Shae "Ash" Borlaaq
Savage | Bone Witch | Exile | Monster?
Far from home forsaken, cast out by family found. Ghost to her own, from flame springs anew, seeking the path, as darkness flocks to her shadow...
At a Glance
Injuries & Temporary Features
Masked Aether
Currently, some effect or device conceals her aetheric composition. Only the most skilled can tell that something is off when she is at rest, but not even they can tell what that might be.
Permanent Features
Small, but Ripped
Though standing under five fulms in height, this girl is muscular in the extreme. Though not even her impressive musculature can explain why she weighs more than even those twice her height, even taking massive horns, tail and scales into account...Four Horns
It is impossible not to notice the second pair of horns sprouting from this Xaela's delicate features, larger than the single pair other Au Ra possess. Fully functional hearing organs all, she hears everything there is to hear within their astounding range. And often wishes it weren't so.Fangs and Claws
Ash has a wicked set of fangs, far in excess of what any Keeper might display. Her fingernails are dark, thick, and razorsharp.Wicked Tail
At rest, her eight fulms long, swaying tail looks almost innocent: prongs press together to make one larger, spade-shaped tip; smooth scales glitter pleasantly as they catch the light. Be not deceived. When hackles rise and tempers ignite, scales flare and stand upright to expose sharp edges, and prongs separate to reveal their wicked blades...Scales as Body Art
Fine patterns of scales dance across her body, clearly guided by human hands. Others belonging to tribal cultures may recognize them as the results of agonizing ritual scarification, but it takes a Borlaaq to read from them tales of beasts bested, honour earned, enemies slain. Young, to wear so many...High Aetheric Density
Ash's aetheric density is particularly high, her reserves vast. The composition is not balanced, leaning towards a fire affinity, and increasingly dark-aspected.A Touch of the Hereafter
The veil between worlds thins where Ash goes, her presence a gateway unto the beyond. Strange events occur in her wake, and those with even a passing sensitivity to such things feel the supernatural within her presence; however, those with the True Sight may see a glimpse of red eyes lurking in her shadow. There is Darkness in her, but pinpointing its source is difficult.Bite Scar (Where neck and shoulder meet - Right)
What was a bloody bite wound in recent memory, has resolved into a pair of scars, raised silvery lines of skin around the corners of the bite, but the two halves of it do not connect, smooth skin between them.
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General Information
Age: 24
Naming day: Third Sun of the Fifth Astral Moon (August the 3rd)
Pronouns: She/Her
Sexuality: Pansexual, polygamous
Birthplace: The Azim Steppes
Race: Auri Xaela
Hooks
* Concepts in italic are elucidated upon in the "culture" section.
Savage - Xaela through and through, Ash is steeped in the culture of the Steppes and of her tribe. She carries a warm heart for everyone as wild and free as she.
Huntress - Trained as a huntress from birth, Ash is a consummate tracker and marksman. More at ease in the wild than others in their childhood home, she unerringly finds her way even through the densest of thickets. Finding her way through city streets, on the other hand...
Raider - Not everything Ash hunts is of the four-legged or winged persuasion. Though she has a good heart, her culture and upbringing sanction and normalize acts others would find abhorrent.
Borlaaq - Ash is a member of the Borlaaq-fa, a Borlaaq sept steeped in the old ways, with a hang towards battle, glory and personal honour. Borlaaq of other denominations may or may not share less in common than expected, and all should be advised that a Borlaaq-fa's notions of honour may not align with their own...
Ghost - Exile and ghost to her tribe for reasons few outsiders comprehend, Ash has travelled the world, seeing sights and experiencing a myriad of cultures. Somehow, she still manages to be surprised every time another's culture is less wild and free than her own.
Bone Witch - Recently, Ash has reconnected with the spiritual practices of her tribe. Those sensitive to matters of ghosts, spirits, and the necromantic arts may sense the touch of the netherworld upon her, something she doesn't entirely control. However, this fact about her is not common knowledge.
Hole in the Veil - Related to but separate from the above, anyone with sensitivity to anything to do with the Veil (whether their affinity be towards the spirits of the dead, voidsent, or some other creature entities from beyond the veil) will note it thinning significantly in her presence, and hear the faintest echo of the Void. Her Aether is currently shielded from prying eyes, so this effect can only be traced back to her through deductive reasoning.
