Alaqa Qulaan is a warrior-huntress of the Qulaan tribe whose ferocity and skill with a blade and shield become readily apparent on the field of battle and in the Hunt. Outside of combat, she is a calm and cool, if not somewhat stoic presence. To call her antisocial would be dishonest, yet it is clear that she wields her social graces with only a fraction of the deftness with which she swings a sword. There is armor she wears even beneath tough hides and metal plate, forged during an early life single-mindedly dedicated to proving herself and tempered by ten long and lonely years of self-imposed exile.
There is another name she wears: Ironbane, hunter of Imperial soliders. With her tribe slaughtered at the hands of a Garlean unit, Alaqa focused all of her efforts in learning how to track, trap, and kill the Imperials plaguing the lands of Yanxia. From each newly made corpse, she takes a trophy from the Hunt. With each trophy, she hopes to one day atone for her own wrongdoings; shortcomings that she still cannot forgive herself for even a decade past.
Yet with Doma newly freed from under its Imperial yoke, her quarry has become far more difficult to track. It has left her somewhat torn: Does she take this as a sign to let her Hunt come to an end, to attempt to return to a normal life? Or does she push on still, searching far beyond the borders of her hunting grounds until she can no longer carry on?
-- If interested, please click through the ‘Keep Reading’ at the bottom for more info! --
“Forever bloodthirsty and never filled."
IDEAS FOR CHARACTER HOOKS :
OTHER TRIBAL XAELA :
Probably the most apparent and the most varied sort of hook for Alaqa. Got a tribal lizard? Let's throw 'em at each other! Depending on the character, their tribe, and the circumstances of the meeting, these interactions could be anything -- friendly, cooperative, competitive, negative, and even all the way to downright hostile. Sky's the limit, and the more varied interactions the better!
TRADES :
Think less money-oriented and more good, old-fashioned bartering. Alaqa commonly has goods to trade from her hunts and a need for things like supplies, weapons, armors, repairs, etc. in turn. She is also a fairly skilled boneworker who can make things from ivory combs to small weapons. Let's see if we can make a trade!
TRADES - Imperial Goods :
This is a connection I'm likely to be more selective about, just for the fact that Alaqa's supply of Imperial bits and baubles is limited by how many soldiers she has hunted recently. (And seeing as she works alone, the number is relatively small even at the best of times.) She also doesn't openly advertise this 'hobby' of hers. But if this tickles your fancy, hit me up with a compelling idea and we'll see if we can make it work!
TRAINING PARTNERS, STUDENTS, ETC. :
Alaqa lives to train, striving to keep her skills as a warrior-hunter sharp. So she will rarely turn down a chance to practice with another. And sometimes, she can even be convinced to share what she knows. So if you've got someone that likes to train and spar, or a character who wants to learn more about fighting and/or hunting, hit me up!
IMPERIAL SOLDIERS :
This is another hook I'll likely be selective about. Alaqa engages in a revenge-driven Hunt against Imperial soldiers, especially those who have connections to Yanxia over the past ten years. So if you and your Imperial are potentially in the market for a Xaela hunter adversary -- or perhaps even to turn the tables and make the hunter the hunted -- let me know! Plenty of potential for some plotting and story-driven here!
PLEASE NOTE that I will never permanently maim nor OOCly attempt to kill your character without your express consent. I enjoy a balance of little victories and losses in the greater Cat-and-Mouse game, so I’m not looking for a lopsided 'Garlean always beats the savage!' nor a 'Heroine always wins the day!' dynamic. Flexibility and communication between all parties involved are a must!
GOT ANOTHER IDEA? HIT ME!
This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, but just a couple ideas! If you’ve got something in mind, run it by me and we’ll see what we can make happen!
PLAYER INFORMATION :
I’m in the Central US timezone and usually online just about every evening after 5PM CST during the week and noon-to-whenever on the weekends. (But I’m mostly unavailable for RP on raid nights, which are currently Thursdays and Fridays.)
