Dhoruba Amenfi

Born to the Tamaa tribe Dhoruba doesn't know a city she calls home. Due to her abnormal height her mother died at childbirth which left her father broken and depressed. Her whole childhood Dhoruba tried to make him proud and cheer him up with the help of her fellow tribe members: She learned how to play the horn from a Tamaa bard, the tribal tattooist tought her the art of make-up and tattoos... But one day during a journey the tribe got surprised by a giantic creature catching them off their guard threatening to whipe them out when lightning started to crackle around Dhoruba as she suddenly grows in size massively. With her new found magical powers the then 19 year old Loxodon managed to drive away the unknown creature.
In the years to follow she honed her skills in the art of gladiatorial combat with the help of her rather flashy sourcery. Where she got it no-one is all that sure but the words she instinctively speeks when casting spells were identified as giant speek. After coming off age Dhoruba joined arena in Daraja as that was the first city they were passing after her 25th birthday. There she spoke her farewells to the tribe as she decided to for the first time in her life stay in this city to earn renown in the gladiatorial scene. And renown is what she got. In the following years she'd climb the ladder of the local show fighters and that brought with it much appreciated fame and attention.
But one day before a match Dhoruba was approached by a wealthy member of society and well known patron of the arena. He asked her to deliberately lose the fight as he put a lot of money on her opponent and she accepted without any intention of actually following through. Once in the arena she'd once again shine and finish off her colleague quite fabulously. Something that would have a consequence she didn't quite anticipate: Dhoruba Amenfi was framed for offering information to the Mwenye Kivuli and was exiled from Daraja. Fortunately for her this would soon be corrected but only months after she was out to wander.
Dhoruba, now 34, realised how much she missed this nomadic lifestyle and would spend the following years traveling from pit to pit and arena to arena making a name for herself as "The Lady with the giant backside" Dhoruba Amenfi!
It is the year 723. After a performance in Nyumbani the Loxodon was invited to fight in Zeno, the capital of the empire, if she finished a job for the empress. After taking the long trip there, and an audience with Empress Zhoe Meridia vas Xeno II, Dhoruba joined the Tabaxi Wild Quill, Kat'Iki and the Kobold Lesthiel on the journey to explore and claim The Cataract for the empire.
The mission successful they returned as heroes to claim their reward. Dhoruba Amenfi spent the following months bathing in the spotlight of Zenos show fighting scene and enjoyed the company of the high society of the Empire gaining their trust and friendship. After a longer absence of the Empresse from the public due to some sort of rare illness Dhoruba was approached by a man clad in black in the year 724 AI. She recognised him as the at the time mate of Empress Xeno. He told her about there being fear about an upcoming assassination of his wife and about them having had a secret child that would be in danger if it came to light. Thus the man begged her to take the only true heir to the Lycidian throne and take the next ship far away to hide away their child.
As a loyal subject to the Empress Dhoruba would naturally accept and so started a new chapter of her live. As the personal guard of the only hope of the Xeno bloodline she set out to sea for a place to hide it. Gathering intel whenever they'd reach a town Dhoruba quickly realised that she won't find what she was looking for in these unknown lands but due to the unrest and sudden shift in society and various uprisings around the world it was not easy to arrive at her destination.
In the year 748 she arrived in a land torn appart by a civil war as well as a liberation war between the so-called Loyalists, the Royalists and the Gootis. No town or city would be a save place for the now 25 years old royalty as anyone who knows a little about the Xeno bloodline would recognize them as royalty at a closer look. Our Lady with the Giant Backside only knew one place left: her tribe, The Tamaa. Hoping they'd have stayed neutral she searched for them gathering information wherever she could. With the help of her quest who, concealed by a few magical trinkets picked up on the way (not enough for anyone rather adept at magic... a risk Dhoruba didn't intend to cost out too much), had quite a way with words and so gained friends and helped them find a group of Tamaa who then led them towards the main tribe. After a discussion it was decided that from now on the Tamaa would become protectors of the heirs of Xeno and that only the tribe leader and the elder may know the identity of the only non Loxodon in the tribe. Here Dhoruba would also learn, that her father died during the war.
After gathering information on the situation and making her own picture in the head she decided to join the war on the side of the Gootis but urged the other Tamaa to remain neutral. Believing Serapheim Miskos the assassinator she started her work to liberate her people and put a stop to this war. Not to a small part due to her fame but also due to her great skill in battle she'd cause the opposing forces to dwindle away. Some falling to her might and some to her charm. In the year 764 the civil war would be over but not the liberation. Just like till now in the following years different fractions of Empire successors or newly formed countries would send their troops to the recovering homeland of the Loxodon. Dhoruba Amenfi lead the efforts to successfully secure the borders set by the empire back when it was still in place. In 766 the first Mwenye Busara was formed and with it the reformed Guildsystem that became to structural backbone of this newly formed nation called Gooti.
While this happened Dhoruba was in the arena of Jiji-Daraja. But not as a gladiator, but as a trainer and teacher. She was in charge of leading the training of gifted recruits and the organisation of training in general. She'd also often be asked to join to defend or sometimes to reclaim parts of the country. But as the years went by Gooti got calmer. Less and less forces aiming to claim the lands and more and more traders aiming to buy from this land. And after a few years of training a new generation of gladiators Dhoruba Amenfi would finally return to her tribe in 879. There she'd take a backseat for a while and actually started a family. Her quite admirable birthing hips would bring the big number of 13 Loxodon children into the world.
Around the year 1000 she suddenly left for 50 years again. It is said that when she came back she appeared towering over the rest of the tribes people a near constant light electrical aura around her. In her hands two children one Goliath and one Tabaxi that she found in the wild and she decided to become their new mother.
At the age of 463 she'd become the tribe elder and as such had some responsibility again. By now her royal "stepchild" was long dead but the royal bloodline was in the 14th generation with the non heirs not rarely leaving the tribe at some point to settle down some other place of the world. Something highly necessary to ensure that there wouldn't be an overcrowding of the Tamaa by non Loxodon as the generation change happens much slower for Loxodon than most other races.
At the unprecedented old age of 523 Dhoruba dies of old age in her sleep. The next year the statue erected in her honour in the middle of the arena under Jiji-Daraja is finished.
Now, centuries later Dhoruba is prayed to by many as a Saint and is as such able to still influence the lands of the living. She is mostly revered in Gooti as the patron of gladiators and especially for the Tamaa tribe as a patron to mothers and life but also discovery and change. Her Domains are Tempest, Life and War.

Species

Loxodon

Life

669 AI 1192 AI 523 years old

Circumstances of Death

old age

Eyes

Amber

Height

9'1"

Weight

420