I'ssei Nelhah
 I'ssei Nelhah
| |
 “I’d rather die of passion than of boredom.” | |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Miqo'te |
| Clan | Half Seeker of the Sun, half Keeper of the Moon |
| Citizenship | Ul'dah |
| Age | 21 |
| Namesday | 32st Sun of the 1st Umbral Moon |
| Guardian | Azeyma, the Warden |
| Profession | Adventurer/gladiator in training |
Appearance
I'seei inherited both Seeker and Keeper traits from both his parenets, however he predominately is pegged as a Seeker to the Sun upon first glance. This is because of his well tanned skin and vertically aligned pupils, a result of all his time spent in the desert. Also, like many other Seekers he was born with heterochromia, his left eye being a bright green and the right one white. Ever since he was born he's had trouble seeing out of his right eye, but he didn't completely lose his sight in it until later in life when he was training as a gladiator. An accident in the collisum gave him a scar on that eye and rendered it completely useless. Often he uses his shaggy hair to cover it, which is a stark white just like his mother's.
From his mother he also inherited his long, wolf-like tail and the prominent fangs, which only show themselves when he smiles.
I'ssei is rather short for both clans, standing at only 5'2.7". His height is a soft spot for him, especially when he compares himself to the other races, and he prefers for others to not mention it. He makes up for it in strength, his muscles lean and fine tuned for fighting and well-trained from many years of hunting. He's usually seen with white face-paint on, two lines that cover his cheekbones and circles over top of them. His father used to paint his face this way and he keeps the tradition going to honor his memory. He also has darker white marks on his temples, which he was born with.
Growing up in the hot sun I'ssei usually prefers to wear as little clothing as possible, as long the situation allows it. Often he will go around Ul'dah topless and sometimes if its hot enough he'll wander around with nothing but swim trunks on. However, for battle he prefers the protection of clothe and armor. He isn't a big fan of heavy armors, as he find it restricts his movement too much and will often forgo it for cloth armor instead, even if it leaves him less protected.
Personality
Sociable and upbeat, I'ssei loves talking with others and will often strike up a conversation with anyone around and can often be seen laughing or with a smile on his face. His smile isn't always genuine and he tends to hide his emotions from others, even from people he knows well or considers friends. He keeps most people me meets at arms length and only feigns trust until he gets to know them. Only the rare few that really get to know I'ssei get to see his true self and even then he'll try and hide himself if he gets too emotional because he thinks it makes himself look weak. Due to his past, he angers easily when the Amalj'aa or Ifrit are mentioned and he will openly show his hatred and discontent towards them or anyone who sympathizes with beastmen in general. When the topic comes to his past he'll usually spin lies about it and make up reasons about why he hates the Beastmen. He never brings up his brother or his kidnapping because he blames himself for it all.
I'ssei has a penchant for going to taverns and getting hammered, to the point where he can't even walk on his own. For the most part he's a cheerful drunk, though he tends to be a bit loud and will often flirt with any female in sight, even if they are obviously uninterested. Sometimes if he's drunk enough he'll go for guys too. He'll accept advances and reciprocate from anyone of either gender, even when he's sober. His drinking habit can be hard to fund, so sometimes I'ssei resorts to pick pocketing. Often he'll approach people and strike up a conversation that he uses to distract them while his hands snatch their wallet or anything he sees is valuable.
History
I'ssei was born to a Keeper of the Moon Mother, Sizha Nelhah, and Seeker of the Sun father, I'rra Tia. The story goes that I'rra Tia of the Buffalo tribe wished to be the Nuhn but despite all his efforts he was never strong enough to best their current breeding male. Instead of accepting his role of Tia the young Miqo'te tried to convince some of the huntresses to follow him to start their own tribe. However, all the huntresses were too loyal to the current Nuhn and most viewed I'rra as nothing but a weakling. I'rra, instead of starting a new tribe, left the Sagoli and traveled the lands of Eorzea, visiting the various city states and country sides. That is until he came upon a female Keeper of the Moon hunting in the Shroud and found himself instantly smitten. The female, Sizha Nelhah, was at first uninterested in I'rra but as the two got to know each other better they slowly started to fall in love. The two spent a year together in the shroud. They spent most of their time together and moved around often because Sizha was a poacher, which was illegal and she was often on the run from the woodwailers. However, two years after I'rra had left his tribe one of his siblings came looking for him, explaining that the tribe had gotten into trouble with the Amalj'aa and a war had broken out between the tribe and a faction of the tribe. The sibling urged I'rra to return and fight, and seeing it as his duty I'rra reluctantly left Sizha's side to return. He promised he would be back when the trouble was over, but ended up never returning to the black shroud. Much to Sizha's dismay she found out soon after that she was pregnant and nine months later she gave birth to I'ssei. Since he was half Seeker and half Keeper she decided to mix the traditions when naming him, giving him the paternal first name I'ssei and her last name Nelhah. She hoped this would please I'rra when he returned.
As time went on Sizha started to give up that I'ssei's father would ever return, figuring he had either died in the fight against the Amalj'aa or simply didn't care to come back. She ended up mating with another Keeper of the Moon male and when I'ssei was three his younger brother was born, Sizha'to Nelhah. Shortly after Sizha'to was born his father left as well. Ever since his birth I'ssei was very protective of his brother and as he grew he was often left in charge of him while their mother was gone hunting for them. The two grew up close since they only had each other to play with and never had a chance to meet any other children. They often wandered the Shroud together, playing among the thick trees with only the full moon for light. However, as I'ssei grew he started to become curious about the world outside the twelveswoods. His mother had often told him that his father had come from the Sagoli Desert and he yearned to travel to it some day.
