Sex: Male
Age: 25
Physical Description: Tall, lean, and weathered by the unforgiving sun and an apathetic landscape of craggy rocks, deep canyons, and looming mountains, Dustin is your typical citizen of the Ariket region. Dustin sports coffee brown skin with a decent muscular build, a product of both his environment and his people's culture. Though his eyes are a stunning bright blue amongst a people and landscape colored monotonous shades of brown, they a hold a near-perpetual look of sternness or hardness often misinterpreted as coldness or apathy. Sky blue markings in the form of tattoos typical of his people dot his skin as swirling shapes, symbols, and patterns.
Clothing: Dustin wears the usual garb of Kassellanders, complete with their sweeping scarves and flowing robes or capes meant to help wrap up for both the heat of the desert and the cold of mountain ranges of Ariket near the borders of the Dead Forest. Pieces of armor forged from the metalworkers of his people provide protection to his legs, shoulders, forearms, and chest.
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 180 lbs.
Skin Colour: Coffee brown
Hair Colour: Sandy brown
Eye Colour: Bright blue
Occupation: Warrior/Adventurer/Bounty hunter
History/Bio: Born to a family long belonging to the council and christened at birth, Dustin knew only the life of an aristocrat in Atzerii civilization. Living in the tough Kassen Mountain Range, and living under an even tougher father, young Dustin learned how to hunt, fight, and lead at an early age. Dustin would become heralded by the other youth as their leader in a sense, whether they were play fighting, hunting, helping the men in their duties, or simple mischief. He was a man of action. He liked to get his hands dirty, he liked to work alongside those he might lead. The politics of the aristocracy never interested Dustin, to his parents' dismay. Though intelligent as he was, mincing words and doing favors were not his forte.
Despite this, Dustin would later be thrust into a position of political power and tribal burden, one he never asked for. Three young men of his generation were christened at birth, chosen by the religious leader of their settlement. These boys, when men, would face a set of trials ranging from tests of survival, feats of strength or wisdom, and stretches of combat to determine who would hold the prestigious and burdensome title of First Sword. During his trial, a large raiding party from the Midwest Sea of Sands attacked his home town of Kasselland near the border of the Dead Forest. Apparently the raider band had made their way through several north eastern tribes and villages and had grown cocky at their mounting victories, hence the move to attack such a larger settlement within the mountains. Almost immediately after the completion of their trials, won by another man, news of the current First Sword's death and the attack on Kasselland brought him, his fellow trialgoer, and the now-current First Sword down to the settlement to help rally and fend off the raiders.
After beating back the raiders, the council made the decision to send a small party to the source to either scout out or eliminate any remaining threat so that the Atzerii Clan may never fear such an invasion from the western dunes. The subsequent trip had been extremely long and dangerous. The sands are ever moving and the sun forever thrusts its unrelenting heat upon the cursed ground of earth. The desert easily swallows up those not prepared to handle its harshness. Conflict, wildlife, and the sands themselves claimed life after life of the party Dustin was on until he alone remained with nothing to show for his clan if he were to return. Finding himself in a foreign place called Dol-Duna and a title he didn't ask for, Dustin decided to put his skills as a warrior and hunter to use as a sellsword. If The Change were to be real, that mysterious thing spoken of from the lips of prophets at home and the nomads here, then perhaps it will make the world a more livable, civilized place. With hope, The Change can change this cruel existence as its name so suggests.
Home Town: Kasselland
Native Clan: Atzerii Clan
Population: 2,000
Settlements: Kasselland, Zer Shurai, Sol-Thune, various other smaller settlements.
Location: Ariket, Qafar Desert
Description: The Atzerii clan is a decently sized clan population-wise with the territory to accommodate for it. Spread out along the Kassen Mountains stretching from northern Ariket to southeastern edge, the Atzerii make up the last stretch of eastern civilization before the White Ruin begins on the other side of the mountain range. With a population estimated to be around 2,000 the biggest population centers of the Atzerii contain at most several hundreds of men, women, and children. Zer Shurai, the capital of Atzerii civilization, lies within the center of their territory and is the most populated. Kasselland, the second most populated prefecture, is the northernmost outpost of Atzerii territory nearing the edge where Ariket meets the Dead Forest, the lingual influence of the tribes up north evident in the name of the settlement. Sol-Thune is the southernmost and third most populated with the Toxic Sea region just south of it. The remaining population take up in small villages and hamlets scattered about between the three aforementioned locations.
The Atzerii Clan is ruled by a council made up of elected council members who congregate to speak on matters within Zer Shurai, their capital. Each "city" has its own local government made up of a smaller council containing an elected head and body of tribunals. It wasn't long until families began to have monopolies on council positions, thus leading to the development of an extensive aristocracy within major Atzerii population centers. Each city has a patron god of the Atzerii pantheon to which they pray. Known colloquially by their titles, their names are hardly spoken aloud, an exception given only to religious leaders within the deep inner sanctums of temple throne rooms. Kasselland's patron is The Shorn King, Zer Shurai's known as The Omniarch, and Sol-Thune's patron god being The Highblood.
Each major settlement also has a warlord position who acts as a chief of combat forces dealing in hunting, defense, and warring in general. This title is called First Sword and only one individual in each city holds this title. This title holds political responsibility as well and military authority, acting as a general rank and honorary council position at once. Though there are three at one time, none are called Second or Third Swords. All three are referred to in plural as the Swords of At'iiz, or more simply as the Swords.
Personality: At one time Dustin was charismatic, jovial, and full of life. As of recently, the desert has sucked the joy out of him. Strangers might describe the young First Sword as broody, quiet, and withdrawn.
Fears and Desires: Dustin fears that he will fail his people, most importantly his family, if he were to return as the sole survivor of the party with nothing but a stolen title and empty hands. He desires to find a purpose, to put his efforts towards something bigger than killing people in foreign settlements for a small sum of coin, a meal, or small shards of the Taqa crystal.
Equipment and Weapons: Dustin carries a curved sword, two daggers with one made of obsidian from a long dead volcano and the other of energized Taqa, and a porcelain-like mask worn by the warriors of his culture providing both relief from the elements and intimidation to his enemies.
Styles and Abilities: Having been trained in the art of several types of combat, Dustin finds himself comfortable when wielding nearly every sort of weapon. Swords, daggers, pole arms and bows are of no consequence to him. He fights with the ferocity of the big mountain cats of the Kassens and the deadly gracefulness of the Rocs that fly above. Firearms, however, those he cannot shoot for the life of him. He couldn't hit the broad side of a basilisk even if he wanted to, and those things are huge.