WY NSW Capt. Ralleigh {CC'ed by WT}

silhouette · March 28, 2006

Ralleigh Nathan Taj

Captain under Commander Krelsa Valrig

Captain over 5 lieutenants

Age: 41 years old

Saldean, born and raised in Maradon (capitol of Saldaea)

Height: 5,95â€

Weight: 159 lbs

Physisical Appearance:

Ralleigh is a true Saldean with his deep brown near black tilted eyes, his bold nose and a strong jaw. His hair is a deep black color and he keeps it cropped short, hanging just over his ears, sometimes bound together with a piece of string. He keeps a three day beard as he has never been able to grow a real beard or a thick moustache, those genes passed him in the way down to his younger brothers. Ralleigh is short for a man his age, but he compensates by building up his muscles, he keeps to a strict regiment of daily work outs which show off on his broad shoulders, broad back, but his small waist line and short legs show that he was made to be a skinny short guy from the beginning.

Background up to Tower:

Ralleigh is the third of six children; he has two older sisters and two younger brothers. His eldest sister was married off to a local merchant when Ralleigh was six years old, he did not see much of her since. The second sister was sickly and stayed at home, his two younger brothers and himself had to build the family name. All three went to study for the guards in the Blight when one day the captain of training came to his parents house to tell them that he wanted to cut Ralleigh loose, he was too skinny and did not have the endurance to keep up with the other men. His mother cried, his father was heartbroken, the family name seemed to go down with each child they had, now only the two brothers were left to make something of the shamed family with the sickly daughter and the losing son. Ralleigh overheard his captain speak to his parents and ran away from home.

He returned two days later, tired of no sleep and no food and was nourished back to health by his mother. The next day, in the evening he had a sit down with his father and promised that he would leave Saldaea. He would find a way to show his family and the world that he was strong enough and he would return one day. His father clasped him on the shoulders and handed him a short sword and promised him he could have one of the horses. â€œI knew that what you lacked in physical strength, you would make up for in determination son, I always knew,â€ and those were the last words he heard his father speak. The days passed and Ralleigh thought about what he could do to prove that he was worthy, he traveled down south until he ran into a small group of men who told him to get out of their way. He asked where they were headed and they told him they were tower guards, on their way to train in the Blight. Ralleigh found one ready to explain more and decided that this was a chance he could not let slide, he found his way to Tar Valon and a month later he signed up with the Mistress of Trainees for training.

Background in Training and Tower Guard:

Ralleigh was not a good student, he did well in the tactical classes and he excelled in Stones after practicing night after night, but he kept falling behind in the physical classes. It took him a half a year of physical work out to muster up the strength to keep up with the other students, but all this built on his Endurance. He could go on longer than others and never had a mind to quit. He had come this far and even if it took him twice as long, he would do the job and finish the race course, spar the other trainees, carry the sacks of sand and run the yards course again. There was no way to stop him and the Commander soon recognized this, Con Stavros promoted Ralleigh to become a Tower Guard. He asked him what he wanted to do and Ralleigh told him he wanted to fight for his family in Saldea. There was a mission leaving 6 months later and Ralleigh joined that, together with Ginae, Calvin, Aiden and a few others. They worked hard and he found a way to send word to his family about his progress, he was a guard of the Tower, he had found his path and his mother sent him word that she was proud. His father had passed away a year after Ralleigh had left home, he had gotten into a small fight and the cut in his leg had become infected. A stupid and needless death, Ralleigh thought and it pained him that his family was shamed again by the unheroic death of his father. Ginny cheered him up, her smile warmed his heart and he found a way to get into hers, the days were busy and full of pain and fear, but the night were worse. Lonely and cold, a place where they found each other for a good two years. Then Ralleigh was called back to Tar Valon to work there and train students. He did so reluctantly but realized that it was no longer any use to try and salvage his family name, he would work hard and make sure that his life was not a waste. At least he would try and be more than anyone had ever expected him to be.

In the Yards, Ralleigh kept mostly to himself as he felt that personal affairs with others would interfere with his work. He had left his friends behind in the Blight and was not sure they would return, in a way he had to admit that he was afraid to make new friends. He became known as a silent force, someone who was dedicated to the work and who was always busy with something, but was not very social or open to the people around him. When Ginae returned to the Yards, Ralleigh opened up a bit, but he knew that their past was part of the time on a mission and he did not press the subject with her. It did do him good to see that his old mates returned safe and he became a little less boxed from that. He was promoted to lieutenant when his captain noticed that he could in fact be social as he felt that Ralleigh could lead a team, as long as he used his listening skills to lead and train his team. Ralleigh found himself fitting in the role of a leader and worked together with his captain on training a team of Tower Guards to use their skills and benefit from each other, rather than trying to outsmart each other. He also liked to put people on the wrong foot from time to time, by breaking through the existing team roles and friendships and forcing people to think out of the box a bit more. As he knew in a battle you could not depend on your friend to stay on his feet and you had to work with whoever was still with you, handling a weapon. His team had to learn this as well and he put up with little struggle to enforce his training. In time it sank in with his men that he was using battle experience and that friendship to Ralleigh was an off-duty treat, not a life savor. He was recently promoted to captain when his own captain retired to the city and is now leading a team of Tower Guards who know their captain to be a quiet man who listens, but who also enforces respect and duty on his team.