Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Exotic Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Crash on 26-02-2015, 05:33:24</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>26-02-2015, 05:33:24</strong>
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				<div align="center">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/a/a2/Shaib.png)</div><br><br><strong>Character Sheet</strong><br><br><div class="codeheader">Code: <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return smfSelectText(this);" class="codeoperation">[Select]</a></div><pre style="margin: 0; padding: 0;"><code class="bbc_code">[floatright][img height=400 padding=8]&lt;insert image&gt;[/img][/floatright][b]Name:[/b]<br>[b]Player:[/b]<br>[b]Concept:[/b]&nbsp; &lt;A short description about who you are:&nbsp; Cunning Wizir, Dashing Rogue, Dervish of the Sakir Clan, Sand Mage of the Wandering Wastes, Marid-Blooded Merchant, Domadh Lionbrother, Nafasi Questing Warrior&gt;<br>[b]Trouble:[/b]&nbsp; &lt;Everyone has a trouble. It could be addiction, troublesome family, owing money to the wrong people, arranged marriage, whatever&gt;<br>[b]Sex:[/b]<br>[b]Age:[/b]<br>[b]Orientation:[/b]<br>[b]On’s:[/b]<br>[b]Off’s:[/b]<br>[b]Race or People:[/b] <br><br>[b]Appearance:[/b]<br>Hair:<br>Eyes:<br>Height:<br>Weight:<br><br>[b]Description:[/b] &lt;Text, Images or Both&gt;<br><br>[b]One Unique Thing:[/b] &lt;Tell me one unique thing about your character.&nbsp; This shouldn't be anything powerful.&nbsp; Just something Unique about you&gt;<br><br>[b]Personality:[/b]<br><br>[b]Skills:[/b] &lt;Give approximately 5 skills your character is good at&gt;<br><br>[b]Residence:[/b] &lt;Tent, house in Sha'ib, Shop...etc&gt;<br><br>[b]History:[/b] &lt;At least 3 paragraphs&gt;<br><br>[b]Equipment:[/b]<br><br></code></pre>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Paladin101</strong> on <strong>26-02-2015, 05:40:49</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/103/5/7/zephyr_guard_by_jasonengle-d4w2e6o.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Rashid dar-Fariq dar-Abhir dar-Bashir<br><strong>Player:</strong>Paladin101<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; A devout dervish of Upuaut. He serves often as a guide for caravans going to or from Sha’ib as a way to both make money, and to help keep the lines of communication open between the Tribes and the City. <br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; He killed the son of a powerful Hadaree Wizir when he discovered him and a band of his friends despoiling an ancient temple of Upuaut that had been buried beneath the sands. The Hadaree were taking the offerings which had been left for Upuaut, and intended to take them back to town. Rashid did not allow this, and now there is a powerful wizir who holds a powerful grudge. <br><strong>Sex:</strong> Male<br><strong>Age:</strong> 30<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Straight<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Strong, independent women,oral, teasing, romance, light bondage(giving and receiving)<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Anything bathroom, humiliation or high pain related. <br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Bedu<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: black<br>Eyes: green<br>Height:5’10”<br>Weight:170 lbs<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> <br>Rashid is a slender, well muscled man whose body has been honed and weathered by years of traveling the Great Dune Sea. He keeps his beard as well trimmed as he can on the road, often looking nicer when he is visiting town. He has a number of scars along his arms, torso and legs from years of facing the dangers of the desert, and facing down those who threaten the freedom of the Bedu. <br>(http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5700000/Kingdom-Of-Heaven-kingdom-of-heaven-5751717-400-225.jpg)<br><br>Armor/Attire<br>(http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/103/5/7/zephyr_guard_by_jasonengle-d4w2e6o.jpg)<br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> Rashid believes Upuaut speaks to him on the wind sometimes, and wil often go to the highest point he can reach to whisper his prayers into a passing windstorm. <br><br><strong>Personality:</strong> Rashid is a man who finds joy in the simple things, a beautiful sunset, a crisp apple, a beautiful woman, all of these are blessings he enjoys whenever he can. He believes in finding what joy he can in each day, as he never knows where tomorrow’s journeys will take him, and this often makes it hard for him to make lasting friends. But those friends he does make find him to be a loyal friend who will travel the length of the Dune Sea to come to their aid. <br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Dervish magic, desert survival and tracking, swordplay(scimitar and dagger), cartography, archery (short recurved bow)<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong>&nbsp; A tent he carries on his trusty camel, or when in Sha’ib he has a favorite house he will occupy in the more deserted parts of the city. <br><br><strong>History:</strong> <br>Born to the Bashir clan of the Bedu, Rashid was never destined to be an important man. His father was a simple soldier, and the Bashir clan had never been one of the more powerful clans of the Bedu. Yet Rashid found pleasure in the life of a soldiers son, and was a happy youth, brave and bold as he often would strike out into the desert around the camp of his tribe without his parents permission. On one such journey he became lost in a sandstorm, and managed to find shelter in a ruin half buried beneath a dune. He would later learn that the ruin he sheltered in was an ancient temple to Upuaut. As he hid in the temple, he heard a voice whispering to him, telling him what to do to survive. When the storm passed the voice was still speaking, talking to him about the wonders to be found by taking such chances, by striking out, and searching the world for new sights. <br><br>So began his worship of Upuaut. Soon after he saw a dervish engage a band of outsiders who were trying to raid the caravan his family was traveling with. He became fascinated by the way the twisting, turning combat of the scimitar wielding dervish resembled the flowing movement of Upuaut's wind. He managed to convince a dervish to train him, and dedicated himself to the art of the dervish. In every flowing movement of his body he saw the winds of Upuaut, and devoted himself to becoming a living embodiment of Upuaut's will. He trained hard for years, until he was eighteen summers old, and was told he was a man, and was to begin his own personal journey. <br><br>Rashid set out, determined to map and explore as much of the Dune Sea as he could. For six years he traveled the Dune Sea without pause, and without returning once to a place he had been before. The maps he made were of fine quality, and he found many small grottos and places of beauty in his journeys. Returning home, he discovered his parents had died in a raid from outsiders who broke the laws of hospitality. The Bashir tribe was weakened and in need of a form of wealth. Rashid offered to go guide trade caravans from the city to the tribe, something that had been hard for them as the Bashir tribe rested deep in the desert. The tribe agreed, and ever since, for six months of the year, Rashid has served as guide to caravans going to and from the depths of the Dune Sea. <br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br><br>Scimitar, curved dagger, 5 throwing daggers, rhino horn recurve shortbow, quiver of 20 arrows, longspear(used as a walking stick and good against charging beasts), armor, camel (named Turuq), several waterskins, travel rations, cartography equipment, Scrollcase containing copies of most of the maps he has drawn), small amount of money, tent, standard travel gear (such as rope, whetstones, etc)
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				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Dhi</strong> on <strong>26-02-2015, 16:18:58</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/62/232675_1317007030_orig.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Farrah bint Khaleel<br><strong>Player:</strong> Dhi<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; Water cop<br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; The greatest offenders to water waste are also the wealthiest citizens of Sha'ib. Farrah's maternal uncles are a constant trouble.<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Female<br><strong>Age:</strong> Mid-20s<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Lesbian<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Water, charity, philosophical absolutes, intelligence, also this filth (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=114205)<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Classism, injustice, corruption, being praised on appearances<br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Hadaree <br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Dense, warm brown, worn short to a warrior's needs<br>Eyes: Honey hazel with epicanthal folds called "slant-eyed"<br>Height: 5'10"<br>Weight:&nbsp; 172 lbs (200 fully armored)<br><br><strong>Description:</strong><br><div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/c/cb/Paladin_by_sonellion-d6apsni_left.png)</div>Comfortable within armor, confident without by merit of acuity and trained fitness alone, Farrah carries only the lion cub's instincts of her proud warrior heritage, but rarely does a man speak past her. Chapped lips have weathered the hot desert with little luxury, suffered damage as a woman raised by her father, apart from the secret techniques of Sha'ib women. Dense, dusty brown hair would be full of vibrant body if she allowed it to grow out, but the bright jewels of her eyes are far too irreverent, the twist of a smile on her soft features too self-satisfied, to ever fit into that mold. This model of the stalwart nomad's wife has become defective through urban living and broken home, and she will never be like her mother's mother- she is a different beast entirely.<br><br>Her style, in dress, is drab and rust and ready for the mud, but so often it is not her choosing what to wear, and her shoulders shift uneasily in her kaftans, her butterfly abaya, her priestly bisht, and any kind of perfume is beyond her. Instead she carries the incidental scents of hot evaporation, mud-brick dust, and the quietly restrained strength of a body trained for war but put upon the path of peace.<br><br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> At night Farrah dreams of an age long ago when all the Great Dune Sea was enveloped in frozen water. The meaning of these troublesome dreams is unclear.<br><br><strong>Personality:</strong> A conscientious girl with an ascetic father grew into an idealist, a ponderer of truths, a righteous soul. The force of will leveled against an imperfect world was unbreaking as the sultan's marble, and Apsu gave it steel to wield, saying <em>the moral truth you seek lies in these waters. </em>Great Apsu was not wrong, and more than many Hadaree, Farrah has come to understand the custom of the Bedu, her heritage, her mother's people. A sense of humor and implacable love for her fellow man helps her to weather this haboob, but it is a sunless road, and all who brave it are ultimately alone.