Airavata

AIRAVATA

Relatives	Taakat (father), Daya (mother), Kamazor (brother)
Languages	Common, Loxodon
Affiliations	Protectors of the People (council member)
Aliases	Wings of the People
Place of Birth	Pteris
Species	Loxodon
Gender	Female
Height	7'5
Weight	350 lbs
Eye Color	deep brown, nearly black

Airavata is a Path of the Totem barbarian loxodon, who comes from a farm in Pteris and currently serves as the Wings of the People on the council of the Protectors of the People.

Physical Appearance

Airavata is a female loxodon, so she carries herself at a height of 7'5 feet and a weight of 350 lbs roughly. She has deep grey skin is starting to just show some wear from her 76 years of life. Her eyes are a deep brown that almost always show as pure black, and little to no hair to speak of. She is often found wearing a dress or a skirt made of long slits of fabric for ease of movement and ability to gird so that she may run into action and rage at any time. These fabrics are usually hand dyed with dyes created from plants at her families farm and come in a variety of colors.

Airavata, while tough and ready to serve justice, still cares highly for her outward appearance and has had the tips of her ears dyed blue, as is tradition in her family on the female side, and can normally be found with a warpaint around her eyes that matches whatever color her dress is.

Airavata gained three claw mark scars on her abdomen from a fight with the gold dragon, Bazzniagalvinica

Personality

Airavata is noble-hearted, looking out for the best interest of those who did not grow up in the stable home and comfortable life she did. She has put aside her place as heiress to her family's farm to take time to serve the people of Isonhound to learn how to become a better leader and learn more of the Northern lands to her home. She has a deep sense of calm and often practices meditation and writes letters to her family often of her adventures and journeys.

In battle, Airavata uses either her sense of calm to make level-headed decisions to protect those in her party and other bystanders, but when enraged, she will take justice into her own hands and let righteous anger lead her attacks.

History

When she was only 48, Airavata was out in her family's fields with some farmhands when three bulettes burrowed up from the far end of a field and began to attack a herd of cattle and killed one of the human farm hands. Without a second thought, Airavata took up a stone hammer used for fixing the walls on the farm's border and ran head first into battle, just narrowly defeating all three single handedly in an intense moment of rage over the death of her friend. With this, her first fight, her name began to be whispered among the other workers and nearby farms as "Airavata, the Avenging" and become somewhat of a folk hero in their midst in Pteris.

When she came of age at 60, her father, Taakat announced that Airavata would inherit the family's property and farm when he passed instead of her brother, who had been the expected heir. It caused a rift in their family that drove her brother to leave with no intention to return or to ever speak to them again. It greatly wounded their mother, Daya, and angered Taakat, to the point where he recanted the name they'd given her brother at birth, and only called him Kamazor instead, or "weak".

Her brother's reaction caused Airavata to doubt her worth and position as the next owner of the Khandit land, so she left home while her father was still young, only in his early 200s, and take that name she'd made for herself that day on the farm with the bulettes and really turn it into something that mattered and stood for peace and justice, a name worthy of her brother's approval, that might bring him back.

She spent the first 10 years traveling Pteris, learning the land she'd almost called home. She then spent the next 5 years training under another Loxodon barbarian, learning to fighting and defend and use that rage she felt in battle to her advantage. Her teacher taught her the path of the Totem, the strengths of the wolf, bear, and eagle, and how to apply those into the way she fought.

When her teacher had felt her training was complete, Airavata returned home to have her ears dyed in a ceremony sacred to their family, and then set out for the next continent, Isonhound.

Languages

Airvata can speak, read, and write in both Loxodon and Common.

Powers and Abilities

Like any barbarian, Airavata can rage and attack recklessly, but prides herself on being a team player. Using her connection to the spirit of the Wolf, she can give advantage to any of her allies when she is close to a hostile while she is enraged.

Being at one with nature on her path of the totem warrior, Airavata can use Beast Sense and Speak with Animals as a ritual spell.

Attacks and Weapons 

Airavata is a simple woman when it comes to weaponry, but is most proud of her warhammer, an heirloom passed down from her father's father, called Okusala or "judgement". She was gifted it when her ears were dyed.

