Talon Markov

[Talon Markov]

Talon Markov

Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 21
Birthday: 32, Summer, 499
Birthplace: Zeltiva

Appearance

Talon is a lean, wiry man, weighing 120 lbs, and is around average height at 5’5’’. His face is usually concealed by the shadow of his cowl, his emerald green eyes often being the only indication of the person within. When his hood is down though, Talon is revealed to have raggedly cut midnight black hair and a strong jaw adorned with a goatee. When his face is first revealed, the grim stoicism commonly contained in his eyes and expression may cause people to mistake him for being older. Those who look deeper however, will see the storm of grief and vengeance in his eyes.

Talon almost always has his hood up, keeping his face masked to create an aura of secrecy. The cloak he wears is often wrapped around his upper body, and he typically wears either a brown or dark green undershirt. His leggings are also usually a dark brown color.

Talon has been scarred in many ways by the adversity life has thrown his way, and while the scars on his heart are worse, his body certainly bears evidence of the challenges he has faced. A claw scar runs down the length of his left arm, and a bite adorns the same shoulder. Three claw marks cut roughly halfway across his back, and a light but long sword cut scars his right leg. A multitude of scars on his arms and shoulders are from arrowheads, either punctures or shots that simply grazed him.

Character Development

Talon is slow to trust others due to the betrayals in his past. Often doing his best to stay in the shadows and simply observe rather than engage in conversation, Talon is a loner and can initially come across as stoic to the point of being callous. In truth, most of this is a front he puts up to protect himself, as he deeply fears being betrayed once again.

Talon has a yearning to find a new family to help him rebuild his life. Despite his initial reservations with people, he can actually be quite talkative around those he becomes comfortable with. When in the presence of those he trusts, Talon lets his guard down and becomes much more kind and open. He is also loyal and fiercely protective towards those he cares about.

Family Summary

The Markov family settled in Zeltiva shortly after the Valterrian, amassing a fair deal of wealth through their trade and carving business along with their mercenary and hunting work. In order to make such pursuits easier and more profitable, the family would mage-craft powerful longbows and advanced wood lathes, along with using alchemy to create resin and make beautiful wood art. The Markovs worked alongside another family of mages, the reimancy practicing Calhar, to increase the fortunes of both. This agreement eventually led to conflict, as the Calhars desired to take the knowledge of the Markovs for themselves. In 350 AV, the Calhars attempted to raid the Markov estate, but the attack was thwarted.

Over the next fifty years, both families engaged in minor skirmishes and sabotage of the other business in and around Zeltiva. A decisive blow was struck in 401 AV, when the Calhars succeeded in attacking and destroying the Markov estate. The Markov family fled to Sunberth with the knowledge and few items they had left, the Calhar following close behind.

In Sunberth, both families were forced to largely put aside their magic and blend into the anarchic, magic hating culture. The Markovs would quickly learn to master the wilds to serve as hunters, escorts, and mercenaries. While the Calhar were also fairly successful in the wild, their real profit came from slave trade, an industry the family entered in the early 420s AV. Not wanting to upset the gangs who ruled Sunberth, very little conflict took place within the city itself. However, both families would conduct raids on hunting and mercenary parties they sent out.

Character History

Talon was born alongside his twin brother Issac in 499 AV to Derrick and Kelly Markov. Wanting to give his sons a chance at a normal life away from the Markovs ancient feud, Derrick and Kelly would leave the rest of the family in Sunberth and returned to Zeltiva shortly before Talon's birth. Derrick told his sons nothing of the feud, for he believed the changing philosophy of the Markovs giving everything to the conflict, which had started shortly after the move to Sunberth, was damaging the family. In spite of his belief, Derrick did introduce his sons to survival in the wilds.

The djed storm in 512 AV would disrupt the relative comfort and seclusion Talon had enjoyed from the family conflict. In the months after the storm hit, the Calhar’s launched a series of attacks on the Markov family, attacks Talon’s family did not escape. Derrick’s carving business was destroyed in the Summer of 513, and Issac was killed in the attack, a loss which hit Talon extremely hard. Even though one of his sons had been killed, Derrick still refused to tell Talon anything about the feud. Although Derrick would rebuild his business, the Calhar simply attacked again, forcing the family to return to Sunberth in the Spring of 517.

Once in Sunberth, Talon was introduced to many of his relatives. Despite being among family members who had been fighting their whole lives, Talon’s father only allowed his son to gain a limited knowledge of the conflict. However, Derrick did allow Talon to be apprenticed under Ryder Gale, a former slave of the Calhar who had been rescued by and subsequently trained by the Markovs. Ryder had become a close friend to the family, working and fighting alongside them.