Curiosity killed the... Xaela? - Ash is willing to try almost everything at least once. Even when she really, really shouldn't.
Borlaaq Culture
*Still WIP, but lots of headcanon beyond this point. Skip if you don't enjoy reading heaps of worldbuilding!
The Borlaaq-fa (Or "Why my Borlaaq don't need to be yours.")
When embarking upon our journey through the wonderful world of Etheirys, we've all inevitably got to fill in a few blanks here or there. The few lines of official Borlaaq lore we have are, while tantalizing, not sufficient to give them the proper depth I crave. So I have filled in a lot of blanks!Naturally, this may lead to my version of "Borlaaq" not being recognisable to other Borlaaq characters. For that reason, whenever I use the word "Borlaaq" anywhere, you may mentally swap it out for "Borlaaq-fa", Ash's particular subset (sept) of Borlaaq. It stands to reason that groups will have splintered off from the main "branch" of Borlaaq-ism across the many centuries, and knowledge of what branch was the original was likely lost to time. To Ash, the ways of her sept are the ways of the Borlaaq, but your Borlaaq certainly need not agree!This goes for any Iriq out there as well.
Lexicon
Aka "the only thing on this page for now"!
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bone Witch | Possible Eorzean translation for ithienfa, and the most common one. |
| Deathspeaker | Possible Eorzean translation for ithienfa. Slightly less common than bone witch. |
| Fala | One who holds another's fa. An individual who is owed an honour debt, and who has accepted the offending party as a retainer (known as ifa) for a time (usually one year) in order to settle the debt. Fala have almost as many responsibilities to their ifa as their ifa have to them, and must ensure they are safe and provided for. It is considered shameful for a fala to take work out of an ifa's hand, as their debt cannot be met without services to provide. This occasionally leads fala of particularly eager ifa to long for the end of the ifa's service more than they themselves do. See also: ifa. |
| Ifa | One whose fa is held by another. An individual who has pledged themselves to the service of another for a period of time (usually one year) in order to erase a stain on their honour. The individual they serve is referred to as fala. Ifa are sworn to pacifism, and remain with their fala's tribe for as long as they are ifa. It is up to each individual ifa to determine how large their honour-debt is and how much daily service their fala is owed, but care must be taken not to invite further dishonour through laziness. Capture in battle and the breaking of oaths are the most common reasons for becoming ifa. Those of other tribes with frequent contact with the Borlaaq tend to accept positions as ifa to secure their safe release at the end of their year, and honour the arrangement to prevent retaliation against their tribe. They also tend to accept captured Borlaaq as ifa themselves, knowing them to be hard workers and true to their word. Sexual and reproductive services may be offered by an ifa, but cannot be compelled. As men can't be members of the Borlaaq tribe, male ifa within Borlaaq camps and Borlaaq ifa within the camps of other tribes serve a vital reproductive role. See also: fala. |
| Ithienfa | "One who honours death". The udgan of the Borlaaq. These women commune with the dead through the mediums of smoke and fire, usher the spirits of their honourable dead on to the afterlife, and call vengeful spirits upon the tribe's enemies. Though they play a vital role and are greatly respected, the suspicion and fear surrounding their powers makes de facto pariahs out of them. Steeped in the magic of death, they seldom conceive, and frequently miscarry when they do. See also: bone witch, deathspeaker. |
| Naming day | Roughly equivalent to "birthday". Upon their first naming day, a Borlaaq daughter becomes an official member of the tribe and so receives their tribesname, in addition to the spiritname they already possessed. As men may not be part of the tribe, male children are given away (usually to the Iriq) or in extreme circumstances abandoned on their first naming day. See also: spiritname, tribesname. |
| Spiritname | The name given to the child of a Borlaaq upon their birth. So named out of the belief that children under the age of 1 are not wholly of this world, but visitors from the spirit lands who may yet return there at any time; a practice no doubt inspired by the high child mortality rates of this harsh land. See also: naming day, tribesname. |
| Tribesname | The name given to a Borlaaq upon her first naming day, to mark her passage from spirit visitor to official member of the tribe. See also: naming day, spiritname. |
| Udgan | Xaela word for "shaman". Not exclusive to the Borlaaq, who tend to use it only for shaman of other tribes, preferring ithienfa for their own. |