People: Jagare Tofrar

Jagare Tofrar is the name of an adventuring group formed in CR 495, in anticipation of the opening of a number of ancient sites in Zalpher for exploration and archaeological purposes.

Overview

Jagare Tofrar is a Burmecian phrase that roughly translates to "magic hunters." The founder, Tanja Jansingh, believed that the sites in Zalpher may contain ancient magical relics, and had significant interest in acquiring as many as possible. In her travels throughout the world to acquire more information before the official unveiling, she encountered Kruzu Blackmaw and Renée Yamashita, who were traveling together.

Shortly before the group left Mechanicus, they hired the moogle Mogreg "Greg" Rerenji, to round out the group's skills. Having what she believed to be a reasonable group, Tanja acquired passage for them to Zalpher.

Members

Short descriptions and backgrounds for the members of Jagare Tofrar.

Tanja Jansingh

Tanja Jansingh
Race: Burmecian	Profession: Mage	Gender: Female	Faith: Atheist
Age: 21	Height: 3' 9"	Weight: 62 lbs.	Ethos: BU
Hair: White	Skin: Black	Eye: Blue	Hand: Right
Born in her peoples' native homeland of Burmecia, Tanja demonstrated a keen aptitude for magic from a young age. Unfortunately, the chaos left in the aftermath of the Omega's wrath on the world made her training sporadic: burmecians are not known for their proclivity towards the arcane arts, and the elves of the Magocracy had few spare tutors to send over the treacherous mountain passes.
The result was that Tanja largely taught herself, from tomes left behind and gifted to her by family members who lived abroad. While tutors were few and far between, arcane relics and books from ancient times were suddenly in significant supply, as ancient caches long-forgotten were brought to the surface by the actions of the Omega. A few of these treasures would eventually be counted amongst Tanja's belongings, including one very particular to her: a relatively plain necklace, with a tiny ruby for a centerpiece, inlaid with a speck of ruby mox.
With a bright mind, strong wit, and willful personality, Tanja quickly made long strides towards becoming a mage at a young age. However, her relative physical frailty compared to most others of her kind made her an outcast: she had no interest in pursuing the traditional vocations of her people, spending her days poring over tomes while others of her age were learning the ways of the lance. While her family is of moderate standing, her isolationist tendencies have made her somewhat of a black sheep among her kin, and over time the gifts stopped coming, replaced by pleas to participate in burmecian society.
Tanja refused these overtures, and in those months made a decision to go out into the world. She had heard rumors and hints that ancient cities in Zalpher had been uncovered by the shifting of the sands caused by the cataclysm, and surmised that magical relics and artifacts might be amongst the ruins. Knowing that she would not be able to make these delves on her own, she booked passage for Mechanicus, the nearest hub of civilization she had heard of, and aware that she would most likely find those with talents complementary to her own there.
Once in Mechanicus, she quickly found the pair of Kruzu and Renée. Finding common ground in being outcasts from their respective societies, the trio decided that Tanja's plan to seek out fortune and fame in the Desert of the Unspoken was the best path for their goals. Tanja sought out a fourth to round out their number, someone who would be able to deal with the traps that undoubtedly awaited them, but the best she could find that would work with her was a young moogle by the name of Greg.
Her party formed, Tanja booked them passage to Zalpher, where they now seek their fortune.
Tanja later died in an agni kai against Kanis Athantalantis, in the Magocracy capital of Maringolmo, on Skyfrost 7, AO 30.

 

