Elan— —I am your father. Man, I've been waiting forever to say that line![1]

General Tarquin is the Lawful Evil chief warlord for the armies of the Empress of Blood and, along with Malack, one of the de facto leaders of the Empire of Blood. He is also father to Nale and Elan.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Family 1.2 Mercenary on the Western Continent 1.3 Order of the Stick 2 Appearance 3 Personality, Traits and Abilities 4 Star Wars references 5 Sources

BiographyEdit

FamilyEdit

General Tarquin was once married with Elan's mother, a Chaotic Good barmaid. The two had twins, Elan and Nale. When Tarquin and his wife divorced due to "Irreconcilable Alignment Differences",^[2] the twins were separated: Elan remained with his mother, while Nale followed his father and was raised as an evil character.

“	Ah, see, now, my Father was a cold and ruthless general of a nigh unstoppable army. He told me he had abandoned my goody-two-shoes mother in some small backwards village.	”
	— Nale[2]

Mercenary on the Western ContinentEdit

Hearing how easy it was to make a kingdom in the Western Continent, Tarquin took little Nale with him and claimed rule over a region of the continent. However, he soon learned that the ease with which land could be conquered led to very unstable kingdoms, and his crown was soon taken away from him. He later met his old adventuring companion Malack, who offered him a position as Chief Warlord for his master at the time. This master fell, and the two men found themselves without a leader or kingdom. They began offering their services as mercenaries for would-be kings and continued doing so for 13 years. Over those years, they eventually built up a behind-the-scenes leadership over the empires of blood sweat and tears, so that, although the rulers of the various kingdoms is still in frequent change, Tarquin and his band still control everything from the shadows. With no one knowing they exist, no one will try to overthrow them.

Two years before the Western Continent story arc, Tarquin, Malack and Nale aided the Empress of Blood in establishing her Empire of Blood. However, Nale soon tried to overthrow her and seize the throne for himself. Tarquin and Malack sided with the Empress and defeated him, forcing Nale to flee.^[3] His father issued a bounty on his son's head, which has yet to be filled.

Order of the StickEdit

Enor and Gannji mistook Elan for Nale, who had a bounty on his head. They captured Elan, V and Haley and brought them to the Empire of Blood's palace, where the three attempted to escape. They were single-handedly stopped and re-captured by Tarquin, who pushed Haley off the balcony and forced V to use his/her last available spell for the day, Feather Fall, effectively trapping them. He returned them to the throne room, where he testified that Elan is not Nale, but in fact Nale's twin brother, and revealed his relationship as their father, to the shock of everyone present. Later, he wrote a note to Gannji, which read "No one extorts money [8000 gp] from me in front of my son. I look forward to seeing you die in the arena," adding (via his messenger) that Gannji should "Pray I don't alter it further".

Ironically, Tarquin would later team up with his son after he gave him information about the Snarl's gates, becoming Roy's counterpart in the Linear Guild. He then attacks the Order single-handedly, doing reasonably well at first, but then being stabbed through the foot and back by Order members. He then revealed that the was wearing enchanted items to regenerate from these injuries. His helmet was knocked off by Roy, however he was prepared for this as well and wore a mask underneath.

AppearanceEdit

Tarquin wears a set of armor, which seems to have changed since when Elan and Nale were babies. (It is later revealed that his current set has a glamor on it so that he doesn't have to get a new set every time he changes his pretended allegiance.) His appearance is remarkably similar to Elan and Nale's, except for his grey hair. It is believed he had brown hair when he was younger.

Personality, Traits and AbilitiesEdit

Tarquin is very able in battle, capable of holding his own against the Order of the Stick even while holding back. He is skilled, well armed and well armored, having been able to block Elan's rapier with a single finger.^[4] Furthermore, he is a cunning strategist in combat, evidenced by his status as a warlord and, more directly, by his ease in single-handedly thwarting the Order's attempt to escape the Empress of Blood's castle. Upon learning that V only has one spell, Feather Fall, remaining, he pushes Haley off the balcony, forcing V to use Feather Fall on her and preventing the other two from escaping by jumping.^[4] He has been seen wielding a great axe and a sword and shield at different points in time.

Tarquin's personality seems to reflect Elan's happy-go-lucky approach: he is friendly, hospitable, and mostly is seen with a smile, in contrast to his "Evil Warlord" identity However, he is more intelligent and more evil than Elan, which suggests that Nale's personality, as well as his outlook, might have come from his father. Also, it is revealed that Tarquin uses his influence as general to satisfy personal vendettas.^[5]

His approach can also be channeled to effectively solving problems and clearly explaining situations. He has a true love for the dramatic, something that Elan also inherited for him, and he goes to great lengths in order to properly achieve this. For example, he intentionally neglected to inform the twins of the other's existence in order to increase the potential for dramatic tension should they ever encounter each other as adults, which is something that Elan had suspected the entire time.

Tarquin has had 9 wives (including Nale and Elan's mother) in approximately two and a half decades;^[6] this indicates that, on average, he was married to each for around three years. Several of his wives—including his ninth, Penelope—died due to "mysterious circumstances"^[6] (i.e. Vaarsuvius' Familicide spell)^[7].

Star Wars referencesEdit

Tarquin and the scenes in which he appears has several references to Star Wars. They bear several similarities to Darth Vader and well-known scenes involving him.

• He is an evil masked warlord in service of an Empire.
• Before revealing his identity to his son, Elan, he easily outmaneuvers him in battle.^[4]
• He is the father of twins separated at infancy
• The exact line he uses, "Elan — I am your father",^[1] is a reference to the line used by Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back: "No. I am your father", commonly misquoted as "Luke — I am your father".
• He employs bounty hunters to his service.
• He works with a pale robed figure (Malack) who manipulates government from all sides (Like Palpatine)
• When he carries out revenge against Gannji, he uses the line, "Pray I don't alter it any further," another of Darth Vader's lines.^[5]

Other references include:

• Gannji makes a "thermal detonator" threat against him.
• "Tarkin" is the Name of the Grand Moff in the fourth Episode (A New Hope) of Star Wars; the one who was in charge of the Battlestation "Death Star". However, this is refuted by the author himself who stated that Tarquin is named after the last king of Rome, Tarquinius "The Proud" who was overthrown by Lucius Junius Brutus, founding the Republic.

SourcesEdit