She also has recently acquired a lightning javelin and has become quite found of it despite not being used to magical weapons. She uses the command word “Shazam!” to call down it’s lightning damage.

Adventures

Mothers III

For Airavata’s first adventure in Isonhound, she found herself on the receiving end of an invitation from The Protectors of the People to come and help them with an issue they were having with a local cult. Airavata came to the then Headquarters of the PotP and met with Archie and a begrudging Brenna who requested that they go out and get rid of an evil cult that had been hanging around their area. Brenna was hesitant to bring in the adventurers after the last group had not delivered on some the goods they had promised or returned the wagon.

After some convincing, Archie was allowed to give the adventurers, including Airavata, the quest to head into the ruined temple area and seek out cult activity.

They arrived outside of a ruins and were able to infiltrate into the cult's ritual as they summoned some kind of partial demon creature. They defeated the cultists and were able to recover the wagon that the Protectors of the People had lost. One of the cultists recovered was actually the mayor's son.

Upon completing their task, Airavata took the cart and information of what had happened at the cult's ritual back to the Protector of the People's base. She was offered to become a member of the Protectors of the People and stay at their case while she is visiting Isonhound until it's destruction, then she moved to the new base to help form the new Protectors of the People and becoming one of its council members.

Bazzniagalvinica IV / DOS I

Thinking it will be a simple escort mission, Airavata gladly joined her companion from the PotP, Asger, and they traveled together to help the gnome, Yosser, to travel to an archeological dig and help him obtain the artifacts inside. They waited for a night for the gnome's pearl to glow so they would be able to go inside the tomb finally.

Finally, they travelled inside the tomb and had to partake in several puzzles focusing on the cycle of water, which Airavata knows well from her background in agriculture.

Arriving at the final chamber, Airavata and the other adventurers were surprised to find a disturbing look creature inside the large tomb. It was a beautiful burial place, the water following from stalactites in the ceilings, dropping down into horns which then flowed into a pool around the stone casket.

The creature brought itself down to the ground, revealing itself to be Bazz, the dragon, who Airavata knew personally as one of the leaders of the protectors of the people, Brenna. Fueled by her anger over this discovery, and also over Bazz's belief that in order to prevent the pain of the future where the One Who Waits comes and attacks, she should kill the weak so that the strong should survive, Airavata rushed into battle, protected by Asger's Sanctuary, and kept the fight directly in Bazz's face, allowing her companions to all have advantage to attack the enemy. Airavata took heavy damage, gaining three deep scars to her ribs from the golden dragon's claws.

At one point, the dragon sent Airavata to a dreamscape. Airavata awoke in a place she had scene many times in her dreams. She is home, on the farm in Pteris, deep in one of the corn fields. She reaches her hand down and her fingers run through the corn hair that stick out from the top of the cobs. She then hears a voice, her brother, calling her name. "Aira! Airavata!" and as she turns to at last see her brother's face for the first time in years, she is suddenly back in the fight, bleeding from her side, a tear in her left ear, blood running over her eye and she grips her hammer even harder.

Airavata, back in the fight, returned to her spot in the dragon's face, bashing her head over and over again with her warhammer. Finally, while staring the dragon down, Clank let out a stray crossbow bolt and it struck the dragon in just the right place to kill her.

Before her death, Bazz begged Airavata not to let them take the baby and not to let it be destroyed.

Airavata had no intention to destroy the egg, but she did hand it over to them. Them-- the Disciples of Sardior, a ground of shining gem toned warforged, stating they were dedicated to bringing forward the great dragon Sardior who would protect and defend against The One Who Waits when they arrive. They requested the Golden Dragon egg so they could use it to bring back the Topaz Dragon, who is needed for Sardior to come.

They were also warned that black eggs could also be used to bring back the Obsidian dragon, the same way they would be transforming the Topaz Dragon.

The Breach III

Airavata was on this quest

Silent IV / Feremedius I

Airavata was on this quest

Raritan Aid

Airavata was on this quest

The Wings of the People

After accepting Archie’s offer to become a member of the Protectors of the People, Airavata decided to stay in town until she heard of the relocation of the Protectors to a larger base where she could make her temporary home while she is staying in Isonhound.

