Sidhe of the Red Orchid

[Sidhe]

Sidhe of the Red Orchid

✨Appearance✨

Race: Myrian
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Birthday: 12th of Fall in the Year 494, A.V.
Birthplace: Taloba

Appearance: Standing on the taller end at 5'11" to 6'0", Sidhe possesses a rather lean build. His physique is on par with most average Myrian males (that is, stronger and more fit than the average human, but nothing incredible) and there is little else. His cocoa-brown skin lacks many of the scars that warriors have, which is to be attributed to his careful ability to dress and care for wounds, though there remains the scar over his heart: the single line that was cut into him as a babe, his blood used to water the flowering orchid that his clan is known for. And, like those in his clan who have been Blooded, the tattoo of the orchid remains upon his left palm, a permanent reminder of his heritage, though it has grown with the addition of his first Gnosis Mark from Rak'keli: the orchid has sprouted long, flowing vines that twist up his wrist, arm, shoulder, and neck, various smaller yet similarly colored orchids peppered throughout the vines.

Having known no great shame in life, he's left his wild hair and beard to grow free, the curly locks a wild testament of his life wreathed in the natural. Though he is no stranger to battle, he has but a single kill as a combat medic, and so his hair is left unadorned.

✨Character Concept✨

Sidhe is a Myrian healer. A warrior by blood but a medic by choice, Sidhe is one of the rarer of his kin that does not care much for combat. He will not hesitate to fight and he has never before, but while he brethren revel in combat and bloodlust, Sidhe is marginally more than indifferent and prefers his herbs and medicines to blades and blood.

The mortal body, to him, is a fascinating amalgamation of magic and Divine power, and having the knowledge and being able to aid its journey to recover from nearly any wound felt like both an honor and a privilege. It only furthered his want to learn more and become better when he could see those he helped help (as he wasn't a full healer, he only helped those who were until he was) fight in full condition.

✨Character History✨

Born of the Red Orchid, Sidhe has always been a herbalist at heart. While many of his kin were out playing warrior and listening to the stories of their elders, Sidhe spent his time learning how to care for his orchid from his mother or the orchid tenders. Of course, when the time came and he had to begin learning to fight from his father, he did so without complaint; after all, Myrians were warriors, and the Goddess-Queen would have all her people know how to fight. Yet still, he returned to the plants, to the herbs, to his orchid. It was only natural for him to seek education in medicine when he became a bit older and had to begin thinking about what he was going to do for a living.

Like all in the Red Orchid, Sidhe's coming of age trial was unique to him, as an individual, and his life-path, future, and aspirations. While most of the jungle's usable herbs had been harvested, there was a few more uncommon flora that only grew under the right conditions, making it difficult for anyone to have them in abundance. One such as the bloodcap mushroom, which only grew around and on dead bodies that held enough blood to sustain their growth. The very nature of the jungle's many fauna made it difficult to find a corpse that had stayed in one place, undisturbed, for a long enough time and had enough blood left. It took the young Myrian upwards of a week to find the body of an animal and, after moving it to a goodly location for the fungus to grow, he was only able to harvest one, which was enough for only a single user to cleanse one's blood.

While military service was required of all Myrian when they came of age, Sidhe took the time to continue learning medicine, only now in more stressful situations. While medics weren't exactly rare in the army, they weren't common, and much of Sidhe's time was spent learning how to quickly understand a wound and think of the best way to put a temporary dressing so that he could do a more in-depth fix when they made it back home. He felt it was an essential skill to have, but it slowed his growth in pure medicinal knowledge as he focused on becoming quicker with what he already knew.

This lack of knowledge growth, while superficial in nature in nature and could be rectified, caused an itch in the back of his mind. Around him, he saw his peers growing in combat skills and fighting knowledge while he simply grew better at the basics of his craft. He wanted to be better, he wanted to grow, but the military and the stress of combat stifled him to the point where, after his three years of required military service had completed, he took his first opportunity and left to Syka with a troop whose final destination was Riverfall.

