Quartz 5

Aldor Thaned

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Aldor Thaned

Aldor Thaned is the serious, protective de facto leader of The Merry Bunch - a human raised among the tengu, and the prophesied Rising Phoenix.

Biography

Born in 1509 on the slopes of the Aeggheimr Mountains, Aldor never met his father, who was conscripted for the War of Horrors and never returned. His mother, Kari, was a gifted seamstress who kept him warm and happy through the harsh winters. When Aldor was ten, banderhobbs raided their village and kidnapped them. The fear-eating creatures forced their captives to watch the deaths of friends and family, saving Aldor for last because a child’s terror promised the richest meal; they made him watch Kari be eaten alive.

A tengu hunting party found the camp, killed the banderhobbs, and freed the survivors. Two hunters, Pacham and Edena, were expecting their first child. They recognized Aldor’s distress and learned that he had been born beneath the Rising Phoenix. Taking it as a sign, they did something rare among the tengu and adopted the human child.

Life among the tengu was difficult. Aldor could neither fly nor match their rapid growth, and remained a lowlander in many eyes despite working hard for their respect. When Tikal was born, Aldor devoted himself to being a protective, kind older brother and role model. At thirteen he completed the tribe’s adulthood rites with Tikal beside him, turning his hardships into a mark of strength. The tribe gradually came to value him, and he learned to love its fierce freedom.

After Pacham and Edena reached old age and died, Aldor confronted the difference between his lifespan and Tikal’s. He persuaded his brother to leave the mountains with him in 1534, seeking a way to extend Tikal’s life and a chance to leave their mark on the world.

Appearance

Aldor is a tall, muscular but lean man with olive skin, dark eyes, messy hair, and short stubble and a moustache. He wears a red coat and carries a greatsword.

Personality

He is grave and focused, rarely given to jokes or idle rest, and fiercely protective of his group and of Tikal above all. He is a level-headed leader who listens before acting, though when he thinks nobody is watching he often seems distant and sad.

He is secretly in love with Nessa but believes she is beyond his reach. He treats Boti like a grandmother and regards Filli as his counterpart and the group’s alternate leader.

Since Ziz named him the Rising Phoenix, Aldor has tried to ignore and escape the prophecy. He believes its promise that he will gain all he wished for and lose all that mattered means Tikal will die. He has acquired magic that prevents him from dreaming and takes pains not to eat anything resembling stone, hoping to deny the prophecy any path to fulfillment.

Appendix

See Also

Sources & Attribution

  • Primary lore: content/NPC/The Merry Bunch.md (moved to content/private/_originals/NPC/), author TrueMichato.

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