Zalmon Tamar

Zalmon in Inquisitorial gear

 — Zalmon, in prayer

A conflicted Inquisitor, Zalmon has lead a life of bitter Zealotry until his ideals have been pushed to their limits and he has had to choose between his long-held faith and his instinct.

## Appearance

Zalmon has a rather slight build, standing at only around 6'0" and 124lbs. At a distance, he seems fairly normal if not wearing his typical inquisitor attire but when you get closer you notice the subtle differences that mark him as being a Vishkanya.

His skin is very subtly scaled like that of a snake, almost imperceptibly so at a glance. His limbs are long and slender and move with a silent grace. His eyes are the biggest giveaway, however; dark sunken almond shaped eyes frame a vivid yellow iris and thin serpentine pupil. A fine sharp nose and thin lips further accentuate his angular look.

## Personality

As a child, he was a relatively happy boy with few complaints and a generally inquisitive nature. His demeanour changed quite drastically however after his young induction into the Ordo Mortui and consequential work as an Inquisitor.

Seeing some of the worst of the world from a very young age he began to view the world through a biased lens, one of mistrust which eventually grew into a complete paranoia of danger at all times. This did serve his Inquisitorial work quite well however and allowed him to flourish in his career.

All of this however also leads to him having little to no experience living like an ordinary person, his time with friends and family was too fleeting to make an impact and any time after his inquisitor training was dedicated to the cause of the Order, leaving what is essentially the experience of a child when it comes to more personal matters covered by a more paranoid yet well honed and skilled facade as an Inquisitor that he chose to show to the world, very rarely cracking and showing his less clinical view on things.

## Abilities

* Necromancy: Zalmon has necromantic abilities learnt from his father and although he abhors and consequently refuses to raise anyone from the dead he still uses the bone manipulation to his advantage, firing shards of his own bones as weapons, creating bone walls and bone chains. This same necromancy also allows for some limited control over life, allowing him to possess willing creatures, read minds speak to the dead.
* Cryomancy: Along with bone manipulation Zalmon has some level of ice based magic, mostly using it to create an ice scythe from holy water.
* Intimidation: His training as an Inquisitor as well as some necromantic spells, and his enchanted battle mask allow for Zalmon to intimidate enemies quite effectively.
* Disguise: Similar Inquisitorial training allows for Zalmon to blend in when he needs, going as far as using full invisibility in drastic situations.
* Mar-Bazi: His Vishkanya heritage has lead him to using the Mar-Bazi dance to his advantage in combat, duelling gracefully with a long handled scimitar or his battle aspergillum.
* Raven Form: A form he can take to fly, viewing the battlefield from an ariel perspective.
* Poison Usage: Having poison blood he has learnt to use and more importantly gain a certain immunity to poisons.

## Paraphernalia

* Battle Mask: A mask in the shape of a Raven Head. After his first was lost he got this one custom made with the same intimidation enchantment on it and the bonus of it enshrouding his thoughts. As opposed to his original mask this one has more expression, looking closer to a Tengu Bird mask than his old long beaked one.
* Battle Aspergillum: A religious Aspergillum given to him by the Order long ago, visually similar to a mace but with holes that allow for the application of Holy Water, consequently doing additional damage to the unholy.
* Zótke: A scimitar in the style of a Draghanian weapon but with a thicker blade and longer handle to allow for more fluid movement during his Mar-Bazi style combat.
* Serpentstone Stiletto: A small decorative knife used mostly for torture and intimidation as the blade screams upon use.
* Sin and Nergal: Sin (alternatively Su'en), his pet lancehead viper stays on his person at most times since bonding with him at their meeting in the mountains of Tyrannadis, going largely unnoticed even with his large size unless closely inspected. Nergal is a phantom steed that Zalmon can summon up if necessary to travel quickly with other mounted travellers.
* Ordo Mortui outfit: His most recognisable outfit, attire fit for one of the Ordo Mortui inquisitors. A Vishkanyan Corset hidden by a simple travellers shirt lies underneath a Brigandine of mithril-studded sharkskin leather covered by a dark treated leather duster coat and a tall, large brimmed capotain hat with the symbol of the Raven Head on it. Although it has changed very slightly over time he very rarely changes out of it into anything else. On the occasions he does he usually removes the hat and coat, wearing a travellers cloak over his usual armour, hiding his profession from anyone who may be after him.
* Raven Queen Pendant: A Pendant with the silhouetted Raven head of the Raven Queen from his order, blessed by the scholars of the Ordo Mortui.
* Inquisitorial wares: A selection of torture and intimidation tools, including a sickle he used in his youth as well as concoctions to help with many a situation; flammable liquids, explosive powders, depressant and stimulant drugs for aid in sleeping and travelling long distances respectively.
* Journal: A Godling journal that replies to his questions, treated with enough mistrust to not fully believe all it says but also enough mistrust to not let it away from his person.
* Absinthe: A bottle of an anise drink that he has enjoyed for quite some time that he keeps topped up whenever possible, the closest thing he can get to a Draghanian drink that he gained a taste for in his time working there.

