Tarragon

*"Through action, a man becomes a hero. Through death, a hero becomes a legend. Through time, a legend becomes a myth. And by learning from the myth, a man takes action."*

**Tarragon** is a Saiyan hailing from Universe Five's Planet Xeleri. The older brother of Prince Xeleri, he was the lesser sibling in their parents' eyes, and was pushed aside from the crown in exchange for Xeleri. Despite this, he holds no resentments, and had often had doubts of him being a good leader. In exchange, Tarragon was given the rank of Saiyan Centurion Elite, a specialized class of Saiyan that commands a legion of lower ranking Saiyans, typically numbering a hundred. Due to a battle gone horribly wrong on a planet he was sent to take over, having lost a large number of his Century, Tarragon's tail was cut off by King Mato, and he was forced into retirement, the rank of Evocati.

## Appearance

Tarragon is a quite tall Saiyan. At six foot one and two hundred and thirteen pounds, he is very stout and strong. With a suit of armor with the Saiyan crest, he wears a blue undersuit below it. The white armor and gold trim on it signifies his rank as a centurion elite. With modernized touches done by Tarragon himself, he removed the hip padding from the armor and kept only the cuirass. Becoming used to Earth's culture, he traded the cumbersome armor and jumpsuit for a comfortable, white changshan. His hair is pitch black and short, kept cut as such as per his father's orders. But as he became adjusted to earth, he let it grow out naturally.. He wears white gloves and white boots with gold trim. Over his left eye is a scar he got when clearing out an uprising on one of the planets taken over by the Saiyans, and his tail was lost following a dangerous battle to claim another planet, his father cutting it off after his return.

## Personality

"*The only time you should look down on someone is when you’re helping them up.*"

Tarragon can come off as shrewd to those who don't know him, especially to those he doesn't know. But those who know him personally know there's a gentle soul under that rough exterior. He hides his softer side to keep his mind focused on the battles ahead, and always remains stern in the face of opposition. He sees himself as something of an optimist, always trying something new in the hopes of finding something worthwhile for it. In his heart, though, lies passion, a passion to do the right thing and improve not just himself, but his standing in life.

## History

For most of his life after the birth of Xeleri, Tarragon was seen as the lesser sibling of the two. As such, while his brother was given the royal treatment and raised up to be the next ruler, Tarragon sought ways to improve himself. He'd find his start under the tutelage of his uncle, who kept the family style of Wing Chun in practice all his life. His uncle taught him how to fight if he finds himself in a one on one confrontation. From there, he rose up the ranks faster than any other Saiyan before him. As he rose up the ranks, his father finally saw something in him, and granted him the rank of Centurion. At the age of sixteen, he conquered his first planet, placing it under the banner of the Saiyan Empire. This trend of success would continue for two years. But when sent to take another planet, he knew there was something wrong with this one. The villages on the planet were barren, almost like the inhabitants only kept temporary camps. By the time he realized the inhabitants' true nature, it was too late; An ambush surrounded Tarragon and his Century, decimating his troops. But rather than retreat, Tarragon fought back the enemy to save the ten remaining soldiers in his Century, fighting until he couldn't anymore. By the time the battle was over, the inhabitants gave the broken Saiyan and his soldiers an ultimatum; Leave, and they'll see them safely returned to their home planet, or stay and be slaughtered. Biting down on his pride, Tarragon chose the former, knowing he lost the battle. He would rather go back home a failure than lose any more Saiyans. His return home was painful, but it was what happened after that bit the bullet for him. Having been deemed a failure, King Mato cut off his tail and forced him to retire, stripping him of his rank of Centurion and demoting him to Evocati. Since then, Tarragon has lived off of the payments he made in the army in his own opulence, but still wishing for the day he'll be chosen for battle once again. During this time, he learned that his uncle was dying from a terrible disease. On his deathbed, he instructed Tarragon to find his father, who taught him the arts that he taught Tarragon. After he died the next morning, Tarragon sought his grandfather. After finding him, he noticed that even in his old age, he was still as spry as ever. Even when he applied his best skills, his grandfather was always one step ahead of him, utilizing changes in the skill he applied over the years. He would begin to train these changes to Tarragon, accepting him as his new student. With conflict on their home planet coming to a head, Tarragon and another group of Saiyans departed from the planet and found themselves on an even stranger planet. While on this planet, called Earth, he became acquainted with some of the inhabitants, namely a half-Saiyan named Seika, and two android sisters named Alisa and Emilie, the latter of which who has become rather infatuated with him. He slowly became adapted to Earth's culture, letting his hair grow loose and natural like it once was, feeling free of his father's control over him.

