Taleda the Veiled

Taleda "Tully" the Veiled, formerly of the House Lebeda in Brevoy

Race:  Human
Age:  22

Homeland:  Born to the noble house Lebeda of Brevoy, moved to a temple of Pharasma after exhibiting signs of “Wasting”.  After destruction of temple and attempted assassination, made way south to the newly founded kingdom of Andimere.

Deity & Alignment:  Lawful Good; formerly a devotee of Abadar, presently concerned that she has been cursed by Pharasma for some unknown transgression.

Personality:  

Polite, agreeable, empathetic, and loyal to a fault.  She desperately wants to be accepted by her peers, and is averse to confrontation—she will back down rather than press her point, even if she believes herself to be in the right.

Ashamed by her grotesque appearance, she covers herself from head to toe with fresh bandages every morning, and then wraps herself in layers of delicate fabrics decorated with beautiful geometric and floral patterns.  When she isn’t practicing with her sword, she spends much of her free time painting and dying new fabrics.

Tully adores the council of Andimere and idolizes its members.  She is easily flustered and starstruck when interacting with them. Additionally, having spent the last few years begging in the streets or trying to blend in with common soldiers, she is overjoyed to once again be in the presence of “nobility,” and has a tendency to be overly formal.

Personal History:

Taleda is born to the noble Lebeda family of Brevoy.  As the first and only child of Walder and Jolana Lebeda, she is raised as the heir to the household, even though this privilege is traditionally reserved for sons.  Taleda is adored by her father, but her mother—deeply traditional and ambitious—feels that she has failed in her duty as wife to provide her house with a male heir, and resents her daughter for it.  She is tutored in courtly acumen and swordsmanship by Sir Reynauld the Gold, a lion knight sworn in service to her father.  She and Reynauld develop a very close bond, and he affectionately calls her Tully.

On her 13th birthday, Tully suddenly begins to show signs of an unknown illness.  Her flesh begins to rot and her strength falters.  Neither traditional medicines nor magic have any effect on her.  Distraught, her father sends her to a temple of Pharasma, hoping that the attention of the clerics there will be able to reverse the illness.  Her location is kept secret from all outsiders, and the severity of her illness downplayed as much as possible, though rumors abound.

Knowing that he would be unable to continue her training, Sir Reynauld enlists the help of an acquaintence, Lady Zeva the Crimson Asp.  Zeva is a cockatrice knight and skilled duelist who, in exchange for a hefty fee, refocuses Tully’s combat training to a more nimble style better suited to her weakened state.  Zeva is boisterous and egotistical and unsympathetic to Tully’s plight.  She is a mocking and difficult tutor, though Tully excels at her studies regardless.

Despite their best efforts, the clerics of Pharasma are unable to cure Taleda’s affliction and a blind oracle named Sybilla takes a special interest in her.  Initially, she treats Tully as though she is a latent oracle herself, and guides her in spiritual rituals and incantations meant to draw out the powers of her mystery.  However, as years pass with no change in her disease nor any signs of spiritual awakening, Sybilla begins to believe that Tully is burdened with a dark and powerful curse.  She treats her as though she is a lost cause, insisting that either she or her family has committed a sin so dire that she has been cursed to walk the earth as an abomination, trapped between life and death.  Taleda wants desperately not to believe this to be true, but as more and more of the clerics lose faith, her confidence begins to waiver.

One night, when Taleda is 19 years old, bandits raid the temple.  As they loot and pillage the grounds Taleda rushes out to defend the priests, but is stopped by Sir Reynauld.  She asks why he is there, and in reply he tells her that he is to teach her his final lesson:  that the knight’s oath is paramount, greater even than the needs and desires of the knight himself.  He then draws his sword and attacks her, but before he can deliver the death blow Zeva interferes.  Defying her own oath, she selflessly fends off the knight and commands Tully to flee from Brevoy and never return.

Distraught, Taleda makes her way south, disguising herself as a beggar and hiding the few valuables she was able to retrieve from her quarters.  She is regarded with disdain and disgust by most of the people she comes across and is barely able to survive on discarded food foraged from damp and dusty alleys.  When she hears of the newly created realm of Andimere, she decides to try her luck there.  While in Stagfall, she is present to hear the debate between [that bigot fellow] and Symvulous, and is immediately enamored by the openness of the city leaders and its compassion for the disenfranchised.  The people there are more welcoming to her than in any other city she has visited, and when new threats emerge to challenge the nation’s sovereignty, she resolves to join the city’s army to defend the vision it stands for.