<br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Teaching, Water Science, Urban Tracking, Massive Animal Handling, Ankus-Fighting<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> A small private quarters within the priests' wing of the Madrassa dar Apsu, accessed by the parting of a bead curtain through a horseshoe arch, looking through mashrabiya windows to a rising sun which casts her chambers in sufficient light for prayer and rest but little else.<br><br><strong>History:</strong> The Bedu family of al-Farani raised many fine daughters, each strong, lovely, and dutiful. To the ends of the Great Dune Sea they were married, bringing peace between Bedu houses through lines of blood. The stout hearts, steady aim, and breathtaking neeedlework of these wives were legendary, and they were, to their husbands, a complementary whole. There were few treasures more coveted.<br><br>And then there was Shahnaaz, whose name means <em>bride of a king. </em><br><br>Shahnaaz was married to a Hadaree priest, Khaleel; a wealthy man with good standing in the ruling elite of Sha'ib. Khaleel had never known such thirst for life as with Shahnaaz by his side, and her companionship changed him. Khaleel began to introduce a relativist brand of philosophy to the teachings of Asaheem, and for this heresy his authority was stripped from him, and he was cast out by his peers. With Khaleel no longer a fit husband for such a fine woman, the family of al-Farani declared the marriage void and demanded her return. Shahnaaz's brothers hounded them relentlessly, for no child had been born, and by the old laws their marriage had not been sealed.<br><br>Shahnaaz and Khaleel loved one another without regret. Shahnaaz stood by her philosopher-husband against the tides of religion, politics, and family feud, and a dozen times they escaped death or separation, each an equally terrible fate. Khaleel the Ulama gained a devout following, and was called a prophet, and the coming of his first child was celebrated- now Shahnaaz and Khaleel could truly be man and wife, and no force could move them. The girl was named Farrah, and Shahnaaz bore her privately, without the aid of the matrons of Ashaheem nor the Bedu midwives. Though Farrah was born healthy and whole, Shahnaaz did not survive. Her loss caused Khaleel to surrender his ambitions, and turn his remaining vigor to raising a child.<br><br>Here ends the story of Shahnaaz and Khaleel, or perhaps it ends with the strong spirit of Shahnaaz debating the heavens for the admittance of the husband who will one day follow her.<br><br>Here begins the story of Farrah bint Khaleel.<br><br>A shadow hounded this girl from childhood. The shadow of her father's heresy made the church a sinister, disapproving place. The shadow of Shahnaaz's death created a distance between she and her father which could never be bridged. And there were strange men, her uncles, who would ride out from the deep desert and ask about her, <em>how fares the girl? Have you begun to teach her the ways of her people? </em>Their disapproving dark-eyed stares and swords scented of blood made Farrah afraid, and worse was her father's fear of them. Everywhere her efforts were met with displeasure.<br><br>Farrah bint Khaleel stood alone.<br><br>This girl, it is told, grew strong and fierce like the al-Farani maidens, like a weed against Khaleel's wishes. From a tender age she understood the philosophy of the great masters to win her father's approval. There was no time spent idle, no challenge Farrah would allow to defeat her. It was here that Great Apsu, Lord of Oases, entered her life. There was a true and absolute measure of morality, a social contract whose value was inherent to all men regardless of creed, and that measure was water. Farrah became a teacher for the madrassa, and in the tradition of her mother, she became a warrior, one role indistinguishable from the other.<br><br>In her role as Bull of Apsu, Farrah bint Khaleel has been called to resolve disputes over water. For her mixed blood, for her unflinching ethics, and for the reputation of her matrons, she was deemed a fair arbiter of water rights, warden of clean water, and judge of the immoderation. But these waters run as deep as the maze, and through them, there is blood.<br><br>Apsu stand with this girl, Farrah bint Khaleel<br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br>Damascened, electroplated <strong>ankus</strong> styled after a hippopotamus and two-pronged splash of water<br>Blued plate and lamellar <strong>armor</strong> blessed by the holy Jugs of Apsu for buoyancy and rustlessness in water<br>Fustian mud <strong>garb</strong> for gritty maze work, toughened against glass and sharp stones<br>Azure <strong>wrap</strong> for harsh desert climes
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				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Sain</strong> on <strong>26-02-2015, 17:32:08</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(http://th01.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2014/326/c/d/golden_eyes_by_reykat-d87bmu0.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Zidir ibn Hajar<br><strong>Player:</strong> Sain<br><strong>Concept:</strong> Deceptive slave trader <br><strong>Trouble:</strong> Zidir's old friends who went deeper into the shadowy life of Sha'ib have begun to harass him to join them and basically become the front for a criminal gang. However, he would rather anything than see the effort put into the business crumble like that.<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Male<br><strong>Age:</strong> 28<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Bi<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Obedience, Cunning, Status, submissive partners, exotic races.<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Blood, pain, not being in control.<br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Hadaree with a distant efreeti ancestor.<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong> Hair: Dark grey<br>Eyes: Orange<br>Height: 1.81 m / 5’ 11”<br>Weight: 68 kg / 150 lb<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> Zidir is a Hadaree of average height with a nimble athletic frame. His skin is dark with a touch of grey. He keeps his hair well combed and appearance fresh, wearing mostly heavy robes of very light colors without any obvious jewelry or trophies to mark his wealth. He often keeps the lower half of his face hidden under perfume dipped cloth. There is a clever inquisitive look in his faintly glowing eyes that becomes rather visible in low illumination.<br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> Zidir has an easy time walking in the dark, but is also remarkably easy to spot.<br><br><strong>Personality:</strong> Very manipulative tends to say just the things you want to hear and with the right tone of voice, but only to serve his own ends. This sugary mannerism of his is so deeply engraved in Zidir’s spine that it is no longer a mask that he can shed off. Sometimes other people close to him happen to fall under the definition of his own ends, but Zidir is never quick to trust people so the process of building such friendship takes either time of a few very convincing displays. Zidir is most often quite comfortable and relaxed in his mannerism and thoughts (after all he is pretty well off), but when in crisis he tends to seek isolation so that he might meditate alone. <br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Sleight of hand magic tricks, Negotiations, Rumours, Reading people, Knowing the right people<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> A rather large house in Sha’ib. A stone building with two stories and a basement. Plenty of room for ‘guests’ and more for hiding things that need to be kept discrete. <br><br><strong>History:</strong> Zidir had a humble beginning. He was just a boy on the streets of Sha’ib with a lazy father with a quick temper. In the past he had been someone of importance, or so he would claim, but to Zidir he was ever only a husk of a man whose only shared trait with his son were the orange glow in their eyes. Even a mention of mother would send him chasing the boy with a rod in hand. It was not a childhood of plenty or comfort. With hopeful eyes little Zidir stared from the narrow alleys at the wealthy who passed by, but he had ambition and could not just sit idle. He was among many little children of Sha’ib who made a living by pushing their way to the crowds and gatherings to steal from under the adult’s noses. This was life back then. Many an adventure and fights were had with the other children of Sha’ib and Zidir learned early that his fists alone were not a good answer to violence. He learned to lie talk way through trouble. Lies, flattery, bribes and even intimidation became his knife. <br><br>Being sharper than the witless goons and thieves he matured with, Zidir noticed early that this way of life would not lead him to where he wanted to be. Sure enough they could snatch a good load every now and then and that would bring joy for a few nights, but it was never enough. He thought and he thought hard, withdrawing from his former friends. What would a street rat of Sha’ib do to earn like an Emir? Zidir still remembers that sensation of realization he had when he turned one morning to look out of the window and saw starving orphans look with longing faces at the luscious and happy slaves of a passing noble. <br><br>It all began so small and so very awkward. A lot of mistakes one can make when starting a slave trade and Zidir fell for at least half of them. Luckily for him he knew the right people and the right words with which to attract his first guests, poor girls exchanged their life for stolen bread and pretty promises. He did not think twice of their fate back then when a suspicious looking effendi bought them for a few coins. Neither did his father’s passing move Zidir in any direction but the positive. He cared not for the blight of others then, being consumed by his own greed and self admiration for his ‘genius’ to come up with such a path.<br><br>A year hence some Pasha and Mir began to appear among the clients and as time passed more prestigious buyers dared to give Zidir’s establishment a chance. Time passed and with it the current of money which&nbsp; flowed through grew. Zidir poured much of it into building the house large and luxurious as well as to furnish it. <br><br>Curiously enough with the worst of his greed satisfied, the man had time to think once more on what he valued. He spent more and more time engaging in idle chatter with those slaves that he had chosen to instead of being sold to help around. Past the early twenties Zidir became increasingly compassionate and while he still puts his own success above most others, there are now several people of the slave house and a few outside friends whom he counts as something akin to a family. <br><br>Zidir’s place in the city is deeply rooted, having already worked as a slave merchant for more than ten years, his reputaion is widespread. There are of course rival merchants and those whom he has stepped on in his climb to this spot that might wish harm upon him, but much vaster is his web of connections that spreads from some lowly slum workers to nobles. Although he no longer does thievery, Zidir sometimes still helps connect some shadier people with the people they need. <br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong> <br>-Clean heavy clothing that protects from weather without sacrificing comfort. <br>-A very simple dagger.<br>-Hidden pouch with money.