Tanikas

At A Glance
Tanikas has been returned to Vintermor only a few months. However, in this time she has gained a bit of a reputation as an investigator and researcher.

She is known for her terrible resolve to achieve the goals she sets for herself, and uses her powerful personality to achieve these goals. It is not uncommon for her to skirt the edge of the law in the persuit of justice and good.

Her personality is unflappable. Though she shows emotion, the true extent of her feelings is hardly ever outwardly apparent. Even in times of great stress or fear, it rarely shows on her face.

Description
[[media:Tanikas8.jpg|A portrait of Tanikas]]

Tanikas, a tall and well-muscled Human woman, has white-blond hair and skin that has been tanned a slight golden-brown hue from the sun of some warmer climate. Her bright blue eyes are calm, and friendly-looking, but carry a look of knowing, almost as if she were reading the happenings around her from the pages of a book. A barely visible scar runs along her left cheekbone, but her face is otherwise unmarred. Her hair has been pulled back from her face, braided into a thick braid and tied with a metal clasp at the end. Her nose is a little too wide, and almost too big for her face but lends a quality of humility to her. A tattoo of a cat's claw marks runs in a diagonal near her left collarbone. Additionally, she wears a small trinket, a small battleaxe made of black obsidian on a leather cord that is draped around her neck.

She has a thick neck that sits between thick shoulders, the shoulders of a brick-layer or lumberjack. Her arms are thick and powerful, and deeply tanned. Brass rungs have been fitted to her biceps, and they hug her arms tightly. Her forearms are compounded with muscle, results of long hours of practicing with a heavy pole-arm. The trunk of her body is highly defined, with a great deal of strength. Her chest is well-endowed but looks proportional to her body, as big as it is. Her legs are long, starting with wide healthy hips, and are equal to the power of her arms if not more-so.

She wears a white toga shirt with yellow piping, above a yellow undershirt that covers her arms down to the middle of her biceps, and the shirt has been cut back on the seams several inches to account for her thick arms. Her cape itself is flowing and looks rather new, hanging down around her ankles. Thin leather bracers cover her fore-arms, and are lined with warm furs. The leather is stamped with scenes of battle, women fighting various monstrosities using spears and swords. Below her clothing is the tell-tale signs of a chainmail shirt, and elbow-length arms of the shirt are plainly visible, of obvious masterwork quality. It appears to be made of Mithril and makes not a sound of it's own.

On her waist, she wears a leather knee-length picket skirt that is lined with the same furs that line the bracers on her arms, with a yellow cloth behind it (much as you might see on a Roman Legionnaire). Fur-lined white leather boots rise up to her knees to meet her skirt almost exactly, with the yellow backing cloth of her skirt just falling over the upper edges of her boots. The shins of the boots are double-lined with leather, and the fur inside spills over the top slightly.

Before Vintermor
Tanikas was born to a rather accident-prone member of the local Guard by the name of Filip(some called him Fil the Dull, thinking his clumsiness was due to his lack of intelligence), who was lucky enough to have found the heart of a beautiful young Gypsy maiden(the term used only out of respect, of course). While on duty in the Kauppatori, the young Guardsman bumped into the 'maiden' by accident, knocking her nearly flat and sending her basket full of hand-made glass beads and trinkets across the grounds to be trampled under the feet of the others. Much of her work was destroyed or stolen, and the little that she did recover was sold for a pittance to cover the cost of the travels of her extended family.

The Guardsman did the best he could over the coming months, taking extra side jobs when he wasn't on duty, working himself to the bone in order to repay every copper piece of the lost profits. Even when the Maiden left Vintermor before the coming winter, he continued to work himself to the bone to earn enough money to repay her. Dock work, simple labor, and other menial tasks. Tanikas' Father wasn't a bright man, nor was he a particularly tough man. He was larger than most men, though, and hated to fight. He had been accused more than once of having a heart just a little too big than his head, and often got into trouble with his superiors for letting anyone with a sob story out of a fine or jail-time.

