Shabaka

The Merchant, Son of Herneith, Shabaka

Mental characteristics

Personal history

As long as he could remember, Shabaka has spent much of his developing life under the tutelage of his mother, Herneith. Though the quality of life was comfy, and money was never an issue, it wasn't enough to sate the yearning in his being that has been growing gradually throughout his teenage years. As he neared adulthood, he recognized that the emptiness he was feeling internally was from the lack of self-fulfillment, to make a name for himself for that it was Herneith's vision and tenacity that Galleria Cakery, a marvelously, prosperous bakery shop, has become such a hit in the city, and he was just the beneficiary of it. Sure, Shabaka lends a paw every so often when it comes to executing more simpler orders, fills in as a janitor whenever the time calls for it, and usually audits the daily revenue and the finances of the bakery, it was only a blimp in comparison to Herneith's body of work, her ability to create such glamorous and appetizing pastries in a variety of structures only the most talented can even rival. His mother's accomplishments have overtaken his identity to the point that most of the commoners in the city that even knew of his existence only recognized him for being the son of the esteemed Herneith, usually being labeled "Herneith's son", "Mr. Herneith", or just "the Janny from Galler". For the lack of respect given to his name, the shortcoming of having anything material, including his clothes, to call his own, and the feeling of inadequacy that threatens to overwhelm his being, he decides to outright leave and take on a dicey venture.
Though Shabaka explicitly wanted no help of any kind to live off on his own, he reluctantly took the gold and silver pieces Herneith offered him before his departure, for that she wouldn't have stopped her incessant bickering over his wellbeing otherwise.
With the days of baking goods behind him, he ventured off and scoured the for a new profession that he sees fitting for a cat of his self-conceited stature, acquiring a job as an accountant for Diamond Dreams, a compact store that's home of some of the most grandiose of jewelry, some that'll even make noble heads swirl by not only their glamorous beauty, but the outrageous rates of them as well.
Stone, the owner of Diamond Dreams, was very delighted with the interview, only having glowing appraise for the young Purrsian. Still, he was wary of the cat, for he felt a ghastly presence from within him, and from that day on he kept a keen eye on Shabaka to catch any extraordinary happenings that can pop up from or around this otherwise ordinary feline and act accordingly. Regardless he was simply ecstatic to have such a gifted individual in his labor pool.
After years of working at Diamond Dreams as an accountant, and going up and beyond for the store by finding cheaper mineral distributors that'll do the job just as good, or even better, Stone Smith caught Shabaka, who stayed late to finish the last of last month's financial statements and was just about to make his trek home and gave the young cat a beautifully crafted hunter-case pocket watch as an anniversary gift to show his appreciation of Shabaka's efforts on the job. The pocket watch has reflective gold plating covering the entire exterior of it, and a full body of Shabaka's form ingrained on the face of the clock itself, detailed with shimmering gold on most of it, brilliant silver placed in areas that would contrast in color from Shabaka's main coat color. Astounded by the sudden gift, he gave his gratitude to Stone Smith and perched the pocket watch on his outfit to show the world the exceptional work put into the watch.
Let's just say that he received some attention. Just not the kind he was aiming for.
Shabaka made it a little beyond halfway towards home, the sun just about gone over the edge of the horizon at the time and the streets practically barren of other. He was still in awe at the prodigious watch. He just couldn't believe his employer went out of his way to create a gift with such exquisite intricacies, a one-of-of-kind just for him. No sooner than he placed the accessory back in its prior dwelling, a short, but thunderous "Hey!" cracks in the air. The feline, being quite spooked, quickly turns around, instantly locking eyes on the owner of that sudden outburst.
Two stallions were slowly advancing towards Shabaka, the pussy soon realizing they weren't looking to just chat. Both wore ski masks, long-sleeve shirts, and pants, all of which was black, one being a unicorn, and the other likely an earth pony.
Shabaka hastily turned and attempted to sprint off and lose these likely thugs yet was stopped dead in his tracks when some strange force started to tug on his pocket watch. It slipped out of its holding and proceeded to float over towards his pursuers. Though a wiser Purrsian would simply let them take the device, for though it is a special gift, it is replaceable. Risking his life for it is a fool's errand.
