Talvo Hornblower

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Talvo Hornblower
Home	Whetmarrow Pipeweed Farm, Waymeet, The Shire
Gender	Male
Race	Hobbit
Culture	Unknown
Title	Unknown
House	Unknown
Clan	Unknown
Age	62
Birthdate	Rethe 30th, 1384 SR
Occupation	Pipeweed Farm Owner/Innkeeper
Occupations	{{{occupations}}}
Hair	Dark brown
Eyes	Brown
Skin	Unknown
Height	2'9"
Weight	Corpulent
Player	Talvo
Character type	PC

Appearance

A hobbit, roughly 2'9" tall. Thick curls of a dark chocolate-brown hang down to his shoulders. The hobbit looks to be in his fifties, roughly. The soles of his feet are pale, but thick like leather; the tops are covered with a thick, reddish-brown hair. He is dressed in a bright shirt of sunshine yellow, the sleeves rolled to his elbows, as well as a pair of leaf-green trousers. A well-tailored waistcoat of brown silk, fixed with golden buttons, is worn over the shirt, showing obvious wealth. The waistcoat is very full; as well as holding his corpulent form, it is also stuffed with several pouches of pipe-weed.

History

Talvo Hornblower was born on Rethe 30th, 1384, in a small hole halfway between Longbottom and Pincup. He was named for his late father, who tragically died shortly before the young hobbit's birth in a farming accent. The birth was not an easy one, and it took all of the midwife's skill to save the child; unfortunatly, it was not enough to save the mother as well, and Talvo came into the world an orphan.

For the first years of his life, Talvo was passed from one unhappy relative to another, from distant cousin to great aunt, and all wanted rid of the child as soon as they laid eyes on him. It was not until he reached the age of fourteen that he truly became part of a loving family; a week after his fourteenth birthday, Talvo moved into a small house south of Whitwell, with his cousin Tingo and his parents, Bronto and Crocus (nee Bolger) Hornblower.

Talvo found his greatest friend in Tingo, and spent the next eight years growing up in a truly loving environment; Tingo was only a few months older than Talvo, and the pair got on like a house on fire, while Bronto and Crocus had desperately wanted more children for years, and couldn't have been happier to have their young nephew staying with them.

When Talvo reached the age of twenty two, Crocus fell ill. When her condition worsened, she made the decision to move back to her childhood home of Budge Ford, where one of her family's oldest friends worked as a doctor. Bronto and Tingo both went with her, but there was no room for Talvo to do so, and so once again he had to find a new home. Thankfully, Crocus' symptoms lessened, and within months she was back to full health, but by the time they returned to the hole near Whitwell Talvo had already moved away.

The young hobbit went on the biggest trip of his life, out of the Shire Proper and across the Brandywine to Buckland, where his maternal grandparents lived in the huge smial of Brandy Hall. He had, up until that point, had next to no contact with his 'queer' relatives across the river, as the more respectable hobbits in Longbottom thought it best for their charge to be kept among decent folk. Now, however, he learned much of his Buckland heritage, finding out many things about his mother which his previous carers had either not known or not divulged. He even, after many spluttering attempts in the shallowest parts of the Brandywine, learned to swim, something he is still thought of as queer for to this day. Despite the length of time spent in the vast smial, however, Talvo never quite came to terms with climbing stairs, and watching his wobbled attempts to do so is still rather comical.

It was during the years spent in Brandy Hall that Talvo's musical interest was discovered. His grandparents gave to him a flute which had, at one point, belonged to his mother, and the Hornblower spent many hours learning to play the old instrument. After some months of playing the flute, he also began learning to play the piano, though his mother's instrument was always closest to his heart. Talvo made many new friends while in Buckland, too, some of which he still has contact with to this day, though through all his time across the river he kept in touch with Tingo, who visited on occasion.

Although he had never proved particularly academic in his earlier years, as he neared his coming of age Talvo made a large effort to learn his letters, adding to the skills of the pipeweed trade and the knowledge of the crop he'd picked up in the South-farthing as a child. He also excelled at working with numbers, a trait his father was particularly well known for. He combined his new-found joy for studying with many hours spent on the Brandywine with his grandfather fishing; over the months and years, Talvo became quite skilled with rod and net, catching many meals.

