#tahlel dwin'ddaren

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Halsin's Master: Tahlel Dwin'ddaren

An introduction to the original character I've created to fill in the gaps left in canon, based on a few pieces of information extrapolated from canon sources and outlined in my post here.

Tahlel was First Druid of the Emerald Grove for many years and led it with a wealth of social acumen at his command. A quintessential Silvanite, he worked to ensure his reputation was one of easygoing congeniality, and that that was the impression of him and his grove at the forefront of anyone's mind, rather than any of the subtler actions he may have taken to act in nature's defense.

His favored weapon was his glaive, which he used in concert with his masterful spellwork, making him a force to be reckoned with in any battle. His favored Wild Shape was that of a hawk, and he was a firm proponent of the power of flight to clear one's mind and offer new perspective. (He remained – very privately – befuddled all his days that any with the ability to do so would choose any other form.)

A dedicated gossip – although he would describe this more so as "having a successful information structure" – he had an entire network of birds that would bring him choice tidbits they had observed or heard from others of their kind, in exchange for simple favors. Whenever possible, he took pains to hold the source of his knowledge – and the full extent of it – close to his chest.

I'll be sharing more about him in the future – in fact, good luck getting me to shut up about him – but for now, I'll close with a snippet from a WIP of mine that hopefully illuminates some facets of his relationship with Halsin specifically:

“Oh, nai’ith. What a journey you’ve had.” Halsin swiped weakly at the calloused hand petting his hair, dexterously picking apart tangled strands as it moved along the line of his skull. He grumbled a protest, the sound catching slightly in his throat. “Not nai’ith - it’s Halsin.” The stroking didn’t pause, even as he heard Tahlel’s characteristic hum, and knew from long experience the far-off look that would be in his eyes as he thought. After but a moment came his response, slow and measured. “So you are, and none could argue.”  A flash of his usual sly humor lit the air around them as he tugged at one strand of Halsin’s hair, playful but gentle, undemanding. “I hope you might yet permit me the occasional indulgence. After all, you will always be a sapling to me.” Halsin felt an answering glimmer of humor warm his own chest. “You’re just saying that because you don’t like that I’m taller than you now. But was it not you yourself who taught me one ‘oughtn’t ignore nature’s bounty simply because it did not delight’?” Tahlel’s squawk echoed dully against the rocks around them, and Halsin’s shoulders shook faintly with his muffled laughter. Silvanus, how he had missed this.

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WIP Wednesday | Halsin & Tahlel

And I actually have something for it this time, how lovely. Tagged by @flamemittens and @nerdferatum (pay no mind to how long or short ago that may have been).

This is a snippet of a larger piece I am working on, set pre-canon and revolving around Halsin, his master Tahlel (the previous First Druid of the Emerald Grove), and their time in what became the Shadowcursed lands.

Halsin started abruptly as a shadow passed across his sliding-shut eyes, the motion tearing at a sluggishly-bleeding gash along his forearm, a lingering reminder from a recent engagement. A low tsk melding into apologetic hum came from the shadow, and he relaxed slightly, his muscles loosening from their aching clench as he blinked open his heavy eyes. 

A gentle hand rested upon his hair for a moment, tugging lightly on a braid as it drew away. “Apologies, nai’ith. The Harpers inside reported that none had seen you in some hours, and I began to worry.”

Halsin swatted half-heartedly at the departing hand, the response long-since worn into sullen tradition leaping to his tongue without thought. “Not a sapling anymore, na'el.”

Tahlel’s warm laughter seemed for a moment to light the dimness around them. “And yet, not yet sprouted enough to avoid a trap when you spot it, ah?” His tone remained light, but his hawkish eyes flickered pointedly to Halsin’s untreated wound, as one elegant brow crept up to drive his point home. 

Halsin groaned, dropping his head back with a dull thump against the tree companionably supporting him. “You worry too much; it’s nothing. It’ll heal soon, and my energy is better saved for those who need it more.”

Tahlel’s expression didn’t change as he settled himself down against the tree beside Halsin, the plentiful fabric of his robes spreading out around him, more like water than cloth. He chose a position that allowed him to keep watch to Halsin’s left, and the unremarked-upon gesture made something twist in Halsin’s chest. Although the damage left by the she-bear had long-since healed, the injury was prone to flaring up now and again, and the ache radiated down into his eye until he could afford to allow it a rest.

With a soft sigh, he let his left eye slide closed, and trusted his voice to convey his disgruntlement to his master. “I know what you’re about to say, and I object — this means absolutely nothing.”

The wind rustled the leaves – a muddy orange now, poised to fall and awaiting their rest – above them, and Tahlel’s voice carried upon it, neutral to an untrained ear but brimming with hidden humor and self-satisfaction to Halsin’s. “Such an interesting word, nothing. To live a long life is to witness words and their meanings shift like the seasons, but never did I think to see it happen so quickly, and right before my eyes.” 

