Background

First years of her life are blurred as it happens with early memories, she remembers running away, people pointing fingers at her, awkward smiles and whispering - back then she accepted the attention with pleasure, the understanding came later. Her mother's firm grip on the hand, dad's reassuring looks, moving from place to place almost too fast to remember; accepted by neither human nor elven society they turned to the dwarves and received hospitality they had never dreamt of; in Cliffhaven they discovered they were not alone.

But it was hard to live beneath the ground, crude tunnels and monumental architecture didn't resemble the tranquility of the forests, dwarves' gruffy remarks and peculiar humour were too distant to understand and despite their hosts' best intentions none of the outcasts felt really at home. Soon the longing for the breeze, sunlight and the sight of the stars led them back to the surface where the dwarven race helped them construct few houses which later became the center of a small village. At first glance similar to primitive human villages it combined human solidity with discrete elven elegancy, the inhabitants recreated the structure of the society they once were part of and soon the town begun to function on its own, one thing was different though - they never shunned anyone - it was their small Heaven.

The village has seen both good and bad times, fire consumed many houses, there were dry summers when people would pray for a drop of rain and winters freezing the nearby lake to the bottom, times of great fertility when children would throw fruits at each other and times when every morsel was worth its value in gold, weekly sermons, marriages and funerals - but there is only so much that can happen in a little village. Away from the main trade route it rarely received visitors; most of the people were pleased with the peace and simplicity of life remembering the persecutions they once were subject to, but the children whose bad memories weren't as vivid and whose minds were still able to forgive, grew increasingly interested in the outside world. Young hearts with their curiosity looked into the distance, and wondered... A whole new world... Many decided to leave in search of acceptance and fulfillment elsewhere, hoping...

Years immediately after arrival are possibly the happiest in her entire life. The novelty of the big civilized world, the free disputes, the seemingly unlimited possibilities of this interesting place satisfy her thirst for excitement and knowledge. Her cheerful friendship with Yegerfin and her simple trusting attachment to Nogem, a convert from Sathonys and the Captain of the Dragonguard, fill this time with joy which even the strict tutorship of Cathal could not undermine. During her happy youth she attempts to lead a darkelf Jahlad to the light and make him undergo a cleansing ritual yet in this she fails miserably which starts the paradigm of failures and disappoitments. As she acquires more responsibilities and sees more of the world she reconsiders Jezz's remarks on the appropriateness of stretching protection on the unworthy; those who do not intend to change or have no regrets; who do not appreciate it - even though she does not agree they plant a seed which is to be her companion in times of misery for the rest of her life.

The Order gains a foothold in Forostar and many of its members are on the rampage, at this time they seem to be allied with the priests of Sathonys and Tatiana is slaughtered both by Nadie and Jezz who walk freely meeting next to none resistance from anyone. These dangerous days she often spends with a convert to Taniel and a former thief Vurg who is now a Squire in the Crusade - so often are they together that their relationship develops into an unspoken affection especially now that she forced Nogem out of her life after his attempt to murder her driven by his jealousy of Xexo. Cemoch fights the two in the Evergreen forest and forces Tatiana to watch as he kills Vurg and devours his heart. This and subsequent perverted and humiliating incidents create a feeling of hate intermingled with a certain amount of fearful respect for Cemoch and his Order.

Almost ten years have passed since she left her hometown, six years after joining the Clergy her idealism slowly disappears. Troubles with Etele which ended in his expulsion from the Church, Vurg's betrayal ( VargIsRejected ), relieving Nogem from his promise, being both tempted and mocked by a Lilith demon Cazisiel and facing her gruesome enemies without a hope of alliance with the Shaolin or others who she once called her friends leave her disheartened and bitter in which she more and more resembles the Archbishop XeXo. As if it is not enough the Thieves' guild is discovered to have constructed its headquarters in the sewers of Elvandar. Confronted with these news the Alliance creates a team which is supposed to take the thieves by surprise and burn their guild down. This attempt is preempted by the Shadow Lurkers and hardly any useful information is disclosed. Therefore after the guild is burnt down and its entrance sealed the Alliance starts a troublesome task of unmasking the remaining members of the thieves (often generous and respected members of the society) to the public which gives it its reputation as judgmental and unforgiving.

But what else there is than to go on? Having in mind the image of her parents taking care of Tessa's son Belinus and remembering the joy in her voice as she spoke of his first steps leave her with no choice. Family deserves every sacrifice, blood isn't the only thing that binds people though. In recent months Tessa has become much like a daughter to her parents and a sister to Tatiana, Blizt grew even fatter from Lian's famous chocolate cakes and later decided with the full authority of the Lord Marschall that no other Crusader is allowed to visit her parents' inn because he doesn't want them to grow a fat ass! - all this while consuming one cake after another.

