"I'm not saying don't go. I'm saying don't go alone."
-Talion, Shadow of War
BASICS
NAME: Talion
GENDER: Masculine
PRONOUNS: Masculine (he/him/his)
ORIENTATION: Demi/Heteroromantic Heterosexual
BIRTHDATE: Late Summer 2734
AGE: 39 as of Early Winter 2773
LOCATION: Semaca Weyr
OCCUPATION: Wingrider
WING: Requiem
APPEARANCE
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Dark Brown
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6' 6" || muscular
PLAY-BY: Talion (Shadow of Mordor)
FULL APPEARANCE:
Talion is strong and tall, standing at an impressive 6' 6" in height, with a build to match. Turns spent serving as first guard and later dragonrider has left him muscular and built like an ox. Talion possesses dark brown hair, so dark it appears black, and pale blue eyes. Nothing too special. Talion prefers wearing clothing appropriate for action and hard work, even combat. Often, he wears leathers atop sturdy breeches and a shirt, as well as his standard boots. In addition, he wears a cloak to assist in guarding against the cold of between.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY:
Talion is distinctly humble and kind, albeit rather reserved and withdrawn. Losing his beloved wife and daughter so cruelly and quickly has left its mark upon him, though his love for his son is absolute and unwavering. Dirhael is such a bright and wonderful young man, and Talion would sacrifice everything for his health and happiness. A core facet to Talion is such drive to protect those under his care to the end; this puts him at odds with Elembrith on occasion. But one thing both can agree on: vengeance. Should someone do them or someone they care about wrong, Talion and Elembrith will see them ruined.
Talion doesn't hold simple grudges; he enacts justice in swift order. Talion is one who'll go to the ends of Pern and beyond to get his revenge. For instance, has a person taken Ioreah rather than natural causes, Talion would stop at nothing to kill them in return. Lost in his need for vengeance, he tends to demonstrate hostility to everyone, no matter the circumstance or reason or lack thereof; he can harsh and unforgiving even to those who don't deserve his ire, as well as frustrated and willing to cut ties with someone who doesn't understand or support him in this quest for revenge. Talion would rather drive himself into an early grave than give up his pursuit for "justice."
Another tie to his need to protect others is such a deep guilt. Talion blames himself for everything that goes wrong, particularly should others be injured or killed. Filled with remorse and despair, he buries himself in training and work, to better himself and prevent such loss from occurring again. In addition, Talion is the sort to put the greater good before himself. Always prioritizing others before his own needs or wants, he'll run himself into the ground to ensure safety and comfort befalls others. While he considers Elembrith an ally and even friend, a part in Talion never lets his guard fall around the blue.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Father - herder - living
Mother - housewife - living
Dirhael - son - living - open tie!
SIGNIFICANT OTHER:
BIRTHPLACE: A cothold of Lemos
HISTORY: TW: death/loss & grieving
Talion has simple origins, born to a herder and his wife in a cothold of Lemos. Nothing of major import occurred in Talion's childhood or adolescence, though his goal had long since established: he wanted to serve as a guard for Lemos, the major Hold. While his parents were hesitant, Talion was determined to go; he wanted to protect Lemos Province and its inhabitants. After some consideration, Talion's parents saw him out with blessings and good fortune, watching him spread his wings at the young age of nineteen; far sooner that they'd expected to see him go.
Lemos welcomed Talion with open arms into the guard's ranks, glad to see such an eager young man willing to join them. Talion trained hard in combat, patrolling, and all other skills a good guard needed to possess. Upon graduating from training, Talion was a fully-fledged guard, undertaking all manners of tasks required to adequately oversee and protect Lemos. In his twenty-first Turn, he met the woman who'd forever claim his heart: Ioreah. A gentle and loving woman, she was all Talion could think about, day in and day out. Almost a Turn after first meeting her, he asked her to be his wife. Ioreah agreed, and they were wed under the sun setting over Lemos' hills.
But good things never lasted. In labor with Talion's child, Ioreah perished to complications in childbirth, along with the child; a beautiful daughter. Talion was absolutely devastated. Retreating from everything in his life, he was nothing but a shell of his former self; a ghost haunting the home he'd built with Ioreah. Nothing in his life held much meaning, with Ioreah gone; she was the light of his life. And that was how the Searchdragon of Telgar found him, broken and lost and empty. The dragon and his bonded offered Talion a new path: Candidacy. While Talion was twenty-three Turns and nearing the limit to Stand, both man and beast sensed such potential in him. While he struggled for some time to even consider such a life, Talion accepted. With Ioreah and her daughter gone, nothing held him to Lemos.
Still grieving and heartbroken, Talion entered Candidacy and began Standing. At one of his first hatchings, a blue emerged from his shell and strode to Talion without a moment's hesitation. We bow to no-one, the blue said, voice firm; almost a promise rather than a greeting. As a result, Elembrith and Talion were bonded; aged twenty-two. Weyrlinghood was uneventful, as was his graduation into Telgar's Wings. Against all reason, Talion engaged in a flight tryst with a dragonrider of Telgar. Perhaps she looked like his Ioreah or he was just so tired to feel alone, but the deed was done. While Talion withdrew to mull over this development, the woman approached him and politely informed him she was with child; his child.
Talion was left reeling and intrigued at once. A child? Talion could be a father again? Seeing as the woman elected to keep the child, the answer was "yes." Talion pulled his weight in helping his temporary partner bear the pregnancy, allowing him to hold his child in his arms after it was born. A son, fine and healthy, with sandy brown hair and those green eyes that reminded Talion so much of Ioreah. Talion loved the child from the first moment he'd laid eyes on him, determined to be a part of his life for as long as he was able. Talion watched the boy - named Dirhael - grow from a boy to an adolescent to a young man, proud of him every step of the way.
Turns passed and left its mark on Talion and Elembrith. Some Turns after Talion had Impressed Elembrith, he found himself the owner to one spineless green firelizard. Rescuing a clutch of flit eggs from a tunnelsnake, the clutch's mother lost to the same beast, Talion and Elembrith brought the eggs to Telgar for the Weyr's inhabitants. Upon a wingmate's insistence, he kept one of the eggs, which hatched into a green and a thieving coward. Talion called the little thing Ratbag, absolutely unenthused with his flit. After a grievous injury sustained through a training exercise gone wrong, Talion needed a place to heal and a new purpose in life.
Semaca Weyr called to him for both. Semaca was a place fraught with danger, but teeming with life. Semaca needed every able-bodied individual to help keep the Weyr safe and productive. As such, he applied for transfer as soon as he was fit for flight and combat, urging his son Dirhael to accompany him to this Weyr. Arriving in 2772, Talion and Elembrith settled into life in Semaca and found a foothold in Requiem. While he'll never forget his past troubles, Talion looks to the horizon with Elembrith for the next sunrise with neutrality rather than outright dread.
