L'orelai Lizha
L'orelai is a pure-hearted yet sometimes misguided woman. Very intelligent yet still somewhat naive and gullible in certain matters especially when it pertains to Eorzean culture. She oft finds it difficult to fit in but desperately wants to.
When not working, she can be found baking or traversing with her shark companion off the coasts of Limsa: watching the sunset, swimming, searching for hidden locales, and studying the land its creatures.
She was recruited by the company SWORD shortly after arriving in Eorzea four summers ago and became an apprentice airship navigator due to her talent for meticulous planning and seeming aptitude at reading maps
About Basics
Race: Miqote
Age: 22
Height:
Orientation: Straight
Friends: Sarge (The Major-General) - a bipedal shark whom she rescued off the beach in Costa del Sol after he was tossed from a pirate vessel; hungry, weak, injured and in serious alcohol withdraw L'orelai took him home, nursed him back to health and is his support in his search for sobriety. He is quite intelligent and easily picks up on L'orelai's moods and is often quite protective of her if he feels someone is upsetting her. They are often seen together, except in places where alcohol is heavily present.
Likes: Baking, the Ocean, Studying various flora and fauna, Cute things, Exploring, Sarge, 'Dressing Up'
Dislikes: Harming others, foul smells, messiness, Morbols
Occupations: Airship Navigator, Aspiring Pastry Chef, Alchemy Apprentice
Personality-
Sweet: L'orelai is usually quite a sweet girl but can turn on a dime if ticked off or teased and can then come across as stand-off-ish or even bratty, but that's only because she cares.
Loyal: She loves those she calls friends and would do anything to help them out, often tries too hard to do so when she should probably just leave things alone. Only wants to see others happy and is discouraged when they are not.
Aspiring: L'orelai is always trying to learn something new or master a craft. She can be found asking others for advice or lessons on various topics as well as researching through hands-on approaches or reading many tomes
L'orelai was born on a relatively small island in the South Seas around twenty-two summers ago to her doting mother and father. Not some years later she would become an elder sister.
Her tribe was relatively self-sustaining and more rural in nature. Her parents owned a small farm and L'orelai would help with all aspects of it as well as pitching in with shifts at the markets.
In terms of learning, there were very few opportunities for females of the tribe. However, L'orelai read every tome she was able to get her hands on, specifically an old copy of the first volume of the Eorzean encyclopedia and other non-fiction.
Around eleven summers of age she began to learn arcane magic from a kind and scholarly gentleman who had washed up on their shores after an ill-fated voyage but felt it was his purpose to help their people. Most females in the tribe upon coming of age would be entered into an arranged marriage unless certain circumstances prevented such.
When she reached fifteen summers, her younger sister fell gravely ill. The tribe leader at the time allowed her to stay with her family to help in her aid as well as with the labor needs. There were a few elderly healers amongst the tribe, but nothing they did seemed to help. Every so often merchants/mail carriers from near and far would arrive, selling imports at high prices. One such summer a 'new age' healer and practicing alchemist was among them and claimed to have a cure for the younger Miqote. (One that would take several doses over time to work.) The cost was exorbitant but they were desperate. Thankfully the man agreed to take payments over time and would retrieve the amounts two summers a year.
This was a huge burden for her family as they already didn't earn much but to sustain them and with little opportunities, found there was little hope in earning the required amounts while staying on the island. Her later actions spurred on by the death of their leader and the rise of his successor, the previous head's grandson, L'owain, who had his eye on L'orelai and who sought to further stunt the growth of the island in his zeal for control. Two years after her sister fell ill, an opportunity arose: several of the family members of those who had fallen ill had constructed a boat, their goal: Eorzea. It would be a long and rough journey, one that wasn't guaranteed to succeed but combined with her desire to help her family, her distaste of their new leadership, and her love for learning decided to go with them.
They planned the journey in secret and she helped chart their journey using the faded maps and the little bit of tribal knowledge there was. L'owain confronted her one day when she was tying up old clothes as sails. Angered by her defiance of him in multiple ways he later decreed that any tribe member who decided to leave after that day would never be welcomed back. Fueled by frustration and hopelessness she decided to continue with the journey, giving her family a tearful goodbye and promising to send money and letters as they set off in the dingy.
She lost track of time sailing out on those torturous seas, having no clue how long she was out there for, finally the dingy crashed onto the shores of Costa del Sol.
