Difference between revisions of "Niamh Chalahko"
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Niamh Chalahko was born east of the Lumberline by the shores of Rootslake in the year 1560 – twelve years before the [https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Umbral_Calamity#Seventh_Umbral_Calamity Calamity] and the end of the Sixth Astral Era. Her family, the immediate one, was compromised of her mother, two aunts, some siblings, and many, many cousins, while her ''un''-immediate family was inestimably bigger. This was because it was genetically writ in her sept within the Chalahko clan that females be born in near identical threes, and, taking into account the female-leaning birth phenomenon that was characteristic of her race, this meant there was a conspicuous amount of same-faced people milling about in her family. One might even say copy cats. Most, though, said ''Glim-Gowans'', for their hair matched the dandelion flowers they shared beds with. | Niamh Chalahko was born east of the Lumberline by the shores of Rootslake in the year 1560 – twelve years before the [https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Umbral_Calamity#Seventh_Umbral_Calamity Calamity] and the end of the Sixth Astral Era. Her family, the immediate one, was compromised of her mother, two aunts, some siblings, and many, many cousins, while her ''un''-immediate family was inestimably bigger. This was because it was genetically writ in her sept within the Chalahko clan that females be born in near identical threes, and, taking into account the female-leaning birth phenomenon that was characteristic of her race, this meant there was a conspicuous amount of same-faced people milling about in her family. One might even say copy cats. Most, though, said ''Glim-Gowans'', for their hair matched the dandelion flowers they shared beds with. | ||
====Livelihood – ''Hot Hills''==== | ====Livelihood – ''Hot Hills''==== | ||
| − | There was another distinctive mark of her kin, and that was a piece of land that they did not own but inhabited nonetheless, having squat on it for enough generations to consider it inherited. It was called the ''Hot Hills'' or '' | + | There was another distinctive mark of her kin, and that was a piece of land that they did not own but inhabited nonetheless, having squat on it for enough generations to consider it inherited. It was called the ''Hot Hills'' or ''Fire Piles'' by the locals living within five malms, while those privy who lived further still simply referred to it as "''that Miqo'te dirt farm in the South.''" For agriculturalists rotating crops or gardeners starting beds, it was the ideal place to find premium compost and bonemeal. Some even claimed that the land on which the Hot Hills was heaped contained ''magick properties''. |
This'' 'dirt farm''' was treated like a torch in passing by the many, many hands of her large, large family; and every several years or so, the matriarchs announced the next who would hold it, with the explicit direction of "stay put and keep shop." At the age of seven, it was Niamh's family who received the torch, and thus the mantle of Hot Hills. | This'' 'dirt farm''' was treated like a torch in passing by the many, many hands of her large, large family; and every several years or so, the matriarchs announced the next who would hold it, with the explicit direction of "stay put and keep shop." At the age of seven, it was Niamh's family who received the torch, and thus the mantle of Hot Hills. | ||
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The novelty of caretaking wore off fairly quick – and not just because it was boring staying in one place all the time. Ironically, the sobering of their spirits occurred not long after they acquired and ingested a particularly potent – and better yet, cheap! – quantity of sylvan [https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Milkroot_in_Moderation milkroot]. This was not an unusual event in and of itself, as custom dictated that celebration (and mourning) begin (or end) with a journey through the thickets of ones soul, where the providence of Menphina was said to shine the brightest and illuminate paths both dark and uncertain. | The novelty of caretaking wore off fairly quick – and not just because it was boring staying in one place all the time. Ironically, the sobering of their spirits occurred not long after they acquired and ingested a particularly potent – and better yet, cheap! – quantity of sylvan [https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Milkroot_in_Moderation milkroot]. This was not an unusual event in and of itself, as custom dictated that celebration (and mourning) begin (or end) with a journey through the thickets of ones soul, where the providence of Menphina was said to shine the brightest and illuminate paths both dark and uncertain. | ||
| − | Children under | + | Children under thirteen did not journey into this expanse, as it is was believed that Menphina's cryptic messages could only be deciphered after unlocking all nine chakras (called by them the ''thrice three'') – a rite which began three years after birth and lasted for nine. By this time the oldest among the children was twelve, so it was only the three mothers who partook of the entheogenic goop and entered the dreamlike copses of their souls. |
