Difference between revisions of "Talenel"

{{character

|abilities={{tag+|Cognitive Shadow}}, {{tag+|Shardbearer}} <small>(formerly)</small>

|titles={{tag+|herald}}, Herald of War, Herald of Soldiers, Bearer of Agonies, Patron of the [[Order of Stonewards|Stonewards]]

 

<gallery caption="Images of Talenel">

Talenel.jpg | <center><small>by [[Isaac Stewart]]</small></center> Talenel's chapter capstone

Taln_Neirr.png | <center><small>by {{a|Neirr}}</small></center> Arriving at the gates of [[Kholinar]]

== History ==

=== Herald of the Almighty ===

Not much is known about Taln's life before he became a Herald, but he was not initially intended to number among them and he was the only Herald who was not King, Scholar, or Notable Individual.{{book ref|sa3|117}} As Herald, he and the others fought in a series of Desolations against the [[Voidbringer]]s and [[Odium]] in defense of humankind.{{book ref|sa1|45}} Prior to each Desolation, Taln trained humanity's soldiers to fight the Voidbringers.{{book ref|sa2|i|7}} After each Desolation, Taln and the others returned to [[Damnation]], where they were tortured.{{book ref|sa1|part=prelude}} Each time, if Taln himself was killed during the fighting, he automatically returned to Damnation. After several Desolations, the [[Knights Radiant]] was founded by [[Surgebinding|Surgebinders]] with [[Ishar]]'s help{{epigraph ref|sa2|42}} and Taln became patron of the [[Order of Stonewards]], who shared access to the same Surges he possessed.{{epigraph ref|sa2|37}} It is possible that Hoid met Taln at some point during this time, as Hoid seems familiar with the man.{{book ref|sa1|epilogue}}

 

=== Aharietiam ===

After several centuries of Desolations, during [[Aharietiam]], also known as the Last Desolation, Talenel chose to attempt to hold a passage by a northern waterway, a near impossible task.{{book ref|sa|part=prelude}} While he managed to defend it successfully, he was killed in the fighting and returned to Damnation. However, Taln was the only Herald to die in this Desolation. All of the other surviving Heralds, wearied by millennia of torture, chose to abandon the [[Oathpact]], leaving only Taln bound to it. Ishar believed that as long as one Herald remained bound to the Oathpact, this could end the cycle of Desolations. Taln alone remained bound to the Oathpact and returned to Damnation to be tortured.