Tallone Stormwake - Sea Otter

[jujubes]

Name:
Tallone Stormwake
Nicknames/Aliases:
Tallone, Tal, Tali
Gender:
Female
Age:
21 Seasons
Species:
Sea Otter
Occupation:
Sailor / Roving Warrior

Physical Appearance:

General--
Tallone is tall for her species, towering nearly a head above most of the other otters with whom she interacts. She is thin-ish, covered in the lean, wiry muscle of a sea-going warriormaid. Her pelt is sleek; her unusually dark, charcoal-hued fur is interrupted occasionally by scars, both of war, and of the hard, honest work of a sailor. The most notable of these marks is a long, thin, fleshy-pink line running from the tip of her right ear, down the back of her neck to her left shoulder, glancing gift from a corsair fox in her first real battle. Tallone's eyes are a brilliant emerald green; they glitter intently, reflecting the sharpness of the mind hidden behind them.

Attire--
Dressed casually, Tallone decks herself out rather fetchingly in plain yet well-made clothes: a trim, knee-length tunic in pine-green and brown, midcalf-high boots, with a matching belt bound about her waist. She keeps in her footlocker a spotless white tunic and black satin slippers and waist-sash for special occasions. She wears a simple leather jerkin and chainmail tunic in to battle, along with her trusty saber, Foxbane, which the previous owner gave her in return for the scar across her neck and, of course, his life. The sword is a simple weapon, a plain steel blade set in a plain bronze basket-hilt; its only decoration is a small emerald set at its pommel. No matter her rag, one can always see a small round locket hung about Tallone's neck from a slim silver chain, shielding from the world miniature portraits of her mother, and her dear departed brother.

Possessions:

• A saber which she took off of a fox in exchange for a gruesome wound, and the fox’s life.
• A small silver locket with miniature portraits of her deceased mother and brother.
• A simple longbow or yew wood, and a full quiver of long, straight arrows made with ash wood for shafts, and stout goose feather fletching.

Personality:

Tallone is, for the most part, quiet and thoughtful; she is pleasant enough, but never quick to offer up information. She seldom speaks freely among strangers, requiring a time to develop that first inkling of trust. She can be a bit suspicious, and this has, on occasion, proven that to be a healthy trait. She can come across as gruff or stoic, she can be jolly if the mood strikes her. She tends to tell the truth, harsh though it may sometimes be, and she sometimes fails to think of how those around her may take it. Bluntness is a part of who she is, from her claws to her dealings with her enemies; she lays it all out cold, and stays true to her every word.

She is a good tactician, and likes to ‘observe’ in her free time. Skilled at sailing, tracking, swordplay, and archery, she is a formidable creature. She knows her limits, though; Tallone is cautious in almost all that she does, wary of the fickle nature of existence. Though she seldom comes across as particularly joyful, she regularly finds fulfillment in her life; in the wind, the stars, and the open sea. When around those who have proven themselves loyal, reliable friends, the maid tends to be somewhat more sociable, a bit more open and pleasant. It has been a long time since this maid truly smiled, though; some believe that the injury to the back of her skull did more damage than is apparent, finding her aloof, and perhaps mad. She is known as a perilous creature.

She is not arrogant as a point of fact, though with her pride and self-assurance, she can easily come off as such. The stubborn girl has an iron will, and anything short of faultless logic would fail to sway her. She considers herself something of an expert at the art of compromising, as any good merchant or warrior ought to be. The mantra ‘words before weapons’ was drummed into her brain by her parents before she could draw a bow or twirl a sling. Tallone tends to be stern of demeanor in tense situations, and can come across as quite demanding. Despite the habit of taking the helm, she knows well how to take orders from higher authorities than herself, and is fair nearly to a fault in all of her dealings.

Strengths:

• Highly intelligent.
• Skilled with the saber and the longbow.
• Large and powerful.
• Skilled seabeast.

Weaknesses:

• Very blunt speaking, sometimes getting herself into trouble.
• Sticks out like a sore paw, what with her size and coloration.
• Doesn’t necessarily suffer from the Bloodwrath, but she does tend to get quite caught up in the action; she hasn’t hurt any friendlies, yet.
• May genuinely have some screws loose from the head injury she incurred in her first battle, though such has yet to be substantiated.

