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Tanya 'Tox' Keltoi
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General Information
Age: 58
Species: Red Fox
Size: Small (avg. 5')
Physical Description
Her coat is a dark gingery red now sprinkled through with ever-growing flecks of silver and white. This extends to dark paws, tailtip, ears and muzzle, with a pale throat and belly. On her narrow face her eyes are dark-ringed, and a smattering of dark freckles sit on her cheeks and snout. Her thick tailbrush emotes more in the manner of a cat than a fox.
Scars litter Tanya’s body as testament to the rough life she has lived, from small nicks and cuts from recent work to older injuries with their own tales to tell. The best-known of these include a scar which extends over her left eyelid, intersecting her eyebrow, and her left ear which remains a tattered half-stump. Her back bears several distinct scars of their own.
Choice of attire is often practical and simple in a range of muted tones. Waistcoats and loose shirts tend to be the order of the day, surmounted by a sturdy old frock coat or a light cloak. Atop this plain clothing rotates a selection of accessories in the form of rings, sashes, bracelets, wrist wraps and more. These are most often small trinkets picked up or stolen throughout the years with the occasional sentimental piece, such as a blue-and-white spotted kerchief. The only jewellery which does not change are her hoop earrings and surprisingly plain wedding band.
If she is working on engines she’ll don heavier materials and a pair of sturdy gauntlets; if she is to carry out an assassination her clothing will be darker, including a hood and cowl to disguise her identity. Regardless of outfit, she can almost always be seen with a belt or two on her person containing her ever-changing array of poisons, potions and antidotes. Her weapons are simple and practical: a small but powerful recurve bow, a garotte and several long knives. Though she rarely carries one, it is a risk to presume that she cannot make use of a sword.
Inventory and Real Estate
- Recurve bow and quiver of arrows.
- Long knives, garotte.
- Poisoner's belt and associated accoutrements.
- Boxes of gears, washers, valves, bolts: small engine and watchwork pieces, along with associated tools of the trade.
- Family homestead and workshop on Kutoroka.
- Small family ketch shared with Jeshal the Ironclaw.
- A series of additional, currently undisclosed assets scattered throughout the city.
Personality
Strengths
Weaknesses
History
(This is a long bio so strap in or feel free to scroll to the TL;DR paragraph at the bottom!)
The earliest days of Tanya’s life are ones she never speaks of, and never in the same way twice. Supposedly orphaned as a kit, Tanya was separated from her siblings Valdrisk and Dusk at an early age: whatever transpired caused all three kits to be launched into drastically different upbringings. All that is known of Tanya before she arrived at the Imperium is that she was supposedly raised by a large family of wildcats and lost half of her left ear some time on the journey to the harbour itself.
She was just fifteen seasons old when she arrived in Bully Harbour, immediately overwhelmed and terrified by the chaos. In defence she presented herself as hostile and sarcastic – a presentation which has never truly dropped since. There were limited options for a young penniless beast to get by in the city, and though the thought of the ocean made her queasy she couldn’t help but note that, pay aside, there was at least a bunk and rations to be had if one could get into the navy.
Tanya was still considered too young for official work on the larger, safer ships. This did little to dissuade her, instead simply refusing to settle for long on any one of the vessels once she had talked her way aboard. She would routinely lie on the papers, sail for an expedition or two, then take her leave before any checks – which were lax at best during the time of her youth – could be completed.
Eventually the seasick and scared vixen ended up landing a crew post on the Emperor’s own flagship, the Mar'kan's Glory, serving under Captain Teresa Doxtrod-Lancaster. Terri seemed to take a shine to the young vixen and took her under her wing. Under the older ferret’s guidance Tanya began to flourish, overcoming her seasickness, growing in confidence, and befriending pyromaniac stoat and future MinoWar Icerain Sleet.
Her loyalty to Terri unquestionable, the young vixen soon followed her into the Ministry of Niceties and, on recommendation, became part of the Unsmudgeables as a Rangeblade. Often she would be found sporting her new uniform with pride, putting her ever-improving archery skills to the test in the pursuit of maintaining the moral code of the city. This brief stint in the Ministry is often forgotten, and, in hindsight, many find this a particularly amusing title for Tanya to have held. It was often rumoured that the pin she earned was still in her possession, a sentimental trinket from a simpler, more optimistic age.
