Editing Toren (section)

==Chronology==
===Volume One===
Toren was created by Pisces, and was given to Erin in the hope that he would protect her. ''“Protect Erin Solstice. Obey her. Be used in less-optimal tasks.”'' were the words that shaped Toren's existence when Pisces created him.<ref name="2.10T" /> Instead of being used as a bodyguard, as Pisces intended, Erin used him as cheap labor (cleaning, hauling stuff, clearing snow) and as a barmaid, which often made Pisces feel miserable, whenever he was reminded of it.

Toren used to startle everyone on their first visit to Erin's inn, although most people accepted him as a more or less harmless minion of owned by Erin. [[Calruz]] tried to instruct Toren to become a better fighter, but ultimately found him pathetic.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/02/07/1-41/ Chapter 1.41]</ref> Shortly thereafter, Toren proved his worth during [[Skinner's Attack on Liscor]], and leveled up as a [Warrior].<ref name="1.45" /> Each level up also increased his intellectual horizon, and he started to ponder on things that he hadn't cared about before.<ref name="2.10T" />

===Volume Two===
He was part of Ryoka's and Erin's expedition into the [[Ruins of Liscor]] where he could battle more undead. When he blew up the [[First Wandering Inn]], Erin told him to go away, and he did so, thus discovering the rift entrance into [[Liscor's Dungeon]] which was hidden under the snow.<ref name="2.10T" />

Toren leveled up many times due to battling with various [[Corusdeer]], and an [[adventurer]] [[Griffon Hunt|groups]]' construct, which resulted in him evolving into a Skeleton Knight.<ref name="2.24 T">[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/05/10/2-01-t/ Chapter 2.24 T]</ref> After coming back from his training, he discovered that Erin employed [[Lyonette de Marquin|Lyonette]], which resulted in him worrying about his future as he feared he was being replaced. His relief at learning that his fears didn't become true didn't last long, as Erin told him to teach Lyon. Not only was she preventing him from continuing his training in order to become strong enough to protect Erin, she revealed herself to be a ''huge'' annoyance—resulting in Toren beating Lyonette badly enough that she threw up, several times.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/05/14/2-21/ Chapter 2.25]</ref> Lyonette complained to Erin, and although Erin thought she was lying about how much Toren was hurting her, she still ordered him to stop doing it. Toren decided to instead begin poking her until she did what he wanted, switching from his finger to a knife when it failed to elicit the desired result. Erin eventually ordered him to stop doing that, too, though again, she thought Lyonette was exaggerating. When Erin instructed him to bring Lyon out to gather resources, he took the opportunity to throw her into a nest of [[Shield Spiders]], though as per Erin's orders he prevented them from actually hurting her.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/05/14/2-21/ Chapter 2.25]</ref>

As Toren continued to level, he realized that there was a direct correlation between his level in his class and his intelligence.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/05/10/2-01-t/ Chapter 2.24 T]</ref> To increase his level, he began massacring Corusdeer, something that drew the attention of many travelers in the area. Shortly before dissident members of the [[Silverfang Tribe|Silverfang tribe]] attacked the Inn, the gold-ranked adventuring team known as [[Griffon Hunt]] ran into him while he was fighting. Unsure whether he was a roaming undead or a construct that belonged to the city watch, they decided to attack and, if possible, capture him. While they were surprised by his resilience, especially after he managed to destroy one of [[Revi]]'s constructs, they nonetheless managed to defeat him with ease.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/05/10/2-01-t/ Chapter 2.24 T]</ref> 

Toren's growing sentience led to him becoming more and more frustrated with the kind of orders Erin gave him, which he characterized as "stupid."<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/05/07/2-20/ Chapter 2.23]</ref> This culminated after Erin ordered him to act as a sled dog during an expedition to uncover new ingredients for her inn. She also ordered Toren to do most of the collecting. When he was ordered to raid a cave inhabited by [[Ashfire Bees]], he managed to successfully acquire a large amount of honey and bees, but the bees reacted to this by lifting him hundreds of feet into the air, and then dropping him. Upon arriving back at the inn with her supplies, Erin decided that she wanted to go sliding down a nearby hill, so she instructed Toren to drag her sledge up the hill over and over again. When people in Liscor see what she's doing, and how much fun she's having, they come out to join her; Erin instructed Toren to ferry them up the hill as well.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/07/08/2-35/ Chapter 2.42]</ref> 

The next day, shortly after waking up, Erin had Toren bring her out to the bee cave again. Once there, she instructed Toren to go back in and collect more bees and honey, which resulted in him being picked up and dropped in exactly the same way as last time. This, along with the sound of the bells on the reigns Erin had attached to him, and the fact that Erin subsequently fell asleep aboard the sledge, finally pushed him over the edge. Vowing never to be a slave again, and determining that the only way to make sure of that was to somehow get rid of Erin, he brought the sledge over a hundred miles north of Liscor, near [[Celum]], and abandoned her there. Then he began to march back, towards [[Liscor's Dungeon]], attacking and killing a number of travelers along the way.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/07/11/2-36/ Chapter 2.43]</ref> 

After waking up and realizing what had happened, Erin was able to make her way to Celum, though she was attacked by a wolf pack and a grizzly bear before she got there.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/07/11/2-36/ Chapter 2.43]</ref>

