Zindelo Tarantella

Zindelo Tarantella
The 'Dusty Dancer' Himself
Gender	Male
Race	Hyur
Clan	Highlander
Citizenship	Ul'Dahn
Age	25
Name Day	11th Sun of the First Astral Moon
Guardian	Oschon the Wanderer
Occupation	Fortune Teller

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Character

General

Zindelo Tarantella is a man of odd speech and many 'mysteries' as he would call them. While openly being friendly and talkative, he seems to be very good at keeping his personal history a secret. Whether this is through simple mystique or some deeper purpose is left to be seen, but he is still a friendly and affable man regardless.

Referring to himself as the 'Dusty Dancer' due to his wandering ways, he is in fact the eldest of a trio of brothers, a troupe he formed himself. 'The Tarantella Trio' are three men,

Appearance

Zindelo is a tall and lean man, solid build coming more from his heritage than direct training. A dancer's body is obvious beneath his tanned skin and long legs move with practiced step with every move he makes. His face done up with paint of vivid colors, wine-red eyes and gaudy hair beads all lend to his less than subtle presence and appearance. He seems to never be without his dry and crooked grin.

Despite the training his body has obviously undergone, he actually seems to be rather clean. His skin is well-maintained, and despite the slight layer of dust from his wanderings in the deserts around Ul'Dah, it shows very little in the way of marks or scars. Finger nails, beard and hair and even his feet are well looked after, apart from the callouses that come from years of dancing and wandering barefoot.

Behavior

By and large a friendly man, Zindelo welcomes any sort of talk or chat with just about anyone. This is, however, where one of his largest quirks seems to reveal itself, as Zindelo has an odd habit of switching between referring to himself in the First and Third person. He also has a habit of referring to questions as 'Mysteries' and ending sentences with 'Really'.

As a man that tells fortunes for a living, he is very good at reading people, and knowing when to remain quiet and listen. He does offer fortunes freely and seems to pick and chose who and when he charges for his readings. His readings seem to be eerily accurate and most times of the day he can be found giving them in either his shop in the Hustings Strip, in Ul'Dah or the Quicksand.

Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, he is a flirt to some degree and knows when to use his wiles, such as they are, on both men and women.

With his brothers, Zindelo has a very powerful sense of pride and is by and large protective of his 'siblings'. While he generally allows them to go their own way, do as they please and by and large lets them live their own lives, talking ill of either of his younger brothers results in swift revenge. Subtle too--things like accidentally hitting the offender with a door or tripping them are the most common, though more serious crimes can and usually do result in more serious repercussions.

Combat

General

Zindelo is a trained dancer and makes heavy use of his talents in combat. Flips, cartwheels, waltzes, foxtrots and every dance step in between make up his various forms and attacks and it is this whirling display that usually causes problems for his opponents. Working unarmed, he could be marked as a 'Pugilist' though he is not registered with the Pugilist guild. Taut muscles snap with incredible precision and it is a rare day that his blows don't move the way he wants them to when he starts to dance with his opponents.

Combat is seen as a contest, a dance-battle if you will, between Zindelo and his opponents and he makes a habit of commenting on their dancing ability through taunts and commentary. Quips concerning their lack of rhythm are frequent and he maintains (generally) an air of playfulness, even in dangerous situations.

He does not, apparently, make use of Aether while in combat as of yet. If he does, it is subtle, though some have marked on occasion that they have seen traces of it while he fights. Whether this is intentional or bespeaking of some latent and undiscovered ability has yet to be seen.

Tendencies

Likes

• Dancing and fortune telling--and any combination thereof.
• Spending time with his family and friends--and complete strangers too if the chance arises.
• Wandering and exploring the world all on his own, discovering and solving 'Mysteries'.

Dislikes

• People that insult his family directly.
• Bad music.
• Confinement.

Hobbies/Talents

• Dancing and Fortune Telling
• Solving 'Mysteries'.
• Reading people.

Other

• Speaking oddly and switching between First and Third person when referring to himself.
• May seem to quit an activity for no reason or disappear for days at a time.
• Seems to enjoy keeping people on their toes around him.

Relationships

Family

The eldest brother of the Tarantella Trio, a group he adopted--Dancing Wendigo (a Roegadyne) being the middle brother, and Ioakim Tarantella (also a Hyur) being the youngest.

Friends/Lovers

Berrod Armstrong was a regular attendee at the Grindstone Tournaments that Zindelo and his siblings also attended on occasion. After meeting Berrod in combat, he started to lingering around the man--mostly because his younger brother, Ioakim, had developed a crush on him and Zindelo wished to ensure that he was 'worthy' of such a title. He proved to be just fine--so fine in fact that he sparred Berrod in private on a few instances, eventually leading to a single-night tryst. He now sees Berrod as a stalwart companion and trusted friend, though maintains a respectful distance to ensure he does not cause problems for Berrod and his current lover, Caleb.

Friends/Acquaintances

Gerik Aston is an acquaintance mostly through Caleb, but Berrod finds the man's carefree nature intriguing. His first impression of the man wasn't at all favorable; Gerik had loudly hailed him out when he had been trying to meditate for the first time. It shattered his concentration and set his progress back by hours. Later on, Berrod became rather envious of the amount of time Gerik had been spending with Caleb, only to find out that the two had only been engaging in juvenile and playful shenanigans. Exposure to Gerik's happy-go-lucky nature has incubated a bit of protective instinct toward the Highlander.

