Emaciated and frail, Timoleon has fought from the moment he was born. He fought the elements for his very life on the night he was born as his father exposed him to the elements to judge his worth. Surviving that fateful night, he fought to prove his worth and earn his every meal daily. As he grew, he fought for the regard of his father earning his moniker, the Lion, originally meant as an insult which eventually became a mark of grudging respect.
When his father died, he fought for his rights as the eldest son, first against would be usurpers who saw him as weak and his hall ripe for the taking but ultimately against his brothers who sought to usurp him. When the world burned and the Gods called, Timoleon fought for his faith. When the Gods fell in battle and the Jötnar reigned, long before the Einherjar arrived, Timoleon fought for survival alone against overwhelming odds. When the Einherjar arrived, Timoleon once again fought, this time for freedom.
Except for some of the eldest and most powerful of the Einherjar, there is no more relentless foe in the Nord lands, and certainly no man who has done more for the survival of humanity in the Mannheim. He has, however, won no great battles, slain no foe in personal combat or claimed any land.
His legacy is one of foresight and guile, of retreats and misdirection, of patience and ambush. Above all it is a legacy of survival and victory, he is the Eldest of the Shaman and has long since become something more than man.
His powers awakened on the very first day of his life, as his parents exposed him to the murderous cold of the Mannheim nights. His is gifted with a powerful affinity to two elements with control over both Air and Water, an exceedingly rare gift among men. Blinded by this rare asset, many people fail to fend of his real power: his native intelligence. In fact, Timoleon did not master his gifts until well into his middle age tutored, some say, by the gods themselves. Until then everything he achieved was done through sheer effort, audacity, and guile.
When the gods fell and the Jötnar came, Timoleon remained the only human ruler who did not bow to the new overlords. Acknowledging that he could never hold land against the raw power, both physical and elemental, wielded by the Jötnar, he forsook his lands, but saved his people by adopting a migratory lifestyle. Living off the land and using his powers to scout the paths ahead, he and his tribe managed to stay one step ahead of his opponents. His continued survival and defiance kept the flame of hope and rebellion alive during those cold hard years. Although he lost many men, many joined him throughout this ordeal, drawn to his banner by the growing legend of the man who defied the giants. He shared his knowledge and power freely, training any who displayed the Gift in the ways of the Shaman.
By the time the Einherjar arrived, Timoleon had been fighting for decades and the shamen had become an established force. Old and wizened, he was already older than all the men under his charge who whispered that he had been old and bent when they had joined his banners as youngsters. Recognizing his expertise, several the Einherjar heeded his counsel and fought where and when he directed. This alone may have tipped the balance in the war, for while the Valkyries argue that the Einherjars divine power and righteous cause gave them all the power they needed to cleanse the land, the truth is that the Einherjar were few and their foe, mighty.