Sakiran onun Vatan

Sakiran onun Vatan "Please, take this. It is better to die fighting than to roll over."

- Sakiran to an elven slave

Sakiran onun Vatan is a Drow who was formerly part of the Claddghym tribe of the Faj Tasarru. Sakiran was captured by Gratus expedition forces after waking up near the Impasse Valley and being gunned down by them. She survived and was sent on a suicide mission to uncover whatever was in The 28th Facility, along with the rest of Retrieval Squad 4820.

She was a Barbarian following the Path of the Claddghym, though abandoned it in favour of training as a Monk to better control the rage before it controls her. She has specialised in the Way of the Kensei, seeing little point in shifting styles entirely when she is best suited to using weapons.

She is currently part of the upstart mercenary group Black Lagoon, together with Draut, Leoric and Jaxon.

Appearance
Sakiran is a small, heavily muscled Drow. Though the drow of the Claddghym tend towards being taller, Sakiran is only 5'3", or 160cm.

She keeps the white gauntlet on her left arm at all times to hide the blackened skin and claws beneath. Her face is soft though scarred, with three claw marks on her left cheek and a scratch above the right eye.

She keeps the white gauntlet on her left arm at all times to hide the blackened skin and claws beneath. The dress has been modified into pants with a skirt after it was partially ruined from fighting.

Personality
Sakiran is introspective, self punishing and filled with guilt. She is given to losing control of her anger easily as well as using violence to resolve conflict.

She is also quite shy, especially when discussing how she feels. Being treated with kindness makes her uncomfortable, due to years of mistrust within the tribes.

Despite this, she has a soft spot for children and is fiercely protective of her own. She is trusting and doesn't realise that not everyone is as straight forward as she is in their speech.

Biography
Sakiran was born in Vatan, to the Claddghym tribe of the Faj Tasarru. Her father was Hannat and her mother was Seba. Hannat and Seba were traditionalists wanting to carry on their lineage and made clear their desire for a boy. When Sakiran took a keen interest in fighting and training with other boys, they were unable to hide their disgust at this girl playing at being a boy. Seba was a soft touch, however, and advocated that they wait for her to grow out of it. It was often that rebellious young elves settled into their roles when they became physically mature.

Sakiran never did grow out of behaving like a man. As a young woman, she was sent to pick berries and shirked her duties. She, instead, had heard of a tournament the boys were holding. She won and brought back a bundle of furs that was the prize. When Sakiran told her parents, they were furious that she had humiliated the men in such a way. Hannat overpowered her and secured a metal pole deep into the ground of the yurt. She was chained to it by the ankle, allowing full mobility around the yurt but no further. Seba apologised to her daughter, but hoped that she would understand one day. She would grow to enjoy tending to hearth and home eventually. For now, they warned, their patience had been eroded. Sakiran had pushed them too far and she had forced their hand.

After a year of captivity, at the age of 18, she was able to escape at nightfall after months of weakening the chain through burning it on the stove while they were not looking. Sakiran was unwilling to lose her freedom by being given to a man who would not allow her to pick up a weapon. She chose to run north, to the neighbouring camp half a mile away known as Yaban.

The Veba Amirim, a human named Selam, was interested in her as a curiosity. It was rare to see a woman, especially such a thin and small Drow, on her own. Normally she would have been given to someone by now. Selam asked Sakiran about where she was from. She introduced herself, stating she was from Vatan and weakened by captivity. She begged for the opportunity to fight once again. Selam was intrigued – it was certainly unusual that someone like her would even want to. He allowed her to test her skills against him. When she came close to winning, he was impressed. He allowed her to train with him in using two handed weapons owing to her natural inclination towards keeping both hands busy.

She settled into hunting with the men within Yaban, since the Veba Amirim recognised her ferocity and her ability to make kills that none of the men could. She was faster and and to get into smaller spaces, dragging animals out of small alcoves and skewering them. However,  the village of Yaban still regarded her with some distrust - why was a woman acting like a fierce man? Rumours abound about Sakiran and her loner tendencies. She became known as the Leopard, after a mythological animal that was a solitary hunter. In truth, no one took the time to get to know her. She was extremely lonely and wanted to be acknowledged as more than a tool to get into spaces no one else could.

It was on a hunt that they ran into a neighbouring camp’s party and were about to come to blows over their quarry. When the rivals saw there was a woman among their hunting party, they left them alone and mocked them. Sakiran snapped and was angered by this. She leapt to attack their leader. The leader was just able to block her blow with a huge greatsword. He bashed her down with the blunt end of his sword but had stopped laughing. He knelt down to her and urged her to meet him upon the hill 200 paces east at sunset. She accepted, spoiling for a fight.