Jael'li Erisha'an and Berrod seemed to be fated for rivalry since the day they met in Ul'Dah. Much to Berrod's surprise, it wasn't the first time he had met the energetic and headstrong Keeper. Jael'li apparently worked for Berrod before his memory loss, something that the Highlander has worked very hard to dismiss -- much to Jael'li's displeasure. He prefers to focus on the present, which involves becoming stronger by the day and hoping to stay one step ahead of the rapidly developing Keeper in his training.

Tefh Jinjahl is an aquaintance gained off of a chance meeting. Berrod has become somewhat fond of her.

Val Nunh met Berrod on bad terms, but through fighting the two gained a mutual respect for one another that has since then become friendship.

Enemies

Berrod has not yet made any significant enemies.

Rumors

Common Rumors

• "He left Ul'Dah to go work at some fancy place in La Noscea."
• "I heard that he spends almost all his time training. You'd think he'd be good by now."
• "Watch out for that one, he's been around."

Moderate Rumors

• "The man's always in street and bar fights, it's like he can't stop."
• "He sells himself on the street and pickpockets -- I heard he robs people in alleyways, too."
• "Saw him smacking around a woman he was with, how weak is that?"

Rare Rumors

• "He's a dead ringer for that old bandit who ran a racket out in Thanalan a few years back -- but that guy's dead, and this guy's a moron."
• "I heard he's got a bounty on his head. What for? I don't even know."
• "Don't trust him, he's a murderer."

PC Rumors

• "Nature probably didn't want me to save him." - Zach Coldsteel
• "Eh? Yeah, he's an asshole--but I wouldn't fuck with 'em 'less y'want y'damned head smashed in. Damn good drinkin' partner, though." - Val Nunh
• "Infuriatingly cocky bastard...knows how to push every button. Berry knows how to get shit done though..." - Corin Winterborne
• "Some can never turn their sordid lives around; others can. Berrod knows what a second chance is and even if he is... 'rough' around the edges, he is a good man. Always keep that in mind when dealing with him." - Kayllen Stormbringer

History/Timeline

At the tender age of three, Berrod was taken away from Ala Mhigo by his mother, who sought to flee from the invasion of the Garlean Empire. In an effort to buy them more time to escape, his father remained behind to fight and was presumably killed in action.

Berrod's early life was spent in the rough environments of over-crowded refugee camps, which moulded him into a tough and sometimes violent child. When he was eight he bore witness to his mother being robbed, beaten, raped and subsequently killed by a pair of men from another camp. He was dragged off with them and made to serve a leader of a small gang within the camp.

The boy spent the next five years in captivity and servitude, treated rather roughly by all his captors save one, an old Monk who had once served with the Fist of Rhalgr. The man taught him how to defend himself without a weapon, and how to strike down those who did him wrong. While the old man had no intention for Berrod to actually use the knowledge, the then thirteen year old boy used it to hatch a plot of vengeance against his captor and the men who murdered his mother.

At the end of the fifth year he struck, murdering the leader of the gang while he laid with one of his women. The young boy offered the woman and the old Monk a chance to escape. The Monk declined and together Berrod and the woman left for the boy's former camp. With five years gone, the inhabitants had long forgotten him and considered him an invader from the other settlement. It took some doing, but he and is charge managed to convince the bristling group to let them in. Berrod bargained with the leader of the camp to help teach the young men and women how to fight, based on what he had learned from the Monk.

Order collapsed in the other, more violent camp and while they reeled in conflict for leadership, Berrod trained with the young men and women, taking three years to groom them into a veritable fighting force. By the time the other camp recovered and decided to try an invasion to expand their territory, Berrod's camp was ready. They defeated the invaders and offered the fighters amnesty on the grounds that they would fight for Berrod's camp. The influence this course of events granted the sixteen year old Hyur over the people quickly led to him becoming the leader of the now combined camps. At that time, the old Monk who had trained him was nowhere to be found.

The consolidated camp enjoyed a year of relative prosperity before the massive Garlean invasion and the Calamity struck. Their numbers were decimated and their resources all but obliterated. Left with only the strongest and toughest among the group, the hardened young man resolved to do whatever it took to survive. That resolve led to the formation of a deadly group of bandits who took up territory in Thanalan and had no mercy on any who would oppose or impose upon them. The group distanced themselves from their Ala Mhigan heritage and began recruiting from outside their race.

The need for survival turned to greed, and after three years Berrod had become a ruthless Bandit ringleader, going under the name Redhammer. It was only a matter of time before their operations drew the notice of the authorities. With the help of a few mercenaries, the Immortal Flames swept through Berrod's base of operations, overwhelming his forces. Those who were not killed or allowed to run were captured. Berrod himself was taken down in a rather rough battle, left for dead with a grisly head injury.

When he awoke he found himself in a pile of corpses taken out to be burned, and managed to crawl away and into the desert. He made it only two malms before collapsing of fatigue and blood-loss once more. The twenty year old man was found and picked up by a merchant travelling to Ul'Dah, who nursed him back to health over a period of six months. Berrod, however, had no memory of several things he had done during his lifetime, including his leadership, his crimes -- and his training. The man was very nearly a blank slate. He recalled his proper name, had vague recollections of his mother, and understood in his heart that he had a very rough time growing up.

In an effort to make the best of things, the powerful-looking Highlander decided to leave the forgotten past behind and focus only on the future. He thanked the merchant for helping him and worked with him for six months before parting ways. Adopting the ways of a common street thug, Berrod resolved to live life to the fullest and began another regime of rigorous training within his tour of Ul'Dahn life.

It's been three years since then, and his story is still being written.

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