Aramastus Danig (Ar-RAH-mass-TUS DAHN-igg)
Warden; Wingsmith
Aramastus is a former Wingsmith, having served in the Golden Itoqir during the War of the Six and in the Kivan military before then, where he began his veterinary career and lost his left leg from the knee down as an apprentice wingsmith. He is now a Warden at the local Shogu Holding in Korzhûn.
He served in the Valnoc with Devatska Acosaphaura's husband and sons during their time in Kiva, and was an Acosaphaura sympathizer during and following the mysterious culling of the family. Although he worked with Devatska during the war, they have been largely out-of-touch since -- he nonetheless took it upon himself to quietly keep an eye on her granddaughter Kotia in the event of anti-Acosaphaura sentiments reemerging.
He is a widower, having lost both his beloved wife Joqo and their young daughter Jixcebi from the Plague of the Bitter Hand. To this day he keeps their house in Korzhûn as it was before they died.
His family name is Danig; according to faun naming conventions they usually introduce themselves as ‘surname’-’firstname’.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Athletic build, physically fit.
Body Features
Left leg is a wood and brightlescia prosthetic from the knee down.
Facial Features
Broad, somewhat flattened nose; elongated large ears with tips curved downward; large ribbed and 'knotted', dark ivory horns curve up and back from front hairline into a gentle wave.
Identifying Characteristics
The 'meadow breeze' horn type -- a straight backward, gentle wave form -- is, according to fauns, a sign of the ancestors to first descend the Haaros, having been tempted by the warmth and pleasant living below (i.e., both adventurous/bold but too easily led by promises of comfort).
His Ega is a violet-flecked gold that Fieron describes as 'ardent, reassuring'.
Special abilities
He has inherited a mild talent for dreamwalking from his mother, though it occurs randomly without his control (and sometimes knowledge).
Apparel & Accessories
In colder weather, nearly always wears a dark red heavycloth, thigh-length coat given to him by Joqo.
His garnery is leather-corded, and includes a miniature sewing kit. In one of his belt pouches during wartime he carried emergency surgeon's tools in addition to his actual kit. On one of the garnery thongs is a mottled black and cream faun eyestone from the Raille Stead.
Specialized Equipment
A four-foot brightlescia warhammer with an ironwood handle capped at one end with a short spike and the other with a thick hammerhead and fluted tail.
Has also been known to kick with his prosthetic.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Aramastus was born in the Raille Stead in the shadow of the southeastern Horizon Watchers in Kiva, to Kilkalra and Brioll Danig. The two female elders, including his mother, sent him to the Haaros when he was sixteen -- somewhat early compared to other young adults in the stead -- and when he returned he claimed that the Haaros had instructed him to travel south. In actuality he had interpreted the sudden appearance of a rally of koza and their disappearance south as a sign that he should seek out the Etir, whom he had heard were koza breeders, rather than the mountain itself speaking to him as was custom. He has kept this secret, and later would reflect on it in the context of his faith and conclude that it did not ultimately matter what spoke to him.
A year later he left the Raille Stead. He was welcomed by the Etir and absorbed into the Salba Stead that often traveled with them, which consisted of a single family, two unmarried nessa and an unmarried stag. One of the nessa and the matriarch's daughter, Joqo Eiguw, would later become his wife. Still following 'the sign', he sought to work with the koza -- an easy feat, considering they were the Etir's livelihood -- and showed an affinity for the veterinary side of their care. He was apprenticed to their Wingsmith alongside Eraleon and Devatska Acosaphaura's second eldest son, Nelos; it was this friendship that would lead to his militia training in the Valnoc and his later support of the family when their culling began. In 978AC an outbreak of redbelly pox among Kivan koza threatened the livelihood of the Etir, and Aramastus identified it in a recently-arrived male but -- along with Nelos -- sought to create a cure. Unfortunately this would not succeed and the rabid koza attacked Aramastus, leading to the amputation of his left leg at the knee. It was Eraleon and Devatska who devised his prosthetic. Nevertheless, he and Nelos were deemed full-fledged wingsmiths in 979AC.
When the Etir aligned themselves with the Pact of the Blessèd in late 985AC following the kega called by Hezath Zalesper, the Salba Stead chose to remain neutral and separated from the tribe. Aramastus, however, wished to go with the Acosaphaura, and Joqo decided to go with him -- the two were married on the long journey to Korzhûn and their daughter, Jixcebi, was born a year later. When two of Nelos' brothers were reported dead in the Tikkiss Skirmish and Nelos himself outed it as a set-up, the families grew further suspicious when his attempts to investigate were strongly prevented. Although the War of the Six kept them all extremely occupied, Ornarin and then Eraleon's similarly-suspicious deaths gave Aramastus renewed vigor to investigate; an anonymous threat to his career and family gave him pause. When Nelos himself was found dead later in 987AC, he followed Devatska's instructions to desist -- something he would later privately recollect as a cowardice and as a wedge driven between him and Devatska herself, but as the driving factor behind him entering the Shogu Holding post-war as a Warden to quietly keep an eye on Kotia.
Both Joqo and Jixcebi would succumb to the Plague of the Bitter Hand that initially washed over Korzhûn in late 989AC; Joqo in mid-1000AC and Jixcebi on the 17th Day of the Season of Opening, 1001AC. This, the culling of the Acosaphaura, and being so far removed from anything else resembling family has left him closed-off, defeated, and spiritually weakened.
Sexuality
Heterosexual
Education
Moderate
Employment
Warden at the Korzhûn Shogu Holding.
Accomplishments & Achievements
War veteran.
Failures & Embarrassments
Not being able to do anything to prevent the murders of Eraleon Acosaphaura or four of his sons, or being able to bring their murderers to justice.
Mental Trauma
Guilt over surviving both the war and the Bitter Hand, especially when his family and close friends did not.
Intellectual Characteristics
Retains something of his Kivan national identity but not to any extreme.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
To redeem himself for failing Eraleon and his sons through service to Devatska and Kotia.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
A talented veterinarian and a well-respected teacher.
Virtues & Personality perks
Compassionate, diplomatic, level-headed.
Vices & Personality flaws
Lack of confidence in standing up to those he admires / feels indebted to. Too great an effort toward diplomacy can sometimes stand in the way of needed immediate action. Loyalty can blind him to others' flaws.
Hygiene
Average
Social
Contacts & Relations
He is friends with Chief Warden Orihne Basania. Nelos Acosaphaura was his best friend, and he has occasionally said that he regards Devatska as his second mother.
Family Ties
Widowed; no close ties with his family in the Raille Stead.
Mannerisms
Outside of work, appears to be hardwired to ensuring others' comfort before his own, even in settings in which he is also a stranger.
Speech
Tends to have a more formal register than most; leftover from being shy as a child.
Swears rarely. His empeachments/exclamations tend to be secular, such as "truth burning" / "what in all truth".
Relationships
Nicknames & Petnames
Jixcebi referred to her father as 'Pahbi'; he referred to her as 'my sweetling'.
Wealth & Financial state
Modest
Current Location
Species
Professions
Date of Birth
47th Day of the Season of Waiting, 960AC
Year of Birth
960 AC
41 Years old
Birthplace
Spouses
Joqo Danig
(wife)
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
Korzhûn, fourth cottage in Muhi's Curve, north side of the barracks.
Pronouns
He/Him
Sex
Male
Eyes
Dark green
Hair
Brown, shoulder-length, thick. Typically worn down. Matching long beard in a thick but short braid.
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
A mix of muted brown-plum leathery skin and dark brown fur.
Height
6'6 / 198cm
Aligned Organization
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