La steppe sanglante, les badlands, le pays sauvage. Les gens ont beaucoup de noms pour cela, mais dans la tounge des Taniwhans indigènes, il est appelé Koraha. C'est un endroit apparemment sans fin, qui s'étend de la chaîne de Maunga dans le nord gelé aux hauts sommets des Tokas dans le sud transpirant, divisé seulement par la grande rivière Awa qui déchire à travers les ligues sans fin de prairies comme une grande cicatrice laid. C'est la maison de nombreuses formes de vie, à la fois bête et peuple, et a été témoin de la montée et de la chute de nombreuses civilisations. A travers le paysage se trouvent les grandes ruines des anciens, dont l'essentiel sont les grands skybridges qui circulent sans interruption du nord au sud dans de grandes arches, à des centaines de pieds au-dessus du sol. Ci-dessous fait rage la lutte sanglante de la vie quotidienne; la bête mange la bête, la bête mange l'homme, l'homme mange la bête et, dans certains cas, l'homme mange l'homme. C'est un endroit dangereux, sans doute, mais aussi un endroit libre. On dit que même à l'époque des anciens, Koraha était beaucoup la même qu'aujourd'hui. Un désert intact et pur.
C'est ce que vous ressentez.
Pour une raison ou une autre, vous êtes ici. Ici, le cœur même de la nature, une éternité loin des villes et des civilisations du reste du monde. Comment vous êtes arrivé ici est une histoire à part, mais l'histoire de ce que vous avez fait ici ne fait que commencer.

Cela fait des jours que vous n'avez vu personne d'autre, à côté de troupeaux éloignés de chevaux sauvages et d'autres créatures. Des jours depuis que tu as parlé. Puis soudain, comme vous étiez sur le point de l'appeler un jour et de faire un camp pour la nuit, vous voyez quelque chose. Haut sur une colline au loin, vous voyez une lumière, peut-être d'un feu. Il n'est pas trop loin pour atteindre avant que les ténèbres enveloppent la terre. Vous ne pouvez pas faire les détails d'ici, donc il pourrait y avoir quelque chose d'un vagabond solitaire comme vous, à une douzaine de Taniwhans sanguinaires. La question est de savoir si vous risquez les dangers pour la récompense possible de l'entreprise.
Name: Ashé Derundé
Alias: The Bronze One, Mageblooded, Mage (often with disdain)
Age: 23
Vitals:
Height - 1.8 meters
Build - Medium and toned
Appearance -

This image might be seen with my (main) characters for other worlds. No accident.


Background:

