Hoshino

Home Plane: Sloane
Birthplace: Yankoshi, The Gathering Storm

Hoshino was born and raised in the small village of Yankoshi to farmers and tailors. It sat on the outskirts of The Gathering Storm and was the only straight way through the mountains that bordered The Burned. A good part of his childhood is remembering the number of visitors that would pass through Yankoshi, bards and traveling minstrels spinning these fantastic stories and tales that just set his young heart on fire! One in particular, by the name of Tiberon Malik, first inspired Hoshino with his tales of far places and the beauties far outside even the Gathering Storm. It was Tiberon who first gave Hoshino his first novel, detailing his travels.

This is what inspired him to become The Bard of a Hundred Towns, whom people knew. He spent countless hours learning the craft of storytelling and honing his skills. Dedicating himself to the art of evoking emotion through the spoken word and eventually the weave itself. However, this was just the start of his journey within the realm of song and tall tale. Traveling all over Sloane, there were very few in that time who got to see the wonders of all four corners of the land as he did. During this time spent spinning his tales, he met his wife, another bard on the road by the name of Koyasu Tamiko.

They would eventually settle down in Yankoshi and help the village grow in prominence. The pair lived comfortably and even ran the town for many years. But at some point, Hoshino would decide to relinquish control for a new journey: parenthood. Koyasu became pregnant in short order, and then things took a turn for the worse. An arcane disease began to pop up across the plane, and Hoshino was unfortunately struck with the disease. A slow and painful transformation that would eventually see his skin transform into a wood-like substance and immobilize him. Determined to survive and afraid of death, Hoshino became obsessed with finding a way to reverse the disease.

Hoshino was successful in his endeavor, but at a massive and unforeseen cost. Seeking out an ancient power known only as Antithesis, he staved off death entirely. Unfortunately, his recovery and health were the death sentence for millions. He would unknowingly become the catalyst for the plane’s 4th cataclysm. Beside himself and full of shame, Hoshino would return to his family to explain the events that led to his transformation and that he wished to atone for his grave misstep. Koyasu, ever loving and caring, understood and agreed to let him leave on the condition that he would return on the day of his child’s birth. This arrangement was successful for several years until he was petrified by a cult lurking on the outskirts of the Elven city of Invenas.

Fast forward several thousand years, when Collateral Damage takes out the cult and releases him from his living prison. Thankful and sorrowful, Hoshino joins the party to continue his quest for atonement. Near instantaneously, he became the moral center of the party, calmly trying to help them see that violence isn’t always the best first option in dire situations. His mastery of the arcane and of the spoken word often lends him to speaking for the party in social situations and philosophical conundrums. Hoshino Matsuo, the Bard of 100 Towns, may very well be the wild card the party needs to succeed where others have failed.

Blessing of the Weave

Hoshino has a strange relationship with the Daughters of Creation. While he is on the path of redemption for his involvement with Antithesis, he received a gift from the Daughter of the Weave. This small lantern, carved from ancient petrified wood, bears subtle markings of both divination and funerary rites. When used as the focus of a Spirit Session, its core glows with a faint spectral light, allowing the holder, if joined by enough willing participants, to momentarily access higher-level Divination and Necromancy spells.