Zha'li Vael

Zha'li Vael
Collector of Curious Chronicles
Gender	Male
Race	Miqo'te
Clan	Keeper of the Moon
Citizenship	Unaffiliated
Server	Balmung
Primary Linkshell	The Whispered Spiral
RPC Username	Imsey

Basic Info

Zha'li is tall for a Miqo'te, his tribe tending to favor the taller end of the scale. His build is naturally fit and athletic, however his hunting has never lead him towards significant muscle gain. There's nothing frail or gangly about his body, and he moves with confidence and quiet control. He's reached the early years of adulthood, but is still unseasoned in many ways.

Like many in his tribe his hair, ears, and tail are deep black. Hi skin tone is also rather dark as well. Light green color highlights through his hair which is typically kept tied back in some sort of braids. He won't say as much, but he enjoys adding new beads and trinkets to the style. His eyes are a pale yellow orange, his tribal tattoos colored to match as custom. Bright blue paint adorns his face.

History

He'd thought the commotion came from a wounded chocobo, frantic to escape the trap of some idiotic hunter. When a young and yet untested Zha'li rushed forward to free the creature, what he found instead was a story. A story on the tongue of a wandering Hyur who would nudge his life in a direction he hadn't expected...

---

Youngest son and last child of the tribe matriarch, Zha'li's childhood was spent around fire pits and lore. His mother's tribe, tight knit and smaller than many Keeper tribes, had always taken pride in the telling of stories. Devoted to ensuring knowledge was passed faithfully along the generations, all members made it a point to gather from their solo hunts or wanderings to meet under the full moon. From simple children's cautionary tales and hunting stories to great legends claimed to come from the time before the migration, Zha'li's youth was filled with the words of his people.

As was custom in Zha'li's tribe, all of the young learned the basics of healing, with those showing promise encouraged to pursue the role of healer at the feet of their shaman. All in the tribe were born to the hunt, but not all could embrace the power of the world around them to mend. It was very early that Zha'li exhibited a proficiency for the healing arts and a sensitivity to the voices of the elementals of the Twelveswood, his keen ear and open mind leading him to study with the tribe's shaman. He was never officially named as an apprentice or successor, by the will of the elementals. Zha'li couldn't understand the reasons behind this, but he has obeyed lest he invite the wood's wrath. The tribe shaman and matriarch both believed it was a sign that Zha'li would some day travel beyond their territory, and the Twelveswood as well.

It was much later, when he'd grown enough to take on his own solitary night hunts, that a new thread was introduced to his fate. The sound of a great commotion had driven off much of what he'd planned to hunt that night, and upon closer inspection Zha'li was rather shocked to come upon a thrashing chocobo. Always rather fond of the birds (well, to put it very lightly), the impulsive youth rushed over to assist it. It was an unwelcome surprise to discover that the chocobo was not alone, and that the commotion caused was in an attempt to free its Hyur companion from a hunter's trap.

He helped the Hyur out... for the chocobo's sake.

The encounter didn't end there, however, the Hyur thanking Zha'li profusely for his help while also requesting aide and a place to rest while he healed. When the young Miqo'te asked just what the Hyur planned to offer in exchange, a wry smile hit the man's lips. "I'll pay you with a story," was his simple response. Reluctant and disinterested at first, one wild story became two, and one night became weeks. Without effort the Hyur had charmed the young Miqo'te, and many nights Zha'li should have spent hunting were spent instead curled up against the chocobo's flank, listening and laughing to the impossible seeming tales that spewed from the man's lips.

Zha'li was honestly sad when the other finally chose to move on. With a challenge to Zha'li to come find him some day with stories he could share (or facts to disprove any of the tales the young Miqo'te had insisted had to be false), Hyur and chocobo stepped out of his life, if not his head. Many years passed where Zha'li immersed himself in his tribe's ways again, but when the Calamity came he was given the push he needed to get traveling. He stayed with them until satisfied they were safe, but after he requested permission to leave. His mother, of course, wasn't surprised.

It wasn't precisely the need to step out into the world to help, to offer his healing abilities, though of course he would be happy to. It was the realization that what seemed an entire world was out there, an entire world that had nearly been destroyed. Stories he'd heard from the Hyur were his only link to something that could have been extinguished without his ever touching, a thought that spurred him on to keep that promise. Beneath all of that, Zha'li had felt a restlessness stirring within him, perhaps from the elementals, or perhaps something else. Strange events and thoughts had begun to cross his mind, something he finds himself unable to ignore.

Personality

Seeming relatively easy going compared to the brooding stereotype of the Keepers of the Moon, Zha'li is amiable to most conversation. He isn't exactly comfortable with large crowds or intimate discussions with those of other races, but he won't avoid them either. He doesn't have the worldly confidence to emulate the traveling Hyur as much as he'd like, but he is able to hide his insecurities away behind smiles and pleasant words if needed.

At times Zha'li may come off as preoccupied, at others absent-minded, and if one is being a bit mean they might jest that he's a bit dense. He's certainly no simpleton, but his mind is often occupied, and a life spent alternating between listening to stories and hunting solo haven't exactly created the most typical conversational habits. He prefers to listen, and if his responses seem a little off or to a tangent, he's simply beginning his reply with a bit of what he'd been pondering caught at the start of it. Engage his attention, in a task or conversation, and you'll find a lucid and focused companion.

