Personality Traits: • I enjoy quiet times in solitude. • I always look forward to visiting new places, unless its like Sigil. • Try as you might, I will never be suppressed.
Bond: • No matter what people tell me, Tir na Og will always be my true home. • I will always be a Veyle, regardless of my birth as a Valencroft. • There's someone special waiting for me back home and I miss her dearly. • The Plane-Tenders are my brothers and sisters. • I will never forgo the teachings by master bestowed onto me.
Ideal: • These Plane's can be harsh, yet so calming and beautiful. • Blood will always run thicker than water.
Flaw: • I will never stop pursuing something once I set my mind to it. • I struggle at times to open up to others and will often let things fester.
Personality: 'Tychonis,' or Tarel as he would call himself is a rather somber and silent individual, noting to contrast his blood parents in a multitude of ways. However he does display a large amount of devotion to his family and takes to doing things to the letter as in noted to be an exemplar of their ideals and the lives they live.
Underneath that shallow mask, however, is someone embittered by his experiences in the city. In truth he despises the Valencrofts and how they've drilled their ideals into his head. He doesn't enjoy the life within Sigil, finding it too suffocating for his tastes and would prefer being in a place that is rather less... bustling. Of course, this is also why he would never speak more than what he needs to say at gala's and the like.
Beyond being enraged at his cage, there's a wonderful curiosity embroidered in him: a curiosity that was sparked the moment he stepped into another realm of his own volition. In spite of his quiet nature exists an adventurous spirit, wanting to see more planes, seek new worlds, and bask in the beauty. But he can't do that here in Sigil now can he. Thankfully he is as stubborn as he can be hyper-focused, and no matter what he does, when he does it he won't back down.
Backstory:
Tychonis Valencroft: that was his name, his real name told to him by his blood parents, told to him by other nobles, told to him by Sigil. Yet despite this he had another name, one known to a select few, flowing through the annals of the realm known as Tir na Og.
He might have been born as “Tychonis Valencroft,” but before even that he was Tarel Veyle, the adopted son of an older human couple known as Manuv and Dalia Veyle.
There were peculiar circumstances involving how Tarel came into the couple’s care, especially surrounding the mystery of his origins. As far as the couple recalls, Manuv was coming back from a hunt with friends when they found the youth, covered in mud, half-starved, and barely clinging to life. They couldn’t leave the youth to his fate and brought him back to the Veyle homestead where he was nursed back to health.
In the meantime, there was a search for the missing boy’s parents, scouring and searching for the next couple of days, yet it would be all for naught. Passing travelers through the quaint hamlet had no recollections of a boy traveling with them and even the boy himself lacked any recollection of what might of transpired. Everything was a blur, to the events leaving him marooned out in the forest, to the mystery behind a strange brand on his body, to even his own name eluding him.
The Veyles assumed that he and his parents must of been victim to the Wild Hunt in their realm and must of been unfortunately taken by it. The boy was considered a lucky survivor, if one could call him that, and believed that was the reason for his lack of memories. With no one to turn to or anywhere else to go, the older couple volunteered themselves to raise the young man as one of their own, feeling partially responsible as a result of discovering him.
And thus, the young boy was adopted into the Veyle's, giving him the name Tarel. Tarel was a quiet child who felt 'different,' especially considering his circumstances. While he lived in relative peace and quiet with his family, a part of him felt he didn't fit and thus whenever they went to the village, he'd shyly hide away from the others.
This wouldn't last for long as one of the children, a girl, would end up finding the young Tarel tucked away in a tree within the village. She would introduce themselves, only to find that he would not respond; this would come to be one of Tarel’s fonder memories as the other child would stubbornly scramble up the side of the tree with Tarel scrambling to disappear further into the foliage, hoping she’d give up. Yet she did not.
The girl would come face to face with the reserved boy after breaking enough branches and snapping enough twigs as she once again would introduce herself as Millicent. Tarel, whether due to his current inability to flee the situation or a desire to find a place in this realm, quietly introduced himself in turn. That would end up being the turning point for Tarel, as Millicent would end up being the gateway that allowed him to slowly integrate into the rest of the village and allowed him to feel like he did belong. While this wasn't his true home, it surely felt like it to him.