After Brenna’s fall and Archie’s passing, Airavata, along with several others, decided to take up the mantle of a council of nine members, which they decided on during the first council meeting. Airavata takes up the position of the Wings of the People, helping those in Isonhound to find their purpose and own strengths to keep themselves in the air and promoting self-sufficiency.

Airavata appointed four helpers for her part of the guild.

Evelyn, who is a half-elf paladin, she is a worshipper of Sune and is on a similar path of Airavata, taking time in her life to do community service and better herself before performing the ultimate service to her people and joining the local military. Evelyn is a young adult half-elf with bright white hair, deep tan skin and freckles of gold on her shoulders and over her nose and cheek bones. She mostly follows whatever Airavata gives and is her right-hand on all things, though she only plans to stay with the Protectors for a year before joining the service. She is often found leading meditations for travelers and at the work areas where they travel to help establish farms, helping those who are working hard to provide for their community with rest between job.

Rolzire is a tiefling carpenter who is a bit more on in years. When she was just a girl, Rollie taught Airavata everything there was to know about taking wood and making it into something more exciting and new. When deciding who to take under her staff at the Protectors of the People, Airavata could think of no one more brilliant with a saw and a chisel. From fence posts to small animal carvings to ornate chair backs and carved table legs, Rolzire's skill with his tools is well known down in their town in Pteris. He's unwed and in his retirement years, so he decided how better to spend that than to travel about Isonhound and bring those people a new skill to help them build better tables, barns, lean-tos, and more so that they can pass those skills on down to the next generation and their peers. Rolzire has deep red skin that his carpentry shop, Scarlet Shavings, is named for, and has long black hair, speckled with silver streaks that show his age. His horns, like that of a ram, curl over twice and he wraps his hair around them when he works to keep it from getting tangled in his projects.

During Airavata's first trip out into Isonhound as an ambassador and councilor of the Protectors, she encountered a plucky young woman who was obsessed with growing everything she could out of the ground. The daughter of farmer's herself, Maellery was obsessed with Airavata's mission to bring the joy and security of learning to farm to the underprivileged communities of Isonhound and has asked to become Airavata's protege, hoping to one day take over as the Wings of the People and continue the work of teaching agricultural independence. Maellery is 19, has bushy red curls and freckled tan skin, normal of that of a human who spends too much time in the sunlight. Mael spends her days at the office cultivating plants so that when they take them to the villages, they are already seeds that just need transplanted instead of making the new farmers start from seeds.

The last of Airavata's staff is a simply wood elven druid named Evindal. Evindal is a bit of an amiss wanderer who has no true purpose or desires other than to simple continue to travel along their way. They have deep brown hair that cascades down a slender figure of  bronze skin and their most significant feature is a pair of golden eyes that seem to follow you wherever you are in a room. Evindal has not mentioned where they have come from or when they intend to leave, but has simply stated that while they're in Isonhound, they will continue Airvata and her mission, lending their magic to aid in the growth of plants, moving earth with ease, and burning out old weeded fields.

Airavata has taken one of the rooms at the Protectors of the People's not-so-secret hideout as her office, at first just using it for storage of rich soil, seeds, pumpkins that they're drying out to use for seed or fertilizer, and various tools such as shovels, spades, and large fence hammers. Airavata also keeps her warhammer in this room when not in use, having it hang on the wall with a wooden mantle she made for it and above it, two wooden knobs hang for the Javelin of Lightning she uses as well.

Once she came to use the office for managing more paper work and permits and setting orders for her staff, Airavata determined she wanted to have an approachable space that felt like her room back at home in Pteris. Though the office is small, and almost all of the Wings' work is down outside of it, in the towns and fields of Isonhound, it is still a welcoming area. A large round cushion meant for Airavata occupies the middle back area, while four smaller cushions sit in front of it, one for each of her staff, and then a small pillow immediately to the side of Airavata's cushion, where Emi rests.

A large oval pot with a wide opening sits in the far rear left corner, inside it is filled with water and aquatic vegetation and every once in a while, the leaves and lilies on top of the water seem to move, giving notice of the small fish that are dancing and playing in their roots.

The delicate scent of jasmine incense fills the whole room except for directly by the entrance where the rich soil and lumber sits.

Airavata can often be found here in her office, leading meditation, counting seeds, watering seedlings, or even napping with Emi, though it is hard to tell since she is sitting the same way she does when she meditates.

