Talwin Namevron
| Talwin Namevron | |
|---|---|
| Tal-win Namehvron | |
| Created by | Andrew (II) |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Soldier |
| Affiliation | The Grey Tower |
| Nationality | Malkieri |
Talwin Namevron is a Malkieri Soldier of the Grey Tower.
Description
Tal is a tall powerfully built young man, he has bright blue eyes and short brown hair. His father is of noble blood and descended of fallen Malkier, his mother a noble lady from Illian, he himself considers himself a son Malkier rather than Illian, but rather than wearing his hadori around his brow he wears it around his right wrist. His hands are calloused from wielding a sword, and he has a piercing gaze, developed over his time as an Inquisitor with the Hand of the Light. He is clean shaven and handsome in a cold kind of way. He often looks like he is in pain, as he suffers from constant headaches that range from slightly irritating to excruciatingly painful. When he is not in his Soldier’s garb, he prefers to wear silk coats in dark colours with silver or gold embroidery, and always wears two rings, a solid silver ring on the middle finger of his right hand which bears his personal sigil, three rampant wolves in a diagonal. The other was a old looking gold ring that he bought the last time he was in Illian, he bought it because it just took his fancy, on the face of the ring were two entwined crescents of onyx or obsidian, which he wore on the last finger of his left hand.
Biography
The man was sitting in a surprisingly comfortable chair, his legs propped up on the table in front of him, the flames from the hearth casting flickering lights and shadows over the polished leather of his boots the heat of the room providing a pleasant contrast against the chill of the Borderlands night. The wine in the silver goblet was smooth, soft on his palette but also leaving a pleasant warmth as he swallowed, this particular vintage from the south of Cairhien was a rare find this far north, especially in this Light forsaken fortress stuck on the edge of the Blightborder, roughly equal distance between Fal Dara in Shienar and Shol Arbela in Arafel.
Normally such an installation would not have warranted its current guests, but when a Lord Captain of the Children of the Light demands that a force of three hundred children make with all haste to this fortress, that order is obeyed without question, well without question from the regular children that is, there were a few questions raised by the fortress’s commander and his officers, but even stubborn Shienarans couldn’t refuse three hundred more trained troops, especially when they came with their own supplies and no intention to put any of their men to the question.
The man’s musings were cut short at the sound of the door opening behind him and the sound of a plated gauntlet sticking armour “My Lord, the Shienaran scouts have returned with a man and a woman, they apprehended them trying to remain hidden while they were returning to the fort, your presence has been requested, the woman had a talisman, a Ko’bal talisman.”
The visitor flinched as the head turned and he caught the dark blue eye of the man in the chair, at the seated man’s nod he speedily backed out of the room with another salute.
Talwin Namevron, called Tal by those he was close to, smiled faintly at the older man’s reaction, true he outranked him by several degrees, and he had the benefit of noble birth, but most Children had the same reaction when he entered the room. He placed the silver goblet on the table and stood, he rolled his shoulders and sighed slightly as they popped in release. He snatched his sword from where it was leaning against the arm of his chair and buckled it around his waist, he smoothed his white tabard to it sat correctly, the firelight from the hearth flickered across the golden sunburst on his breast, and the single golden knot of a full Lieutenant underneath making them both glitter, but gave a bloody flicker to the red shepherds crook behind the sunburst.
There were a dozen armoured Children, hands lingering near their weapons, when Tal entered the cells of Fal Yaren fortress, the stench of fear hung in the air, thick enough that you could almost taste it on the back of your tongue. There were two figures, bound with wooden bars across their shoulders and thick iron chains fixing them to the walls, they were wearing nothing but their small-clothes and the man at least was wearing a face of absolute terror, the woman however was abnormally calm.
“I’m so glad that you could join us Brother Talwin, I believe that I shall let you handle this interrogation. I don’t think that there is any need to be overly gentle, they both reek of the Shadow.”
Tal glanced over to the corner of the room where a tall thin man was standing, his greying once black hair was lank and was pulled back away from his face exposing a pinched rat like visage, his grey eyes were harp like a hawk. If his eyes didn’t give away his calling, the three golden knots of rank on his tabard and the red shepherds crook made it plain enough that even a blind man would see. Inquisitor Bren Denveris, was the man sent by the High Inquisitor to monitor the three hundred Children who had been sent on this mission at such short notice, matters involving the Servants of the Dark received the High Inquisitors attention, matters involving the Servants of the Light received the High Inquisitors attention, matters involving the strange behaviour of a Lord Captain of the Children of the Light, well that received the Hand of the Light’s special attention.
