A Field Guide to
Behl of the Okhaali-Rohazi
still a wip, excuse the mess!
About Her
When people were in serious trouble they went to a witch. Sometimes, of course, to say, “please stop doing it.
Please Note: The information here can be secretive and not always shared in public capacity. Use your best judgement and avoid roleplay with meta knowledge of private details. Thank you!BASICSName | Behl, sounding like the common word bell.
Gender | Answered she is a woman of the clan.
Orientation | Unknown. Not observed.
Clan Status | Belonging the Okhaali and Roha'zi clans by blood.
Relationship Status | Unknown. Not seen taking any special interest in a potential partner during our observations.
Moral Compass | Appears to possess a neutral stance on many moral stances. When her kin are involved this can wildly change into direct action.
Voice | A quiet drawl, the tone of which rises to high pitches during moments of excitement. Slow and measured unless she touches on a topic of interest.
Age | Mature, yet bearing a youthful face. (Early 20's)
Citizenship | Possesses a Sharlayan Gleaner's stamp of temporary citizenship.
Current Residence | Okhaali and Rohazi Clan territories - ranging from the Tinolqa (Twelveswood) forests northeast of Rootslake, to the bogs southwest of the Timmon Beck River.
General Overview | Which mushrooms are safe to eat? How do you find your way back from the twisting dark cave depths? What does that tree-carved symbol mean? For the young miqo'te information quickly became an invaluable tool, as well as a generational path, so it was she cleaved to the way of the knowledge seeker. Functioning as a scribe and lorekeeper of her clan, she grew up with one foot in the forest and the other in a library. Strongly dedicated to her role, Behl follows her own curious nature to learn of the world around her - taking a special interest in the tales and histories of her neighboring miqo'te clans.As an adventuring botanist and gleaner, she has a keen interest in the natural world and has been working on a method to control funguar and other seedkin. Augury and other occultist activities are commonplace in her life, given her clan's connection to spirits and wildlings, and she can easily be drawn away by tales of monsters or ghosts. The inquisitive seeker nevertheless always find her way back to home and hearth, and places great value on community and family.
"A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest, because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her."
APPEARANCE
Height | Short in stature but not the shortest of her kin.
Hair | Grey-Silver. She frequently uses styles that incorporate braids and plaits due to the religious beliefs of her clan, and frequently decorates her hair in a variety of feathers, bones, beads, etc.
Tattoos and Scars | Tattoos with coiling lines, dots, and geometric symbols. Tribal but also delicate patterns resembling something else. A star chart? A sewing pattern?
Eyes | Black as like a doe's.
Build | Behl has a bell-like curve to her silhouette. Shoulders narrower than her hips. Small and quick when necessary. Though not by nature one to take up hunting for hunting's sake alone, she does engage in combat from time to time.
Distinguishing Features | Quite large fluffy tail, pale white painted designs on the face.
PERSONALLanguages | Common, Huntspeak, Several written/spoken/hand-signed/sung languages of multiple keeper clans.
