsible for so rudely ejecting the people who were performing something about my late mother AND saved so many innocent lives later. But for right now… if you'd like, I have a job offering for you in a few months time." Tawni's eyebrow rose in surprise.
Kingdom Rider92's Notes: Alright, so that was Tawni's first chapter. You might notice that, for a main character, she's surprisingly lacking use of a sword in physical combat. This is intentional, as Tawni isn't a lord or whatever noble class you might expect. Nope... Tawni's a gypsy, which are a new class introduced to Night of Tales. They're a female-exclusive class designed to cripple enemies, pick locks, and avoid drawing physical enemy attention (because they're physically squishy) while being your go-to unit for dispatching of magical enemies. At least until you can find some Dread Fighters or Adventurers.
Tawni starts out by using daggers, something she shares with her father, Guaril... who is a Trickster. Before you ask, YES, Tricksters are a viable unisex promotion (along with Assassin) to either Gypsies or Rogues, the Gypsy's male counterpart. Akiba, her stepmother, is a Great Knight (and notice mounted cavalry that aren't in the skies use camels. That is an intentional design choice, because mounted cavalry do NOT travel in the desert well in the main games... but Orobian cavalry uses camels, an animal far more often seen in Arabian Nights settings. Finally, Nasira is a Dark Mage... yeah, I know it's a bit early, but you can play/read the prologue campaigns in any order you choose, so yeah, have an early-game dark mage. She doesn't have dark magic spells, though... you'll have to get those, later.
Anyway, if you want more of Tawni's tale, let me know in the votes. Farewell, my subjects!
