Biography:
Warning – major spoilers for The Perpetual Rose
The Perpetual Rose: Till’s first appearance is predicted when Axel finds his name on the list of choices: Till from Tielo, ‘people.’ The Yggdrasil emanations are initially assigned only four-letter designators, but they are promised that if Yggdrasil survives the war with the Denolin Turym, they will be recognized as fully-realized emanations.
Till is the Yggdrasil Archon, and he first emanates in reaction to the greatest crisis ever faced by Ashtara: Tara’s death. However, this eventuality has been prepared for – initially predicted by Suibhne in “The Bathtub Prophecy,” Davy and, more traumatically, Lorcan unwittingly gather the data they need to create Till as an emanation capable of emulating the Denolin similarly to the way Lucius can emulate the SongLuminants. When Tara’s flyer is attacked (coincidentally after she has just retrieved the Staff of the Matriarch from her flagship), Suibhne emanates and tells her to establish the Aion. At that point, a Terran ship emerges from a wormhole and begins to open fire on her. She establishes the Aion, creating an Archon, just before her ship is disintegrated. Till emanates and uses the Denolin technique to absorb her into the pleroma. After a few strange moments of disorientation, she is able to be emanated in a human form. From that point on, her emanation can be created and withdrawn, and she is able to enter the pleroma when Ashtara wills it.
Till explains what has happened, but Tara is understandably unsettled. They are soon approached by Johannon, who wants to convert the Denolin to Archonism. Till agrees to help, as he was created capable of communicating directly with them.
Ash emanates Sloane as a comfort to Tara during her initial period of shock. After dinner, he takes her inside of the pleroma – this is the first time she sees it for herself, except in a distorted form on the occasion she took amrita with Hurley. While she is there, the emanations theorize about the cause of the attack. Tara is taken to a soiree at Tommy’s while the more warlike emanations realize that the only parties with the power and motivation to attack the flyer are the SongLuminants. Till volunteers to emanate so that he can get proof by communicating with the Denolin.
Till confirms that the attack was launched by a SongLuminant order called the Champions of the Skylight Spin, the group formerly responsible for species eradication. He meets with Neliit in the commissary to commiserate over a piece of nectarine pie. Till foils a pathetic attempt by CSS to possess the Hreck Bisque and use her to position explosives at the base of Yggdrasil. They are then approached by Clive, who has been possessed by one of the SongLuminants, the member of a rival order called the Lords of the Inner Vent. The Vent Lords ask that Till and Neliit not share what they know for fear of the political ramifications in the Combine of Sentients. In return, the Vent Lords will protect Tara from further attacks by CSS.
The Portable Grove: In the tenth experiment, Cüinn is interested in factors which could cause low nau’gshtamine production. He chooses Lucius and Till for the experiment, thinking that perhaps their incorporation of alien elements (Lucius of the SongLuminants, Tielo of the Denolin) might influence their level of the compound. However, Till is still a virgin, and Cinn wonders if that could be a factor. So before the experiment can begin, Till has to get laid.
Tara accompanies Till to Nightside, where the pollination will take place. During a conversation, he reveals that he is curious about what the universe has to offer, listing his desire to go the Grand Carnivale on Vesper and ride the Wormhole Turbo at Hyperland. He tells Tara that he could create his own amusement park, and then, inspired, he creates a full-service spa in an empty room next to their quarters. This is the first indication of some of his special talents – that he is able to perform large-scale alchemy with ease and precision, and that he is an excellent masseuse. Tara realizes that she feels not just physical attraction, but emotional sympathy with Till, and they make love in the hot tub.
However, upon their return to the Domha’vei, Cinn’s analysis proves that Till’s nau’gshtamine is still too low. He suggests that Tara drink a cocktail of the juice of Till and Lucius to bring her into greater alignment with them, and that one of the subjects emanates and takes a microdose of blue moth mushroom extract while the other stays in the pleroma as a control group. Tara chooses Till to emanate because she wants to go to Hyperland. Lord Danak warns them that they should rent the entire park for one day – after the court season, when they return from Eirelantra. Tara wants to go now – so she dons a disguise. Till discovers that the mushroom extract is a bit stronger than Cüinn anticipated, but reassures Tara that he’s fine.
