Character Bio #4: Ta'kom Ironhoof

Bio

The Ironhoofs - or Ysterhoefs - have lived in this country for centuries, and for all of that time, they were known as master craftspeople. The Ironhoof maker’s mark on weapons or tools was coveted, and such items were passed down through generations. Over the years, the Ironhoofs became not only renowned, but wealthy.

The family took great pride in their accomplishments and growing fame, and it became expected that firstborn sons - it was always sons, through the magic of stallion virility - would continue the trade. And so they did. As the decades passed, and raw ironmongery became less needed, the family kept pace with the times, applying their metalworking knowledge to more modern techniques such as factory-scale steel manufacture and precise metal part machining.

By modern times, Ironhoof Holdings are well-distributed and very profitable. All the companies remain family-owned, and the family continues to expect the eldest son to take the reins - after a suitably long training period working under their father, the incumbent.

Ta’kom was born an eldest son, but from an early age, he seemed destined to buck against the future his family heritage was pushing him towards. A somewhat sickly child, he spent a lot of time in bed, where he discovered a love for books and stories. The tales he found between the pages seemed to him far more intriguing than the option of a life spent attending meetings and choking on smoky air at manufactories.

He became more and more sure that he was uninterested in joining the family business, and ultimately announced his decision to the family. It was received with some consternation, and no small amount of drama would result before the family ultimately - and grudgingly - conceded that Ta’kom was free to make his own path. But while they allowed him to leave, they never forgot, and his relationship with them is frosty to this day. They, in turn, have never offered any of their fortune to ease his life.

Ta’kom spent the next few years studying, developing a love of research. Inside the dusty tomes of forgotten shelves, he found incomplete worlds, and sought to make them whole. He was capable in all fields, but found especial success in studying the so-called malefics: the species historically considered by superstitious types to be otherworldly. He showed that many of those beliefs - as they applied to species common to Africa - could be traced to oral traditions that likely originated many millennia before from encounters with now-extinct types of megafauna.

His publication received attention from an unusual source: a landowner in a rural area. The landowner wished to hire him as a permanent staff members to manage his extensive library and do private research for him - into malefics. A substantial salary, and a promise of interesting work, made the offer almost impossible to turn down. The stallion accepted, and moved to Paardenrust.

That was almost thirty years ago. Ta’kom has become a fixture at the manor, often to be seen walking the long passageways with a thoughtful expression, or gripping a pile of books to his chest as he hurries somewhere. His remit has expanded beyond mere scholarship: he often goes on research trips for his employer, seeking ever more rare and arcane sources of information on malefics. The Lord is exceedingly interested in them - although for what reason, only he and perhaps Ta’kom know…

Character

Ta’kom is a born academic; a deep thinker who takes his time. At this point, he is likely the foremost world expert on malefics, but as he never publishes on the topic, he goes about unknown and unremarked - as he prefers.

He is reserved, and does not enjoy being interrupted by anyone - least of all what seems to him to be the endless train of tourists that visit the village and manor. He does not simply open up to anyone, and the player has to work to get to know him.

He is, at this point, obsessed by his work and the greater implications. He has had enough time to put some pieces together, and is unsure what to make of the resulting picture - or of the fact that his employer is focused on the topic to the exclusion of almost anything else.

Kinks & Sexual Ethology

• Beneath his years of learning, he is still a stallion, and their naturally hot lusts burn as fresh in his loins as the day he first flared with pleasure. He finds solace with the occasional villager, but it is Aten-Ko the equitaur, the manor house’s groundskeeper, who draws his eye the most.
  
  He is shy, though, and his infatuation with the malefic has - over the years - simmered down to a low heat that he does not truly believe will ever be brought to full flame. If the player does not wish to win Ta’kom over for themselves, they can assist him in finding congress with the handsome half-anthro, half-feral stallion - and perhaps even joining them.
• There are advantages to a lifetime spent reading books. Malefics have a reputation for being more sexually capable and lustful than regular people, and - deserved or not - there have been some rather detailed and only slightly sticky tomes dedicated to the topic. With the right encouragement, and if trustworthy enough, Ta’kom has many tricks that he could use to surprise and delight the player. An equine Kama Sutra, if you will.

Design Goals

Ta’kom is a Butler-tier character, and as such has been designed to match a patron’s fursona. They replaced an existing plan for a librarian character who will assist the player if they wish to investigate the deeper mystery of Paardenrust. He is also the only other character who can end up with Aten-Ko. He is thoughtful, reserved, and takes concerted effort to get through to if the player truly wishes to get to know him - but if done, the player and Ta’kom can bond over their shared love of mythology and how it relates to modern times.