The Cliffwalker Miqo'te

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About

When pirates, opportunists, and future Limsans began spreading throughout La Noscea, they found that the lush region of Oakwood was already occupied - but not by the type of people they expected. Instead of rival pirates and defensive beast tribes, Oakwood's keepers were a reclusive group of R tribe Seekers that appeared to make their home above the waterfall that would eventually be named Fool Falls. Following enough sightings of these Miqo'te, the sept was dubbed "Cliffwalker", and they would be an ever-present force in Upper La Noscea, with the sept numbering at least 40 members at its peak.These were not your average tribal Miqo'te, however. They hunted the beasts and fished the rivers, but they also dug deep into the earth with pickaxes made of electrum. They would collect the stones, gems, and crystals - bounties of the earth - and use them for healing and prayers to Azeyma and Titan, or would trade them with other nearby septs. Oftentimes, Kobolds would be seen traveling with them. To say that the Cliffwalker sept was not a traditional sept would be an understatement, but they were thriving, powerful, and respectable force in Upper La Noscea.And then...after centuries of living in Oakwood, raising generation upon generation of young to respect the land and the sky that nurtured them......they disappeared.A decade would pass before the next visitor to Oakwood would lay eyes upon a Cliffwalker Miqo'te. And for the next 30 years, the few Miqo'te spotted upon the cliffs would be haggard creatures, merely surviving off the land as best they could with their pitiful numbers. Each had been afflicted by some strange aetherical anomaly, transforming their bodies and the land they walked upon. The healthy sept had transformed from a thriving 40 members at its peak to just six survivors, and it was clear their old lifestyle couldn't be maintained.Six quickly turned to five. Two years ago, five turned into four. And now, no Cliffwalker Miqo'te live above Fool Falls.How did the Cliffwalker Miqo'te come to Oakwood? Why were their tribal practices so different than other septs in nearby areas? What happened to decimate their numbers? And why have the surviving members abandoned their ancestral home?You'll need to locate one of the survivors and earn their trust to find out.

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Full Members

The following Miqo'te are recognized members of the Cliffwalker sept: they carry the blood of the first Miqo'te to arrive in Oakwood within them, and fully accept the rites and customs of the sept.

Honorary Members

The following people are considered honorary members of the Cliffwalker sept: they do not carry the blood of the first Miqo'te to arrive in Oakwood within them, they do not accept the rites and customs of the sept, or both. If they fall under "both", they have special circumstances surrounding their situation.

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R'pharru Neto

((WIP! Character is not active yet.))Umbral Water

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R'halu Nunh

"As a boy, I scorned the role of Nunh, and was scorned in return. Now, when I have finally realized the importance of this title...I can do little to save my people."

A old Cliffwalker man who was trained in the art of mining as a child, and has profited from it ever since he left the sept's ancestral lands over 30 years ago. While he has lived outside the sept's grounds for nearly half of his life, marrying a Limsan Sea Wolf and raising a family with her, he has ever toiled to improve the sept's dire situation.

Appearance

If you were to describe R'halu in one word, it would be...fierce. While this man is not one to raise a weapon against others, his mere presence and appearance is usually enough to deter any would-be harassers. He is a veritable mountain of a man due to a lifetime of intensive labor swinging pickaxes and boring deep into the earth, and a combination of a long tail and experience has led to him being as stable as one, too. In fact, so much time spent in the mountains seems to have made their mark on the Miqo'te, claiming him as one of their own: for look closely, and you will find that his skin is not just calloused, but as hard as stone. Traditional blemishes and scars do not leave their mark on the man; instead, cracks, craters, and gashes in the lithified skin are permanent features on his face, arms, chest, and legs. While he could likely go to someone trained in earth magic to mend these wounds, he seems reluctant to do so, stating that they are not a nuisance.One aspect of this hardened skin has been a nuisance, however. Keen observers may notice that his left foot does not flex as he walks, and that he is reluctant to take off his shoes. This is because said shoes and long pants hide the fact that that is left foot is artificial and made of wood, and removing said foot would reveal that his leg ends in a stump akin to a shattered rock. It is clear that this injury happened long ago, because R'halu seems to have learned how to navigate the world with it.Despite having joined Limsan society over 30 years ago, the aura of a tribal Miqo'te has stubbornly clung to the man despite his best efforts to follow Limsan style. Wild deep brown hair refuses to hold any sort of styling, as does his sideburns and beard. Bright pink eyes seem to burn into anyone who looks into them, even when squinted in laughter. Cliffwalker markings tattooed into his skin long ago have faded colors, accentuating the lines on his face and the large spiderweb-like crack on his left cheek. Even the black businessman's suit tailored specifically to his size only seems to increase his bulk and ruggedness. This is clearly a man who, despite his efforts to blend into Eorzean society, cannot - and will not - hide his history.

