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 Vixos
was born only a couple of decades after the First
Cataclysm, when food was scarce and plagues still
swept over Krynn. Childhood illness stunted his
physical growth, preventing him from ever joining
the rest of his house in becoming a wizard. Too
small to join in the games of the other children
his age, Vixos took to playing on the rooftops and
discovering secret places, learning the basics of
balance and acrobatics that would later be honed
formally in court. As a defense against the cruel
teasing of the other children, the little boy also
learned to make himself part of the laughter, using
his natural gifts of a quick wit and a glib sense
of humor.
When Vixos was only 16 years old, 4 to human
reckoning, he ventured into the woods and began
what was to become a lifelong habit of getting lost
the moment he was near trees. After hours of
wandering, with no food and no hope of finding his
way home again, he heard the soft strains of an
elven harp playing a melody which he had never
heard before, but which was completely familiar to
him. He followed the music and entered a grove, but
no one was there. Searching for the source of the
music he discovered a small pendant of a harp in
such intricate detail it could not have been made
by even the nimblest mortal artisan. Upon touching
the pendant he found himself transported to the
very place that was so strongly in his thoughts,
home. He wore the pendant from that day
forward.
As soon as he was old enough, Vixos set out to
find a career other than the traditional one of his
family that he was simply no match for. Knowing
that entertaining was in his blood he performed as
a street bard, gaining a rapid respect from the
more seasoned performers for his ability to bring
heartfelt laughter to the most troubled souls. His
reputation eventually reached the attendante of the
mad prince Arelas, who had been sent away from
Qualinost because of his ailment. Vixos went into
service as Arelas' jester, faithfully doing his
best to calm the rather explosive mage in his bouts
of insanity. While Vixos was in his service Arelas'
secret wife, a sea-elf, gave birth to a son,
Miralas, and a daughter, Relansa. Vixos fell in
love with Miralas as if he were his own son, and
spent as much time as possible with the tot.
Unfortunately, this happy time was cut short when
Miralas was kidnapped, leaving Vixos brokenhearted.
Shortly after that tragedy struck again, when
Arelas, determined to have the throne of Qualinesti
for himself, murdered one of his brothers and
attempted to murder the Speaker of the Suns and his
three children. Arelas himself was killed in the
attempt, and Vixos blamed himself for not being
able to prevent the insane act from occurring.
Having no place to return to, Vixos sought the
mercy of Porthios, the eldest son of the Speaker.
Porthios persuaded his father to take Vixos into
the court acrobatic troupe, and within a year Vixos
had been named to the esteemed title of Court
Jester. Here Vixos served for many years, ever
popular even when he made some member of court
furious with him over a parody or prank. While
there he was reunited first with Relansa, who came
to live at court, and then with Miralas, who was
rescued by his sister from a life on the streets of
Garnet, working for the thieves' guild.
Accompanying Miralas and Relansa were their twin
half-brothers Estreael and Destrias, born of
Arelas' rape of a servant. Vixos made sure to do
all he could to ease the lives of all four
children, none of whom really felt part of the
House Royal. Seen as a potential bad influence on
Miralas, however, he was forbidden to speak to him
directly, and so had to be quite creative to bring
a smile to the young prince's face.
Eventually Miralas grew to manhood, but when he
fell in love with a human he was exiled from elven
society. Once more Vixos was separated from the one
he loved as his own son, and once more he was
heartbroken. He threw himself into his duties of
laughter and frivolity to ease his pain, but not a
day went by that he didn't yearn for Miralas. When
he was told one day to prepare a grand performance
for the return of Prince Gilthanas, Porthios'
younger brother, he was rather surprised when the
golden prince himself stopped by and requested that
he work his human acrobat servant into the act.
Racial arrogance being not at all strong among
performers and acrobats, Vixos readily agreed, and
was amazed at the skill he saw in the girl during
practice. He was even more captivated by her beauty
and the obviously quick mind he saw behind her
large green eyes. During her performance it was all
the jester could do to keep from staring at her,
but he did manage to tear his eyes away to keep to
his duty of monitoring the reactions of the royals.
To his surprise he noted that "Gilthanas" was
communicating to his "servant" in thieves' cant,
something the real prince would never do, but which
Miralas would. He observed more closely, and saw
that indeed, a clever makeup job disguised the
exiled Miralas as his cousin. Determined not to
lose Miralas a third time, Vixos confronted him,
and convinced him that whatever grand adventure he
was in, the jester was on his side. Dubious of
Vixos' ability to handle real danger, Miralas was
nonetheless forced to bring the jester in on the
spy job, and in the end, was also forced to take
him with him into exile to prevent him from being
accused of treason.
Then another adventure took Vixos, Miralas, and
their friends back to Krynn. Searching for a cure
to terrifying mental disturbances that were
plaguing Miralas, they traveled to Tarsis to find
the temple of Majere in the ruined city. While
Miralas recovered, Vixos wandered into the small
grove that served as a temple to the god of beauty,
music, and forests, Branchala, known to the
Qualinesti elves as Astra. Once more he heard that
haunting music that was so familiar to him and felt
an overwhelming need to go into the dangerous
Khalkist Mountains. At dawn they set off, the
others skeptical that Vixos was pulling yet another
mad stunt, but the jester was confident that, while
he had no idea where he was going, he would know it
when they got there. After traveling for days the
jester led them to the legendary Godshome, the
meeting of the heavens and the earth, protected
from intrusion without divine intervention.
Instantly Miralas understood that what he had
suspected was true, Vixos was an avatar to
Branchala.
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