Tristan Flamesong/Biography

**Spoilers Abound!**  This page contains SPOILERS! Have you finished all that's been released? If not, DON'T READ THIS, PLEASE.

## Biography

### **Pre-series**

Tristan spent his early years living in a cottage  on the outskirts of Ferro. Not too much was mentioned, as he doesn't remember too much of it. He knows that the last time his father fought in a battle was when he was one year old. Tristan developed his fear of fire at around five or six years old. He was playing in his father's library when he accidentally knocked over a lit candle. While there wasn't much damage done, Tristan feared about the damage that could have been, and his father's wrath. His mother had died not too long after, and Tristan was forced to be looked after by servants. Then they left, as all of their properties were confiscated by the empire. He and his father then lived with Lysandro- a distant cousin. They lived there for years, until they all moved to Azurec's Eyrie. There they lived, and Tristan would train to become a good phoenix rider, while his father would work on getting more phoenixes. Tristan eventually bonds with a phoenix, and names him Rex.

### **Crown of Feathers**

Tristan desperately wants to become a Master Rider. He wants the ability to make things happen. But to do that, Tristan has to pass the test, which requires him being near a phoenix in full flame. However, his fear of fire won't allow him, and all it does is disappoint his father. He tries to prove himself once more by helping out the patrols, and his father agrees- but gives him the easiest route. He knows that, so he wanders off a little bit, so he could scan a wider area. He see someone walking, and instinctively blows the horn. When the other nearby riders arrive, they realize that the traveler is just a boy, his father lectures him. He's humiliated. When the commander asks for Nyk to be questioned, Tristan realizes that while *he* was right, it was also a mistake. Tristan stays for the questioning, hoping that Nyk really is harmful. But as he's being proven wrong, he says some rude things, which he regrets. Tristan gets his next chance to prove himself as he performs a test of controlling animals. But when it goes out of control, Nyk is the one who helps him. It's embarrassing, because Nyk is just a stablehand, and did things that Tristan could not- even as a phoenix rider. And to top it off, the commander orders for Nyk to "humble" Tristan.

Tristan asks Nyk to back off, but when he notices him fidgeting, he asks what he wants to say. Nyk says that he's using his animage skills wrong. Tristan refutes that and says that he won't lose control of one of the dogs. But Nyk proves him wrong, when he creates a distraction. When he asks how he did it, Nyk explains that he made requests. While he acknowledges that it's an instinct, he still belittles him, calling a naive little girl. But when Nyk argues back, he's surprised. He mulls the conversation over again- he knows that being kind is instinct, and that his father is the reason why he had been so cruel. He decides to heed what Nyk says. The first thing he does when he sees him again is apologize. He uses his magic more loosely. He even asks Nyk to help him train using the technique that angered him before. For once in his life, Tristan isn't feeling stressed, and allows himself to relax. He realizes how knowledgeable Nyk is, and compliments him, saying that he'd be a good rider. He confides in his disagreement of the current system, like the discrimination. He even confides in the fact that his father doesn't believe in him. But instead of pitying him, or reacting poorly, Nyk offers to help him. It goes well, and he's becoming more confident in his abilities, until it's time for his phoenix to catch fire. He gets nervous, and while Nyk asks for them to just take a break, Tristan reveals his fear of fire. It's something that he's ever told anyone else, meaning that he trusts Nyk. Nyk shows him the mental safe-house technique. Tristan offers to train him, and was about to offer a sponsorship, but is interrupted by Elliot. When he sees him in the bathhouse later that night, he offers the sponsorship, and Nyk gladly agrees.

They start training together, and he's always careful to make sure that Nyk doesn't feel too bad about being unfit. When they run late, they find his patrol, and they tease Tristan. When Tristan says he's helping Nyk train, Anders mentions how they haven't found any eggs. When Nyk leaves, Tristan realizes how hurt Nyk was. He never meant to hurt him, but he believed that they would find eggs. He immediately goes to console him, and they talk it out. But then his father catches them- when he was supposed to do a lesson. Instead of being compliant like he usually would, he speaks up and even jokes. Unfortunately, this makes the commander upset, and he calls for his monthly inspection a week early. While he knows he's able to pass, he's worried that his father won't accept him. But he does his best to keep calm, and puts up the mental safe-house. As he's about to start, Nyk comes to him and says he's going to do something reckless. Tristan trusts him, so he agrees. The test begins smoothly, and then seven extra animals are released. But he doesn't panic, and trusts that his connection with the original animals would hold. It works, and he passes. Cassian has dinner with him, and reluctantly gives him the title of Master Rider, but he's not able to have an official patrol yet, due to insufficient eggs.

