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Description

altering them AGAIN to make them an arcane archer with some wizard schooling, but will still eventually gain skill as a bard when they find their strong emotions create tangible effects through music (and is the first interest they've really focused on that is completely their own and not an echo of their past)

~~~

update: decided to go with bloodhunter instead; they still learn to channel emotion into their instruments however, so become known as a bloodsinger >v>

~~~

been spendin a month thinkin about this fella, and then spontaneously felt like spendin a few days between commissions pouring 9-ish hours into this ref to finish it (big refs like this are some of the looongest taking arts, compared to the 4-ish my fullbody ychs take haha)
also I've been listening to NOTHING but green day and all time low for over a week now, and that was most of what I listened to while drawin this xD

so meet taryn! I wanted a nonbinary amab character for a while, as well as a more feminine black person, anddd opted for another gargoyle who's not related to jesse so I can branch into more varied designs, so voila!! taryn!! :𝔻 (ended up channelling some prince into 'em, as well as this specific lil nas look >u>)

learning from kai's ref that ended up needing 2 separate ones for both his modern version in my world as well as the dnd one, I was more prepared to just make space for the clothing differences in this one haha
in dnd taryn's gonna be an echo fighter, meaning they can project and control a sort of spectral ghostly version of themself to fight alongside with, but they begin to learn how to channel bardic magic through their flute so end up multiclassing into a bard of eloquence, partially for reasons I will explain in the story down belowww. they're also a homebrewed race because I couldn't find anything exactly how I wanted and I liked my own ideas more anyway lol

~~~

• they're pretty genderfluid so don't care what pronouns you use; I mostly alternate between 'he' and 'they' but they don't mind 'she' either

• he's an ambivert, in that he's charismatic and very charming, much enjoying the company of others, but also likes taking time to himself to just ponder things alone. this does most frequently include rooftops, as gargoyles tend to be fond of
(they're only the SECOND character I have who the mbti test didn't work for, as they just have too many 50/50 alignments. the other unboxable character being alastair)

• they're naturally most alert in the evenings and night, which presents itself as sunlight sensitivity (in dnd) but the ability to quite happily work the nightlife (in my modern world). they also have excellent nightvision

• he's from the distant land of the united kingdom, so has some accent still

• he's probably agnostic, at least for now

• he uses a permanent mage hand as a sort of prosthetic: it's the manifestation of the phantom limb in his brain, so functionally replaces his missing hand and can achieve most of what it could (except tactically feel things).
he also trains it to reach a distance of about 30ft for such purposes of bringing forgotten items back across the room without getting up (‘mage hand’ casting in dnd, lol)

• they're musically inclined, providing the keyboard, backup vocals, and extra strings as a touring member in zodiac’s band,
and carrying around an instrument in dnd that can be played either like a guitar or violin (a dual functioning 'bow' as well that they can fire arrows from, eventually)
bastille fits them the most, both vocally and in vibes

• when threatened, they have the ability to flinch and toughen their skin, almost like stone (mechanically, the war wizard's deflection ability)

• armour is very hard to design and draw so honestly feel free to take any sort of liberty with their clothes (or lack thereof), so long as it accommodates their wings

in my world:

• gargoyles are a species of crepuscular/nocturnal winged primate, who are more closely related to flying monkeys and atavians ('angels') than to the homo/human species.
as they are descended from tree-dwelling monkeys, their wings are shorter than draconian ones; gargoyle wings are more specialized for flying through tree branches, rather than soaring over vast mountainous territories as dragon ones most often are. this means they flap much more and require more energy to fly, but in exchange are quite nimble in the air. this high energy flight means that they're often seen downing stuff like protein shakes and fruit; smoothies are very popular amongst gargoylekind.
when the fight or flight response is triggered and they instead choose fight over flight, gargoyle skin tenses and becomes very hard in order to protect against threats. not quite rock solid, but definitely much tougher to leave a scratch in (in dnd this means that taryn has as many uses of the 'shield' spell as his constitution modifier, which reset after a long rest)

• they’re kai’s roommate and coworker at the same club kai works at as an ~exotic dancer~ (mostly as a host/server/bartender)

• rather than explosive trauma being the cause of his arm loss,
it was simply a congenital limb defect, so he has no memories of ever having that arm, but his brain still has the phantom limb wiring that lets him use a magic-based hand quite naturally instead

