Basic information:Name: Sadann N'ashiik
Race: Redguard
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Birthsign: The Thief
Place of Origin: Rihad, Hammerfell
Appearance: Sadann stands at a less than impressive 5'11" tall. Wiry in build, Sadann lacks any sort of imposing stature. His face is soft and angular, and the faint wrinkles that mark his forehead and underneath his eyes make him look somewhat older than he actually is. Sadann's eyes are narrow and a dark shade of brown, and a thin black beard covers his chin, jaw and upper lip. Most of Sadann's head is shaved, excluding a few long black dreadlocks that travel down the center of his head and down to the small of his back.
Background: Sadann N'ashiik was born and raised in the coastal city of Rihad in southern Hammerfell, near the border with Cyrodiil. His father, Rhanholm, was one of three blacksmiths who ran shops in Rihad, and his mother, Naveen, was a simple housewife. Sadann was the family's fifth child, and fourth son. They were a highly religious family, devout worshipers of the Yokudan Pantheon. With the blacksmith business being highly competitive in Rihad, Sadann's father struggled and the family was in a constant battle to get make enough money to survive. Sadann's oldest brother had worked with his father as the blacksmith's apprentice for five years, since the day he had turned twelve. Sadann's two sisters stayed at home with his mother, learning all the things that would be useful to them in later life, such as stitching and cooking.
Sadann's parents could never afford to send him to school, and so he never learned to read or write. Nor could Sadann work with his father; he was not strong enough to be a smith, his father had told him. Sadann was the smallest of the sons no doubt, but he was far from weak. Instead, Sadann stayed home and helped his mother around the house. In particular, he took a fancy to cooking. Sadann was taught by his mother, learning first how to make small snacks and eventually learning how to make full meals. By the age of ten, Sadann was cooking full time for the family, who had since given birth to a fifth son. As a child, Sadann was content.
Rihad had always been an unfortunately positioned town. Its position along the coast of the Abecean sea and close proximity to Cyrodiil made it a prime target for pirates passing too and from the Imperial province. With no real distinct government, the people of Rihad had never fully managed to find a counter to this threat. Eventually, however, when Sadann was a boy of fifteen, the people of the town all agreed to contribute gold to hire the Sandswords Mercenary Company, a group of thirty or so Alik'r Warriors, whom were paid to act as a sort of guardsmen, defending the town from pirate raid. On his father's suggestion, Sadann enlisted to serve with the Sandswords - as a cook.
The pay was poor and the treatment was worse, yet Sadann enjoyed his time in the service of the Sandswords. His father had retired, too old to swing a hammer, and his brother had assumed control of the family business. At last, Sadann was able to meaningfully contribute to the household with some sort of income. Sadann stayed with the company for around a year, before he began to wonder what it would be like to be a fighter among them. Through a combination of subtle hints at meal times, asking the right people, and eventually outright begging, Sadann found himself beginning training with a scimitar. He hated it. Upon request, the company regretfully agreed to train him with a short sword. It was better, and he learned much, but still, Sadann was not content. So, he simply returned to being a chef.
After a while the townsfolk could not afford to keep the Sandswords around anymore. When the company left, they took Sadann's second brother with them - he had proven to be a capable fighter, so when they said they were leaving to fulfill a contract in Sentinel, he was eager to move on with them. To fill the gap, the townsfolk formed a sort of militia. Rihad had always had a reasonable number of Forebears, foreign warriors and remnant Ra Gada fighters, but until now they had not banded together to protect their town, and even then they were too few. The Ra Gada, descendants of the great warriors of Ancient Yokuda, began training any willing volunteers. Sadann was reluctant, but his mother made him go.
When Sadann arrived at the town square, where a makeshift drill yard had been set up, he was awestruck. Ra Gada fighters were different to the Sandswords. Their was a wide range of styles, from two-handed hammers to dual-wielding axes. Yet, the one that caught Sadann's eye was probably the most unconventional of all. A tall Redguard man stood in the corner of the yard, with a long wooden shaft. At the end sat a large, curved blade. His body moved like water, flowing from stance to stance, slicing and whirling. Sadann approached the man, learning him as Ataael the Swift. A boy of 16 at the time, Ataael agreed to train Sadann.
