Trusk

"Bring more spears… And the catapult. There's a giant lizard blocking the path." - Mosune lieutenant Though not a warmongering people, scalekin are not to be trifled with in combat. Especially the large ones. The really large ones. Trusk, The Thorned Bastion, is as surly as they come, so good luck engaging in idle chat with this great, leathery beast. But if it's protection you seek, there are none in Tya that can better hold the line. With the strength of twenty workhorses, Trusk got his start taking contracts as a beast of burden. He hauled wealthy families and their belongings across the continent, often accompanied by a group of mercenaries. On one such excursion, Trusk was hired to haul a wealthy family across a vast wasteland alongside a convoy of mercenaries. Before setting off, the youngest daughter of the family tugged on Trusk's leather saddle and asked him his name. No one had ever cared to ask before. With a rare smile, he told the girl before loading her onto his back. In the heart of the desert, raiders struck hard and fast. At the first sign of trouble, the hired swords tucked their tails and ran, their use evidently more aesthetic than practical. From atop Trusk's, back the family cried out for help. Their youngest pleaded with him by name. Her voice struck a chord. Against his better judgment, Trusk barreled through the wasteland until he found a chasm of a suitable size. Barking at the family to climb down off his back, he situated himself directly in the chasm entrance. Planted firmly between the family and raiders, Trusk adopted the role of an impenetrable wall. Try as they might, the raiders could not move the determined scalekin, who swatted away their spears like fragile kindling and squashed any who strayed too close. They gave up by dusk, and Trusk's legacy was cemented. When the dust had settled, the little girl who'd pleaded with him reached up and planted a soft kiss on his rough cheek. "You saved us," she said. And so he had.