Dark times have fallen upon the land. It all seems to have started when former Royal Militia members became slaves of Sathonys: Olrane, Alamar and Ducarta. Blizt, whose paranoid theories seemed to have found their confirmation in reality, became more and more unpredictable only to try to surrender to the Clerics of Sathonys and threaten the Church of Taniel with breaking the alliance - this event followed by an argument with Tatiana when some of the Crusaders refused to obey their Lord Marschall led to Blizt leaving the Holy Crusade. "Adversities are walking by steams" As some say, and I am inclined to agree. Countless humiliations and unpleasant encounters of this time left her fearful of attracting too much attention to herself, but she soon discovered that there is nowhere to hide, neither in the underground mines, nor on the highest glacier. Not even in Elvandar which was raided by Cemoch and the Clerics of Sathonys.

As the situation started to become overwhelming Tatiana was ordered by the Archbishop to run for the Judge's position; reluctant and disheartened at first she soon saw it as a way to make a difference. In the year 1109 AA she amended the Law of Elvandar among other things banning the use of humanoid parts in Alchemy on Elvandar land. This resulted in her expulsion from the Alchemists by Axstream and Aragog. Their impudent and aggressive behaviour thereafter earned them the status of Outlaws on Elvandar Land. As Aragog was a member of the Shaolin the inner struggle in the guild saw the daylight. Shalun made a statement of his power as a Grandalchemist recognizing the ten years of studies in the guild as a valid argument to reaccept her. The earthly power of the Lord slowly rises as new Pilgrims of the Lord study to spread his word, Matusalem, Sylvester, Liranne and Erling. Erling applied to become a Deputy Judge of Elvandar and he has proven to be great help already; dealing with most of the bureaucracy - the thing he seems to enjoy the most judging by his liking for attics of Elvandar where she first met him - the type with forgotten, old tomes, where the dust of past centuries bites your eyes.

The news of Vurg (who now calls himself Warg only to later adopt the name Redentes) being allowed to rejoin the Crusade after his harsh punishment are like a fresh breeze for her as Alamar and Aragog resume their activity this time in the name of Sathonys. The portal at the Tower of Pain becomes the center of the conflict and nothing seems to break the monotony of this struggle or turn the scale in favour of any party. Until a strange meeting occurs: a tormented female darkelf sits outside Ironhold indifferent to anything happening around her, she carries severe torture wounds and seems to dream of nothing more than to be left alone. Tatiana grants her this wish and she leaves with a promise not to bring harm to anyone and to keep out of plain sight. This is the first sign of a breach apparently happening in the North. Alamar's reappearance in the South and his plead for reacceptance seem to confirm the shaky stand of their enemies. Alas, Alamar soon after learning there is no future for him in the south returns to his allies which teaches her to be suspicious of self-proclaimed converts. Her spies reveal information of the Thieves' Guild surfacing under Gen's command once again.

Yet the South is haunted with a more real and immediate threat than the Thieves as the Alliance provoked with much hostility, both violent and political, tries to break the Asral Clergy's harmful control of Arborea. The conflict reaches its peak when Axstream seizes the position of the Judge of Arborea, threathens Tatiana for outlawing him and then defends the ghoul Isengorn from the Crusade, dying in this attempt. This is when the Asral Clergy declares war on the Alliance only to be decimated and go into hiding soon after their self-provoked hostility. Naga who was convinced to become the Judge of Arborea to make up for his shady past offered laughable terms of peace to the Alliance - therefore to ensure that Asral Clergy makes no claim to Arborea ever again the Alliance burns the Asral Temple to the ground and passes its terms and the confiscated orb to Felron who later presents them to his clergy.

The following years did not see much peace, the Asral Clergy blatantly ignored the terms of surrender and the Insect attacks on Arborea started while the shard sealing the Isyanyr portal was lost down in history. The construction of Asral Monastery on the ruins of the Legion Fortress met with much controversy and since their involvement in the destruction of the Legion became known to everyone the atmosphere started to be straining and tense. Even though after many attempts on Tatiana's side to finalize the surrender terms they were finally agreed to, by Phelan and Axstream, they still were not met successfully which resolved nothing and led Tatiana to much distress and a conviction that lack of honour and attachment to reality of the Asral Clergy may be more destructive than anything she faced before.

The Alliance bewilldered with Asral resistance and threatened with their growing numbers decided to agree to Cemoch's proposed non-aggression treaty. With the Order surfacing again Nogem reappears as a slave of Sathonys and Tatiana is forced to issue orders to kill him against her will and her suppressed feelings which is further complicated when she learns of the existence of his conjectured son, Tres.

The sense of security and peace of mind was restored to her only with Xexo's proposal which she gaily accepted, this with the later events which led the Alliance to discover the shard for the Insect Portal brought about some hope and colour to complement her days otherwise filled with other people's problems and their resentments connected to both her position of the Bishop of the Taniel Clergy and the one of the Judge of Elvandar, mainly the controversy around Cemoch's obligation to hunt Elvandar outlaws as its Executioner.

