Jalerom Tanlaial

* regular
* assassin

Jalerom Tanlaial

Jalerom in his assassin outfit

Jalerom Tanlaial is the half-elf rogue/assassin and leader of the party in Welcome to the Show. The first half of his life was spent in the Galgari Jungle among the Cha'asii, or jungle elves. From his 20's onward, though, he resided in Gatless Town, becoming a rogue like his mother and forming a group called the Dishonor Brigade as a means to combat the corrupt government. In season 4, he is made general of the war effort against Ravvas and the Drow.

## Appearance

Jalerom is considered tall for an elf, standing at about 5'11". He has white skin, shoulder-length brown hair, blue eyes, and a goatee. His typical garb is a green tunic with matching pants, simple leather armor over his chest, leather arm-guards, brown leather gloves, and leather boots. He wears a brown belt and also sometimes wears a cloak.

Late in season 4, he receives his Dagger of Light uniform. It consists of a black shirt and pants, brown boots, a gold-colored tunic, a blue sash, brown belt, and a cream colored cloak with the symbol of the god Erevan emblazoned on it with matching gloves. His black clothes stretch upwards to become a mask, concealing his identity if the need arises.

## Personality

Jalerom can be described as being easy-going in most situations. He prefers to not cause trouble when it's not necessary, and he enjoys goofing around and having a good laugh. While he is the second most socially apt of the group, Jalerom seems to lack a sense of tact and frequently sticks his foot in his mouth. He is also implied to have a slightly timid side, as he will frequently shrink away from Oin's disapproval and seems afraid of getting his ear yanked.

When the situation calls for it, though, his personality will seemingly change completely. When facing an enemy or in a serious situation, he becomes very calm and focused, and his humor all but vanishes. He is unafraid of facing even the strongest of opponents, relies on use of his wit over brute strength, and will utilize any and all advantages he can spot. He is also brutally efficient, not bothering with grandiose flair or showboating whether in a battle or in a verbal debate. He dislikes messing around in a serious situation and will cut to the chase as fast as he is able to. He has a very pronounced sense of right and wrong, and he isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty or breaking a few rules in order to do the right thing. The first two seasons see him unofficially take the position of second in command of the party.

Season 3 expands on his natural inclination towards leadership. Even as the party travels through Baator, Jalerom is the least ruffled of the team sans Ravvas, and he is able to stand strong and guide them as things become more and more dangerous and painful. He becomes less reluctant to confront the others when necessary, but still manages to show his strongly compassionate side when they are distressed. He shows a sense of obligation towards the team, believing it's his responsibility to make sure they all return home safely, and he takes any possibility that he has done the wrong thing in some regard very seriously. Over the course of the season, he becomes a very serious man who does not take his leadership responsibilities lightly.

Jalerom has a flirty, affectionate side to himself. In the first episode, he lightly flirts with the healer woman in the Directian dungeons, and later on in the series he begins flirting with Faerthurin. With Faerthurin, the flirting goes from light and playful to active attempts to woo her. When they do eventually become a couple, Jalerom is shown to be a very devoted and caring lover. He is always the first to notice if something is upsetting her in any way, and he shows absolutely no hesitation in doing anything for her sake.

In season 4, Jalerom's humorous side very much takes a backseat in light of the severe nature of the war. When he discovers Gatless Town is destroyed and that his mother was murdered in her own home, he falls into a terrible, near-crippling depression and comes to doubt himself and his ability to lead quite heavily. Even with that heavy weight on his shoulders, he presses forward as much as he is able to and still does his best to lead the party. When he is made General, he pushes his personal problems to the back and finally fully embraces his role as leader of the party.

## Early Life

The first part of Jalerom's life was spent in the Galgari Jungle, under his father's tutelage. On his 21st birthday, he learned that his father saw him as little more than a tool for his own benefit. Jalerom left the jungle behind and fled to Gatless Town and his mother. There, he learned to be a rogue and how to survive the streets of a town run by corrupt officials. Over time, Jalerom befriended other outcasts like himself. Sylvester, a saurian rogue, Waltsim, an elven blacksmith, Benjamin, a halfling artificer, and Murphy, a half-orc barbarian. The five formed a group called the Dishonor Brigade and set out to do the dirty work necessary for Gatless Town's benefit, fighting the corrupt governor Albus Windbreath and trying to set right wrongs to protect innocent people.

