Mikosi Shai

Character Info:

Age: 46
Nameday: 2nd Sun of the 2nd Umbral Moon
Born Under: Nald'thal
Aether Aspect: Earth
Home: Northern reaches of the TwelveswoodJobs/Occupations: Medicine woman, Craftswoman, Peddler
Magic Disciplines: Thaumaturgy, Conjury, Necromancy, Alchemy
Staff: Cucuvea - A very old staff made from ivory and ash wood, which was passed down to her by her parents. The gnarled visage of an old man was crafted after it came into Mikosi's possession. It is a multi-purpose staff, capable of enhancing her magic, protecting her and used in divination.
Other small details:
- She has Aether sight, and can see in the dark.
- Can tell if a woman is pregnant by touching them.
- She is oft in the company of a black-feathered Chocobo called Deliverence and/or a violet plumed Yol called Deliverence.

Description:

Notable Features:

- Her lips are naturally black.
- Covering her body is an intricate map of white tattoos, which weave together like a web or roots of a tree. They're interlaced with Wildwood, Moon Keeper and Padjali symbols.
- For multiple reasons, she almost always wears a mask.
- Her eyes are empty, snow-white orbs with no discernible irises or pupils. Her gaze will look at and through you at the same time.

Mikosi is a woman with dark skin, pure white eyes, and smaller-than-average for her race. Her black hair is a combination of straight locks and thick, heavy dreads, which all end in white. Many trinkets and beads adorn her hair, wrists, ankles and around her waist, often hand-carved from wood or bone. She typically does not wear boots, or footwear of any kind unless forced to.

Traits:

- Her speech is polite and thought-out, even under duress.
- Likes: Tea, Magic, Meditation, Dancing, Animals, Herbalism, Seances, Marionettes, Exploring, Rain
- Dislikes: Brass Blades,

Mikosi is a superb, if eccentric healer, namely for her general disregard of material wealth, and her undying habit for politeness. She carries coin but prefers bartering for other items or services in exchange. Although she appears mild-mannered and cordial, Mikosi is not above getting her hands dirty, and she is open to talk about obscene subjects. This can in turn make people mistake her politeness and willingness to talk about any subject for being creepy.Her choice for lack of footwear stems back to an old practice where she attunes to the aether around her, and being in physical contact with the ground helps her.

Background:

Family - Tuari (Father, 98), Sikya (Mother, 83)
Coven - Shai
Community - Briarfont; a loose connection of covens in-and-around the Twelveswood that adhere to old practices: of studying umbral and astral magic equally, of aether manipulation in all its forms, of not worshipping any of the twelve, of the art of necromancy. Not merely instilling life into something non-living; being able to see and commune with spirits and shades of the dearly departed, of guiding lost remnants back to the lifestream, of giving and taking. The Briarfont Community typically only gathers for special occasions; sacred holidays, rite-of-passage ceremonies, weddings, etc.Born to a seer father and a soothsaying mother, their family connects with three others to form the coven of Shai. The Shai coven forms a loosely-connected community with several others, bonded together through their practices and customs, and to safeguard knowledge of magic and esoteric lore that would otherwise see them vilified. Originally nomadic, her parents travelled the breadth and depth of Aldenard and beyond; from Hingashi to Old Sharlayan, and from the Northern Reaches to the Sagolii Desert. Some even say that they have been to the north coast of Meracydia, and even the New World. They returned back to their home in the Black Shroud when Sikya fell pregnant, so they could give birth to and raise Mikosi within Briarfont. As a child she was studious, dutiful and quick to adapt, so she performed like a natural when it came to practicing magic and reciting lore from oral tradition. When she reached the age of maturity, Mikosi was fully inducted into her family's coven, and the community of witches at large, and the secrets therein. It is from hereon through years of trials, tests and communions, with elementals, spirits and the remnants souls of the departed, that her eyes and hair whitened. It is with good reason that her people are reclusive and shy from much of society; for their arts are dangerous to the misinformed, the unprepared or the sceptical. A costly mistake could be volatile not just for the practitioner, but for the creatures and environment around them. That, or people simply wouldn't understand, and what people don't understand they come to fear or despise. Throughout this time she spent most of her life within Briarfont and its stomping grounds, rarely travelling out from The Black Shroud. She had very little in terms of true friendship or love, but this didn't seem to bother her, as the community acted like an extended family.Yet years later, and Mikosi finds herself pulled to the outside world, much like her mother and father before her, and their grandparents before them. She cites that her reasons largely pertain to the acquisition of knowledge, through tempering of experience and adventure. Whether it be for good or for ill, she seeks to use her powers out in the world at large and find greater purpose. Mikosi is very much aware of the dangers and excitement the world can contain. Mikosi is also very much aware that her magic can heal and hurt people, calm and terrify them, have her seen in awe and respect or anger and jealousy. She is not naive, and remains reticent about Briarfont to outsiders. She is in a position to walk the line between what she knows from the old ways, and what she could learn or discover in the wider world beyond. Despite a brilliant education and boasting maturity beyond her years, Mikosi is travelling from her home looking for her purpose in life; a goal to stive for, a brass ring to reach, any justification for leaving her home in the first place and following this newfound wanderlust.It is actually out during her adventures, that Mikosi Shai might have discovered her purpose in life... Or several in fact.

Goals:

- Find an apprentice - Not wanting her community to dwindle and knowledge to fade, Mikosi is searching the breadth of the continents to name someone her apprentice. Though in doing so, she is taking considerable time and care to find one so worthy.
- Settle her ancestor's spirit - As a parting gift, her parents entrusted the family's staff, Cucuvea into her care. Before embarking out into the world, she had added onto the staff and given it a semblance of life, using aether that she indiscriminately plucked from the lifestream. In doing so, Cucuvea gained pseudo-life. But it otherwise came with a setback. The staff became a nexus for lingering spirits and haunts of people that passed on with regrets and memories left behind. The staff would communicate these through spontaneous ramblings, visions and vague portents. One such vision concerned the defilement and theft of an ancestor's grave, though she hasn't been able to gleam much more from Cucuvea. She bides her time and continues to practice her craft in hopes that she can sift through the noise and learn more.
- Start a family - Albeit a low priority currently, having a family means leaving behind a legacy.
- Enrich Briarfont - Though she returns home occasionally to share her experiences, the shaman greatly desires to find that one thing which will justify her ever leaving her community behind all these years. It could be a new secret, an artefact, great wealth, a profound achievement, or anything else that could enrich the lives of her family and her peers.

Other Developments/Notes: