It’s time for another “quest” to fill out a QUESTionnaire for one of our Arcanum Scholars. This time we’re going to hear from a scholar you’ll already be familiar with if you’ve journeyed through Polaris: Tarrak Hadfield, the majestic Moosetaur and ice school scholar. Here’s what he had to tell us.
Name: Tarrak Hadfield
Likes: Tying up loose ends; Long walks over frozen lakes and rivers; Yuletide season!
Dislikes: Hats; People who forget to be young at heart; Jorts.
Favorite Spell: Snowball Barrage
Favorite Food: Tie between goulash and hardboiled eggs (I may or may not have one in my pocket right now [a hardboiled egg, not a bowl of goulash] {note to self: research To-Go Goulash}])
Bio?
Oh, you know, I suppose I had the typical Moosetaur childhood, really. I was born in the frozen wilds of the majestic Forlorn Tayg – that’s in Polaris, don’t ya know. I was just your ordinary happy calf with ordinary parents. Oh, my father! He had the best set of antlers you’ve ever seen! Anyways, we’d wander the plains, do a little gold mining, peruse the “frozen section” of the River of Frozen Tears for Cold Cod and Fish Sandwiches... Good times. We were happy. I was happy, eh! And that’s all that mattered.
But like most good stories, mine has a turning point. One day, my folks and I were trekking up in the Borealis Peaks – my mother always loved a good high-altitude family trek, when a terrible storm blew in from out of nowhere. We were scrambling down the mountain when a gust of wind as cold and ferocious as the breath of ten Frost Giants hit us. Sends a chill down my spine just thinking about it. Even more so because that was the last time I saw my parents. The whole ordeal happened so fast that it’s all kind of a blur now. Alls I really remember the sense of falling, and then a sound of wings flapping that was more beautiful than I could ever possibly put into words. I eventually came to miles away from the Peaks, practically at the front door of a kindly family that took me in and cared for me as if I was their own. I was in pretty bad shape, but my adoptive parents new a few healing spells, and they fixed me right up! For as much as I missed my parents, I found myself in another loving home. And I even had new siblings!
As sad as it was, if it weren’t for that turning point, I never would have acquired my fascination with Snow Angels, or with magic and casting spells! Oh, the story about me casting my first Ice Beetle spell is one I have to tell you someday! You’d like that. Anywhoo, point is, don’t go around feeling sorry for old Tarrak, cuz I don’t. One must always be paying attention to the lessons that life has to teach. My papa taught me that!
So to make a long story short (speaking of short, did I mention it’s tough being this tall?), before you know it, I was taking the trials to gain an audience with the Auroracle. It’s a rite of passage for Polarian wizards, don’t ya’ know? When I finally made it inside, the Auroacle took one look at me and said I needed to go to school . . . forever! It’s ok though because I love to read and study Ice Magic (just the facts, ma’am!). The Arcanum provides me with access to knowledge I never would have found in Polaris, and I really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. The Auroacle’s words are still a mystery to me though, “Forever to learn. Forever to teach. Search for the book to which all wizards beseech.” I should figure out that riddle someday, eh?
Favorite quote?
“Invincibility lies in the defense”
My friends describe me as . . . ?
My friends say I’m the second smartest moosetaur they know. And I don’t let the fact that there are about 80 other moosetaur tied for first don’t get me down though. Ha! It’s all in good fun. You need to be able to tease your friends like that. Momma always stressed the importance of having thick hide. If a Polarian can’t take a good joke, they end up doing things like sharpening their horns and carrying around a whip all day. And what kind of life would that be?
How I feel about Magic?
I love Magic! But, to tell you the truth, I worry more about the caster of the spell these days. OH! Just one more thing… if you want to see a novice young spell caster evolve into a great Wizard, let them roughhouse with their brothers and sisters as much as possible. After locking horns a few times, the entire family’s strengths become theirs . . . and knowledge of their family’s greatest weaknesses become a Wizard’s best defense.
| 
