Difference between revisions of "R'tahz Tia"
Chris Ganale (talk | contribs) (→Annotations) |
Chris Ganale (talk | contribs) (→Interim Period and Further Challenges) |
||
| Line 53: | Line 53: | ||
As expected by all, he again challenged the nunh, still R'wazi. This time, he had two other females supporting his challenge other than R'oya, due to how diligently they knew he had spent the intervening year training for this challenge. It was clear, though, that he still favored R'oya despite graciously welcoming their support. Feeling he had a handle on R'wazi's swordsmanship, R'tahz chose another contest of blade with the same conditions as the previous year. The fruits of his training soon became apparent: his strikes were more powerful, movement more deft, and ability to block and evade strikes had grown tremendously. R'wazi would later admit that it had taken all his efforts to initially hold R'tahz at bay. Unfortunately, due to the regimented training method that R'tahz had followed, he had woefully few moves in his repertoire, and it became obvious to skilled observers that he would position his body in such a way in the seconds before his actions that would telegraph his next move to an individual who could make out such things. R'wazi, a skilled gladiator, was one such opponent. | As expected by all, he again challenged the nunh, still R'wazi. This time, he had two other females supporting his challenge other than R'oya, due to how diligently they knew he had spent the intervening year training for this challenge. It was clear, though, that he still favored R'oya despite graciously welcoming their support. Feeling he had a handle on R'wazi's swordsmanship, R'tahz chose another contest of blade with the same conditions as the previous year. The fruits of his training soon became apparent: his strikes were more powerful, movement more deft, and ability to block and evade strikes had grown tremendously. R'wazi would later admit that it had taken all his efforts to initially hold R'tahz at bay. Unfortunately, due to the regimented training method that R'tahz had followed, he had woefully few moves in his repertoire, and it became obvious to skilled observers that he would position his body in such a way in the seconds before his actions that would telegraph his next move to an individual who could make out such things. R'wazi, a skilled gladiator, was one such opponent. | ||
| − | This time, the length of the contest was not due to R'wazi allowing it to draw out in order to show R'tahz's resolve; it was the skill of the youth himself that led to the ten-minute engagement, ending finally when R'wazi managed to get his blade through R'tahz's defense and draw blood. The scar on his cheek is one that R'tahz still wears to this day. | + | This time, the length of the contest was not due to R'wazi allowing it to draw out in order to show R'tahz's resolve; it was the skill of the youth himself that led to the ten-minute engagement, ending finally when R'wazi managed to get his blade through R'tahz's defense and draw blood. The scar on his cheek is one that R'tahz still wears to this day. After the denouement of the challenge, R'wazi caught R'tahz before the boy could go off to sulk over his defeat, giving a bit of invaluable advice that he should try harder to apply the skills of a hunter to his challenges: to take the measure of a target before engaging it, which he admitted R'tahz had done well, determine the target's strengths and weaknesses, and never meet the target head-on in a way to allow it to utilize its strengths. In short: fight smarter, not harder. |
| + | |||
| + | Taking this thought to heart, R'tahz knew better than to challenge R'wazi to another swordsmanship display the next year. However, the position of nunh had changed hands by the time of R'tahz's next challenge, but it made his alternative plan all the better. Knowing that the new nunh was a superb all-around physical combatant but not so great at hunting. Therefore, he chose to make his challenge into a timed hunt, with the victory condition rather unfortunately declared to be as vague as 'whoever could provide best for the tribe'. Too clever by half when coming up with this challenge, R'tahz assumed it was understood by all that the object was to bring back the rarest game that could be found, rather than it being possible to win by quantity over quality. This ended up being a moot point, as the quarry R'tahz set off to track and kill turned out to take him longer to find and take down than the time allotted for the hunt. | ||
| + | |||
| + | After this failed challenge, the attitudes of most of the tribe began turning against him, considering him a naive fool and unsuited for the rights and responsibilities of nunh. He continued to place challenges, varying from further hunting contests, to grappling contests, to other combat arms challenges, all without success. Soon enough, even R'oya abandoned him, giving her favor to other, more successful tias. As the years passed, and others younger than he rose up, some even succeeding at achieving nunh status for a time, R'tahz earned the moniker "The Boy Who Could Not Become a Man", whispered behind his back at first, but as his losses continued to stack, the title became more and more public. The only reason he was even still allowed to challenge was because R'wazi, who had since become a tribal elder, pointing out in his favor that having the support of one or more females in the tribe was only ''encouraged'' and not a prerequisite, thereby leaving the opportunity open for the youth that he had taken such an unexpected shine to. | ||
