Four Vagabonds

The Four Vagabonds is an adventuring party that is the main focus of the story Wanderlust. They are a team of four initially traveling from Kemet to Jianghu.

Structure

Team Members

Imani: Team co-founder and Hauflin Cleric
Nawi: Team co-founder and Amazon Warrior
Suleiman: Adventure client and Jinni /Homin Sorcerer
Waseda: Van driver and Anthropoid Engineer

Group Dynamics

Heart, Body, Mind, and Soul
Imani is The Heart, the pure passion, emotion, and beliefs of someone. Waseda is The Mind, the logic through which one perceives the world and bases their actions accordingly. He’s the Straight Man, or at least perceives himself to be the only normal one. Suleiman is The Soul, the balance of the mind’s desire for passion, emotion, reason, logic, and peace. The state of balancing the oneness, the state of peace and serenity through which someone tries to find balance, the ability to find acceptance with themselves, others, and the world. Soothing and healing, if at times at odds with oneself, unsure and melancholic. Nawi is The Body, the physical, even selfish needs of someone. The desire to be happy, to laugh, to simply enjoy the physical pleasures of life. All four are vital aspects to not just a singular person, but the team as a cohesive unit itself.

Imani is clearly The Optimist. Suleiman, who due to unfortunate personal events is world weary, jaded, disillusioned, skeptical, and currently self-hating, is The Cynic Nawi, not entirely optimistic but not entirely cynical, and focused primarily on her enjoyment as well as the happiness and love of those she cares about, is The Apathetic. She doesn’t care if the world is good or bad, all she cares about is the happiness of herself and her loved ones. Waseda, while not optimist or cynical, is not apathetic either. He follows his life with structure, rules, logic, and order that he applies to nearly every situation. He is The Realist, looking at almost every situation and interaction with a realistic mindset, he treats every interaction like he’s in a business setting. There are rules, regulations, guidelines, norms, and social etiquette to follow, and they underline how he carries himself in almost every situation.
Imani - The Optimist
Imani in this story is optimism and idealism. She believes in people, unironically, sincerely, and wholeheartedly. She is good because she wants to be good. She’s almost childlike and innocent. She believes in people. She is the team’s little sister. And above all, she is a Paragon, always trying to do the right thing, and inspiring others to be better. She is The Heart.
Waseda - The Realist
Waseda attempts to control his insecurities and unhappiness, to dominate them, using logic, law, and order. Everything has a logic to it. You follow rules because they’re rules. You do this because I tell you to do. He is the Superego, the rational mind that keeps in mind the norms and laws of society and uses it to guide her actions, as well as use it guide the actions of others. He brings with him factual - if blunt and harsh - and necessary structure and order to the team. He is no nonsense and straight to the point and brings with him a type of straightforwardness the team needs to stay structured and serious. He makes people want to be less foolish, more serious, more willing to do their work and be themselves while still having some sense of self-respect.
Suleiman - The Cynic
Suleiman in this story is a cynic. He’s been disillusioned and hurt by his recent break up and the world at the large. He hates himself now. He’s always been introverted and especially now, not much of a people person. Despite this, Suleiman is very intelligent, and an incredible thinker. He brings with him wisdom beyond his years, a world-weary perspective, one that still wishes to do the right thing and aid others while tempered by the reality of the world. But Suleiman is not overly antagonistic or hostile, in fact, he is very relaxed, laid back. He is not governed entirely by what is logical and orderly either, because Suleiman is deeply passionate, having his own set of morality guided by his desire to correct and fight the injustice in the world, the same morality that makes him guilty for how his relationship turned out. Thus, he starts off as pretty aloof and cold, like he doesn't want to be here. But despite his inner turmoil, Suleiman can be calm and soothing, once he opens up. He is accepting. He quietly, loyally follows. He’s an ocean that either soothes its inhabitants or rages violently before being lulled back into peace. He is their emotional support.
Nawi - The Apathetic
Nawi is loud. She is fun. She is bombastic. She is over the top. The Id, the selfish part of the human mind that pursues what it wants simply because it wants it, without care for societal norms. Nawi cares about fun, her fun, and she loves, almost unconditionally. She loves how Imani looks up to her example of an adventurer. She loves her team unconditionally. She is the life of the party, and the only one with actually good social skills. She pushes them beyond their usual comfort skills, teaches them to have fun, to smile, to laugh, to be a little bit selfish and self-centered, to cut loose and just enjoy life without worrying too much. To say, “Hell yeah, I am great! Screw this, I’m gonna have fun and enjoy myself!” Optimism, Cynicism, Rules - Nawi keeps them in mind, but what she truly cares about is the happiness of herself and her loved ones. To her, nothing else really matters - and anything that threatens that will be treated as harshly and outright violently as possible.
However, without the other team members, The Vagabonds cannot stand on their own. At least, not in the beginning.
