Taionim the Harai Goshi, Magistrate of Hamsah Mu'tazz

Skill List

Role

Chapter 5

*This scroll has been meticuously scribed in the monastic tradition
It has been addressed to Master Feristle of the Moudrilar Monastery*

Master Feristle,

I hope this missive finds you in good health and at perfect peace. As
you requested I am documenting my experiences with the written word so
that they may be stored at the monastery for other monks to read.
It six years have passed since I left the monastery to search for an
injustice to commit myself to correcting. I must admit I did not have
to search long. After leaving the comfort of the monastery I ventured
to Galadon avoiding the goblin bandits long the way. The moment I set
foot inside a Battlerager hacked lightwalking mage to death before my
eyes. Mere minutes later a Maran attacked the aforementioned Villager
sending him fleeing down the eastern road with the Maran in pursuit.
I had heard of the chaos of the world outside our walls but I was not
prepared for this, to say the least. The anarchy left me stunned.

So it was that I inquired of various citizens why the guards did not
intercede on behalf of the victims. Some mentioned that it was the
Blood Tribunal who were the ultimate authority in such crimes but that
their numbers had dwindled over the years and there was only a handful
to protect the world's four greatest cities. Their bitter enemies, a
group of wild bandits, vandals, and murderers known as the Outlanders
were a leading cause of this strife. My own monastery had suffered at
least three attacks from these curs in my own lifetime for they had no
respect for any civilization even one as peaceful as mine.

I found a quiet spot in the park to the north of the city center and
meditated awhile. Some families passed by as I sat there, enjoying
this oasis of tranquility in the city, children playing happily, many
gathered around a bard who sang an epic tale of heroes from long ago.
Seeing these things brought me clarity and I knew I must dedicate my-
self to protecting these people who would live a just and peaceful
life. If it means giving up much of my own harmony and placing myself
in harm's way to thwart this encoaching chaos so be it.

I pray Saint Moudrilar guide me and give me his peace.

Your humble student,

--Taionim

Role

Chapter 4

My mouth was agape once more. 'Assassins' I thought to myself. "No,
they can't be assassins!" I blurted out loud.

"They 'were' assassins, Taionim. "Master Feristle corrected. "But now
they are monks as they have been for decades. They live peaceful lives
& atone for the terrible violence they committed before their salvation
here. However they kept their skills sharp should they ever be needed
again. When you asked to be taught they came to me and I gave them
permission. They grow old as we all do and some day other Monastic
Guardians will be needed. We can pray that day will never come but
you and I know better. And thus why you must go out into the world
to hone the skills you have learned here. The intellectual, the spir-
itual, and the physical. Out there you will need to find tranquility
amongst all these things to better yourself & become our next Guardian."

I contemplated what the Master had said. "I am no assassin." my voice
choked and blunt. "I will not take lives in such a vile manner."

"Nor do I ask you to for you are not an assassin, you are a Monk of
the Order of Moudrilar and a keeper of peace." he said. "I ask that
you go out into the world and find an injustice. Something that you
feel worth fighting for and use that experience to grow in all the
ways you must. When you are ready, return to us to share your new-
found wisdom."

Master was right of course. I had never learned the techniques of
the true assassin. What I had learned were the martial arts and men-
tal discipline. But I had not learned to kill with one strike. Their
training would help keep me alive, perhaps even right an injustice.

"I understand Master." I said bowing. "When must I leave?"

"At dawns breaking. Now go prepare and say your goodbyes, especially
to your teachers."

And so I did. I bade farewell to my friends and teachers & the next
morning left with naught but a small sack of food and the traveling
clothes given to me. Only time & experience could ever see my return.

Role

Chapter 3

I had seen other students jaws agape when speaking in private with the
Master for his knowledge of the goings on in the monastery were legen-
dary. Now I knew what it must have been like for them only far worse.
They were likely found to be sneaking extra food or passing off a chore.
Master Feristle had just revealed to me his knowledge of my training in
hand to hand combat. In practicing an art of war and violence which
broke the most sacred of Moudrilar's Tenets, that of peace.

I bowed my head and prostrated myself before him and began to beg for
forgiveness. "Please Master!" I cried "Do not be angry with Jaigrough
and Kwanteen.... I saw them sparring in the quiet corner of the farm
soon after arriving here and begged them to teach me...!!!"

"You do not need to be afraid my son." he said with his calm voice as
he lifted me back to my feet "You are not in trouble. Nor is Jaigrough
or Kwanteen. In fact I am very pleased with your teachers for they did
exactly as I asked."