✨Language✨

Fluent Language: Myrian
Basic Language: Common
Poor Language: Myrian Animal Calls

✨Skills✨

Skill	EXP	Total	Proficiency
Botany	10 SP	10	Novice
Herbalism	10 SP	10	Novice
Medicine	10 SP	10	Novice
Tracking	10 RB	10	Novice
Weapon: Dagger	10 SP	10	Novice
Wilderness Survival: Jungle	10 SP	10	Novice

✨Gnosis✨

Healing Level 1 :

"We could be in and out in under a day," Sidhe's Fang leader, Franu, acknowledged in Myrian. One of their scouts had recently returned with the knowledge that there was a small group of Dhani making their way through the jungle. It mattered little that they weren't traveling towards Taloba - snakes couldn't be trusted and were a danger to all life in Falyndar. Their conniving, deceitful ways could spell the end of a Myrian who entered the wrong clearing, and it wasn't something that any of the soldiers wanted to happen.

Truthfully, it also didn't help that the Fang had been without combat for quite a little while. They were bored with sparring each other, which often ended in stalemates or matches of pure strength as they became more and more bonded and understood each other's thinking and movements. At least, that's how it was for the other members of Sidhe's squad - most of the medic's time was spent tending to herbs, gathering them, and studying and dressing the small wounds that his squadmates often got on a daily basis.

It didn't make him any less bonded to them, just in a different manner. While it was true that Sidhe was most likely the weakest fighter, they knew that he had their back and would do his best to make sure they got home as healthy as possible, and he knew that they had his back to make sure that he wasn't bested and killed by an enemy.

"Then why waste time? I think we should move now," admitted one of Sidhe's more bloodthirsty peers, the captain's second-in-command, Akia. Both the captain and the second were formidable in their own right, and even more deadly when they fought together, but while his captain held a calmer, more logical disposition, her second was a far more bloodthirsty, fiery personality who enjoyed getting into real combat as often as possible. "I have been ready to move. Most of the others have been," Akia continued. She looked to Sidhe, "Do you have your things in order to move?"

The medic only nodded twice - once at her, and once at his backpack that was near the other's stuff. He had been ready since the captain sent the scout, as he knew that there was always a possibility that they would go engage an enemy on the scout's return. Or lack of return, as they would then have to hurry and embark on a rescue mission should he be lost. "My things are ready to move. I have prepared enough dressings for a good amount of wounds," Sidhe confirmed in Myrian, waiting for the returning jab that Akia often held. Since he had joined the Fang, his and the second's relationship had consisted of him saying he was ready to heal her, and her responding that she didn't need it.

"I don't think you should be wasting all that on the enemy's corpses," Akia rebuked with a small smirk, before turning back to Franu before he could respond. "Let's move, then. We want to take them out as soon as possible." With only a moment more of thought, Franu barked out orders and the Fang sprang into action, quickly getting their things ready for an excursion into the wilderness and, hopefully, a fight in the near future.

-----

A few sharp whistles piercing the air caused the captain's fist to quickly shoot into the air, the troops behind her quickly halting and drawing weapons, immediately on guard. Sidhe had his own serrated dagger out, though his eyes were quickly sizing up each member of his fang before flitting to the next. He wanted to be sure they were in perfect condition to fight immediately, as was his job. A few more animal sounds called out to the fang, the scout using the military's animal sound language to communicate with them. While he and the other new soldier were slow at deciphering the calls, his captain responded quickly back, as if they were having about to have a full conversation until a quick yell of pain came from the direction of the scout's calls.

"Forward," Franu shouted before she took off. It was only the natural (and trained) quick reflexes that caused all of the Myrians in tow to take less than a second to follow and remain in formation. "Here, here," the scout yelled, helping Franu better navigate to his position until they found three Dhani: two were in their full Dhani form and the last was disguised as a human. One of the Dhani had the scout's legs in its powerful grasp, blood almost gushing out of the wounds inflicted from the beast's claws. The scout was frantically trying to beat the Dhani away but he'd lost his weapon and his fists were far from effective.

Immediately Sidhe and Akia altered their course to the Dhani who held the scout while the others rushed the other two Dhani. Akia became a whirling dance of steel as she attacked the Dhani with her twin blades, causing the monster to drop the scout and retreat slightly, hissing in anger. Sidhe immediately rushed to the scout's side, sheathing his dagger and pulling off his backpack to retrieve a strip of leather he made for cutting off blood flow.