Kruzu Blackmaw

Kruzu Blackmaw
Race: Orc	Profession: Caller	Gender: Male	Faith: Naturalist
Age: 47	Height: 7' 4"	Weight: 274 lbs.	Ethos: Gb
Hair: Bald	Skin: Olive	Eye: Black	Hand: Left
Ancient by orcish standards, Kruzu is an imposing figure, standing nearly double the height of the next tallest member of Jagare Tofrar. His eyes gleam with an intelligence and insight unusual for an orc, and the lack of obvious mutations marks him as more unusual yet.
Born amongst the orc clans in southern Sarteri, Kruzu was found to be mute, utterly without voice. Devoid of other genetic adaptations, his clan believed he would be useless in the hunt, until he showed an aptitude for stealth uncommon among his people. At the very least, this trait earned him his right to continue to exist in the harsh culture of the orcs, though he was unremarkable and made no headway in the hierarchy, alienated by his inability to communicate with a people who barely knew speech, much less of writing.
Unable to communicate and confounded by the speech of his brethren, Kruzu gradually spent more and more time by himself, further alienating him from his people but bringing a calm to his mind. The rage of his orc blood subsided when alone, and he often wandered far, admiring the beauty of the mountains and crags that his kin called home. It was during one such evening of meditation - though he had no word for that task, and had no notion that that was what he was doing - a voice spoke in his mind, and he found himself able to answer.
Kruzu had inadvertently found the means to communicate with the Primal Titan, and relished the ability to communicate with an entity that would respond, albeit with the slow intention of an entity that transcended time. Over time, Kruzu came to understand the bond that could exist between his soul and the Primal, and undertook the rite with gusto: though he could not speak with words, Kruzu's soul could now speak with the tumult of the desires of a Primal.
Spending more and more time in the wilderness away from his kin, he eventually became a literal outcast, threatened by the alpha of his tribe to never return. Instead of this upsetting him, however, Kruzu found this incredibly freeing: he could now go where he wished, without feeling as though he was abandoning his people. Knowing that a number of orcs dwelled in Mechanicus, where supposedly they valued greater intelligence, Kruzu headed north.
During his travels, however, the world seemed to end: the Omega brought devastation to the land, and chaos ensued. While he weathered the storm well enough, the world was a changed place. During an encounter with a particularly troubling force elemental, Kruzu found himself temporarily allied with a young and rash clavat, who seemed able to speak directly into his mind - and he into hers! Kruzu found himself overjoyed at the prospect of having a traveling companion with whom he could speak, and the girl - whose name was Renée - agreed to join him on his pilgrimage.
They reached Mechanicus, and once there, the pair seemed somewhat lost. It was there that they met an ambitious burmecian by the name of Tanja, who spoke of wealth and fame to be gained in Zalpher. While Kruzu himself had little interest in material wealth, his companion's interest was piqued, and to return to her the favor of joining him on his pilgrimage, agreed to accompany the pair to Zalpher.
Kruzu Blackmaw died of a combination of his wounds and age, on Ashleaf 20, AO 48.

 

Renée Yamashita

Renée Yamashita
Race: Clavat	Profession: Jedi	Gender: Female	Faith: Taoist
Age: 23	Height: 3' 4"	Weight: 58 lbs.	Ethos: UR
Hair: Slate Blue	Skin: Fair	Eye: Green	Hand: Right
Young, tomboyish, and impulsive, Renée Yamashita is far from what one would expect of a clavat, especially one whose ancestry can be traced back to one of the Genji. Yet, in the aftermath of the Omega's destruction, even the societal norms of the clavats were rattled, and not all children heir to the legacy of the Genji were ready to take on that mantle, when so much in the world had changed.
Renée had taken to the ways of zen and her people's religion at a young age with zeal; something about meditation and calming the mind appealed to her. At the same time, she had a strongly aggressive streak that marked her out as significantly different from her peers, and she seemed able to go from calm meditation to starting fist-fights in the blink of an eye with little, if any, provocation. Her tutors suggested that she simply needed more structure and more time in meditation, and she went along with it without complaint.
During these meditations, Renée found her mind wandering towards tasks others seemed incapable of. She found she had the uncanny ability to consciously control her bodily processes, reach out to others with her mind, and sometimes even make objects move at a distance. Her confusion and curiosity were quickly swept away when the notion of psionics was explained to her, and she discovered that she had a latent talent for the art.
Renée honed these skills, eventually finding that she excelled best as a telepath, able to communicate with the minds of others. But she also found another outlet for her psionic skills: her relentless aggression. She found herself able to forge a blade out of the psychic energy within her mind, and practiced this skill until she felt she could demonstrate this ability to her teachers. Of course, they knew exactly what she was doing - jedi were not unheard of in Colianth - but this newfound skill gave rise to greater caution on their part: her aggression, they said, was still too strong, and though jedi were certainly allowed to walk the path of the Genji, Renée could not until she had her emotions under control.
Her response was entirely predictable: she lashed out in anger, accidentally unleashing her psionic abilities at the same time, temporarily dazing her instructors with the force of her mind and proving their point for them. Still angry, but now also ashamed, Renée decided that it was best for her to leave her homeland and travel abroad, finding outlets for her rampant emotions until she found a way to keep them under control.
She wandered, essentially a ronin, for several years, sailing with selkies and wandering Sarteri and other lands. Along these travels, she encountered a small town under assault from a powerful force elemental. Finding an unlikely ally in an orc caller, of all things, she discovered that he had no means to communicate with her other than her own psionic skill. The discovery that he was on a pilgrimage of sorts made her decide to join him: perhaps on his path to finding his own peace, she would find hers.
Upon their arrival in Mechanicus, her new companion, whose name was Kruzu, seemed disheartened, not having found what he sought. Renée, meanwhile, had come to the conclusion that her emotions were part of her power, and the only way to prove to her elders that she was worthy of the title of Genji would be to find it on the field of battle. When an ambitious burmecian approached the pair about an opportunity of a lifetime, Renée jumped at the opportunity, and was glad to find that Kruzu was willing to accompany them.
After being abandoned by Tanja, Renée and Kruzu resumed their adventures throughout Trinity once more, in search of some greater calling that had spoken to Kruzu during their adventures in and around Wati and the Magocracy of Diarl. After the death of her traveling companion in AO 48, she continued the journey on her own.