Those morals, and that optimism, seemingly died alongside Terri. The loss of her Captain seemed to impact Tanya greatly, who without her mentor and friend began to spiral into restlessness and cynicism. The aggressive front began to return, and she turned her attention instead to the Ministry of War and Peace, becoming a member of the Stoatorian Guard. At the same time, unable to bear the Glory, she transferred to the Golden Hide, the only remaining ship in the fleet she had not already been aboard.
This proved to be the making of her. Bolstered with the experience she had already gained, Tanya proved to be an efficient, if abrasive, presence in the crew and began to craft a new beginning for herself. She quickly rose to Aide-de-camp under Captain Valdrisk Half-Ear and became somewhat infatuated with the saturnine fox, unable to explain what drew her to his presence. It was fortunate timing, then, that they discovered their relation as long-lost siblings after only a couple of months.
Having her brother in a position of authority was particularly beneficial for Tanya, and on more than one occasion, despite her decent work, she had to beg his assistance when she had committed an insubordination or otherwise failed to behave herself. One such incident saw her drag aboard a half-dead bat and demand he be cared for as an Imperium citizen. This creature, initially signed aboard as a carpenter and handibeast, later became renowned surgeon and closest friend of Tanya’s Kiptooth Rowanheart.
Troublemaking was in Tanya’s blood, but so was loyalty: the strain her erratic behaviour was having was evident and, determined to preserve the only familial relationship she had, the fox threw herself into Ministry work when ashore to keep herself out of trouble. An aptitude for espionage and assassination work was noted within the Guard and she began tutelage in pursuit of a more niche role of service of the Emperor.
Exactly who trained her remains a mystery, but they set her up to become one of the youngest members of the Black Five and she swiftly earned the nickname ‘Tox’ (short for Toxic) due to her proficiency with poisons. She was granted the role of the Last Quartermaster: the focus of such dangerous work gave Tox a new appreciation for structure and respect for authority – and a healthy dose of fear. After all, to work so close to the Emperor is to see first-hand how easily one falls out of favour, especially when you are the executioner.
At sea Tanya began to work more cohesively with the crews and as she climbed the ranks befriended another future MinoWar: Nuori Sken, the marten becoming something of a sister to her. Around this time, she met and, shortly after, began courting the moralistic golden todd Falun (much to the amusement of the crew and chagrin of her brother), then briefly met her sister Dusk (with whom she had a violent altercation after the vixen made attempts to seduce Falun). Without knowing it, it was around this time that she also crossed paths with future MinoComm – and husband - Jeshal the Ironclaw, then a young todd left adrift at sea after his own vessel had been set upon.
Multitudinous adventures filled her seasons on the Hide and Tox quickly bonded with the crew to the extent that they became, truly, her family. Life on land was dedicated and strict, as work decreed, but it was at sea where she flourished with the freedom and excitement of adventure. Life was dangerous and unpredictable, but there was love and support and family: a base-born vixen could hardly ask for more.
It was sudden and shocking, then, when Tanya entered Valdrisk’s cabin one morning to discover his body. Her brother seemed to have taken his own life in the night, an act where there could be no vengeance to exact nor closure to find. Tox was inconsolable, and it was only the combined support of her partner and routine of shipboard life which provided the stability for her to work through (or at least suppress) the grief.
Regardless, her erratic behaviour continued to leak through. Though a high-ranking officer she was notably passed over for Captaincy on several occasions due to her wayward nature and unreliability, her grief deemed as too much of a risk to entrust with full command. This didn’t seem to bother Tanya, who was still healing and focused as much on her crew as anything else. Her relationship with Falun by now had blossomed into marriage, and for a brief stint things were for the most part beginning to settle as the rhythm of Imperium life resumed.
Life continued as it often had, though with the surprise of a pregnancy resulting in twin kits. One was named after her brother, Valdrisk, and the little vixen Aille. Ecstatic, Tanya and Falun put their savings into a substantial home in the Harbour in preparation for a change in lifestyle. Indeed, with money and family in abundance, things were looking stunningly domestic for the wayward, troublemaking vixen. Once or twice thoughts began to cross her mind if staying in the navy was the right thing for raising children.
