Tzakani Nezami Serénez

*"You should know by now that the Serénez Tribes always play by the rules. Do not let my age fool you into believing that I am any different."*
*~Tzakani Nezami Serénez~*

Tzakani Nezami Serénez is a Zaderic Komera hailing from Daksina-Serénez just west of Koldia. While she became well-known for her powerful bow and her lightning reflexes, she gained particular notoriety after it was revealed that she was able to understand the nuances and codes of the Jalengan Puzzle Books, and more importantly, when it led her to a once-forgotten secret of immense power.

Tzakani is the instigator of several major events throughout the *The Crest of Zabutur* series, and while many of these were not directly intentional, she is still considered to be one of the most world-changing mortals in history as a result, not only on Mencu, but on several of the other surviving Facsimiles as well.

## History

### Early Life

Born Tzakani Nezami Ruzmari, Tzakani is the second of five children born to Raul Ukon Serénez and Faluda Ruzmari, and the only Zaderic child in the family. This incident, coupled with Tzakani's curious fascination of the Serénez Tribes even as a toddler, inspired Raul to take her to the tribes for further interaction. Her younger sisters Alshama, Chayasa, and Nayati, as well as her older brother Szatoro, none of whom were born Zaderei, did not ever develop such an interest.

Tzakani was 3 years old when her father put her and himself through the Serénez joining ritual, and both successfully joined the tribe. While it did not change much about her life or childhood, she and Raul both adopted the surname Serénez. From there she learned a great many of the tribes' secrets, taking the Blood Oaths even as a toddler, which was purportedly not an uncommon occurrence among the natives. At her young age she was taught the Old Zaderic Language alongside Common, as well as tricks and skills to hone her reflexes, martial and elemental abilities.

Tzakani's family relocated several times during her infancy and early childhood before ultimately settling on a small village called Auzoa, whose proximity to the notorious Titans' Playground allowed its inhabitants to generally be left alone, Raul and Faluda included. Due to its fairly remote location and lack of economic or strategic value, as well as its proximity to both the Titans' Playground and a formidable tribe of Serénez, the village generally sees little to no hostility from external forces or even criminal organizations—which was precisely why Tzakani's parents settled there, in the interest of not wanting their children to get pulled into their parents' former lives of crime.

### Childhood Trauma

Tzakani's father Raul had been her primary mentor and friend during her early childhood, and his brutal death affected Tzakani much more prominently than the rest of her family, primarily because she was there to witness his immolation at the hand of a trio of Karzez hitmen firsthand. This incident was not only the harbinger and beginning of Tzakani's mental and emotional trauma, but also the event that cemented her passionate hatred of the Karzez criminal organization. This not only led to her revealing a feral side tied to her Zaderism, but her retaliation involved a rather primal and brutal murder of all three individuals connected to Raul's death. This left the young girl heavily scarred emotionally, and she is regularly haunted by flashbacks of both her father and her method of murdering his killers.

By the time she was 11 or 12, Tzakani also developed a grudge against the Kagero-Kiza due to a revelation about their involvement on selling Raul out to the Karzez, and due to the rarity of Shinzoka that are not part of this organization outside of Munjang-Îue, Tzakani's dislike of the Kagero-Kiza extends to Shinzoka as a whole. This grudge against the Shinzoka resulted in her taking the lives of two Kagero-Kiza agents: one was slain with an arrow that was loosed after a warning, which resulted in another agent later hunting her down and attacking her. She lost her life to Tzakani however, after being strangled to death during the struggle. Tzakani is not proud of any of these kills, and is perpetually haunted by the blood on her hands. She often has flashbacks to these moments, whether attacking the hitmen that killed her father, or murdering the Kagero-Kiza agents. Part of her dislike of Shinzoka stems from this trauma, and as such part of her racism towards them is born of fear or from her trauma.

### Serénez Blood Oath

Tzakani's primary claim to fame came from her ability to harness Primal Aether, which was an ancient secret she learned from Jalengan Puzzle Books that went to great efforts to keep it secret without fully disposing of the knowledge. For millennia these texts came together and drifted apart again, being copied or replicated, but to no avail, for there were none able to decipher the puzzles embedded within. By pure chance, or perhaps a fluke even, Tzakani was the first (and so far only) person to be able to decipher them since the days of their original creators. When she realized the implications these abilities had, she immediately had the books sealed within the Sacred Realms of the Serénez Tribes, and sealed her own knowledge of this incredible ability with a Blood Oath. As such, she is physically unable to share how to use this ability with anyone, because doing so would result in the Blood Oath activating and instantly claiming her life.

