Tlazohtzin, the Scourge-Maker
(tla-zoh-(t)zin)
Summary
Etzli Cuauhtla does not beget weaklings, for all are consumed by the deadly jungle and its inhabitants. Tlazohtzin, as with so many others, fought for survival from the moment of his birth. Overcoming early illness, his blooming into adolescence was a controversial one within Toi'drinn. Poisonous lauraume have a difficult time socializing and conceiving, as their very nature is deadly to others. Tlazohtzin was especially keen to make use of his wolfsbane, earning him renown in the warrior bands for his accomplishments. However, during an encounter gone wrong, he was left to die as his allies feared touching him. Tlazohtzin struggled to survive in the jungle, his wounds crippling his ability to fight. Forced instead to become ingenious, he adopted the ways of trapping and ambush, and focused all his attention on refining his wolfsbane. In turn, he acquired an eye for the other mysterious poisons of Etzli Cuauhtla, becoming something of a self-taught alchemist. Necessity forced his return to Toi'drinn years later, his former allies and family having long since died off. Within the vaunted halls of alchemical works, Tlazohtzin strove hard to further his talents, becoming obsessed with perfection of technique. He soon eclipsed all others in the creations of poisons and toxins, arming Toi'drinn's warriors with deadly weapons against the Relentless. Feared as much as celebrated, Tlazohtzin earned his terrifying reputation and ultimate exile during an incident thus named, "the Doomtide". Obsessed with finding a way to rid Etzli Cuauhtla of the Relentless, Tlazohtzin fashioned ever deadlier poisons. The pinnacle of his craft at the time was a species of fast growing vine, which at maturity, bloomed with explosive seed pods. By tweaking these seed pods to include a modified version of his wolfsbane, the vine could kill almost every form of animal life it ran into. His creation quickly ran out of control, killing nearly a quarter of Toi'drinn and spreading into the nearby jungle rampantly. In the wake of the massive purge, Tlazohtzin was shackled and exiled into the deepest reaches of the jungle. Left to die once again, he broke free when the Relentless attacked, and this time, fled far away from Toi'drinn. Having since left Etzli Cuauhtla, he has found himself varying degrees of employment in the nations of others. Assassins, thieves, secretive treatments for the rich, and so on, form the bulk of his services and his main attractive quality to many. However, none can doubt Tlazohtzin's hatred of the Relentless. Still, despite the nobility of his goal, many more are afraid of his rapacious appetite for knowledge, and how much he will sacrifice to further it.Physical Description
General Physical Condition
A lauraume of the wolfsbane family of plants, Tlazohtzin has a vibrantly dark appearance. With much of his skin on the deeper side of brown (with splotchy black splots), his leafy growths are vibrantly purple, their veins thrumming with a neon turquoise that matches his eyes. His face is 'sunken in', appearing almost skull-like to many others, giving him a terrifying visage beneath the large petals that serve as his hair. A ring of wolfsbane flowers sprout up from his collar bone, giving him a beautiful, if deadly, allure.
Body Features
Overall of a lithe and athletic build, surviving in Toi'drinn and Etzli Cuauhtla alone imparts one with sufficient fitness. His wandering across the world has done well to keep him in form, even if he spends much of his time in laboratories.
Facial Features
One might confuse him for being younger with his boyish looks and heart-shaped face. Still, it's impossible to ignore the weathering of age and his own strict gaze, terrifying as it is. Tlazohtzin is a survivor and determined to fulfill the supremacy of his craft; it is easy, then, to see the (grim) determination he possesses.
Identifying Characteristics
Colorful lauraume are not that unusual, but even still, his specific colors can be quite eye catching. For those familiar with botany, however, his wolfsbane flowers are entirely unignorable.
Physical quirks
While his body naturally produces deadly poisons, they are not skin-contact lethal for most species. Indeed, they're often just irritation causing. One must ingest or be injected to feel the effects properly, so touch-happy species like the petrakin should be mindful around him. Despite this simple reality, most people often treat him as an entire being as dangerous, and simply refrain from contact outright.
Special abilities
Naturally Poisonous – Being of the wolfsbane family, Tlazohtzin's flowery growths contain deadly poisons. While physical contact is not outright dangerous, ingesting, injecting, or otherwise getting them into the flesh and blood is extremely deadly.
Apparel & Accessories
When he's at ease, Tlazohtzin often wears loose robes of a dark purple color, with hints of gold stitching and silver writing. These robes are cut open enough to exposed the sides of his torso and upper body, leaving his flowery growths unobstructed. With a large utility workbelt, and a number of satchels up his arms and legs, he constantly takes with him small alchemical tools. While lacking the proper utility of a full workshop, he can often make use of them to convert local ingredients into whatever chemical designs he desires.
Mental characteristics
Gender Identity
Male
Sexuality
Bisexual
Education
A genius limited by the availability of knowledge in his homeland, Tlazohtzin's adaptability is key to his intellect. Having left behind Toi'drinn and ventured aboard, he's readily absorbing the fanciful educations of more developed nations. Principally interested in the works of Atenkhet and Votyoger, the former has denied him entry, while the latter wearily trades with him. It remains to be seen what such a frighteningly capable mind can make of what he's finding.
Mental Trauma
Hatred is a small word to describe his feelings toward the Relentless. Having narrowly avoided being devoured by them a couple times, he has an extreme compulsion to see each and every last one of them dead.
Intellectual Characteristics
Born in Etzli Cuauhtla, Tlazohtzin is a determined survivor, but more than that, insatiably curious about knowledge. His specialty is the realm of poisons, toxins, and disease, a fact that further estranges him from others. To him, whom death flows freely out of his body, Tlazohtzin sees it as an unknown to conquer and tame. Thus, to him, there are no limits to what he will explore in the pursuit of refining his craft.
While not outwardly malicious, his utter disregard to the sanctity of life and that of others makes him profoundly dangerous. People are drawn more in measure of usefulness to him, in either acquiring specimens, resources, or becoming test subjects. Toi'drinn itself exiled him into the vast jungles, but Tlazohtzin is too crafty to die easily.
Morality & Philosophy
Seeing life as a struggle of those who survive and those who cannot, Tlazohtzin doesn't regard those who are 'weaker' than himself. As weakness takes many forms, it is not a simple measure of strength, but rather, his own judgement on their 'fitness' to survive. An intelligent mind can do much, but is much harder to discern than simple brute force. In this respect he's rather reserved in rendering judgement, but he will render it, eventually.
With such a perspective, one can see why he willfully consumes 'weak' people in his experiments. From the struggle to survive he discerns new information to further improve his craft, and so the ethical consequences matter little. If, anything, his ethical rule is: do not be wasteful. The luxury of resources is one he does not squander, and so he is quite efficient in making use of them.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Despite the circumstances, Tlazohtzin's goals have ever remained the same: the extermination of the Relentless. There is no other purpose in his life, and all he does is to further his craft to kill them all the better. The practicalities of economics, resources, and other needs means he has to deal with people in the interim. Thus, some of his wares reach markets, and his absurd expertise can fetch a stunningly high price. The consequences of his actions matter little; in the end, people will continue on, and his work is what will insure there are still some left to enjoy life.
Species
Year of Birth
2382 TD
53 Years old
Birthplace
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Angular eye sockets; rounded eyes, neon turqoise iris, black sclera
Hair
Green-to-blue plant leaves
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Dark brown, blackish bark, with vibrantly purple leaves that have neon turqoise veins
Height
Medium-short
Weight
Moderate
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