Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on the Order of Fire and the Vashyada.
Image Credit: Here. 'Wood Elf' by Lordsenneian.
Role: Druid, medic, alchemist, biologist, Vashyada equivalent of a Consular.
Permission: Permission for Alkahest Robe from Phylis' writer
Valiens Nantaris
here.Links: Qadiri, Xioquo, Light of Yarkul, Raevana, Phylis Alince, The Dark Heart.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Age: 69. Vashyada age and develop at a slower pace than humans, so she is actually young for her species.
Force Sensitivity: Knight
Species: Vashyada.
Appearance: Of average height for a Vashyada female. Has fair skin, but tanned due to spending a lot of time outdoors and performing physical labour. Vailkai has shoulder-length dark hair and the typical pointed ears of an elf. She is a hardy woman and there is a hint of musculature on her body and limbs. She is no physical powerhouse, but she keeps in shape. The forests of her home are full of dangers and using a hammer at a forge requires some strength. She prefers traditional attire or robes outside of combat situations.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Name: Vailkai
Loyalties: Primary: Vashyada, Tylania. Also: Order of Fire, Firemane, House Kerrigan, Order of Fire Hospitallers.
Wealth: Average. Payment in the Order of Fire is on a sliding scale, based on rank, experience, reward and so on. Being unused to market economics, Vailkai has had to adjust to how things work in a corporation because her people did not use standardised currency backed by precious metals. Most of their financial transactions are carried out by barter or trade. Vailkai is not a spendthrift and has a low opinion of consumerism.
Notable Possessions: Owns a copy of a tome on light side alchemy and a Force imbued quarterstaff. Vailkai keeps a diary which she uses to record her personal thoughts and observations. It is written in Prosabia, the main language of her people. Phylis Alince has gifted her an Alkahest Robe. She is the proud rider of a friendly Partuz called Golodnoz. This is Vash for 'the hungry one'. Golodnoz comes from a nest near the Dark Heart and is thus quite intelligent. Vailkai has a close bond with her friend. Sadly, arachnophobes may be a bit intimidated by the affectionate, large spider.
Skills: Vailkai is a healer, particularly skilled in the application of Force healing and traditional medicine. She is also a proficient biologist, particularly in the fields of ecology, botany and zoology. Moreover, she is a proficient alchemist, using the power of the Light to create alchemical effects. This light side variant of alchemy is called Alkahest and was taught to her by Phylis Alince. It can be used to create imbued items, but also uplift creatures. She is also skilled in the application of plant surge and earth shaping, an ability that is quite common among Vashyada Force-Users. That aside, she is capable of typical 'Light' applications of the Force like Stasis, Hibernation Trance, Force Blinding and various applications of Telekinesis.
The Vashyada hail from a forest and had to hunt for most of their food, so she knows how to use a bow and arrow. She is not as good as a trained huntress among her people or a sharpshooter, but her skills suffice. She is less familiar with modern weapons, but is able to use pistols. Her melee weapon of choice is a Force imbued quarterstaff. Essentially, she can be compared to a druid or the Vashyada equivalent of a Consular.
Personality: Like all Vasyhada, Vailkai had to deal with the huge culture shock that came with experiencing first contact with non-Tygaran civilisations and races. Until the coming of the sky people, her race knew nothing of FTL travel and many other things that outsiders often take for granted. She is curious about the greater Galaxy, takes notes about everything, but rationalises things by trying to fit them into ways she understands. Thusly, space is the sky-ocean to her. As she is fond of saying, "The galaxy is an endless ocean, with each planet being nought but an island in the eternal sea."
She is a thoughtful and observant person. She is generally reserved by nature but cannot be intimidated easily. The elf reads voraciously and is always seeking out more information. The Vasyhada priestesses taught her how to draw upon the Vash (Vashyada word for the Light Side) to heal others, and she is a compassionate presence in the Order of Fire. When she is not in a library or the medical ward, she can often be found in a garden or forest she tends to. Like many of the Force Users among her people, she is good with animals and plants. She helps take care of them on one of the space habitats. While she has adjusted to life in space, she prefers having some green around her and is uncomfortable in spaces wholly devoid of it. She is a bit of a researcher with a focus on the biological sciences, especially ecology, botany and zoology. Her skills in these fields make her an asset for Firemane and her people. This especially applies to their explorers.
