Name: Tadi-Ohanu
Introduces himself as just Ohanu

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Race: Aun Heatana
-The Heatana are a nomadic, semi-shapeshifting race of tribal humans that immigrated to the region roughly four hundred years prior, and have thus far avoided assimilation into the native Ameyatl, or the “god-beasts” as the nation is often referred to. They are divided into three tribes, each worshipping a different spiritual animal and inhabiting distinct territories. The Aun revere the jaguar and make their home within the overgrown jungles beyond Verre Zon.

Occupation: Scout
The Aun avoid the Ameyatl’s notice by concealing their presence and periodically moving their village location. The scouts act as guides, surveying the outlying territory for predators and human activity. They also track the movement of game and help lead the hunters to successful kills. Often working alone, they are taught to be self-reliant masters of stealth and use an extensive system of trail markers to convey information to the scout leaders.

Physical Appearance:
He stands at 5’10, lean-framed with wiry muscles. His skin is deeply tanned rather than brown, with an oval face, stubborn chin and gray eyes, marking his race apart from other “native” cultures. His black hair is straight and reaches his shoulder, with a thin braid behind his right ear that grows past his collarbone. Laugh lines appear around his eyes when he smiles.

His clothing usually consists of undyed breeches made of rough plant fibers and cut to mid-calf, foot covers of soft leather, and thin armbands adorned with stone beads around his biceps. Like most tribesmen of his age, he prefers being bare-chested.

Personality:
The name Ohanu means “he laughs at death”, and though it’s unknown whether it was given to him as praise or an insult, he bears it proudly. He has an adventurous spirit and a curious streak that can lead him into trouble, but with a wellspring of cleverness that usually leads him back out again. Popular with his peers but a source of vexation to those among the Aun who lack a good sense of humor, his easy smile and fondness for pranks conceals a noble heart dedicated to his people. Since his father was lost mysteriously, he has grappled with a suspicion that all may not be well within the tribe and has turned to Kimenua, the Aun’s amber-eyed guardian, for guidance.

Magic: Shape-shifting
Once considered a rare gift, the ability to take on the form of their spiritual animal saw an increase when the Heatana first came to the jungle due to the amount of magical saturation. Many can alter a single characteristic for a short period of time, perhaps adopting claws in a heated battle or a tail for added balance. Mastering the change, however, is a great accomplishment, and those with command of both human and animal bodies often become tribe leaders or celebrated warriors. The ability is not taught, only learned through the connection an individual shares with the tribe’s spirit animal.

Ohanu has only recently learned to shift into full jaguar form, and the changes are not always under his control, particularly if he becomes wounded or distracted. In dead zones or places with little magic, he can get “stuck”, in either form or in a partial transformation. While in the jaguar’s body, he retains his human mind, but he can also touch the thoughts of natural jaguars, communicating with them through images and feelings.

Strengths/Good Qualities:
From an early age Ohanu recognized life’s potential for hardship and has chosen to wring every last moment of enjoyment he can from it. He loves harmless pranks, and his infectious good humor can be disarming.

Ohanu loves to run, and there hasn’t been an Aun tribesman found yet who can beat him in a footrace. He is also something of a born acrobat, at ease with heights with a good center of balance. He relies heavily on these gifts to keep him out of danger while scouting the jungle.

He sees an overabundance of pride as a waste of time at best, a potentially fatal mistake at worst. He keeps his best qualities close to the vest unless they are needed, and will often use his reputation as an easy-going prankster to ensure he is underestimated. Always willing to learn, he will readily laugh at his own mistakes instead of unfairly holding himself to task for them.

Ohanu’s deep, personal reverence for Kimenua and her children has made him one of her trusted. His journeys through the jungle have often been watched over by cats high in the trees, and he is the youngest Aun in three generations to have been gifted the knowledge of the jaguar’s form.

Weaknesses/Bad Qualities:
His trust in himself only extends so far. Ohanu knows what Kimenua and the elders expect of those with his abilities, and he fears the thought of eventually being responsible for the wellbeing of his tribe. For all his boldness, Ohanu is also uncomfortable with being the center of attention and is inclined to make a fool of himself with inappropriate humor.

His experience with his jaguar form is extremely limited, and cultural norms dictate that he learn on his own. Often he will misjudge his body’s reflexes, making him prone to injury… or at the very least of looking clumsy.

The Aun have maintained their individuality by isolating themselves in their territory. The jungle is all Ohanu has ever known and had ever planned to know. He has no knowledge of colonies or empires, swords or the sea, and this lack of awareness of the larger world will prove a liability if he is ever removed from his element.