Tzakani's rationale for keeping this ability a secret is primarily based on the notion that such power would just give certain types of people an excuse to glut themselves, but also because an overuse of this ability on one of the Facsimiles had led to said world's utter destruction—a cataclysm that Tzakani did not want to see happen to Mencu. Her knowledge gives her a leverage over those who would seek to learn it, for the texts are now sealed away in a Sacred Realms vault that only she can open via her Blood Oath, and that selfsame oath protects her from divulging her knowledge—while at the same time preventing any would-be power-grabbers from seizing this knowledge. Since the Blood Oaths also protect the knowledge from being replicated, creating a Kumenza of Tzakani did not provide her creators with any of Tzakani's knowledge on Primal Aether, since Eka-Tzakani did not receieve the sealed knowledge from her host's mind.

### Return of the Jalenga

Many of Tzakani's actions and feats in *The Crown of Zivia* center around her attempts to find the titular Crown of Zivia, and by extension, unlocking the secrets of the Jalenga along with them. While she was successful in discovering Pikas-Jorgomna and retrieving the crown, she was also infused with a deadly amount of supercharged aether that her body struggled to handle, prompting her to seek passage eastward towards Koldia in the hopes of finding a mage powerful enough to help quell this affliction. Along the way she encountered a dance troupe called the Zenzi Sisters, who helped facilitate her travel to Koldia. She eventually came across an apparently young Kumenza woman named Rozani who helps quell the magic in her, although she swiftly realizes that her troubles are not over.

During her attempts to locate Pikas-Jorgomna, Tzakani had encountered a Vestar-Menda compound, and in her curiosity, also discovered that a Zukuren Morph named Leto had been held there for reasons unknown to her at the time. She had released Leto and thought little of it, particularly since the woman had rampaged her way out of the compound and disappeared towards the east. However, once Tzakani was in Kerala, she was discovered again by Leto, who had remembered Tzakani's good deed. Leto proved to be Tzakani's key into the Koldizé Royal Palace, and thus helped her get to the root of the issue surrounding those who sought the Crown of Zivia for their own personal ends.

### Elven Civil War

Tzakani's actions are believed to have indirectly triggered the infamous Elven Civil War in Koldia, partially due to the connection that Emperor Mieszko and Empress Venéra had with the Archon of the Sacrisola Isles, and more so from the Archon's obsession with the artifact known as the Crown of Zivia. With countless myths and legends surrounding this legendary artifact, he set out with the help of Imperial Zukuren soldiers from Koldia to try and locate the artifact, but they were unable to decipher the Jalenga's riddles. It was not until they arrived in the Kozélan Forest that Tzakani caught wind of their actions, and her curiosity led her on a hunt to find this crown for herself using her own knowledge of the Jalengan remnants that were scattered across the Sayenzi Remnants. If she was not able to find it herself, she at least wished to keep it out of the Archon's hands, an objective that she was moderately successful in completing.

While Leto and Tzakani eventually parted ways due to ideological disagreements about the inevitable war, Leto continued to hold great respect and even admiration for Tzakani due to Tzakani's assistance in releasing her. Even without her assistance however, Leto went on to cause a great deal of change within Koldia that reverberated outward and impacted much of Mencu. As such, Tzakani considers herself indirectly involved in this change, as well as Leto's Rebellion. She attempted to remain neutral on this conflict during the earlier stages, but was eventually spurred to action by the deeds of a Kumenza named Nevada, who reasoned that it could thwart the motives of Tzakani's own opponents. Her desire to be left alone in the long run overruled her desire to stay out of the present conflict, and so she joined the war.

## Appearance

Tzakani is a short and unassuming woman with no particularly remarkable or especially unusual features beyond her tribal markings and her Zaderic features, but her face became widely known into her adulthood due to her reputation preceding her.

### Physical Appearance

With her height peaking at 5'2" and weighing in at 121 lbs, Tzakani does not cut a very imposing figure. Lithe and athletic, Tzakani has a robust figure that shows potential for growth as she ages, but also betrays her adolescence despite the mature way she carries herself. Her light brown skin, dark brown hair, and striking red eyes are all commonplace for Zaderic Komera, particularly those in the Serénez Tribes, and her sunburst Zaderic marking (known archaically as a Keiza) is located around her right eye.