"What the petch are you doing, medic, help Akia," the scout screamed at him even as a gush of blood covered Sidhe's face. Despite the sudden attack of ichor, Sidhe calmly wiped the blood from his eyes and wrapped the tourniquet around the scout's upper leg, pulling tightly in an effort to stymie the blood and reduce the bleeding. "You need a tourniquet or you're going to bleed out," Sidhe quickly explained, not skipping a beat even as he spoke. He pulled the tourniquet tightly a few inches above the scout's knee, creating a simple overhand knot that could be undone without too much difficulty in the future.

He waited and watched the wound, waiting for signs that the bleeding had slowed. None presented themselves. It was the first time that day that Sidhe's heart began beating faster and faster and sweat slicked his brow. "Why isn't it stopping," he muttered to himself in Myrian as he pulled another strip of leather from his pack and tied it a bit higher than the first. The same pull, the same knot, the same waiting.

The bleeding didn't noticeably slow and now the first feelings of doubt set into his mind, his mind completely ignoring the combat around and behind him. This was the biggest wound he'd faced and the methods he was taught weren't working. "Shurak," he needed the tourniquet tighter, yet he didn't know how he could get it tighter than he had it...

"You need something for torsion," a soft, calm voice whispered into his ear. He started slightly, looking towards the source to find a kind, smiling face looking at him. He had never seen this woman before, but she radiated pure power, enough that the hairs on the back of Sidhe's neck stood on end. He wanted to reach for his dagger, he wanted to try and fend this random woman off enough though he felt far outclassed, but... He simply couldn't let go of the leather on the scout's leg, he couldn't do anything until he was sure the man was fine.

"You can use a stick to make the tourniquet even tigher. It will stop the blood flow better than you pulling it on your own," she said as she glided past him to place a suspiciously straight stick on top of the first knot, tying another overhand knot to keep the stick in place. She looked back at the suddenly shocked medic and nodded to the stick, "Twist it."

As if his body was controlling itself, he quickly reached forward and turned the knotted stick over and over until he could see the blood flow slowing, slowing, slowing until it was no more than a trickle. She put her hand on his, the purity of her power shocking him to his core through that light, barely tangible touch. "Careful. You have tightened it enough, you don't want to overdo it."

He nodded as he held the stick and untied the second piece of leather, using it to the tie the end of the stick to the scout's leg, who had long since fell unconcious from the pain. "Good," she smiled at him, causing his heart to skip a beat. "I am sure you will not forget how to do this, Sidhe," she said, before laying a hand on the scout's leg. Sidhe was instinctively ready to shout when she did, but he could feel the warmth and the light from her hand even though it hovered over the mangled leg. "But he will be fine, regardless. It is difficult for anyone to walk away from the Goddess of Healing harmed," she teased as she moved her hand, revealing a completely healed, scarless leg.

"Sidhe! Franu needs some attention," Akia called over, snapping his attention back to the rest of his surroundings. The fighting had stopped and, as he turned his head, he could see the three Dhani lying dead where they once stood. The warriors of his Fang were covered in blood, but none of them had any sort of pressing wounds more than his captain, who had a large but somewhat shallow gash on her forearm. He quickly turned his head back to the woman, but she was gone, the only remnant of her power was the fading warmth in the air and the miraculously recovered leg.

"I'm fine, focus on him," Franu snapped, even as Sidhe rushed over with his bag to pull out a bit more leather and some cloth. "He's.... He's healed," Sidhe struggled as he carefully dressed her wound. It was an easy one that took him no more than a minute. "And you should be fine, though don't move it too much."

Franu said nothing as she peered at him, drawing his still-wide, shocked eyes. His heartbeart hadn't slowed even after the woman, the healer, had disappeared, and he hoped his captain couldn't hear it. He felt like she could. "Are you okay," she asked.

"Yes."

-----

Back in Taloba, Sidhe carefully placed a bit of new material into his pack. It was dusk now, and they'd made it back safely with everyone still alive, though the scout would need looking after by people who knew more than he did. He had gathered a few sticks as they made their way back, dodging the questions his fangmembers asked him.

He held a few of them in his grasp now, staring hard at the small bundle. Why had she come? Was she ever going to come to him again? Did Myri know? Did Myri care? More and more and more questions began spiraling around his head until his head ached but he hadn't moved, hadn't stopped staring at the sticks in his hand until that soft, calm, kind voice utterly rocked him yet again.