Day and night the pair would train. At first Sadann was allowed nowhere near a blade; the ran, climbed, meditated, pushing Sadann's body to its very limits and then pushing it further still. The physical conditioning was extremely intense, breaking Sadann down and remolding him into an entirely new person. He maintained his wiry frame, but his muscles grew and grew and with them, so did his strength. Ataael trained him by teaching him to dance, insisting that without grace and fluidity all of the training would mean nothing. They moved on to fighting with wooden sticks, learning the motions first, and then how to apply them. Day and night, Sadann and Ataael would dance and spin and slash. The training was rigorous, and as the years passed, it took its toll on Ataael. He was an older man, in good physical condition, but he was nowhere near the warrior he had once been.
There came a day, when Sadann was 20 years of age, after four years of training, that Ataael finally decided he could do no more. His mind made up, Sadann asked his brother to craft him a Glaive of his own. It took a week in total for the weapon to be finished but once it was, Sadann thanked his brother and left Rihad, in search of the Sandswords, and his brother Jelik.
He found the Sandswords in Hegathe, a town in southwestern Hammerfell. They were camped outside the city, having been called in to deal with a spike in bandit activities. Sure enough, Jelik was still with the company. Sadann asked if he could re-enlist, as a warrior rather than a cook, and was happily accepted back into the ranks of the Sandswords once more. Jelik, however, had chosen a different path. During his four years with the company, Jelik had thrown himself into learning alchemy, taking a particular shining to poisons. He saw the opportunity to pair his new-found knowledge with Sadann's to create a warrior with deadly efficiency. He taught Sadann a thing or two, only basics like how to extract poisons from plants and apply them to weapons, and what herbs countered what poisons. But that was all that Sadann needed. He served with the Sandswords for two more years, until they disbanded, leaving a 23 year old Sadann and his 32 year old brother Jelik far from home and without a penny to their names.
Jelik had the crazy idea that they should try to make it as mercenaries on their own. Unconvinced, Sadann agreed to go along with it. The two traveled from village to village, selling their swords to whoever would pay. The work was typically simple. They would get 50 septims or so to go and kill a giant scorpion or something along those lines, and spend the money on food and inn rooms. It was a meager existence, and when work was scarce so were the meals. Sadann recognised that they had to step up if they were going to survive.
It was in a Sentinel inn on a warm summer night, when Sadann was 26 years old, that he suggested to his brother that they try bounty hunting. It was dangerous work, particularly in as brutal a place as Hammerfell, and Jelik vehemently opposed the idea. He could not be convinced, and in the end Jelik headed home to Rihad, to be reunited with their family. Sadann, however, went about seeking out his first bounty.
Work as a bounty hunter in Hammerfell was scarce. Most targets were too well protected by noble links and corruption for anyone to get at them. Yet, for the targets that Sadann was able to eliminate, the money was much better. Sadann's highest paying contract was 600 septims for taking out a pirate leader in a cave on the coast near Taneth. It would have been an exceptional living, had he not been limited to a handful of contracts a year. In the end, Sadann found himself making ends meet through simple mercenary work anyway.
Hammerfell was sustainable for a time, but when Sadann reached 30 years old, all of the work seemed to have dried up. A new wave of wannabe bounty hunters had stormed onto the scene, taking contracts at lower rates and forcing Sadann effectively out of the competition. He had heard rumors that work was rife in Skyrim, a land enveloped in chaos and corruption. So, with no real alternative, and Skyrim as his best option, Sadann made the trek into a new province.
If one thing was certain, it was that Skyrim was a troubled place indeed. The Dragonborn sat the throne of the High King of Skyrim, ruling through blood and fear. Sure enough, it ensured that for Sadann there was always someone that needed killing. Since his arrival in Skyrim, Sadann had traveled the west, taking up jobs in Falkreath, Markarth and Solitude, fearful of adventuring into the freezing east and too far away from home. Upon returning from his latest contract to kill a Bandit Chief in a forest hideout in Falkreath Hold, Sadann heard about the King's contract. Figuring an able-bodied fighter would both help the King and help his won finances, Sadann set off to Markarth, and is now encamped with the rest of the hopefuls, waiting patiently for his chance to fulfill the contract.
