Ahdeh'to Jhukyu

"Oschon guide mah arrow, that ah may serve You an' watch over the Road."

Background Art - Blanc on Twitter!

At a glance...

Name - Ahdeh'to, family name unknownAge - 29 summersHeight - 5 fulm, 3 ilmGender - Cis MaleOccupation - Hunter, Survivalist, Venue Proprietor, Former ThiefDistinguishing Features - Grape purple hair, morbol tooth necklace, the oddly aetheric bow he carries with him, his saddlepack he always has with himFavored Weapons - Bow, Hunting Daggers

First Impression

A Keeper Miqo'te of about 30 years sits before you, stiletto in one hand picking the dirt out from underneath the fingernails on his other hand. He's wearing a set of well-crafted, if somewhat shabby, traveler's clothes; indicative of a long time on the road. On his chest is a small bronze symbol to Oschon attached to a chain around his neck.You might notice his hair: a deep shade of purple, tips terminating in a pinkish color. Others might notice the physique, an all-around strong individual, especially his upper body. As one would expect from a hunter and trapper living in the Twelveswood, doubly so given the bow at his side. Still others might notice his eyes: purple, like his hair and clothing.Those who could sense aether would feel something... not quite right. Though his aetherform is whole, it would appear oriented towards fire in a way that would suggest some sort of aetheric burn. As though he had taken a magical blow that never quite fully healed.As you look on, he takes notice of you between picks. He wipes the dagger on a trouser leg and stows it in a scabbard to his side, rests his head in his hand and looks to you inquisitively, a slight smirk curling at his lips. He beckons you to come and sit with him...