And now? Every day felt more vibrant than before with her and the other children. They’d explore around the village, play hide and seek, pretend, and so forth. But none of that would have happened if it wasn’t for the actions of a stubborn girls refusal to leave Tarel alone after their initial meeting. At first he found it a little annoying, but over time it grew on him, and Millicent became a radiant beacon to him.
He wasn’t alone anymore, and he never would be again.
As he grew older and his bonds continued to deepen with his found family, his father would teach him the way of the forest, teaching him survival skills and found that the boy was quite adept at handling a bow. While he only allowed him to hunt with small game at first, his skills matured at a rapid rate and was eventually allowed to join his father on hunts with his friends. While he wasn't as close with his friends as his dad was, Tarel did make his father proud.
As Tarel continued to grow, so did his knowledge about Tir na Og, as well as learning a couple of things about the people in this hamlet, such as his father's past as a Plane-Tender, or the fact that Millicent reciprocated his own feelings for her. His times with his family and the one dearest became more cherished to him, especially as he learned more about the Plane-Tenders and announced his intentions of joining, something that would take him far away from the village for many weeks.
To ensure he’d leave with no regrets, he spent as much time as he could with his parents. He would leave on hunts with his father and bring back game and more. He would never forget the first time he skinned a deer or even the peculiar smell of tanning the beast’s hides. All those days were filled with mirth and jubilation as he filled himself with more than enough memories with his mother and father to last multiple lifetimes.
However, there was one last thing he had to go before he left.
On the final Tarel asked for Millicent’s hand in marriage. She accepted immediately, though Tarel had to mention the caveats and what his plans were. They discussed this long throughout the day and eventually into the night, but eventually the two would be bound by an oath: when Millicent would spy him over the horizon, they would be wed. They would spend the rest of that night together in their embrace until it came to the next day.
And thus his time in the quaint little hamlet in Tir na Og came to an end, at least for now, as he wished his parents, his fiancé, friends, and others a good bye as he departed for Summeroak. The journey took a couple of weeks with the stops and odd jobs he sometimes had to pick up but eventually found himself at the home of the Plane-Tenders.
The initiation was simple enough as is and passed with little to no fanfare and found himself under the tutelage of a Sectoral. The work was relatively mundane, aside from the occasional visit to different realms. His master had one of the duties of observing different realms and reporting any issues to the Sect. Every new realm, every knew scene would astound him, and tended to be one of the highlights of his letters whenever he wrote back home; he would imprint all of these experiences onto his heart.
On one such visit, the duo and other members of the Plane-tenders were sent to visit Sigil to discuss certain issues with the Verdant Guild regarding the movement of the Vilehunt. That was the plan at the very least. Tarel didn't exactly expect his brand to be inspected in such a vehement manner. What he expected less was one of the guards commanding the others to take him away to the Valencroft Estate. While there was bickering and fighting about what they were doing, the Plane-tenders didn't have much of a choice in the matter, and neither did Tarel as he was whisked away to a resplendent manor.
On that day he would learn the truth of his true identity when he was welcomed 'home' after so many years and was addressed as 'Tychonis Valencroft.' He was draped in finery and forced into other stuffy clothing as he fought against the waves of servants, shouting that he had a meeting to get to, but it was naught but a vain struggle. After all this preparation, he was to meet with his real parents as they were served a feast whilst explaining how he would need to catch up on years upon years of practice and exercise to be a proper heir for the Valencrofts.
And thus he learned the supposed truth about his heritage, finding his 'father' bore the same brand as him, how those Hands of Havoc dogs attempted to remove a powerful asset to the Harmonium and Fraternity of Orders cause. It all caused his head to spin, and he barely had time to process it before they moved on to his training and future education.
Those next years of his life were nothing but misery. Unable to go out into the world, unable to leave the household. Day in, day out, he would endure learning proper etiquette, laws, mathematics, equations, politics, weapon-handling, what clothes to wear for what occasion, and other superfluous lessons he could honestly care less for. They even went as far as to forcibly correct his identity. He was not and never was 'Tarel Veyle,' he was always Tychonis Valencroft. All of these things and more would be drilled into his head, day in and day out.