Imani - The Heart
Imani, The Heart, is a weak, insecure little girl without Nawi, The Body. She is socially awkward, unsure of how to truly have fun with others her age and be less neurotic, unsure of how to be more selfish within reason, unsure of how to be confident and enjoy life. Imani, without Waseda, The Mind, lacks logic, order, and structure to reign in her sillier ideas and give them reason. She is a naive little girl without rules to force her to mature. And Imani, without Suleiman, The Soul, lacks a calm, accepting, intelligent, mature view of the world. She lacks his loyalty, his calming nature, his tempered wisdom to guide his actions. She lacks the intelligence to truly guide her pure passion and idealism, she lacks the nuance of a world-weary worldview to understand some of the harsher realities of the world. She lacks Suleiman’s ability to deal with melancholy, guilt, and regret. Imani is inspired by her ability to inspire people, but without others, she cannot even inspire herself, her optimism and idealism crushed without someone to love her, to guide her, to temper it within reason, to provide nuance and give Imani the strength to be the hero.
But what is Four Vagabonds without Imani, The Heart? They lack someone to believe in them. They lack someone to tell them, “I believe in you!” They lack someone that can inspire them to be the best version of themselves. Without Imani, Nawi, The Body, lacks a reason to be responsible and to care for others. She’s hedonistic and wild, but still ultimately empty, having nothing but empty fun and her own hidden rage. Suleiman, The Soul, lacks someone that can inspire him to be better, lacks someone that can give him hope. He lacks someone that actually believes in him and looks up to him. Suleiman remains melancholic, self-hating, miserable, and alone, always wishing he could change and be better but never knowing how. And Waseda, The Mind, lacks the emotional drive of pure goodness to fight his ruthless logic. He lacks someone that inspires him to be better, to be kinder, to be more heroic. He will forever be miserable, forever attempting to dominate the world to quell the misery in his heart.
Without Imani, without The Heart, The Optimist, Four Vagabonds lacks the drive to want to be more heroic. They lack someone who inspires them to be the best versions of themselves. They will never find common ground, never get along, never respect each other, never improve themselves...not without Imani to make them want to. And without the Vagabonds, Imani will be nothing more than a lonely girl who will be crushed by the cruelty of the world around her.
Waseda - The Mind
Waseda, without Four Vagabonds, is nothing more than an insecure, lonely, miserable bully who attempts to control his own life and that of others, of all his surroundings, with structure and order, because his entire life has been controlled. His entire life revolved around the company he was designed for so naturally everything for him is like a business, with rules, guidelines, regulations and social etiquette to follow. Everything he perceives is judged harshly. He judges based on law, structure, rules, logic, and order. This is dumb because I think it’s dumb. I’m not going to do that; I follow the rules. I’m going to do my homework and be a good student because I follow rules, and everyone else should follow rules. If they don’t, they’re annoying. All attempts to make himself less miserable, yet he always feels the same. Without Imani, The Heart, Waseda’s mind is ruthless without allowing herself to embrace his suppressed, broken inner child. He lacks hope. He lacks sincerity. He lacks someone to believe in her, to inspire him to be become the best version of himself. To simply be a little childlike. Without Nawi, The Body, Waseda does not how to enjoy his life, to laugh, to smile, to have fun, to enjoy the simple pleasures that come with the freedom from moving on from his job. To be a little selfish and let go of his stuck-up attitudes. And without Suleiman, The Soul, not only does Waseda lack someone who can challenge his ideology and beliefs, he lacks someone like this: Someone calm, soothing, and accepting. Someone willing to drink tea with him, to enjoy the silence. Someone that can calm and accept and sooth his troubled mind while asking for nothing in return. Without the rest of his team, Waseda will become nothing more then a loner, utterly miserable without purpose, and taking it out on others. Relationships will mean nothing to him, as any and all possibilities of being good person are slowly burned away. But what is Four Vagabonds, without Waseda, The Mind? They lack someone that gives them structure, logic, and order. They lack someone willing to give them the harsh truths about their faults. Imani, The Heart, lacks someone to provide more logic and reason to temper her unwavering and borderline unrealistic idealism and optimism, she will lack Waseda’s strength to stand tall against the cruel world. Nawi, The Body, will lack Waseda’ orderly nature to force her to be more mature, to be more willing to give thought to the rules of society and pay attention to why they exist. Nawi will forever be a hedonistic lawbreaker without Waseda. And Suleiman, The Soul, lacks the harsh but truthful words of Waseda to bring much a motivational slap to the face. Waseda is the one most qualified to not beat around the bush, to argue with Suleiman, to call him out, to scream, “STOP RUNNING AWAY!” Waseda reigns in Suleiman ’s moodiness and broodiness and tells him to do his part and pull his weight. And Waseda, in his better moments, gives Suleiman someone like herself, someone that’s just willing to relax, drink tea, read a book, and do homework. Someone a little more down to earth and not so over the top and hyperactive. Not everything needs to be fun, and not everything needs to be serious either. Sometimes, things just need to be calm and quiet. Sometimes, you just need a little peace of mind. Without Waseda, The Mind, The Realist, Four Vagabonds lacks the harsh but powerful guiding law, order, logic, and structure that binds the team together. They lack someone willing to tell them the truth, to force them to be better. And without Four Vagabonds, Waseda lacks the ability to ever be happy in finding his purpose.