When Lord Captain Errol Kasppar ordered the three hundred to Fal Yaren the High Inquisitor had immediately dispatched Inquisitor Denveris to accompany the troops, and at Kasppar’s, request that the matter be left in his hands, he had immediately approved Denveris’s request to take his lieutenant along with him.
“Of course, Sir, I’ll be happy to handle this interrogation” Talwin met the eyes of his superior without flinching, this wasn’t his first Questioning, nor his fifth, and as much as he respected his superior as a devout champion of the Light, he was rather fond of not getting his hands dirty if he could help it.
Tal shrugged out of his snow-white cloak and passed it one of the Children standing guard, and approached the two bound figures, the man kept looking up at the approaching Inquisitor and started shaking like a leaf. As Tal got closer, he noticed that the man was sweating, he was definitely nervous, breaking him would be easier than putting on his boots. The woman on the other hand, was an entirely different story, she was looking around as well, but there the similarities ended, where the man was nervous this woman was looking around with almost a form of mild disinterest, taking in the dozen armed men like she was browsing for vegetables at a market stall.
He used his left hand on his sword pommel to keep the weapon from being tangled in his legs as he squatted down and got down to eye level with the two prisoners, one meeting his gaze, the other flinching away, glancing between them he said softly “I apologise for the accommodation but I think it’s time I ask you some questions.”
Dawn had nearly broken by the time Tal emerged from the cells, he was leaning against a wall in the fortress courtyard he was cleaning his hands with a red stained rag, which he disposed of by palming off to a passing solider without a word.
Inquisitor Denveris had long since sought out the comfort of his bed while Tal continued the questioning of the two prisoners, the man had nothing useful to tell, he just kept babbling about a higher purpose and being directed to follow the woman, other than that his fear had driven him to some kind of mania, something not uncommon when Darkfriends were put to the question.
The woman, however, had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, even when the instrument had come out, the only time that emotion had crossed her visage was when Tal was leaving, a slow smirk had spread across her face and her eyes followed Tal all the way out the door.
He was pondering this strange occurrence when he heard a voice just behind him “Aes Sedai witch”, he looked up and a scowl. There riding through the gates of the fortress was an Aes Sedai, straight backed and proud on a brown mare a green shawl draped over her shoulders, a thick-set muscled man in dark grey plate armour with a colour shifting cloak draped over his shoulders. Almost unseen was the short slender man in the black coat riding a dappled stallion a few paces behind them,
Tal looked to his right at the Child standing there and responded “Brother, keep an eye on them, them appearing right after those Darkfriend’s were captured I don’t believe in coincidences where Aes Sedai are concerned.” The Child looked at the young Inquisitor and nodded his head and responding softly “Yes my lord”, before moving to follow where the newest arrivals to Fal Yaren were stabling their horses.
Tal glanced down at the braided leather cord that was wrapped around his right wrist, a gift from his father before he left home. Those of the Malkieri who still followed the old ways wore the hadori around their brow, a reminder of their commitment to always fight against the shadow. Tal wore his around his wrist, he had never been comfortable wearing around his brow, Malkier had been betrayed and destroyed from the inside, no help had come, certainly not from the White Tower or Black Towers and their ilk, in his mind it was as great a betrayal as that which befell ancient Manetheren when the Aes Sedai of the time prevented aid from getting to the Mountain Home.
Hi eyes followed the strange trio as they entered the fortress, first Darkfriend’s are captured, one holding a Ko’bal talisman, then Aes Sedai and Warders appear at the same time, something didn’t add up. And one did not become an Inquisitor with the Hand of the Light by not letting questions get answered.
That same courtyard looked very different now than it did those few short hours ago, strewn with the bodies of the dead and teaming with the servants of the Shadow, Trollocs.
“Ring of Steel, Form Ring of Steel” Tal bellowed out the shout as loud as he could, and with a clash of metal on metal the remaining three hundred defenders locked shields and reformed their battle line.
