Hammer
Extreme Exclaimator!
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Salibat as granted by Brom
Salibat was born to the misunderstood Slaa’kar of the Swamps of Kedesh located on the southwestern coast of the continent of Antaron, a member of a tribe called the Gold Scale Tribe by local humans—the Gold Scale Tribe being one of the rare tribes that had actually struck up trade with outside races. She grew quickly in the care of her tribe becoming a strong fighter, skilled with the spear and the bow, and a provider for the tribe as a young teen; recognition made precarious when some of the larger, stronger males began to take an interest in her as a brood breeder.
Tribe culture was that no one individual’s interests outweighed the good of the crime. This is what Salibat had been raised to believe, and she viewed the disregard for her skills in favor of the tribe’s wish for her to breed a new generation of Slaa’karn to be a breaking of this dogma. It frustrated her to no end, but when she brought this perception to the chieftain’s attention, she was severely beaten. She would do as the tribe intended, and it was not her place to object. True to form, the tribe didn’t give her much time to heal before starting the impregnation process. It wasn’t long after that before the ka’tol declared Salibat infertile. This angered the chieftain, who had designs on her himself, and he proceeded to take his anger out on her, once again, beating her, but this time Salibat wasn’t going to stand for it. Rising up against him, Salibat utilized the benefit of surprise to knock him down. Normally, the Slaa’kar’s tradition of the strongest leads would have prevented interference, but the male warriors of the tribe felt that Salibat was taking something to hinder her impregnation, and that infuriated them. Her actions against the chieftain were also taken as additional affronts in that area, and they jumped in. Salibat’s skills at fighting were nothing when compared with such odds, and many of the warriors she was facing were older, more experienced, and more dangerous. She struggled to escape their wrath—the warriors spurred on by their infuriated chieftain pursued her into the swamps. Salibat’s fight was no longer to be a part of the hunters anymore, it was to survive, and she was scared; her tribe, her family, was trying to kill her!
Salibat made it to the borders of the Gold Scale Tribe’s territory before a spear hurled by the chieftain took her through the back and out her stomach, pinning her to a tree. It was only then that the tribe warriors left her for dead, something that would have spelled her demise had it not been for Haven.
Haven was a druid who had made her home in the Swamps of Kedesh. She was more than aware of the dangers there, and used her understanding of Nature to keep the Slaa’kar at bay, her actions causing them to believe that her section of the swamp was inhabited by powerful, and vengeful spirits. Haven dressed in leathers, branches, strings of hanging moss, bones, and bark. Her hair was ratted and hung over her face—her features often painted with mud to help with her appearance as much as keep the insects at bay—she was a frightening apparition when she appeared. The dying Salibat thought she was Death come for her, and would likely have lashed out at the druid had she not passed out when Haven tore the spear from the tree.
Haven nursed Salibat through fever, fear, and the injury, feeding her fish, lizards, and birds that “offered” themselves to the cause. The teachings of the old human were all about balance and the power that Nature held. She taught Salibat the basics of the human tongue, a difficult task due to the rigidness of Salibat’s mouth, but eventually simple words could be formed, and communication was established. With nowhere else to turn, Salibat clung to Haven and her teachings, and in return, Salibat used her hunting and gathering skills as well as her knowledge of Slaa’kar ways to help the two of them survive in the wilderness. The strongest teaching, perhaps, that Haven bestowed upon Salibat was that though the gods participate in the creation of life, and the manipulation of life, the Slaa’kar were correct in one thing as far as religion was concerned: She Who Always Steps on Stones is not the true power of Nature, for Nature is a power in and of itself. Rocks, trees, the stream, the swamp, they all have spirits, and it is to these that Haven communicates when she works her magic; magic she demonstrated to Salibat rather infrequently out of respect for Nature, but demonstrate she did until the female Slaa’kar believed.
Haven traded with the human settlements in the area the same as the Gold Scale Tribe had, though her trades were medicinal, and for different items than the Slaa’karn, but what Salibat had never seen before, or cared to see before, was that the humans were killing more than they needed, taking more from the swamp than what they could use, and selling it to passing caravans. They were poaching, unsettling the balance of nature. Haven and Salibat began to fight to set the balance straight. They’d attack hunting parties, trading parties, and make raids on storerooms at the settlements on the outskirts of the swamps. This angered the settlements, it angered the merchants, and it angered the Slaa’kar tribes when the trades fell off. Their actions began to incite conflict between the sentient species of the area, and eventually, this led to the human leaders of one settlement to hire an adventuring party to put an end to it.
