Qara Qalli

Qara Qalli
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The Dreamteller
Gender	Female
Race	Au Ra
Clan	Xaela
Citizenship	N.A. (native of Othard)
Age	Late 20s
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Witch doctor & zither player
Server	Balmung

"We are often two, and they make war in us." [WIP]

BASIC INFO

Qara Qalli is an Au Ra recently arrived in Eorzea. The self-proclaimed healer is almost never seen without a large, casket-like object in tow, and is quite happy to reveal its contents upon request - 'Chora', her zither (a yatga). This she plays on and sings to more than willingly to any poor, unfortunate soul who would lend his or her ears. Typically, the subject matter covered is grimmer or more morbid than would have been expected of the sweet, smiling (if overly garrulous) Xaela, who is likely afterwards to hand a perplexed listener 'dreamweed' from Othard. Visions are her mission - she'll read your pulse and what you see in slumber to lead you to your destiny. If you believe her...

Recent Events

She is mostly found wandering in areas in the Twelveswood and Thanalan, especially in areas of religious interest, such as the Church of Saint Adama Landama. She might have been spotted mixing with inhabitants of a refugee camp in the desert.

CHARACTER (IN-DEPTH)

Appearance

Qara is tall (and awkwardly so) for a female Au Ra. She has waist-length red hair of a vivid hue, mostly worn loose. Her pale green eyes are large and staring, which tends to lend others the impression that she is much younger than she actually is - her dark skin also helps to mask the dark eye rings she possesses from regular sleep deprivation. (“Sleep is a sacred space," or so she claims; she both fears and yearns for the visions in her dreams.) A number of jewelry and charms adorn her wrists and ankles, for she enjoys ornamentation and pattern; she also applies blue face paint (signifying wisdom) regularly.

Personality

The musician is usually smiling and cheery, and always in earnest, though those who interact with her for some time may realize that she’s actually often nervous when interacting with people. She gets by on pure will. When speaking, Qara has a tendency to ramble and reveal a little too much about herself - details that most people might consider private or better kept secret. The common assumption is that this is innocence and naivety, but the real truth of the matter is that Qara doesn’t see herself as having anything to lose.

This, along with what Qara sees as a gods-given vision, makes her all too willing to put herself in danger for others without actually investing in or depending on them emotionally.

In fact, she doesn’t actually trust anyone with the important things. Those who are in closer contact with Qara may begin to realize that she hardly ever asks for personal favors. When someone gets a little too close emotionally, Qara may become curt and distant, wanting to spare herself inevitable hurt.

While Qara is mostly calm, she can lunge into violent rages if aggravated enough. Qara's religiosity and music serve to contain an erratic personality and what she considers her inherent ‘unruliness’. If deprived of these, one might observe a significantly crankier, bitterer Qara.

Beliefs / Values

Life is an ongoing battle against oneself, which is essentially a microcosm of what happens on a larger scale between clans, lands, polities. Qara does not believe in self-abnegation, rather, in balance, in harmony. She 'preaches', then, the necessity of both the monster and the leash. She is herself an often clumsy specimen of that ideal. She believes in the redemption of all living things, and that death can also be a sort of redemption. All lives and deaths have their purposes in the achievement of the will of the gods; she is but a servant of theirs sent to reveal the destinies of others.

Thus, while as a healer Qara is committed to alleviating pain, she can just as likely believe in the purpose or necessity of suffering, death, or even cruelty, and even deliver these things herself.

Abilities ■ General musical proficiency - especially skillful at the use of drums, percussion instruments, and zithers. ■ Has knowledge of herbs, psychoactive plants and the use of traditional medicinal methods and poisons. ■ Decent at the use of knives in battle by Eorzean standards, though in her tribe she'd be considered mediocre. All members of her tribe undergo basic training in this. ■ Qara also specializes in dream interpretation. ■ She feels a spiritual connection with 'nature', and is most at home in open spaces, also possessing a keen understanding of the land.

Weaknesses ■ Qara can be quite the Luddite. Only semi-literate - knows her alphabet, but her reading is limited to simple signs. Distrusts technology and those who appear too ‘well-read’. ■ Lacks confidence and is easily hurt, but also tends to nurse her wounds in tears and quiet without retaliating or standing up for herself - unless provoked to fury ■ Sarcasm and humour may sometimes elude her, as she tends to take people’s words as earnestly as she gives hers. ■ Sometimes socially awkward and has a tendency to commit social blunders because of cultural differences. Is terribly out-of-place indoors as well. ■ Her complete lack of self-preservation - in various aspects - lands herself, and perhaps even others, in trouble more often than she expects.

Other Traits ■ Exhibits some childlike mannerisms - habits such as biting her nails, twirling her hair, picking at scabs, nervous girlish giggles, etc. It’s almost as if she’s making up for lost youth. Also tears up easily when agitated or over-glad. ■ Speaks a lot, in a half-excited, breathless manner, as if she’s been holding words back for too long. Her years as a member of the Qalli tribe have introduced a distinct, uneven lilt to her voice. ■ Qara's singing voice is airy, breathy, high-pitched - a little too sharp at times - people who actually appreciate her singing would consider it an 'acquired taste', really. (She might sound like this or this.) ■ Hoards. She collects everything and anything, and is known to casually pocket little items that belong to others without quite registering what she’s doing. Strangely enough, on the other hand, she is also fond of sharing everything and anything she possesses. ■ Seldom sleeps - is known to go for 2 days straight without slumber and then crash for another forty-eight bells after.

