"This is something more, something far more sinister than I'd been led to believe. That is why I've joined with the Yellow Banner, why I have gone to Chult." - Tallenbrook "The Blue", AoR 606, a segment of a letter addressed to Hans Caldarin
Eregis Tallenbrook; better known as Tallenbrook "The Blue", was a respected wizard of
Veth Monra and sat positioned fairly high in the academy's ranks. Despite this, Tallenbrook's true passion was for the country and people of
Astora, often spending his time traveling throughout the region, aiding it's inhabitants where he could. In his elder years, Tallenbrook would become one of the foremost researchers of the mysterious
Death Curse, and would eventually travel to
Chult in search of it's cause.
History
Life in Vinmaw
Eregis Tallenbrook was born in
Vinmaw during the
Age of Renewal in the 530th year. He was born to a baker and his wife, and quickly learned that the life of a commoner was not an easy one. Vinmaw primarily served as a massive farming community during this time and sent most of the crop yield to cities like
Vinheim and
Vinguard. Though his family never wanted for food while he was young, Vinmaw's distance from the capital made it a prime target for well organized bandit raids or the occasional
Remnant demonstration. Living here was a risky existence, and Tallenbrook grew up seeing the toll this added stress took upon some of Vinmaw's inhabitants.
As a young man, Tallenbrook would join the local militia of Vinmaw, a mostly ragtag group of soldiers that was sponsored, and occasionally trained, by the Astoran Military. Though it put him in harm's way, Tallenbrook took solace in the fact that he would be protecting his fellow countrymen, should an event of violence break out in the area. After a year of nothing but small bandit raids, petty thefts and stolen livestock, Tallenbrook would finally be submitted to a full scale Remnant onslaught in AoR 549. Though the inhabitants of Vinmaw remained mostly unharmed, the Remnants main goal was the destruction of the year's crop harvest. They were successful, as the small military garrison and militia was easily outmatched by the
elven warriors. Tallenbrook watched as the town burned, the flames perpetrated mostly by the magic of elven
druids.
Veth Monra
Tallenbrook knew that simply serving as a small town solider would do little to protect his countryfolk. He had always been more of a curious observer than a fighter, and seeing the powerful magic of the Remnant mages and druids spurned an idea within him. Knowledge of these abilities would serve Tallenbrook to a greater degree, and depending on his aptitude, could serve Vinmaw as well. Like many inhabitants in Astora, Tallenbrook had always been able to perform simple spells as a boy, exhibiting the ability to create dancing lights or other small illusions for sport. So it was that Tallenbrook decided to leave for Vinheim, excited for a chance to begin honing these magical skills, should the Academy of
Veth Monra accept him. In AoR 550, Tallenbrook left for the Capital of Astora, though he ment to return as soon as he could.
Arriving in Vinheim was a true experience for Tallenbrook, as never before had he experienced the sights, sounds and activities of such a large city. The closest he'd come before was merely to
Lannisbridge, delivering bread and other grains on occasion. Though the tower of
Veth Monra stood many miles to the north of the city, the wizard's main academic area was held in the city limits. After a quick demonstration of magical potential, Tallenbrook was accepted into the academy, beginning his journey of becoming an adept magic user. Tallenbrook would spend the next 2 years in Vinheim, truly honing his nature magic abilities, studying world histories, researching magical theory and much more within Veth Monra's walls. After these first few years, Tallenbrook would return to Vinmaw on occasion, visiting his parents and checking up on the locals. It was clear that even with moderate magical training, Tallenbrook was gifted, already outperforming many veterans of the art. While in Vinmaw, it was entirely possible that Tallenbrook may have been the most esteemed magic user in the area.
A Traveling Wizard
The years would soon begin to grow on Tallenbrook, and by AoR 565, found himself to be a fully fledged Wizard of Veth Monra, and one of it's most talented users of the arts at that. He was now a man of 35 years of age, and beyond keeping an eye on Vinmaw, was searching for more purpose on which to use his magical abilities. He began to travel further than just the immediate area, soon encompassing the far reaches of Astora itself. In AoR 572, Tallenbrook undertook quite a risky mission, journeying deep into the
Ironwood Forest, searching for the ruined kingdom of
Arnad-Ang. He would uncover many ancient relics and treasures during this time, though would never lay eyes directly onto the elven capital itself. This quest would be the first of many times working alongside
Lord Brixton; a local nobleman from the
Saltmarsh area.
In AoR 581, Tallenbrook would travel to
Atmora, his main interest being the overarching toll of the ongoing
Quaan War on the smaller communities of the country. Tallenbrook would spend almost a year in Atmora, and would return to Astora a changed man. He had seen many atrocities during his time there, horrible things happening specifically to the towns and villages of the lower
Venerath Plains. These communities were often the target of
Quaan raids. Perhaps what Tallenbrook found more disturbing was the general contentment the Atmoran military and government seemed to have for the fates of it's own people, as if years of endless war had seemingly convinced them that it's people were merely resources to be expended.
