Travis had a fairly uninteresting life. He grew up at home, then left to strike out on his own, wound up becoming a tradesman. Nothing flashy. He traveled around, sometimes set up a tent in whatever town he wound up in. It was a good, simple life filled with simple pleasures. Then, one day, while he was on the road, a storm rolled in. He knew better. The woods were dangerous. But, well, with lightning beginning to strike, he headed for what shelter he could.

It was a bad idea. Such a bad idea. The unaccompanied tradesman was mugged, his wares stolen, and his beaten and battered form left on the forest floor for whomever or whatever to find. Things were looking bleak. What raindrops slipped through the woods' thick foliage dripped steadily around him. It was his last memory before he let himself drift from daze to unconsciousness.

When he woke up again -- groggy and disoriented at first -- Travis was startled to find himself in some sort of building. The furnishings were old - antique, even. And the building itself was made of stone. He had been rested on a fainting couch, which, from the looks of it, was in a small parlor room. There was no door separating it from the next space over. Whatever it was, it sounded bigger than the room he was in. After all, he could hear someone talking over there. The intonation was harsh and quick - a reprimand, most likely - and the voice was masculine. Then there was a reply. This was clearly a different voice, but also masculine. It sounded like they were having an argument in hushed tones. Just who were they, and where was he?

The tradesman slipped off the couch, but an intense wave of dizziness found him on the ground again, the room seeming to spin. There was a rush of light footsteps and he heard the voices from before hovering over him. The two had a quick debate about what to do. The older-sounding one was of the opinion that they ought to bring him back out to the woods before he fully regained consciousness. The younger-sounding one disagreed, citing what...fun they could have? That earned him a sharp reprimand. Finally, Travis spoke up, asking where he was and who the other two were. A gentleness came into the elder of the other two. He picked the tradesman up and rested him back on the fainting couch. Though his vision was still blurry, Travis could see that the one who had set him back down was a fellow Pearlcatcher, though there was something off about him. Beside him was a Wildclaw: likely the owner of the younger voice. The tradesman could only stay conscious for a few moments longer: long enough to hear his fellow Pearlcatcher's gentle, reassuring voice bid him rest.

The next time he awoke, Travis was in a proper room of a similar style to the parlor he'd been in before. He felt much better now, though he still ached all over, and he had no idea how much time had passed since the last time he'd been awake. Travis began looking around, though he'd only managed to do so for a couple minutes before a Skydancer walked in. She seemed started to see him up and about, and while she began fretting about what to do, he likewise began to somewhat frantically try to reassure her. After both had calmed down and she helped him back to bed -- he'd gotten a little unsteady on his feet -- the tradesman learned that her name was Garnet, and that she had been seeing to his recovery.

Evidently, sometime after he'd passed out in the woods, the Wildclaw from before had found him and brought him back to the castle. The Wildclaw's name was Ferat, and he wasn't one to be trusted. The tradesman was a little horrified to learn that Ferat possessed the ability to drain living beings of their life force, and didn't understand the sanctity of life. The Pearlcatcher he'd seen with Ferat was the lord of the castle, and he had mysterious abilities as well. A key difference, however, was that the lord valued life in others very much. After hearing that, the tradesman began to piece together what his fate might had been had the lord not intervened...and it made him feel suddenly cold.

Evidently, there were others who lived at the castle, too, and in, in fact, all of them were under a sort of quarantine. No one was to leave the castle, nor was anyone supposed to go there. Everyone who lived there was -- intentionally or, as was often the case, not -- a danger to other living beings. Garnet, herself, told Travis that she was a bringer of terribly bad luck, to the point of having lost both of her children. The tradesman's heart went out to these poor souls, however. And something about Garnet in particular... He couldn't help but pity her. She had been chosen to look after him because she was among the least likely to accidentally kill him, but she had still been afraid of the bad fortune she brought killing him. When Travis was strong enough to take care of the rest of his recovery himself, he did so. And, over time, ran into various others who lived in the castle.

When he was fully recovered, Travis' new allies bid him farewell in as safe of ways as possible. However, he just couldn't bring himself to leave. Sorrowfully, the others assured him that it wasn't safe to stay. Even the lord of the castle gently urged him to leave for his own safety. In the end, he politely requested to make the castle his residence. Travis fully understood the risks...but he also believed that he could avoid them. He agreed to head out from time to time, but only so long as he could return. And that permission was reluctantly granted, though only after he made his case, expressing how he knew how and when to avoid the dangers that each resident presented. He also had to promise to leave for good if things became too risky for him to stay.

Privately, the tradesman admitted that a big part of his urge to stay came from his growing feelings for Garnet. The lord of the castle cautioned him against it, but would not stand in the couple's way if Garnet felt the same way towards Travis. Also privately, Garnet admitted her own mix of affection for the tradesman and her fear that she would bring him misfortune. The lord advised that she take things slowly and not force herself to do anything she didn't want to. And so, at least for a while, Travis and Garnet kept close...but not too close. And their relationship grew.

