About Rishana MvashtiRishana Mvashti
Background:
Rishana wasn't always known as Rishana Mvashti. For the first 8 years of her life, she was simply known as Rishana of the Shriikirri-Quah. Her early life with her Shoanti family was relatively uneventful; the Shriikirri-Quah were one of the more peaceful of the Shoanti tribes and the ones with the strongest affinity for the creatures of nature. As fitting with her talents and personality, the young girl began receiving martial training in addition to the learning of the ways of nature and animals that all the children of her tribe were given. In her 8th year, her life was changed forever when a small contigent of the Shriikirri-Quah were sent south to serve as emissaries to the other peoples of the region regarding matters of trade. This was not an unusual thing as the Shriikirri-Quah were commonly regarded as the "face" of the Shoanti people when dealing with non-Shoanti. Rishana and her immediate family were part of this small group as well as one or two other families from the quah. As they traveled south, they fell prey to a band of highwaymen who saw opportunity for plunder in the smaller-than-usual group of Shoanti. Though some of the highwaymen also lost their lives in the skirmish, Rishana's group was annihilated and the young girl left for dead by the roadside after enduring a savage beating. As luck would have it, a merchant caravan chanced to come upon the scene of carnage only hours after it had occurred and they managed to stabilize the young girl and save her life. Realizing that she would need longer-term care to fully recover, the caravan continued on to their next destination which was the town of Sandpoint. Once there, they immediately took Rishana to the local temple to receive further care as well as relating her story to the town authorities. Though the priests at the temple were able to care for her, the solution was only temporary as they did not have any additional room for her to live at the temple. Having heard of the girl's plight through local gossip in town, the Desnan cleric Koya Mvashti took sympathy on her and offered her a place within her home and family, should she wish to take it. Knowing that it would either be that or likely being sent to live in an orphange, Rishana accepted. Over the past 10 years, Rishana has grown into a strong and capable young woman under the guidance of both Koya and Madame Niska, her mother. Seeing that the girl had an interest in both the combat arts and in nature, Koya provided her with the means to continue her training and over time watched her foster daughter grow into a skilled fighter and woodsman. Though she initially experienced great difficulty in adapting to town life, Rishana has learned to make the best of her situation and offers thanks to both Desna and the spirits that Koya saw fit to take her in. Recently, Rishana has slowly felt both a sadness and a restlessness stirring within her soul. The arrival of her 18 birthday brought realization that this would have been the day that her Quah would have set forth a trial for her passage into adulthood. Having been apart from her birth people for so many years, she doubted she would ever be accepted back into the Quah as one of their own, even if she were able to find them again. Unfortunately, the first years of her life had left their mark on the young woman and she could no more let go of her Shoanti heritage than she could sprout wings to fly. Seeing within her own adopted mother a similar restlessness that began to manifest itself after the death of Madame Niska, Rishana has wondered if both Koya and herself would be able to find meaning on the open road, journeying beyond the borders of all that they've ever known. Personality:
Whether from her early years with the Shoanti or through Koya's guidance, Rishana is possessed of a quiet and gentle wisdom despite her hardy exterior and strength. She is aware that she's not in possession of the quickest of minds compared to some that she knows and is willing to follow their lead or direction if she can be convinced of the wisdom of doing so. Constantly feeling the pull between her Shoanti heritage and her later upbringing in the more "civilized" Sandpoint, Rishana struggles to straddle the fence and keep one foot in each world. Appearance:
18 years of age and stands relatively tall for a woman at 5'8". She often dresses in simple greens and browns when not wearing her armor and though she does not shave her head as Shoanti warriors would do, she does wear her brown hair in a short and simple style. Senga:
As she grew more learned in her woodcraft and of the ways of the animals, Rishana grew familiar with a family of leopards whose territory included the forests and fields around Sandpoint. Eventually gaining the trust of the mother leopard whom she named Ingwe, Rishana was permitted to brief interactions with her newborn cubs, interactions that grew steadily longer as the days and weeks passed. Though the cubs themselves eventually grew to adulthood and began to migrate further afield from Sandpoint to find their own hunting territories, Rishana did her best to keep track of Ingwe's lineage and often paid visits to her children that remained within traveling distance of town. One of these cubs, a small leopardess of weak health named Paka gave birth to a single female cub but expired during the birthing process, leaving the cub motherless. Despite being familiar with the laws of nature, Rishana could not bring herself to leave the cub to its fate and instead returned to Sandpoint with her. Named Senga, the cub grew healthy and strong as a result of Rishana's care. Though Senga has been carefully trained and is more accustomed to the company of humans than any normal wild leopard would be, Rishana is always quick to remind others that Senga is still a wild creature at heart and will act as such given the proper stimulii. Relationships with Others:
Though she will never forget her birth parents, Rishana considers Koya to be a second mother and has taken the surname Mvashti in honor of her. She has learned much about Desna from the old woman and often offers prayers to both her and to the spirits of the natural world. Koya's other adopted child, Sandru Vhiski, is considered a brother by Rishana. Though she largely feels that Sandru is capable of handling himself, she nevertheless worries about the toll that his biological brother Jubrayl takes on him. Just as Rishana views Koya as her second mother, she viewed Madame Niska as her second grandmother. Though filled with sorrow at her passing, she feels confident that Niska lived a full life and rests easily in the bosom of the spirits. Though friendly with Ameiko from visiting the Rusty Dragon as well as having some connection to her through her adopted brother Sandru, Rishana can't claim to know the woman very well. She's even less familiar with Shalelu, though she greatly admires the elven woman's knowledge of woodcraft and swears that she's even caught sight of her a time or two on her many visits to Ingwe and her progeny over the past few years. Character Mechanics & Explanations:
The Divine Hunter archetype represents her attempting to keep one foot in each of her two worlds - her Shoanti roots and innate animal affinity as well as her later worship of the goddess Desna, learned from Koya. There will likely be certain feat choices made later on to both add to this flavor as well as for mechanical purposes; the Spirit's Gift feat from the ACG will be one of these to represent the growing connection between Senga and herself and her relationship to the spirits of the natural world. *NOTE* If you've made your way here via the stickied thread in the Recruitment forum, I'm perfectly willing to adjust character crunch (including changing to a different animal companion) if needed; feel free to PM me to discuss! :) |