The adventurers were smart, well-equipped, and used their limited magic wisely. Their actions left Haven dead, her body devoured by crocodiles, and Salibat captured as proof of their success. Trussed and chained, Salibat was showcased to the leaders, the adventurers paid out, and the Slaa’kar prize caged. Seeing an opportunity for more money, the leaders sold Salibat to a caravan master who was making his way to Goodlund. From there, Salibat was shipped to Coria, up the Indigo, straight to Coria City. Salibat had a taken Haven’s teachings to heart, and felt that the balance of things would be put in order even though she felt her connection with the spirits of the wilderness fleeting in the structured confines of the city. Her calm was, perhaps, derived a bit from depression at having spent so much time caged, treated like an animal and weak from hunger as she was fed only enough to keep her from dying.
She spent some months in captivity, locked away from her precious spirits, locked away from the sun, and pitted against other creatures in an underground fight scene. She fought to survive, to maintain some sort of balance. Then Jader Atheria, a merchant of some standing, discovered her and bought her as the perfect addition to his secret zoo in Amiran. Salibat was secreted from Coria City in the dead of night and brought cross-country in a canvassed caravan to her new home: a cage in the walled confines of the Atheria Estates just outside of the city of Amiran.
Jader had built his zoo to entertain his children, Aerith and Maessika. His wife was a socialite, practically ignorant of her children, and Jader was focused primarily on business. This left his children in the care of a nurse that preferred the bottle to the children. Salibat found herself distraught over the apparent lack of care these two were receiving, left to wander amongst cages of strange beasts day in and day out where a misstep could lead to their demise. Her concern, her maternal instinct, her awareness for the well-being of the tribe, brought her out of her depression and caused her to coax the children to her. She spent time drawing their attention through small tricks she’d learned from Haven, little things to entertain, nothing serious, nothing sophisticated, but enough to catch their attention. After a time, she even spoke to them, but only after she was certain that she was their little secret. After many more months, Aerith brought the key to her cage so that he and Maessika could enter and be in the same area as their new friend. Even then, Salibat was too concerned with their well-being to take advantage of the opportunity. The children gave her the name Salibat, the children showed her how balance was being maintained: She had to learn how to fight, how to survive so that she could protect the balance of the spirits. Haven spared her life so that she could help restore the balance that the humans and Slaa’kar tipped in the Swamps. She was taken from her land and taught how to survive in the worst of conditions—sold into captivity so that the barren Slaa’kar could watch over and protect two human children.
After a year of captivity, Salibat was woken up by screaming from the house. Fires had broken out and there were a lot of shadows darting around inside. Frightened for the children, Salibat broke out (the children often left the door to her cage unlocked so they didn’t have to keep stealing the key), rushing into the house and encountering thieves everywhere she turned. Jader was away on another caravan run, and his wife was in the city at a party. Salibat ferociously attacked any thief she encountered on her way to the children’s rooms. When she burst in, they were huddled together, screaming as two large, scary-looking men were approaching with bags in hand. Salibat didn’t know then, but they’d intended on taking the children for ransom. All she knew was that the children—her children—were in danger, and that was unacceptable. Salibat killed those two men with claw and tooth. Snatching the children, one in each arm, she made her escape from the burning building. Stumbling out the front door, she could later imagine how she appeared: blood smeared all about her mouth and teeth, her forearms bathed in it, the screaming, crying children in hand. The city guard that had assembled at the house upon the alarm being raised immediately thought she was the threat. Subsequently, they attacked and Salibat was forced to release the children to them and run for her life.
Connected once again with her beloved spirits, Salibat wanders this new land assured that she’d returned balance to her life. Still wary of humans and their treatment of her, she traveled in secrecy, eventually winding up at the Thrace River where she turned to the north, unaware that winter was coming on since she’d never experienced it before. Wrapped up in human clothing, hidden by a deep cowl and a cloak that dragged the ground behind her, Salibat made her way unknowingly towards Calestra until the weather turned and the cold slowed her. Eventually, she succumbed to the cold as one night the temperatures fell below freezing. The next day, as the frigid winds blew, Salibat was too numb, too distant, to be able to move. She remained that way for two days until a group of humans found her.
