Masai - House of Edara

Name: Masai
Family name / House: Edara
Imperial Guard rank: Gunnery Officer 1st Class
Gender: Female
Age: 27
Height: 6'4" (about 193 cm) (ears not included)
Mass (in Earth gravity): around 320 pounds (about 145 kg)
Race: Sogowan
Mate: None
Children: None
Parents - Father: Name unknown, Mother: Name unknown
Relatives: None
Skills: Tactical insight, handling any kind of weapon, hand-to-hand combat

Appearance: When it comes to the color of her skin, Masai is a pretty straightforward Sogowan. Her medium brown base color is contrasted by her tan patches. Lacking the lighter underbelly, the largest patch is the chest area around her breasts, up to the tip of her muzzle. Furthermore, there are the fingertips and inner ears as well as some mild discoloration around the base of her tail and her hips. Her toes are the common dark brown while her eyes are a darker shade of copper than usual.

You can tell by her looks that Masai’s had a rough past. Although she’s still muscular like any Mantrin, she’s somewhat skinny too for her species. Her tail is too short for the tip to reach the ground but it’s thickness doesn’t seem to really fit the rest of her body. Her skin looks like that of a much older woman and rather wrinkly for a Mantrin her age. She can’t seem to keep her ears in a fierce upright position either and instead of sparkling her eyes look rather dull. She also used to have four longer canines but two of them have broken off, some teeth are missing and she’d had dental problems that left her teeth in bad condition. All of this is the result of a drug addiction that got her in its merciless grasp for a pretty long period, taking its toll on her body and of which she’s forced to bear the scars for the remainder of her life.
 
Personality: Her drug use and the events in early life that led to her destructive addiction turned her from the curious and sweet girl she used to be at the mere age of fourteen of Sogowa’s years, into the damaged soul that she is now. Avoiding contact with others during her period of hardship she sunk into depression and in an attempt to make her misery go away she eventually discovered alcohol and narcotics, given to her by those considering the teenage girl an easy prey for their tactics. Of course her moments of fake happiness couldn’t last.

When was finally able to say farewell to the real things that destroyed her life, with the help of others and grant herself that one chance to try again she began to discover that there were still things she was good at and give her life meaning. She started combat training, began to discover her talent for handling weapons with relative ease and managed to stay on the right path. Anger and depression would always stay with her as part of her life but at least with allowing herself to talk to and be helped by others and having a profession to blow off some steam now and then, she kept them at bay.

One other thing she likes to do is meditate, to help clear her mind, to stay calm and keep control over whatever is bothering her. And she not only did this on her own in whatever quiet spot was available but she also took trips into the forest to find places to meditate with nothing but the sounds of nature around her. Preferably near waterfalls with the sound of falling water rushing down to concentrate on. Sometimes she would even sit under them if the size of the waterfall allowed this, letting the water beat down on her and massage her in its own cleansing way.

Background: Masai belongs to a minority group of Mantrins that weren’t born and grew up on one of the two major planets home to their species but on one of the outer colonies. It was a beautiful world, very suitable for colonization and therefore the Empire wasn’t the only entity with a claim on the planet. However, she and her parents grew up in a strict Mantrin-only society leading simple but peaceful lives.

And so they did for many years until, with Masai a young teenager, the village was raided by slavers. A battle followed, the villagers wouldn’t let themselves be taken without a fight and many were killed including Masai’s parents. She was taken by them and although word quickly got out and she only had to spent two days and two nights in a cage, the murder of her parents in front of her eyes was burned forever into her mind. With nothing left of her former home she moved to one of the larger cities, found shelter in which she could stay with other children but eventually had to leave as she got older. With life difficult in the colonies, especially without education or a job and without being able to return to the simple life she once had, she took whatever jobs available, resorted to stealing to get what she needed and eventually discovered drugs as a means to escape her miserable life, even for mere moments.

An overdose and a near-coma finally got her the help she needed. Taken to a rehabilitation center she made a long but ultimately successful recovery, eventually returned to Sogowa Prime and under guidance tried to find a new purpose in life. She found that purpose in the form of combat training, both physical and with a variety of weapons, reaching an impressive level of mastery due to her unrestrained determination. In combination with meditation techniques learned from her mentor she was able to come into a state of tranquility she never thought possible, accept things as they were and become a new and better person along the way.