This was supposed to be a Talina post, but it turned into a fucking Talon backstory post instead. Whoopsie. It's long. Be warned.
Talon is Stetriolan. Naturally, this meant she joined the Conqueror army. But it's so much more than that.
Drina met her when they were seven. She was sneaking off during a royal procession in her honor (she was crown princess, which she was eventually knocked down from after she got bonding sickness) and Talon was there. Drina was intrigued because she'd never seen much of kids her own age besides Shane.
They stole food together. Drina had money, but who cares about that.
Talon's father had a spirit animal and the bonding sickness, and keeled over from it when Talon was ten years old.
Drina snuck out of the palace a lot to meet Talon, whose family was significantly poorer, and eventually started inviting her over. They grew up together, basically. Talon's family benefited a lot from her connection the the royal family.
Then Drina summoned Iskos, and it all went downhill. Screaming, crying, you name it, but the entire relationship went sideways. But Talon couldn't let go of her attachment to Drina.
Talon tried to teach Drina how to use a crossbow, but Drina was hopeless. Talon stopped trying to teach her when Drina almost shot the iconic Stetriolan throne.
Talon always saw Shane as an annoying younger brother, and treated him as such. She also taught him how to use a saber, and is the reason he's so good at it today.
Drina eventually begged Talon to join the Conqueror army, and Talon did it for Drina.
Yeah, Drina and Talon were kissing behind the scenes during the entire war, actually. This is canon, actually.
Talon became a double agent during the war. She pretended to join the Greencloaks after summoning her bird, claiming she bonded to it naturally. They believed her, and always seemed skittish around her, because bonding naturally meant they, the Greencloaks, the supposed protectors of Erdas, hadn't been able to protect her. Talon hated them, but pretend it was all fine and dandy.
She became friends with Keith. Who's Keith? Some guy. Shit fighter, he was. He eventually caught her sending letters via her bird to Drina. Fortunately for Talon, the letters were written in code, and they appeared to the layman as disgustingly over-the-top love letters.
Thus, Keith learns that Talon has a girlfriend. He is the biggest Talon-girlfriend shipper ever. Talon refuses to tell him who the girlfriend actually is, but lies and says she's Euran. Keith learns to make a shepherd's pie to impress the girlfriend for "when I finally meet her". He never does.
Talon is a trans girlie, by the way. In case you care.
Talon learns Drina got killed through Shane himself. He took it upon himself to tell her. He tells her that the sacrifice was worth it, and to come home for the final victory. It's through writing, so Talon can't decipher his tone.
Out of grief and rage, Talon recklessly tries to escape Greenhaven. Of course, she runs into Keith on the way out. He asks her where she's going, and she tries to knock him out. He's a better fighter now so he blocks her. She runs into the woods, but unfortunately Greenhaven's an island. That's not good for her.
She waits in the woods until Keith leaves, and hopes he doesn't hate her. But she has a feeling he already knows.
She sneaks onto a boat and eventually ends up back at Stetriol. Shane's there. They talk about Drina. It doesn't really help.
She sees Drina's dead body and now her entire purpose feels destroyed. Drina was the reason she joined the Conquerors and now she won't even be there to celebrate the final victory.
She tries to kill herself, but Gerathon herself stops her using the Bile-control. She thinks it's ironic that Gerathon killed Drina against her will but is keeping her alive against her will.
She sees Keith at the battle at the base of Muttering Rock. She feels nothing. He feels nothing. They fight like two soldiers on opposite sides, not two friends. But she can't help but notice that he doesn't make any truly dangerous moves against her. And she can't help but notice the same about herself.
The Conquerors lose. Talon doesn't care anymore. Shane does his best to keep her alive because he knows Drina would want him to. They eventually part ways.
. . . Until Shane hires her to the Redcloaks. She'd been noticing how her features were slowly warping, but she didn't take much notice. She just felt numb. Just nothingness.
Shane brings her back. Tells her that there's a new threat, and that they finally have a chance to redeem themselves. And that the real Drina, the Drina that existed before the bonding sickness and the Bile warped her beyond repair, would want them to. He begs her to do it for Drina. And he tells her about his conversation with Yumaris. She is the only one to know besides Anya, Yumaris, and Shane himself.
Shane didn't send her after Grif and Anuqi. She sent herself. Shane pretends to be annoyed, but in reality, he's glad she has some drive and is acting like her old self again.
She disrespects Shane in front of the other Redcloaks. A lot. She'll never see him as a leader, just as the annoying preteen that asked her what that painting in the palace was supposed to mean and flicked food at her across the table as a kid.
When she saw Keith on the mission with Grif and Anuqi, she knew that she had to make things up to him, and him personally.
After the mess with the Wyrm, she makes a journey to Greenhaven with Stead. Keith isn't there. So she travels to Amaya, where he's from, to meet him herself.
He has incredibly mixed feelings upon seeing her again. But he knows who the Redcloaks are, really. And he's wondered whether she'd be with them since he found out about them.
He's shocked at her transformation. Naturally.
Eventually they make up. They spar. He's better than ever.
When the Oathbound are hunting Greencloaks, Talon hides Keith with the Redcloaks. They almost find him, too. The irony in Keith pretending to be a Redcloak is not lost on either of them.
Once things settle down, Talon helps Keith find the two missing bond tokens in the sea near the Zhongese palace. Keith returns one and Talon returns the other, which symbolizes for how the Greencloaks and Redcloaks are really and truly working for the same side now.
