Chay-Ara

Chay-Ara is an itarii born into the Windspire tribe that dwells among the rocky spires of the Devil's Perch, growing up among its dry, arid mountains and tall spires high above the plunging valleys of Cheliax below.  He had rarely ventured out into the nearby Whisperwood and Ravounel Forests and the Cliffs of Fury and Mistshroud before he and his clan were drawn into conflict at Crackspike.

Barely an adult of 14 at the time, the hatred of humans he had been trained to harbor was replaced by questions.  One of his "enemies" used a word he had never heard before to describe him.  Risking exile by his own people, he accepted an invitation to learn more of his heritage at Citadel Enferac.  The Order of the Gate, obsessed with law, magic, and extraplanar knowledge, knew all about Axis and how the axiomites of the plane of law forged liaisons between its perfect order and the "chaos" of mortal self-determination.

Chay-Ara learned that he was an aphorite, like no other strix (to his knowledge) before him.  It was this otherworldly heritage that explained why he had eyes of pure gold instead of black with occasional gold.  He understood why his skin bore a metallic cobalt sheen.  It wasn't a curse as he'd believed since childhood.  It marked him as simply different, rather than abomination.

He regularly returns to his Hellknight mentors in secret, constantly seeking more answers about the nature of the world--the universe--and his place in it.

Chay-Ara is obviously a strix, but it is equally obvious that he is unlike his brethren.  He still stands six feet tall and leanly muscled at just one hundred and fifty pounds, but as with his kin, instead of a 12-foot wingspan like that of a giant raven, his plumage is more akin to blades forged of silver.  He dresses sparsely, in light leathers died to more closely resemble not only his skin tones but a night sky, highlighted with maroon.  He keeps his golden hair shorn, usually only betraying its presence in his expressive brows.

He prefers to fight in open space, using higher vantage points and distance to his advantage with his attacks, only resorting to daggers when a foe has advanced into a range that makes his bow a liability rather than an asset.