The Many Bios of the Man They Call Aisu

Species: Giant Naga

Elemental Alignment: Ice

Age: 49

Sex: Female

Height(head to ground): 73 feet (22 meters)

Length(head to tail): 249 feet (76 meters)

Skin colour: Pale

Top scale colour: Bright, shiny red with diamondshaped white patches running down the sides

Belly scale colour: White

Hair colour: Red

Eye colour: Greenish-Gray

Other characteristics: Flat chest; Wears a hairband made from wood and bone; Is always accompanied by a human mage.

Predation: Opportunistic

Food category: 5-7 feet. Prefers: Elves and small nagas



Ruby is a young giant naga who lives in a cave with the human Aisu on the southern fringe of the Imoreith Tundra. Her red tail is highly reflective, even capable of serving as a makeshift mirror when its luster is at its max, and her red hair is short and held by a white hairband bigger than a human; she originally had a stone headband, but due to an accident, it had broken and was lost, but a neko named Stark kindly commissioned the comfier, more flexible version she wears today. She has a petite figure, and her chest lacks the fullness boasted by most others of her kind, being almost completely flat. Though she is youthfully naive, she is incredibly curious and won't hesitate to ask questions about things she doesn't understand. It is worth mentioning that, due to an incident in the Bulvon Woods while on an adventure with her friends, she is scared to death of slugs and slug girls, and will freeze in fear if she catches sight of them.


Backstory


Ruby was born alone from an egg in the very same cave she calls home today. Nothing is known about her parents or if she was even laid in that cave, as her egg may have been placed there for unknown reasons. She came into the world as a weak and pitiful nagaling who, by her own ineptitude at hunting, was rather unsuccessful, attempting to catch mostly snowstalkers and, very rarely, adventurers chasing rumors of great treasures in the ice. As she grew, it became harder and harder to sustain her body, and her metabolism slowed down to suit the slow intake of food. She was alone for years, and she may have gone like this and even died of starvation. However, luck befell her as the thin, boney naga was discovered by Aisu, a human who had been wandering through the tundra, tired and delirious. He had been hunting Snowstalkers for food, but as he left them at the mouth of a nearby cave to hunt more, he always found that they had vanished upon return. Eventually, he entered the cave to see the giant naga, who had been eating his catches when he left. Realizing that he has been inadvertently feeding her, she ended up sparing him from her belly. With nowhere else to go, Aisu stuck with the naga, and decided to raise her.

Aisu was the one who gave Ruby her name, after her beautiful red tail and hair. He cleaned her up, cut her hair, and hunted animals for her until her body filled out. He taught her how to speak along with some basic reading and math skills, and eventually, how to hunt. Originally planning to teach her to hunt animals in favor of sentient prey, Aisu soon found that she had a pre-existing taste for humanoids, and upon looking at merchant envoys, which held many goods that would have aided survival, he ditched the idea and let her feast upon those who entered their hunting grounds.

Five years have passed between their meeting and today. Now, Ruby happily lives with her human companion, hunting alongside him and knocking over merchant caravans for what goodies they carry.


Feeding Habits


Ruby is, first and foremost, a frugivore; most of the food she eats consists of fruit, due to their sweet taste and relative abundance in the forest. Her favorites are fruits like apples and pears, but whenever she can get her hands on the more exotic specimens of the southern regions, she will happily gobble 'em up.

While apples can indeed keep her belly full, she does need meat. Animals such as snowstalkers and duikers are on the menu, hunting them with standard ambush tactics, attacking from behind bushes or rocks with as much speed as she can muster. Humanoids, too, often find themselves at the mercy of Ruby's appetite. Humans are very much on the menu, and if she doesn't have any other source of food, she will have no problem capturing wayward humans that come her way and gulping them down. However, elves are a different story. Ruby actually loves elves more than she loves fruit, and sees them as a delicious treat unlike any other. She will go out of her way to attack an elven party and do her best to capture as many of them as possible, and will fill her small stomach to its limit with elves, if she can.

Ruby also has cannibalistic tendencies; nagas that are human-sized are just as much of a meal to her as humans, if not moreso, due to their filling, muscular bodies. She takes no qualms and grabbing a small naga and slurping it up like a noodle. A single naga is usually enough to fill her right up, due to the small size of her stomach.

