Marros / Mayday Talae

Prince Marros / Mayday Talae (a.k.a. Mayday)

A prince (in hiding). That’s what Marros is, and that’s what he carries himself as, even though he is trying his best not to. Straight posture, squared shoulders, bright purple, observant eyes, and well-maintained blond hair are the default appearance whenever one first meets him. Thoughtful and experiencing something one might call character growth, this prince has been slapped in the face multiple times (and impaled) along his journey and is now questioning all that he has ever known. After all this time, he's stuck to his morals, and he's even managed to change the minds of his party, if only a little. Good progress has been made.
But how can he continue to live the way he has if his brother has broken the sacred laws they grew up devoted to? Could he truly say he would not trade the lives of an unknown city to save his own people from destruction and death? He doesn't know. He doesn't want to think about it. Better to deny it.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Marros, like most half-elves, is rather slender, and only somewhat tall. He hides most of his well-toned body behind loose, airy, light colored layers, though his slender fingers and prominent Adam's apple are easy to see. When he wears more tight-fitting clothes one can see how skinny he actually is, but he is not truly skin and bones - he's got some muscle from all that training he did when he was younger.

Body Features

His light brown, almost caramel colored, skin is very smooth to the touch and blemish free, save for a single scar. His hair also is well cared for and he usually leaves it unstyled, though he does sport a ponytail or bun whenever he's too warm or doing something physical. His eyelashes are pale and long; they frame his eyes almost too perfectly. His entire appearance, pretty and clean and blond haired and lilac-eyed, leads several people who interact with him to believe he's upper-class of some sort... Or maybe he just got super lucky and got good genes. Or maybe he's just one of those elf sub-classes that are too pretty.

Facial Features

His lilac eyes, if he had to guess, are some of his most noteworthy features, since he did get them from his royal bloodline. Possibly his pale yellow-blond hair, too.

Identifying Characteristics

To be perfectly honest, nothing stands out obviously when someone first looks at Marros, except for is hair, eyes and the black shirt he's never seen out of. Oh, and Roly-Poly, his construct.
And speaking of that skin tight black long sleeved shirt he wears under absolutely everything, no matter the temperature... It's kind of weird, right? Why does he wear it with everything? Does he ever take it off? Does he only take it off when he's alone? What's up with that?

Physical quirks

There's a scar above his hip that he never shows anyone, and that he plans to never show anyone. There's also a strange dip in his chest, on the left side of his ribcage, where his heart happens to be at, but he's convinced it's nothing to be worried about.

Apparel & Accessories

Even though he primarily wears light-colored clothes of various different colors, such as pastel pinks or blues or creams, he manages to keep most of his garments clean. It's quite surprising, since most of his clothes are a light, airy, flowy fabric and seem rather delicate, but he keeps his things as tidy as he can. Even his more resilient trousers, which are never a dark color but that range from browns to tans to reds to blues, there still are minimal stains and very minor damage on them.
The specific articles of clothing he wears varies: if he's out journeying or planning on going out of civilization, he can be seen in more traditional adventurers clothes such as tunics and armor and boots, though everything he wears is not dark in color - even his boots aren't black, but a medium brown color. His adventurer clothes are also more scuffed up than his regular non-outdoorsy clothes. When he's in town or around civilization you can find him, without fail, in his clothes that are just slightly odd compared to most everyone else around (except elves, maybe). He wears button-ups and knit cardigans and more "modern" clothes, which might hint that he's from somewhere more advanced than lots of other places on the continent, or that he has enough money to afford the newer trends.
He is actually working on adapting his wardrobe to better fit in with normal society, since he does not like to stand out. The clothes he had that were more standard got taken or destroyed when he was burgled.
Something to note about his clothes, interestingly enough, is that he never wears black, except for the undershirt he does not take off. He also stays as far away from dark colors as he can. It's almost like he's afraid to put on anything dark, and he's practically phobic when it comes to any black clothes.
As for accesories, he only has a few. Namely the necklace he carries with the aral flower pendant, a symbol of the goddess he worships, and the silver bracelets he keeps on his wrists, over his undershirt. His necklace is typically hidden underneath his shirts and he sometimes takes his bracelets off, if he's going into an unsavory part of town. He wouldn't be opposed to wearing more, since his ears are pierced and he does like how shiny some jewelry is, but when you're a prince on the run it's just a bit hard to flaunt you're nice things without people getting suspicious.

