Name: Zainat Ashurnasaddas
Race: Velothi (Dunmer Ashlander)
Family Origins: Born in the Ashwastes of Solstheim, Zainat was raised in the Ashland Tradition, dwelling not in cities, but small Tribal encampments made from Yurts that are not only protective from Ash storms, but easy to transport. Zainat is of the Urshilaku, the first of the Ashland tribes to name The Nerevarine as “Clanfriend”, a never ending source of pride for him. Due to being an Ashlander, Zainat has a healthy distrust for Humans and the Beast Races, and is uncomfortable around “Civilized” elves such as Altmer or House Dunmer. He is, however, able to be comfortable around Stronghold Orcs and the Bosmer, but that does not mean he trusts them.
Appearance: Zainat appears to be the type of Dunmer that most think of when they hear the term ‘Dark Elf’. The Dunmer’s keeps his jet-black hair in a Top-Knot, allowing his helm to fit over his head with relative ease. If he were to undo his topknot, his bangs would easily reach his chin, and the rest of his hair would reach his shoulders. His eyes, like all Dunmer, are the color of pools of blood, something many ‘Outlanders’ find unnerving at times. His skin is the color of the very Ash that flows over his ancestral homeland, marking him for all to see as a Dunmer. A grim expression is ever upon his face, and his observant eyes constantly watch any he distrusts.
Zainat wears the traditional armor of the Ashlanders, a suit of Netch Leather armor overlayed with overlapping chitinous plates covered in the viscous resinous glues of the Giant-Mushroom trees that grow on the southern part of Solstheim. The strange armor is not unlike the armor worn by the Falmer, the only real difference being that it is much lighter, and slightly less protective.
Like many Ashlanders, Zainat wears facial tattoos, in the form of abstract ashlander tribal markings that the use of can be traced back all the way to when the Prophet Veloth took the Chimer to Vvardenfell.
Age: Zainat is 27 years of age.
Equipment:
~A suit of Chitin Light Armor, weighing eight Pounds.
~A Chitin Spear, weighing seven pounds
~A Chitin Shortsword, weighing 4 pounds
~A Chitin Shortbow, weighing two pounds
~Fourty Bonemold Arrows, each arrow weighing 1/10th of a pound, for a total of four pounds.
Total weight of equipment: 23 pounds.
Note: Chitin Weapons and Armor are much like Falmer Weapons and Armor (They are both made from the shells of local insects), but lighter (Both in weight and colour) and on-par with Steel.
Miscellanea:
~A small Guar-Skin Drum
~Ten Ceramic containers of Ash Hopper Jelly
~Three (small) loaves of Ash Yam bread
~Three Pounds of Scrib Jerky
~A Bottle-Gourd used for holding Shein (Comberry-Wine)
Favored Skills:
~High Skills~
Archery~
Archery has a special place in the heart of the Urshilaku, and has provided fresh meat for his tribe since the time of the Great Prophet Veloth. At the same time, however, Archery has long been used as a way to defend the tribe from the blood-thirsty beasts that roamed the isle of Vvardenfell.
~Moderate Skills~
~Light Armor~
As an Ashlander, Zainat has little use for heavy iron or steel, instead prefering to wear light Chitin armor, allowing him to move quickly and strike first. Much like his skill in One-Handed weapons, this skill was gained in the defense of his tribe.
~One-Handed~
As a Warrior of the Urshilaku Tribe, Zainat was trained in the use of light, One-Handed weapons so as to defend his tribe from the Reaver scum that wander the Ashen lands, and the filthy Werebears and Werewolves that populate the Northern lands of the Island.
~Sneak~
Sneaking is a bit of an odd subject when it comes to the Velothi. As an Ashlander, his honor demands that he fight honorably, and yet the realities of the world have forced him to sneak about. Zainat refuses to use this skill for anything other than hunting, and unless it is the only way to survive, he won’t use it to sneak on foes.
~Minor Skills~
~Alchemy~
Used to make poison and healing potions, Zainat is well versed in the tribal lore his clan kept. However, he is unskilled at making potions and poisons from anything other than what grows on Solstheim, and as such isn’t as skilled in Alchemy as he would like. As such, he is still getting used to the ‘strange’ plants that exist in other locations on Tamriel.