After a while, the Dishonor Brigade decided to put a permanent end to Windbreath's rule. They set out to not only pilfer the greedy tyrant's ill-gotten gains, but also to end his life. In a well-organized strike, the five of them stole about two thirds of his millions of gold, and Jalerom himself put an end to Windbreath with a perfectly-executed assassination. This act finally freed Gatless from his iron grip as the Dishonor Brigade put someone they trusted in charge, one Roselia Alpenwhisper. After this, the group disbanded on good terms, proud of their work but recognizing that it was time to move on. Jalerom spent an unknown amount of time after this living peacefully in Gatless with his mother.

## Abilities

Jalerom is a trained, highly skilled rogue. He is very adept at utilizing stealth, and he is brutally efficient with his strikes. He is very light with his fingers, skilled at picking both pockets and locks, and is comfortable using a crossbow.

Jalerom is extremely clever. He is skilled at creating and executing strategies in a span of seconds, often to very fruitful results. He relies much more on his wit than might, and more than once his plans have saved the lives of the party. He is also shown to have some aptitude in politics, likely also due to this attribute as he is equally adept at discerning the plans of others.

Upon becoming an assassin, his already dangerous skill set becomes considerably more lethal. He becomes immune to poisons, grows more adept at finding and striking the weakest point of his enemies, and will sometimes kill large enemies in a single blow.

Jalerom also displays strong leadership skills. He is able to direct, support, and inspire his allies easily, and his skill in strategy allows him to keep them safe. He comes by this ability naturally, and often draws others in to follow him without realizing he's doing it.

## Relationships

### Jeminya Malum

Possibly because of his difficulty with authority figures, Jalerom does not immediately trust Jeminya when they first meet. This is not helped by his mother being kidnapped and Jalerom feeling they could have been better prepared if Jeminya had not withheld information about what Directian was capable of. When Jeminya takes steps to correct her mistakes, Jalerom slowly comes to trust her more, and eventually the two settle into a sort of leadership dynamic with Jeminya as the primary leader of the group and Jalerom stepping up for strategy and information needs, as well as keeping the party together in times of duress. The two do eventually come to consider each other friends.

When Jeminya is stolen away to Baator, Jalerom does his best to keep the party held together so they can rescue her. During the journey, he wonders how Jeminya handled being in charge and expresses that he looks forward to relinquishing leadership back to her. When she is clearly in no shape to lead anyone again, he willingly remains in charge for her sake, though he does express that he still looks forward to returning that authority to her as he feels she is better suited to it.

After Jeminya emerges from her diamond and meets with other leaders of Alatastica, she finally admits not only to herself but to everyone that she had never truly been the leader of the party. She openly states that it had always been Jalerom who kept them on track and focused, and she has him named general of the Directian army. Jalerom is completely caught off-guard by this, but accepts the position and the leadership responsibilities that go with it.

### Amber Hawthorne

Jalerom and Amber Hawthorne become good friends over the course of their journey. He finds dragons to be very cool, and she of course finds him fascinating as a half-elf. After the party is separated, he gives her advice on how to deal with Kross via Fae’s scrying spell, and she is overjoyed upon being reunited with him. Like all her friends, Amber considers Jalerom to be part of her horde.

When Jalerom deduces what it is Asmodeus is up to and what he may demand of Amber as a favor, she heeds his advice to stay away from her father. Later, when Jalerom proves to be correct and she is indeed forced to take his life, Amber makes it a point to tell Jalerom of the events that occurred and furiously tells him that she desires revenge. Jalerom assures her that they will get her her revenge before pulling the distraught dragon into a hug.

### Faerthurin

Jalerom and Faerthurin did not initially get along. Her cold personality clashed with his friendly one, and they did not speak much at first. After Jalerom was told to bodyguard Fae by General Urdusk, however, they were forced to spend more time together. It made little difference at first beyond allowing them to become neutral to each other, but following learning of the death of Thedan Tanlaial, things began to change. Fae expressed sincere sympathy towards Jalerom, something he clearly appreciated because they began to talk to each other more after that. Upon encountering Faerthurin's father, something changed between them. Jalerom began to flirt with Fae, bought her her signature pearl necklace, and the two showed a sort of unspoken synchronization when they confronted Jeminya about whatever secrets the woman was keeping from them.

Throughout season 2, the two continued to grow closer. Fae began to grow shy around Jalerom, and Jalerom grew more protective and caring of her. They showed a strong trust in each other, and they began relying on each other for emotional support. The depths of that trust was shown when Fae told Jalerom everything about the Sanctify the Wicked spell and why she was hurting so badly over it. Despite not knowing what to say or do, Jalerom stayed by Faerthurin's side, promising that they would find a way. After they returned to Salania, expressed his feelings for Fae by planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. Later, after defeating Aymer for the final time and learning of the change in Faerthurin's heart, in her excitement Fae outright kisses Jalerom, cementing their affections for each other and leading to the pair becoming a couple.

