Tain
From Mizahar Lore
 Master of Paths | |||||||||||
| Race | Drykas | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 481 AV (aged 42) | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Endrykas | ||||||||||
| Title | Pathmaster | ||||||||||
| Skills |
| ||||||||||
| Gnosis marks |
| ||||||||||
Tain is the only Pathmaster in the Underwatch as of the year 510 After Valterrian. As such, he has acquired an almost legendary reputation amongst the Underwatch, not at all aided by the fact that every story he tells about himself and his exploits, be it through song or otherwise, is inflated to the point where there are only little shreds of truth floating within it. Despite this little flaw in his personality, he is entirely dedicated, willing to give up everything he owns, including his life, for his men and the safety of the Drykas he has given up his life on the surface to protect.
Appearance
Tain has dark brown, almost jet black hair, reaching his shoulders. His skin is pale, as he has not seen the light of day in longer than he can remember, and is covered in an ever-present layer of dirt. His hair is an even worse state of affairs, looking like it has never even heard the word "comb" uttered in its presence before. Bits of dirt hide in the tangled knots his hair provides. In other words, he is in desperate need of a good wash, something that his life style can not provide.
Standing at 5'8 and weighing 149 pounds, Tain is not the most physically intimidating figure. Underneath his mud-stained leather armor, however, lies a body covered in both wiry muscle and scars. His hips are adorned by two xiphos, single-edged short swords, one for each hand. Also decorating the leather belt are multiple different bits and bobs, all required for his Spiritism, something that has proven infinitely useful time and time again in the ghost-infested, abandoned tunnels of the Underpass.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly to him, he wears a set of water-tight tubes over his back, each bearing a large map, where he marks tunnels and their exits, his own little silent form of worship to Aquiras. He hopes to, someday, map out the entirety of the Underpasses, and publish the maps, so that travel throughout them will be safe for all.
Personality
Contrary to his dirty appearance, Tain is a warm and welcoming man. He's more than willing to meet any newcomer to his domain with open arms, and guide them through the tunnels with certain feet and light-bearing hands. He treats all men and women equally, so long as they do not mean harm to the Drykas that live above ground or the men that serve underground with him.
He bears his duty with a sort of grim understanding, however. Every one of his men that he loses holding off the horrors of the Underpasses is another oath fulfilled. It is what they wanted, even if he would have rather seen them live on to spend another day under his command. Some might say that his attachment to his men and those he works with is a weakness, but he does not see it as such.
Tain is almost blindly devoted to Aquiras, and by extension, Priskil. Even though Aquiras is dying in the Ukalas, he still believes that he is worthy of worship, and that his lover, Priskil's, Light is worth bringing to the dark places of the world that he patrols.
In an attempt to transcribe what he has seen in an art form more meaningful than writing, and to keep to morale of him and his men up, Tain also sings constantly.
History
Tain's childhood was, to be blunt, terrible. He was treated downright horribly from his birth by everyone in his Pavilion, simply because he was born with heterochromia iridum, or for those less knowledgeable in scientific terms, irises of different colors. His left eye has always been a shade of baby blue, whilst his right is a dark brown. Due to this physical malformation, he was told by everyone that he would never be chosen by a Strider, never become a true Drykas, never gain his windmarks and really join the Pavilion. The only person who ever treated Tain with dignity and respect was his older sister, whose name he has forgotten over the years he has spent in the tunnels, so he simply calls her Big Sis.
Big Sis taught him that no matter what people told him, he forged his own paths in the world. She was the one that taught him how to make Soulmist, how to draw maps. When she perished on the Sea of Grass when he turned ten, the only companions he had were the ghosts, and the only ghosts there were in Endrykas were the ghosts of foreigners. Any others were pulled back into the cycle of reincarnation by the Web almost immediately, leaving him mostly alone, save for the insults and the jeers. In a weak attempt to lose himself, any moment not spent with ghosts was spent making maps, singing, and praying to Aquiras for direction from that place.
At the age of fourteen, a woman approached him, one who seemed to find him over and over again. While the rest of his family gave him horrible duties, treated him like shyke, she treated him like somebody. She treated him like a person, in a way that nobody since Big Sis had. Only when she revealed her identity did her kindness, the hope that just the sight of her instilled, make sense. She was Priskil, and she had deemed him pure of heart. To this day, he bears her mark on his hand with pride.
When he turned fifteen, he snapped, fleeing to the nearest Underwatch Pavilion. He took the oath without hesitation, letting them brand the hand that was unmarked by Priskil. It was at that point that he abandoned his Pavilion, wiping the name from his memory.
He grew quickly, his Spiritism proving invaluable when it came to dealing with the ghosts that lurked within the Passes. Little by little, they taught him how to use a weapon, how to defend himself and the people above. To this day, he serves the Underwatch faithfully. Every Pathwalker has heard of Tain the Pathmaster, and every Pathwalker dreams of one day traversing the tunnels under his caring eyes.