COMMENT ON MYSELF: I attempted to do a lot of different things for Tao this time around, but they didn't quite come out the way I wanted them to.

LEGEND OF FOXFALL LORE: During his apprenticeship, the future head of magic in Rodentia known as Tao was an exceptionally bright student in the arcane arts. An expedition to some ancient ruins with his master yeilded the discovery of a strange crystal, a discovery he kept secret. The crystal he found had strange magical properties unlike any creature had ever seen before. After becoming a master of the arcane, Tao continued his research extensively on this crystal. Years passed and he seemed to grow mad with each passing day. It was as if the crystal was beginning to control him. Finally, whether it was out of fear or obessesion, Tao fashioned himself a staff, using the crystal as its peak. The staff was warded enough to keep the crystal's power at bay, or so Tao theorized. When Lord Squell came to power, Tao was appointed head of the magic academy of Rodentia. Squell's specific orders to Tao was to research magic enhancement properties and to find ways to exploit them. This led Tao into an extreme study of research, a study that continued for many years, even after Lord Squell was incapacitated by Shade's rebellion. Research was speeded up with addition of gifted students into the academy, particularly from his two apprentices, Varis and Ken. In time, Tao was able to use this research to create powerful magical weapons, destructive weapons that he would equip his mages to use for Squell's purposes. Tao would go on to see his magic weapons be put to use in the battle against Foxfall, but before the battle ended, he returned to Rodentia to protect Squell from another attack from Shade and the young fox, Nickolaus. He would fail, but this would not be the end of his life.