Led by a wizened old man named Haictale, the group was, at first, astonished by the discovery of a body lying in the wilderness. Then they were horrified as they discovered Salibat’s race, but Haictale was a man of philosophy, and having never seen the Slaa’kar before, he wondered at the nature of their find: a reptile clothed as a man. His people returned to their home for a wagon, and after they’d fetched Salibat back to their abode, she recovered from the cold in the warmth of a locked room. Haictale spoke to her through the door, and after countless hours of negotiation made all the more difficult due to Salibat’s trouble with the human language, she was released from the room into the presence of the Pryor Haictale and a gathering of fighting monks—the protectors of the monastery—who were guarding their leader without weapons.
Salibat had never seen humans fight without weapons before, and it intrigued her. Besides, she knew that with the extreme cold, she would never be able to travel far and would become one with the earth sooner rather than later. Haictale allowed her to stay, but she had to study their philosophy, help with the care of the facility, and contribute. In return, she had a fire to warm her blood whenever she needed one, and she was allowed to train with the fighting monks. She stayed with the monks for three years, hiding from any who visited, and wearing her heavy cloak and cowl she managed to maintain her secrecy. She managed to maintain an omnivorous diet along with the humans, trying to push the thought of ever devouring a stray human in the swamps from her mind as well.
One year, with spring warming the weather enough for her to travel, Salibat takes her leave of the monks and travels south once more, determined not to get caught in the cold again. She ends up in Pardinal where, from hiding, she watches a hunting party setting up camp. Reminded of the humans encroaching upon the balance at the swamps, Salibat sets up surveillance, discovering that this party is led by a young noble named Gen Menbren. Unaware of the young man’s position, Salibat sets about trying to determine his scent. She spends a week learning as much as she can through observing him, coming to the conclusion that she can appreciate his balance.
The night before the hunting party is to return to Portua it was struck by assassins bent on ending the young prince’s life. Once more, Salibat was thrown into a situation where she had to decide whether to interfere in human violence. In the end it was instinct that caused her to tear a hole in the back of Gen’s tent and leap through just as he was beset by attackers. Salibat’s initial attack was ferocious, tearing the spinal cord out of the back of one of the assassin’s neck with her teeth, but seeing the horror on the young prince’s face, she quickly adjusted her tactics, utilizing the moves that the monks had taught her to counter and render the assassins inert. She was back through the tent and away in the wilderness before Gen’s soldiers arrived, leaving three dead assassins at his feet, and him standing in confusion staring into the night.
Salibat used her connection with the spirits of nature to remain aloof, practically a spirit herself as far as Gen was concerned, for even though he spent hours searching for her afterwards, he found nothing, and returned to Portua with nothing but a good story. Salibat remained outside the city, watching the workings of the patrols, visitors, and peasants to gain a better understanding of the culture. She wasn’t the only one who was curious. Gen’s encounter had given birth to his repeated sharing of his harrowing tale, and it wasn’t long before tales about the creature that had saved his life were spreading through the streets. Unfortunately, this also sparked the public’s interest. Adventurers began to rush the wilderness making it more and more difficult for Salibat to avoid them. Some were not as friendly as others—Salibat could smell it on them when she drew close to them when they slept: they smelled of hunger, anger, and the same scent she often smelled on herself when she was hunting. She knew what they were after, and determined to continue on south, away from Portua. She didn’t move fast enough.
While en route, Salibat encountered a group of eight men—adventurers who were looking for the creature from Gen’s stories, and one just happened to be more observant than Salibat would have hoped, spotting her tail beneath her heavy cloak. They set upon her intent on capturing her, or killing her, for bragging rights. Not wishing to be branded as a killer in the region, she fled, and the men gave chase. It was only through the use of the power of Nature that she managed to stay just out of reach until she happened upon the ruins of an old temple. That is as far as she made it before they fell upon her, and suddenly, Salibat was fighting for her life again. As the battle raged, another individual joined the fray, but even with the addition of a sword and dagger, Salibat was forced down into the ruins where she and her aid managed to cause a cave in, blocking the attackers from reaching them. In the darkness, the two stumbled further into the dark until they found a place where light beams were illuminating the room enough that they could look warily upon one another, and it was then that Salibat looked upon Gen once more.
