Talen-Xai - A Ruluctant Shadowscale

ESO @Name: @DragonXGW

Character Name: Talen-Xai

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Relationships: None

Sexual Orientation: Currently Unknown

Affliction: None






Talen-Xai is a fairly slender and sleek Argonian, his scales are smooth to the touch, to the point where one would almost think he simply had skin that was tattooed to appear like scales, only the faintest hints of bumps tell otherwise. His scales are jet black, as are his natural claws. Silvery, tigershark-like stripes break up the blackness of his scales, which in turn are broken up further by even darker black speckles that dot across his body. Overall, the effect of his coloration provides an exceptional natural camouflage in the darkness... assuming he is unclothed ofcourse. His head is adorned with various dark-hewed horns of various lengths all of which naturally curve forward towards his sharply angled muzzle which seems to form a constant grin. The silvery markings of his scales end on the top of his head forming a silvered skull-like pattern over most of his face. Talen-Xai's eyes are a bright ruby red and his nosebridge is adorned with 6 symmetrical silver ring peircings which are of personal significance to him but only appear to be normal piercing jewelry to anyone else.




Likes

• Exploring
• Moonsugar
• Hist sap
• Reading
• Working with his hands
• High Morality

Dislikes

• Slavery
• Hypocrisy
• The Dark Brotherhood (and to a lesser degree the Morag Tong)
• Skooma
• Houses Dres and Telvanni of Morrowind
• Murder

Strengths

• Stealth
• Illusion Magic
• Dagger skills
• Journeyman level skills in blacksmithing
• Tracking
• Paranoia

Weaknesses

• Fear of being found by the Dark Brotherhood
• Fear of loosing his connection to the Hist
• Incomplete training
• General distrust of people

Talen-Xai enjoys freedom, but not at the expense of others. He is a kind and considerate individual. That said, he isn't one to go out of his way for a stranger. If he encountered a farmer with a broken cart on the side of the road, he would likely pass the scene without a second thought, never offering aid or responding to requests of the kind, on the other hand if the mood struck him he just might help. He enjoys a drink and moonsugar occasionally, but refuses to touch skooma for fear of loosing his connection to the Hist, an irrational fear perhaps but he'd rather not find out the hard way. Do-gooder would not necessarily be the best description of Talen-Xai, He will steal and even kill out of necessity but he does prefer an honest life to one of criminal activity and has developed enough skill to be passable in several fields of mundane expertise including blacksmithing, farming, provisioning and scribing. The black scaled Argonian spends almost every waking moment on the run, hiding from the Dark Brotherhood and his fellow Shadowscales, as such he has developed a keen sense of paranoia. Although he may spend a considerable amount of time in one, place he always stays ready to skip town in a hurry if he ever suspects that anyone is asking around for him. He has a hard time trusting most people and credits this distrust as the primary reason he has survived as long as he has.




Early Days
Talen-Xai was hatched in Soulrest on the 9th day of Second Seed under the sign of The Shadow in the year of 559 of the 2nd Era. As a result of the circumstances of his hatching he was immediately taken from his family along with the rest of his egg-brothers and egg-sisters to train with the Dark Brotherhood in Archon to be a Shadowscale. Talen-Xai excelled in the arts of Illusion and the silent kill and was expected to become one of the finest Shadowscales of his age, only one thing held him back; His attachment to his Egg-brothers and sisters. As there were but a few, and they were not even close in talent compared to Talen-Xai, It was decided that they were a small sacrifice to ensure Talen-Xai's rise to greatness within the order. The Argonian Shadowscale-in-training did not take the loss of his brother and sisters well. Rumors spread, as they do, and Talen-Xai soon learned what had become of his clutchmates. Horrified and deeply angered at what he saw as a betrayal of his loyalty, The Argonian put his training to work and made a hasty escape into the deep swamps of his homeland, leaving everything behind except for the silver peircings in his nosebridge which had once symbolized his loyalty to the five tenants of the Dark Brotherhood and the king of Black Marsh and now symbolized his hatred for them. Although his training was incomplete, his natural talents combined with what training he had received helped him to evade capture as he made his way north towards the closest neighboring land of Morrowind.