Like many others in her tribe, Tzakani has small but intricate markings down her chin that lead down the front of her neck. She has similar tattoos on her shoulders and upper arms, and while they may look like merely abstract designs, to the skilled reader and scholar of Serénez culture, they can also detail aspects of their owner's life. Apart from these inkings, Tzakani wears little in terms of cosmetics, usually opting only for some shadow around her eyes to pronounce them further. This has the side effect of augmenting a fierce-looking resting expression, as well as amplifying the thousand-yard stare she has due to her ongoing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While she sometimes ties her hair into a long, low ponytail near the nape of her neck, she generally otherwise leaves it down, sometimes trimming off bits if they become too unkempt.

Tzakani has a small but growing collection of scars, the most prominent of which are claw marks on the rear left side of her neck, a small series of what looks like bite marks around her left ankle, an X-shaped patch of scar tissue on her right hand that was formerly a full-fledged hole, and a large gash from her right hip upwards to just below her sternum. Her neck scars were obtained in the scuffle against the Kagero-Kiza agent at the age of 12; the bite marks around her ankle were actually caused by a spiked gauntlet's grip in an altercation with a renegade Arakan Tzakani had when she was 14; and both the X-shaped scar on her hand and the large incision on her abdomen were caused by Jalengan automatons in Bidas-Cronia, both also when she was 19.

### Clothing

Tzakani prefers loose garments with long sleeves and long trousers, opting for ones that have ample pocket space. Her favourite attire is a dark coat over an olive-green top and matching pants, with a green Serénez Emblem serving as a belt buckle, and also as bands around her upper arms as a cultural identifier for her tribe. She occasionally opts for fingerless gloves when hunting and using her bow, and began habitually wrapping her hands as she grew older, both due to becoming more proficient at hand-to-hand combat, and to cover up a large scar on her right hand inflicted by a Jalengan automaton. Since Zaderei, Komera, Serénez Tribespeople, and Serenza with an affinity for the element Earth are among the foremost groups that are wont to go barefooted, Tzakani almost never wears shoes—considering that she falls into all four of these categories.

In scenarios where a more formal appearance is necessary, Tzakani opts for long skirts and sleeveless tops, showing off the tattoos on her arms and shoulders. She often elects to wear light jewelry, usually around her neck and on her ears, as well as thicker metal bands around her wrists and ankles. After her right hand was severely scarred, she would switch to more ornate cloth to wrap it, as to present a more appealing and appropriate aesthetic for the situation at hand.

### Tribal Markings

While she already had notable markings along her shoulders, upper arms, and down her chin and jaw, by the time Tzakani came of age, she had obtained more markings on the underside of her jaw, her upper forehead above her eyebrows, her right cheek just below her Keiza, and down much of her back and her arms down to her elbows. Many of these are green in line with her elemental affinity, but some of the newer markings are black, a more neutral colour for certain marks. She also has a unique shaped marking on her her right hand despite her scar, in the same location as the crests borne by Tzurendi.

## Personality

Tzakani is uncompromisingly honest and has developed a reputation for being such. This in turn makes her a terrible liar and an unimpressive actress, although under her blunt personality, her primary form of deceit is omission. A staunch secret-keeper like many Serénez Tribespeople, Tzakani is slow to disclose secrets she does not wish to share, and will often keep her language vague enough to prevent spilling it, while also avoiding any technical untruths. Headstrong and relentlessly stubborn, she does not mince her words outside of protecting secrets, which has sometimes gotten her into trouble.

Due to a myraid of trauma and discipline throughout her childhood, Tzakani is wary of others and often very tense and hypervigilant. She startles easily, and turns hyperaggressive if she feels endangered or if she feels that she needs to defend herself. She is also very slow to trust others, although is willing to open up to those who are willing to put in the effort to befriend her properly. While her stoic and disciplined childhood have helped her keep many of her emotions in check, in truth Tzakani is harbouring a lot of this trauma and trying to cope with it on her own.

### Virtues

Many people view Tzakani's brutal honesty as a refreshing change of pace from most other people who might tell pleasant falsehoods rather than the unpleasant truth. Cautious but also adamantly loyal to those she calls friends, Tzakani is a reliable travelling companion and an excellent confidant. Her blunt, straightforward approach to issues is a precarious but remarkably effective method of calling out flaws and problems when she spots them, and she has even called out Jalenga Queen Zivia herself on some of her issues without backing down. While introverted, Tzakani is not shy, and is therefore not afraid to confront people directly when she has a problem with them. She is also a very disciplined young woman with a sharp mind and a generally rational method of thinking, which has even earned her the respect of the Archon, leader of the Vestar-Menda.