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>27-02-2015, 04:00:05</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/6a/Nafasielf5.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Amrita-Devi<br><strong>Player:</strong> Crash<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; Spirit-Questing Nafasi Elf<br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; Stranger in a strange land<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Female<br><strong>Age:</strong> 40 (Appears 20)<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Lesbian<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Players On’s (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156067.0)<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Players Off’s (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156067.0)<br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Nafasi Elf<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Long straight red hair<br>Eyes: Dark Brown<br>Height: 5’6”<br>Weight: 110 lbs<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> Lithe and willowy Amrita-Devi has little fat on her body and muscular legs that can eat up miles.&nbsp; Her tribe is known on the Veldt for their running ability and stamina. Among her tribe there are few that could beat her in a race of speed or stamina.&nbsp; Amrita decorates her body in pigments befitting her spirit quest giving her already exotic look a fierce appearance.&nbsp; The Nafasi have no taboos against being bare of chest but Amrita has taken to covering her body in old clothing since arriving in Sha’ib.&nbsp; She finds the human’s conservatism strange, but understands the need to navigate their culture and bows to this social convention.<br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong>&nbsp; Amrita’s red hair is unusual among the Nafasi.&nbsp; A sign of a special destiny, though what that destiny was her Shaman could not tell her.<br><br><strong>Personality:</strong> Curious and confused are often expressions the residence of Sha’ib receive when talking to Amrita-Devi.&nbsp; The young Nafasi Elf does not understand why the Hadaree use so many words to say so little and comes off as pretty blunt to the people of Sha’ib.&nbsp; She is aware that her ways are as strange to them as theirs are to her, but her ancestors lead her to Sha’ib for a reason and she is determined to stay until she understands why.&nbsp; Amrita-Devi has had to lean the value of coin as in the Veldt it was the size of your Basuro herd that defined one’s wealth.&nbsp; Amrita-Devi makes some money as a guide for merchants wanting to trade with the people of the Veldt.<br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Running, Hunting, Spear-fighting, Survival (Veldt), Spirit Medium<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> Amrita-Devi stays in one of the empty homes in an unpopulated neighborhood, often sleeping on one of the roofs so she can be under the stars.&nbsp; She is aware that she is not alone in empty neighborhood, but is not yet sure what stalks the streets at night.<br><br><strong>History:</strong> <br><br><strong>The Tale of Duzami and the Great Race</strong><br><br><em>One day, the village held a great race. All the young men and women competed, and many of the people made bets on the runners they believed would win. The race was very close, and Duzami, the village's swiftest runner, ran ahead of only one other man. When Duzami passed the finishing tree that many others had touched before him, he did not seem winded, nor was there a sheen of sweat on his skin. The Screaming Elder walked up to Duzami and cursed him, for he had bet all of his food that Duzami would win. But Duzami only shrugged at the Screaming Elder and walked away.<br><br>That night, a terrible gitta rampaged through the jungle. Every Nafasi in the village fled from the thing, including Duzami and the Screaming Elder. As Duzami ran, he saw that the Screaming Elder was right behind him, shouting angrily at him as always.<br><br>"Why do you not run faster, Duzami?" the Elder shouted. "The gitta is right behind us!"<br><br>Duzami did not speak, but kept up his steady pace. When he heard the gitta catch the Screaming Elder, Duzami yelled over his shoulder, "You do not have to be first to win the race. You must only out run one man."<br><br>Too late, the Screaming Elder recognized Duzami's wisdom as the gitta ate him.</em><br><br>The Duzami Tribe has always been runners and the tale above is a favorite of many of the young Nafasi of the Duzami Tribe.&nbsp; For Devi they were words that rang true.&nbsp; Even as a child she was swift runner able to beat children much older than herself, but often chose not to flaunt her gift.&nbsp; It was better to use a gift when it is most important and not for personal pride.&nbsp; &nbsp;Devi ran messages between villages as soon as she could wield a spear and the sight of her wild red hair in the tall grass became synonymous with news from the elders.&nbsp; This reputation only grew when one of the Honored Dead chose her as her personal envoy when she reached her twenties and she became a full member of her tribe.<br><br>The Honored Dead or Amrita-Chiokowa taught Devi the ways of the spirits, how to channel her ancestors and speak to them in dreams. She was given the honorific Amerita so that others would know she was accepted in the Lodge of the Dead.&nbsp; She did the bidding of the Amrita-Chiokowa for a brief twenty more years before the Amrita released Devi from her duties.&nbsp; Devi, concerned that she had offended the Amrita, begged the Honored Dead as to why she was being released before her training could be completed.&nbsp; The Amrita could only tell her that her path was elsewhere, that she should seek the guidance of her ancestors and follow the path they lay before her wherever that may lead.<br><br>Devi followed her path to Sha’ib where her ancestor’s voices fell silent.&nbsp; She is not sure if they cannot enter this strange land of silk covered strangers or if she has reached her destination.&nbsp; Uncomfortable with the strange customs of the city dwellers Devi has taken up residence in one of the underpopulated sections of Sha’ib where the few that survive their leave each other to their own devices.&nbsp; Devi earns money as a part time guide into the Veldt for merchants looking to trade with the Nafasi and the Domadh.&nbsp; She refused to guide hunters into her lands to kill animals for sport.<br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br>Mismatched armor<br>Nafasi Hunting Spear with new steel tip.<br>Janbiya (Curved Dagger)<br>Pigments<br>Medicinal Herbs<br>Ancestral knuckle bones<br>A small amount of coin in a pouch she keeps tied around her neck.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MdG</strong> on <strong>27-02-2015, 14:41:08</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/da/89/f7/da89f76a45d16c8fe97c67469dcedb6a.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Taytu<br><strong>Player:</strong> MdG<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; Urban ranger<br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; Ifrit-cursed and Outcast<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Female<br><strong>Age:</strong> Mid-twenties<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Lesbian<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Running the mazes, freedom of movement, the deadly dance of flames, women who know what they want – and take it<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> The slow of mind and foot, ghouls and all those who cannot dwell in the light<br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Nafasi <br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Silver<br>Eyes: Ember-red<br>Height: 5’7”<br>Weight: 150 lbs.<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> <br><br>Her physique was sculpted by the savage, Sun-drenched expanse of the Veldt and the unyielding winds lashing the highlands just north of the Pillars of the Sun. She is perfectly adapted to tracking, running, and leaping over great distances. Her limbs are strong, and knotted with wiry muscle, and her hands are rough and calloused, for she is a huntress and a tracker at heart, who delights in motion, and the fervid thrill of the chase. When she moves, she is languid, but powerful, like a leopard on the prowl. <br><br>The Ifrit's curse under which she lives means that her veins now blaze with the blood of the jinn, which manifests in the reddish ocher tinge on her deeply tanned, mahogany skin, and the coal-ember colour of her eyes, which smoulder with otherworldly fire. <br><br>Like generations of Nafasi huntresses before her, she disdains armour and runs and fights barefoot and bare-breasted, being generally unconcerned that her dress might scandalise some more conservative Shaibites. She wears loose cotton and canvas breeches secured at her waist and knees with leather straps to guarantee ease of movement.Though she has been banished from her tribe, whose name is now taboo to her since she no longer has the permission of her Ancestors to utter it, she continues to style her moonlight silver hair in the fashion of a blooded huntress, and still wears the fierce war-paint of her people, which she makes herself from sweet sap, butter, and charcoal ash.<br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> The Whispering Dead are silent and no longer speak to her. Instead she can sometimes hear terrible and sensual songs in the crackle of the flames - the dark call of the Ifrit. <br><br><strong>Personality:</strong><br><br>Brash, impulsive, and reckless, Taytu has learned to live for the moment in this her time of exile. Though her separation from her tribe left her with a deep, unutterable sadness, she seeks to drown the past in the throbbing immediacy of the present. Easily bored, she seeks activity - always keen to explore, and understand the endless and cavernous mazes beneath Sha'ib and, lower still, the shattered remnants of a time that now lies beyond memory. She is a rough woman of simple tastes. When she has money she buys palm wine and muscat and plies curious girls and seasoned guardswomen alike with her exotic charm.&nbsp; <br><br>Always curious, even in the unforgiving trackless Veldt, she has made Sha'ib her home. Her keen eyes and excellent visual memory that served her so well when she was a huntress have been put to good use in exploring the cavernous spaces honeycombed beneath Sha'ib. She revels in the urban environment, and knows each corner of the surface city and much of its subterranean spaces like the proverbial back of her hand. The crowded streets are at times too cramped for her to bear, so she spends much of her time on the surface perched on rooftops and verandas, or above the porticoes of the Bazaar and she often has the insolence to rest, uninvited, on the gardened terrace of a noble household, or a wealthy merchant.<br><br>Knowing that her Ifrit will one day lay a final claim to her, she pursues all legends and rumours of magical or alchemical remedies for her condition with keen interest. Though she can neither read nor write, and knows enough of numbers to count her coin and little else, she has an interest in any learning leading her to a better understanding of the Ifrit's hold over her.&nbsp; <br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Parkour, dirty fighting, tracking, endurance, spatial memory, limited pyrokinesis<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> Of no fixed abode - she rests where she wills it and when she has money to spend, does so liberally at disreputable taverns.