Eventually, the Maiden returned. Having kept his eyes peeled for her since the day she left, he eventually presented to her the bag of copper pieces, nearly dropping it in a fit of nerves. Stammering over his own words, and nearly falling over, he managed to beg her the chance to court her as his own. The Maiden, who's name he had learned was Saisa, laughed in his face by accepted his bungling attempt to woo her. Something in the young Guardsman intrigued her, and the kindness and dedication to such a good deed.

Many bungled attempts to impress her later, during the second Summer meeting, a child was made. Of course, Filip did not know of the child until the following Spring, when he was presented with a package. Of course, the kind-hearted Man took the Child in, even when Saisa left again with her clan to head off for warmer climes.

Fil did what he could for Tanikas, the name given to the child by her Mother. Unfortunately, the accident-prone Guardsman could do little for the child without a Mother's helping hand. So it was off to his own mother's house with the Child.

Tanikas' Grand-Mother was a kindly old crone, and went to a great deal of trouble helping to raise the young child. She taught Fil what she could of child-bearing, but he was not the brightest student she could have hoped for. Over time, he became a suitable Father for the young girl. Some would have even said he was a good Father, which was more than they could say for his time as a Guardsman.

As Tanikas grew older it became very apparent that she was not at all like most of the little girls she played with. She was bigger and stronger than even some of the girls several years her elder. Though she was bigger and more powerful, she dared not lay a hand on her peers. Her Grand-Mother and Father instilled in Tanikas a great sense of justice and morality, and made it clear to her that violence for the sake of violence, and brutality to one's brothers and sisters was not to be tolerated.

Tani's fourth birth-day came and went in the Fall. The Winter season was an exciting season for Tani and her Father. It meant that soon Saisa, the light of both the Father and Daughter's eye, would return for the warmer months. This usually meant frequent picnics and glass jewelery for the young Daughter, with nights spent with the Father after his time on Duty.

However, Spring and then Summer were both disappointments for the Father and Daughter pair. Grand-Mother did what she could for them, but when Saisa did not show up the next year, or the year after that...

Things changed for Tani the most. The Child still expected her Mother every spring, but her Father began to fall slowly into depression. His normally cheery, if somewhat neurotic, out-going personality slowly changed into a pitiful shadow of what it once was. At first, his jokes and mannerisms seemed to dull. And then he began to spend more time alone, away from even his Mother and Child. It was even thought that for a spell he was drinking after his Duty instead of coming directly back to his Daughter.

Over the course of the next several years, Tanikas would grow taller, stronger, and more athletic. As it sometimes goes, Fil began to brighten and eventually met another woman. A dusky-skinned carpet-weaver who weilded a bit of low magic to aid her work. She was named Jinnada, and when Tanikas was just under ten years old, Jinnada bore a child with Fil. Tanikas had a baby Brother.

At first, Tani resented her little Brother. They called him Nimba and he took more after his Mother than his Father, with a slight build but a sharp intellect. Tani disliked him at first, but soon grew to love and protect him over the course of things.

Tani was growing into a young woman as her little brother was learning to help around the house. Once again, years passed. Grand-Mother passed away, and Tani's Father began to give consideration to what Tani might do for herself. She had been practicing with a small wooden sword, which looked ridiculously comical in her hands. She wasn't particularly good with the carved wooden blade, but it felt right to her.

Tani's Father attempted to draw her away from her path, but she wanted to play swords and shields with the boys not make flower necklaces and braid her hair with the girls. As her little Brother got older, she began to treat him more as an equal. They would often go out on their own little adventures in the city, the bigger and older sibling making sure her younger counterpart never met any real danger.

Again, the years passed. Tani grew older, taller, wider, stronger. Her Brother grew in his own ways, and beginning to explore the path of magic. Her Father began to grow older and fatter, though more cheerful. His new wife loved him, and he loved her. Tani liked the woman, but she was not her mother and the both of them recognized this and gave each other plenty of breathing room. Tani didn't bother Jinnada, and Jinnada did not bother trying to pretend she could control the young woman, who was growing to be larger and stronger than the mother figure despite being the youth being more than ten years her junior.