Suleiman - The Soul
Suleiman, without the Vagabonds, is nothing more than a lost, lonely, heartbroken guy. He’s not hateful, if he was truly hateful, angry, and vengeful, he’d put all the blame on his ex, Pari. No, above all, Suleiman feels disgust for himself and takes all the blame for the breakup. A self-hatred and loneliness that makes him isolate himself from the rest of the world. He does not consider herself worthy of happiness, hope, pleasure, relationships, fun, love. Nothing. He is forever an outcast, forever on the fringe of society, always looking at them, never joining them. Forever melancholic. Always wishing he can do good but never having the courage to do so. Always wishing he could be happy again but not knowing how. Always wishing he wasn’t lonely but afraid of getting hurt from connecting with others. Without Imani, The Heart, Suleiman lacks the unironic compassion and sincerity, the hope and optimism and idealism that inspires him to be the romantic he once was. Imani inspires Suleiman to become better, to have the hope to redeem himself and not hate himself, to have the courage to face her past. Suleiman is a soul desperately in need of healing, who desperately wants to be healed, but doesn’t know how. Not without Imani. Without Waseda, The Mind, Suleiman lacks someone willing to genuinely, truly challenge him. To call him out. Someone to drag him out of his moodiness, to slap him in the face and “Do your share”, to stand tall and strong against the brutality of the world, to come to terms with the fall out of his relationship and move on so he can form new ones again. And right now, he could use someone that can just sit talk and drink tea, read books, enjoy the quiet, peaceful nature of life. Someone to be a little frank, straightforward, and serious with. Someone who can accept his flaws while getting him to improve them and be responsible. And without Nawi, The Body, Suleiman loses the ability to have fun. To step out of the shadows. To dance and to laugh and be happy. To deny his self-hatred, and to simply enjoy life, to be selfish, to talk to others and learn to trust others and form relationships again. And what is Four Vagabonds, without Suleiman, The Soul, The Cynic? They lack his calming, soothing nature. They lack his wisdom from over the years of experience. They lack his acceptance, his laid back and easy-going nature. Without Suleiman, they lack someone to ground them, someone to get them to drink their coffee and relax. Waseda will forever be in his own strict world. Nawi will forever be too wild for her own good. And Imani won’t have anyone that can truly help her handle the darkness of the world. Waseda is too harsh. Nawi loves unconditionally, but she can’t punch out or love away Imani’s doubts. But Suleiman? Sulei knows about doubts and guilt, more than anyone. And his sadness and pain allows him to soothe others and make them a little less alone. Without Suleiman, Four Vagabonds is wild, dysfunctional, always arguing and arguing and arguing...and never truly calm. Never truly at peace. They lack their emotional support genie.
Nawi - The Body
What is Nawi, without the Vagabonds? Nothing more than an empty, wild hedonist, denying the realities of how empty she is. She lacks someone to love, to protect. All she has is the emptiness of her pleasure and the temporary fulfillment of her vengeance and rage. Nawi, without the Vagabonds, is wild and destructive; potentially self-destructive. Always on the move, always with people yet forever alone. So much power and so much potential, yet never used for anything noble. Always used for herself - and even then, the selfishness never leads her anywhere. Without Imani, without The Heart, what does Nawi have? She formed a strong bond as she showed the cleric the basics of adventuring. Imani inspires Nawi to be better. She makes her maternal, and in turn maternal to everyone else. She inspires Nawi to be just a little bit more responsible and a little more noble, makes Nawi truly believe she can be better. She grounds Nawi’s passion and bubbly nature into genuine optimism and idealism that can rock the very Earth itself. Without Waseda, The Mind, Nawi lacks order and structure for life. What good is Nawi’s power if it only destroys? If it only causes problems? If her wild lifestyle just keeps blowing up in her face? Nawi needs Waseda to bring in order and structure to her life, to call out Nawi on her dumb crap when needed. And Nawi needs Suleiman, The Soul. She needs his calming nature, his tempered wisdom, his undying loyalty and soothing nature. Suleiman can reign in Nawi in ways not even Imani and Waseda can. And what is Four Vagabonds without Nawi? They lack anyone with good social skills, for one. They lack someone willing to push them out of their comfort zones and have fun. Someone that can get them to be selfish without being too self-centered. Someone that gets them to laugh. Someone that tells them to laugh and enjoy themselves in the face of the pain of life. Without Nawi, Vagabonds is trapped, forever awkward, forever tense, forever unable to truly lighten up and have fun.

