R'thipra Tia

Appearance

While Miqo'te generally reach a maximum height of 5 feet 6 inches tall, teenage growth spurts seem to have been kind to R'thipra. He stands at an impressive height of 6 feet tall, tall enough that he easily towers over most people. However, the lean muscle making up his arms and legs, gained by a life of hunting and adventurer work, ensure that he never falls into the inescapable pit of 'gangly' features. It's a rather healthy look on him; combine it with sunkissed skin and a complete lack of scarring, and it's easy to believe his claims of being born into a wealthy Limsan family.It may seem odd, how little he inherited from his father. Instead of dark brown hair, his is dusky purple with lighter purplish highlights. Instead of piercingly, lava-bright pink eyes, his contrast comes in shades of emerald green and honey gold, wreathed in lavender Seeker markings. 'Complicated' could be a word to describe these features; it's as if someone gave a child a paint palette and told them to make whatever they wanted, and they obliged in only the way a child could. There's seemingly no rhyme or reason to it all, no ancestor with these traits to point to, and yet somehow, it all fits.Perhaps the cherry on the top of this weird cake comes in the form of the odd stillness surrounding him. His hair may move as a breeze passes him by, but soon will fall flat to the exact position as it was just moments ago. His ears and tail fare worse, either failing to move at all or moving in a way that makes it clear he isn't in control of them. Why is this? When asked, R'thipra only gives a noncommittal answer, the type of 'I don't know' that gives no lead to follow. It's a genuine frustration, one of the few he may allow himself around people he doesn't know personally.

Two separate encounters with the primal Ifrit has led to extensive transformative scarring that R'thipra does his best to hide. Volcanic stone-like scales now cover every inch of his arms and shoulders, and creep into his chest, back, and up his neck like claws seeking to wrench him back into the Lord of the Inferno's embrace. These scales are extremely hot to the touch by themselves, but aren't the dangerous part of the transformation. That would belong to the lava "vents" - existing in the cracks and gaps between the scales' boundaries, they're prone to overflowing out onto the scales and dribbling onto whatever poor unfortunate surface is under them, burning and melting anything in their path. Until he finds a way to contain the fiery transformation, R'thipra is a walking fire hazard.

Art by Runescratch.

Abilities

The guisarme and naginata found strapped to his back aren't merely for show, even for as clean and untouched as they may seem. There's a reason why he's been granted permission to live within the Black Shroud, even as a Limsa native - and while many would be able to show the scars gained from their grueling life of taking every odd job they could get, R'thipra would simply smile, shrug, and say that he doesn't allow mistakes in his line of work. While the method of how he remains unscarred is unknown, the aftermath is clear for all to see and judge him on. He seems very keen on keeping it that way, but...people are welcome to watch him forage for mushrooms, or whatever other less dangerous tasks they'd ask of him. As long as North Shroud remains his job territory, he doesn't care.But enough from the combat talents that most would never see. Aside from the insane alcohol tolerance he'll show off at any bar he comes across, R'thipra's pursuits and skills are as mellow as he appears to be. Self-taught culinary and bartending skills have led him to be a fine addition to any venue he happens to staff, and he's known amongst his close friends to host meetups and dinners in his own home. Stepbrother-led, and unfortunately lacking, homeschooling has led to him develop a hunger for educational content; and while he'll read just about anything, his true interests lie in Seeker tribal records, Allagan Empire history, and soul crystal studies. In the realm of creative passions, R'thipra possesses a natural skill for painting and a much less natural desire for performance work on small stages. Dye on canvas provides him opportunities to soothe his heart and mind, make some extra gil on the side via commissions, and express the unique grapheme-color synesthesia'd way he understands the world. Performance, on the other hand, is a skill he'd had to carefully cultivate over the past few years - rewarding in how he only sings the songs he'd like to hear, yet exhausting to overcome the inherent anxiety of all eyes on him.There's a sense of freedom when it comes to R'thipra's more relaxing pursuits - a breath of fresh air for someone otherwise so suffocated.

With his newfound transformation via Infernal aether, R'thipra has become both a danger to himself and everyone - and everything - around him. How will he safely exist outside a concrete bunker for the rest of his life? One would-be mentor has a potential solution: teaching R'thipra the ways of arcanima, so that he can learn to cast spells and manipulate his own primal-corrupted aether. And since he was present for Ifrit's death...does that not make him a prime candidate for Summoner teaching? Perhaps in the future, he'll be able to fling globs of lava at his enemies, enchant his weapons with infernal fire, or even summon an Ifrit-Egi...

Art by Keekoi.