Tristan goes to tell Nyk, and starts helping him with archery. He offers to spend the entirety of Azurec's Day with him. When Nyk asks if he's a friend, Tristan says that he's more than a friend. When he realizes what that meant, he quickly corrects himself to close friend. Based on his behaviour (including a bit later), it is possible that Tristan was in denial of his feelings. Nyk learns about the breeding cages, and is disgusted. Tristan is too, but he knows that it's really hard to find eggs, so he sees it as a necessary evil. Sensing the boy's bad mood, Tristan has the phoenixes do their dance for the solstice. They spend the next day practicing archery, despite the other apprentices inviting him to join them. They stay there until late-afternoon, when the performers from Petratec and Montascent arrive. Nyk abruptly leaves, so Tristan goes to see what's wrong. When he finds him again, he sees him arguing with a red-haired girl, his sister Val. Val asks questions about the system, and he ends up answering them, but not willingly. Nyk tells him to leave for a moment, so Tristan reluctantly agrees. He waits for him, and when Nyk returns, he looks distraught. While he's still polite to Val, he's protective of Nyk.

It's possible that he would have questioned what happened, but a phoenix arrives, so the commander helps capture the phoenix, Nyk keeps trying to go towards the phoenix, so Tristan keeps him from being too reckless. His father notices the connection between Nyk and the phoenix too, but neither of them put it together. They discuss what Nyk's new position should be. Tristan asks for him to join a patrol, and then they could look for more phoenix eggs. Cassian says that he is to not go out and get himself killed, as the third female should make more eggs. Nyk and Tristan would help with the breeding, and Rex would be the male volunteering. Tristan argues, but it doesn't work. He's later called down to bring Rex for the mating session, but Tristan refuses. He stands up against his father, even when he's threatened to lose his patrol. Cassian backs down, but then asks for Elliot. Tristan feels lightheaded, and worries for his punishment, but then Nyk faints. The new phoenix freaks out, so the mating ritual is cancelled. A horn is blown, so Tristan goes to see what it was. Nyk joins him, and he's relieved. When they listen, Tristan learns that there's a raiding party higher up than usual. Tristan remarks on that fact, but his father is still angry at him.

Tristan's on edge, worried for what's going to happen. Another raiding party has been sighted, so Cassian's patrol leaves to go investigate, while Tristan is left in charge. He's shocked, because he's constantly being told he isn't ready, but his father acknowledges him for once. He wonders what he's supposed to do next, when a guard finds a raider. They help him recover a little bit, and the raider- Sev tells them that the raiders are empire soldiers. Before he could ask anything else, Elliot runs up and asks about his sister, and practically admits that he was a spy. Tristan feels betrayed, and asks why he wasn't told, that they could have done something. But he knows that he can't dwell on that currently, so he has Elliot escorted to be questioned, and he asks Sev for details. While it sounds reasonable, he wants to make sure that Sev isn't lying, so he has Morra do the questioning. Sev isn't lying, and he learns that the first set of soldiers will be arriving within the hour. Channeling his inner leader, Tristan prepares the defense. He lights the beacon, and Val requests him to not let Nyk join the fight, as she's worried about him. So when Nyk comes and says he's ready to fight, Tristan says no, even though he would like Nyk with him. When Nyk feels hurt and leaves, Tristan apologizes, but tells him what Val had said. But then Val and Nyk start arguing, about things he could hardly understand. But when Val draws a knife, he knows that he has to do something. But he's unable to, and he watches as Val reveals that Nyk is actually a girl named Veronyka. He has no idea what to feel. While he's recognized some of the suspicious behaviour, he's in shock. He leaves the room. He ponders on everything, he's hurt that he was lied to. But he also knows that he can still trust her. He still wants her by his side. So he grabs a shirt for her to cover up with, and a bow for her to use.

