The Taliesin family, whilst of blueblood rank, would never be particularly prestigious; it was just a shame that Ronin’s parents never got the memo. His father was less fervent, being a blueblood himself. But his mother, a commoner pretty enough to have caught the eye of a noble... she had higher hopes for her sons. The younger of the two, Ronin spent his childhood living in his brother’s shadow. Bastion Taliesin was made for the military, strong and cool headed with a will of forged iron. Given that the family’s most successful ancestors had found their fortune in the army, it was not a surprise when he enlisted. No, the surprise came when Ronin was forced into joining too. Well, 'forced' being his own interpretation of events. Ronin could have easily refused, but doing so would have plunged his life into the eternal winter of his mother's cold shoulder. Choosing the lesser of two evils, perhaps, he schooled his protests in the pursuit of a gold star against the Taliesin name.

Military life was not to his taste; that much became abundantly clear all too quickly. While both brothers showed great promise in their training – Bastion in swordplay and Ronin with hand-to-hand combat, one quickly stood out as the protégé. Bastion soared through the ranks… and Ronin snuck out to brawl in the taverns.

He was one drunken tumble away from a dishonourable discharge when the 1st Wave stepped through Northwind's portal to Northaven, Bastion’s military talent earning him a place in their ranks. There was no love lost between the brothers, but something changed in Ronin with his brother’s departure. Perhaps it was the possibility of being the last of his family name, or maybe it was simply fear of repercussion without Bastion’s reputation to bolster his failures.

Regardless, to his superiors it appeared to be the wake-up call he needed. And for Ronin, it was a lesson to be more subtle with his vices. Whatever else he might have gotten up to in the five years that followed, he finally began to take his life in the military seriously. Lithe and cunning (and with a punch that could crack teeth), Ronin was trusted with covert operations where a weapon might, say, ‘spoil the mood’. And when the portal opened again for the 2nd Wave, Ronin found himself selected this time to aid in the Storm Army’s forces. He shocked himself by not hating the idea.

In fact, it would be good to see Bastion again, he thought, after so long.

Only… on arrival in Northaven, his brother was nowhere to be found. Not in the Storm Army, not in the streets. Dead or spirited away, Ronin will never know.

During his time in Northaven, Ronin rose from the rank of Storm Guard to Lieutenant of the Wall and subsequently Captain of Training. The weight of this responsibility embittered him somewhat, alongside watching the world around him grow ever more corrupt. His smiles came less easily in the days leading up to Caido, and he found it difficult to get any rest (whether physical or psychological).

In the season of Leafchange, Ronin found himself in a strange new land. Luckily, he did not arrive alone; alongside his friends and his lady love, he began to try and puzzle out his place here - after realising, of course, that there was no way back.

During this time, he fought the creature guarding the mysterious Spire ({KQ} Big A(spire)rations), though not without great cost. In the time afterwards he attempted to find a way to slay the beast, establishing the Monster Hunters Guild in the process in {PQ} Against the Dying of the Light and meeting the goddess Safrin in {God Quest} I yelled back when I heard thunder. He also found out that his lover Vanya Hali was expecting their first child ( Fearless and Fathomless).

Deepfrost brought him a companion in the form of a white dragon named Sugar ({RE} Frozen is not forever), and a daughter - Aoife - during Longnight. Sadly, Vanya did not survive. ( {SEASONAL EVENT - CLOSED} the longest night of my life) Whilst trying to pick up the pieces, he (perhaps foolishly) decided to go ahead with a plan to take down the Spire demon for a second time. It would be an effort that would ultimately cost him his life during {KQ} Bigger A(spire)ations.

Flowerbirth found Ronin trying to pick up the pieces of his new life. He continued to build a relationship with Safrin, who confessed that she had saved Aoife when she ought to have died alongside Vanya. Ronin then (perhaps foolishly) decided to go ahead with his plan to take down the Spire demon for a second time. It would be an effort that would ultimately cost him his life during {KQ} Bigger A(spire)ations, where Safrin placed him in the sky as a star.

That ought to have been the end of his story, but thanks to Ashetta Yla's bargain with Mort during legends never die., Ronin returned to the earthly plane as a not-quite-man (read: demi-god) after being plucked from the sky by Safrin in Starfall.

Would that life had gotten easier the second time around. Whilst trying to get to know his daughter, who had been in the care of Remi Abruzzo after his death, Ronin continued to make the most of the Monster Hunter's Guild and began to train extensively, given that he had returned to Caido very much changed. (AKA - Level 0 again).

Soon after, Remi and Ronin began a relationship together ( lodestar) and were married in Leafchange during {Mini Event} I and love and you. During Zariah's tyrannical reign, Ronin also joined the rebellion and was voted to lead the Hollowed Grounds ({Mini Event} we're only human, after all), which he did so briefly. His reign, paired with Edrei Launceleyn and Wessex Theskyra, was fraught with tension and instability, made worse by his contracting the blight along with many others in the Grounds.

Shortly after Deepfrost, where the blight had left him maddened and feral, Ronin decided to abdicate and leave sole rulership to Wessex following Edrei's death. Ronin and Remi tentatively began to repair their relationship, and when Longnight 309 descended, many Grounders joined them in taking refuge in the Monster Hunter's Guild. In this time, Ronin was forced to kill Roana Steadman out of mercy during {RE} the bleak, and shortly afterwards the monsters that had inhabited her body invaded the guild, setting it alight and burning it to the ground. ({RE} light it up, up.).

Ronin's year began with aiding in the construction of a magical wagon which he hoped would allow he and his husband to get out of the Hollowed Grounds. Exhausted by all that had happened, Remi and Ronin were looking forward to shrugging off the responsibilities thrust upon them and embracing freedom and travel.

Then tragedy struck during the Fiat Lux festival, badly injuring Remi and killing Aoife outright. Thinking them both gone, Ronin took his grief and fury out on the Temple, denouncing the gods and attacking Safrin in {KQ} dark star. As the Temple collapsed, Ronin vanished and, alongside Remi, washed up on the shores of Torchline some time later.