Master Baker Bestin

Player: T'star

Name: Bestin
Age: 51 (11.13.4624)
Rank: Master Baker

Description:  Standing 6’6” tall, Bestin is a bear of a man. Barrel-chested with a matching belly, the dark skinned Igenite seems a contradiction of terms. There is no denying the power of his physical frame, but, even with his bald-shaven head, he resembles nothing so much as a life-size model of a child’s teddy bear. Unfortunately he also has a very one track mind, though will listen if he can be sidetracked.

Personality: Gregarious, imperious, and grouchy all at once. Bestin is always growling, yet always seems to be laughing at the same time. He rules his kitchen with an iron fist, and then pulls out the best treats saved especially for the kitchen staff. After all they work hardest to make the food, why should they settle for mere scraps? For all his gruff exterior he has a heart as big as his kitchen, or his portions, it’s a good debate which is larger.

Gender/preference: Male, Heterosexual

History: Bestin was born in Igen hold to a pair of Vintners. Contrary to popular belief the sandy hold /could/ grow things suitable for fermentation, it just took a little more creativity, and creativity was something both parents had in abundance. The oldest of three, Bestin inherited a full measure of his parent’s creativity.

As a child it was constantly getting him into mischief as he was always suggesting this way or that way of doing things ‘better’ or ‘more efficiently,’ much to the annoyance of all of his friends. They usually forgave him though. Periodic nuisancy suggestions were easy to ignore when they were accompanied by freshly baked and pilfered berry pies!

As he grew he spent progressively more time in the kitchen, and as he wasn’t the greatest thief in the hold either, he was caught more often than not on his pilfering attempts. The Cook’s usual solution to that was he had to bake twice as much as he stole. This rather backfired from the Cook’s way of thinking as he soon found it impossible to get young Bestin /out/ of the kitchen!

Once he came of age, his parents sent him whole heartedly to the Baker’s Guild. He flatly refused to specialize in /anything/ declaring at the young age of 15 he would be the greatest cook of all time, which usually got him laughed at. He took the heckling in stride and gave as good as he got, and the usual problem crowd soon found it was impossible to bully, cow, or embarrass the big Igenite. Making him angry wasn’t too difficult, for he despised bullies with a passion that had to be seen to be believed. Some found this attitude hypocritical, as he had a tendency
to force his way into the fore of any situation.  Those who knew him best knew this was simply his manner of dealing with things, and, if you could get his attention, he was quite a willing listener. 

As his studies progressed and his skills grew, so did his waistline. He achieved journeyman status at the young age of seventeen. He was stationed at Fort as chief assistant to their aging cook. The two did not get along very well, the old man very much set in his ways and irritated by the younger man’s boisterous energy. This disturbed Bestin as nothing else had, for the Kitchen had always been the one place the outside world and its morbid, convoluted issues could not touch.

In the four years of working under Old Fynch, one thing other than the cooking kept Bestin from going slightly insane (or more insane if you ask his old buddies). One of the weavers, Lysha, seemed to enjoy his company. The two were wed shortly after Old Fynch stepped down.

For the next fifteen years Bestin and Lysha worked quite happily at Fort, raising all three of their children, Byst, Lystin, and Tisha. Byst showed every intention of following in his father’s foot steps, from the young age of five. Lystin got himself apprenticed to a harper, and promptly set about to become the /subject/ of as many songs as he had written himself. It was a matter of pride that none of these songs he wrote himself. Admittedly half of them were written by friends, attempting to tease the too serious. Tisha seemed quite content to sit at home, though she showed some interest in her mother’s work.

But Lysha conceived again, and, at forty, it wasn’t an easy pregnancy. When their youngest child, a girl, was born, Lysha had bled to much. She never recovered. Bestin named his youngest daughter Lysha in honor of her mother. For the next thirteen years he raise his daughters, the two boys already apprenticed. At thirteen Tisha, indeed, apprenticed to the weavers.

Lysha actually was sent to her grandparents when the time came to apprentice her, as she’d expressed an interest in the products of the vines and the odder fermented drinks. Bestin puttered about for two or three months before turning his beloved kitchen over to /his/ second and heading back to the Hall. He tried his hand at teaching, but his heart wasn’t in it, so when the call for a Cook at Mountain Song finally reached his ears he volunteered. It would be good to be in a kitchen again, where he didn’t have to worry that he’d be meddling too much in his children’s’ affairs.

So with a light heart he set his feet south, for new territories and the poor deprived people who had been without a cook for who knows how long. The ultimate crime in his mind.

Once at Mountain Song he fell right into the community. He continued his projects inventing a new sweet that was dubbed 'Khalner' primarily because it was a confection made of milk, Klah, and sweetener. He readily fell in with one of the riders, Brownrider P'rrin. Though after P'rrin had his heart attack the Master Baker quietly altered his menu, though he didn't give up the rich foods entirely.

When the Southern Harper Hall opened he found his kitchen invaded by another baker, Sr. Journey woman Serene. The two clashed at first, strongly, especially with their differing views on how things Should Be Done (tm). After a bit of snarling (mostly on his part), a few more pleasant exchanges started, and the two found themselves slowly getting involved. How it will end is anyone's guess, but for now it is seeming solid, though Bestin still swears he thought he was too old for this sort of thing!

Pets:

Name: Pepper
Species: Wher
Color: Green
Age: Less than a turn (born 07.20 2nd in game year)
Description: She's a light green, milky pale, like someone dropped mint leaves in a vat of angel food cake batter and blended them well. She's wiry and small even for a green. Her head knobs are perfectly shaped. There is nothing unpleasant about her form, though right between her eye ridges sits a triangle of rich, dark brandy brown, one that spreads down her scrabbly wings and over her back ridges until it completely caps the very tip of her tail.
Personality: It was her personality that named her not her coloring that earned her name. She has a temper. She is a demanding, possessive, loyal, tenacious green. It took her a while to get used to Serene, but now that she has, she includes the woman in the list of her own private property, and woe be to anyone who threatens that property!

Crafter: Yes
Craft: Bakercraft
Craft Rank: Master
Specialties:  None, he, perhaps foolishly has sought to master all that is food.