Txakao Ba'rrut

Txakao Ba'rrut, also known as the Silent Teacher, was a Hesperdian man known primarily as a founder of the Faith of the Encan. He is reputed to have had telepathic gifts, which he used to spread his message of the Shender Encan.

Early Life
Txakao was born in the Cleban city of Matxo Petxa (MA-choh PEH-cha) ten years after the death of Esh Kerrin. The year he was born marked the start of the second of the Wars of the Scions, a period within the Txashikan Era which saw the fledgling unity and peace Esh Kerrin obtained crumble in the squabbles of his descendants and plunge the Hesperdin into another dark age. This Second War of the Scions stemmed from the conflict between the Greater Scions, (Esh Kerrin's appointed heirs, comprised primarily of his nephews and three of his closest confidants) led by Kar Ba'Txan, and the Lesser Scions (the heirs of Esh Kerrin by custom, his sons), led by Txer Kerrin Ba'Esh. After the Lesser Scions triumphed in the first war, executing the appointed heir Madxa Kerrin and sending the surviving Greater Scions into hiding, the Greater Scions shifted tactics from straightforward pitched battle to a system of proscription of officials. As such, the Second War of the Scions involved frequent assassination of nobles, resulting in unprecedented vacuums in leadership all across the Cleban Hesperdin.

Txakao, thus, grew up seeing nobles, mayors, governors rise and fall in a matter of weeks, with only the strong and the clever surviving. A clever youth born to humble circumstances, he learned from what he saw, and as such sharpened his mind with learning and wit. By the age of five he had read many of Atxas's thousand-page classics, and by the age of ten he was renowned as the Wisdom of Matxo Petxa. He encouraged his father to use his knowledge to serve the city's governor, Wake Porro, who was so impressed with Txakao's inventions he put him into his service and elevated his father to the nobility.

Wake Porro, however, had ambitions of his own, and while he paid fealty to the Lesser Scions, who were powerful in the area, he sold secrets and information to Kar Ba'Txan. After only a year of his espionage, he was discovered by the Lesser Scions, murdered in his residence, and replaced with a general loyal to Txer Kerrin himself. Wake Porro's holdings were razed, his household slaughtered, and all of the nobles who supported him were stripped of titles and land, including Txakao's father. Txakao was left penniless and hungry once more.

Crippling
Txakao, however, was no less deterred to recovering the family's security and status. A twelve year old, he began making friends with other young baseborn companions and formed troupes of street entertainers, putting on shows for the passing nobles and richmen. Txakao became a sort of technical engineer for the group, creating elaborate and beautiful contraptions of illusions and otherworldly glamours. The troupe gained its fair share of wealth (some of it obtained through less savory means) over its 6 years of activity.

One day, the troupe was performing one of their usual routines when a noble who stopped to watch began choking. As he writhed on the ground, the troupe ceased their farce and rushed to his aid, all but Txakao, who was drawn instead to a woman at the mouth of a nearby alleyway.