R'das Sahazrh

R'das Sahazrh
Gunsmith of the Black Karakul
Gender	Female
Race	Miqo'te
Clan	Seeker of the Sun
Citizenship	Ul'dah
Location	Horizon
Occupation	Gunsmith

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About R'das

Brief History

R'das Sahazrh is a young Miqo'te Seeker of the Sun in her early-to-mid twenties. She was sired to the R Tribe by R'Sahazrh Nuhn. R'das left her tribal home two years before the Calamity and travelled the world up until the events at the Battle of Carteneau. In the aftermath of the Calamity, R'das settled permanently in Horizon in Western Thanalan and started work as an independent blacksmith.

Over the years, R'das has picked up bits and pieces of other crafts; carpentry, to create more intricate and comfortable sword grips; and goldsmithing, to create decorative embellishments upon the weapons she created. A major turning point in R'das' career was when she took an interest in the firearms of the Yellowjackets and Garlean invaders and set to work understanding the means by which to operate--and eventually mimic and create her own designs of--the contraptions. To do this she delved into the field of alchemy to better understand the concepts of firesand and how to properly utilise it to create the desired effect within a firearm.
R'das dropped her old trade of creating more traditional arms like swords or lances and moved into a new market of firearms, producing them and selling both the weapons and the proper knowledge to use them, though at a very steep price.
She also frequented old battlefields, searching for any remaining Garlean weaponry or materials that could be easily salvaged. By doing this and reverse-engineering the devices she found, she has gained a rudimentary knowledge of many types of magitek armament. Though she has never been able to reproduce a Garlean magitek weapon from scratch, the possibility that she one day might is one of the driving factors that keeps her going at her trade.

With the crisis at Copperbell Mines, R'das' supply of metals has started to dwindle, and as such, so have her profits. Recently, R'das has joined the ranks of the skypirates of the Black Karakul and is currently working on arming the second iteration of the airship with scavenged Garlean technology, appropriated from the wreckage of the Agrius and various other sources.

Appearance

Dress sense and attitude summed up in just one picture.

R'das stands a few ilms above most of her kin. Her build is somewhat lithe, though a glance at her bare arms or torso would reveal that her smithing profession keeps her fit enough. Though muscle-bound by no means, R'das at least looks to be able to lift her own weight, if only for a short while.
As a desert cat, R'das' skin is a bronzed colour, decorated with faint tribal markings, coloured orange. Many are barely visible against the colour of her skin, and she seems to pay no special attention to them at all. A long few years in Thanalan have given her plenty of time to adjust to the desert clime; she doesn't burn very easily, nor is she phased by the dust carried on the wind.

Her hair is cut short to avoid it getting in her eyes--or worse, her forge--and worn threaded through two bangles either side of her head. Her hair, tail and her ears are coloured a soft black tone, as opposed to the typical pitch black of other black-haired Eorzeans.

In terms of clothing, R'das prefers less expensive, looser clothes. Wearing too much, or too tight, clothing in the deserts of Thanalan is most decidedly not recommended. She oft wears bandanas to keep her hair out of her eyes, and sand out of her hair, though she sometimes wears eyeglasses. Whether she actually needs them or just wears them for aesthetics is forever a mystery.
Recently, however, her dress sense has started to lean towards slightly more expensive clothing. In particular, a rather fancy looking leather coat, embroidered with gold trim and buckles. She tends to wear this coat when she's out socialising, but takes it off for anything that runs the risk of damaging it.

Temperament

Laid back does not begin to describe R'das' attitude to pretty much everything; if one could take a domestic housecat's personality and place it into a humanoid, the result would be R'das. When not working, R'das spends a lot of time lounging around in the sun. It's common for Captain Baradoen arriving at the site of the Karakul's construction to find R'das asleep or sunning on the rail instead of attaching weapon mounting.

R'das also incorporates the attitude of the average housecat. In conversation, she has a close partnership with dry sarcasm and wit. While not confrontational, she doesn't deal with easily-offendable or annoyed people very well, often poking to see how far she can take things until somebody cuffs her across the head. She also has a tendency to toy with slower individuals, trying to see how gullible they are or how much of a tangent she can take a conversation on before they can notice.
R'das has a heavy accent, a frankly horrible amalgamation of Ul'dahn sark and Limsan pronunciation. The Ul'dahn influence is relatively obvious, and the Limsan elements R'das blames the Roegadyn Captain Baradoen for, though more likely her common deals with the Yellowjackets are more to blame.