In the ninth layer of Baator, Jalerom proposed to Fae, making them officially engaged.

Through season 4, there is a sort of role reversal as the stresses of the war between kingdoms and the devastating loss of his mother send Jalerom into a near-crippling state of depression and despair. Faerthurin stands strong by his side, doing her best to support him in his time of need. When she is kidnapped, Jalerom falls into panic and terror, and seems quite lost as to what to do. Upon being reunited, there are few words exchanged as the couple simply shares a deep, loving kiss.

In the episode A Great Revelation, it is revealed that Faerthurin has become pregnant with Jalerom's child.

As of the epilogue, the two have married and have had a son. He and Faerthurin have also adopted Lhark and are expecting a third child.

### Ivan Windstrummer

Jalerom holds Ivan in high regard and sees him as an invaluable ally for their party. Ivan sees Jalerom much like how he sees all his friends, as his new family. Jalerom holds protecting Ivan as a priority, even going so far as to teach him Dark Elf Silent in case of an emergency. At the same time though, he is perfectly willing to use Ivan’s way with people to his advantage if necessary.

Later in the series, he comes to respect Ivan's way of dealing with problems, and heeds his advice over better handling speaking with each other in times of duress. Ivan is also seen as having come to rely on Jal's leadership and strategy as he tends to be the first one Ivan turns to when things look bad.

### Kross Dalgo

Kross and Jalerom hit it off almost right away, bonding like brothers and frequently having each other's backs in and out of combat. They tend to get into trouble together, and have shared experience on the receiving end of Oin's harsh disciplining. Jalerom opens up more easily to Kross than anyone else.

When Jalerom admits that he was told that he had to kill Kross to become an assassin, Kross makes no attempt to escape. Rather, he focuses on comforting and talking to Jalerom, telling him that he is not that dark person and that who he is is up to him and no one else. Jalerom ultimately decides he cannot do it, and the two cement themselves as best friends. He is left feeling quite betrayed when Kross ultimately abandons the party just prior to the war.

Jalerom's argument with Oin in season 3 shows that he has developed some heavy bitterness towards Kross, comparing Oin's behavior to his and stating that they didn't need anyone else "trying to be a one man show."

### Oin Lightbringer

Jalerom does not quite get along with Oin very well. Jalerom’s occasional impulsive decision and bad luck have caused him to get his ear yanked around enough times for there to be mild trauma. Strangely, this actually seems to help him mature a bit as he becomes less prone to impulsiveness. Later, when the party is separated, Jalerom actually misses Oin and upon being reunited, the first thing he does is hug him. (though he immediately attempts to brush this off out of embarrassment)

During season 3, Jalerom becomes fed up with Oin's constant standoffish behavior and tendency to judge others while simply acting on his own. He calls out Oin's behavior and afterwards becomes far less willing to tolerate Oin's attitude. However, in season 4, it winds up being Oin's opinion in particular that pushes Jalerom to accept the position of general, showing that their relationship has improved a great deal.

### Rose Emeraldsong

Rose and Jalerom have a fairly strong relationship. She sees him as an example of humanity at its best, and he sees her as a moral guidepost who is steadfast in her beliefs. When she calls out the party for their tendency towards violence against animals, Jalerom resolves to seek for the third option more often. He comes to regard Rose as the reason he is able to see the world in a more beautiful light than he had before, and subtly implies that he also sees this as why he was able to fall in love with Faerthurin.

He is devastated when Rose dies, and promises that he will never forget her or the things she taught him.

Later, when discussing names for their future children with Faerthurin, she suggests the elvish name for Rose, a suggestion that sends him into tears as he enthusiastically agrees, stating he loves the name.

### Ravvas Arkanen

Initially, Ravvas only offered up the respect required to Jalerom as leader of the party. During their journey through Baator, Ravvas and Jalerom develop a strong, mutual respect and even a friendship as Jalerom respects Ravvas's skill and will, and Ravvas respects Jalerom's strategy and leadership capabilities. Of the entire party, Jalerom is the one Ravvas respects and admires the most, and when Ravvas departs, Jalerom willingly relinquishes an enchanted ring to him in the hopes it would help his people.

When Ravvas's betrayal is revealed to the party, Jalerom in particular is hurt and infuriated by it, demanding back the ring he gave "to a friend, someone [he] could trust." Later, the two had an opportunity to speak in Lefethyr, and Jalerom tells him that should they meet on the battlefield, he won't hesitate to put a blade through his heart, a sentiment that Ravvas returns.