Specialized Equipment

The one piece of equipment that he carries that might or might not be special is the thing he has wrapped up that he keeps on his back, underneath his backpack. It's wrapped in a sheet and is long and thin and looks possibly like a sword, or maybe a staff, or a spear? No one really knows because it stays wrapped, even when it's not on his person - he has cord tied around it at both the top and end of it, and he keeps his eyes on it as much as he can (or he just keeps it near him).
He's incredibly protective of this item. Hee won't let anyone touch the wrapped item unless he knows them and trusts them enough. Even with that, he still will hesitate: a family heirloom of such importance can't be handed over so carelessly, after all.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

It started when he was born.

The day of the prince’s birth was celebrated throughout the Laralissi Kingdom. His parents, fierce mages who followed religious doctines faithfully, were beyond themselves with pride and joy to welcome the new baby into their lives. They enjoyed the days festivities, introducing the baby boy to their other children and people, but as the sun set and the ancestral ceremony began in the church, it became apparent that the baby was different from his family. He was unresponsive to the magical tests, the trials to determine his magical capabilities, and after a spell had been cast to reveal the truth, it was discovered. The prince wasn’t blessed with pure magic - he was cursed with arcane.
This destroyed his parents' hearts. Their new child, this sweet, innocent boy, was doomed with arcane magic; a magic that was feared in the kingdom, in his parents’ and peoples eyes, because it was entirely bizarre and absolutely unknown. He wasn’t a regular mage like them. He could not cast spells the same way they were able to. He would never be like them. He would never be able to follow in their paths, to ever become a true, magically blessed prince, because he was cursed with strange magic. His parents decided that night to keep the truth about their sons magic a secret from the people, and announced the following day that he was a good, normal, gifted mage like them. The priest and his siblings knew the truth, knew that the king and queen were lying, but no one said a single thing against them.

They didn’t say anything about the lie, and the prince grew up.

The kingdom loved the new prince and he was dressed in light colors to symbolize his purity and closeness to the Goddess. His parents were good to him and his siblings enjoyed spending time with him, but he always felt there was always a distance between him and his family. Even as a child, he knew he was an outcast, a black sheep, because of his magic. He was brought to the church and prayed to the Goddess (and a few other Gods) to change his magic, to bless him with normal magic, but none of his parents or his own prayers were ever answered. He knew they never would be. The arcane magic he had, he was born with, and no amount of wishing or praying or hoping would ever change it, no matter how much he wanted it to.
On the outside, the royal family was still viewed the same: pure, good, blessed, honest and loved. The princess and princes were cherished by the kingdom, beloved and adored, and from the people's perspective, everything was wonderful. The same couldn’t be said for inside of the castle walls. The prince, an outcast in his family, “cursed” with bad magic, did everything he possibly could do to be right and proper, to get his parents blessing, to become a true prince. Nothing he did was good enough, though. His parents loved him but feared him because of his strange magic, and they felt inadequate because they couldn’t remove, or help him, with it. They had no idea how to handle it and they could not ask for outside assistance, because then the truth would come out. They felt hopeless because their son was burdened with a terrible tragedy, one that they weren’t prepared to deal with.
The relationship between them was strained and his home life became stifling; all the lies he knew, the deception from his parents to their people, the rules and practices he had to follow. Even the goddess and the church, the religion he’d followed his entire life, were becoming destructive to him. He was different from the pure prince his people thought he was; he was much more open-minded and less prejudiced, he had several difficulties with following the religious doctrines and he had questioned himself and his Goddess, and everything, much too often. He was scared his family, his parents, would shun him if they knew the truth about his thoughts. He was scared his personal secrets would be revealed. He was terrified that his magic would be exposed and his kingdom would turn on him. He was scared he would be unwanted or hated.

He was scared, so he ran away.

