OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on Shadow Knights.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Leader of Kazal's Dune Raiders, combat pilot, foil/friend to Kaida.
Permission: Can use Firemane stuff because I own the company.
Links: Shahbânu Semiramis III, I'm Breaking You Down To Build You Up, Yazgid, Tygara, Eldorai,
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Age: 61
Force Sensitivity: Non-Force User.
Species: Qadiri
Appearance: Jahira is a tall Qadiri female with long dark hair, pointed ears and brown eyes. Growing up in a tropical climate has given her a tanned, bronze skin tone. As a warrior, her tanned skin is scarred by numerous wounds. She is slender, but has a muscular body shape. Fond of talismans, earrings and head jewellry. One of her pointed ears was cut off during captivity and her back was severely flogged for her continual stubbornness. Medical technology has evolved though so her ear was restored and her scars mostly healed. Her back and her ear still appears slightly different though and the scars remain as thin, white lines.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Name: Jahira Jai Kazal.
Loyalties: Kaida Taldir, Shadow Knights (lore submission), Shadow Knights, Kazal's Dune Raiders, Court of the Shadows.
Wealth: Moderate. She receives remuneration from the Shadow Knights, but the rebels are not exactly rich. However, Jahira is the leader of a group of raiders and, while fair, makes sure she gets her cut of the profits of any raid. She is not wealthy, but good with money and has some loot stashed away. Turning it into hard currency is not always easy, but it gives her an emergency fund she can make withdrawals from. Jahira is not averse to doing a little 'requisitioning' on the side when on a mission.
Notable Possessions:
- Verpine Shatter Rifle
- Vornskr Revolver
- Magnetic Repeater
- X-Wing
- Hypnogaze
- Bladesinger Combat Speeder
- Terminus Shiv
Personality: Proud, determined, courageous, domineering, cunning, hot-blooded. Jahira Jai Kazal was forced to grow up at an early age. Born as one of the many bastards of a Qadiri nobleman, she could not inherit, but was raised to be one of the family's agents. Her father treated her well, but then he ran afoul of a plot at the court of Shahbânu Semiramis, overlord of the Amikarese Empire. Forced to flee into the desert, Jahira ended up joining a group of nomads and bandits. After proving her worth to the outcasts, she rose through the ranks and eventually became the leader of a force of raiders who now bear her name.
These circumstances forced her to grow up early. Jahira is extremely headstrong and formidable towards anybody who dares cross her, as well as possessing a sharp, cynical, and sarcastic sense of humor. Much like her father, she is also rather hot-blooded, though not stupid. She has a pragmatic attitude in combat and does not let niceties such as honour get in the way of survival, even if it means performing a tactical retreat if she cannot win a fight or if the costs would outweigh the gains. She will choose to win or get out alive by whatever means necessary over choosing a good fight. After all, if you're dead you have no choice but to stay down. She is fierce in combat and rather obdurate about her independence.
Because of her sharpness, Jahira can come across as aggressive towards people she doesn't like or people who try to put her in her place. She can also be insensitive and judgmental. When one of her friends and soldiers was dealing with PTSD after being tortured, her solution was to tell him that if he did not want to live he should kill himself, or toughen up and keep going. This was very cruel of her, but the concept of PTSD is not understood in her culture. Indeed, even 'developed' ones often deny it. Nonetheless, Jahira is loyal to her people. After several of them had been taken captive by pirates, she swallowed her pride and teamed up with the taciturn Kaida to rescue them. Having spent so many years among raiders and bandits, she has a rather liberal attitude towards private property. She does follow an honour code of sorts though.
One of the principles she adheres to is that of guestright. She also takes oaths seriously and holds oathbreakers in disdain. Moreover, while the life she's led has been that of an outlaw, she is no sadist. She preferred holding affluent captives for ransom and giving low born who proved useful a chance to join her gang. However, violence does not faze her. After all, she's made a living as a bandit, raider and hired gun. When prompted by others, she is willing to share war stories. When she encounters other warriors, she tends to ask them about the battles they fought in. This can cause issues if she's talking to people who do not share her fondness for a good fight and regard battle as an ugly necessity. Needless to say she does not understand or like pacifists.