As she got into her teens, she began to realize that her size and strength provide her a significant advantage over the other young women around her. Certainly, there were other girls near her size and strength, but they were far and few between and most were too preoccupied with being like the other girls to care about things Tani cared about. She didn't care about dolls or princes or unicorns and fairy-tales. She was preoccupied with helping to raise her brother while her parents worked, and while doing her own training to one day become an adventurer like the ones she's seen. So many brave deeds, and the things they do for the city are wonderful, she couldn't help but look up to them. In the young woman's mind, they were the saviors of Vintermor. It was only a matter of time until she could go out and have her own adventures and help save people from the terrible things that prey on men and women.

With her new resolve to become an adventurer, she trained harder and longer. She would often come home blooded and bruised, tired and sweat-through.

Sometimes, there are things that happen that completely change a person. An event that rocks them so badly it changes them ever so much. Cracks appear in their smooth veneer, and sometimes those cracks run deeper than the surface, down to their core. The young woman's life, aside from the normal day-to-day worries of a normal person, was relatively unblemished. Nothing spectacular or grand. Simply the normal life of a young woman who was a little more-than-average.

Until her Father and Brother were killed. Then her Father's Wife, amidst her grief, ran off to parts unknown. Little was known about the murder, except that it appeared to be entirely random. The details were gruesome, and remain mostly unknown to the young woman who has grown into something of a killer herself.

The Guardsman who broke the news to her did not share the grisly details with her. He was stabbed repeatedly, with what appears to be some kind of wide dagger or perhaps a short sword. The killer was able to get away with all of his coin on hand, as well as all of his valuables save for a glass bead.

Left alone in the world, she ran away from Vintermor. There was nothing there for her any longer. She ran and ran, seeking someone like her. Someone who desired justice and yes, even revenge. Someone else who stood up for themselves and those who needed standing up for, someone like herself who wanted to find the people who commit crimes against innocent people and destroy them.

For more than a year she wandered, riding when she could but mostly walking. Without any armor to protect her, spells to assist her, and only a dagger to defend herself she did what she could at small roadside villages. Small-time labor and troubleshooting was not what she sought. It merely the means to an end so that she could continue to move.

Eventually, she found herself in Mastana. Here she found Women like herself. Powerful, deadly, and justifiable in their actions. She fit in here, but she did not belong here. Still, she longed to be back in Vintermor; To find her Father's murderer and bring him swift and deadly justice.

While working as a barmaid in a small roadside Tavern in Mastana brought her money, and the men were a long-shot more respectful, but it left her little time to practice with her dagger and her wooden sword. She still hadn't even had the money to buy a real sword, how sad is that? Still, whenever she wasn't watching the Tavern she was swinging her sword and doing her drills. She was determined, if more than a bit misguided. She had no formal training for one.

Her lack of training wouldn't last for long. One evening, while waiting tables a man from Bereza was out-of-hand drunk and determined to make her evening terrible. He would call out to her, with rude and obnoxious names. She was not the prettiest girl out of the Tavern's wenches, but she sure was the strongest out of all of them. He called her an ogre and man other insults, groping her when she passed, and even 'accidentally' spilled an ale on her best breaches.

Unknown to her, sometime during that evening several members of a local mercenary company called the Tigers arrived. Included among the warrior women was Nundrahanna, the leader of the local Tiger company. Along with Nundrahanna came a handful of her loyal compatriots, ready for something warm to eat and a drink to relax with.

Tani waited upon them quietly, her rage seething just below the surface. Her anger was not at them, but she was finding it hard to be polite to the other guests in the Tavern with the Berezan man there to cross her at every step. The Tigers could see that she was being put under great stress, but none dared reach out to help. They believe in helping those who need it, but they also believe in letting those who can fight their own fights do so. So they waited.

Finally, at the end of the night after most of the guests had retired to their respective rooms, Tani got to cleaning up the floor of the tavern and wiping down tables before she, too, found her bed. However, the man from Bereza managed to slip back in while she was in the back. When she arrived in the main room again, he was standing there. This time, however, he held a dagger with the intent to rob her of her hard-earned nightly wages.

