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Nov. 6th, 2016 01:34 pmCharacter Information:
Alesha is from a world constantly at war, with five groups of clans and five dragon broods, the clans fight each other and the dragons for food and territory, and all believe in the great spirit dragon Ugin. Alesha hails from the Mardu clan, a nomadic, brutal collection composed primarily of humans, goblins, and orcs. They live in a mountainous and swampy desert wasteland and make no permanent settlements. The Mardu clan follows a simple set of codes called Edicts of Ilagra: 1) To conquer is to eat. 2) To rule is to bleed. 3) Victory or death.
The Mardu do not have settlements or cities and would starve and die out if not for their constant raids on the settlements of their neighbors. They do not control territory, as they believe that it is a wasted effort that will bleed them dry trying to rule a group that does not want to be ruled when they could be roaming on. When Mardu attack they commit all-out to the assault and charge in. There is no retreat for Mardu. They rely on their overwhelming speed and numbers to take down even the mightiest of foes, and their clan symbol is a pair of feathered dragon wings.
Their counterpart among the dragons is Kolaghan, her brood which breathes lightning and has four feathered wings are the fastest dragons on Tarkir. Alesha becomes Khan of her people shortly before the events that lead to the end of the fives clans, and she faces the dragons at the height of their numbers and fury due to Ugin being injured and sealed in a Hedron Cocoon to recover.
Alesha never sought leadership, but when the previous Khan falls, she steps up and leads the battle, and more and more of the forces follow her. When the battle is over, many continue to look to her. The fact that Alesha was born male at birth is an occasional source of insult for those who want to verbally attack her, but for the most part it's not important to the Mardu. They don't care if she says she's a woman, a boy, or neither so long as she leads them boldly.
Mardu children do not have names until they have earned glory in battle, at which point they earn a war name. Alesha was sixteen when she earned her name by killing a dragon, and proudly chose to take her grandmother's name. She knew who she was, but she wanted everyone else to know who she was, and the moment the previous Khan accepted her name and the horde shouted it without hesitation was a big moment in her life.
When the other Clans are being taken over by Dragons who wish to be called 'lord' and 'master', Alesha has a revelation about Kolaghan. Kolaghan is more like the Mardu than she realized, that Kolaghan does not wish to 'rule' over them. So she tosses aside her banners, and her last act as Khan is to lead her people to hunt and fight alongside the dragons as equals.
Personality: Alesha is a bold, unapologetic, and confident individual. She has never doubted her combat abilities or herself, and is unapologetic about who she is and what she does. She earned her warname when she jumped into the mouth of an attacking dragon to drive a spear up into its brain, and was more afraid of announcing her name to the clan than the oncoming dragon. When the Khan of the Mardu clan accepted the name she gave, her grandmother's name, and the Mardu clan all shouted it, the only real fear she had evaporated. Even subsequent attempts to use the fact that she is biologically male don't do more than annoy her. She knows who she is, and when she earned her war name, everyone else learned who she was too, and that's all she needed.
As leader of the clans, Alesha is very much a 'lead by example' type, and it's unlikely the Mardu would follow any leader who wouldn't rush in beside them to face down their foes or slay a dragon. She does less actual fighting as a Khan, though she is still skilled and capable, as she often shouts directions and calls targets from the midst of the battle, and needs to be able to see what's going on in a fight. She doesn't rest on her position or lord it over others or brag about it. They know she's Khan, she knows she's Khan, and she knows that without them following her she isn't.
Alesha frequently makes joking remarks about the Mardu choosing to stop following her for her more outrageous decisions as Khan. The most drastic of which happen when she attends a meeting with the other Khans, something never done before, or when she decides that rather than fighting against dragons, they will fight alongside them. If they chose to follow someone else, she would rather see the Mardu prosper under another leader than destroy itself with internal conflict or be paralyzed by indecision.