But he would learn to grit his teeth and endure, for as long as it took before he could eventually escape this blasted hell of a 'home.'
'Tychonis' would endure a year of this torment, unable to contact his real family until his the Valencrofts declared their son fit enough to reenter society as their proper heir. They paraded him off with bombastic delight, much to the young man's discomfort; he felt less like a person and more like some sort of trophy, and even the whole "Valencroft endurance finally won out" story or whatever it was disgusted him.
And each and every passing day left him repulsed even more than the last. Being forced to navigate the political landscape of the Fraternity was a bore to him and he could care less about adjudicating certain laws and what pieces of knowledge were supposedly 'best for the people.' Being outfitted for armor and being taught the ins and outs of the city also drove him insane, especially considering that he didn't plan on staying.
However he did turn that to his advantage. Recalling particular laws, certain patrol routes certain guards would take, he'd carefully weave his way through the city, documenting every nook and cranny he could. Eventually his luck struck as he took note of the badge of a fellow Plane-tender who was within the city and secretly contacted them through a method only other Plane-tenders would.
'Tychonis' would request that he meet with his master about all that transpired as the liaison would relay the message back to his master and would inform the young man when the time came. A couple of weeks would pass before 'Tychonis' would receive any notice of his master's arrival. He would go on to take advantage once again of his knowledge over Sigil to meet them and would explain all that he knew, what happened, and even issue an apology.
He discussed plans of returning home to Tir na Og, but during their discussion came to a realization of how much of a stranglehold the Valencrofts had on 'Tychonis' and his life. The moment he vanished, he'd be hunted and dragged back home, most likely with more restrictions imposed on him to try and ensure he'd be their perfect, Valencroft loyal heir. 'Tychonis' was more than bitter about the hand he was dealt, but reassured them he'd find a way to escape their watchful eye.
'Tychonis' would continue to monitor his 'home' whilst being under the guise of dutiful son. He'd continue to learn about this suffocating city and devise multitudes of plans to try and escape, only for them to be met in utter and abject failure; 'Tychonis' would often have to lie his way through these interrogations, writing them off as a bit of a slip up or 'misadventure.'
A lot of which was not looked kindly upon.
'Tychonis' was at wits end, running into dead ends whenever he tried to plan for some sort of break from this place... before he realized something. What if he just faked his own death? It was a stupid idea, but he did learn some tricks across the city when his father required him to go on patrol with him to learn as his "successor." Granted he also was running out of ideas, so it was worth a shot.
Before he could even put his plans into motion, there was a cry that rang across the city and reached every single crack and crevice there was.
Tir na Og had vanished.
Related Factions: House Valencroft - A esteemed noble family of the highest caliber in Sigil. They have ties to both the Fraternity of Order and Harmonium and are well-regarded, respected, and sometimes even feared. Tychonis is only bound by blood and despises his 'familial connection.'
Plane-Tenders - He currently is a Sectioneer within their order and values their companionship as much as his family. Tychonis is extremely loyal to them as some of his fondest memories were during his time within the order.
Fraternity of Order - While Tychonis isn't affiliated with them, he was forced to perform some work under them due to his mother's connections; she hopes Tychonis properly joins them one day. Tychonis doesn't reciprocate.
Harmonium - While Tychonis isn't affiliated with them, he was forced to perform some work under them due to his father's connections; he hopes Tychonis properly joins them one day. Tychonis doesn't reciprocate.
Hands of Havoc - The order behind Tychonis ending up in Tir na Og. Tychonis is extremely wary of them due to not only the stories his blood family told of him, but the fact that they kidnapped him and how he has a target on his back due to the Valencrofts announcing their sons return.
Plane's Scion
Skill Proficiencies: History, Survival Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan's tools Languages: One of your choice Equipment: The badge or emblem of your faction, a copy of a seminal faction text (or a code-book for a covert faction), a set of common clothes, a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a pouch containing 10gp
Features Safe Haven As a faction agent, you have access to a secret network of supporters and operatives who can provide assistance on your adventures. You know a set of secret signs and passwords you can use to identify such operatives, who can provide you with access to a hidden safe house, free room and board, or assistance in finding information. These agents never risk their lives for you or risk revealing their true identities.
