Asada H'cate

Asada H'cate
Stormlady Asada H'cate
Gender	Female
Race	Miqo'te
Clan	Keeper of the Moon
Citizenship	Ul'Dah / Limsa Lominsa
Guardian	Llymlaen, the Navigator
Nameday	5th Sun of the 4th Umbral Moon
Grand Company	Maelstrom/Second Storm Lieutenant
Free Company	Blackwood Company <BLACK>
Primary Job	Scholar

Character

General

The adopted daughter of wealthy Ul'dahn merchants, Asada H'cate has struggled her whole life to find a place where she belongs. Currently she lives with her fiancee Elia Kasaineko in the Lavender Beds, adventuring in her spare time trying to find answers about what happened during the Calamity, and trying to discover who her biological parents are and why they abandoned her.

Vital Statistics

Age - 18, despite being an accomplished adventurer in her own right, Asada is quite young.

Gender - Female

Sexual Orientation - Lesbian, and fearful of men.

Body Type - Short and curvy, perhaps even a little bit chubby. Asada has spent her life buried in books and has generally avoided strenuous physical activity when she can help it.

Hair - Long and pin straight. Asada isn't lazy when it comes to caring for her hair and it shows, it is always clean and untangled. The same goes for the thick fur on her tail and ears.

Eyes - The only physical similarity between Asada and her adoptive family are the wine red eyes. Asada's eyes also have a glossy nature to them which almost resembles that of the Dunesfolk Lalafell who took her in as a child.

Tail - Asada has a medium-length, very bushy tail covered in thick, black fur.

Skin tone - Pale for someone who grew up in the desert, but Asada never did spend very much time outside.

Personality

At first meeting, Asada is very timid and unsure of herself, but she quickly becomes very affectionate and flirty if she feels safe and she is given the chance. Despite being the effective equivalent to nobility in Ul'dah, Asada insists that she is nothing special, and usually tries to hide the facts of her upbringing when meeting new people. She is extremely loving, and this personality trait led her to become a healer for some of the most challenging and dangerous quests of the Seventh Umbral Era and beyond. Despite this adventuring experience, she is very young and is still victim to bouts of emotional immaturity, especially in matters of love.

Tendencies

Likes

• Cuddling
• Books
• Dressing up
• The Tipsy Tonberry

Dislikes

• The Garlean Empire
• Bullies
• People who act entitled

Hobbies/Talents

• Dancing
• Chocobo-raising
• Reading and Writing

Other

• Has a slight stutter when she's nervous
• Impeccable hygiene
• Fiercely curious

Relationships

Family

Redd Nakoma - Redd is Asada's older brother, and the biological son of their parents. He's a kind and emotionally generous Lalafell who is fiercely loyal to Ul'dah and the Sultana. Through all the bullying and the sadness and the loneliness of Asada's life, Redd is the one person who has always been there for her.

Yayamo Nakoma and Jukoma Nakoma - Asada's mother and father were two of the most successful independent merchants in Ul'dah, who managed to amass a fortune yet remain unaffiliated with the Syndicate or the Sultansworn. They have traveled extensively, plying ancient trade routes and establishing new ones all in order to increase their fortunes. It was on one such journey that they found an infant miqo'te, abandoned on the sands and near death. The baby had the deep red eyes of the Nakoma family, and Yayamo and Jukoma took it as a sign from Azeyma and Menphina that they were meant to have this baby, so they took her in and raised her as the daughter of a highly respected Ul'dahn family. On the eve of the Calamity five years ago—shortly before Asada's thirteenth birthday—Yayamo and Jukoma traveled to Ala Mhigo on a trade mission, seeking to open the borders of the empire-occupied city. Their fate is unknown, as their mission was interrupted when the primal Bahamut burst forth from Dalamud and laid waste to the lands of Eorzea. Asada believes her parents were captured by Garleans, though in truth they are probably dead.

Elia Kasaineko - Elia is Asada's fiancée, soon to be her wife.