As a healer she is sworn to save and preserve life. However, this vow does not make her meek. Silk hiding steel would be an apt metaphor for her. The Vashyada hail from a deep forest, where danger was never far. They also had to often defend themselves against Qadiri or Xioquo incursions. While the Vasyhada are a peaceful people who disdain warmongering and wars of aggression, they are rather determined in defending their own. This attitude has rubbed off on her. If needs be, she will defend herself or people under her protection, but she would rather resort to peaceful means first.
She feels strong animus towards cruel, power-obsessed or malicious beings. While Vailkai is affiliated with Firemane, she follows an interpretation of the Force that adheres to most of the tenets of her people. She came to the Order of Fire via an exchange programme that was agreed upon by Siobhan Kerrigan and Tylania, a primeval Vashyada who has a status similar to a prophetess and serves as an oracle and guide to her people. Vailkai still holds the Lady Tylania in high regard. While the Order of Fire has a greyer view of the Force, she still stays away from the Dark Side.
While she is presently working with the Order, Vailkai is extremely devoted to her people. She views her work as a way to build a bridge between the new world and her fellow Vashyada. That way she can help ease the transition and do her part to ensure that modernisation does not result in her people losing sight of their core values and traditions. Should it come to conflict, she would choose the Vashyada. Her race are primitive on the technological front, but she believes they have talents and values that others can learn from. Thus she is proud of her heritage. As someone who lost a student to the Dark Side, Vailkai is suspicious of Firemane. Tylania has taught that evil stems from someone's actions and that a person should be judged on that basis, but Vailkai is sceptical.
Vailkai bears a bit of a grudge against Xioquo due to repeated attacks they launched against the Vashyada. As a result, there is some tension between her and the Xioquo members of the Order. The official line is that the elves must let go of the old rivalries in order to progress but while the mind may understand that, it is obviously difficult for the heart to follow through after so much blood has flown. It does not help that the Xioquo have a blood-stained history of slavery, cruelty and dark side worship. Her animus towards them has a religious dimension, too. She recognises that her grudge is a bit unfair and has tried to work on it, but it is a difficult process for her. She finds Siobhan's Xioquo worshippers extremely disconcerting. Her greatest regret is the fate of Tadiya, a former student of hers who turned to darkness and forsook the Vashyada. Vailkai holds herself responsible for Tadiya's fall and believes she is duty-bound to rectify her mistake.
She has a strong interest in Alkahest, the light side variant of Alchemy, and has been taught this art by Phylis Alince, an unaffiliated Jedi Master. While not a master alchemist, she has displayed an aptitude for the art. One of her idiosyncracies is that she is very fond of spiders. She keeps a few as pets. They happen to be very large. She has trouble understanding why some people might hate spiders. Siobhan likes to make fun of them nerding around together. Siobhen herself is uncomfortable around spiders. Once upon a time Valkai worked with Phylis to create a Jedi-spawn spider. The pair showed it off to Siobhan, not knowing of her phobia. The curious, intelligent spider wanted to come and say hello to a new friend and started climbing up Sio's leg. Fortunately, they could keep the Grandmistress from hurting the poor arachnid. Vailkai and Kaylah Danton, Firemane's Vice President, share an interest in entomology.
Coincidentally, Vailaikai's husband Ruydin has also worked with the Order. A strong earth shaper and warrior-druid, he is a member of the Circle of Yarkul. Of all the Eldorai races, the Vasyhada are the least misandrist, so their relationship is rather egalitarian. The rigid misandrist beliefs of traditionalist Eldorai and Xioquo strike her as immoral and harmful.