Forced into the dark ruins, their only known way out blocked by the rock fall they’d caused to ward off their attackers, they had but one choice: to proceed deeper into the ruins. Their adventure was binding, as many adventures are when people are forced into life-threatening situations together where their only chance of survival is each other. When they emerged, the two had a very clear understanding of each other. A deep respect had developed; a friendship, but despite this, Gen knew that his destiny would make it even more difficult for Salibat to fit in, so they parted company.
Salibat was reluctant to leave her new-found friend, but she understood his logic, so she determined to return to areas she was more familiar with as her experiences in lands unknown were a little unnerving. Reaching the coast, Salibat continued on to the west… this is space for more adventures with additional player characters…
The Swamps of Kedesh were strangely lonesome for Salibat upon her return. The calls of her estranged people were like arrows piercing her heart. Even the adventures she found herself caught up in weren’t enough to sooth the ache. Salibat made her way north to the Chindari Plains. Well familiar with winter’s numbing cold, she determined to remain in warmer climates, but found herself missing contact with the humans. The Chindari Plains weren’t exactly crawling with people, but Salibat spoke with the animals, and discovered the camps of some humans and khords. They weren’t the kind of people she was looking for. Salibat had once again found people that were tipping the scales of balance. These people were killing the herds that roamed the Plains and carting the meat off to merchants for distribution elsewhere. No matter the reason, Salibat was furious with the slaughter of the herds, and determined to take action.
At first she attempted to scare the hunters from their camp, but they were hardened, seasoned people. Eventually, her tricks resulted in them tracking her, and fortune was on their side that night. Salibat managed to escape them without injury as they fell upon her in the dark of night, and using the power of nature once more, she vanished from their midst while they dealt with a rash of insects. She knew she had to rethink her approach, and bloodshed would result in some terrible attention turned her way. She was stronger, quicker, and more in tune with Nature than ever before, but this did not insure her. While she was considering her options, she heard some music drifting through the night. Following it, she came upon a small camp. The human at the camp was playing an instrument and singing softly in the most enchanting way. There were others there as well: Chindari warriors. It appeared to Salibat that this musical human was calming the fierce warriors her people had often fought with and this intrigued her. It also sparked a thought, but Salibat was righteously wary of strange humans. So, she set about watching their activities.
She quickly determined that the Chindari were intent on raiding and fighting with the hunters, but the human music-player held them at bay while he tried to reason with the hunters. His methods impressed Salibat further, and after three meetings between the Chindari and the hunters, Salibat had made up her mind to continue surveillance and see what he is able to resolve. A week later, and Salibat knows the human’s name is Marius. She also knows that he is frustrated by the hunter’s unwillingness to see reason. He’s becoming less and less capable of restraining the Chindari, and it is looking to be inevitable that battle would ensue.
Salibat had learned something of commerce from her time with the monks, and her interaction with Gen in the ruins when he’d collected what little items of worth they encountered. She also had some understanding of currency, gain, and loss, and hoped to help balance the situation by revealing the profits the hunters were making. She didn’t really know what would result, but she was counting on Nature to enact Its Will…and it did.
Marius discovered that the hunters weren’t exactly being straight forward with them, and were exploiting the weak and famine-afflicted citizens in Ertain. Salibat was ultimately impressed with Marius’ determination to keep the encounter as bloodless as possible when he and his Chindari warriors snuck into the hunter’s camp and stole the provisions, money, and what weapons they could steal. Salibat helped discreetly, using her magic to drive the camp’s animals quietly into the night, leaving the hunters grounded.
The following day, more Chindari arrived resulting in the surrender of the hunters once they realized the futileness of their situation. Salibat watched from afar as the Chindari celebrated their victory, and made an offering of a Chindari female to Marius for mating. Once more, Salibat was intrigued by Marius’ refusal to accept the breeding right, and followed the human when he departed the Chindari’s company.
With Marius on his own, traveling in the wilderness, Salibat works up the courage to approach him. Their first encounter is tense, awkward, and very nearly results in conflict, but Marius’ curious nature, and Salibat’s refusal to attack results in their sitting down to an awkward dinner. Many more encounters between the two take place over the next few days until they are used to each other’s company and a limited amount of trust is developed. Perhaps it was a sense of the unexplored, or perhaps it was just that Marius had nothing better to do with his time. As it was, he remained with Salibat when she returned to the Plains. Their adventures together forged a friendship and a bond as they battled against hunters, bandits, creatures of ill alignment, and other fell creatures for the course of two years.
This opens more room for further explanation…
Posted on 2008-06-18 at 15:06:55.
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