Personality and Mannerisms

Upon first meeting him, R'halu appears to be a quiet, business-focused, no-nonsense man. The epitome of an unstoppable force, if he commits himself to a task, he will get it done, come hell or high water. Such is his nature, and this attitude has carried him throughout his many decades in the competitive mining industry. While the company he owns with his wife is now large enough that he can ignore orders from smaller clients, he will go out of his way to get them what they need. If you are competition, however...he will give you no quarter, as he was spared none when he first stepped foot into the trade. It is in part due to his kindness to his clients and his ruthlessness to his competitors that his future wife Swarrael, an independent carpenter herself, would come to notice him, and their business partnership and marriage would eventually evolve into a relationship based in love.Speak with the man outside of business, however, and you will come to know his silence as a measure of his thoughtfulness and respect for those around him. R'halu is a deeply introspective man, constantly looking back at events in his life and wondering if the actions he chose in the moment were the right ones. As a child, he was ridiculed for his disparate views on Nunh-hood, and was confused, conflicted, and bitter that becoming Nunh was often seen as the most important goal for Tias. His decades-long absence from the Cliffwalker ancestral lands and his eventual (forced) inheriting of the title of Nunh has caused him to reflect on this former attitude and behavior, and he has since extended this introspection to other aspects of his life, no matter how mundane. Interspersed with this reflection is grief and mourning: grieving the fact that he not been the best father to his children and his sept, and mourning the lives, knowledge, and culture that have died throughout his life. Even though his role as Nunh is honorary, he hopes to halt the decline of his sept and improve the lives of his sept.

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R'vhasi Chuyi

"...Do...not- speak to...me. I-...h-have no w...words for you...Eorzean. Le-ave me...to- myself."

The eldest Cliffwalker and a woman burdened by her sins. Refusing to speak unless necessary, and even then with a stilted and harsh voice, she serves as the bodyguard for her son R'pahfu so that he may spread the legacy of their sept and undo the burdens she has caused.

Appearance

Take one look at R'vhasi in the wilds of Thanalan, and you would be forgiven for mistaking her for a true tribal Miqo'te huntress. Dressed neck to toe in thick brown toadskin armor, adorned with rough spikes and electrum armor plating, she certainly gives off the appearance of a competent - nay, a masterful, intimidating warrior who would not hesitate to strike you down. Black scraggled hair, muscled limbs, and brown painted markings around her eyes only contribute to this image, and, in spite of her age, she has a powerful stride and an even more powerful icy glare that has driven off many a bandit.It may come as a surprise, then, that her weapon of choice is not the simple rock sling she carries with her, and that she, like her Cliffwalker siblings, is not a natural-born warrior. Should you find yourself on the opposite side of her, steel yourself and your emotions - for her attacks hit the heart, not the flesh, and she is quite deadly. As a result of the incident that led to the Cliffwalker's current predicament, R'vhasi's naturally-rhythmic voice has turned into a weapon for her grief, sorrow, and guilt, and she is ready to bring her skills as a Note to bear against those who would threaten her and her son. However, the umbral ice encasing her heart and her mind does not only target her enemies, and as this coldest ice lace every word that she speaks, she does her best to seal the polar vortex within herself by not giving it avenues of escape. Thus has she restricted her speech, so that the distorted reflection contained within her rhythmic voice does not have a chance to harm those around her.In an attempt to thaw the frost eating away her heart, her son R'pahfu has gifted her with energy-infused danburite and goshenite gemstones. The earrings and silver circlet these gemstones are inlaid in may clash with the image of the tribal warrior R'vhasi wears, but she would not be seen dead without them. If you knew her well and saw her often, you may notice that while the earring bases and circlet remain the same, the pieces of danburite and goshenite are constantly switched out - a testament to how often the gems must be cleansed of her corruptive icy influence.

