The Heroes & Council of the Estana Republic - Discussion

[squash-soup]

Klaide Sarkis | 29 | Male | Elder of Trade
Name: Klaide (clay-id, rhymes with "blade")
Pronouns: he/him
Sexuality: bisexual
Species: nereid (water nymph)
Alignment: true neutral

Appearance:
While nereid are usually female, it's not impossible for them to be male. Klaide was born female, and started presenting as male within the first few years of his life. Like many nereids, he is fairly traditionally attractive. He has smooth, pretty features, high cheekbones, and slightly pointed ears like a half-elf. Like his sister, he has dark brown hair, chocolate-colored eyes, and medium-dark skin. His hair is short and curly. Unlike most nereids, he does not have their recognizable blue skin tone; probably from his nereid lineage mixing with other species over generations. His fingers and toes are slightly webbed from a little bit of triton ancestry. He is not terribly muscular, but has broad shoulders and powerful legs from a lifetime of frequently being in the water. He stands at about 5'8".

His wardrobe is usually a palette of white, shades of blue, silver, and gold. For work or public appearances, his family insists on dressing him in only the latest fashion, with ruffles and stiff collars; but in his downtime, he prefers a simple tunic and loose pants. Regardless of occasion, though, he does enjoy accessories, usually wearing a few beaded bracelets and gold hoop earrings.

Personality & Bio/History:
The Sarkis family's control over the harbor, and therefore the safe passage of merchant ships, allowed them to grow very wealthy. It's suspected that the family's wealth has had a little more influence in elections and decision-making than fair voting. It's said that the family has been in power in the city since it was first settled.

Since nereids are usually female, the Sarkis heir is usually female, making Klaide a rare exception. Any men in the family usually married into it - his father (who died when he was around ten years old) was not a nereid, but a triton. Sarkis heirs often marry heirs from important families of tritons or water genasi, to preserve the alliance between land and sea that the city's trade depends on. He took over the Elder role from his mother as she fell into poor health due to age - though it hasn't stopped her from trying to oversee everything he does, as she always has.

Klaide grew up among wealth and luxury, never wanting for anything. As the oldest heir, he received a lot of his family's attention, and was a little spoiled, but was always burdened by the pressure and anxiety of expectation. He was never allowed to wander the city alone, and wasn't permitted to visit the Lower City at all, giving him no idea about the state of poverty that some areas of the city experience. He is six years older than his younger sister, so they've never been terribly close and he struggles to connect with her, but he still cares about and feels protective of her.

His family has historically taken a ruthless and utilitarian approach to ruling, prioritizing the financial stability of the city over any individual residents' wellbeing. If illegal goods make it into the city, the Sarkises have been known to turn a blind eye, as long as it sells for a high price. Klaide has adopted some of this mindset, but has been trying to unlearn it, after sneaking out with his sister once to see the reality of life in the Lower City. He feels that his family deserves their wealth through centuries of hard work, but doesn't agree that leaders should ignore the wellbeing of the city's poor residents. He's smart, calculating, and good at his job. Having very recently assumed his role, about a year ago, he feels insecure and inexperienced compared to the rest of the Council. He has become good at faking charisma in order to negotiate and maintain good relationships with trade partners, but socialization often exhausts him. He likes to escape to quiet, calm places to rest in rare moments when he isn't busy, reading in the library in his family's manor, or swimming in the harbor.

Weapons/Armor/Inventory:
Klaide received basic self-defense training as a kid, like all heirs from important families who might be targets of political violence do, but he mostly leaves worrying about his safety to his personal guards or the city's Paladins. He doesn't wear armor, and the only weapon he usually carries when going out is a small dagger strapped to his side, just in case. He doesn't know any spells or practice magic. His impulse when in danger is more to flee than fight.

Relationships:
• Yasmin Sarkis - sister
• Eldora Sarkis - mother, matriarch of the House of Sarkis
• father, deceased

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Arytiss Farothai | 21 | Female | Light of Resolution
Name: Arytiss (are-ih-tess)
Pronouns: she/her
Sexuality: homosexual
Species: silver dragonborn
Alignment: lawful good

Appearance:
Arytiss is a little short for a dragonborn, standing at 6'2". Her body is covered in silvery scales with a blueish tint, and her eyes are a striking icy blue. Tiny, dull spines run along her jawline and cover the back of her neck, appearing almost like hair. They end in two curved ram-like horns on top of her head. She has a muscular physique from years of Paladin training and heaving her signature broadsword around. She's rarely seen not wearing full heavy armor, but when she does, she dresses comfortably and casually, used to wearing worn, baggy, hand-me-down clothes from her older siblings. She's content with a simple tunic and pants - plus, clothes that are made to fit anyone outside the standard humanoid size can be hard to find and expensive.

