Roht Mirage
09-30-12, 04:24 PM
Full name: Astarelle Set'Roh
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Race: Human (Farohtian)
Hair color: Dark brown
Eye color: Metallic gray
Skin color: Light brown
Height: 5'8”
Weight: 130lbs
Occupation: Priestess and Trader
Languages: Common, Fallien, Farohtian
The following contains excerpts from “The Traveller's Way in Faroh” by Astarelle Set'Roh.
The Traveller's Way in Faroh
For Akee
“A little blasphemy keeps us sane.”
Foreword
This is a book for no one. Faroh receives no travellers. If you do find yourself there, by some twist of fate, I doubt that knowing the language or culture would help you very much. In that situation, I wish you luck and offer my condolences to your next of kin.
To those who have never heard of Faroh and never been there, this will seem a fairy tale. I would not begrudge you for taking it as such. After all, this book as about a city that moves with the sand and wind, never seen by the eyes of any Fallien people. Its emissaries are few, and they are experts at never getting a second glance. If you live in Irrakam, I may see you someday. But, you will not see me. You will see a plain soldier, a washerwoman, or maybe even a messenger of the Jya.
So, whether you believe or not, I invite you to read this book. You will learn of a vastly different culture whose people, at their core, are not unlike yourselves. You will learn of magics that can move the endless desert and a religion that can chain the wildest spirit. Forever.
Dear reader, I write this book because it is a small way.... the only way... that I can truly join you on the other side.
About the Author
Astarelle Set'Roh is a treasure. A young woman with the fire to burn amid the strongest storm, and a lovely little slip of a girl as well. She's also so modest that she would call all that a sand blasted lie. I'm only writing this once, though. Take it or leave it, my dear. Anyway, onto the matter at hand...
Astarelle Set'Roh was born in the city of Faroh, bearing the Roht mark on her forehead. She was raised in the temple as a Child of Roh until her sixteenth year. At that time, she was raised to Hand of Roh (you might call her a priestess) and she began her training among the Farohtian people. Her first teacher was Marra, one of our most skilled dancers and a damn rude harpy in my experience. Astarelle was a natural. I dare say she might have become as skilled as Marra, if not for her embellished style and wonderfully inappropriate way of speaking (by Roht standards). Marra is quite famous for the line, “If this is a test of my faith in Roh, I submit. I surrender to her mercy. Her daughter, given to my care and tutelage, can receive no more training from me without tempting me to blaspheme against her Roht honor.”
Astarelle came to me, then, to learn the ways of the gatherer. The name “gatherer” is purposefully demeaning, as is the attitude of the Farohtian people toward us. We are the only ones to leave the city and trade with the other peoples of Fallien. It is a task that requires skill and subtly. Ask them, however, and they will tell you that we bumble among the savages to pick up scattered sticks. Astarelle, bless the girl, never believed that. And I don't believe for a second that she is a proper Roht daughter. The first time I said, “There's nothing sacred about you!” I expected the Kar'Roh to rise from the desert to punish me. But she just smiled.... like I'd never seen her smile before. That was five years ago. It's been a very good five years.
Please think deeply on this book. Try to know her as I do. And if you see an old trader or merchant or fisherman alongside that soldier/washerwoman/messenger somewhere in the streets of Irrakam, think of me as well.
Akashere
Equipment
Objects containing sand will be marked with how many “sources” they represent as well as color. (see Sand Manipulation)
Lataro staff (6') = one source (gold tones)
Lataro is a porous bamboo-like wood with the same strength and flexibility as yew. Farohtians force sand into the pores to make it stronger. With her current abilities, Astarelle's staff is as strong as iron when all of its sand is held within.
Gourds, six = one source (most human skin tones)
Lataro weaves
Intricately woven bands at wrists and shins that can be concealed under clothing. These boost Astarelle's sand manipulation abilities, compensating for the many areas where her skill is deficient.
Woven lataro tube, capped with a sand stopper
The tube's walls do not hold enough sand to constitute a source, but it is made nearly waterproof by it. Used to carry multiple sheets of paper as well as dry ink in various colors. Anyone who is unskilled at controlling the ink (see Farohtian Scribe) will get a face full of ink powder should they manage to open it.
