Name: Taerys Vel'Garen
Gender: Female
Age: 28 human years.
Height: 5’2”
Class: Infiltrator
Role: Ground-team
Race: Varyx
Race Lifespan: 150 human years.
Race Description: Hailing from the luscious jungle planet Filera , the Varyx are a settled and peaceful race by nature who have been forced to adapt physically and socially to the many extreme environments of Shassan, their solar system, in order to survive.
To those humans who have seen them, the Varyx have been described as 'Two-legged Leopards'. They have a sleek, very petite build offering almost unparalleled agility which is what enabled them to easily manoeuvre the dense and dangerous jungles of their former homeworld. Each of them sport a long, bushy tail for use when balancing themselves whilst on the move high in the canopies. The night is generally when they are the most active and so their eyesight has adapted to cope. This is because most of the creatures which the ancient civilizations of the Varyx used to hunt were nocturnal. Whilst they now have no real practical need for hunting, it is still something which is culturally important to them; rituals such as that of the coming-of-age use hunting as an important aspect. Pale blue glowing eyes are the effect of such an adaptation.
Having been on the verge of extinction after being betrayed by the Humans during the first great war, the Varyx had no choice but to flee Filera, giving it up to be ravaged for vital rare resources with much of their culture and identity being destroyed with it.
Since then, relations between the two races have been almost non-existent. The Varyx were never the sort to trust outsiders easily and humanity’s invasion of Filera just worsened that attitude towards other races, no matter which races, with the Humans labelled as traitors and ‘Kah'tex’ in their native and ancient language of Varaxian. The closest translation is said to be 'Oblivion-born' or 'Spawn of hell'.
The Varyx are now very seldom seen outside of Shassan and even if they are, they still prefer to stay out of the spotlight of the galactic community.
Overview:
- Small, agile, quick.
- Very good endurance
- Mainly nocturnal. Great eyesight, especially in the dark.
- Reserved, wary, keep people at arms length in terms of trust. (sometimes to their detriment)
- Spiritual, meditative.
- Not great team-players, don’t take orders well.
- Easily irritated and angered
- Not as strong as many other races.
Breathes: Default
Background: Taerys’ homeworld is Fjarin, meaning ‘The Gateway’ in Varaxian, and is the outermost planet of the 6 -world solar system Shassan. Fjarin is mainly a cold wasteland, yet active volcanoes are a common feature. The only real habitable zone is along the equator, though this zone is equally as dangerous as the wastelands around it with every species having evolved to kill its competitors in order to survive. It isn’t only Fjarin that holds a reputation for being dangerous. Filera is also worthy of injecting fear into anyone who decides to try and live there without knowledge of the wildlife. The humans - who were the ones that uplifted the Varyx - experienced this first-hand when they attempted to colonize Filera. It didn’t take long for them to succumb to the environment and be forced back out of the Varaxian homeworld. Everything the Humans built there has now long since been abandoned and untouched by the Varyx since humanity left Shassan. They say that the spirits of the dead wander endlessly through the jungles of Filera, taking revenge on whoever they come across.
Taerys witnessed a large number of deaths during her childhood, including friends, family and those who she respected greatly in her society, but this was considered normal for the Varyx; children should not be shielded from the harsh realities of life as this would only breed weakness. She did not become desensitised to death because of this but she recognised that there was no use in thinking about what had already come and gone. Instead of becoming bitter and angry, she found respect for the world around her; she understood the planet’s dangers and didn’t hide from them but studied and examined them meticulously. The planet was a dangerous weapon, although it was a weapon that she could wield herself and she knew it.
Personality: Whilst she is generally quick to anger and does not put her trust in people easily, that isn’t to say that Taerys doesn’t care about people. In fact, she is quite a sensitive person. Spirituality is deeply ingrained into the life of each Varyx from an early age and it is this which has taught her to respect and understand many of the feelings that affect people. So much is this the case that oftentimes the feelings of others affect her quite strongly, too. Her tough demeanour does not run all the way through her and the Varaxian’s playfulness is by no means non-existent, it’s just about whether you can find it or not.
With her small stature and slight features it may not seem like it, but Taerys is fiercely passionate and will stand up for her beliefs no matter what the situation. However, what could be seen as her greatest strength is also her greatest weakness; the fire that rages inside her is sometimes untameable and rationality can get quickly thrown out of the window.
Character Description: Predominantly white fur with smudges of black, especially on her back. She has thick fur to cope with the often freezing temperatures of Fjarin. Her pale blue, glowing eyes are complemented by black, tribal stripes ‘smeared’ across each of her cheeks. She has a somewhat feral look to her, more so than many others of her kind, with large, sharp canines similar to that of a sabertooth as well as sharp claws. Like all other Varyx, Taerys can run on all fours when she has little to no gear on her which, while making her able to cover distances much more quickly, accentuates her ‘feral’ image.
Proficiencies: CQC, Toxicology (poisons, venoms, toxins etc.), Healing, stealth, creature handling.