Tulio Brand

Tulio is quite muscular and athletic, although as he's risen to being a gang boss, he has less need to assert his physical dominance.

Tulio has many small scars and a few major ones, including some deep ones along his back from a whip when he was being interrogated several years prior.

Tulio has masculine features and generally has a menacing glower on his face.

Tulio drums his fingers on a wall or table while deciding whether or not to kill someone (or have them killed).

Born in Grenagem, Tulio's youth was violent and harsh. He and a group of five other children fled their matron when Tulio was only eight. As time went on, the other children slipped up and were recaptured or killed one by one, until only Tulio and one other Tantani child, Aden, were left.   By this time, Tulio was 12 and Aden was 10. They both got jobs in Rookhaven, which were grueling but allowed them to survive meagerly. They lived off little better than scraps until Tulio was indoctrinated into a gang two years later. He was one of the youngest members of the gang, but he was soon respected anyway. He did what was asked of him regardless of how unsavory the task was, and he didn't tolerate anybody harassing him. Tulio killed a person for the first time age age 15.   As time went on, Tulio became more and more embroiled in gang life, and Aden was brought in under his protection. He was called weak for protecting someone more vulnerable than himself, but he always made sure that nobody who said such things got off scot-free.   Tulio tried to teach Aden the life of a criminal, but Aden, who had been through some traumatic experiences during their time on the streets, didn't have the stomach for the cruelty required in the life of a Rookhaven thug.   Eventually, a moment came where, while Tulio and Aden were apart, Aden was badly injured in a gang fight. Despite Tulio's best efforts, he didn't have the resources to have Aden treated in time, and Aden died.   From then on, Tulio went from being willing to kill and double-cross when necessary to eager to do those things. He cut his way up the ranks and became a prominent crime bos in Rookhaven over the next decade or so.

Tulio's formal education is minimal, but he knows a lot in the form of "street smarts". Some highly intelligent gang members showed Tulio a lot of the practical education he would have gotten had he stayed with his matron a few more years, without any empire propaganda. Tulio recognizes the value of all types of knowledge and always seeks to learn something new when he can.

Tulio has worked with several small-time gangs, as well as smugglers, manufacturers of illegal drugs, and even assassins. He now helms his own criminal enterpise in Rookhaven, which takes part in all his areas of expertise.

Tulio is exceedingly successful for his age; most leaders of prominent gangs in places like Rookhaven don't get to that point until they're in their late thirties or older, so Tulio has a reputation as "the kid boss" of Rookhaven. Of course, anyone who would invoke that nickname in a derogatory context would never do so in earshot of a member of Tulio's gang.

Aden's death was a momentous failing that Tulio feels he can never forgive himself for. He refuses to take on any other proteges out of fear that something similar will happen.

To Tulio, Aden's death represents not only his own failings, but also a need to always be prepared for anything, which Tulio is known to often take to a paranoid extent. Tulio has a lot of unprocessed feelings about Aden as someone who was akin to a brother to him. Tulio also has trauma related to some of the more horrific gang-related crimes he has commtited, and has no outlet to cope with them.

Tulio is cynical and calculating. He is always able to make difficult decisions and respond well to a crisis. His lack of a formal education is often a barrier in administrative decisions, however.

Tulio has absolutely no problem doing terrible things sheerly for his own gain. Although he felt differently before Aden's death, he now believes that any target is fair game; that's the price they pay for being weak.

Tulio wants to be rich and successful, but he no longer has any real idea of what he would do if he felt he had achieved that goal (which is admittedly already nebulous). Sometimes he questions if it's really worth it to keep doing what he does, and he is never able to come up with a satisfying answer to that dilemma.

Tulio is ruthless to those who can't pull their own weight, especially if they act cocky or self-important.   Tuiio has a soft spot for dogs, and hates when gang violence puts them in danger.

Although Tulio's gang deals with various drugs, he never partakes to excess, and is always careful to keep himself at peak functionality in case of a sudden danger.