Cyrus Caspian Cobreigen
Jun 23, 2023 2:30:36 GMT -5
Post by Cyrus Caspian Cobreigen on Jun 23, 2023 2:30:36 GMT -5
Cyrus Caspian Cobreigen
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Race: Vuldun
Nationality: Zeinav Desert
Appearance:
Cyrus is a lithe figure standing at six feet, two inches tall including his three inch long sandy brown fox ears that rise out of the top of the sides of his head. His skin is fervently kissed by the desert sun to possess an even caramel tan across his entire being. The hair on his head is very pale blonde akin to white sand, and it reaches just below his jawline on the sides and just to his shoulders in the back. He weighs a lean one hundred and forty-seven pounds that lends him a slender build for his height. His shimmering yellow eyes sparkle like the desert sun on a cloudless day. If one gets a closer look at the vulpine man, the presence of three noteworthy scars can be found scattered across his form. One large gash scar stretches across his back from left to right a few inches under where his arms connect to his shoulders. Another slash scar extends several inches from the left side of his collarbone in the front down to the upper portion of his left pectoral. Lastly, the third scar is a burn scar that covers most of his right hand including his wrist and the first couple of inches of his forearm. Finally, his other defining feature is a three foot long tail covered in brown fur with a white tip.
Like most of the folk who dwell in and around the desert where temperatures are frequently high enough as to be uncomfortable for humanoid living, his attire consists of light fabrics just thick enough to maintain some level of durability and protection in the face of the harsh elements present in the desert. A tunic with a hood and mask, shorts or loose fitting pants, and wooden sandals with cloth straps are all standard for him. The colors are normally simple browns and whites.
Personality: Being raised in a tribe where everyone is close-knit and cooperation is key to survival has given Cyrus a positive outlook on others. He may come off as naive to those outside of his tribe, but he treats anyone he meets with the same trust and kindness that he would one of his own. It is all he has known for his entire life, and to do any less would disrespect his ancestors in his mind. Having only known the life of a desert nomad for eighteen of his nineteen years of life, Cyrus is curious about places and cultures outside of his own. The way that life functions so differently and people treat one another so differently compared to the way he was raised is both befuddling and intriguing to the man. Because of this, he often misses minute social ticks and nuances or brings up certain topics that are best left unspoken. This isn't done out of maliciousness on his part usually, but it still lands him in unfavorable circumstances depending on present company at the time of the incident. Not everyone is happy with sating the curiosity of some strange wanderer that just walked into town.
Because everyone in his tribe is so close, there are very few unspoken rules. Everyone is honest and up front, because keeping secrets from the tribe can mean someone doesn't see the next sunrise. And so, with that in mind, Cyrus is direct and forward with his intent, and he follows through with what he says. To do otherwise would make him a liar and reflect poorly on the tribe. So, he will be honest and cut to the heart of any matter he deals with even if it will put him at fault in some way. Better to make a mistake than to make mistrust.
Above all else, though, the core of Cyrus's being is that of a passionate man with a thirst for life and for glory.
History:
Part 1: About the Vuldun
The history of the Vuldun is one as fleeting as the desert sands themselves. One day tall dunes stood, the next a fierce gale blew them somewhere else. They are a nomadic people who follow the path carved through the desert sands by sun and wind. They sustain themselves by what is uncovered after sandstorms pass and the harsh life in between.
There is a single creation story that the tribe's elders tell. Many, many cycles ago they were a tribe of nomadic humans living in lands dominated primarily by elves. War waged on for what felt like eternity to human lifespans, and the tribe sought reprieve from all the fighting. After years of struggling to survive and praying to the spirits that governed the natural world they lived in. When the tribe was nearly at its end and scant few still had strength to hunt and protect for their kin, at last a gift was given to them. A fox spirit came to them and guided them deep into the desert, where they took shelter inside a sandstorm. The fox drew on the elemental magics of sky, ocean, and earth. It taught them how to influence the sandstorms with wind magic to provide them sanctuary. It taught them how to draw water up from the water table deep below the dunes with ocean magic to form a temporary oasis in times of need. It taught them how to part the sands and level the dunes so that their travels would be less strenuous on the elderly, ill, and young. Then, after lending them the knowledge and power necessary to survive in the dessert, it left its mark on them so that all who bore the tribe's blood from now on shall bare likeness to the fox spirit that saved them. The ears and tail of a desert fox now show as proof of the bond to the fox spirit that guided them to safety. That is why every member of the tribe bares some affinity to a natural element and why each member of the tribe possesses sharp hearing and steady footing provided by the large, fluffy ears and lithe, equally fluffy tail of a nimble fox.