however, in dnd:

taryn was raised on a large eccentric estate owned by a rich old baron in tal’dorei.
he was trained and tutored daily by an older veteran human man to protect the property, becoming skilled in the sword, bow, basic arcane studies, and covert arts to capture intruders and hand them over to his master.
the goal was for taryn to become the perfect nighttime watch for the place - perched silently and stealthily on the rooftops overseeing the grounds with keen nocturnal vision and a steady hand.

but time changed, as it always does. the already greying teacher aged further, and shortly after taryn matured to adulthood, his elder instructor called them to his deathbed and dismissed the tending servants from the room. taryn expected a mere goodbye, or speak of inheritance, but instead received a horrifying truth that uprooted his life.
as long as they could remember, taryn had been recounted the story by the baron himself who had found the gargoyle child, orphaned and alone in the wilderness on one of his many hunts, selflessly taken in and cared for as one of his own since then. the teacher always had little to say on the matter, curbing the subject with focus on training instead, but taryn had never had any reason to suspect his origins otherwise. now, with cracking voice, taryn's main parental figure revealed the truth.

the orphaning had a cause. the death of his late parents was purposeful, intended, guided by the hand of no other than the man before him. the governor had directed him to slay the two hostile gargoyles, and with resolution he regretted the rest of his days, the hired hand did as requested. it was only after the winged beasts lay motionless and sprawled before him was it learned that their aggression was rooted in the presence of defended treasure: whimpering drew the party to a single spawn who had survived the encounter, a grey-skinned tiny winged infant, one of whom's arms had been blown off entirely by the magical explosions of the encounter. in a sorry attempt to make up for the sins he had committed, the mercenary quickly managed to convince his employer to spare the child and allow him to raise it as a future guard whose skills would far outweigh those of any human equivalent.

needless to say it was a lot to take in. taryn had little to say in response. his old teacher informed taryn that he was unworthy of their forgiveness, and was fully prepared to accept any response in return. that response was silence, as taryn rose and wordlessly departed the room without so much as a glance behind him.
inheriting a regret of their own, this was their final memory of their instructor, as he passed away that evening.
taryn had sat silently in frozen contemplation for a day. two days. reconsidering all he had come to know as solid truths in his life. waiting for the governor to return from another 'hunting trip' (which now imbued taryn with corrosive anger).

the baron did at last return. it was night when taryn confronted the man as he was hanging his crossbow in the vast sitting room, which the gargoyle now realized to be full of trophies of what very well might've been creatures like him. people like him. he directly demanded the truth. the governor paused, then turned to look at his charge with virulent nonchalance and a careless roll of the shoulder. that was the moment that completed the severance of taryn's life in two, a clean 'before' and 'after', with just four words.
"they were just monsters."
and that was how taryn looked down to see his own blade sullied with blood, and the lifeless body of a traitor sprawled over his own gaudy armchair. taryn viewed this sight entirely detached. their heart beat only once more before he moved briskly to the washbasin to clean his sword - packed a few treasured goods into his messenger bag - took a moment to pity the friendly housemaid who would find this sorry mess tomorrow - then stepped onto the grounds to thrust themself into the sky and the next chapter of their life.

from there they flitted from town to town like a hummingbird from flower to flower, lingering just long enough to take on a job or two to survive before moving on.
their departures came sooner when they'd catch murmurings of a distant politician murdered in cold blood by his beloved guard and son figure, though these rumours grew more scarce the farther and farther they strayed from their hometown.
eventually, they managed to catch a boat across the great sea to the neighbouring continent, where he trusted even fewer to recognize him, and fewer still to care.

this is how they end up approached by a government official seeking to build a company of strong hands as a war approaches on the horizon. this time, their identification proved helpful, as their reputation proved only an asset to hiring but not a sign of danger.
taryn finds themself in company intriguing and strange, and surely stranger situations from here…

PS he does encounter kai still, once, in their teen years: an unusual fox wandering the edge of the estate, revealed to be a handsome young fey. one of taryn's rare moments of subversion, taking the fox back to his rooftop and gaining hours of significant conversation alone under the stars (and losing something else)