Occupation

Officially, R'das works as an independent blacksmith who specialises in firearms. She has a workshop in the Ul'dahn town of Horizon where she makes guns to ship across the sea from Vesper Bay to the Yellowjackets in Limsa Lominsa. She also sells firearms locally, though the price of such equipment is usually very high, as she also provides instruction in the proper handling and usage of firearms. Such knowledge is not cheap.
R'das used to source her materials from Copperbell Mines, though recently with the Hecatoncheir uprising and the mine falling into a state of disrepair she has had to outsource materials from the Nanawa Mines in the northern reaches of Thanalan.

Unofficially, R'das is also a tinkerer of sorts. Alongside her weapons she creates wondrous devices based on both Eorzean, Allagan and Garlean magitek. Her workshop is decorated with curios from all corners of Eorzea: aether valves from the ruined lighthouse of Pharos Sirius, magitek vanguard and reaper scraps from Raubahn's Push, broken scraps of Allagan machinery from Agelyss Wise and Carteneau, and many other bits and pieces.
The prize of her collection is a Garlean handgun recovered from Cape Westwind in the aftermath of Operation Archon.

As a Gunner

Importing metals from Nanawa has started to tax R'das' coffers to the point where it is no longer a viable business option, with the shark-like nature of Ul'dahn business politics and their enforcers. For the last two years, R'das has been in the employ of Captain Baradoen Toegwryst of the Black Karakul, serving as the pirate airship's gunnery chief and engineer. Aboard the first iteration of the Karakul--before the accident--R'das was responsible for maintaining and manning the ship's cannon weaponry.
During the construction of the second iteration of the Karakul, R'das is responsible for the creation and installation of the new weapons and their mountings, including a jury-rigged magitek cannon.

Equipment

Garlean Magitek Revolver

The crown jewel of R'das' collection of assorted magitek. This revolver-esque device was found amidst the leftover scrap at Cape Westwind following the events of Operation Archon by the Grand Companies of Eorzea and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. R'das picked the battlefield for several months in search of magitek devices or materials to take back to her workshop and study.
R'das carries the revolver on her person at all times, worn on her hip in an aldgoat leather holster, and uses it as her primary weapon on the rare occasions she engages in combat. She is a competent marksman, despite the foreign nature of the firearm--a testament to the amount of study and practise she has put towards it.

The firearm is constructed of a dark, heavy metal common to many Garlean devices. The grip consists of a pair of dark wooden slabs, pinned with brass rods to either side of the metal of the gun, which are shaped to provide a comfortable grip.
The cylinder of the weapon is a smooth, unmarked surface, save for a pair of thin blue strips that follow the circumference of the cylinder, one at roughly at quarter-ilm from each end. The strips glow faintly in a pulsating manner, hinting at the weapon's magitek nature. Likewise, two such strips line either side of the barrel, stopping roughly a quarter-ilm from both the end of the barrel and the receiver.
The trigger and hammer are forged of a lighter steel-like metal and have long holes bored through them to reduce weight. The trigger guard and underside of the barrel also have minimal boring.
A faded gold design is etched into the gun, covering large sections of the receiver and the barrel. The design doesn't appear to be of any specific image, but rather just embellishment for embellishment's sake.

R'das remains unsure of how the weapon actually functions, and she's too attached to it at this point to risk taking it apart and breaking it. For now she is happy with the knowledge that she pulls the trigger, the hammer cocks and falls and the firearm shoots.

Quite what the firearm shoots is another matter entirely, however. Whereas most guns that R'das makes shoot either small lead balls or shaped bullets, her revolver appears to house a similar firing mechanism to the magitek cannons of Garlean Reaper units, albeit on a much smaller scale. When the trigger is pulled, the revolver launches a bright blue projectile comprised of some manner of aether, which strikes the target with a large amount of force before detonating. The blast appears to be unaspected, much like the arcane spellcasts of an Arcanist, and very localised. As such, while the potential for collateral exists, two targets would have to be standing incredibly close to be struck by the same blast.

Firesand Grenades

Taking a page from the gobbieflock, R'das carries her own brand of fireboom. Ranging from a small leather pouch stuffed to the brim with firesand to a rudimentary shell or metal casing, R'das has a large array of small-scale explosives that she employs. For the most part, the explosives serve as a distraction for her to retreat to safer havens, though a nearby target may find themselves with a series of severe burns and possibly shrapnel wounds.

Some of these peculiar creations are also packed with additional reagents, such as those which produce a cloud of smoke or a blinding flash when detonating.

Carrying such flammable equipment on her person leaves R'das very susceptible to a well-placed fire spell, though she typically does not wear the pouches or cases openly, and most certainly avoids declaring their purpose.