As she realizes that her pursuit of Alchemical studies was nothing more than her father's fancy she leaves the Alchemists and has Tessa accept her as her student in the Scribes where she hopes to find peace and solitude - away from the duplicity and struggles of the outside world. She now devotes her time to writing books, her fiance and three young Clerics: Tehanu, Hsparks and Hikino. Earlier always torn between Elvandar and Arborea she now chose Elvandar as her home. Initially she tries to stay away from the conflict within the Scribes' guild and concentrate on her studies, that is when she writes an epic poem 'Failings of Darkness' as well as two books propagating the knowledge of teh Lord: 'The Crusade' and 'The Book of the Righteous'. Soon afterwards Naga expells her from the scribe guild for questioning his reliability. Delia immediately reaccepts her giving her chance to get to Naga again which she finds a good sport, but the conflict between the Crusade and the Taniel Clergy keeps her away from writing for a time. It seems her personal problems with Lord Redentess consisting of throwing items at him at high velocity and common fierce arguments coupled with the Crusade's dislike for some of the other members of the Taniel Clergy destroy the Alliance formed more than a decade before.

In a desperate attempt to stop this decay she talks to Redentes trying to manipulate his feelings into granting the Clergy the Crusade's support again, the attempt is successful and she posts a note which contradicts with the orders of the Archbishop, she does it to renew the support of the Crusade - for assuming what was not her authority she is demoted and left completely puzzled, her pride is hurt and she starts to question the priorities of the church - its policy towards the faithful and the allies. The event damages her self-esteem because she was used to acting way beyond her authority before, yet then it did not seem to be a problem - she believes she was let do that out of convenience. Moreover she can not accept that she is not the one shaping the events anymore - mostly because she does not agree with the strict line of action proposed by the Archbishop, and because she thinks she lost her feel of the Clergy now in large composed of members who she does not find to her liking or simply does not know.

Thrown into denial, not attempting to regain her rank and a little detached she observes the attitudes of the pepople of the land towards the Clergy, and tries to understand how it all could go so very wrong. She knows it is not the fault of the church, because she will not accept that she was leading it into decay - what she is sure of though after spending time talking to commoners, is that it is the majority of the people who are not worth the effort. After a few months of her passive study she hears the news of Redentes' death and she is more hurt than she would have imagined. She blames him for not being strong enough to endure even though in fact she did little better. Without bothering to notify her allies she sets on a journey to Heaven, her home village, to become part of the homely country life once again.

Notes on Personality and Details

Mother - Liandriel Caelasitani, young elven girl who accepted too much responsibility too early, when Gabriel dies she'll return to ElvanDar to redeem and be reaccepted in the family. She knows the scandal will be hushed up as many before.

Father - Gabriel Rosante, moderately succesful alchemist, one of the founders of the Alchemy guild in ElvanDar, comes from a merchant family in ArboRea who had long cooperated with elves in trade.

An only child of Gabriel and Lian, a human and elf, living together as if they were married! An outrage! But not for them, times of distress, doubt.. it all can be overcome in the name of Love, but not without long-lasting consequences as one may learn; the sacrifice for this compromise has been the loss of social acceptance and therefore any attachment to culture.

It is difficult to promote what one was deprived of therefore the child worked out her own ideas of what is right, acceptable and desirable

Early in life she noticed that it is difficult enough, she has learned not to make it more so. Decided to be light-headed, rush through life forgetting insults and laughing out troubles, she faced so many in the past that being a Cleric of Taniel seems to be a low-strain job.

Those looks of disgust, hearing how deformed her body is, how she has no soul and no feelings, how no Gods care for her; public function, prayers, reason, friends; can they reconstruct something that was attacked from the day she was born?

Finding peace would be impossible seeing the world so overcome by chaos, suffering and prejudices. She has strong conviction not to add to those faults and to prove wrong anyone who speaks bad of Clerics of Taniel who are now her family, they accepted her giving her faith and offering support.

What is that she is fighting for? She wishes that everyone can live as they please if they do not endanger others, having a family, not wanting to get hurt, that's of course understandable, their joy pleases the Lord and it pleases her to see them happy.

Indifference, she admires people who'll stand for their cause; some she protects seem to have no morals, no goals. It gets harder each day to conceal her disappointment.. So.. What is that she is fighting for?

Logs and Related Pages

If you have any logs where she's behaving smart or at least like a smartass feel free to post them here ^^ (hey, come on, they must exist!.. somewhere)

• HalfelfElf Thanks to Yeg for his contribution in showing this other face :P
• AShortGuideOnHowToMakeCathalAngry
• TheDanceThatNearlyStartedAWar
• SnowAndTheMaleAnatomy An education /11 April 2006/
• KasparsComesCloserToTaniel /16 May 2006/
• AdanathLearnsHowToSpellHisName
• AwwOne A woodsman's worry /11 September 2006/
• TeasersGetTeasedBack How to pop the question?

Alright, old logs I found while checking my notes on playing her - enjoy

• BitterArchbishop /Sometime 2006/
• GoingBehindCrusadersBack /Sometime 2007/

• TatianaDeathKillLists
• TatianaDescription

Comments

- Looking at this death list and Cathal's people might think I just log in to hunt down Taniels, which is not true. I also do hack'n'slash with ogres