The first and only child born to E'zehla Yarel, one of the few menders among the Eft of the Burning Wall, E'vahn's youth was shaped beneath the Thanalan sun, hunting along the cliffs of his tribe's ancestral territories.
An era of the Eft fell with Dalamud itself: a swath of their hunting grounds and the life a nunh wiped out in an instant. Amidst the dwindling numbers and a fear of tomorrow unknown, the tribe's surviving nunh, E'malha, tightened his grip. Ever one of the more fiery and outspoken of the Tia, E'vahn was unimpressed, and challenged the reigning leader.
He lost, badly, refusing to yield in time to spare himself injuries that should well have killed him, but thanks to his mother, instead marred his face and throat. Having lost his looks, his voice, and his pride, the Tia left the tribe in disgrace to brave the wider world, donning a mask to hide his shame as he drifted through Thanalan.
He found his way, as many do, to the grand city of Ul'dah, where for some three years he lost himself in the constant training and fighting of gladiator life, learning to wield longer blades and honing his talents to a more dangerous skill. He fell in with an ambitious fellow gladiator, one Destry Barlow, E'vahn's growing stoicism doing little to sway the midlander's fascination with tribal life. Barlow served as one of E'vahn's scarce few connections beyond the arena's walls, helping him take his first fumbling steps to learning his letters, teaching him the lay of the land in 'civilized' society. In return, Vahn spoke of Eft, and when he could not, provided his services as a training partner and oft-silent recipient of Barlow's love to talk.
As the years passed, he wanted for something beyond these battles, and eventually, he left the gladiator life behind. E'vahn drifted aimlessly at first, struggling for purpose but not for work, with Ul'dah's need for mercenaries and adventurers never in short supply. He established a reputation for his own personal brand of quiet professionalism.
Life became one of countless rituals and constant busywork: to rise to practice, to leave for work, to return and tend to every piece of his equipment; to rest, to rise again, to repeat the same thing each day. When there was not work, he would travel until there was, and when he found himself traveling far, he would find new things to learn and practice along the way.
He expected to never see or hear from his tribe again, and he may not have, were it not for a chance encounter on La Noscean soil as the sellsword traveled by foot toward Limsa Lominsa...
Discovering a trio of Miqo'te under assault by a band of kobolds, the swordsman stepped in and put armor and sword to work in their aid. Only when the fog of battle had cleared did he realize it was a mixed group of the Keepers, Sabhi and Tahla, and none other than a Seeker...E'zayi Tia. Confronted with a member of his tribe and learning of a place where Miqo'te could come together and learn of each other's ways, Vahn joined them on their return.
Vahn would come to call the strange group his friends, spending what hours he could with them between his own jobs as a sellsword (and butting heads with Zayi often, good-natured or otherwise). Not all things are meant to last, however, and the band of them soon disbanded: Sabhi leaving for work with the Twin Adders, and Zayi departing to realize his own dream of seeking the position of Nunh. Tahla and E'vahn remained together, finding work as mercenaries within the bonds of a free company. Eventually, their working relationship and friendship would blossom into something more, the two both finding something they lacked within the other, and Tahla would come to be with child.
Not all things end so happily, though, and the child was not meant to be. Reeling in the wake of a miscarriage, the two received news of trouble brewing within the tribe that Vahn had all but left behind, now nunh-less and teetering on the edge of another fall. Struggling on whether to stay or go, it was by Tahla's own words that Vahn was spurred to go to the aid of his tribe, the Keeper knowing him well enough to know that, otherwise, the Seeker never would have forgiven himself.
Within the passage of the last few moons, E'vahn has returned to the tribe of the Eft, determined to work toward providing some sense of stability in the wake of the prior nunh's abrupt disappearance. With the strength to defeat several challengers, he has taken on the mantle of nunh himself, working to avert his tribe from a downward spiral. His leadership is a tenuous thing, filled with further uncertainty and in the wake of years' worth of scorn upon his shoulders. Vahn, perhaps, is among the very first of those to view his position as a temporary affair: he is nothing if not a dutiful soul, and as eager as he would be to leave the tribe behind once again, well.