Personality & Bio/History:
Arytiss was born and raised in the city to a clanless dragonborn family. Her parents would tell her stories about clan life from before they left, but the city is all she's ever known. She's very familiar with the maze-like back alleys and dangers of the Lower City, from playing around there as a kid with her two older siblings. Growing up poor, she experienced first-hand the sometimes harsh reality of life in the city, which drove her to dream of becoming a Paladin, whom she idolized as protectors of the helpless. She was used to never seeing very many other dragonborn around, but is always delighted by the diversity of the city's residents and the traveling merchants. It warms her heart to see people of many other species living together (mostly) in peace.

She taught herself how to fight by fending off pickpockets in the markets, or battling giant rats in the catacombs beneath the city, where she and her siblings would sneak into and play, despite their parents' warnings. On one exploration underneath the city, she and her siblings ran into some kind of entity. Only used to fighting rats, they were all terrified, and a trio of kids were no match for the creature. All three escaped with their lives, but her older brother was paralyzed after being crushed against a wall by a stray burst of magic. Her helplessness and inability to protect her siblings in that moment strengthened Arytiss' resolve to become a guardian of the city.

As a teenager, Arytiss began a job as a messenger for the Council, running letters across the city. She quickly proved her reliability and when she applied to study to become a Paladin, she was accepted. She has spent the first three years of her adulthood in rigorous training. The reality turned out to be a little different than her childhood dreams of heroic feats and selfless bravery. She was familiar with the shady dealings of the Lower City, but now she was exposed to the corruption of the city's elite. She quickly realized that speaking out against important politicians or members of wealthy families could cost her her job, so she kept her head down and focused on her training.

Arytiss recently finished her studies and graduated to the rank of Paladin. Despite discovering that protecting the city isn't everything she thought it would be, she is still determined to use her skills not to shield the corrupt and powerful from justice, but to defend the helpless and poor residents that she grew up amongst. She's eagerly awaiting her first assignment. She lives in the Paladin barracks, but visits her family in the Lower City often.

While Paladins typically serve a deity, whom they get their magical powers from, Arytiss and many other Paladins of Light serve the city itself. She feels a connection to the underlying current of magical energy flowing through the city - both good and evil. She feels a strong sense of justice and commitment to the protection of Estana. Her unquestioning devotion to "justice" isn't always a good thing, however - it's gotten her into trouble many times, and she can be unforgiving of even minor transgressions that she perceives as wrong.

Weapons/Armor/Inventory:
Arytiss uses a two-handed broadsword - she's a fan of big weapons. (She hasn't found her Hero's weapon or the abilities it unlocks yet, but she's definitely practiced with big swords.) She wears full plate armor, making her well-defended from incoming blows but very bad at sneaking around. She doesn't mind - rushing in headfirst and dealing as much damage as possible is more her combat style, anyways. She has the same basic magical abilities that all Paladins have, and often uses magic for small everyday tasks, but not really in combat. Due to her draconic heritage, she also has the ability to breathe frost (instead of fire) and freeze enemies in place - she can't use it very often, though, as it takes a lot of energy out of her.

Relationships:
• Farothai family: father, mother, older brother, older sister

[iqtrash]

updated! Ill have my characters have ties with one another

[Consulting_Angel]

@squash-soup - Wonderful characters! And our first Paladin oooo

@iqtrash - Brilliant! All else looks good.

@everyone - I am hoping to get our last Entity before the roleplay starts, but if not I'll start up this weekend anyway. Destruction can be a temporary NPC if needed (as well as the other Elders).

[Spiritstar3]

Kay kay
Can’t wait for this to start.

[Consulting_Angel]

Okay I decided to start the roleplay! It's mid-morning, there's a meeting at the Convocation Chamber for the Elders. Entities have just been able to return back to their corporeal forms, and are in a village just outside of the main city.

Our Entity of Destruction will temporarily be an NPC for anyone to use as and when needed. I've named him Blaze, and he is a fire genasi.

[Spiritstar3]

I completely forgot I paired up William with another character of mine..
I’m going to take out the reference image, but the description is still there and the name is staying the same.
It’s just not going to be the character that person made for me.
Consider him a separate character that just happens to have the same name as that character that other user made me.

Anyway.
I’m going to post as soon as I can.

[iqtrash]

Okay I decided to start the roleplay! It's mid-morning, there's a meeting at the Convocation Chamber for the Elders. Entities have just been able to return back to their corporeal forms, and are in a village just outside of the main city.

Our Entity of Destruction will temporarily be an NPC for anyone to use as and when needed. I've named him Blaze, and he is a fire genasi.

ill work on getting a post up today or tomorrow ♡

[Spiritstar3]

Can’t wait to see the other posts.

[Consulting_Angel]

I'll get a reply up this weekend, had a busy week!

[Spiritstar3]

Kay kay
Take your time