Stunned silence permeated the empty classroom except my rapid breathing.
"You knew?" I asked. "You knew this entire time?"

Master Feristle smiled and nodded. "We strive for peace, my son, but
as you so accurately stated during the lecture we are not immune to
violence. Some must sacrifice absolute peace to maintain the safety
of others. This is something I learned long ago when I was a young
monk myself. We were often beset by orcish marauders who wanted food
or what little coin we had. During one particularly brutal raid that
was commanded by a nasty troll, two assassins arrived and in moments
drove the entire raiding party away. I offered payment they asked
only that I listen to their story."

"It turns out they had had enough of killing for profit, religion,
politics, and any other reason one sentient being can justify the
slaughter of another." he continued "They came to us to become monks
you see in order to give up their life of bloodshed for one of peace
yet in their arrival their use of violence saved us and brought us a
greater sense of peace than if they had not fought. I accepted them
and they shed all aspects of their old lives, even their names and
they have been with us for many years now. You know them as brothers
Jaigrough and Kwanteen."

Role

Chapter 2

A few of the other young students scoffed quietly at this notion, most
remained silent, but Master Feristle tilted his head quizzically and
seemed lost in the notion before summarily dismissing the class for
the day. Just as I was about to leave to attend to the gardens he
took hold of my upper arm with surprising strength and bade me stay
a moment.

Master Feristle looked at me with his soft eyes and smiled lightly.
"Taionim. Your answer was both familiar to me and yet quite new.
It is what I would expect from a monk thrice your age."

Though all are taught to remain humble in all things I could not help
but indulge in a slight smile with no little bit of satisfaction. If
the master noticed he did not indicate it.

"You see the world around you differently than most. Your insights
are unlike any monk I have trained before. It is for this very reason,
though it pains me to say it, you must leave this monastery." he said,
the sadness in his voice evident.

I could hardly breath. The room seemed to close in and my heart filled
with a sense of dread at the very notion of leaving the monastery. "But
...but master... I.... I..." my voice shook and my words were faint.
"Why am I to be exiled? Have I not lived by the Tenets of Moudrilar?"

"Oh my boy, not exile." he said in a reassuring tone "It is for your
skills of observation and your innate ability to meditate so deeply on
what you learn that it must be you who goes out as our emissary. No
society as closed as ours can be both apart from and of the world.
From time to time a bright young monk is sent into the world beyond
our walls so that you can see more of the world in your unique way &
return to us and share your wisdom."

I nodded but said nothing and Master Feristle continued whilst patting
me on the shoulder.

"There is another reason I chose you to go out into the world besides
your keen intellect for I am also aware of your skills in combat." he
said in a knowing and serious way.

Role

Chapter 1

I do not remember the first six years of my life. My recollections
begin with my becoming a neophyte monk at the Monastery of Moudrilar.
I can remember my parents weeping faces as they left me but not their
names. I remember Master Feristle gently leading me to the boys
dormitory though all the others were far older than I but still I
learned to love it there.

Studies consumed the next ten years of my life. I loved reading every
crinkled brown scroll, every dog eared page. Philosophy, the Moudrilar
Tenets, mysticism, herbalism, gardening. So many disciplines to fill
a young mind with great knowledge. Despite the love I felt for this
place it felt confining. I loved to go on long walks in the gardens
and the surrounding forests. To lay on soft green moss and try to
imagine what each cloud could be trying to tell me. When I was twelve
I even wrote a scroll about Cumulumancy, the art of divination through
cloud interpretation. My teachers found it inventive and humorous
enough to store it in the library at least.

The events at the monastery I enjoyed the most were Master Feristle's
lectures. We monks try to remain calm and detached through even the
most difficult times but his lectures could draw the very stones into
heated debate. It was just such a lecture, one concerning the 2nd
Tenant of Peace, of which he had given hundreds of times (or so it
seems to me) that I decided to speak out with a more balanced look at
living a peaceful life. The other students gave the usual answers
that one becomes accustomed to hearing when Master Feristle saw the
yearning in my face and called upon me to express my views.

I looked up and said with conviction "The peace we know here has been
punctuated with horrific violence from time to time and yet it did
nothing but act as a stone cast into a perfectly placid pool of water.
The ripples spread powerfully at first yet eventually faded against
the ageless shores. What is left behind is still the lake which has
consumed the stone and become calm once more. True peace, then, is
not avoidance of violence but the ability to become calm & find one's
center despite the violence that one will inevitably experience no
matter how sheltered their life. In so doing we know ourselves more
intimately for having faced it than having not."

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