Ryder would mostly train Talon in the wilds surrounding Sunberth, furthering Talon’s abilities in the wild as well as introducing him to the longbow and the sword, along with other relevant skills. The most important lesson Ryder would teach was the use of flux and the combination of flux and archery, a skill the Markov family had developed shortly before fleeing Zeltiva. Talon was extremely eager to learn and overjoyed with all the new experiences he gained from his time with Ryder. For the next three and half years, Talon would train and work with Ryder and other family members.

The winter of 518 would introduce the most devastating change to Talon’s life, though it did not appear as such initially. During the fall Talon had helped his family fight off a Calhar ambush, questioning why he and the others were being attacked. The rest of the Markov family were shocked with Talon’s continued naivety and his father’s denial of relevant information. Conversely, the Calhar family recognized a golden opportunity. Angelina Calhar would first meet Talon under the identity Angelina Farst. Talon would rescue her from a staged raid put on by the Calhar family. Following the event, Talon and Angelina would become romantically involved.

For the next year, Talon and Angelia would continue to see each other. Although his family strongly disapproved of the relationship, suspecting Angelina’s true identity as a Calhar, Talon refused to end his involvement with her. Meanwhile, Angelina would wheedle out many of the Markov families' secrets from Talon, allowing the Calhars' to gain a large advantage. In early Spring 520, the Markov family called a full meeting to Sunberth, an event which Talon let slip to Angelina.

The meeting would be infiltrated by the Calhar and the Markov estate in Sunberth was burned to the ground. Most of the Markov family perished in the blaze, including Talon’s parents. Talon, who had been away with Ryder on a last minute mission, arrived just in time to witness Angelina using fire reimancy to add to the inferno.

A week after the fire, Angelina and Calhar mercenaries tracked down Talon and Ryder in the woods and confronted them, with the intention of killing Ryder and taking Talon prisoner. Talon and Angelina engaged in a fierce longbow duel, with Angelina getting the upper hand after shooting Talon in his right arm. Ryder would end up sacrificing his life so Talon could escape. Talon fled in the wild, hiding away for a week before returning to Sunberth and settling in tent city, intending to lie low and figure out his next move in the conflict.

Language

Fluent Language: Common

Skills

Skill	EXP	Total	Proficiency
Wilderness Survival: Forest and Mountain	SP11 RB15	26	Competent
Flux	SP5	5	Novice
Hunting	SP10	10	Novice
Tracking	SP5	5	Novice
Weapon: Broad Sword	SP5	5	Novice
Weapon: Long Bow	SP14	14	Novice

Lores

Lore: Sunberth Fauna
Lore: Sunberth Street layout

Possessions

1 Set of Clothing
-Simple Shirt
-Simple Pants
-Simple Undergarments
-Simple Boots
-Simple Cloak
1 Waterskin
1 Backpack which contains:
-Comb (Wood)
-Brush (Wood)
-Soap
-Razor
-Balanced Rations (1 Week's worth)
-1 Eating knife
-Flint & Steel
-1 Small Tent (1 person)
-Large tarp
-100 ft of rope
-Lantern
-2 torches
-Bedroll
-Blanket
-Fishing Tackle & Hooks
-Long Bow
-Medium Wool Cowl
-Quiver
-20 Long Bow Arrows
-Steel Broad Sword

Heirloom

Markov Family Necklace: A stylized M shaped necklace made from silver, the Markov family uses these to identify each other. The necklace is typically kept hidden, only revealed when the Markov family uses their safe phrase. The first member will say “my family lives by the bow,” or some similar variation while also fingering the chain of the necklace. The other member will then reveal his/her necklace and reply, “and we die by it.” Talon was given his necklace by his father shortly after the family moved to Sunberth.

Housing

Sunberth, Tent City:

House: Tent

Ledger

Purchase	Cost	Total
Starting	+100 GM	100 GM
Cash in Horse and Tack	+250 GM	350 GM
Long Bow	-100 GM	275 GM
Quiver	-20 GM	255 GM
20 Long Bow Arrows	-1 GM	254 GM
Medium Wool Cowl	-3 sm	253 GM, 7 SM
Steel Broad Sword	-35 GM	218 GM, 7 SM
Archers Glove	-1 GM	217 GM, 7 SM
Archers Guard	-1 GM	216 GM, 7 SM
Tent, One Person	-2 GM	214 GM, 7 SM

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