~~~

and some face claims (mostly lil nas x and prince haha) ♥

Description

altering them AGAIN to make them an arcane archer with some wizard schooling, but will still eventually gain skill as a bard when they find their strong emotions create tangible effects through music (and is the first interest they've really focused on that is completely their own and not an echo of their past)

~~~

update: decided to go with bloodhunter instead; they still learn to channel emotion into their instruments however, so become known as a bloodsinger >v>

~~~

been spendin a month thinkin about this fella, and then spontaneously felt like spendin a few days between commissions pouring 9-ish hours into this ref to finish it (big refs like this are some of the looongest taking arts, compared to the 4-ish my fullbody ychs take haha)
also I've been listening to NOTHING but green day and all time low for over a week now, and that was most of what I listened to while drawin this xD

so meet taryn! I wanted a nonbinary amab character for a while, as well as a more feminine black person, anddd opted for another gargoyle who's not related to jesse so I can branch into more varied designs, so voila!! taryn!! :𝔻 (ended up channelling some prince into 'em, as well as this specific lil nas look >u>)

learning from kai's ref that ended up needing 2 separate ones for both his modern version in my world as well as the dnd one, I was more prepared to just make space for the clothing differences in this one haha
in dnd taryn's gonna be an echo fighter, meaning they can project and control a sort of spectral ghostly version of themself to fight alongside with, but they begin to learn how to channel bardic magic through their flute so end up multiclassing into a bard of eloquence, partially for reasons I will explain in the story down belowww. they're also a homebrewed race because I couldn't find anything exactly how I wanted and I liked my own ideas more anyway lol

~~~

• they're pretty genderfluid so don't care what pronouns you use; I mostly alternate between 'he' and 'they' but they don't mind 'she' either

• he's an ambivert, in that he's charismatic and very charming, much enjoying the company of others, but also likes taking time to himself to just ponder things alone. this does most frequently include rooftops, as gargoyles tend to be fond of
(they're only the SECOND character I have who the mbti test didn't work for, as they just have too many 50/50 alignments. the other unboxable character being alastair)

• they're naturally most alert in the evenings and night, which presents itself as sunlight sensitivity (in dnd) but the ability to quite happily work the nightlife (in my modern world). they also have excellent nightvision

• he's from the distant land of the united kingdom, so has some accent still

• he's probably agnostic, at least for now

• he uses a permanent mage hand as a sort of prosthetic: it's the manifestation of the phantom limb in his brain, so functionally replaces his missing hand and can achieve most of what it could (except tactically feel things).
he also trains it to reach a distance of about 30ft for such purposes of bringing forgotten items back across the room without getting up (‘mage hand’ casting in dnd, lol)

• they're musically inclined, providing the keyboard, backup vocals, and extra strings as a touring member in zodiac’s band,
and carrying around an instrument in dnd that can be played either like a guitar or violin (a dual functioning 'bow' as well that they can fire arrows from, eventually)
bastille fits them the most, both vocally and in vibes

• when threatened, they have the ability to flinch and toughen their skin, almost like stone (mechanically, the war wizard's deflection ability)

• armour is very hard to design and draw so honestly feel free to take any sort of liberty with their clothes (or lack thereof), so long as it accommodates their wings

in my world:

• gargoyles are a species of crepuscular/nocturnal winged primate, who are more closely related to flying monkeys and atavians ('angels') than to the homo/human species.
as they are descended from tree-dwelling monkeys, their wings are shorter than draconian ones; gargoyle wings are more specialized for flying through tree branches, rather than soaring over vast mountainous territories as dragon ones most often are. this means they flap much more and require more energy to fly, but in exchange are quite nimble in the air. this high energy flight means that they're often seen downing stuff like protein shakes and fruit; smoothies are very popular amongst gargoylekind.
when the fight or flight response is triggered and they instead choose fight over flight, gargoyle skin tenses and becomes very hard in order to protect against threats. not quite rock solid, but definitely much tougher to leave a scratch in (in dnd this means that taryn has as many uses of the 'shield' spell as his constitution modifier, which reset after a long rest)

• they’re kai’s roommate and coworker at the same club kai works at as an ~exotic dancer~ (mostly as a host/server/bartender)

• rather than explosive trauma being the cause of his arm loss,
it was simply a congenital limb defect, so he has no memories of ever having that arm, but his brain still has the phantom limb wiring that lets him use a magic-based hand quite naturally instead

