Zaakia Twice-Orphaned
Zaakia Twice-Orphaned
Mental characteristics
Personal history
(Zaakia is a tortle that believes she is a deformed Goliath).
Zaakia was raised by the Kolakalathi clan. The clan told her that they found her next to her dead mother and decided to take her in, a fact that she is reminded of often. She was raised to believe that her shell and scales were diseased, and it was probably this disease that killed her ‘Goliath’ mother. She has always felt guilty for being the cause of her mother’s death and the clan remind her of it often. At only 6ft 5, she was the smallest of the Kolakalathi clan and was sent out into the mountains they called home as a hunter-gatherer as they believed that was all she was worth.
Just before her ‘coming of age ceremony’, she had a fight with Gramul Kolakalathi, the son of the chief Iralock. Gramul was the biggest bully of the clan: power-hungry and selfish but weak-minded. He often hid behind the more capable members of the clan and got them to do his bidding. He particularly liked to tease and taunt Zaakia about her appearance and inferiority among the clan. One day, his abuse became too much for Zaakia and, in her defence, she forcibly pushed him away. Their fight was close to the precipitous edge of the mountain they call home and he fell to his death. She was forced to retrieve the body and was then outcast. She was warned that if she ever returned, she would be killed immediately.
Though she may not have been treated well by the Kolakalathis, it was the only family she knew and it took her a while to adapt. She had lost the protection of a 30-strong clan in a dangerous place. Luckily, her skills as a hunter-gatherer came in useful and she managed to get by for a while. She made her way past the mountains and into the nearby forest: The Clinwin Woods. Naïve and alone, she was preyed upon by bandits and criminals. She tried to find areas that were more built up to seek shelter and protection, but she was judged and shamed for her appearance. She retreated back to the wilds, gave herself a new name and has stayed there ever since. The pain that she has endured since birth has led her to behave aggressively and abrasively towards most people that she comes across. She is extremely untrustworthy of strangers. Despite this, she is very gentle and kind towards the natural world, as it has always treated her with kindness.
Now, the forest that she dwells in is being cut down to make way for a new settlement. Enraged by the maltreatment of the natural world, she confronts the builders and tells them to leave her land. They laugh at her and tell her that it is actually the Governor's land, and he has paid them a large sum of money to clear it. She is now travelling to his castle to meet with the Mayor and ask him to leave her forest alone.
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