They were arrayed in four ranks of seventy-five men, shields locked together formed in a crescent shape against the rear wall of the fort, the Aes Sedai, her Warder and the man in black coat, now revealed to be a male channeler, at the rear behind the armoured soldiers. Only one hundred and eighty of the remaining defenders were Children, the rest were Shienarans.
Tal was a far different sight than he was a few hours ago, he was dressed in plate armour and ring mail, plated gauntlets and conical helm, all of which was stained with blood, human and beast. He was also sporting a deep cut over his left eye, thankfully his sword arm was still working.
With the numbers of dead the Command had fallen to Tal, Senior Lieutenant Forren had fallen when the first Trollocs had entered the fort, his second had been cleaved in two by a beast that looked like the mating of a man and bear and Inquisitor Denveris hadn’t been seen since the interrogation of the two Darkfriends. The situation was a real trial by fire aside from two skirmishes this was his first pitched battle, the only reason that the defenders had lasted as long as they had had been the Channellers, they had been raining fire and death down on the man-beasts swarming around them.
Tal caught the sickle shaped blade of the creature in front of him on his shield before thrusting his sword through its gut, but as was the case up and down the dwindling line where one of the man-beasts fell, two took its place, where one of the men fell the line got smaller. “Close ranks, lock your shields” Tal bellowed as they braced for another rush of oncoming Trollocs, just as he thought that they may push the beasts back, something struck him in the head and he knew no more.
Regaining consciousness, Tal found himself slumped against the fortress wall his head pounding like a marching drum, and dried blood crusted over his left eye making it impossible for him to open, looking around he wished that he couldn’t see anything. The Children were all dead and so were most of the Shienarans, butchered body parts were scattered all over the ground Trollocs dragging corpses to the centre of the courtyard, he could see the Aes Sedai and her party in the far corner, a small party of Shienarans with them, they were behind some kind of translucent shield that kept the Shadowspawn on the other side.
Tal’s hand fell on the hilt of his sword, miraculously still beside him, he grasped the hilt and drew comfort from the familiar weight of it, before he saw something that chilled his blood and shook him to the very core of his being.
Inquisitor Denveris was speaking to a man, a man that was ordering the Trollocs. Gripping the pommel of his sword with both hands he levered himself to his feet, and started staggering towards Denveris, who seemed to sense his presence and turned at Tas’s approach with a smile.
“Young Talwin, I’m so glad to see that you survived this little incident” he started making his way towards Tal, stepping over the remains of his fallen brothers, making sure to keep the hem of his snowy white cloak and tabard out of the mud, blood and gore that littered the stones of the courtyard.
“You, Light Burn you Denveris you traitorous scum. You’re the one behind this, you sold us to the Shadow” Tal couldn’t believe his eyes, here was a man he had looked up to and deeply respected, the same man who had initiated him into the Hand of the Light, and taught him everything he knew, and he was helping The Shadow.
Danveris smiled at his protégé “Yes, yes I did, you see Talwin I came to the conclusion many years ago that fighting against the Great Lord of the Dark, was futile and since then I have taken great steps to ensure my survival. It is something that I can do for you too, its relatively simple really you say the oath and ensure that you are protected.”
By now the Inquisitor was standing before Tal “You’re a smart lad, you’ll make the right choice, or I’ll kill you where you stand.”
Tal hadn’t seen him draw his sword but he saw the blade before his eyes, ironically it gave him something to focus on rather than the pounding in his head, which got less and less the more he concentrated on the glittering steel in front of his eyes. His focus got sharper and sharper, his gaze flickered up, unflinchingly, to the eyes of the man he had respected since he had joined the Children of the Light “Personally Sir, I chose death.”
With a roar of rage he swung his sword in a wide arc, but as Denveris moved his own blade to block the strike fire erupted before Tal’s blade and cut a swathe of destruction in its path burning Trolloc’s, the shocked Denveris and everything else in its path. He stood there shocked, What in the Light happened, did I do this? No its impossible, he hears a voice behind him and turned to see that black coated man approach, but as he got closer his headache returned full force, his eyes rolled into his head and he knew no more.
He flickered in an out of consciousness, but all he heard as he was being strapped to a stretcher was “Whatever he was, he will be taken to the Tower, he has not choice now.”
Career History
- Soldier (22 September 2019)