Tani told the man in no uncertain terms that he would not be having her coin, under any circumstances. He would have to pry it out of her cold, dead hands. He indicated that he didn't have a problem with that.

He leaped at her, and she ducked away. He came at her again, and this time she cracked a glass mug across his chin. Obviously, this was no normal drunk ruffian. With the kind of strength she had behind that blow, any normal man should have crumpled. Spitting blood on the floor he came at her again, and grabbed her.

Demanding her coin, she again refused. That was when she felt the crack on her skull, and then darkness.

Grabbing up her small pouch of copper coins, the Berezan made for the door. He made it that far, but not much farther. The loud clang of metal on bone and cartilage crunching, the thud of a man's body hitting the stairs outside the Tavern, and then light tinkle of copper coins on stonework. Those were the sounds of justice that night.

Nundrahanna's comrades scooped up Tani and carried her off to their small outpost in the village. They owned and operated a small farm, which housed and fed a dozen women from various walks of life. All of them were accomplished warriors, and none of them allowed an injustice to be brought upon another if they could stop it.

When she awoke, she was laying on a bedroll with a lukewarm wet cloth across her forehead. Sitting up onto one elbow, she peered through the darkness and determined that she was in some kind of barn. The familiar smell of animals hit her nostrils, and she sat up more fully. Her head ached badly, and it appears she had been out for some time, judging by the sunlight coming in through the windows and the tiny cracks in the walls and ceiling.

Finally, she brought her feet down to the floor. Still feeling slightly dizzy, she attempted to stand and immediately found her legs were unstable still. She sat back down quickly, causing her bed to puff dust in a cloud. That was when a woman's voice greeted her quietly, and then the woman came into view. She was dressed plainly, but her build indicated that much like Tani this woman was not a waif. She was tall and broad-shouldered, and her arms and legs were powerful. She introduced herself.

Her name was Keena. She explained that her comrades found her passed out in the Tavern, and that they stopped her attacker. She checked her belt, and found that her coin-purse had been returned sometime during her unconsciousness.

Tani had many questions for her rescuer, many of which Keena could not answer for her. She said those questions would be best left for their leader, Nundrahanna. She did tell her that they were the Tigers, a local branch of a wide-spread movement. Women warriors who fight for coin, but not to the highest bidder. They fight for the most righteous cause, and charge a great sum for their troubles. They specialize in pole-arms of various sorts, mostly the halberd. Tani had never used a halberd before, she said. Keena smiled and nodded, but declined to comment. She simply brought Tani a cold breakfast of hard-boiled eggs and boiled oats with a bit of honey and hand-churned butter. It was delicious compared to the usual slop she had become used to.

When she finally found her way outside of the barn, the lands around her were green and well-kept. There were women everywhere, of all different shapes and sizes. All of them armed, either with a halberd or with something smaller. There were sounds of weapons and the shouts of drill-masters leading trainees. A large wood-and-stone structure caught her eye, which must be the main house. At three floors, it was no simple farmhouse, though there were smaller houses behind it that were obviously meant for those who tend to the fields nearby.

She had found them. Those who felt the same as she did.

After exploring the grounds, she found herself in the House. It was well-built and maintained. Did they do all of this work themselves? It did not take her long to find the main hall of the house, where several members were relaxing. As soon as one caught noticed her, the young Tiger stood from her seat. She pointed toward the exit, and let Tani know that she was not allowed here. This place is for Tigers, and that she should wait in the front room. Nundrahanna would be with her shortly, she was assured. Surely, this Nundrahanna must be important. What could she want with someone like me? I am but a simple woman. I have no special skills, and no family to speak of anymore. What could I offer to these mercenaries that Nundrahanna could use? Surely she is going to tell me I simply owe them money for helping me and point me in the direction of town again. That was not how things went. It was not but a moment after she stepped back into the front room that Nundrahanna arrived. Tani immediately recognized the woman from the night before. She had been watching me, hadn't she? She guessed. Nundrahanna was dressed well, her shoulder-length hair pulled back into a tight pony's tail. She was armed simply, with only a short sword at her hip. However, the thought struck Tani that perhaps this woman did not need a weapon. Certainly not in the presence of such as Tani. She had only limited training with a wooden sword.

