Taras the Fierce

Once a stable boy of no renown, Taras was trained as a soldier after being drafted into an army of Count Iradere, known to many as ‘Iradere the Sly’ behind his back. While he lived, Iradere was infamous for his implication in crimes apparently committed by various higher-ranking Banner Lords he served under. While his then lords were often found guilty, Iradere explained any charges directed against himself away with effective alibis and a lack of discernible motive. Though considered untrustworthy, he proved to be an effective local magistrate, ruling justly and largely without incident. Indeed, he was known for being able to turn seemingly unusable land into a profitable fiefdom. This all came to an end when he chose to use a man called Taras in a plot to incite conflict with a neighboring lord, Sersaul the Thunder. Iradere had two hundred lowborn men, Taras included, trained for battle. He intended to adorn them with bannerless armor and have them raid an outpost within Sersaul’s land. It would seem as though a mercenary group had been hired by an unknown lord to conduct the attack. Sersaul, famous for his perceptive nature but quick temper, would correctly assume Iradere was involved, but not bother to investigate the matter fully, and counterattack immediately. Iradere would then claim the attack was without provocation, use it as an excuse to enter and overwhelm Sersaul’s weaker forces, and put Sersaul to the sword before he could be questioned on the matter. Iradere would likely be granted some if not all Sersaul’s land as recompense for what would seem to be an unprovoked attack. Young Taras was no fool, however, and was aware of Iradere’s reputation. Accepting the training, he proved a talented leader and was placed in command of the force, but when his orders arrived, Taras deserted as soon as he was able. This forced Iradere to postpone his plans until he could capture and kill Taras, because he expected Taras to seek out Sersaul and inform him of the plot immediately. Iradere forewarned his network of spies and assassins — known in hushed tones as Iradere’s Whisperers — of Taras’ most likely next move. But Taras was craftier than Lord Iradere could have ever envisioned for a mere stable boy. Rather than seeking to inform any higher authority for fear of being seen as a liar, and having heard the rumors of his lord’s Whisperers, Taras instead chose to remain within Iradere’s lands and pose as a beggar, the population of which many Whisperers were recruited from. Muddying his face, growing out his beard and running filth through his hair proved an effective enough disguise. Taras was quickly adopted into the Whisperers’ circle by a clueless novice and was kept abreast of all his own supposed sightings, at times delivering false notice of his own movements to his fellow Whisperers. After several weeks, Taras claimed to know where he himself was hiding, but refused to divulge the information to any but Iradere himself. Smuggled into the lord’s keep in the dead of night to a secret meeting – he revealed his identity to the horror of the unsuspecting Iradere, and quickly cut down the lord and his sole guard. He then fled into the night, safe in the knowledge he had rid the world of a duplicitous schemer and secured his own immediate safety. But life did not become easier for Taras immediately. He wandered, avoiding any major settlements for fear of discovery, hunting as best he could with the little experience he had. He eventually stumbled his way into the hamlet known as Oakfell, east of Durham Forest, where he collapsed from hunger. The folk who dwelt there fed and clothed him as though he were one of their own. Once his strength returned, he served them as a town guard until he had trained enough of the local men to look after themselves, and he took his leave. From there, Taras roamed Teleria as a sell-sword under several false names, often hearing greatly exaggerated versions of his own tale from the mouths of bards. He lived this way for several decades, perfecting his fighting techniques, taking only contracts issued from reputable sources, and living free. He grew old and stoic, but never forgot the plight of those like him — those who had to fight for their lot in life. It was in these later years that he met one Marichka the Unbreakable and their fates changed forever.