Her opinion on slavery is a bit complex. She finds the chattel slavery that has been practiced by the Qadiri and Xioquo for so long abhorrent. The same applies to the cruel practices of slaver gangs and cartels. However, she draws a distinction between this and slavery in Vashyda society. In all fairness, slavery amongst the Vashyada has always been far rarer compared to the other races on Tygara. While not seen as immoral per se, it has been regarded as ineffective for conditions in their homeland, as they lacked the space for large slave farms and mining. So it has only been used as punishment for crimes, if a Vashyada has been unable to pay wergild to make reparation. She regards this practice, where a felon is indentured to the victim's family for a finite period of time, as educational and more civilised, arguing that strict laws govern this institution and it is more like corrective penal labour.
COMBAT INFORMATION
Weapon of Choice: Force-Imbued Quarterstaff | the Force
Combat Function: Her primary vocation is that of a healer and alchemist, but she has some combat skills to help out in a fight if need be. Her combat function could be compared to that of a druid. She can manifest defensive barriers, utilise powers like telekinesis, stun, blind and plant surge. She is very skilled at manipulating plants and the earth. Vailkai is aware of lightsabres, but does not own one herself and has yet to be trained how to fight with one. She is more used to melee weapons with actual weight behind them. She is good with polearms though, favouring a Force imbued quarterstaff. She is better at using polearms than swords, though she can hold her own. She has an affinity for animals.
She has received training in the use of small arms such as blaster pistols, but dislikes guns and is not a good rifle shot or proficient in the use of heavy weapons such as heavy repeating blasters, missile launchers or rotary cannons. Vashyada have traditionally lived in the cold temperate forests and chill mountains of Yarkul, so they have rarely encountered extremely hot temperatures. This makes intense heat a problem for her. Vailkai lacks vehicle or starship piloting skills and is thus reliant on others in this area. Like all Vashyada she has keen senses, but her sensitive hearing is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it enables her to hear noises others might miss and thus makes it more difficult to sneak up on her. But on the other she is more vulnerable to high-pitch frequencies such as those emitted by sonic weapons.
When it comes to telekinesis, she can utilise the standard skills such as push and pull. Big AOE attacks of the Force Repulse variety or similar are not part of her repertoire though. Her best use lies in being a support player and healer as she lacks the reflexes and resilience of an elite fighter. She dislikes confining heavy armour, preferring to wear a lightweight suit of armour or robe that does not restrict her movements too much. This obviously leaves her more vulnerable to damage, especially from heavy weapons and high-calibre projectiles. Ysalamiri and Voidstone will put her at a notable disadvantage, as they will deprive her of many of her talents. Moreover, she is not used to Force-negating lizards, so suddenly deprived of the Force could momentarily disorientate her and throw her off her game, possibly giving an opponent an opening to strike. Vailkai has a moral code she follows, which means she will kill in hot blood, but not cold blood and not kill a helpless opponent.
Strengths:
- Powerful light side adept, particularly skilled in healing, earth shaping, plant surge and typical light side abilities. Affinity for animals.
- Good with polearms and quarterstaffs. Being a Vashyada, she is quite hardy and has good senses.
- Force abilities are strong, but she is more of a support player than a frontline combatant. She is a Consular type, not a Guardian or Warrior.
- Limited experience with galactic technology. Not trained in the use of a lightsabre or heavy weapons. Limited experience with guns.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
For centuries the Vashyada have in the forests of Yarkul, the southern continent of Tygara. Dispersing across the vast and forbidding forests, they tamed the wilderness and became a part of it. Tylania, believed by her people to be a demigoddess, elected not to take power as being a ruler was incompatible with her Light Side beliefs. Instead, she acted as a spiritual guide, prophet and tiebreaker in the event of controversy among the Vashyada's leaders. To prevent strife, the two most powerful clans were symbolically joined as High King and High Queen. This diarchy was highly unorthodox, but worked for the most part.
