Tavus

Information

Player: FlyingSquirrel

Character Full Name: Tavus

Character In-Game Name: Tavus

Nickname(s): Tav

Association(s): Exodar, Draenei & Naaru en masse.

Race: Draenei

Class: Steamwarrior/Vindicator (Paladin)

Skills and Abilities: Tavus' abilities are nothing beyond that of the average Draenei. He, in his time, is an expert of the Draenic art of gemcrafting, and being able to extoll certain virtues from gems as necessary. He has used this knowledge alongside a certain amount of need to craft himself a set of what Azerothians would consider Steam armor, as well as a matching sword.

Age: 25,423

Sex: Male

Hair: Graying black. Both it and his headcrest sweep back, while his hair continues past his neck. He has a full lumberjack's beard, four tentacles springing out from the underside of his jaw.

Eyes: Same glowing white as all other Draenei.

Scale/Height: 1.08

Appearance

Usual Garments/Armor: Tavus is almost always found in a suit of steamarmor, as comfortable to him as a second skin. The steamsuit adds much more bulk to him, and helps power him far beyond what means he'd normally be capable of. The main source of power is a Draenic gem that rests upon his brow, with small power-cells found in his gloves, shoulderpads, chestpiece and pants. With this suit on, he finds himself capable of keeping up with other Draenei, both in terms of the Light's power and physical power. The suit's crystals are enchanted so that any healing done unto the Draenei inside is instead distributed amongst the armor. Unfortunately, this means that if Tavus himself is hit, he cannot be healed until the armor is removed.

A secondary power source is found in his sword's gem, but this has other purposes. His sword is long and iron, with a gem socketed midway through the blade. He has the capability of charging his sword with the Light, which he then can send towards the enemy in the form of a missile. Beyond this, it's a mostly average blade.

Other: Beyond the suit, Tavus is a cripple. His legs are mangled and crippled beyond all usability, reducing him to a wheelchair when out of his suit. His arms are thin and frail, and his chest is nowhere near as broad as many other Draenei's. His heart has trouble with any spellcasting that is not supported by his suit, making it so he can't even heal out of it without bringing issues to himself.

Personality

Tavus tries to present himself as a fatherly figure. Due to the fact that he is not a father, this as often as not falls on it's face. However, he still has chances of, if not succeeding, as presenting himself as trustworthy and kind. This is generally more accepted, as that's what he is. Tavus has seen a good deal of time, although more than he would prefer of it has been staring at the walls and corridors of Genedar. Nonetheless, this staring has given him plenty of time to ponder, and he's rather rooted within his opinions for that which he cares about.

While he is not necessarily the fastest learner, he makes up for this with determination. Oddly enough, he keeps a notepad and pencil on him at most times, in order to save what he may find interesting. He's not the fastest bonder, but he's more than capable of being a fast, platonic friend as is adherent to his kind personality.

He wholly believes in redemption of everything but a fully-fledged demon, and even such demons he regards more with pity than anger. Even those who have been irrevocably touched by demons, he still holds as redeemable, if both the redeemer and redeemee are accepting of the changes. If the one who has been touched by a Demon presents themselves as wholly refusing to attempt to change themselves for the better, then it is fully possible that Tavus' rage, however minor it may be even at it's best, will be kindled.

History

Tavus was born a good deal of time ago to a handful of Eredar Arcanists. Alas, he was born a cripple, with his arms and legs malformed from the get-go. His parents managed to help him get by with arcane enchantments, as well as constantly tending to him, but Tavus knew that he was a hassle. He grew up a cowed, humble Eredar, with little skill in any demonstratable arts. But still, when possible, he loved watching others work.

When Sargeras came, Tavus's family was split in two. He and his father were both followers of Velen, yet their mother and the rest of their family had pledged themselves to either Kil'jaedan or Archimonde. In desperation, Tavus's father took the younger, wheelchair-bound Eredar and fled with him amongst the rest of Velen's followers. The two had no choice but to board the Genedar with the remainder of the newly christened Draenei.

However, for Tavus, little had changed. His physical weakness and lack of ability with magic made him all but useless to the Naaru and other Draenei. However, his love of learning eventually intervened, and he found himself attracted to the crystal-based magic that had began to run rampant on Genedar and it's machines. He found that the gems and the tools used to cut and shape them were light enough for even Tavus to use. Finally given a chance to help his people, he dove head-long into the craft of gems.

As the Draenei found planet after planet, and left planet after planet in their desperate journey from Argus, Tavus left the Genedar little. His wheelchair would make travel over uncivilized lands impossible, and thus he oft found it more simple just to stay on board the ship, tinkering with his gems, until the other Draenei finally found a world to settle down on. Confined through his own choice in the small room with his gems and tools, his mind began to wander. He saw how the machines powered other devices, and began to wonder if the crystals could hold the path to his own walking.