 

Mogreg "Greg" Rerenji

Mogreg "Greg" Rerenji
Race: Moogle	Profession: Discordant	Gender: Male	Faith: Atheist
Age: 13	Height: 2' 11"	Weight: 34 lbs.	Ethos: Rg
Fur: Light Gray	Wings / Pom: Brown / Teal	Eye: Brown	Hand: Right
Born in Mechanicus, Greg always felt a little left out among his litter, especially considering that his name was easily shortened to a more human-like name. While his brothers and sisters received the common nickname of "Mog" among their non-moogle friends, Mogreg instead was called "Greg."
After awhile, however, Greg took to the name, and accepted it, even began running with the notion that he was less moogle than the rest of his litter. He took on mannerisms of other races, trying to talk tough and think things through. Unfortunately for him, Greg wasn't born with an abundance of common sense, so this attitude usually got him into trouble more often than not.
The rules and laws he had to deal with on a regular basis, the ones which got him into so much trouble all the time, began to chafe him. If only there weren't rules! If only there were a way to change them, or avoid them. It occurred to him that maybe if he just forgot about the rules, they wouldn't bother him.
And somehow, that worked: when he willfully forgot about the rules, they stopped applying. He found this out the hard way when he woke up one morning, upside down on the ceiling, as though it were perfectly natural for him to be there; he startled and fell, indicating that he hadn't been flying to keep himself up there. Greg wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew something was up, and there was more to this idea of ignoring the rules than he'd thought. His parents told him it was childishness nonsense, but Greg knew.
After the Omega had devastated the world, it became fairly common in Mechanicus for everyone - including children - to learn how to use firearms. Firearm safety was, of course, heavily emphasized, but those were rules that Greg didn't need. He didn't want to hurt anyone, though, so he taught himself to pick the locks on the gun range, so he could sneak in at night. He wasn't sure how to practice what he wanted to do, so he simply shot the wall opposite of the targets - and grinned when, upon turning around, he found that the bullet had ricocheted and hit the target dead in the middle.
Greg kept company with some shifty people, and when he caught word that some mage lady was looking for a sneak-thief of some kind, he knew that was his ticket out of Mechanicus and into an outfit where he could work on figuring out his deal with lucky shooting. He'd never encountered a burmecian before - orcs and clavats, sure, but not a burmecian - and she seemed a bit baffled by what he claimed to be able to do. After a short interview, though, the three of them seemed satisfied, and Greg joined them on their trip to Zalpher.
Greg eventually abandoned the adventuring life, and faded into history.