It happened during the early morning, when the sun was still below the horizon. He snuck out of his castle under a cloak he had dyed black, under the dark of the night, and quickly left the safety of the castle walls. He knew his kingdom well, due to the many times he slipped out of the castle to explore the town, but whenever he left he always came back home. This time, he wouldn’t. He had packed a bag with things he treasured; family pictures, a necklace his sister had gifted him, a book that held the teachings he’d followed all his life, a scarf his mother had knitted him, a journal that kept his secrets, and his most loyal companion. He had left behind a note on his bed, asking his family to not search for him and promising he would be back home soon. He’d said goodbye to his cat and the family dog, then he had climbed out of his bedroom window and descended the brick wall, then tried to catch his loyal companion when he scrambled down after him.
Initially, he wandered the streets. He had hidden his face and hair behind his cloak, but now that he was leaving he wasn’t sure where to go. He explored the lands outside of his kingdom, and even though he had done so when he was younger, it was still fascinating to him. He met different people and races, made friends and allies, and even got involved in a rather nasty fight between lovers. He learned that the world was cruel and brutal, but also beautiful. He learned that people could be horrible, but there was also kindness inside of them. He learned to keep to himself, after one fateful encounter that shook him badly. One day, randomly, he recieved a letter from a stranger in Altamira, and he set off for the small town, not expecting much. Little did he know just how much that one letter would lead to...

Sexuality

Rather complicated. His kingdom does not support same-sex relationships very well, so he has not gotten to exactly follow his interests, as he has always had to be an example of what is expected in Laralissi society. Though there was that nice boy from the market... And that pirate...

Education

Education was taken very seriously in the Talae family, so Marros was given the best education money could buy. He was schooled in the castle, with his siblings. The schedule was flexible to allow for education of the various topics that a royal would need to learn, such as cartography and economics and governing and diplomacy and history and geography, and multiple languages. He also focused heavily on religious teachings when he was younger, because of his aspiration to become a paladin. He learned the standard subjects, as well, but his education was very broad, compared to the vast majority of society.

Employment

He is a prince. His only employment has been tied to his status.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Broke the Heartstone of Altamira and ended up saving the town because of that.

Got over his racism towards dragonborns (98%).

Killed a giant water serpent with a single teleportation spell.

Got impaled and almost died. Weak. It was just stuck in his leg.

Has broken out of prison with a chaotic neutral fire starter and the rest of his party.

Gifted a Visor of Construct Vision from Vic Straid.

Stole the Eyeglass of Allsight from Broken God cultists, then also from Tinkertown royals.

Acquired Nightmares and Sleepless Nights after learning about the war!

Was kidnapped.

Was promptly saved by Artemis.

Learned about his curse. His heart is not beating. Nope. Not thinking about it.

Freed and managed to return two missing girls back to their homes.

Stole from the evil ringleader that was his former employer.

Nearly managed to save Everska from their tragic fate. So close, but too late.

Reconnected with not only one brother, but two!

Consistently gets burned by fire spells or injured somehow by the environment around him.

Has recieved two group hugs from the party.

Has hatched his baby bird that still does not have a name.

Has smiled about twice, maybe thrice, throughout the entire campaign.

Has become "the brooding one" of the campaign.

Has managed to save Beef and Hazel from dangerous situations.

Owes his life to the party. Rio's life was saved, as well. This is an unpayable debt.

Called his party his "allies". A major step up from acquaintances.

Has had one panic attack after being impaled (again) and dragged over to a very spooky monster.

Has acquired Depression and Apathy. A dangerous combination, one might say.

Has questioned his morals on more than one occasion.

3/31/2023. Has done the unthinkable and... killed a human. It was in defense of both himself and his brother. It was an accident. He didn't mean for it to happen. He doesn't know how to face it. He can't face it.

Has had an alignment change to better reflect the apathy and mindset he's entered.

Failures & Embarrassments

Whenever Marros is faced with the cursed thing called "friendship", he does not entirely know how to handle it. This is because the prince does not know how to really make friends. Surprise! Who'd have thought that living an isolated life up until the moment he left would have made him awkward at certain social situations?

Mental Trauma

He can't forget it.
His kingdom on fire. The land burning to ash, being destroyed, dying. His people, silently creaming, desperate to be saved by someone, somehow, somewhere. The guards, trying their best but so confused over how to fight against the constructs. His family, his parents and siblings, fleeing, helpless, and completely terrified.
His kingdom, his castle, his home, being invaded. His people being forced out of their homes and onto the streets. The smoke in the sky and flames, spreading so quickly, too quickly, unable to be stopped. War.
And him, so far away.


A hole.
In a torso.
From his magic.
No. No. No.
He can't believe it. He didn't do that. He could never have done that. It would break everything he's ever believed in and he would never do that.
It was a mistake. It was an accident. He acted without thinking. Something took control of him and made him do that.
He didn't kill someone.
But the memory of the gaping hole in the chest of the human in front of him won't leave him.

