Gerel Himaa

Oft found covered in leathers, embroidered cloth and furs, and decorated in baubles of metal and beads: his dark skin is enhanced by a carapace of rough, black scales of varying degrees of thickness. His brows are lined with a similar carapace which trace around his square face down to his chin where it is encased into a slight, sharp point of hard carapace which swallows the entirety of his neck. His forearms are equally lined with the thick armor. The armor starts at his shoulders, which crawls down to his wrists, covering his knuckles like a second skin. The center of his chest sports a patch of scales, which flows out from his neck scales, into a shape resembling a diving Dravanian. His hips and the sides of his legs are covered by the natural armor down to his knees.

The remaining covering sits on the back of his shins, down to his heels. He has heavy covering along his back, down his spine to his barbed tail. His tail is thin, starting thick at the base with three protruding spines that are as sharp as they appear. Thinning out as it goes down the end of his tail is tipped with a sharp spike and four extending barbs making the limb a dangerous deterrent to any to wander too close behind him.

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Strengths ■ Aether. Due to his nature he has a naturally rich Aether pool and an affinity for magicks. ■ Pyromancy. His love of the element provides him with a learned affinity for controlling it and resisting its more harmful effects. ■ Perceptive. His ability to perceive his world was something learned due to his partial deafness. ■ Intimidating. A face dotted by scales and a hood of the same black carapace as well as curling, decorated horns and a cool, callous aura he gives off an intimidating visage.

Weaknesses ■ Graceless. A man of graceless actions he is more effective on the back of a horse than land. ■ Merciless. A pitiless beast of war he is not wont to give mercy to his enemies often killing them in combat or bludgeoning them senseless in duels. ■ Volatile. A wrathful temper that had set him on bouts of rage and fury doing little to temper his skill in prolonged combat. ■ Lawful. Despite his inherent nature for violence it is limited by his personal code of conduct and the law set by the land he dwells in. It puts a limitation on his ability to act out his more destructive desires.

Motivations ■ Family. For Gerel family and friends are important to him. He strives to maintain close, physical bonds with them. Holding, hugging, and even wrestling can be important rituals of skinship the brute uses to deepen bonds. ■ Prestige. Power is everything, as is glory. He believes in all he does that distinction for his actions must follow. He is merciless and brutal when it comes to reaching whatever goal it is he has set out for himself. ■ Honor. Set by the ways of the Steppe the Xaela is driven by his honor and if it is at risk he will do anything to reassert it, even if it means snuffing out the life of another. ■ Knowledge. While the pursuit of knowledge is just another means of reaching the ultimate goal of power over the ignorant, he also strives to fortify himself with an edge over others through his approximate knowledge of many things.

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Gerel was a reserved, well spoken Xaela who stood with strength and confidence. His focus was both a blessing and a curse as his sharp stare often got him in trouble with others, making him seem as if he was always picking a fight. Subservient in his nature for him others stand above him and he is known to give pass to others. Despite this seemingly gentle nature he can lose his temper at a moment's notice and has been known to run those through who have given him reason to. He is not known for his mercy, and with the foul habit of biting his tongue: when his temper does finally fly, it does so in flames.

He is known to always dress in an magnanimous manner full of pride and influence. He is known to be covered in refined leathers, or embroidered cloth and soft furs that are dyed a rich, Othard Blue and deep Storm Blue. His scales and skin are too usually decorated in baubles of metal and beads adding to his shining presence. His dark skin is painted by a carapace of ebon black scales of varying degrees of thickness. His brows are lined with thick, scaled brows which trace around his square face down to his chin where it is encased into a slight, sharp point of hard carapace which swallows the entirety of his neck. His forearms are equally lined with the thick armor. The armor starts at his shoulders and crawls down to his wrists, covering his knuckles like a second skin. The center of his chest sports a patch of scales, which flows out from his neck scales, into a shape resembling a diving Dragon. His hips and the sides of his legs are covered by the natural armor down to his knees.

The remaining covering sits on the back of his shins, down to his heels and the sole of his feet. He has heavy covering along his back, down his spine to his barbed tail. His tail is thin, starting thick at the base with three protruding spines that are as sharp as they appear. Thinning out as it goes down the end of his tail is tipped with a sharp spike and four extending barbs making the limb a dangerous deterrent to any to wander too close behind him.