<br><br><strong>History:</strong> <br><br><em>Know, O noble Amira, that the Nafasi have run with the migrations of the horned Basuro since before your ancestors first beheld the Unconquered Sun's golden visage on the endless Veldt. Know that they are great hunters and tireless walkers of the burnt grasses and they, not hearing the calling of the True Gods, but following the dark whispers of enshrined Ancestors, have the temerity to approach jinn with impudence and hear their cajoling lies.<br><br>See the girl, she is born under the huntress-stars and she is raised to the spear by the hands of the woken dead. See her, she is now a woman and she walks the Veldt and follows the Great Migration. There, at the foothills of the ice-capped peaks of the Pillars of the Sun, she finds the ceaseless fires dancing from the hearth of the world. Behold, O noble Amira, the Ifrit dances in the flames - she stands above mortal men, her shamshir is like the right hand of the Death Seraph, and she is clothed in brass. The huntress kneels transfixed - for she feels love and terror in equal measure and the Ifrit spins her poisoned songs. <br><br>Now they lie in a passionate and incandescent embrace and the Ifrit says unto the huntress, "Am I not greater than any with whom you have lain, mightier than any whom you have beheld?"<br><br>"Verily, you are!" Replies the foolish huntress.<br><br>"Then, bear my mark."<br><br>At once, the Ifrit binds the huntress in brass manacles and marks her skin with her sign and the ocher hue of her kiss, for the huntress's Ancestors are powerless to abjure the Ifrit's fearful sorcery now that the huntress has without compulsion tasted the Ifrit's lips. Know, then, that no Nafasi may live among her people when she is deaf to the voices of the Wakened Dead. So then see the huntress cast out, compelled to wander the Great Sand Sea, forever sundered from her people.&nbsp; </em><br><br>- From <strong>The Miscellany of Muad'ib</strong><br><br><em>O Ancestors, hear me. I regret nothing, for her kiss was fire to my soul, and in her hands she held the reins of my passion. See me now, bearing her mark, her eyes in mine, her blood in my veins - I at once her daughter and beloved. See how the flames dance to my silent song, how I make a spark with no flint nor tinder. Her fire burns in me still and will not be quenched. Now I must walk away from you with my back turned and all of the Tribe will forget my name and your voices will deaden to whispers and then to silence. But I have no regret. The delights she showed me bear a great price, but they were without measure. <br></em><br>-&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>The Lament of One who is forgotten</strong>, from the <strong>Song of Begetting</strong>, the oral history of a Nafasi tribe<br><br><em>Guidance through the Mazes - 5 dirhams<br><br>Artifact retrieval - 10 dirhams, and a tenth part of its price<br><br>My spear-hand to bring down upon ghouls and brigands - 25 dirhams and a quarter and half a quarter of the bounty<br></em><br>-&nbsp; Dictated to a scribe and then crudely daubed on a wall in the Bazaar<br><br><em><del>Maidens of Sha'ib, beware, the barbarian - jinn-blooded, her eyes burn, she ravishes like a flashfire, her inhuman lusts unspeakable and insatiable!</del><br></em><br>- Written neatly beneath the first graffito, and later scrawled out<br><br><em>She is come again, like a thief in the night and crouches on the veranda like a caracal. In the starlit darkness her eyes smoulder. She has a cruel smile. This time, I do not summon the eunuchs. How wild she is! She moves like a wraith among the tombs and drinks from the fresh-fallen rainwater in the silver basin by the window. She is strong. She is warm - no, she <em>burns</em>. Her touch burns. She is upon me and I know that I have willed this. Her touch burns and I burn for it. I beg her not to take my maidenhead. With her cruel smile, she eases me on my belly and - - I fly."<br></em><br>- From a torn page found in the gardens of the residence of the Emir Al-Naruddin&nbsp; <br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong> <br><br><strong>Nafasi spear</strong> – seasoned ironwood haft with Great Basuro horn point<br><br><strong>Nimcha</strong> – pommel has a single garnet, the blade is Balyanic steel; looted from an adventurer’s corpse in the ghoul-caverns beneath Sha’ib<br><br><strong>Nafasi necklace</strong> – Leopard claws on leopard sinew, crafted for her by the tribal shaman when the Ancestors recognised her as a woman, and granted her a new name<br><br><strong>Matching Ifrit anklet and bracelet</strong> – each is brass with a single blood opal ringed in filigree with flame motif; impossible to remove
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				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Amarlo</strong> on <strong>28-02-2015, 04:33:31</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/02/cc/7d/02cc7dd8e0d76469ac60fd12421d4095.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> N’ebthe [<em>Neh’beh-th-ee</em>]<br><strong>Player:</strong> Amarlo<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; Lost Nefasi&nbsp; Shaman<br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; &lt;Unable to conceive. Has such heightened senses when it comes to spirits that she can sometimes lose herself to the close proximity of the spirit realm overlapping their own. She is also afflicted with poor sight and has been separated from her tribe during a raid.&gt;<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Female.<br><strong>Age:</strong> 53 (Appears 26)<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Straight<br><strong>On’s:</strong> O/os (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=223897.msg10995188#msg10995188)<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Anything bathroom related, mind control, extreme pain.<br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Nefasi<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Raven<br>Eyes:&nbsp; Amethyst<br>Height: 5’4”<br>Weight: 125lbs<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> <br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8e/f1/e0/8ef1e0ece4c2299c9a4a0e3c033148b9.jpg)(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0e/75/2b/0e752bf19adc013b7afa3af4128d2357.jpg)</div></div><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> Though she is weak of vision her lavender eyes saved her from a life of bigotry amongst her people, marking her for greater things on the path of Shamanism. <br><br><strong>Personality:</strong><br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Mediumship(Spiritual perception), Hekau(Primarily Ritualistic), Holistic Medicine, Cooking, Butchery. <br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> None currently. <br><br><strong>History:</strong> N’ebthe was prepped&nbsp; to be a shaman since the day she left her mother’s womb. It was clear even from the day of her first breath that she was mostly blind; however the shaman recognized the way the youngling studied her surroundings like something invisible to their own eyes was there. Luckily for the disabled child this meant growing up an apprentice to the high shaman, himself. It offered a luxury of certain protections but did not completely save her from the ire of other children. Children will be children after all. <br><br>She learned a great deal of things from this man and his collaborators while, much to their surprise, N’ebe&nbsp; proved herself a gifted study despite her obvious disadvantages. She was a determined young lady, willful and always held her head high. Her voice held strength, her gait held a swagger of unwavering confidence and it was because of this that none could even think to focus on anything but her strengths. Not only did she show an affinity for learning the arts but also retained a creativity no longer typical amongst their traditional ways – probably because she lacked their traditional perceptions. She couldn’t see on the same wavelength as the rest of her tribe, why would she think on it? While adamantly respected N’ebe was still strange even among her own people – that didn’t stop their faith in her though. <br><br>She is no longer a simple shaman’s apprentice but his equal and was meant to become his successor had it not been for the raiders that attacked their temporary settlement. She knows not where any of her family are, nor did she have the luck of escaping with another of her tribe. She was one of those unlucky few that did get left behind but did not parish. She was captured and taken, traded multiple times over among the slavers for her rare qualities until finally she ended up at the sitting for hopefully what would be here final sale. <br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br>This really more so depends on where she starts out.. I’m open to suggestions, could even have her amongst captured individuals meant to be sold as slaves. <br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>01-03-2015, 23:56:51</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/1/1b/MaleLeonid.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Sifiso <br><strong>Player:</strong> Crash<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; Captain of the Ingonyame <br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; Sifiso never expected to live into old age and as he enters his later life he finds his introspection can lead to depression.<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Male<br><strong>Age:</strong> 40<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Hetero<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Players On’s (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156067.0)<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Players Off’s (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156067.0) <br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Domadh <br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Light Brown/Dyed Red Mohawk<br>Eyes: Reflective Green<br>Height: 7’0”<br>Weight: 290 lbs<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> Sifiso would be an elder of his Khan were his life not saved by the Sultan when he was young.&nbsp; Age however has not slowed Sifiso.&nbsp; He may be showing the slight gathering of weight that good food and old age brings, but there are few as strong, wily and tough as the veteran of the Ingonyame Guard.&nbsp; His long limbs are as thick as cypress trunks and his skill with the scimitar is unmatched.&nbsp; Like all of the guard he maintains the Domadh warrior Mohawk mane dyed red with his shaved scalp.&nbsp; His age is shown by the white hair about his lips, and chin.&nbsp; The fur on his belly has changed as well with white outnumbering the tan of youth.<br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> Sifiso was rescued by the Sultan when they were both young men and Sifiso gave the young Sultan a life debt in return.&nbsp; He served as a guide and bodyguard to the Sultan for many years.&nbsp; <br><br><strong>Personality:</strong> Sifiso is dedicated to the safety of Sha’ib and the current Sultan.&nbsp; He is serious and severe when dealing with his own soldiers as befitting a Chief of the Khans, though he has no royal blood.&nbsp; Away from work he is introspective, even philosophical.&nbsp; Sifiso does enjoy his drink be it coffee or the strong, gruel-like alcohol urwaga that is brewed by he and his men.