Name: Paintbrush
Age: 29
Contact: PM this journal
Other Characters: N/A
Interests: I'm mostly interested in adventures and building social relationships. Friends, enemies, employers. The Inquisition would be a place for this character to grow and be part of something other than earning his next meal.


Name: Taashath
Canon/OC: Dragon Age OC
Journal: quietblade
Race: Qunari (Tal-Vashoth)
Nationality: Par Vollen (formerly), Ferelden (currently)
Occupation: Warrior, Bodyguard
Age: 31

History

Bred from warrior stock in Qunandar, Par Vollen, Taas was raised from birth by the Tamassrans to be a soldier. He was a good child and a quick learner, earning the nickname 'Reth' (Protect) among the rest of the children he was raised with.

At 12, he was evaluated and sent to join the Antaam. It was there that he learned his warrior skills, growing further to an intimidating size and swinging two-handed weapons easily. He would have been a good shield thanks to his size and strength, but the pure devastation he could wreak havoc with by using a two-handed weapon was too useful not to nurture.

At 20, he was sent to Seheron as part of a large kith. The next three years was a blur of horrors that slowly seeped their way into him, festering into a dangerous rage. He was nearly sent to the re-educators, but one of the commanders instead decided to feed that rage and make him a berserker.

To this day, Taas thinks that was a really dumb idea. He became dangerous, and not only to the enemy.

...and then, at 24, things changed drastically. Part of a group of soldiers transporting gaatlok, they were ambushed by Fog Warriors, who ignited the explosives. The violent explosion tore through most of the kith in a rain of blood and body parts. Taas survived without much more than a few broken bones, but the massive force and sound deafened him permanently.

No longer able to hear orders, he was useless as a soldier and was to be sent back to Par Vollen. There, he would have to be cared for by the Tamassrans who took care of the mentally feeble and the physically impaired. Becoming nothing but a burden, maybe forever.

It broke something inside him, and he turned to rage, cutting a swath through anyone who tried to stop him and running from everything. He was eventually picked up by a group of other Tal-Vashoth and managed to leave Seheron behind.

He spent two years with these Tal-Vashoth in a red haze of anger. It wasn't until he ended up killing an innocent woman that he snapped out of it and left the band behind.

Beginning to fear his rage, he sought peace instead - spending some time alone with an elven woman from a mercenary band he ran into during his travels from Nevarra to Orlais. She taught him to find balance in his anger, drawing strength from it but keeping his mind clear when he didn't have to fight.

He took the name Taashath, meaning 'calm' in Qunlat.

Now more stable, it made him able to take on jobs as a sellsword, and he soon found himself specializing in being a bodyguard. Always keeping an eye on his employer, to was easier for him to note any orders than doing so as a soldier, and his observational skills added to the protection, able to read what people were speaking about even if the most crowded and loud taverns.

So far he has only ever lost one job after his employer was killed in the bathroom and Taas couldn't hear him scream for help. After this, he bought an armband from a Tranquil proprietor in Val Royaux with a small earth rune embedded in it. It vibrates if his employer says a secret word ('hastas'), thus making it possible for him to know he is needed even behind closed doors.

Personality

On the surface, Taashath is almost every qunari stereotype. Big, hulking warrior, quiet and stoic. Made to crush his enemies with huge weapons and tower over people with a threatening expression. A dangerous, violent savage for nobles to frighten their enemies with.

In fact, it might not be just surface. He is a warrior, a former soldier and a battle-shaped man with rage simmering underneath the surface - but that's not all he is. He's also a dutiful, loyal man with a wry sense of humor and a good heart. Taas has spent the last seven years trying to free himself from the ideas of the Qun, and opening up to becoming something more.

He's disciplined, using his mind to control and use the anger inside him rather than allowing himself to become consumed, and he has adapted will for a soldier who used to know nothing but following orders. Many qunari do go mad after becoming Tal-Vashoth. Taashath eventually flourished.

While he is a giant of a man with enough muscle to break a stone wall, he's also quite gentle underneath. He can sometimes forget his stoic bodyguard look to assist a tavern girl that has stumbled, and does fairly well with children and animals. Off-duty, he's even known to make a few jokes and laugh!

His sense of duty and honesty is a staple in his personality, and what makes him a good bodyguard. If you employ him, he will die to protect you, and he keeps his loyalty with the person who hired him rather than the highest bidder. He doesn't take jobs with slavers, thieves or rebel mages, but otherwise doesn't discriminate. It's given him a good reputation as dependable.

That said, he's not without his vices. Seheron left him with some PTSD regarding explosions, and being close to a large one will set him off on the deep end into a violent mess. He's also not fond of mages, having a fairly Qun-like mindset about them, and Taas does in general have some very qunari ways to look at things.

...especially with love and relationships. He loves his friends and he's generous with affection, but he doesn't do commitment - sex is an urge to be medicated. A good time, nothing more. Taas doesn't like the notion of being with just one person, worried how that would limit someone and make it ownership rather than anything else.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Warrior
Taas is a huge, intimidating warrior. All size and muscles and big weapons. He's strong as an ox(man) and can take one hell of a beating before he goes down. He's essentially a tank.

Rage
He's a trained Berserker and can therefore tap into his rage to become a frightening monster on the battlefield. However, he's really hard to stop once he starts swinging, which can be an issue. His further training has made him a little more able to snap out of it than before, but it's a gamble. (He doesn't have to use Berserk to fight, thankfully. It's saved for the bad cases.)

Hearing Impaired
Unfortunately, Taas is 90% deaf. While he has some very minor hearing in his left ear, it's not enough to make out words. He pairs this weakness with the strength to reads lips very well, and he knows some Thedosian sign.

Mage Issues
Unbound mages freak him out. Taas has always been wary around the saarebas, and even more so now that he's outside the Qun and face-to-face with mages that walk around freely. He's very suspicious of magic, and while he can work for or together with a mage, he never lets his guard down around them and believes they're all demon bombs ready to explode.

Honorable
For all his brutish looks and the Qun's way to see non-qunari as bas - things - Taas has a great respect for officers and people in charge, and keeps his own code of honor. He considers himself bound by his duties and isn't known to be swayed from it by gold. He follows orders easily and will generally only protest if it harms innocent people.

Explosions
Taas cannot cope with large explosions, something that lingers from his accident mixed with the horrors of Seheron. They will either make him shut down or fling him into a rage. Thus he prefers to not be involved in any sieges.

Inventory

• One large two-handed axe and a dagger for backup.

• A mishmash of armor pieces.

• Two jars of black and red vitaar.

• A few belt pouches with food, money and poultices.

• One earth-rune enchanted arm cuff that vibrates slightly when activated by a secret word.

Motivation

Taas accompanies a noble visiting the Inquisition as a bodyguard, and just... ends up staying. He'll eventually offer his services to ambassadors and others that are in need of protection.