Pair Interactions

Imani and Suleiman
Optimism and Cynicism. Light and Shadow, Hope and Darkness. Heart and Soul. At the beginning, the two start off pretty opposed as one is insistent on a journey while the other simply wants to be left alone for the most part. With her constant instance on having a good time, makes Suleiman alter his opinion of her from aloofness to a sort of jealously. This makes both quite awkward around each other, with Imani hiding it with overexpressed workplace optimism and Suleiman with apathy to hide his jealously of her positive outlook. Suleiman doesn’t take out his anger on others and the rest of the world (This would make his too similar to Waseda) he isolates himself, hides and runs away. Imani slowly reaches out to Suleiman, like one would a lonesome cat. It is through Imani that Suleiman slowly learns that, maybe, just maybe, everything will be alright. He gets someone who genuinely believes in him, who inspires him to be better, who tells him, “I can redeem myself”, that the world is good, that he can face his past. Imani gets someone quiet, mature, and intelligent to contrast her more naive, inexperienced, and hyperactive nature. But that is not a bad thing. No, not at all. It is merely a different way to view the world. Suleiman offers a more calming and accepting view of life for Imani. One that doesn’t try to radically lash out against the world or deny its harsh realities, but a calming, soothing, presence who acknowledges it and provides comfort and advice in the face of it. A voice of reason more accepting of the more sad and dark moments of life - but able to bring peace from it as well. And through Suleiman, Imani gets a kind, intelligent figure to guide her through the world. Imani makes Suleiman have his redemption arc, makes him stop running away, makes him try to be better. Suleiman is the Wise Mentor to Imani - but he needs Imani to inspire him to stop being sad and make the best of his life.
Imani and Nawi
Optimism and Apathy. Light and Fire. Heart and Body. They both deeply love each other, unconditionally. They both inspire each other. They always support one another, through good and bad. Imani grounds Nawi makes her want to be a better person, a better cousin, a better teammate, a better hero. She makes Nawi genuinely want to be a good person, someone responsible who can inspire and protect others as opposed to a self-centered hedonist. And Nawi inspires Imani to be more confident - to not be so socially awkward, to not be afraid of taking charge, of being a little selfish. Imani gives Nawi responsibility and hope. Nawi gives Imani confidence and strength. Nawi singlehandedly trained Imani to be an adventurer, and I think this will always affect their relationship. Imani sees Nawi almost like a big sister, as someone she adored and looks up to, and this in turn makes Nawi a very maternal figure - to Imani and the team at large. Nawi will always be someone willing to protect and love Imani, and Imani will always inspire Nawi. Imani inspires Nawi to be a genuine hero. To be a good role model. Imani is someone so utterly sincere and genuine, always believing in Nawi when no one else will. Nawi inspires Imani to be selfish and confident, to take charge and control of her life, to not be so afraid of others and the world.

