Name: Jatari
Titles: Chief Battlemancer, Emissary of the Hifugao people
Age: 32
Race: Human
Training: Jatari developed into a seasoned Battlemancer through a fine-tuned gamut of masters, tribal initiations, and ongoing mental/physical/spiritual tests called The Mirror's Shade.
The headhunters are disciplined executioners, expanding one's knowledge with the world's many different forms of combat and warfare. The Battlemancer imbues those same headhunter concepts, then elevates it with the forbidden arts of the tribe.
The road to becoming a Battlemancer is not for the faint of heart. You entrust your soul to a Highlord Shaman of Necromancy by committing to death, several times over, possessing sacrificed bodies of the unjust as you endure a gauntlet of violence and suffering. Should your spirit remain intact after this grueling process, and the Shaman succeeds by reuniting your soul with its original vessel, you will resurface to the world as a Battlemancer. Reinvigorated by the shamanistic alchemy used to maintain his original vessel, combined with a soul fully attuned to the paranormal and arcane realms, Jatari can see and do many things. However, if he is not mindful of his limitations, his soul will drown in The Mirror's Shade for eternity.
Equipment: Battlemancer Garbs: Unlike the metal plated warriors of the mainlands, Jatari is a warrior exposed with a few enchanted accessories on his person.
- The headdress and shoulder guards are accentuated by long feathers of an Ibalan Eagle, allowing him to be swift and agile on most terrain.
- The bones of a fallen warrior Lich called Oskiil, are worn around his neck. Oskiil's head was shrunken, giving it the appearance of a small creature's skull, a sign of humility and mutual respect between Lich and Battlemancer. Oskiil is very much his spirit guide, advising Jatari in his dreams or in meditation.
- The belt around his waist shows the mask of a Headhunter deity, Haliya, a goddess that protects the moon from a sea demon called the Bakunawa. It is the insignia of the the headhunter tribe.
- Finally, his tattoos. While they symbolize family heritage, rank, and position within the tribe, they are reinforced with arcane ink. They serve as protective wards from the elements, light attacks, and minor spells.
Spear and Sword: A deadly combination in the hands of a headhunter. Forged from the ores of the fallen meteor that decimated the ancient empire of the now Shattered Isles. While trained in all weapons of combat, these are the preferred tools, as they can cover many ranges of combat.
Satchel: A durable satchel made from Naga scales. Its contents range from remedial ingredients, trading goods, and courier notes, to extra clothes, and very basic travel gear.
Spell skills:Zoolingualism & Mediumship: Communication with all things is a power all Battlemancers covet. It adds dimension, insight, and advantage, like asking the deer which path is the safest trek, or chatting with a dead master of the sword for enlightenment. However, much like regular people, the dead and even the animals themselves can be fickle beings.
Blood & Water: Manipulation of blood and water by directional flow or engineering constructs, must be drawn from a source. Even then, the magnitude of such spell casting is limited compared to the Mages of the Arcane Arts. Stopping circulation of an opponent's sword hand, or dehydrating the body to slow an enemy down, are some of the many parlor tricks at the Battlemancer's disposal.
Low Tier Necromancy: The most powerful spell Jatari can cast is considered a lightweight chore for a seasoned Necromancer. Summoning the dead and maintaining its presence requires a lot of energy and concentration. Not to mention that certain conditions must be met for the spell to be successful (vessel must be dead long enough for its soul to have left, but not long enough that only bones remain).
Other skills: Demonology, Speech Craft, Sailing, Swimming, Hunting, Fishing, and Smithing.
Affiliation: The Hifugao Tribe of The Shattered Isles
Personality: Jatari is a lively and sociable person. He's got an inquisitive mind that's always thinking paradoxically about the world around him. He takes great pride in his clan, its culture, and traditions, but is often reprimanded by the tribe elders for his liberal ideas. Compared to most Headhunters, Jatari is open minded and welcomes change, wanting more for his people other than hired mercenaries of the sea.