Friends

Naru Vaan - On a searing hot day in Ul'dah, a thirteen-year-old Asada wandered the alleys of Pearl Lane searching for any news from refugees about what may have happened to her parents. Delirious from the heat and distracted thinking of questions to ask the newest arrivals, the young miqo'te didn't notice the band of children following her through the streets, cackling and making fun. They were her old schoolmates from when she still attended lessons with Redd. It didn't take long before they were upon her, throwing the most degrading insults while savagely pulling her tail and ears, scratching and punching, tearing at her clothes. Being in the poorest district of the city, the sultansworn never would have stepped in to stop the beating, but a pretty young Moon Keeper miqo'te named Naru Vaan did. Naru was alone in the city and worked as a dancing girl on the Ruby Road Exchange and her heart flew out to the young Asada. After fending off her attackers, Naru took the young miqo'te under her wing. She taught her how to dance and how to support herself when times got rough, explained how to set boundaries and always be in control in the bedroom. Naru was like a sister, a mother, and a lover who showed Asada the realities of life. Shortly before Asada left on her travels, Naru was killed by a pieste while collecting flowers near Scorpion Crossing. The loss of her closest friend and mentor hangs heavy on Asada's heart, and she has a tendency to cling to miqo'te who remind her of Naru.

Foreseer K'lyhia - An arcanist from Maelvan's Gate who, like Asada, also spent time as Doesmaga's captive. Though K'lyhia and Asada can't bear to speak about what they suffered to each other, the fact of their shared experience has created a lasting bond between the two of them.

Enemies

Doesmaga - One of the most feared pirates on the Rhotano Sea. Doesmaga boarded the vessel Asada was riding from Vesper Bay to Limsa Lominsa, killing many of the sailors and taking the women captive. Though she did eventually escape, the emotional and physical scars from moons spent aboard Doesmaga's ship will not easily heal.

Rumors

Common Rumors

• "That girl is nothing more than the pity case of a wealthy family, she brings shame on Ul'dah." - Overheard in the Quicksand
• "When she came 'ere lookin' fer work I 'anded 'er an apron an' a serving tray. Turns out the broad wanted ta save Eorzea!" - Baderon
• "She's an adventurer? You mean she won't spend the night with me for a few gil?" - Buscarron's Druthers patron

Moderate Rumors

• "Asada is the angel of Highbridge! She saved my life when I was ambushed by Qiqirn raiders." - Amaljina and Sons caravan driver
• "At first I thought she was just a dancing girl, but by now she's saved my life more times than I dare recount." - Y'shtola

Rare Rumors

• "There was an adventurer exploring the ruins of Dalamud near here, I think she had a deathwish." -Wood Wailer at Fallgourd Float
• "We both possess the Echo, but somehow hers seems...different." - Minfilia

History

The Kitten in the Desert

Asada H'cate's birth name, and her true birth date, may never be known, but as far as Yayamo and Jukoma Nakoma were concerned, she was born on the 5th Sun of the 4th Umbral Moon, in the year 1559 of the Sixth Astral Era, two years after the fall of Ala Mhigo. It was on that morning that the Nakomas found an infant miqo'te abandoned by the side of the road in the desert near Highbridge. She was badly sunburned, dehydrated, and near death, and the Nakomas were no strangers to suffering. They had been in Ala Mhigo when the city fell, and they dealt with the refugees on a daily basis. They also knew that babies were occasionally abandoned in the desert for any number of reasons, and that perhaps they should simply let the Twelve run their course. But when the little girl opened her eyes, they could no longer walk away. Anyone would know those eyes belonged to a Nakoma—deep red, wide, and glossy—and even if this girl wasn't a lalafell, Yayamo and Jukoma saw those eyes as a sign from Azeyma and Menphina that this baby was their responsibility. Yayamo scooped up the frail child in her arms and wrapped her in a scarf, holding the bundle against her chest and fretting as she listened to the whimpers of the baby all the way home to the city.

The rumors began almost immediately after Yayamo and Jukoma stepped through the Gate of Thal. That one of Ul'dah's most successful families would take in a pity case like this was unheard of. Of course, knowing Yayamo and Jukoma and their love for Ala Mhigo, most people assumed they would give the baby to the refugees. After all, they already had a son, they didn't need a daughter, much less a half-dead miqo'te newborn. Indeed, when the lalafell couple named their daughter Asada H'cate—giving a Sun Seeker name to a Moon Keeper girl—doubts flew as to whether this family could raise the girl. But, in the end, the Nakomas kept Asada, and they decided to raise her as one of their own, a sister for their son, Redd.

Growing up Ul'dahn

While her parents came to love her as one of their own almost immediately, and her brother Redd was just a toddler and had no trouble accepting her as his sister (though he did grab her ears or yank her tail from time to time), the rest of the city did not take so kindly to a sickly Moon Keeper being cared for by such an upstanding family. Among the Ul'dahn elites, opinion held that Asada would grow up to be an urchin and a thief. And the Ala Mhigan refugees living in the city treated her even worse, with a mix of jealousy and hatred. She was bullied during her lessons, and insulted and attacked when her parents weren't around. By the time she turned ten she had given up on making friends in Ul'dah. She spent her days shuttered away in the library of the Thaumaturges guild, learning about magic and monsters and dreaming of the far reaches of Eorzea.

