Ariiskael Nao'te'saolo

Ariiskael Nao’te’saolo (pronounced Ah-ree-sky-ehl Now-tay-sahw-low) is a hybrid of an extremely secretive species known as the Quiari and a Hylian human passing through Termina in search of a thief. He hails from Hyrule and is generally a stranger to Termina, as well as everyone in it.

Appearance
He is most notable by his unique appearance featuring facial scales, a finned, heavy tail as well as digitigrade feet and an entirely pitch black left arm with what appears to be runes imprinted into his flesh there. He bears a long scar extending across his nose and onto his right cheek, as a well as a strip of his left brow missing. He also bears heterochromic eyes, the right being a dark brown and the left donning a predominantly light blue hue. His body type is mostly mesomorphic in structure, and he is muscularly well built and toned, but not buff or bulky. Considering his extremely pale complexion and very very faint freckling, his most notable feature at a distance is likely his nearly head-to-toe covering in tattoos that were most certainly expertly and painstakingly stick-and-poked.

Early Life
Ariiskael Nao’te’Saolo was born in a remote location somewhere amidst Hyrule forest to Adania Navine and Lu’tel Nao’te’saolo as a half Hylian human (mother), half Quiari (father) hybrid. Ariiskael’s early upbringing was less than conventional, as the Quiari race are so highly secretive that less than a handful of any of the other races of Hylia know of their existence, and even fewer still living. The Quiari obviously prefer it this way, though the reason is unknown, and as a result, Adania and Lu’tel kept their romance a secret. Due to the nature of his parents relationship, Ariiskael spent his days living in a wooded cottage in Hyrule, only visiting his father at night after a lengthy trek by horseback or carriage to the secret den of the Quiari hidden somewhere near the desert. Being the bright-eyed lad he was though, Ariiskael - affectionately known by his parents as Kai for short - was not bothered by this way of living, though he hoped one day his parents could live together. Such a thing was never to be though. Knowing this, his parents were keen on teaching him life skills they deemed necessary early on, such as hunting and tracking, as well as baking, wayfinding, and basic musical instruments. The life his parents so carefully had carved out to be as perfect as possible given their situation would soon close the sweetest chapter of Ariiskael’s life as the sudden falling-ill and subsequent death of his mother would hurl his fate into the unknown. Without a known, present father figure in Ariiskael’s life as well as the awareness of Adania’s passing, the powers that be of the woodland region deemed the young boy of only 8 to be seized by an orphanage for his betterment. A born hunter and sleuth like his father, Ariiskael was not to be underestimated, and so escaped the orphanage with a resolve to find his father and live his life among the Quiari. His plan would prove to be fatal as Ariiskael soon realized he didn’t know the way to the Den of the Quiari people, only vaguely remembering landmarks and star patterns from the trips in the darkness; It was his mother who had known the way by heart. For days he searched, never stopping to ask for help for fear of being taken back to the orphanage until finally, he collapsed of exhaustion on the bridge of Hylia. Luckily for him a Zora woman named Teff - mother of 3 and wife herself - stumbled upon him whilst on a journey of her own. Immediately she took the boy to her home of Zora’s Domain and sought to restore his health. When Ariiskael finally awoke to the concerned Zora family, he refused to speak, knowing from the teachings of his parents the quandary of Quiari secrecy and thusly, for the adolescent portion of his life, fell mute. Any attempt of the kind Zora who’d revived him to learn anything about him from his name to where he came from was thusly met with silence.

The Journey Home
Ariiskael’s intent the moment he awoke in Zora’s domain was to flee, but once again fate bared it’s unforgiving teeth with the heighth of the Civil War knocking on the doorsteps of hyrule just days after. Afraid and hopeless, Ariiskael would stay with the Zora family, hoping at his young age that it was only for a few days until the conflicts blew overhead, but such was not to be as Teff’s husband Frahle joined the battles. That left only Teff, their two sons Virtas and Criff, and only daughter Fi with Ariiskael in Zora’s Domain. Ariiskael’s plans of a short-lived stay were not only thwarted by the length of the war, but also by the bonds he built with his new brethren, as well as sister Fi, who was deaf and - after realizing he was mute - began to teach him Hylian sign language. Even after the war and return of father figure Frahle, Ariiskael stayed with his new, adoptive family without a word about it. He merely stayed and they kept him, never again to pester him with questions about his past or where he was from, instead raising him as their own as if he’d had no past before them, only a future with them. That future entailed Ariiskael steadily expressing trust and using his voice at only things that couldn’t talk back, such as animals, plants, trees and inanimate objects before finally at age 18, speaking to his Zora family (much to their shock), and eventually anyone and everyone else.

