RE: The Search for Santinal
06-18-2012, 05:30 AM
Username: Tevler
Name: Ari Miktana
Sex: Worker (infertile female)
Race: Ant
Color: #1111AA
Biography: The Sangsaxian Kingdoms are the host of numerous species-- from the ubiquitous humans, elves, and dwarves, to the more secretive races residing beneath the surface. Amongst this multitude of inhabitants are the ants-- which, for inexplicable reasons, are not the diminutive vermin of other planes, but a full-fledged sentient civilization. Nestled along the southern periphery of the Kingdoms, myriad clans of ants struggle and prosper. Similarly to their infinitesimal namesake, the ant clans are each organized around a small cadre of fertile queens and their ephemeral, barely-sentient male drones, with numerous sterile females forming the majority of each clan's population. Unlike the smaller species they are derived from, the workers are not fixed in their occupation or station-- they exist as anything from manual labor, to skilled artisans and workers, to soldiers and bureaucrats. While never capable of achieving the lofty position of their queens, the workers have possession of an individuality uncommon to their derived species.
Ari, born to the Miktana clan, was one of the few who voluntarily restricted that freedom-- at a young age, she dedicated herself to a monastic life-style, entering the Order of Av'ka. Seeing potential that could have been wasted, were she restrained to being solely a member of the clergy, the clerics of Av'ka saw her pressed into the militant arm of their faith. Ari survived the combination of her martial training and the intense theological study, becoming both an outstanding warrior and a capable practitioner of divine magic. Her abilities would soon be put to a test, however-- one of the neighboring human kingdoms, held under the sway of a corrupt monarch, had decided to war with the ant clans. As the regular levies of soldiers and cadres of war-mages were raised, the Order of Av'ka decided to have their paladins accompany the ant clans. All too eager to both prove her faith and free their neighbors from the shackles of a tyrant, Ari was swept into the conflict.
Even against the assembled host of the ant clans, however, the human armies proved to be a fearsome opponent. Ari watched as, time and time again, vast phalanxes of enslaved soldiers were raised and sent forward; she felt her once-zealous faith was tested and whittled down. She found herself in a situation years of prayer had not taught her-- there were no demonic abominations or unequivocally malignant presences, only the misguided led by an opportunistic ruler. The war dragged on. Many of the comrades Ari had were killed or captured. The lines of battle solidified.
And then Ari left. The Order of Ak'va, the religion she had spent her life under the fold of-- she could not willingly accept that they were the true representatives of Ak'va. The notion that they would willingly let so many faithful adherents die, that they would not seek out the true aggressors and instead would be content to allow the tyrant's victims to be butchered-- all of these sins were inexcusable. If the Order did not represent the light of Ak'va, surely there was some way to find it herself. Deserting the ant clans, she vowed to one day return-- and bring with her the truth of Ak'va, not the corrupted structure and order of its flawed clergy.
Her wanderings brought to her the rumors of Santinal-- in particular, its pavilions of temples and extensive, now-forgotten reliquaries. If the truth about Ak'va were anywhere, if there was any one location that could re-affirm her faith, it would be somewhere in the ruins of Santinal.
And now, as she waits inside of a Khagash tavern, her search may truly begin.
Description: Ari stands tall, for an ant, being about four feet in height. She appears similar to an upright, bipedal ant, with a segmented body broken into three distinct sections. She has a dark amber-colored exoskeleton, with numerous plates covering folded-over layers of lighter colored cuticle. Three pairs of limbs extend from her thorax-- two pairs act as arms and end in dull, clawed hands, while the final pair serves as her legs. Her head has a pair of elbowed antenna, two large compound eyes, and a set of dulled mandibles she clicks and chirps with to communicate. In spite of her unique mouth, she is still capable of speaking the common languages of the Sangsaxian Kingdoms, although she often has to accentuate her speech with sign language and gesticulation.