While strife still occured between the clans, these clashes tended to be minor and were often resolved by duels between champions. However, despite the Vashyada's peaceful nature, their lives were not free from conflict. For they were menaced by the warlike Qadiri and Xioquo. Often they had to defend themselves against slave raids from either of the two races. Lacking the military organisation of the Qadiri or the tech of the Xioquo, the Vashyada took advantage of their greatest asset: the forest itself. To this day Qadiri still tell their children of Brahdok's folly, for the ambitious general sought to conquer Yarkul with a large army - and failed. However, then the wood elves' world was turned tupsy-turvy when the Star People came.
These changes were disturbing enough that Tylania chose to take a more direct role. Vailkai grew up into these strange times, which represented a period of change and transition for Tygara. Some saw opportunity, others threats to their way of life. When she was born, Vailkai knew nothing of any of this. Her world were the deep forests of Yarkul, where life was hard and dangers ever-present. She grew up as a member of the Whiteleaf Clan, a Vashyada tribe with a long history. Her parents were shamans and healers within the clan and devout followers of Tylania, whose priestesses were held in high esteem.
Where she was raised, life was hard and survival by no means assured. Thus she was taught from an early age how to defend herself. She displayed skill with a bow and arrow, doing her part to ensure the survival of the clan. However, while she learned to track and forage, her path was not that of a huntresss. Vasyhada society is far less hierarchial than that of their cousins, but she was groomed to carry on the family tradition, especially after her Force powers manifested. At first her parents taught her the basics of using her gifts. Her family instilled the lightsided values of the disciples of Tylania into her. Her powers came from the spirits and had to be treated with respect. They were to be used as a shield to defend others, but not as a tool to gain power or inflict pain.
Thus she was taught to favour the Light Side, which her people call Vash. She showed promise as a healer and was invited to join Tylania's circle of adepts. However, like many young prodigies, Valkai was impatient and always pushing herself. She showed promise, but she was still naive about the world, having grown up in the insulated bubble of the deep forest. One day, her brother grew very sick. He had been tracking prey to the edge of the Dark Heart of the forest, but had been struck by something malevolent and was found there by his companions and carried back to the village. Vailkai tried to heal him. But even though she did her utmost, she was unable to rid him of his ailment.
Eventually, she got desperate and sought the aid of Tylania. She should have asked her for guidance sooner, but she had been confident in her ability to cure her brother without help. In this time, Tylania only rarely walked among her people. Her light side morals were incompatible for being a ruler and she wanted her people to find their own path. However, she served as a guide, who could be awoken in times of need. For three nights Vailkai meditated and prayed for guidance, until Tylania responded to her plea. However, even she was unable to heal the young Vashyada's brother, saying that he was afflicted by a wound of the Dark Side. The Heart of Yarkul was a stained, tainted place. Tylania at times had to go into the Heart to conduct a ritual to hold back the darkness so that it would not spread and threaten her people. She was willing to do so again and find a way to help him. However, Vailkai was determined to go there instead and prove herself.
Tylania warned her that it would be perilous, but knew that this would only make her disciple more stubborn, so she took her aside and told her of a place within the Heart where a tree grew whose sap could provide healing. This was where the ancient elf went to get some of her more exceptional ingridients that could be used for exceptionally potent healing potions and salves. Her brother's condition was only getting worse, so filled with resolve, Vailkai headed off there. Tylania promised to follow a day behind. The young Vashyada knew little of what awaited her as she headed into the unknown. The test she had to pass was called the Trial of the Seven Gates, for both the darkness and the light of the forest tested her mentally and physically. For everyone the trip into the forest's heart is different, but similar in theme. The first trial she faced was that of virtue. At the first gate she was confronted with a large crystal. On touching it the crystal glowed a near brilliant white and the door opened.
Then came the trial of temptation, where she was faced with a choice. Visions of power and glory filled her if only she would step aside from her path. But she managed to overcome the visions and move on steadfast. Then came the trial of honour. Here she faced a massive spider. She could have stepped back, but instead faced the beast in combat. It inflicted serious injury on her, but she was able to defeat it with the aid of plants. In the subsequent trial of strength, the path ahead was blocked by a vast wall of stone which she could neither climb nor get around. She was too weak to move them through mere muscle strength and could not lift all of them with the Force. But she was able to her pwers to lift aside a small section and slip through before the boulders fell again, after which the vall vanished.