Personality and Mannerisms

Owing to her apparent lack of voice, R'vhasi fades into the background of most conversations, something that she is quite alright with. The lack of attention gives her plenty of time to observe the people around her, and as R'pahfu's mother and bodyguard, protecting him from any threat - real or perceived - is of utmost importance. Her protectiveness is strengthened by her wariness, and her distrust of Eorzeans has only strengthened due to her time in Thanalan, a land where the citizen's perceived selfishness and greediness runs counter to the collective unity of the Cliffwalker sept. So strong is her drive to protect her son that her behavior has singlehandedly lost them many sales, hurting their operation in Thanalan and forcing them to spend more time to make up for lost gil. R'pahfu has even had to step in and ask her to leave him to his business at times; while these instances give her a brief moment of clarity into the harm she causes, it also compounds the guilt she lives with on a daily basis, and keeps her mind frozen in time to the incident over 30 years ago.All of this is not to say that R'vhasi is an uncaring person. Even if R'pahfu were not her biological son, it would not change her loving and maternal behavior toward him. While she is not open with her affection in public, little things such as brushing his hair, helping move him about on his bad days, and ensuring that he has a warm meal and a safe place to sleep can be observed by those she lets her guard down around. One might even imagine that, if she were able to speak without causing harm, she would spend her days singing and enriching his life with stories of warmth and community. This behavior and tendency of hers' extends to the remaining members of her sept, where her guard drops and she becomes a warm central figure that anyone can approach with their issues. A natural mediator, she works to ensure that all voices are heard and all doubts are addressed, and she commits all meetings and resolutions to memory so that voices are not lost to the past. If she had not been cursed as she is, she likely would have made a great leader.

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R'pahfu Tia

“Šo many šuffered and died šo †ha† I may live. I muš† be wor†hy of †heir ša©rifi©e, and keeþ †he šþiri† of my þeoþle alive.”

A frail Miqo'te who acts as the sole Warden's Word of the Cliffwalker Miqo'te. As his duties heavily involve the sept's spiritual world and ceremonies, he is a sagely man who, despite his occasional moments of wonder at Eorzea, comes across as a person aged well beyond his years.

Appearance

R'pahfu has the appearance of someone that looks like he could be knocked over by a strong breeze. The circumstances of his birth and subsequent life have led him to be far, far weaker than most tribal Miqo'te, producing weak muscles, poor coordination, and lack of balance, among other things. While most days he can function independently with his cane, there are periods where he wakes up and requires the use of a wheelchair and R'vhasi's aid to do his daily tasks. However, none of this weakness seems to affect R'pahfu's outlook on life, it seems. He can often be found smiling about whatever he's thinking about and laughing brightly at jokes and interesting stories. Even his "default" face is relaxed, content, and peaceful. There are days where where he can't stand up without assistance, yes, but it won't stop him from trying to find happiness in everyday life.No matter what the condition of his body is on a day-to-day basis, R'pahfu is a man of hygiene, cleanliness, order, and consistency. His white-pink hair, while not styled, is cleaned as best as possible for his nomadic way of life, and is generally kept down to his shoulders and free of any product. Aside from painting the traditional Word markings on his face each morning, his pallid skin is free of any blemishes, tattoos, or scarring. For clothing, he prefers simple Word traditional wear: loose-fitting, turquoise-dyed robes, simplistic pants, and open-toed sandals. His oaken cane serves as his conjurer's focus, and smoothness of the wood is a testament to the maker's skill, R'pahfu's care of it, and how often he uses it.To those unfamiliar with Cliffwalker customs, his less-than-extravagant clothing may seem to clash with the copious amount of jewelry he wears. Beaded bracelets interspersed with yellow turquoise and violet sapphire, rings inlaid with sunstone and green Grossular garnet, earrings of sphene...all of these are likely to catch eyes, but the crowning jewels of his ensemble are the pieces of polished gold sheen obsidian, rainbow fluorite, and amber that hang from an electrum chain around his neck. It could be said that half of R'pahfu's body weight comes from these gems and the ones hidden under his robes! However, despite their weight, R'pahfu is never seen without at least the necklace.

Personality and Mannerisms

As the youngest of the Cliffwalker Miqo'te born in their ancestral lands, R'pahfu's curiosity and wonder about Eorzea and the whole of Hydaelyn is to be expected. While his duties and role as Word keep him from exploring the world, he is often an enthusiastic and thoughtful student to anyone who volunteers their time to speak with him. In return for such knowledge, he is happy to assume the role of teacher and espouse the teachings and worldview of the Cliffwalker sept.Even outside of a student/teacher relationship, he is generally a delightful person to speak with. His lack of knowledge and experience with many cultural questions leaves him often confused, but he isn't the type to be afraid to ask questions. Even if the answer is negative or only confuses him more, he is the type to offer them a thankful smile, nod, and word or two.This is all assuming that people can understand what R'pahfu says. While the older members of the Cliffwalker sept had experience speaking solely in Eorzean before their decade-long disappearance and 30 years of isolation, R'pahfu has only had minimal interaction with non-Cliffwalker people, even in the two years its been since he and the others left their ancestral lands. This has resulted in him solely using the Eorzean-huntspeak combined language unique to the Cliffwalker tribe, where certain letters are replaced by clicking and popping sounds. While he attempts to "correct" his speech to not include huntspeak, one does not change their way of speaking entirely so quickly. Thankfully for him, R'vhasi is there to help him, even if she speaks minimally herself.