Skills
Skills and abilities are scaled as Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Master.
Dancing (Adept)
Styles:
Farohtian – Rapid movement with a focus on hip twists, spins, and leaps.
Staff Fighting (Apprentice)
Styles:
Personalized – Momentum is built with body movement rather than staff handling.
Beast Handling (Adept to Expert)
Preferences:
Horse – Can calm and control most tame horses.
Giant Scorpion – Difficult to train. Once tame, one may act as both familiar and mount.
Deception (Adept)
What she lacks in charisma, she makes up for with attention to detail and the ability to fashion believable lies based on available information. It is difficult to make her break character or deviate from an established story.
Abilities
Sand Manipulation:
“Rizak”. The skill that defines my people. Everyday life is built around it, and the pride of every Farohtian is linked to their own use of it. One of Akashere's phrases of wisdom applies here. “If you love your craft, give it a name. If you really love your craft, give it a thousand names. But for the love of Roh, don't expect me to remember them all.” That last part is not heeded by most of my people... so please excuse the vain complexity of what follows.
A sand “source” is approximately ten handfuls, uncompressed. It requires one source to sustain one form at an appropriate level. One form drawing from many sources will be more effective. Sand can be held in a form if the container is lost. Forms that require lataro pieces are marked as follows:
* weaves
# staff
*# weaves or staff
*+# weaves and staff together
Form Aspects:
Quantity – (Apprentice) Up to two sources can be used continuously. Three can be used for a few minutes.
Familiarity – (Novice) Only sand that has been near the user for a number of days can be manipulated. Farohtian's of this weak level often carry familiar sand with them.
Compression – (Adept) Sand is stored at half its natural volume. It will not escape containers unless willed to and can keep out water unless submerged for more than an hour.
Rizakapar Forms: “building with sand”
Scribe – Manipulation of ink and wax.
(Adept) Create or alter any document not protected by magical means. Ink and wax seals must be dry. Physical contact with the ink is required. Alterations can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes based on complexity. The presence of ink can be sensed, even when invisible or otherwise hidden, as long as the page is in hand.
Rizakin Forms: “clothed in sand”
Skin – Sand worn as a disguise. Personal sand of various hues is often used.
(Adept) Skin color can be changed completely but retains a reflective “healthy glow”. Features can be hardened or softened by the placement of color. A single source can be applied to the entirety of one's own body. Limiting the disguise to face and hands will not use an entire source, allowing for weakened forms with the remaining sand.
Veil – Spread sand into a cloud around the manipulator.
(Novice)*# Cloud has a radius of two meters. It barely affects vision. Others entering it will feel skin, eye, and throat irritation.
Shell – Sand forms a defensive layer on the skin.
(Novice)*# One body part gains one tier of protection per source. With two sources as an example, both arms could be protected with the equivalent of iron place, or both sources could be applied to one arm as steel plate. Forming the shell over joints will greatly decrease flexibility.
Rizakur Forms: “striking with sand”
Blade – Form sharp extensions on weapons or body
(Novice)*# Form hooks or spear points as strong as iron. Two can be formed per source. Any more will significantly compromise strength.
Rizakoki Forms: “reaching through sand”
Recall – Exert a pull on distant objects either made of lataro or woven with it.
(Apprentice)* Pull a familiar tool to oneself from up to five meters away. The tool can break through minor resistance such as a loose grip. In extreme desperation, the pull will be stronger. Current items that can be called: staff.
Collect – Draw all personal sand back to its containers.
(Adept) Complete collection at a moderate pace, either at will or upon falling unconscious. Sand being collected can travel along the ground or through the air. It must be physically captured to prevent this effect.
Familiars
Kar'Rohki
Giant black scorpion missing one pincer. He is named after the Kar'Roh, the boogeymen of Faroh bedtime stories. While not exactly affectionate, he is very protective of Astarelle, who has been training him for the last four years. (Because of this, Akashere tripled his emergency supplies of anti-venom.) Kar'Rohki will fight with pincer and stinger, which can deliver a toxin capable of paralysing a limb. Loss of the limb is possible if not attended to within a few days.
However, due to his training, he is hesitant to fight. He normally acts more as a mount than a protector and is prone to retreating at inappropriate times. Also, he would rather bury himself than get anywhere close to a human settlement.