&nbsp; Sifiso can surprise others with his intelligence in council and his kindness around children despite his fierce look.<br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Scimitar (Two-Handed) combat,&nbsp; Unarmed Combat, Military Tactics, Drinking, Tracking<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> Ingonyame Guard barracks near the Trail of Sighs.<br><br><strong>History:</strong> When Sifiso was a young warrior he found himself separated from his Khan on a scouting mission against a tribe of Gnolls.&nbsp; He was ambushed by a group of warriors and rescued by a caravan lead by the young Sultan of Sha’ib.&nbsp; Thankful and ashamed Sifiso granted the Sultan a life debt.&nbsp; <br><br>Since that time Sifiso has served as a scout in the Sultan’s army, his personal body guard and a captain of the city guard.&nbsp; As more young Domadh came to Sha’ib, Sifiso gathered them and trained them in the arts of Hadaree warfare and technology.&nbsp; The Sultan formed the Ingonyame Guard from these lone Domadh and placed Sifiso in charge of their training.&nbsp; The Ingonyame Guard is known and feared by the enemies of Sha’ib.&nbsp; They have fought off Bedu raiders, Domadh Khans and even an invasion of Undead from Hekata.&nbsp; They are highly decorated servants and warriors.<br><br>All of the Ingonyame Guard have converted to the worship of Asaheem, though their worship would be looked upon as heresy by the clerics if not for the Sultan’s protection as they incorporate the rites of their ancestors into the worship of the Jann of Light and Air.<br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br>Scimitar (Two Handed)<br>Curved Daggers<br>Lacquered Armor<br>Supplies as needed from Armory.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>yesiroleplay</strong> on <strong>03-03-2015, 22:44:17</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/70/Tiger1.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Ablah Sud Aln’mr&nbsp; “Well-formed black panther, Ablah the Black Cat”<br><strong>Player:</strong> yesiroleplay<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; Consort Guardian Wizir<br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; Recently lost favor with the Emir.<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Female<br><strong>Age:</strong> Appears 23<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Hetro, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Power, intelligence, wit, nuance and subtlety, plus the usual (https://elliquiy.com/forums/onsoffs.php?u=22051)<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Unpleasant odors, bullies, phonies, bigoted zealotry<br><strong>Race or People:</strong>&nbsp; Hadaree, of mixed Djaffir and Bedu ancestry.<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Black<br>Eyes: Chocolate brown<br>Height: 5”4”<br>Weight: 110 lbs<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> Swarthy and slender, Ablah appears typical of the Djaffir, her mother’s people.&nbsp; Graceful, supple and lithe, she moves much like her favorite animal, the panther.&nbsp; While she inherited her mother’s build and skin tone, her features are more typical of her father’s people, the Bedu.&nbsp; A sharp angular nose and high cheek bones soften into a delicate jawline that enhances her sultry lips. Her exotic allure draws the eye even in a harem full of beautiful women.<br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> Ablah is much older than she appears*.<br><br><strong>Personality:</strong> While she can be witty, charming, and even out-going, Ablah much prefers quiet intimacy or even solitude.&nbsp; Normally calm and quiet, she shows animation when challenged, particularly when asked to play devil’s advocate against commonly held beliefs.&nbsp; She enjoys attention, particularly at the expense of a rival, but rarely seeks it, feeling attention gained for its own sake is worth less than when earned without motive.&nbsp; She rarely engages in the most social of harem activities – gossip.&nbsp; Instead she sits and weaves, listening to her fellow concubines and remembering all.&nbsp; Perhaps she weaves more than just thread and cloth.<br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Wizir magic (minor illusion, protection, and healing), harem skills, listening, debate, weaving and sewing.<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> Currently the Emir’s harem, but this is likely to change soon.<br><br><strong>History:</strong> <br>Short version:&nbsp; Ablah is an orphan adopted and trained by a wizir.&nbsp; She served the Emir as a harem girl and Guardian wizir for several years, but recently lost favor and now finds herself up for sale in the local slave bazaar.&nbsp; <br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Long version</div><div class="spoiler_body">Ablah is the result of a brief liaison between the daughter of a wealthy Djaffir merchant and a charismatic Bedu warrior.&nbsp; Her father disappeared into the desert sands shortly afterwards, never knowing he had conceived a daughter.<br><br>Ablah’s mother was disgraced, and as punishment she was banished to Sha’ib, to a trade depot and caravansary run by a distant relative.&nbsp; Safely distant from her home city where she could not tarnish the family honor or cause scandal, her father made a good job of forgetting she existed.<br><br>Yesenia, The flower of Djaffir beauty faded in the harsh environment.&nbsp; Her several-times distant cousin was almost as rich as her father, but he had none of his passion or flair.&nbsp; The compound was Spartan and utilitarian and everyone was required to pay their way, family included.&nbsp; The pretty merchant princess was not used to harsh labor, and resented everything about her new life.<br><br>When Ablah arrived she only increased Yesenia’s burdens.&nbsp; There were no nurses or tutors for the infant, and the young mother was not suited to the role of parent.&nbsp; Ablah got little love from her mother, and not much from anyone else.<br><br>Yesenia died when the girl was six years old.&nbsp; Perhaps the cause was eating bad clams as the medic claimed.&nbsp; Or maybe the young woman died of lost dreams and a broken heart.&nbsp; Or perhaps the cause was less poetic and more tragic.&nbsp; Ablah was too young to understand anything except that her mother was gone.<br><br>Her so-distant cousin sent a note to her grandfather apprising him of his daughter’s fate and updating him on the status of his grandchild. The man found the note where his cousin left it, in a bundle of trade documents he was sure to read.&nbsp; News of his daughter’s death hurt him.&nbsp; Odd, he hadn’t thought about her in years, and yet now he felt the loss.&nbsp; The rest of the note gave him less concern.&nbsp; Another useless granddaughter, of which he had ample supply.&nbsp; And this one a half-breed that couldn’t even be married off to advantage.&nbsp; Still, she was of his blood.&nbsp; He crumped the note and then sent a reply to his cousin.<br><br>The reply was brief.&nbsp; “Care for the girl.”&nbsp; Along with the note was a gift of three camels and a small purse of silver coins.&nbsp; After buying his conscious clear, the man never gave thought to dead daughter or unwanted granddaughter again.<br><br>Age eight was old enough to start formal education, and while her guardian was not one to waste money on frills, he was shrewd enough to know a child’s education was an investment in the future.&nbsp; It cost him nothing to allow Ablah into school.&nbsp; And if his cousin were ever to have a change of heart and demand an accounting he could justly claim he provided the girl with a fine education.&nbsp; So Ablah started school with her cousins.&nbsp; <br><br>School was much easier than sorting coffee beans, or spinning bailed cotton into thread.&nbsp; It was also much more interesting.&nbsp; A whole new world opened up to the girl, and she absorbed all of it she could.&nbsp; One of the teachers was the chief accountant and treasurer for her elder cousin.&nbsp; A man of vast knowledge and many hidden skills. <br><br>Fuad the Keeper was a well-travelled man, a man of learning, and while not a wealthy man in his own right, he lived comfortably.&nbsp; Unknown to all but that employer, Fuad was a Wizir of the less common Guardian school.&nbsp; He guarded not his employer’s life, but something much more important to the man.&nbsp; He guarded the treasury.<br><br>Sensing the girl’s potential, Fuad began schooling her in his hidden art.&nbsp; She was bright and lovely and her mind was sharp and inventive.&nbsp; She was a delight to teach, and he thought of the girl as the daughter his eunuch state preventing him from fathering.&nbsp; He hoped to one day pass on his wealth and his profession to the girl, keeping the family wealth safe.&nbsp; <br><br>The treasury remained safe throughout her cousin’s life.&nbsp; But his sons began fighting over their inheritance almost before the man was properly given back to the earth.&nbsp; Squabbles, lavish parties, failed investments, and a run of bad luck drained the family coffers until there was nothing left in the treasury worth guarding.&nbsp; <br><br>An old man now, Fuad left his employment.&nbsp; Sadly, he had been too trusting of his wealth and discovered it lost along with that of his deceased employer.&nbsp; For as he aged most duties of accounting and treasury now fell to Ablah.&nbsp; And she allowed the most handsome and sliver-tongued of her cousins to persuade her to invest her father’s wealth along with the family fortune on one failed scheme after another.<br><br>The old man never blamed her.&nbsp; After all he had little use for wealth in these final few years.&nbsp; Though it saddened him that the girl would not inherit.&nbsp; The old man and the young woman moved to another district of the sprawling city.&nbsp; And there he resumed her lessons.&nbsp; Lessons he’d neglected earlier, as there seemed no need to teach her the skills needed to find a job.&nbsp; <br><br>“There is a hidden communication to these things.”&nbsp; He instructed.&nbsp; “Men of power hire our kind in secret.&nbsp; Not the secrecy of shame, but the secrecy of security.&nbsp; When a person of sufficient wealth needs a guardian, he hires a bellman to announce an event.&nbsp; It might be a wedding, or a grand feast, or a funeral.&nbsp; What matters is that the phrase…”&nbsp; <br><br>The ritual of hiring was complex and obtuse, designed to protect all involved.&nbsp; &nbsp;Neither party knew the identity of the other until far into the process. And even then they might never meet until an agreement was finalized.&nbsp; This meeting was commonly either secret, or done incognito.&nbsp; Sometime after that final meeting, the guardian would gain employment with their patron, in a job to which they were well suited and that was unrelated to their real task of protection.<br><br>Ablah thought it all overly complicated and not a little silly.&nbsp; But she learned the process just the same.&nbsp; And so, six months after the death of Fuad the Keeper, she found herself on the slave block, about to be purchased by a wealthy Emir.<br><br>The auctioneer knew nothing of her background, the man that had come to own her knew nothing other than he had purchased her from Bedu bandits.&nbsp; Even the proctor that came to buy her knew nothing except his instructions to buy three slaves for the young emirzade, at least one of which should be an exotic.<br><br>She was several years older than the emirzade, but they bonded.