Yay backstory, I can't believe I actually wrote this much.
Born in Corwyl, Gedin grew up under the guidance and care of his human father, Neil and elf mother, Gardenia. He grew up a sheltered life, rather than playing with the elven children his mother encouraged him to stay in and strum on the lute his father had made for him on his 5th birthday, for fear of her son being rejected. So he grew, and by his 16th birthday he could play the lute better than anyone in the village.
His father left for Rivershire once a year to get foreign supplies and usually to buy something nice for his mother with what he had left over. Gedin would always beg to take him with him, but his father would always just look around uncomfortably and tell him to wait a few more years, and this year was no different, except that this year it angered Gedin even more. He was 16 and almost as tall as his father, why couldn't he go with him? A month passed and his father hadn't returned, Gedin thought nothing of it, but her mother seemed to be uneasy, did she know something he didn't? Another two weeks passed and he walked in on his mother in tears, he tried to comfort her, but she soon passed out from hyperventilation. He rushed to find someone who could help, and when they got back Gedin was told his mother was deathly sick. Grabbing some food and water, and of course his lute he set off towards Rivershire, certain that his father was the only one who could remove this sickness from his mother.
He hadn't planned the trip though, and since he had left in the late afternoon, it quickly became dark before he had even left the forest. Looking around for someplace he could lay down, he began to hear scurrying around him. He sat down, trying to ignore it and get some sleep, when he was hit sharply on the head, he grabbed it in pain trying to find the attacked in the darkness when a bright light flashed before his eyes, overloading his senses and causing him to black out.
When he came to, he was out of the forest, he looked around to see a human examining his lute, he let out a moan and tried to move towards him but he collapsed to the ground. "Hey cool it kid, you can have your lute back. Just don't pass out again, I don't want to have to carry you the whole way into town." The human introduced himself as Alex, and offered to accompany Gedin the rest of the way to Rivershire. The rest of the way was uneventful, but Gedin was intrigued by his new companion, he played the mandolin, an instrument he had seen before but never actually touched. As they entered town Alex began asking around for anyone by the name of Neil, no one had seen him, and they spent nearly an entire week searching the whole town, with no luck.
"Hey kid, if you don't have anyone to go back to, you could stick with me for awhile, I could even teach you how to play this mandolin." Gedin hadn't told him about his mother, and couldn't now, he couldn't go back to a sick, or worse dead mother. He had failed, and now Alex was the only alternative. For six years they traveled together, with Alex teaching Gedin all he knew about not only music, but other things, such as the elegant art of fencing.
Eventually Gedin set off on his own, because even Alex told him he had nothing more to teach, as a parting gift Gedin received his very own mandolin, it turned out Alex had been working on it in secret for over a year now. So they parted ways, and Gedin returned to Rivershire, skilled enough on the lute and mandolin that he managed to get by solely through performing in taverns. One day he heard of a group of adventurers seeking fame and fortune out east, Alex had always told him that the east was nothing but trouble, but two years in a tavern had made him hunger for adventure, and so he set out to join the group, and share in their tales of heroism.
edit: err there's a session tomorrow right?
