A tall and intimidatingly muscular stallion of no small virtue. The stag stands at just shy of seventeen hands and is built with all the long-legged stockiness of his mother's mixed Tennessean blood, and all the grace of his father's Arabian ancestry. In far off lands, he is touted as the Mad-Eyed King, and for good reason. Tio's eyes are a sickeningly acidic green, and they often seem to bore into whatever his gaze settles upon in... unsettling ways. It's impossible to tell what the bronze dun stallion is thinking with an expression like that. In spite of this, he can easily be considered handsome. His body is covered in a dusky bronze, with brown smoke dapples covering his shoulder and hips, while a dark brown stripe runs down his spine from poll to tail dock. His legs are similarly dipped in dark brown up to the knees, ending at a set of four cracked hooves, like flint in appearance and hardiness.

Perhaps most peculiarly, a set of white markings drip down his body on either side, creating lines resembling reverse brindling. There are six such markings on his left side, and five on his right. One of the white markings actually bleeds into his mane, leaving a white streak about at the halfway point between his poll and his withers, in an otherwise chocolate brown mane and tail. The quality of the tresses cascading over his crest is scraggly and not very well cared for, riddled with pasture knots and the like. Chunks of it are also missing, from when those pasture knots have been torn out during fights. This leaves behind random sections of short hair to break up the longer strands. His muscles, as I mentioned before are as steel, but his skin is riddled with scars from past conquests, most notably, a set of claw marks tears across his otherwise velvety dark muzzle, leaving several nicks in his nostrils. When Catillatio is made to bleed, it appears as gold ichor which smells of brimstone.

For those that know only passing rumors of Tio, they say that he is a dashing, and handsome rogue that could charm a fox out of its fur. He is a diligent, and passionate lover and protector, and will not rest if he feels himself or those that depend on him are in danger. He will place himself in the way of almost certain death in order to save his own progeny. Tio is also quite an ambitious stallion, having a never-ending lust for power, though he often reasons it as "I know myself and the corruptions I resist. If I am not in charge, another may fall to those temptations and then the people suffer for it. It has to be me, or no one will." He also has a tenacity that is hard to match, not giving up on any of his pursuits whether it be a desired lover, or a friend, or an empty throne.

Now, you see all that positive stuff I wrote up there? You might as well stamp a big old FAKE across it all because Tio is never nice unless it's to get something he wants. He is a master at manipulation, charming a fox out of her fur is only the beginning. Contrary to the reputation he has carefully cultivated himself as a courageous and self-sacrificing leader, Tio is a cruel, selfish man who only ever does what he thinks will benefit himself. If he believes it will grant him favors, he will pretend to go along with the manipulation tactics of someone else, even knowing full well that they are trying to use him. See, he thinks of himself as the savior and justifies his every abusive action as a them problem, or perhaps it's merely that they deserved what came to them and karma chose him as the deliverer. That comes from being raised by a mother who only ever taught him that the world is his for the taking if only he wants it bad enough and is strong enough to take it from others. He is not a stallion who likes to dirty his own hooves, but that doesn't mean he won't. His rage is unpredictable and terrible to see, and it often explodes in a fit of violence that leaves the scene shellshocked. Rage is the only emotion which Tio feels with any amount of integrity, everything else is a display, a mask he puts on in order to trick you. So, watch your step when you're around this viper because if you don't, he will strike with a vengeance.

The story of Catillatio, like so many others, doesn't actually start with Tio. It starts many decades before he or even his mother, Lady Leana, were born. You see, Leana was the loveless result of an arranged marriage between a poor man's daughter and a nobleman's son. Leana's mother was sold to repay a debt, and Tio's great grandsire forced his son to take her as his lead mare. Sol hated this, and eventually abandoned Kitchi when she was pregnant, kicking her out of his herd almost as soon as his father died and he took control of the kingdom. Heartbroken, Kitchi left the kingdom and lived as an exile. Pregnancy without a herd to protect her was a hardship she had not expected to ever have to go through. She had doted upon Sol, loved him even in spite of how she had ended up in his company. And he had cast her out at the first opportunity. His actions sowed the seeds of bitter fury within Kitchi.

This would set a very dangerous precedent in the bloodline that Tio was born of. Kitchi birthed Leana in the mountain monastery, a place of gods and of shelter for the impoverished. Leana grew to adulthood learning of piety and how to defend herself. Having grown bitter over her abandonment, Kitchi taught Leana to never trust any stallions, because all they ever wanted was to use you. Kitchi also taught a strong sense of self-pride and set standards for her daughter that Leana sought to perfect in her own lifetime. Leana soon grew into a beautiful dunalino mare, with a bodice of burnished gold and tresses of cream. She turned heads wherever she went and the attention went straight to her head. Leana was selfish and conceited, though she was also fair and cunning, and she used her beauty to manipulate her way into the beds of kings and emperors. She never stopped gold-digging her way to higher and higher places of power.

However, she never seemed one to want power for herself, or to be the one directly in charge, preferring to take a back seat and support or bolster those that were in the spotlight instead. She was the power in the shadows, the voice of reason and advice when she needed to be. Leana would leave when she felt bored with the current toy, or if she saw something shinier to move on to. Up until she met Jairo, Leana kept her heart under careful lock and key, never allowing her relationships to get more than physical. But Jairo was different... Jairo didn't immediately fall for her tricks and flirtatious behavior. So she did drop her guard and the tables turned. Suddenly Leana was married to Jairo and pregnant with his foal. She gave birth to Rowan in the spring, but she knew nothing about being a mother other than how her own mom had raised her, and so she followed that line of thought. Unfortunately, Leana was.... too harsh. Her expectations too high, and inevitably, Rowan was killed because she expected too much of him. The couple mourned, but their relationship worsened over time, even forgiving one night when they both got drunk and tried for another foal.