Fate is not always so kind, and so he remains.
With the infrequent visits of Kalani one of his sole lifelines to the outside world, Vahn has found himself mired in the struggles of a tribe too used to their fall and too stubborn to admit to it. Of late, with the trials and struggles of those he calls friends weighing unspoken in his mind, he sets his eye to the Burning Wall, hoping that the source of the Eft's failing might well become their saving grace.
APPEARANCE
Standing some five feet, eight inches tall, E'vahn has the wiry frame typical to most Miqo'te men, compact and densely muscled with little fat to spare. With a ruin of scars often hidden by a selection of plain scarves, bandanas, and masks, the most readily apparent of his facial features are his eyes: a cold hue of pale blue that often matches the man's quiet intensity. His hair is greying prematurely, a trend that starts at his head and works its way down the length of a short-haired tail, averted by the tuft of stark black that hints at his hair's once-raven color.
When outside of armor, E'vahn favors understated colors: dark browns and faded blues are in abundance with his wardrobe, as are shades of black and grey. Often dressing lightly, for easy motion and travel-ready clothing, the Seeker is still never without some form of protection, favoring at the very least armored gauntlets and greaves in his day to day travels. Rarely, if ever, unarmed, he often carries a plain longsword at his side, guard scarred with use and the handle worn down and replaced more than once with his constant practice. While much of his attire is as worn as the man himself, it is all painstakingly maintained and well-mended.
He does not favor much in the way of accessories, but he often wears a pair of plain horn earrings, gleaming with age and their constant handling.
PERSONALITY
Vahn, though arguably an extroverted sort, suffers from old injuries that make it difficult for him to speak loudly or at length. Words become easily jumbled and rough when formed by the painful rasp of his tongue, and in the wake of this he has become a quieter creature of almost forced introspection. Stoic and stolid, he has a stubborn streak a malm deep, not budging an ilm once he sets his foot down or gets an idea in his head. Resolutely honest, falsehoods are a facet of life he struggles with, and practices rarely. While some mistake his silence for a dour disposition, in truth those that he struggles enough to speak with at length will often discover a wit dry as desert sands, and rare smiles hidden behind his mask. Observant and contemplative, the Seeker misses little within the range of his (at times narrow) focus, and when in pursuit of a goal there is an intensity and drive to the man that can't be ignored.
Uncompromisingly loyal more often than not, Vahn is nothing if not dutiful, tackling the tasks assigned him (or those he assigns to himself) with vim, vigor, and a tireless work ethic, and those that he trusts he will defend to his last. With a moral compass almost tragically well-developed when put beside his lack of tact, the Seeker has had more than one clash with those acting out of accordance with his beliefs, or those he perceives as harmful to the people he seeks to protect. Vahn himself is scarcely always right, however, often viewing things through a black and white scope, or through the filter of his tribe and his own beliefs. Mix that with his stubbornness and you have, at times, a volatile mixture.
Hardly a fool for all his lack of academic schooling, Vahn's realms of interest are sadly scattered and often physical: not a scholar in the slightest, he's far more interested in the arts martial, in the make of a good tool, the balance and composition of weapons, and the more physical sorts of art that come with hands-on work (and, likewise, is all too happy to pass his knowledge on to others). All the same, in his quiet he has found almost too much room for thinking: the benefit perhaps of having to choose his words.
LIKES
- Martial Practice - Carving & Carpentry - Direct people - Stories & Songs (just don't expect him to be the one singing) - Drybone Tequila - Sunny Days
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DISLIKES
- Needless exaggeration, blowhards - Wet clothes - Dirty armor, poorly maintained weapons - People that can't get to the point. - Irresponsibility - Small-talk - Gridania.
CONTACT:
■ In-game at E'vahn Nunh ■ Discord: Lexicon#6626
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