She earned the nomads' respect by leading daring raids on cities and caravans. However, she is able to think beyond mere violence. Her Dune Raiders were not just warriors, but also traders. Trade routes for gold, silver, spices and other goods ran through the desert they called home. To control them, they staged raids on other caravans and groups of herders. Honest trade and protection fees supplemented revenue gained from plundering. When the arrival of the sky people on Tygara brought profound changes to her homeworld and threatened her way of life, she adapted again and modified her way of life without sacrificing the core of it.
Affiliating with the Shadow Knights has imposed certain constraints on her, but they give her plenty of targets to attack. Jahira has only recently been exposed to the greater Galaxy and galactic technology, but for someone who spent most of her life in the desert she has been quite successful at catching up. She has been very eager to incorporate outside innovations into her operations. The Qadiri is right at home in the cockpit of a starfighter or an air speeder. She is fond of ale and good wine. Unlike Kaida, who is a lightweight, Jahira has a high alcohol tolerance and enjoys drinking others under the table. She can be amusingly crude, bawdy and flirtatious.
While no zealot or excessively devout, Jahira is religious. Although exposure to the outside world has modified her views a bit, on the whole she still believes in the Qadiri deities. Her religiosity has a very practical streak because according to her no one, no matter how powerful, can know for sure whether there might not be something out there, so it is best to have an insurance. Her favourite ones are the War Goddess Ninurtai and Runkal, god of hunting. Sometimes she makes offerings to Myrkash, the compassionate goddess of healing. Given her job this might be considered strange. Jahira counters that it is a sound investment policy. Her world view is polytheistic, meaning she accepts the existence of many deities instead of just those she happens to pray to.
It would not be out of character for her to make offerings to a foreign deity who is worshipped by the natives of a planet she happens to be visiting. She rejects the superstitions of some of her kin who believe that technology is the gift of gods or demons or powered by them. Jahira is relatively free of the sexist beliefs that are so common among the Eldorai. She only has vague memories of her biological mother. Her big role model was her father Ashkan, who raised her as his own like he did with all his bastards. Her relationship with her father's wife were understandably poor, since the lady viewed her as a threat to her children. As long as her family lived, Jahira was forbidden from bearing her father's name. Following their extermination at the hands of jealous rivals, she claimed the family name and called herself Kazal, vowing revenge.
COMBAT INFORMATION
Weapon of Choice: Rifle, blades, air or landspeeder/starfighter.
Combat Function: Jahira is a skilled markswoman, driver and pilot. She is a precise shot, has good reflexes and keen senses. Moreover, she is skilled with knives. Qadiri form a nice balance between Eldorai and humans. They are remarkably agile, yet still able to hold their own physically. She is decent with a sword, but her skills as a duellist lag behind those as a ranged fighter and she is no swordmistress, preferring to engage opponents at range. In melee she prefers to outmaneouvre her opponent, using surprise and agility rather than brute strength. This has implications in pitched combat or if she lacks room to manoeuvre. Good at using a power lance in mounted combat.
However, she is only a mortal woman and lacks genetic enhancements, cybernetic implants or Force powers to give her preternatural abilities. As a result, she must rely on her wits, training and tech to come out on top in an engagement. Jahai is strong-willed and very resistant to mind tricks. However, being a Force blind she does not truly understand how the Force works. If she goes up against a Force-user, she may be unable to anticipate potential dangers, as she can only observe the Force's effects and react in accordance with past experiences.
