Nehaalista

=Vindicator Nehaalista=
=Simple Bio and Appearance=
Full Name and Title: Vindicator Nehaalista the Kindly of Shattrath ((Pronounced "Nay-Ha-Liss-Tah"))
Status: Vindicator of the Hand of Argus
Relatives: Missing, Presumed Dead
Marital Status: Single
Nehaalista is your typically big, dark-skinned, hooved and horned Draenei woman. Her dark hair curls in ringlets and falls down her back, admittedly rather vain for a paladin. Her horns curl back against her head and point downward and are the number one reason why she hates helmets. Aside from this, little seperates her from the rest of the female side of her race. Except, perhaps the fact that Nehaalista does not speak.
Ever.
No, Nehaalista is what you'd call a perfectly functional, perfectly happy mute. As she cannot speak, she must often use sign language to communicate. It is a bit rudimentary, and still a little clumsy, but as far as she is concerned, it gets her point across just fine for her purposes. Usually, she appears to forget about the fact not everyone uses or
understands signing, and signs rapidly. Or perhaps she does it to watch them become confused.
Contrary to popular belief, Nehaalista does, in fact, have her tongue.
On Her Inability to Speak
Nehaalista has tried to cure herself of her affliction in the past. However, no amount of petitioning the Light, goblin and gnomish devices, magic elixirs, or panceas have fixed her. As such, Nehaalista has learned to live without speaking for a very long time. While it isn't the most desireable trait in a Vindicator, Nehaalista has learned to loom when necessary.
=History=
==Family Life Before the Destruction of Draenor==
Nehaalista was born the third child (and third daughter) to a small family in Tuurem. Her father, Neheram, was a jeweler and her mother, Haara, a peacekeeper for the small town. Her elder sisters, Jurea and Soorai, aided their parents with Nehaalista's raising, once it was confirmed that their sister did not speak. Nehaalista has memories of being treated gingerly, as a child that could not speak was bound to cause trouble for the social positioning of their family. Her sisters helped her develop her writing and signing skills quickly, and when she was old enough, put her to work in the family's shop. She couldn't sell jewelry, but she handled the exchange of money and the ledgers early on. She would later admit that during this time she was often given sweets for being such a "good, quiet" child.
==Nehaalista and the Light==
Nehaalista's manipulation of the Light would make itself known fairly late in her childhood. She found herself pressed into service soon after, however, and the family packed up and moved to Shattrath. By this time, Nehaalista's family had grown once more, with her eldest sister marrying and a new younger sibling to take care of, a boy named Faram. Finally being put to a purpose that was more than, "Nehaalista, count the draenite" or "Nehaalista, order the books", the young Draenei woman leapt into her new position with eager, open arms. She was willing to do what she needed, happy to adapt and learn how to give and take orders. Nehaalista loved the Light, and loved the fact that she could now "call" out to something and have it respond without her waving her arms or pointing irritably at a piece of parchment.
==The Siege of Shattrath and Kinase==
With the sudden influx of orcish attacks on the Draenei people, Nehaalista and other young trainees were charged with spiriting away many of the citizens of Shattrath to hiding places where they had hoped would not be compromised. Nehaalista did her best to keep her group, generally made up of women, children and her members of her family, safe from harm, hearding them to safety in Zangarmarsh as the city of Shattrath fell. In the chaos, her group split into smaller numbers in the hopes that the orcs wouldn't be able to hunt all of them down. Nehaalista took her group further into the marshes, staying hidden for ages until it was finally "safe", however tenuous that safety was.
As Nehaalista had problems communicating with the other Draenei by and large, she was paired with another young trainee named Kinase. He generally made heads and tails of her finger wiggling and gesticulations which he then translated for others.
==The Escape from Draenor and Arrival in Azeroth==
Many of her fellow trainees had lost members of their family, or were killed themselves in the siege and following exodus, and Nehaalista felt doubly blessed (even if it was a phyrric blessing) that her family had managed to survive somehow.
She has very scattered memories of the crash, possibly caused by the beating she took in her escape pod as it fell to the earth. What Nehaalista does know, however, is that when she woke up finally, her family was gone, counted among the ranks of the missing and dead. While saddened by the loss and the uncertainty of what she could do now without her sisters or parents to translate her gesticulations, Nehaalista chose to work instead of mourn. After all, somewhere out there, her family could be alive, what would she have to show them if she'd only mourned their passing?
While she knew it to be a naive hope, it was a silver lining in the draenei people's new and alien home for her. She rejoined with her other trainees and in a few years, achieved her rank of Vindicator. Shortly after, she started her own journey through Azeroth, following the orders of the Hand.
Generally, Nehaalista followed behind others, doing clean-up work before she finally returned to Shattrath. Though it was no longer her home properly, Nehaalista still felt it to be her responsibility to the people there to help safeguard it. She worked with the Aldor for a while, with small forays into Northrend to help the war effort there, until the Hand felt she was better suited to the clean-up and refortification efforts in Northrend.
(She has much to say about the fact they keep sending her behind the army proper.) For now, Nehaalista makes her home between Dalaran and Stormwind, visiting the Exodar to make periodic reports to the Hand in person when a letter does not suffice.
=Silly OOC Fun=
==Facts==
Nehaalista hates frogs. Hates the idea of them, hates the way they feel, hates their little ribbits.
She sometimes pretends she is deaf as well, especially when her elders begin to question her about her romantic life.
Thinks like a magpie; whatever is shiny, she tends to gravitate toward. This includes Kinase's head, Achaeduun's armor, or Akirum's staff. The day all three are in the same vicinity, she fears she'll explode.
Though Nehaalista knows she makes no noise when she does it, she mimics laughing and giggling instead of signing them.
Category:Draenei
Category:Alliance
Category:Alliance Paladin