Saqr

NAME: Saqr Ibna Altair of Rishada

AGE: 21

P.O.B: The Timar of Rishada (literally meaning "The Falcon's Glade")

OCCUPATION: Riphai

PHYS DES: Average height at about 5'5"; tanned skin; brown eyes; long, black hair that is tied back most of the time; is slim but very well toned; Clothes are typical of the region, usually coloured black or dark grey and consisting of loosish riding trousers that are like a half crss between pantaloons and loose jodhpurs and shirt or female-cut doublet with long robes over this. Doesn't wear a face veil (as a Riphai she isn't compelled to). Occasionally wears a shirt of very light black chainmail. Has a tattoo on her upper right arm of a black falcon with Tariq's eight-point star set on the falcon's chest in white.

PERSONALITY: Utterly fanatical about her religion, unwavering dedication to the faith, has had the youthful and bouncy side ground out of her by life as a Riphai. Behaves as all Riphai do - well polished manner, usually calm, displaying little emotion, death in a can when driven to the point of rage.

STRENGTHS: Is superb with the weapons of the Riphai ie scimitar, bow and shield as well as being a dangerous opponent in hand-to-hand combat. Can read and write easily and is well above average intelligence. Is, of course, an excellent horse-woman, a necessary skill for any Riphai. Has an unusually high aptitude for theology and the Tariq-Ras, even among the Riphai. Her dedication to her faith makes her appear absolutely fearless. She is also a faunapath, a Talent that is relatively useless in her career as a Riphai.

WEAKNESSES: Can appear unapproachable, a common enough trait among the Riphai. Her unwavering devotion to her faith and calling can make her seem narrow-minded, as she refuses to look beyond the teachings of the Tariq-Ras, thus seeing everything in black and white with no shades of grey; if she thinks that you are even considering deserting the faith then she'll haul you off to the Parshara so fast that your head will spin. Is altophobic (fears heights), however if she was forced to she would tackle anything, so long as she believed Tariq required it. Is a fanatic. Not very safe when enraged.

COMPANIONS: Her two Sparran warstallions, Kedar and Zafir, her Riftic Falcon Halim and her three Rimilan Gazelle Hounds, Sadiq, Akil and Zia.

BRIEF HISTORY:
Was born on the timar of Rishada, which is located in the Sparra region of Taris. Her Father, Altair Ibn Selim was a cousin of the previous Sultan Mehmed III, was a rank one general in the Sultan's armies and when he retired moved to his ancestoral timar of Rishada where he married and began the serious business of raising a family. Altair had 5 sons and only one daughter, Saqr.

Young Saqr was raised as all nobles as raised, educated in books, musical instruments and strict etiquette. She passed her day in reading, music, riding, falconry or hunting gazelle and hares with her hounds. Altair had a particular love of horses and spent much of his time in building a fine stables in Rishada. He developed his own particular strain of Sparra warhorses that tend to be a little more swift and intelligent but are otherwise much the same. Saqr was then in a perfect environment to learn equestrianism and was more than accomplished by the age of ten.

Since she was very young Saqr had demonstrated a high affinity for the Tariq-Ras, but Altair could not bear the idea of his only daughter going off to fight and possibly die in battle, so this fact was hidden from the Parshara and the Riphai Council. So Saqr matured through life, knowing that she was meant for something, but not knowing what.

But when Tariq calls he must be answered so when Saqr fifteenth birthday arrived a sign that could not be ignore was sent. Saqr had a dream where a black falcon, her family crest, landed on her wrist. Tariq's sign, the eight-point star, blazed upon the bird's chest so brightly that Saqr feared she would go blind. She woke up, expecting to be dazzled, only to find herself in the stables where she had dozed off earlier on. She stood up dazedly only to see all the stables hands and her Father looking, no gaping, into one of the foaling stables.

Two of the mares that were due to give birth had foaled, at the exact same moment, and had given biirth to identical colt foals. The foals were coal black, perfectly matched with no so much as a hair of difference between them. Such a thing had never been heard of before, but what made it all the more frightening was they shared a birthday with Saqr, right down to the minute. Ordinarily black horses were considered very unlucky and would be sent to an establishment run by the Parshara where they would be set loose to fend for themselves without being able to "contaminate" other horses, but the unusual situation under which these colts were born made even the Parshara afraid to enact the age old law.

Things were compounded even more when Saqr, unable to contain herself any longer, told her Father of her dream. Altair grieved because he knew that he could no longer keep Saqr from the Riphai Council. The Riphai Council sent a member to test Saqr and found that she more than met the requirements, and so it was arranged that Saqr would return with him to Thystandulis. When the Riphai Master, Rashid Ibn Fahlan, learned of the birth of the black colts he instructed that they too should be sent to Thystandulis as soon as they were weaned.

And so Saqr trained under the tutilage of Master Rashid for five years, during which time she demonstrated how abnormally high her apitude was for the Tariq-Ras, as well as becoming an expert in combat techniques. She also worked very hard to train the two warstallions that the matched colts had grown into, calling them Kedar and Zafir.

Eventually she was ready to go forth as a warrior in Tariq's causes. he fought several skirmishes against heretics and is now fulfilling her role as a member of the Zimmar. She will never inherit Rishada but recieves a set amount of coin each month to sustain her, as Riphai recieve no wage and are expected to furnish themselves with horses and armour.

Saqr now travels through Thystandulis and Taris in general, looking for heretics to either drag to the Parshara (kicking and screaming usually) or to annihilate as the situation dictates. She is not the woman with whom to mess. Never insult Tariq in her presence. You have been warned, on your head be it.