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Race: Human (Farohtian)
Hair color: Dark brown
Eye color: Metallic gray
Skin color: Light brown
Height: 5'8”
Weight: 130lbs
Occupation: Priestess and Trader
Languages: Common, Fallien, Farohtian
The following contains excerpts from “The Traveller's Way in Faroh” by Astarelle Set'Roh.
The Traveller's Way in Faroh
For Akee
“A little blasphemy keeps us sane.”
Foreword
This is a book for no one. Faroh receives no travellers. If you do find yourself there, by some twist of fate, I doubt that knowing the language or culture would help you very much. In that situation, I wish you luck and offer my condolences to your next of kin.
To those who have never heard of Faroh and never been there, this will seem a fairy tale. I would not begrudge you for taking it as such. After all, this book as about a city that moves with the sand and wind, never seen by the eyes of any Fallien people. Its emissaries are few, and they are experts at never getting a second glance. If you live in Irrakam, I may see you someday. But, you will not see me. You will see a plain soldier, a washerwoman, or maybe even a messenger of the Jya.
So, whether you believe or not, I invite you to read this book. You will learn of a vastly different culture whose people, at their core, are not unlike yourselves. You will learn of magics that can move the endless desert and a religion that can chain the wildest spirit. Forever.
Dear reader, I write this book because it is a small way.... the only way... that I can truly join you on the other side.
About the Author
Astarelle Set'Roh is a treasure. A young woman with the fire to burn amid the strongest storm, and a lovely little slip of a girl as well. She's also so modest that she would call all that a sand blasted lie. I'm only writing this once, though. Take it or leave it, my dear. Anyway, onto the matter at hand...
Astarelle Set'Roh was born in the city of Faroh, bearing the Roht mark on her forehead. She was raised in the temple as a Child of Roh until her sixteenth year. At that time, she was raised to Hand of Roh (you might call her a priestess) and she began her training among the Farohtian people. Her first teacher was Marra, one of our most skilled dancers and a damn rude harpy in my experience. Astarelle was a natural. I dare say she might have become as skilled as Marra, if not for her embellished style and wonderfully inappropriate way of speaking (by Roht standards). Marra is quite famous for the line, “If this is a test of my faith in Roh, I submit. I surrender to her mercy. Her daughter, given to my care and tutelage, can receive no more training from me without tempting me to blaspheme against her Roht honor.”
Astarelle came to me, then, to learn the ways of the gatherer. The name “gatherer” is purposefully demeaning, as is the attitude of the Farohtian people toward us. We are the only ones to leave the city and trade with the other peoples of Fallien. It is a task that requires skill and subtly. Ask them, however, and they will tell you that we bumble among the savages to pick up scattered sticks. Astarelle, bless the girl, never believed that. And I don't believe for a second that she is a proper Roht daughter. The first time I said, “There's nothing sacred about you!” I expected the Kar'Roh to rise from the desert to punish me. But she just smiled.... like I'd never seen her smile before. That was five years ago. It's been a very good five years.
Please think deeply on this book. Try to know her as I do. And if you see an old trader or merchant or fisherman alongside that soldier/washerwoman/messenger somewhere in the streets of Irrakam, think of me as well.
Akashere
Equipment
Objects containing sand will be marked with how many “sources” they represent as well as color. (see Sand Manipulation)
Lataro staff (6') = one source (gold tones)
Lataro is a porous bamboo-like wood with the same strength and flexibility as yew. Farohtians force sand into the pores to make it stronger. With her current abilities, Astarelle's staff is as strong as iron when all of its sand is held within.
Gourds, six = one source (most human skin tones)
Lataro weaves
Intricately woven bands at wrists and shins that can be concealed under clothing. These boost Astarelle's sand manipulation abilities, compensating for the many areas where her skill is deficient.
Woven lataro tube, capped with a sand stopper
The tube's walls do not hold enough sand to constitute a source, but it is made nearly waterproof by it. Used to carry multiple sheets of paper as well as dry ink in various colors. Anyone who is unskilled at controlling the ink (see Farohtian Scribe) will get a face full of ink powder should they manage to open it.
Skills
Skills and abilities are scaled as Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Master.