The Calamity

Like it did for so many other Eorzeans, the Calamity changed Asada's life forever. She was twelve years old when the tragedy struck. Yayamo and Jukoma had been anxious for weeks, watching Dalamud fall as they tried to arrange a journey to Ala Mhigo to reopen trade with the occupied city. Their plan, understandably, made a lot of people unhappy, and had been causing increasingly heated politics as the war escalated and support for any kind of trade with the Garlean Empire diminished. The Nakomas maintained that the Ala Mhigans were still Eorzeans and deserved all the support Ul'dah could afford them, even if they were living under the fist of Garlemald.

And so, even as the armies of the Eorzean Alliance marched on the VIIth Imperial Legion at Carteneau, Yayamo and Jukoma Nakoma packed up their wagon, harnessed their chocobos, and began their march to Ala Mhigo. They wouldn't return. Shortly after their departure, as the Battle of Carteneau Flats raged on, the Elder Primal Bahamut emerged from Dalamud as it fell from the sky. The primal laid waste to vast areas of Eorzea, decimated the VIIth Imperial Legion, and began the Seventh Umbral Era. The Imperials capitalized on the disaster to establish a foothold in Eorzea. It's unclear whether Yayamo and Jukoma were killed by Bahamut or captured by the Garleans in the ensuing confusion, but whatever their fate, they did not return. Asada's already difficult life was about to become truly hellish.

After his parents disappearance, Redd threw himself into learning to fight. Asada, on the other hand, retreated into a cocoon of fear. Who would protect her now? She was only 12 and a bookworm: she stood no chance of holding her own in a fight. She began passing her time with any miqo'te she met in the city. Mostly dancing girls and the occasional courtesan. These were her people. One such girl, Naru Vaan, became one of the most important people in Asada's life. By the time she was 15 she had a repertoire of skills essential to any pretty miqo'te entertainer. With the exception of her brother, the Nakomas all but disowned her. The work she did to support herself was less than respectable, and it was easy enough for the family to distance themselves from her, after all, she wasn't even the same race as them.

On her 17th birthday, things changed. And it was thanks to her brother. Redd cooked her favorite meal of desert orobon and handed her a rectangular package about 12 ilms across. Inside was a worn grimoire, embossed with the Nakoma family crest. As Asada opened the front cover, the second gift fell out: a ticket from Vesper Bay to Limsa Lominsa. Redd reminded his sister not to lose sight of her dreams, and told her to go to the Arcanists guild. A fresh start in a new city would be just what she needed.

Coming to Limsa Lominsa

Asada H'cate departed Vesper Bay blissfully unaware of the dangers that roamed the Rhotano Sea. Monsters she expected, but pirates were something nobody counted on. After all, hadn't the Admiral ensured her waters were peaceful? Less than a day out of port, the vessel carrying Asada was attacked by pirates led by Doesmaga. The pirates killed sailors who tried to fight back, and they captured the women and any men who surrendered to be sold into slavery.

The young miqo'te was something of a prize to the pirate captain, and when she wasn't chained belowdecks he kept her in his quarters, making her perform for him and his officers nightly. He also often called upon her to meet more intimate needs of his. She endured this captivity for months. Doesmaga sailed to all of the shores of Eorzea and beyond, even selling his plunder in Garlemald. Asada used her desirability as an asset to prevent Doesmaga from selling her off, and night after night she compromised her dignity while planning her escape. Until one night, off the coast of Aleport, she slipped out of Doesmaga's bed and through the window of his cabin. Clutching her grimoire to her bare chest in its leather pouch, she dove into the sea, and she frantically swam for the nearest shore.

An itinerant merchant found her washed up on the Isles of Umbra, and he dressed her and put her on the next ship to Limsa Lominsa, stressing how important it was that she tell her story to the guildmaster of the Arcanists' Guild. After nearly being recaptured, Asada finally made it to Limsa. Baderon, the proprietor of the Drowning Wench, didn't realize she was an adventurer at first, and instead gave her an apron and a mop and instructions to serve the patrons of her institution. Still severely traumatized, Asada worked as a serving girl for Baderon for days before explaining to him the reason she was in Limsa Lominsa in the first place. Eventually though, she did find her way to the Arcanists' Guild, and there she met K'lyhia, the young Foreseer who had lived through a similar nightmare with Doesmaga. Together they began to strategize a way to bring the pirate down.

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