| + | |||
| + | It did little to change R'tahz's fortunes however, and only caused the nunhs that he faced to be more vicious in their fights against him. It almost became a game against the other males of the tribe to see who could inflict the worst injury on R'tahz. That dubious award was earned in his ninth challenge, an unarmed grappling contest that saw the standing nunh sneaking a bladed hora into the fight and striking R'tahz in the face, leaving a vicious scar over his right eye and nearly costing him the organ. The tribal elders immediately disqualified the nunh and stripped him of the title for breaking the stipulations of the match, but as R'tahz had not actually ''won'', he was unable to ascend to the position. | ||
==Character== | ==Character== | ||
Revision as of 01:05, 27 September 2014
| R'tahz Tia | |
 R'tahz on a rare foray to Limsa Lominsa. | |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Miqo'te |
| Clan | Seeker of the Sun |
| Citizenship | None |
| Place of Birth | La Noscea |
| Nameday | 18th Sun, 3rd Umbral Moon (Age: ) |
| Guardian | Oschon, the Wanderer |
| Profession | Adventurer |
| Theme Song | Go the Distance |
R'tahz Tia is a male miqo'te Seeker of the Sun, born to the Raptor tribe in La Noscea. He is infamous amongst his tribe for having failed fifteen consecutive attempts to ascend to the position of nunh, earning him the derogatory epithet "The Boy Who Could Not Be a Man". Due to the humiliation surrounding these events, he abandoned his tribe and took to wandering Eorzea, avoiding his home as much as possible. Recently, he has become close with another tribal outcast, J'karu Rhome, and has honed his skills as a lancer to protect her.
Contents
[hide]Biography
Early Life
Born into a remote sect of the Raptor tribe living in the jungles and mountains of La Noscea, R'tahz was initially indistinguishable from the others in his tribe, not standing out in any way from the others. His only distinguishing characteristic was that he very early established his notable personality trait of ceaselessly pursuing a goal he has set his mind to regardless of time or effort. When it came to hunting for the tribe, this was greatly beneficial, turning him into a sort of super-persistent predator that would regularly bring back prey that the other hunters had long since given up on. Initially, this made him quite popular in the tribe, and he was frequently sought to partake of hunting parties.
During this time, he also developed what has been referred to as his 'chronic hero syndrome', that is, his inability to let pass a problem that he is aware of. As a child, this manifested as simply going out of his way to help everyone he saw around him with their daily tasks, even if doing so interfered with what he was supposed to be doing. This at the same time drew both praise and scorn from various other members of the tribe; praise from those who received his help and saw it as simply a child trying to do the right thing, scorn from the more cynical members who felt the boy far too naive for his own good. His own parents, while proud of the strong moral fiber they saw growing in him, were equally concerned that his lack of worldly experience would see his good nature taken advantage of by less-than-scrupulous individuals.
Beginnings of a Wanderer
Some years after his birth, long before the boy understood the difference between 'nunh' and 'tia', R'tahz's father, R'sohn, lost his position as nunh of the tribe. R'tahz, in his childish optimism, initially thought it a happy thing as it now meant that he and his father shared the same last name. For the vast majority of miqo'te, the loss would have meant nothing, as the change in stature was as natural to their race as the sun and moons turning in the sky. For R'sohn, however, it was as a mortal injury, for he had suffered the entirely unnatural emotional response as to deeply, and soon solely, love R'tahz's mother, R'pahtalo Hyun. The love was mutual, but the simple fact was that the traditions of their people meant that, as a female of breeding age, R'pahtalo was not allowed to be with R'sohn.
The young boy didn't understand the pain he could see in his parents eyes when they were forced to interact as mere neighbors in the tribe, but he didn't question when both of his parents insisted that he learn as many of the martial disciplines as was possible, so that one day he would have the strength to seize his own happiness and let no one snatch it away from him. So when he was not out hunting in the jungles, where he learned the skill of the bow, he learned the art of the sword from his father, the way of the lance from his mother, and rough-housing with the other children his age taught him the use of fist and foot.
That was not to say that he dedicated every waking moment to training, as he spent a good deal of time also just exploring the land claimed by the tribe. He developed a fascination with the sea during this time period, soon insisting that his training with his father take place on the nearby secluded beaches. He would have made the same request of his mother, were the standing nunh at the time not an overbearing paranoid arse that refused to let the females out of his sight. Both of his parents recognized right away that he had caught the wanderlust disease, and were not the slightest surprised of this development from the child they had blessed in the name of Oschon.
