#Stern Commander;Tanith

[caraidean]

Commissioned from fairyarmour on twitter!

[companaich]

Intelligent Systems gave me nothing to work with, so this is My City now. Also reminder that Intsys says that Tanith is in her 20s but that is stupid and they are Cowards, so mine is in her mid 30s by the time Path of Radiance happens.

Tanith Culbert was the third born child and eldest daughter of the Count of Culbert and his wife. She spent her childhood years mostly apart from her parents, spending more time with her two older brothers and eventually her younger sister, Annath.

As a child and through her early teens, Tanith was far closer in personality to Marcia than she would later care to admit. She was dedicated and stubborn, yes, but had her airheaded moments of forgetfulness and frequently lacked focus on specific things.

Of her two elder brothers, Tanith was closer to the middle child of the family, Salim. While Kothar, the eldest, would vanish for almost weeks at a time to learn more about Culbert and how to run it from his parents, Salim would train with the local militia and pass on what he learned in snippets to his younger sister. As the martial skills were seen as unbecoming of a lady without designs to join the military. At her younger age, Tanith would often declare that she had no plans for the future, and would simply enjoy trying a 'little bit of everything'. Kothar's attempts to bond with her usually resulted in her growing frustrated with the logistical problems he gave her, although the pastry bribes he offered as a reward normally made her push through them.

When her younger sister was born Tanith was already twelve years old, and spent little time with her - although she still grew attached despite the distance. As the years went by, her desire to do a 'little bit of everything' concentrated on the intensely practical, with her eye already shifting to either the military or perhaps some kind of charity work. She did attempt to learn how to become a healer, but found her then-flighty concentration was a poor mix with the abilities required to heal efficiently.

The majority of her interactions with her father and mother consisted of them attempting to arrange their most valuable daughter into assorted marriages, with the most persistent courtship she had to suffer being that of Baron Elgin, a minor noble who had designs to put his son Valtome on the Culbert seat one way or another.

Tanith hated Valtome. She hated him almost from the moment she first saw him, and as the arrangement became closer and closer she found herself with very few options to escape it. She could either join the clergy, or the military - after all, members of the Holy Guard in partiucular were considered in a very specific level of society, and could hardly marry a Baron's son when their focus had to be on protecting the Apostle. Kothar helped her come to this conclusion and then used his burgeoning diplomatic skills to spin it for her parents, presenting it as a secret dream she had always had - and finally providing an adequate excuse for all the times she slipped away to train with Salim. Packing her bags, Tanith set off for the capital, unaware of the damage her decision would bring.

Arriving at the capital, Tanith befriended a fellow recruit from another distant noble family in the form of Sigrun. She started to buckle under the weight of the intense training program at first, until Sigrun encouraged her to stick with it instead of quitting at the end of the first week as she had intended. With newfound dedication and a slowly growing love for the profession and the skies in particular, Tanith hurled herself into the program and rapidly became the second highest ranked student of her year.

She was, constantly, always behind Sigrun, something that she could never quite escape from.

When Tanith turned eighteen and was about to complete her training, tragedy struck at home. What appeared to be a deadly string of disease struck her family home, leading to the deaths of her parents and her elder brothers. Her younger sister was barely clinging on to life and ruled Culbert now, and likely wouldn't survive past the week. As she returned home for the funerals, Tanith discovered to her horror that Valtome had ascended through the ranks enough to be the heir to Culbert instead. She was presented with a choice: either leave the Holy Guard and rule Culbert, or remain there and hand it over to him when her sister perished.

Tanith had the longest conversation she'd ever had with her sister that night. Annath eventually convinced Tanith not to abandon what had quickly become her main passion in life, and she reluctantly turned her back on her home province. Ever since, as she watched how Valtome treated her people and how he acted among the Senate, she'd always wondered if that plague which had killed her family and so many of their servants hadn't in fact been something far more insidious.

Tanith returned to the ranks a changed woman, growing harsher and more stern. Completing her training and being an active member of the Guard accelerated that, and while she could never pass Sigrun (who she had now been in a romantic relationship with for several years) in terms of ability or respect, she was still earmarked as a prodigy in her own right. Eventually, Sigrun was promoted to Commander, and Tanith to Deputy Commander - a year before Sanaki was forced to become the new Apostle and Empress at such a young age.