In the trial of wisdom she was confronted by two heavy doors, with only cryptic messages written in an archaic dialect of her people to give her an answer as to which was the correct one. Eventually she was able to apply logic to determine the correct doorway. This led her to the trial of endurance. A final door barred her entrance, with no handle or lock, only a gap in the middle with a distant lever. Feeling distrustful, she used her staff to manipulate but was tossed back. Fire burned in the hole. Finally, she reachd in and grasped it, despite the intense, searing burning and retrieved her hand unharmed, which caused the door to open.
Finally at the heart of the forest, she was faced first with the shades of those who had come before her and failed the trials. This was a trial of mental torment as doubt threatened to seize her like a vice and they sought to keep her trapped with them. However, she was able to overcome them with difficulty. But then, when she believed that the tests had come to an end, she was faced by a mirror image of herself, a reflection of her own darkness. She was nearly slain, but was able to overcome the mirror and shattered it. This was the trial of spirit.
From the spring and the tree at the centre of the forest, she retrieved a gourd of life-giving water and was also gifted a crystal. Eventually she managed to return to her tribe and heal her ailing brother. She rarely spoke of what had transpired in the forest, but was haunted deeply by it, being often plagued by nightmares. Her experiences had a profound effect on her. She was still very driven, but she also seemed humbler. She studied intently and aided her tribe wherever possible, but became a rather withdrawn woman.
However, events soon forced her to take action. All in all, the Vasyhada were a peaceful people. Disputes between clans spilled over into skirmishes due to the decentralised nature of their society, these were usually settled by small scale raids or duels between selected champions. Warfare was seen as the last resort and the aim was to force the other side to negotiate, not annihilate them. Conquest was looked upon with great suspicion. However, this defensive mentality was at odds with the martial ethos of the Qadiri and the Xioquo. Like the Vashyada, they were Eldorai subraces. Both fought each other, but also launched incursions into Vashyada territory, seeking booty and slaves. Against such opponents the Vashyada did not feel beholden to their morals and would attack without mercy once the customary warnings had been given.
Vailkai had been raised on stories about outsider incursions. When Vailkai's mother was very young, her own mother had been abducted by Xioquo raiders never to be seen again. Inevitably, the Xioquo marched upon Yarkul again, for one of their dark matriarchs sought to gain prestige. Vailkai was not one of the stealthy huntresses that first caught of the iron steamships that brought the Xioquo to their shores. Her talents lay not in being a sharpshooter or a scout. But she took up arms in defence of the homeland. The Xioquo were harassed by Vasyhada archers, illusionists and tamed beasts. But while they suffered casualties from the repeated guerilla attacks, they deployed alchemised monstrosities and primitive rifles that surpassed the Vashyada's more primitive medieval tech.
Vailkai won some fame in the battle against the invaders. At significant personal risk, she dragged a Vashyada warrior who had been wounded by a poisoned Xioquo arrow to safety. When her group came under assault, she manifested an unnaturally bright flash of light to blind the drows so that they could be smitten. A Xioquo warrior who had been able to shield herself got close and fought her. Vailkai defended herself with her staff and her ability to manipulate plants, but was outmanoeuvred by the Xioquo's superior duelling ability. Having been struck in the leg and suffered a gash to her stomach at the hand of the poisoned alchemised blade, Vailkai dropped to her knee. Suffering from the effect of the venomous poison, she managed to summon her power and Force push the Xioquo into a tree.
Enraged, the Xioquo attacked her the energies of the dark side, draining her. However, Vailkai was being tormented, a spider that had been befriended by the druid crawled up upon the Xioquo and bit her. Enraged the Drow had to defend herself, which broke her concentration. The reprieve was only temporary, but Vailkai gathered her strength to get close and blind the sorceress, before beating her with her staff. The light side energies she channelled burnt the Xioquo's skin. Thereupon Vailkai collapsed as exhaustion overcame her and the poison took its toll on her. The rest of the fight was like a blur to her and she soon lost consciousness. Fortunately for her, her comrades recovered her and brought her to the healers. While Vasyhada are not a warlike people, they respect individual valour and so she was honoured by her tribe. The attack had been repulsed, but several of her tribespeople had lost their lives. It left Vailkai with a strong animus towards the Xioquo.