Tara wants to go on The Galaxy Tree, the park’s trendiest attraction, but the wait list is hours long. Till contacts Clive and dares him to hack the list. While in line, they are required to take anti-nausea drugs and Opium-ADH for bowel and bladder control. Unfortunately, opiates potentiate BMM, and Till is tripping his brains out by the time they get on the ride. It only goes downhill, resulting in a complete PR fiasco with an out-of-control SSOps division subduing the crowd. Due to this incident, Till gains the reputation of being, “The Mad Archon of War.”
The combination of opium and BMM proves to improve Chase’s nau’gshtamine production, but not Till’s. Tarlach intervenes, suggesting that they approach the problem from the other angle, trying to determine the secret of the high producers. They conduct an extensive survey which determines that the unifying factor among the branches with most successful nau’gshtamine levels was that everyone considered them “an easy dust.” Tarlach develops a new form of therapy to break down sexual inhibitions. Lucius is enthusiastic about the result, but Till is more interested in the prospect of building an amusement park at Nightside Station.
In Experiment 13, Till is asked to participate in the consecration ceremony of the new Archonist cathedral. He performs a small miracle in front of the congregation – providing the entire Domha’vei with free light and power for a few hours. However, although Till possesses the most raw power as an Archon, Ailann is deemed the strongest when Tara chooses his miracle as the best. In the words of Callum, “Till didn’t deserve to win, but Till never expected to win, and he didn’t care about it either. Till doesn’t become strong by winning or losing. He becomes strong by living and loving.” At the end of the book, Till is part of the group which sets up the fancy dress ball, ending the stress tests.
Correspondence Chart Entries from The Portable Grove
| Denotation | Tielo del N’stl’d (Low Germanic: diminutive form of names beginning with Diet: people. All Yggdrasil emanations have the surname del N’stl’d, Skarsian: of Nightside.) |
| Numeration | 42nd emanation of Ashtara; 4th branch of Yggdrasil; 28 in the correspondence chart. |
| Age | 34 |
| Hotness | 7/10 |
| Vital Statistics | 1.778 meters tall, cock size 17.15 cm when erect. |
| Description | Handsomely mischievous, but occasionally broody. Medium brown hair, even bangs, sideburns. Strong chest and arms, wears leather or denim with shades. |
| Skills | Yggdrasil Archon. “Dying God of Nightside.” Can emulate Denolin Turym. Capable of using Yggdrasil’s power directly, without the power grid, but this leads to a period of mental instability. Expert at a wide variety of spa techniques. |
| Sexual Prowess and Kinks | Massages, amusement park rides. |
| Average Duration of Play | 14 minutes 45 seconds. |
| Totem Tree | Tamarix aphylla, the Athel tree or tamarisk. |
| Fixed Star | Thabit (υ Ori), the endurer. |
| Color |  |
| Esoteric Symbol | The geomantic glyph Conjunctio, conjunction. |
| Function | Visionary resistance. |
| Official Title | His Most Sublime and Eminent Radiance, Archon of Nightside. |
| His Prophecy | Death do us unite. |
| Dessert | Nau’gsh filled baumkuchen |
Persistence of Weeds Addendum
| Branch Growth Characteristics | Yggdrasil was synthesized fully grown; it was constructed for maximum access to energy with the help of the SongLuminants to drill into the nul-universe. |
| Nul-history | Recruited by Ashtara to fight against the Denolin Turym. |
| Proto-conscious Root Concept | Cultivation, designated Till. |
| Prime Number of Energy Resonance | 107 |
| From Self-Portraits Not-of-Me II: Baby Pictures by Driscoll Garrett |  |