Ari'Yahal

[Ari'Yahal]

Ari'Yahal, of the tents of Keshet, of the sons of Havid Picture cred to ~Josslen @ http://www.deviantart.com Basic Information Race: Human, Benshira Birthday & Age : Sixth day of Winter, 482 A.V. (29) Gender: Female Physical Description Ari'al is of average height (5'6''), but her proud bearings make her seem much taller than she is. She's no wilting Syliran lily – her body is athletic and muscled after all her hard work caring for livestock. Ari'al knows that to be confident, you must make yourself look the part, and she walks like a queen with her head held high. Like most Benshiran women, her braided hair is long and dark. Its coarse curls often give her difficulty, but it doesn't bother her too much because she's practical and understands that trying to keep her hair smooth and soft in the middle of the desert is nigh-on impossible. She enjoys cosmetics when she can use them, and wore them every day when she lived in Yahebah, but can't afford them anymore. Her large green eyes are often half-lidded against the wind of the Eyktolian desert, and the planes of her face are angular and sharp, as if carved by the rigors of the wilderness. Ari'al wears typical Benshiran clothing: a long dun-colored tunic, tied at the waist, with leggings underneath and a black headscarf around her head and shoulders. Character Concept Living the majority of her life in the deserts of Eyktol has hardened Ari'al. She is bitter about the betrayal of her late husband, Malachi, whom she loved, and is hesitant to trust again. She's fiercely protective of her young son, Raziel, as he is the only family she's got left. Ari'al can be laconic and brusque if you try to talk with her, and she doesn't suffer fools kindly. She's quick to pull out her shortbow and protect herself, her son, or her horse, whom she values highly. Ari'al doesn't trust magic (this includes Kelvics) or most higher learning, thinking that it makes a person complacent. She is also suspicious of non-human races, never having been exposed to many of them. Ari can act brash and angry if she doesn't get her way, which arises from being an only child and having most of her desires granted by her parents. However, past her hard outer shell, Ari'al wishes she could settle down in peace. She rarely, if ever, reveals this part of herself to anyone. Character History Ari'al was born to Joachim, eldest son and heir of Havid. Her mother, Moriya, was thirty-five at the time of her conception; she and Joachim had been married fifteen years and did not expect, after all that time, to have any children. However, Moriya prayed faithfully to Yahal at every sunrise, and at last she was rewarded by a daughter, whom she named Ari'Yahal: lion of Yahal. Ari'al, as she came to be known, was beloved by both her mother, who taught her faith and patience, and her father, who taught her courage and resilience. As the only child, she was both a son and daughter to her parents, and learned to dance, sing, wield a bow, and ride a temperamental Eyktolian Desertbred. Joachim refused to bow to tradition and, although Havid protested, named Ari'al his heir despite her feminity. Havid, who had raised the family from nothing to a reputable family of horse breeders and farmers when he settled his tents on an oasis in the Eyktolian desert, believed that a woman would not be capable of carrying on his legacy. However, when Ari'al was eighteen, Joachim was killed by a yukman and she was married off to Malachi, a Yaheban son of Rapa. She expected to hate her new life with a passion, but was pleasantly surprised when she discovered that Malachi was handsome, intelligent, and kind. For seven years she lived with him in Yahebah, enjoying her life as a priest's wife and growing famous for her powers of song and dance. After several years without conceiving, she began to wonder if she was, like her mother, almost barren; but when she was twenty-four, she bore Malachi a son, Raziel. After his birth, it stung all the more when the following year, Malachi was caught committing adultery with a prostitute. The morning after Malachi had been entombed with the adder, the stone was rolled away and his dead body was found riddled with poison. Disgraced to be associated with one who had fallen so far in society, Ari'al fled Yahebah with her young son, convinced that anywhere else would provide a better life for him. First she visited the oasis where she had grown up, Jamilah, where she found her grandfather Havid still alive and the reigning patriarch. Ari'al refused to tell Havid of the scandal Malachi had caused in Yahebah, knowing that if he found out he wouldn't allow her asylum in Jamilah. For two years they lived in an uneasy peace, and Havid, who had had no sons except for Ari'al's father Joachim, reluctantly named Raziel his heir. Every day he asked his granddaughter what had caused her to flee Yahebah, and every day she sat silent, refusing to answer. But he eventually discovered his late grandson-in-law's misbehavior and declared that the son of such a man was unfit to be his heir. He arranged another marriage for Ari'al near the cursed city of Eloab, and when she discovered his plans she fled again, this time into the wilderness of the desert. She and Raziel have lived the life of solitary nomads for two years, living in uneasy peace with the Chaktawe tribes they encounter. At heart, Ari'al wishes she could go home to either Yahebah or Jamilah, or at least settle down in one place to raise her son, but she doesn't see that happening. Training (Skills, Arcana, Gnosis, Lore) Skills Dance: 15 Singing: 10 Riding: 15 Weapon (Shortbow): 10 Horsemanship: 5 Wilderness Survival (Desert): 10 Lores Lore of Being Betrayed by one's Husband Lore of Becoming a Mother Languages Fluent in Shiber Basic in Common Poor in Tawna Companions Raziel, of the tents of Keshet, of the sons of Rapa (5 years old); an intelligent and curious child who possesses more of his father's qualities than Ari'al would like. Raziel : Equipment and Possessions 1 set of Ari'al's clothing: long tunic, belt, leggings, undergarments, headscarf, sandals 1 set of Raziel's clothing: long tunic, sash, sandals, undergarments, headscarf 1 basic set of medical supplies 1 large tent 1 large tarp 100 feet of rope flint & steel a lantern 2 torches 2 bedrolls 2 blankets fishing tackle & hooks full set of tack saddlebags 1 Eyktolian Desertbred: Zefirah, 15hh 1 shortbow 20 shortbow arrows Ari'al's wedding dress from her marriage to Malachi: an elaborate tunic of fine red fabric and a gem-encrusted belt and headscarf, along with a matching necklace given to her by Malachi Ari's Wedding Clothes : Ledger 100 gold-rimmed mizas -16 silver-rimmed mizas (extra blanket/bedroll/clothing for Raziel) -31 gold-rimmed mizas (shortbow and arrows) -5 gold-rimmed mizas (basic medical supplies) -5 gold-rimmed mizas (summer living expenses) ___________________ 58 gold mizas, 84 silver mizas Thread List The Wanderer's Kinship [Dhanya, Hirem] - 41st of Summer, 510 A.V. In which Ari'al and Raziel meet Hirem, Ari and Dhanya get off to a rocky start, and Ari finds it necessary to return to Yahebah. Completed. Digging Up the Past [Hirem] - 56th of Summer, 510 A.V. In which Hirem and Ari'al dig a grave, share a meal, and discuss their pasts. [Keerdash Grove] Amongst the Trees [Hirem, Aman] - 65th of Summer, 510 A.V. In which Ari'Yahal, Hirem, and Raziel go out on patrol for the caravan and find more than they had bargained for. Catching Sight of the Future [Dhanya, Hirem, Aman] - 72nd of Summer, 510 A.V.