Toils and Turmoils in a Hostile Land
In the year 575 of the 2nd Era, when Talen-Xai left Archon, he left with only a dim idea of escape and an overwhelming feeling of grief and betrayal. He was 16 years old and on the run from an enemy that he knew could be lurking behind any rock, tree or corner. As he made his way north a plan began to grow in his mind. He knew he had to disappear, and sure he could turn himself invisible thanks to the supernatural powers that his birthsign had granted him not to mention the training in illusion magic he had undergone, But he knew that constant use of such powers would be too draining to keep up forever. As he approached the border to Morrowind, it struck him like lightning, disappear into complete anonymity. Become someone that no one would like twice at... or even once in most cases. Thus, Talen-Xai allowed himself to be captured as a slave. It really didn't take much, he was wandering alone and naked, having slipped past the borders into the Dunmer lands under the cover of night. It wasn't long before a group of Dunmer slave traders "captured" him and sold him off at a bargain to House Dres. He adopted the slave name of "Face-in-Ash" as given to him by the Dunmer lord who "owned" him and he spent five years living as a slave, performing menial labor, working the fields, assisting the compound's blacksmith, absorbing skills that he knew would be helpful to him all the while enduring the degredation he was put through on a daily basis. His plan worked, no one ever took much notice of him, despite the distinctness of his markings. He was just another Argonian slave.

Freedom and New Beginnings
It was now year 580 of the 2nd Era,The young Argonian was 21 years of age and rumors of pacts between distant lands were starting to reach the Morrowind rumormill, rumors of war and general unrest amongst the kingdoms of Tamriel were the only topics of conversation that Talen-Xai ever overheard as he went about his daily jobs. It smelled of opportunity. In truth, slavery had seemed like the perfect way to disappear from the Dark Brotherhood's radar, and it had proven very effective. After the first two years in the compound he had even begun to sleep fairly restfully without fear of a dagger in the night spilling his blood. But after five years of constant ridicule and degradation at the hands of his dark elf "masters" he had grown quite tired of it. Taking the starting of war as an opportunity, Talen-Xai put a plan into action to end his slavery, and the Dunmer lord who ruled the compound. Acting quickly one night, and using his power of The Shadow, he stole his way into the bedchamber of the lord's son and snatched the son's favored knife. Armed and with a purpose, Talen-Xai quickly, still under cloak of The Shadow, made his way to the lord's room and, thanks to his training, silently dispatched the lord in his sleep. He then stole the key to the slave collars and removed his own collar, letting out a throaty sigh as he felt magicka begin to flow through him once again. He carried the knife, still dripping with blood, back to the son's room where he hid it somewhere it was sure to be found then silently woke the slaves of the compound and released them all. His task completed and for the first time feeling good, both about his chances and about having done something good for his fellow slaves, he slinked away into the darkness of the night, a free Argonian. Unlike the last time he made an escape, this time he was escaping with a plan in mind. He had picked up enough skills as a slave to pass himself off as a craftsman and he made his way to the great City of Vivec to work on the construction of the cantons whilst earning enough gold to eventually buy passage away from Morrowind. Two years he has spent working on the Cantons, working the forges to craft the metalwork needed.

It is now the year 582 of the 2nd Era and Talen-Xai, who is now 23 years of age and working under the assumed name of "Xalenull", has finally saved up enough money to escape Morrowind and head west.

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Why is your character in Dominion territory? How did they get here?
Currently Talen-Xai is not in Dominion lands. He is still in Morrowind. However he plans to travel west to Dominion lands very soon to get far away from both Black Marsh, Morrowind and the Ebonheart Pact.

Approved 2/22/18