Tanalli Withervine

Tanalli Withervine, also called **Madame Withervine**, was a female tiefling druid. A child of cursed birth who had overcame the odds of their rough upbringing to become a renowned explorer and druid of Merro.

Tanalli Withervine in her common garb

## Basic Information

### Aliases

Madame Withervine, Merro's Monster Finder

### Nicknames

Valakri's Child (By Cultists), "Devil" (By certain people)

## Dates

### Born

Template:Yearlink Cursed at birth by Nithcyra

## Description

Tannali Withervine was a tiefling. She stood about 5'3 tall and weighed about 115 lbs. Her features were sharp and well defined and made for the charismatic but odd faces typical of tieflings. Rather atypically, Tannali's skin was a shade of pink, a rare color compared to the normal skin shades

suggesting her heritage comes from the domain of Nithcyra. Her hair was a long curled fall of jet black, fading into rosy dyed ends. Unike most tieflings, her eyes were not a solid single color, having an off white outside and irises like a human, hers being a yellowy gold.

Tannali's choice of clothing was described as simple but fashionable. Typically wearing a roomy cotton shirt and black form fitting pants, her real style came from her many trinkets and jewelry. Silver and gold gilded rings, necklaces, earpieces, and horn rings adorned her person, her affection to these is most likely a tie to her Nithcyrian heritage. However, her methods of obtaining these jeweled pieces may have not been entirely righteous. Her wrist was wrapped an ornate willow branch bracelet. She claimed this bracelet was a focus of sorts that assisted her connection to nature, allowing her to use her druidic powers to great effect. Although reluctant to talk about it at times, this bracelet was given to her by her mother at a young age.

## Personality

Tanalli is most commonly described as a wild card up the sleeve. Being chaotic by nature is bound to get her in trouble, but she usually is quite reserved about her actions. Her tolerance toward her own motives and self consciousness allow her to usually think of the greater good and the best put forth plan than giving into her desires to do things how she sees fit. However, when the cards are down and it comes to it, Tanalli is a free spirit, and will take what actions she needs to achieve what she needs done, usually this is looked upon harshly in retrospect by herself. Despite her calming nature, she is always up for a good joke or two. Being rather jovial at heart past her tough exterior, a good jest is the way to companionship with her as seen with her old friend Grogeth.

In her most recent draw of life, she is more reserved than usual. However, her wild side is expressed through her fascination with the many magical species of Ucril. She still retains her original sense and longing for adventure, waiting until rumors of new creatures begin to arise to fully unleash it.

Tanalli is a not very religious, but is rather very spiritual. Believing spirits of good people to pass on to what they represent the most. This however could come from elvish beliefs, being tied very closely to Druidry. This belief however has given her a fondness to Felines and the Luna Moth, thinking that her mother and sister's souls take the form of those.

### Tanalli's Druidic Pact

A more sinister and chained away part of Tannali is the druidic forces she is connected to. Connected to Winds of Life by natural gift, her abilities were only enhanced later in life by the beastial forces of Valakri. When put in high pressure situations, her spells often become more volatile rather than supportive, and she begins to back herself into a protected position, akin the the ways of certain animals.

Through the Cult of Valakri, Tanalli was nearly drowned in a ritual, leading her to grow distrust for the organization and to develop a phobia of water, or more specifically, a fear of being submerged in water.

### Her Old Ways

Coming from poverty, Tannali had to learn to benefit from others for her family's sake. She had an innate sense of wrong and right, which pained her to do acts of theft, so she eased the pain by stealing only from those who could afford to be taken from. Sympathy began to sprout in the young tiefling's heart for the people she saw in the same situation. This developed later in her life when she became stable monetarily enough to frequently give small earnings to those who struggle the same way she did.

## Abilities

As a tiefling, Tanalli had an innate understanding of magic from a young age, being able to conjure minor illusions in her early teens. Later learning how to cover her tracks through disguise self and invisibility.

Being of a cursed birth and giving her access to magic early in her life would give her the ability to become connected with the Winds of Life and druidry as a whole, as the connection to ancient druidic magics was quite strong in the Braum Thicket. She was able adapt herself to the Circle of the Shepard, guiding her companions and wildland summons to use the supernatural forces of nature to their benefit. She was also able to cause a plethora of directly harming effects using the environment around her.

