GoCorral

Continuing the rather long story of Tagenadi with events after he joined the Second Alliance and worked with the group that would become the Exiles. Link to Previous Entry.

When Tagenadi reached Bradel Fields he asked to join the Second Alliance. The way he carried himself made it clear that he would be of great use to the Alliance Council on special missions. In a practice duel with Gradorian the hobgoblin general, Tagenadi showed excellent skill with his favored weapon, a kusari-gama. The Xorian outcast was welcomed into the Alliance and immediately sent on missions with important Alliance members.

Tagenadi  participated in many of the Alliance Council’s most daring expeditions. He assisted in the reclamation of Kharad-Khor, the black blade containing the soul of the hobgoblin king Kruk-Ma-Kali. He did his best to safeguard the sword from the betrayal of Terroc, even surviving being buried alive in a mountain. He helped rescue Amalius’s soul from the Petar Prison. The Council members expressed an interest in clearing out the Shacklack Desert to secure the allegiance of Mars’ Oasis and Tagenadi helped with that as well. He even called in a favor from one of his old friends in the Rebellion, Sabriyya, who now lived in Mars’ Oasis.

With Sabriyya and the other more adventurous members of the Alliance Council, Tagenadi ventured into the Lich Shade of the Shacklack Desert. A monstrous trap in the crypt tore Tagenadi away from the world of the living into Erebos, the land of the dead. In the Underworld, Tagenadi made a deal with Hades to return. He came back, not as a living being, but as an undead sworn to the service of the Lord of the Dead. Sabriyya recoiled at her friend’s condition. She had devoted her life to hunting undead. She could not bring herself to kill her companion, but she could not work with him either. She returned to Mars’ Oasis.

Eventually the Alliance Council reached the same conclusion as Sabriyya. They exiled Tagenadi, but he continued to serve the Alliance as best he could. He braved the rest of the Lich Shade and killed the Bane. He recovered the ingredients of the Druid’s Prophecy. He helped negotiate a peace with the formians of the Shacklack Desert. He slew Bavastatner and deliver the beast’s heart and head to Mars’ Oasis. Tagenadi performed many great deeds, but remained a skeletal shell of a man.

Tagenadi wasn’t without his share of failings either though. He went to the Dalleer Cathedral for healing at one point and was attacked by the priests who only saw an undead invader. In the confusion, Tagenadi slew nearly half a dozen priests while defending himself. The undead knight did his best to atone for this sin. Since then, he has paid particular attention to removing innocents from danger whenever possible.

During his travels Tagenadi developed a strong friendship with Amalius the psion. They had both been wrongfully exiled from the Alliance, their interests often aligned, and they complimented each other’s strengths in combat. Amalius and Tagenadi shared a darker secret as well, both of them had been manipulated by the Xorian Enforcer, Stanton. In a shared vengeance pact, the two kidnapped the amnesiac sorcerer and imprisoned him in the Lich Shade’s tower.

More recently Tagenadi used his profane powers to attack the Xorian armies with undead. The attack was ultimately a failure, but it still inflicted casualties upon the Xorians with no “loss of life” on the Alliance side. In the aftermath, Tagenadi reported to Hades. In an attempt to take the ingredients of the Druid’s Prophecy, Hades used his dark power on his servant. Tagenadi resisted and broke free of Hades’s control. He and the other Exiles escaped the Underworld to continue their fight against Blendegad.

Tagenadi stands with his friends, punishes his enemies, and considers himself a monster. The undead nature is obvious, but he feels it is an appropriate punishment for his sins. He killed his mother and father. Nevermind that he was under the control of Stanton. He did it himself. Everything Tagenadi does now is to redeem the actions he took then. Can he balance the scales weighing in his own mind? Time will tell.

-GoCorral