Zha'li Vael

Zha'li Vael
Collector of Curious Chronicles
Gender	Male
Race	Miqo'te
Clan	Keeper of the Moon
Citizenship	Unaffiliated
Server	Balmung

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Basic Info

Zha'li is tall for his race, though you will find others taller. He's reached the early years of adulthood, but is still unseasoned in many ways. He is fit, however his hunting has never lead him towards significant muscle gain.

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...

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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, 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, for both the shaman and Zha'li's mother noted early on that the young Miqo'te's eyes drifted ever so slightly beyond their territory.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Affiliations

- The 'traveling Hyur' and his amazing chocobo ((NPCs currently))

- The Whispered Spiral ((linkshell))

- Cute Things Protection Agency ((FC))

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. Besides, traveling with a chocobo is better than alone, should the need to travel truly grip him.

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, at the request of his mother. Their history, stories and lore are sacred, and belong to them alone.

- 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.