Tayina was the firstborn of four children in her family. Her family was
a loose unit which might be considered a clan with many others besides
direct relations. She was bound by fate, or so her elders thought, to make
her clan proud by taking part in an arranged and altogether political
marriage. So from a young age she was taught some of the rules of etiquette
and other duties which were associated with her future status. By the time
she was in her mid-teens however, Tayina was tired of the whole process.
Her arranged husband was not even somebody she especially liked; he was too
arrogant and thought little of her because of her gender. When she was
fifteen, Tayina left her family behind, walking away without regrets. She
would make her own path, eventually making it to Seringale after a lot of
wandering throughout Serin. One thing was certain: she wanted to determine
her own fate. But the future was yet to be seen...
Fleeing From Fate
After Tayina settled into life near Seringale, she did her best to avoid
sharing her true identity with those around her. She remained paranoid and
felt that her clan was still out to get her. She especially feared the
thought of being forced into submission, perhaps with a beating, and into
marriage with her loathsome partner her family had chosen. She decided to
seek a way out, any way out. She became a member of the rangers guild as it
was full of other loners like her. She went through the Academy, and gained
some titles before finding herself within Arachnos and heard a voice
beckoning her further within. After following the voice, she eventually
came before Arachnos, the Empress of the spiders. As she was commanded, she
hugged Arachnos, who bit her. Tayina felt a great change take place within
her at that time. A curse befell her, and she felt a brief connection to
the dark gods. What had once been a desire to never face her family again
turned into thoughts of anger at how they chose such a despicable individual
for her. She no longer was worried about that; if she felt anything before
her mentality was permanently changed, it was that her former partner would
PAY if she ever saw him again. But as it was, her new modus operandi became
that of being the huntress, not the hunted; the predator, not the prey; the
one who controls, not the one who is controlled. She pledged herself to
serve Thorgoth, and had a new desire: to challenge any in Serin who dared
anger her like her family or potential husband had in the past.
Additional Developments
After Tayina found her way into the halls of the Warlords, she became
respected among her peers for her devotion to the Code. However, there were
others who did not follow the same conduct, or who failed to realize she
acted first according to the Code, then would she add her personal
considerations. In particular, the high elves seemed to always be
questioning her honor. A paladin named Thalandir was so audacious as to
demand a duel to the death with Tayina; Tayina was overwhelmed and he killed
her. Then there was a time she had been in a duel with Dogran from Legion,
and Erelanidd attacked the Juggernaut. Naturally, Tayina marked him for
death due to his disregard for the sanctity of her duel. Later, she fell in
a duel to the death against Erelanidd. Ultimately, this has made Tayina
prejudiced heavily against the high elves, who she considers her worst
enemies.
Description:
There is an odd humanoid individual here. Judging by the size of the
breasts and overall curvature of the body, she is a woman. She has long
limbs, and her feet and hands seem particularly enormous. The feet are wide
and seem longer than normal. As for her hands, they are big affairs with
flat palms and overlong fingers which almost seem to creep as she moves
them. Her body's shape is similar to a spoon, with a particularly large
posterior, a well-defined waist, and a slim upper body.
0- 6- 0 Kaeno the Grand Master of Seasons (Fought at rank 50) 2- 1- 0 Adremar the Battlemaster (Fought at rank 50) 0- 1- 0 Alkas the Grand Master of Seasons (Fought at rank 50) 1- 0- 0 Darvaz the Volcano of Infinite Rage (Fought at rank 50) 1- 3- 0 Thoom the Battlemaster (Fought at rank 50) 0- 1- 0 Kremina the Shadow Master of the Marama Kuei (Fought at rank 50) 0- 1- 0 Thalandir the Holy Knight (Fought at rank 50) 1- 0- 0 Dogran the Holy Shaman (Fought at rank 50) 0- 1- 0 Erelanidd the Holy Knight (Fought at rank 50) 1- 0- 0 Yrlssa the Wrath of Nature (Fought at rank 50) 0- 1- 0 Grimple the Sage of Arcane Power (Fought at rank 50) 0- 1- 0 Astorennon the Grand Hierophant of the Forest (Fought at rank 50) 3- 0- 0 Mikiel the Wrath of Nature (Fought at rank 50) 0- 1- 0 Kali the Grand Spectre of Beguilement (Fought at rank 50) 1- 2- 0 Abellyith the Battlemaster (Fought at rank 50) 0- 1- 0 Toland the Holy Knight (Fought at rank 50) 1- 0- 0 Alytha the Holy Shaman (Fought at rank 50) 0- 2- 0 Myrina the Grand Master of Seasons (Fought at rank 50) 0- 1- 0 Serra the Holy Patriarch of Healing (Fought at rank 50)
I really appreciated the bond I had with you. We came up together in Warlords, and we saw each other through some fights. Your record doesn’t really reflect the heart that you brought to each duel you went into. You had some notable victories that weren’t just luck (Dogran, Thoom). I saw both of those fights: you were fast, hit like a truck, and had good anticipation. God knows there were a few fights we had where I was one bad RNG from a loss.
