Nha Uluqu

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Background

Nha Uluqu is a monk who traveled across the desert in Lasaedar to reach the country of Juno in the West.

• Age: 19
• Birthdate: January 15
• Sign: Capricorn
• Height: 5'9.5", Athletic build
• Weight: 150lbs.
• Sex: Female (Difficult to determine by appearance)
• Race: Human (Eastern Lasaedar Descent)
• Hair: Black
• Eyes: Brown
• Alignment: Lawful Good
• Instruments: Teeth
• Primary Weapon(s): Unarmed Combat, Shuriken
• Other Weapons: Kama, Javelin, Sling, Crossbow
• Role in Party: +31 on Jump Checks
• Outlook: "If we all work together, we can make the world and ourselves better. Teamwork is our sharpest sword."
• Family:
  • Pi'Xiao Uluqu (father)
  • Qi'Lian Uluqu (mother)
  • Jhong He Uluqu (brother, eldest child)
  • Ting Uluqu (sister, second eldest child)
  • Dhana Uluqu (elder sister, third eldest child)
  • Hahde Uluqu (elder brother, fourth eldest child)
  • Kuwuh Uluqu (elder sister, fifth eldest child)
  • Khaa Uluqu (elder brother, sixth child)
  • Ghanzhia Uluqu (elder sister, seventh child)
  • Min Je Uluqu (elder brother, eighth child)
  • He Jo Uluqu (younger brother, tenth child)
  • Bhet Uluqu (younger sister, eleventh child)
  • Yong Zhe Uluqu (younger brother, twelfth child)
  • Lhet'ji Uluqu (younger sister, thirteenth child)

Story

Nha Uluqu was the ninth born child to Pi'Xiao and Qi'Lian Uluqu. Pi'Xiao's clan, the crab clan, has an ancient tradition of sending every third child away to join a monastic order. As the third of four monk children, Gnaat grew up in the shadows of her elder siblings, Dhonnah and Khaa. She was never as quick or as quick-witted as either of them, but her sheer strength made up for it. Her unusually muscular build led her to follow in her brother Khaa's path to master the Snake System (a martial art centered around grappling).

Life in the monastery was boring. The elders were very aloof, and the daily work as a scribe or a smith's assistant was less than thrilling. When she had become an adult, Nha left the monastery, as was the tradition in her order, to return only when she had traveled across the land to find enlightenment. Most of the itinerant monks from the order never return from their journeys, and the few who do remain in the monastery as elders to watch over the younger members. Upon leaving the monastery, Nha took on Heironeous as a patron deity, with the aim of gaining enlightenment by his righteousness. Her wooden holy symbol is an eastern stylization of a lightning bolt called "Vajra" that is sometimes used by monks as a weapon.

Khaa, three years Nha's senior, left the monastery and immediately pursued more education as a follower of Wee Jas. A few years earlier, Dhonnah had left for the western lands to instill order in the name of Hextor. Yong Zhe was still training as a student when Nha left, and he may or may not have gone out on his own yet. Nobody knows!

Monks leaving the monastery must pass a certain trial that leaves their forearms marked with the images of a crab and a tiger.

Lineage and Training

The combat philosophy practiced by the monks of Nha's order was originally developed by opponents of the Pavel Empire several centuries before Lasaedar became independent as a country. This martial arts style, called "Pi'Xiao Mun" is centered around the counterbalance of strength and mobility, which is why Nha is likely to spend a given instance in combat by devoting it to either moving a great distance or by standing still and attacking an enemy.

In Common, "Pi'Xiao Mun" can be translated to mean "Family of Stones." According to legend, the art is named after the legendary monk known as Pi'Xiao Stajiaman, which means "Immovable Stone." Stories are told of his supernatural ability to make himself completely still, resistant to any outside force.

