Name: Ulivali Race: Rito (Fokka) Age: 16 Gender: Male Place of Origin: Dragon Roost Island/Windfall Island PWC: 3/1/5 Perks: Roc’s Feather Valiance Hookshot Treasures and Rupees: Navigation 35 -35 0 Sense 35 -5 30 Captivating Dance 40 Profession (Prayerful Dancer) 30 0 Equipment: Valoo Robes A set of red-and-peach robes trimmed with lilac, designed to evoke the image of Valoo in their colouration. Prayer Beads Round, wooden green beads strung together on an easily-removed necklace. Ulivali’s pair has a small metal charm and a battered Roc’s Feather hanging from it. Blindfold A thick strip of fabric in a yellow hue, soft on the underside and tough on the outside, tied tightly over Ulivali’s eyes to hide them. Prosthetic Talon A dull gray prosthetic talon, held on by multiple black leather straps looping his uninjured talons and secured by a painted cuff around his ankle. Knife Although it is often dangerous for Ulivali to handle weapons he does keep a long, flat knife strapped to his side, used for a variety of purposes from cooking to cutting ropes to self-defence. Ulivali is not fond of fighting, so the weapon rarely sees combat. Hookshot A run-of-the-mill Hookshot that doesn’t see much use, given that Ulivali can’t exactly aim it. It’s mostly a wish and a prayer when he does, and he’s rocketed himself headfirst into a wall many a time by attempting to hookshot to something he can’t even see. Navigation, as it turns out, doesn’t help when you’re hurtling at top speed headfirst into a solid wall. Silk Satchel A white satchel containing many of Ulivali’s belongings that he intends to bring with him when he builds up the courage to leave home. Incense Sticks Ulivali has a ridiculous collection of incense sticks in many scents, his favourite of which are patchouli, and coriander and lime. He burns these when he prays and when he dances for Valoo and people watching. Pet: Although Ulivali is good with animals he does not have a pet. Appearance: Appearance (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Appearance (open) Appearance (close) Ulivali is a rather short Rito, standing at 5’3” with no prospects of growing taller. This can be a real problem when he is trying to access shelves or cupboards, although it does prevent him from hitting his head on things quite effectively. He is very lightweight, as is common for Rito, except given his lack of wings this isn’t a good thing. He is prone to being knocked over by strong winds. He has short, bowl-cut white hair, round eyebrows, and dark skin. A stunted-looking curved yellow beak sits in the middle of his face, and below that is a slightly sour-looking mouth that, when truly happy, can reveal quite the toothy grin. He wears rather noticeable clothing- not that it bothers him in the slightest. Wearing a set of formal-looking robes in shades of red and peach, Ulivali’s clothing is meant to evoke the image of Valoo. He wears a sharp-shouldered, long-sleeved shirt, with the collar, shoulders and cuffs in a rich red lined with lilac. He also wears a sort of skirt, robe or kilt, again red lined with violet, held up by a seemingly excessive three belts. The lower two hang crooked, weighed down on one side by Ulivali’s knife. Also held up by the belts is a lilac tabard, depicting white Rito runes. Around his neck hangs a well-thumbed set of emerald green prayer beads, with a small metal charm depicting a hand and a ragged-looking Roc’s Feather hanging from the centre. Ulivali more often than not has a hand wrapped around these beads and charms, whether lost in contemplation or nervous. Ulivali is missing the outer talon on his left foot, and in its place is a tightly-strapped prosthetic. While this greatly decreases his dexterity in that foot, it does allow him to walk and run without the loss of balance that a missing talon would cause. His talons are slightly stubbier and more splayed than one would expect from a Rito- Ulivali’s earth-bound life has bent his feet into a shape more suited to holding his weight on the ground than to landing and dexterity from the air. The most distinctive part of his appearance, were they not covered with a yellow blindfold, would be his eyes and the area around them. Ulivali’s eyes are a very dark reddish hue, with no visible pupil, and they look rather disgusting. The skin around them is patchy, in some places a healed white and in others a still-painful looking yellow or red. Overall, if Ulivali did not cover his sightless eyes, he would likely be regarded as quite repulsive or terrifying. He is well aware of this, and so makes great pains to keep his face covered so as not to scare people away. How this ‘looks’ to Ulivali (Move your mouse to reveal the content) How this ‘looks’ to Ulivali (open) How this ‘looks’ to Ulivali (close) Ulivali is quite short, which can be a pain if he’s trying to get to things but also helps him not hurt himself a lot- the less of him there is, the harder it is to injure it. His small size gets him knocked about a lot, which is a huge problem in crowded areas. His hair is short and soft, kind of curtain-y, and his beak is small but sharp. His clothes are quite comfortable, and he likes the way they move when he walks. The shirt is a little stiff around the shoulders, but the robes are made of a soft fabric that Ulivali loves to wear when he dances because it feels silky against his legs when he twirls. The belts are a pain because they get in the way of that, but he needs something to hold his knife, and he kept hitting his elbow on it when he danced while it was sheathed higher at his hip. He tried sheathing it on the back of his belt once but it took him too long to fumble for it and draw it. He likes the tabard he wears as well- it has embroidered runes on it that he likes to run his hands over and play with, picking at the threads a little. Hanging around his neck are his beloved prayer beads, worn under a frequent anxious grip but comforting in their familiarity. The metal charm is often cold to the touch and Ulivali will sometimes grip it so tightly that he can feel the impression of it on his palm for a while afterwards, and he loves playing with the special feather that also hangs from the beads, even if it feels a little grubby in between gentle washes. His left foot is weighed down by a prosthetic to replace a missing talon, and he might trip over it sometimes but it does stop him pitching to the left when he runs, for which he is grateful. He often has to take it off when he dances, however, simply because he’s fallen over it once too many times. The part of himself that Ulivali really hates, however, are his eyes. He keeps them hidden because even