Description
The felar before you moves with a natural economy of motion that is not
without grace. His fur is silvery-white, contrasting against his claws, which
are glossy, jet-black in hue. Subconsciously, almost as if in unison with
the gentle back and forth sway of his tail, retract and extend of their own
accord. His garb is anything but uniform, seemingly gathered on a whim
and intended to provide him with as much protection as possible without
sacrificing his ability to move relatively unimpaired. From a leather
strap running from one shoulder down to the opposite hip, and the belt
at his waist hang an assortment of pouches and weaponry, some obvious in
their purpose and others much more esoteric. Lambent, yellow-orange eyes
flicker to and fro, following the near perpetual shift and redirection of his
ears, as if to imply he relies on all of his senses as opposed to just what
he sees.
As your attention lingers you note...
Role
A Twist of Fate
Added Sat Jan 7 15:48:50 2017 at level 51:
Casting his memory back, he could see it almost as if it had been magically
conjured from the writhing tendrils of smoke wafting off the incense burning in
his Master's Dojo. Udgaard, like a black basalt walled, festering sore upon
the landscape. An anthill, filled with shiny dark carapaced insects, moving in
ordered chaos as they kept what past for peace. Skirted in by mountains
on at least two sides, with streets that seemed to devour any warmth or light
the sun might give off, while it passed overhead each day. It was his
personal Hell made manifest... but he couldn't for the life of him, remember
how he'd ended up there...
Whether he had gotten lost, runaway or was captured or sold off to perform
labor in one of the nearby mines, maybe for the Troglodyte Caverns or worse
still, the Slave Mines of Sitran. But as chance or fate would have it, different
things lay in store for him. Managing to take advantage of an opportunity
he escaped into the swelling dark tide that were the crowds milling to and fro
in the Cold City of the North. Initially, it seemed as though he'd escaped
the cooking spit only to end up in th efire, as his own private war with
privation, base brutality and the cold unmistakable surety that he would
end up dying of exposure or being sold off as less than savory meat to the
duergar traders from distant Dagda. But again, other things lie in store
for this little felar.
Things would change abruptly for him when he was first approached by Felra,
a fela warrioress who toiled recruiting homeless urchins and common riff-raff
to serve the fledgling Beggars' Guild that fought for a toehold in Udgaard,
under the ever watchful eyes of the guards and the Thieves' Guild. When
she wasn't busied with thrusting her spear through the backs of her enemies
or unsuspecting visitors, Felra would gather fodder for the Beggar Master
and deposit the raw recruits for a leather pouch of copper and be on her way.
An audible protest of hunger from his ever-shrinking belly, alloyed with
a stark sense of omnipresent loneliness were all it took to rob Ruqyrym's
meager will to resist, and so with little more than a wistful and worn
sigh of hopeess acceptance, he fell into line behind Felra and became
a simple commodity, likely for the second time in his life.
Adaptability was just one of the many traits that any who would call the mean
streets of Udgaard home had to have to survive, and young Ru apparently had
just enough to manage that unenviable task. Trained to hide, contort his limbs,
act pitiful and forlorn (no big stretch), and apply simple dirt, ointments
and tinctures to give the appearance that he was crippled or diseased,
he quickly became a fair earner for the fledgling guild.
(Continued...)
A Twist of Fate (continued/concluded)
Added Sat Jan 7 17:35:48 2017 at level 51:
This went on for several years as he grew, making it harder in some instances, to elicit
pity in others, but fate had other things in store for him. The majority of his earnings
had come from visiting travellers as opposed to the hard-hearted denizens who called
Udgaard home. It was just such a traveller who happened down the street he'd staked out
that would change his life forever. A warrior-maiden, girded in shimmering silvery-gold
scale armor, bearing the symbol of a fiery Phoenix rising, wings outstretched above
a towering Fortress. Instead of tossing a few coppers into his begging cup and murmuring
empty platitudes about hoping he might see better days, she crouched next to him and
offered him a drink from her canteen, and a query that filled him with burning hot
shame. "Why was it..." she asked, "that he had chosen such a life for himself? To go
through such lengths to deceive others for their hard earned coppers?" And what's more,
"Did he feel in his heart that this was truly his calling?"
At once transfixed by her words, Ru was also poleaxed in ways he could scarcely fathom.
As if his tongue had been taken by some feline, all he could do was look up at her,
eyes ashimmer with unshed tears as they met hers. That somewhere in the midst of the
turmoil and happenstance of his life, he had chosen this form himself, or even that
there had ever been a choice to begin with, had never occurred to him. Gazing back upon
his past, he could see that he had always just accepted that this was his lot in life.