I thought you took on the responsibilities of Warlord well. Your natural vs. played alignment led to some very interesting interactions for you that earned you both friends and enemies. Ultimately, I felt you carved your own path in the world, and that’s what Warlords is all about.
Thanks for the journey, Tayina. Looking forward to your next.
I'll admit, Kaeno... I was not surprised to see you get Blademaster. I remember feeling some pride (and yet also, in some ways, like I had not deserved it later) when I was finally promoted to Proven. Our fights were awfully close... I even managed to land wounding shot one time and failed to seal the deal.
I definitely enjoyed working with you as well. It was a disappointment when you deleted, but I understood that you might have wanted to move on. And that's where I stood when I deleted this character. I'm not sure whether I want to claim my character yet or not... So I am not yet posting with my main alias.
Tayina was a great Warlord. I was glad to have you as part of the crew and respected your opinion enough to consciously wait for it on a couple different things. I enjoyed your RP and thought you did a good job developing it throughout. I still remember interviewing you and was pleased and impressed by your responses to my questions.
I have not played a Raknos myself, there really have only been a few of them, and it seems like it might be a bit difficult of a race. One big thing I noticed in some of your duels was that you would forget silly things, like forgetting to replace tenacity after it fell, or forgetting to wear your shield after a disarm, or something. I can't remember specifics so maybe I'm mistaken, but that was the feeling I got on why some of your duels went south. Which is fortunately an easy thing to correct! But that being said, you were still a powerhouse. Our first duel was the one where you beat me, and I was not expecting it to happen, but in no way at all gave you the win, you absolutely earned it. Like Kaeno said, there wasn't any luck there, it was a great win and put you among a relative few.
Overall, a great character and one you should be proud of. Build from here and do even better next time. Looking forward to your next.
The wereraknos is actually easier than a weretiger despite having the same transformed stats... There is a secret to them which I'm not revealing (those who witnessed my duels might have noticed a "feature" of the race). I decided I wanted to be the first wereraknos in the Warlords... Still could've done better, but hey, there's always a next time!
And yeah, repetition and having a checklist in my head of things I need to do before/during a duel really helps. It took too many duels to remember to get my stance up BEFORE starting the duel as well as making sure that I had the right target (I'm relatively new to the Warlords, and also not the most experienced duelist).
Although it's only been about a day since I deleted, I figure with the positive reception I received so far I have no qualms about claiming my character.
Tayina was definitely a fun experience, though after a while I tired of playing the character. I just couldn't find motivation to play, which is why I didn't log on much last month. My last fight was one where Dogran invaded on me when I simply didn't have enough saves gear available (I seemed to be doing okay despite that; I had enough consumables to generally handle what he did to me)... It was amusing to see him attempt to abduct me and get hit with an <<<ERADICATES>>> blow. At that point, I waited briefly in Darkhaven before leaving due to needing a bathroom break.
Here's one soundtrack I listened to quite often while dueling (put on loop mode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF6tzxOhbHI
Regarding the official alignment (chaotic evil) versus how I played it... I always consider a cabal's conduct to take priority over alignment, e.g. I don't play chaotic good Knights who are openly disrespectful towards their superiors, or lawful evil Justices who abuse the laws for personal gain, even though those would both be perfectly in line with the alignment. This meant in Tayina's case that she was somewhere between neutral and evil on the alignment axis. If anyone has ever played Ancient Domains of Mystery, the alignment system there would be how I would have put Tayina's alignment, only with chaotic replaced with evil (there are only lawful, neutral, and chaotic there)... "EN" would be the alignment in that case, or "evil with neutral tendencies".
Additionally, I found myself suddenly the most senior member of the cabal at one point, and I barely consider myself knowledgeable enough to give out tasks to applicants. I've never played a monk to a level beyond the teen ranks to the best of my memory, so I tend to feel uncomfortable giving suggestions to people playing monks. Also, I'm not a great warrior player (certainly, I can't compare myself with players like Bladefury and Xenyar, or characters like Thoom or Conundo)... Part of seniority in the Warlords from what I have seen (particularly at Blademaster and Warmaster, though Proven also has this to some extent) involves knowledge of combat... And in my opinion, being able to give tips to somebody else, particularly when they have been defeated. As such, I did not feel comfortable stepping up and aiming for the promotion Davairus suggested might come if I had beat Lumubella, Solmundi, or Shoangii in a duel.
Hopefully I was not too much of a disappointment to anyone. I certainly tried, and in the end had some wins and losses like everyone else and a record which makes me go meh.
I wouldn't say I am at all disappointed with this delete. Its a familiar problem. An inactive, unengaged caballed character. Its a pretty hard problem for an Imm to solve. Really, you are the only one who can solve that. Deleting is one way to do it. Sometimes a fresh start, new character, can really rejuvenate you and that makes AR more fun overall. Glad you liked raknos.
