Sojobo Gatani

[static]

[Sound of a man in boots walking on stone]

(a.k.a. Ku)

Sojobo is an astute and intellectual middle-aged Kenku gentleman, very much a pursuer of knowledge whether that be of the physical world or the arcane. He is very analytical, logic-oriented, and pragmatic– but with the handful he cares for he is loyal and helps to the best of his abilities with what he knows he is skilled in. Sojobo is often addressed as "Ku" by his party members as a nickname; one given to him by Cake very early in their companionship. However, he finds much value in his name– Sojobo Gatani– as a Kenku breaking boundaries by truly speaking it. Currently he lodges on board The Odysseus, as a lookout and arcane/literary consultant of sorts.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Rather spindly thin with ribs showing. Fairly malnourished but healthy enough to not hinder his abilities. Afflicted with two physical ailments, one minor and one major. The minor ailment is an improperly healed shoulder injury that remains sore while the major ailment is a large necrotic scar originating from is right forearm from trying to shield himself from a Death Symbol spell. The blast scar spreads to his upper right arm, right pectoral, and right side of his face. In these spots, he only has patches of feathers if any and blackened, withering skin. His right eye is affected slightly, giving the bottom of his eye a bit of an inky black splotch.

Identifying Characteristics

Black feathers lining his entire body with the ones around his head fanned up and out from improper care, glowing light blue tattoos marking his face and chest, and crow's claws for arms and legs.

Special abilities

• Level 8 Warlock of The Seeker
• Pact of the Tome
• No need for sleep (Invocation)
• Can don a magical disguise at will (Invocation)
• Can cast ritual spells (Invocation)
• Can read all writing (Invocation)
• An expansive spell list up to 4th level
• Can read lips (Feat)

Apparel & Accessories

His typical outfit is an open dark blue robe with large, wide open sleeves with a wyvern-scaled skirt over his legs. On top, he wears his signature black robe with a gray wolf's pelt draped over the shoulders.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Born in the alleyway of his local library, Sojobo lived a rather squalid life, having to scrape by for food with his mother and father. His parents often had to steal for food to which Sojobo has picked up on but while his mom and dad stuck around the alley, Sojobo would often visit the library to learn and expand his intellect. There he learned of the wonders of magic and the curse that kenkus were afflicted by. Learning that they could not speak while everyone else could in their own distinct voices, Sojobo kept his mouth shut and dared not speak or say the name he wished to go by until he broke that curse; He even went so far as to don a mask until he could be an individual. With time, he met a powerful mage named Maurice Szanto to which he took a liking to, aiding him with his magic experiments as his assistant and apprentice of sorts. With his expansive array of knowledge, Sojobo stumbled upon an excerpt about the dead god of knowledge lying in the Astral Plane and pursued a way to get there while continuing assisting Maurice. After an argument between the two over a particular set of experiments, Sojobo stormed out into the dark streets of town when a hand grabbed onto him and imbued him with a mark that warped him directly to the Astral Plane. Journeying through the hostile lands of Githyanki and unknown creatures, Sojobo happened upon a library sitting in the Astral Sea. From there, his true journey began.

Education

Sojobo educated himself extensively for 20 years using library materials and a bit of formal education through Maurice Szanto.

Employment

Formerly employed as an assistant to Maurice Szanto.

Accomplishments & Achievements

• Age 6, 1476 - Sojobo learns of the Kenku Curse. Goes mute and dons a plague doctor mask
• Age 10, 1480 - Sojobo meets Maurice Szanto and works under him
• Age 13, 1483 - Sojobo is teleported into the Astral Plane
• Age 14, 1484 - Sojobo meets "The Seeker"
• Age 16, 1486 - Sojobo returns to the Material Plane, thinking over "The Seeker's" offer. Roams the world in the meantime
• Age 20, 1490 - Sojobo accepts "The Seeker's" offer. The pact is sealed
• Age 28, October 1498 - Sojobo meets Mercutio Ziko Makari and Cake in the port town Boer de la Mer within the Kingdom of Luquoia. He is nicknamed "Ku"
• Age 28, November 8th, 1498 - After the death of the goblin Xerix, aboard The Odysseus, Sojobo finally speaks, discarding his mask in the process
• Age 28, November 10th, 1498 - Sojobo makes it his personal manifesto to live and learn as the official inheritor to a meaningful position in The Cult of the Seeker once belonging to the legendary Fleur Ereneath of The Heavenly Seven.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

To further his knowledge and and find a way to break the kenku curse for all for good

Relationships

Sojobo Gatani

Friend/Ally (Important)

Towards Cake Charlotte

4

4

Honest

---

Cake Charlotte

Friend/Ally

Towards Sojobo Gatani

0

0

---

Sojobo Gatani

Colleague/Ally (Important)

Towards Captain Mercutio Makari

-2

-2

Subversive

---

Captain Mercutio Makari

Captain/Ally (Important)