Tallenbrook The Blue
By AoR 583, Tallenbrook had returned to Astora, and become quite content with operating within his home country and the occasional foray into
Meridian. During these years, Tallenbrook would earn himself the nickname "The Blue", with most attributing this name to his rather glum attitude about the affairs of the world. Others simply recognized it as an attribute of his favourite blue hat, a large and looming wizard's cap that bent into an almost full peak to the brim. Now well into his fifties, Tallenbrook would soon become recognized as an Elder of Veth Monra, gaining the respect and admiration of the Headmaster;
Orvion Aelfwynd. He now lived full time in Vinheim, rather than in the Veth Monra Tower like most of the other Elders. Even in his older age, Tallenbrook still found his time among the common folk of Astora to be the most comforting. It reminded him of his time and childhood in Vinmaw, reminding him of his late parents and the many hardships that shaped him and led him to becoming the man he was now.
In AoR 591, during one of his many trips into
The Gold Plains and surrounding area of the
Ironwood Hills, Tallenbrook happened upon the presence of a goblin tribe; The
Blacknose. This particular tribe was of some renown in the area, notorious for small scale raids on local villages. Perhaps what drove Tallenbrook to initially investigate was the rumor of committed slavery, as many Astorans had gone missing in the years that the Blacknose Tribe seemed active. Tallenbrook traveled to an area between Vinmaw and
Hilldune and indeed found one of the many dwellings of the Blacknose in a large cave system, dug into the rising cliffs of the Ironwood Hills. Tallenbrook would begin to smoke the creatures out one by one using magic, then dispatched the small groups of fleeing goblins with ease. Eventually this activity led to a greater response, with the Blacknose leading a larger force out into the hills in an attempt to drive away the attacker. Accompanying the goblins were several human slaves, most of them acting as pack mules for goblin ammo and ration stores. This infuriated Tallenbrook, causing the wizard to unleash his most powerful spells upon the goblins in an ambush, defeating them with ease.
Becoming a Mentor
Tallenbrook would quickly free the few slaves, and found most of them had been serving the goblins for months or years. Among those freed was a man named
Hans Caldarin, a local of nearby Hilldune. Hans had been a captive for little over 4 years now, a figure that staggered even the well-traveled Tallenbrook. Finding that family and friends in Hilldune had thought him dead, Hans moved on from that life, requesting mentorship under Tallenbrook. Originally skeptical at the idea, Tallenbrook saw a part of himself in Hans; the initiative to help others. This notion sparked an idea in Tallenbrook, that perhaps his greatest gift to this region of Astora could be simply passing his goodwill into others, in the hopes that the tradition would continue. With this in mind, Tallenbrook accepted Hans as something of an apprentice. Though much of his time would still need to be spent in Vinheim, Tallenbrook made it a point to return to Hans as much as possible, instilling his magical skills and thoughts on the wider world into the younger man.
By AoR 602, it was clear that while Hans would never match Tallenbrook in magical talent, he would certainly go on to share Tallenbrook's initiative for aiding the people of the
Gold Plains. Hans had becoming something of a Hedge Wizard, traveling town to town, helping those that needed aid if it fell within his skill set. Tallenbrook and Hans became close friends, perhaps even closer than Tallenbrook and his fellow Veth Monra colleagues.
The Death Curse
In early AoR 606, Tallenbrook began spending the vast majority of his time studying in Veth Monra. A powerful plague had swept across Naneth, affecting hundreds, if not thousands of victims. Veth Monra became the front line for finding the cause of this plague. With Naneth's brightest minds at the helm, the sickness was soon found to be a magical effect, rather than a biological element. The cause seemed to be centred in
Chult, an island to the far south of
Naneth. An expedition to Chult was quickly organized by Veth Monra Wizard
Syndra Silvane.
Lord Brixton and his
Company of the Yellow Banner were to lead the expedition, with Tallenbrook The Blue serving as Veth Monra's representative on the trip. It was to be a dangerous voyage, a journey that Tallenbrook wondered would be his last. Before leaving, Tallenbrook made one more trip to Vinmaw, meeting Hans while there. He bid farewell to his one-time apprentice, letting Hans know that he'd be unavailable for the next while.
With that, Tallenbrook, Lord Brixton and the Yellow Banner left for Chult. As a final token, Tallenbrook wrote a letter to Hans, leaving the note in Vinheim at his own residence. Knowing Hans was loyal to a fault, the letter would be delivered to the Hedge Wizard in case of Tallenbrook's disappearance. Inside, Tallenbrook would plead with Hans not to follow, wishing his apprentice to stay safe and far from the south. 5 months would soon pass, the Yellow Banner having gone without contact to Veth Monra or Syndra Silvane in some time. Hans Caldarin would receive the letter from Tallenbrook's estate and make his way to Vinheim. Upon visiting Tallenbrook's home, Hans would find nothing but the blue and bent wizard's cap of Eregis Tallenbrook. Thoroughly inspired to follow his mentor and friend, Hans would work with Syndra Silvane to set up another expedition to Chult.
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