When then-Mayor Gordron Freemont, husband of friend and now Captain Nuori Sken, declared martial law in Bully Harbour Tanya’s loyalties were torn – but not for long, as quite by accident rather than design she sustained the first, and most severe, of several head injuries which took her out of commission from the events which transpired. It was after her recovery that Ministry pressure began to increase. On orders from the Emperor, MinoWar Icerain was, at an appropriate opportunity, to assassinate Mayor Gordon. As Last Quartermaster Tox was to watch over the assassination and, should anything fail to go to plan, intervene and dispatch Gordon herself.
This was the husband of her dear friend, but pressure from both Emperor and Ministry proved too powerful to deny. Unable to conceive of a way out of her duty, concerned that her own life - or that of her husband - could be forfeit, Tox fulfilled her duty and came clean to Skeenie shortly afterwards. The resulting rift between them was hardly unexpected, though painful nonetheless, and things were never the same between them. This was a lesson hard-learned and something Tanya attributed to many of her choices going forward: laws and orders may need bending to protect those you love, and there is always an alternative. Many a night she could be found in the infirmary of the Hide, not due to injury but simply seeking the company of Kiptooth.
Tox’ already rocky relationship with alcohol began to worsen around this point. Between caring for her children, work for the Ministry and work at sea, the pressure meant that she failed to notice Falun’s uncharacteristic behaviour. Unbeknownst to her he had become deeply involved in shadier operations which, ultimately, led to his own assassination.
In a daze Tanya focused only on the practicalities. Quickly their estate was sold, her family moved full-time to the Hide, and she made use of her contacts as Last Quartermaster to ensure that anybeast involved in the dealings would not be pursuing Falun’s children as an extension of the assassination.
Now widowed and robbed of the future she had planned, the distraught vixen coped the same way as ever she did: working. This time, however, her aggressive focus eventually resulted in promotion to Captaincy.
Contrary to expectations it proved a decent fit: Tox was already well-known amongst the crew and confident in leadership after years in the system itself. Responsibility proved to be what she needed to get back amongst the living once again, and within the Hide she rediscovered not only family but purpose. She began to joke again, to grow excited about voyages, and spoke with pride about her twins at every opportunity. Several seasons passed where her skills were put to the test blending her political skills of negotiation with her less-than-regulation style of running a ship. It was unconventional to say the least but fostered results. Most complaints related to favouritism when promotions were due, but these were, in her opinion, reasonable criticisms: she had lost enough that she was content to reward those she cared about.
One such beast new aboard the ship was a fox by the name of Jeshal the Ironclaw, a smart-talking todd who seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. She took a shine to the new recruit as they joked and sniped, quickly favouring him for the position of Bosun after only a couple of months of service. Whatever his shortcomings, Tox was convinced that her higher officers would provide the adequate checks and balances.
Anithias Freedom happened to be one of those officers who, with his wife Julia, had brought with them a young vixen in their guardianship by the name Armina Rogue. The rebellious youngster was only permitted to serve aboard due to this guardianship, but over the months it became evident that this was untenable. Sensing that this animosity was only going to end in pain, Tanya interceded and agreed to take legal custody of Armina until such time as she came of age to let her continue sailing on the Hide. This proved prophetic: shortly after, it was discovered that Armina’s parentage was most likely descended from her brother Valdrisk. Already fond of Armina, Tanya committed to keeping a watchful eye on her niece.
Tanya’s tenure as Captain passed without major incident, and beneath the surface whilst juggling obligations she found it difficult to continue denying the pull Jeshal was having on her. As it was there was little time to think on such matters: word came that her successes had been noted, and she was to receive promotion to Admiral of the navy. This came as a bittersweet victory, for it meant both a brief departure from the ship she called home to receive additional training and the instillation of Fafnir Harlgren in her place, a decision she was less than thrilled to permit.
Only appearing on board for occasional visits at the time, the vixen watched as Captaincy rapidly switched paws yet again to Anithias in the wake of Fafnir’s resignation. This initially delighted Tanya, though this soon settled into unease the more reports she heard from his disgruntled crew. Deciding that her presence might yet temper his style of running the ship, she joined him on a far-reaching expedition referred to only as the Callisparian incident. With command of the ship his, it was somewhat fortunate that Tanya was herself not called to court martial: instead, it was said that she used her leverage as Admiral to protect Anithias from the worst of the repercussions and encourage a resignation instead.
