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Name: Saroya Ahn-Farro

(True-name: Her people usually introduce themselves by their title/occupation first and the family name second. "Saroya" is actually her occupation, meaning "Jeweler" in her native language, and she is addressed as such, even by her own family members. The only people that can address her by her true-name are her parents and a chosen life-partner, and later, her offspring. Her true-name is Ysalie. It's considered bad luck to allow anyone else to call a Naga by its true name, outside of the small circle of people mentioned before.)

Occupation: Jeweler

Actual Age/Apparent Age: 53 / looks to be around 25

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Omnisexual, but a life-mate usually ends up being of the opposite gender. There have been cases where life-mates were of the same gender or of another species, but offspring was still produced, though that involved a bit of rather expensive magic.

Race/Species: Akhe Hessa (Desert Vipers), commonly known as "Naga" among the rest of the population ("Naga" simply meaning "serpent" in their native tongue. They never bothered to correct foreigners about it.)

Appearance: Human form - Saroya is a woman of average height, standing at 5'6", with elegant features and long, spindly fingers. Her body is lithe, albeit often covered head to toe in dark-colored, intricately woven form-fitting clothing, often decorated with simple necklaces or body ornaments, and a hooded robe/long veil draped over it, hiding her figure, as much as the underclothes are hiding her skin. What’s visible of her complexion (usually only her face and hands, sometimes only her eyes and fingers) is lightly tanned; a common trait among those born and raised in the harsh conditions of the Sea of Sand (Aswa Vadra) desert. Her face is oval in shape, slightly pointed towards the chin, and the most notable feature on it would be her almond-shaped eyes, a warm mix of light brown and amber. Her hair, when visible, is the color of rich dark chocolate, straight and kept neatly and evenly trimmed, reaching her waistline when untied.

Naga form: Once she shifts into her true form, not many changes above her waistline, except for the color and shape of her eyes, now split with elliptical, obviously reptilian pupils. Below the waistline stretches a long serpentine tail, ashen-gray in color, with thick scales, acting as a natural armor to her lower half, helping regulate heat, protect from the scorching sun, and adjust grip and speed with which she can move. The reason why Nagas prefer to be in their human form while spending time in populated places is that, while in this form, an adult Naga regardless of gender reaches up to 16ft in length, which, needless to say, causes problems with movement in crowds and cramped spaces.

In this form, she wears clothing much more revealing, designed for freedom of movement, rather than modesty, and those are usually in her tribe's colors; red, gold, and ivory.

The now uncovered skin reveals countless intricate markings, dark red in color and permanently etched into her skin, each and each one holding meaning to the Naga, signifying her lineage, profession, and achievements in life. Each is given through a Ritual of Recognition, worn like a badge of honor among the Naga tribes, but is considered a personal affair and is rarely revealed or explained to strangers.

Regardless of which form she currently resides in, she moves with a certain type of inhuman precision and elegance, her movements smooth, flowing, and deceptively unhurried at times.

Personality: Somewhat headstrong, but sociable creature, with a bit of an adventurous streak and an extensive, albeit "passive" knowledge of many races inhabiting the world. Charming and humorous, as well as one hell of a shrewd negotiator, Saroya takes her business very seriously and is dedicated to her work.
Haggling or any kind of pressure does not work on her; she'd rather close up shop and lose income for the day, rather than give her merchandise at a lower price.
Asking to pay a price lower than the one stated is considered an insult to her, her work, and their craft in general.

Abilities/Skills: Desert Vipers - true to their name, the Nagas have some abilities that others might find unnerving, the most prominent ones being the ability to deliver venomous bites, due to their Naga forms having a pair of retractable fangs, usually tucked away under their upper lip, the tips still visible when they speak or smile. The second is the sheer strength of their lower body. A lengthy mass of pure muscle is capable of great speed, mobility, and strength. Rumor has it that should a body be found in the desert, broken and bent in unnatural angles, they were met with a "Naga's embrace", meaning a rather uncomfortable death by asserting enough pressure onto the body to crush bones and internal organs alike.

Jeweler - coming from a tribe that primarily focuses on extracting ore and gems from underneath the desert sands, Saroya's talent lies in producing high-quality jewelry. Gems cut to gleaming perfection, ornaments woven into intricate designs, thick as chains, thin as spider-silk spotted with mildew - she can make all of it. That, accompanied by the fact that the Akhe Hessan jewelers only come to main cities about once a decade and only stay for about 6 months to a year, their merchandise is expensive and widely sought after, especially by the nobility, who rarely miss a chance of flaunting their possession of hard-to-come-by Hessan jewelry. As always, thefts are attempted, because the gleaming goods draw many wanting eyes, but pray to any deity you worship that a Naga does not catch you with your hand in their cookie jar. You shall part with that hand, or your life.
She has also been known to collaborate with other artisans, making custom metal parts for whatever project they need it for. She only requires detailed measurements and details to do it, but 4/5 times, she makes the part so accurately that there is no need to adjust it at all.

Metal-bending - Some Nagas, Saroya among them, have the ability to heat, mold, melt, shape, and manipulate metal, which comes really handy with their craft, since it all but completely abolishes the need to use any sort of smelting forge. This allows her to make customary designs of any kind with ease, not just for decorative purposes. This also makes her fairly resistant to heat. This can also be used as an offensive or defensive ability, as she does not need to touch the metal to change it at will. However, Nagas, as such, avoid conflict in general, and if such a thing is used with the intent to cause harm, it would be in self-defense only.

History: Being born in her tribe meant hardship right from the first day of your life... literally. All Naga children, when born, are left in the desert for three days and nights, within the first week of their life. As cruel as that sounds, Nagas are tougher than they seem, so the majority of the babes actually survive and are returned to the tribe for initiation and to be raised into a specific role, the one they start showing an affinity for at a very early age.

So, Ysalie got renamed "Saroya" when she was barely four years old and was trained in the ways of jewelry-making, her family honed her into an artisan they can be proud of, teaching her everything she would need to travel to any of the larger cities, establish a store there and deal with the numerous different people she would meet along the way.

For the last few months, she had set up a permanent residence and store in the city of Al-Jalasa; choosing it because it was just on the edge of her homeland - the Sea of Sand (Aswa Vadra) desert


Other information:
Naga Culture: Three words can be used to describe the Nagas - dedicated, resolute, and impersonal
They could not care less about what people think of them as a species, nor how their customs are viewed by outsiders. They understand that to survive in harsh conditions the desert dictates, one has no room for softness and compassion, until the other person has proven to be deserving of it. While friendly to strangers and traders, they never allow any of them to stay on their territory for more than maybe a week or two and are somewhat introverted as a species; the good of the tribe comes first. As a people in general, they are very private, and prefer to keep personal matters to themselves.

Though they usually mate between tribes, Nagas have been known to mate outside of them as well, regardless of their partner's species. While casual intimate encounters are certainly not frowned upon, Nagas truly mate only once and that's for life. Only when their life-mate has been found, the very idea of an offspring becomes available then, not a moment before. It's still unexplained if it's a biological thing, or if the Nagas somehow influence their fertility via outside means.
Any offspring produced is always a Naga.

The Shopping Bag Gift - any non-lethal item on your person, if thrown with a purpose, will hit its target exactly where you want it]