Taialeo the Dweller of the Wilds, Initiate of the Jaguar

Role

Chapter 5

Prior to entering the brigade Taia had not often known shame. He wasn't
perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but prior to leaving the
settlement he had been a fairly well-adjusted youth with loving parents
living a relatively mundane life. That changed when he joined the
Brigade. Not to say that Taia was ashamed of killing per se, for there
are many situations in which taking a life is entirely warranted.
However, when Taia's hunt put him on the wrong side of the law, he found
himself in situations that were terrible indeed. When agents of the Spire
tried to apprehend him he was usually able to evade them, but in some rare
instances he was not, to their detriment. This was Taia's shame:
innocent blood was on his hands.

The knowledge didn't incapacitate him, but it did severely disrupt his
religious devotions. Whereas before he had felt the freedom to raise
his prayers, he now felt an invisible barrier. It was as if a wedge had
been driven between him and the divine, and he was powerless to deal
remove it. So, determined to atone, he sought her out. Unfortunately,
his sins were not the Huntress's to forgive and she said as much. He
vowed, however, to seek out whether there might be some way to make amends
to these guardsmens' survivors. This led him to the Spire.

Taia spoke with Perr, a Provincial Magistrate, at length. Though Perr had
no information on the guardsmen in question, he did offer a sort of
absolution. Perr claimed that the best way for Taia to atone for his past
misdeeds was to not repeat them in the future. Taia agreed. He made a
promise to Perr then. Not to never break the law again, for that was a
promise he could not keep. Rather that when he did find himself hunted
by the Spire he would go to extraodinary lengths to avoid injuring
innocents and, if he failed, that he would repay their blood with his own.

Role

Chapter 4

Taialeo feels a deep connection with the natural world but puts no stock
in the cult of Thar-Eris or the belief that the sentient races are
fundamentally no different than the beasts. On the contrary, he is
acutely aware of the circumstances through which his own race, the felar,
were raised to sentience. To Taia, this gift and the moral agency that
came with it represent a great responsibility. The beasts can kill
without remorse or guilt, but the moral being has been given the ability
to show mercy, experience compassion and exercise restraint. He is not
bereft of instinct, but neither is he ruled by it.

Life outside the settlement has been difficult for Taia, but he has drawn
strength from the legend of the Spearmaiden. It was one of Gasdan's
favorite tales to tell, before he left home, but it always seemed to Taia
to have a certain mythical quality, as if the events Gasdan was describing
couldn't possibly have happened in real life. Nevertheless, Taia began to
pray. Even if the Spearmaiden was no more than a symbol, there were worse
things a man could pray to. After a time, rumors reached him that a
shrine to the Maiden existed somewhere in the east. He has vowed to
search for it, but only after having proving himself worthy to enter such
a place. If it even exists. To that end, he has set himself to hunting
down and stopping those who would abuse the gift of moral agency by
wilfully embracing the darker aspects of their nature.

Role

Chapter 3

While out hunting one day Taia came upon a pair of brigands who had just
waylayed an unfortunate pair of travelers. The one he presumed to be the
husband was already dead. Judging by his wounds and the lack of evidence
of a struggle Taia guessed the pair had been ambushed. The first
brigand was rifling through the pair's things looking for anything of
value, while the second, with a dagger to her throat, was busy with his
free hand under the woman's skirts.

Taia swallowed, and for an moment considered slipping silently back into
the forest and forgetting what he had just seen. Something stopped him.
So, steeling himself, he gripped his weapon and prepared to do what must
be done. He noticed as he set about the grim work that the preternatural
calm he often experienced while on the hunt had fallen over him. This
time, however, it was accompanied by a soul-sickening dread he had never
felt before. He repeated to himself, inwardly, that what he was doing was
necessary and that the alternative was far worse. Even still, though, the
attack left him changed, and he was no longer content to carry on with his
simple life in the settlement. It was time to leave.

Over the next few days, as he prepared to go, Gasdan pulled him aside
to ask about the events in the forest. He made no response after
Taia had finished recounting what had happened. Instead, he just
stared at him. Or, possibly, through him. It seemed to Taia that he was
engaged in some internal debate, but what it was he couldn't fathom.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Gasdan placed a hand on
his shoulder and bid him go in peace. As Taia turned to leave, though,
more than a little shaken by the exchange, Gasdan added: "To preserve
and destroy, huntsman. Seek the silver gates if you would serve."

Whatever *that* meant.

Role

Chapter 2

What Taia was passionate about, however, was hunting, and from the time he
could string a bow he was in the woods every minute he could get. When he
was not out in the woods, though, Taia's favorite thing to do was spend
time with Gasdan. Gasdan was an old travelling story teller and, if you
believed his stories, which nobody did, a former adventurer of some sort.
Gasdan was full of tall tales about dashing heros striving against
terrible evils in all shapes and sizes.

Taia often remarked to himself, inwardly, while listening to these
stories, that there seemed to be a tinge of sadness to Gasdan's voice when
he told these particular stories, but it was always well masked by the
dramatic tone a story teller typically employes. It bothered him
nevertheless, when he paused to think about it, but then the moment would
pass and he'd lose himself in the story again.

It wasn't all daring and adventure, though. Gasdan was a compendium of
historical knowledge too, and he seemed have a particular interest in
educating Taia and any other felar who would listen, which is to say only
Taia, about the ancient history of his race. He learned from Gasdan how
powerful magic was used to grant the first felar sentience, elevating them
from among the predatroy cats that were their ancestors, and about
how they were subsequently forced into slavery. This part always angered
Taia, but, at the same time, he was profoundly thankful for having been
given the opportunity to become more than a simple predator. All too soon
he would learn the responsibility that comes with this gift.

Skill List

Role

Chapter 1

Taialeo was born to parents of modest means who just managed to eke out a
living as entertainers in the South Dairien settlement. Being the
backwater berg that it is, the settlement didn't exactly draw the sort of
crowds that would allow an entertainer to build a reputation and become
wealthy. So his childhood was fairly meager in terms of material
comforts. It was happy, though, in its own way. Taia, as his mother
called him, was well loved by his parents, and he loved them in return.

Even as a young child, but especially as he grew older, his parents tried
to teach him the skills through which they earned their living. Taia's
father tried teaching him to play the drums and his mother attempted to
give him voice lessons. Neither enjoyed much success, though, and it was
a point of frustration until they eventually gave up. Somehow Taia had
missed out on his the musical genes. He was not stupid, and so he was
able to learn the rudiments of music theory and vocal technique, but it
was obvious to everyone that he had little aptitude, and it certainly
wasn't his passion.

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