Waseda and Suleiman

The Cynic and The Realist, Ice and Shadow, Snow and Darkness. Mind and Soul. Beyond just being the guys on the team, what do these two offer each other? Compared to Imani and Nawi, they’re the ones - as I’ve repeatedly mentioned - who can just be calm, drink some tea, and do their homework and read books. Sure, they can argue and get into some nasty fights. But when they don’t, they’re the more reasonable, down to earth members of the team who aren’t off doing their own whacky things like Imani and Nawi. They’re the more grounded ones, and they can support each other in ways Imani and Nawi can’t. Suleiman gives Waseda that calming, soothing, accepting presence. One that the insecure and neurotic Waseda desperately needs. And Waseda gives Suleiman some much needed slaps to the face and wake up calls that forces Suleiman to not run away from himself or others, but at the same time can accept and understand his easygoing nature. Beyond just challenging each other’s pasts, motivations, and ideologies, Suleiman makes Waseda a more calming, less stressed-out person, and Waseda helps Suleiman handle herself and her responsibilities in a more pragmatic, logical, orderly, and realistic way.
Waseda and Nawi
Fire and Ice. Apathy and Realism. Body and Mind. Waseda desperately needs Nawi to help lighten him up and have fun, to be a little selfish and enjoy life. Nawi desperately needs Waseda to keep her in check and in line. It’s an almost constant tug of war, constant bickering and teasing and arguing - but Nawi loves unconditionally. She will always be there for Waseda. Perhaps she’s even a bit too accepting. Perhaps Waseda can even be a little too blunt. But they always mean well, and they will always stand by each other and support each other. They’re an odd couple, and one that works surprisingly well together. Waseda helps Nawi when to be serious. Nawi helps Waseda lighten up. Waseda helps Nawi be responsible. Nawi helps Waseda be irresponsible.
Suleiman and Nawi

The Extrovert and the Introvert. The Sun and The Shadow. The Apathetic and The Cynic. Body and Soul. The typical interaction between those two involves Nawi trying to get Suleiman to be more social, and Sulie either agreeing, disagreeing, or coming to a compromise. But beyond that, Nawi is trying to get Suleiman to smile, to have fun and be happy. Perhaps she can’t inspire Suleiman to be a hero like Imani, maybe she can’t get her to take responsibility like Waseda, but damn it, Nawi can make him happy and have fun, and sometimes that’s the most important thing of all. What does Nawi offer? Imani and Waseda love Nawi and vice versa, but Suleiman has his wisdom, his knowledge beyond his years, his common sense that’s not dictated too much for a need of control nor by pure and total passion and emotion. Reason tempered. He’s what Nawi, always wild, needs. Sometimes Waseda is too much. Sometimes Imani is not enough. Sometimes, Nawi needs someone to level with her, to calm her down and accept her and talk things out, and that someone is Suleiman. Nawi makes Suleiman more expressive, confident, lively, willing to be happy. Suleiman makes Nawi calmer, introspective, willing to slow down, relax, and take a breather to look at things. They balance each other out and work surprisingly well together, in more ways than one.
Four Vagabonds

Imani is Water. Waseda is Earth. Suleiman is Wind. Nawi is Fire. Imani inspires them to be the best versions of themselves. Waseda is always pushing for them to be better, to be more serious. Suleiman is full of knowledge and wisdom beyond her years, a calm, soothing presence, tempered with both genuine morality and logical reason but not too dominated by either, a guiding force the rest of the team, a calming presence and the rock of the group. And Nawi - passionate, full of life, always pushing for them to be happy. Always full of love, always accepting them for who they are, for better or worse, always willing to protect them, to get them to be selfish and love themselves as much as she loves them.
Who’s the rock of the team? Each member, in their own way, is the rock of The Vagabonds. Each one, in their own way, is the Team. All four need each other to become their best selves. To become the best possible team, they could be. Through each other, they develop the strength to truly stand strong on their own - and to stand utterly unstoppable together. They are Four Vagabonds.

History

Imani was raised by her local faith temple, the Biladbar church from a young age as an opportunity to give back to her community. With it, she made personal missions to the local adventuring guilds where she encountered Nawi and accompanied her on a mission, and they hit it off. Eventually the two discovered they were actually cousins and decided to form an adventure group with at first middling results. Later they encountered Suleiman who was an adventure tour guest they had to take on a quest to fulfil their quota. Soon after they recruited Waseda as he was looking for employment and he had his own mode of transportation.

Founding Date

4311

Type

Adventuring Party

Parent Organization

Overland Expeditions

Notable Members

• Suleiman
• Waseda