Morality & Philosophy

A pacifist, through and through. Lomna, the Goddess he worships, abhors violence of any sort against anyone, so Marros does, as well. He has been raised completely soaked in the religious teachings of his kingdom and he is not going to change any time soon.
He does not want to change, anyway, because he would much rather discuss an issue then resort to violence to ressolve it. He has gotten out of several confrontations with communicating (and sometimes clarfiying the problem) with the other party before, so he knows, for a fact, that fights can be avoided if one simply speaks first. He would much rather talk to someone instead of use a weapon on them.
As for his morality? You will never see Marros kill another person, unless the situation is absolutely dire enough to. And by dire enough to, it would have to be even more extreme then Marros' own life being at risk. That still won't push him to kill someone (although this is probably situational). Magical creatures or animals do not technically count as "people", but he still tries to avoid killing anything, no matter whatever it might be he is fighting. He views killing in a very very very harsh light and thinks murder is not necessary... pretty much ever.
He believes, with his entire being, that people can be redeemed. Snuffing out that possibility with death is not something he will tolerate. He is working on seeing the other side... but he does not understand it, because it does not make any sense to him. He's trying to work on it, though he's not doing a very good job at that.
(More info about this is written in his sheet.)

Taboos

☼ Using his Goddess' name in vain is forbidden, so he never does. Speaking negatively about his religious teachings, although they are rather flawed, is also forbidden, so it is never done. He speaks only of the positives of his religion because he cannot let the negatives influence him in any way. They have one before, and it affected him badly, so he refuses to say anything inappropriate now. ☼ Killing another living creature is also taboo. He will avoid killing at all costs. ☼ Cruelty, from himself to another, is taboo to him. Cruelty itself is not completely foreign to him, though he still does not understand it and he never will condone it. ☼ Senseless acts of violence, as well. Inflicting pain on someone just for fun, he can't stomach. Psychotic behavior (as he sees it) is baffling and very disturbing. ☼ He avoids, heavily, the sterotypical evil races. Orcs, ogres, drows, goblins, trolls, githyanki, tieflings, bugbears, and most lizardfolk (and more) are some of the races he... does not want to really interact with. He does try to keep his discomfort around these races hidden, and he is trying to change how he views them, but it is very hard to change the mindset he has always lived with.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

His motivation, in the beginning, was to find a way to prove himself to his family. He has always had them as his main motivation, though usually it was because he wanted to prove himself to them, in one way or another.
He cares deeply for every member of his family, and also for the people of his kingdom. He's always strived to be a good role model for his people, as he is a member of the royal family that they all look up to. His love for his kingdom and for the people who live there runs very deep.
Now that he has discovered his kingdom is at war, and that his older brother sacrificed an entire city to try to save them, he is desperate to figure out how to make things right. He needs help but he no longer knows what kind of help he even needs. Would any military power be willing to go to an entirely different plane to combat enemies that are not their own? He doesn't know. He doubts it. He wonders if his people are actually going to be returned home, since the contract his older brother made has been completed...

Likes & Dislikes

Likes ☼ Learning about different species, cultures, countries, people, etc. ☼ Animals, specifically birds ☼ Exploring new areas ☼ Soft things ☼ All fruit ☼ His friends ☼ Different languages ☼ People watching ☼ Cleaning or repairing Roly-Poly or Skyra, or any other construct ☼ His baby bird

Dislikes ☼ Rude people/jokes ☼ His magic, sometimes ☼ Prying questions ☼ Not being useful or wanted ☼ Dark clothes or items ☼ Cold weather ☼ Overpriced things ☼ His mindset, mostly ☼ How negative news effects him so badly

Virtues & Personality perks

Although it is no longer outwardly obvious, due to the cautiousness that Marros has adapted to protect himself from harm, the boy is... not a terrible person. He is compassionate and tries very hard to be understanding. He is the second most open-minded member in the Talae family, which is actually something that divided him from his family growing up. He does try to avoid judging people based on first impressions or his assumptions of them. He tries, really hard. He can be friendly, if he is in a good headspace, and he always will be loyal to those he is friends with. Once one has him as a friend, it is hard to lose him.
Because of his upbringing and nurturing as a child, he is well-mannered and cautious of what he says, often thinking through his words instead of saying what first comes to mind. He’s respectful to everyone and proper - that is, he tries to not say anything rude or off-beat, or negative. To do so would be frowned upon in his family, so he keeps up his courteous appearance and occasionally scolds people for being rude. He’s been told he was too proper in the past, too stuffy and prim and stuck up, but he’s since changed and has become much more reserved. He doesn’t voice any of his negative thoughts - or, if he ever slips up, he quickly apologizes and says something different to distract from his mishap. He does voice his opinions on other things and can be very adamant about what he believes in, stubborn and very moral, but he's working on being willing to change his thoughts and see the other side.

