Yurumi Maldi
"I am Yurumi Maldi, daughter of Hatid and Wanasee Maldi, sister of Akodo, Walted and Jorossh Maldi. I have survived worse than you!"
"Well, if you want to fight, let's fight!" And as she took on a guard position, the other gladiator tried to rush her, leaping back, and landing on her back foot, she swung to the left and lowered her center of mass, before delivering a sweeping kick, expecting resistance, she was surprised when the unexperienced gladiator just fell down.
She couldn't dwell on that, however, as another gladiator, this time with a trident, rushed towards her.
"My sister Yurumi is still missing, and although she is the eldest of four, all three of us felt like she must be protected. A late bloomer, she stayed petite well into her late teens, and so she would be smaller than us almost until the event..."
"As usual, Akodo would be the one to precipitate the events. They were arguing about Yurumi going to study at the temple to become a priestess. Akodo argued it should be he that became a monk. Waltid joined in, saying it should be he, since he had the power to convince, to sway. Yurumi said that she could be taught all those things, and that the passion for service was the most important thing of all. They had no words to reply to that, either brother."
"I'm still looking for my younger brother, I'm not sure what happened to make Walted kill mother and father, and I'm not sure I can trust Akodo to be free of his influence, but I think I can trust Jorossh, and I owe him an explanation, he probably still thinks Akodo, not Waltid, killed our parents.
I miss my brothers, Akodo, Waltid and Jorossh, Jorossh most of all, we were closest after all. I hear he's been acting as an ambassador, so a bit like Walted, except out of the shadows, an ambassador also speaks in their own name, not like the second of my brothers, who cannot be seen to be made accountable for his actions."
"I set up a cairn for Mom and Dad, when it was quiet, none of my brothers saw me, when I returned to the Vale of Dust and Shadows, using skills I trained in my life since... I've not been idle, training as an infiltrator and guerilla fighter. Ever since I exalted, I've had to mute my lunar-solar bond, I can't have my brother find me through it. I have no idea what exactly chose him, but it is dark, full of shadows and whispers, raving whenever I tried to connect with him. My own patron tells me not to be worried, that her plan will come to fruition, that all is according to fate."
"Akodo Rokku! Hark my words. You have just defeated the Wolf of Port Sund! He is however, the student, will you dare face his Shahan-Ya? I, Yurumi Maldi, challenge you, to a fight in the circle of equals, with the proceeds to go to helping liberate the faraway city of Y'danna if I win. Will you take up my gauntlet, and my challenge?" Said by Moon Champion, a chosen from far Champoor.
"This is all very untidy, very messy. We've not had such numbers in a great many years, however, Eldest." "What do you make of this, Golden Chrysantemum, most of these could be assets. This Sublime Danger of the Thousand Daiklave Wings is known to me and the Pact, but the others?""I've met and trained Yurumi Maldi, she's our kind of people, if a bit independant. She taught your many-times-greatchild to fight!"
"Namor, really? He's what, twelve?"
"Sixteen. Seven Devils Clever is more of a problem... Symmetry-of-form is laying low, I haven't met anyone yet who've met them, but I am still looking."
"Where do I know that name from?"
"Broken Thunder's get."
"Oh, does that mean Shadow-of-Mars is back?"
"Unknown, but not that unlikely... Albeit, not anywhere close, according to the starcasters I've asked about it."
"Is Tidetamer back from being a beach bum yet?"
"You really shouldn't deride him from keeping an eye out on the Orchid Court and the The Epoch, both could do considerable damage..."
"I need eyes on Prasad and Y'danna and Ysyr too, I thought our friends from Nexus would bring more actionable news..."
"I think their local agents are of the more objectionable type... Well except for Yurumi, who's a minor celebrity in Y'danna at this point. That pale gentleman with them, the fashionable one?"
"That fop?"
"Eldest, he dresses in perfect finery, just for a place beyond our understanding... Yurumi says he's the height of fashion... In Stygia, the city of Endless dead.
"And the others just waltzed over from Sijan, do they have an undead 'thing'?"
"Not that I could tell, Bears-Fangs-at-the-Sun, for all his reluctance to join us fully, is a reputable broker of information, and Anja backs him on their preference for the living."
"What about her? Her and her brother enjoying caravan work?"
"Yes, they were helping with your Point Sunder interest, until some sorcery or other made Anja need to be relieved. Vingosh is still besides himself."
"A chosen of the Sun feeding us info? Is it the first time since The Purge?"
"No, of course not, but he has better reason than most. And is allied with other allies of ours, who are all rowing in the right direction."
"Keep me posted, as you said, we've not been in such strength, especially around Nexus, in decades."
"We'll need it, my contacts in Marin Bay say Lookshy is acting squirrelly."
"Squirrelly?"
"Flying-legion-squirrelly." There was a pregnant pause, before the meeting reconvened.
A well-written article that leaves me wanting to know much more about all the things you've hinted about. Why is Yurumi fighting in an arena?!? Where did she learn to fight? Why did Yurumi's brother kill their parents? Yurumi is an interesting character - I'd really like to read more about her!
Well, Jorossh is a player in my RPG campaign, and I have the player to thank for Yurumi and their family, a very fun part of his background.
Re: her fighting skills are hinted at happening off-screen as it were, as she trains to become a Lunar Exalted. I expect her to catch up with her brother, and we'll see what she learned.
Ah, I understand a bit better now, I think. You're running an active campaign, and it sounds like your players are a significant part of your worldbuilding, not all of which is fully documented here. Is that right? Anyway, I hope to read more about them. You have some interesting concepts here.
That's quite it, for instance, I can't document Yurumi seeing her brother Jorossh again for the first time since their parents died, since that hasn't happened yet! And so, Jorossh, now called Rapatriator of Souls, doesn't know what has happened to her, or the rest of their family. I actually have three campaigns. two of which are active, sharing this one worldanvil world.