With Anithias’ departure came Jeshal the Ironclaw’s promotion to Captaincy and Tanya (for no other reason, she would assure) felt it imperative to keep a closer watch on her beloved ship lest history repeat itself. This time she was able to officially establish the Hide as her own flagship and revelled in being reunited with the friends and officers she had missed. Unspoken attraction to Jeshal began to cloud her judgement, and it took some effort from Tanya to suppress her confused feelings in order to focus both on her work and the raising of her kits.
The apparent death of Skeenie left a void in the Ministry, and it came as some surprise that Tox was to be offered the position after such long loyalty to the Emperor. Despite initial misgivings that she was not academically minded for Ministry work, she took up the post. Once again her ascension, which had been doubtful, fostered a period of surprising consistency. Her time as MinoWar was exceptionally unexceptional which enabled her to focus on a combination of naval expansion, revision of archaic laws in the navy, increased overseas exploration, and domestic security measures. These would later come back to haunt her.
The true haunting, however, came from the Ironclaw. Leaving her twins with their cousin Armina one morning, she returned only to find her niece unconscious, her children kitnapped and directions to a castle to ensure their safe return. Knowing well that this was a trap, Tanya arrived to rescue her children and swiftly became embroiled in the todd’s scheme of revenge. Whatever outcome Jeshal had hoped for did not seem to materialise, though that his plans were souring did little to change Tox’ mind on the matter. Maddened by physical pain and that of the betrayal, she escaped only to fling herself on the Ironclaw in a fit of rage: it was only the arrival of her safe, bemused kits (neither of whom were even aware they had been kitnapped) which took the fight out of both herself and Jeshal. Both parted the scene with broken limbs and an agreement to never speak of the matter again.
An awkward few months followed during which both foxes continued to pantomime civility when in one another’s’ presence. It became well-known amongst the crew that something significant had happened but there were no answers forthcoming.
Tanya struggled to come to terms with this betrayal – and what it meant when Jeshal had stopped himself from exacting his revenge as intended. Once her limb was sufficiently healed, she had Jeshal arrested for treason and marched to the MinoWar offices. His sentence? To take up post as Minister of Commerce. Not only did it give her the opportunity to revel in his confusion and suspicion at the appointment, but she had practical reasoning: the todd was demonstrably good with numbers, and to be involved in a wise decision could only curry more favour with the Emperor. Furthermore, that Jeshal would be pencil-pushing and likely hate being saddled with such dull tasks for days on end was a bonus.
What transpired was a petty little inter-ministry rivalry between War and Commerce, though those working for either simply endured their roles as collateral damage. Whatever small campaigns, signs, undermining and sniping followed proved the most innocuous, roundabout way for both to process what had happened.
Knowing this was unsustainable, the pair elected at last to meet for a few drinks to quietly hash out what needed saying and see if they could become amenable. The result ended up being the consumption of multiple drinks plus some, and a heavily inebriated accidental marriage. Both knew that as much as they could hide this paperwork, a divorce would be more prominent yet (the Smelt would always have an eye out for such gossip). Yet again they elected to do what they did best and pretended as though the event had never happened.
Regardless, the forced time together at least smoothed over some of the more hostile intentions, and gradually Tanya and Jeshal began to be seen working together more often, and with less hostility. Indeed, banter seemed to become the order of the day and often they would be seen in counsel together after Ministerial summons.
Summons began to increase and demands on the Ministries grew. Mutterings in the streets became impossible to ignore. Both Tanya and Jeshal, having lived in the Imperium long enough to be familiar with patterns, saw the signs: something was coming.
That something came to a head as a coup and the assassination of the Emperor. Though baffled to find herself a survivor considering her long-standing loyalty to the throne, it was doubly surprising to find that, as the dust settled, she was to sustain her Ministerial post in an attempt to foster continuity. The vixen was not about to complain, putting it down to her prior friendship with new Emperor Ullyanov I's wife.