Though not the sort to rush to physical violence, Zha'li isn't afraid to take a blow or two. Not every hunt goes smoothly, and even focusing on the healing arts as he has, Zha'li has been on the wrong end of more than one botched hunt. He says it helps give him a bit of perspective on those he heals. He might not be thrilled with the thought of getting knocked about, but he won't run away if he can help someone in doing so.

He's never quite caught the knack for telling them, but he enjoys a good joke, and misses the horrible jokes of the travelling Hyur. He tries to maintain a positive outlook on things, though occasionally it may not be phrased properly. Easy humor and an appreciation for telling stories (true or not) is a wonderful way to gain a smile from Zha'li. That, or talking about chocobo. Nothing makes Zha'li perk up quite like talking about his favorite yellow companions.

The Vael Tribe

The Vael tribe is lead by the Matriarch (Zha Vael), counseled as well by their Shaman (Mohg Dhalkhi). Though Zha is nearing the time when she'll pass leadership to one of the younger females, she's remained a source of strength and a clear head for the tribe through the Calamity and the years that followed. She has a sharp mind yet a fair one, guiding the tribe without dictating their every move. In her younger years she could outpace nearly all others in her tribe in a race, that quickness something she's passed to her daughters. She doesn't have the same aetheric leanings as her youngest child, but she fully respects the will of the world and spirits around her. The Vael tribe listens to the Elementals of the Twelveswood, and offer stories to the Shroud on the full moon as part of their gathering.

The tribe remains in seclusion, unwilling to integrate with the larger world, yet they do not shun those from the outside, nor is it forbidden for any to leave the tribe to wander beyond their territory. Those who leave are still considered a part of the tribe, however, and are expected to keep the secrets of the tribe. Rare that it has ever happened, any who tell tribal secrets, or their most sacred stories, are hunted.

• Strong tradition of oral history and storytelling, some of their tales coming from before the great migration. These ancient tales make up the bulk of their sacred ones.
• Willing to work and share with other tribes. Though they rarely seek others out, they understand the benefits that come from such exchanges of ideas and goods. The only thing they don't offer to outsiders are their tribal tales of course.
• Weak when it comes to literacy, they have made certain to learn the basics to manage the times when they do enter into cities or settlements (rare as that typically is).
• Avid hunters, competent healers. All of the young receive basic training in the healing arts, those showing promise encouraged to pursue it further. All this is done while keeping to the will of the Twelveswood.
• Though the matriach and shaman often give advice on pairings and marriage, for most it is left up to the individual to decide. Marrige into another tribe is not forbidden, nor is bringing home a new member.

((Anyone who is interested in being a member of the tribe is very welcome to PM Imsey at the RPC forums to discuss this))

Affiliations

• The 'traveling Hyur' and his amazing chocobo ((NPCs currently))
  • The strangers that nudged his life, Zha'li keeps an eye out for this pair always. He knows only the short name the Hyur gave him, nothing more. If he'd been a bit more worldly at the time of their meeting, he might have suspected the man to be of Garlean origin.
• The Whispered Spiral ((Linkshell))
  • Zha'li formed this secretive group when some of the tales he recalled hearing from the traveling Hyur started to overlap too much with new tales he was hearing as he made his travels outside of his tribe's territory. A bit of investigation into some of these strange rumors and events has opened his eyes to a phenomenon he cannot explain. Yet.
• Cute Things Protection Agency ((Free Company))
  • Zha'li's tribe hunts under the blessing of the Twelveswood, hunting and taking only what they need, respecting the lives around them. To take the life of creatures smaller than you as prey is something he has come to terms with, however he has witnessed too much killing for the simple sake of sport and experience. Having a soft spot for smallprey creatures (cute creatures), he found himself in agreement with this group's ideals.

Rumors

((Tbd))

Goals

• Zha'li would likely give up adventuring altogether if he could devote his life to the raising of chocobo. Not only does he honestly find them cute, but their dependable and brave nature once bonded to someone has always impressed him. While there is of course a large part of him that will likely always wish to roam and hunt and experience new lands (and hear new tales), the thought of centering his life around the birds is alluring.
• It goes without saying as well that Zha'li hopes to find his Hyurian friend again. He keeps an ear and eye out for him always, eager to swap stories.

Quirks

• Zha'li would like to emulate the traveling Hyur, and often gravitates towards campfire gatherings or taverns with the intent of telling stories. He never seems to, however, either losing his nerve or getting lost in the tales being told.
• The stories of his tribe are never to be shared, no matter how small, by tribal law. Their history, stories and lore are sacred, and belong to them alone. Those ancient stories also contain information that could prove dangerous in the wrong hands.
• Due to his tribe's tradition of oral history, Zha'li has difficulty reading and writing. Through sparse contacts with other tribes and outsiders his own tribe has learned the basics of writing and reading, however Zha'li is neither proficient with or fond of the written word.