Professions |
Lorekeeper/Scribe (Folklorist): Common amongst keeper clans is the practice of histories and religions being remembered through spoken word via stories. As one of the Paathar, Behl is able to recite clan works and scriptures orally by memory. The Roha'zi also engage with ancestral spirits - a practice Behl employs. The Okhaali place a high importance on those with such talents, not only for keeping their stories but for entertaining the ancient Faer and keeping them calm and satiated.Botanist / Herbalist: One of her great passions is the study of the natural world. She has a personal space to practice herbalism in but does not open it to the public as a shop. Those in need are expected to be taken there by the fates, and payment is accepted in anything but coin. Employment is scattered and transitory, given her independent nature. Most loyal to the Sharlayan Gleaner faction (after family of course), she also dabbles in side jobs supplied by Eorzean Geographic to explore certain regions, and her notebooks full of observations fetch a nice sum of gil. The side of her not all are permitted to see is a belief in the cycle of life and death that holds no disgust at the latter, which has lead her into the practice of Necrobotany. By working with certain kinds of mushrooms, she can exert limited forms of control over other (non-spoken) beings.Merchant and Trader: The Okaali are highly skilled in the textile arts and clothing design, having a long-standing practice in weaving, quilting, knitting, and curating custom dye colors from naturally sourced materials. Behl often acts as an intermediary for the clan, selling woven wares.Magical Disciplines |
A blend of Conjurer, Arcanist, and Bard classes serves as an in game stand-in for her unique skillset. Circle of Spores (Mushroom Druid), Circle of Greenblight (Necrobotanist), and College of Spirits (Spooky Bard) are close examples when translated to DnD.Behl uses an ancient form of arcanima passed down by her clan. Over time, the Okhaali miqo'te have adapted this style of sigil casting into an artesian based skill to match their passion for crafting. Weaver Witches are known for their ability to shape and manipulate patterns in a similar manner to that of an arcanist, but more primitive in design. The arcane weaving skill is most easily cast through weaving fibers, can nevertheless be accessed even if it’s with a skein of yarn, a chalk design, or even quickly creating a trail of sparks or smoke in the air.Separate from her weaving skills is that of an intimate connection to the land around her. Over time she has developed a personal bond with fungi, symbiotic plants and other spore-releasing agents and makes use of them in combat situations. As Gridania has seedseers, so do the clans of Miqo'te have those born into a special closeness with the land and the spirits that dwell there. RP to learn more.
All witches are a bit odd. It’s best to get your oddness sorted out early.
MISCSkills/Clan Jobs | Medicinal tattooing and acupuncture style treatments. Assisting with mushroom farming.
Aetheric Affinity | Good at reading aether and possessing of deep calm aetheric wells, as is common with her bloodline. Empathic connection to the occult and unseen.
Pursuits of Leisure | Traditional keeper cooking and indigenous style non-invasive land cultivation, Geology (ok, it's rock collecting).
Religion | Her religious beliefs might resemble the back of a quilt pattern - complex and interconnected between many points. Through the Okhaali she worships the threefold goddess of the moon in her states of crescent, quarter full, and full appearances. This appears to be an old Miqo'te deity possessing passing similarities to aspects of Menphina, Nophica, and Nymeia. Behl also participates in ancestor worship with the Rohazi.
Patron Deity | In the Rohazi clan this is especially important and falls to one of The Lovers. The ancestor Kahlina represents the understanding of knowledge with a wisdom beyond simply collecting information.RELATIONSHIPSKeeper Clan Bloodlines |
Okhaali - Arboreal artisans and tradesmen.
Roha'zi - Cave dwelling ancestor worshipers.The Okhaali people are excellent artisans and craftsmen, but the cornerstone of the clan lies in the use of textiles and weaving. Using natural vegetable dyes made from minerals, flowers, bark, herbs, and roots; colorful swaths of fabric are made and carefully cut into geometric patterns to be sewn into quilts. The quilts play an essential role of spiritual significance in the lives of the keepers. Highly proficient in this specialized type of weaving, they're also able to imbue the maker’s own aether into geometric patterns comprising the quilts. Each one has its own purpose and power, most often aimed at promoting health and good fortune, especially when sold to the public. Although important, quilts are not the only trade-craft made by the Okhaali clan, though they are most known for them. Outsiders step carefully around them, as they're also said to make people disappear once nature's ire seeks to claim someone tainted with Woodsin.The Roha'zi are a reclusive people keeping to their massive cavern systems below ground. Nearly antisocial, not much is known about them even amongst other keeper clans. Cautionary tales of the miqo'te of the dark below coming to get children that wander off the path are common, and accurately describe genetic traits of the Roha'zi - glowing amber eyes and dark ashen skin. Despite rumors, the Roha'zi have a thriving family driven community, and place high value in crafting skills and religious fevor. A rich culture of ancestor worship and self sufficiency in resource gathering means some Roha'zi members never see a reason to leave the caves anymore.Parents | Mother - Bahvi of Roha'zi, Father - Mosibhe'to of Okhaali.