The promotions, however, also turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for Tanith and Sigrun's romantic relationship. With her newfound professionalism and drive being her main focuses in life, Tanith couldn't bring herself to break the command structure in such a way as dating her superior - the two of them having always been the same rank before. They called the relation off, amiably, and continued to be friends instead.

As Path of Radiance picks up, Tanith has been serving Sanaki for almost all of her life. While Sigrun outranks her, the fact that Tanith needs to deal with less of the minutae of running the Holy Guard means that she spends far more time than her as the Apostle's immediate bodyguard, being around her almost as much as her actual guardian in Sephiran. Her connection with Sanaki grows to be the most important she had outside of Sigrun since her family's death, and she is slowly starting to open up to other people again as well.

Quasi Related: She sees far too much of her younger self in Marcia, which absolutely terrifies her at times. Her own memory of her relationship with her siblings is also why she is so (comparatively) easy on her after learning the reasons why Marcia resigned before Path of Radiance began, as well.

[caraidean]

Starter for @poregida

It felt good to be back in Begnion again. 

True, she'd made more friends amongst the mercenaries than she had perhaps anticipated - and maybe her farewell to Marcia had been a little more emotional than expected as well. Still, she supposed Elincia couldn't hope for a better bodyguard in the days moving forwards. 

Goddess knew that Tanith was still critical of the Queen's ability to fly. She'd done what she could with a few months training but, well, even her talents could go so far. She knew she was strict, and she knew it was often seen as excessive, but it always got results - but there were limits to how fast she could train someone up, even with the kind of routine that Tanith asked for. A routine that she certainly wasn't expecting to see on her flight back, landing casually in the side of the courtyard with raised eyebrows and an uncharacteristic smile on her face. 

Genuine happiness mixed with the ability to strike fear into the hearts of the ten Holy Guard hopefuls staring at her with trepidation. Oh, look at them - she was fairly certain these were the ones who'd joined after she left. It looked like her reputation was preceding her. 

"Are you getting them used to how I do things, Sigrun?" Tanith asked, a brief moment to wonder why she wouldn't turn around as she walked towards them. When Sigrun did turn Tanith paused, caught off guard by the glare she was suddenly fixed with before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in through her nose. 

"...this is going to be about the letter Zelgius delivered, isn't it. Or what it was about, I suppose." She said, flatly. A glare and a grumbled 'dismissed' sent the trainees scurrying and left the two of them alone, Tanith staring Sigrun coolly in the face before deciding she had to say something.

"Well, you were the one who told me to focus on something other than my career when we broke up." She snapped. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”

[caraidean]

Plots Call - February

It’s time for the obligatory monthly “these are thread ideas I have for these characters, who’s interested” post

Cynthia

During FE13 / Platonic / Humor

Shortly after recruitment, Cynthia grows fed up with being teased over the Ruger incident, despite the man’s actual talent with disguises. She drags her comrades shopping, determined to prove that even she could pass for her father with a thorough enough costume. 

Mia

Between FE9 and FE10 / Platonic / Misc.

Mia adjusts to life with the Greil Mercenaries, reflecting on how strange it is to finally be settling down with a group. 

Early FE9 / Platonic / Serious Convos

Shortly after arriving in Begnion, Mia slips away to visit her parents for a few days. On returning she ends up being questioned about her disappearance, and eventually relents before opening up about her childhood.

Tanith

Immortal AU / Platonic / Angst

Shortly after the truth of what Sephiran did to her becomes clear, Tanith leaves Begnion for a short while - seeking refuge in another nation, refusing to speak to her ‘former’ husband over her anger at her transformation. Whoever granted her asylum tries to talk her around to being less actively angry at him over it. 

Modern / Platonic / Angst  

Forced to retire from the special forces following a horrific helicopter crash, Tanith tries to adjust to her new life - teaching gym at a prestigious boarding school, currently attended by the two underage heirs to the country in Micaiah and Sanaki. Frustrated with her turn in life and starting to deal with a painkiller dependency, she turns to a local community group in an attempt to start socializing again and find something else to do with her life.

Tana

Post FE8 [Ephraim Route] / Platonic (Tana/Eph Mention) / Angst

With her due to be wed to Ephraim in a few weeks, Tana takes to the streets of Renais to attempt to get to know her future citizens better. She returns to the castle slightly haunted by the suffering she saw, throwing herself into plans for charity work at the expense of sleep.

Igrene

Heroes / Family / Angst

Igrene, having seen many families that were once broken by violence reunite but with no sign of her own child or Gorlois, retires to the keep’s bar and bitterly vents with whoever proves sympathetic enough to listen. 

