Taeris

Taeris, the Commander of the Unchained

 

History

Taeris was born into a frontier elven community, on the edge of the great northern forests. It was a time when the Aj'Snaga were increasingly pushing their conquests, enslaving entire populations. The son of a hunter and a weaver, he learned the art of survival from a young age, but his life changed radically with the outbreak of the Great Frontier War, when his people were called to arms.   Enlisting as a simple soldier, Taeris immediately demonstrated a natural talent for strategy and leadership. Soon, despite his young age, he was appointed commander of an elven regiment, earning respect not only for his courage in battle but also for his ability to read the battlefield as if it were a living chessboard.   His luck ran out when, after a bloody campaign against the Aj'Snaga legions, his regiment was overwhelmed. Captured, he was dragged off as spoils of war and enslaved. For years, he was thrown into the arena as a gladiator, battling beasts, other slaves, and even summoned monsters, while the Aj'Snaga delighted in watching him fight. But in those arenas, he also learned another lesson: control of emotions, absolute discipline, and the ability to read his opponent.   Knowing that revealing his true nature as a commander would condemn him to immediate death, he chose to hide his identity. To the Aj'Snaga, he was nothing more than a strong, brutal elf, a slave to be displayed. Silently, however, he cultivated his strategic mind, waiting for the moment to rise again.   That moment came with the revolt led by Izlafeth. When the chains broke, Taeris cast aside his gladiator's mask and revealed his true self: not a mere slave, but a general. It was he who coordinated the first rebel units, transforming desperate men and women into disciplined militiamen. After the victory at Vupji, the philosopher Izlafeth appointed him commander-in-chief of the rebel forces, recognizing that without him, the rebellion could never have survived.  

Character and Personality

Taeris is a man hardened by scars, not only on his body but also in his soul. Austere, taciturn, he rarely smiles: he is a leader who prefers example to words, even if when he does speak, his sentences are direct, cutting, and impossible to ignore.   He has no illusions about the fate of the rebellion: he knows that the chances of victory against the Aj'Snaga power are slim, but this does not discourage him. On the contrary, it makes him cold and calculating, always ready to exploit the slightest advantage. He is the kind of commander who doesn't hesitate to sacrifice a handful of men if it allows a hundred others to survive.   Behind this armor, however, a flame burns. Taeris viscerally hates the Aj'Snaga, not so much for his personal slavery as for what he has witnessed in the arenas and camps: peoples reduced to chains, children treated like animals, entire cultures wiped out. He fights not for himself, but for an absolute principle: no people should live under the yoke of another.   His pragmatism sometimes makes him distant even from his allies. Izlafeth, with her rhetoric and her belief in the philosophy of freedom, represents the ideal; Taeris, on the other hand, is its sword and shield, often willing to make brutal decisions to allow the ideal to survive.  

Relationships and Conflicts

Izlafeth: There is an iron bond between the two. Izlafeth is the heart and mind of the movement, Taeris its arm. They often argue, as Izlafeth favors clemency and respect for moral principles, while Taeris favors effectiveness. Yet both know that without one another, the movement would collapse.

Rebel Army: The guerrillas simultaneously revere and fear him. Some consider him an invincible hero, others see him as a man willing to sacrifice them without hesitation. In any case, no one can deny that without him, they would all be dead already.

Kingdom of Mazur: For the noble masters, he is a living nightmare, a gladiator transformed into the rebellion's general. Among the Aj'Snaga commanders, there are those who swear that the rebellion will fall only when Taeris's head is planted on a pike.

Self: Taeris's greatest conflict is internal. Every day he wonders whether he is leading his comrades to freedom or ruin. But doubt does not paralyze him; it strengthens him.

Skills and Powers

Taeris is, first and foremost, a strategist and guerrilla fighter.  

Master of irregular warfare: he masters ambush, sabotage, and guerrilla tactics. He is capable of moving thousands of men through hostile territory without leaving a trace.

Gladiatorial experience: his physical strength is enormous for an elf. He knows every hand-to-hand combat technique, from improvised weapons to dual swords. He has learned to face opponents of all kinds: soldiers, beasts, and magical creatures.

Silent charisma: he is not an orator like Izlafeth, but his charisma comes from his gaze and his presence. In battle, rebels follow him blindly because they know he will always be the first to fight and the last to retreat.

Mental Discipline: Years of imprisonment and gladiatorial shows have taught him to mask his emotions and maintain a cool head. It is almost impossible to break him with intimidation or torture.

Possessed Items

The Spear of Vupji: A weapon made from the broken weapons of the Aj'Snaga soldiers defeated in the Battle of Vupji. A symbol of his victory, but also of the rebirth of the rebel people.

Arena Gladius: A worn short sword, which he used in gladiatorial combat. Despite having better weapons, he keeps it as a memento and a warning.

Cloak of Broken Chains: A simple cloak sewn from scraps of cloth taken from freed slaves. It has no magical powers, but it is a symbol. Each piece tells the story of a redeemed life.

Wooden amulet: engraved with the symbol of his home village, the only reminder of his life before war and slavery.

Conclusion

Taeris is the man who transforms anger into discipline and desperation into resistance. If Izlafeth is the thinker and prophet of rebellion, Taeris is its general, the one who brings it to life on the battlefield. In him, the brutality of the gladiator and the coldness of the strategist coexist: two souls fused in a single figure, capable of leading thousands of men through swamps, forests, and the arenas of war.