&nbsp; His father never told the boy that one of his concubines was more than she appeared, and the boy delighted in the attentions of an older woman.&nbsp; For sixteen years she served him, and she bore him two sons and a daughter, the daughter died as an infant, and she knew not the fate of her sons.&nbsp; They were pulled from her breast at weaning, never to see their mother again.&nbsp; For the sons of an Emir are not raised nor taught by slave girls.<br><br>The Emir died with fourteen sons suitable to inherit his lands, properties, and titles.&nbsp; It was the way of the nobility that one son would receive the bulk of this estate, and that the rest must content themselves with his beneficence.&nbsp; This wealth was not conferred upon the eldest, nor upon the paternal favorite.&nbsp; Instead the formal heir was selected by vote among the eligible males.&nbsp; In theory this reduced fraternal bloodshed, as it was not usually practical to kill all of one’s brothers.<br><br>Bloodshed occurred of course, but politics, intimidation, promises of wealth, and simple persuasion usually narrowed the field down to less than a handful of real contenders.&nbsp; When the old Emir died only three of his sons had any real hope of acquiring his wealth, lands, and hereditary titles.&nbsp; And of course, whoever assumed their father’s wealth and position was practically guaranteed the appointment to replace him as Emir.<br><br>The son Ablah served was most likely to succeed his father.&nbsp; The old man had known this, after all, not all of his sons were gifted with a guardian wizir.&nbsp; This proved a wise action, as one night only days after his death Ablah was finally called upon to serve her true mission.&nbsp; A trio of assassins visited her lover while they slept.&nbsp; No one knew which of his brother’s they served, or how they got past his guards.<br><br>Ablah woke before the assassins struck, and the shadows began to move to confuse the assassins.&nbsp; Two of them dispatched one another, thinking they attacked the heir apparent, just before their target slew the third. The man knew his intended assassins, masters of weapons all.&nbsp; He also knew his skill did not match theirs.&nbsp; Only the confusing shadows saved his life.<br><br>There were changes in the harem in the aftermath of the assassination.&nbsp; The assassins had gained entrance to the inner sanctum, and no one was to be trusted.&nbsp; Guards were transferred to distant posts, and the new Emir sent his favorite concubine away, advised perhaps by the woman that saved his life.&nbsp; Even Ablah was not beyond suspicion, and the Emir wondered, perhaps with paranoia, if she had perhaps set the whole thing up to gain his trust.<br><br>Then the Emir had an idea.&nbsp; “The Wiziry you used to protect me.&nbsp; I could be used against my rivals, could it not?”&nbsp; Ablah was no assassin, she was a Guardian.&nbsp; But one did not protest too strongly to the master.&nbsp; The Emir did not want the assassin he sent traced back to himself, so not too long after sending her main rival away Ablah found herself again on the slave block in a circuitous route toward a mission she swore she would not attempt.</div></div><br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br>A killer body.<br>A keen mind.<br>Deadly wit.<br>A sharp tongue.<br>Various paraphernalia of a harem girl – jewels, wisps of silk, hair pins, and other oddities that serve mostly to adorn her killer body, but might also be used to aid her magic.<br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Notes</div><div class="spoiler_body">* Her youthful and ageless appearance is just that – appearance.&nbsp; She is actually a healthy woman in her mid-thirties, and probably has several decades of ‘youth’ left before one day she dies of old age.&nbsp; While she looks young a vibrant and beautiful, and even feels that way to the other senses like touch or taste, she actually ages just like anyone else.<br>This effect is mere illusion, though illusion that can’t easily be pierced or dispelled.</div></div>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Kuroneko</strong> on <strong>04-03-2015, 04:49:08</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/Jagwaar/Shazadi%201a_zpsql8ohgqw.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Shazadi dar al-Hajaya dar Rwala dar Dulam<br><strong>Player:</strong> Kuroneko<br><strong>Concept:</strong> Priestess and Gifted Seer, part time thief when circumstances require it.<br><strong>Trouble:</strong> Episodes of True Sight, prophecy and visions subject Shazadi to memory or time loss. These blackouts can last several minutes – or several hours. There are also one or two high born residents of Sha’ib that didn’t care for her predictions – or that they came true.<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Female<br><strong>Age:</strong> 28<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Heteroflexible<br><strong>On’s :</strong> Pleasure of all kinds, including music, art, sleeping late, sensuality, Player’s Ons (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=97941.0)<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Chastity, abuse, cruelty, Player’s Offs (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=97941.0)<br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Jinn-blooded Bedu<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Wavy and black, with sun bleached streaks, often worked in multiple braids and heavy with tribal jewelry.<br>Eyes: Copper, like a cat’s - a lingering gift from the Jinn blood in her veins.<br>Height: 5’ 9”<br>Weight: 150<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> Tall and lithe, Shazadi is water thin like most nomads and muscular, befitting her lifestyle and activities. Her café au lait skin shows both her nomad heritage and a life lived under the desert sun. Long, dark, wavy hair bleached by the sun and braided with traditional ornaments cascades down her back and frames the aquiline features of her face. A scar on her throat mars the smooth line of her skin, but serves as a reminder of the first time the Goddess intervened directly in her life.<br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> Shazadi’s body is covered with a series of intricate black tattoos, symbols unique to her clan and the goddess that she is devoted to, Tamarni. <br><br><strong>Personality:</strong> A hedonist by nature, this inclination is fostered and encouraged by Shazadi’s devotion to Tamarni, the Bedu goddess of fortune, pleasure, cats and shadows. Equal parts insouciant and curious, she is largely driven by the visions the Lady sends her, wandering at the Goddess’ will to do Her bidding and seek out those things that please Her, which has brought her into the path of the highborn both inside and outside the walls of Sha’ib. Neither impress her much. Her sense of morality beyond Bedu laws and Tamarni’s prohibitions is flexible and her duty and loyalty is to the Goddess above all. She is sympathetic to those that share her beliefs, and cats are naturally drawn to her. Possessions mean little to her, but money can buy experiences, such as a sensuously indulgent bath and massage or perfumed unguents to pamper her skin. Even a night in a tavern with a spiced coffee admiring the people around her and listening to beautiful music can be a luxurious indulgence.&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br><strong>Skills:</strong>&nbsp; Fortune telling (The Sight - true clairvoyance and a gift of prophecy), knifeplay, (throwing daggers and khatars), desert survival, prayers, stealth.<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> When out in the desert, the tent she carries on her camel’s back. When in Sha'ib, a small house in a poorer district that also serves as her place of business.<br><br><strong>History:</strong> Born in the deep desert&nbsp; to the Rwala clan of the Dulam Bedu tribe, Shazadi was destined for a sacred life the moment she opened her eyes.&nbsp; Their copper color was seen as a sign of favor from their patron Goddess Tamarni, bright and as reflective as a cat’s, in day or night. Only the old holy men and women suspected the girl had Jinn blood in her veins. <br><br>By the time she could run with her siblings it was clear that Shazadi was favored by the Goddess. Shazadi ran wild, more like a boy than a girl, getting into all kinds of trouble as her family worked the trade routes.&nbsp; With a natural ability to conceal herself and hide herself away no matter how hard anyone looked for her, she made a habit of slipping away on many occasions, usually to have some sort of adventure and return none the worse for wear.&nbsp; Until one such excursion brought her into the hands of a rival tribe that thought nothing of slitting the throat of a wild girl for the jewelry she wore and leaving her to bleed out into the sand. Only luck brought her into the hands of her family, ostensibly to die. Her wounds were stitched and tended and the last prayers were said as fever took her. It was then that Tamarni came to her for the first time. In her fevered state the Goddess whispered to her and healed her wounds, bringing Shazadi back to life and blessing her with several Gifts in the process.<br><br>After that, cats of all kinds, big and small, were naturally drawn to her. She could even approach lions and leopards at oases and watering holes. Her mother found her once asleep in a pile of lion cubs and lionesses. And with this ability came the Sight. After the attack, Shazadi began to have prophetic visions and dreams. At first, she kept them to herself. But when the visions began to come to her when she was awake, the priestess began to take notice and spoke to the girl, and then to her family. With several daughters, her father was more than happy to see his youngest child find a place in the tribe without an expensive bride price. He turned the care of his wild young daughter over to the priestess, and she began her training as a devotee of Tamarni. <br><br>Since then, she has followed the ways of the Goddess in all things, letting Her will dictate where she goes and when. When convenient and appropriate, she travels with her tribe; but often she travels alone or finds herself spending time in Sha’ib, where the potential for a wider variety of pleasure is far too alluring to ignore.<br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br>Camel<br>Throwing daggers<br>Bedu runes<br>Incense<br>Clothing and her jewelry<br>A leopard’s claw worn around her neck<br>Two khatars<br>Waterskins<br>Tent and blankets <br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">bonus images</div><div class="spoiler_body">(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/Jagwaar/shazadi12a_zpsmtzxekop.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/Jagwaar/shazadi13_zps8lteoiqm.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/Jagwaar/Shazadi14_zpswtm8x7di.jpg)<br>Face claim - Deepika Padukone</div></div>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Sabre</strong> on <strong>07-03-2015, 18:18:25</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(http://i.imgur.com/DcoPfKF.png)</div><strong>Name:</strong>&nbsp; Ilhan alim-Aricanli<br><strong>Player:</strong>&nbsp; Sabre<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; Journeyman Merchant of the Safar<br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; Embroiled in a long standing blood feud with a branch family of the Sevim, inheriting mutual antagonism over bad money, murder, and several broken hearts between both sides.