Whether due to some blight in the milkroot, a pollutant in the dreamtoad ooze, or some other additive from the Glim-Gowan larder gone spoiled, the expanse was not as the women usually found it – and they did not return from the trip in their entirety. Niamh's mother came back jaundiced and mistrustful; her aunts lethargic, detached and anxious. Their promotion of station required a temporary tenancy of six years, and as only one year had passed, it would still be five more before any Glim-Gowan Chalahko came to check on them. The kids sought to manage on their own. | Whether due to some blight in the milkroot, a pollutant in the dreamtoad ooze, or some other additive from the Glim-Gowan larder gone spoiled, the expanse was not as the women usually found it – and they did not return from the trip in their entirety. Niamh's mother came back jaundiced and mistrustful; her aunts lethargic, detached and anxious. Their promotion of station required a temporary tenancy of six years, and as only one year had passed, it would still be five more before any Glim-Gowan Chalahko came to check on them. The kids sought to manage on their own. | ||
| − | |||
===End of 1.0, Aftermath=== | ===End of 1.0, Aftermath=== | ||
<div style="font-size:13px;">''“... I saw the sigils of the Twelve. I saw the sigils of the Twelve break under that- thing. How could the Gods be so beaten?”''</div> | <div style="font-size:13px;">''“... I saw the sigils of the Twelve. I saw the sigils of the Twelve break under that- thing. How could the Gods be so beaten?”''</div> | ||
====Catalyst – ''The Sundered Moon''==== | ====Catalyst – ''The Sundered Moon''==== | ||
| − | + | Niamh witnessed the [https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_of_Carteneau Battle of Carteneau] and the Fall of Dalamud, albeit from very far away. She was not a combatant on the field, but a curious kid accompanying her troublesome brothers on an expedition to see what the wartime hubbub was about. Discerning the path to the event wasn’t difficult, as every person not clad in armour had a common direction their backs were turned to. The difficult part was finding a clandestine route to viewing, which they managed by scrambling up the cliffside and establishing a vantage point in a relatively comfortable crevice. | |
She can’t say she remembers much of the [https://youtu.be/39j5v8jlndM?t=71 battle] – clashing waves of soldiers, too small to make out as distinct figures of nationhood; magitek armours that appeared to the youngsters as creatures of Goliath proportions; pops of light from magicks performed, beyond the wildest imaginations – but as the distance closed between Dalamud and the land, a feeling of existential dread awashed her that is still palpable to her this day. Beyond that, the memory is eclipsed in light. | She can’t say she remembers much of the [https://youtu.be/39j5v8jlndM?t=71 battle] – clashing waves of soldiers, too small to make out as distinct figures of nationhood; magitek armours that appeared to the youngsters as creatures of Goliath proportions; pops of light from magicks performed, beyond the wildest imaginations – but as the distance closed between Dalamud and the land, a feeling of existential dread awashed her that is still palpable to her this day. Beyond that, the memory is eclipsed in light. | ||
Since the Calamity, Niamh is acutely sensitive to sudden fluctuations in the ambient aether, and is susceptible to aether sickness. Her intimate proximity with the horror of war should have had more of a cautionary affect on her but, past the initial shock, has had the opposite: she has a high psychological threshold for dealing with scenes of ruin, which is handy for her line of work. | Since the Calamity, Niamh is acutely sensitive to sudden fluctuations in the ambient aether, and is susceptible to aether sickness. Her intimate proximity with the horror of war should have had more of a cautionary affect on her but, past the initial shock, has had the opposite: she has a high psychological threshold for dealing with scenes of ruin, which is handy for her line of work. | ||
| + | [[File:Ffxiv 06022020 234755 357.png|thumb|left| ''Silent Arbor'']] | ||
| + | ====Family & Livelihood – ''Bearer of the Torch''==== | ||
| + | Her family never did recover from the devastation that was the Calamity. The Glim-Gowan sept was as torn to pieces as their moon-reverent faith. Of immediate affect to her, an aunt and several cousins had perished in the fires. They buried who they could, when they were found. Hot Hills was gone. Rootslake was losing water and would eventually drain to a mere mire. Game was scarcely found, and foraging near impossible. The South's populace shifted, as its people came to terms with their reality's bleak new normal. No longer did they know their neighbours. Opportunists skittered forth from whatever holes had previously contained them. Many others fell to banditry simply from no other recourse. | ||
