Slender and tall, pale and athletic, he was crouched down in a forest glade watching small white rabbits frolic in the green grass of the meadow. Dark as night, his long hair hung past his shoulders, and he wore brown and green. His violet-blue eyes were pleasantly warm, as was the full smile he wore.
There is a pool in the Grove of the Unicorn. Deep within it swims a young man twisted, floating in the water. He wears only scaled trunks, his long green hair floating as well above and behind him, a backdrop to his ecstasy. Slow bubbles trail above him one even now bursting forth from his mouth. His eyes are closed, his head thrown back, his arms wide. Cradled, comfortable in purest blue-green.
Thalion is one of the twin sons born to the shroudling prince Madoc of Rebma and the sculptress wisewoman Celia of Amber, the other being Jacob. While the twins are not identical, Thalion taking more after his mother in appearance than his brother does despite the inherited build of the royal line of Rebma, they are still like all twins... seeking individual identities distinct from one another. Thalion chose to leave the confines of Rebma and dwell within the forest of Arden, escaping his brother, for like all twins in Paradox they did not relate well.
Thalion is not a shroudling, taking instead after his Rebman heritage. Or so it was thought; even by his twin brother! Until, at the Grove when Deirdre and Kireyas Ascended. A by-product of this occurrance was the child Corleu, hatched from the Serpent's Egg. Thalion, midwife to his 'birth', took charge of the boy and his upbringing. When Samara threatened the 2-year old's life Thalion dropped his fangs in the boy's defence.
Identity. It lies at the very core of the Games of Paradox. And how much harder must it be for twins to maintain a sense of....
Thalion is one of the younger Amberites, son of Celia and Madoc, twin to Jacob. He appears far more self-identified as Rebman than Shroudling He is known to be able to use Pattern as there were several witnesses when he Walked the Primal Pattern to repair the blighted Jewel of Judgment, and several others to his walking the ice-pattern beneath Boreas during Daywinter. His ability to Sing and Compel are well known.
Having spent the Thousand Year Period as a rain of frogs Thalion was reestablished between the Third Wave and The Ritual of the Grove. He reawakened to himself with his head in his mother's lap. He was immediately dubbed Frogs by Urda who is the only person who ever uses the nickname.
A quiet gentle man of great skill,empathy and passion, Thalion is also a consummate hunter on both sea and the land, at home with any weapon. He feels deeply any hurt done to those he considers friend or family and will go to great lengths to protect and aid them.
His Shroudling heritage shows itself in a very roundabout way: for all his skill and heart Thalion possesses surprising little self-confidence., often seeking in other a mirror of what he considers faults or lack within himself. As if needing reassurance that such states do indeed exist and so might be attained even by him. This sort of reassurance is double edged: the view in the mirror also serves to more sharply reveal his own 'faults' back at himself. A paradoxical lack of Taoist nature in a Rebman.
Why did Thalion keep his Shroudling nature to himself for so long. Was it fear? Shame? A calculated ploy? The most interesting rumor hints that Thalion until recently hugged to himself an ancient grief. That he's gay and has remained a virgin due to an accident with his 1st lover. Barathorn, so the story goes, was the unlucky 1st and only partner of Thalion. 1 night in a blaze of passion the 2 boys embraced, kissing deeply. The Hunger unexpectedly took Thalion and he fed on Barathorn; realizing what was happening only when he saw his love die.
| PSYCHE | Amber |
| STRENGTH | 30 |
| ENDURANCE | 40 |
| WARFARE | 100 |
He is often torn, sometimes slow or deliberate as he constantly weighs his actions and priorities against potential harm to his loved 1s and so to himself. He feels always an immense pressure to save his family, to keep them safe. And so is forever destined to feel guilt at his inability to protect them always. This guilt, in turn, feeds his lack of self confidence.
Thalion has only just come out, and only to his twin. With the anticipation of finding a Familiar lies the fear, guilt and anguish of his murder of Barathorn. Thalion was unprepared by his father for life as a Shroudling. It was assumed that the boy was a complete throw back to his mother's people.
And should the rumored tragedy be a true one then an important question is raised re: Shroudlings and their Familiars..... can Thalion reasonably expect his future Familiar to be male as well?
Thalion reflects/projects his own strengths and weaknesses: his lack of self confidence can be an advantage as he feels compelled to recheck proposed action before taking it. A disadvantage in that it leaves him open to bouts of self depreciation when his actions fail to achieve desired results.
His only interests in The Games center around his heart - his great love for his family and a desperate determination to maintain their safety even at the willing loss of his own life. It tears at him that he can not ever guarantee this for his loved ones, this is often a source of great despair and guilt.
Without a doubt Thalion would dote on his child(ren). They would mesh firmly into the center of his universe as defined by his heart. He would need to closely guard his tendency/impulse for overprotection of them. Thalion would provide his offspring with a strong stable anchor and an equally strong sense of community and who they were within it. Their sense of identity would never fall to doubt. With the recent revelation about his sexual preference, fatherhood seems far less likely than was initially thought.....
"Lets let go of the fear and just be honest with each other."
Taught the ways of the forest in Arden, Thalion is a skilled hunter, and understands the values of both patience and perserverance.
| PSYCHE | 20 |
| STRENGTH | 20 |
| ENDURANCE | 40 |
| WARFARE | 110 |
Thalion is the water twin of his pair, while Jacob is the fire twin. Thalion takes after the patient side of his families temperament, truly calm and rarely offended, very similar in many ways to his mother Celia in their quiet withdrawal from the flow of events. Capable of shrugging insults away with casual ease, he keeps his true opinions to himself, and often expresses a desire to be like his twin, which is ironic since Jacob spent much of his youth trying to be like Thalion.
Thalion comes across as a compassionate and gentle man who usually understands why the people around him are the way they are. He deeply regretted the part he played in the apparent death of Meredith, and made restitution as soon as possible. He is passionate, yet in a different way to his brother, calm steel rather than fierce fire. Not lesser, or greater, but simply... different, like sunbright and moonsilver. He is a superb musician, like most of Shroudling heritage, and is known to compose songs.
Thalion is likely to be an extremely good father, given his patience and almost inhuman calm. He would cope well with the emotional upheavals of his childrens adolescence, as an example, and is likely to provide them with both care and loving affection. He may sometimes seem a little distant to them, but with time they would see that this is just his way.
Thalion has been active in the games of Paradox. Maneuvered into slaying the Guisel Queen, he is not so much a player as a piece, and only time will tell how long the slower fuse of his temper will burn before he too explodes as his brother has. He is unlikely to give advance warning of his intentions.
He has numerous allies in Amber and Rebma, most of his closest family, and his relationship with his brother has improved since his youth. Perhaps if they come to appreciate and respect their differences they may fulfill the promise of what twins could truly be. He has declared no enemies, yet he would not.