Vices & Personality flaws

Marros Talae is incredibly secretive. He is hiding quite a lot. He does have negative things to say more often than he would like to and finds he bites back comments more often than he should; he’s wary, slightly scared, to say what he truly thinks out of fear of being disliked, teased, offending someone else, being attacked, or any number of other bad things. He enjoys making friends, but he’s suspicious of everyone he meets and doesn’t trust completely very easily. That isn’t to say he doesn’t trust - he does! It just takes him a long time to trust someone entirely and let down his guard. He deflects questions about himself often or doesn’t answer them completely, omitting out important things like his thoughts or family members, or where he’s from. He’s also insecure about a lot but hides it, shoving the negative thoughts into a mental box and burying it deep down where he won’t have to deal with them. But, still, they keep resurfacing and scratching at his brain like a persistent itch. An itch that he really does not want to deal with.
Also he is.... somewhat racist, which is a major problem that he has realized and that he is actively trying to overcome. His exposure to the outside world has ruined him, a bit, so now he's just... Not doing well, mentally. This presents in him brooding/stewing in his thoughts or snapping at people, when he would not normally do this, ever. He also is so wrapped up in the awfulness of everything that he is not enjoying himself very much, and the morality he has interferes with the commonors way of life in a way that he never anticipated. He is not like the masses. He does not know how to become like them. He does not think he wants to become like them, because they do things that go against his entire way of life. It's a difficult thing to overcome.

Personality Quirks

Does not drink alcohol, unless it's expected for him to at a social event he's attending... But he still will drink very little.

Does not swear, because it is uncouth and he believes it is pointless to.

Rarely uses contractions in his speech.

Allergic to sesame seeds, shrimp and shellfish.

Knows a lot of information about a lot of different topics and can make surface level conversation easily, usually.

Doodles sometimes in journals or on scrap paper. He doesn't show it off.

Basically never seen without his long-sleeved black undershirt on.

Cleans Roly-Poly and Skyra daily.

Hygiene

Tries very hard to keep himself clean as much as he can. He doesn't like being dirty or having grime on him, so he washes as frequently as he can, given the nature of his journey. One of his biggest things that annoys him, that he does not even knows annoys him, is when he has something disgusting in his hair. Or just... something disgusting on himself. No, thank you. Where is the closest water basin?

Social

Contacts & Relations

Bz'zrk "Beef" - Initially they began on difficult terms, but time and conversation and bonding has created a connection between them that Marros never thought he'd have with a dragonborn. Bz'zrk is someone that Marros considers almost a friend, although they do sometimes butt heads or get annoyed with each other. He cares for Bz'zrk's well-being and tries to look out for him, although he knows that the copper dragon is very strong and can mostly take care of himself. He's worried for Bz'zrk's current mental state after recieving news of his home attacking Arty's home.
Atemis "Arty" -
Hazel -
Aust -
Roly-Poly -
Skyra -
Baby Bird -

Family Ties

Riole "Rio" Talae -
Elion "Li" Talae -

Wealth & Financial state

He's a prince, though he does not carry exuberant amounts of gold on his person. While traveling, he's not dirt poor, but he's also not loaded. It's the best way to be.

Marros is, to be perfectly honest, completely lost in life. After all of the tribulations he's gone through on this journey, he's left with only questions and a profound sadness that will not leave him.

View Character Profile

Alignment

?

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Prince, mostly. Your Highness, secondly.

Age

19

Date of Birth

November 25

Birthplace

Laralissi Kingdom

Current Residence

Nowhere in particular, sadly.

Gender

Male

Eyes

Lilac

Hair

Blond

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Light Brown

Height

5'9

Weight

138lb

Known Languages

While Marros did study various languages during his studies, he did not become completely fluent in all of them. The languages he understands thoroughly are Common, Elvish, Sylvan and Celestial.
He loves studying new languages and has been learning Draconic from Bz'zrk, one of his traveling companions. It's a tricky language to learn though progress has been made. He can form several sentences now!