[[File:Ffxiv 07282020 164243 039.png|thumb|left| ''Snakemolt'']] | [[File:Ffxiv 07282020 164243 039.png|thumb|left| ''Snakemolt'']] | ||
====Trauma – ''Dalamud's Lambs''==== | ====Trauma – ''Dalamud's Lambs''==== | ||
| − | ===ARR & | + | ===ARR to 5.3; Onwards & Upwards=== |
====Vision==== | ====Vision==== | ||
| − | |||
==Appearance & Personality== | ==Appearance & Personality== | ||
::[https://www.16personalities.com/istp-personality ISTP-A] | ::[https://www.16personalities.com/istp-personality ISTP-A] | ||
Revision as of 06:14, 29 July 2020
| Niamh Chalahko | |
| |
| QUICK FACTS | |
|---|---|
| Pronounced | [ˈniːəv ˈkaləˌkō] |
| Nickname(s)/Alias | Gowan, Glim |
| Age | Early 20s |
| Born | 1560 |
| Nameday | 9th Sun 1st Astral Moon |
| Birthplace | Black Shroud |
| Race | Miqo'te |
| Clan | Keeper of the Moon |
| Alignment | Chaotic Neutral |
| Citizenship | N/A |
| Guardian |  Althyk the Keeper
|
| APPEARANCE | |
| Height | 5 ft |
| Weight | 100 lbs |
| Physique | Slender; lean |
| Hair | Flaxen blond, sooty dip-dye |
| Eyes | Cyan |
| Skin | Pale, a bit sallow |
| Facial Features | Face paint, beauty mark below eye, teardrop on forehead |
| Tattoos | Cheek lunar markings |
| Scars | From being thrown into gravel and sliding across it, chiefly marks upper left torso and arm; two gunshot wounds: right-side back, leg |
| PERSONALITY | |
| IC SKILLS | |
| IC Profession | Curio Collector/Machina Scrapper |
| Combat Style | Evasive; stealthy; projectile; traps; debuff |
| Physical limitations | Sensitive to high concentrations of aether or sudden fluctuations |
| EQUIPMENT | |
| Primary Weapon | Shortbow |
| Secondary Weapon | Slingshot; hatchet; booby-traps; bombs |
| ABOUT THE PLAYER | |
| Username | Kitty-candlestick |
| Time Zone | PST/UTC-7 |
| Server | Balmung |
| Tumblr | kitty-candlestick.tumblr.com |
| FOOTNOTES | |
|
**Side bar template adapted from: Infobox-roe by [MoenMoen] **"The TMI Character Template for the Hopelessly Detail Oriented" created by [MoenMoen] | |
An enterprising scrapper ambiguously employed by Rowena's House of Splendors, Niamh is found in edifices abandoned and dilapidated, ransacking memories of technological eld for profit. Any motives beyond business are kept to her sleeve. Purveyor of anything a Garlean war machine may have within its chassis.
Contents
Backstory
Pre-1.0, Life & Its Circumstances
Family – The Glim-Gowan Chalahkos
Niamh Chalahko was born east of the Lumberline by the shores of Rootslake in the year 1560 – twelve years before the Calamity and the end of the Sixth Astral Era. Her family, the immediate one, was compromised of her mother, two aunts, some siblings, and many, many cousins, while her un-immediate family was inestimably bigger. This was because it was genetically writ in her sept within the Chalahko clan that females be born in near identical threes, and, taking into account the female-leaning birth phenomenon that was characteristic of her race, this meant there was a conspicuous amount of same-faced people milling about in her family. One might even say copy cats. Most, though, said Glim-Gowans, for their hair matched the dandelion flowers they shared beds with.
Livelihood – Hot Hills
There was another distinctive mark of her kin, and that was a piece of land that they did not own but inhabited nonetheless, having squat on it for enough generations to consider it inherited. It was called the Hot Hills or Fire Piles by the locals living within five malms, while those privy who lived further still simply referred to it as "that Miqo'te dirt farm in the South." For agriculturalists rotating crops or gardeners starting beds, it was the ideal place to find premium compost and bonemeal. Some even claimed that the land on which the Hot Hills was heaped contained magick properties.
This 'dirt farm' was treated like a torch in passing by the many, many hands of her large, large family; and every several years or so, the matriarchs announced the next who would hold it, with the explicit direction of "stay put and keep shop." At the age of seven, it was Niamh's family who received the torch, and thus the mantle of Hot Hills.
Tribulation – Bad Milkroot
The novelty of caretaking wore off fairly quick – and not just because it was boring staying in one place all the time. Ironically, the sobering of their spirits occurred not long after they acquired and ingested a particularly potent – and better yet, cheap! – quantity of sylvan milkroot. This was not an unusual event in and of itself, as custom dictated that celebration (and mourning) begin (or end) with a journey through the thickets of ones soul, where the providence of Menphina was said to shine the brightest and illuminate paths both dark and uncertain.
Children under thirteen did not journey into this expanse, as it is was believed that Menphina's cryptic messages could only be deciphered after unlocking all nine chakras (called by them the thrice three) – a rite which began three years after birth and lasted for nine. By this time the oldest among the children was twelve, so it was only the three mothers who partook of the entheogenic goop and entered the dreamlike copses of their souls.