Notably, Ruby refrains from eating nekos. Unlike Aisu, who holds no issue with the naga consuming members of his species, her friend Tarina would certainly take offense to hear of Ruby preying upon nekos. As such, Ruby has promised to focus on other sources, a vow that is relatively easy to hold, due to the abundance of sustenance in the forest, both plant and animal alike.


Combat


Ruby doesn't like to fight. She's very peaceful and won't fight anything unless they're a threat to her and Aisu, so her favorite means of defense is to just flee. When she does get into that mood, she will use what she can to hold off the offenders. As most nagas, she prefers using her tail to bludgeon foes to a pulp or to constrict and suffocate them. She also doesn't mind biting, although she lacks venom. When all else fails, though, and her life is on the line, she is known to release a burst of icy magic toward her aggressor, though she has little control over her gift, and can possibly overexert herself and pass out.

Species: Human

Homeworld: Drelonia

Height: 6' 3" (1.9 meters)

Age: 23

Sex: Male

Hair: Brown, thick, messy, never seen a comb in a day of its life

Skin: Average, slightly pale

Eyes: Jade-green

Clothing: A brown jacket with a white tanktop underneath, burlap pants, black shoes, and a leather strap around his shoulder which is used as a holster for his magic rod; Scar on his chest from a battle with a hunter named Mark.



Aisu is a tall, lanky human who came to Felarya five years ago. Since then, he has taken up residence with the giant naga Ruby in her cave in the frigid Tundra. He has an above-average IQ and the experience of a soldier, but he is quirky has a tendency to mumble when planning. He's a reliable friend when you aren't on Ruby's menu, and if you manage to get out of that category, you can expect him to always be there to help you when you're in desparate need.

While trekking out to save his friend Tarina's husband's life, he fought a hunter named Mark. The combat left him with a scar across his chest from an especially deep cut of the hunter's knife.


Pre-Felarya


Aisu was born on the technological and magical planet Drelonia, where he lived until the age of eighteen. For the first sixteen years of his life, he lived in Arlennia, an inconceivably massive metropolis built on an island paradise of the same name. It is during this time, around the young age of thirteen, that he began training in the art of magic. After two years of schooling in the subject, he was accepted into the 'Imperial Magus Union,' where men and women of magic discuss their magical ambitions and their dislike of engineers. Since he was younger, he didn't engage in the more intellectual conversation of his elders, but he sure did have a helluva time concocting various ridicules toward men and women of technology.

War broke out, and the sixteen-year old Aisu, eager to protect Gryphonian colonies on the Berglandian continent, lied about his age and joined the Imperial Army. Several months of the most intense training on the planet further refined his magical abilities. Soon, he was sent to the Isonian Desert to fight back an invasion. Bad luck befell his company, though, and he quickly became the last remaining member. Using what he learned, he did his best to survive until he was discovered and shipped back home. Upon arrival, he packed up his junk and moved north to the mountains of Isona, where he lived until he turned eighteen.

In the small mountain town, he spent more time training his magical prowess. He soon set a goal: to learn how to teleport, which was a skill considered sage-level. He spent most of his time working toward this goal. One day though, while training himself toward perfection, something happened. There was a burst of energy, and he was gone, but he had not teleported. He had, in some bizarre turn of events, been warped to an alien world disconnected from his own: Felarya.


Early Felaryan Experience


He first felt the cold air of the Elifga Valley. If it had not been for the alien plants and spinetingling cries of the wildlife, he would not have suspected that he left Isona. He wandered around, and after a few close calls, he learned the exact nature of this world. Unable to sleep, he was always hiding and watching his back, never feeling safe or calm for even a second. Wandering aimlessly, he found himself climbing a mountain toward a frigid and eerie land. At this point, he had slept very little, was in shock, and incredibly cold. He eventually found a cave, where he found something he could have never imagined: a giant girl with a snake's body. It was the naga who would come to be known as Ruby.


Combat


Aisu was an Imperial Soldier. He had the ways of war and survival pounded into him fiercely. His prefered method of battle is elemental magic, using fire, ice, and lightning fully in his favor. Also, various assist spells, mostly magical binds and barriers, are within his grasp, but such spells take too long to prepare and are impractical unless he is hiding or being tanked by Ruby.