The earliest parts of Nha's training in Pi'Xiao Mun consisted of assuming the low, powerful stances common to the style and standing still for as long as a few hours on end. When Nha was around seven years old, she began learning the different animal forms that have become a classic training tool of Pi'Xiao Mun. Every year or two, she began training in a new form until she had reached a decent level of proficiency in the Snake, Crane, Jaguar, and Crab systems. Nha also studied the Tiger System, but she tends to avoid using its lessons in combat.

Role in Party

As a monk, Nha's combat skills lie in moving around the battlefield quickly and doing as much damage in as little a span of time as possible. However, the acrobatic nature of her martial arts keep her from wearing armor, so she is unable to take very much damage. When engaged in single combat with heavily armored opponent, Gnaat's grappling skills grant her the upper hand.

Outside of combat, Nha typically serves a limited role in diplomatic situations, and usually defaults to the role of looking tough as a silent, dangerous, body-guard sort. Also, she occasionally uses her athletic skills to perform alongside of Olio as a tumbler.

Past experiences have taught Nha to simply avoid philosophical conflict in the social world, rather than to seek it out and challenge it. She may be interested in righting some injustice, but her reasoning does not allow her to take action against someone simply because they are mean-spirited.

Psychology

Nha has a tendency to make bad first impressions with people she meets, often appearing childish or otherwise irresponsible. Over-confidence in her abilities as an athlete and an acrobat drive her to constantly challenge herself to attempt ridiculous feats of agility and strength. Such endeavors typically end in either marginal or complete failure, which makes her want to try harder, as she believes that she has the potential to succeed at anything if she puts enough effort into it. "Failure means that I haven't practiced enough."

In combat, Nha tries to "do her own thing" in such a way as to help the whole party. Her land speed can be leant well to certain tactics, but the physical separation from everyone else can make communication difficult. She likes to think that she's been around the others for long enough that they can interpret each other's actions well enough to function as an effective team without too many words exchanged.

Having never really known her parents or most of her siblings (all of them save Dhonnah, Kha, and Yong Zhe), has never really had an opportunity to develop significant and lasting relationships with anyone. Her fellow monks at the monastery were like a family, but they were all somewhat alienated from one another in their individual pursuits of power. Everyone that Gnaat has met since then has been a fairly transient relationship. Having spent nearly a year with her new friends has been an unusual experience for Gnaat, but she is steadily forming stronger bonds with the other members of her party. Over time, she was losing sight of her original goal of perfection in favor of being there to support the endeavors of her friends in whatever way she can, but recent events have set her more or less back on track for her own self-centered motivations.

Alignment

Nha is Lawful Good. She was raised according to ancient traditions and, so far, they have dictated most of her decisions. Gnaat has a very strong sense of honor and wants to help people when she can, but her experiences in the past few years (and especially her time with the party) have changed her ideals to some extent, causing her to care more about the "Good" part and less about the "Lawful" part. Another inhibitor of her personal sense of honor is drastic change in societal standards from her homeland. Gnaat grew up in a place where the only punishment for crime was death, and most people were worth less than the dirt that they lived and worked on. It was a complete impossibility for someone to move beyond their "station" and become more than they were born to be. Champions of justice were born into their roles rather than answering calls from their patron deities. It is Nha's understanding that adherence to a code is what improves one's control over one's self, and stronger adherence tempered by adversity is the path to perfection.

Nha's adherence to order gives her a great appreciation for the concept of Equivalent Exchange. Criminals have forfeited their own rights and deserve to have taken from them what they took or tried to take from others. By this logic, Gnaat is able to justify use of (potentially deadly) force against those who break the law. "Strength lies in Preparation."

Stuff Right Now

It's a strange feeling. I never thought that it would be me to strike the final blow against Victor, and to have him direct his last words at me was disconcerting. As I watched him crumble in to dust before me, I felt nothing but confusion and fear. It was my hand that had doomed all of those people to a terrible fate, but I think that it was for the best. It's for their memory that we need to make this world a better place.

