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Xihi lahat K'arrrh, He-Who-Laughs-in-the-Dark

Started by allthekingsmen, January 26, 2021, 06:45:47 PM

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allthekingsmen

QUICK STATS

Name: Xihi lahat K'aerrh (matronymic first), but everyone mispronounces it, so you could probably call him "Bob McJorgensen" and he'd be all exasperated and say, "Yes, that's me, Bob McJorgensen." Some called him K'ae.
Age: 106 summers, but he looks around 23
Gender: Male (he/him, but he doesn't really care if other pronouns are used)
Species: Ehaegi (a crude homemade species of mine that I will mold to fit into this universe and rules)
Ethnicity: Ehae-lun Ehaegi
Height: ~6'4", or 193.04 cm
Occupation: Blade-for-hire, whether it be for bodyguarding, item retrieval, mercenarism, or whatever. So long as there's money, he'll probably take the job.
Residence: Wanderer; he doesn't tend to stay in the same spot for long. However, he used to live with his little Ehaegi group in the outreaches of Ravensway where they tried to live without the hands of authority wringing their necks.

IN-DEPTH STUFF

Physical Description: K'ae is a tall, lanky-looking dude, but with a considerable amount of dry, sculpted muscles tacked onto his form. While he's 6'4" and has the build of an acrobat or gymnast (albeit a little bit softer-looking underneath his many layers of clothing), and can seem very intimidating, he weighs suspiciously little for a man of his size—only about 120 lb.

He has light skin with warm undertones, indicative of distant seh-solae ancestry, as well as a small button nose and sharp, monolidded eyes with long lashes. His irises are normally a deep, dark blue, like the night sky, but glow a bright neon blue once the environment turns dark. His pupils are thin slits that dilate as needed, and are normally black until it gets dark, in which they turn a fluorescent yellow, pale and bright as the moon. He has tousled, straight black hair that is always noticeably uneven but kept short (upper-mid neck, with parts of his choppy hair flopping over his mask and covering the tops of his slightly pointed ears). His expression is usually very stoic, if a little bit curious or biting at times, but his face rarely betrays what he thinks (he's really not thinking about killing someone... honestly, he's probably thinking about dinner).

He has a variety of tattoos and scars, most tattoos appearing on him at birth and many scars as a result of ritualistic scarring. Despite all these interesting features, they are rarely seen—like almost every Ehaegi who grew up within that culture, K'ae wears a mask at all times unless alone or with solely people that he trusts deeply. Such a mask is blank, a signature of the Qel-Aehran, or warrior-class Ehaegi assassins, with deep grooves and thin cracks patched up with still-growing moss. Most times, you can only see the lights of his eyes spilling through in the dark or little peeks of his jaw and cheeks when he slightly lifts it to eat.

As for clothing, K'ae oftentimes wears dark colors, with a nin-aihra (single-piece Ehaegan undergarment) that stretches from his upper neck to the very ends of his wrists and ankles underneath a black tunic, stiff black militaristic-style jacket with five silver stars pinned to the high collar that covers his throat and stops at his hips, and a deep, dark, thick cloak that he discards for hot weather. His pants are also stiff and black, while his riding boots are a dark, dusty gray. He wears tight-fitted leather gloves on each hand and carries one hatchet at each side, along with a hunting knife buckled to his right hip, a tightly-coiled whip at his left, and small, miscellaneous blades strapped to many other places on his body (because you can never be too prepared!).

Personality: K'ae prefers to stay silent, watching rather than speaking, but he also believes that actions speak louder than words—if there's a scuffle, there's a fifty-fifty chance of him either watching from afar or quickly jumping in to break it up without a word. That isn't to say that he's mute, though; he can speak, but prefers to communicate through nonverbal means, instead—his voice is very... special, after all. K'ae is usually stoic and nonreactive, but he usually isn't all that mean unless he loses his temper, in which hell freezes over. Comes off as mysterious and brooding and very intimidating (have you ever heard his laugh? My gods...), but is actually an oblivious dork who tries to help innocent people (though his methods may not be tasteful to all). With a heart still broken by a past love, he is hesitant to get close to others, but his heart is strong despite the fractures.

Magic/Abilities:


       
  • As expected of an Ihae boy like him, K'ae was raised as an assassin from a young age and has exceptional combat prowess (primarily close-range, but he is still a cut above the rest regarding mid- and long-range combat). A prodigy even amongst his highly skilled peers, K'ae is most proficient with the double-hatchets, the whip, the knife, the hooked swords, and the weighted chain, but has been taught to reliably use the environment and any resources to his advantage.

       
  • As an Ehaegi, he has exceptional long-range eyesight and nightvision.

       
  • Since Ehaegi are descended from the fae, if K'ae tries hard enough, he can weave very basic illusions, but it heavily drains him. Conscious magic was never his strong suit. Oof, he got whipped a lot for that.

       
  • K'ae thrives in the night—that is to say, he can draw power from the moon. Depending on its stage, his strength, speed, and overall power is increased—the fuller the moon is, the more power he gets. It works the best if the moonlight can strike his skin, but if the moon is simply present, that works, too.

