Isma'il al-Zatal (Isr'ail al-Bahij) and Friends:
| Isma'il's Character Sheet | Rasool's character Sheet | Zharif's Character Sheet | Griffon Character Sheet |
A dual-class beast-rider (griffin) (fighter) 7 / shaman 8.
| Isma'il's Character Sheet | Rasool's character Sheet | Zharif's Character Sheet | Griffon Character Sheet |
A short, squat man, Isma'il's skin is heavily tanned and leathery from years of sun exposure. His hair is bleached grey by the sun. He habitually wears dusty tan robes, looped around the waist with a green rope, and a turban.
Isma'il shows a closed face to the world, schooling his face to hide the emotions underneath. When he first returned to 'civilization' after his wild childhood, he was often ridiculed for his reactions. Soon he became accustomed to hiding his responses and discreetly watching others for their lead. He has little sense of humor.
Traditions both fascinate and repel Isma'il. Having been torn from his tribe as a youth, he lacks his clans traditions and knowledge. As a result, the rituals of others often fascinate him. Yet in darker moods, he grows angry at the ties to the past which others have and he lacks.
He does however hope to recreate the bonds he lost by reuniting his clan. He has begun his journey to that goal with the advice of his spirits and the oaths of his followers.
Isma'il takes the view that "If you desire the end, you also desire the means to reach it." He sees little difference between killing a child or an adult, a dagger in the back or a fair duel. That said, he takes a certain pride in the clean kill, and hates mess and disturbance.
Isma'il was born to the name of Isr'ail al - Bahij. At a young age, Isma'il was orphaned when a raiding party or force struck his clan (the Bahij) near the Leng plateau and slaughtered them. Isma'il Isr'ail was away from camp playing with two fighting scorpions when the raiders struck, and hid in a nearby gulch. Before the raiders made a more thorough search of the area, a freak storm blew in. A flash flood roared down the gulch, and carried Isma'il off unconscious with it.
Isr'ail awoke to find himself in the care of a griffin on the edge of the Leng plateau. Below, he could see the smashed remains of her nest - toss to the bottom of the cliff by the torrential storm. Only one fledgling avoided the fall. With time, Isr'ail began calling the mother "Zephyr" and the daughter "Njari". Zephyr treated Isr'ail as one of her fledglings and he began to bond with Njari. He learned to hunt the borders of the Leng plateau and when Njari grew, he began to ride with her.
After many years, Isr'ail stumbled across another clan of the Zatal tribe, the Khyulj-Hyud. The clan's shaman, Kaymet al-Hyud, was fascinated by Isma'il's link to Njari, and adopted him for training in the arts. Slightly uncertain about his name after years of disuse, Isr'ail became known as Isma'il al-Zatal.
Isma'il spent several unhappy years with the Hyud clan of the Zatal. While the shaman welcomed him, he always felt estranged from the rest of the insular tribe. His only friend was Rasool al-Djinna, another orphan of the desert. Isma'il introduced Rasool to the griffins and taught their ways. Besides Rasool, Isma'il managed to contact his father, chief of the destroyed Bahij, and relearned his true name.
One day, he, Rasool and Kjari were flying along the edge of the Leng plateau as was their wont, when they saw a chase along the upper rim. Three creatures were chasing a human. Knowing it was foolhardy, Isma'il told Njari to grab the man and bring him the base of the plateau. On the ground, the man introduced himself as "Zharif" and pledged loyalty to his savior. However, the Zatal tribe refused to accept Zharif, fearing the taint of Leng. So Isma'il decided to leave the Zatal tribe and see the world with his companions.
For a while, they wandered the desert wastes, but in time Isma'il grew curious about the masses of humanity crowded together in the Delta region. Feeding and providing for the griffons became increasingly difficult as the trio entered civilized lands so they were forced to look for profitable employment. The Hegemon's agents saw the griffins mobility as a great boon and offered them service as messengers. Messenger service only provided room and board however, and to supplement the income, Isma'il began accepting small missions. When the Hegemon decided to recruit champions, Isma'il's aerial team was a natural choice. Aeries for the three griffins were established on top of the whaleship, Hammer of Gharash.
A clean-shaven man with an inexplicable ivory skin regardless of sun exposure, and raven-black hair, Zharif shows some Zharzhanjah features but clearly has blood that is not of the dervishes, nor of any of the other two known races of men in Northern H'kartha. He is of the Zatal tribe, of the clan Thuthosi, but was exiled from that clan for reasons he will not discuss. He takes pride in his appearance. He is a skilled archer and acceptable swordsman. Among the Hyud he is known as al-Ghulkaleng (Tainted of Leng), but Zharif finds that appellation, insulting.
Rasool is a large, well-muscled man. He has the look of having a Djinn ancestor, hence the al-Djinna in his name. He sports a large scar across his back from his first meeting with a griffin. Rasool is a quiet sort, loyal to a fault, but one who harbors grudges. He is fond of meat and spirits, and loves to gamble and joke, but is not receptive to humor at his expense. He normally wears splint mail and is fond of spears and other polearms.