His prose and cosmopolitanism might give off an air of a cultured rearing, his subtle discriminating tastes betraying a position of rank, nobility perhaps, lost. If one were to think he is of esteemed heritage, they would be right, and wrong. Ashé was born in a village along the Yanoibi coast, expected to see no farther than the waves and the town opposite to where his father ventured, and his father's father ventured, until stories were just things told around fires. That changed not through strife, not through a grand display of power, but something small.
At five years of age, Ashé considered himself enough old to accompany his father—or argue his way—into the granary, to assist in what was to be a simple grab of legumes. His father stepped up on a stool and reached upwards at an empty sack, underneath a small crate. He pulled hard and brought the crate down on his knuckles, and yelped. Ashé jolted around, and seconds later, the leg under the stool snapped. Without hesitation, Ashé threw his arms forward. A swift gust, almost whip like, filled the air, and his father wrestled himself free of unseen force that spared him a harder fall.
His expression was an amalgam of horror and wonder, his still frame moved to action by Ashé fainting. He knew not the proper course of action—hurry to the herbalist, or take his family and flee—thus he did what anyone familiar with magic would have done, shook him awake. He repeatedly told Ashé to tell no one, and with a scared and confused nod, they left. One of the elders, however, thought otherwise; he revealed to Ashé's father that the "smell of magic was too great to remain hidden". Word spread through the village with haste, and the family became a source of trepidation and curiosity. Before long, those who went to the town returned with armed guards and two older individuals in embellished robes, and wielding bronze staves, and the family of seven found a new home.
Ashé was taught how to properly harness magic and how to read, his studies ranging from numbers and history to alchemy, in addition to some martial instruction, but he was not the only of his family to study the arcane. Three of his older siblings took up the ways of sorcery. Two studied as enchantresses and the other as a battlemage, and Ashé preferring healing. Each one left at age fifteen for the nearest city—which happened to be Arbudalu, the kingdom's capital—to continue their apprenticeship; the remainder of his family became merchants in what they knew best, crops.
During the final portion of his apprenticeship, Ashé acquired an interest in enchanting and in foreign lands (not surprising considering part of his heritage), chiefly Koraha, a region far north and known for its ancient structures. Yanoibi is constructed from a phrase that means the *here lies the land of bronze*, and is called such because that is all that bested the centuries of humidity. One would be hard pressed to find its temples empty of ancient bronze sculptures, and bronze jewelry is popular amongst its aristocracy. Warriors of rank are distinguished by bronze hilts and ornaments in their armour, and high mages with their bronze staves; talk of lands brimming with such metals filled Ashé with a desire to explore, and after returning to his village to have his heritage officially recognized, named Ashé Derundé, he departed with his older brother, Narbemmi, and others: mages, fighters, and a few traders.
However, their journey proved to be more baleful than expected, the initial ease a cruel deception, for those who continued forward as the environment itself became more unfamiliar, that is.
Illness slowed their pace, death warded off by Ashé's magic and salves, but claw and blade splitting flesh was another matter entirely. Pursuit by beasts and humans who were no better, and human-like creatures, forced them to abandon proper burials, and even a few of their own to a more terrible fate. They were ultimately forced farther north, worsened by the loss of provisions. The infighting intensified, and it was then Ashé had to kill for the first time, ever, including the blood of game. The madness of his friend, from the physical stress and his unhealthy use of magic, drove him to slay. When night fell, Ashé and his brother fled the group, fearing the insanity had spread amongst the rest. They were not sure if instinct proved them right as they did not bother returning, instead preferring the company of the stars and the wilds around them, and not long, Ashé had to grow accustomed to his own presence.
He wandered the wilderness alone and shattered, mentally spent from the vain excessive magic he flung into the darkened woods and put into Narbemmi's pierced chest, and for the following few days, survived on berries, insects, and the charred remains of animals, using magic as would a beast instead of hunting and making a fire. He did not find himself until he had to, until he was forced to.
He came upon a stream and leaned against a tree. He exhaled and uncorked his canteen, emptying what water was left, letting it wash away the dryness in his throat. He plopped down on the ground and felt the tension in his ankles flee, and closed his eyes. For the first, the wilds—the chirping of the bird, the rustling leaves, the flowing waters—felt serene, tamed, and with a sudden vim, he hurried out of his robes and footwear and into the stream, the coldness making the air crisp to his lungs and refreshing to his skin, which felt lighter nigh instantly. He donned his robes once more, filled the canteen, and began preparing a twig to cleanse his mouth. Shortly after, movement in the bushes earned his attention, and he found himself surrounded. The tallest one stepped forward and spoke, "Take him and let's have our people safe again." With that, a woman grunted and extended her arms. All went dark.
The creaking of wood and swaying motion woke him. Two men sitting before him had their daggers unsheathed and held no mirth in their stares. One of them began interrogating him about his presence, about why his "mage kin" were terrorizing their lands, and why his own wanted to kill him. Ashé did not speak. The man sat beside him and pointed the blade at his neck, snatching his head backwards by his hair. He still did not speak. The second man growled and pulled a head from the bag. Ashé's chest heated and his stomach felt like an abyss. The prying one asked again. He parted his lips but gave no utterance. He was not sure which was more shocking—seeing the head of one of the men he trusted, or the claim they wanted to kill him—and doubtful as ever, Ashé demanded evidence, and they threw theirs at his feet: an arrowhead, cut from the shaft and dotted with dried blood, and more importantly, of Yanoibi making. The man then threw a ring, Narbemmi's ring, in his lap.
Ashé eyes swelled. His mouth twitched and he clenched his bound hands as tight as he could, and he finally spoke. His voice cracked with anger as he told them of his quest and the troubles they faced, the fracturing of their group and how he came to be in that very situation. He then asked them why they spared his life if they believed he was such a threat dangerous. They spoke of how their clan needed the help of a mage, a properly instructed mage, the woman on a horse giving the man a cutting glance in response.
He wanted to be petulant, wanted to be snide in asking them why he should offer his services, but instead, he asked about his brother, why they were not taking him to his grave. He learned they intended to but that he must first meet their council. He learned Narbemmi was buried where he died, in territory belonging to a rival clan, and that their presence there threatened the peace, as would Ashé for his friendly interaction with them would be taken as a sign of allegiance. They told him his status as an outsider, and his reason for being in rival territory, would grant them a pardon, but only once. They told him after he spoke with the council, they would escort him to his brother's grave. They told him if he helped them acquire an artifact from the fierce lands of Koraha, it could unite the clans and help generations to come.
The desire to deceive was strong, seemingly rational, even, and then he glanced at his brother's ring, the closest thing to home he had, and wondered how he would return to Yanoibi on his own, and how he could tell his parents Narbemmi's death was for nought. And Narbemmi, how he would detest such intent, to know his little brother thought to tarnish their name, their village, their homeland.
Ashé squirmed and agreed to help them. The man loosened his bindings, and the trees started to give way to a collection of knolls. At the nadir was a collection of homes bifurcated by a river, and on the left side was the largest building in the village. He pulled the ring onto his finger and gazed at his palm. He clench once more and the incarnadine mist went in all directions. The man gestured for him to step off the carriage and told him of the other reason they did not kill him: taking a life without provocation was taboo.

Strengths/Weaknesses
(+) - Inquisitive: learning is fun
(+) - Literate: more knowledge begets more flexibility, more flexibility begets more advantages
(+) - Artful: will exploit his skills, and maybe others
(+) - Agile: good luck grabbing a hold of him
(+) - Multilingual: because Arbudalu spoiled him with a variety of aesthetics
(-) - Capricious: sometimes he braids his hair, sometimes he don't; sometimes he follows the law, but then sometimes he won't
(-) - Entitled: thinks *what you know* should be enough
(-) - Unforgiving: more like slow to forgive than unforgiving
(-) - Sexist: sees women as the protected and men as the protectors, will irritate warrior women and cowardly men
(-) - Rash: the reason why he is in this mess in the first place
(-) - Magic: the arcane is linked to his disposition, safe when composed and risky, more than it already it is, when panicking
Equipment:

 Combat robes
 Clothing, lighter robes
 Hygienic products: salves, comb, and chew sticks, and soaps and perfumes when possible
 Food: nuts, seeds, roots, tubers, hard breads, cheese, and legumes, and dried fruit when possible; forages if more is needed
 Bladed staff
 Miscellaneous: Cooking utensils, rope, woodcutting axe, bedroll, coin purse, pieces of dry wood, dagger, compass, maps, and canteens


And I would not mind collaborating in making a Evil McVillain von Bad.

Accepted :)