Khayri Fu’ad

Character Description

Khayri Fu’ad is a physician working for Tahwil’s nobility in Al-Hadiqa. When they aren’t following the whims and needs of nobility, they run a clinic bordering Taqātu. They’ve earned an angelic reputation for treating even foreign travelers and those without payment. They know a lot of people, but have few close friends, and seem to be dispassionate about life in general. Cool and collected, not much fazes them. But some have noticed they get increasingly agitated when the coasts of Fayadaan are mentioned…

Backstory

They grew up in Fayadaan. They were taught the trade by their father, who became disillusioned after witnessing nobility dismiss the area's violence over and over again. Crime rates are high on the coast and people get hurt daily. Their father is one of few doctors that treat those in poverty, so the little money he does get is from dealing with crooked merchants and criminals. Khayri grew up learning how to keep calm in these chaotic situations, to look after himself around thieves and leverage their position as a doctor to get out of close calls.
“They mean no harm,” their father would tell them often. All of this is the fault of nobility. If they had cared about the poor people of Fayadaan, then they wouldn’t have let the influx of foreigners get so bad. The wealth disparity wouldn’t be so clear looking at the busy streets of Iilaa Markaz up north. For much of their childhood, Khayri grew up idolizing their father for his generosity and empathy. Traits a true and good doctor should have.
But as they got older, they began to resent their father for refusing to serve the nobility. His skill as a physician was obvious. What was the point of holding onto his pride if it did them no good? When Khayri was 24, the Duchess’ twins both came down with illness. Nobody could figure out the cause, and rumors spread throughout Fayadaan of cosmic consequence. The Duchess was finally getting what she deserved for ignoring Deshret’s principles.
Military began issuing summons to various physicians in Tahwil, even those in Fayadaan who were considered lowly. His father told Khayri simply: do not comply.
Khayri, struggling to reconcile the idealized version of their father with reality, couldn’t find themselves thinking the same way. They were just children. How could that be fair? When it was time, their father refused the summons. But Khayri agreed to go in his place if it would save their father from punishment. Escorted by the military, they left.
Khayri had seen the daughter’s symptoms only once. A fisherman from the docks had been stabbed by an Astorian’s blade, laced with regional poison. It was no wonder nobody could figure out the cause; Tahwil was too isolated from the other kingdoms. Explaining this to the Duchess, Khayri treated both daughters and saved them. In a rare display of gratitude from Duchess Nuri, Khayri was given an employment offer and spared grace for their lowly upbringing.
When they came back to Fayadaan, excited to share this newfound wealth, their father was disappointed in them, and all of their brewing frustration towards their father bubbled up for the first time. They could not stand living like mere laborers any longer. They were both better than that.
Khayri moved to Al-Hadiqa to serve the duchy. At first they tried their best to spend time in Fayadaan, still believing in their father's teachings, but their relationship only got worse the more adamant their father was about not letting Khayri back into his practice. They found themselves avoiding their father, and Fayadaan as a result. Khayri's friends began to notice this change in demeanor and distanced themselves. "You're becoming just like them," they criticized.
Ashamed and tired of themselves, Khayri opened a clinic of their own in the main city treating clients that can actually afford to pay them. Now, they have no need for close connections. They tell themselves they’re following the physician’s code by not discriminating, and that they’re a better doctor than their father will ever be, but their faux altruism is really a way of lessening the guilt they feel for turning a blind eye to the class gap. Over the years, they’ve become exactly what their family and friends thought they'd become: another willfully ignorant upper class devotee.

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Court Physician

Age

35

Birthplace

Fayadaan, Tahwil

Pronouns

they/he/she

Gender

Fluid

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Dark brown, Curly

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Dark

Height

5'9"

Belief/Deity

Hilael