Shantala
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The Basics
Status: DECEASED
Name: Shantala (Shahn-tah-luh) of the Arashanti (name means “Song of Light”)
Nickname: Shan
Title(s): Vishna of Light
Professions/Skills: Armorsmith (276), Mining (175), Fishing (128), First Aid (225)
Languages: Arashanti (300), Common (300)
Career:
Class: Protection Paladin
Race: Human (Arashanti)
Birthplace: Northern Stranglethorn Vale
Birthday: February 25th
Age : 26
Family : Sharasvati (sister), Shivani (sister), Naija (grandmother), Bir (deceased grandfather), Parvati (deceased mother), Kaviraj (deceased father)
Alignment: Neutral Good
Religion/Spiritual Beliefs: Nature is the divine and it is in all things. Balance is what life needs, balance in the elemental star of nature (fire, light, air, water, shadow, earth, with spirit--all in one--at the center), balance in all life, balance between good and evil, balance between chaos and order. Everything is everything else there is no true separate, we are all the same entity, as though the entire universe is a being and we are all its parts, we are it from every humanoid to an invisible one-celled being. Everything has life in it, whether we sense that life or not. There is also a strong belief in reincarnation. Though a paladin, she is not a holy warrior for “The Light” with the typical Lawful Good alignment. Instead, she is a warrior maiden of light for The Balance with it’s separate codes of behaviour and beliefs.
Affiliation: Fal Belore
Character Description
Physical Description
Her skin is naturally dark and she keeps her hair cropped short. Her actions are precise, spending no extra movements on grace or flare. Most can tell she is not the type to hold back in conversation or on the battle field.
A clear and circular diamond, about the size of a pea and cut to sparkle, rests just above and between her eyebrows. Occasionally, when the sun catches it just right, a prismatic rainbow effect will be created around her, she largely ignores it as though she is attempting to pretend it does not exist at all.
Another unusual thing one might note, is the total absence of the usual symbols worn by paladins. Instead, the symbol of a thin, six pointed star (top and bottom points are longer than the four side points) seems most common, etched in her armor ( just over her heart), a small, black-inked tatoo on her neck (just below her right ear), and a larger version of it decorates the flat of the sword she always wears at her side (despite whatever weapon she is currently using). It is the Arashanti symbol of Balance.
Though attractive, she seems to have absolutely no sexual appeal or desire.
Voice
This paladin has a bold and spicy voice with just the trace of an accent, possibly from the Northern Stranglethorn Vale area (making many of her a sounds come out more of an ah sound and rarely sharp like in cat, many consonant sounds are softened, like the ch sound often comes out sounding more like a sh sound).
Personality
Stubborn to a fault. Shantala does what she wants, when she wants and can be impulsive and rash. She is fiercely protective of those she cares for and extremely independent. She also seems to be entirely unromantic. She is normally blunt and to the point but not crass or rude. She is also prone to oracle fits (straightens rigidly, eyes go white and she gives out oracle-like statements which can be a prophecy, a riddle of great import, and/or a statement about a present and perhaps “secret” happening of import, among other such things) which greatly vex her, embarrass her and can make her very irritable.
History
Shantala (whose name means “Song of Light”) was born one of a set of identical triplets, the last to be born, Shantala had to be removed from her mother’s dead body by a priestess who came too late to her mother and just barely in time to save her. Though this priestess of the light was an outsider, the Arashanti recognized her as a Vishna of Light and the saviour of the youngest Vishna. So, out of honor, the Arashanti promised Shantala to the Church of The Light upon her 10th birthday.
From birth the Arashanti tribe Sage (the only Vishna at the time) knew that these sisters had the precious gift of nature to call the elements. A week after their birth, the infants were put through the ritual giving them over to their specific element, the ritual that marked them as Vishna as well. A focus gem (about the size of a pea) was permanently set into their forehead, just above and between the eyebrows, through ancient methods that are kept shrouded in mystery (the vishna usually do not know how it was done, only that even if they were to try as hard as they could, the gems will not come off). Such gems were cut in a fashion to best channel the forces they would work with, also causing the gem to sparkle like a piece of jewelry.
