Toxic Talon

Twilight Talons might pursue many tasks, from relatively passive information gathering to staging massive coups meant to depose tyrants. A toxic talon, however, is trained and deployed for one very specific purpose: to defeat foes with unusual and potent poisons. After adopting a profession to serve as a cover for his activities, a toxic talon spends resources and time combining easy-to-obtain materials into dangerous toxins to aid in the defense of Andoran. A toxic talon can use rare, complex, slow-release poisons to make a death look like it happened naturally, but sometimes the toxic talon will use specific poisons to cast suspicion on other organizations, stirring internal conflict that other Twilight Talons can use to their advantage.

The use of poisons in the defense of a good nation is controversial, and other branches of the Eagle Knights generally disavow the existence of toxic talons among their organization. Many influential leaders among the Eagle Knights, particularly in the Steel Falcons, have pushed to have the practices of the toxic talons banned from use, but these efforts have only pushed the toxic talons into further obscurity. Their role is particularly protected by the Twilight Talons, who sometimes go as far as to outright lie to others in the Eagle Knights about the operations of a toxic talon. At other times, a toxic talon may choose to martyr his freedom by publicly accepting blame for a mission that has had unfortunate public repercussions. In such a case, the toxic talon is not abandoned by his kin—instead, he is placed on a fair and public trial whose purpose is as much to appease the masses as it is to determine whether any moral lines were crossed. In cases where such a toxic talon is found guilty, he is generally sentenced to hard labor or prison (in which case he often continues to run missions inside of prisons or other fortifications for the Eagle Knights as best suits his talents) or to exile (in which case his role in serving Andoran shifts to one of clandestine missions in other nations). A toxic talon who martyrs his freedom in this way and is then captured again understands that it’s unlikely he’ll be afforded the same level of support from the Eagle Knights, and that the organization may well disavow any official knowledge of his actions. To a toxic talon, this is all merely a deeper, more significant level of service to the well-being of the nation of Andoran. By serving as a sort of sineater for the rest of the Twilight Talons (and at times, for the other branches of the Eagle Knights), such selfless characters can ensure that the organization survives scandal and public outcry to carry on their good work. In such cases, while public recognition for their deeds may never manifest, their brothers and sisters never forget the toxic talon’s sacrifice.