Personality: Sadann is a friendly man; trusting and kind-hearted. His loyalty and sense of valor are utterly unquestionable. Yet, this particular set of personality traits leaves him open to manipulation. Sadann is not particularly intelligent in his knowledge of maths or history, but he is street-wise. Still, despite his good nature, when to battle, Sadann is an entirely different person. He becomes cold and ruthless, and all sense of remorse or compassion go out of the window. Nevertheless, regardless of the situation, Sadann's courage and devotion to his comrades is undying.
Capabilities:Skills:
- Expert Two-Handed Blade/Spear (Not sure what you'd class a Glaive as - let me know and I'll make the change)
- Adept Acrobatics
- Adept Athletics
- Apprentice One-Handed Blade
- Apprentice Alchemy
- Apprentice Provisioning
- Novice Tailoring
- Novice Speech
- Novice Hand-to-Hand
Weaknesses:
- Illiterate - Sadann never attended school, and therefore never learned to read or write.
- Magical Incompetence - Redguards as a people generally frown upon magic, minus destruction spells. Even so, Sadann has always stayed well away from all magic.
- Sensitive to Elements - Sadann's home province of Hammerfell is a hot and dry region consisting largely of desert. The cold regions of Skyrim are harsh on Sadann.
Relations to Other Characters: Sadann doesn't really know any of the other people at the camp very well, but he has met almost everyone as he has been doing his best to help with cooking and serving meals for the camp.
Affiliation(s): Sandswords Mercenary Company (Former)
Spells: None (Magical Incompetence)
Combat Style: Sadann fights in a style very similar to Wushu - his style is very speedy and acrobatic, focusing on doing as much damage as possible as quickly as possible while also being agile enough to avoid taking any. Of course, there are many situations for when this style is not suited, be it the environment or the opponent, so he is also moderately capable at fighting with a shortsword, although this is far from his preferred method of combat.
Other Capabilities: Sadann grew up in one of the harshest places in Tamriel, and thus has learned a few survival techniques, both simple and advanced, that suit him well to life on the road and in the wilderness, which has helped tremendously throughout his career as a mercenary and bounty hunter.
Inventory:Cash: 179 Gold
Keys and Lockpicks: None
Clothing and Armor: Sadann wears a lightweight boiled leather jerkin to protect his torso, gloves to protect his hands and guards to protect his shins and forearms. An iron helm (difficult to describe, seen in the image below) protects his head. Aside from that he wears no armor; cloth covers his entire body, concealing the little armor that he wears, and a tattered cloak hangs about his shoulders.
Weapon and Ammunition: Sadann carries a steel Glaive with a long, curved blade, designed so that it flows through flesh and clothing with maximum efficiency. However, it struggles t penetrate armor, so it must be used to target exposed points on armored targets. In addition to this, Sadann carries a steel shortsword, but rarely carries it unless he knows he will need it. He is talented at luring his targets to fight on his own terms, so he rarely does need it.
Potions and Arcane Supplies: Sadann currently has three vials of poison; one made from Black Anther, another from Bleeding Crown, and another for Coda Flower. The only other potions he possesses are the antidotes to each of these three poisons.
Jewelry and Novelty Items: An ivory ring on his left ring finger with a large garnet inset; a gift from Sadann's father. Aside from this, Sadann's only trinket is an Amulet of Onsi (Yokudan Warrior God).
Books and Documents: None
Food, Drinks, Provisions: Sadann currently only has bread and vegetables in his sack. Kept in a separate pouch are all of his herbs and ingredients, but currently he is down to a few cloves of garlic and two Angelica flowers. As for drinks, Sadann has a simple waterskin.
Bags, Pouches, Packs: A sack in which Sadann keeps his bedroll and his food, the waterskin that Sadann uses to carry his water, a satchel containing his alchemical concoctions and a pouch used for storing herbs.
please, have a read, rip it to pieces, and let me know what needs changing.