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R'fenagi Neto

((WIP! Character is not active yet.))Astral lightning

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Language

History

When the Allagan Empire spread across most of Hydaelyn, their language spread and was adopted by their conquered territories. This language has persisted throughout the centuries as the dominant language, and is known by many names - Eorzean and Common, chief among them. However, there are many examples of other languages being developed and used, such as Hingan and Xaelic. The ancient language of Miqo'te huntspeak is one such language.Huntspeak is a language shared by both Keepers and Seekers, and involves patterns of clicks, pops, hisses, and whistles that enable hunters to communicate while pursuing prey. The utilization of huntspeak varies from tribe to tribe and sept to sept, with some communicating solely in huntspeak while others use it sparsely or in certain situations.The Cliffwalker Miqo'te originally was of the latter category, using huntspeak for two situations: the traditional usage of simple communication during hunting, and a unique usage of communication in the mines. Over many centuries and generations of young, the Cliffwalker Miqo'te and their 273rd Order kobold partners dug an extensive series of tunnels beginning in the region above Fool Falls and spanning the entirety of La Noscea. The size of these tunnels varied from hundreds of yalms high and wide to barely large enough for a kobold or crouching Miqo'te to squeeze into. The underground environment of the 273rd Order Dig naturally resulted in quite a lot of echo and reverberation, making traditional communication difficult. The Cliffwalker solution to this problem was to use a combined Eorzean-huntspeak language, where Eorzean words were interspersed with huntspeak clicks and pops. While Cliffwalker huntspeak was not robust enough to be a "proper" language, loud enough clicks and pops were distinct enough from one another that even when they echoed off the cave walls, the meaning of the sound was not distorted. With Eorzean words to supplement what huntspeak could not communicate, a new hybrid language was born.Speak with any of the elder Cliffwalker Miqo'te, however, and they will tell you that the usage of this hybrid language in normal communication between members is a recent development. While they will not elaborate on why they now always speak to each other in this language, they will tell you that this style began over 40 years ago due to sheer necessity. Interestingly, the youngest of the Cliffwalker Miqo'te born in their ancestral land, R'pahfu Tia, speaks almost solely in this language regardless of who he is talking with. Perhaps this, along with the how the origin of the hybrid Eorzean-huntspeak language came to be, are clues to what happened during the Cliffwalker's isolation.Meanwhile, what happened to the hisses and whistles of huntspeak? Hisses do not have as much variation as clicks and pops do, and whistling, while a great way to transmit sound over long distances with minimal strain to the vocal chords, does not lend itself well to speaking in caves due to echo and reverberation. Ask an elderly Cliffwalker, and they will say that whistling was once utilized to communicate between hunting groups spread out across the surface, but it has since died out due to a lack of necessity. Young members like R'pahfu and R'thipra know that whistling was once a daily sound in Upper La Noscea, but have never experienced it themselves, nor have they had the chance to practice.

What it Sounds Like

The Eorzean-huntspeak language, in simplest terms, involves replacing certain sounds in Eorzean words with the clicks and pops of huntspeak. To outsiders, this may result in the language sounding somewhat familiar, yet completely foreign, as the replaced sounds are vital to clear communication.There are four huntspeak sounds incorporated into Eorzean words, symbolized in text as þ, š, †, and ©:

Here it what it sounds like spoken aloud:((Please note that the original letters corresponding to these sounds were p, c, x, and q, which are common in languages of groups falling under the catch-all term of Khoisian indigenous peoples of South Africa.))

OOC Notes

((Hello! I want to first say that I, the writer, am not a linguistics expert. I've done research into the topics of clicking and whistling languages, but I recognize that I'm neither an expert nor a speaker of Khoisan click languages. Neither am I someone who is extensively trained in linguistics. I've done the best I can here to research and explain respectfully how a similar language may work in a fantasy setting. If I have any details wrong, or if I've written anything disrespectful in this section, please let me know! That's the last thing I want to do!Second: this language is used minimally in RP by most of the Cliffwalker Miqo'te, but an exception is R'pahfu. FFXIV's chat window makes these symbols look even odder, and may cause confusion, eye strain, etc. I'm happy to eliminate these symbols from writing to make it easier on you! R'pahfu will still be speaking the same way, but we can move forward in RP with the understanding that he's still þ'ing his "P"s and †'ing is "T"s. Just let me know, and I'll change my writing style right away!))