Taren Draylyn

Taren was an Ordinator and devout worshipper of Vivec before the Red Year, working to hunt down members of the many cults and criminal organizations which made their homes in Vivec. Despite his status as an Ordinator, Taren was always extremely moderate and polite, taking an Abolitionist stance on slavery and a loosely Imperial-friendly (although not quite Pro-Imperial) viewpoint. This made him few friends before the Red Year, let alone afterwards.

History
Taren was born on a bridge leading into Vivec, the child of a skooma addict and a workless "seamstress." He was frequently abused by his father, Alam, and neglected by his mother, Volene. Because of this, he spent most of his time away from home, wandering the streets of Vivec with the local urchins. In particurlar, he formed a close bond with an adventurous Argonian orphan called Asum, who's parents had been executed for treason. The two of them often spent entire days exploring the dark underworks of the city.

The day after Taren's tenth birthday, he and Asum decided to explore the sewers of the Telvanni Canton, which they'd generally steered away from before. The reason for them staying away was simple; the urchins often amused themselves by telling (mostly fabricated) stories about the horrors which haunted the depths of the canton; Daedra tearing lost children limb from limb, mad wizards conducting sadistic experiments in secret labratories, and the last of the ash monsters, who they claimed had sought refuge in a series of caverns underneath the canton, where they secretly controlled all of House Telvanni. For years the tales had made Taren and Asum too terrified to enter the Telvanni Canton at all. However, eventually they became bored of the rest of the city, and the same reasons they'd used to stay away became the ones they used to decide to go exploring there.

However, what the two children found turned out to be far less fantastic, yet just as dangerous for them. As soon as they climbed down into the sewers, they stumbled upon a camp of rogue Telvanni, who quickly grabbed Taren. Asum, being the more recourceful and clever of the two, drew his knife and stabbed one of the thugs who'd grabbed Taren. He yelled for Taren to run, which the Dunmer gladly replied to, sprinting away from the camp and then back up to the waistworks. It was only when he was safe that it occured to him that Asum had been not returned from the sewers.

He dared not try to go back down, terrified of the rogue Telvanni, and soon realized that Asum would probably be sold into slavery on the black market, or, worse, simply killed to avoid the risk of him escaping and reporting them to the guards. Wrecked by guilt from leaving his closest friend behind, Taren found himself without purpose or motivation, eventually leaving his home all together. He found sanctuary in the Temple, where the priests took pity on him and let him stay with them, teaching him basic magic and the lore of Vivec

At first, he considered the Temple just a convenient place to sleep and get free food. However, he soon found himself engrossed in the stories and gospels of Almsivi, gaining a particurlar admiration for Vivec. Without realizing it, he began to consider himself a worshipper of the Tribunal, finding salvation and meaning in their teachings.

When he was twelve, the Ordinators began teaching him how to fight, much to the priests who'd raised him's chagrin. By the time he was sixteen, the Ordinators deemed him worthy to join them on the field, learning the duties of the city guard under them. Despite this, he felt quite different from the other Ordinators; for one thing, he was far more agreeable and friendly then most of them, even treating outlanders and nonbelievers with respect. And for another, the incident in which Asum was kidnapped gave him a distinctly anti-slavery outlook, to the point where he even let several Abolitionists escape on purpose, right under the noses of his superiors.

Years past, and he gained a minor reputation for being an efficient yet merciful Ordinator, particurlarly among the various outlanders in the city, who were always surprised to find an Ordinator asking them how they were doing, and wishing them a nice day. His faith in the Tribunal blossomed at that point in his life, and during his free time he could frequently be found either praying or debating with members of the Imperial Cult.

Of course, like any Dunmer alive in the early fourth era, tragedy eventually struck. When he was away on a mission with five other Ordinators to hunt down a cult worshipping Mehrunes Dagon, the Ministry of Truth finally fell, leading to the destruction of Vivec and eventually the Red Year. Over the years Taren had been one of the strongest deniers that Vivec was gone, but seeing his homeland destroyed, he realized the awful truth. The next few years of his life were a blur of anger and misery, spent wandering the remnants of the once proud nation, killing any monsters, bandits or Argonian invaders that stood in his path, watching as what little life Vvardenfell held withered away, or fled in terror. His depression gradually worsened as time went on, and on three seperate occasions he attempted to kill himself. He found himself unable to go through with it the first two times, but on the third occassion he stabbed himself in the stomach, not even thinking about the slow and painful nature of bleeding to death.

However, a group of scavengers stumbld upon Taren, taking him back to Ald Velothi and nursing him back to health. After recovering, Taren began to feel slightly more optimistic, happy to be among others for the first time in years. Taren took a boat from Ald Velothi to Raven Rock, rejoining his people at the new colony. He quickly replaced his old and rusted Indoril armor with a knockoff of the original Indoril, unable to afford the real thing, but obviously refusing to use the scrap metal he'd barely taken off for years. He quickly began to do oddjobs and mercenary work for the locals, doing everything from chopping firewood to clearing out smuggling operations, and taking up board in a tiny room in a local inn. After hearing of Helseth's call for mercenaries to go on a mission to Vvardenfell, he decided to face his homeland one last time.

Personality
Taren is a polite, compassionate fellow, with a strong sense of faith and a habit of clinging to the corpse of what was once idealism. Despite all the tragedy which had eaten away most of his life, he staunchly refused to let himself give up hope. However, his depression still often distracts him from his duty, keeping him from completely reaching his potential as both a warrior and a person.

Skills and Abilities
Taren is a skilled swordsman, an ability which reached it's peak because of his time spent fighting almost everyday in the wastes. As a child, he also learned basic Restoration and Mysticism, which he's continued to practice throughout the years. He also has some skill as a diplomat, as he generally took a more relaxed, moderate approach to things then those he grew up around, making him a frequent arbitrator.

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