Dancing (Adept)
Styles:
Farohtian – Rapid movement with a focus on hip twists, spins, and leaps.
Staff Fighting (Apprentice)
Styles:
Personalized – Momentum is built with body movement rather than staff handling.
Beast Handling (Adept to Expert)
Preferences:
Horse – Can calm and control most tame horses.
Giant Scorpion – Difficult to train. Once tame, one may act as both familiar and mount.
Deception (Adept)
What she lacks in charisma, she makes up for with attention to detail and the ability to fashion believable lies based on available information. It is difficult to make her break character or deviate from an established story.
Abilities
Sand Manipulation:
“Rizak”. The skill that defines my people. Everyday life is built around it, and the pride of every Farohtian is linked to their own use of it. One of Akashere's phrases of wisdom applies here. “If you love your craft, give it a name. If you really love your craft, give it a thousand names. But for the love of Roh, don't expect me to remember them all.” That last part is not heeded by most of my people... so please excuse the vain complexity of what follows.
A sand “source” is approximately ten handfuls, uncompressed. It requires one source to sustain one form at an appropriate level. One form drawing from many sources will be more effective. Sand can be held in a form if the container is lost. Forms that require lataro pieces are marked as follows:
* weaves
# staff
*# weaves or staff
*+# weaves and staff together
Form Aspects:
Quantity – (Apprentice) Up to two sources can be used continuously. Three can be used for a few minutes.
Familiarity – (Novice) Only sand that has been near the user for a number of days can be manipulated. Farohtian's of this weak level often carry familiar sand with them.
Compression – (Adept) Sand is stored at half its natural volume. It will not escape containers unless willed to and can keep out water unless submerged for more than an hour.
Rizakapar Forms: “building with sand”
Scribe – Manipulation of ink and wax.
(Adept) Create or alter any document not protected by magical means. Ink and wax seals must be dry. Physical contact with the ink is required. Alterations can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes based on complexity. The presence of ink can be sensed, even when invisible or otherwise hidden, as long as the page is in hand.
Rizakin Forms: “clothed in sand”
Skin – Sand worn as a disguise. Personal sand of various hues is often used.
(Adept) Skin color can be changed completely but retains a reflective “healthy glow”. Features can be hardened or softened by the placement of color. A single source can be applied to the entirety of one's own body. Limiting the disguise to face and hands will not use an entire source, allowing for weakened forms with the remaining sand.
Veil – Spread sand into a cloud around the manipulator.
(Novice)*# Cloud has a radius of two meters. It barely affects vision. Others entering it will feel skin, eye, and throat irritation.
Shell – Sand forms a defensive layer on the skin.
(Novice)*# One body part gains one tier of protection per source. With two sources as an example, both arms could be protected with the equivalent of iron place, or both sources could be applied to one arm as steel plate. Forming the shell over joints will greatly decrease flexibility.
Rizakur Forms: “striking with sand”
Blade – Form sharp extensions on weapons or body
(Novice)*# Form hooks or spear points as strong as iron. Two can be formed per source. Any more will significantly compromise strength.
Rizakoki Forms: “reaching through sand”
Recall – Exert a pull on distant objects either made of lataro or woven with it.
(Apprentice)* Pull a familiar tool to oneself from up to five meters away. The tool can break through minor resistance such as a loose grip. In extreme desperation, the pull will be stronger. Current items that can be called: staff.
Collect – Draw all personal sand back to its containers.
(Adept) Complete collection at a moderate pace, either at will or upon falling unconscious. Sand being collected can travel along the ground or through the air. It must be physically captured to prevent this effect.
Familiars
Kar'Rohki
Giant black scorpion missing one pincer. He is named after the Kar'Roh, the boogeymen of Faroh bedtime stories. While not exactly affectionate, he is very protective of Astarelle, who has been training him for the last four years. (Because of this, Akashere tripled his emergency supplies of anti-venom.) Kar'Rohki will fight with pincer and stinger, which can deliver a toxin capable of paralysing a limb. Loss of the limb is possible if not attended to within a few days.
However, due to his training, he is hesitant to fight. He normally acts more as a mount than a protector and is prone to retreating at inappropriate times. Also, he would rather bury himself than get anywhere close to a human settlement.