When she went to him, he introduced himself as Zairan onun Avlan, and he was one of the candidates to become Veba Lideri of the Claddghym. She merely lunged at him and he blocked her blade. He told her that they would fight unarmed.

They fought in hand to hand combat until nightfall, when Zairan eventually faltered. Sakiran then punched him once more and knocked him to the ground at long last. He proclaimed her to be worthy of being his Ardasi. Sakiran was eager to accept, having finally met someone who had given her the time of day and appeared to love her for who she was.

Sakiran went back with him to Avlan, the capital of the Claddghym. He was proud to bring her with him, even defending her against the mob that gathered as he beat them down. He told them that the leopard had been tamed.

Though she was happy with Zairan, she was still met with distrust for continuing her behaviour and not settling down to tend to the yurt full time. Zairan insisted that it was better that she indulge her instincts and anger so that they could fight and continue to spar together. It didn't matter what everyone else thought.

After one passionate session, Sakiran fell pregnant with their son, Ranabi. He was a much calmer personality than his mother, who had given in more and more to her anger at the injustice of her treatment. They often disagreed and he found himself spending more time with the druids of the Izcanytlan tribe. Some months, Sakiran would be left alone as Zairan took month long trips to Vagorgyla to convene with other candidates and trade supplies.

When the succession rituals began, Zairan was selected to become the Veba Lideri. He succeeded, though fell deathly ill after receiving the lashings. There had been a sabotage – Ranabi communicated with the spirits and told Sakiran that Zairan could not be healed, and that the illness was due to the lashes being poisoned.

Sakiran was asked to kill Zairan. She refused, though Zairan handed his sword, gauntlet, cloak and harness over to her. As she took the sword, it felt comfortable in the hands. The wise woman advised that she take a drink first. Sakiran was drugged with undiluted Faj Suyu. Playing upon the rage that had been festering within her, the loss of control was total as she succumbed to a blind, animalistic rage. She drove the greatsword into his neck and was pelted with arrows as Ranabi screamed and she ran away into the night.

When she awoke, she was in unfamiliar territory. Upon realising what she had done, she screamed. Gratus Soldiers rounded upon her, thinking she was an escaped slave, and she killed them in another blind rage. She was sedated and imprisoned for a month, where she ruminated upon her actions. When she was finally ready to be released into the retrieval squad, the damage had been done to her mind. Her rage only built as the walls became more and more oppressive. The fear had been mounting.

She was barely more than an animal.

Draut
Sakiran was intrigued by Draut when she saw that he had been taken prisoner. When he was released into their custody, they took him back to the bar they were using as a base so they could spar and she could test how he was in combat. Though she bested him, she was impressed by his prowess. He has pledged loyalty to her, which Sakiran finds deeply uncomfortable due to feeling that she doesn't deserve it. She does enjoy his company and feels they can relate as fellow tribals. She does, however, feel as if he doesn't understand who she truly is. Some of his habits also confuse her, such as collecting rands and eating enough food to feed a family each day. She sees him as a close friend and someone she can count on.

Jaxon
Sakiran's relationship with Jaxon started as amicable, though after he gave into his thirst and attacked her, she was traumatised by the act. She tried to forgive him after he apologised. However, he also attacked Leoric and then refused to apologise or do anything to make it up to him. She was enraged by his behaviour and has been hostile towards him ever since. His inaction and refusal to acknowledge her hostility only serves to enrage her further. She feels pity towards him, though cannot bring herself to rise above the deep anger she has towards him for what she sees as selfishness and passivity.

Leoric
When she and Leoric first met, they got along quickly. They were both fighters and quick to leap into action. When she lost control of her rage in front of him, she was horrified and ashamed. It took her two weeks to summon the courage to speak to him about it after he got back from a bounty one night. They drank together and she was surprised by how easily she told him things that she had never told anyone. She sees him as an anchor in a storm when it comes to controlling her anger and relies on him for guidance. The strength of her feelings towards him is something she is surprised by and tries to ignore out of guilt.

Trivia

 * Sakiran loves to chew pine tree resin, given to her by her son during his trips to Izcanytlan lands.
 * Her favourite smell is the earthy smell of beeswax treated leather.
 * She is a talented wood carver, having created small totemic animals for her family. She carved an owl for Ranabi, a bear for Zairan and a leopard for herself.
 * She can also carve phage-bone, though not as well as wood due to its toughness and lack of defined grain.
 * She strongly dislikes snakes.
 * Sakiran also enjoys phage-bone architecture, having built her own yurt with Zairan for their family.