Tag
Background
Statistics
Tag was born into the Na-Toluuk tribe of Queln riders. His father and brothers were all brave warriors adept at riding the mighty Skrill and deadly in their use of the khivatt spear and Queln short bow. Unfortunately, although a fine Skrill rider, Tag lacked the basic coordination and temperment a Queln warrior requires for combat. This would have doomed him to a life as a slave or woman except that the tribe's shaman, Qu, noticed Tag's agile mind and strong presence.
Qu took Tag into his fold and taught him the secrets of the Queln shaman. He learned to harvest medicinal herbs and roots, and the art of story telling and subtle manipulation. He quickly gained renown as a good medicine man, as well as a favorite speaker of the tribe's oral history. After his ordeal (where he was visited by a Great Kommota*), he was readily accepted as the tribe's newest shaman.
Career: Shaman
STR: 3
Fisticuffs 2, Throwing 1
AGL: 1
END: 3
Wilderness travel (foraging) 3, Fieldcraft 1
INT: 3
Observation 2, Science (astronomy) 2
CHA: 5
Eloquence 4, Theatrics 4, Linguistics (Koline, English) 2
SOC: 6
Riding (skrill) 6, Medicine 4
When the British landed in Parhoon, most Hill Martian tribes paid the off-worlders little heed. However, in the years to come, Tag saw the power of the red men's technology. He heard from other tribes how Idaeus Fons fell to the French, and how the Belgians were threatening the cities in the Corporates Rift Valley. When riders from his tribe recovered a human child from the wreckage of a downed cloudship, Tag took this as a sign he needed to learn about the offworlders. So, he took the child in, gave her the Martian name Aala (five fingers) and raised her as a shaman.
From Aala, Tag learned how to speak one of the human languages (English) and how humans thought. They did not think like the Hill Martians - noble, honest, and brutally straightforward. Instead, they all thought like shamans - wise, far thinking, and manipulative. He remembered the teachings of the Great Kommota and learned as much as he could about humans from Aala. In the years to come, he advised that the Na-Toluuk not provoke or harass the off-worlders. When many of the younger warriors wanted to raid human ships, he bid them to stay back. His words carried more weight when the British sucessfully raided Kraag Barrovaar.
Appearance
Tag is in his late twenties, which makes him about 55 Earth years old. He is short (6' 0"), with jet black hair and eyes - all of which are seen as a good signs amongst the Queln. Tag speaks with soft but authorative voice, and has exhibited great vocal range.
*Tag's Ordeal
"For three days and nights, I endured my ordeal, but had not been visited by an animal spirit. At first I dreamed of being visited by a great animal like a Steppe Tiger, but as time passed my expectations lowered. Honestly, by that fourth night I just wanted the test to be over."
"That was when I was visited by a Great Kommota. I beaconed to the beast and asked it what lesson it had to teach me."
"'What makes you think I am going to teach you a lesson little man?' the creature bellowed. 'Perhaps I shall just eat you.'"
"Well Great Kommota," I replied, "I have my knife and khivatt so I will be a most unpalletable meal."
"'What makes you think I will come near you little man?' the creature replied in its large voice. With that it spread its great wings revealing the boulder clutched in its talons. 'If I drop this stone on you, you will surely die.'"
"Lowering my spear I asked, 'If I cannot harm you and you can drop a rock on me, what can I possibly do?'"
"'This is the question you must answer yourself,' the Kommota said. It then beat its great wings and took to the air. I waited for a rock to drop and crush me, but it never came. Some nights I wake up and expect the stone to crush me."
Space 1889 is a registered trademark of Frank Chadwick.