Tark'ya [White Wolf: Exalted]

  • Name: Tark'ya ("of the moon", her Lunar name)
  • Other Names: Yugrikho ("snow child", her child-name; call her this and die)
    Athge ("of the owl", her barbarian-name. She's a bit more forgiving if Forest People or Haltans call her this. No Exalts and few others better do so though)
  • Appearance: She is almost as androgynous as Luna itself. Whipcord lean body, muscles stretched tight and close over a light-boned frame, no hips or bust to speak of. It's easy to mistake her for male, thanks to her lack of curves and severe features. Her face is defined by a sharp small nose, large round eyes, a slash of lips. The clothing she wears doesn't help to distinguish her sex either - barkcloth here, gauze and spidersilk there, enough to veil every inch of her pale skin. The coverings are mottled to blend with the Eastern forests.
    She is albino, and her short slight frame hints at the fraility of her birth - she stands just under five feet. Her skin is transluscent white, like winter ice, veins pulsing blue and purple against the surface. Her eyes are eerily unblinking, round and almost too large for her face, clear sharp rose in a setting of chill porcelain. There are barest flecks of gold mixed into the red, noticable only by closest scrutiny. Her hair is long, the color of spun moonbeams, but often braided and dyed and tied out of the way.
    There are the tattoos. Some are swirling patterns glimmering silver on her skin. Others are shades of green and brown and black, marks of the Forest People. There are ritual scars as well, darkened by plants pressed into the wounds before they healed. Her body is patterned with these tattoos and scars, the story of her life in the swirls and dots and sigils, though bare skin remains aplenty for recording of future deeds.
    Then there is the body paint and the plant dyes, turning her hair shades of black and green and brown, always with at least one lock of white remaining. Paints hide her white skin in swirling patterns and dots that confuse the eye and aid in her melding with the woods even while they hold symbolic meaning. This is her camoflague. She braids her silvery hair with plant fibers, leaves, and feathers. She wears the claws of the polar bear about one wrist, and the talons of the owl about her neck.
  • Personality: Tark'ya is a barbarian, a Lunar, and a shaman. She looks to her own survival first, and to her honor - the two are equal and inseparable, in her mind. One cannot survive without honor, not truly. THen again, her brand of honor is that of Forest People and Lunars, barbarians and the Silver Way. Not that of civilized weaklings.
    She is proud. Oh, is she proud. Her force of will is her strength. As a child she was looked down upon even as she was feared thanks to superstition, and she had to fight to earn genuine respect. She had to work twice as hard to equal the other tribe members, and now she surpasses them easily. But among her new people - the Lunar Exalted - she is ordinary, and little more than a child. She is not even allocated the fear-respect of superstition, because many Lunars have strange appearances or come from odd backgrounds. It's a jolting change, from so high to so low in rank, and it rankles despite her careful adherance to protocol.
    To tell the truth, she's spoiled in a few odd ways. She's used to high respect and special treatment (though never lighter treatment - try that and find owl-talons at your throat), and now she doesn't have it. Respect from mortals is nothing, though plentiful - what she desires is respect from Luna's Beloved. So she studies, and trains, and pushes herself harder yet, seeking ways to get respect. Respect for her strengths - wits, intelligence, ingenuity.
    She knows restraint and can keep a hold on her temper if she has to - after a brief flare seen in a stiffening spine and a flash of red eyes. She seems to be ice most times, sexless and emotionless, but insult or slight her and you'll see a spark of starfire, burning bright and hot before being quelled to a simmer. She is patient, and holds a grudge until she gets revenge or until it's settled in competition.
    The Silver Way suits her well, and she follows it to the letter, and usually to the spirit. She is stubborn. Sheer orneriness and a sheer refusal to give up has been the only thing keeping her alive at times. The idea of death is perposterous - she will not allow death to take her. She never has, and she'll be damned if she ever will.
    She refuses to develop attachments. She sees no point in them. She will sacrifice much to reach her goals, meat her ends, and it's easier to sacrifice if there's little you truly care about. She is self-sufficient, and she looks out for herself and none other. One day she might discover a heart beneath that icy skin, but for now there's nothing but ambition, and determination, and pride.

The Silver Way

  • Never Flee, Never Surrender
  • Repay Your Debts
  • Be Just and Generous to Those Beneath You
  • Slay Not Your Brothers and Sisters
  • Defend What Is Yours
  • Honor Your Word to the Deserving

Lesser traditions of Lunars/barbarians that aren't necessarily part of the Silver Way are those of territory, gatherings, blood debt, ritual duels, mating, raiding, spirituality, the ritual hunt, and the unfettering.

Character Sheet

  • Name: Tark'ya
  • Concept: Shaman of the Forest People
  • Player: Danielle
  • Caste: No Moon (Lunar)
  • Nature: Survivor
  • Totem: Snowy Owl

Attributes

  • Str 2 (3), Dex 4 (5), Sta 2 (4)
  • Cha 3, Manip 4, Appear 3
  • Percep 4, Int 4, Wits 4

Abilities

  • War
    Archery 1, Athletics 2, Awareness 4
    Dodge 2, Endurance 1, Martial Arts 1
    Melee 1, Resistance 1, Thrown 2
  • Life
    Craft Alchemy 1, Craft Enchantment 1, Linguistics 3,
    Performance 1, Presence 1, Socialize 2,
    Stealth 2, Survival 4
  • Wisdom
    Lore 2, Medicine 3, Occult 3

Specialties: Tree Movement (Athletics) 2, 1st Age (Lore) 1, Religion (Lore) 1, Spirits (Occult) 2, Fair Folk (Occult) 1, Herbal (Craft Alchemy) 1

Advantages

  • Backgrounds: Mentor 1, Heart's Blood 3, Renown 1, Influence (Forest People) 1, Resources (herbs, poisons) 2
  • Willpower 8
  • Virtues: Compassion 2, Temperance 2, Conviction 3, Valor 3
  • Renown: Succor 5, Mettle 8, Cunning 6, Glory 6
  • Essence 2 (Personal 18, Peripheral 43)
  • Virtue Flaw: Heartless Weasel

Weapons: Ironwood Spear, War Boomerang
Armor: Barkcloth Buff Jacket
Soak: B 6 / L 5
Heath Levels: -0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4, Incap

Heart's Blood: Snowy owl, black mamba, river otter, pike, polar bear, snowshoe hare, resus (sp?) monkey, marsh deer, harpy eagle, wolf, alligator, jaguar

Languages: Tribal Tongues (Forest People, Arczekhi, 10 Tribes of the Oak); Old Realm; Forest Tongue; Rivertongue

Charms

  • Finding the Spirit's Shape (1m cost, instant duration, reflexive)
  • Deadly Beastman Transformation (5m cost, instant duration, reflexive)
  • Eagle Eye Advantage (2m cost, instant duration, supplemental)
  • Sense Sharpening (1m cost, 1 day duration, simple)
  • Spirit Scenting (2m cost, 1 scene duration, simple)
  • Heightened Sight (5m cost, 10 turn duration, simple)
  • Body Weapon (1m cost, instant duration, supplemental)
  • Hide of the Cunning Hunter (1m cost, 1 day duration, simple)
  • Bowing Reed (4m cost, instant duration, reflexive)

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