Generally good-natured and fairly quiet. He genuinely strives to understand and help people, but feels very set apart from them. His sense of humor is usually quite dry, and he tends to listen more often than he talks. He is very passive when it comes to making choices, and this can get him into trouble.

One of his largest fears is taking up the mantle of leadership. Even once he hears the call of the Wyld Hunt, he is often timid to proceed, afraid of making the wrong choice and hurting those around him. He sees himself more as a supporting role than the hero of his own story, preferring to surround himself with strong personalities to make him feel more comfortable. It takes reinforcement from those he trusts to give him the self confidence to progress on his journeys.

He and Gaeren awoke on the same day and became fast friends, spending the first months of their lives on various misadventures driven by Gaeren’s headstrong and impulsive nature and Tal’s passive enabling. Before long, an older sylvari by the name of Mercer returned to the Grove after a long trip to Orr, and immediately catches Tal’s attention. To Gaeren's chagrin, Tal and Mercer immediately spend the next year in Ascalon together– Mercer studying the ghosts, and Tal learning healing from ancient tomes on the Monks. Mercer becomes very quickly controlling and manipulative, putting Tal down to build himself up. Tal barely recognizes this, attributing his discomfort to his own insecurities. 

When Tal and Mercer return from Ascalon, Gaeren begins seeing Mercer’s abuse. When Gaeren and Tal want to join the Priory, Mercer convinces Tal to join the Order of Whispers with him instead, going as far as to sign his name on the ledger for him. Gaeren tries to hold an intervention with Tal, but Tal is too blinded by his affection for Mercer to take this seriously, causing a rift in Tal and Gaeren’s friendship. They decide not to speak to each other as they part ways to join their respective orders.
As the fight with Zhaitan approaches, Mercer and Tal’s relationship becomes more hostile, leading to their breakup. 
Meanwhile, Tal finds himself in more accidental leadership situations, and to the surprise of those around him, he excels. He is assigned to the ship The Humble along with the commander, Caspian Stratos, and a handful of his new guild known as Hope’s Legacy. He is invited to join the guild once the dragon is felled, and he and Gaeren reunite. 

After Scarlet’s attack on Lion’s Arch, Caspian passes the title of Commander as well as Guild Leader to Tal, hoping that the responsibility will allow him to blossom. He fills the roles well, although hesitantly, and begins to take his Commander-ship more seriously after being called to a Wyld Hunt to fight Mordremoth.

After Mordremoth's defeat and the formation of Dragon's Watch, Tal and the guild become caught up in the reawakening of the last Mursaat and Archon Pydre's kidnapping. After the both the defeat of Lazarus and the revealing of Balthazar, Tal passes Commandership to Laranthir and organizes Dragon's Watch to hunt down the rogue god.