Tal-Vashoth are former members of the
Qunari who willfully abandon the Qun. It is not specific to just their race, and thus any former member of Qunari can become Tal-Vashoth.
Becoming a Tal-Vashoth
It is not entirely clear to outsiders what drives a Qunari to reject the Qun, likely because there are plenty of different reasons. Most would reason that a Qunari likely is given an assignment of a low and unpelasant place in Qunari society and has the ambition or drive to rise above their station.
When Qunari abandon the teachings of the Qun, they are instantly labeled as Tal-Vashoth and have to risk life as a fugitive from the Qun. If they are caught, they are immediately re-educated just the same as any other dissident. Violent ones unwilling to submit often become mercenaries or bandits; the majority of them formerly served as soldiers and feel as though they have no other useful skills. Many of them never fight the Qunari but rather become mercenaries in other lands, with the most common place for such activity being the
Free Marches. Under the Qun, mercenaries are viewed as even worse than bandits because they are perceived to be selling the remains of their soul and honor for coin. Many Tal-Vashoth retain Qunari attitudes towards foreign culture and ideas. Most, though not all, are unwilling to adapt to live within them and thus resort to a life of banditry.
Likewise, Vashoth are Qunari born to Tal-Vashoth parents and thus have never known life under the Qun.
Culture
The Tal-Vashoth themselves are not a single unified group. Therefore they are not a resistance effort, there is no organized Tal-Vashoth culture, nor can they be said to have any collective goals. Just how much an average Tal-Vashoth has abandoned their upbringing in their heart depends on the individual. A Tal-Vashoth may choose his or her name arbitrarily; usually it will be a word that they think describes their new role, since that is familiar to the naming convention used by the Qun and thus what they are familiar with. Some instead choose to name themselves after words they like the sound of. Others decide to have no name at all.
Many of the Tal-Vashoth who are
goliaths cut their horns off because they think it makes them look tougher and scarier. Unlike normal Qunari culture, mages are tolerated by other Tal-Vashoth though they are still regarded with suspicion since they lack proper training and therefore might be dangerous to those around them.
Comments