She relies strongly on speed and ambush tactics and is not skilled in the use of heavy weapons. The ground unit she commands, Kazal's Dune Raiders, make heavy use of speeders, relying on hit-and-run tactics, precision and mobility to strike fast and hard. They favour manoeuvre and guerilla tactics over head-on assaults on entrenched fortifications. Her sensitive hearing is a double-edged sword, as it also makes her more vulnerable to high-pitch frequencies such as those emitted by sonic weapons. Being a native of the Qadiri lands of Tygara Jahai is used to tropical and hot desert climates. This has implications in combat in very cold environments. Jahira has a preference for lightweight armour that gives her mobility. This obviously leaves her more vulnerable to heavy weapons than a heavier, tankier set would.
Strengths:
- Talented combatant. Good with guns and skilled in tactical command.
- Very well-versed in ambushing tactics, skirmishing and recon, especially in a desert environment.
- Good pilot and vehicle operator.
- Has to rely more on agility and finesse than brute force.
- Preference for light armour, which makes her more vulnerable to heavy attacks.
- Mortal. She has no Force powers, cybernetics or genetic enhancements.
The warlike Qadiri are almost as fond of Byzantine intrigue as their Eldorai cousins. Perhaps it is more apparent because they are a deeply fractured race. Throughout their history, there has been no central authority that could force all Qadiri to fall in line and obey. Unlike the majority of her minions, Jahira was not born an outcast, nomad or bandit. Instead she was the bastard daughter of a Qadiri nobleman, who had acquired a well-justified reputation for philandering and prodigious breeding on top of being a highly skilled fighter and master poisoner.
In addition to his trueborn children, he sired eight bastards. Being illegimate, they were denied the family name and could not inherit. But their father Ashkan claimed them as his, considering them useful agents that could serve his interests, without ever becoming a threat to him. He felt genuine affection for them. Ashkan was a larger than life figure. One could call him a classical Renaissance man. Fierce and hot tempered, he was renowned as a alchemist, explorer, poisoner, fighter and philanderer. Rumours claimed that he had learned the dark arts from a Xioquo witch, though this might have just been hearsay spread by his enemies. In his youth, he was an avid sailor and led expeditions to distant areas of Tygara.
One of the defining moments of his life was the death of his beloved older sister Astrella. Having married into another Qadiri great house, she and her children were brutally murdered by the thugs of a rival Qadiri noble family during a siege. Ashkan was certain but could not prove that this had been done at the behest of Bahar Jai Safaval. His moment for revenge came when one of Bahar's sons was accused of conspiracy and murder and needed someone to represent him in a trial by combat. Seiing his chance, Ashkan volunteered after learning he would face Kritana. This fearsome, brutal warrior was a vassal of Bahar and widely believed to have murdered Astrella years ago. Using his agility, guile and poisoned weapons, Azhan was able to outmanoeuvre and weaken the champion before landing the killing blow. The venomous poison ensured that Kritana died a slow, painful death. Then Ashkan proceeded to denounce Bahar before the assembled nobles. When the Lady fell sick and died of disease despite being in good health, many held Azhan responsible for the deed.
Azhan was quick to anger and never forgot a wrong done to himself or his family, but he genuinely loved his children, including his bastards. Jahira was the daughter of a peasant girl. She was taken from her mother when she was very young. She claims that her biological father tossed a speer at her feet and gave her a choice. She could stay with her lowborn mother, who was unwilling to let her go, or come with him. She picked up the weapon and chose him.
From an early age she displayed an aptitude for martial pursuits. The relations between her and the lady of the manor were poor, for Ashkan's wife understandably considered her husband's bastard spawn a threat to the inheritance of their legitimate children. Sometimes Ashkan allowed his bastard daughter to accompany him on campaigns and expeditions. Once their surface ship was ambushed by the Xioquo. The tactics her father employed to defeat the superior drow fleet would influence her years later when she found battling enemies in the sky-ocean. Her family were vassals of the Amikarese Empire, the largest Qadiri state on Tygara, and thus owed their allegiance to its ruler. However, Ashkan was an ambitious man, and this inevitably created resentment and jealousy. From an early age Jahai was taught that while their life was privileged, it was also dangerous. She learned to follow orders, ride and fight. According to her, her father administered small doses of the poisons commonly used in the Qadiri game of thrones until she had built up a high resistance to them.