Backstory

A Light Unknown...Ahdeh'to was born of a smallish miqo'te clan centered in the southern reaches of The Shroud. The Jhukyu clan were a band of artificers and kept mostly to themselves and their study, only deigning to venture out into the world when they couldn't supply something for themselves.What some may have seen as an unwillingness to partake in the world around them, a sort of agoraphobia, does not tell the full story. There were stories of disappearances in the Shroud before the Calamity. Of screams issuing from nowhere and everywhere at once, it seemed. The Jhukyu clan meddled in things that ought not be: the use of ritual sacrifice to extract a person's aether and bind it to weapons. Though powerful, they were extremely difficult to make and required the Jhukyu clan to regularly kidnap folk from the Shroud to fuel their arcane experimentation. Something Ahdeh'to, as a child, never knew, not having been embraced into the coven.Ahdeh'to, for his part, lived within his studies. Breathed and bathed in all things arcane during this time. He never left the clan grounds, but he slowly began to think. Books on history and philosophy made their way into his studies and he was fascinated. He wanted to know more of the world around him, but was discouraged at every pass by those around him.He tried to reason and argue with his parents: with Ahdeh and with Toxa'to. With his three brothers and two sisters. No one would listen. Indeed, they all seemed determined to ready themselves for something that they knew was coming but failed to share with Ahdeh'to.The DiscoveryThe world at large may be on fire, but some would scarcely hear of it. Ahdeh'to was one of them. Kept out of the knowledge of both his surroundings and his parents' machinations, the boy scarcely knew of the outside world other than it was out to get him and to not trust it. Something he just had to experience for himself, despite the warnings of his parents.Hunting for the clan one day, Ahdeh'to stumbled across a farmer, his foot trapped in a root and bleeding out from several wounds. After a time, he set about wrapping and placing a medicinal salve on the, but the farmer recoiled from him. Speaking of disappearances and thinking Ahdeh'to was here to collect him for some unsavory dealing.His curiosity got the better of him. Ahdeh'to started to sneak away from the compound, seeking out others. Despite his social awkwardness, most gave the same story: a clan who operates at night taking people from their homes. Ahdeh'to went to his parents to confront them about this. They did not deny it and claimed it was necessary for what was to come.The Cleansing FlameHe awakens that night out of the blue. Two figures stand over him, both draped in black cloth. They gag him and blind him, forcing him to follow them to a chamber he had never seen before, deep in a nearby cave. When he got there, he saw five others, also draped in black. The lead figure removes their hood: his mother. The others remove their hoods: his father and siblings.They set about their ritual, attempting to sacrifice one of their own. Not caring that their sacrifice was their own son and brother. Tears streaming down his face, a twisting pain wracking his form, though no blade pierces his skin. He suffers in silence before everything fades to black. A blissful, serene blackness. The peace of death, though not quite......for though he does not remember it, something happened to him that night. The clan finishes its ritual, but it has no effect. Ahdeh'to, expecting to die, had given up. Was welcoming of it. But fate had other plans. The ritual backfired, was expecting to be fed by someone who still fought for life, who wanted to live. Faced with someone who accepted death, it instead empowered him. Awakened a power latent inside him.No one of the Jhukyu clan survived that night. Not even Ahdeh'to, even though he still draws the breath of life. Ahdeh'to awakens the following morning to a scene of carnage: a house smoldering, debris scattered all around, in immense pain. He feels his face and the pain increases exponentially: a burn unlike he had ever felt before. His memory a cloudy mess: he doesn't know what happened here or why. He only remembers his name and some of the hunting skills he had practiced as a boy.He takes up a bow, some simple tools that survived the onslaught, and leaves the thicket behind, cleansed of the sin it had harbored for years and his soul cleansed of a sin he no longer remembered. Though the effect was total, no one came to assist. After all, so much more was happening as the Twelveswood was under siege. He struggles to find a life for himself, especially in the aftermath of the Battle of Carteneau, but he makes do. Never knowing what truly happened that night...The Oathsworn...though his path would prove to run him into them again one day. Him and his first lover, D'mitri, would find their way to the cursed grotto. Fought the Entity claiming itself as his family to a retreat, he thought the problem dealt with until his second lover, C'rik, and he would start to notice aberrant behaviors and a mutual friend discovered the aetheric leech.Disposing of the leech provided a marked improvement in Ahdeh'to's demeanor, reducing his aetherophobia to manageable levels, but it still did not rid him of the influence of his clan. Indeed, multiple times it would show itself to them, even drawing C'rik into its illusions at one point before being snapped out of it. It was that point it was decided: the path ends here.Ahdeh'to gathers those he trusts implicitly: Vaxeus, the serene healer. Muto, the massive brute. Kaza, the punch-drunk sailor. C'rik, the capricious magician. They enter the ritual chamber that housed Ahdeh'to's clan the night of their corruption to find it there. Each falls victim to their own illusion: a fear manifest through the information gathered by Ahdeh'to himself. All the while Ahdeh'to finds himself alone against the entity. Fighting desperate, willing to die if it meant preserving those he brought with him, swearing himself to Oschon if He would help him do so.The illusions prove no match for their captives and they each rise from them, an aspect of the amalgamate entity vanquished. Ahdeh'to, no longer restrained by the defense of those he brought, lashes out. His bow, the long-dormant Oathbow, unleashes its power. It, combined with the efforts of the party, defeat the entity once and for all, the voidgate sealing with an ear-piercing screech.Though the party licks its wounds, Ahdeh'to knows that the job isn't done yet. Blasting powder acquired from the Miner's Guild in Ul'dah is set throughout the chamber and, once everyone is clear, detonated, collapsing the chamber and destroying the sin within once and for all. With the immeasurable help of those he considers his true family, Ahdeh'to breathes free for the first time in his life.

Relationships

C'rik Juna"That man'll be the death'a me, but ah'll be damned if'n ah won't be havin' fun at the time!"One of Ahdeh'to's romantic partners. A right pain in Ahdeh'to's behind, but he loves him dearly all the same. Met at a bar Ahdeh'to had been moonlighting at between hunts, they hit it off almost immediately, with him falling prey to one of C'rik's many, many games. If C'rik asks you to guess a coin flip, listen damn close!

Kaza Baka"Y'd think at some point the sea's'd dry up from the amount he fishes on'em."One of Ahdeh'to's romantic partners. A workaholic fisherman-turned-blitzball player longing for a different lot in life, though insists the only place he feels alive is on the oceans. Met at the same bar as C'rik, they hit it off haltingly at first, but he came to realize and love the sort of strength there is behind the visage of a man who claims he is broken.

Vaxeus Jacinthe"If'n ah could only bottle whatever the hells keeps'em so calm an' collected..."A serene elezen healer and cartomancer, Vaxeus and Ahdeh'to met, again, through C'rik. A quick reverence for their naturally calm demeanor grew within Ahdeh'to and he found that he would rely on their cool head to keep from making many a mistake.

