Sanya

Sanya The Shadow Panther, Eban-Rav of Tekiton
Council of IX member
Bearer of mask II

Description

Sanya is known to be quiet, calm, easy to talk to, and tends to have his nose in a manual most of the time he isn't in the midst of the business of running the Tekiton empire. His sleek black coat and innate feline form give him a great advantage to his more subtle wanderings and workings, an enviable prowess to be sure. He will give out tasks to those who earn his respect and show him both physical and character strength.

Origins

Many stories abound about Sanya in his youth. Was he always feisty and loved playing pranks? It’s hard as no one truly knows where he came from…..but some do. Here is the history of Sanya and how he came to be who he is.
Sanya, born in the summer of a bygone time, came into the world a Goliath from within the mountains of the Yeselde Range. As a child, he loved to play pranks and would do his best to not be caught by his targets. It was known who was doing the pranks yet people enjoyed the chaos. An old mage had visited his village in search of an item of power and Sanya followed behind him out of curiosity and due to seeing him as a target.
Things did not go well on this adventure. Sanya almost got the mage killed and the item was lost. Out of rage, the man used true polymorph on Sanya and turned him into a black panther to better suit his personality. He ran from the mage who continued to curse the cat yet that was nothing. Sanya was struggling as he ran due to being smaller, lighter, and now had a tail swinging behind him.
When he got back to his village, no one took him in as they didn’t believe him. They didn’t think that Sanya was able to change and they kicked him out. He wandered the wilderness and slowly made a name for himself. He would strike people from the shadows and steal from them while usually ruining their gear in some way. Sometimes he would leave a tiny gelatinous cube to rust their weapons or he would even get poison to ruin them as revenge when he saw them abusing others. Eventually, he stumbled upon the mage again who was on his last leg.
On encountering each other, the mage laughed, knowing in the end it was Sanya who had gotten the last laugh. In his mirth, he also offered to the young changed feline a mask. Sanya didn’t want to accept it at first yet the mage told him that because he had learned his lesson and his willingness to help those who were less fortunate, he deserved to bear the mask. Sanya begrudgingly took the mask and yet didn’t wear it, not for four years until he stumbled into Tekiton.
During the four years, he would act as a mercenary, earning many names, some fear-inducing, and others of ridicule. He took them in stride and owned up to each name and was proud to be called each and every one...though rumor was that if you found him in a dark alley and asked for the granite scratcher, he’d try to tear your eyes out- but that’s hearsay. Over the years, he’d encounter many Tekiton guards and would begrudgingly accept their help, though this eventually led to a very friendly relationship with them and learning their customs. He took it upon himself to try to make for the gate to take the exam and become one with those who were now his friends.
During the exam to become a citizen of Tekiton, he was ambushed by his original tribe due to what seemed like a prank gone wrong though it was really a curse upon the whole village. Where it came from or how it began no one knew. Only one thing was certain…..Sanya left before it started so he must be the culprit. He accepted the blame as he was a prankster at heart and could understand the implications yet he was hurt that they believed he was at fault. His ex-tribe sabotaged the exam and nearly cost him his life. Sometimes, if you are careful and in the correct lighting, you can see a nasty scar on his neck up to the underside of his jaw.
Due to this sabotage, he took on the mantle of the mask and learned about the true masters of the world and went to find the culprits that had cost him what he sought and harmed those who were his people. But his intentions were grander than that eve, as his sights set on taking the leadership of Tekiton in the process. As fate would have it, this would lead to the discovery that the old mage was the previous leader and he had told his people that the new leader would be known when they came bearing the mask.
After four long years, Sanya discovered the one who had cursed his people was a lich. And he made certain this treachery would not happen again. Not while he bore the mask that had changed the course of his entire life.

Personality & Activity

Since then, he has taken his prankster personality and used it to work on the guards and the hounds have become part of the border watch. Ready to come calling if the lighthearted feline even meowed in their direction. This has created a fun loving culture within the borders of the Tekiton empire, despite what outsider rumors may say. Sanya's darker dower appearance is a great disguise for the chaos under all that black fur.