### Vices

Tzakani's primary vices are often her virtues as well. Her blunt honesty can strike people the wrong way and she can be viewed as rude or even hostile, and due to her trauma, she can sometimes be unreasonably stubborn which can make her very difficult to deal with. She also suffers from PTSD which can inhibit her rational thinking or cloud her vision on what is real and what is merely a malicious flashback or illusion. While she has a dry and intellectual sense of humour, she rarely ever smiles, and her strong sense of discipline can make her come off as unfriendly or even robotic at times. Given that she was essentially a child soldier, some of these behaviours have had people try to call out the practices of the Serénez Tribes and the Krippan Empire, although the exact workings of these rites is not something Tzakani ever talks about either.

### Beliefs and Morality

Tzakani believes firmly in unbridled honesty and in a careful distribution of information based on necessity and importance. Her detestation of hypocrisy leads her to play by the same rules that she expects others to adhere to, and she has no love or interest in good intentions; only good results. While she is willing to change her beliefs and opinions when new hard-proven information becomes available, she otherwise takes a very unforgivingly objective approach, and has no interest in seeing things from other perspectives if the truth is sufficiently defined. Tzakani appreciates stability and order, although adheres to a moral code not unlike the Serénez, which sometimes puts her at odds with other civilizations in turn, particularly those that dislike Zaderei or (by extension) Krippans.

## Abilities

### Elemental Capacity

Tzakani is an Anima-attuned woman with an affinity for Earth. Despite these abilities, she generally only uses them for practical purposes or to occasionally defend herself. The infrequency at which she uses these abilities often also serves as an element of surprise, and sometimes doubly so given that an unarmed Tzakani is anything but disarmed. While she has not learned control of the Advanced Elements, it is widely believed that she carries that potential, just as she does to become an incredibly powerful elementalist. However, she shows little interest in honing these skills, preferring a heavier focus on martial abilities in the event where elemental forming is not available to her.

### Combat Prowess

While she can sometimes use the elements to her advantage or in her defense, Tzakani prefers archery foremost, although is good with throwing knives and with daggers in close combat, and is adept at hand-to-hand combat. While she adheres to a moral code when telling the truth, she is not afraid to fight dirty or do whatever it takes to defend herself or fight off an assailant. She has on many occasions resorted to clawing and biting, even using her teeth to tear throats open. She is an extremely resilient woman, cue in part to the natural resilience of the Komera, the slight increase to resilience for people with an elemental affinity of Earth, and a great deal of durability because of her Zaderic blood. As a result, Tzakani has been often described as "notoriously difficult to kill". This has aided her in combat too, and she has been known to bleed opponents out in a battle of attrition. While she adheres to many self-imposed rules or moral codes, her only rule when it comes to combat is to survive by any means necessary.

### Other Talents

Tzakani's most infamous talent remains her ability to harness and manipulate Primal Aether, essentially using the aetheric energies of the world itself to augment her strength, vitality, or offensive and defensive capabilities. This makes her even more difficult to kill, on top of her natural racial traits that have added to her resilience already. Her other 'unique' skill was her ability to read and decipher the ancient Jalenga Puzzle Books, some of which also detailed the route through the Sayenzi Greatwood to get to the heart of the remnants of Pikas-Jorgomna.

## Role in the Series

Tzakani plays arguably the most pivotal role in the entire series, appearing as a major and/or central character in every volume. Her actions directly and indirectly impact an immense number of people and nations, and arguably even the world itself.

## Trivia

* Had Tzakani not been born a Zaderei, her eyes would have been grey.
* Tzakani has a Kumenza named Eka-Tzakani.
* By definition, Tzakani fits the description of an antagonist in each book, due to her primary objectives often being to prevent other individuals from completing their desired goals or objectives; as opposed to having a proper agenda of her own. However, one could argue that her goal is to protect the status quo without conflict.
* Tzakani's nickname "Tizzy" is a play on "T-Z", the first two letters of her name.
* Eka-Katara has been hired to assassinate Tzakani on multiple occasions, and while she refuses to do so, she uses this as an excuse to pay her a visit. She is also one of the only people that has earned Eka-Katara's full and undisputed respect.
* Tzakani weighs the same as Nevada, with both women weighing 122 lbs.