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Likes ■ Horses. Raised among the Goro he has a fondness for horses more than he does of people. ■ Music. If music can sooth the savage beast, so a beast was he. ■ Buuz. The fastest way into this man's attention's is his belly. ■ Rain. To journey in the rain is to be closer to the kami.

Dislikes ■ Chocobos. Smelly, foul-spirited birds with a bite to match. ■ Eorzean Customs. Seen as a feral creature by their ways, he tends to find their customs equally as offensive. ■ Ocean. If the ocean could burn, he would set it on fire. ■ Snakes. They are for eating, not for pets.

Skills ■ Magic Studies. Consistently trains in the arts of manipulating aether and forms of divination. ■ Literacy. He can read and write his native Steppe tongue, Eorzean, Doman/Hingan. ■ Linguistics. He can speak the old Xaela tongue with ease and is fluent with Doman/Hingashi and Eorzean. ■ Horseman. Raised among the Goro his ability to survive on horseback is incomparable. From fighting to eating if it is done on horseback he has an increased perception and grace for it.

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■Childhood Born to the Steppes Gerel was considered a bastard to the Goro Tribe. In his youth the Xaela was often told he was hatched from an acorn the squirrels would not even bury. It was a set up for a complicated childhood. The village udgan had brought him to the village and gave him the name Negurii to protect him from the vengeful spirits who she felt were chasing him: a ghost, she said, which had his face. During a journey for a vision the udgan had happened upon him in a clearing: the boy near death and suffering dehydration. She took care of him for a time, but a mysterious illness befell her. Though he 'son' he was not allowed to succeed her duties because many believed he had been the cause of her death, as on her deathbed she was consumed by a feverish fear and ranted of the spirits chasing him. The young Goro had no one, as his caretaker died not long into his first winter season with the tribe. The boy wished to train into the former udgan's role, but he was not seen to be gifted with skill and was feared due to his being associated in causing the sudden death of their last udgan, so was denied. He was put to work on all menial tasks he could manage. Raised as Goro, despite the lack of blood, he was taught to tend to horses and that they were above all creatures on this star and if he was going to live with the Goro he was to understand the Goro way. Negurii, who was seen as cursed and would find himself only able to turn to the tribe horses for company as many of his sept feared his words would cause death, which left him delayed in learning speech.

■Past
He was not given a name until he was of his fifth winter with the tribe. He had been believed to be no older than five winters upon joining the tribe, but there was no telling if that was truly the case so his age remains a generalization rather than a fact. But this name was not his own, but taken as his honor to the one who had freed him from the clutches of death to be found in the Steppes when he was just a babe. As the story goes: there was a conflict with another tribe over land the tribe had lost many Goro and horses. This had done the young Goro great pain for he had come to learn by finding out the horse that had been given to his caretaker was slain in the assault. With nothing left to remind him of his savior the young Goro took the name Gerel. Taking a woman's name further subjected him to the tribe's doubt of his voracity. One day the tribe had stopped to trade with traveling Raen, or as much as a trade could be held with them, and there Gerel learned of a land to the west which was said to accept anyone.

■Present
Gerel felt that if they could accept him, he could have chance to learn to give something back to the tribe of the woman who gave him life. He wished to honor the udgan's memory. As soon as he was able to survive he left the tribe with his horse for Eorzea. Perhaps there he could learn of what had made his udgan so strong, and the arts that kept the current one in power. Power is what Gerel sought. In search of his power he left the Steppes to Ul'dah and studied beneath the mages of the Ossuary at the Taumaturge's Guild in order to hone his art. As he mastered the flames of his passions the other elements would come with much trial and error. But as he masters these arts he comes to the resolve that this power over death was not enough to fend it off. Though the wild arts of sorcery of the Steppes guided his destructive hand he would soon look to the stars and search for his next path. Coming to spend his time with other tribes, he continued to face the solitude that left him a constant outsider. It was not until shy a cycle that his own twin had come to spirit him away from the abusive domination and sleepless nights of chores. He would once again be able to take the name Himaa proudly, but he still needed to find his way, learning to become strong, despite a broken spirit.

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