She understands tactics and strategy well, but like all Mardu she lays out only basic battle plans and is a very quick thinker once the fighting starts. Alesha understands the strengths of the Mardu and their weaknesses, as well as those of the other clans and dragon broods. For her it's practical knowledge rather than an academic pursuit, as the Mardu can only survive if they can raid their neighbors for resources. Their very existence is constantly in question, and the uncertainty and danger mirrors their lust for battle and eagerness to throw themselves into the fight. They are, to put it simply, a clan of adrenaline junkies.
Where others might find the lifestyle of constant uncertainty and the way they rush headlong into battle to either win or die would be stressful and unbearable to others, the Mardu and Alesha in particular, thrive on it. Her full name/title, Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, is because she genuinely enjoys those moments of battle where their existence at the edge of survival is most apparent, and it shows. It's a thrill unlike any other, even the high of success and victory doesn't compare to the rush of danger and uncertain survival.
Alesha is also a very proud individual, and holds true to the Mardu spirit of freedom and individuality. Hearing that the Abzan chose to kneel before the dragons and become their servants was particularly difficult for her, when her fight with Kolaghan's brood was not going well. The thought of kneeling to anyone and calling them master is a nightmare for her, but she values her people and their survival above her own pride.
When the meeting of the Khans failed, Alesha gave serious consideration to surrendering to the rule of the dragons. The Mardu might live on the principle of Victory or Death, but they would not charge into an obviously unwinnable battle. When Alesha realizes that they do not need to kneel to Kolaghan, that the fastest creature on Tarkir and the Broodmother who has been their greatest foe does not wish to rule them, she finds it easier to accept the end of life as she knows it. Because they don't need to fight against the dragons, but alongside them. That Kolaghan is more like them than like the other so-called 'Dragon Lords'.
Alesha gladly sets aside her title and position as Khan to hand over leadership to Kolaghan, and even accepts that the words 'Mardu' and 'Khan' be removed from their language never to be used again. Giving up leadership and becoming allies to an ancient foe is a small price to pay for survival and continuing the important parts of their way of life, the essence of what it means to be Mardu and its people live on even if the name does not. And that's what really matters to her.
Alesha is from a world constantly at war, with five groups of clans and five dragon broods, the clans fight each other and the dragons for food and territory, and all believe in the great spirit dragon Ugin. Alesha hails from the Mardu clan, a nomadic, brutal collection composed primarily of humans, goblins, and orcs. They live in a mountainous and swampy desert wasteland and make no permanent settlements. The Mardu clan follows a simple set of codes called Edicts of Ilagra: 1) To conquer is to eat. 2) To rule is to bleed. 3) Victory or death.
The Mardu do not have settlements or cities and would starve and die out if not for their constant raids on the settlements of their neighbors. They do not control territory, as they believe that it is a wasted effort that will bleed them dry trying to rule a group that does not want to be ruled when they could be roaming on. When Mardu attack they commit all-out to the assault and charge in. There is no retreat for Mardu. They rely on their overwhelming speed and numbers to take down even the mightiest of foes, and their clan symbol is a pair of feathered dragon wings.
Their counterpart among the dragons is Kolaghan, her brood which breathes lightning and has four feathered wings are the fastest dragons on Tarkir. Alesha becomes Khan of her people shortly before the events that lead to the end of the fives clans, and she faces the dragons at the height of their numbers and fury due to Ugin being injured and sealed in a Hedron Cocoon to recover.
Alesha never sought leadership, but when the previous Khan falls, she steps up and leads the battle, and more and more of the forces follow her. When the battle is over, many continue to look to her. The fact that Alesha was born male at birth is an occasional source of insult for those who want to verbally attack her, but for the most part it's not important to the Mardu. They don't care if she says she's a woman, a boy, or neither so long as she leads them boldly.
Mardu children do not have names until they have earned glory in battle, at which point they earn a war name. Alesha was sixteen when she earned her name by killing a dragon, and proudly chose to take her grandmother's name. She knew who she was, but she wanted everyone else to know who she was, and the moment the previous Khan accepted her name and the horde shouted it without hesitation was a big moment in her life.
