Ghoa Mankhad

she who knows the storm soon sickens of the calm

◅ basic information ▻

◖FULL NAME◗ Ghoa Mankhad.◖ALIASES◗ Ghoa of the Restless Seas, Tsakhlai (black market alias), Ghoa Kharlu (unused, closely guarded secret).◖RACE◗ Au Ra, Xaela◖GENDER◗ Female, cisgender. (she/they)◖AGE◗ Mid-thirties.◖NATIONALITY◗ Self-exiled dweller of the Steppe’s eastern coastlands.◖LANGUAGES◗ Xaelic and Common (native), Hingan and Doman (masterfully fluent and passably literate), Hannish (conversationally fluent and minorly literate).◖OCCUPATION◗ Alchemist of both legal and illicit goods. Socialite and sometimes-purveyor of secrets and information.◖FINANCIAL STANDING◗ Living comfortably, but definitely has a temptation for lavish living.◖MORAL ALIGNMENT◗ Chaotic neutral.◖ORIENTATION◗ Pansexual, demi-romantic.◖VOICE/ACCENT CLAIM◗ Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell of Game of Thrones.

◅ appearance ▻

◖HAIR◗ Naturally a deep and dark blue at the root with an ombre fade to light silver-blue at the ends, reminisicent of breaking waves. Has grown out once more, reaching just shy of her mid-back, sometimes left loose and slightly wavy or pulled up in a braid and/or ponytail.◖EYES◗ Very light silver-white, encircled by bright limbal rings.◖TAIL◗ Long, thin, and whip-like with small spikes protrusions at its end. Highly expressive normally, save when she's actively trying to hide her intent.◖HEIGHT◗ 4'10"◖BUILD◗ Slender but soft. Feminine, but with only modest curvature.◖MANNER OF DRESS◗ Ghoa has a taste for the lavish, stylish, and exotic. However, she's also commonly found in ensembles that more closely reflect her tribal roots, especially as of late. She's not often seen without some manner of jewelry or other such adornments.

◅ personality ▻

◅ combat capabilities ▻

◖COMBAT STYLE◗
Ghoa uses an aetheric art unique to her particular clan of Mankhadi known as Stormcalling. As the name suggests, it involves the manipulation of lightning aether and, to a lesser extent, water and wind. However, she has adapted this art even further by combining it with dance of both Thavnairian and tribal styles.In FFXIV terms, her class would be a mix between Dancer and Black Mage, and her role would be Support DPS.◖AETHERIC SIGNATURE◗
Ghoa's aether is levin-aspected. Perhaps more intriguing is just how primal and restless it feels to those sensitive to such things, almost as if it were a wild animal held within an invisible cage.

◅ history ▻

.
Ghoa was born in the ever-warring eastern coastlands of the Azim Steppe, amongst a small offshoot clan of Mankhadi living in the oppressive shadow of the Kharlu. Having been born under a particularly auspicious circumstance, Ghoa was taken from her family upon being weaned and raised instead as a child of the gods themselves - an inheritor to their gift of Stormcalling and the tribe's keepers of lore and tradition.However, upon reaching young adulthood, Ghoa found herself ripped away from her life yet again. Taken under an ancient agreement her tribe held with the Kharlu in order to maintain their freedom and independence, the young Mankhadi woman found herself forcibly wed to the Khan Bayanbataar - his seventh concurrent wife, at that - who sought more than anything to leave behind a legacy of children so great that his bloodline would continue for hundreds of years after returning to the Dawn Mother's bosom himself.It was a loveless marriage tantamount to little more than slavery, of course, and a highly difficult one for the young Ghoa to navigate once it was learned that she apparently could not bear Bayanbataar the heirs he so demanded of her. It was at this time too that the Mankhadi woman began to reject the lot life had cast for her, to constantly be subject to the whims of others. She began to fight back and rebel, and when she did, an already tense relationship turned even more caustic.After just around a year of this and many other indignities suffered at the hands of the Kharlu, the annual war with the Jhungid came for the eastern coastlands. When the Kharlu found themselves on the losing end of this battle, Ghoa happened to learn of a plan of her husband to offer her to the Jhungid in exchange for Kharlu prisoners taken during the battle. A 'poisoned gift', he called her, masquerading as a great humiliation to himself that the Jhungid most assuredly would leap at while secretly ridding himself of an ongoing nuissance for the lives of his much more useful warriors instead.Knowing that whatever fate she was likely to be subject to at the hands of the Jhungid would likely eclipse any cruelty she had ever suffered at the Kharlu's hands, Ghoa decided: she must escape, or she would die trying.And die she almost did, managing to elude her captors under the cover of darkness only to wander the steppe for days upon days, starving and delirious, until she finally found refuge with another friendly tribe. Able to recuperate and resupply there, the Mankhadi woman was then able to make her way safely out of the Steppe.It's been well over a decade now that Ghoa escaped and began to live a life on her own terms. She's spent a great deal of time in Kugane, as well as in Thavnair. It has been far more difficult than she ever imagined it could be, especially in the most recent couple years, but at least she's been free to live it as she chooses. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
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◅ hooks ▻