History: Jatari was born in the Sea of Chaos. That is what the orators will proclaim when singing his legend. The truth is perhaps far more interesting than that. His mother Langa was a fierce warrior, fiercer than most men, including his own father, Udrati, because men did not have children in their bellies like Langa when they fought in battle. In the midst of a raging storm, she boarded a pirate vessel with four other warriors and proceeded to do what their tribe is known for. By the time the last pirate's head was cut clean from its body, and set on a pike like the rest, Langa went into labor. That night, Haliya would lose to Bakunawa, for the violent waves of the ocean capsized the ship, throwing her overboard. The other warriors in her charge were likely dead, swept away by the sea storm.
The tribe waited until the storm passed before they began their search. It was said that the rescuers were guided by the cries of her newborn child, who squirmed in Langa's free arm for hours as she held onto a floating driftwood from the wreckage.
That is how Jatari was born.
Like many youth of his ilk, Jatari's training started when he took his first steps. The braves that did not cry in the face of harshness were selected as headhunters, while the weaker caste were made into other professions within the tribe. Jatari was not like the children of the former group. He was a very temperamental child, cowering at any sign of confrontation. Despite Jatari's family rank, the counsel, further advised by the Highlord Shaman, deemed him unworthy. His parents insisted that the elders refit him into their headhunter ranks, but tradition always won. That isn't to say there weren't exceptions to this rule.
Many years later, the young Hifugao boy was given a second chance to prove himself. Bandits from the Arcadian Sea raided the fishing vessel he was assigned to. The ten year old aided his Sailmaster, Iuyi, by reclaiming their ship while capturing the raiding schooner in the process. The gracious Iuyi spoke to the counsel as Jatari's witness, putting in a good word for the boy. After much deliberation, they offered Jatari one chance to enlist into the headhunter ranks. Eager to prove himself, the young boy accepted the challenge without hesitation. He was not the crying babe tucked under his warrior mother, nor the cowering weakling that his people assumed him to be. Years spent under ridicule had toughened Jatari both mentally and physically, but in no way was he prepared for the trauma that awaited him.
Jatari underwent a brutal initiation by trial of combat. The idea was to break him, let him submit on his own volition, but the prideful son of Langa and Udrati did not waver. It took a powerful healer to bring his brutally injured body back to good health, and as soon as he was fully recuperated, Jatari was forced to begin his real training as a headhunter. Always on the move, both mind and body, honing learned skills and understanding the history, diplomacy, and geography of Telduria. They learned many ways of living and dying, in all types of environments and situations. Though Jatari's initiation started late, his maturity and dedication allowed him to advance, closing the learning gap between fellow Headhunters after every pivotal trial. By the time he was twenty-one, Jatari had completed over fifteen mercenary campaigns.
The tribal counsel relished in his potential and took note of his interest with the outside world. Under the designation of the Highlord Shaman, they offered him a special Rite of Battlemancy, a rare and taboo ritual reserved for the select few. In the history of the Hifugao people, only twenty Battlemancers existed. Its trials made the headhunters' initiation look infantile by comparison. That is why there is usually only one per generation, and it just so happens that the current Battlemancer was nearing the end of his life.
Jatari accepted the invitation, wholeheartedly. The years spent traveling abroad had crystallized his Hifugao pride. Experiencing the world emboldened him, not to just become a vanguard for his people, but to make better changes for them and their future. Obtaining such a title would grant many opportunities to enact such a change. After five unspeakable years of grueling preparation, he resurfaced to this realm as a Hifugao Battlemancer.
The cowardly child predestined to live a fisherman's life now stood as a warrior herald of his people. As Battlemancer, Jatari was tasked to more high profile contracts, many of which involved Hifugao trade and diplomacy. According to the tribe, his main goal was to maintain healthy relations with the kingdoms of Telduria, but Jatari has other ambitions for his people...
Carlyle