History/Background:

Tallone was born into a small holt along the Northern shores, a close-knit, somewhat reclusive family, as is the nature of life in such dangerous lands. The whole family lived in one small cave: Mother and Father, Gram and Pa, Tallone and Ferrin, her younger brother. Though it was a tough living in the cold northlands, it was, for the most part, a peaceful existence. Whenever vermin were spied within vicinity of the holt, the otters would simply wipe out all of their tracks leading from shore to cave, and pull across the entrance their cunningly-contrived screens of flotsam, jetsam, and brush. They were never discovered.

Much though it mattered.

While the vermin never found the small family, illness did. During a particularly harsh winter, the wretched little family was struck by a pneumonia-like contagion. Gram and Pa were gone in a matter of days. Weakened herself by both the sickness and her attempts to save her parents, Mother, a delicate creature, soon succumbed, leaving behind her husband and her children. Tallone was just nine seasons old then, and her brother a scant five, when they set out with Father for a more hospitable home. They left their holt behind, the bodies of their loved ones sealed within.

However, that was not the end of it. Ferrin had begun coughing the morning they left the holt. Sturdy young creature though he was, his immune system, weakened by the cold and the short winter supplies, could not stand up to the plague, and he, too, was lost. Father and Tallone buried him beneath a young willow, marking the grave with a small plinth of stone. Further sobered by the further lose, the remaining Stormwakes trudged on, over hill, through vale, and beyond, until, finally, they made it to Redwall Abbey.

Father did not stay long. He loved his young daughter dearly, but set in his ways as he was, he could not bear the happiness which they had found within that fabled abbey. So, he stole out one day, early in the morning, and was never heard from again. Despite her tough beginning and sorrowful story, Tallone was yet young enough to recover from the shock and the pain, to grow up a strong, happy child. Not six full seasons had passed before Tallone found herself stealing out in the silent night, just as her father had done, and away. She didn’t know what she intended to accomplish once she made it there, but she set a course west, intent on reaching the Shores and the great mountain stronghold of Salamandastron by the end of the season that summer.

She did just that, reaching the mountain on the final day of the summer season, quietly glowing with excitement and pride. She had not known what would happen thereafter, but she found she did not care. She had made it to the fabled Salamandastron, all on her own! When she knocked on the great oaken door at the mountain’s base, she found that she was expected. Considering herself fairly stealthy and capable of disguise, she was rather disappointed to discover that they had known of her since she first stepped foot within a league of the mountain. The sentiment did not last long, though, for as she was made welcome by the younger hares, she was amazed by life in the great fortress, how jolly the hares were, how boisterous life could be, and how wonderful (and sizeable) a meal could be.

Still though, she did not stay long. For while she was lodged temporarily in the recruits’ barrack, another group of travelers stopped in to visit: the crew of a merchant ship from one of the western sea otter holts. After a lonely season spent on the road, Tallone was overjoyed to be among her own kind again. When she was offered a place on the ship by the captain, a tall character by the name of Kardo (he said she reminded him of his daughter, who’d grown up and run off to marry some river otter in the forest), she accepted immediately. Loath though she was to leave her young hare friends, she allowed herself to be whisked away to further her new life of adventure.

That was six seasons ago now, and Tallone has served on several ships since, learning the ways of the sea, and the tools of a sailor’s trade. Currently, she’s paying another visit Salamandastron, her last ship having been holed by a reef in a storm. And so, as she visits her old friends, making new ones all the time, she finds herself looking for work, for excitement, for something.

Relationships:

• Mother – Deceased - NPC
  
• Father – MIA - NPC
  
• Gran – Deceased – NPC
  
• Pa – Deceased - NPC
  
• Ferrin – Deceased - NPC
  
• Kardo – Her first ship’s Captain / her mentor – NPC
  
• Roark Rembauld Rodanthe – Long Patrol Galloper / best friend from her youth – NPC (unless I can get some one to play him! :)

[Grath]

Accepted. Sorry it took so long. Welcome to the site!