I’m on Balmung, but open to Discord RP with people on other servers!
My RP style is pretty flexible, ranging from short one-liners of dialogue to multiple windows of descriptive text; I vary it up based on my partner and what’s best for the situation. In longer posts, I still don’t do a lot of purple prose and my posting times tend to range around 5-10mins, depending on how inspired, distracted, tired, etc I am.
I’m cool with dark, mature, adult, psychological horror, etc. themes. Excluding the obvious no-nos of pedophilia and stuff that falls within the realm of hardcore niche kinks, there’s very little that bothers me thematically. But I try to be very respectful and conscientious of others’ triggers, so if there’s something that bothers you, let me know!
The only caveat to the above is that I don’t do ERP. Sexual situations / tones that naturally come up in an RP are perfectly fine, but I exclusively fade-to-black through the beast with the two backs. Sorry!
I balance playing multiple characters, running the Qulaan tribe and its events, work full time, raid 2-3 times a week, and sometimes even have a life outside of the computer. Needless to say, I’m not always going to have the time or the energy to RP. So if you are looking for a super dedicated partner who can RP every day and whose focus is solely / mostly on you, I’m not your gal.
I’m also not down with people looking to stir up a romantic and/or sexual relationship with me out of character. I do like to be friends with my partners, but I’m afraid that babbling about headcannons, friendly banter, and memes are all I can OOCly offer!
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>> Warnings for death and grief. No gore, just a bucket of sads! <<
There were no words that Alaqa knew that could describe the feeling that overcame her when she saw Temujin walking through Qulaan Iloh. It felt as if someone had wrapped a pair of strong hands tight around her heart, squeezing it so tightly that it might burst at any moment. It felt as if that same heart had shattered into a thousand-thousand pieces, so thoroughly and completely that it could never be made whole again. Both of those feeling, each devastating in their own right, were hitting her now all at once and it was almost too much for her to bear.
From a distance, one could be forgiven for thinking that the auri hunter was simply bringing back some manner of creature made prey. The bundle in his arms was small and white save for the occasional blotches of dark brown-red here and there. A sheep, perhaps, brought down in the fields by a roving gedan. Save that anyone that knew Qulaan custom knew they were not shepherds and kept no flocks of their own, and thus upon the realization would the illusion shatter.
The camp was eerily quiet, save only for the hushed whispers, as the grim-faced hunter drew closer to the main yurt where Alaqa stood alongside her father. Each heavy foot step shook her to the core, as if a giant mammoth had wandered into camp and set the earth to trembling beneath its weight. No, she wanted to scream at him even as words failed her. Come no closer and let this foul nightmare end.
But still he trudged forward until he stood right in front of them. Now that he was close, she could see the pain that etched his face. Pain and grief and anger and shame. His eyes would not rise to meet neither hers nor her father’s, but stayed cast downward toward that which he held so carefully in his arms.
For the briefest of moments, Alaqa remembered the day that her sister was born. She was only a few summers old then herself, clutching at her father’s tail in mixed fascination and confusion as Chakha came into the world red and squealing. She could remember the first time her father held her, how she quieted and rested peacefully in his arms. She could remember how she was so very small that her father could gingerly shift Chakha to just one of his large arms and then hold herself at his hip with the other.
It would’ve seemed almost like a joke, if only it weren’t so cruel, that such was how she returned to them now. Just the same as Chakha had come into her life, so she was now leaving it. Rivulets of dried blood covered a dangling arm like a grim spiderweb. Not a single hint of noise or movement came from her tiny body, made to seem even smaller when held by her tall, broad hunting partner.
She reached out to touch her, brushing her fingers over Chakha’s cheek and recoiling at how cold she was. As her gaze met hers, she had to look away from the lifeless, dull golden eyes that stared back at her. This was nothing like the little sister she knew and loved, always bubbling with life and radiating warmth to all those around her. It was too much to bear. Too much..