Muto Khaghh"Ah'd rather fight an avalanche than piss off that mountain'a hrothgar!"A ronso tribesman that Ahdeh'to had been introduced to through C'rik, he at first chafed at his naive ways but grew to appreciate the lengths to which he would protect his own. A certain level of respect, mutual he hopes, gained from their encounters with goblins and the Entity alike.

Hooks

Hunter and Survivalist - Ahdeh'to is surprisingly well trained in the art of survival, especially based in the environs of the Twelveswood and, to a lesser degree, Thanalan and may be seen in those areas hunting, foraging, and camping. His hunting skill, too, knows few matches, having known to take down large prey often singlehandedly. That may not stop some, though, from hearing about Rotgut, a rather monstrous morbol in the Twelveswood that nearly killed him...Aetheric Burn - For those sensitive to aether, Ahdeh'to's aetheric burn, though it doesn't prevent him from most things in life, does cause at least some level of aether sickness when traveling by aetheryte or other forms of teleportation. He is also totally unable to manipulate external aether because of this. Despite this, however, he has started taking an interest in means to manipulate internal aether, having learned of red wizardry from his significant other, C'rik.A Thief in a Former Life - Folks living, traveling, or doing business in the Shroud may have run into him at one point or another. He was a somewhat accomplished pickpocket and thief in the immediate aftermath of the Calamity, turning to it to survive. Locals may have heard of the right dressing down Miounne gave the lad when he got caught one night...Reformed? - After getting caught by Miounne, he took to hunting and trapping, living out in the Shroud in a hollowed-out tree he calls The Stand, and knows well the natural medicines one can come by. He's a reasonably accomplished tracker, specializing in cactuar. Though he enjoys the work, he's been putting out feelers again. His dream, after all, was always to be a sky pirate...Family Connections - Those of an arcane bent may have also heard of the Jhukyu clan, though only in passing. It was rumored that his clan were renowned enchanters of weapons. It was also rumored that they were able to achieve this through the use of ritual sacrifice...The Bow - The bow he typically carries exerts a faint aetheric presence, noticeable to those who are sensitive to aether though he seems oblivious to it. But how could he have come of it, if he is so afraid of magic?Training - Ahdeh'to has come to realize the cost of his aetherophobia as well as his lack of general combat experience. He speaks of a thing in the Twelveswood he swore to destroy and did, but sees it as a fluke. Befitting someone who calls himself a follower of the Wanderer, he seeks the means to better protect travelers.A Ranger of the Wanderer - Ahdeh'to has sworn himself to the service of Oschon, the Wanderer. Though he isn't one for organized faith or religious practice, he is seeking out those who may be able to help him understand what it means to make such an oath.The Blind Boar - Ahdeh'to and his partners C'rik and Kaza own and operate a bar in the Twelveswood. Known as a refuge for those in need of refuge, Ahdeh'to takes great pride in the bar, known as The Blind Boar

Out of Character

We are people, first and foremost. Though we are not our characters, some of the things done in character may affect others. If in the course of roleplay you feel uncomfortable with how a scene is progressing, please, please let me know! I'm not a stranger to this, on both ends. Though full retcons aren't necessarily on the table, I'm always willing to reconsider a character action if it leads to a consequence both sides are uncomfortable with.The RPer is 21+ and I ask that my RP partners be 21+ as well!Things I'm down for:Out of game RP (Just understand that if we only do Discord RP I don't consider it canon to Ahdeh'to, just to our rp)Drama (I'm down for adversarial relationships, just don't make your person an ass for the sake of it)Superficial injury (Cuts, bruises, scrapes, blood... past something like a bruised rib, I ask you talk with me OOC first)Romance (Just note: Ahdeh'to is poly, so if you're expecting a monogamous relationship, you're going to be disappointed)Things I'm not down for:Non-con and dub-con (No... just no)Character death, dismemberment, disfigurement, and serious or permanent injuryDrama for the sake of drama. I do not roleplay with characters that I would classify as neutral or chaotic evil. I've had too many bad experiences with people RPing them as gods on earth, trying to powergame them. I'm sorry if you feel that's not what your character is, but this is for my own sake.