[reply to kento]
[reply to Ashlyn]
I thought you took on the responsibilities of Warlord well. Your natural vs. played alignment led to some very interesting interactions for you that earned you both friends and enemies. Ultimately, I felt you carved your own path in the world, and that’s what Warlords is all about.
Thanks for the journey, Tayina. Looking forward to your next.
Tayina 1 , 0 , 0 . I'll admit, Kaeno... I was not surprised to see you get Blademaster. I remember feeling some pride (and yet also, in some ways, like I had not deserved it later) when I was finally promoted to Proven. Our fights were awfully close... I even managed to land wounding shot one time and failed to seal the deal.
[reply to Kaeno]I definitely enjoyed working with you as well. It was a disappointment when you deleted, but I understood that you might have wanted to move on. And that's where I stood when I deleted this character. I'm not sure whether I want to claim my character yet or not... So I am not yet posting with my main alias.
I have not played a Raknos myself, there really have only been a few of them, and it seems like it might be a bit difficult of a race. One big thing I noticed in some of your duels was that you would forget silly things, like forgetting to replace tenacity after it fell, or forgetting to wear your shield after a disarm, or something. I can't remember specifics so maybe I'm mistaken, but that was the feeling I got on why some of your duels went south. Which is fortunately an easy thing to correct! But that being said, you were still a powerhouse. Our first duel was the one where you beat me, and I was not expecting it to happen, but in no way at all gave you the win, you absolutely earned it. Like Kaeno said, there wasn't any luck there, it was a great win and put you among a relative few.
Overall, a great character and one you should be proud of. Build from here and do even better next time. Looking forward to your next.
Tayina 0 , 0 , 0 . The wereraknos is actually easier than a weretiger despite having the same transformed stats... There is a secret to them which I'm not revealing (those who witnessed my duels might have noticed a "feature" of the race). I decided I wanted to be the first wereraknos in the Warlords... Still could've done better, but hey, there's always a next time!
[reply to Thoom]And yeah, repetition and having a checklist in my head of things I need to do before/during a duel really helps. It took too many duels to remember to get my stance up BEFORE starting the duel as well as making sure that I had the right target (I'm relatively new to the Warlords, and also not the most experienced duelist).
Tayina was definitely a fun experience, though after a while I tired of playing the character. I just couldn't find motivation to play, which is why I didn't log on much last month. My last fight was one where Dogran invaded on me when I simply didn't have enough saves gear available (I seemed to be doing okay despite that; I had enough consumables to generally handle what he did to me)... It was amusing to see him attempt to abduct me and get hit with an <<<ERADICATES>>> blow. At that point, I waited briefly in Darkhaven before leaving due to needing a bathroom break.
Here's one soundtrack I listened to quite often while dueling (put on loop mode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF6tzxOhbHI
Regarding the official alignment (chaotic evil) versus how I played it... I always consider a cabal's conduct to take priority over alignment, e.g. I don't play chaotic good Knights who are openly disrespectful towards their superiors, or lawful evil Justices who abuse the laws for personal gain, even though those would both be perfectly in line with the alignment. This meant in Tayina's case that she was somewhere between neutral and evil on the alignment axis. If anyone has ever played Ancient Domains of Mystery, the alignment system there would be how I would have put Tayina's alignment, only with chaotic replaced with evil (there are only lawful, neutral, and chaotic there)... "EN" would be the alignment in that case, or "evil with neutral tendencies".
Additionally, I found myself suddenly the most senior member of the cabal at one point, and I barely consider myself knowledgeable enough to give out tasks to applicants. I've never played a monk to a level beyond the teen ranks to the best of my memory, so I tend to feel uncomfortable giving suggestions to people playing monks. Also, I'm not a great warrior player (certainly, I can't compare myself with players like Bladefury and Xenyar, or characters like Thoom or Conundo)... Part of seniority in the Warlords from what I have seen (particularly at Blademaster and Warmaster, though Proven also has this to some extent) involves knowledge of combat... And in my opinion, being able to give tips to somebody else, particularly when they have been defeated. As such, I did not feel comfortable stepping up and aiming for the promotion Davairus suggested might come if I had beat Lumubella, Solmundi, or Shoangii in a duel.
Hopefully I was not too much of a disappointment to anyone. I certainly tried, and in the end had some wins and losses like everyone else and a record which makes me go meh.
Ilromie 0 , 0 , 2 . Sounds like you weren't chaotic at all. Guess you made that choice just for the weapons option. Lumubella 0 , 0 , 0 . We ne'er did get ter be fightin'. But maybe that was a good thing. Stephen2Aus 
0 , 0 , 0 . I spent many thousand hours in ADOM (more so in 90s). Great to see another intellectual around here :) Bladefury BANNED 2 , 0 , 0 . Let's be real anyone who plays AR is an intellectual.
[reply to BlackWidow][reply to Davairus]