Alaqa felt the telltale stinging stir behind her eyes, made all the worse by the large hand she felt upon her shoulder. A gesture that was usually a source of comfort when she was weak, but now she could feel even the great and wise Oyuun Khan’s hand tremble with emotion.
It had been years since she had allowed anyone to see her cry, when she had still been young and soft. Before her father had first placed a sword in her hand. The only exception had been her sister who had held her and ran her hands through her unruly curls and whispered hushed words of comfort to her when the world had been too much for even the strong warrior-huntress to withstand.
But now Chakha was gone, and so Alaqa’s legs folded underneath her just as a newborn foal, sending her to her knees in the dirt. Her head fell back and the sound that escaped her could only be described as a howl of grief, turning to sobs as the tears streamed down her cheeks and caring not if the whole tribe saw her at her weakest.
Swallowed by a vicious vengeful sea, oh ooh oh-oh
Darker days are raining over me, oh ooh oh-oh
In the deepest depths I lost myself, oh ooh oh-oh
I see myself through someone else
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Arukh wordlessly handed over the vellum -- a sign of his permission to trade here in Reunion that he had been granted some time past -- to the Qestiri market attendant. After a moment of scrutiny, the man held it back out to him and half-turned, pointing to one of the open spots for visiting traders. Taking it in hand and stashing it away safely, the hunter offered an appreciative nod in kind. Even if he was not Qestir himself, their customs came easier to him than perhaps most. A decade spent almost entirely in solitude made one intimately familiar with silence.
Once he had settled into place, Arukh carefully dropped the large leather pack slung over his shoulder and began to set up shop. Three baras pelts he stacked to his side, next to which sat their fangs and a few other various bones. To the other side were a small stack of bundles of manzasiri hair. It wasn't the most elaborate or enticing haul of goods, but they were staples that the Xaela rarely didn’t have a need for -- especially those who could not hunt for themselves.
The last item pulled from the pack was a small satchel, propping it up against his leg once he had settled down. He flipped it open to reveal a set of carving tools and set to work on one of the baras fangs from the pile, his attention focused intently on ivory in his hands rather than calling out to customers with honeyed words.
He was a much better hunter and boneworker than he was a merchant, that was certain.
OOC NOTE :
Trying something new out here! I’m parking Arukh in Reunion now (about 7PM Central US time on 7/12) and making this post as sort of an open starter! Anyone who is interested in some RP and maybe doing a lil’ IC trading is welcomed to stop by!
As a bonus, if you’re coming by after seeing this post, let me know when you get here! I’m curious to see if this will get any traction. If it does, I’ll probably be doing more of them in various circumstances and places in the Steppe in the future since fishing for spontaneous open world random RP encounters are sadly more often misses rather than hits! ♥
UPDATE:
Just editing this on here to say that this worked out really well and I got some great RP in, so I’ll definitely be doing this sort of thing again in the future! :D
The yol let out a soft cry as the Xaela man dismounted from its back, turning its head back expectantly towards him. An armor-covered hand reached out to affectionately run fingers through the raptor's plumage. However brief the gesture, the yol seemed satisfied by it as it let out a low rumble and settled at the cliff's edge.
Its rider, on the other hand, seemed decidedly less at peace as he stepped to the edge and turned his pale jade gaze outwards over the expanse that lie below -- over the settlement of Reunion, where even from such a distance and height he could still see traders milling about the mid-day markets. His brow furrowed and his arms crossed across his chest as he watched, and as his mind began to wander.
Where goes the hunter when his prey has fled and the trail turns cold?
His father had asked him that once after his first lone hunt, when he had been only barely tall and strong enough to draw a bowstring. An easy hunt it was to have been -- a deer for the tribe's supper -- yet still he had failed. His arrow had flew wide and missed and the deer fled. He had spent hours attempting to track it once more, only to finally return to the camp defeated and angry at himself. That was when Oyuun had knelt before him, laying his large hands upon his son's shoulders, and bestowed upon him the lesson. Words that he could still hear to this day, if only he listened carefully enough to his heart.
