Tarik Demishruk
Tarik Demishruk
Tarik Demishruk is a Dwarf Monk and Acolyte of the Way. Formerly a pirate operating between Yerovera and the Dragon Continent, he now works wholly legitimately as a helmsman aboard the Pendagast, as part of the Jade Sea Trade Expedition.
History
Born in the towering mountains of <Turkey> in <182>, Tarik is the oldest of three siblings. His youth was fraught, as a mining accident injured his parents such that he had to step up and assume a lot of responsibilities, looking after parent and child alike. He never got the hang of this, forgetting many of the important details, failing to buy what they needed, and being regularly fired from the small jobs he took. This came to a breaking point when he turned 16, as yet another setback sent the young man spiralling. To avoid the disappointment of those who were relying on him he fled, demanding a job on the first ship leaving the country. Unfortunately for Tarik, he had picked not an honest merchant ship, but one belonging to a vicious pirate band known as the Blood Maelstrom, who happily took him aboard and set him to work.Piracy
For the next decade Tarik worked for the Blood Maelstrom. Initially this was as a deckhand, but as various raids depleted and changed over the crew, he was given training in damn near every job on their boats. This included but was not limited to being a lookout, cook, gunner, and ultimately a helmsman. In the case of the latter, he was taught by a tiefling navigator by the name of Vasilis Magalos, who the Blood Maelstrom had captured some months before. Though he found a lot of success with the Blood Maelstrom, it was not to last. What should have been an easy raid on a Sylvian merchant ship went wildly awry, ending with the pirate captain and Vasilis dead and Tarik less an eye, among many other casualties aboard. Their battered ship was hauled to a nearby port and the surviving pirates were captured. Due to his severe injuries, Tarik avoided the arrests by being taken to a hospital, and was able to bribe the kindly doctor into let him leave out a back door onto the streets. Rather than return to his boat and attempt to reform the Blood Maelstrom, Tarik left the city altogether, aimlessly seeking some way to improve his lot. On his brief wanderings, he encountered the monk Micha who spoke of their monastery in the distant forested hills, which often acted as a refuge for penitent criminals. Tarik changed his course, and entered the monastery.Redemption
Within the shadowed confines of the monk's complex, Tarik learnt the ways of their order. With their guidance, he undertook the rigorous training required to become a monk, and in turn he helped to teach and look after the younger acolytes within his monastery. In this role he surprisingly excelled, delighting many of the youngsters with tall tales and comedic antics. Though he brought joy into the monastery, he felt it was not enough. And so, after many years of training and dedication, he left on nebulously defined 'travels', endeavouring to bring the peace he had learnt to others. To this end, he decided to make use of the skills he had honed under Vasilis, and applied himself as a navigator for merchant ships throughout the seas. These boats brought him all throughout the land, hypothetically letting him spread as much good and peace as he could. After spending a few years in and around the Prosperity of Welvarend, he was appointed as one of the helmsmen for the trade vessel the Pendagast, which is to lead the Jade Sea Trade Expedition.Family, Friends, and So On
Important People- Teacher: Vasilis Magalos - 42 Years Old (Deceased)
A glum and tightlipped tiefling, Vasilis found himself in the Blood Maelstrom's employ after his private ship was captured off the coast of Hellenia. Though he was poorly treated by the pirates due to being a captive and a cursed man, he found some companionship with Tarik. When his eyesight began to fade, he staved off death by teaching Tarik to pilot the boats. He was killed in the crossfire of a raid gone awry. - Mentor: Micha Blumenthal - 89 Years Old
A surprisingly bitter and grim individual, Micha is a halfling monk from the Middle Kingdoms. Being orphaned quite young, they were brought into the monastery overlooking the southern coast of Yerovera, and taught extensively in the ways of being a proper monk. At the command of the head of the order, he spent many years travelling between various coastal cities in search of penitent and lost souls who might be receptive to their ways, but their angry countenance kept many at arm's length. Tarik was one of their only successful recruits. - Leader: Naielle Odelia - 122 Years Old
Nerdy and naive to a fault, Naielle is the navigator for the Pendagast. Initially a historian in the Sylvian Empire, she was forced into exile when her professor reported her to the imperial government for "treason". She has spent the last 20 odd years in Welvarend as a member of the Navigator's Guild, taking advantage of an astronomy degree and the aid of her patron, the celestial Alcor. - Co-retainer: Darcy Goddard - 33 Years Old
The quiet and ever-watchful lookout for the Pendagast, Darcy has been at sea for most of her life. Hailing from Arcadia, she jokes that she came to be a sailor in Welvarend by flying from ship to ship until she landed on the islands' shores. The wing injury she sustained in an Arcadian mutiny still troubles her, and she and Tarik have spoken often about looking after each other.
Children
Pronouns
He/Him
Comments
Author's Notes
This article is about 95% only for myself and my DM for the campaign Tarik is part of, so a lot of information is not explained because the two of us already know it. Nevertheless, if you enjoyed reading about him, I'm delighted! ^v^