Nala

[Nala]

Nala Basic Information Race: Benshira Birthday & Age: 88th of Summer, 492 AV; 17 years of age Gender:Female Physical Description Nala stands at 5'5" tall, weighing around 145 pounds. She has wavy, dark brown hair that reaches her mid-back and bright blue eyes. Her skin is deeply tanned from her time in the sun, and she has a shapely dancer's physique, with rounded hips and strong, toned legs. She has multiple piercings in her ears, from the lobe to the cartilage. She normally wears a light traveling cloak, much like the tunic of her people while traveling over her normal clothes - a brown, ankle-length skirt and a short halter shirt that fastens behind her neck and a decorated scarf. She wears a band of copper bells on her ankles and on her wrists, along with small ones hanging from her earrings. Character Concept Nala, a dancer, is a young Benshira who is deeply concerned for the survival of the denizens of Ekytol. Risking her banishment and disowning herself from her family to spare them the humiliation of her betrayal and quest, Nala seeks to become a Raindancer and a champion of Makutsi to bring water back to the desert... knowing all the while what her people would say about no longer exclusively worshiping Yahal - knowing that a God places the heaviest burdens on those that can bear its weight. Character History When Nala was born, when her mother first held her in her arms... she had prophesied one thing after looking into her newborn's big blue eyes. She said that her daughter was full of water. Water, so rare in the desert, something so badly needed to survive. She thought her daughter was going to be special. Nala was the sixth-born, the the first girl after five boys, and the last child her mother would have. Some people said quietly that Nala had taken all of the water from her mother, and that was why she was no longer able to conceive. But if this overly bothered Beksha, Nala's mother, the woman did not show it. Instead, she devoted herself to looking after her family and her daughter, thankful that Yahal had finally saw fit to bless her with one. Nala was raised in Yahebah, where her father was a spice merchant and had a space in the Red Bazaar. It suited her well, being so close to the sea, and she thrived there. She was always following after her brothers, and she was always laughing, singing, and moving. She loved to dance, and her mother encouraged her. Water never waited, and water never sat still. You couldn't block it, because water could wear away stone given time. But you could guide it, and Beksha did her best in that regard, cutting paths and trying to keep her daughter within the straits she made. For the most part, Nala was an excellent, obedient daughter growing up, and all her mother could ask for. But sometimes she questioned others, and wondered why the dessert had so little rain. Did Makutsi ignore them because of their devotion to Yahal? She didn't stop asking these questions, and the more she asked, the more flustered her mother became. Where had her daughter gone? Discussions with the priests were in vain. Nala accepted their arguments and understood why the Benshira owed so much to Yahal, and while she respected Him, the water in her soul called her to someone else. Eventually, Nala had had enough. Her parents were talking of marriage, which she should have been happy with, but she couldn't find it in her heart to be happy with the prospect. Quietly taking her desertbred mare, Dimah, the teenager left the protective sanctum of Yahebah and struck out into Eyktol, vowing to some way, some how, to find Makutsi and bring the rain to the desert. Training (Skills, Arcana, Gnosis, Lore) Dancing: 25 Gladius: 15 Wilderness Survival: 10 Riding: 15 Lore: Edible Plants of Ekytol Lore: Makutsi Equipment and Possessions Blouse, skirt, shawl, leather boots, and cloak Waterskin Backpack Set of Toiletries 1 Eating Knife Flint and Steel Gladius Sword (Heirloom, from her Grandfather) 1 large tent (4 person) large tarp 100 ft of rope flint & steel lantern 2 torches bedroll blanket fishing tackle & hooks Desertbred mare Full set of tack Large set of saddlebags 4 copper bracelets with bells Copper earrings Brass Zills (Little cymbals worn on the fingers, one pair) Common Cosmetics Ledger Current: 95 GM Starting: 100 gold mizas -5 GM (Starting Purchases) Thread List