Things continued as they always had, but time took its toll. Tanya had grown increasingly paranoid since taking up the MinoWar mantle; the shuffle did little to help. Exhausted from having to consider the protection of her own life as much as those of her kits, her Ministry, the city and her fleet – not to mention the new Emperor – it was increasingly evident that she was struggling. Tox lost considerable weight, slept less and began to become erratic once again, noting every political fallout and charting the complex developing factions to try and keep track of where the wind was blowing. She did not like the future she was seeing, but such posts as those she was in were for life.
Of course she had learned this before: there is always an alternative. Jeshal, too, had become wary of the shifting landscape and the dangers it posed those in office, feeling equally keen to find a way out. Between them they began devising a scheme to fake their deaths: of course the increased domestic security measures made some of the more subtle options less viable. After some extensive use of their contacts, they managed between them to construct an elaborate – and suitably dramatic – exit. Both MinoWar and MinoComm buildings were exploded in a shocking double assassination which saw Kerri Quilane put on a highly performative trial. He was sentenced by Judge Freedom to execution, though another explosion in his cell appeared to end him before such justice could be served.
Tox, meanwhile, had wasted no time. The same night of the explosion herself and Jeshal commandeered a small skiff. Shortly after, Valdrisk and Aille were loaded onto another ship with Kiptooth who sailed out to meet them. There followed a brief exploratory season of deciding where to settle as they continued to travel further and further from the Imperium’s influence, determined to start life anew. Tox returned only once to the Imperium, not so long after her death, to speak with Armina in the hopes of giving the vixen the boost she needed. When she departed, it was with the intent never to see the shores again.
Eventually the family settled on the archipelago island of Kutoroka and the awkwardness of a domestic lifestyle did not elude Tox. It was an uncomfortable transition for her after years of navy service, and one she did not find as simple as she had hoped. Not about to adopt an epithet into her surname and keen to erase tracks, Tanya reverted to use of the family name of the wildcats who had raised her: Keltoi.
As Jeshal took up his own line of work Tanya began to try and affect repairs on a new gauntlet for his arm. Her fascination with the mechanics led her first to an interest in watchwork, and in later seasons she began to travel to the larger island in the archipelago to undertake an apprenticeship in the building and maintenance of newly developed, cutting-edge engine technology. It was hard work, but practical, and with Kiptooth able to watch the kits she was afforded the opportunity to balance her lifestyle in a way which worked best.
With time came a gradual adjustment to this slower pace of life – one where she did not need to fear for her life – and the quiet, mutual understanding of her and Jeshal’s complex romantic feelings for one another. In time they welcomed another two kits into the family, first Kinza and then Lorcan.
Seasons passed without much in the way of dramatics (save those which come with raising four kits and self-employment). She continued, now and again, to keep her skills sharp with assassination work and trained all of her children in the arts of self-defence and identification of poisonous plants. These years proved to be some of the calmest, happiest and most rewarding for Tox, able to witness her young ones grow up. It was a luxury she knew few of her peers ever had, and so she remained determined both to honour the gift she had been given and provide her young ones the stability which she never possessed. Even so, there was always that troublemaker in her – something missing the authority, the excitement of her youth – which wondered what could have been.
Valdrisk and Aille are now in their thirties and indulging in their own adventures. Kinza and Lorcan, ready to flex their own independence, recently became enamoured with their parents’ legacy and decided to visit the Vulpine Imperium. Though she reticent to over-protect and hinder their own lives, Tox can’t resist the pull that her old home has on her. Though potentially foolish to consider returning to a city she should be dead in, it has been far too long since her last good adventure. Maybe there’s time for one or two more.
TL;DR: Tox grew up in the Imperium from the age of 15, rising to become Admiral of the fleet and Minister of War and Peace. Her nickname comes from ‘Toxic’ due to her additional employment under the Emperor within the Black Five as the Last Quartermaster, an assassin. Over the years Tanya was reunited with her siblings, discovered she had a niece, married twice, and gave birth to twins. When political pressure grew too much to bear, herself and her husband Jeshal faked their deaths and fled the city to live on the archipelago island of Kutoroka, where she had two more kits. Now the youngest have grown, she has felt the pull of the Imperium to revisit her shores.
