Toren Orne'tare

Toren Orne'tare is a Keita entrepreneur, blacksmith and noble knight. He is Small Councillor of the continental Empire of Astyllea and resides in Jirn, where he holds the title "Lyorú of Aevindaron" and therefore is responsible for the construction and management of the Aevindaron city-district within the megacity of Jirn.

Humble Beginnings
Toren was born into a honorable, but poor Caedan family residing in the now abandoned city of Hiroka-Lani. Always being held to high standards, but without the money to back them up, Toren learned the path of humility very early on and had to work hard for all that he sought to possess, just as his father did. While not having many material goods, his father (Caeryn) held the secret to an ancient Caedan alloy recipe and his mother (Nikolyy) was a Seer, an important cultural and religious figure in the Caedan community.

A Fledgling's Call
His biological parents were very caring and, with the little money they had, managed to provide a worthy education and happy childhood to Toren. However, at the age of 15, he had to leave his town to travel around Anoshphey in search of job opportunities to fund his future and his family's failing business. After travelling through the County of Useri without luck of finding a job, Toren heard about a city so big and prosperous that a 1000 men could be employed and still would need more hands to work. That city was the megacity of Jirn to the south of Berae, and once Toren had exhausted his options in Useri, he didn't hesitate to go there.

Arrival at Jirn
Not long after arriving at Jirn, Toren managed to get a job in the Steel Mill owned by the Count of Stomeste and Sahrad of Jirn, Lee Maximos-Caicuria. Toren would work day and night until he couldn't work no more so he could earn his family a living wage. At the age of 18, however, he suffered a work accident which would scar him for the rest of his life. Due to his inability to work in the manual labor intensive jobs required in the Steel Mill after the accident, Toren started doing management jobs around the megacity.

When he was 19, he received a letter from the Knights of Anoshphey reading that his parents were attacked and killed by bandits while traveling through southern Yimmu-Audal to sell goods. This news made him suffer greatly, and changed his plans for the future. He'd start working on his father's secret recipe while also joining the Knights of Anoshphey to get a chance to avenge his parent's death.

Nobility by Merit
On his 20 years old birthday, the Sahrad Lee decided to grant Aeeindaron to Toren as a prize for banishing the Cockatrice of Aevindaron and the hard work in the Steel Mill. Soon the name changed from Aeeindaron to Aevindaron in order to symbolize stalwart nature of it's new owner. After the battle against the Cockatrice, Aevindaron's forest was nothing more than a rocky wasteland and the old owner's (Vincent Caicuria McSpiegel) wooden cabin was buried by a landslide. Toren had to clean up the remains of what remained there so he could lay the foundations of the city. Later, he would hire the builder Benjamin Korvort-Rochelle (BeagleBasset24) from the city of Kordania (from the Island of Tàlor) to help constructing the Forge of Aevindaron.

Creation of the Orne'tare Family
After earning the nobility status of Lyorú, Toren decided to create his own noble family based on the lessons he learned with his parents as well as from Lee in the Steel Mill, and so the name Orne'tare (Iron Will in Caedan language) was chosen. Together with his close friend Hirae (Weebguy2206), they forged the Orne'tare family and cemented their brotherhood in the world of Rathnir.

Adoption into the Caicuria Dynasty
The Orne'tare family never was influential nor powerful, but the hard work that both brothers were demonstrating in their respective holdings, as well as their desire to help the surrounding communities and integrate themselves with the other nobles of the region, brought attention from Erevan Silverpepper. After years in a stable marriage, he and his wife Raeden Seeker were looking for an adoption. After hearing of the tales of Toren and Hirae and the wholesome brotherhood they had formed, they decided to invite both of them to join and expand the Caicuria dynasty, which the brothers happily accepted. This event opened the horizon for the Orne'tare family and gave them more objectives to achieve, as it helped legitimize them as nobles in Yimmu-Audal while also introducing them to a prestigious community.

