Sanna Al-Katheer
Sanna Al-Katheer
A once spoiled daughter of a spice trade magnate, Sanna grew disillusioned after running first hand into the kind of subtle insidious evil that wears down good things from the inside. She eventually found her resolve in the arms of Sarenrae's calling as a Dawnflower Dervish - now when evil threatens, she has her blades to answer for her.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Growing Up A Princess Under the Desert Sun
Young Keleshite girls tend to grow up pampered as princesses, and Senna Al-Katheer was exceptionally so. Her father, Heim Al-Katheer, ran a particularly lucrative spice trade, and so his daughters wanted for nothing. She grew to indolence, spending her teen years at lavish parties, dancing and laughing as the hot sun set. It was at one of the endless parties before her coming of age celebration that Sanna first saw her; at first, she didn't know who she was, only knowing she was impressive, dominating the room like a panther among cats, her powerful body moving with grace, her attitude of superiority absolute. Sanna thought to bring her down a peg on the dance floor once the musicians began to play, but hope of that vanished immediately, replaced by a need to know how she moved with such effortless power. Her name was Fenrah, a foreigner, and she seemed amused at the kitten who came to her for guidance. She said merely that first Sanna needed to learn to fight; she was far too soft, too lazy. The remaining weeks of her coming of age celebrations were a distraction, but the encounter still wouldn't leave her mind. It was to her father's shock when she asked a few days later to join the Order of the Blue Fist. Her father refused, of course, but Sanna, for the first time in her life, had something that she wanted and could not have, and was relentless. Finally, Heim relented, sure that his daughter would return within the week. She did not.The Monastery and Father Tanish
That is not to say her new life was pleasant. The Master of Students, Brother Tanish, did not like this soft girl among his recruits. Nothing she could do was right in his eyes, except when the Mother Masuma was watching; then she might be admitted to be passable. Shaving her hair, Tanish's whip like tongue and iron slaps... Even Sanna could not have explained why she didn't run crying home; the endless accusations and punishments only made her more stubborn, and much to Tanish's rage, she refused to break or turn, working harder and leaving no faults for him to find. His creativity for making up new failures was endless, however. It was hard on her, and she sheltered in Mother Masuma's aura when she could, like a rock cave in the desert, and stayed away when she could. But Mother Masuma was old, and the day came when she died. As her wishes were read, Brother Tanish became Father Tanish. He wasted no time "culling" the list of students, giving each a challenge to prove their worth or face expulsion from the order. His boundless creativity for finding fault ensured Sanna was doomed from the start. The once 'princess', now battered and bruised in both ego and body, couldn't bear to return home a failure at the one thing she'd ever desperately wanted. The stubbornness that had fuelled her rebellion against Father Tanish still burned too brightly. But now she was directionless. She resolved to travel, and headed to the spice market at the port, hoping to see a friendly face, and find some guidance. She found it in Raed Al-Absolon, a family friend who grinned widely and embraced her, asking how his favourite ‘niece’ was, commenting on how strong she was now. She told him of her past years, and begged for him to take her with him on his ship and leave her father out of this. He reluctantly agreed, noting she’d have to work for her keep on the ship, and that he would have to at least leave a letter for her father, but he did agree to take her to the trade city on the island.Finding Herself - Fenrah’s Flames
The wind and rocking of the ship was a different feel, but the hammocks comfy at night, and the decks of the ship had no invisible specks that she ‘missed’ unlike the hallways under Brother Tanish’s eye. The sailors were friendly, and for the first time in years, Sanna felt herself relaxing, as a weight she didn’t know she’d been carrying lifted from her shoulders. Soon the City at the Center of the World began to appear, the ice-topped Kortos Mounts stretch into the sky above a city that seemed to spread from horizon to horizon along the coast. Her uncle encouraged her to explore while they unloaded the ship, but to be careful of pickpockets, to which she laughed, noting she had nothing on her to steal. A few coins in a pouch around her neck from her uncle later, she strolled through the markets, letting her eyes, ears and nose guide her to whatever seemed interesting; losing herself in the market, she listened to the cacophony of language and symphony of color, when suddenly she heard her own language, and a voice she remembered, full of authority, purring like a pantheress. She headed down a street, following her ears and was surprised to find an armored woman she recognized. Fenrah! Here, of all places! Fenrah did remember the night of the party, but barely recognized this young warrior for the indolent girl she had shown up. They talked in a small shop for a while, with Sanna summing up her story so far and her current unemployed state. Much to Sanna’s surprise, Fenrah offered her a job: as a mercenary with Fenrah’s Flame. With nothing better to do (and still a bit of a crush on the mercenary leader) she accepted. A mercenary camp was a different sort of life from a monastery for Sanna; a little less regimented in some ways, and not quite as tough. She was assigned to a fellow Kaleshite named Zuka to learn the ways of the the Flame. Zuka was a bit older, but friendly, easy with laughter, and rather pious in his worship of Sanarae, a golden symbol of the dawn goddess worn around his neck. His fighting style was a whirl of scimitars that was similar to Sanna’s own fluid style, and soon they began to practice together at first line, clashing blades as the dawn broke near the bustle of the cook’s tent. The mercenary work was rather pleasant for Sanna, filled with travel and camaraderie. The pay, though she could not afford the luxuries of her youth, was enough for someone who, after three years in a monastery, didn’t really need such indulgences any more. The road could be hard at times, but not too bad, and there was always a town somewhere ahead for a break. Fighting as a group was new, but she learned teamwork, her and Zuka buzzsaws at the corners of the formation, helping pack the center line of opposing units too tight together, making them easier pickings for the front lines. Sanna soon found herself not only practicing with Zuka in the dawn light, but praying with him, and it was not two years when he gifted her with a golden symbol of Saranae to wear around her own neck.Finding Purpose - The Resistance in Isger
The mercenary company found work all around the Inner Sea through Fenrah’s contacts; from Jameray to Rahadoum, and in her fourth year with the Flame, they found themselves deep within Andoran - clearing bandits and providing security for a reconstruction mission. The troubles weren’t merely average banditry however, and one dawn smoke over the horizon drew the mercenaries’ attention. What they discovered was an outpost, a small church to Desna, being razed by what turned out to be agents of Cheliax’s Hellknights “to set an example”. The church had been providing succor to rebels from Isger who had been fighting Chelish agents in their home country. Hearing the plight of of the Isger people didn’t sit well with Sanna. Nor, it turns out, with Zuka. A few days after the incident, Sanna told Zuka about her unease after their morning rituals, where he admitted much the same feeling about the incident. Before the day’s end, the pair had tended their resignation to Fenrah, after the end of their current mission, of course. Fenrah was sad to see them go, of course, but when the mission was complete, they set off towards Isger. Now, they find themselves deep in Isger, in the small town of Saringallow. Zuka has declared Sanna’s training complete as far as he can teach her, and the pair are preparing to split, each following their own calling into the hostile land.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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