Background:: Born in the ashen wastes of the Isle of Solthsteim, Zainat was the second child of Dutadalk Ashurnasaddas, the Ashkhan of the Urshilaku tribe. His elder sibling, a girl who was named Shishi, was destined to become the next Wise Woman of the tribe, and from a young age showed great talent in the magic that the Ashlanders used. The Wise Woman of the tribe took one look at Zainat, and declared that he would one day become the Ashkhan of the Urshilaku. As such, Zainat was trained from a young age to become a warrior that the rest of the Urshilaku would be willing to follow into battle against Reavers, The Skaal, House Redoran, and any other group that would dare to oppress the tribe. When he was allowed to become a warrior at the age of fifteen, the skills he had been taught were to be put to the test in the form of a raid on an established camp of Reavers. He led a warband to the Barrow that the Reavers had taken over, and stormed their stronghold in the middle of the night. He was expecting heavy resistance from the bandits, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Reavers had been taken unawares. The bandit clan was slaughtered to a man, and Zainat returned to the Urshilaku as a triumphant warrior.
A year passed, and although Zainat found himself enjoying being known as a warrior, he couldn’t help but feel that he was mean to be more than that. He approached Shishi, who had become the Wise Woman of the tribe after the old Wise Woman passed in her sleep, taken from the tribe by Rockjoint. He asked her what he should do, and his sister agreed to meditate on what Zainat’s course in life was to be. Three days later, she returned to him, and encouraged him to find his own path in life, as both the ancestors and Azura claimed that their father would live to over one hundred, allowing Zainat to travel and adventure as he saw fit.
Two days later, Zainat slipped out of the Urshilaku camp in the middle of the night and headed towards Raven Rock, intending to find work there as a Mine Guard until he figured out what he wanted to do. The only items he carried with him was a suit of chitin armor, a chitin shortsword, a chitin bow, and a chitin spear. However, in true House Redoran fashion, he was rejected from any position other than miner, and even then, they refused to pay him the same wage as city Dunmer. After working for three weeks earning only three septims a day, he demanded equal pay from the Foreman, he was told that “No sane man would pay an Ashlander the same wage as a Dunmer.” Zainat became enraged by the insult, but clan honor forbade him to kill someone who was unarmed, and he instead stormed off, and bought passage on a boat to the mainland. He spent two years in the slums of Windhelm, working the odd jobs that he could get in the city. On his eighteenth birthday, Zainat had finally saved enough money to buy some basic potions and good quality arrows, and finally left the Grey Quarter, and started to wander the roads. He never felt comfortable in cities or villages, and so he would sleep in caves, or in the ruins of old forts. Eventually he made his way to The Reach, and encountered the Forsworn. He could tell by jus looking at them that they were Daedra worshipers, and yet they did not worship The Good Daedra (Boethiah, Azura and Melphala) but instead worshiped The Bad Daedra (Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath, Sheogorath and Molag Bal). Despite the fact that he sympathized with them due to their plight, (One that the Ashlanders had so recently shared) he could not ignore the evil they did upon the innocents of The Reach. For the next two years, he made his name spilling the blood of the forsworn, hunting them down for bounties set by the Jarl of Markarth. The stony land was much like how the West Gash was described to him by the Wise Woman of his tribe, and he found that he slowly grew more and more fond of the region. By the time Alduin had returned to Tamriel, Zainat had killed a great many Forsworn, helping the Nords a great deal.
After Helgen was destroyed and the Greybeards called the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar, Zainat felt it was a good time to leave Skyrim, as Dragons are much more dangerous than the Forsworn, and he had no intention of ending up in one's stomach. Due to him hunting and butchering the Reachmen for two years, he knew that entering High Rock would be folly, he turned his eyes upon Hammerfell. The land was apparently covered in a desert, much like the Ashlands, and while populated by a strange race that was fractured into two groups, he has found them to be a good, if not suspicious, people. Zainat has spent the last several years here, and upon the emergence of the Dwemer, he fled to Stros M'Kai, fearful of any foe that attacks with such discipline and power.
Fighting Style: As a Skirmisher, Zainat tends to start combat by using his shortbow to wound his foe from a distance. Once they get close enough for physical combat, he switches to his spear, and weaves in and out of range, avoiding blows whenever he can, and always attempting to keep foes from closing in with him, both keeping them at bay and wearing them down with jabs from his spear. If Zainat finds himself unable to keep a foe away from him, he will draw his chitin shortsword from his sheath, and attempt to slash open the throat of the foe. If this tactic does not work, he tends to continue to disengage combat with the enemy, until he gets enough room to turn tail and flee.
Personality: Like many Dark Elves, Zainat is proud, and has a high opinion of himself. He absolutely detests the Beast Races (Especially the Argonians), has a general dislike of Humanity (Although individuals may earn his respect), and distrusts all other Mer, especially other Dunmer.