The two children started to wander farther in the woods, often leaving their home for days much to their mothers dismay. One day, when I'ssei was fourteen moons and Sizha'to was ten, they managed to find a way out of the thick woods and followed a path to Eastern Thanalan. However, the two were too exited by their new discovery to realize they had walked right into Amalj'aa territory. The Amalj'aa discovered them quickly and ambushed the two children, intending to capture them to be sacrifices to Ifrit. A few Amalj'aa managed to grab them, but I'ssei easily fought them off, using fighting skills he had learned from his mother. However, as he tried to free Sizha'to from there grasps one of the Amalj'aa took up a spear and stabbed him through the stomach and I'ssei collapsed. Figuring the wound was fatal, the Amalj'aa thought it too much trouble to take I'ssei to Ifrit so instead they took his brother and left the young M'qote to die.
Luckily for I'ssei he was discovered less than an hour later by a wandering trader with a basic knowledge of conjurer magicks. The trader took him in and used the magick to slowly patch up his wound. Once I'ssei was able to regain consciousness for long enough he told the trader what had happened, and urged him to help him raid the encampment to get his brother back. The trader explained that the Amalj'aa encampment I'seei had stumbled upon was not a permanent one and that the beastmen had already moved on and even so the Miqo'te's was too wounded to chase them. Instead the trader offered to take him back home to his mother, since his route went through the shroud anyway and reluctantly I'ssei agreed.
When I'ssei returned home he found out his worried mother had been searching day and night for him and his brother. After he explained what happened his mother was devastated and ignored his pleas to go after the beastmen together. Instead she explained she would go after them herself and I'ssei was to go find his father's tribe and live with them instead. When I'ssei refused to leave her, Sizha bargained with the trader that had brought him back, offering the trader furs and meats in return for him taking I'ssei to the Buffalo tribe in the Sagoli. The trader happily agreed and against his will I'ssei was taken to Buffalo tribe to search for his father, if he was even still alive.
Upon reaching the tribe I'ssei learns that his father was in fact alive and the war they waged with the Amalj'aa had reached a temporary truce. I'rra took advantage of the chaos that ensued when fighting the Amalj'aa to become the new breading male. He was now I'rra Nuhn. I'rra was skeptical of I'ssei when they first met, having not known Sizha'to had given birth. Despite this I'rra decided to let young I'ssei into the tribe, but forbid him from telling anyone of his Keeper of the Moon heritage or that I'rra was in fact his father. Instead I'rra came up with the story that he had found I'ssei wandering the desert on the hunt and that all he knew was his name, I'ssei Tia
I'ssei was raised by the tribe and forced to conform to their traditions and rules. It was hard for him at first to adjust to the tribal life and his new surroundings. He found being awake during the day hard and at first he despised the hot desert sunlight. He would often try to run away to pick fights with the Amalj'aa or try to find a way back to the Shroud, but his father always saw to it that he returned. Eventually I'ssei stopped trying to run away and managed to adjust to his new life and even found himself liking it. Unlike when he was living with his mother there was lots of others in the tribe for him to play and interact with and he found himself enjoying his new-found family.
Then the calamity struck. The tribe's home was ravaged by wreckage from the fallen moon and they lost many lives in the chaos, including I'rra's. Devastated and in mourning in the wake of the calamity, the tribe gathered together the few members they had left and wandered the Sagoli to look for a new home. I'ssei lead the way and a year after Dalamud's fall they managed to find a new permanent home in the desert and things had nearly returned to normal. I'ssei was urged to take his father's place as they new Nuhn, but he refused. Instead I'ssei made the hard decision to leave the tribe to find his mother, afraid her life had been taken in the calamity as well. He traveled to Gridania only to find his old home their too had been destroyed as well. After four years of searching I'ssei had no choice to give up, finding both his mother and brother had vanished without a trace. He traveled instead to Ul'dah and decided to study the sword in the gladiators guild for a year before leaving again to travel the realm as an adventurer.
Combat
I'ssei's weapon of choice is the sword and shield. He's still training with them and is in no way an expert at using either yet. Often he uses the shield for bashing and attacking his opponent instead of for defense and reflecting attacks. It isn't uncommon for him to throw shield too at his opponent to throw them off guard or if he feels it is weighing him down in battle. When he does he usually makes to attempt to get it back in battle and most of the time he forgets it and ends up having bug his guild master for another one or fork over the coin to buy his own. He is also pretty adept at hand-to-hand combat and using his powerful legs to kick at opponent. He'd be no match for a pro, but he can easily hold is own in any everyday brawl or bar fight.
His one weakness is magick. I'ssei is sensitive to aether and can easily be overwhelmed by it and succumb to "aether sickness". This includes the aether used in spells, both offensive and healing. As a result he tends to avoid battles with anyone that wields magick or anything in the wild that wields it. He also prefers using potions over curing spells, as even the smallest spell can make him dizzy and disoriented. He also hates to teleport using aetheryets and instead preffers to use traditional means of travel. He can use and attune to aetherytes, but even one teleport will take its toll on him and will often result in him passing out at his destination from the exposure. He likes to joke that he's just "allergic to magick," but he's actually just more sensitive to it than the average person.
