I'rila Xanh

I'rila Xanh
I'rila Xanh
Gender	Female
Race	Miqo'te
Clan	Seeker of the Sun
Citizenship	Gridania
Age	25
Occupation	Artisan, researcher, inventor
Server	Balmung

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General

Curiosity killed the Miqo'te. That's what they'll say at I'rila Xanh's funeral when she dies prematurely from her latest ill-advised experiment or misadventure. If it looks interesting and she doesn't know what it is, there's a good chance she'll touch it. Novelty for her is what a gysahl green dangling at the end of a fishing rod is for a fat chocobo. Whether it's new people, new knowledge, new ideas, new technology, or new food, I'rila wants to experience it all, and then use that knowledge to make contributions of her own. Her lifelong goal is to dedicate herself to alchemical, social and technological progress that improves the happiness and quality of life of all Eorzeans. At least, that's what she'll tell you - and it is not a lie per se. The complete truth, however, lies buried in her past, and despite her outgoing demeanor, I'rila keeps her demons closely guarded.

Appearance

While I'rila stands taller than most Miqo'te women, she comes off as more lanky than fit with very little muscle definition and a bit of a slouch. Pit her against her tribe in an archery or combat tournament and she's liable to place dead last. When it comes to fighting, her only talents are destructive magic and running away - a fact that many trained in physical combat are able to notice. She has the shuffling gait of a perpetual daydreamer. I'rila generally prefers dark colors and bold make-up, though she's determined to try every new gadget she can get her hands on at least once, so her fashion can tend toward the bizarre. Whether she's sprinting at the head of a massive herd of (accidentally) provoked sheep or tap-dancing on the nose of a giant statue, this Miqo'te is probably a sight to hold.

Behavior

Enthusiastic. Scatterbrained. Endlessly curious. I'rila may not necessarily talk your ear off, but she asks many questions, and is interested in getting to know any new acquaintances. However, her attention may just as easily be pulled away to something interesting happening nearby. If there's anything she enjoys more than experiencing new things, it is having that experience alongside others, even if a bit of friendly persuasion is involved in convincing them to participate. To those she considers friends, she is loyal and devoted, but getting to that point with her can be tricky. She is more likely to notice good qualities in people who express views similar to hers, even when she herself isn't forthcoming about her beliefs in the face of potential conflict. Someone who cares about upholding tradition and preserving the status quo may never entirely earn her trust.

Childhood

To understand I'rila is to know her regrets, and of those she has many.

Born to the insular and traditionalist I tribe near the dunes of the Sagolii Desert, her childhood was marked by hardship. Between draughts, extreme heat, and skirmishes with outsiders, only a minority of her peers ever made it to adulthood. Her mother, the shamaness of the tribe, taught her everything she knew of alchemy and thaumaturgy. Her father was slain in combat when she was too young to remember him. The victor of that battle, fourteen-year-old combat prodigy I'wenye, became the youngest in the history of the clan to win the title of Nunh.

In the spring of Irila's twelfth year, her mother passed away from illness and I'rila became shamaness. Her brother I'ahgo had just turned ten, and she raised him mostly on her own. When she needed help, she turned to the tribe's healer, I'bhanya Aiwe.

I'rila was fourteen when she had her first child. The infant, who cried strangely and suffered from seizures, carried an affliction they were unable to treat with their limited alchemical knowledge and the Nunh firmly rejected the suggestion of turning to outsiders for help. Not only did they lack the resources to make that journey, he feared that the corruption of outside influence would erode away their culture.

Pre-Calamity

At the age of two, young I'ekeene's seizures continued. She lacked a significant response to visual stimuli, and had neither spoken her first words nor taken her first steps. That same year, the tribe suffered a draught. Each drop of water was meticulously accounted for and strategically distributed, but most still went thirsty. It had ultimately been the Nunh's decision to leave I'ekeene out near the dunes, but he appealed to I'rila's sense of duty to the tribe and successfully persuaded her to give up her child.

From a deep sense of shame and regret came the first inklings of rebellion. Would they still be short on resources if they had the technological advancements of their Ul'dahn neighbors? If they had more diplomatic connections, would they need to make as many sacrifices as they did? What might they be capable of if they weren't so afraid of outside influence? What might they have accomplished if breeding and ruling rights hadn't been based purely off of combat prowess? Could I'ekeene have been saved? Could she have even been cured? Ceaselessly, these questions began to haunt her. At first, her brother was the only person with whom she shared her thoughts. But when her growing bitterness led her to become unwilling to bring another child into the tribe, she spoke with I'bhanya. What started as an inquiry into ways to prevent conception turned into a deeper sharing of beliefs, and thus, she and I'ahgo found likeminded confidants in the healer and her daughter. In the course of their discussions, they agreed upon one thing: in order for progress to be possible, a progressive-minded Tia must defeat the current Nunh and assume leadership of the clan. It was for this purpose that I'ahgo began secretly learning thaumaturgy even as he continued his combat training in earnest.