When the other Clans are being taken over by Dragons who wish to be called 'lord' and 'master', Alesha has a revelation about Kolaghan. Kolaghan is more like the Mardu than she realized, that Kolaghan does not wish to 'rule' over them. So she tosses aside her banners, and her last act as Khan is to lead her people to hunt and fight alongside the dragons as equals.
Personality: Alesha is a bold, unapologetic, and confident individual. She has never doubted her combat abilities or herself, and is unapologetic about who she is and what she does. She earned her warname when she jumped into the mouth of an attacking dragon to drive a spear up into its brain, and was more afraid of announcing her name to the clan than the oncoming dragon. When the Khan of the Mardu clan accepted the name she gave, her grandmother's name, and the Mardu clan all shouted it, the only real fear she had evaporated. Even subsequent attempts to use the fact that she is biologically male don't do more than annoy her. She knows who she is, and when she earned her war name, everyone else learned who she was too, and that's all she needed.
As leader of the clans, Alesha is very much a 'lead by example' type, and it's unlikely the Mardu would follow any leader who wouldn't rush in beside them to face down their foes or slay a dragon. She does less actual fighting as a Khan, though she is still skilled and capable, as she often shouts directions and calls targets from the midst of the battle, and needs to be able to see what's going on in a fight. She doesn't rest on her position or lord it over others or brag about it. They know she's Khan, she knows she's Khan, and she knows that without them following her she isn't.
Alesha frequently makes joking remarks about the Mardu choosing to stop following her for her more outrageous decisions as Khan. The most drastic of which happen when she attends a meeting with the other Khans, something never done before, or when she decides that rather than fighting against dragons, they will fight alongside them. If they chose to follow someone else, she would rather see the Mardu prosper under another leader than destroy itself with internal conflict or be paralyzed by indecision.
She understands tactics and strategy well, but like all Mardu she lays out only basic battle plans and is a very quick thinker once the fighting starts. Alesha understands the strengths of the Mardu and their weaknesses, as well as those of the other clans and dragon broods. For her it's practical knowledge rather than an academic pursuit, as the Mardu can only survive if they can raid their neighbors for resources. Their very existence is constantly in question, and the uncertainty and danger mirrors their lust for battle and eagerness to throw themselves into the fight. They are, to put it simply, a clan of adrenaline junkies.
Where others might find the lifestyle of constant uncertainty and the way they rush headlong into battle to either win or die would be stressful and unbearable to others, the Mardu and Alesha in particular, thrive on it. Her full name/title, Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, is because she genuinely enjoys those moments of battle where their existence at the edge of survival is most apparent, and it shows. It's a thrill unlike any other, even the high of success and victory doesn't compare to the rush of danger and uncertain survival.
Alesha is also a very proud individual, and holds true to the Mardu spirit of freedom and individuality. Hearing that the Abzan chose to kneel before the dragons and become their servants was particularly difficult for her, when her fight with Kolaghan's brood was not going well. The thought of kneeling to anyone and calling them master is a nightmare for her, but she values her people and their survival above her own pride.
When the meeting of the Khans failed, Alesha gave serious consideration to surrendering to the rule of the dragons. The Mardu might live on the principle of Victory or Death, but they would not charge into an obviously unwinnable battle. When Alesha realizes that they do not need to kneel to Kolaghan, that the fastest creature on Tarkir and the Broodmother who has been their greatest foe does not wish to rule them, she finds it easier to accept the end of life as she knows it. Because they don't need to fight against the dragons, but alongside them. That Kolaghan is more like them than like the other so-called 'Dragon Lords'.
Alesha gladly sets aside her title and position as Khan to hand over leadership to Kolaghan, and even accepts that the words 'Mardu' and 'Khan' be removed from their language never to be used again. Giving up leadership and becoming allies to an ancient foe is a small price to pay for survival and continuing the important parts of their way of life, the essence of what it means to be Mardu and its people live on even if the name does not. And that's what really matters to her.