Ced

Late FE4 / Platonic / Serious Convos - Taken by @irewindrising​

Recuperating from his fight with Ishtar, Ced tries to leave the medical tent before fully healed. Whoever confronts him goes out of their way to make sure he stays, even as he tries to convince them to let him fight.

Ishtar

Near-End of FE4 / Platonic / Angst - Taken by @irewindrising

Ishtar’s attempt at a peaceful surrender goes south following her attempts to strike out at Shannan for Ishtore’s death, resulting in her imprisonment. One of the soldiers is taking her food, and discovers how broken she is at the time. 

Swanhild

Heroes / ??? / Humor - Taken by @gaileon​

Unused to being in the shadows of people who aren’t her parents or their friends, Swanhild feels the pressure of her much less significant contributions to history compared to the other Heroes present. She decides to challenge herself to a gauntlet, setting out to defeat the heroes in whatever their main talent is - tactics, swordsmanship, even magic if it comes to it. 

She’s in over her head.

[caraidean]

Y O U N G T A N I T H 

[caraidean]

👶 can you imagine tanith

Send ‘👶’ for a glimpse of my muses parenting.

Tanith stopped what she was saying, confusion flickering over the faces of the pegasus trainees she was berating a moment ago as she dug into her pockets instead. Fingers clasped around her watch and she glanced at the screen before cursing, softly, and putting it away. 

“Dismissed. I’ll deal with you tomorrow.” She said, a glare making sure she’d hear no argument - and that she wasn’t likely to forget this either, so there was no point hoping. Deflated, the trainees slinked away, as Tanith turned and tried to walk as quickly as possible towards the Prime Minister’s tower without looking like she was hurrying. 

It’s ten to seven. You read to Annath at seven. You always read to Annath at seven, no sooner and no later, and maybe it won’t matter if you’re five minutes late, but then being late five minutes for a good reason means you’ll be late five minutes for a bad reason, and then you start being ten minutes late, then half an hour, and all of a sudden you don’t get inside until eleven at night and you don’t see your daughter all day...

Tanith knew she was strict - gods knew she had been with Sanaki, and all the trainees that she knew looked up to her as, if not a mother, a very angry and authoritarian aunt perhaps. But she’d never actually had a daughter figure start as a baby, and the idea that she could screw this up scared her more than anything. So she set herself rules. 

Never miss Seven. You can miss meals, you can miss when she wakes up screaming late at night - foisting that problem off on Sephiran was more satisfying than anything else, really - and you could leave her with the nursemaid because you’re almost married to the job as well as your husband, but never miss seven. 

Even if, Tanith thought to herself with a grimace as she stepped into the nursery and picked up the picture book, the only damned thing Annath seemed to like listening to was the children’s version of Ike’s story that Reyson had gotten them as a joke. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could take having to imitate the voices, never mind how nobody would let her live it down should it get out. 

“Dismissed.” She said to the nursemaid, sharply, who outright fled the room. Tanith sat awkwardly next to Annath’s cot and stared down at her daughter, thumbing the alarm on her watch off just as it started to ring. The toddler gurgled and tilted the stuffed pegasus in its arms, mouth gumming at an year as Tanith sighed a little. 

“Fine. Let’s start.” She shifted so that the girl could see the pictures, not a hard task considering she had the lines memorized anyway at this point, and started to read...

[caraidean]

“You picked a fine time to start being appreciative, Reyson.”

[caraidean]

New Years Kiss Mini-Drabble Dump

Mia & Ike (@radiantxhero)

“One, two-” Mia stepped backwards, barely dodging one of Ike’s swings. She managed to slip past his guard, Ike’s blade shoving hers away as he expected a strike - instead of her lips crashing against his for a brief moment, her knife slipping up and bumping against his ribs.

“Happy new year! Also, I win. Round two?”

Tanith & Sephiran (@of-invisible-ties) -- Immortal AU

“I’m surprised we’re all still alive.” 

It was their curse, she supposed - immortal, to the end of everything else. She’d lost so much...but they still had each other. Even with everyone else buried. 

“I’m glad I still have you.” She confessed, pressing her lips to Sephiran’s in the quiet of the courtyard. “For a hundred years...and for a hundred years or longer more since now.”

Titania & Walter (@bloodthirstymoonstone)

“Bold bringing me to this so soon, hm?”