The soldiers arrive, so they go to defend it. Whenever he's unsure of what to do, Veronyka helps him, proving that she's trustworthy. When they're unable to cut the ropes fast enough, they let the phoenixes fight, even the female ones. With Tristan's command, they settle into an attack pattern. But it gets worse once Xolanthe dies, and Xatara leaves. He starts losing hope until Veronyka asks if she could so something reckless, and free the other animals to fight too. He agrees, and they free the animals. It works for a little bit, until they start dying off too. Tristan readies for his bondmate to head to the gate, but Rex gets shot by an arrow, so him and Veronyka go with Xephyra. They try to fend off the gate, and they work completely in sync. When they start faltering, the commander's patrol arrives. Together, they fend off the Azurec's Eyrie. Tristan goes around to help with some of the damage control. Commander Cassian congratulates him on securing the Eyrie, but Tristan makes sure that Veronyka gets the credit. Tristan and Veronyka talk about why she lied, and he accepts her. Cassian then talks to Veronyka and congratulates her. But then she reveals the truth of her gender. Cassian rejects her- but accepts Nyk, Tristan defends her, but Veronyka refuses to stay as Nyk. He goes to support her, along with some of the other people that he called, like Morra, Ersken, Jana, and even Beryk. With everyone supporting her, Cassian agrees to Veronyka's terms. They later have the funerals for all who had been killed. Then, Tristan goes to see Veronyka, and offers for her to fly alongside him.

### **Heart of Flames**

As a Master Rider, Tristan wants to be able to do more now, especially with the Empire knowing where they are, but Cassian refuses. So instead, Tristan helps train Veronyka in hand-to-hand combat, but she keeps losing. When Anders starts teasing her, Tristan wants it to stop. he ends up hesitating, which ends up annoying her. She starts avoiding him, and he later tries to assure her that she's doing well, but she's just as antsy as he is. Later, he sees that his father is still awake, so he goes to talk to him. He asks how to remain neutral when helping someone you care for. As he knows what's going on, Cassian gives relationship advice. While it makes sense, he's still confused. After that, he asks for news from Sev, but there's nothing notable. Tristan manages to get his patrol to go to Vayle to help rebuild, and he gets Veronyka to join them. Their arrival had been delayed for a while, now Tristan has to deal with the consequences for it. He knows he could deal with it, but he's not sure about the rest of the patrol. Veronyka takes charge, and her efforts soothe the angry villagers. Veronyka asks if she could go see her cabin, so Tristan agrees and goes with her. He hears noises and goes to investigate, only to learn that Empire soldiers were along the border. As he goes to tell Veronyka that they need to leave, he stumbles upon her and Val fighting. A box is sent flying and lands in front of him. Val leaves, saying that Veronyka needs her. He tells her the news and they leave, before they do something reckless. He takes Veronyka  with him to a meeting so they could relay the news. His father wants her to leave, and Tristan blurts out that she'll be his second, so she should stay. Cassian says nothing. When he relays the news, it looks like they already know.

Tristan and Commander Cassian argue, Tristan upset at the lies. Beryk mentions a Grand Council meeting, so Cassian is forced to explain what they expect Lord Rolan's plan to be. Tristan demands to station the riders to protect each village, but Cassian counters by saying that there aren't enough of them, but they can garrison Vayle and Prosperity. When he asks about the Grand Council meeting, his father reveals that he'll use the influence he has left to sway the votes in their favour. Tristan is skeptical, due to the fact that it was the Grand Council that ordered Olanna to be killed. Tristan volunteers his patrol to go to Prosperity, but is rejected as they don't have six riders. Veronyka offers to audition. Cassian reluctantly agrees, and will discuss the rest later. The next day is the test. The first one bring a relay test. Tristan decides the order, and it starts. His patrol takes it seriously, even Latham- who doesn't really support her. But Veronyka still looks tense, and Tristan could *hear* her, despite not being near her. He asks, but before he could get a proper answer, it's his turn. When he goes to make the hand-off to her, he could see (from Rex's vision) that she has a dark aura around her. When their fingers brush, the aura spreads to him, and he finds himself losing consciousness.

He wakes up in a bed, unsure of what had happened. Veronyka's with him, and she tells him that she's a shadowmage. She reveals that Val had been messing with his mind, but she could only know that if she was in there too. He feels violated and hurt that he was lied to *again*. He wonders if he even knew her, if she was just trying to hurt him, but regrets it when he sees her reaction. When she mentions that they're linked, he feels even more hurt, that he can't even have his thoughts to himself. When he asks how he's supposed to trust her if he doesn't even know her, she agrees, to his confusion. She throws a paper- a birth certificate that says she's an Ashfire, and that Val is her aunt, Avalkyra. She immediately leaves. After some thinking, he goes after her, as Xephyra had revealed their location. He apologizes, and is surprised when she does so too. He kneels down to swear an oath of loyalty, and is glad to see when she does the same. He apologizes for saying those awful things, but explains why. They discuss what they should do next.

