Findall Tallfire

Findall is a member of Valkyrie Team, a division of the Office of Doomsday Intelligence, along with Sebastian Liadon, Rose Millstone, and Felicity Wake. He is one of the four main characters in the Requiem story.

Vilkshire
Mount Veles, once uninhabited was a site of Pilgrimage for the Monks who lived in a nearby village. The forest growing along the side of the mountain was said to be sacred for those who meditated in the woods closer to the energy of the world. The mountain sat at the intersection of three ley lines, allowing the energy of the world to flow strongly there. The monks of the nearby town would, as a right of passage, pilgrimage alone to the mountain to meditate in the forest and become closer to energy of the world. Upon making it to the top of the mountain the monks would arrive at the Connection Tree. A great white oak, ancient and sturdy. At the peak its roots reached further into the mountain, creating a network stretching out to connect everything on the mountain. Upon reaching the tree, the monks would meditate at the base of the tree and experience the flow of the energy through the network and allow their own Ki to join the flow of energy. With this deeper understanding of the flow of energy they were able to truly experience and understand the ebb and flow of Ki in their own body. The final act is to use the ancient carving tools, stored in a small chest at the top of the mountain to take a branch of the Connection Tree and form their own unique monk weapon. Using these, the monks protected their town and the sacred mountain. Eventually the monks moved out and formed a monastery near the top of the mountain. When a group of halflings, dispersed from their homes by war and searching for a new home, found the mountain they asked the monks if they could settle at the base of the mountain. The monks allowed this and thus created the halfling settlement of Vilkshire. Vilkshire was a small, peaceful village nestled at the base of the mountain. It had access to wonderful groves of fruit trees and farming land in the adjacent valley, and the monastery at the top of the mountain.

===   Early Life === Findall was born to parents Maria and Fenn Barrow as their first born child. Findall‘s parents were unassuming and a little daft. They worked small jobs, his father a farmer, and his mother a weaver. Growing up Findall was never given much attention from his parents besides helping his mother with weaving. This led to him acting up for attention and becoming the mischievous troublemaker around town, getting him chided by the elders. When Findall was 4, his parents had his sister Rosleigh. Though she was a healthy baby, she was marred at birth by the loss of her right leg and a brilliant white streak in her auburn hair. Growing up Rosleigh was a happy and energetic girl, but she was avoided by the other kids in town and followed by stares everywhere she went. Findall grew very protective of his sister who had become his best friend and partner in crime when it came to causing mischief.

One night when Findall was 12, he and Rosleigh were out playing in town when they saw smoke from the town. Brilliant orange flames spread quickly across the pristine valley and began to rise up the mountain to the Vilkshire. The farmers ran up to the village yelling for everyone to evacuate. Findall and Rosleigh went back home to get their mother and leave the village before the flames arrived. Moving with the rest of the village further away from the flames and to the surrounding landscape they could only watch as the flames engulfed the town. The gathering of halflings saw the homes they grew up in burn down and the flames travel further up the mountain to the sacred forests. The winds shifted and the flames began to slow and die, but the damage was apparent. Vilkshire and most of the sacred forest had burned down. The villagers gathered back in the valley where Fenn found and joined his family. A small group of monks from the monastery came down from the mountain and were talking with the village elders. The elders turned toward the crowd and explained that the fires had been caused by a farmer leaving their burning pipe in the middle of the field, and held up the pipe. Gray and simple, it had the initials FB carved into it, and was unmistakably the pipe of Fenn Barrow. The Elders called Fenn forward and explained that the monks will not allow them to resettle Vilkshire on the mountain and they would have to move. It was decided by the elders that as punishment for his carelessness his family would bear the burden of the name Tallfire and that their first born child would be given to the monks in penance for the destruction of their sacred forest. Findall’s parents didn’t put up a fight as the elder’s took him from his mother, his sister crying beside her, and gave him to the monks.

The Monastery
For the next several years Findall was brought up in the temple. He was allowed to train with the other students of the monastery, but was put to work cleaning and cooking. He fit in mostly with the other students but accepted his role as the outsider. He would scam the other students out of their things by beating them at gambling when the teachers were away, as well as his usual pranks. After a while he started to feel more at home thanks to Ghel Parish, a short statured elderly human monk. Ghel took a liking to Findall, whose mischievous ways rubbed other monks the wrong way, and began to train findall. Being a halfling, Findall had to overcome much to be a good monk. With limited stature and power he found other ways of beating opponents, but found his connection to his own ki surprisingly strong. Findall cared for Ghel who was the first adult who had really ever paid attention and cared for him. When it came time for Findall to make his pilgrimage and become a monk, there was much debate on whether or not he should be allowed a pilgrimage. The other monks were swayed by Ghel.

Findall's Pilgrimmage
Findall, while on his pilgrimage through the sacred forest, found a small, glowing blue dagger on the forest floor. This seemed strange as it was not a monk weapon and no other people were allowed up in this part of the mountain. Findall was unable to tell the significance of this dagger but he knew it meant something. He wanted to find out, so he kept the dagger and continued on his journey. Findall reached the peak of the mountain, where the Connection Tree was standing tall and proud above him. He sat at its base, and immediately felt the whole mountain alive beneath him. His Ki was pulled into the flow of the mountain, moving throughout the plants and animals.

It was an awakening of sorts for him, the energy of the world is constantly moving, so why should he stay still? The monks stayed on the mountain instead of exploring the world and following the flow of energy. Findall knew that being a monk and staying in the temple his whole life to study, meditate, and protect the mountain wasn’t the life for him. The mountain had been the reason he had lost his family but also gave him a purpose and mentor. Findall decided he wasn’t set out for a monk’s life on the mountain and he would explore the world, feel the energy of different places, and have some fun while he did it. But he had come this far and he wasn’t want to give up. He opened the chest by the tree to find not only the tools for creating his monk weapon but a note from Ghel as well. Ghel had known of Findall’s restlessness, similar to his own, but Ghel wanted Findall to act on his wishes and go explore the world. With his mentor’s blessing Findall crafted his quarterstaff from the Connection Tree and set off down the mountain, past the monastery, and out into the world.

While out in the world, Findall became sort of a rough and rowdy boy before he met Jeff Aldefer. He then embarked on a quest that would pull him out of a simulation and into the real world.