Bardkin

Bardkin

Name:	Bardkin
Location:	The Raging Saint Mae
Rank:	Brewmeister

Biography

Born Brednt Myrdon Tan, a clansman of the Pa Lan Tan -“Holders of the light of Alban” in the year 44 A.D. Brednt Myrdon spent his first 16 years of life studying to become a druid. On the eve of his 13th birthday, he performed the right of Trillithon, the passage of boy to man. Upon this transformation he began his apprenticeship studying music, art, and the druidic mantras. His teacher, named Bardos, was a Welsh druid. Because of his tutorage, Brednt Myrdon took the name of Bardkin, or follower of Bardos.

During the early Roman invasion, all the tribe elders and leaders were summoned to a great war council and pot-luck to plan and bring war upon the invaders. During a special secret meeting of the elder druids, they elected to perform several sacrifices to the gods in order to curb the blood lust of the Roman army. It was decided that Bardkin would be their first victim. Bardkin’s father could not bear the thought that his son be taken away, as he was needed as a caddy for his father’s golf games. His father went to the woods to find a witch. He begged of this witch to make a potion that would save his sons life during the sacrifice. She produced a vial which, when poured into drink would cause the person to sleep for many, many days and fool the priests into thinking he had already died. Unaware of what the strange writing on the bottle meant (now known as the Rx symbol and dosage instructions), his father poured the entire potion into his sons early morning Bloody Mary, and he went to sleep. This angered the gods, and in retribution, caused Bardkin to sleep some 1500 years, buried deep within the caves of a sacred grove near present day London. Grief stricken rage brought his father to murder the witch which in turn further angered the gods, who now would ignore the druid’s prayers and taunted them with requests for shrubberies. (This would become a favorite joke of theirs to play, along with the slice shot in golf, Gas from eating beans, and the creation of Zima, an alco-pop brewed by Coors Brewing Company.) His father would spend his remaining grief stricken days on the beaches of Penzance, perfecting the game of topless volleyball wrestling- not to be confused with the game of titly-winks. In the end, Rome would conquer the southern British isles, but because their ranks were made up of pre-France heritage, they soon ran away leaving the land for the vineyards and truffles of home. By the time the French-Roman Empire abandoned their posts, none of the tribes, druids, or ways of the Pe Lan Tan had survived. All was lost, and Topless volleyball wrestling was banned in favor of a new game called “The Inquisition”. When he awoke, Bardkin found himself lost in a new world and time. Drowsy, hungry, and thirsty, he traveled several minutes where he found a great city, roads paved with stone, large buildings, and a thing called a “Pub”. It was then and there that his family was responsible for the fall of the tribes of Britain. Rejoicing in the fact that he would never again carry golf clubs nor be told to “Pull my finger”, or to sing “Old Mac Donald found two sheep”, he found his way to a small pub. It was there he heard a kindred voice, the voice of a young lady named Daphne who was singing her song while standing in close proximity to a keg of Zima. Music such as this, he knew, rarely coexisted in same place and time. Daphne and Bardkin joined forces and played music from town to town. After a couple years, they knew it was time to bring more musicians into their world, and Whirly Jig was formed. It was during that time at a pub in Larkspurshire, Bardkin would be press-ganged into service aboard the Raging St. Mae and forced into general drunken debauchery, pillaging, and other Step n’ Fetch duties. Although for several years Whirly Jig would perform regularly, as is sometimes the case, Bardkin found himself looking for a different direction and path. With heavy heart he left the group, bidding them a fond farewell and best wishes. One quiet evening, Bardkin was caught stealing from the ships store of alcohol, pouring a bit here and a bit there into his cask, and when the Captain confiscated the mix, found it be worthy of becoming the new ships drink. The “Devil in the Blue Dress” as it was called, earned Bardkin the title of Brewmiester, and he is now a senior member of the crew aboard the Raging Saint Mae as well as the head of the Brewmeister’s guild.