[hider=Eli Forester][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/bfd17d26-09ac-4a22-bf44-8f3c5ffd8916.png[/img][SUB][U]ＮＡＭＥ[/U][/SUB] Eli Forester (formerly Esra Tjaldhiminn) [SUB][U]ＲＡＣＥ[/U][/SUB] Viera [SUB][U]ＣＬＡＮ[/U][/SUB] Rava [SUB][U]ＢＩＲＴＨＰＬＡＣＥ[/U][/SUB] Golmore Jungle [SUB][U]ＯＣＣＵＰＡＴＩＯＮ[/U][/SUB] (former) Assistant Grant Officer - Forum Department of Research, Education, and Dissemination of Knowledge [SUB][U]ＳＯＵＬ ＣＲＹＳＴＡＬ[/U][/SUB] Summoner(?) Black Mage(?) [SUB][U]ＡＰＰＥＡＲＡＮＣＥ[/U][/SUB] Eli is a good height for a Viera male, standing around 73 ilms tall (~6’). His quick, slim frame is typical of his ilk, with a flexible core and long, slender limbs layered with lean, wiry muscle. His straw-coloured hair falls chin-length in waves, neatly kept out of his eyes. His skin is deep brown, contrasted starkly by a pair of startlingly light green eyes, ever equipped with a cool, piercing gaze. Likely his most striking feature, Eli’s slender, upright leporine ears betray a state of perpetual alertness even when the man himself seems at ease, always quick to twitch and turn toward the slightest sound. Eli’s manner of dress follows the preeminent style of Old Sharlayan in spirit, although in place of heavy robes and skirts he prefers slim-fitting tunics and loose-fitting trousers. Still, he sports an air of sophistication, both in dress and mannerisms; aloof at the best of times, Eli carries himself with a certain indifference to goings-on around him, bearing the look of a man whose mind is perpetually somewhere more important. [SUB][U]ＰＥＲＳＯＮＡＬＩＴＹ[/U][/SUB] Curt No-nonsense Has no interest in company - prefers to be alone Hates noise - prefers silence Would rather not chat Seems kinda salty Seems unimpressed at all times Suspicious of everyone and everything Very solitary Blends into Sharlayan on the outside, but to talk to him he feels distinct from the stuffy academic crowd - he has all the manners down but still carries a distinct vibe of being a hard motherfucker The quiet co-worker who doesn’t really talk to anyone and doesn’t interact with anyone outside of work [SUB][U]ＢＩＯＧＲＡＰＨＹ[/U][/SUB] While vastly different from an Eorzean upbringing, Eli’s early life was typical of a male of the Rava clan. He was born by the name of "Esra" in the village of Tjaldhiminn, named for its precarious construction in the upper boughs of the Golmore Jungle's mightiest trees. He spent his first twelve summers under the wise tutelage of his mother and her sisters, learning the basics of Golmorran life all Viera must know: how to hunt, how to forage, and most importantly, how to fight. But the village would not remain his home forever. He came of age in his thirteenth summer, and with that, in keeping with the Green Word, was sent out of the village, bound for a life of watchful solitude guarding the forest as a Wood Warder. Of course, he was not alone - not yet, anyway. As a young Jack, he was placed in the care of a master, an experienced Warder by the name of Asri. A Warder any Vieran man would aspire to be, Asri knew a thing or two about training Jacks, and pushed his young charge to the point of breaking, and then beyond. If they needed to go one mile, Esra would go two, with a pack of rocks on his back for good measure. If he was hungry, he would catch his prey, or he would not eat. If he was cold, he could have fur - but only if he slew the coeurl who wore it. Such are the ways of the Wood, Asri would say. So, such are the ways of the Warders who guard it. Asri's regimen was as brutal as it was effective, and Esra nearly died more than once in the many years the two spent together. It would not have been strange if he had; after all, Jacks who survived their training were less common than those who did not. But Esra persevered, growing slowly but steadily from a feisty child to a hardened killer, capable of silently tracking and dispatching any prey, man or beast. Asri taught him everything a Warder must know: to live alone, hear the Green Word, treat wounds, find water, avoid predators and contend with them if necessary, to care for the forest and its inhabitants. Most importantly, Asri taught him to protect the Wood with all his body and soul, and to eagerly fight and die for it. Esra took these lessons to heart, and when he finally earned the title of "master" himself and struck out on his own as a true Wood Warder, he looked forward to a lifetime of noble solitude among the boughs, listening to the Green Word and valiantly protecting his home from whatever foolish threat may dare to cross beneath its branches. And he did, for a long time. Every few summers, he returned (somewhat reluctantly) to Tjaldhiminn, mated, and left again. Once he took on a young Jack of his own, but his charge unfortunately perished a few summers later. He was there when the iron men tramped through Golmore in their ugly machines, and helped his brothers and sisters make them pay for every leaf they trampled underfoot, until they dared not venture into the jungle again. After the iron men left, the jungle was quiet for a time. The nearby Dalmascans, who had often harassed Golmore in the past, ceased to bother them, and Esra and the other Warders grew uneasy, wary of the peace. But one day, the familiar sound of clumsy crashing alerted Esra to invaders in the forest, and he was greeted by a new foe. At first, Esra watched from the boughs, taking stock of his opponents. They didn’t look like the iron men; these ones were clad in cloth garments, carrying large sacks on their backs, and weren’t accompanied by the hulking metal monsters the iron men employed to do their bidding. But these new invaders did no less to invite Esra’s ire, swinging long knives at the foliage to hack their way through and filling their sacks with the stolen bounty of the Wood. They put their hands on everything, from the plants to the waters, the soil, even small animals and insects. Esra was pretty sure he saw one of them triumphantly scoop up a handful of coeurl dung and stow it away in his pack with elation. Beyond his confusion, their utter disregard for the Wood somehow angered Esra even more than the iron men did; where the iron men hacked and burned, reducing all in their path to rubble, these new invaders had the gall to traipse into the Wood without a hint of respect and start [i]stealing[/i]. And Esra wasn’t the only one the invaders brought to attention; alongside a few other Warders, the noise of the clumsy interlopers was attracting the attention of predators. Something had to be done now, before [SUB][U]ＯＴＨＥＲ[/U][/SUB] Favourite food: ??? Although it is almost unnoticeable against his dark skin tone, Eli has a black tattoo on his left cheek. If one were to look closely, they’d notice that Eli seems to have an odd habit of standing on his toes. [SUB][U]ＲＥＡＳＯＮ ＦＯＲ ＥＮＬＩＳＴＭＥＮＴ[/U][/SUB] [/hider]