Garl Bowyer's page

About Garl Bowyer

Garl was born and raised in Boshar's Mill, a smaller village on the Whispering Water (one of the Two Rivers), where the road from Buerlon to Whitebridge reaches the river. The village grew around the mill, which was built to serve the surrounding villages and their farms., but all of this happened long enough ago that nobody actually remembers who Boshar was. The existence of the mill keeps the Tarkens' ferry busy through the late summer and fall, leaving the Trakens to base their main income in a tannery.

Sherv, Garl's mother, used to work in the inn. Culth Bowyer married her after she turned up pregnant, and neither have admitted to anyone else that they both know Garl is not his son. Not even Garl. Sherv remembers a young Gleeman who sired the lad. He's never returned to Boshar's Mill, though other Gleeman travel the large road fairly consistently.

These days, Sherv has a small textile operation, turning the flax some of the local farmers grow into linen. Culth supported her, doing the maintenance on the equipment and facilities, as well as supplementing their income by hunting in the woods on the other side of the river, providing meat for themselves and others (including the inn) and skins for the tannery. Garl learned the basics of being a Woodsman from Culth. Being a Woodsman isn't safe, though, and during Garl's 15th summer, Culth was taken by a bear. Garl and others from Boshar's Mill took the bear in order to ensure it didn't kill more people. At this point, Garl inherited the gear passed down through the Bowyer line, as well as responsibility to support his mother.

The youth of Boshar's Mill are acutely aware of the existence of the larger world, and are exposed to evidence of it's wonders continuously, though not constantly. As a result, few of the youth choose to stay and live the way their parents did though enough still do for the population to remain reasonably steady. There are few immigrants into Boshar's Mill, because those traveling the road tend to be looking for something closer to the life in the big cities at either end of the road . . .. Culth's death seemed to cement Garl's place as one of the few who would remain.

The tales from passing Gleemen certainly piqued young Garl's interest and curiosity, but he understood that he was growing into a firm place in Boshar's Mill, and his future was reasonably secure. Then the Gleeman stories began changing. They started talking about new events, and new efforts to match those of legend. Garl found that the appeal of his comfortable future was invisible compared to the glow of potentially becoming a legend, and he left to become a Hunter of the Horn. As he traveled, Garl supported himself through hunting and doing odd chores. Maintaining his mother's operation had taught him to accept hard work, to recognize the value of doing something right instead of just doing enough.