◖More Xaela for me, please!◗Look, let's be real.. If the Steppe was an actually viable walk-up RP zone, you'd almost never find me anywhere else. I love the richness and diversity of Xaela lore and the Azim Steppe, and I love RPing with other Xaela RPers who feel the same way. Whether the interaction ends up being pleasant and cordial or tense and antagonistic, I'm 300% down for it!
.◖Alchemical, herbalistic, and aetherochemical services.◗Ghoa is a very skilled alchemist who is trained in a number of different schools of practice, ranging from Xaelan shamanic herbalism to Thavnairian aetherochemistry. She takes her craft seriously. If there is some sort of potion or concoction that you need brewed, word of her skills seem to follow in her wake and she tends not to be overly hard to track down.
.◖Purveyor of Black Market brews.◗In addition to her above-board alchemical practices, Ghoa also operates on a more discreet level within the black market. Going by the trade name of Tsakhlai, she is well-known especially for her poisons and narcotics. If there is something that you would like concocted that you wouldn't find upon any reputable seller's stall, asking around in the right places might end in an arranged meeting with the infamous masked Xaelan alchemist.
.◖High society hanger-on.◗It's no secret that Ghoa is in love with living a life above her own means, and she's not above finding a well-to-do arm to hang off of in order to indulge her taste for the finer things in life. Playing a noble or otherwise wealthy character? In need of a piece of arm-candy that can not only draw eyes her way, but provide surprisingly engaging and entertaining conversation for yourself and other guests as well? Look no further, because Ghoa is your gal.
.◖Expert at loosening lips.◗Perhaps at times going hand-in-hand with the above hook, Ghoa also has a particular knack for being able to assure secret-holding marks of her innocence and ignorance while coaxing information from them. Perhaps you've a rival at one of these high society functions that you'd like to pry a secret or two from? Ghoa could certainly help with that.
.◖In search of a magical mentor.◗Ghoa has but recently reconnected with an aspect of her upbringing that she had long since given up: the art of Stormcalling, harnessing the power of the raging storm against one's enemies. It is a powerful but capricious technique and Ghoa knows that if she is to continue relying upon it, she will need to continue to establish her control over the storm within and without lest it swallow her and those around her up as well. Since returning home to her childhood mentor is not presently an option, Ghoa would be interested to find another mentor figure that could help her further her control over her gift.
.◖A combat tutor wouldn't hurt, either.◗Recent events have opened Ghoa's eyes to the possibility that maybe she ought to learn a thing or two about self-defense outside of frying people crispy. While she's not looking to stand toe-to-toe with seasoned swordsmen on the battlefield, a tutor that could teach her how to at least defend herself a bit better would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

◅ about the player ▻

◖CALL ME◗ Ghoa is fine, just no weird pet names!◖PRONOUNS◗ She/her.◖I AM◗ A 30+ year old woman who works a full time job but also plays much vidja games and TTRPGs in her spare time. I also love cats and bad puns and writing drabbles that make people’s hearts hurt.◖AVAILABILITY◗ A little all over the place, tbph. Generally, feel free to walk up if I'm out somewhere with my RP tag on. Otherwise, we can arrange for something planned almost any day of the week 5-10PM Central or whenever on the weekends.◖CONTACT INFO◗ I prefer to be contacted in-game since I've had problems giving out my discord right away in the past. Once we've RPed once or twice and confirmed that our vibes vibe appropriately, I don't mind giving it to you to keep in touch!◖PREFERRED RP PLATFORMS◗ If we're going to kick off a longer term story/scene, I prefer Discord since I can post even when I’m busy with something else or when I’m having a slow day at work. I can also do in-game RP, but it's usually easier if we arrange a day/time to do so since IRL tends to be a little unpredictable for me. Unfortunately, unless you find me out with my RP tag up, I tend not to be available for impromptu sessions often.

◅ rp preferences ▻

◅ about continuity ▻

Ghoa has been involved for years in a long-term, ongoing small group storyline called Cigarettes & Fireflies. However, that storyline's continuity tends to tie Ghoa up to the point where public-facing RP is difficult if not impossible for long stretches of time.To make Ghoa a bit more open RP friendly, I've separated that plotline into its own continuity bubble so that I can RP publicly whenever I get the itch to do so without issue. That said, the C&F crew does sometimes RP openly in-game. So, if you happen to find Ghoa mid-RP somewhere random, please ask before jumping in to avoid any continuity-clashing conundrums.