A few of the Xioquo had been captured. They were enslaved and sent to work menial tasks. Slavery was nowhere near as widespread among the Vashyada as in the lands of the Qadiri or Xioquo, as it was considered inefficient and ineffective for the conditions in Yarkul. Its only institutional use was as punishment for crimes. Vailkai had a captive help her out in the household. Attempts to get through to her faltered. However, it was time for her to progress as an adept of Tylania. Perhaps the priestesses noted that her anger towards the Xioquo could lead her to a tainted road. Either way, they decided it was time for her to pass on what she had learned, so they assigned a student to her.
Tadiya was a brave, spirited girl, but also a problematic case. The girl had lost most of her family in a Xioquo raid and hidden in the woods until she was found by Vashyada rangers. She rejected the pacifist, defensive mentality of her people in favour of a more aggressive approach. Determined to help the traumatised girl, Vailkai began Tadiya's training even though she was still recovering from her injuries. Having confronted her own darkness in the Dark Heart of Yarkul, she wanted to teach Tadiya the ways of the Light and how to control her abilities. At first the two wood elves managed to bond. Vailkai was a patient, attentive teacher. However, there was still a gulf between them. Vailkai believed in the old traditions that Tadiya was rebelling against.
At first things seemed to be going well. When there was a forest fire, they helped heal Vashyada and tamed beasts that had been caught in the fire. They also used their powers of plant surge to give new life to an area that had been burnt down. Then a Qadiri Mirza named Brahdok, a ruler unaligned with the Amikarese Empire, brought a large army and fleet to the shores of Yarkul, intent on raiding it. Brahdok built a fortress on the shore. As the Vashyada lacked siegecraft, it was immune to their attacks. Impetuously, Tadiya joined a party of Vashyada rangers that attacked the fort. However, their bravery was for naught, as they were uanble to do anything other than try to burn the palisades. But the attempt was repulsed with heavy losses.
Coming under heavy fire from the entrenched Qadiri, they were forced to flee. Vailkai summoned a defensive barrier to protect her apprentice and saw to her injuries. The wooden palisades were soon replaced by stone and fire. The Vashyada gave up on storming the fortress. Feeling confident of victory, Brahdok led an army into the forest in search of Vastyro. However, having been alerted by scouts, the Vashyada knew of her approach. With the aid of the priestesses, they summoned mists and illusions to deceive the Qadiri, and then ambushed them in the fortress riding giant spiders.
It was a pure rout for the Qadiri. Brahdok's defeat would go down in history as a tale of folly among the Qadiri. Tadiya unleashed her anger in the fight, smashing a Qadiri warrior with a powerful telekinetic blast, avenging her dead comrades by slaughtering invaders. She fought valiantly - but also ferociously. This was a cause of concern for the priestesses. Vailkai was worried as well. However, Tadiya did not see how she had done anything wrong. She argued that the Vashyada could not hide forever. Their enemies were only getting stronger and more ruthless. They needed to advance if they wanted to survive.
Because she did not want to keep things secret from her student, Vailkai had told her about the seven trials she had faced in the Dark Heart. She intended it to be a cautionary tale, but unfortunately, it had the opposite effect on Tadiya. Her young student was fascinated by the story, believing she could emulate her teacher's quest. One night, after they had tended to some wood elves who had grown sick, Tadiya snuck away. Realising her intent, Vailkai pursued her, rightly fearing that her student was not prepared for such a test. However, the maze seemed to be actively working against her catching up with Tadiya, for each trial is meant for the individual alone.