### Lucid

Jalerom does not get along with Lucid very well, as the bird is highly prone to snark and is also overprotective of Fae. Lucid, however, seems to be starting to trust Jalerom bit by bit as he has begun perching on Jalerom from time to time. In later seasons, Jalerom becomes the only one other than Fae that Lucid will heed orders from.

### Simula Malum

Jalerom likes Simula about as much as the rest of the party does; Not at all. He finds her tactics and her tendency to toy with others disgusting and is determined to stop her by any means necessary. He does note, however, that she is not the worst leader he has ever seen.

When the party runs across Simula in Baator, he is very put off by her flirting with him. Later, when Ravvas is placed in a sleep by Oin, he contacts Simula as the party has been getting advice from her during their travels through hell, letting her know the situation and getting advice about the upcoming layer from her. He shows some level of resentment towards her after she stabs Fae in the back, and in the party's final conversation with Simula, he ignores her completely.

### Reyin Dalgo

Jalerom has little direct interaction with Reyin, though like the rest of the party he is very fond of the boy. Like the others, he is very concerned by Reyin's absence when they return from Baator.

### Elinor Gilren

Jalerom and his mother have a good relationship. She is the one who trained him as a rogue, making her both his mother and his mentor. When his mother is captured by a slaver, he is visibly agitated. After rescuing her from the succubi, he loses his temper on Jeminya, who had kept from the party that demons were a possibility of their quest, due to the possibility of his mother dying.

Later, Elinor approaches her son in Salania, offering him the opportunity to become an assassin by killing Kross. He is torn apart by this offer, but ultimately decides he will not kill Kross over an accident. Elinor is relieved as this was the answer they were looking for, and proudly establishes him as a Dagger of Light.

When the party discovers Elinor's grave during season 4, Jalerom is nearly broken by the devastating loss. He becomes determined to track down his mother's murderer and bring whomever it is to justice.

### Aymer Helegolar

At first, Jalerom is only aware of Aymer due to General Urdusk and only knows him to be an enemy. After their first encounter and learning that it was Aymer who was responsible for his own father’s death, not to mention learning how he had abused Faerthurin in her youth, he grows to hate Aymer on a personal level and becomes determined to see him put to an end. After he escapes and becomes a threat to Fae’s family, he becomes frustrated that he did not kill Aymer when he had the chance.

### Thedan Tanlaial

Jalerom's relationship with his father was... poor, to say the least. His younger years were spent in training, learning to survive the Galgari Jungle, but upon turning 21 Jalerom learned that his father held no love for him and only saw him as a tool for his own game. He ran away from his jungle home and went to join his mother in Gatless Town, never looking back.

When the party has to return to Galgari, Jalerom expresses great distaste and discomfort, not looking forward to seeing his father at all. However, when they later learn that Thedan had died, he shows a measure of sadness and pain, implying that some part of him did still love his father.

### Arkoth Wormwood

Due to his distrust in authority, Jalerom despised Arkoth right out the gate, and defied him immediately by removing the prisoner collar that had been placed on him. Arkoth did not like this defiance and punished him for it with intense shocks through the collar. For the majority of the campaign, this was the extent of their relationship, with Jalerom's disdain for the warden only growing more and more as the party traveled. When they fought Arkoth in the Directian arena, Arkoth targeted Jalerom with a Power Word Kill spell and instantly ended his life. When he was resurrected, Jalerom felt a great deal of self-hate for falling so easily to Arkoth's spell.

When the party re-encounters Arkoth in Baator, the first thing Jalerom does is punch him for killing him. After that, however, Jalerom is strangely forgiving of the man after seeing how repentant he is for his sins. As they travel together, Jalerom forms a friendship with Arkoth as they are seen discussing not only strategy, but moral decisions and occasionally exchanging friendly jabs. When Arkoth earns his redemption, he apologizes to Jalerom for what he had done, and Jalerom gives him a friendly hug and salute, telling him he was already forgiven.

### Hana Wormwood

Jalerom and Hana do not interact much during the journey through Baator, though notably he does comfort her when they find Jeminya and gently guides her to her when she is afraid to approach.

### Arden Wrynn

Jalerom first meets Arden when he, Jem, Fae, and Rose are transported to Erneon by pixies. The party agrees to help him even after he accidentally slips the information that they need to return home. Subsequently, they become friends with the scholar.