Titania’s eyes sparkled with rare mischief as she wrapped her arms around Walter’s waist, dipping the slighter man as she pressed her lips to his and pulled away after a long minute. 

“Happy new year, Walter. Good luck handling me, hm?”

Finn & Lachesis

“Lachesis...”

Finn sighed, staring at the picture of his wife. He pressed his lips to it briefly before turning back to the celebrating young children, smiling wanly at Eyvel as he stepped away and muttered under his breath.

“Happy new year.”

Nanna & Leif (@sireneia)

“And you set this up for me?” 

Nanna laughed at the lights in the sky, turning and pressing her lips to his in excitement. “You didn’t have to do this. Really. You spoil me...”

Ced & Tine ( @sireneia)

“I’m glad you agreed to this.” Ced said quietly, laying back in bed and pressing a kiss to the top of Tine’s head. He’d never enjoyed crowds - and getting to retire peacefully away instead of having to mingle with the others in Silesse’s crowded halls, retiring away with her in quiet was much better.

“I love you. Truly.”

Ishtar & Seliph ( @f-ortuity)

“Stand up quickly. Turn to them.”

Ishtar was giving him panicked, hissed instructions on how to act out the ceremony - mortified that nobody else had told the Emperor. Thankfully she had been through this at least three times before, and could walk him through it without blinking. 

“Wave. Smile. Turn away and-”

Ishtar’s voice stopped as she felt his lips on hers, freezing up before melting slowly into his arms and sighing. 

“That was...not part of it.”

Cynthia & Robin ( @fiat-ignem)

“Wow, I still can’t believe we got away to be alone.” Cynthia laughed, arms flung around Robin’s shoulders. She beamed, staring down at him with soft eyes before tugging him into a long, gentle kiss. 

She hated keeping their relationship secret. But moments like this...they were so sweet, either way.

“Happy new year, Robin. Being with you...it makes me feel special.”

Tana & Ephraim (@flamelance)

“We’re getting better now, aren’t we?” Tana pressed her lips to Ephraim’s once, and then two more times in rapid succession. She finally pulled away, beaming as she gestured out over Renais from the balcony at the gathered commoners. 

“They’re happy. Everyone’s happy, and safe. We’re doing better, right?”

Adult!Sanaki & Azel (@azelfire)

“Tradition is important.” Sanaki shrugged, an arm wrapped around her best friends’ shoulder. She knew the man was a hopeless romantic, even if she couldn’t return the same feelings. She pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth, the brief display affection enough for her as she stepped away.

“Happy new year, Azel. It’s strange to say, but...I feel like we can really start to make a difference this time. Don’t you?”

Clair & Alm (nobody i cry ;_;)

“Ah ah ah. Like I taught you.” Clair chided him. Alm let out a small groan, rolling his eyes before getting down on one knee and taking her hand in his, brushing his lips against her knuckles. 

Clair gave a soft smile, kneeling down to his level as well to press her lips to the surprised man and lightly laughing when she pulled away. 

“There. Happy new year, Alm.”

Mist & Jill (nobody i cry ;_;)

“It’s always so lovely out here.” Mist sighed, wrapping her arms around Jill’s waist. The two of them stood there in a quiet embrace, the quiet of the empty Retreat making them feel so alone.

“Happy new year.” Mist muttered, pressing her lips to her lover’s. Her brother might be gone, along with so many others...but they had each other, and perhaps that would be enough.

Catria & Marth

“I don’t deserve you.” Catria said quietly, ignoring the raucous of the Askran crowds as she pressed her lips to Marth’s quietly. Seeing herself, so many versions of herself...she was so glad that she could be happy in at least one. 

“I love you. I’m glad I could work up the courage to tell you.”

[caraidean]

This is a starter call for Tanith, Tanith’s Daughter and Tanith’s OC Daughter

[caraidean]

Hair Headcanons

I missed assorted talk about hair this morning, so have this last-minute thing far too late. 

For the currently active roster. 

Tanith’s hair is actually incredibly smooth, kept well-maintained out of a strict sense of duty and somehow unharmed by the constant exposure to wind and sun that being a pegasus knight brings. It is, however, slightly dull instead of shining. 

Mia’s hair is incredibly straight as it gets long, but becomes unruly when short - resulting in her needing a headband to keep her bangs under control, but not so much for the rest of it. It’s also surprisingly resistant to split ends and the like. 

Ishtar’s hair is almost perfect, being easy to style and always looking healthy. There’s a surprising amount of volume to it, resulting in caring for it or styling it taking an impressive amount of time. 

