Approved BT Bio for Isha Talcontar, Returning Character, No CC

[Arath Faringal]

Jethro “Isha” Talcontar

Baijan’m’hael of the Black Tower

 

Stats

One Power:

Air 6

Water 2

Spirit 8

Fire 10

Earth 3

Skill 28

Potency 57

WS: 5 (was 9); before recent events had more-or-less crippled Isha, he was in peak physical condition and handy with both broadsword and two-handed longsword.  Now that he is crippled, his range of motion and strength are limited.

 

 

Physical Description

Nationality: Sheinaran from his mother’s side, Domani and Malkieri from his father’s

Age: 32

Death: 999NE

Height: 6'11"

Weight: 260lbs; lost roughly 20lbs after being crippled.

Hair: Shaved bald except for Shienaran warrior’s topknot.

Eyes: Hazel

Skin Tone: Darker than the average Shienaran.

Notable Scars: Faded scar turning left corner of mouth into a sneer, running to left eye; faded scar half-hidden by topknot clipping the tip of right ear; fresh scars criss-crossing first across gouged-out left eye; other fresh claw marks concentrated on his lower back and thighs, ruining the muscles in his legs; numerous other faded war wounds.

Other: Tattoo of a gauntleted hand crushing a severed trolloc’s head covering his back.

 

Personality

:::Growing up in the Borderlands, duty, honour, and family are everything to Isha.  He holds those he respects up on pedestals and can be heartbroken when they don’t live up to his standards.  He is, however, incredibly protective of those he cares about and will often ignore their flaws.  An armyman, he considers emotions as weaknesses, performing every task with dedication – almost mechanically so.

:::Abrem Allain Tallandor was one of Lew Therin’s One Hundred Companions and was among the first to be driven mad, warring with his sons who had also been driven insane.  Before the War of Power, he was a musician.

 

Family

Mother: Lady Gwenyth Jagad-Talcontar (947-967NE); Shienaran.  The sister of Agelmar Jagad.  She died in childbirth.

Father: General Faerthines Talcontar (945-984NE); ½Domani, ½Malkieri.  Supposedly a Domani mercenary before coming to Far Dara, he gave no explanation for his Malkieri last name.  Killed in an attack by Shadowspan.

Uncle: Lord Agelmar Jagad (  -  ); Shienaran.  Lord of Fal Dara.

 

Bonds

999NE: Eqwina al’Caupthn Sedai (circa850NE-  ); Altaran.  Yellow Aes Sedai Bonded during the Watchers incident, Bond was annulled after the Sisters’ release.

 

Other Affiliations

House Jagad: Agelmar Jagad (  -  ); Fal Dara, Shienar.  Nephew to the current Lord of Fal Dara.  He served as an officer in the army there before joining the Black Tower.

 

History

Birth (964-967NE)

:::Faerthines Talcontar arrived at Fal Dara in 964NE, asking to join the Fal Daran army.  The young man claimed he was a mercenary from Arad Doman whose company had recently been disbanded; he was asked about his Malkieri last name but provided no explanation.  The officers were impressed with his weapons skills and knowledge of tactics – again, no explanation was given for his education.  Faerthines was quickly promoted.  The enigma eventually caught the eye of the daughter of then-Lord Jagad, Gwenyth, they were married months later.  A year passed and Gwynth died giving birth to their son whom Faerthines named Jethro.

 

Childhood (968-982NE)

:::Faerthines was a distant father and, for the most part, left his son to be raised with his brother-in-law’s children.  Jethro idolised his father who eventually became the general of the Fal Daran army.  When the boy hit puberty, he grew – in both height and weight.

 

Army (983-996NE)

:::Following in his father’s footsteps, Jethro joined the army at the age of sixteen.  His monstrous size made him an incredible foot soldier; he was expected to become as accomplished a warrior as his father when Faerthines was killed during an attack on Tarwin’s Gap.  Jethro had stumbled in the snow a few paces from his father while facing a Myrdraal and Faerthines rushed to his son’s aid barely in time to save his son from the Fade.  The general stood over the boy’s body, fighting back Shadowspan until he was killed, shielding Jethro’s unconscious body from further attack.

:::Jethro awoke a week later in a field hospital, his face and body badly scarred.  He took the name “Isha”, betrayer in the Old Tongue, for causing his father’s death.  The boy’s supposed-to-be illustrious career was stunted by the rage he carried around with him, he was a formidable soldier (he now stood well-over six feet tall and weighed over two hundred pounds) but a poor officer as he cared more about exacting his revenge on Shadowspan than directing troops under his command.  He took the gauntleted fist crushing a severed Trolloc’s head as his personal emblem, having it engraved into the pommel of his swords and tattooed across his back.