## Backstory

### Early Life

Zalmon was raised in moderate comfort in Symmeria with his younger brother Benaiah by their parents; Uriah and Esther Tamar. The Vishkanya family had moved from Draghania to Symmeria so Zalmon's father Uriah could practise his necromancy in relative peace. Uriah gradually became angrier and angrier, however, running his family into poverty and becoming increasingly violent towards them as what seemed like grasps for power failed and the nature of his dark magic sent him slowly insane.

Uriah grew more paranoid as the Ordo Mortui began taking interest in his work until one day he finally lost it when Esther attempted to take Zalmon and Benaiah away for their own safety, lashing out and seemingly killing his wife and youngest son, Benaiah. Panicking he did what best he could and attempted to save his son, Zalmon watched on from a distance frozen in horror as what arose from the corpse of his brother was other worldly and unnatural. The spine and ribs formed on the wrong side of the skin, the bones in the limbs tore through the fragile membrane of flesh now barely covering the writhing muscle, dripping blood as it attempted to stitch itself back together before his eyes and then the face, the face was an expressionless mess of features, patches of skin healed over where the eyes should be and the lips and nose simply didn't form at all.

Within a short span of time, Ordo Mortui Inquisitors were swarming the house and were taking Zalmon Away. He was never told exactly what had happened to his family only that they had all passed on, no more information was ever given.

### Mid Life

Beggining life in the Order meant he had a choice. Become a Scholar or an Inquisitor, from the moment he got there however he was passed between multiple different higher ranking members of the Order before he was eventually pushed towards the path of an Inquisitor.

Whilst he still had some access to the libraries of the Citadel most of his time was spent training, honing his skills in deception inherent to many Vishkanya. He was taught ways to track and kill opponents of all shapes and sizes and how to best survive out in the world when on missions for the Order, the next time he truly emerged from the Citadel and left its grounds he was a fully fledged Inquisitor and saw the world in a wholly different way to the boy who had gone in, his earlier tasks were basic quests around Symmeria that he had no problem completing.

His persistence, however, lead to him being sent out to a region of Draghania to take on some more important work. Word was that Farooq Sarraf was employing necromantic warriors or was otherwise involved in the tampering of the boundaries between life and death.
Now ingrained Devotion to his Queen and his Order drove Zalmon to fight, allying himself with Aamir Al-Aziz in the battle of Fortunn Salwiit, becoming moderately known in the city for his inquisitorial work which eventually lead to the Sultan reaching out to him for what was to be a simple guard mission with a few other warriors and mercenaries on the nearby Firemaw island.

### Current Life

-Up to now (The campaign, need to write from Zalmon's POV)

## Gallery

Zalmon in his initial inquisitorial gearAn interpretation of Zalmon upcloseZalmon disguised in travellers attireZótke, Zalmon's long handled Scimitar, forged in the tower by Skamos.The Tamar family logo. A Snake entwined around a sickle