Shantala was given the gem of the light (a clear diamond), as the Sage could sense that element strongest within her and her training over the years focused mostly on working with the element of light. Shantala grew up bold, impulsive and very much a tomboy, much to the displeasure of her elders.
On her 10th birthday she had to bid farewell to all she had ever known in order to fulfill an oath made on her birth. She was sent to a Church of The Holy Light and forbidden to write to her family. The church was her family now, or so she was told. She was only allowed to keep her given name because the church approved of its meaning. A cleansing ritual was performed upon her, her body given to chastity and holy practice. As an apprentice priestess she was moved around, traveling between and living in a variety of different churches. Her impulsive, tomboyish ways did not go unpunished, and upon her first set of lashings (ironically for a prophecy she had made about a higher up in a small church and not for being unpriestessly), Shantala fled for her freedom.
Rebellion settled deep within her and she shut herself off from magic. At 12 she was completely on her own. For safety’s sake, she took to binding her chest and posing as an adventuresome boy by the name of Tal, training herself as a warrior. She resolved to do everything forbidden to her. She took up the craft of the blacksmith, lining herself up as an apprentice in a small village, simply because it was a craft forbidden to Arashanti women. She refused to cook, she refused to sew, indeed she despised doing it anyway. No one really expected a boy to take on such duties anyway.
By 16 she was making a decent living and her master arranged a marriage for her with a local girl. The two had spent some free time together and had become friends before the development. She knew her master had thought he was arranging something she wanted but Shantala fled rather than let the truth be discovered, leaving no note behind. It became increasingly more difficult for her to hide her own development, hard work as a blacksmith and a warrior little effected her natural physique. In village clothing, it had been easier, in armor, it was near-impossible. Shantala gave it up and began being who she was, a female warrior.
As she gained experience, it became clear she could no longer hide from the church and the Arashanti. Indeed, they discovered her whereabouts soon enough and she was officially ex-communicated by the church, returned (in name not in presence) to the Arashanti with dishonor and promptly disowned by her tribe. Technically, her sisters were supposed to follow the edict, but they kept their relationship up with her in secret.
Still having her sisters’ loyalty (if only in secret), both the disowning and ex-communication effected her very little, as they were already things she sought to do on her own over the years. Life seemed to be finally going her way as she earned honor amongst other humans as a warrior. She joined the Band of the Silver Leaf with Nisnivani for a time. Then the visions started again, worse than ever before. The dam she had built, separating herself from the light broke and the built up mana possessed her. It was months before anyone ever saw her again as she went into a forced fast and spiritual journey.
She fought with the Avatar of Light over her destiny and reached a compromise. Shantala went through the instructed ancient ritual, uncorrupted by man, and became A Blade of Light, something unheard of for an Arashanti female. She was marked with the ancient symbol of balance, on her neck. She swore to be a sword of light to restore the balance. A path rarely taken by a Vishna, it is similar to the Paladin path only that the element is not always light and the weapon of choice is a sword. Part of the ritual involves the sacred removal of sexuality, not just a promise to be chaste, but a complete removal of the desire to be otherwise (which usually also results in the Blade being sexually unattractive to others, even if they are physically beautiful). They are considered genderless by the Arashanti.
Upon her return she was re-instated with full honor among the Arashanti people and even given a position of spiritual leadership and respect second only to the chief’s status in response to her new genderless state. The church also removed her ex-communication and their claims upon her, considering her a different person. It was at this time that she had heard of the Sunpath Riders from Sharasvati and joined their cause rather than re-joining the Band of the Silver Leaf.
The oath and her new position did not change her much, though she is less rebellious and tempers her decisions with more thought. She is still fiercely protective of those she cares for and she still dislikes the visions and oracle-sight that “plague” her, considering them a great nuisance. It was partly due to one of these visions that Saronai decided to part ways with the Sunpath Riders and shortly thereafter the physical ties of the grand house dissipated. Saronai promised her not to mention what she saw, or even that she saw anything.
Present Day
DECEASED
Connections
Categories: Alliance | Human | Paladin | Medic (A) | Fisher (A) | Miner (A) | Blacksmith (A)