===Volume Three===
Although Toren relished his freedom, at first he struggled to come up with a new purpose for himself. He didn't regret betraying Erin--he thought of her as a slaver who had been keeping him captive against his will--but at first he had difficulty coming up with new things to do. He spent several days using the corpses of travelers as bait to lure in and kill yet more travelers; his bodycount would eventually total over 20.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/10/17/3-24/ Chapter 3.24]</ref> Eventually, after drawing up a "would kill" list, and determining that his objective should be to grow strong enough to fight Griffon Hunt, he continued on the way to [[Esthelm]]. On the way there, he encountered a vanguard detachment of the [[Reiss|Goblin Lord]]'s [[Army of the Goblin Lord|army]]. The detachment's [Shaman] attempted to bind Toren to his will, much as he'd done with many other undead. Toren allowed the [Shaman] to bring him close, then murdered him. Unbeknownst to the [Skeleton Knight], this would cripple the vanguard's invasion of Esthelm, giving the defenders more time to prepare and preventing the invaders from utilizing the city's undead infestation as effectively as they'd planned to.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/09/27/3-17-t/ Chapter 3.17 T]</ref>

Once in Esthelm, Toren continued attacking anyone who looked strong enough to help him level up, including [[Ylawes Byres]] and [[Redfang Elite Warriors|members]] of the [[Redfang Tribe|Redfang Goblin tribe]] who'd been sent to find and kill Erin. After being beaten up so many times that his ability to regenerate was in danger of breaking down, he retreated into the sewers, but there he was attacked by a ghoul who nearly succeeded in killing him. Out of desperation, he called out for help, first from anyone, and then from from Erin. This unlocked the [Command Lesser Undead] skill, which he used to order nearby zombies to slay the ghoul.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/09/28/3-18-t/ Chapter 3.18 T]</ref> He then used it to lead the undead infesting Esthelm against both the human survivors and the goblin lord's invading vanguard. While he succeeded in harassing both forces, the Redfang Tribe's elite warriors succeeded in defeating him long enough for his army of undead to lose their cohesion, allowing the humans to disperse it once the Goblin Lord's vanguard was routed. Furious, Toren attacked and mortally wounded an injured [[Florist|human-turned-ghoul]] he'd encountered before, but after witnessing the way her goblin friends reacted, he was unable to finish the job. He departed Esthelm for Liscor, deciding that there might be more to being alive than killing and leveling after all.<ref>https://wanderinginn.com/2017/10/03/3-20-t/</ref>

After some time, Pisces arrived in Celum, alongside the newly reformed [[Horns of Hammerad]]. Erin explained the details of how she'd ended up in Celum, and reported what she'd heard from [[Wesle Salkie|Wesle]] about Toren's actions in the meantime. In turn, Pisces explained Toren's creation, and offered to sever the bond between her and Toren. Erin accepted, knowing that this would most likely kill him but also recognizing that he was too dangerous to be allowed to continue.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/10/17/3-24/ Chapter 3.24]</ref>

===Volume Four===
Severing the bond deprived Toren of the supply of mana that allowed him to regenerate from almost all damage, nearly killing him. Toren survived by ripping the mana from the undead under his command. Recognizing that there wasn't nearly enough ambient mana to sustain him above-ground, he decided to retreat into the Liscor Dungeon. On his way in, he encountered [[Mrsha]], who he accidentally chased into a secondary above-ground entrance to the dungeon. She believed that he was attempting to kill her, but in reality he didn't care much one way or the other, and only wanted her to get out of the way. 

After finding his way in and determining that the ambient mana there would be enough to sustain him, and even power a few resurrections, Toren fell into an existential crisis. He believed that his severed connection meant that Erin had died. Despite resenting Erin, and abandoning her in a very dangerous area, he hadn't believed she'd fail to make it back to safety. Even the sight of a party of adventurers doing his "favourite thing," killing, wasn't enough to rouse him. His failure to protect Erin, and his culpability in her apparent death, kept him locked in place for days. During this time he also used his newly discovered ability to detect and examine mana to consider his essential nature, and the ways in which he differed from other skeletons. The discovery of his ability to sense mana, which as far as he could tell he'd had all along without realizing it, also helped him realize that there were skills that weren't Skills. This meant that if he wanted to get better, leveling up on its own wasn't all he had to do. This called into question everything he'd thought and done in the past. 

After finally getting over his depression somewhat, he went on to explore the dungeon, and killed various dungeon creatures. On one such exploration he came across a group of dead adventurers. He stole some of their equipment, and used it to dress himself up. He also padded his body in order to look more like a human female, like Erin. He considered the persona created by this outfit a separate person, and used female pronouns for herself while wearing it; this brought her a great deal of joy while she explored, and helped her to understand Erin and other humans a little better.

While wandering the dungeon, Toren encountered the Silver-Rank team [[Vuliel Drae]], who he decided not to kill. Vuliel assumed him to be a mute female solo adventurer based on his appearance. They invited him to join them, and he did, mostly out of curiosity. Soon after, Vuliel Drae's [Rogue], [[Insill]], missed a trap, but Toren saved him, earning him the gratitude and respect of the team. After a fight with leeches, Vuliel Drae became impressed with Toren's blade skill and [Mirage Cut]. The group was then attacked by a group of [[Cave Goblins]] and [[Raskghar]]. They almost overwhelmed Vuliel Drae, but Toren managed to save them. Toren learned the [Blade Dancer] class from [[Pekona]], one of the adventurers in Vuliel's group, and shortly after parted ways with the adventurers. Once the adventurers shared their experience with others, and other teams encountered or were assisted by Toren, he became known as the Masked Adventurer.<ref name=":4.08 T" />

===Volume Six===
After the Creler attack on The Wandering Inn, Toren confronted Erin and tried to kill her, though he relented and tried to kill himself. While everyone in Liscor was convinced of his death, Toren was secretly kidnapped by [[Ijvani]] and taken to [[Az’kerash]].