The mercenary leader explained to her what had happened. They had known the man would attack her sooner or later. His type always did, it seems. They waited after leaving, waiting in the shadows outside the Tavern for the man to return. They were going to come inside to help when he ran for the door. It was actually Keena who had made the fateful blow to the man's face, with the flat of her halberd blade. He was down instantly, and probably never knew what hit him. They tied him up and delivered him to the Sheriff. Justice was served. Tani stayed with the Tigers for several more days, and days turned into a week or more. Finally, she decided to approach Nundrahanna and aks her to join the Tigers. They had principles and were not afraid to fight and die for them. They fought for money, but not just for money. She could be one of them, if she wanted to be. She could fight, and she was tough, right? Nundrahanna laughed at her. What made her think she could be a Tiger? How hard did she think she was? If she wanted to try herself, Nundrahanna would let her. However, she would be bound to service for two years if she were to join, and she would have to undergo rigorous training and a process of initiation. After that, she would get get her Mark. Tani more than agreed! She would get her shot to be something. Finally!

It started tough, and only got tougher. The next morning she was awoken before the sun, and pulled out into the parade grounds. Along with half a dozen other young women, she was marched and exercised for what seemed to have been days. She was sleep deprived, had never marched this much in her young life, and desperately needed a good cup of tea. No tea was forth-coming but by the end of the week she was beginning to enjoy working so hard. Two weeks later she was happy to lug a pack full of worthless gear miles just because she was told to. Four weeks later, even more fit than she already was, they began weapons training. She was given a long staff and was told it would be her Halberd for the extent of training. Of course it didn't have a blade, but it was a start. She also received training in armor of many kinds, as she would be able to choose her own later. They trained her in blades and all manner of weapons. The most important training was not in weapons; It was the training they gave her in dealing with people, and with infiltration. They taught her the ability to disguise oneself in order to infiltrate your enemy and strike from within. The ability to hide, the ability to tell a lie and to detect one. These are important skills for what is essentially aguerrilla force. To strike from hiding and retreat before your enemies could strike back. Even more important was the work you could do without ever raising a weapon. To affect the common people of an area, to encourage their uprising and eventual over-throw of those who no longer deserved to rule. All of these things would be her domain.

Many harsh months of training later, she received her Tiger's Mark as well as her first assignment. Her first of many to come, presuming she survived to continue the good fight. Rebels in a far off land needed re-reinforcements, and many of their people were untrained in combat. She was to be part of a relief force to help train the natives, as well as help fend off any invading forces while the rebels built their infrastructure. It was a mission that would last more than a year, before she was redeployed to another location. This time, she would be gathering information for an impending action by a local rebellion. She was to take no overt action, simply live in the area and record any information she came across. It was simple mission, though one that hurt her terribly toward the end. As local rebels were smashed under the heel of the local rulers, she was forced to stand by and take no action. They were her orders, as much as she hated them. That was the only time she resented her service with the Tigers, but soon came to terms with it. She must survive in order to help others.

When she was finally recalled back to the farm, she undertook the task of assisting the various trainers in their endeavors for the remainder of her tenure at the Farm. She helped primarily with the trainers involved in disguise, gathering information, and other social skills. She was a fair combatant, but her true skills lie in her ability to remain undetected in enemy territory even though you aren't actually hiding. It was the primary reason she succeeded in her missions, because she was able to use the skills given to her by her gypsy mother in order to make herself appear harmless and ordinary.

She ended up serving with the Tigers for another whole year on the farm, until the spring of her twenty-fourth birthday. It was time to travel back to Vintermor, and bring her talents and skills to bear on her true goals; finding and destroying that which threatens her home and the people whom make their lives there. She will arrive quietly, draw no attention to herself. She is simply another adventurer looking for her share of the profits. However, she will continue her training so that one day she can strike out at the evils in and around her home and make it a safer place for all to live.

Since coming to Vintermor
Since arriving back in Vintermor...