Wanderer Tethra
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Tethra is a young Miqo'te of twenty six years, hailing from a small quarrying village in southeastern Ala Mhigo that sadly no longer exists. As a youth, she was raised as many keepers were, taught to honor and respect the tribe. To sacrifice to aid the many as much as you can, and others will do the same in turn, however these golden rules became more akin to guidelines as the Garlean occupation of her homeland began. Even before, Ala Mhigo was a difficult land to eke out a living from, but it was home. Tethra did not curse her lot in life, even when it was difficult to make ends meet, until her village was met with a violently increased demand for tribute by their oppressors. When they failed to meet these exorbitant demands one of the village youths was captured and later murdered by Garlean officers to send a message: Failure would not be tolerated. This moment sparked the revolutionary zeal that had laid dormant within her for years. No longer would she suffer this indignity, no longer would her people endure. However, this was not a sentiment shared by her tribesman. Long had they known the bitter taste of defeat, and even longer had they known it could be made much, much worse should they attempt to resist. A young Tethra's calls for revolution were overheard by the wrong ears, landing her tribe in deep trouble with the authorities. She fled in shame before she could be apprehended by Garlean officials, however her former family wasn't so lucky when they were unable to produce a fugitive. Over the next few months she would smuggle herself over Baelsar's Wall alongside many other Ala Mhigan refugees seeking asylum in Eorzea. Upon arrival, she stripped herself of the last name designating which clan she belonged to, believing that she had failed them and they had failed her. They had all failed Ala Mhigo.
For five years she worked odd jobs around Ul'dah, just barely lucky enough to be granted citizenship, but as an Ala Mhigan refugee in the capitalist hellscape of Ul'dah employment was slim pickings. Mercenary work, hard labor, and even stints of banditry against merchant caravans at her most desperate. It was in this most brutal of occupations that she found her calling, months before the Ala Mhigan revolution. A caravan carrying supplies bound for the Brass Blades was headed to Ul'dah, and Tethra and a smattering of other bandits laid in wait. There was only one guard, a tall Elezen clad in dark armor with a sword nearly as long as he was tall leading the pack. Their ambush was sprung, but one by one her fellow bandits were dispatched by that blade until she was locked in a mortal duel with him. His art allowed him to sense the turmoil within her, the indignant fury at having to sink so low to survive, and took her under his wing, if only briefly. A foreigner who walked the path of the dark knight, those who would channel their most powerful emotions into aether to empower themselves to protect the weak. She was enlisted alongside him once the Grand Companies pledged their aid to the Resistance, and she fought a great many battles at his side. This was not to last, as he perished in battle during the Revolution, passing on his soul crystal to the young Miqo'te and leaving her to liberate her homeland. After the liberation, she finds herself lost. No longer given the purpose of freeing her home, she has nowhere to return to, and has found herself becoming one of the loudest voices for a full-on war with Garlemald after months of military service, and has sold her services to Limsan privateers in the hope of raiding Imperial transports in the absence of a larger escalating conflict, that none suffer under subjugation as her people once had.
Tethra is fairly short for a Miqo'te, especially compared to the greatsword she wields, coming in at 5'4". Her body is well toned, unsurprising considering her profession. Her face bears a heaping share of scars, primarily slashes, one in particular over her right eye, which she decorates and accentuates with her war paint, taught from a young age as a Keeper that the blood of her tribe would protect her from harm. She wears her short black hair fairly messy, with one fringe covering her right eye. Most notably, at all times she wears a bandana over the lower half of her face, and is incredibly defensive should anyone attempt to remove it, especially with her actions as a vigilante in Ul'dah.
Aspects That Stand Out:
Tethra is a deeply conflicted young lady, driven by clashing senses of duty and skepticism. Idealism tempered by disillusionment. A burning desire to see the world bettered harshened by her brutal experiences. She must give, give, and give, and it will never be enough. It's so hard to make a tangible difference, yet she can never give up. She is aloof, not out of a distaste for others but as a desire to protect herself. She is scared to let herself be known and vulnerable to others out of fear of disappointing them and being alone.
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