In season 4, Arden is the first of their friends they reunite with when they return home, and Arden is glad to see Jalerom and Faerthurin, giving the pair a great hug. Jalerom is likewise glad to see the man, and he and the rest of the party entrust Arden and his family to look after Hana while they see to matters in Alatastica.

### General Urdusk

Though they have little to no visible interaction, General Urdusk secretly warns Jalerom of Aymer Helegolar and advises him to look after Faerthurin, which he does without question. The depth of their relationship is unknown, though it should be noted that Jalerom never expressed sadness over Urdusk's death.

### Rime Bowerstone

Jalerom was initially frustrated that Rime was part of a spy group that he wasn't aware of, and even more frustrated that he could not recall meeting her when he helped establish the orphanage in the aftermath of the war with Simula. Putting that aside, though, he came to respect Rime's abilities and her knowledge of Alatastica and how it had changed during their 12 years away. Rime in turn respects him as a Hero of Directian and as a leader, though she does seem to think he is too emotional.

### Sylvester Volante

Sylvester Volante is Jalerom's best friend, having met him not long after moving to Gatless. Sylvester helped teach Jalerom how to fight and evade the law, and they have a great deal of trust in each other. Jalerom refers to Sylvester as the brother he never had.

When they reunite in Sabaton, after Sylvester is certain that Jalerom is not corrupted by Baator as rumors have circulated, they are *very* happy to see each other and quickly fall back into comfortable familiarity as though they had never been apart. Jalerom instantly trusts Sylvester with the true cause of the war, knowing he can count on his old friend to help.

### Murphy Reshky

Murphy is one of Jalerom's oldest friends, having been in the Dishonor Brigade. Jalerom is genuinely delighted to see the half-orc again after years apart, and they fall right back into their old friendly familiarity as though they had not been apart. Like Sylvester, Jalerom trusts Murphy with the truth of the war.

### Sorn Maevaleth

Jalerom first learns of Sorn vicariously when Sylvester and Murphy tell him that Walstom and Ben were murdered by an unknown assailant. Having seen the signs of being marked as the next target, Jalerom keeps a careful eye out for the assassin, spotting him in the middle of a heated battle. The pair speak for the first time that night and Jalerom, having deduced that Sorn was responsible for his mother's death, attempts to kill him. Due to his personal stress, however, Sorn quickly overpowers him despite Nora having come to help. Sorn makes it clear that he will make Jalerom suffer endlessly before killing him, then quickly retreats.

The two run into each other again during the battle of Salania, where Jalerom seeks him out to prevent him from doing too much damage. Sorn escapes again, much to Jalerom's frustration, though he does manage to take Sorn's mask from him. A later visit to his mother's grave reveals that Sorn has destroyed it, though the party manages to repair it.

Upon learning and revealing the truth to Nora about her mother, Sorn shows up to mock Jalerom in his sorrow and regret, He finally reveals the truth of who he his; His last name of Maevaleth is the Undercommon translation of Windbreath. Sorn reveals himself to be the half-Drow son of the wealthy tyrant the Dishonor Brigade had killed. His mother was a Drow Matriarch using Windbreath's money to gain an advantage over the other Matriarchs, and when she lost that she was killed. Sorn holds Jalerom personally responsible for his mother's death, and has vowed suffering and vengeance upon his hated enemy, even going so far as to help Nora to kill Elinor. He vows to Jalerom that he is nowhere near done with him and that he will make him continue to suffer before Jalerom finally dispels his shadow walk spell with an anti-magic amulet.

## Trivia

* Jalerom tends to talk quickly, likely a habit developed from being thrown in jail so much in his younger days
* Though an overall nice guy, Jalerom does have something of a sarcastic streak
* When nervous, Jalerom's voice tends to crack.
* His sense of humor seems to be a coping mechanism, as he will still crack jokes when stressed.
* Jalerom is one of the few characters seen drinking.
	+ This actually corresponds with the players, as Jalerom's player is the only one who drinks at all in real life.
* Jalerom is implied to have sensitive ears; He expresses a lot of pain when his ear gets yanked around by Oin or Faerthurin.
	+ On that same note, Jalerom seems to have PTSD from the frequency of these ear pulling incidents.
* As skilled and agile as Jalerom is, he becomes remarkably clumsy whenever he is around stairs.
* His bluffing skill borders on impossible; he was able to convince a troll looking directly at him that he was behind him, and shortly after talk another troll into drinking poison
* Jalerom may have a thing for formal wear; He has a *very* clear reaction when Faerthurin changes her look.
* Jalerom is the last party member to get a change in wardrobe.
* When startled awake, Jalerom tends to yell something about not having clothes on... *What?*