Wool-898: Aspen

Name: Aspen
Age: Adult
Gender: Male
Residence: Solaris

Battle class: Forger
Lyss: plant

Personality

Easygoing, kindhearted and quietly charming. Aspen enjoys the genuine company of other woolyne just as much as that of his jungle of plants. He spends most of his time pruning, planting and watering, if not chatting eagerly to customers about their plant joys or woes. He is extremely knowledgeable about all things horticulture and plant lyss.

History

Aspen was raised in Solaris by his mother. Aspen’s mother would occasionally tell tales about his father. However, she herself didn’t even know him that well, it turned out. The only thing for certain is that he passed along his dryad traits and inclinations to their son.

They lived on a houseboat in one of the quieter residential areas of the canals, outside of the bustling main districts of the city. He liked living in the boat, as it gave them freedom to move their home around. Aspen always got so excited when they would pick a new mooring spot for their home. As a kit, Aspen would spend hours on the roof of their boat, tending to his little garden he had built up there. Seeing his passion for flora, his mother would buy him books and tools to help nurture his green thumbs. He treasured one particular book, an encyclopedia of flora, which was full of illustrations and descriptions of plants from far and wide across Andras. He still has it to this day and it inspired him to keep his own journal of his plants.

As he got older, he became interested in lyss and its ability to shape living matter. He would sit nose-deep in magical tomes for hours in his garden, studying the way it worked and the possibilities it could achieve. Seeing his newfound obsession, his mother talked to one of her forger friends, who agreed to tutor him in the art of forgery. He learned quickly and his garden grew just as fast. When he was older, his mother’s friend suggested that he move outside of the city, where he might be more at home and have more room for his garden. However he was too fond of the city, its canals and the life he had here to leave.

He started to earn money by selling plants and knowledge about them from their little houseboat. He quickly realised that a larger, more permanent location would be necessary if he was to expand his trade, so he began looking. He stumbled across a reasonably large house, beginning to fall into disrepair, but nothing he couldn’t handle. It was worth it, because it was perfect. The ground floor became the shop floor, full of plants and seeds for sale, as well as reference books for both the beginner and experienced gardener. He replaced falling down walls with windows, to let more light in, while preserving dim corners for dark-loving plants. The higher floors are where he grows new plants, and ones he wants to keep for himself. The balconies and rooftop make perfect places to grow plants that simply can’t thrive indoors. He also enjoys making and decorating plant pots, which always sell well.

He invested in a little barge, meaning that he can deliver larger plants and pots to customers around the city, and to tradesmen who take them to places beyond.

Aspen occasionally travels to find new species, however he never likes to leave the shop for long. He gets most of his new stock from travelling tradesmen and horticulturists. He has build up such a rapport with them that they often bring back new seeds and plants specifically for him.

Companions

Frey the felistra: Frey is a curious little creature that loves nothing more than exploring the leafy corners of Aspen’s shop. However she will never pass up the opportunity to explore the city from Aspen’s shoulders whenever he leaves to run an errand or two. 

Faecats: Aspen’s shop is home to a small colony of faecats that he raised from eggs. He was traded the eggs by a mysterious woolyne in exchange for some rare exotic seeds. The faecats prefer to keep to themselves, only occasionally seeking out Aspen’s company. They help pollinate the plants and nurture them to grow healthy. Aspen often says they are the best thing that happened to his business!