Sir Talfryn

Sir Talfryn
Sir Talfryn (left) and Sir Marc (right) (Art by Mikaela Buckley)
Details
Pronouns	He/him
First Mentioned	Second Citadel - The Head of the Janus Beast (Part 1)
Status	Alive
Age	Older than Damien and Angelo, Younger than Marc
Aliases	Tal Friend Talfryn (Damien)
Occupation	Unofficial knight (formerly) Knight (Formerly) Tracker
Affiliations	The Second Citadel (Formerly)
Family	Sir Marc (brother) Amaryllis of Exile (adoptive sister) Damien (brother-in-law adjacent) Unnamed mother and father
Species	Human
Voice
Voice Actor(s)	Jason Mellin
First Heard	Second Citadel - The Head of the Janus Beast (Part 1)

“

You always wanted to be a knight, Sir Marc. Ever since we were kids and we’d play-fight with sticks and you made me be the bad guy. You always won our fights back then, too. Well, here you go, okay? You won the duel. You’re the knight and I’m the bad guy. So if you want to be a knight so bad, I think you’d better do what a knight’s supposed to do right now. Otherwise you’re just playing pretend while people are dying.

”

—Talfryn^[src]

Sir Talfryn, also known as Tal, is a tracker who was a knight of the Second Citadel. He travelled the countryside with his brother Sir Marc in pursuit of monsters to slay in order to impress the Queen. As early as the end of Season 2, questions whether he really wants to be a knight. When he later serves under Sir Caroline as a guard, he spends much of his time distracted by animals and avoiding killing monsters. Once Caroline quits being a knight, he acts as her contact in the Citadel, remaining a knight alongside his brother despite an increasing unease toward the morals of the Second Citadel.

Early Life

Talfryn grew up in the Second Citadel, with his brother Marc and their adoptive sister Rilla. Presumably he shared his brother's name Talfryn of the Craftman's Quarter, as he grew up there with his parents. He pretended to be sick in school so he didn’t have to play sports; instead he’d stay inside and read books (plural) about bear droppings. Rilla once comments to Lord Arum that on one occasion, his mother elbowed one of his bullies so hard the bully's father tried to complain, which led to him also getting the elbow.

History

Helped Sir Marc slay the Janus Beast. Stays behind in Quarry to work as a tracker to make them some money while Marc goes ahead. Teams up with Sir Angelo and Sir Damien in Sport, where he attempts to recite poetry and fails due to caring too much about the scientific accuracy. He is then held captive by Pitley and Sunny Budkin alongside Angelo, where he tries to shout advice down to Marc and Damien. He is the first one to realize that the damsel they were all trying to rescue was actually a Maneaster Damselfly.

He journeys to the northern edge of the world and kills a big slug all by himself.

Helps carry Quanyii's bag at Fort Terminus. After the gang defeats the Fear-Bug him and Marc both recieve knighthood.

He works under Sir Caroline's guard, but is known for being pretty bad at being a knight, with bad monster killing numbers and too much care for living things. They have him guarding the stables because of this. When he recieves a letter sent via Angelo's horse Porthos he tries to go to Caroline immediately but is interrupted by Sir Absolon, who takes the letter. He still goes to Caroline to warn her, and she punches him and herself in the face to give him plausible deniability.

When Sir Tristan performs an "exorcism" on one of his old neighbours from the Craftman's Quarter, Talfryn makes a point of coming down to the dungeons every day to bring him some food. He bumps into Damien on one of these trips, and the two bicker briefly before he helps Damien by covering for him to Sir Tristan.

When Damien and Tristan disappear, Rilla and Arum ask Talfryn to help track him, which he does until he reaches the northern edge of The Wayward East. They arrive just in time to see Tristan and Damien teleport with magic. Rilla and Arum are distraught after this, but resolve to find their own way across the Mirrored Plains, instructing Talfryn to stay in the Citadel.

When Caroline sends word to Talfryn that she needs dandelions delivered to Silvershore, he brings some when he joins Sir Marc on the knights' mission to invade Silvershore. With his skills, he shouldn't be allowed to come on such an important mission, but Sir Marc being right hand man to Sir Tristan means he was allowed to bring him along. Talfryn meets up with Caroline and her group and tells them the news that Marc is really serious about being a knight. The others feel betrayed by this news, but Talfryn weakly defends him.

The night before the invasion, Talfryn and Marc have an argument where Talfryn tells Marc about the others being in Silvershore.

During the invasion, Talfryn duels Sir Marc while arguing with him to take his job more seriously if he's going to be a knight. Sir Marc just thinks of it as a job, having been told that killing monsters is okay his whole life. Marc wins the duel, and Talfryn insists he finish the job, which Marc balks at. When the Off-Worlders start bombing Silvershore, Marc tells Talfryn to get on Dampierre and ride out of there, but Talfryn refuses to go with him. They part ways.

Personality

Talfryn is extremely literal and an exceptional tracker. He spends a good deal of energy fretting over his brother, particularly worrying about the kinds of practical matters that Marc ignores.

During The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid, Talfryn reveals that he has no desire to be a knight or to kill living creatures. However, he hates the idea of disappointing his brother, Marc, so he has not said anything. Talfryn is struggling to find his purpose, goals, and dreams.

As the series goes on Talfryn learns to be more confident and brave, eventually even facing his brother and disagreeing with him openly. He just wants to do the right thing.

Abilities

Talfryn is an expert tracker, with detailed scientific knowledge about flora and fauna, as well as the process of osmosis. As a tracker, he also has excellent eyesight.

Relationships

Sir Marc

His older brother, who he worked alongside when being unofficial knights, and who he has looked up to and looked after for most of his life. He worried about disappointing him when he decided he didn't want to kill things- a worry that would loom over their relationship until Marc quit being a knight.

Even when Marc is insisting on being a knight and killing monsters, Talfryn refuses to give up on him, and worries about him even after they leave Silvershore.

Amaryllis of Exile

He sees her as an adoptive sister and cares deeply about her. She seems to appreciate his contemplative and scientific mind more than Sir Marc's more brash approach to everything.

Damien

Sir Damien previously dismissed Talfryn and Marc on account of them not being official knights, and lumped Tal in with what he perceived to be Sir Marc's trickery. Despite Rilla's connection to them, he only started respecting them after the Sportive Nymphs.

After the time skip, they seem a lot closer and bicker over Damiens poetry, which he lets Talfryn read before he publishes it.

Caroline

Talfryn seems somewhat afraid of Caroline, but they trust each other since they were both part of the group that defeated the fear monster at Fort Terminus. When Talfryn found the letter from Sir Angelo after he had gone to battle the Kite, he went to Caroline as soon as possible to protect her. Caroline punched him and herself in order to give him plausible deniability. Talfryn is Caroline's contact in the Citadel after she leaves for five years to hunt down the old great knights. He brings her dandelions in Silvershore at her request, saving Caroline's wife Quanyii.

Angelo

Talfryn and Angelo are friends. When they first meet, they contrast Sir Damien and Sir Marc by being amicable with each other. Talfryn gets upset with Angelo after he repeatedly treats him as though he is younger and less experienced, a criticism which Sir Angelo takes in stride. They seem to get along.

Trivia

• During the Sportive Nymphs arc, Talfryn was revealed to be aromantic and asexual.
• "Talfryn" is a Welsh name meaning "high hill."
• Talfryn is sometimes referred to as Talfryn the Other One, because nobody can seem to remember his name. Furthermore, unlike his fellow knights "the Strong", "the Pious", "the Salamander Knight" and "the Swift", Talfryn never recieves a primary name.