Vailkai tried to reach out to Tadiya with the Force, but failed and was unable to sense her. When Tadiya emerged from the dark heart, she had been changed. She had embraced the primordial darkness of the forest. According to her, she had broken her shackles. Vailkai sensed a dark taint in her and confronted her former apprentice, seeking to talk her down and bring her to the priestesses. However, Tadiya refused to adhere to the rules, calling the beliefs of the Vashyada absurd. In the end it came down to a fight, as the wood elf, perhaps influenced by the darkness of the forest, attacked her. The dark had made Tadiya a formidable opponent, but in the end Vailkai defeated her. The darkness tried to twist the shaman's mind, urging her to kill her former apprentice, but she refused to do so. As someone who had embraced the 'Drush' (dark side), Tadiya was exiled. Vailkai was deeply shaken by this, believing that she had failed as a teacher. Depressed, she withdrew from her clan, living a life akin to that of a hermit. Eventually she was pulled out of her depression, realising that she needed to woman up.
Little did she know that change was coming to Tygara. Rumours abounded about sky people who had descended on great metal beasts. These rumours were soon proved to be fact. Vailkai was not present when a Firemane delegation led by Siobhan Kerrigan received an audience with the High King and the High Queen of the Vashyada. Even Tylania made an appearance, acting as a tiebreaker when the joint monarchs could not agree on a decision. The end result was that Firemane set up a small trading outpost on the shore of Yarkul, close to the site of Brahdok's destroyed fort. The Vashyada were pleased to hear that Firemane had subdued the Xioquo, but they were understandably suspicious of outsiders. Not only did the outsiders have superior tech, they also followed beliefs that diverged radically from those of the wood elves.
Vailkai was one of the Vashyada who were suspicious of the sky people. She feared that an accord with them could lead her people into peril. She had a rather passionate dispute with a druid from the Redleaf Clan, which supported the accord and was building ties with the outsiders. Her tribe had a bit of a rivalry with the Redleaves, which probably made the dispute more acrimonious. The dispute turned into a duel. However, the fight was broken up by Tylania, who chided both of them for their behaviour. At a crucial time where their people needed unity and looked to individuals like them for guidance, they had allowed pride to get the better of them.
Vailkai was compelled to interact with outsiders when she succumbed to a foreign disease that was unknown to her people. Having been isolated for so long, the Vashyada lacked immunity to many of the diseases common to their cousins. Exposure to such contaminants could be fatal. Vailkai was treated by a doctor from Firemane's medical corps. Her scepticism remained, but the episode had an effect on her, as she realised there were things the wisdom of the elders was not enough to protect her people from. Intrigued by foreign medicine, she resolved to learn about their healing methods so that she could use this knowledge for the betterment of her people.
She sought out the Eldorai who had a presence in the Firemane outpost, but was dismayed by the racism that was common among the cousins. Sadly, opinions along the lines of 'the forestlings are like children, not fully formed by the Goddess. Give them a couple trees and a pond and they'll happy' were far from rare. Their ignorance and entitled, smug sense of superiority saddened her. However, Eileithya Saedaris, an Eldorai priestess and healer who was a personal friend of Siobhan Kerrigan, took her under her wing and taught her some of their techniques. While the Vashyada had great healers, surgical knowledge was lacking among them, as dissection was not allowed. It was quite a shock for Vailkai when she discovered that the sky people permitted such a thing.
Vailkai was present when Ser Grrowh, a Wookiee slaver, and his gang assaulted the Vashyada homeland. His overconfidence and trust in technology turned out to be his undoing, as his raid was repulsed. Vailkai participated in the defence, using her skills to turn the forest against the invaders and summon barriers to protect her comrades. It helped that the Vashyada rangers had received some rifles from Firemane. Around this time, some of the more adventurous Vashyada began to leave Yarkul, eager to see what lay beyond their homeland. To a degree, this was a safety valve for the conservatives, as elements considered disruptive now had a way out. Some became independent operators, others found their way into Firemane's ranks.