Such thoughts weren't even present as Shabaka took holding of the flying pocket watch, practically playing tug of war. He couldn't let these scumbags run off with such a precious accessory that Stone put his invaluable time into designing just for him.
While he was struggling with the magical pull, one of the crooks snuck up and got clocked in the side, causing him to tumble over and slide a little on the ground. "This doohickey’s ours now, kitty cat. This watch will surely score us some pieces.", the attacker announces with pride.
As the bandits started their walk back with their reward in tow, Shabaka begun to stand back on all fours, fuming from the mockery and them daring to snag what's exclusively for him, a gift from the stallion he looks up to for his wisdom he passed to him, and the daily grind he outputs to keep the store at such elevated standards. As he got back to his wits, shadowy energy started to produce around his paws, an ancient ire not of his own with intensity Shabaka didn't even know he's capable of possessing.
"Agony will be your entire existence if you don't give it back."
His voice dripping with malice, with a hoarse, strangely feminine echo intertwining with his own. Despite the irregular tone, the command struck unease into the duo, halting their proud gait. One of the robbers glanced back, doing a double take. "Was that supposed to startle us?" he expounds with hollow bravado, a sudden tightness of his throat, making the retort seem even less convincing
The quasi-gutsy stallion suddenly stood petrified as the Purrsian became absolutely enveloped in a thick, purple, sooty cloud, the lingering feeling of dread swelling inside the ponies as they stare upon the scene. When the smoke finally disperses, the creature that stood there wasn't the cat from before, but a horrible, withered being with a scowl sketched on its face. Before the stallions could conceive what, they were witnessing the cryptic individual declared a simple yet damning command that neither could ignore if they tried: "Cease".
The befuddled ponies were suddenly caught in a stasis, both unmoving as the cryptic figure saunters in their vicinity and snatch the watch out of the horse's grasp, no retaliation coming from the unusually still miscreants. Soon after seizing the pocket watch, the hideous figure reformed back to the previously absent Shabaka, who was looking upon the scene with confusion, having no recollection of reattaining his prized possesion, and soon laying his eyes back on the 2 criminals.
As he geared up to make a mad dash to his house, Shabaka soon realized the two weren't making any moves towards him. Even more strange that the two were immobile, as if they were statues. Frightened by the thought that whatever came upon them may become his fate, the scaredy cat made haste to his haven and hurriedly got into his bed, hoping that no more misfortunes come upon him for the rest of the night as unconsciousness slowly overtook him.
As he fully delves into slumber, a rickety, feminine voice echoes inside his subconscious. "It seems that my essence has finally awaken within you."
Shabaka, though never experiencing such clarity in in dreams before, still tries to converse with this disembodied speaker, asking, "who are y-".
"You've inherited a curse that will flow through you and your future generations," the mysterious speaker asserts gleefully.
Figuring that this was either some one-sided message or his subconscious forcing him on the rails, Shabaka decides to simply listen to her lecture. Mentally taking notes throughout the explanation she gave with a rather abnormally cheery tone, Shabaka put two and two together on what has transpired last night. According to this bodiless speaker, she's a hag who had an intimate relationship with his dad, Hager, only a year and a half before his birth, though according to his mother Herneith, she and Hager were married for nearly 2 years before his birth. The crone didn't cast this jinx directly upon Shabaka, rather it was his father who houses the core of this sorcery, and though he himself won't display any aberrant features, his direct descendants will exude attributes of this beldam to forever remind Hager and his family of his fault of ever leaving her, and to illustrate to Hager that she'll never become just another memory in his life.
His emotional eruption was the catalyst that roused the hex that soon consumed Shabaka during his outrage, transforming him into a haggish form that basks in tormenting its victims to make them experience suffering the corrupt entity regards as tantamount to its own.
"The curse will overwhelm you, using you as the means to take vegeance against those it considers to have wronged you, friend or for, even if your authentic feelings are comparatively tame in comparison. Ties to those you cherish will go spoiled as mine has with my once dear beloved Hager!"