His fate. And what man could ever hope to wrestle fate and win? Over the course of
their discussion, one in which Ru fell hopelessly out of character without seeming to
notice, a feeling that he couldn't easily describe or put a name to stole over him
and filled his heart with something as foreign to him as a full belly, warmth, and
a sense of safety...
Hope.
Without a second thought, enraptured and emboldened by this new sesnation, the young
felar unhinged himself from his contorted position and rose meekly to follow after the
woman. Their trip was arduous and involved first escaping the confines of the soul-crushing
city of Udgaard, and then venturing through the mountain paths to the south. And
it wasn't until they'd left every trace of the jaette patrols and sentries in the mountains
far behind, that he heaved a relieved sigh he hadn't known he'd been holding in. She
led him to bright Voralian, and there, after food, conversation and a much needed dip
in the river that skirted the city, she led him to a secretive guildhall, and the Master
Assassin who would become his Sensei.
Aspirations
Added Fri Jan 13 22:14:50 2017 at level 51:
"A Maran?! You?!"
Inwardly he wilted over the incredulity in his Sensei's tone, but he was used to it,
even considered it fuel fo rthe fire that burned within. It was the same with all of his
lessons. He was not the most gifted nor the most erudite of students. What took others
only days or weeks to pick up, took him weeks or months, but he relied upon his tenacity
and the buoyancy of spirit he possessed, to hold his path without wavering. And wasn't that
the essence of the Art? Intestinal fortitude alloyed with discipline and an unwavering
belief in ones' self?
Kavan snorted. It was an ugly sound, derisive in the extreme, but Ruqyrym had picked
up on the fact that the Light's Wrath used such tools like a blacksmith used the fire
and hammer to forge his students. "Tell me then, what sort of Maran do you think you'll
be? Will you hurl yourself at the heart of darkness claws extended and snarling like the
whelp I know you to be?"
Surprisingly a sense of calm seemed to wash over him as Ruqyrym shook his furred head.
"No Sensei."
Having finally discovered there was value to his life, Ruq had no interest in throwing
it away needlessly. He would stalk his prey. He would bide his time and if there was
hope, a likelihood of success that he would achieve his purpose of extinguishing a pawn
of darkness, that his claws or blade would be bathed in the crimson ichor of the dark
hearted, then he would strike. Hopeless causes were relatively easy to discern from the
relative safety of the shadows, but even then, on occasion he would throw caution to
the wind. When another stood in harm's way or necessity and honor demanded it of him.
But he would hold back from hurling himself over the precipice in the name of glory
or at the whims of ego. He was neither a mindless automaton nor a simple killer who
eschewed dark colors. He embraced life. Took pleasure and saw value in his own existence,
and he felt it necessary to maintain some form of equilibrium if he was to be true to
his calling and to his heart.
In all honesty he wasn't sure if this would sit well with his fellow Maran, assuming
he managed to achieve his goal. But whatever fate inexorably awaited him, he would suck
the marrow from life ere he shunted off his mortal coil. Meeting his Sensei's eyes he
shook his head subtly. "I wills strive to be the unheard footfall. The whisper's
caress before the cut sings and the liquid of life drains away from the darkness.
I may well fail as you say. But the truth is failure only exists in not trying at all."
The words tumbled from his mouth before he could think them through, but for whatever
reason, Sensei Davan seemed pleased by what he'd heard. "Then you'd better get busy. I
expect you shan't embarrass this Dojo. I will not have it."
With a feral grin and a gleam in his eyes, Ruqyrym went back to his practice, renewed in
spirit as well as body.