For ages, he worked on this. Eventually, friends and family caught wind of his plans and endorsed them whole-heartedly. He and a handful of others spent years working on a harness that would finally allow Tavus to walk more or less of his own power. And slowly, progress came. First, it was merely one step while leaning against the wall, then a handful of similarly supported steps, then down a hallway unadjusted. But it was long work, and many breaks were taken throughout when the group ran into a block.

By the time the Draenei found the world they were to call Draenor, Tavus's suit was more or less functional. It gave him enough ability to walk independent, and lift more than enough. However, come Draenor, he desired more. He had spent much of his life watching the Vindicators stride off to battle, or be the first ones off of the Genedar, and Tavus desired to join them. After a bit of drama regarding whether he could, it was determined that, if he could pass the same trials as all others, he would be allowed to.

And pass them he did. He never had a happier day then when he became a Vindicator. He was taught to wield the Light, and of course, with his weak body, had issues with it. So, he once again collaborated with the group that had helped him build the suit, and they crafted gems to manipulate the Light's energy through them, instead of through the Draenei within the suit. And it was successful. He was taught to use the Light as successfully as any other Vindicator, and his suit allowed him to do so.

Thus, he became a Vindicator and took part in many Vindicator activities, including and mostly limited to patrolling. But he was happy with this. He kept gemcrafting as a hobby beside his day-job. More or less, his time on Draenor would later come to be some of the happiest days he'd known. He never much dealt with the locals, and cared not for their tongue. The tales of them interested him little, and he never cared to learn much more of their language than Throm-ka.

This did not stop their betrayal from catching him off guard. He was one of the more enthusiastic to return war against the Orcs, but upon hearing of the fate of Karabor, this enthusiasm quickly drained. But when he learned of their intent to bring the same doom to Shattrath, he was more than ready to fight and accept his fate. But alas, dying in Shattrath was not his fate. He was chosen to lead refugees away, and acquiesced to the job. He did it as well as he could, taking the refugees to Zangarmarsh.

With the rest of the Draenei, he hid. And once the manipulation behind the Orcs sudden but inevitable betrayal came to light, he forgave them. Mostly. And then, the Draenei hatched their plan. A desperate strike onto Tempest Keep followed, and against many odds, the Draenei managed to force their way onto the Exodar. Tavus was in the thick of battle throughout it, yet still managed to survive largely fine. It was the crash onto Azeroth that truly messed him up.

One leg was pierced through the metal, a shard of the ship stabbing into his leg. His wheelchair was little more than driftwood, as it had been ejected far into the ocean. Luckily, he was not on it, or he would've been doomed that day to a rather unfortunate death. The enchantment on his armor did not allow him to be healed until it was removed, but he refused to remove it until those he could help had been helped.

His refusal was a rather bad idea, as it landed him with a small infection. He was in no serious danger from it, but the other Draenei fussed over him enough for him to take a bit of a break from the whole Vindicator deal. He stayed in Exodar and learned the language of Common from the traders and refugees who came to the shadow of the ship. He picked up news this way, and learned of a good deal many things. He could not bear to return to the ruins of the second world he'd ever loved, and only ever would return to it after all had settled down, and after the Crusade against the Lich King had started.

He returned to being part of the Argent Crusade, under the banner of his people. He was not much of a jouster, but nonetheless enjoyed the tournament. He met a handful of Gnomes and bonded with them over the mutual love of technology. He told them of his own machine, and they likened it to Steamwarriors, common in their culture. Tavus was enthralled by the idea, and took the title as his own, despite the fact that he did not use steam to power his own suit. But, he reckoned, the concepts were close enough that him using the term was fair.

He fell in love with Gnomes as a culture. They're easily evident joy, the faux-ignorant way many approached Azeroth's numerous issues. Their love for technology was another connection that he reveled in. However, the last connection was a bit too much; the loss of Gnomeregan, just as Tavus had lost first Mac'aree and then Shattrath. And when Tavus heard of the retaking of Gnomeregan, he was eager to help, both for his love of Gnomekind, and his belief that such an innocent race should not be dreadfully affected so.

Thus it was that Tavus took part in Operation: Gnomeregan. He found Gnomeregan to remind him slightly of Genedar, but only slightly. And when part was taken back and New Tinkertown established, Tavus stayed with the Gnomes. In return for his help, the Gnomes helped 'upgrade' his wheelchair. Most metal was being used for construction, so they had to do with painting it all over in the colors of Gnomeregan. They were mostly unaware of the Cataclysm thanks to King Magni's sacrifice, and only became aware with the arrival of a handful of messengers.

With that, Tavus made haste in his return to the Exodar. He was needed to help quell the refugee riots, and held his duty high, following it even though he disagreed with. And then the problem with the refugees was solved, and disappeared into the world once more. Obviously, if the problems could touch even the Exodar, then they were more serious than he'd seen within Gnomeregan. And so, Tavus took his wheelchair, his spare crystals and went travelling once more.