To his surprise, his father asks them go back to Vayle, and even allows Veronyka to join them at Tristan's request. But he also learns that there were sightings of two other riders- and they were allying with Lord Rolan. He wonders if one of those is Val. They get to Vayle and help rebuild the bridge, and the two of them work on defending against shadowmagic. However, it doesn't work well. Later, she shows him another paper from the lockbox, one that contains a list of riders that could be potential allies. Veronyka wants to seek them out and get them on their side. They go out to explore The Silverwood forest to find Alexiya during the night. They find her when an arrow is shot towards them. After making sure it's safe, Alexiya invites them to join her. They discuss the situation, until they're interrupted by fires. Empire soldiers attacked a village, so they go to rescue them (though Alexiya joins later). They save the villagers, and after it, Tristan learns that there was another rider attack on the Iron Road. Then they hear of the Empire's planned attacks, so his patrol move to help move people to Rushlea. Tristan goes to report to his father and ask that Veronyka stay with them a little longer. They argue, and though Veronyka gets to stay with them, he gets kicked out of the room. Elliot  shows him a dart and tells him to ask his father about it, as it's clear he's hiding something. But there's no time, so he goes to Rushlea.

The farmers are angry at them due to the burnt crops, so the patrol stays away. Tristan and Veronyka go out to look for Doriyan, but fail. They take a break when it's the day of the anniversary of the Blood War. He knows that it's also Veronyka's birthday, so he gives her a gift- a piece of an arrowhead that was a Flamesong heirloom that broke into two pieces before. They discuss their feelings, and kiss. They separate and enjoy the celebrations. That is, until Veronyka calls him over, and suspects that she saw Doriyan. They follow him into a cave. They stop in a room, and suddenly he's in a daze. He wakes up and finds himself held at knifepoint. Doriyan leaves and Val tries to convince Veronyka to join her again by mentioning the animage captives. Veronyka offers to join her, as long as the captives would be saved. Val then leaves, claiming that she'll give her some time to think. He knows that she's just manipulating her- they both know it, but Veronyka's already planning to go. They argue, before Anders comes in and says that the farmers have cornered the phoenixes. They rush to go deescalate the situation. The tension only gets worse though, until Commander Cassian arrives. The farmers flee, and his father tells him to speak to his patrol before going to him.

Latham reveals that he called for the commander, and shows just how much he dislikes Veronyka. He expresses his disagreement for all of Tristan's actions, and blames her, even though it was his decision. Before the issue could be resolved, Cassian calls for him. He's nice, before reminding him about the relationship advice. But Tristan is exhausted and irritated, and demands the truth about the Grand Council. He vows to take his place in command if he's being selfish. Cassian backs down, and tells him the truth. His father was going to be reckless and potentially die and leave him alone. Just like Veronyka. He then sees her packing, and he tries to convince her one last time to stay- that it's too dangerous. Or that he'd join her. But she asks him to stay, and promise that he won't tell anyone about why she'd left. She leaves. Tristan honours the promise, and tells everyone that he has no idea what happened. He just dwells on what Latham had said, and the improvement in the relationship between him and his father.

But then he receives an image from Rex about Xephyra being trapped in a cage, he knows something bad happened. He goes to see Commander Cassian to ask to go save Veronyka. When his father refuses to go rescue a "wayward apprentice", he knows that he has to tell him the truth. When his father struggles to believe him, Tristan takes him to see Doriyan, as he also knows the truth. The story is confirmed. Doriyan tells them that Veronyka and the rest of them would likely go to Ferro. Tristan joins Cassian, Beryk, Fallon, along with Alexiya  and go to Ferro. They make sure that his patrol is informed, and would join them later. All Cassian asks of Tristan though is for him to trust him. They leave the phoenixes nearby the tower, and enter it. Cassian speaks to Lord Rolan, until Val takes Veronyka and tries to flee. The Riders take their phoenixes. When the two crash, the Riders protect them from the soldiers. Val's phoenix ignites, making it difficult to see. Rex gets caught by a net, and they become Rolan's prisoner. Veronyka tries to turn herself in, but Cassian stops her, and tries to negotiate. He offers Veronyka- and Tristan objects, but is reminded of his promise to trust his father. A deal is made- Lord Rolan would be crowned with Veronyka, and Tristan would be freed, and the animages would be freed from bondage. He's taken away. He feels utterly alone and hopeless, until he sees Sev. Maybe there's still hope.