Tepet Marek Dato

Basic Information

Name: Tepet Marek Dato
AKA: Rolling Thunder
Player: NPC
Type: Dragon-Blooded Exalt
Age: 227 (Deceased)
Aspect: Air
Concept: Grandson of Tepet, Dragon-lord of the Legions in the North
Motivation: Bring glory to the Marek Household, so that his father might become the lone leader of House Tepet.
Political Affiliation: House Tepet, The Realm
Anima: Dato's air aspected anima was dominated by rolling gray and black wisps of essence that enveloped him like a cloud of smoke that emanated from his body. At the highest levels of his anima the booming of distant thunder often accompanied his movements.
Likes: Gateway, Battle Strategy, Alcohol, Fresh Meat, Hunting.
Dislikes: Deserts, Anathema, Vegetables, Mundane Tasks, The All Seeing Eye, Barbarians.

Tepet Marek Dato is the third child of Tepet Marek, head of one of the most prestigious households in the Great House Tepet. He is of exceptional breeding and one of eight exalted children of Tepet Marek, of his eleven total offspring. Dato was like many Dynasts growing up, and he excelled at an early age in the matters of war and strategy, almost all of his siblings would reluctantly admit that he was unparalleled among them in combat. Dato graduated from The House of Bells with high marks and joined up with the legions almost immediately following graduation, he served in the Realm's legions until his death.

Despite Dato's excellence, fate never seemed to smile down upon him, early in his military career he was the unfortunate part of several devastating loses to legions in the Thresholds. Though none were his fault, he even advised his commanding officer against the foolish actions that led to the losses. Dato was a dutiful solider, even in the face of disaster, and he led his troops admirably into slaughter. It was a difficult start to an eventually illustrious career, he took a small demotion after the defeats and joined with the Tepet Legions in the north. His career here was marked with excellent distinction, and the memories of his rocky beginning were soon forgotten.

Dato married a woman whom he cared very deeply for from House Ragara, though her breeding was not as high as his own she was an exalt from a prestigious House and brought with her a strong alliance, and most importantly a great deal of jade from House Ragara's treasury. Initially it seemed their children would not exalt, their first three children were all of mortal blood and there was some concern about the alliance without an exalted child to strengthen it. Eventually, Dato's fourth child would exalt and subsequently his next five children would all exalt and show purity of element to House Tepet. The births brought great honor to both Houses, almost all of their children served in the Tepet Legions eventually, though a few did not, and Dato took great pride in preserving his bloodline and household.

Tragically death befell Dato's family, and once it began it spread like a wildfire attempting to exterminate his name. First his wife was assassinated, the culprit was never caught, but Dato always strongly suspected The All Seeing Eye was behind it. Most seemed to agree, but there was very little that could be done about it without more proof. This started the unsettling of Dato's mind as he began to be consumed by the unresolved death. Dato's first three children had already fallen, as mortals this was not unexpected but it was not without it's toll. Next came Dato's youngest, a Wyld Huntsmen was slain by a great beastman in the edges of the eastern threshold. At this point Dato returned at least briefly to The Realm to grieve for his family, while here he fell into the arms and bed of Cynis Calliope, a young and attractive mortal dynast. When he discovered her pregnancy he was compelled to marry her, though his House was less thrilled with the entire ordeal they allowed it to honor is years of service, and it was not an all together scandalous affair. Dato spent the majority of the next four years on The Blessed Isle, but left shortly after the birth of his and Calliope's second child.

His time on the Blessed Isle had done him some good and when he returned to the North he seemed to have recovered significantly from the losses and was prepared for another lengthy tour in the North. He continued to excellently command his troops and won several significant battles for the Tepet Legions, he was nearing a point where he might be considered for a promotion to general when the Empress disappeared and the Anathema made their return. Dato rarely returned before these events, but once things became unsettled in the Threshold he completely refused to be distracted from the task at hand. The Tepet Legions were engaged in a battle for the North before long, Dato and his troops were at the forefront of this battle. Before all was said and done nearly all of three entire Tepet Legions would be destroyed or scattered in some way by their demonic enemy, The Bull of the North. Among those who died in combat with the thousands who perished in the barren cold were Tepet Marek Dato along with all three more of his exalted children who served in the northen legions. Nearly all of his bloodline had been decimated in the last two decades, destroying everything he had worked for in his life.

Two of his original nine children still survive him, both have served in the legions since their graduation however neither was enlisted with the Tepet Legions and were not stationed in the North. Both have requested to be transferred from their current posts as a result of the loss of the Tepet Legions, they hope to be a significant part of rebuilding a new Tepet Legion. However, Tepet needs much more than willing officers to enlist another legion and the process has been slow at best.

Dato's two children with Calliope, Udo and Thalia, were never close with the remainder of the family and were generally thought to be outcastes. Udo, who exalted, was looked at with some amount of respect, however he showed little care for House Tepet and his exaltation was considered to be unpure of element. With the death of almost the entire bloodline Udo's siblings have reached out to him to some extent, hoping that he will honor the memory of his father and help rebuild Tepet to glory. Udo views this more an act of desperation than anything else, though he has at least agreed to consider the request of his siblings and grandfather to forgo his vows to the Immaculate Order.