Tala Kemalu

Tala Kemalu is a wandering monk from the Forest of Spirits and a practitioner of the Shadow Orchid Discipline. Often seen in the Petals District performing for money, he regularly displays the myriad of magic at his disposal.

## History

### Birth

Born the 23rd of Rova, 4708 AR, in the Hon-La province of Tian Xia to a family of merchants he found himself the youngest of 3 brothers. While young he was often made fun of as the runt of the litter, and could frequently be seen trying to show his strength. At the tender age of 7 he realized his strength lay in misdirection, and tricks. When a local bully had begun attacking him and taking what meager earnings he could cobble together he found he could defeat this bully by fabricating small stories to his classmates about the bully eating horse manure in secret. At the age of 8 however, as if a message from fate, he would find himself in a precarious situation.

### Coming to the Shadow Orchid School

When his father fell ill, and his mother needed to tend to his father, hard decisions were made, and it was decided that Tala would be sold to one of the traveling monks, seeking students for their school. Tala was able to choose which one and he chose the Shadow Orchid after the adherent monk had shown him a figment of himself, but stronger. The trip was fortunately not very hard on his young body but the change of scenery was dramatic. The biggest change was the abundance of strange spirits, fey, and forest creatures that dotted the landscape in the Forest of Spirits.

### Learning the Shadow Orchid Discipline

Adherents of the Shadow Orchid Discipline must undergo preparation before they are truly ready to learn the mystic arts.

First, there is the destruction of self. In order to become a master of shadows you must know what it is to be a shadow of yourself. In order to accomplish this they put the trainees through grueling physical work, control their meals, and every other aspect of their lives. In this way they hope to break down anything that has come before.

Second, there is the binding seal, a magical glyph that is meant to keep the adherents bound to the material plane early into their training. This glyph is tattooed upon the disciple in a visible but personal place, marking them from each other.

Third, there is the cleansing. Understanding one's own self, their aura, and the reasons for it to be are important steps to controlling it. In this a ritual is performed in the river of the forest, where in all negative emotions and energy are drawn away from the person it is performed on, and the water shines with their aura to signify its completion.

As each disciple goes through this process they are given the opportunity to forge their own identity. Tala however, chose to bear his original name as his own.

While learning the discipline he grew into a fine young man and one of the most promising students there, able to weave shadows into his casting seemingly at will. As such a bright star he was often tasked with keeping watch on the heir of the Shadow Orchid, Ryoko Tabane. He would often fuss with her over smaller details, attempting to teach her what came to him so easily, but he never could.

## Powers

Tala's powers are often a mystery to everyone but his closest allies. On the surface he's been seen manipulating the elements, summoning creatures, an evoking immense whirlwinds.

In truth his powers come from the Plane of Shadow, and with it carry the uncanny ability to impose themselves upon and over top of reality, leaving something new, but not quite real, in its place.

### List of Powers

* Creating illusionary projections
* Creating illusionary disguises
* Creating objects
* Creating creatures
* Altering existing creatures
* Manipulating the elements
* Energy projection
* Energy manipulation
* Matter manipulation
* Manipulation of the senses
* Telekinesis
* Control of Darkness
* Control of Light
* Necromancy
* Curse Magic
* Barrier projection
* Weather Control