 

The Black Tower (997-998NE)

:::Isha spent over a decade in the army before running into a recruiting party from the Black Tower.  Saidin offered him a chance to exact a greater revenge upon the Shadow – he tested positive for the ability.

:::As a soldier, he was trained by Vaerraent who became a victim of the Taint and disappeared weeks before Isha was raised to Dedicated.  His training was then given to Dashiva Somtaaw, another Sheinaran veteran.  The close relationship between Dashiva and he provided a template for the relationship he would have with his first mentee: Linten al’Dracain.

:::However, Linten fell in with Onyx Drakor who was known for his dark streak.  Considering the age difference between them, Isha felt paternal towards the boy and was troubled the sudden swing in Linten’s moods.  One night, the boy picked a fight with another Soldier, Rion Anglemar, drawing his sword and threatening to kill the other boy.  At a loss for what to do with his mentee, Isha took Linten to his father’s grave and gave him an ultimatum: return with him to the Black Tower or stay in Shienar.  Isha returned to the Farm alone.

:::Weeks later he was promoted to Asha’man.  His failure with Linten left him distant from the friends he once had and Isha threw himself into his work, especially physical training – over compensation from his lack of strength in the One Power.  With his military background and noble education, he became an Attack Leader.  Shortly after his promotion, a Voice appeared in his head; it would comment or share a glimpse of a memory before retreating.

 

Aginor (Early 999NE)

:::Following the suspicious death of a Soldier, Isha stumbled onto the faction of the Black Tower sworn to the Shadow: the Shadar alantin (Shadow Brothers).  They were, at the time, being organised by the Forsaken Aginor who had infiltrated the Farm.  After being forced to torture another Asha’man, the Voice began holding entire conversations with him.  Not realising he was facing one of the Forsaken, Isha led an attack on a meeting of the Shadow Brothers, instead falling into an ambush.  Nearly all the attackers were massacred while most of the present darkfriends escaped, identities still concealed.  Isha, however, was captured by Aginor.

:::For a week, Aginor used Isha to test his experiments.  The Forsaken tested how much shock the human body could endure when dropped into a vat of hot water following hypothermic conditions.  His limbs were broken, dislocated, and stretched until they were nearly ripped from his body.  Aginor explored the workings of the human muscle system, carefully stripping back portions of the skin to reveal muscles beneath while the subject was forced to flex the muscles.  Isha was brought to the point of death and shock time and again to be Healed and subjected to more tests.  The Voice, who revealed himself to be Abrem Allain Tallandor, was a constant companion through this.

:::During the limited amount of sleep he managed, Isha’s sleeping brain had brought him in and out of tel’aran’rhiod for brief spells, eventually leading the Dreamwalker Covai to his location.  Aginor was in the process of attempting to breed a male channeller with a female trolloc, to see if he could breed the ability to channel into his creations, when a rescue party from the Black Tower arrived.  During the struggle, Aginor was killed and they found Isha on the brink of death, mauled by the trolloc.  Weak as he was, they could not Heal all of his external injuries.  Isha lost his left eye and a great deal of function his lower body.

 

Watchers (Late 999NE)

:::During a recruiting mission after his recovery, Isha happened across Linten.  The boy had changed, the dark streak in him far stronger, but Isha felt guilty for abandoning and failing him and so Linten returned to the Black Tower.  The paternal instincts returned and Isha was incredibly protective of his prodigal son despite dark rumours.

:::The rumours became worse after they Bonded Aes Sedai in the Watchers battle.  Isha Bonded Yellow Sister Eqwina al’Caupthn and, while wary of each other, the two got along as best they could under the circumstances.  Linten, however, had Bonded a Red Sister Faile al’Rahien.  Isha was aware his mentee was tormenting the Aes Sedai, but refused to believe the rumours saying he was raping and physically torturing her and other Sisters.  With Linten’s return, Abrem’s will had become stronger while Isha’s had grown weak – at one point, Abrem actually took over their body and tried to kill Linten during a training exercise.  Another Voice had begun to form as well, this one far angrier and more violent than Abrem.

:::One night, Isha found Ged Maevere, an Asha’man, struggling with Linten.  Realising the other Asha’man was trying to kill his “son”, Isha snapped and let the new Voice take control of the body, beating Ged bloody and cutting off the hand that had tried to murder Linten.  Meanwhile, Linten had Severed the Asha’man.  Rumours flew about the suddenly missing Asha’man and his Aes Sedai, a Blue Sister, but the new M’Hael, Brent Enios, was unable to prove anything.  Isha was now truly beginning to lose touch with reality; he would lose control of his body to Abrem for hours at a time.  Both personalities struggled to keep control of the body from the new Voice, whom they called Dog because of its primal impulses.

:::Following the release of his Bond to Eqwina, a fourth Voice appeared.