about Race: Oban/Yaeli Gender: Male Class: Prentice Future Class: TBD Significant Other: None Siblings:Zhen (half-brother) Children: None
personality 3 Base Traits: Indulgent, Cynical, Amiable
Illy is a hard worker and, knowing this, rewards himself generously with the finer things in life. A man without great aspirations or goals, he works doing what he can as a laborer and fighter; saving a little, but mostly content to spend it on anything he wants at a given time. He gets along well with people on a surface level, and has the capacity to be charming, but ultimately he struggles to make lasting relationships, or to truly trust anyone.
He has no real sense of honor and justice, and is willing to work both above board and under the table. He feels he understands the nature of people, for better or for worse, and feels that expecting the darker side of people means that when things go well, and people are kind, it's always a pleasant, happy surprise. Better to expect the worst than be caught unawares.
scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:03 pm
History
Childhood Illapha was born in Yaeli as the supposed first born of a young Yaeli couple who traveled between Matori and Yaeli for trade. Much to his 'father's' surprise, he came squalling into the world with inky skin and glowing red eyes and, at first, the priests suggested he was some sort of vile, evil spirit. Questions went round on how to dispose of the creature without catching the ire of the gods, but thankfully (for Illapha at least) his mother came clean - she had been unfaithful, while on the mainland, with an Oban man.
Furious at her unfaithfulness, her husband denounced the child, telling his young wife he would only take her back if she cast the child away - he wouldn't raise him.
No one in their small settlement volunteered to take the boy, so she gathered her things and fled back to Matori, and later to Oba, in hopes of finding a better life with her lover.
However - after traveling for some time to find him, a handful of years later when Illapha was still very small, she finally found him living in a small settlement of monks and priests. ... Along with his wife, and older son.
She was gracefully accepted there, and taken good care of, as the tenets of their peaceful faith espoused forgiveness. Illapha actually had a family now - a family he seemed to care for immensely. He adored his slightly older brother, and while there was some strain with his father and his wife, Illapha liked the community.
Until ... about a year later, his mother disappeared. Illapha was heartbroken and confused at her disappearance. Years passed, and as Illapha grew into a broad and bulky young boy, he worked to become strong enough to find his mother and bring her home. When he was twelve, he finally ran away from the settlement - making his way back to Yaeli, a country he had no memory of.
There, he found his mother - with several new children, seemingly happier than he'd ever seen her back in Oba.
Illapha didn't return to the family who had accepted him; instead, he disappeared into Matori and Oban life, traveling from place to place wherever laborers were needed. He was a big, bulky boy who grew into a stocky man - and where his childhood had preached temperance and self understanding, he splurged on whatever his limited pay would allow him. And he was happy that way - living from hand to mouth, without a care or family or anyone to worry about but himself.
Family (Zhen and Illapha's Father): Father ===An Oban monk who lives in a settlement where all the members seek to improve the world's view of Oba, promoting peace and kindness. He sowed his oats early on, before becoming a priest, thus siring Illapha. Mother: A Yaeli trader who used to travel with her husband on business. She had an affair which resulted in Illapha, and wasn't discovered until his birth. For the first few years of his life they lived poorly, traveling through Oba as she sought out her lover. Once finding him, she lived there a few months before returning home to Yaeli, and starting a new family with her old husband. Zhen: Older brother, they lived together in the settlement for a number of years. Illapha respects him a great deal, but they had a tumultuous relationship as Illy rebelled, and often liked to make him uncomfortable, and push his buttons.
Friends
Acquaintances Xenia: Met briefly at a festival in Oba, she was kind and he enjoyed her company.
Ever since leaving his father's monastery, Illapha used his size to get work. Running briefly with gangs in Oba, his sheer size and the ferocity of his fists gave him little challenge, and he quickly learned how to take a punch. Later, when he moved to slightly less seedy work in the taverns and inns he made home, he still used his size and strength for his work, intimidating those drunkards, or physically hefting people out the door.
The few times he'd been on the up and up, he'd even managed a decent gig as a laborer during especially bountiful harvests, carrying barrels of goods as if they were nothing. So... really, he'd always been content to use his size to his advantage.
The first time Illapha work on the The Whispering Witch it was as a deck hand, just one of the hungry masses that were paid an insultingly small amount of coin to carry boxes of smuggled (or stolen) goods on board. It wasn't particularly satisfying though, just like any of those old jobs.
The second time though was... different. He got paid a decent amount of coin, thanks to Xenia keeping her word, but that wasn't what made this job so different, no. What was different was knowing that he wasn't just efficient at moving things, or keeping someone from trashing a tavern or breaking some chairs; he was here as Xenia's last line of defense, a massive, intimidating figure that shadowed her, keeping her safe.
She counted on him, on his word that he was there as one of her men, and in return he offered his loyalty and his vow to keep her safe... and he *liked* it. To use his muscles and hands to protect was rewarding - enough that he admitted, to himself, that even after this job was finished, he would keep protecting to the best of his ability.
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