Ari wears a combination of various armors; in addition to this she is wearing a plain blue tabard and has cloth wrappings around the outer segments of her arms and legs. Her abdomen and head are most strongly protected, with a metal shell of plate armor covering each. Her thorax is slightly less protected, merely having a chain-mail hauberk. In order to accommodate the spiracles located throughout her body, both her clothing and armor have small slits-- while thin enough to not act as a weak point, they allow unconstrained airflow. Also on her person are several weapons, a shield, and several packs stowed with adventuring gear. She also has a holy symbol of Ak'va, but she is reluctant to openly display that.
When interacting with others, Ari tries to maintain the precepts of her faith-- while she wishes to distance herself from what she sees as a perversion of Ak'va teachings, she still tries to maintain herself according to the scripture she has learned. She is kind and soft-spoken, the zealous faith of her earlier years tempered by experience. However, her righteous belief is not fully burned away-- she does not condone quietly acquiescing to temptation and evil, and tries to maintain a virtuous, monastic lifestyle. Whenever possible, she tries to help those in need, even should it come at a cost to herself. In combat, she is not afraid to put herself in danger before her allies, and holds herself to honorable conduct even when fighting despicable scum.
And yet, even though she presents a strong, valorous exterior, she privately worries that she is questioning and doubting her faith, and that she may never discover the truth of behind her deity.
Items/Abilities: Ari's training has given her some skill with arms and armor, and while she is not as strong as other species, her expertise helps her achieve leverage in combat. Her four arms give her incredible flexibility in combat, allowing her to wield numerous combinations of weapons. She prefers to use a longsword in one hand, a shield in another, and a halberd with her remaining two hands. While apt at other choices of weaponry, her preferred setup is a variant of that pattern. Additionally, she has significant practice with divine magic-- particularly with healing and assorted varieties of abjurations, but she is capable of channeling her magic for use offensively.
She has also had some training in rhetoric of a theological or philosophical nature, as well as having memorized many, if not all, of the teachings of her order. She tries to distance herself from the behavior of proselytizing missionaries, however-- her mission is one of faith, but not that of the polluted faith her order has displayed. Her belongings, in addition to weapons and armor, consist of the standard assortment of items found on any traveler.
Name: Ari Miktana
Sex: Worker (infertile female)
Race: Ant
Color: #1111AA
Biography: The Sangsaxian Kingdoms are the host of numerous species-- from the ubiquitous humans, elves, and dwarves, to the more secretive races residing beneath the surface. Amongst this multitude of inhabitants are the ants-- which, for inexplicable reasons, are not the diminutive vermin of other planes, but a full-fledged sentient civilization. Nestled along the southern periphery of the Kingdoms, myriad clans of ants struggle and prosper. Similarly to their infinitesimal namesake, the ant clans are each organized around a small cadre of fertile queens and their ephemeral, barely-sentient male drones, with numerous sterile females forming the majority of each clan's population. Unlike the smaller species they are derived from, the workers are not fixed in their occupation or station-- they exist as anything from manual labor, to skilled artisans and workers, to soldiers and bureaucrats. While never capable of achieving the lofty position of their queens, the workers have possession of an individuality uncommon to their derived species.
Ari, born to the Miktana clan, was one of the few who voluntarily restricted that freedom-- at a young age, she dedicated herself to a monastic life-style, entering the Order of Av'ka. Seeing potential that could have been wasted, were she restrained to being solely a member of the clergy, the clerics of Av'ka saw her pressed into the militant arm of their faith. Ari survived the combination of her martial training and the intense theological study, becoming both an outstanding warrior and a capable practitioner of divine magic. Her abilities would soon be put to a test, however-- one of the neighboring human kingdoms, held under the sway of a corrupt monarch, had decided to war with the ant clans. As the regular levies of soldiers and cadres of war-mages were raised, the Order of Av'ka decided to have their paladins accompany the ant clans. All too eager to both prove her faith and free their neighbors from the shackles of a tyrant, Ari was swept into the conflict.
