Ruben's Backstory

Kamer-Taj

    Ruben saw the door that had been appearing in his dreams any time he'd gotten sleep on his adventure away from the orphanage, and he sighed in relief. He knocked slightly, and it opened slowly. "H- hello-?" He stuttered out.

    "Welcome, Ruben, I've been expecting you. My name is Agamotto. It's been a while since I sensed one like you, the last one, after all, was my own teacher. We called them Mage. I doubt you've met them yet, though, with how young you are." Agamotto explained.

    "The name feels familiar, but I don't know why..." Ruben muttered to himself. 

    Agamotto smiled knowingly, "I'd like to show you around, little one." Agamotto then starts to show Ruben around, showing him around Kamer-Taj.

    "It feels so familiar..." Ruben continues to mutter to himself. "But also dreamy... bit floaty around the edges..." Ruben gets a bit dizzy as he continues to mutter to himself, and Agamotto takes notice of this in an instant. He picks Ruben up gently and carries him to a dormitory room, tucking him in as he starts to fall asleep. 

    "Poor boy is exhausted from his adventure here, try to check on him in the morning." Ruben heard Agamotto saying to someone as he fell asleep. 

    The next morning, Ruben heard a gentle knock on his door. He was a bit startled at first, forgetting, as he'd just woken, that he wasn't at the orphanage or sleeping in the woods that night. "Master Agamotto asked me to check on you, may I come in, Ruben?" 

    Ruben rubbed his eyes sleepily as he responded, "Yeah, yeah." to the person at the door. The door was opened by an older girl, at most fourteen, and she walks over to his bed and sits beside him.

    "I heard you had a long journey to get here, would you like to talk about it?" She asked gently, knowing that he'd been through a lot based on what Agamotto had told her. 

    "I don't even know your name yet-" Ruben responded quietly.

    "You can call me Tao, that's what everyone else calls me." Tao responded.

    "I like that name." Ruben smiled as he said that. "It's lovely."

    "Aww, thank you, little one." Tao responded. "So... how'd you get here? I'm curious." 

    "My parents were murdered when I was three, so I was left an orphan. The orphanage lady decided I was a favorite because of a weird connection to music making me really good at playing songs, so then I was fed more than the others. They would've been starved if I hadn't left, and I couldn't let that happen to them. Not like that. I ran away. I ran for multiple months and barely ate and slept consistently. That's why I was so tired when I got here." Ruben explained shakily. "I had a dream of them last night. My parents." His voice was shaky as he tried to explain his dream.

    "Shhh, it's okay, you aren't alone now." Tao reassured Ruben. "I'll be your friend, if you'd like, little one." 

    "Really?" Ruben looked up at Tao with teary eyes when he heard that. He hadn't really had friends in the orphanage due to being the favorite of all of them. He clings to her before she can respond properly, scared that he misheard her, and he'd be alone again like he had at the orphanage. 

    "Easy, easy, you're okay, I'm not joking with you, I'll be your friend. I understand what it's like to be alone." She trailed off, not answering the inquisitive look from Ruben when she explains that she understands so genuinely. "We should get to the dining hall; breakfast will be soon." She said, almost like she was brushing off her feelings of loneliness to focus on Ruben, feeling like he needed her. 

    "I don't know where anything is." Ruben replies.

    "Don't worry, I've been here a month and know the way around pretty well, just stay with me today and I'll make sure you get where you need to be. You'll like it here." Tao explained quietly.

    "Thank you, Tao, I appreciate it, really." Ruben said as Tao stood up, following behind her to the dining hall. The more he thought of the possible food options they'd have, the more he noticed his stomach starting to growl out of a need for sustenance he hadn't been able to consistently care for on his journey to Kamer-Taj.