When Semiramis became Shahbânu of the Amikarese Empire, the family found itself in an awkward position. The new ruler's ascent to the throne had been preceded by a brief civil war between her and her cousin Jaamini. Semiramis had been able to muster her allies and defeat the usurper, who was murdered by her surviving supporters. Disgusted by the betrayal, Semiramis had the murderers executed and gave her cousin a proper burial.
Ashkan had backed Jaamini, but realised the way the wind was blowing and bent the knee to the new ruler. However, he was not part of the clique that murdered Semimirams' cousin. To buy good will, he paid a large tribute in gold to the new ruler and provided levies to fight off a Xioquo attack. However, one of Semiramis' ministers had been slighted by Ashkan, who had turned down an engagement between two of their children in favour of a more advantageous union with another house. So the minister conspired with relatives of Bahar, then convinced Semiramis that the unreliable vassal was plotting treason. It helped that the land Ashkan governed was rather rich and the Crown found itself in need of more gold. The minister obfuscated his participation in the conspiracy, bribing the Safavals to do his dirty work for him while shielding them from possible legal repercussions.
The trap was sprung. It was a brutal massacre. Most of the house was wiped out. One of Jahira's own half-siblings, a fellow bastard called Almira, was part of the plot. Her motive was jealousy of her father's trueborn children. She had been promised to be legitimised. Unfortunately for her, the plotters did not like loose ends and so she was rewarded as a traitor deserved. Jahira, however, managed to escape, having noticed suspicious goings just before the bloodletting began. Injured and with only a few supporters, she escaped into the desert. Believed to be dead, she was actually found by nomads. By the time she stumbled upon them she was exhausted and near dehydration. At first, the outcasts wanted to sell their prize into slavery.
The wise woman of the tribe, a sorceress, interrogated her about her origins and subjected her to a trial by ordeal to determine the truthfulness of her words. But eventually she joined their ranks, proving her mettle when she took up arms during an unexpected ambush by a rival tribe . She had been taught to regard the outcasts as barbarians, but they shared common foes and her warrior spirit won her their respect. Obviously she had to earn their respect. One of her trials consisted of taming a very aggressive Yazgid. At first Jahira was overwhelmed, but then she managed to win the beast's respect through a mixture of carrot and stick. She turned out to be a good animal trainer. The Dune Raiders lived a nomadic existence, sustaining themselves through raids. They rode upon Yazgid and wielded spears, scimitars and primitive rifles. Jahira adapted well to their warrior culture, with its honour codes, superstitious beliefs and ruthlessness. During raids on caravans and towns she proved herself as a skilled, tenacious fighter, displaying skills as a sharpshooter and Yazgid rider.
However, the Raiders were not merely warriors, but also traders. Trade routes for gold, silver, spices and other goods ran through the desert they called home. To control them, they staged raids on other caravans and groups of herders. Honest trade and protection fees supplemented revenue gained from plundering. While Jahira had personally accepted slavery as a fact of life and did not see it as abhorrent per se, she accepted escaped slaves who proved themselves into her gang. As was common on Tygara, the nomads practiced slavery, securing captives as war booty or acquiring slaves on the market. Jahira disdained senseless cruelty, but was no abolitionist. This was Tygara, after all. Even the peace-loving, lightsided Wood Elves practiced slavery, though only to a limited extent because it was impractical in the forest. Some of her new tribe's raids took them far into the heartland of the Amikarese Empire, though Jahira lacked the numbers to gain revenge on those who had betrayed her.