"I've been watching you," she said from behind him. He didn't feel scared. Nor did he feel the normal type of startled, the startled you get from the kids throwing around those popping plants for pranks. But he felt like he couldn't breathe, like he shouldn't breathe. He could feel her eyes as sweat began dripping down his forehead and his heart began pounding. "A-are... Are you Rak'keli?" It was only a suspicion he'd come during their trek back to Taloba, but it was one he felt certain was correct.

"I am."

Should he kneel? Should he kiss her hand? The unknowing of simple etiquette shook him to inaction and so he just stood there for what seemed like an eternity, the sticks still in his hand. It was only about a second that he stood there before she said, kindly, "Come, sit with me."

Fresh air rushed into his lungs as if it were his very first. It was simply four words but they the words he needed to hear to relax even a little, to know that he wasn't simply going to be obliterated, even if Rak'keli obliterated anyone, ever. He set the bundle down and walked over to near where she sat, taking the chair across from her. His heart still drummed away in his chest and sweat still slicked his forehead like a rock near a waterfall, but the shock was slowly wearing off. He liked her presence.

"You have been training in my domain since you were a boy," she started. She spoke it into fact, and he could do nothing but nod. "I have watched you grow as a man, as a warrior, and more importantly, as a healer." She smiled, "Why do you do it?"

His mind went blank as she asked. Why did he do it? Why had he started healing, caring for plants, caring for people? What was it that drew him so inexplicably to healing wounds instead of curing them?

"Because," he started, yet did not continue. After the first word, he simply did not know what to say. He'd never thought about it, but now that he was trying to, wracking his brain brought no answers. And with no answer, came the blank, earnest stare into Rak'keli's eyes. "I don't know. It's just what I do, what I'm... Meant to do," he ventured. The Troika, the Head of his Clan, had said something similar on the day of his Blooding. Healing was what he was meant to do. And there was nothing more to it.

He was afraid this would cause anger in the Goddess, yet she simply beamed even brighter, as if his answer were the only one she would accept. He knew it was okay from that smile, that smile that caused his own lips to smile. She didn't say it and neither did he, but he knew that his answer was perfect, and it was his and only his answer.

"Don't change, my precious orchid," she said as a comforting warmth enveloped his left arm and his neck. He looked down as the orchid on his palm grew, sprouting vines that twisted and turned up his arm, up to his neck. Rak'keli swirling, opal symbol curled itself into the center of his original orchid tattoo.

Astonished, he gasped and looked up at Her to find Her gone, the chair empty and himself alone. Yet he didn't feel alone.

✨Lores✨

Botany: Poisonous Herbs Near Syka
Medicine: Triaging Wounds

✨Possessions✨

1 Set of Clothing
-Simple Shirt
-Simple Pants
-Simple Undergarments
-Simple Coat
-Simple Boots
1 Waterskin
1 Backpack which contains:
-Comb (Wood)
-Brush (Wood)
-Soap
-Razor
-Balanced Rations (1 Week's worth)
-1 eating knife
-Flint & Steel
-1 large tent (4 person)
-large tarp
-100 ft of rope
-flint & steel
-lantern
-2 torches
-bedroll
-blanket
-fishing tackle & hooks
-herbalist/botanist kit
-cold iron dagger
-scabbard, dagger
-field healer's kit
-healer's kit

Heirloom: Sidhe's heirloom is a rather rough journal that was kept by the herbalist who began teaching him how to use the jungle's bounty to heal. Only about half full of notes, maybe a little more, the woman who gifted it to him before he left Taloba told him to fill it with herbs and their uses from lands of faraway places, as she was becoming too old and too needed in Taloba to be able to fill it herself. He follows the book's notes on various herbs almost religiously, as she was a healer of great renown in their Clan and in the city.

✨Housing✨

Location: Syka

House: A large tent near the Syka Commons

✨Ledger✨

Purchase	Cost	Total
Starting	+100 GM	100 GM
Sold Horse	+250 GM	350 GM
Toolkit, Herbalist/Botanist	-20 GM	330 GM
Cold Iron Dagger	-6 GM	324 GM
Scabbard, Dagger	-2 GM	322 GM
Healer's Kit	-50 GM	272 GM
Field Healer's Kit	-55 GM	217 GM

✨Thread List✨

- From the Jungle (26th of Winter)
- Level 1 Cure Wounds (29th of Winter)

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