---

As Travis lived at the castle, and as he traveled around, he searched for some way to remove Garnet's misfortune. She was such a kindly lady; Travis didn't believe that she deserved such misfortune to follow her. During one night scouring the castle library, Travis was reading an old, well-preserved tome on mythical creatures. In its pages, he found what he deemed to be a solution worth trying.

Unlike some of the other creatures listed in the book, he had the means to make a deal with this one without (probably) endangering others around him. This creature was called the Ravenghast.

That night, he dreamed of Garnet meeting his parents, fully free of her curse, and free of the fear which restrained her from living life to its fullest. In the dream, his parents gave a feather to her, which she passed onto him. As the trio went into his childhood home for some freshly-baked scones, Travis regarded the feather. In a strange lucidity, he recognized it from the book he head read. Unfortunately, the pleasant dream ended after he began to enter his old home. Instead, he awoke in his room in the castle, feather in his grasp. Smiling, he wasted no time in calling the Ravenghast in order to make his wish.

---

"Where...am I?"

The spectre's thoughts echoed in his empty mind, confused and innocent. Darkness abounded in every direction, like a sleepy haze. Steadily, forms began to take shape in the world around him. He was moving...but he wasn't the one causing the motion.

"How did I get here?"

Has he ever been anywhere else? If felt like he had always been here. Always at her side...

"Her?"

Who was she? Who was this person he was attached to? He tried to think back... All he could remember was the rattling of chains and the tolling of a bell. Perhaps he had been...bestowed upon her. Perhaps he belonged to her, somehow. That felt right... Yes... He was her protection. This he knew without doubt.

"But...how? How do I protect her?" He couldn't even move his own limbs on his own, let alone...whatever he was supposed to be doing.

Another form came into view. The being in Garnet's shadow regarded him with curiosity as he walked by. She spoke to him. "Travis... That must be his name. Who is he? He's...familiar..."

From the way he walked to his very form, there was something about him that was...the only word for it really was "familiar." Except...his expression. It felt like it should have more emotion to it. But it looked empty for some reason... Even through the muted tones of the shadows the being could tell that. She noticed it, too. She was beginning to become afraid... No. That would not do. Her fear for him would be resolved.

And as though simply through the shadow being's will, he saw a change in the one she was speaking with. He smiled a warm smile. Something about it made the shadow being balk in surprise. It was like he was expressing his own feelings through this creature. Her concern abated, replaced with relief, and some sort of intense warmth. Good. He would have to maintain this good feeling in her. Travis answered, greeting...Garnet...warmly.

Garnet... The one he protected was called Garnet. If the shadow being could smile, his face would look just like that of the empty one, Travis. The one Garnet loved.

"I will protect you, Garnet. I will use whatever means I can, including this empty being. You will not know that I am the one keeping you safe and happy...and that's okay. You are loved, and safe...always."

Travis had never belonged in the castle more than he did now.

---

As Garnet's lack of inflicting others with bad luck persisted, she allowed herself to love Travis and the two became a devoted couple. The one in Garnet's shadow had been using the body called "Travis" as a puppet to express what he thought and felt to Garnet. He could control the other's facial expressions, voice, and body, which was quite handy. As such, he also took the name for himself: Travis. Not long after Garnet and Travis started living together they had a nest of three eggs which hatched into three beautiful girls. Garnet was so happy that she cried, and Travis was full of joy as well...for a moment.

As the infantile Pearlcatchers and Skydancer came free of their shells, Travis felt something like dizziness. He was suddenly seeing and feeling things from four different prospectives. One was very familiar to him by now: how he viewed the world through Garnet's shadow. He could sense her every feeling and the thoughts connected to them, but his sensory information came from his own prospective, and from the prospective of his puppet. He quickly figured out that the other three were from the shadows of his daughters. It was like having four sets of eyes and three sets of ears in different locations, but connected to one brain trying to process it all.

Garnet noticed. Travis' puppet was exhibiting signs of unhealth, and Garnet wasn't just concerned, but afraid that her unluck was affecting him. Travis quickly seized control over his puppet and with a smile assured her that he merely felt dizzy with joy. That calmed her right away, and as the two new parents cuddled, the Travis in the shadows tried to quickly learn how to smoothly process all the sensory and emotion- and thought-based input he was getting. If he didn't, then his wife and daughters may feel distress at some point, and he simply would not allow that to happen.

---

(And then I commented on the other's userpage to suggest recommending more lore from my lair (reading list) and to give thanks for the kind words.) (Others I listed that the comment above is referring to are Vekja, Munaa, Shiv, Rhamantus and Ophelia.)