Character History:
In finding the river spirit, the Doey followed their Kato brothers and departed. Only the Aun remained, and they continued to search the shadow forest for a home that would welcome them, and a spirit to be their guardian. There Kimenua found them. Her roar made the mightiest of hunters drop his spear in terror, and all the Aun fell to the ground at the sight of her deadly beauty. She called them intruders and demanded that they depart from her territory, or she would devour them. But her heart was swayed by their displays of worship and their promise of devotion if she would be their guardian. Charmed, she charged them with protecting her lands and separating all ties from the god-beasts. For all time they would be hers, and hers alone.

He was born under the name Tadi, meaning “small seed”. His father was first among the hunters, while his mother was the chief’s third daughter, descendent of the warrior bloodline of Hokano. From a young age he was taught the ways of the amber-eyed mother, her jungle, and of the god-beasts in their great villages of stone who would seek to sacrifice him to their terrible demons. He learned to hide his trail and his scent if any were near, to call upon Kimenua’s gifts to fight or flee, to be strong and not to mourn those who were lost.

When Tadi was still young, rumors began circulating of a new people seen in their jungle. As they had always done, the Aun hide themselves from sight and from the shadows discouraged any who might discover their settlements. One night a small war party left the village to lead away a group of these strangers who were venturing too close to their territory, Tadi’s father among them.

“They were lost,” was all the elders ever told him and his mother. Not dead, but lost. Tadi was strong and mourned only a little, but he never stopped wondering where the lost might have gone, or if they could be found again.

The boy grew up under the care of many and never knew loneliness. He had many friends, the greatest being Orey, the daughter of his father’s best friend, who adopted Tadi as her brother. They caused no end of mischief within the village, and stories of the pair’s brash fearlessness became the stuff of fables for future generations.

When the children turned fourteen, the elders gave them new names to mark their pasts and guide their destinies. Tadi was now Ohanu, and he was chosen to train as a scout. Orey became Dyami, “bright star”, and the brightest of all to Ohanu. After the naming ceremony, the two of them snuck out of the village together. In the dark of night they were attacked: two god-beasts and a large, fair-skinned man with a tree branch that spat fire. The children fled into the trees, and Ohanu volunteered to lead them away so that Dyami could return to the village and raise an alarm. He led them on a wild chase but was eventually cornered.

Suddenly two jaguars launched themselves at Ohanu’s assailants, a male as black as midnight, and a great female whose roar shook leaves from the trees. When the intruders were dispatched, Ohanu threw himself on the ground in praise, for it was Kimenua herself. She did not speak, only looked at the boy, and he understood. Something was hunting his people, as his father had been hunted years ago. Kimenua did not know who or why, but she was determined to find out, and suspected that someone among the Aun was involved. She bade Ohanu be her eyes and ears among his people, and the boy eagerly agreed.

Years passed, and the boy Ohanu grew into manhood. He trained with the scouts and found his place among them. His jovial, carefree attitude became a cloak to hide the mission charged to him, and while he was thought well of, he was never taken seriously. Dyami grew into more than just Ohanu’s adopted sister, though words of his growing love for her remained unspoken while his secret task weighed on his heart. He formed a bond of friendship with Cheveyo, Kimenua’s mate, as the black jaguar taught him how to move within the jungle as a true beast. And as the years passed, the disappearances continued.

Ohanu revealed Kimenua’s gift to his people entirely by accident. As the village prepared to move to a new location within the territory, a god-beast war party stumbled upon their procession. Ohanu joined the defense in full jaguar form and savagely slew any enemy that drew too close to Dyami. When the battle ended, all the Aun looked upon him in astonishment.

Things moved quickly after that. The new village location was barely established when the scouts were called to explore a new stretch of territory far to the south. Ohanu grew uneasy, but could find no good excuse to refuse the command of his scout-master. He departed with a partner to fulfill his duty when the dawn was barely breaking.

Since then, Ohanu has gotten into a lot of trouble…

Belongings:
Ohanu keeps one of Cheveyo’s claws tied to the end of his braid. The black jaguar gifted it as a charm of good luck and as a way to “keep an eye” on the young man through his dreams.

When out in the jungles, Ohanu’s constant companion is a sturdy wooden spear. He also carries a stone knife, though it’s used as a tool rather than a weapon. On scouting missions he brings a leather bag to hold whatever interesting odds and ends he might find along a trail.