Having grown cocky, she made an early attempt to ambush her family's killers and bring them to justice. However, the attack went poorly for her. Overwhelmed, the nomads she had bribed to help her were outmatched. They were obviously not willing to lay down their lives for a lost cause and so they retreated. Jahira was captured by Safaval soldiers. Luckily for her, she managed to escape her confinement. But the failed attempt left her with scars that never went away and taught her that she had to be patient. It also forced her to realise that it would take more than bravery and martial prowess to enforce justice. She had to be cunning and learn about something she disdained: politics!
It took many years until she was in a position to enact her revenge. Direct assault was out of the question. So she resorted to subterfuge, as much as she hated playing the Game. Thus she set her sights on House Khorramal, a cadet branch of House Safaval. The Khorramals were envious of their relatives. A bastard born to a disgraced noble house, who had thrown in her lot with barbarians and raiders, could obviously not approach highborn directly. Taking refuge in audacity, Jahira kidnapped a minor member of the family, Delara Jai Khorramal. The raid served two purposes: Firstly, it proved her competence to both the Khorramals and the nomads she had joined. Secondly, the ransom negotiations provided a good cover for plotting, without causing suspicion. The Khorramals wanted to advance their interests, she wanted revenge on the Safavals. They would help provide her with the tools. She did not care about her family inheritance, so what happend to it afterwards was not her concern.
She was able to win support among the nomads by proving herself on raids and promising them booty. It helped that many of them bore a grudge against the city-dwellers in general and highborn in particular. They harassed the Safavals through raids on their caravans and settlements beholden that paid tribute to them. Seeing a useful proxy, the Khorramals provided them with some discrete funding. Finally, Jahira snuck into the stronghold of the Safavals, impersonating a diplomat. By now she bore little resemblance to the angry little girl who had foolishly thrown herself at the soldiers of the noble house. From the inside she could sow discord and gather information. She revealed herself to the head of the house when the trap was sprung, after opening the gates to her supporters. Jahira took her time with killing the matriarch. Khorramal soldiers had joined her raiders in disguise, wearing the attire of nomads. It was a bloody massacre. Jahira had enough ethics left to spare the little children and the servants, but other than that House Safaval was ripped out, root and stem. A few survivors of the bloodletting were spared so that they could be sold into slavery.
However, as she examined some confidential papers, Jahira realised that the conspiracy reached deeper than she had anticipated. Farhad Jal Khansari, a minister of Shahbânu Semiramis, had been the instigator of the plot against her family. He had used the Khorramals to do his dirty work for him by exploiting the grudge they held against her father, but kept his own hands clean. Her revenge was incomplete while he yet lived. However, a minister of the Amikarese Empire was in a league of his own. In the aftermath of the fighting, the Khorramals did their best to seize the Safavals' resources. They were obviously not interested in confronting a minister of their feudal overlord. Jahira rewarded the nomads who had stood by her by giving them a generous share of the loot, and returned to the desert. Her experiences had taught her the value of patience, as much as her hot-blooded nature compelled her to unleash instant violence.
She became leader of her own group of raiders after challenging and defeating the chieftain in single combat. She made a name for herself as a fearless reaver. It is said that she brought her Dune Raiders to the lands of Khawjar, a distant Qadiri realm, abducted a local princess and valuable gems. She also claims to have visited the Great Pyramid, though this is probably embellishment since those who set foot inside it tend to go insane. However, Tygara's long isolation was coming to an end.
Realising the way he wind was blowing, Semiramis was canny enough to make an alliance with Firemane when the star people discovered Tygara. She was a despot, but one who could guarantee order and who was open-minded about disposing with slavery. Thus the Amikarese soldiers were equipped with weapons that were advanced by Tygaran standards. A daring raid on a convoy turned into a rout when the Dune Raiders were faced by the Shahbânu's new model army, forcing them to retreat. Subsequent anti-banditry operations diminished their ranks, though the royalist soldiers could not pursue them far into the desert.