If need-be, he can fight using his rod as a slashing or piercing weapon. He typically only resorts to this when it would be awkward to cast magic, usually in confined spaces or if the target is in melee range.

Aisu has shown that he is inept in the use of Earth and Wind magic.


Relation with Ruby


Aisu and Ruby are, in their eyes, two parts of an inseparable family. The two of them work together to survive in the wilderness, and one could not exist today without the other. Using his experience as a soldier, Aisu taught Ruby the basics of hunting. Her status as a man-eater was originally a bit unnerving to him, but years later, he now knows just how vital it is to his own survival, since Aisu lives off of whatever Ruby's prey were transporting before the encounter. When they aren't hunting, they are in their cave, spending quality time or napping together. It is worth noting that while Aisu has no problem with Ruby eating humans, he does seem to have nightmares about becoming her next meal.


Feeding Habits


Aisu normally traps Duikers and Idariks while also picking fruit from the Elifga Valley, but various foodstuffs obtained from raiding merchant caravans also play a big part in his diet. He absolutely loves honey, and when merchants have it, it's an especially good day. Overall, he has a very demanding sweet tooth but doesn't mind eating whatever he can get.

Name: Lesky

Species: Frost Sprite

Age: 81

Sex: Female

Maximum height: 115 feet (35 meters)

Common height: 5 feet (1.5 meters)

Minimum height: 4 inches (12.7 centimeters)

Skin colour: Pale

Hair colour: Dark Blue

Eye colour: Gold

Wing style: Wasp

Other characteristics: Wears a golden armband around her wrist

Predation: Opportunistic

Food category: 5-13 feet. Prefers: Elves


Lesky is an older frost sprite who hails from deep within the Imoreith Tundra. She has a relatively soft body with pale skin, blue hair, and wasplike wings. She is quite friendly and, due to the lack of contact she’s had in her life, very willing to meet others. Also, she enjoys playing pranks on those around her; this is normally the first thing she does when meeting someone. Of course, when she does prank someone, she means no harm at all, and is quick to apologize if there is any offense or injury.

Lesky occasionally makes trips to the Elifga Valley, normally to enjoy the sights of the forest or fight herself a special treat.

History

Lesky was the only child to two other frost sprites. A relatively peaceful relationship, Lesky spent much of her time learning minor healing magic from her mother and honing her illusionary skills with her father. She rarely ventured out of the most frozen regions of the Imoreith Tundra as a child and adolescent, preferring to stay with her parents to hunt snowstalkers and the like. Finally, as an adult, she bid farewell to her parents, eager to make it on her own.

Later in her life, she met another frost sprite, a male who lived near the eastern corner of the tundra. After spending a long while together, the two fairies had a daughter together, named Sibria.

Of course, as the years passed, things became bitter between Lesky and the other fairy, and the two parted ways. Sibria, eager to learn some of the magic her mother learned from her own mother, went with Lesky. The two stuck with each other for a long while, but in the end, Sibria chose to go off on her own as Lesky did upon becoming an adult.

Now alone, Lesky made her first venture into the Elifga Valley. She was quite intrigued by the amount of life in the region. Though she continued to live in the tundra, she made it a priority to visit the forest once and a while, where she would hunt elves and humans, chat with dryads, and simply enjoy the atmosphere.

On one trip to the forest, she was ambushed by a fire naga, who had burned her wings and trapped her in its coils. By a stroke of luck, the naga Ruby, who enjoys eating smaller nagas, came upon the scene, and quickly rescued Lesky. The injured fairy was taken to Ruby’s cave, where she was able to recover.

Now, she lives with Ruby and Aisu, promising to teach Ruby how to fully utilize her innate ice magic.

Abilities

Lesky is a frost sprite, so some things come naturally to her; she can use ice magic as easily as she can breathe and, like all fairies, can use size-shifting abilities. Of course, not being the direct offspring of a fairy and an elemental, her icy powers are greatly limited, but she can chill the air and form ice to defend herself very easily.

Lesky also has some skill with illusion magic. While she can’t project an entire imaginary image as a dryad can, she can make an object appear as if it had vanished, or she can project the image of another object to another location. She rarely uses this for practical purposes, often choosing to use it for the sake of her lighthearted pranks and tricks.

Like her mother before her, Lesky can use some novice healing magic. Small-scale wounds can be closed up with ease, but more debilitating injuries take much more effort, and must ultimately be left up to natural healing due to their size or complexity.