The First Challenge
The desire to wander was not the only thing he had inherited from his parents. Perhaps it was because of their nurturing influence, but he as well became enamored with the concept of love, rather than simply the breeding rights to the tribe. As far as the thirteen-year old R'tahz could understand, the two were one and the same; if he were nunh, then he would be loved. Despite knowing that his attitude would only lead to heartbreak, neither of his parents were willing to disabuse him of his romantic ideals, nor were they willing to deny him his chance at becoming nunh. The boy had recently become enamored with a female a year older than he, R'oya Naqa, and so they knew that it wouldn't be long before the idea to challenge for nunh crossed his mind. Unbeknownst to him, his parents had agreed between themselves that, should he--now or ever--succeed at becoming nunh, they would encourage him to convince R'oya to leave the tribe with him, leading the lives of happiness that they were denied.
The day that R'sohn and R'pahtalo both dreaded and anxiously awaited soon arrived. On the eve of his fourteenth nameday, R'pahtalo overheard her son telling R'oya of his plan to challenge the nunh the next day. It broke R'pahtalo's heart to hear the earnestness with which R'tahz made his intentions clear, with all the sincerity and gravity of marriage proposals amongst hyurans. R'oya expressed her support for R'tahz's effort, and though R'pahtalo knew that the vast majority of tribal miqo'te females were fair-weather supporters at best--showing their favor only to those they thought could win their challenge, and only until proven otherwise--R'pahtalo was willing to give the girl the benefit of the doubt where her son's feelings were concerned.
With the next day's dawn, R'tahz issued his challenge to the standing nunh, R'wazi. Because of R'tahz's young age, the match was set as a swordsmanship contest until surrender or first blood. Initially, R'tahz was overconfident at his skill due to the many hours he had spent training with his father, but this faded when R'wazi effortlessly parried his strikes and even managed to disarm R'tahz. The older male was one of the ones who had been impressed by R'tahz's drive and determination as a child, and offered to let him surrender right then with no loss of face. Refusing to give in, R'tahz managed to evade the nunh's strikes until his blade was returned by R'oya. Rearmed, the boy renewed the battle in earnest, but it was clear to everyone but R'tahz that R'wazi was not having to exert his full effort to defend himself.
Finally, after letting the challenge go on long enough for everyone to see that R'tahz meant business, R'wazi disarmed the youth and followed it up with a punishing body check, and before R'tahz could pick himself up again, he found the point of the nunh's blade at his throat. Left with no other choice, R'tahz swallowed the bitter pill of his pride and forfeited. To the boy's surprise, R'wazi immediately yanked the young miqo'te to his feet and declared a day of celebration in honor of, in his words, "'Tahz's knowing just what he wants and having the guts to attack it with everything in him, body and soul. Though he may not have won his challenge, we as a tribe are victors in the knowledge that we have such an able and forward-thinking brother among us. And the day will come when young 'Tahz will claim his birthright, and we will grow even stronger for the progeny he has in store for us."
It was uplifting to be praised even in defeat, but the attitude was not to last.
Interim Period and Further Challenges
Even despite the kind words of the nunh and the support of both his parents and R'oya, R'tahz viewed his inability to defeat R'wazi as a colossal personal failure and an act of personally letting down R'oya. Because of this perceived dishonor, he distanced himself and spent every waking moment not otherwise spent assisting the tribe training the martial disciplines as hard as he could. Countless days passed where he had to be dragged back by his father from wherever he had vanished off to train, and more beside were the times in which he vanished completely for days, unable to be found until the tribe's best trackers were dispatched to recover him. This continued in a ceaseless cycle until his next nameday rolled around.
As expected by all, he again challenged the nunh, still R'wazi. This time, he had two other females supporting his challenge other than R'oya, due to how diligently they knew he had spent the intervening year training for this challenge. It was clear, though, that he still favored R'oya despite graciously welcoming their support. Feeling he had a handle on R'wazi's swordsmanship, R'tahz chose another contest of blade with the same conditions as the previous year. The fruits of his training soon became apparent: his strikes were more powerful, movement more deft, and ability to block and evade strikes had grown tremendously. R'wazi would later admit that it had taken all his efforts to initially hold R'tahz at bay. Unfortunately, due to the regimented training method that R'tahz had followed, he had woefully few moves in his repertoire, and it became obvious to skilled observers that he would position his body in such a way in the seconds before his actions that would telegraph his next move to an individual who could make out such things. R'wazi, a skilled gladiator, was one such opponent.