## Powers and Abilities

*"Wing Chun is all about keeping your body relaxed. When your body is tensed up, you've just wasted valuable energy. But adapting from a tense method of combat to a loose method can be more difficult than you think. You must retrain everything your brain thought about combat. You have to overcome your own fight or flight instincts, syncing both sides of the spectrum in perfect harmony. Wing Chun means protecting yourself, but also keeping yourself as close to your opponent as possible in order to maximize your power while negating the opponent's."* - Tarragon describing Wing Chun.

While not as physically strong as his brother, Tarragon is a brilliant tactician, and uses his knowledge on the battlefield to help cover his weaknesses. Having learned the art of guerrilla tactics after a near failed invasion of a very hostile planet, Tarragon utilizes hit and run tactics to lure his targets into a trap, then delivers the finishing blow. Some may see this as cowardly, but those who have served under him cannot state enough on just how important these tactics are to survival on foreign lands. Using the battlefield as his own, Tarragon constantly scouts his surroundings for prime spots to set up an ambush, and either take out the enemies in wait behind them, or use those surroundings himself. Tarragon is quite satisfied in using the famous Fabian Strategy, outlasting his opponent in a battle of attrition. On some planets, he'd take them over by destroying vital supply points, weakening his enemy not just physically, but mentally as well, destroying their morale and forcing them to surrender. But Tarragon is also dangerous in an even playing field. Utilizing the style of Wing Chun, Tarragon uses quick movements that are meant to force an opponent's attacks to miss by mere inches. A quick shove against the hip can cause a jab aimed straight for his jaw to miss entirely, causing an opening Tarragon can take advantage of. Unless his opponent is stronger than him, Tarragon does everything to ensure that the only time he gets hit is if he allows it. He learned this style of fighting from his uncle, who was a brilliant practitioner in the style, who taught him everything he knew before his death, and his grandfather helped him perfect it after that. One of Tarragon's most powerful attacks from this is what's referred to as the "One Inch Punch". A length of distance as long as his middle finger, he can deliver a punch with enough force to split even the strongest metals. More than that, though, is the style of Wing Chun allows the user freedom of combat. Tarragon was taught how to study his opponent's moves and incorporate them into Wing Chun, mirroring his opponent's fighting style and flooding them with a foreign fighting style at the same time.

## Transformations

### Super Saiyan

"*I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this universe alone!"*
-Tarragon's oath to Articho before becoming a Super Saiyan

Tarragon's transformation into Super Saiyan was a difficult one. Still trying to grasp the fact that his father was responsible for the genocide of an entire race, the uneasiness felt heavy upon his soul.Having seen Articho transform into a Super Saiyan just to protect him, he realized that the feelings she had for him were strong, perhaps even stronger than the feelings he had for her before that moment. He felt great respect for Articho on that day, and hoped for a chance to become strong enough to protect her as she did him. His opportunity would arise when they were teleported to Earth. As they split off from his brother, Tarragon and Articho encountered a strange being. Before they could communicate with the individual and ask who they were, the being attacked them with a powerful energy blast that sent them into the air. As the two began to crash towards the ground at startling speeds, Tarragon held Articho as tight as he could, not wanting to lose her, willing to sacrifice himself rather than lose his closest friend. The strength in his heart found that he needed to protect Articho, and found his strength and bravery worthy. In that moment, when Tarragon opened his eyes, they shifted from black to teal. With a ferocious yell just mere feet from the ground, he let off a powerful aura that broke their fall mere seconds before impact. He had become a Super Saiyan.  In this state, Tarragon's power is increased fifty times, and his reflexes and speed become more fine tuned, allowing him to utilize his Wing Chun much more efficiently.

### Super Saiyan Full Power

After eight months of training, Tarragon finally has finally awoken the full power of his Super Saiyan state. This state, as natural to him as breathing, felt so comfortable to him, so second nature, he could keep the state up as long as he wanted. In this state, Tarragon's reflexes are enhanced greatly, as is his strength and speed. He also gains the ability to passively detect changes in pressure with his hands, allowing him to react to physical attacks without even looking at them.

## Trivia

Tarragon was drawn by User:Narianos

Tarragon is named after an herb used in a wide variety of cuisines, dominantly in French cooking.

## References

1. ↑ Rebellious Saga: Unwanted Changes
2. ↑ The Fury of A Saiyan