She possessed extraordinary abilities in handling wildlife, able to become friends with most mundane creatures, and low ranking magical ones with ease. Her ability to track and perceive her surroundings was also to note, having been said to be able to hear a twig snap a half a mile away if she was truly in tune to the area around her.

### Combat and tactics

Tanalli fought with bow in one hand if needed, and using her circlet on the opposite hand as a foci for her druidic capabilities. In her short adventuring time with the Savathinian Five, she acted as the support and backbone of reason for the group. Possessing and specializing in utility magics and abilities, she was able to keep their travels lit with her use of produce flame, faerie fire, and other abilities. She was also capable of harming foes with these magics, she developed quite a fondness for the destructive capabilities of fire in her early career.

She was additionally able to increase the speed of natural healing on her allies, letting them recover from near fatal wounds almost instantaneously.

She took whatever she could into battle, including her dual set of daggers, potions, armors, and any other supplies the group could utilize. Becoming quite the tactician in the process. While her proficiency with martial tactics was lackluster, she was willing to fight claw and fang to the end, even if the Winds of Life had stopped blowing for her.

## Possessions

Tannali never grew too fond of the many things she carried, however the things she valued enough to never forget were the stuff of night long stories and legends.

Her nonmagical weapons which included two daggers and a bow inscribed with a luna moth. She was taught the ways of bow hunting at a young age, her younger sister Villia inscribing the symbol of the moth into the bow as she became a hunter of her own. The daggers were also given by her sister, becoming more of a utility than an actual weapon to her.

Her willow branch bracelet was a gift from her mother to help her hone her druidic abilities. Although she has a good enough grasp on her powers to remove it, she chooses to continue wearing it of her own volition.

Tanalli carried a jar of teeth on her person, each tooth coming from an animal companion that had treated her well. A grim and odd memento, she eventually learned to use the fragment of the animal to summon it's spirit to aid her. These included a wide array of animals, from rabbits to wolves and even a bear.

## History

### The Young Outcast

Born in 1324 PA, Tanalli was cursed from birth, a demonic influence of deception had affected her heritage. Like her parents, she was met with odd looks from those around her, forcing her family to live a mostly rural lifestyle. From this, Tanalli was taught at a young age by her family members how to hunt and scavenge for basic needs. Sadly her father passed when she was only six. Doing his best to protect them from an angry mob believing her family to be the cause of strange happenings in the forest to their children. Despite their best efforts, without access to any healing substances or magics, they were not able to save him. This sparked a feeling and need in Tanalli to be just as courageous as her father, making sure to never let good people like him fall again.

She began to develop an interest in the nature around her, wondering if she could help people with it. Years of hunting and salve making passed, earning her a bond with nature not many could achieve. Her mother, being familiar with tales of old, gave her a bracelet to help maintain the flow of her powers for her own safety. Later in her teen years, due to the growing hostility of creatures in the area, the Withervine family was forced to move to the town of Merro.

### The Cult of Valakri

Shortly after her move to the town of Merro, Tanalli's family thought it would be best to conform to a religion or something similar so people would be more accepting of them. Being from the outlands themselves, they eventually ended up joining a small sect of Valakri, a powerful, and often times mischievous or malicious archfey. Around this time, Tanalli would begin to take her independence as a young adult more seriously and decided to venture back to her old home under the guise she would be taking a carriage to Veneremo. After her pilgrimage, Tanalli felt it would be best to forget about it and try to lead a new life. She spoke her mind to the empty trees and burnt wood of her home and left back to Merro. To her shock, her family was missing. She searched restlessly until only one location remained, Valakri's Hidden Chapel. She made the journey through the hidden and convoluted passages only to feel the stench of death hanging in the air. Her gut dropped at what she saw, and enraged, she used Valakri's druidic powers flowing through the temple to fuel her own. Thorns and creatures ripped apart the Cult members in vengeance for her family. A bond of savagery was formed between Tanalli and Valakri that day, and although she wont admit it, the extent of her druidic abilities are due to Valakri's subtle influences. Feeling shame for letting down the spirit of her father, she fled Merro in hopes for something grand to lift her from her own pit of doubt.