To this day the tradition of living in the desert, thriving off of the gifts said to have been given by their spiritual guide, and passing down this wisdom to the next generation is still carried on within the tribe. A council of sages leads the tribe. They are five in total. Each sage represents an aspect of the tribe's needs. In the common tongue they are called The Hunter, The Cloudseer, The Dunetreader, The Wellbringer, and The Stargazer. Each leads the tribe in a respective role and offers their own wisdom when it is relevant to the difficulty at hand. The Hunter's job is to lead the tribe where wild game will be the most plentiful and to teach other members of the tribe how to hunt and forage for food. The Cloudseer's purpose is to follow the winds and use them to foretell when and where sandstorms will rise so that the tribe my avoid disaster and use the storms to shield themselves from any threats. The Dunetreader's task is to plot the smoothest course to their next destination in tandem with the previous two sages so that the tribe can make the trip swiftly and safely. The Wellbringer's tasks are to ensure nobody in the tribe goes without water, and once they find the next location where the distance from the dunes to the water table below is at its most shallow, they will gather those among the tribe with affinity for water magic and perform the ritual to draw up a wellspring to form a small oasis that will sustain them until they move on to their next hunting ground. Lastly, the Stargazer's job is to observe the stars and phases of the moon to foretell of any obstacles or dangers in the near future as well as to scry along their plotted path each day to observe and measure the risk of any immediate threats.
With these five pillars of the tribe, and the combined efforts of everyone following their guidance, the Vuldun tribe has survived for ages, tucked away within the dunes. In more recent times they have taken to venturing out of the desert on occasion to trade with merchants from the surrounding lands, but generally they keep to themselves unless it is absolutely necessary. This is not done out of a fear of other societies, but simply out of the idea that their strict adherence to tradition has kept them alive... and that tradition was born of their desire to escape from the conflicts of the surrounding lands. If they maintain neutrality and minimal contact, the risk of being drawn into war is minimal in their eyes.
Part 2: The Wayward Son
Cyrus was born as the second oldest child in a family of five. There was his mother and father, of course. Then there was his elder sister and his younger brother. Both of his parents carried an affinity for sky magic. His younger brother was a quiet and shy boy who shared their parents affinity for sky magic. His elder sister was a brilliant and outgoing girl with a fascination for the stars and a rare talent for space magic. Cyrus was something of a black sheep among his family because of his affinity for earth magic.
Along with the other adults within the tribe, their parents nurture and provided for them. Children were often treated as the children of the tribe as a whole rather than of an individual couple, so the whole of their kin helped to protect, raise, and provide for them. In spite of being the middle child, and constantly in the shadow of his brilliant elder sister, Cyrus did not have an unhappy childhood. He was never left wanting for loving parental figures, friendly cousins to play with, or helpful teachers to show him the ways of their people. To say that he thrived in spite of the harsh environment they lived in was not quite right. It was because of that difficult environment that everyone's lives were so tightly woven together.
Although he did not possess the rare gift that his elder sister had, it would be untrue to say that Cyrus lacked any talents of his own. When it came to moving through the sands, he was the fastest of his generation. His magical affinity lie with the earth. Even on dunes still unsettled after a sandstorm, his footing was as fleet as it was steady. Even so, the earth was not his true calling.
The first magic he ever casted was a flurry of sparks from his fingertips. Fire was his most prominent auspice when it came to magic. In a place like the desert, where the heat of the sun is too much to bare for extended periods, there is little place for a pyromancer. Or, at least, that is what the elders thought.
To keep the tribe from being too populous and outgrowing the resources available in the barren wilds they called home, the elders decided to change the way they interacted with the outside world. A dozen generations before Cyrus was born, it was established that the eldest child of each family each generation would go out into the world and seek out something of value that could benefit the tribe. There was no requirement to return, but if you wished to come back to the tribe you must bring back with you something that can aid the tribe as a whole. Whether that thing was a large sum of money to trade with other peoples, a vast wealth of knowledge that could allow them to live more efficiently and safely in some way, or perhaps even new magic or technology that could improve their lives, the goal was the same.
Exceptions were made, and Cyrus was one such exception. It was not out of lack of love from any among his family or the tribe, but to him it felt that way. His sister was the eldest child of his generation within his family, but she had been taken as apprentice to the tribe's Stargazer on the council. With space magic affinity being a rarity among the tribe, they could not allow her to go freely. What she already had was too valuable for the survival of their people. And so, the duty to go out into the world fell to the next oldest among his family's children, which was Cyrus himself. He had always tried to make his parents proud and to not stand in his sister's shadow, but now it felt as though they were punishing him for her success.
Cyrus did not hold it against her, but when he left the tribe on his eighteenth birthday, he left with a wounded heart and a bitter taste in his mouth. That bitterness and pain gave him a drive to succeed. For even in resentment, his loyalty and trust in his tribe was unwavering. They thought him disposable or somehow less useful to the tribe! He'd prove them wrong. He'd come back some day soon, and he'd bring something with him that would change the way they lived forever. Maybe then they'd stop treating him like he was expendable.