Talvo celebrated his coming-of-age with his friends in Buckland, though his old friend Tingo was also there for the event, with his parents. The party was a truly joyous occasion for the hobbit, though it was also a turning point in his life; in the days after the celebration, it dawned on the hobbit that he was now the last adult of his family line, and that it was time for him to make something of his life, something that his parents would have been proud of.

Saying his fairwells to Buckland, and to his grandparents, Talvo moved back to the Southfarthing three months after his coming of age. He lived, once more, with his cousin Tingo, working the small plot of land which Bronto grew Longbottom Leaf on, and once more he enjoyed himself, taking great joy from the time he spent with his cousin in the fields. He stayed there, content with his work on the pipeweed crops, for almost four years, taking on more responsability as Bronto invested in more land on which they grew Old Toby.

It was late in the year 1421, that a letter arrived for Talvo from Michel Delving. It informed him of a trust fund, set up by his mother shortly before his birth, which had been added to with the profits from the sale of his parent's small hole in the early years of his life. The fund contained a substantial amount, and Talvo decided that it was an omen of sorts, that he should begin planning for his own future.

At the suggestion of Bronto and Tingo, Talvo spent the next two and a half years away from the fields, working to detail his vast knowledge of the pipeweed crops into written volumes. At the end of that time, however, he had achieved little; despite his delight in studying, his ability to write, and the effort put into the work, Talvo was certainly no scholar, and he discovered that his knowledge was best applied practically in the pipeweed fields. He returned to working Bronto's crops, but he was always looking for a way to expand his horizons.

That opportunity came soon after, in 1424. Travelling to Tuckborough, Talvo was hired as the Thain's personal advisor on pipeweed, giving the Thain information both about the Took's own small pipeweed holdings and about the crop grown by the main pipeweed-producing families, so that the Took's pipeweed supply was always at its finest. However, his happiness in the Tooklands was, as always seemed to be the case for Talvo, short-lived.

Early in 1425, the Thain's advisor, Haldobrar, attempted to poison the Took, and Talvo fell victim, drinking a glass of poisoned wine. He was extremely ill for well over a month, and when he finally did recover he decided it was time to move on, once more. The Thain offered him a great opportunity, which Talvo did not miss -- using a large portion of the money he obtained from the Fund in Michel Delving, Talvo bought a plot of land, the Whetmarrow Fields near Waymeet. He then hired his cousin and close friend Tingo, and together the pair worked hard to convert the fields into a respectable piece of farm-land. They then had a small hole built in a small hill, roughly in the center of the plot, which they moved into; and thus began the Whetmarrow Pipeweed Farm, run and managed by Talvo and Tingo Hornblower. Here, with his own land, Talvo could finally put his knowledge and love of pipeweed into use as he'd always wanted, and it was truly the happiest time of his life so far.

At the end of that year, and needing a break, Talvo travelled down to Buckland to visit his grandparents. He also attended the local Kite Festival, held at the outskirts of Bucklebury. Melilot Brandybuck flew a huge kite, perhaps larger than any seen in the Shire before or since, and when she asked Talvo to help her handle the huge canvas he eagerly accepted. When the winds picked up, however, the kite was lifted clean off the ground, hobbits and all! When the kite finally dropped, the hobbits were deposited inside the Old Forest. Nearly a week later, the pair were found near Sarn Ford, having sailed out of Forest, though Talvo never has told anyone what happened during his time there; ever since, he has avoided even the site of those trees, and cringes at the very mention of the Forest.

Making his way back to Bucklebury, Talvo was given a gift by Melilot at the costume party which closed the event. She handed him the Key of Buckland, as well as a sheet of paper. Unrolling it, he discovered the deed to the Golden Perch Inn in Stock, signed over to him. Overjoyed, he visited the inn on the way back to Waymeet. A few months later he held a party there, a Grand Re-Opening of the inn, and he can often be found there now chatting with the patrons of the inn.

Now aged , Talvo spends his days at the farm in Waymeet, or visiting the Perch in Stock. While being a very quiet, shy person through his teens and tweens, Talvo has recently made a good many friends, and though he speaks little of his past or his own feelings he enjoys spending time with them. Talvo is as popular as any hobbit you could meet, though a few consider him somewhat queer -- as well as being able to swim, he can often be seen wearing boots, especially when he visits the Marish or Buckland. He sees these things as being perfectly normal, however, and takes great offence at others calling them queer. In fact, he has recently become a member of the newly reformed Peace and Progress Party, and is always friendly to Breefolk or longbeards, should he come across them.