Teniel Memedi

"Powerful wizards are everywhere these days. Right now, I'm controlling a skeleton with my mind! And so are you!"

## Physical Description

### Notable Features

Hard to tell—or perhaps even shifting—as Teniel never willingly reveals his face, and frequently casts minor illusions on himself. He's far more identifiable by his small size, dark robe, and matching swords

A veteran storyteller, made out of dreams and lies and shadows. Teniel is just a smoky lil guy with big ambitions, and he's here to help you become a hero.

## Backstory

### Preamble

Let me tell you a story. In the ruins of Old Scarlet, trapped high up in a tower, there lived a powerful wizard. Unable to fight his way past the enemies who gathered below, he passed the last of his days in solitude. But while he could not escape, his shadow could, and he sent it forth, on longer and longer journeys, to gather tidings of the world. In that way, the wizard passed his time in contemplation, listening to the stories his shadow told. And when he finally passed, his shadow left again, never to return.

Is there any truth to this story? Perhaps, perhaps not, but it is the story Teniel would rather tell. An inveterate fabulist, he finds fables much more interesting than history. Certainly, he is an odd little fellow, touched by death and shadow. His knowledge of the world is surprisingly broad, and he bears the scars of a close encounter with undeath.

But why would anyone want to talk about that? Teniel is a hero, a big shiny powerful hero with a cool shiny sword. He's here to go on adventures, and travel with the mightiest heroes Babel has to offer. What's that? You're just some guy, and not a famous mighty hero? Fight with Teniel for an hour or two, and his stories will convince you that you were wrong.

### First Chapter

For the past few months, Teniel has traveled from city to city, tavern to tavern, collecting stories. His personal adventures have been few and far between, but during them he discovered a particularly coveted talent: by weaving immunities into his allies' armor, he had a special knack for countering the special attacks of various enemies. He also discovered his greatest weakness: driven by a desire to tell his own stories, he becomes nearly helpless whenever silenced.

Teniel achieved his first mythic milestone in a fight against a minor lich. While he was no match for the lich itself, he managed to instead hold off a dozen skeletons at the same time while his allies fought the craftier enemy. During this battle, he remembered his past hatred for the undead, and swore to become a literal bastion against death, decay, and destruction if he had to.

## Dust Jacket

When he can, Teniel appears as little more than a bundle of rags. Whenever he can, he travels with multiple hooded cloaks and dark robes over a full suit of face-covering armor, as well as the occasional minor swirling illusion that obscures his exact position. If asked, he will insist that this is to hide his deep embarrassment at his deeply ordinary appearance.

Of course, to anyone who gets a look at him, he looks quite odd even beyond wayang standards. Pale gray and covered in tattoos, Teniel also sports two extra arms, though with the speed he moves them it can be hard to count the exact number.

## About the Author

Teniel would claim that he has no personality at all, instead choosing to adopt a persona as the situation dictates. He can be calm and withdrawn, but he's also a bit of a megalomaniac, seeking to understand, narrate, or even pull strings to control the world around him as much as possible.

He's also very fond of anyone he considers a "hero," and will constantly compliment those he travels with, even to the point of telling obvious lies, in an attempt to boost their confidence.

## Other Work

Few of Taniel's abilities are set in stone. He gains much of his power from telling his own story, an exaggerated version in which he has learned heroic powers through great study and feats. Thus, all he needs to do is change the story he tells every morning, in order to replace old abilities with new ones.

Still, his greatest talent is his ability to tell encouraging lies. Teniel can lie to inanimate objects themselves, convincing swords and armor that they are legendary artifacts of forgotten heroes, or turning chairs and tables into soldiers under his command. In combat, he constantly shouts about his and his allies' heroic deeds, with such skill that he can turn a missed swing into a deadly blow just by insisting to the universe that it's more satisfying that way.