Blazing a Path
20 years after the tragedy of his late mother, Ariiskael, now 28, became a model Zora citizen despite not being a Zora, eventually garnering such notoriety for himself as a helpful sort that he was able to open his own niche business in hunting and tracking. Within the same grain as a bounty hunter, these days Ariiskael finds himself hunting large and magnificent beasts and monsters, as well as animals for special occasions and feasts by commission. A self-proclaimed dirty-work-doer for those who have never lifted a finger or simply don’t wish to, he can now use the expertise so inherent in his Quiari genes and childhood training to track wild and rare plants, flowers, people, and even objects for the right price, also using this occupational platform as a means to continue to search for his father and his people in hopes to reunite with his long lost heritage… and only remaining blood.

Eventually Ariiskael’s fate was bound to turn, and so it did on the fateful morning when he awoke to a rustling sound nearby. He was on a job searching for a rare liquor intended for a prestigious Hylian figure and finally, he’d found it. Dragon’s Tear Rum. Of course, such a wealthy prize didn’t come without multiple admirers, and just as Ariiskael groggily awoke he managed to take fleeting notice of a thief making away with his hard-earned find - and that thief was a dodongo no less! Rife with rage Ariiskael sprang up, chasing and tracking the dodongo for miles, days even. A dragon’s tear rum paycheck was worth such a chase, but eventually Ariiskael had to turn back as his rage subsided and rational thought returned. Trekking as far as he had after the dodongo on his minimal supplies would surely ensure a death by starvation, exhaustion, or even just pure madness, and so he returned home to carefully plan and pack for a potentially lengthy trip. Wishing his Zora family farewell, Ariiskael set off to the scene of the crime to re-examine any evidence that would lead to a trackable trail on the thieving dodongo, where his unexpected journey marched unknown territory: Termina.

An Unlikely Friend
At first intimidated by the new region, Ariiskael decided to ignore niceties and greetings, sticking only to the dodongo’s tracks. Quickly, however, it would become apparent the dodongo was not in town… and nor was anyone else. There was a suspicious lack of life throughout this town that was clearly not abandoned due to trademark signs of life such as fresh market stalls and new posters. Quickly Ariiskael would see the missing posters pasted about and come to understand that nearly the entire town had gone missing, and the only sign of life around was a deflated air balloon that began to scoot around town on it’s own. Following the mysterious balloon led to the discovery of a Lizalfos who would later reveal himself to be Takh. Having only known hostile lizalfos in Hyrule as well as the missing Terminians, Ariiskael saw a potential paycheck in finding them amidst the rewards posters and struck his unsuspecting reptilian suspect. After a mild scuffle and the Lizalfos choking on his pipe, it would come to light that this friendly monster merely was trying to fix his balloon, as he was a performer, and the two reconciled, though not without suspicion and a promise by Ariiskael to fix Takh’s now broken pipe. Each of the two had something the other wanted, Ariiskael had tracking skills, and Takh had knowledge of another living soul in the town - a doctor - and together the two made a deal. In exchange for finding Takh’s sitar, Takh would tell Ariiskael of the doctor in town, and where to find her. In the following days of struggle, Ariiskael would form an unlikely friendship with Takh, inviting him to hole-in the crude abode he’d managed to carve out in the swamps. Takh happily agreed, and for the time being, the two are generally inseparable.

Personality
Despite no longer being mute, Ariiskael is a quiet soul. He’s not much for conversation, and likes to bide his time quietly. It is for this reason that many upon first meeting him believe he is shy, or stuck up, but this is not the case. Alternatively, when set off in a conversation he can become quite articulate and posh, as well as muttering in the unknown language of the Quiari. His seemingly snooty and cold demeanor can be attributed to the fact that he has (high functioning) Aspergers, and is thus inept at reading/sympathizing with others emotions, body language, and facial cues. Because of this, he is known to overreact or inappropriately react to situations. attributed to this as well are instances of his sudden faaling mute temporarily when under extreme internal stress.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Besides his Aspergers, Kai suffers with a strange type of asthma likely inflicted on his land-dwelling anatomy as the Quiari are an aquatic race similar to the zora, swimming and breathing freely underwater. If engaged in brisk or prolonged physical activity, he is subject to an asthma attack, and so he prefers to stalk and creep after his subjects and targets. For all his physical weaknesses lie strengths as well, including the aforementioned ability to swim and breathe freely underwater, as well as hold his breath for lengthy periods, which does not trigger his asthma. As well as his aquatic abilities, Ariiskael has carved his own strengths from his jack-of-most-trades know-how and dedication to hunting/tracking training as well as spear fishing and a high intelligence - all which make for a moderate self-defense bundle.

Trivia

 * He has a deep rooted claustrophobia likely induced by being captured and dragged to an orphanage at such a young age following the trauma of his mother's death.
 * He is 80% deaf in his left ear due to a random deformity in his ear canal present from birth.
 * Beside sign language, Ariiskael is also a master lip-reader
 * Quite like the claustrophobia, but more anger-driven, Ariiskael hates fire and lava, and would not be caught dead as a torch holder, or anywhere near death mountain.
 * He still has not found the dodongo that stole his rum (it wasn’t napo).
 * His sense of smell is impeccable to make up for his hearing loss, and he can pick up trace scents from a considerable distance away.
 * Awkward virgin.