[hider=Sha-Kush] [center][h1][color=yellow]Sha-Kush[/color][/h1][/center] [center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/0e/8f/b9/0e8fb991e4af02f6bf29710c8c1ca8c8.jpg[/img][/center] [center][Add human ears, and paler eyes][/center] [center][i]Addendum: In the culture of the Sandbending tribes, it's a sign of great trust, to expose one's face and hair, towards other people. Mostly done only towards family or the own tribe. A tradition hailing both from the biting sun and the necessary habit of raiding and stealing from each other. This tradition has not helped, with the perception that all Si-Wong nomads are thieves, robbers or cactus juice peddlers.[/i] [/center] [hider=Without the Veil] [center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/0e/ad/1d/0ead1d51c406286996198ff97f2c47ec.jpg[/img][/center] [/hider] [center][color=yellow][b]Age:[/b][/color] [/center] [center]18[/center] [center][color=yellow][b]Personality:[/b][/color][/center] Sha-Kush holds onto a proud sense of duty, honor and obligation towards his people ways and traditions. Raised by the desert almost as much as by his parents, he still harbors a lot of quirks and behavior that may seem strange towards people who never have set a foot into the Si-Wong desert, yet are as natural as breathing for the nomads. Growing up as the wise elder brother, or at least striving to be one, many of these behavior still can be found in him, guiding and teaching, yet also rather quick to challenge others position of leadership, and a slight feeling of superiority. [center][color=yellow][b]Background:[/b][/color][/center] Born into one of the countless tribes of the nomads of the great Si Wong Desert, Sah-Kush was a member of the Urush-Lee people, hailing from a family of minor chief of a band of Sand-Sailors. Living off the harsh desert, like their people always had, sailing its mighty dunes using their bending abilities, from water-source to water-source, always vigilant for easy prey or rival raids. His father, Chief Osh, had from an early age attempted to make a leader and potential heir out of him, and would strictly, yet lovingly train him in the ways of his people, the traditional way of Si-Wong sandbending, the history of their people and the code of honor of the desert. With multiple siblings being born, Sha early took an role to raise and guide them as well, trying to share the knowledge his father had educated with him. It was at this time, with a Warlord rising in the green land beyond the Si Wong desert, that even the nomads would no longer be able to ignore the tides of war. Supply caravans, filled with valuables like steel, food and weapons made for opportune targets for daring tribes of desert nomads. With Shas father advising for caution in such raids, other tribes took full advantage of the situation. Knowing fully well, that neutrality was no longer an option, Osh rallied his tribe to the Warlords banner, declaring allegiance to his cause under the hope, that it would keep the war out of the desert. Soon, Sha would get his first taste of battle, as he had to fight against his own people under his fathers leadership. True to the way of his people, they would hit fast with their Sand-Sailors, strike hard and quickly, before retreating back into the sea of dunes. Raising their cups of water in the Warlords name, the highest honor the people of the desert could grant, Sha began to feel a sense of duty, for the man he fought for and before long, would join his father onto his first expedition outside of the desert, into the land of green, he had heard so many stories about. Years passed, and Sha grew up as his fathers right hand, fighting with his tribe, his friends and his brothers for the great Warlord. Great glory was won in the subjugation of the South, and Osh was soon declared "Warchief of the Desert", bowing only to the great Warlord himself. Yet, Osh was still a father, rather then a tyrant, and he lacked the iron fist that the the Warlord An so valued in his subject. Disgruntled in Osh "weakness", he soon would find a chance to see them replaced! The chance came with the vile tribe of the Zeng-Wu, brutal raiders and cunning barbarians. Envious, over the favor of the Warlord, the Urush-Lee held, they ambushed them during a feast, they had been invited to. Their camp looted, their Sand-Sailors crushed and with many killed, the Urush-lee were beaten to the edge of extinction. Yet the final insult came, when the great Warlord, whom Osh and his people had served so long and faithful, declared the Zeng-Wu as the new tribe in his favor, and their Chief, the cruel Teng, the Warchief of the Si-Wong Desert. With his father crippled from the attack, and his people broken from the shame they had endured, Sha left his Brothers in charge, before traveling to the Si-Wong rock. There he swore, that he would sate this shameful betrayal, both from the Warlord and the Zeng-Wu! [center][color=yellow][b]Bending