HISTORY

(The following is likely to be common knowledge or hearsay for Tumet-related families.)

Some of the older ones still remember this: Qara (as she was known as after) was born slow. 'Slow' for what it meant to the Tumet, at any rate, and of course such an unfortunate distinction caused the girl more than her fair share of problems from young. At ten, she was the last of the children to free herself, and the last of them to reach the camp before it moved... she'd barely passed the test. She'd barely survived at all, and divine intervention alone, or so it seemed, ensured her survival. It was a better year by all accounts, and she alone did poorly.

Deemed 'unfit' for most direct battle, yet possessing a substantial amount of Aether, ‘Qara’ was taken under the wing of a prominent ‘Seer', or diviner, of their sub-clan. She taught her the ways of medicines, poisons, and dreaming; they took turns to play the war drums, and sometimes the Seer would let her sing the dirge, the only song they had. It is said that after Qara's first bleeding, victory always went to the clan whenever she was behind a drum. There was considerable frenzy generated about this, and they called her 'walking death', 'singing death', then.

Not all of this attention was undesirable. Qara became the object of quasi-religious fascination for the angry and equally isolated Sarnai, a cloak-and-dagger assassin of the sub-clan. Qara returned Sarnai's worship with a passion she hadn't known she possessed, and slowly, quietly, they amassed a list of strange crimes. The older ones aren't certain about the specifics anymore, and debating the facts through the years has become a favorite past-time - had the two mangled a couple of horses? meddled with their enemies' corpses once? - or tortured a captive indiscriminately when it came to their turn to watch the night? People observed, too, a notable rift growing between Qara and her mentor. The younger one had begun to question, challenge and make song, breaking her characteristic meekness in a manner undesirable to Tumet stoicism.

Still, Qara was useful. Until, for reasons still largely incomprehensible to all, she turned upon the Seer at Sarnai’s urging, and the spiritual mother of the tribe was slain.

Much of the whole affair remains an enigma. Whatever the pair’s motivations had been, the elders knew they could no longer turn a blind eye to their misdeeds. Their names were stripped from them, and, as per custom, they were speared through the leg and left separately to certain death in highly perilous territory.

It's unclear whether Sarnai-who-once-was lived. Unlikely. Qara did, though, and has held on defiantly to her first name to this day. Those who return in this way are chosen, and the Xaela are not wont to question the will of the gods, who had stayed death’s hand for Qara a second time. Qara drifted among various tribes for years, bearing a vision from the Dusk Mother, only settling with the Qalli a long time after. There she learnt and grew, in music and in her strange arts and philosophies - but remained, as always, the ‘odd’ one. It came as no surprise to anyone when she finally left the Qalli, and Othard, too, singing of blood, redemption, fate, and of herself... guiding those who care - or dare - to listen dream their own fate into being.

MISCELLANEOUS

Rumours Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC! ◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard) ■ "'Er voice's as coeurl's claws draggin' themself across ma axes 'ere, and it's them blades' ringin' that loses. Pit-fully. Don't get 'er started!" - A bounty hunter based in Gridania ■ "The horned girl pilfers a couple of faerie apples from my stall, right, and so we chase her, and down she goes, juice down her chin, brow to ground. She forgot! she says, and turns goddamn baby's eyes on me, 'sorrys' all over the sky, talks like a snake at its own tail... and thrusts the half-eaten fruits back at us! Then spills her pouch and gives us this - this thing - for my daughter, as if I had one - and, I don't know, nutritious Othardian centipede dust as recompense? All this while fiddling with the hilt of those daggers, goddammit, and you wonder why we just let her go? Do you want this doll?" - an agitated merchant from the Golden Bazaar ■ "She is terribly good with her hands." - a coy Miqo'te street dancer ■ "Look here - for all our sakes, you've to stop tossing her name all over the place like that. She's a gift, godsent or voidsent, parts with those 'happy herbs' for almost nothing at all." - a dubious, well-dressed, pipe-smoking Ul-dahn ◢ Rarer Rumors (Difficult to overhear) ■ "Believe what you must of her, but do not think her gentle." - An Au Ra Xaela from an unidentified tribe ■ "Some would call her a kinslayer. I have seen one or two reasons not to think otherwise." - a venturing Elezen retainer ◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players) ■ None yet.

Relationships ♥ Romantic Interest    ♥ Platonic Love     ● Good Standing     ● Poor Standing ● -WIP- Gallery Error creating thumbnail: File missing Error creating thumbnail: File missing Error creating thumbnail: File missing Error creating thumbnail: File missing Links & Footnotes IC / inspiration tumblr: http://monstressmarvel.tumblr.com This weird mystic is always looking to meet new people! You can contact me via PM on the RPC or on tumblr. Layout courtesy of Bancroft Gairn.