Katherine "Aala" McCormick
Background
Statistics
Katherine McCormick was born 1870 to the archeologist Thomas McCormick. When she was five, her family moved to the British colony at Parhoon so her father could perform research for Oxford Univeristy. Her father studied the native cultures at Parhoon, but yearned to travel away from the colony to study older cities and ruins.
In 1877, the Royal Geographic Society and Oxford funded an expedition to the ruins in the Arabian desert. A cloudship was chartered to take Thomas, his family, and a small retinue of students and researchers to the ancient city. Unfortunately, the expedition met with disaster high in the Aerian mountains, instantly killing nearly all of the crew and passengers.
Fortunately for Katherine, several women from the Na-Toluuk tribe of Queln happened upon the crash site of the cloudship. Decending on their flying skrill mounts, they investigated the site for anything valuable that may have survived the crash. Amidst the broken timbers and busted hull they found Katherine and decided to take her to the tribe.
Normally such a prize as Katherine could look forward to life as a slave, however one of the riders who brought her back was a wife of the tribe's Rithall. She took pity on young Katherine and asked that she be raised as one of the Queln. The Rithall was undecided until the intervention of Tag, the tribe's shaman. He proclaimed that Katherine was a good omen (the crash site did contain much valuable metal and such) and that he would take responsability for her.
Careers: Shaman, Adventuress
STR: 2
Fisticuffs 1, Throwing 1, Close Combat (pole arm) 1
AGL: 4
Stealth 3, Crime (lock picking) 1, Marksmanship (bow) 1
END: 3
Wilderness travel (foraging) 3, Fieldcraft 1
INT: 6
Observation 5
CHA: 6
Eloquence 6, Theatrics 3, Linguistics (Aerian, Koline) 2
SOC: 3
Riding (Skrill) 3, Leadership 2, Medicine 2
Above: A young Aala in Martian garb.
Katherine was henceforth raised as Aala (five fingers) of the Queln. She quickly learned the Aerian and Koline languages and trained as an apprentice to Tag. Aala learned everything of the Queln, from riding the flying skrill to survival in the harsh Aerian mountains. Tag taught her how to respect the land, as well as the arts of public speaking and politics.
In 1886, Aala became old enough to become and adult. After enduring the ordeal (eight days in the mountains alone with naught but a skein of water), Aala was a full member the tribe. As a free adult, she asked the Rithall if she may temporarily leave the tribe in order to find out about where she came from. He agreed and left her with a bow, a khivatt spear, a skien of water, and a very old skrill mount.
In order to learn more about herself and her people, Aala returned to the crash site. There she found a picture of herself with her parents. With this artifact, Aala headed towards Syrtis Major and met a British hack reporter riding with a Martian caravan. This reporter found her clothes and did a story on her. Through the article, she is hooked up with the limey's at Syrtis Major, and is eventually sent to Earth to be re-united with her family.
On Earth she spends a brief amount of time in school, but quickly uses her inheritance to travel.
Appearance
Aala is a very attractive woman, although not in the traditional Victorian sense. She stands nearly six feet tall with sun-bleached blonde hair and blue eyes. Her skin has been permanently darkened from the years spent out in the Martian sun. She moves with the animal-like grace of a hunter, not the demure elegance of a proper lady - disconcerting for more traditional minded gentlemen. Most strange of all is her accent; an odd blend of British and Aerian.
Aala is not fully comfortable in a civilized setting. She is used to speaking her mind when she pleases. Bustles and corsets never seem to sit quite right. If formality is not required, she is much more apt to be found wearing riding pants (gasp) and a blousy shirt then a dress.
Space 1889 is a registered trademark of Frank Chadwick.