Whether due to some blight in the milkroot, a pollutant in the dreamtoad ooze, or some other additive from the Glim-Gowan larder gone spoiled, the expanse was not as the women usually found it – and they did not return from the trip in their entirety. Niamh's mother came back jaundiced and mistrustful; her aunts lethargic, detached and anxious. Their promotion of station required a temporary tenancy of six years, and as only one year had passed, it would still be five more before any Glim-Gowan Chalahko came to check on them. The kids sought to manage on their own.
End of 1.0, Aftermath
Catalyst – The Sundered Moon
Niamh witnessed the Battle of Carteneau and the Fall of Dalamud, albeit from very far away. She was not a combatant on the field, but a curious kid accompanying her troublesome brothers on an expedition to see what the wartime hubbub was about. Discerning the path to the event wasn’t difficult, as every person not clad in armour had a common direction their backs were turned to. The difficult part was finding a clandestine route to viewing, which they managed by scrambling up the cliffside and establishing a vantage point in a relatively comfortable crevice.
She can’t say she remembers much of the battle – clashing waves of soldiers, too small to make out as distinct figures of nationhood; magitek armours that appeared to the youngsters as creatures of Goliath proportions; pops of light from magicks performed, beyond the wildest imaginations – but as the distance closed between Dalamud and the land, a feeling of existential dread awashed her that is still palpable to her this day. Beyond that, the memory is eclipsed in light.
Since the Calamity, Niamh is acutely sensitive to sudden fluctuations in the ambient aether, and is susceptible to aether sickness. Her intimate proximity with the horror of war should have had more of a cautionary affect on her but, past the initial shock, has had the opposite: she has a high psychological threshold for dealing with scenes of ruin, which is handy for her line of work.
Family & Livelihood – Bearer of the Torch
Her family never did recover from the devastation that was the Calamity. The Glim-Gowan sept was as torn to pieces as their moon-reverent faith. Of immediate affect to her, an aunt and several cousins had perished in the fires. They buried who they could, when they were found. Hot Hills was gone. Rootslake was losing water and would eventually drain to a mere mire. Game was scarcely found, and foraging near impossible. The South's populace shifted, as its people came to terms with their reality's bleak new normal. No longer did they know their neighbours. Opportunists skittered forth from whatever holes had previously contained them. Many others fell to banditry simply from no other recourse.
Trauma – Dalamud's Lambs
ARR to 5.3; Onwards & Upwards
Vision
Appearance & Personality
Niamh is on the skinnier side of average for her race. She has a leanness about her that reads of a strenuous, dogged way of life; where meals are missed if you lack the wherewithal to capture it. Her eyes seem starved of something too; of the quench of some answer that alludes her, or the satiation security brings. She doesn't smile much, and if she does it's sure to mean trouble; her natural countenance one of unabashed curiousity or disconcerting vacancy not at all unlike the stare of a Vanu Vanu's pet paissa.
Her ears look average, her tail long but not the longest; a symbol that looks like a tear or raindrop must hold some significance to her, for it sits in blackened permanency on her brow. She has slate-purple markings in the shape of crescent moons, inscribed as mirror images on either side of her face, with the bottoms of the smiling moons curving above her high-boned cheeks. She traces over this section with a dark salve during long travels, which aids to eliminate the glare of sunlight should she have to work into the day.
