Niabi

[Niabi]

Name

Niabi

Race

Vantha

Birthday & Age

Summer 4, 488 AV (23 years old)

Gender

Female

Physical Description

It wouldn’t be too difficult to spot this musician, despite her short stature. Her honeydew-yellow eyes seem to shine constantly with inquisitiveness, framed by long, pastel-black strands of hair. Her skin seems as though it is just now taking on a slight tan, setting her apart from the completely sun-drenched inhabitants of Zeltiva.

It’s a given to see a smile grace her countenance, one that gives warmth to anyone lucky enough to catch it. It’s also not uncommon for Niabi’s bubbly laughter to infect an entire room in a matter of moments. Her speech is fluid and her voice sounds as though it’s on the brink of becoming a song in itself.

Temperament

It’s hard to stay upset around such a young woman with a cheery, bouncy disposition. Niabi is always in the mood for a pleasant conversation. She’s equally ready to entertain, her fingers always itching to play a new tune for someone. To her, a day without music is as terrible as a day without sunshine. What she cannot express in words, she expresses with the help of her wooden flute.

Niabi possesses a childlike view of the world, as she’s not so familiar with much of the negativity that lurks within it, thanks to her somewhat sheltered way of living in her homelands.

Niabi has an undying love for the arts, visual and musical alike. She struggles with a terrible sweet-tooth, mainly harboring a fondness for tea that’s been over-sweetened. Although she’s not the most graceful of girls, Niabi takes great joy in stumbling about in a rhythmic fashion, her version of “dancing.”

There’s nothing that Niabi generally dislikes, however she has an extreme fear of large bodies of water. Unable to swim, she panics the moment the water reaches her shoulder blades. She’ll flail and cry for help until she’s brought out of the water entirely. If met with a situation that requires her to be within a large body of water for a prolonged period of time, she’ll find any excuse that she can in order to stay earthbound.

History

Avanthal was graced with the presence of little Niabi in the Summer of 488 AV. Her family was a rather small, with her loving parents and equally-loving elder brother.

Niabi’s mother was on the quiet side; whatever her mother could not express through her easily drowned-out whispers, she said through the warm melodies of her wooden flute. On most occasions, it seemed as though Niabi’s mother was more vocal through the flute than speaking naturally. Niabi was able to sit and listen to her mother for ages, reveling in the many stories her mother told through it. Many of Niabi’s musical skills come from watching and listening to her mother.

Her father was a moderately successful whaler, always earning enough to keep every belly in his household filled and content. He was one of the two outspoken members of the household, his voice naturally booming, his laugh able to resound and echo throughout the entirety of their household. While Niabi busied herself in the world of the arts, her brother learned the delicate art of whaling from her father.

As the years crept on, Niabi became more skilled in her musical craft, able to mimic her mother’s brilliant way of storytelling through the careful use of the inspirational crescendo, the cheerful allegro tune, and the heart-warming sound of a dolce ballad. Of course, she wasn’t as skilled as the experienced flutists that littered the city, but Niabi was bound and determined to better herself to become one of those experienced flutists.

By the time Niabi had reached her twenty-second birthday, she’d somehow managed to wear out flute after flute to the point where each one became unplayable, each time leaving her room to dwell on the discomforting and somewhat shameful thought of being seen as an Icemaiden in the community as she sat in silence. She’d suffered the biting loss of her father and brother both being lost to a whaling trip gone terribly wrong. The events seemed to snowball, one after the other, tugging on the usual-cheerful demeanor of Niabi and on what remained of her mother’s voice.

At twenty-three, in an attempt to bring them both out of their low point, Niabi offered that they both sell what they had left of their half-empty Hold and move elsewhere, to start anew and leave the tears behind them. In response, Niabi’s mother merely took her daughter’s hands, gently placing her own flute in them. Niabi understood—her mother had no intention of leaving their livelihood behind, seeing no end to her own heartache. There was no need, however, for Niabi to wither away alongside her—Niabi was to receive this flute once her mother believed her to be ready to share her gift to the rest of the world.

Niabi now carries her mother’s flute wherever she goes, always playing a song to speak for her mother, her brother, her father. She refuses to allow herself to wither away as her mother is doing in their 3/4ths empty Hold. She now lives in a modest cottage in Zeltiva, looking to make a living from her unconditional love for music, a gift birthed through love itself.

[Niabi]

Starting Package
1 Set of Clothing (cloak/coat & footwear included)
1 Waterskin
1 Backpack which contains:
1 Set of Toiletries (comb, brush, razor, soap)
Food for a week or 1 bottle of embalming fluid (for Nuits)
1 eating knife
Flint & Steel

Equipment/Possessions

Wooden Flute (Heirloom)

1 basic 20x20 single room cottage (400 sq feet) with a hearth, bunk, chest, chair, and small table

Small Tin Can

Ledger:

100 Gold Mizas

[Niabi]

Earned Skill/Points

Storytelling [Racial]: 16
Musical Composition: 10
Play Musical Instrument: 10
Rhetoric: 8
Singing: 10
Dagger: 6

Languages:

Common, Basic
Vani, Fluent

[Niabi]

Thread List

To Fill the Air With Music [Summer 23, 511 A.V.]