Fatherhood and Prosperity
During the following years, Toren focused on many different businesses. He worked as a miner, an experience seller, a blacksmith, a farmer, a reseller, and whatever else he found to be profitable at the time. This versatility led him to meet other important businessmen in Rathnir, like the young Netherite King, ReadySetGo123; the largest and most famous store owner of the continent, 55Tremine, with his store, Market55; and the most skilful Book Enchanter, Jari0n. These experiences and the lessons learned with these characters influenced the mindset that Toren would follow in his young adulthood.

Death of Erevan
Soon after turning 30 years old, Toren would go through the loss of his adoptive father, Erevan Silverpepper, to an unpredictable accident. Erevan fell from the rooftops of the megacity while contemplating the beauty of the sunset and the whole trajectory that he had taken in his life. It is believed, however, that the accident was intentional, for Erevan had expressed feelings of sadness and despair with the loss of his home, the castle Hjutsig, in the County of Coltmaere, that had been forcefully taken by the Bardonians.

Growth of the Iron-willed
With the loss of his second father figure in such a small period of time, Toren decided that he would expand the Orne'tare family, and promptly started looking for dilligent and enthusiastic teenagers, like he once was, to adopt as a child of his own. His search didn't take long, as he would soon meet the blissful Doctor Szar'aire (20Sidded) and the timid Rhodian refugee Ilyy (Illyishere). In a few years, the three became close, and Toren performed the adoption ceremony for them to join the Orne'tare family. They'd work together on different projects and go on different adventures. Szar'aire would later grow to become the Baron of Soru'aui, in the County of Shami, and Ilyy would receive the Island of Ornerrín, located in the Sea of Pearls. Five years later, Toren's brother, Hirae Orne'tare, would follow his step into fatherhood, adopting Siyoi of Fairavon (fivebacon) as his son.

Brooding the Gold
In one eventful day, the golden egg that was left by the Cockatrice started showing signs of being close to hatch. Curious about what creature would come out of it, and scared that the offspring of the monster he fought could be as dangerous as what guarded it, Toren decided to store the egg inside of the mountain where it once had rested on. In order to observe the event and, if needed, to slay the beast, Toren locked himself in with the egg, and, for more than 2 months, he cared for it, hoping to later sell the empty shell made of pure gold. On the sixty-ninth day, the egg hatched and a small golden bird jumped on him, nesting snuggly in his arms.

One more month passed, and the bird started placing spawns of it's own, with the shell as golden as the one it had come out of. Seeing the opportunity, Toren started transforming the shells into gold ingots and selling them as such. This extra income would help Toren with many other projects that required professional workforce.

War and New Beginnings
The end of the Brother's War between Aldovir and Yimmu-Audal, followed by the merging and creation of the Empire of Astyllea, left a sense of loss on Toren as a knight. His efforts were not enough to turn the tide of the battle, and, even if he knew the merge was fair, the fact that his nation had accepted it due to lack of manpower made him resent the situation during the first months.

Following the election and coronation of the first Emperor, Rithaur V síl Kair'vern-Audaláth, the political situation in the region started to stabilize, economy started to flourish and the overall sentiment of the nation grew stronger than Toren had ever witnessed. The pros of having a charismatic leader paired with the manpower provided by the union meant that Astyllea was a nation that appeared to stay and rule.

More than just an Emperor
On busy afternoons, Toren would find himself in talks about politic and mathematics with the Emperor, both providing insight about the different matters that each had acquired knowledge about. Both nobles earned each other's respect, and, with such interactions, they enjoyed each other's company. After the Emperor's term had ended, he offered Toren Orne'tare to join the Small Council of Astyllea, an administrative and political institution of Astyllea, derived from the Aldovirian political system, whose task was to vote on the many decisions that the Empire should take. Delighted by the idea of participating in the growth of the empire, Toren accepted the offer and, after many favourable votes, he joined the institution.

Biological Family
Not much is known about Toren's biological family besides that his father Caeryn was a human hardworking blacksmith and his mother Nikolyy was a Keita Seer.

Orne'tare Family
The Orne'tare family was created by Hirae Orne'tare and Toren himself. Together, they kept and expanded the brotherhood into a proper family, with Toren adopting Ilyy Orne'tare and Szar'aire Orne'tare, while Hirae adopted Siyoi Orne'tare. The family is far from reaching the legendary size of the Caicuria Dynasty, but, as of today, it has 5 proud iron-willed members.