<br><strong>Sex:</strong>&nbsp; Male<br><strong>Age:</strong>&nbsp; 32<br><strong>Orientation:</strong>&nbsp; Straight<br><strong>On’s:</strong>&nbsp; Exploration and discovery in bed, challenge in the chase or bargain, and desire for freedom and journey.<br><strong>Off’s:</strong>&nbsp; Cruelty, subservience, and humiliation.<br><strong>Race or People:</strong>&nbsp; Djaffir<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair:&nbsp; Black<br>Eyes:&nbsp; Gray<br>Height:&nbsp; 6'<br>Weight:&nbsp; 180 lbs<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> <br>Ilhan prefers to groom his beard short if not clean off at all times, though his hair goes untouched to rest on his shoulders. He hides a few scars, one obvious on his brow and the rest etched on his chest or arms.&nbsp; Despite this body is toned and smooth, and well groomed, protected from buffeting sand with fine clothes but well worn in brawls with rival merchant houses in his youth.<br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Mask and Outfit</div><div class="spoiler_body">(http://i.imgur.com/5gon8ye.png)</div></div><br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> For his height and physical presence Ilhan is surprisingly quiet on his feet, even silent. He claims no abnormal talent in dexterity, and can't remember ever walking any differently.<br><br><strong>Personality:</strong>&nbsp; Ilhan is impulsive, though in his view he merely weighs risk faster than most. He moves to act on these impulses with the confidence of a man who contemplated them for days, whether it's a sale at market or a touch and a kiss stolen on a whim. Ilhan is generous with praise but miserly with criticism, and as with any merchant friendship and enmity are two sides of the same coin behind every smile and gesture.<br><br><strong>Skills:</strong><br><ul class="bbc_list" style="list-style-type: decimal;"><li><strong>Fencing:</strong> Though having had his share of fisticuffs with rivals in business and love, it's with the princely forms of the sword and dagger that Ilhan excels at. A gentlemanly art with graceful footwork, fencing has made Ilhan a veteran of several duels for honor - his own or otherwise.</li><li><strong>Trading:</strong> House Aricanli teaches its sons and daughters the fine art of business, from the lowly peddler bartering for slim profits to the guild masters moving hundreds of pounds in grain, spice, or bullion daily. Ilhan is a well established journeyman with an eye for the market, reading its shifts like the Bedu see the moving dunes of the desert.</li><li><strong>Poetry:</strong> From scathing invective and heroic saga, to bawdy rhyme and romantic lyric, Ilhan is a well read and well spoken poet at home with tavern drunkards and courtly princesses alike. His talent and breadth of material can see him hired, and scandalized, wherever he goes.</li><li><strong>Etiquette:</strong> Refinement, good manners, morals, decorum, decency, and humaneness. Ilhan shows proper discrimination of correct order, behavior, and taste necessary for any man hoping to fill his sails and coast from place to place, knowing how to leave before he's unwanted and how to put his foot through the next door.</li><li><strong>Natural Philosophy:</strong> An intimate student of both man and nature, Ilhan is well read in ancient and contemporary works, and partial to even blasphemous insights into the order of the world, from physical science and scholarly medicine to prophesy and theology.</li></ul><br><strong>Residence:</strong>&nbsp; Private room at an apartment in the merchant's quarter.<br><br><strong>History:</strong> Ilhan was born in the purple of House Aricanli, his father a guild master and his mother a daughter of a fellow peer. Only Ilhan had to share his destiny with a half dozen older siblings, and so allowed to venture off script as an independent merchant and devotee of Upuaut. Though no journeyman or pathfinder of the faith, he trusts his fate to the Unchainer, with a little risk management now and then. Eschewing the fast track offered him by nepotism, Ilhan began young as a messenger, brushing shoulders with every level of merchant and trading blows with rival youths for honor and coin.<br><br>Not long after doing well for himself, Ilhan again rejected an offer to rise above, much preferring the hustle of daily business and averse to the shadow games of the great houses. If he learned to hate his family's enemies, it was on a personal level. Yet his father was insistent, and influential enough to shackle his son by barring his trade, forcing him to return to his studies. Poetry, fencing, and other princely arts were more an escape for Ilhan than one might expect, and his commitment to Upuaut only deepened in his gilded cage. <br><br>With help from his rival Sevims, he plotted his escape. He liquidated his assets into coin and bills of exchange, and was right to suspect his would-be liberators. But rather than fall into their plot Ilhan escaped on the next caravan to Sha'ib with the help of a kind Sevim girl, who offered him her love for one night, a parting memento of the home and life he left behind. On the journey to Sha'ib Ilhan regaled a local landlord with his poetry, and on arrival was offered lodging in his fine building. After a week of transfers and sales, Ilhan recouped some capital and set out into town to begin his enterprise: an expedition through Sha'ib's secrets tunnels and mazes. <br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br>Ornate jambiya dagger, unenchanted Djaffiri mask, moderate amount of money, bills of exchange for collection or sale of various small goods and grain, small wardrobe of one fine set, some casual tunics, and pairs of boots and gloves of varying quality, three books on poetry, Upuaut mysticism, and a small traveling journal for taking notes and records, family heirloom ring.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>08-03-2015, 23:52:50</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/9/99/Kesh_dynatia_by_emanuelmardsjo.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Sirdara Ajda alim-Setinok<br><strong>Player:</strong> Crash<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; Sirdara of The Crimson Palace <br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; Clerics of Asaheem do not like her business.&nbsp; A weakness from beautiful women.<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Female<br><strong>Age:</strong> 30<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Lesbian<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Players On’s (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156067.0)<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Players Off’s (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156067.0) <br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Djaffir<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Dark Brown<br>Eyes: Brown<br>Height: 5’ 5”<br>Weight: 120 lbs<br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Ajda’s Mask</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/4/44/Onyx_flame.jpg)</div></div><br><strong>Description:</strong> Ajda is a regal beauty even at an age where the desert can start to sap at a woman’s youth, she claims this is a by-product of&nbsp; preserving wonders of the Djaffir bath house.&nbsp; While a worthy trophy as a wife Ajda has steadfastly refused to marry much to the chagrin of her family.&nbsp; Under her crimson mask she is graced with high cheekbones and full lips that begged to be kissed.&nbsp; There are rumors of ancient Hekatic blood in her family and she loves to play up these exotic features with&nbsp; hints of Hekatic style make-up and clothing.&nbsp; Adja follows the traditions of her Djaffir blood when outside and wares a distinct crimson mask.<br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> Ajda has 5 additional crimson masks and one mask that only she and her brother know about.&nbsp; She uses these when she doesn’t want her movements know and uses some of the girls from the Crimson Palace as decoys.<br><br><strong>Personality:</strong> Shewd and calculating, Adja is the brains behind the business end of the Crimson Palace.&nbsp; While the Palace is the siblings most obvious business asset they are also caravan owners that ship goods up and down the north and south trade routes.&nbsp; Adja’s brother works closely with the caravan while Adja takes care of the money and investing.&nbsp; Adja does have a weak spot for beautiful woman and has been known to offer her expertise in massage and other delights to someone that catches her eye.&nbsp; She is somewhat withdrawn emotionally however and has a hard time letting people in as Djaffir houses can be very cutthroat in their competitions for profit.&nbsp; She would love to find a woman that challenges, tantalizes and romances her.<br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Business, Massage, Seduction, Deception, Mathmatics<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> Palatial estate that she shares with her brother.<br><br><strong>History:</strong> The Djaffir often blur the lines between rich merchant and royalty.&nbsp; The Setinok family is both.&nbsp; A rich merchant family, the Setinok, bought their way into royalty.&nbsp; This would have been looked down upon by any other people of the desert, but the Djaffir see it as the ultimate accomplishment.&nbsp; Adja and her brother could have lived in abject luxury in the Crimson Fortress, but the nomadic blood in their veins called to them as did the sandy trails of the Dune Sea, so the brother and sister worked the caravans of their parents and proved their worth to the family as shrewd and savvy merchants.<br><br>As the siblings grew older their parents saw an opportunity to bolster their station further by marrying the attractive pair off to an Emir of a rival family.&nbsp; The two siblings wanted nothing to do with marriage though for very different reasons and instead stole away in a family caravan on its way to the distant south.&nbsp; There parts were furious of course and ordered them to return, but Adja and her brother were quick to establish themselves in the city and stalled until they could send word of their business opportunities in Sha’ib.&nbsp; They made themselves too valuable to their parents to be shackled into a marriage and turned the little they had left of their wealth into a budding business empire of their own.<br><br>The Crimson Palace is Adja’s baby.&nbsp; She missed the Djaffir baths back home dearly and when the siblings had enough money she purchased a prime building that offered easy access to the underground water supply of the maze.&nbsp; Adja has met some resistance from the conservative Asaheem clerics who believe, rightfully so, that the bath is a sensuous experience that can lead the bather into temptations.<br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br>Magic Djaffir Mask<br>5 Non-Magic Djaffir Masks<br>Lots of clothing and make-up<br>2 daggers<br>Lots of other stuff if she needs it.&nbsp; She is rich after all.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>22-03-2015, 23:13:50</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://40.media.tumblr.com/fadf1e1d211ee5dacc9bb3072c1bdd9f/tumblr_nkdwi6047l1rifstjo4_540.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Shamshir the Seeker (Ibn-Qadir)<br><strong>Player:</strong> Madmartigan <br><strong>Concept:</strong> An ex-carnival performer, now thief, making his living on the streets of Sha'ib.