This time, the length of the contest was not due to R'wazi allowing it to draw out in order to show R'tahz's resolve; it was the skill of the youth himself that led to the ten-minute engagement, ending finally when R'wazi managed to get his blade through R'tahz's defense and draw blood. The scar on his cheek is one that R'tahz still wears to this day. After the denouement of the challenge, R'wazi caught R'tahz before the boy could go off to sulk over his defeat, giving a bit of invaluable advice that he should try harder to apply the skills of a hunter to his challenges: to take the measure of a target before engaging it, which he admitted R'tahz had done well, determine the target's strengths and weaknesses, and never meet the target head-on in a way to allow it to utilize its strengths. In short: fight smarter, not harder.
Taking this thought to heart, R'tahz knew better than to challenge R'wazi to another swordsmanship display the next year. However, the position of nunh had changed hands by the time of R'tahz's next challenge, but it made his alternative plan all the better. Knowing that the new nunh was a superb all-around physical combatant but not so great at hunting. Therefore, he chose to make his challenge into a timed hunt, with the victory condition rather unfortunately declared to be as vague as 'whoever could provide best for the tribe'. Too clever by half when coming up with this challenge, R'tahz assumed it was understood by all that the object was to bring back the rarest game that could be found, rather than it being possible to win by quantity over quality. This ended up being a moot point, as the quarry R'tahz set off to track and kill turned out to take him longer to find and take down than the time allotted for the hunt.
After this failed challenge, the attitudes of most of the tribe began turning against him, considering him a naive fool and unsuited for the rights and responsibilities of nunh. He continued to place challenges, varying from further hunting contests, to grappling contests, to other combat arms challenges, all without success. Soon enough, even R'oya abandoned him, giving her favor to other, more successful tias. As the years passed, and others younger than he rose up, some even succeeding at achieving nunh status for a time, R'tahz earned the moniker "The Boy Who Could Not Become a Man", whispered behind his back at first, but as his losses continued to stack, the title became more and more public. The only reason he was even still allowed to challenge was because R'wazi, who had since become a tribal elder, pointing out in his favor that having the support of one or more females in the tribe was only encouraged and not a prerequisite, thereby leaving the opportunity open for the youth that he had taken such an unexpected shine to.
It did little to change R'tahz's fortunes however, and only caused the nunhs that he faced to be more vicious in their fights against him. It almost became a game against the other males of the tribe to see who could inflict the worst injury on R'tahz. That dubious award was earned in his ninth challenge, an unarmed grappling contest that saw the standing nunh sneaking a bladed hora into the fight and striking R'tahz in the face, leaving a vicious scar over his right eye and nearly costing him the organ. The tribal elders immediately disqualified the nunh and stripped him of the title for breaking the stipulations of the match, but as R'tahz had not actually won, he was unable to ascend to the position.
Character
Appearance
Personality
Despite all things, R'tahz has a positive outlook on life and a relatively-upbeat demeanor. This is an active effort on his part, choosing to look to the brighter side of things and view the world as a half-full glass than let himself get mired in pity parties. He has a tendency to space out and let his thoughts wander far afield when not directly engaged in something, lending the appearance of being slow or dull-witted.
Notably, he has an inability to let pass any situation in which he could help someone. Part of it is due to his dislike for seeing wrongs go unrighted or bad deeds unpunished, the majority part is a need to validate himself against some arbitrary measure of worth by doing these good deeds.
Once he's decided on a course of action to take, a goal to pursue, or a sidequest to undertake, he is remarkably single-minded and pig-headed in his determination and efforts in accomplishing that task. However, if he experiences enough failure in a task--usually in the form of repeated attempts--he becomes completely disheartened with that task and will abandon it; to date, he has not returned to any such abandoned tasks. Because of this tendency, he's usually reluctant to engage in challenging tasks to begin with.
Powers and Abilities
Trivia
Likes
- Sandy beaches
Dislikes
Hobbies/Talents
Other
Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC! ◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)
◢ Uncommon Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)
◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)
◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players)
|
|
Annotations
22-Sept-14: Page created. More to come.
23-Sept-14: Massive early bio dump. And some quotes.
25-Sept-14: More bio.