Ced’s hair is more like his mothers than his fathers’, being far easier to control and much straighter. However, the actual shade of it is closer to Lewyn’s, and it has the same dull appearance as well. 

Nanna’s hair is bright and almost silky, and would be incredibly beautiful if she ever grew it out. However, she finds it gets in the way too much, keeping it in a range from her chin to her shoulders instead. 

Swanhild inherited her father’s hair color but her mother’s traits, resulting in silky and voluminous hair that she keeps deliberately thinned down and cut relatively short to avoid issues in combat or training - as well as to keep her visual similarity to her father first and foremost. 

Igrene’s hair is coarse and dull, damaged from a lifetime outside in the desert with a hair colour that isn’t necessarily conducive to such an area. As a result it becomes dry and brittle, with many split ends - and she’s long given up taking care of it beyond combing each morning and night, mostly out of habit to remove sand that may have gotten caught during her travels. 

Cynthia’s hair is naturally curly and unruly - resulting in her needing either pigtails or a short haircut to keep it under control without a massive amount of work each morning. It seems to keep a healthy shine no matter the rest of her physical state. 

[caraidean]

@galdrgraced agreed to an Immortal Au Starter

"I don't want any visitors."

Tanith's voice was old, tired - and just empty. Empty like this entire damned house, save for a maid she kept on hire just to keep the rooms she never used free of dust and provide her with something like human contact. 

Who even was it at the door? Her daughter never bothered to knock. Her son did, certainly, but Nigel rarely came around without a letter beforehand, and even if it was him she wasn't sure she had the energy to speak with him right now. And everyone else who she knew was either long dead or long estranged, a hundred years past at this point. The ageless commander rubbed her eyes as she opened the door, pausing in shock before letting out a deep, heartfelt groan that perhaps was a little happier than it would have suggested. 

Alright. So perhaps not everyone she knew was gone yet.

"Oh, great. It's you."

[caraidean]

🎵 Tanith or Catria

Music Meme || Open

Tanith

I'm trapped in darknessStill I reach out for the starsI'm moving in silenceI leave it all far behindOh at dawnI'll face the edge of thorns

Tanith’s rage towards the senate and a select few others during Radiant Dawn is damn near overwhelming - and it mixes with her fear, leaving her concerned for the fate of the world and of course her charge/daughter figure, Sanaki. 

There’s also the, well, Sephiran implications to take into account if we’re going with blog canon. Then these lines get particularly reminiscent: 

In the silenceIt's time to explain(And)Search for truth in liesUseful liesNeedless love's damned

Catria

This choice is cheating because it’s hard to really explain why it works so well without making people play Planescape Torment first - the Deionarra storyline just. Fits the Catria archetype as a dark mirror so well - it’s hard to separate them in my mind. Deionarra’s overwhelming loyalty to the person she loved, to her own detriment, strikes home a lot in particular, and the haunting tones of the theme reflect on how kind of empty and pointless Catria’s life is in the canon ending of the games - her sisters either fled or retired, her liege retreating, leaving her just sort of...in the army. Alone, without a purpose. 

[caraidean]

galdrgraced replied to your post: Pros & Cons of Dating Tanith

reyson vc: don’t do it she’s The Worst

“At least I’m getting some, Reyson.”

“Do you really want to keep going down this road? I will describe exactly how good Lehran is in bed if you push the subject.”

[caraidean]

(Janaff) "What's this?" @Tanith

Secret Possessions || Accepting

Sidenote: The following possession is literally 100% canon and I love the POR Artbook for this gift. 

“It’s absolutely nothing.” Tanith insisted at first, slamming the small book shut and rapidly sliding it into her saddlebags. She paused, trying to remember if Janaff was the one with the ears or the eyes, before deflating with a slight sigh. It’d be impossible to deny it either way. 

“It’s poetry.” She said after a few reluctant moments, acknowledging him with a cool gaze. “I write in my spare time. Is there a problem with that?”

[caraidean]

galdrgraced replied to your post: Tanith x No stress from Herons ever

in reyson’s defense - sephiran is worse

“Trust me...I know.”

[caraidean]

Signs that Tanith should have seen the Immortal AU coming

Reyson: I'm surprised you haven't gone grey after putting up with me for so long, if I'm such a hassle.

Tanith, deadpan: I am an ageless beauty.

Sephiran: *nervous whistling in the background*