Bio

In the shadow of his uncle Abel Rennet, who was the spiritual leader of the Sacred Dwarves and the voice of Clandeggon Silverbeard to His people, it was assumed that Tallus would grow to become a cleric of the deity. It was well, then, that Tallus felt not only called to study the Word of their god, but to pursue the physical manifestation of His Holy Wrath upon the blights that infest the world that the gods had so generously created. Abel taught him the craft of exorcism (a pursuit he himself found rather distasteful) and the younger Rennet gladly carried out his dour task, expanding his skill to include the eradication of all forms of undeath. Unlike his uncle, Tallus felt most closely connected to his god when he channeled His direct energy, wielding it like a wildly swinging mace, channeled into the walking dead, or honed into the finest of slivers, healing wounds with surgical precision. In this manner, Tallus sought out the tangible threats of the world, and understood with increasing amounts of wisdom how to channel more and more of his god’s holy power.

It wasn’t until his fourth century of service that Tallus lost the ability to channel the positive energy needed to destroy the filthy abominations of undead. Returning from the very plane of that energy and not being able to wield it caused Tallus to retreat deep into the bowels of Darkot as a guest of his friend Thizzi, and reflect upon the meaning of his return, and the very nature of what his job as a dwarf of Silverbeard was to be. He realized then that his job was not to destroy life’s enemies one or two or a dozen at a time; no, it was to teach, to educate, and to lead. It was to broaden the influence of the forces of good, no matter the flag or god to which those forces pledged allegiance. It was not to spark quick change, like weeds growing in a garden, but to grow a mighty forest spanning generations and the ever-changing boundaries that kings and rulers like to draw on maps. It was to contribute to the perfection of the world. The gods were capable of building such perfection themselves; indeed, they already had in the world of the afterlife. But they gave us this world and the tools necessary to create utopia ourselves, in their image.

Only now has Tallus realized his uncle’s vision of healing. Where Tallus cast a spell and got instant results, Abel searched for other, more subtle resources the gods gifted the people, and used those. Realizing how many more people that would reach, and how much it would honor Silverbeard and the Others’ to use their gifts to the fullest extent possible, Tallus created a non-magical place of healing and offered Able (who accepted) the role of Director. Later, Abel would also accept the role of Chief of Medicine when it was clear the operation needed to expand to include the title, plus that of Chief of Surgery (accepted by Katia).

Tallus has devoted much of his recent life reaching out to the other sentient races, including humans and elves, and has found a new, deeper connection with the very land itself. Sacred Dwarves have a unique connection to the Plane of Earth, and Tallus is now realizing that connection and how much the land is the fundamental building block of the existence of this plane he calls home.