Name: Kalen Common Aliases: Devin Malasan, Tamon Prannar, Garal a’Nyr, Cor'dena Age: 29 Place of birth: Somewhere between Cairhien and the Jangai Pass Physical Description: Kalen carries a moderate height and build, brown eyes and light brown hair. His nationality is generally muddled, suggesting that while he hails from Cairhien he has a mixed heritage. He is decidedly average in appearance and rarely appears anywhere without some measure of disguise, be it as simple as a tint to his hair, a false scar on his face, extra wrinkles to age him, or any variety of facial hair. Personality: Kalen is a sharp tongued and charismatic individual able to chat with and befriend even the briefest of acquaintances. He carries an air of confidence and ease when he speaks and the way he talks signals he knows his business. In addition he’s well trained in reading others and is quick to find common interests and beliefs. This is largely surface level though, a result of years in the craft. Beneath that Kalen is a brutally efficient spy, assassin, and agent of the shadow. Those that see the real man would regard him as cold, relentless, and unwavering. Unlike many who serve the Dark One for personal gain Kalen seeks only to see the Dark One freed and The Wheel broken. Character History: Kalen’s youth was nothing notable and something he barely recalls himself. What matters most is that he lived in an Eastern Cairhien village which no longer exists. When he was seven that life ended. The Aiel war began and his family fled west to the capital. Before the war he had parents, siblings, extended family; by the end there was only him. He grew up with nothing in the Foregate, a refugee camp of slowly growing permanence around a smoldering ruin of a city. In a place where no one had anything, he had the least. But he survived and he prospered. He stole and he conned, joined a gang, made friends and lived as best as those with no food and no hope can. He was good enough he was never caught for anything of significance, but not so good he wasn’t noticed. When he entered his teens he was recruited to a spy ring. While the poor were slow to rebuild, the nobility had quickly recovered and begun playing their Game again. Kalen found himself passing among servants with ease, learning the secrets his master sought. Eventually, he was asked to do more than just watch. So he began to send messages, to sow discord, to take lives. A child of the street this was nothing new to him, he’d developed a flexible morality as he slept in gutters and fought for scraps. He was skilled and he was loyal, everything a spymaster could want. Unfortunately though, the Game turned against Kalen and those he worked for were targeted. Everyone he knew died quickly and he fled the city with little more than his life. At eighteen, a half decade of apprenticeship in the craft and little more he struck out on his own. Eyes and a knife for hire. Kalen freelanced his way across the Southern kingdoms: Tear, Illian, Ghealdan, Altara, Murandy, rarely Andor, and eventually Cairhien once more. It paid well to stay on the move, to hit a place and disappear. During this time he wore names and faces like cloaks, entering a city, finding his contact and leaving within months. He slowly developed a minor reputation under the pseudonym Cor'dena, the roving spy, the passing killer. In his mid twenties he met someone, fell in love or at least as close as he’d ever experienced. One day he entered a small town in Murandy and within a few fortnights he'd put down roots, retired from the craft, and married the local healer. Together they settled down for a simple happy life together. And as with every other time he’d been happy, this life too quickly ended. One day a patrol of Whitecloaks came to the village. They declared his wife an Aes Sedai spy and burned her in the square while Kalen was forced to watch. They let him live largely from spite, as his cries made it clear death would be nothing but a release from his suffering. It was a mistake they’d come to regret. Before the week was done every one of those whitecloaks were dead, their evening meal laced with crimsonthorn. They died as Kalen lived, in agony. With their death’s though, Kalen learned a hard truth. He’d assumed they’d simply targeted his wife as the town healer, an excuse to flaunt their power. But no, there had been veracity to their words, his wife had been an eyes and ears. A simple woman caught up in the mystique of the Aes Sedai, she sent regular correspondence to a member of the Yellow. She hadn’t been a spy, he’d known spies, she’d just been someone used. So Kalen packed his things, retrieved hidden money and hidden tools and set out with one goal in mind, to kill an Aes Sedai. It took time and it took help. Kalen may have been a decent spy and had killed more than a few in his day but an Aes Sedai was far beyond his reach. Then in Tar Valon, in the shadows of the Tower itself he found allies. In those shadows he traded many things for his revenge, his sword, his service, and his soul. The Tar Valon shadow cell served the dark friends of the Tower, the Black Ajah and they found use for a spy and a killer of even his modest skills. Shortly, Kalen once more was treading old roads between the cities of the world an ill wind at his back. The cost was worth it though, his loyalty was rewarded and his vengeance eventually came to pass, the Yellow died by his hand. Since joining the shadow, three years have passed, Kalen has served the Dark One, the Black Ajah, and the Tar Valon cell. His desire for revenge has transformed simply into a desire to see the world ended and the Wheel broken. His life has been one of misery, the Wheel's promise to be reborn and live it all again is the worst torture he can imagine. Kalen serves the shadow as a true believer, wanting nothing of personal gain and only to see the Dark One triumph in the last battle. As he travels he maintains his old contacts as a means to garner information for his masters and utilize their resources. He's also made contact with multiple cells of darkfriends, relaying the orders the Black Ajah has for the rest of the shadow. Character Reputation In the Southern Kingdom some of those that service the Great Game (the spymasters and assassins) know the name Cor'dena. A few know how to reach him, but simply recognize him when he seeks them out, looking for another job. Amongst the Darkfriends he's known well to the Tar Valon cell and the Black Ajah (as a tool in their arsenal). Amongst the rest of the Southern Kingdoms he has made contacts in Caemlyn, Cairhien, and Tear. He's known for his simple, purposeful interactions. He arrives, delivers a message in writing or in blood, and leaves. Devin Malasan is known in Tar Valon as a minor merchant. He deals in specialty items, in particular exotic teas. This has garnered him a number of clients among the Sisters of the Tower. He makes regular deliveries to the Tower for this reason, and his jovial nature has made him friends with some of the Tower’s guards and servants. He maintains a small salon where his wares are served to those less prestigious or the rare Sister simply looking for a place to socialize outside the Tower. Tamon Prannar is a sometime Gleeman and Court Bard. Best known in Tear, he has a slight reputation having once performed to minor lords at the Stone of Tear, a bawdy version of the Great Hunt which largely served to mock Illian and it’s fascination with the legend. Garal a’Nyr is third son of a minor Ghealdan noble who has on occasion visited the other capitals of the South. He is known for being a backwater lordling and is often looking to experience the culture and opulence of his more metropolitan peers. His goal in any trip is to worm his way into whatever parties he possibly can. Key Skills: Weapon Skill: TBD Herbalism (in particular poisons), Stealth, Disguise, Social Infiltration, Information Gathering, Daes Dae’mar (The Great Game), Throwing Knives, Archery (traditional and crossbow), Gleeman/Bardcraft (Random note, this a reboot of a character iI played in the RP at DM before the last reboot in 2001).