Memphis
Born as the son to a noble family in the Golden Canal Clan of Tabaxi, on the continent of Pirànjù, he began life with the name Dune Under Starlight. He received his namesake after the night he was born; when his mother, Loyal Scribe, was taken to the sands outside of the oasis settlement which the clan calls home. She gave birth to her only son under the clearest night sky the clan had seen in a long time, with her husband, Oath of Guard, by her side. They named their child Dune Under Starlight - affectionately shortened to Starlight - to commemorate the beautiful night they brought their first child into the world.
Growing up, Starlight was given the very prim and proper upbringing expected of him. There were many rituals and rites that he had to be a part of due to his family’s close relations and servitude to the leaders of the clan. On top of this, although learning the traditional ways of their clan’s combat and stealth techniques from his father was actually an obligation he both enjoyed and excelled in, he eventually grew distasteful of his position and yearned to get away from the life that had been set out before him.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
One day - in Starlight’s late teen’s he decided to give up his responsibilities to the clan, and move away a decision that his parents were deeply hurt by, but ultimately respected. Starlight decided, from that day forth, to go by Memphis.
In the beginning Memphis was forced to resort to his expertise in stealth and fleet-footedness to steal food and money to get by. After some time his skills were noticed by a local gang who offered him work as low-level muscle for various criminal jobs. It soon became apparent however, that Memphis’ deft skills and ruthless approach to his missions were too great for such a low-level position and eventually he began to seek a bigger pond to swim in. The gang who initially took him in felt slighted and attempted to murder him in cold blood as a form of vengeance. Memphis was too good for them however, and after a long skirmish in the seedy back streets of the city, he emerged victorious, despite being outnumbered 17 to 1.
Immediately after this confrontation, a woman named Janin skulked out from the shadows, clapping. She praised Memphis for his ferocity and penchant for violence, and thanked him for single-handedly wiping out the gang that was encroaching on her organisation’s territory. She offered him permanent work as a contract-killer in an elite assassin’s guild she headed. Over a short number of years Memphis grew to the highest rank available to a member of the assassin’s guild: Blade of Grass. The Blades of Grass were Janin’s personal, handpicked choices for the deadliest and highest paying contracts, and there could only ever be three at a time. The other Blades of Grass were a half-drow named Chakkas Illoryn, and a Kenku named Strangler; both of whom Memphis worked very closely with once he progressed to the top of the guild.
Failures & Embarrassments
One day Memphis was handed a contract by Janin, but to his surprise he saw that the target of the hit was a member of his clan. He told Janin that he could not take the contract due to a conflict of interests and recommended she instead extend the contract to either Chakkas or Strangler. Janin understood and accepted, even thanking Memphis for his forthrightness and professionalism. However, Memphis then went behind the guild’s back and sent a letter to the clan warning the individual to go into hiding. Memphis believed he had gotten away with it, but little did he know that someone in the guild had spotted him sending the warning and informed Janin of his transgression. So, the next time Janin summoned him, she offered him an anonymous contact for a higher pay; something he had been known to do before. Upon accepting the contract on the unnamed target, Memphis began to devise a plan alongside Chakkas and Strangler, offering them a cut of the bounty. The target was said to have a daily route upon which the other two Blades of Grass could pick them up, gag them and drag them into a dim back-alley, where Memphis would be waiting on a nearby rooftop with a shortbow, ready to take the killing shot. So, the next day, Memphis waited - perched on his rooftop - after a while seeing Chakkas and Strangler bringing through a struggling figure with a burlap sack tied over their head, exactly where they had planned. Standing up, Memphis loosed an arrow from his bow and directly into the head with the bag over it, instantly making the target go limp. When Memphis dropped down to confirm his kill however, the other two beat him within an inch of his life and left him on the streets for dead.
After mustering the strength to leave the scene and go into hiding, Memphis rested to let his wounds heal before leaving Piranju altogether. On the run from Janin - fearing she would find out he survived if he stayed there - Memphis instead fled to Basora, a place he knew he could continue the work he had grown so used to, with no other constant left in his life. He eventually found work for a new guild and deals with a new handler, a middle-aged human man called Teo Navarro.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Recently, Memphis was given a job by Teo, to meet with a client in 'The Jealous Hand' Tavern in Fort Serenity. The Mysterious Stranger gave him a contract to infiltrate a facility in Menarabu, with the objective of stealing a piece of high-tech, experimental equipment, designed to kill both organic and inorganic life. This weapon is supposedly a revival of the old ‘Project Aboleth.’ In addition to this, he was also tasked to kill the head scientist in charge of the project, a Gith named Kybrus. During the mission, Memphis was able to infiltrate the facility without detection. However, once he was able to recover the experimental weapon, the plan was met with an unexpected complication. The hulking, massive, mechanical figure of Vice Commander Darmith lowered into the chamber. It seemed that Memphis was trapped until the world around him froze and time stood still for all but him. The stranger who hired him for this job then appeared before Memphis, and told him the true purpose of his mission. He showed Memphis a vision of a world-ending threat, and told him that he was needed to help prevent the end of all life as we know it. Believing this may be his chance to redeem his actions, Memphis agreed to join a group of warriors that the Stranger had pooled together to fight this new threat. As a show of good faith, Memphis was allowed to keep the weapon, an A.I. named AB013TH-2.0. The true power of this weapon he cannot yet comprehend. Memphis has now spent a couple of weeks with his new companions for this mission: Barrisar, Borghur Gro-Baruuk, Carthus, Ladrian Tarquillian and Tom Avraeman. Unsure of how he fits into this equation just yet, Memphis is simply focusing on the goal of preserving the world.
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