Towards Sojobo Gatani

-1

0

Dishonest

---

History

Sojobo, a traveller at the time, ran across the Lance Knight Mercutio standing as guardian to Cake, in Boer de la Mer in the Kingdom of Luquoia, in October of 1498. With similar interests and the chaos closing in on the port village, a small group was formed between the three and a local goblin named Zerex, "the nose". When the ship The Odysseus was acquired by the group and Mercutio took the role of captain, their relationship did not change very much with the exception of Sojobo beginning to take an interest in the strange markings and behaviors related to Mercutio's apparent devilish presence. As such, Sojobo began subtly trying to figure out these markings and their meanings, knowing well the concept of summoning circles and portals to other realms but rarely seeing others like himself with such things branded onto their very bodies. For much of their early relationship they held a mostly neutral, complacent opinion toward one another, as they did not understand one another very well in personality, mannerisms, and priorities, but find a few traits in one another admirable.
Mercutio finds him a hard case to approach, as Sojobo isn't accustomed to the systematic respect of a protectorate or ship with ranks and obligations, as well as the fact that Mercutio tends to feel degraded due to the way Sojobo responds to him at times being somewhat high and mighty due to his superior intellect. On the contrary, Sojobo finds it hard to be patient and understanding as Mercutio tends to put himself in situations of personal recklessness, vengeance, or other self-sabotaging behaviors quite often, to an extent that goes past braveness and into a realm that Sojobo sees as unintelligent and careless.
The two slowly but surely got used to one another and ended up at a comfortable place that could be, finally, possibly described as friendship around the time that Sojobo resigned himself from being a warlock and decided to work his way up to becoming an artificer. This lasted all of around two weeks, however, as the trials of the Elmsbraen Champions lead to incidents of possession that lead to misunderstanding, as well as partaking in certain deals and events that would come to light and be seen as unjust and/or morally wrong. Where as Mercutio found himself frustrated with Sojobo for his hypocrisy in lacking understanding and forgiveness around the concept of possession (as everyone in the trials had been possessed at one point or another and made to do things they normally wouldn't), Sojobo became even more frustrated with Mercutio for making two separate pacts with devils. Seeing this as reckless and, essentially, negotiation with terrorists in a sense, Sojobo held onto the grudge after the trials and abhors the devillish traits Mercutio agreed to taking on in exchange for what Mercutio considers a chance at some kind of internal stability and realistic compromise. Which Sojobo, instead, considers a power-hungry and morally corrupt move. The two have many issues with communication (that have been there even in the time that Sojobo could speak out loud) and at this point do not reason with one another, Sojobo is suspicious of Mercutio and his intentions and Mercutio is put off by Sojobo's lack of empathy and patience and what he sees as Sojobo's own power-hungry, self-centered antics.

Relationship Reasoning

Crew/Lodged aboard The Odysseus.

Commonalities & Shared Interests

Commonalities	Shared Interests
The Odysseus	History / underlying history
Grew up in squalor, children of the streets	"Trophies" (for Mercutio it's mostly pelts and things of that sort, for Sojobo it's usually skulls and skeletal remains)
Value intellect highly (Sojobo because he values knowledge above all, Mercutio because he wants to know so much more about the world but he thinks he's incapable of having an intellect like Sojobo's or anyone of higher education)	Sketching
Resourceful, quickwitted– survival above luxury	Travel/Discovery
Do not have a strong spirituality, but are stubborn over their more deeply rooted beliefs/morals	Strategy (battle, mostly)

Shared Acquaintances

• Cake Charlotte
• High Priest Jeremiah
• Zerex (deceased)
• Delphine Forest
• Adélaïde Belrose
• Chance
• Senve Vryne
• Varis Ravara
• etc...

Legal Status

Subordinate/Captain

Alignment

True Neutral

Current Location

Luquoia

Species

Kenku

Conditions

• Body Transmuted into a Portal

Ethnicity

Luquoian

Year of Birth

1470 ACE

Birthplace

Ville du Savior, Kingdom of Luquoia

Spouses

Siblings

Current Residence

The Odysseus

Gender

Male

Eyes

Black

Hair

Black Feathers

Height

5'4" (7'2")

Weight

67 lbs

Quotes & Catchphrases

"What? That's not how you spell spider..."

"Hello. Delphine. I have an owl. Her name is Kapora."

"I, Sojobo Gatani, am giving you this because this is what friends do. I am your friend and I appreciate you very much."

"I always believed and acted upon the mindset of power making the world go round. That... In order to be successful one has to gain as much power as possible because that's the only thing people respect. But, I've realized that I don't have to conform to that. I've realized it's better not to conform to that worldview because it just enables it to exist more. I want to gain knowledge, and through that I could gain power, though that's not the end goal– and I want to do so on my own terms, with my own hands."

"So this is the price of true power..."

Aligned Organization

The Cult of the Seeker

Other Affiliations

• Kingdom of Luquoia
• The Odysseus

Known Languages

• Common
• Auran
• Elvish
• Gith
• Abyssal
• Goblin

* Sojobo can also read/comprehend all languages, as he has been gifted this ability by the Seeker.