Notably, she is a rather skilled flyer, having grown up flying against the harsh winds of the Imoreith Tundra.

Hunting habits

Lesky’s meal of choice is snowstalkers. She grew up on the creatures, and has been skillfully hunting them for as long as she can remember. She prefers to freeze them solid, encasing them in a smooth block of ice for easy swallowing. When she is not eating snowstalkers, she will partake in fruits of various types, which she will occasionally treat herself to in the Elifga Valley.

She does eat humans and elves, though rarely. She views them as rare, special treats and doesn’t spoil herself to their taste. When hunting them, she prefers to use ambush tactics, either quickly expanding and scooping them up or shrinking them and grabbing them in their confusion. If a human or elf escapes, she won’t bother herself with chasing after them, and simply find something else to eat.

Lesky finds nekos to not suit her tastes, and will generally avoid them. Of course, this works well for Ruby, who has grown quite fond of the nearby neko village and wouldn’t sit well with them getting eaten.

Species: Chilotaur

Age: 144

Sex: Female

Height(head to ground): 55 feet (18 meters)

Length(head to tail): 128 feet (39 meters)

Exoskeleton colour: Dark Olive Green

Skin colour: Olive tanned

Hair colour: Celadon

Eye colour: Amber

Other characteristics: Wears a smiley-face hairclip

Predation: Safe



Olive is a chilotaur who wanders nocturnally about the region of the Direwind Hills. Not having a specific home, she roams from place-to-place, traveling between the valleys of the hills and through the many undergound tunnels below the region. Her centipede half is an earthy green color, with brown legs and striped backward-facing sensory legs. She keeps her necklength celadon hair relatively messy, not seeing much need to keep it neat and straight.

Personality

Olive behaves like a neurotic optimist. To her, there isn't anything that doesn't have a silver lining and can't have a positive spin on it. If you tell her your wife got eaten, she'd reassure you that at she'd be happy you lived. Never does she want to leave anyone unhappy, so when confronted with a conflict between to people, her first instinct is to find a fair compromise between them. Letting one win and the other lose is unacceptable; both must walk away happy and satisfied.

Occasionally, when stressed or distraught in some way, a negative thought will enter her mind, but she immediately forces herself to think happy thoughts. In her mind, pessimism is off-limits, and under no circumstances should she give in to uncertainty. Her needless optimism comes as a surprise to many, but very few complain about a friendly giant like her to give them a hand.

Of course, that isn't to say there isn't anything that causes her to lose her composure. Like all chilotaurs, Olive feels incredibly uncomfortable under sunlight.The idea of going out into the heat and light of a sunny day makes her incredibly uneasy, and unbelievably reluctant. She typically wakes up in the twilight hours and remains active until dawn.

Very much unlike most other chilotaurs, Olive's tolerance to alcohol is incredibly weak. Just a few drinks of the highly potent stuff her brethren is known for, and she begins slurring and acting erratically. Olive is a very unpredictable drunk; she cycles through moods like no one has ever seen. She can be happy one minute, then be yelling at you, then start sobbing as she apologizes profusely, then start start flirting with you before returning to hapless joy. When meeting another chilotaur, she often wakes up the night after, with an aching head and no memory of that strange person she was sleeping beside.

She seems to be aware of her tendancy to drink a little too much, but never turns down the offer in order to not offend anyone she meets. Needless to say, she gets taken advantage of quite frequently.

History

Olive was the runt of three brothers and two sisters born underneath the Direwind Hills. Always given the short end of the stick by the rest of her family, she only really got along with her oldest sibling, her rather wise sister named Artemis. Is was she who gave Olive a piece of advice: No matter how bad life gets, fill your mind with happy thoughts. Always see the bright side of life. Ignore uncertainty and doubt, and focus on happiness. Live like this, and life won't be so bad. This piece of wisdom Olive held with her even after Artemis went out on her own. Without the eldest sibling to defend her, Olive's brothers and sisters picked on her as children. As they all matured past petty bullying and vacated the nest one by one, Olive held tighter and tighter to the idea of constant optimism even after it was her time to start her own life.