With this damning proclamation she was no more in his  head, leaving the cat to his subconscious thoughts for the rest of the night.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Herneith: She is Shabaka's mother and is the owner of the prestige Galleria Cakery located in Bellmare. Thanks to her headstrong determination, she has built a relatively grandiose amount of wealth and a grand status that her and her kindred can appreciate for generations.
As she is exceptionally proud of her culture, she can be rather critical on Shabaka's fashion and choices in life whenever they don't align with the traditions of Bellmare and the Purrsian that reside within. Nevertheless her love for Shabaka will never shy away, even if she finds some of his decisions to be distasteful.
With her no nonsense attitude her social circle is tightly-knitted and she won't hold her tongue for someone she finds abhorrently disagreeable.
She also despises loitering.
Stone Smith: Denizen of Basin Sage and the boss of Diamond Dreams, he's an accomplished jewel crafter that sifts through everything within with a fine-tooth comb. He'll cast a single band of gold until it's near-symmetry perfect, display his jewelry with such a symmetry that you wouldn't be able to miss his works if you tried, and can unbelievably pick out seemingly every facet of an individual's character if he feels the need to do so.
He appreciates all of his workers, and rewards them handsomely if they have absolutely exceeded what their job asked of them. In his courteous nature, he's a fair stallion that will hear a pony out no matter the ludicrousness of their words if he they are honest about them. He has the loftiest of respect towards Shabaka for the Purssian lent a paw in his shop, his biggest contribution was bringing in alternative imports of precious mineral that were more cost effective.
Nightingloom: A unicorn with a dusky complexion. As Shabaka's utmost esteemed companion and the versifier of the Black Markets, whenever you catch an elaborate tune under a moonlit sky, you may be in the presence of this performer of the night. As a well-versed traveler of the underworld and with his ears close to the streets, Nightingloom partaken in shady dealings of many shades of illegality and has created music notes that many dwellers of the underground utilize to traverse these infamous markets.
Through a rather abrupt assessment and a rather obscured test, Nightningloom has taken a liking to Shabaka and ushered him under his wing to bring upon knowledge of the esoteric world Shabaka once was chiefly uninformed on, benefitting in one another's company for Nightingloom brought to Shabaka mysterious artifacts that elevated the traffic to his shop, and clients to be more liberal in their coins, and in exchange Shabaka accommodated the nightly flutist in commerce, making negotiations go without a hitch more often, and minimalizing the additional sweets to get a concession for trades.
Though they once exclusively kept each other's company for their own gain, they've matured a friendship that grew to unimaginable heights, even to a point that they've begun to see each other outside of black market exploit and shared intimate baggage with each other, making their relationship all the more unyielding.
All of which met an abrupt close as Nightingloom bitten into an arrangement that was much to daunting for him to endure it unscathed. Since then Shabaka has set out to help his colleague triumph over this perpetual nightmare.
Mubarak: This Purrsian can't get enough of the spotlight, a fact which Shabaka knows like the back of his paw, much to the latter's dismay. Mubarak will grab the spotlight whenever he can, moving the focal point of discussions towards himself or whatever flavor of topic he's interested in at the moment. Though you'd think this would get him less than pleasant reception, his unbridled intuitiveness and bustling bravado gets everyone in the mood of heading his words, even if they're complete hogwash.
One such creature to be enraptured by his tides of vocal enthusiasm was the young Shabaka himself. Mubarak, though not the mature hustler as he is now, had quite the impressive front, buttering Shabaka up with smooth murmurs of enchanted footwear, claims to grant the user the ability to jump absurdly vast crevices with just 1 leap. Try as he hammered the point home and even demonstrated the capabilities of the shoes, Shabaka saw through the ploy and proceeded to dice up the demonstration and the magical power the shoes supposedly held. Once he wrapped up the explanation Mubarak, though flustered in the moment, quickly recovered in astonishment of Shabaka and proceeded to associate with the feline, the two quickly becoming friends and teaching each other the arts of their respective fields.

Shabaka, a once rather simple merchant, had a major part of his life yanked away by an indomitable force. Now he venture through the world of Astillon to solve his unfortunate predictament.

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Alignment

Neutral Good

Age

25

Date of Birth

20th of Fool's Watch

Birthplace

Bellmare

Current Residence

Basin Sage

Gender

Male

Eyes

Ruby Red

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Almond Brown

Height

4ft 1in

Weight

250 lbs.