Xa'oc

Xa'oc (zay' ok) is a Thri-kreen monk. Xa'oc is a weapons expert and former gladiator, raised to fight from the moment he was hatched. He has recently been released from his life in the arenas and is now searching for a purpose.

## History

Xa'ocs former master taught him to become one with any weapon. His master was kind and generous, never critical of his progress. Nevertheless, Xa'oc felt he never lived up to his master's expectations.

Xa'oc and his master, and the rest of his fellow slaves were traveling to Urik to compete in the gladiatorial games in the city. On the way, their caravan was attacked by elves. Most of the slaves either ran or were slaughtered by the elves. His master was mortally wounded and Xa'oc fought off the elves until the fled. Wounded and dying, he was found by the dragonborn ranger, Kriv, who nursed him back to health. Xa'oc immediately accepted Kriv as the beginning of a new clutch and has traveled with him ever since. Xa'oc has no need for money and generally hands his share of any treasure directly to Kriv.

Outside the city of Urik, Xa'oc and Kriv found themselves in the middle of an attack by Juradia elves. Xa'oc's animosity for elves combined with his hunger, drove him to fight against the elves. He was subdued and woke in the back of a wagon, a prisoner of slavers. With him in the wagon were Kriv, Aruna, Tenneth, and Vex. An elf named Montivagus had also been captured by the slavers.

After using his claws to free himself, Kriv, and the rest of the prisoners, he followed Kriv's lead as the group opted to not defend the slavers when they were attacked by another contingent of Juradia elves.

When the group took shelter, Xa'oc stood watch and spotted a Llir stalking the sleeping party. The Llir's roar knocked out Xa'oc but was able to wake the rest of the party in time for them to defeat the ravenous predator. After being saved from Llir, Xa'oc begins to adapt this new group as his clutch.

The party meets a pair of dwarf children who offer to take them to a water source if the party will help their city solve its own water issues. The water is located in a wezer hive. Xa'oc, along with Vex, later defends a weakened Tenneth from the attacking wezers, while Kriv and Aruna search for the water. The water is eventually located with the wezer queen, which Xa'oc assists in killing. Xa'oc begins developing the talent to heal with his lower right claw and cause necrotic harm with his lower left claw. Each use of this ability causes a light or dark tattoo to being spreading up his arm starting at the claws.

Traveling to the city of Kled with the young dwarves, the party is attacked by a giant silk wyrm. Xa'oc is poisoned and ensnared in a silk cocoon. He is rescued by Kriv and Aruna. Once in the city, Xa'oc is intrigued by the stories of Kemalok and their worship of the sun. The local oasis for the city has become poisoned, and the city elders hire the party to investigate.

At the oasis, Xa'oc rescues Kriv when he is pulled underground by serpent-like kluzd. The druid that maintains the oasis is missing. During a stakeout, the party learns that elves have been poisoning the oasis to ensure the water is only suitable for them to drink. The elves have also kidnapped the druid to ensure he can not thwart their scheme.

Following tracks left by the elves from the oasis, the party encounters an elf named Fana who agrees to help them free the druid if they promise not to hurt her girlfriend, Jengi. Xa'oc was not happy with the arrangement and exercised great willpower in not killing Fana.

The party devises a plan involving Fana, Vex, and Tenneth creating a distraction while Aruna, Xa'oc, and Kriv tunnel underneath the village to retrieve the druid without being seen. The effort goes awry when the druid's cell is discovered to extend deep into the ground, forcing the infiltrators to emerge outside the the prison tent. Xa'oc leapt out of the tunnel and made his way into the tent from above. In the cell, he discovered the druid, Klick'chak'da accompanied by a zombie-like gith. He also found an unusually shaped sword. After freeing the druid and the gith and claiming the sword for himself, Xa'oc decapitated the Elf chieftain who was attacking Kriv and Aruna.

The group returns Klick'chak'da to his oasis. Back in Kled, Xa'oc asks a local priest to examine the sword. The priest determines it is a magical sword that "wants something" from Xa'oc.

The party leaves to journey to the city-state of Tyr. Along the way, Xa'oc attunes to the mysterious sword, naming it Mist Song because of the smoky tendrils the sword emits and the whistling sound it makes when swung. In Tyr, a human man notices Xa'oc examining the sword and offers to purchase it. Xa'oc politely declines. After this encounter, Xa'oc begins concealing the sword while in the city.

The same man later approaches the party and introduces himself as Ramas. He offers them a job on behalf of the members of a settlement located in the nearby Ringing Mountains. He then makes another offer to buy Mist Song. Xa'oc vehemently refuses and storms away.

On the journey to the settlement, the black tattoo on Xa'oc's lower left arm begins to take on the same spiral shape as Mist Song.

In the settlement, the party meets a halfling who reacts in a very similar fashion to the gith encountered in the elf village. The halfling reaches for Mist Song, stating it is meant for Kriv. Xa'oc becomes even more possessive of Mist Song.

Later, Xa'oc uses Mist Song to entice the halfling to follow the party to the site of the suspected abductions.

## Personality and Traits

Xa'oc is struggling to find his place in an open world that is foreign to him. At times he seems naive, except when in the heat of combat. Upon receiving mercy from Kriv when he lay dying in the wastes, he initially sought to learn more about this concept. After his possession by Mist Song, Xa'oc is beginning to believe less and less in the charity of life.