however, in dnd:

taryn was raised on a large eccentric estate owned by a rich old baron in tal’dorei.
he was trained and tutored daily by an older veteran human man to protect the property, becoming skilled in the sword, bow, basic arcane studies, and covert arts to capture intruders and hand them over to his master.
the goal was for taryn to become the perfect nighttime watch for the place - perched silently and stealthily on the rooftops overseeing the grounds with keen nocturnal vision and a steady hand.

but time changed, as it always does. the already greying teacher aged further, and shortly after taryn matured to adulthood, his elder instructor called them to his deathbed and dismissed the tending servants from the room. taryn expected a mere goodbye, or speak of inheritance, but instead received a horrifying truth that uprooted his life.
as long as they could remember, taryn had been recounted the story by the baron himself who had found the gargoyle child, orphaned and alone in the wilderness on one of his many hunts, selflessly taken in and cared for as one of his own since then. the teacher always had little to say on the matter, curbing the subject with focus on training instead, but taryn had never had any reason to suspect his origins otherwise. now, with cracking voice, taryn's main parental figure revealed the truth.

the orphaning had a cause. the death of his late parents was purposeful, intended, guided by the hand of no other than the man before him. the governor had directed him to slay the two hostile gargoyles, and with resolution he regretted the rest of his days, the hired hand did as requested. it was only after the winged beasts lay motionless and sprawled before him was it learned that their aggression was rooted in the presence of defended treasure: whimpering drew the party to a single spawn who had survived the encounter, a grey-skinned tiny winged infant, one of whom's arms had been blown off entirely by the magical explosions of the encounter. in a sorry attempt to make up for the sins he had committed, the mercenary quickly managed to convince his employer to spare the child and allow him to raise it as a future guard whose skills would far outweigh those of any human equivalent.

needless to say it was a lot to take in. taryn had little to say in response. his old teacher informed taryn that he was unworthy of their forgiveness, and was fully prepared to accept any response in return. that response was silence, as taryn rose and wordlessly departed the room without so much as a glance behind him.
inheriting a regret of their own, this was their final memory of their instructor, as he passed away that evening.
taryn had sat silently in frozen contemplation for a day. two days. reconsidering all he had come to know as solid truths in his life. waiting for the governor to return from another 'hunting trip' (which now imbued taryn with corrosive anger).

the baron did at last return. it was night when taryn confronted the man as he was hanging his crossbow in the vast sitting room, which the gargoyle now realized to be full of trophies of what very well might've been creatures like him. people like him. he directly demanded the truth. the governor paused, then turned to look at his charge with virulent nonchalance and a careless roll of the shoulder. that was the moment that completed the severance of taryn's life in two, a clean 'before' and 'after', with just four words.
"they were just monsters."
and that was how taryn looked down to see his own blade sullied with blood, and the lifeless body of a traitor sprawled over his own gaudy armchair. taryn viewed this sight entirely detached. their heart beat only once more before he moved briskly to the washbasin to clean his sword - packed a few treasured goods into his messenger bag - took a moment to pity the friendly housemaid who would find this sorry mess tomorrow - then stepped onto the grounds to thrust themself into the sky and the next chapter of their life.

from there they flitted from town to town like a hummingbird from flower to flower, lingering just long enough to take on a job or two to survive before moving on.
their departures came sooner when they'd catch murmurings of a distant politician murdered in cold blood by his beloved guard and son figure, though these rumours grew more scarce the farther and farther they strayed from their hometown.
eventually, they managed to catch a boat across the great sea to the neighbouring continent, where he trusted even fewer to recognize him, and fewer still to care.

this is how they end up approached by a government official seeking to build a company of strong hands as a war approaches on the horizon. this time, their identification proved helpful, as their reputation proved only an asset to hiring but not a sign of danger.
taryn finds themself in company intriguing and strange, and surely stranger situations from here…

PS he does encounter kai still, once, in their teen years: an unusual fox wandering the edge of the estate, revealed to be a handsome young fey. one of taryn's rare moments of subversion, taking the fox back to his rooftop and gaining hours of significant conversation alone under the stars (and losing something else)

~~~

and some face claims (mostly lil nas x and prince haha) ♥