Siblings | Sisters - Aiyawa, Kaliwe, Minakha. Brothers - Mahuzi'a, Mahuzi'to.
Pets | Befriended a family of crows. Keeps miscellaneous seedkin around her person.INVENTORYBow, staff, small hand loom, various books. Bundle of homespun threads and knitting needles. Knife or sickle by which to gather herbs. Dark glasses and wide-brimmed hats for use during the brightest hours.
undertangledboughs.tumblr.com
Media Gallery &
Artist Ref Sheet
There’s always been someone watching the borders. They didn’t decide to. It was decided for them. Someone has to care. Sometimes, they have to fight. Someone has to speak for that which has no voice.
Artist Ref Sheet
Visual Themes | Plant growth, Fungi, Weaving with Magic, Necrobotany, Animal Masks, Herbalist Tools, Bow and Arrows. Musical Instruments: Lyre (sudanese Kerar / Kisir), handpan, and Lithophone.
Body Type |
Clothing & Accessories |
Tattoos and Scars | Tattoos with coiling lines, dots, and geometric symbols. Tribal but also delicate patterns resembling something else. A star chart? A sewing pattern?
Weapons |
Friends |
Distinguishing Features | Quite large fluffy tail, pale white painted designs on the face. Wears animalistic masksExamples in the gallery below represent certain visuals I feel represent her general aesthetic and vibes.
Clan Aesthetics: Okhaali - Tree Dwelling Artisans
Clan Aesthetics: Rohazi - Cave Dwelling Ancestor Worshippers
Hooks & Inspiration
This was when you started being a witch. It wasn’t when you did headology on daft old men, or mixed up medicines, or knew one herb from another. It was when you opened your mind to the world, and carefully examined everything it picked up.
ROLE PLAYING HOOKSFolklorist As a wandering historian of her clan, Behl collects stories and cultural beliefs and practices from people all across the shroud and behind, but she takes a special interest in other Miqo'te clans. Perhaps she's visited yours for an evening before taking up the trail again.
Botanist / Apothecary: Lotions and potions galore, some even to your benefit. As a budding (hah) herbalist she's constantly experimenting and learning. Part of Behl's healing arts deals in small tattoos meant to contain restorative properties, somewhat similar to acupuncture. She's most apt to preform this on other Miqo'te or trusted outsiders with chronic illness and pain.
Sharlayan Employment: As a Gleaner, Behl takes on new clients from time to time. Feel free to inquire about hiring her to assist in gathering or finding items, especially for research purposes!
Readings of Fortune: Performed in natural places, where the witch and the questioner will walk together and answers are determined by what they find in nature - be it objects on the ground, local fauna, or other signs.
Speak with the Dead: Got unfinished business with someone? Missing a departed loved one? Behl doesn't advertise this connection with the deceased openly, but ask for an RP set up and we can figure something out.INSPIRATIONS
Mushishi
Girl from the Other Side
Otyken
Miyazaki films in general
Traditional ways of indigenous peoples the world over - Siberian and Native American to name a few.
My grandmother and her forestNOTE
There are some similarities in themes and professions between Behl and Yaruuna (https://yaruuna.carrd.co), but they are more like two sides of a coin with Behl dealing with creepy plant magic and Ariunna doing spooky animal spirit stuff. Certain tropes may overlap because I like playing certain elements (like witches/shamans), but they are different characters with different histories and goals, etc.CREDITS
Site quotes by the wonderful Sir Terry Pratchett
Art by Rituhell
Okhaali Clan lore is my own
Roha'zi Clan lore is by Kilari, with some embellishments from myself and other FC members
Basic Knowledge
Family History
Tribal Connections: As a wandering historian of her clan, Behl collects stories and
Family Roles
Tribal Connections: As a wandering historian of her clan, Behl collects stories and