<br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; He's a thief. At any given time, he's in danger of losing one or both hands. He also has deep desire for revenge that is eating him alive.<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Male<br><strong>Age:</strong> 25ish<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Heteroflexible<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Women's bodies and men's purses<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> The law, his sworn enemy, being poor&nbsp; &nbsp;(for more intimate details, see player's O/Os (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=142240.msg6395997#msg6395997))<br><strong>Race or People:</strong> Son of a Bedu woman and likely either a Hadaree or Djaffir (father unknown)<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Black<br>Eyes: Brown<br>Height: 5'11"<br>Weight: ~160lbs<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> Just shy of 6' and 160 tightly muscled pounds after a streak of good luck. Long, disobedient ebony hair brushing his shoulders, skin the color of coffee with milk, and a thin, scruffy beard and mustache more often than not. Dark chocolate brown eyes and thick black lashes that give him the appearance of wearing kohl. His back is a ugly mess of scars, years old, and he rarely removes his vest to display them.<br><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> Shamshir is destined to kill the man who murdered his mother.<br><br><strong>Personality:</strong> He has an easy smile and sharp white teeth. He is lazy - or at least gives the impression of being so - and&nbsp; indulgent in all pleasurable vices when funds allow. His primary concerns are survival, the accumulation of wealth, and (when the signs are right) the execution of his plans to make his mother's murderer suffer greatly before ending his life. He is greedy but cautious, taking a great deal of time weigh risk against reward when it comes to wealthy marks. Shamshir is curious to a fault and generous with pleasure but not treasure. <br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Extensive pickpocketing/purse cutting expertise (20 years' practice), slight of hand, juggling &amp; other carnival tricks, the agility of a cat, deadly accuracy with a sling, and charisma to talk his way into or out of almost anything.<br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> He keeps a modest attic room above one of the oldest bath houses in the city. To compensate the owner for his space he gleans extra "tips" from patrons' belongings while they are otherwise engaged, picks up valuable secrets to share, and protects the female slaves when vermin sneak into the establishment.<br><br><strong>History:</strong> His Bedu mother was lured into false marriage by a deceitful Haradee man who - upon bringing her into the city - immediately sold her into slavery at a Djaffir bath house. Left with great shame and no other choices, his mother embraced her occupation and became a damn good whore, meaning her only son received quality food and shelter throughout his formative years. Her greatest regret was fact that she did not know who his father truly was, although she hinted that he was a dashing and possibly even Jinn-blooded wanderer who only visited her once, long ago,&nbsp; in the months before he was born.<br><br>Although he was technically Haradee - having been born in the city - his mother raised him to worship her Bedu goddess, Tamarni, the Lady of Fortune, stealth, shadows, and pleasure.<br><br>As he grew among the ragged group of other bath brats who performed odd jobs around the bath house, he received very explicit lessons in the sensual arts from a few of the ladies in service, probably at a younger age than was wise. He might have gone into the trade of pleasure himself, had the bath house's indulgent owner not passed into the next world and the house (all slaves included) was claimed by a violent and ambitious merchant who had no use for the misbegotten male children of his hard-working female property. It was arranged for the boys to be sold to a slaver who collected fodder for the metal mines in the west. When his mother objected, she was beaten. When Shamshir leaped into the fray to defend her, his impulsive act only enraged the new owner. He put a knife through the unruly slave woman to serve as a warning to the others and whipped her worthless spawn within an inch of his life before tossing him into an alleyway to die.<br><br>Shamshir's broken body was scraped off the street by a hefty bearded woman... and that was how he joined the Carnival of the Sands.<br><br>The following years were filled with travel and seeing the foulest parts of the finest cities along the northern trade route. He learned the practical arts of music, knife throwing, and lying through his straight white teeth. When the troupe's meandering tour swung back through the City of Mazes, he decided it was time to part company and focus on the fulfillment of the black dream he'd held close - his dream of revenge upon the cruel and now politically influential bath house owner.<br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong> A cat's paw charm crafted of leather and a tiger's claw on a braided thong around his throat (never removed), a practical knife, a sling wrapped around his wrist like an easily-overlooked bracelet, two throwing daggers (in hidden sheaths on his vest), a water/wineskin, a set of lockpicking tools hidden in his boots, the clothes on his back, a chip on his shoulder and resentment of authority figures.<br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Bonus images</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://41.media.tumblr.com/8395b136b610a8e63c06c363f4dd1d71/tumblr_nkdwi6047l1rifstjo3_540.jpg)&nbsp; (https://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_meinouBOmH1qeyhwio1_500.png)&nbsp; (https://40.media.tumblr.com/430f53c3a8244b97aac544bd0180ad49/tumblr_nkdwi6047l1rifstjo2_250.jpg)&nbsp; (https://40.media.tumblr.com/c5d0c6b5925dc823e9f3bfb4935fc2b0/tumblr_nkdwi6047l1rifstjo1_250.jpg)&nbsp; (https://41.media.tumblr.com/55762e6e6ad508b943d6c929688da22e/tumblr_mpugglOBj71qeyhwio1_250.png)&nbsp; (https://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lum543aFGv1qjx83oo1_1280.jpg)&nbsp; (https://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0qmigwxuJ1r9xv31o1_1280.jpg)<br>(Faceclaim: Kunal Kapoor)</div></div>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Sha'ib: City of Mazes (Approved Characters)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Amarlo</strong> on <strong>23-03-2015, 04:51:44</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ec/f1/ae/ecf1ae98afe2f0362603dae0de625b4a.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Atuanya<br><strong>Player:</strong> Amarlo<br><strong>Concept:</strong>&nbsp; Hairless Domadhi-blooded diplomat.<br><strong>Trouble:</strong>&nbsp; Born hairless and weak, it was tough growing among the strong and versatile Domadhi Khans as a bastard child of the tribe’s Chieftain. She was shipped away shortly after her 15th year to play diplomat in Sha’ib for the now renowned unit of Domadhi soldiers and their kin both to be-rid of her and make use of the exotic beauty she was considered to the native of the large stone-hut city. There have been rumors of someone wanting her head.<br><strong>Sex:</strong> Female<br><strong>Age:</strong> Looks somewhere between 25-30<br><strong>Orientation:</strong> Heterosexual<br><strong>On’s:</strong> Strong, intelligent and crafty men.<br><strong>Off’s:</strong> Dumb, soft and/or spoiled men.<br><strong>Race or People:</strong>&nbsp; Domadh Khans<br><br><strong>Appearance:</strong><br>Hair: Black<br>Eyes: Green cat-like eyes of her heritage<br>Height: 5’4”<br>Weight: 140Lbs<br><br><strong>Description:</strong> <div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Secondary Image</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e6/b9/2d/e6b92d4175a6863c4dcebacdbfc885f8.jpg)</div></div><br><strong>One Unique Thing:</strong> Like an albino amongst the Nefasi, Atuanya was considered very strange and deformed for the majority of her life. It was an extreme culture shock when she was placed among the Hadaree, where she was considered strange but beautiful. <br><br><strong>Personality:</strong>Atuanya is woman befitting the meaning of her name – a surprise; unexpected….. While she an animalistic nature befitting her heritage and upbringing, she also holds a quiet reserve and cleverness to her that separates her from her brethren.&nbsp; <br><br><strong>Skills:</strong> Diplomacy, Tracking and Hunting, Law, Combat, and Strategy. <br><br><strong>Residence:</strong> House in Sha’ib near the palace and barracks. <br><br><strong>History:</strong> Caught between worlds, Atuanya was born to a curious chieftain and an equally generous bathhouse slave. Shortly after their discrepancy bore fruit the chieftain purchased his first and last slave much to the disdain of his mate, Nomusa - who had yet to bare him any children. The woman had tried to kill both Atuanya and her mother multiple times over the course of the girl’s young life and finally succeeded in ending her mother’s life eight years after the girl’s birth. While Nomusa received the full brunt of her mate’s ire, it was nothing more than a slap on the hand in comparison to what murder would have gained in Sha’ib – it was only animal nature to kill a rival mate after all, right? <br><br>It was a cold harsh reality for Atuanya because once her mother was gone and her father forced to disregard her, there was nothing to protect her from the ire of her clansmen. It had been difficult enough for her as it was without having to fend for her life around every corner and while many merely ignored her existence, there were far more dangerous amongst the Veldt than just her clan. She quickly learned to feed and protect herself, every hardship only succeeding in hardening her flesh into stone and sharpening her mind like the blade. She grew with little care of modesty, as a matter of fact with most of her kin covered in fur, clothing was rarely worn and only ever worn and small amounts. She quickly became known as the hairless Domadh and was well known even among many of the Nefasi tribes for hunting and fishing practically naked. <br><br>It was a difficult adjustment when she was sent to play ambassador amongst the diverse people of Sha’ib. She quickly learned to wear clothing and even came to enjoy this tradition of decorating one’s body with cloth and furs but it was hard for her to adjust to how people treated her in general. Where she’d expected adversity she found welcome and friendship. Many were interested in meeting and befriending the exotic woman, and she’d found herself accidentally ensnaring the hearts of more than one nobleman. Their practices were strange to her and what they considered courting nature she thought to be general friendliness. In the end it struck bad blood between many of those after her hand and while most came to understand her innocence in the situation, others still look upon her with contempt. She is a strong figurehead for her people regardless, well respected for her wit and strategic mind just as well as her exotic beauty. <br><br><br><br><strong>Equipment:</strong><br>Domadh soldier loyalty and reverence<br>A charitable purse<br>Heightened senses (Though not nearly as keen as pure blooded Domadh)<br>Her mind and body<br>
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