Talon and Raven

Warlord Talon

Warlord Talon, family of Warfire, was born in the province of Puer. The Warfire family represents a long history of prominent Warlords. When Talon was still in the morning of his life, his father, Kanan, moved the family to the southern provinces. Kanan had fallen in love with a small province named Destiny. There, Kanan had earned his place as Warlord and was on his way to building Destiny as the most powerful province in Miasma.

Talon has what Hartons call effortless flight. Each Harton’s wing averages the height of two. Talon’s wingspan measures four and a half, which allows him to fly higher, faster, and carve around trees and branches better than any Harton.

Like any son of a Warlord, Talon’s relationship with his father grew apart as he came of age. Kanan was a disciple of the famed Warlord Hinun, belonging to a group called Seven. The Seven were a group of warriors under Hinun’s intense and brutal tutelage. To prove his worth in his father’s eyes, Talon joined the Legion and tore through the ranks. Like many fathers who expected the best, Kanan compared Talon to his brother, who fought in the Tribal Wars. Though, Talon was only in the morning of his life when the war took place, he was never deemed good enough.

The seven provinces experienced a long spell of peace after the Tribal Wars ended. Then something terrible happened. Someone had murdered Hinun. Eldens, the governing Hartons of each province, found Kanan guilty. They ripped Kanan’s warlordship away and banished him from his beloved province. They had to in order to keep the peace among the provinces.

Destiny’s Legion was thrown into chaos. Highly ranked warriors turned on each other. Eldens debated endlessly on the candidates. Who would be chosen to go through the trials for warlordship? Talon was never considered since he was the Warlord’s son and provinces rarely allowed offspring to take their father’s place.

Kanan’s close friend, Logan, convinced the Eldens to temporarily allow Talon to take the mantel. This would calm the chaos in the Legion and give them a leader. Eventually, Talon earned his permanent place as Warlord, to the Eldens’ chagrin.

Talon is married to Raven, family of Silentpeace. They have three children, two sons and one daughter. They lost their first son in a tragic accident. As a result, Talon has become overprotective of his remaining son, paying little attention to his daughter.

He wonders why his father left without saying good-bye. Or why he never returned any of Talon’s messages. Once anger in the provinces settled from Hinun’s murder, Kanan was allowed to come back without the worry of another war. Talon chased rumor after rumor of his father’s whereabouts to no end. He hopes one day to speak to him again.

Raven

Hanzee and Doba’s first child was a free-spirited Harton baby daughter. Raven is more of a Puerian name. But with black hair, a rare quality in Destinian females, dark complexion, and hazel jewels for eyes, Doba saw fit to name their daughter Raven. Raven grew up knowing that her passion was in the arts and dreamed of leading her own flightiste troupe. Flightistes performed acrobatic dances during flight.

Her father, on the other hand, wanted her to be the lady of the Silentpeace village. The village was one of the most powerful and highly regarded in the province of Destiny. He wanted her to lead and continue their campaign against the Warfire family, a family of blood-whoring warriors.

Kanan, family of Warfire, had won a duel against Destiny’s then Warlord, taking warlordship for himself. Hanzee wouldn’t have it. But his campaign had fallen on tradition. Kanan’s ascension was allowed within warrior lore. Hanzee had a plan. Raven would lead the Silentpeace village, while he focused on his campaign. But to lead, she needed to be the lady of the village by marrying a son of another Chief. So she was arranged to marry Denco, family of Firesculptor.

During a day spent in the markets, Raven rummaged in a silkstress shop. A familiar figure glided through the markets in the afternoon haze. She knew it was Talon as he was known to look for easy prey. Talon tilted his wings and fluttered them, landing by a pile of silk rolls. Harton women started to look his way, but respected Raven’s space. She was a dignitary. Raven, however, was not an easy woman. From the stories her father told her, Talon didn’t fit the blood-whoring warrior that the Warfires were known for. He was a different kind of whore. She found him charming, tolerable, which annoyed her.

Raven tilted her nose up. She was spoken for. She wanted to support her father’s campaign against the Warfire family. It’s important to her, she thought.

Rape rarely occurred within the seven provinces. When they did, the culprit was always a Nomad. But a series of rapes was ripping through the province. No one knew who or why. An innocent leisure flight around the province proved to be anything but. Raven’s beauty had caught the eyes of many men, and to her misfortune, it caught the rapist.

When Talon got wind of this, he visited the Silentpeace village. The rapist’s scent still strong on her. Talon tore apart each village. He hunted the province for the Nomad’s scent, only to find he wasn’t a Nomad but a provincial citizen. Talon made sure Raven was the last victim.

The Silentpeace village never welcomed the prodigal Warfire son. That didn’t stop Talon from checking in on Raven. After what happened, she wasn’t ready for any man. Hanzee was livid when Denco refused to marry a dirtied woman. Hanzee blamed Talon, which opened the door in Raven’s heart. Talon’s days with her turned to courtship. His taste for easy women went bland, and he slowly earned her trust. Under a open moon, full of light, stars twinkling, Talon and Raven married in a secret ceremony without her parents’ consent.

She bore two sons and a daughter. Her first son, Darik, perished in a tragic accident. A predator called a prowler consumed him when he was a tenderwing. Her other two children fell for a life in the Legion, following in their father’s wings. She never hated the Legion, never hated the Warfire family, but she wished one of her children would have followed a life of the arts. She thought Darik might have been the one. Her cycles have ended, and she can no longer bear children.