The Dune Raiders tried to make a deal with a gang of foreign pirates, but were betrayed. Several of their comrades were taken captive. Jahira was among them. Though tortured by the pirates, she managed to escape, but could not save all her comrades. Seeking refuge in an oasis so that they could regroup and free their fellows, the nomads ran into two Angelii. As chance would have it, they were Kaida Taldir and one of her subordinates. An awkward standoff ensued. Kaida, icy as ever and disillusioned with the Eldorai Matriarchy, eventually agreed to help the nomads rescue their comrades, as the foreigners had been a nuisance for the Eldorai as well. Furthermore, she shared the desert rats' disdain for royals. The assault ended in success and the foreigners were butchered. Having acquired modern weapons themselves, many of the Dune Raiders wanted to return to the old ways. However, Jahira was more cautious, realising that change had come to Tygara. She managed to fend off a challenge to her leadership.
Jahira was proven right by the exodus. The Eldorai and the native Tygaran races decided to move off into space and expand, as their planet lacked a great power to protect it and was thus vulnerable. However, this was a tumultuous period for the fractious Qadiri, who warred amongst themselves. Jahira used the chaos to get revenge for the deaths in her family by slaying the traitorous minister. Not content with letting him die quickly, she exposed him to the heat of the desert sun. The Dune Raiders were also reunited with Kaida, who by now had joined the Shadow Knights, a coalition of Eldorai rebels. Though Eldorai-centric, the group also accepted Tygaran natives, considering them fellow Asurans. Jahira and Kaida sniped at each other as much as before. But the Qadiri nomad leader was looking for a way to leave the planet, while the Angelii needed help with 'requisitioning' resources the departing aristos no longer needed. Having heard so much about the Galaxy from foreign travellers and merchants, Jahira wanted to see it with her own eyes and take advantage of the opportunities it offered.
Finding themselves adrift in an unfamiliar Galaxy they knew little of, they chose to join the Shadow Knights, whose nomadic life style and independent spirit suited them. Needless to say it took them time to adjust to this new reality. They also had to deal with racism, for though the Knights of Shadow regard themselves as progressive, many Eldorai still look down on their cousins, and Jahira had her share of altercations with racist Shadow Knights. Jahira offended a Shadow Knight commander, who tried to initiate court martial proceedings and have her banished from the fleet, but the charges were later dropped.
Their history as criminal elements also caused issues. Moreover, the Eldorai condemned slavery, an institution that was considered normal on Tygara. She also did not care for the factional politics of the paramilitary survivalist movement. Like many of her race, Jahira came to regard space as the sky-ocean. She took an interest in space travel and learned how to pilot small craft. Her race's inherent knack for navigation and good reflexes helped her become a capable combat pilot. She stuck around with the Shadows because their nomadic life style and martial ethos appealed to her, though she viewed herself as more of a free agent. This pulled her into the orbit of the Court of the Reaver, which managed irregulars among the Shadows.
In fact, she was considering leaving the group for greener pastures. Fate intervened when the Shadow Knights ended up in a fight with Archangel.The machine cult had been preying Eldorai and Tygaran exodites, attacking vulnerable ships in order to abduct the elves aboard for processing. An Archangel attack had caused significant casualties among the renegades. During a counterattack on an Archangel shipyard, Jahira came into her own as a combat pilot. Back on Tygara, Qadiri were natural sailors and her family had owned its own small flotilla.
Remembering Qadiri surface fleet tactics, Jahira baited Archangel ships into firing on her, then drew around so that they ended up firing at each other. This allowed her to dive in and release torpedoes into the now unshielded enemy warship. This gave Kaida and her unit an opening to board the shipyard. Ironically, the officer who had tried to court-martial Jahira was now forced to give her a medal. Her actions earned her respect, which gave her an incentive to stick around. She sometimes works with Kaida, who had been given a roving commission by the Archon.
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