Talis, Syimlin of Light

Light exposes the shadows others use to hide, but don't think he doesn't appreciate the nuances of Darkness. They walk, side by side, everywhere.
They are more potent, together than apart. Sun first discovered the magical link, and our current Light and Darkness embrace his view.
~High Priestess of the Sun, Kasoris

Talis

all images by Shade Melodique
except Talis background
by Kordula Vahle from Pixabay

Further Reading
Falling Light: An Evenacht Short Story

Talis

Hair

Bright red

Eyes

Sky blule

Age

21,549 years

Ascended

Aged 25

Mantle/Charge

Light

Primary Temples

The Blinding Shadows, Evenacht
Jero Senae (Righteous Light), Talis

Primary Symbol

lightning, which he used to destroy the Aristarzian Light Temple

Personality

Worshippers consider him:
generous
patient
companion to Darkness and calming influence on Ga Son
illuminator of dark plots and corruption

Syimlin consider him:
moody
quick to smile, slow to burn, and when he gets truly angry, run
prankster
the spark that lights infernos

Myth

Light's ascendancy, as told by the Keel

Talis, as all Syimlin, was once mortal.
He hailed from the Aristarzian, a northern Faeyim people who held Light as their most treasured deity. The priesthood searched for boys with red hair and blue eyes because they superficially resembled their deity, and put them through a rigorous training to create an earthly replica of the one they worshipped.
Talis worked hard to become the earthly reflection of Light. He outshone the others brought to the Temple of Illumination, and the clergy advanced him beyond the meager others. His flair for magic impressed the most important priests, and they gave him increasingly difficult tasks to overcome.
He succeeded in all, a bright light of leadership others could only trail. During all this, he realized a darkness had infiltrated the temple, one meant to harm those seeking to reflect the Light. The Temple of Illumination had fallen to greed, for wealth, for power, and the high priesthood purposefully warped their calling to accommodate it.
Knowing he must work in secret, Talis devised a plan that came to fruition on his twenty-fifth birthday. On that day, he tore the Temple down. Brick by brick, column by column, tile by tile, he rent the physical to prove the worth of the metaphysical. The corrupted priesthood shrieked and pounded their bared breasts, but could not halt Light's burning revelations.
Talis, above all others, had proven his worth. Seeing a true successor, Light appeared and Gifted him his power, to carry into the future the noble righteousness of Illumination.

Light's ascendancy, as told by Talis

Talis, as all Syimlin, was once mortal.
He hailed from the Aristarzian, a northern Faeyim people who held Light as their most treasured deity. The priesthood searched for boys with red hair and blue eyes because they superficially resembled their deity, and put them through a rigorous training to create an earthly replica of the one they worshipped.
Abusive and deadly, the training killed more than it elevated. Watching friend after friend fail, then suffering his closest friend's death, Talis created a plan he unleashed on his twenty-fifth birthday, the day he was to become Light-ascended and represent the syimlin as Avatar to all on Faeyim.
He defeated the Final Gauntlet, slaughtered the priests, and destroyed the hallowed temple they hailed as Light-protected and indestructible, and vowed on the bodies of those abusers, that he would bring Light to his willfully blind people.
Noticing the commotion, Light, having grown weary of his position, unceremoniously handed his Gift to the fiery young man without asking whether he would accept the burden, and disappeared. Overnight, while unconscious from his devastating wounds, Talis had gone from Light acolyte of righteous destruction to being a Greater Syimlin.
He had become that which he hated the most. Death, an obnoxious old man who found too much humor in the events, Gifted him with Life, sealing his fate.
He now held the Gifts of Light and Life. And he had no idea what to do with either.

This is my response to "why save your work". I created Talis in high school, along with the other syimlin in my Evenacht serial. The original tale I told was the one mentioned in my Badeçasyon article. Unlucky treasure hunters wanting to loot tombs arrive on Sensour just in time for the empire's invasion.
Talis has taken a bit of a darker turn since then (as with all my work). But I can see my development. It's not just in art. It's in my writing as well. And yes, I've saved my writing from my childhood, and still have most of it. And yes, it does provide inspiration. Your younger self looks at things differently.