As an adult, Olive wandered the hills aimlessly, only stopping to eat, sleep, and see the sights. It was a rather meaningless gypsy life until she met a master cartographer. Having saved him from a Hillgak, the man agreed to teach her a little bit of mapmaking. He stayed with the chilotaur for several weeks, laying down the rules of making a decent map. When all was said and done, and the cartographer went on his way, Olive had found a purpose: to map out as much of the region as possible. Create a bunch of maps of everywhere she had visited. It was a lofty goal, but as optimistic as ever, she took it up without a second thought.

She met a wandering minstrel named Karl on an otherwise normal day. After rescuing him from bandits and carrying him toward his destination, he gave her a smiley mask as a token of his appreciation. Olive is seen proudly wearing this mask as a hair accessory.

One day, she encountered a neko who introduced himself as Stark. He was heading out of the Elifga Valley after a short break from adventuring. Being the kind chilotaur she is, Olive agreed to escort him across across the land for a bit. During this time, Stark told her many tales of his exploits as an adventurer. Olive quickly grew to like the grandiose anecdotes of seemingly impossible feats told by this extraordinary neko, and became quite the fan of Stark. The two still occasionally meet occasionally in the hills, and Olive is always eager to hear new tales of Stark's exploits.

Skills and Abilities

Olive is a novice but capable mapmaker. Using crude paper made from pant fibers and animal skins, she constantly records the land she roams and the tunnels she traverses. She keeps her work in a homemade bag made from a discarded stock of leather she had stumbled upon.

As a nocturnal being, Olive's night vision is superb. She can easily travel through low light situations without any doubt of what is around her. When absolutely no light is present, the feelers on her head and on the end of her long body let her get a sense of her surroundings.

Her poison, like all chilotaurs, plays a key role in her defense. After wrestling with a dangerous predator, she subdues it to the best of her ability before delivering several swift injections of venom. She prefers not to kill her aggressors, instead opting to weaken them enough for her to escape.

Feeding Habits

Olive is usually not a man-eater in anyway. People are just too fun and likeable to eat. She prefers to feed on frogs, goats, deer, and other small animals, typically swallowing them whole. She also enjoys munching on tree roots that stick out of the walls of the tunnels she hikes through. If the hunt goes badly and she's in real need of something in her tummy, she resorts to several less-than-appetizing things, like moss, leaves, tree bark, and grass. She's not real picky, but some things she just prefers to save for an emergency.

It's interesting to note that, when drunk enough, Olive may eat a human. It's typically a result of weakened inhibitions, and more often than not, she completely forgets that being eaten is fatal. If she drinks enough, and her stomach protests the large amount of alcohol, they usually come right back up, Olive often having forgotten she had eaten them in the first place.

Species: Giant Crystal Mermaid

Age: 101

Sex: Female

Length: 198 feet (60 meters)

Scale color: Azure

Fin color: Light Blue

Skin color: Bluish White

Hair color: Black

Eye color: Blue

Other characteristics: Gemstones under her eyes, on her belly, and down the front and back of her tail.

Predation: Safe


Lazuli is a cheerful crystal mermaid who lives in the Jewel River. She is a large individual with long, wavy black hair and pale skin. Her tail is a shiny blue with a greenish underside, and there are several blue crystals embedded on her body. When not out in the water, she takes residence in a crystalline cave near the bottom of the river, where she spends sleeping in the darkness.

Lazuli is gentle towards all sapient beings and enjoys the company of others, either human or predator. Of course, being a giant mermaid, smaller folks are generally uncomfortable around her. Lazuli's conversations are usually awkward and short. Throughout her encounters, she almost always remains oblivious to any sort of discomfort around her.

Like all crystal mermaids, she has the ability to use her voice as a powerful weapon, its force able to paralyze her prey for easy capture, though she typically avoids confrontations with other predators.


History


Lazuli was born to relatively normal parents in the Jewel River. From a very early age, she appeared to have issues with interacting with other mermaids; her conversations were typically one-sided and generally drove others away. She remained awkward for her entire childhood, her parents mostly unaware of any way to help her out. Naturally, she grew up just as awkward as she was as a fry, her ineptitude still largely unexplained by her peers.

As a young adult, her corner of the Jewel River was wracked by a massive storm. Lazuli, who happened to be out at the time, was thrown about by massive waves before being crashed against rocks and beached. As the storm passed, she remained, lying injured on a beach, unable to get herself into the water. As fate would have it, we was discovered by a team of kind, if not a bit naïve humans, who treated her wounds. The encounter gave her an obligation never to harm any humans or similar species.