Even against the assembled host of the ant clans, however, the human armies proved to be a fearsome opponent. Ari watched as, time and time again, vast phalanxes of enslaved soldiers were raised and sent forward; she felt her once-zealous faith was tested and whittled down. She found herself in a situation years of prayer had not taught her-- there were no demonic abominations or unequivocally malignant presences, only the misguided led by an opportunistic ruler. The war dragged on. Many of the comrades Ari had were killed or captured. The lines of battle solidified.
And then Ari left. The Order of Ak'va, the religion she had spent her life under the fold of-- she could not willingly accept that they were the true representatives of Ak'va. The notion that they would willingly let so many faithful adherents die, that they would not seek out the true aggressors and instead would be content to allow the tyrant's victims to be butchered-- all of these sins were inexcusable. If the Order did not represent the light of Ak'va, surely there was some way to find it herself. Deserting the ant clans, she vowed to one day return-- and bring with her the truth of Ak'va, not the corrupted structure and order of its flawed clergy.
Her wanderings brought to her the rumors of Santinal-- in particular, its pavilions of temples and extensive, now-forgotten reliquaries. If the truth about Ak'va were anywhere, if there was any one location that could re-affirm her faith, it would be somewhere in the ruins of Santinal.
And now, as she waits inside of a Khagash tavern, her search may truly begin.
Description: Ari stands tall, for an ant, being about four feet in height. She appears similar to an upright, bipedal ant, with a segmented body broken into three distinct sections. She has a dark amber-colored exoskeleton, with numerous plates covering folded-over layers of lighter colored cuticle. Three pairs of limbs extend from her thorax-- two pairs act as arms and end in dull, clawed hands, while the final pair serves as her legs. Her head has a pair of elbowed antenna, two large compound eyes, and a set of dulled mandibles she clicks and chirps with to communicate. In spite of her unique mouth, she is still capable of speaking the common languages of the Sangsaxian Kingdoms, although she often has to accentuate her speech with sign language and gesticulation.
Ari wears a combination of various armors; in addition to this she is wearing a plain blue tabard and has cloth wrappings around the outer segments of her arms and legs. Her abdomen and head are most strongly protected, with a metal shell of plate armor covering each. Her thorax is slightly less protected, merely having a chain-mail hauberk. In order to accommodate the spiracles located throughout her body, both her clothing and armor have small slits-- while thin enough to not act as a weak point, they allow unconstrained airflow. Also on her person are several weapons, a shield, and several packs stowed with adventuring gear. She also has a holy symbol of Ak'va, but she is reluctant to openly display that.
When interacting with others, Ari tries to maintain the precepts of her faith-- while she wishes to distance herself from what she sees as a perversion of Ak'va teachings, she still tries to maintain herself according to the scripture she has learned. She is kind and soft-spoken, the zealous faith of her earlier years tempered by experience. However, her righteous belief is not fully burned away-- she does not condone quietly acquiescing to temptation and evil, and tries to maintain a virtuous, monastic lifestyle. Whenever possible, she tries to help those in need, even should it come at a cost to herself. In combat, she is not afraid to put herself in danger before her allies, and holds herself to honorable conduct even when fighting despicable scum.
And yet, even though she presents a strong, valorous exterior, she privately worries that she is questioning and doubting her faith, and that she may never discover the truth of behind her deity.
Items/Abilities: Ari's training has given her some skill with arms and armor, and while she is not as strong as other species, her expertise helps her achieve leverage in combat. Her four arms give her incredible flexibility in combat, allowing her to wield numerous combinations of weapons. She prefers to use a longsword in one hand, a shield in another, and a halberd with her remaining two hands. While apt at other choices of weaponry, her preferred setup is a variant of that pattern. Additionally, she has significant practice with divine magic-- particularly with healing and assorted varieties of abjurations, but she is capable of channeling her magic for use offensively.
She has also had some training in rhetoric of a theological or philosophical nature, as well as having memorized many, if not all, of the teachings of her order. She tries to distance herself from the behavior of proselytizing missionaries, however-- her mission is one of faith, but not that of the polluted faith her order has displayed. Her belongings, in addition to weapons and armor, consist of the standard assortment of items found on any traveler.