Bog Keeper. Smuggler. Protector.

Pronunciation: Eww-Ba Ma-RayServer: MateusAge: 26Gender: CIS FemaleAlignment: Chaotic NeutralLanguages: Fluent in Huntspeak and nearly every dialect of traditional Shroud Keeper.Birthplace: Black Shroud - Marais Bog, Deep in the South Shroud beyond where even the Wood Wailers roam.Occupation: Famed smuggler.Alias: MoonwaterHeight: Tall (for a Miqo) - 5' 3-1/2"
Weight: Fit and trim - 125 lbsHair: Dark grey, greenBuild: Short of muscle, long of boneSexuality: Bisexual with a very strong female lean.Identifying Marks: Oogmark - Streak of tattoo across the eyes meant to signify her role as Redeenar, mother speaker.Personality: Reserved. Calculated. Pointed. Wise. Good. Understanding. Empathetic.Flaws: Distant. Closed. Uneducated. Illiterate. Magicphobia.Mannerisms: Words drip slowly from her tongue, like winter molasses. Her spindly limbs are loose, especially when she walks.Family: None. All deceased.Goals: Aube seeks to reform her clan. To accomplish this she means to discover her place in the world and establish a new home where her future people may thrive.She also is militantly protective of Keeper women and Keeper culture.Fighting Style: Swampwater knife fighting. World-class with dual daggers.Knowledge/Skills: Wilderness Survival. Nature. Traditional Keeper Clans and Culture. Stealth. Scout. Smuggling. Climbing. Acrobatics.

Clan Marais

Deep in the South Shroud, beyond even where the Wood Wailers roam, lies Marais Bog, once home of Clan Marais. Although among the most ancient of clans, the Marais lived in abject poverty, hiding out in remote camps in untamable bogs. Their ramshackle homes lied in hardwood 'hammocks', islands of willow trees that naturally form in the bog.The Marais were infamous poachers and thieves who often tangled with the Wood Wailers and Twin Adders when spotted in Gridania. The clan was betrayed by one of their banished males, who led a squad of adventurers to hunt and slaughter the Marais after the brutal murder of a family of settlers just outside of Marais Bog. Aube fled. She is now the last of her people. She seeks to rebuild what was lost, in her own way. She does not seek vengeance.

Mother Tree
Watching over Marais Bog, on the edge of a small hammock, is the mighty Clan Marais Mother Tree. An ancient and weeping willow, it is here that the magic of the Marais resides. Nestled in her branches are the very souls of Aube's ancestors. It is believed that when the last of the Marais die, the Mother Tree will wilt and rot, the ancestors lost forever. Only by collecting the falling seeds and replanting them in a new home, can Aube hope to transplant both her tree and ancestral mothers.Redeenar
Marais girls who showed an ability to channel the aether of the Mother Tree were chosen to learn the ancient art of Redeenar, mother speak. Through meditation at the base of the Mother Tree, these girls were able to communicate to their ancestral mothers, listening to their wisdom and guidance. Once they proved their ability to reach back at least fifteen generations, they were given an Oogmark, a tattoo across the eyes. While not revered, these women were highly protected as they carried with them the long and ancient history of the clan.Sang L'ame
To the Marais, the very soul - Sang L'ame - of a person resides in their aether. It is that soul that eventually binds with the clan's Mother Tree upon their death. Fearful of corrupting influences and in order to protect the many generations of ancestral Marais mothers, the clan shuns all magic that has the potential of transforming or altering aether. This centuries long practice has led to an almost religious fear of magic, especially Old Magic and the Occult. This is why Aube refuses any aetheric healing and will not travel by aetheryte.Totsiens
Aube always found the Totsiens to be a cruel ritual. Boys, just entering manhood, were awoken by their mothers and led outside of the bog. Mother shared with son his name for the very first time before telling him to leave clan lands, only allowed to return annually during the spring mating. Abandoned, they are thrust into a world they do not know or understand. Few survive more than a few seasons and into adulthood. Fewer still return to breed.

Hooks

COMMON
The Black Shroud & Keeper Culture: Aube's priority in life is the preservation of both the Black Shroud and Keeper Culture. She often joins other clans in their fight against Gridanian or Trapper League expansion into the forest.The Hat: Always present is Aube's old and worn leather hat. Worn low over the brow, she uses it to shield her Oogmark from strange gazes. It is a rarity to see her without it in public places.UNCOMMON
Bounty/Gridania: A large bounty has been placed on the capture of any Clan Marais woman. As the last, Aube is careful when traveling through the Shroud, never giving her full name and trying to hide her Oogmark beneath large hats. It is exceptionally rare for her to visit Gridania itself.RARE
Ve Vet: Blades forged of a strange green glass, these ancient knives are seemingly unbreakable and do not lose their edge. If anyone other than a Keeper tries to wield them, they will feel a strange malaise that slowly numbs the arms and eventually paralyzes the entire body.Foret D'or: Aube often visits the tiny forest village of Foret D'or, a haven for Keeper women cast out from their clans or wanted by the city-states. She smuggles in luxury goods free of cost or helps in the transport of Keeper women and girls stuck in unfriendly locations. Only Keeper women are allowed to visit Foret D'or and its very existence is a closely guarded secret among the few women who know of the place. The village is run by an elder Keeper woman, famed as a warrior, named Masio Fono. Foret D'or is located deep in the Shroud, surrounded by violent, strange, and secretive Keeper clans.Ani Haine: A few times a year a red-headed Keeper girl named Ani Haine commits a major heist of forest goods, selling the haul on the black market in Ishgard. The Wood Wailers swarm like hornets shaken from the hive and raid Clan Haine, an ancient clan that lives just north of Marais Swamp and a sworn enemy of Clan Marais, seeking Ani. "Ani is dead," the Haine proclaim as they point to a grave. The Wailers disbelieve them. Arrests are made. Fines are levied. The Haine suffer.