Feeding Habits


Lazuli usually eats fish, big or small. When dealing with a large school of smaller fish, she will target them as they swim slowly nearby, then utilize her vocal blast to stun a large mass of them before swooping in and gulping down several mouthfuls. Lazuli may use this method when attacking larger fish, but she often prefers to chase them down and catch them with speed alone, something she can't do with schools due to their tendency to scatter.

While hunting, smaller mermaids who are aware of Lazuli's benevolence will often join her, eating what Lazuli misses while feeding.

Species: Neko

Age: 64

Sex: Male

Height: 6' 7" (2 meters)

Hair: White

Eyes: Dark Brown

Other Characteristics: Thick white beard, an especially bushy tail, always wears a red bandana.

Predation: Opportunistic

Food category: 2-5 inches. Prefers: Neeras

"I coul' live f'rever in deh city, lad, but why would I give up danger an' adrenaline fer a borin' life walled up in Negav!?"

Stark is a tall, muscular neko swordsman from the colder regions of Felarya. He has a rough and hardy body with thick, powerful limbs. His voice is deep and manly with a thick accent courtesy of his old community. His hairline appears to be receding, hence the red bandana. His left ear has a notch missing, and he has a light scar under his right eye. He wears a tight shirt over his torso, and a breastplate and pauldrons when he's out getting his hands dirty. On his belt is a buckle made in the likeness of a Tonorion.


History


Stark hails from a community of nekos from the northern part of Elifga Valley. Stark was one of four brothers born to the Grandelanc family. His father, eager to turn his children into skilled hunters, put the siblings through rigorous training to build their abilities. Hard labor, heavy lifting, and long hikes through the wilderness toughened them the siblings up as planned. Having been put through all sorts of hell by their old man, the four brothers quickly adapted to life as predators in the valley, hardening them as they grew to adulthood.

One day, the community found it self in the crosshairs of a troop of giant elves. The village was attacked, and many nekos were eaten, with only a small group of survivors escaping the catastrophe. Among the survivors were Stark and two of his brothers; the rest of their family had perished at the hands of the hungry predators. While two of the siblings chose to stick together and search for a new home, Stark decided to take his chances and head south into the wild jungles of Felarya.

After a long trek south, Stark discovered a group of humans wandering through the woods. Curious to the nature of their destination, he discreetly followed the travelers. They led him to a place that he never would have imagined: Negav. Adamant to get life back on track, he entered the walls of the city. Hoping to make a dime to keep himself fed, he took a cheap job as an escort. Using everything he learned from his father, he did his part in getting the man to his destination, jump-starting his career as a professional adventurer.

For his working life, he spent much time in the wilderness. He has been met with many triumphant successes, many unfortunate failures, and he looked death in eye countless times. He was never too cautious, going with the flow and trusting his instincts to keep him alive. He credits this as the key to his survival: "If yeh go aroun' overly cautious an' watchin' yer back all deh time, yeh're only askin' t'be eaten!" After many years, he travelled back to the Elifga Valley, and he settled in a small neko village in the center of the region, living there for several years. However, after being taken on a grand journey to Ur-Sagol, his need to explore was reignited, and he made his way back south to pick up where he left off.


Personality


Stark is a rugged fellow, but he's friendly and dependable. When a friend is in need, he'll be more than glad to help them get everything back together. When he's out in the wild, he often follows his gut when he's faced with a dilemma. Of course, that's not to say he doesn't use his head now and then; he's picked up a lot of info about the plants and animals of Felarya, and when it's reasonable, he applies that info readily. Stark also knows never to actually run out into the woods alone; he always goes with a party, although the results of that tactic are often highly variable.

Stark is known for being a big ham. He loves to tell stories of his past exploits as an adventurer. Of course, he tends to exaggerate the details of his tales. If he begins to tell the story of, say, when he encountered some sort of giant predator, expect him to tell about singlehandedly defeating the predator in some impossible fashion, posing dramatically over the corpse of the fallen pred as he smokes a cigar, getting the girl, and the like. Feelings tend to be mixed about this: Some find the tales entertaining despite their obvious falsehood, some only groan and try to ignore him, and some actually believe him! Regardless of who you are, though, expect to hear such a tale when travelling with Stark.


