Aryn Starling

Aryn’s childhood was a melodic series of small joys and sharp lessons. The forest was not only her home but her first audience; the birds, the rustle of leaves, and the distant drums of travelers provided a natural orchestra. Her mother, a gifted storyteller and folk singer, taught Aryn to listen—to listen to the breath of the wind, the pulse of a crowd, and the silences that fall between words. Her father, a hunter who traded in tales as well as wares, showed her how to observe with calm patience and how to mirror a listener’s mood with timing and tone.

The turning point in Aryn’s life came when a traveling minstrel troupe visited the village during a festival. The troupe’s lead singer mistook a simple greeting for idleness and dismissed the village children as dreamers. Aryn, then only a teen, stood up with a quick rhyme and a tune on her wooden flute, and the crowd swayed with her. The troupe’s performer was moved by her talent and invited her to join them for a season. The experience broadened her horizons beyond the forest: bustling markets, smoky taverns, and candlelit courts in distant cities. Yet the life of a traveling entertainer was not easy. She learned to navigate the delicate line between honesty and performance, to read a room, and to protect her companions when a crowd turned hostile.

During a winter lull, a mentor from the troupe vanished after a performance, leaving behind the flute and a warning about the price of truth in a world full of masks. Since then, Aryn has wandered with a new vow: to bring people together through shared songs, to give voice to those who feel unheard, and to collect and preserve stories that might otherwise fade. She has faced distrust, danger, and the ache of homesickness, but she’s never forgotten the joy of a glowing crowd and the spark in a listener’s eye when a tune lands just right. Her travels are as much about listening as singing, and she believes every place she visits has a chorus of its own, a chorus she hopes to honor with every performance.