### The Savathinian Five

After fleeing Merro, Tanalli became a member of the Savathinian Five, a group brought together by The Conflux, made by The Tripartite. Tanalli and these five lost souls traveled in divine accordance to obtain a shard of Savathun's Phylactery. After reaching the ancient ruins of Anneai Hold from an annonymous tip, they descended only to find cultic activity in accordance with Savathun's plan. The Cultists were ambushed, and it was a quick and grizzly battle, Grogeth nearly losing his life in the process. However, rung around the neck of the head cultist was a carved green gem that beat like a heart, and was cold like ice. Pressed to the Conflux, it shattered the crystal and absorbed it, taking 1/6th of Savathun's power. Shaken by the events, the group decided to part ways, entrusting the keeping of the Conflux with Tannali. Renewed with vigor, and with a greater purpose, Tannali returned to Merro, using her profits from the adventures of the Five to open her own business, not only as a way to make gold, but as a way to keep the Conflux moving.

### Explorer of Merro

Taking her love for animals as a liftoff point for her business, Tanalli began an apothecary and animal study business. She frequently ventures out in search of new or undocumented species and sometimes takes them back to her shop to keep for companions. Due to this, she is infrequent about being there herself, but her abundance of creatures usually take good care of the people of Merro.

To date, Tanalli has extensively documented over 20 species of rare creatures, most of which now have a place in her shops. This list of creatures includes but is not limited to,

* Dragonsnails
* Flamepelts
* Gallean Spike Crabs
* Hex Shrew
* Monocue
* Finnkes

Many of these creatures have formed bonds with her over time, and have taken up roles in her shop. For example, her dragonsnail companion Xathemureyus or "Xathy" (pronounced Za-thy) acts as the head when she is gone, due to his intelligence but weak and small build, he puts the other creatures up to work and makes sure the more mischievous ones such as the Flamepelt twins out of trouble.

## Relationships

### Grogeth

She often thought of Grogeth as an odd case. His passions and devotions were unwavering, but his intelligence was lacking. Even still, while she outwardly rejected his antics, she enjoyed being around him as some nights he just made their adventures worth it. When cards were down, and they were struggling, Tanalli knew that Grogeth swore he would fall before he let her.

After the splitting of the Five, Grogeth went his separate ways, and despite Tanalli's efforts and couriers to find him, she has had no avail to contacting him. His secretiveness has left her alone many nights without a soul to talk to other than her visitation of Rolen.

### Rolen

Possibly the best relation to Tanalli was Rolen. Wise and Intelligent, but quiet, Tanalli was one of the few to know of his whereabouts alone, and one of the few he felt inclined to talk to. Rolen often conversed about his teachings and disciplines, and Tanalli sympathized with a face of a more acceptable religion to cover her darker past. Generally they got along, but their silence led to her warming up to the others more over time.

Tanalli often plans her southern expeditions to cut through the town of Gabelly to visit Rolen and his daughter. Although not often, he does enjoy her company and makes a good host.

### Falorin

Despite Rök pushing buttons more than Falorin, she rarely ever spoke to Falorin. For his size, his savagery was unmatched, resorting to violent tactics that she was sure would violate his oath. If she was honest with herself, he was something to be feared out of unpredictability, and it baffles her how Grogeth could have gotten along with him so well. Out of all of the Five, she had the least complete profile on him.

After the parting, Falorin seemingly disappeared off the face of Ucril. She had an idea of where each member went generally even if it was just a direction, however Falorin never mentioned anything about this. She doubts he would go back to a human dominated settlement, so she theorizes he may be in one of the halfling holds.

### Rök

Rök was the antithesis of what Tanalli was about. He was impulsive, carefree, and seemed to have luck seeping from him wherever he went. Tanalli showed her more feral side of her ancestry to him only. When Rök refused to eat, even after days for no reason other than self pride, Tanalli took a ration of his, put some mistletoe on his jerky to knock him out, and violently shoved it into his mouth. Even though she despises his seeming lack of care for dire situations, she can't argue he gets results.

Since the Five parted, Tanalli has made no attempt to contact him. Even though she does wonder what he is up to, she never finds enough nerve to explore it.