Taiel Harda Altari
Taiel Harda Altari
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Taiel was born of a poor family in a town on the outskirts of Darta. Taiel's parents were absent from the early days of their life, leaving them to a harsh and lonely childhood.
They learned to interact with the town; to stay under the radar, to pick pockets, find shelters for warmth, and just survive. As a young teen, they started helping other younger children gather food and find shelters. It was good to have multiple helping hands for pick pocketing. And some company.
As a low level citizen Taiel grew accustomed to being looked down upon, to always get the last crumbs of what was left from the upper levels, and chased away from food stalls for fear of them stealing, even when carrying money. It really does something to a person, and Taiel was timid and quick to blame themselves for any bad that happened. Nothing good would ever shed its light on them. The harsh feelings were hard to tamper with, and Taiel did not fight them well. They took life day by day, mostly getting through by helping the others around them cope and survive.
Taiel longed for freedom. Yes, they were a free person, not bound by anyone or anything, but their low status and lack of money made traveling away from their town quite the difficult feat. They would often be awake during the night to watch the moon pass by in the sky, dreaming of how they could just fly away from there and never return. Ravens flew around them, with their all-knowing eyes and glistening black feathers. Taiel felt a kind of kinship to these birds, as they too had jet black hair and yellow eyes that reflected in the moonlight.
Without any form of education, Taiel never learned to read. They longed to know what the texts spoke of, this language they couldn't understand. The town's small library refused entry for those who could not show their status, and so barred Taiel from gaining access to the knowledge contained. They sought out other places of knowledge and found groups preaching their teachings and ideologies to anyone that would listen. Taiel quickly became absorbed in their words, especially those preaching about the Raven god, Tahrvah. The god watched over the night, with his yellow eyes as the moon in the sky. He was the embodiment of freedom in the form of a giant crow soaring through the sky. Taiel wanted that. They wished to shed their body and fold out a pair of strong wings, capable of taking them through the air with no burdens, hate, or anything keeping them in this place.
One day, a small child sought up Taiel, asking for help. They were bruised and battered, in dire need of both food and shelter. Taiel, who were now at the stage of life where many of the small children could be of their own blood, took the child in under their wings. They saw themselves in the little boy; dark, unruly hair with yellow eyes poking out from underneath it, a timid look, and longing for something else. As the kid was nursed back to health, Taiel found that they cared. They'd helped many other children find food and shelter, but this one felt different, he felt more tangible and real in a sense. Like he had opened Taiel's eyes.
The child left one night, and all that remained was a giant black feather, longer than half of Taiel's size. It glistened in the sunrise and when they touched it they felt a warmth blossom inside them.
Thank you, Taiel Harda, for aiding me in a time of need. We have long been gone from your world, and I apologize for that on behalf of the gods. As a repayment for this good deed you've done for me, I gift you one of my primary feathers. You will receive the ability of flight when you have been reborn of the sky.
The following night Taiel climbed up on a roof and looked to the moon. They held the feather close to their heart, as if to try and squeeze out some more words from the god they had nursed. But nothing came. Only the ravens that circled around them. They looked to the birds as a thought popped up in their mind. Taiel had seen the ravens play with each other, jumping off ledges and then fold out their wings at the very last second, before hitting the ground.
The town's clock tower was quite tall, the spire reaching for the heavens. Taiel had manged to slip up there, without being seen, and now it was too late for anyone to stop them. Below, a crowd of people had gathered, some staring up at them in horror, while many of those that Taiel knew looked up, crying for them to come down. But they had made up their mind. They we're going to be reborn.
Taiel stepped off the ledge of the tower and their stomach immediately dropped. They heard screams. Taiel closed their eyes and prayed to Tahrvah as they clutched the big feather as tightly as they could, wind whipping their hair. There was never any ground though. They slowly blinked open their eyes, and saw the town, now underneath them. An enormous beak stuck out from their face and to the sides were a pair of sleek, black wings. They landed in the middle of the crowd that still stood by the clock tower, and stretched out their wings. The kids and young adults who know them ran up to the now big bird and they all opened their mouths at the same time. Questions flooded out, but Taiel could not answer a single one. Someone broke through the crowd, a priest from Taiel's youth, who had told them of the Raven god. She carefully laid her hand on their head and proclaimed them as Altari, born of the sky.
It took a while for Taiel to get to grips with their new power, and after a couple hours the transformation reverted them to their human form. The feather returned to their hands, and for the rest of their life they kept it close by.
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