Combat


Stark is only a neko. He has no magic capabilities, and he has no extraordinary powers. He has only his swordsmanship, his neko reflexes, his predatory instincts, his knowledge of the wilderness, and his rugged manliness. Despite what his tall-tales may portray, he can't McGuyver his way out of a predator encounter, but when he needs to, he can carefully duck away and flee or, if the enemy is smaller and seems inexperienced, fight back. When deciding what course of action would be appropriate, he prefers, as mentioned, to follow his instincts, saving him valuable seconds to act.

Stories told by Stark that may or may not be true (Most likely all false):

-Stark allegedly singlehandedly defeated an Abyssal Tonorion using a cigarette lighter.
-Stark allegedly forced a Dryad to vomit.
-Stark allegedly broke a naga's jaw by standing up in its mouth.
-Stark allegedly travelled much further north than any maps show.
-Stark allegedly defeated an entire pack of Kensha Beasts.
-Stark allegedly rode a Sea Krait Naga through the ocean to distant continents. (which he refuses to describe)
-Stark allegedly convinced an Angel and a Demon to become friends. (In some variations, he describes them falling in love)
-Stark allegedly fought off a crew of bandits using a twig.

Name: Tarina

Species: Neko

Age: 29

Sex: Female

Height: 6 feet (1.8 meters)

Fur Color: Red

Skin Color: Lightly tanned

Hair Color: Red

Eye Color: Yellow

Other characteristics: Has a red Kensha Beast tattoo on her belly

Predation: Opportunistic

Food category: 2-5 inches. Prefers: Neeras



Tarina is a neko that lives in a small village in the Elifga Valley. Her hair is short and red, as is the fur on her tails and ears. She normally wears a single-strapped white tank-top and reddish jeans with a brown belt where she keeps her two daggers and a few vials of poison. Leather sandals are her footwear of choice, though she keeps boots on hand if she needs to walk through an especially large amount of snow or mud.

Tarina is generally a friendly neko; she enjoys having conversations with her peers, and will almost always help if asked for some sort of favor. She is also quite devoted to her family, and would go to great lengths to help it if anything happens.


History


Tarina was grew up in the neko village of Martell. As a young girl, she showed great interest in the wilderness. She spent a lot of her childhood wandering about outside the wooden walls of Martell, though not going to far, for obvious reasons. As she grew up, she began to collect various plants, mixing their fluids to achieve various effects, recording their qualities as she did so. At one point, she discovered that several plants, when mixed, result in a sort of numbing agent. This would become one of the types of poison she uses later in life.

As an adolescent, she received from her father a special gift: his two daggers along with holsters attached to a belt. After spending time to practice using them, she felt more confident in her short adventures in the valley. After a while, she found herself dipping the tips of her blades in the poisonous cocktails she concocted on occasion.

Growing up, Tarina had a close friend who would accompany her in her travels. Having the same spark for adventure as Tarina, the two of them would take long hikes through the valley, bringing home armfuls of plants in the process. On a particularly sunny day, the duo were particularly far from Martell. Tarina's friend ran toward a cluster of odd flora. She was suddenly lifted from the ground by some invisible force. Tarina only had a split second to watch the other neko fly into the mouth of a dryad before fleeing for her life. The traumatic experience left Tarina with an especially prevalent fear of dryads.

Later in life, she was hunting around the town. It was now when she discovered an emaciated male neko, wandering aimlessly through the forest. She relinquished to him a recently captured neera as she took him back to her home to help him recover. The neko was Slavlo, who had survived the destruction of a merchant's party for whom he was working. As Tarina helped him get back on his feet, the two nekos began to take a liking to each other. Having spent some time together, the two finally married, and have been with one another ever since.


Abilities


Tarina took much time to learn how to effectively wield her daggers. While she can't take down anything too much larger than her, she can easily repel those who aren't prepared to face her swift, elegant slashes.

She also often will coat the blades of her weapons in poison. She keeps two varieties; one is a liquid that will numb whatever part of the body the blade damages, whereas the other is a bit more direct in its effect, resulting in a feeling of illness and, if enough is administered, will end most human-sized targets. She rarely uses the latter poison in battle, and mostly keeps it just in case she finds herself in the stomach of a predator, where she will use it to spare herself the pain of digestion.