    However, during the new moon (or stages such as a thin waning crescent), he is left with little to no lunar assistance. If it's a very cloudy night or he's underground, his power from the moon also diminishes. Despite this, he's still a very capable fighter, but if you really need an advantage, lock him up deep underground during a new moon and you can be sure that he gets no help from the moon whatsoever.

       
  • One of his marks of the wild, which is a nightingale's voice, could benefit him. His voice will sound extremely alluring to all—that is, his voice is universally beautiful. While not charged by magic, one will feel more inclined to listen closely to what he says, follow his instructions, and overall be swayed by his voice. Yes, this does affect those not attracted to men, because it's not on a basis of romantic or sexual attraction—it's somewhat like how everyone can agree that Whitney Houston was a fantastic singer. This power is boosted when he is very emotional, but he rarely shows his feelings, so this is quite the uncommon thing.

    Though this is a strong power, earplugs and/or a gag can easily negate this. Some other things that can stop him are a sore throat, getting sick/coughs/sneezes, choking him, using silencing magic, and more. Also, those with strong wills can resist him—it's a strong inclination to do something or listen closely, not an actual command or forcing of someone to do a certain task. Besides, he's very hesitant to use his voice because he feels as though it's immoral; one can go for years without hearing him speak. This ability strictly applies to his voice, too; sign language, writing, and body language are not affected by it.

       
  • His second and final mark of the wild is a wolf's olfactory sense. Basically, he's got a really great sense of smell. Strong smells can easily overwhelm him, though.
Relationships:


       
  • Hmilo lahat Beathas - his father. A healer of the Ihae caste. Very distant from him, because K'ae was primarily raised by his mentor (Xihi, whom he took a new name from) and his father was always off dealing with work. He didn't seem to have much love for his son, either. Likely deceased.

       
  • Lluga lahal Khanai - his mother. A lower-grade magic user that entertained nobles. A little closer to him, but still distant, considering the fact that Xihi primarily raised him. Likely deceased.

       
  • Maqo lahal Stina - his younger sister. A young lady who had just recently become an assassin specializing in poisons. Likely deceased.

       
  • Khanai lahat Ulkh - his younger brother. A little boy too young to have his first mask. Likely deceased.

       
  • Xihi - his mentor. Raised him like her own son (albeit very strictly) and trained him to be a fine-tuned killing machine. While she failed to properly raise him on many accounts, she did care for him, though she also accidentally preached too much about their "former glory" and now he's got a fair bit of lies ringing around his head.
History:

Born into the Ihae caste of the just-barely-clinging-onto-life Ehaegi society, Xihi lahat K'aerrh was born as Khanai lahat Orrkh before he took his new name during his coming-of-age ceremony. The little settlement he was born in was little more than a tiny group of homes, and he was sent to a slightly-larger settlement in the mountains that made the Serendipity-Connlaoth border so that he could learn more about the art of assassination, once an honorable occupation among his people. There, he was schooled in all what "proper Ehaegi" must know—mathematics, poisoncraft, magic, barehanded combat, weaponry, history, and even literature, among other things. Though he was far less than a star student in all of these subjects, he was definitely a prodigy regarding fighting and strategy, and quickly became a favorite of his group's mentor, Xihi.

Xihi, while certainly a good teacher, was prone to accidentally preaching about the "great golden days of our beautiful people." Lies, however unintentional, were pounded into K'ae's brain about his people's history.

"We were kings once, boy," she would say, bitterly wiping down her spear. "Kings and queens and gods among men. We bowed to none but those we knew as our own deities, bent the knee to only those deemed worthy of the kneel of an Ehaegi. You do not remember our gleaming cities, our bountiful wealth. You know none of it. Soon, those intruding bastards, those foreign devils who stole our land and stripped away our culture... they will feel the wrath of our blades once more. I swear it."

Of course, what Ehaegi history that was saved is likely heavily altered, and there are only a few alive that remember the "good old days," if they ever were true, and it's likely that the history of the Ehaegi will never be truly rediscovered. Despite this, K'ae ate this all up like buttered bread, becoming stronger and more determined to revive his people.

He came across many strange things after graduating from his assassin school, but none so strange as Ynai, an orphaned healer of Ehaegi descent who made his living in Serendipity, maskless and speaking in the common tongue. After a while, they fell in love...


But good things never last forever, do they? Ynai was a thief and con by heart, and once he'd gotten bored of K'ae, he stole everything that fit into his arms and skipped town.

Nowadays, K'ae takes up odd jobs relating to his best (and really only) talents, slowly trying to trace Ynai's path to take back his treasured things—well, treasured thing. Oh, and probably make friends, too, because while he's still very wary... well, it gets lonely out there, and K'ae hasn't met many truly kind people.

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I'm under 18, but allowed on SotE because I was around before the rule was made. That being said: I won't be participating in mature content RPs for the time being, but I'm super happy to write other stuff!