I'm gonna hold my initiative until after Nelynda's to see if she's going to set up my sneak attacks somehow.<br/><br/>For reference:<br/><br/>The crunch: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=331247 (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=331247)<br/><br/>The fluff:<br/><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Talneth Despana<br/><strong>Age:</strong>92<br/><strong>Race:</strong>Drow<br/><strong>Faction:</strong>Formerly Drow Caves, Currently Pirate Island<br/><strong>Occupation:</strong>Formerly Assassin, Currently Sailor<br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong>Like the vast majority of his race, Talneth has charcoal black skin and snow white hair. He is a bit on the tall side for an Elf at five-foot-two-inches, slender-built and covered in lean muscle. His eyes, when viewed in the light, are a bright shade of gold. Unlike most of his brethren, Talneth has facial hair which he keeps neatly trimmed to a white goatee, and his hair is braided into a long ponytail that goes to his mid-back. He wears form-fitting layers of dark leather, with a shirt of bright mithral rings hidden under his jerkin. His gloves end at the knuckle, leaving his fingers free. Over the leathers he has a hooded cloak of dark violet, as well as a bandana for his face, though he often goes without these if the weather is hot. A fine-crafted short sword rests on his right hip, a dagger of similar make on his left. The renegade is actually fairly well-known on the islands, as unassociated Drow are exceedingly rare.<br/><br/><strong>Personality:</strong>Though he has been an outcast for a few years, Talneth is still adjusting to being among non-Drow; superiority and racism are deeply ingrained in his upbringing, and occasionally he lets this slip. He is not, at his core, overtly evil, but he is a survivor and a pragmatist above all else. In battle, he is absolutely merciless and rarely sees reason not to use deadly force, even when his assailants had no intent to do the same. However, he rarely starts a fight without provocation. Decades of living among his own race have left him with a bit of a sadistic streak as well.<br/><br/><strong>Biography:</strong>Talneth was born as the second son to House Despana, a noble family among the Cave Drow. Despite the community's small size, Dark Elves will be Dark Elves, and the various families are always grappling for power. As a result, when Talneth showed an aptitude for stealth at a young age, his mother hired teachers to train him into a deadly assassin. He cut his teeth eliminating his mother's enemies, slowly sharpening his skills as he eliminated his House's rivals. Eventually, House Despana struck an alliance with another high-ranking family, House Aleval. It was in this way that Talneth came to perform missions for one Myrivae Aleval, heiress to her House and an up-and-coming priestess of the Spider Queen. Over time, Myrivae chose Talneth as her consort, and the two fell in love; actual love, not the shallow, lust-or-politically-driven alliances so often formed by a female and her consort.<br/><br/>But it would all come to a crashing end. Lolth issued a test of both loyalty and strength to Myrivae; she would face her consort in single, direct combat, and best him. Talneth was ambushed in the streets, knocked unconscious, and thrown into a pit underneath the temple with his weapons and armor. Myrivae didn't need to offer any more explanation than standing across from him with her weapons drawn. But Talneth, a skilled fighter, bested the priestess, and her life's blood ran down his dagger before wetting the dry dirt of the pit. Outraged, Matron Aleval demanded that the male who had slain her daughter be given to the Spider Queen. Matron Despana agreed with little argument; Talneth was, after all, a mere male, and therefore expendable. The assassin found himself knocked unconscious once again, and fully expected to awake on a sacrificial altar.<br/><br/>Instead, however, he woke on the beach, with the surf wetting his toes. As he shook off his unconsciousness, he looked around, but saw not even the slightest explanation at how he had gotten where he was. He wandered for a few days until he found a few dwarves, who allowed him to accompany them to the Pirate Island in order to find a new life for himself. Since then, Talneth has been finding a bit of work here and there as a sailor, but is seeking a better use for the skills he developed among his own people.