PK Wins
Jan 9, 2017 |Lv 51|Outskirts of Galadon|Ergrer vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (73%, searing cut), [47] Trilyia (26%)
Jan 11, 2017|Lv 51|BattleRager Village|Cracatua vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (23%), [51] Oxias (76%, pummeling blow)
Jan 11, 2017|Lv 51|Voralian City|Eccedrah vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (59%), [51] Kanlax (40%, parting blow)
Jan 12, 2017|Lv 51|Galadon|Asriel vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (22%, claw), [51] Trilyia (77%)
Jan 15, 2017|Lv 51|Outside Hamsah Mu'tazz|Klojin vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (71%, throw), [51] Trilyia (28%)
Jan 15, 2017|Lv 51|The Imperial Lands|Chunun vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (62%, ground control), [51] Trilyia (37%)
Jan 15, 2017|Lv 51|The Imperial Lands|Zagaer vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (54%, claw), [51] Trilyia (45%)
Jan 15, 2017|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|Chunun vs 3: [48] Klimenk (8%, wrath), [51] Kanlax (8%), [51] Ruqyrym (83%)
Jan 16, 2017|Lv 51|The Imperial Palace|Obscurica vs 3: [49] Klimenk (46%), [51] Ruqyrym (0%), [51] Trilyia (53%, searing light)
Jan 17, 2017|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|Garfuka vs 3: [51] Ruqyrym (6%, stab), [51] Trilyia (83%), [51] Silvyr (9%)
Jan 19, 2017|Lv 51|The Imperial Palace|Polzar vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (33%, claw), [48] Murmyak (66%)
Jan 27, 2017|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|Zagaer vs 3: [51] Panitorop (73%, chop), [51] Silvyr (0%), [51] Ruqyrym (26%)
Jan 27, 2017|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|Kromps vs 4: [51] Ryh (5%), [51] Ruqyrym (8%, ground control), [51] Panitorop (73%), [51] Silvyr (11%)
Feb 1, 2017 |Lv 51|The Redhorn Mountains|Kromps vs 3: [51] Ikthye (53%), [51] Ruqyrym (18%, throw), [51] Svelgurd (28%)
Feb 13, 2017|Lv 51|Amaranthian Forest|Glikhardiz vs 3: [51] Ruqyrym (61%, throw), [51] Kanlax (29%), [51] Prasidia (9%)
Feb 13, 2017|Lv 51|Bramblefield Road|Garfuka vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (13%), [51] Natesthal (86%, flaming bite)
Feb 18, 2017|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|Uigioiui vs 3: [51] Thaedan (7%), [51] Trilyia (62%, bleeding), [51] Ruqyrym (30%)
Feb 18, 2017|Lv 51|The Redhorn Mountains|Solesi vs 3: [51] Trilyia (14%, claw), [51] Ruqyrym (15%), [51] Thaedan (70%)
Mar 2, 2017 |Lv 51|Fortress of Light|Garfuka vs 4: [51] Kanlax (45%, piercing electricity), [48] Jarafu (33%), [51] Undaraxyl (4%), [51] Ruqyrym (16%)
Mar 3, 2017 |Lv 51|The Frigid Wasteland|Neferefre vs 3: [51] Koidel (11%), [51] Armun (13%), [51] Ruqyrym (74%, divine power)
Mar 8, 2017 |Lv 51|Temple of the Scarab|Sephiteth vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (48%, mountain storm kick), [51] Koidel (51%)
Mar 11, 2017|Lv 51|Thar-Acacia|Kotu vs 2: [51] Koidel (33%, defilement), [51] Ruqyrym (66%)
Mar 11, 2017|Lv 51|Balator|Kotu vs 2: [51] Koidel (31%), [51] Ruqyrym (68%, claw)
Mar 11, 2017|Lv 51|Northern Foothills|Kotu vs 2: [51] Ruqyrym (65%), [51] Koidel (34%, defilement)
Mar 13, 2017|Lv 51|The Redhorn Mountains|Haester vs 2: [51] Thaedan (28%, pierce), [51] Ruqyrym (71%)
Mar 13, 2017|Lv 51|Grinning Skull Village|Haester vs 2: [51] Thaedan (54%, vicious attack), [51] Ruqyrym (45%)
Mar 17, 2017|Lv 51|Grinning Skull Village|Garfuka vs 2: [51] Kanlax (63%), [51] Ruqyrym (36%, searing light)
Apr 13, 2017|Lv 51|The Imperial Palace|Ehlark vs 4: [51] Grimmy (30%, wild overhead attack), [51] Mirrla (0%), [51] Ruqyrym (50%), [51] Thaedan (17%)
Apr 13, 2017|Lv 51|The Redhorn Mountains|Ehlark vs 3: [51] Ruqyrym (47%, ground control), [51] Kanlax (41%), [51] Mirrla (10%)
PK Deaths
Jan 8, 2017 |Lv 51|Hamsah Mu'tazz|vs 1: [51] Undaraxyl (100%, smash)
Jan 10, 2017|Lv 51|The Redhorn Mountains|vs 2: [51] Panitorop (61%, pierce), [51] Zoenad (38%)
Jan 13, 2017|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|vs 3: [51] Asriel (27%, retching and nausea), [51] Beatrize (3%), [51] Glikhardiz (68%)
Jan 16, 2017|Lv 51|The Eastern Road|vs 3: [51] Polzar (45%, torments), [51] Beatrize (1%), [51] Glikhardiz (52%)
Jan 27, 2017|Lv 51|Ruins of Maethien|vs 1: [51] Glikhardiz (100%, black light)
Feb 1, 2017 |Lv 51|Fortress of Light|vs 3: [51] Zagaer (26%, reverberating blast), [51] Kromps (0%), [51] Glikhardiz (72%)
Feb 16, 2017|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|vs 2: [51] Solesi (63%, torments), [51] Aigi (36%)
Feb 16, 2017|Lv 51|Kuo-Toa Lair|vs 1: [51] Ikthye (100%, surprise attack)