Airavata's Companion

While down in the great caverns of Smargarg’s lair, Airavata and the other adventurers discovered two creatures in one of the small rooms. An almiraj and a jackalope were sitting together, and while the decision was difficult, Airavata could only save one and took the almiraj with her out of the cave.

Once they returned to the Protectors of the People’s base, Airavata named her new companion Emerald or Emi, because she found him in the lair of an emerald dragon.

Emi is an almiraj of roughly 10 inches in height with 8 inches of ears that lop off to the side of his head. He has a 5 inch horn that resembles that of a unicorn. His fur is a grey-beige in color and he has white on his neck, belly, and the ends of his front paws.

He has quickly made his home on a large pillow that sits in Airvata’s office beside the grand cushion where she sits to meditate.

Emi’s purpose on adventures is for Airavata to cast beast sense and connect with his mind to look into small areas where she would not be able to fit and where he may not be noticed because of his very small size. When out on adventures, Emi rides in Airavata’s pack, having a small mesh cage built into the underside so he can see and smell the outside while they travel. Emi has custom chainmail armor that keeps him safe and still light enough to stealth around, since he has very little health.

Legends of the Loxodon

When given an opportunity, Airvata will gladly sit down and tell the others the legends of the Loxodon that were passed down to her from her family.

Dysian Creates the Loxodon

One night, as the gods gathered in their celestial plane to determine the places and the ways that their new creations would have access to water, one of the very essences of life itself and a necessary resource for all, they began to argue over where the water should be that sat on the land. There was pools of water that would sit on the land that they called lakes and ponds, but their creatures would have to travel far and wide for such, giving power to some and little to others. The gods argued and determines that lanes of water called rivers and streams would connect the larger bodies to one another and out to the oceans that surround their continents. They reached down with their large fingers to sculpt the rivers but it was destroying careful mountains and valleys that they had crafted and their forests of trees. Such delicate work, drawing down these water paths, would require delicate but strong work.

So Dysian, in his power, reached down and picked up a few large boulders, blowing upon them until the outer layer blew away and what was left was a humanoid creature, strong, skin crackled like dry earth, four fingers on its hands, a long trunk on it's face for carving out the water ways, and large ears to blow the dust away. He put these creatures down and gave them their instruction, to design the rivers to flow from lake to stream to ocean, over the mountains, deep into the ravines, and on all continents so that water would be available to all creatures. He called these creatures the loxodon. He blessed them with strength but also serenity, an internal peace, that they would be able to spread through the world in their travels.

Quotes of Airavata

“A good way to get to know yourself is to be more mindful. We take for granted so many things in our lives, like breathing and eating and taking steps. Today was a good reminder of that for me. For me to walk from my office to the door, usually is not something I have to think through; it’s a path I’ve walked a million times, but today with the kobolds hurrying about, I have to be aware of each step I take and how heavy it is and how I balance myself and where the next step will be after that.

When I find myself engaged at injustice and the battle is over and I need to calm down, I focus on my breathing. I think of the air that comes through my trunk, into my throat, down to my lungs, and then the release back up my chest into my mouth and out. That thought process, that awareness of where my air comes from and how I process it, brings me to my center and I am able to relax and be still again.

If you die, your body will float, right? If you feel you are drowning, stop struggling, lay on your back, and float. Be still, stop training, stop relying on your strength to carry you. In those moments of quiet stillness, your center, your soul, will speak to you at last. We just must quiet ourselves enough to hear it.” -on the matter of Corbie’s loss of self.

“We are protectors, they are mercenaries, and they have stakes in it. If we withhold the information, those involved may take it personally and the enemy of the enemy is my friend.

When did become our missions to, like dragons of old, hoard information, glory, and wealth for ourselves? This will not be a day for lining our pockets and spreading only our name across Isonhound.

We are to protect the people. That includes those of us in our room [the council chambers]. If anyone else wishes to endanger our guild at the stakes of not having to share with the Iron Hawks, then I ask them to reconsider their position as Councilors, for if we vote and we withhold this information from [the Iron Hawks], then I will leave the guild. This is not what we promised upon oath when we recovered this guild from Brenna.” -on the matter of sharing the knowledge of the location of the Dread Flame.