without sight he can tell they are disgusting, what with their gnarled, painful, waxy ridges framing them and the oily way they feel the few times he’s built up the courage to poke himself in the eye. Ulivali is perhaps more disgusted by his own visage than anyone else may be, and is heavily focused on making sure that nobody sees that part of him-ever. Personality: Ulivali is a reserved Fokka, more so than one would expect for his age, and he is largely mature for his age. This is mostly due to his having had to grow up much faster than his peers, and very distant from them. Having been kidnapped as a child, Ulivali is very distrusting and is more than likely to dig in his heels and refuse to do anything if he even vaguely suspects that somebody has an ulterior motive. Which is actually rather contradictory; if you threaten somebody else, then Ulivali is likely to do whatever you say immediately. He has no tolerance for deception and lying and expects the same treatment in return; lying to him is a surefire way to make him hate you. His trust may not be very easily gained, but his loyal nature is evident to any who cared to look. If he decides something is worth his effort he remains dedicated with a fierce passion, and will fight beak and talon to defend it. His one great passion is Valoo, the great dragon deity of the Rito people. He is under the impression that Valoo’s teachings to the Rito are pure of spirit and bold of heart, and he believes that by following the path of the great dragon that he will learn to surpass his blind nature and see beyond. However much he may wish it, however, Ulivali cannot say that Valoo is his whole life. He wishes that the dragon god could fill all the empty places in his life, but the fact remains that he cannot. Ulivali craves companionship yet is so intrinsically untrusting that he can rarely find it. He wants, above all other things, to be able to fill the space that should have been filled with his senses of sight and trust with friendship and love. He’s perfectly aware of how ridiculous that sounds, too. There’s a reason he doesn’t act on it much. His one release is dancing. Ulivali has a dance for every occasion, from celebration to praise to sadness. There is just something about being able to twirl and feel the wind in his face that takes away those worries, something about it that’s enough like flying to sate that ever-present longing within him to take to the skies, something about it that lets him release every emotion he keeps locked up inside. Every movement is a feather gained if not physically than in spirit, every feather a step towards the skies he so longs for, and every step a leap or bound from the fear he shackles himself with. Even without wings, this Fokka has learned to fly on the ground, and though it may not be much it is all he has. Background: The Carving (Move your mouse to reveal the content) The Carving (open) The Carving (close) Above the fireplace in Ulivali’s house on Windfall Island is a wood carving. Ulivali has never seen this carving, but he knows what is in it. He knows that there is a tall Rito man, with very long white hair- he knows this is his father. He knows there is a short Rito woman, with her white hair flowing, and he knows that this is his mother. And he also knows that there is a small Rito boy who does not exist. Ulivali is pretty sure that the Rito boy is meant to be him, but he’s also sure it’s not. Unlike the other two figures in the carving (one of which he knows is definitively ‘father’ and the other of which he knows is definitively ‘mother’), Ulivali knows that this part of the carving isn’t real. It’s very close to being real, but there are three differences that make it very surely not, and those are the most important parts. If Ulivali runs his hand over the carving, he can feel that the Rito boy has all of his talons. He can feel that the Rito boy has wings. He can feel that the Rito boy has eyes. Ulivali cannot help but resent the carving because he knows that it tells nothing but lies. Ulivali does not have all his toes. The woman who kidnapped him when he was younger cut off a talon and sent it to his parents. It’s possible they have his talon, but he doubts it. Ulivali does not have it and yet he can feel them in the carving. Ulivali does not have his eyes. When his parents didn’t do what the woman asked she poured hot oil in his eyes and now he cannot see. Ulivali does not have them and yet he can feel them in the carving. Ulivali does not have his wings. Because he cannot see, he’s not allowed to have wings, because he would certainly injure himself or others. According to his parents, anyway. He overheard them discussing allowing him to undergo the Valoo ritual and grow wings, but they knew that sooner or later he would try to fly and he would hurt himself. Ulivali does not have them and yet he can feel them in the carving. Ulivali thinks that maybe he shouldn’t resent a wood carving as much as he does, but it’s simply so inaccurate that it hurts. Every time he runs his hands over it he’s reminded that this is how people want him to be, and he is the very opposite. This happy-looking, winged, sighted and intact Rito is not the young Fokka who was kidnapped because his parents were too high-ranking for someone’s liking. It doesn’t know anything Ulivali knows, has never felt anything Ulivali feels. That undamaged foot knows nothing of the kidnapper cutting off his talon to send to his parents along with their demands. Those undamaged eyes know nothing of the kidnapper and her boiling oil and her face being the last thing he would ever see. Those wings will never exist, they’ll never know the way he curled in his bed, weeping with eyes that burned awfully with the tears, hearing his parents arguing. It’s blasphemy to Valoo if he doesn’t undergo the ritual! No, Mara, we couldn’t trust him not to go sky-crazy and try to fly! He’ll break his neck! We can’t allow him to be Fokka, Kurt! We could clip the wings? No, that would be even more humiliating than being Fokka! Can you imagine? A Rito with clipped wings, perish the thought! The stupid smile on the false Rito’s face doesn’t show how Ulivali feels at all. Where’s the uncertainty, that he will never see his own path? Where’s the fear, that the woman who kidnapped him will return? Where’s the pain, the craving, the loneliness? It’s so wrong, it’s so fake, it’s so… so...He doesn’t know how to word the way he feels about that stupid, stupid carving. It just sits there with its perfect rendition of mother and its perfect rendition of father and that one Rito boy who doesn’t and never will exist. And Ulivali hates it.