Relationships

• Allerance Boudreaux III - I don't think I'll ever see him again.
• Mydo - Mydo is as dependable as ever. I don't think that he ever takes off that hat of his, and I kind of wonder what might happen if he did. I guess that it's magic now, too.
• Noodles - It's good to know that he was safe in the end, and he managed to save Searil with him! I had feared for the worst, but it looks like we'll all be able to work together to rebuild now.
• Gnaat - I've finally reached the level of understanding that I needed to return home to the monastery, but it's not even there anymore. I don't know if my siblings survived, or anyone else from our order, either.
• Olio - It looks like Olio is going to go off in search of fame and fortune again. I'm sure that she's got what it takes to succeed.
• Searil - I really had thought I'd lost her again, but Noodles made things right at the last second! It's great to be able to be together again.
• Raiden - It's time to make things right again. We'll stand together just like we always have!
• Aeleria- I don't know if I'll ever see her again.
• Raevyn - So I guess she's off seeking her fortune now too. I'm sure I'll see her around some time.
• Arinae - I don't know if she's somewhere out there or not. We both charged forward to destroy the phylactery, but I think she was killed by Shifty's magic. I can only hope that she's managed to gain some measure of wisdom from all that's happened.
• Alistin - It's good to see that she has still been working under Fred, but I don't know what happened to her after everything collapsed.
• Dresvan - I hope he was able to make it out okay.
• Shifty McGee - He's definitely still out there causing problems. Maybe we'll get the chance to try and help him again.
• Duffe McWeighlyn - I don't know what happened to him either. I hope he's alright.
• Tedrick - Just one of a lot of people who might have gotten screwed over.
• Sir Lawrence - I'm glad that he was able to make it back home alright. It's definitely good to have him with us while we rebuild.
• Helga - Scharr was able to restore her to us, and now they're off to make their own adventures! It's good to have a strong representative for our new order.
• Victor von Pthfonkenhausen - His last words were a little bit disturbing, but I'm not going to let myself be slowed down by them. I know that Raiden and the others will be able to support each other so that we can keep on the straight and narrow path. I've sworn by the wound in my chest to remember the promises we've made. Honestly, though, I really wish that I had thought to say something more meaningful in end. Somehow, "screw you" just doesn't seem as thoughtful as "At least the people will see the truth."
• Gnedde - I'm glad we were able to be close to each other in the end.
• Bob Thompson - He might still be around, but I don't think that the real St. Cuthbert would agree with his ways. He'll just have to find his way through this dangerous new world on his own!
• Scharr - In the end, I think he did the right thing. When we first met, I never would have imagined that he'd change so much. His redemption is inspiring.
• That Succubus - Jerk!...That was my first kiss. I don't know if it counts, though. More importantly, I think those Succubi things and those other demon types are on the loose somewhere now! We ought to try and find them so we can send them back home.

Quotes

"...And then you just built more closets to keep more bloodthirsty monsters in! Why would you do that? That's really just a very mean-spirited thing to do. I can't believe that someone could be so mean, you really shouldn't... you.. it's not right... you're... a bad man!"

Gnaat: "What about this thing then?"

Scharr: "Wait, that's totally my scythe!"

Gnaat: "Really? Wow! Can I keep it?"

Scharr: "...Yeah, sure, whatever. Go ahead."

Gnaat: "Ok, I'm totally gonna throw this at something."

Scharr: "There's nothing wrong with kissing someone on the cheek! I kiss my mother on the cheek!"

Gnaat: "That's sick."

(To Helga) "What do you like to play?"

(Later, to Scharr) "She says that she likes personal matters.

Gnaat: "Hello there!"

Cape-Boy: "Oh no, it's you!"

*Explode!*

"That's not racism, that's a choice demographic!"

Victor: "Now you've doomed us all. You will only become the tyrant I once was."

Gnaat: "...Screw you!"