000 ~ Biography

[darkwingsofkilvas]

"If the pay is right, there's nothing I won't do."

B A S I C S;

Name: Naesala
Title(s): King Kilvas, Raven King
Canon Point: Before the RD character endings
Age: Looks 25
Gender: Male
Species: Raven Laguz
Marital Status: Single
Occuation: ???

P E R M I S S I O N S;

Backtagging: Yes
Threadjacking: Yes
Forth-Walling: No
Mindreading: Yes
Fighting: Yes
Injury: Yes
Romance: Ask First
Smut: Ask First

P L A Y E R;

Name: Ashley
Age: Over 18
Timezone: US Central
Contact: evilbo

H I S T O R Y;

On the continent of Tellius, there are animal shapeshifters named laguz, who are often at odds with beorc (humans). These laguz are split into different bloodlines and nations based on what animal they are able to transform into, and all laguz have pointed ears and additional animal features in their human form (excepting the dragons), with the bird laguz sporting wings. Though in the distant history of Tellius laguz were once in power, in the modern age human nations rule, and they show terrible prejudice towards laguz. They are referred to as 'sub-humans' by many beorc, often shunned and feared, and still secretly captured as slaves by the country of Begnion even after the law granting them freedom. That it's taboo for both races to have children together doesn't help this situation. This is why most laguz are reclusive, largely staying in the safety of their own nations and only joining the political world stage when absolutely necessary.

Among the raven laguz, kings are chosen by their cunning and wisdom, not by bloodline. How exactly Naesala ended up at the top of this pecking order to become the king of Kilvas is a mystery that he declines to elaborate upon. What we know of Naesala's background is that he was childhood friends with the royal heron siblings Reyson and Leanne, and that his aide Nealuchi has been Naesala's caretaker since he was hatched. Presumably Naesala had good enough familial connections to be friends with the heron royals despite staring so far from achieving the throne.

Kilvas itself is a poor island nation, covered with craggy peaks that are difficult to access without wings. The country was founded in the year 420 when the raven laguz decided to live apart from the hawk laguz due to their different views. Kilvas became known for unscrupulous dealings like national espionage, kidnappings, and assassinations. This status quo continued with Naesala in power, particularly the practice of pillaging ships in nearby waters for cargo and loot.

The year 646 marks the start of the Mad King's War, a conflict that began when the nation of Daein suddenly invaded Crimea. While the powerful Daein nearly wiped out the other nation, the Greil Mercenaries and the Crimean Liberation Army gained enough of a following to fight back. Naesala had a part in this war, though it was not quite obvious at first, as he spends the first part of the conflict helping his men raid ships before literally selling Reyson off to a member of the Begnion senate. Reyson was saved by the Greil Mercenaries before Naesala could presumably break him back out. While Naesala had been hired by Daein to aid their fight, he retreats from the battlefield when he discovers that Reyson and Leanne have joined the opposite side. He soon after rescues Leanne from captivity and is guilted into throwing his support in with the underdogs. In the end, the Mad King Ashnard was killed before he could realize his goal of freeing an imprisoned Dark God by engulfing the continent in war.

With their king dead, Daein was defeated and put under control of the theocratic country Begnion while Crimea began to rebuild. Three years later, the cruel occupation of Daein lead to the formation of the Dawn Brigade, who stood in opposition to the Begnion army. Meanwhile, the bird and beast tribes of laguz joined together in the Laguz Alliance in response to Begnion's hostility in refusing to answer for the slaughter of the heron laguz perpetrated by their people 20 years ago. Though concerned about freeing the Dark God, the Greil Mercenaries joined the Laguz Alliance, while the newly-liberated Daein is forced to join Begnion's side thanks to the curse of the Blood Pact.

A Blood Pact is a magical contract that binds the person who signs it to the person who wrote the contract. A magical tattoo appears on the signee's wrist to designate that they're bound by the pact. When the signee does not follow the will of the owner of the contract, a curse can be evoked that slowly kills the citizens of their country. We're introduced to this concept by being told a story - a story of the (winged) king of a new nation who stopped following orders after signing a blood pact. On the first day the curse took effect, only one person died, but then two more died the next day, and three more on the third... and on it went. The king begged for mercy after 30 days, but the holder of the contract let the curse run for a full 100 days before it stopped. After that time, near half the kingdom was dead, along with the king's own wife and child.

Back to the conflict at hand, Naesala suddenly betrayed the Laguz Alliance by tricking the hawk king Tibarn and his men into attacking the main unit of the Begnion army instead of a supply caravan. This turns out to be a distraction, as while Tibarn was occupied on the battlefield, Begnion forces attacked the hawk nation and slaughtered many of its citizens. Naesala himself disappears for a time before we see him accompanying the young Begnion apostle Sanaki, who approaches the Laguz Alliance with the news that she had been imprisoned by her corrupt senate, who has wrested Begnion from her rule.

In the midst of all this fighting, the medallion in which the Dark God is imprisoned glows brighter and brighter. It's in the middle of a terrible battle that heroes on both side of the conflict come together, forced to free the Dark God from the medallion with a song called the Galdr of Release, as allowing the Dark God to be freed from the chaos of war would be all the more disastrous. This god, named Yune, then explains that she is truly the goddess of freedom and chaos, and the goddess Ashera who is universally worshiped is the goddess of order and restriction. The races of Tellius were meant to refrain from war for 1000 years before waking both goddesses, and in that they had failed miserably.