Tylania, who believed her people needed to catch up, met with Siobhan to negotiate an exchange programme. The Vashyada did not have vast riches, but they had some resources that could be of use, such as scouts, healers and potent crystals. The more bold of the Vashyada would join Firemane for a while and learn about the Galaxy for the benefit of their people, in return they would pass on what they knew. If suitable locations were found for the Vashyada to live elsewhere they would set up fresh colonies. Some of the young adepts Vailkai had trained took up this chance to see the stars. Feeling concerned for their wellbeing, Vailkai decided to join them. At first they spent some time at a Firemane base near an Eldorai city.
Her first time in space was deeply disconcerting for her. It was unnerving, even frightening to see her home rapidly vanished as the great metal beast the sky people called a spaceship sped away. However, despite her fears she stepped up to calm Vashyada adepts that had grown scared. Trying to rationalise things in a way that made sense to her, she came to regard space as a sky-ocean, with every planetoid being an island in it, while spaceships were sky-boats made of metal. Her reservations about the sky people remained, but she grew curious about the world beyond the 'island' she had grown up on. Firemane's big space station still seemed like an enormous, ugly metal kraken to her.
It was quite shocking for her to discover how many people lived in the 'metal kraken', especially since the Vashyada lived in small settlements. She found the idea very disconcerting. On the bright side, she was happy when she found that the kraken had some green areas. To feel more at home, she set up her own garden and studied hydroponics and greenhouses. She and her fellow adepts were inducted into the Order of Fire's healer corps. This was a place where Vailkai felt at home and where she could contribute. It helped that the group attracted grey or light side adepts, as the dark side is bad at healing.
Among other things, she participated in an expedition to Raevana. Firemane was very interested in a native plant that had medical properties. However, the planet was extremely dangerous, for it was inhabited by ferocious predators, parasites and carnivorous plants. The Firemane expedition had its work cut out for it. Patrols sent into the jungle often returned battered and with missing members. Constant rain and heat impeded movement, while dense foliage did the same for scanners. Furthermore, insects, vicious crawlers and ferocious lizards kept attacking.
Valkai proved her skills by saving the life of a Firemane officer who had been infected by a dangerous parasite. Her affinity for nature proved valuable when it came to discerning between plants worth studying and those that were dangerous. However, time to study the local flora and fauna was cut short when creepers grounded several Firemane ships over the course of a few days and had to be removed. Ultimately, the Firemane mission was withdrawn, though Valkai at least got to bring back some samples with her for further study. She retained an interest in the possibility of Vashyada priestesses being able to use their bond with nature and the light tame part of the jungle a bit.
She was one of the light side adepts invited to attend a seminar by Phylis Alince on Alkahest, which was described as the light side variant of Alchemy. Vailkai only knew of the Sith from stories told by her Firemane colleagues, she was very familiar with the dark, twisted magicks of the Xioquo. She was over by the idea that one could imbue items with the Light to protect and heal. She was intrigued by the idea of Jedispawn after meeting Phylis' pet rat. However, she was mystified by some Jedi beliefs. Regardless, the two struck up a friendship. There were also some significant changes in Vailkai's personal life, as she married a druid called Ruydin. The two had been friends and off and on lovers for many years, with Ruydin helping her through her depression after Tadiya's fall from grace.
Eventually, following the dissolution of the Silver Sanctum Coalition, the leaders of Tygara decided that their world was vulnerable. A summit was convened to decide the future of its people. At this summit it was decided to expand into space to go off and colonise, sing a mixture of Sanctuary Habitat ships and Asur Worldships. Firemane rented these stations to the Eldorai and other races, but maintains a controlling interest on board. The relentless process of providing supplies and getting people aboard was a monumental effort, but it was ultimately successful.
Vailkai consulted on the construction of the Light of Yarkul, her people's first worldship She did not know anything about starship design or life in space. But the colony ship was supposed to simulate an entire ecosystem, being almost like a floating tiered forest. So she could provide advice on how to make things grow and what conditions the animals would need to thrive in. This gave her the chance to work with Ithorian nature priests and botanists. Vailkai decided to take her place among those of her people who would set their metaphorical sails aboard the worldship. Though she did not go through the trials a second time, she went on a pilgrimage to the edge of the Dark Heart one last time before departing. She still keeps in contact with her clan.
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