Niamh is very graceful, but you wouldn't always know it by looking at her. That's because she also considers herself infallible.xx
| PRIMARY MOTIVATOR | Discovery | Sense of Humor | Dry |
| Emotional Disposition | Curious | SEXUALITY | |
| Moodiness | Labile | Sexual Orientation | Asexual |
| CORE TRAITS | Libido | Low | |
| Outlook | Optimistic | Sexual Expressiveness | Low |
| Integrity | Fickle | Sexual Expressive Style | Physical |
| Impulsiveness | Spontaneous | Openness to sexual experience | Low |
| Boldness | Audacious | Promiscuousness | Low |
| Flexibility | Adaptable | RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY | |
| Affinity | Apathetic | Affiliation/Adherence | Orthodox; Questioning |
| Comportment | Agreeable | Tolerance | Tolerant |
| Interactivity | Engaging | Expression of beliefs | Occasional |
| Disclosure | Unconcerned | Converting others | Casual |
| Conformity | Freethinking | Attitude | Humble |
| Topics of Conversation | Chocobo care; mechanics; observations; self-care; spirituality; work | ||
| Quirks, Habits, & Oddities | Humming; doesn't like to be touched; eavesdropping; encroaches personal space; pacing; poor etiquette (please, thank-you); poor eye contact; stares; superstitious | ||
| Hobbies & Enjoyments | Art appreciation; music appreciation; dancing; fortune telling; gambling; games; invention | ||
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Combat
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P.Defense |
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| Dexterity |
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M.Defense |
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| Martial Prowess |
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Intelligence |
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| Magic Affinity |
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Luck |
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Overview
Raised by blighters and brigands and brothers that fight dirty, Niamh is not above a fistful of sand to the eyes to dispatch her opponent; but brawls – beyond holdups – are not really where she shines as a knockout (they’re where she’s likely to actually be knocked out though, if the pocket sand doesn’t work). On her toes, she’s an evasive, aerial combatant, moving with the slippery elegance of someone averse to fighting, but no stranger to it (example). If backed into a corner, she'll throw everything and the kitchen sink at her enemy, although her fighting style in close quarters will always be defensive and reluctant with the intention only to incapacitate or escape. If there’s nothing around her to improvise as projectile weapons or shields, and no traps laid to lead her opponents into, the fight is as good as over and she’ll high-tail it out of there. In battle she is an unreliable ally and will flee at the first sign of serious heat. Not only that, but if the battle is over something, such as some prized, coveted object, you can bet your booty she’ll be trying to take it with her – and not because she doesn’t want it to fall "into the wrong hands." Hers are definitely the wrong hands. She is first and foremost an opportunist, and a very indebted opportunist at that. Even the most pleasant of company is unlikely to overcome this fatal flaw.
Archery
Those that rival her with the shortbow are few and far, as she's had one practically glued to her most of her waking life. She’s proficient with a longbow, but the denseness of trees where she grew up meant the farthest you could be from your target while still maintaining line of sight would be under 50 yards, so it didn’t make sense to lug around the unnecessary poundage. Niamh only got practice with longbows post-Calamity, when her family had to move westward into new hunting grounds.
If convinced to join the party, she’s a cool, collected, confident sniper that will give you the willies just by looking at her. She owns the moments with a predatory glean to her eyes, and knows her shots will hit their marks – otherwise she doesn't take them. If you tried to get her attention or talk to her while she’s shooting, she’d seem to be in a completely other world. She makes little in the way of sound, past some self-compliments, and will operate mostly on her own while managing to appear where needed; she’s a natural at anticipating the flow in a group environment and countering her opponent’s next moves – not unlike the adaptive, analytical nature of a pack-hunter who doggedly pursues their prey into their final moments. She is unlikely to purposely kill another of the race of Man, even if commanded, and shoots as such. Unpurposeful killing is another story, be it by way of bombs, booby traps, or succumbing to the wounds or blown open holes created there by. By her conscience, those are just poor luck encounters.
Magicks
She was gifted at healing pre-Calamity before she became prone to aether sickness, but successfully administrating magical medicine is less of a certainty now, as drawing upon the ambient aether to perform a curative spell will at the least cause her vertigo, if not completely debilitate her. She knows how to splint, suture, and disinfect wounds, but will also insist on the consumption of naturopathic sludge to make her patients hale and hearty again.
Affiliations
- Rowena's House of Splendors - Niamh occasionally works a stall, or a corner under some stairs like Cristiana, but more likely she'll be out in the field, snooping around for new trifles to sell. Plus the gloom in Mor Dhona makes her aether-sick and it's stifling to always wear a mask. To keep up with her contractual agreement with Rowena, Niamh splits her spoils among a few of the merchants to ensure she makes profits, even with the loss of working through an intermediary.
- Skysteel Manufactory - She hasn't been caught at it yet, but she poaches commissions she overhears through the House or around town and tries to be the first to supply the Manufactory with mechanical odds and ends. She's hoping to at least get an experimental aetherotransformer through this extracurricular.
NPC Relations
- The Girls of Rowena's House Show text
Relationships
Rumours
Other Notes
Gallery
Links
- Niamh's search info carrd
- Glim-Gowan lore carrd — feel free to reference/include as a Chalahko
- Niamh's tumblr, open to messages
Trivia
- No clear city-state allegiance. Commonly found betwixt Ishgard and Gridania, although she has an apartment in Ul'dah and a slip asserting she's a citizen of Limsa Lominsa.
Inspiration
- Simo Häyhä, Finnish sniper nicknamed the "White Death"
- Lars Andersen, Archer Extraordinaire
Credit
Sources In Order of Use, & Not Already Hyperlinked Above
Top, #History
#Appearance & Personality
- Tables from Brynhilde Wulf
- Ash's Guide to RPG Personality, found through Brynhilde Wulf
#Combat
- Attributes box from Fancy Character Template