Our heroes, Naesala included, stepped outside of the temple to discover that Ashera had already passed her judgement - by turning nearly everyone else on the continent to stone. Yune leads them to the Tower of Guidance where Ashera slumbers, with the fate of the world on their shoulders. The other laguz rulers are eager to spill Naesala's blood for his betrayal, but he narrowly convinces them to put off his punishment until they get the whole end-of-the-world business figured out. It's later revealed that Naesala himself was constrained under a Blood Pact, one that he inherited from the previous ruler of Kilvas. It was the Blood Pact that forced him to side with Begnion and betray his own people, but Naesala found a loophole in serving Sanaki, the absolute ruler of Begnion, instead of the will of the corrupt senate. The holder of the Blood Pact is defeated in battle, and Naesala's curse is lifted along with that of Daein's.

The group faces hard battles between the blessed chosen of Ashera, the dragon laguz who stand on her side, and the reveal that Sanaki's prime minister and caretaker, Sephiran, was the mastermind behind influencing both wars to awaken Ashera. In the end, the heroes are successful in defeating Ashera, allowing Yune to restore the lives of the petrified citizens before she too disappears.

In the aftermath, Sanaki is restored as Begnion's leader, and the war ends for good as the other nations go back to the task of picking up the pieces. We learn that the bird laguz are planning to reunite their separate nations into one country, as they used to be.

P E R S O N A L I T Y;

Naesala is far more complicated than he appears, and he prefers to keep it that way. On the surface he is clever, calm, and confident, with a self-admitted shameless streak and a touch of snarky arrogance that seems to include little pity for the weak. He's also a fantastic liar, and all-around gives off the impression of being a stereotype of raven laguz - ruthless, self-interested, and obsessed with wealth. Having encouraged his people to become thieves and pirates for the sake of his poor nation's coffers, Naesala makes no secret of being fond of coin and often took lucrative jobs for wealthy clients himself, stealing expensive items and sometimes even people (which his friend Reyson was not quick to forgive, despite Naesala’s intention to eventually rescue him). During both the Mad King’s War and the Laguz Alliance that followed, Naesala betrayed each side he was on to defect to the other, which somehow still came as a surprise when it happened the second time around.

Both betrayal situations were quite different in the end. The first time, him and his countrymen had been paid to fight for the kingdom of Daein, and he was quick to retreat from battle and turn to the other side when he discovered that the royal heron laguz Reyson and Leanne were fighting for Daein's enemies. The second time, a magical curse called the Blood Pact forced him to betray and abandon the newly-formed Laguz Alliance, an act which lead to a large number of hawk laguz civilians being slain in an attack on their homeland.

The truth is that for all that Naesala seems content with being regarded as untrustworthy, those ruthless and shady actions he took during his reign were done to either increase Kilvas' waning power or to protect its citizens from dying over any refusal to follow the Blood Pact. If these events prove anything, it's that Naesala has both smarts and tenacity in abundance - and a complete willingness to play the villain, if that's what it takes to protect those he cares about. Naesala was ready to do anything in order to ensure the survival of his people, and in the process often twisted situations to make sure that the heron royals in particular (who were his childhood friends) were not harmed, if he could help it. His betrayals completely demolished Naesala's reputation among his allies, leading even his friends to believe that he was a scoundrel and a traitor, but this was a mantle he wore willingly (and even encouraged - when his aide guilts him into fighting against Daein, Naesala later complains that being so helpful will ruin his image).

Despite the masks Naesala likes to show to others, we see him becoming more and more self-deprecating after betraying the Laguz Alliance, even directly stating that he deserves to be torn apart. He also refuses to use the Blood Pact as an excuse for his treachery, pointing out that what he did was still unforgivable, no matter the circumstances. At the end of Radiant Dawn, we learn that the bird laguz have decided to unite their countries under the hawk king Tibarn. Naesala's personal ending states that he later leaves this country and attempts to atone for his actions by working as a diplomat.

One important thing to know is that most laguz are naturally wary if not outright hostile of beorc (aka humans), having been formerly enslaved by them and still very often faced with violence or hatred. Naesala himself differs from the norm in that he recognizes that humans have many uses, and so he doesn't hesitate to work with them even if he still seems to dislike them as a whole. He's far less dismissive of those humans who have either proven themselves competent or managed to earn his esteem.

A B I L I T I E S;

Naesala is a laguz, a member of a race of shape-shifting humanoids who belong to various bloodlines that in turn determine what animal traits they possess. Naesala belongs to the raven tribe, which is generally characterized by their swiftness in combat compared to other laguz. Bird laguz all possess a feathered pair of wings that they can use to fly even in their humanoid forms. They're also able to change their shape into that of a larger version of the animal they resemble; Naesala's raven form in particular is big enough to fly carrying a human on his back or in his talons (though both at once would be a strain depending on the weight involved). Laguz are also able to speak clearly while in their animal forms.

Laguz typically only engage in combat while transformed - mostly because they culturally shun the use of human weapons, being stronger in their animal forms and able to use their powerful beaks and talons. Like the hawks, raven laguz also choose their kings based on who among them is the 'most exceptional'. Even if the ravens care for cunning more than strength, Naesala is demonstrably stronger than all other raven laguz in the game, able to withstand more blows and use his natural weapons to greater effect. Additionally has no time limits on how long he can remain in his raven form, whereas most normal laguz would find it tiring and eventually have to change back.

"My first priority is my people.
As long as they're safe, it doesn't matter one whit what the rest of the world thinks of me."

♥