In spite of this, the situation continued to worsen. Jairo was sickened by what Leana had done to his son, and history repeated itself. Angry and hateful, Jairo abandoned Leana when he found out she was pregnant. He claimed he couldn't stand by and watch while she destroyed another child. He feared that his position in the kingdom could be threatened if anyone were to find out he was involved in another murder. His words stung Leana, for she truly loved him and her pain over Rowan was only sharpened by his leaving her. Leana grew steadily more desperate, believing that if she could prove herself the perfect wife, and their newborn foal the perfect son, that Jairo would come back to her.

This time, Leana waited until her son was weaned before she began to discipline him. When Tio was 6 months old, he began learning things like fighting and social techniques, all the things Leana had learned about slithering her way into positions of power, she taught to Tio. She pit him against predators so that he would learn to fight or be killed. Where Rowan failed, Tio seemed to excel. As soon as he stopped crying and threw himself into the training, he was molded into what Leana believed was the perfect, valiant warlord. Someone who would go on to become a King of Kings. Doing what was necessary to put himself in power. However... such training didn't leave any room for softness, and Tio saw all of his childlike tendencies towards mercy beaten or groomed out of him. Until all he ever understood was that the world was a dark, cruel place, and it was his job to save it.

Tio left his mother's side when he was 4 years old, and traveled across the continent he was born upon, gathering followers and making a name for himself as a strong leader who struck fear into those that would challenge him. He accumulated a massive following, mares and stallions alike felt safe in his presence. One of the mares, a gypsy vanner named Gabriele, rose in the ranks to become his lead mare. She was a kind-hearted, patient soul, whose wisdom was an invaluable asset to him. Tio loved her, as much as he has ever loved anyone in his whole life, and he wanted her by his side, always.

With Tio's ruthlessness towards traitors and outside invasion, and Gabrielle's calming, common sense, they ruled a sizeable kingdom for two years, peacefully. Then one day an army of bachelor stallions who coveted Tio's throne attacked his kingdom and kidnapped many of his wives and killed a large swath of his foals. Tio fought, but ultimately he lost and was exiled in disgrace. Gabrielle followed him, as she was pregnant with Tio and her’s firstborn, and she had no wish to leave his side. She recognized that Tio would need her if he was to survive this, and she needed him too.

So for the rest of that season, Tio and Gabrielle traveled together as nomads while the bachelors that had invaded took over his kingdom. It was a bitter pill to swallow, and eventually, Tio understood that one of his sentries had betrayed them. So began Tio's descent into madness. He became irritable, paranoid, irrationally angry. He screamed at the gods that he was born to be a king, so why did they knock him back down? He demanded to know what he had done to deserve this injustice, and.... well, unfortunately, Gabrielle took the brunt of his anger. He often went into babbling furies and bit, kicked or downright abused her. Gabrielle gave birth to Tharos in the Summer, and she tried to shelter Tharos from the depths of Tio's madness, but that was hard, so eventually, she left Tio to raise Tharos by herself because it was what was best for her son.

Tio took her leaving him as a personal betrayal. He told her to just go if she wanted to, and never show her face again. Alone, Tio began once again to gain followers, but this time, he had trouble believing he could trust anyone and so he would not keep more than three equines around him at a time, and when they disobeyed him, or he felt they'd played out their usefulness, he killed them. Three years like this passed, and eventually, Gabrielle found him a broken stallion, alone and feared, his eyes wide and wild. He glared at her as if she were a ghost and spat venom when she approached.

Regardless, Tharos had grown old enough to be his own stallion so he had left to enjoy the bachelor life and that left Gabrielle free to return. She tried to help Tio, but it seemed for the longest time that he was too far gone. He wasn't the stallion that she had fallen in love with all those years ago, and no matter how hard she tried, it didn't seem like he ever would be again. He spoke in a sing-song voice that struck discordant notes within her soul, and yet at the same time, soothed her nerves. She was soon enraptured in his grasp again and she continued to try to help him, even from her position.

Years passed, too many and yet not enough, they find a place to settle, and Gabrielle is elderly, but also pregnant again. Tio sees after her, almost back to his old self again. Her patient love having softened his heart. However, Gabrielle knows, even now, a monster lurks within him. Every once in a while he gets angry and has a fit. He hasn't hit her, not in a long time. But things are not okay, and she knows this. Gabrielle can tell. So, in the dead of night, she runs away, as far and as fast as she could while she was heavily pregnant. She collapses in a strange glen and breathes her last breath while giving breath to a new life.

Without her, all of Tio's madness comes back. Tharos finds Gabrielle's body and assumes the worst of Tio, vowing revenge, while Tio is mad with grief over Gabrielle's apparent abandonment. He eventually finds her body as well, and the shock of her death rocks him to his core. He regains his focus and decides that this land is not his land anymore. He can not stay where her memories will haunt him. So he runs. Runs, and runs, and runs some more until finally, he finds a way out. A pathway, leading to a new and mysterious land where he can leave his pain behind.