Caicuria Dynasty
Toren and Hirae were both adopted into the Caicuria dynasty as sons of Erevan Maximos-Caicuria Silverpepper and Raeden Seeker. Following Erevan's line, Lee is their grandfather while Ghastly "The Uniter" Audalad together with Uthr Audalath (Longbow) and Lócéós Jóstén Maximós are their great-grandparents. As aunts and uncles, they have Rat M. Jones Maximos-Caicuria Naryshkin Audalad, Abdulla Maximos-Caicuria Prisma, Fireworker Maximos-Caicuria Prisma, Leigh Maximos-Caicuria and Nylah Maximos-Caicuria (Wyn). Notable cousins of Toren and Hirae are Foxmunk Audalad Maximos-Caicuria and Steakfilly Maximos-Caicuria Prisma. Important distant family members are Nyles "The Beloved" Karre Caicuria'Reris Audalad, Mirain Caicuria, Trollerio Caicuria, Subica "The Younger" and Vincent Caicuria McSpiegel.

Aevindaron Forge
The Aevindaron Forge is a forge specialized in the production of Armor and Weaponry using the newly rediscovered Toraeri Steel, of Caeda origin. During it's prime, this business provided Toren with the first half million money he had ever made. The Forge is still active to this day, but production is now more focused on custom armors and weaponry instead of general soldier's equipment.

Mining Corporation
The Mining Corporation was an operation that Toren and other personnel did both in Eldham and in Rathnir, with the objective of mining as much iron and gold available before and after the discovery of the Deep Underground, below what was thought as possible to mine at. The profit of this organization helped funding the Forge as well as providing a base for investments in other businesses.

Market 404
The Market 404 is still under construction. The idea is to be a place where people can relax while buying and selling their products, much like Market55. It differentiates itself in the idea that the selling prices will only be different than the buying prices according to a fixed x% tax with the objective of paying for the upkeep of the land, as well as providing money to circulate in the local economy.

Miasma
A chronic disease reminiscent of his long days working in the Steel Mill, the Miasma is a respiratory sickness that causes shortness of breath, chronic cough, as well as a weaker heart. It's said that the Miasma is created by the fumes of the Steel Mill as it combines many metals and chemicals to achieve it's high production rate. It would then enter it's host through the respiration of the fumes, causing the victim to have respiratory problems for life. The lungs of the victim are often found to be as black as coal, almost as if the fumes have fused with the organ. Some patients have reported to seeing smoke even in places where there are none, so it is possible that hallucinations are also a symptom.

Treatment for this condition is not well developed due to it's recent discovery.

From Spies to Friends
One of Toren's and Hirae's first missions as Knights of Anoshphey in which the objective was to get inside the city of Kordania and find as many entrances into their walls as possible.

Arriving there, the brothers disguised themselves as tourists and met the founders of the city (Trev48809 and Megavolt280), who welcomed them and gave them a gift, although did not allow entrance into the city. After rowing on the boat until out of sight, they waited for the townspeople to be asleep and infiltrated the wall. They searched for entrances and took pictures of the many buildings and general architecture of the city, and reported the mission to the Knights.

Later they learned that the town was being assimilated into Yimmu-Audal, and swiftly went there to celebrate peace and share drinks with the Kordanians. Some time later, BeagleBasset24, the third founder of the city and a very capable builder, would be hired by Toren to construct the Aevindaron Forge. These events sparked a friendship between their city and the Orne'tares, as well as a mutual economic interest.

Thom's Rebellion
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Pirate Ruins
While travelling across the Tortuga territory, Toren found ruins of an almost untouched city. The city was so preserved that it seemed like the residents had just decided to leave all of their belongings there, exactly as they were, and simply disappear. On a second visit, he brought his brother and his friends from Kordania and they hung out in the abandoned city's tavern, drinking and sharing stories while enjoying the fancy architecture of the place. They avoided messing with the place as much as possible, as to preserve the beautiful city, but Toren specifically took notes of the design they used in their carpet.