He returns home, his father had told him. The hunter returns to his home with his head held high, for he is not yet defeated. He rests, he gathers his strength, he trains, he learns, and -- above all else -- he humbles himself before the Huntress and prays for Her guidance and blessing.
That advice had taken root in his heart, nurtured through years and years of his own hard work and dedication. It flourished through the steadfast support of his father. It was tested and proven true time and time again, with each and every trial and Hunt laid before him, until he too was a grown man and a proven hunter-warrior in his own right.
Those days seemed so far gone, a distant and dreamlike memory that was often too raw and painful to touch without recoiling as one would upon touching a flame. Ten years.. It had been a full decade since everything had changed, ripping the world he had known his entire life out from under him. Since it felt as if his own heart had been pulled still beating from his chest when his younger sister's lifeless body was brought back to the camp, conjuring a grief so strong that it had driven even his own wise father to pursue foolish revenge.
He was a different man now than that which he had been on that day, changed by ten years of near-constant solitude. It had become hard for even him -- once the son of the khan himself -- to remember what it felt like to be a part of a tribe. His people and his family were slain. There were no more rituals and rites and celebrations. Though he would ever remember the words of their songs, he could not bear to sing them aloud any longer.
The only thing that had remained to him that connected him to his people was the Hunt. Yet no longer did he stalk the land in search of formidable beasts. Rather, his quarry had shifted considerably -- to Imperials. If only he could claim that his motives had been wholly pure, that he had only sought to bring glory and justice to the Huntress to those who had slaughtered her children. Even that pureness in purpose had been lost to him. What had driven him for the better part of the last ten years had not been spiritual, but a deep and burning thirst for revenge against those who had taken everything from him.
Arukh Ironbane had long since lost his way, though he had remained stubbornly ignorant of such for as long as he could. With his own personal Hunt neverending so long as the Imperials continued to blight the land, he had had little time to question it. Yet now Yanxia had been liberated and the Empire's soldiers had been largely driven back. Of course, there were those that remained in the outskirts and fringes, but it was only a matter of time before they too were made to either retreat or burrow themselves so deep in their castrums that he would have no chance to Hunt them on his own.
Only then did it finally dawn upon him that with the Imperials gone, he would be a hunter bereft of prey and purpose once more. Only then did his father's words finally seem to reach him once more with advice he had almost forgotten. Where goes the hunter when his prey is fled? He returns home.
Ten years he had spent in Yanxia, but now it was finally time to return to the Steppe. It was time to return to the lands that had shaped him into the hunter-warrior he had become, and to allow it to reshape him once more. He knew not if any of his tribe remained, though he doubted it heavily. Even still, even if he was the only bearer of the wolf's blood remaining on this soil, he would proudly pick up the name of Qulaan once more.
But still, having come so far to stand at the cliff's edge with Reunion lying ahead of him, a part of him knew it would not be easy to let go of the prey he pursued so easily. Perhaps his quarry had escaped him for now, but he would see his Hunt to completion still, for his own father's next words had left that ember burning within him:
..and should hunter only listen to his heart, he shall know when the time has come for him to set out in pursuit once more.
Jaliqai : Does just about anything that Rawkin ( @fortress-and-flame ) cooks for her count? It would be too hard to pick just one.
Valera : Chocolate-covered rolanberries, hands down no contest. All it took was Pyralis spoiling her once and now she’s hooked.
Alaqa : Buuz are probably the closest she comes to a favorite. She’s not much of a cook herself if the food prep process involves more than skinning something she’s hunted and putting it over a fire, so dumpling-making is out of the question. But when she passes through a trade hub, they’re not usually hard to find and she’ll treat herself to at least a few if she has the money or goods to trade.