Post-Calamity

Four years later, the world suffered a disaster the likes of which no one had ever seen. As the dust settled after Dalamud, I'bhanya lay dying from a poison-tipped lance. The Nunh, of course, sang the same old tune: no resources to spare, must resist the poisonous influence of outsiders, the well-being of the clan outweighs the survival of an individual. This time, I'rila was not so susceptible to his influence. Against his direct orders, the shamaness journeyed alone to Ul'dah while I'rhaane stayed to care for her mother. By the time she returned with the antidote, I'bhanya had been dead a matter of hours, and I'rila was apprehended on sight. Her punishment? To be starved until the amount of food she was denied equaled the rations she had taken. Even as she served out her sentence and endured the bitter taste of failure, the plan to overthrow the Nunh accelerated. I'ahgo was still no match for I'wenye. But with post-Calamity complications and Amaljaa beginning to encroach on their territory, the time for new leadership was now.

In the end, they won at the cost of their honor. When the Nunh sought treatment for the last of his injuries from the Calamity, I'rhaane gave him bandages laced with poison, and when I'rila then examined him for his new headaches, she brewed his tonic with just a few extra ingredients. In the meantime, I'ahgo received unsanctioned alchemical boosts to his magical ability and regenerative speed. At the age of nineteen, the young Tia defeated a man the entire tribe had thought was indominable. The details of how he did it is a secret the three of them will take to the grave.

I'ahgo's progressive policies were initially met with much dissatisfaction and dissent, but with the support of both the shamaness and the healer and I'ahgo's own fearsome reputation as the man who killed I'wenye, his wishes were ultimately upheld. In the year following his ascent to leadership, the clan relocated to a more hospitable location, trade agreements with Ul'dah were underway, breeding occurred on a voluntary basis and a handful of adventurous volunteers were sent off separately in search of new knowledge and technology. The first one to venture forth was his sister, I'rila Xanh.

Tendencies

General

Wonk.

Likes

• Novelty
• Freedom
• Learning
• Intellectual stimulation
• Gadgets and inventions
• Female Miqo'te in positions of political or economic power
• Socializing and having fun

Dislikes

• Too much structure
• Tradition, especially ones from Seeker culture
• Inequality
• Boredom

Relationships

Family

• I'ahgo Nunh - I'rila's brother and current leader of the I tribe. As children they were inseparable. As adults they were staunch allies in the political arena of their clan and co-conspirators in the bid to overthrow the previous Nunh. To this day they remain the closest of friends. I'rila regularly sends packages and visits once every couple of years.

Clan

• I'raane Jihro - Healer of the I tribe and a political ally. I'rila considers her a dear friend. Aside from I'ahgo, she's the only person in the clan I'rila regularly sends packages to.

Friends

• Isilrael Geissfyrwyn - A business associate and eventual friend that I'rila had met in Gridana. Originally, Isilrael was assigned to I'rila as a procurer of goods and crafting supplies. The Miqo'te then paid her half her income for an entire year to teach her how to read. I'rila owes much of her success to Isilrael's kindness and patience, and this is something she will never forget.

• Kiku Velah - A fellow alchemist at I'rila's current place of employment. They get along marvelously and work well together as a team, though the exact nature of their connection remains unexplored.

Acquaintances

(OOC note: Due to the sheer volume of people I'rila encounters, only characters with their own wiki pages will be included in this section. If I've missed your character, please let me know.)

• Salty Lake
• Zanin Briggs
• Myxie Tryxle - I'rila's direct superior at her current place of employment.
• Zin Jaeger
• Ihrie Desana
• Daghbheri Himalspyr
• P'etra Heartley

Enemies

.

Rumors

Common Rumors

• "Look, the lass is a lush - luxuriates in loads of luscious libations. A positively promising party participant should that be your predilection."

Moderate Rumors

• "How in the realms does an inventor have such a short attention span? Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

• "Soooo like I hear her brother's the Nunh right? And like, her tribe like only has one right? Like, does that mean she has to sleep with him? Because ewww."

Rare Rumors

• "Oh the Nunh's big sister? Used to be shamaness before she went trrrraipsin' around with outlanders. You hear the way she talks now, all fancy-like? And those doodads she wears on her face! Twelves' biggest shame's what it is."

• "Scatterbrained one seems like harmless one but this one has watched her harvesting poisonous ones in the woods. Walking ones that cross scatterbrained one are likely to become suffering ones!"

• "The man I used to work for got robbed in Ul'dah. The thief had been a desert girl, one of them Sun Seeker witches, managed to get away too. I never saw her myself, but to hear him speak of it, she was dirty as a beggar and spoke with as heavy of an accent as he'd ever heard. Never trust the desert folk, I say."

PC Rumors