Halsin lifted his left arm to swipe at him without thinking, and immediately found himself filled with regret, the dull ache his wound had settled into, pulsing in painful time with his head, flaring up into something much sharper. He stifled the resulting groan behind his teeth, unfortunate experience allowing him to keep his left eye shut to avoid further aggravation. 

Tahlel’s long fingers wrapped around his wrist, familiar callouses catching against Halsin’s skin. His hold was gentle but firm, the levity mostly absent from his voice now as he pulled a portion of his draping sleeves forward and pressed it against the wound. Halsin hissed, considered an attempt at escape, but the first touch of healing magic to the wound liquefied his muscles, and he slumped entirely back against the tree instead. 

“‘S a waste.” He mumbled, a token protest given more to the glimmering stars above than the man beside him. 

Tahlel’s voice remained even, albeit slightly preoccupied, as he responded. “I’d like to think I taught you better than that. A healer who cannot – or will not – heal themself is a poor healer indeed."

—

nai’ith – "young oak", i.e., a sapling

na'el – "ancient hawk", a play on Tahlel's own name to call him, in essence, an old man

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No-pressure tagging @ride-a-dromedary, @thisaccountisagainstmywill, @namig42, and @grandmother-goblin.

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✨RANDOM OC ASK: ✨ What is your OC's most shameful habit? It could be something they personally find shameful. The people around them find it shameful. Or just something you just find weird but they do anyway.

(thanks for your patience on this response, and i really appreciate the ask! ^^)

Tahlel's most shameful habit - not shameful to him, as he has never known shame in his life and doesn't plan to learn it - is his obsession proclivity for cards. He insists to anyone who will listen that it is a "valuable diplomatic tool", to which he is most often met with the dry observation - typically from Halsin - that it is interesting he should claim so, considering it has made them as many enemies as it has friends. Tahlel is well practiced in waving off such naysaying however, and will never let it dissuade him.

He is an absolute card sharp, and upon at least one occasion in the past has called a martial engagement to a halt just to request to be taught to play the variant version of Talis referenced by an enemy combatant. (That particular situation snowballed dramatically out of control in a way that Halsin would never let Tahlel live down, were he ever informed.)

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Random OC Ask: In a modern AU what type of music would they like? Do you think they’d have a favorite band? 

An oracle approaches them and tells the name of their soulmate. How does your OC react?

Oooh, okay this one really made me think. I'm also going to blame @ride-a-dromedary for the first part of this, for getting me reminiscing about Nightcore xD. Answering for Tahlel:

The music that he would be most known for, to mingled amusement and despair, would absolutely be Nightcore, à la:

In a modern AU, he would have some sort of fairly professional, well-respected position, and he would be at the age/point in it where he absolutely did not care about how people perceived him and in fact would take pleasure in subverting their expectations and throwing them off. His office would be blasting this from every possible speaker at all times. He would be able to name and discuss every classic anime character that featured in any AMV that used a nightcore song.

On the rare occasions when he was alone, and feeling a bit more maudlin, however, it would be:

To the second, Tahlel would smile graciously, thank the oracle for their time and message, and then not really think about it again, either for it being information that he was already aware of, or not placing much importance in the pronouncements of fortune-tellers.

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What quote best exemplifies your OC? Do they have a person motto they live by?

I'm going to be a little self-indulgent with this one, and say that Tahlel's foundational quote is one of my personal favorites, from the game Outer Wilds:

The universe is, and we are.

The meaning is primarily that there are things we may not understand about the way the world works, and negative things may occur, to us or others, but that doesn't mean that they come from a place of the universe specifically meaning us harm. The universe is, and exists as itself, and we are, and exist as ourselves.

Tahlel has been through a lot in his long life, and part of the way he has maintained his relative good cheer throughout it all is via a similar philosophy. The friendships and connections he has lost to time and circumstance pain him now and again, but for the most part his perspective is that if he is not yet dead, it is because there is yet more good for him to do, and he will continue to pursue that goal until his time comes to meet them again.

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OC question for you: What would your OC's friends say OC's greatest strengths are? Would your OC agree or disagree if they overheard?

(If they'd disagree, what would they say their own biggest strengths are instead?)

Hope you have a lovely day!

Tahlel's friends and fellows among the druids would consider his greatest strength to be that he "always knows just what to say". He's extremely diplomatic, but in a charismatic way that makes it feel like it's not something he's trying at, if that makes sense. It's part of what makes him such a great leader.

If Tahlel overheard, he would smile and clap them on the shoulders and make some joke that broke any tension at the possibility that he might think he was better than them, and would serve to reinforce that perception. Privately, he would consider his own biggest strength to be his ability to make it through extremely unideal circumstances so long as he had a greater goal to focus on.