Ability:[/b][/color][/center] Sha-Kush is an skillful sandbender, able to harness his abilities in combat. Yet, he does not sees himself as an earthbender, struggling to learn even the most mundane techniques, using any earth that is not sand. [center][color=yellow][b]Other:[/b][/color][/center] Followed around by his loyal deer-dog Bo, Sha-Kush also carry with him a slim and hollow Kanabō, the traditional weapon of the desert nomads, filled with sand from around the holy Si-Wong rock. He also carries additional sand in his bandolier around his chest, both for combat and religious reasons. For the latter, he also carries a bottle of cactus juice with him. [hider=Sample Post] [center][color=yellow][b]Sample Post: An oath in a sandstorm[/b][/color][/center] The air felt stale around Sha-Kush, as he saw the rock in the morning. The most sacred place of his people, the single titanic rock in the desert, was claimed to be cast down the sky, by wrathful gods, to punish the wicked for turning from them, creating this very desert. It was a beautiful sight, yet for the foolish, it could be a deadly trap. Buzzard wasp, staved for food, would sometimes attack even humans and when they did, even a skilled sandbender would be pushed to his limits, trying to ward off the waves of scavengers. Yet, if one knew how to approach, not waking their deep slumber with loud noises, one could easily access the rock, without fear nor danger. Climbing off his sand-sailor, Sha-Kush finally once more felt sand back under his feet, feeling the countless little rocks beneath him. It was so different from standing on wood, dead and silent. Each rock below him had been in this desert since the days of his great-grandfather, traveling with the wind, roaming the dunes just like the nomads did. With the great Rock in the distance, Sha-Kush took a knee, before taking a hand of sand, letting the grains flow over his skin, before finally letting fall back onto the ground. His heart was pumping faster and he could feel his hands shiver, once more remembering that he would have to leave this sacred desert. [color=yellow][b]"I am Sha-Kush! Son of Osh, grandson of Ikko. I am here, to proclaim an oath on the sacred Stone, you have cast down to punish us!"[/b][/color] For a moment, there was silence, and a cold hand of doubt layed down onto the nomads shoulders. What had he expected? A Spirit to come down as a witness? Something to give him a justification that he was doing the right, and not venture out on an fools errant, while leaving his tribe in their hour of need? Then a wind rose, growing stronger and stronger by the moment. Sha-Kush could hear the Sand-Sailor behind him cracking, the wind slowly tossing sand against the dried wood. The Wind would not fade, only growing stronger and stronger. The Nomad had to push his scarf higher, as the sand began to flow around him, tearing and wrathful. It was then, that he realized, that the wind came from the Si Wong Rock! [color=yellow][b]"I swear on the Water that i have drank, on the Water that my Father drank and on the Water that my Grandfather drank! I swear on the Sand i walk and on the Sun and Moon above!"[/b][/color] By now, Sha-Kush had fallen on his knees, the Rock fading from his vision, as the storm of sand was all around him. Biting on his teeth, the nomads smashed his fists into the ground, feeling the sand below him creep up his hands and knees, stabilizing him in the middle storm. His breath began to fade from his lungs, and each second felt harder then the next. [color=yellow][b]"I...proclaim....that.."[/b][/color] He had to reach deeper and deeper below him, turning the sand into a solid foundation to kneel on. His lungs now were burning, and everything inside him screamed at him to let go, seek shelter and outlast the storm anywhere but out here. [color=yellow][b]"..that we have been betrayed and shamed by the Zeng-Wu and the great Warlod.."[/b][/color] The wind was tearing on his scarf, and razor sharp sand cut into the fabric and the few inches of exposed skin. A numb feeling overcame the sandbenders body, as he could feel the darkness creep onto him. He was fully exaughted, gasping for air and close to passing out. [color=yellow][b]"A...and...and...AND THAT I WILL WIPE OUT THIS DISHONOR!"[/b][/color] Letting go of the ground, the wind blew off his scarf, and the storm hit him like a fist. Then there silence again. The storm faded away in an heartbeat. Sha-Kush fell over, gasping as he pulled aside his scarf, his lungs screaming for sweet air. He did not knew how long he just lay there, glaring at the blue sky, still feeling the sand on his face, the roaring of the storm still fresh in his ears. Some cynical souls would say that it had been just a Sandstorm, catching him at the right time, yet for Sha-Kush, its was obviously a sign of the spirits of the desert! His oath had been witness, and there was no turning back now! [/hider] [/hider]