Strange Lab Ruins
During an escort mission to bring a new librarian to Jirn, they found themselves inside the ruins of what appeared to be an abandoned laboratory. From the looks of it, one could infer that some kind of beast or monster was being kept prisoner and experimented on, but eventually broke out and brought destruction to the place. From above, it's impossible to tell that there was something there, aside from the few stone bricks lying around, as if they were thrown by a supernatural force. While not much was discovered in that place, the idea that such a monster could be roaming around the Duchy of Anoshphey was a scary realization and explaination that the high walls of the cities aren't just to keep bandits away.

The Cockatrice of the Smiling Peak
"On the top of Aevindaron's highest peak, on the cold and sharp rocks, nested a creature that no Rathnirian had ever seen before. Named Maha'lilie (Chicken + Serpent in Caeda), the beast boasted on it's head a rooster's majestic crest alongside a beak as sharp as obsidian. The scaly serpentine body spiraled through a pair of tough legs, backed by claws as big as the torso of a man, and ending on a long tail with a whip of stone. Two wings large enough to block out the sunlight spread on each of the animal's side. The wings, almost demonic in appearance, had the inner sides full of minor holes with armor-like scales growing on top of the wing's primary bones. As if nature didn't find such combination of features terrifying enough, the chimera possessed a glance capable of turning any living being that dared stare at it into stone. For centuries, the creature remained unrivaled in it's glorious nesting place, towering over the land, watching the city to the south develop into what would become the megacity of Jirn. That was, until the day the growth reached it's borders.

In protest, the cockatrice buried the wooden hut where the noble resided in a landslide. Then the monster flew into the forest, cutting down all of the trees to the north of the Smiling Peak and transforming into stone any knight who tried to oppose it. The land was then abandoned, for no man could defeat a beast as ferocious as Maha'lilie. Or so the common folk thought.

After hearing of the land prize for whoever defeated the beast, a young and clever knight decided that he had nothing to lose, so he worked out a plan. When he had all that he needed to put the plan in motion, the knight waited until the earliest hour of the morning, and, while the Cockatrice left to hunt, he snuck in it's nest.

When the flying fiend returned, it lost itself in rage at the sight of a person in it's nest. Lunging down at the knight, who barely scaped it's grasp, the creature sunk it's claws on the ground. Soon it noticed that it hadn't landed on ground, but on a substance as viscous as honey and as hard as granite that the knight had prepared to trap it. The beast turned it's eyes to the warrior, trying to meet their gaze and petrify them, but, to the creature's surprise, he was wearing strange lens that made it impossible to look him in the eyes. In a desperate attempt to slay the man, the cockatrice started cracking it's tail like a whip at him.

Seeing that the first part of his plan had worked and his goggles were protecting him from a hard end, the knight readied himself for the the next step: with the claws out of the way, he had to escape the monster's whip, and strike a sword through it's heart. The task was easier said than done, as Maha'lilie's tail rapidly swung back and forth through the battlefield, the hero barely avoiding them while looking through distorted sight. The knight attempted to cut it off, but the tail's hardened feathers deflected all the blows. He knew his time was running out, as the chimera was starting to break out of the trap. The knight foolishly tried rushing with the sword towards the irate cockatrice's chest, only to be met by a sharp beak, splitting his shield in half, followed by the thrashing of the mutant's tail.

The strike launched the hero into the mountain lake. Barely conscious and defeated, he swam back to the surface, expecting a cruel death. With the lenses broken by the impact and the shield in pieces, he had no defense against any of the monster's abilities: would he be decapitated by the cockatrice's beak? Or sliced in half by it's claws? Or maybe be mercifully petrified?

But the hero worried in vain, for when he reached the surface, he saw that which once was Maha'lilie, was now but a fearsome statue. In a reckless attack after freeing itself, the cockatrice had gone to the lake and, observing the broken glasses, tried turning the hero into stone. However, it didn't take into account the refraction of the water, nor the reflection of the waves, only noticing the latter after it had turned itself into it's own tombstone!"