I'rila Xanh
 I'rila Xanh
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| Gender | Female |
| Race | Miqo'te |
| Clan | Seeker of the Sun |
| Citizenship | Gridania |
| Age | 25 |
| Occupation | Artisan, researcher, inventor |
| Server | Balmung |
Contents
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 the vast majority of 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
Effusive. 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 for whom it is a priority to uphold tradition and preserve the status quo may never entirely earn her trust.
History
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 was the shamaness of the tribe and her teacher in the arts 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, I'meleng 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 able to treat with their limited alchemical knowledge. 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.
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 without needing to restrain her physically.
From a deep sense of shame and regret came the first inklings of rebellion. At first, her brother was the only person with whom she shared these 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. 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.
Four years later, the world suffered a disaster the likes of which none of them had foreseen. 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 only a matter of hours, and I'rila was apprehended on sight. Her punishment? To be starved until the amount 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, the bandages I'rhaane gave him were 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 secret of how he did it is a tale 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 reputation as the one 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, and a handful of volunteers were sent off separately in search of new knowledge and technology. The first name on that list was, of course, 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
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 letters and visits once every couple of years.
- I'ekeene Wenye (assumed deceased) - I'rila's sick and developmentally delayed daughter, abandoned near the dunes of the Sagolii desert on I'wenye Nunh's orders. Her loss was the single event that has affected I'rila most deeply.
- I'meleng Ahgo (deceased) - I'rila's mother and former shamaness of the I tribe. It was from her that I'rila first learned alchemy and black magic.
- I'xanh Nunh (deceased) - I'rila's father, killed by I'wenye in ritual combat weeks before I'ahgo was born.
Clan
- I'raane Jihro - Healer of the I tribe and co-conspirator in the bid to overthrow the previous Nunh. I'rila considers her a dear friend. Aside from I'ahgo, she's the only person in the clan I'rila regularly writes to.
- I'bhanya Aiwe (deceased) - Former healer of the I tribe, mother to I'raane and mentor and confidant to I'rila and I'ahgo. Even though I'rila is younger than I'bhanya's daughter, the healer had once been the object of I'rila's unrequited love - though in truth, it was closer to displaced gratitude. Her death weighs heavily on I'rila's conscience.
- I'wenye Nunh (deceased) - Former Nunh of the I tribe, father of I'ekeene and predecessor of I'ahgo. I'rila, I'ahgo and I'raane engineered his defeat through underhanded means.
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.
Enemies
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Rumors
Common Rumors
Moderate Rumors
Rare Rumors
PC Rumors
