Kairi the Cyclops

"Rally to me...idiots."

Kairi the Cyclops is a grumpy, bitter, and awkward half-giant from Ithel. Much like most northerners, she has become accustomed to a world without magic, and has had trouble adjusting to its frequent use in the other locations she has visited. Kairi is very strong on-account of her size, and wields a massive tower shield as her weapon in combat, crushing her foes underneath. Kairi has an attitude that is not befitting of a Paladin, but she will always step in front of her allies to protect them when they are in danger.

## History

All it takes is one look at Kairi to know how unique of a being she truly is. As the mixture of a cyclops and a tiefling, Kairi was "blessed" with one eye, red skin, and horns popping out of her head that causes her look unlike almost anyone else in Oustomia. You can imagine what kind of charmed childhood she had being the product of a giant who eats people and a half-demon.

Kairi does not enjoy discussing her childhood. Simply put, she never had a family. Her mother was a tiefling whose experiments with magic eventually landed her in trouble with Wrathia's Paladins. She managed to escape one of their many prisons and made her way into the wildlands of the North, taking shelter in a cave. Unbeknownst to her, that same cave was the home of a vicious and massive cyclops who, excited by the prospect of having a visitor, took advantage of Kairi's mother. And from that temporary union came Kairi.

Of course, she never met her father, and has no desire to change that fact. The second her mother had the opportunity, she fled from the cave, and once Kairi was born, she was unceremoniously dropped off at a local orphanage. The orphanage was overseen by clerics and other holy folk. They viewed her as a demon and treated her like a second-class citizen because of her monstrous appearance...but could never justify the thought of killing her as she was still an innocent child.

The second she was old enough to take care of herself, she left. Despite her youth, she was already very large and strong. Fighting seemed to be a natural career choice for her, but the citizenry were always threatened whenever they saw a massive red half-cyclops carrying around a bastard sword. To compensate, Kairi began to carry nothing but her shield, eventually learning how to use it for both offense and defense.

## Seeing the World

Kairi's profession as an "adventurer" (the politically correct term for mercenary) has allowed her to finally acquire enough gold to leave Wrathia behind. It has been a difficult adjustment for her. The first issue is all of the magic. She suspects that many of the people in Oustomia have become weak by relying on magic to accomplish even mundane tasks. Second, short people. With height being her primary advantage in life, Kairi is taken aback by all of the half-lings, gnomes, and dwarves she sees running around. She believes that these "shorties" have always relied on sneakiness in order to compensate for their size, and she is always suspicious that they are thieves.

Kairi's travels have taken her to Jiyu, a location that she finds oddly comforting. It is about as different from Wrathia as possible, but Kairi enjoys taking long strolls in the garden. She finds it soothing and it helps to calm her anger. She has paid for a room so long at the same inn that the owner has joked that she should just move in, which is something she has actually considered. While going through this change of location, Kairi herself has also begun to change. For starters, she has made some friends on her missions, and has even found someone for whom her feelings are considerably stronger than anyone else she has seen before.

Kairi is relatively unaware of what is going on right now with the undead. As long as she is paid to fight, that is what she shall do. She has, however, renewed her prayers and vows to Iomodae, asking for the strength to protect her allies in combat. Despite her attitude, she will always step into the line of fire to protect them.

## Something to Protect

Kairi had never been in love before, but after going on a mission with Teryn the druid, she found herself experiencing a wide range of unfamiliar emotions. She found that she was infatuated, unable to focus during the day as her mind wandered to thinking about the elf. She found herself feeling happy, knowing that there was someone out there who did not outright reject her on account of her appearance. And, mixed in with all that, she felt scared. Everyone in Jiyu knew about the horded of undead threatening the continent, and how on each instance where the heroes fought them, they only narrowly managed to survive. Kairi, for the first-time, felt that there was someone she wanted to protect on a personal level.

And so, Kairi began to search for ways to become stronger. She started her journey in Lebenreich, a city that many warriors of light like herself called home. In particular, Azrael Targoth, the Bright Lord himself, had founded this kingdom, and Kairi sought his guidance in learning how to become stronger. While Azrael admitted that he could not teach her how to fight better with a shield, he did know of someone who could: the servant of Sarenrae, Ruuska. Kairi, frustrated by how much she was forced to travel, did not start her meeting with Ruuska on good terms. She interrupted him mid-prayer to ask for training, and was nearly ousted from the temple entirely for her transgressions. However, Kairi persisted, and eventually Ruuksa agreed to help train her.

While the two both made use of tower shields, Kairi's fighting style is very unconventional as she uses her shield for both offense and defense. It was the first time that even Ruuska had seen someone throw their tower shield at their opponent. However, while Kairi's offense was...innovative, her defense was lacking. If she wanted to protect herself and her allies, she would need to change her style to be more defensive. Furthermore, she would need to focus more on her relationship with Iomodae so that she could use her power to better protect her allies.

Kairi has spend a good portion of her time since then locked in prayer. It had been a while since she had devoted herself so much to her deity. However, following Ruuska's advice paid off. Kairi was never adept at channeling positive energy but, with her shield in hand, she found that she could cause her shield to glow with a warm light that shielded her allies as much as herself.

## From Teacher to Lover

It was on one of her missions that Kairi became infatuated with Teryn the druid but...this turned out to be little more than a crush spawned by naivety and physical attraction. It was not a relationship that was built to last, and Kairi did not see Teryn for many months. However, in order to communicate better with the elf and perhaps send her letters, Kairi found that she suddenly had a desire to learn how to read. Arashi, a gnome she had worked with on a mission previously, soon became her teacher and closest friend. The two would spend several days a month continuing Kairi's lessons, and while it was hard for the cyclops to wrap her head around the process, she soon began to learn enough to read a few children's stories aloud.

This proud achievement helped Kairi to move past her frustration over how her relationship with Teryn was over before it could really begin. Her meetings with Arashi would continue until, on one fateful night, the two would go for a walk in one of Jiyu's gardens. It was there that Arashi made a confession to Kairi; that the gnome did not have long to live. Kairi was at first distraught, thinking that she was wasting the gnome's time by having her do something as mundane as teaching her how to read, but Arashi revealed that their time together had brought with it some of her happiest memories. Confused, Kairi began to return to her travels, visiting multiple cities if only to distract herself.

While visiting Chessur, Kairi met the general there, Manfred. The two went to get drinks, during which Kairi shared some of the details about how she was born and the violent relationship that brought her two parents together. Manfred issued a challenge to her, saying that she was destined to resort to violence like her father did in order to find a relationship. These words made Kairi angry, frustrated, and...more lonely than she had ever been before. But, Kairi soon came to realize that she was not alone, as there was someone she was already content spending most of her time with; her friend Arashi.

Kairi would soon return to find Arashi in Jiyu, and she would confess that she had developed feelings for the gnome. Arashi and her became lovers, and now live together in Jiyu. The odd couple often garner attention on the streets of Jiyu, but Kairi had never felt so happy, knowing that she now had someone she could rely on.

## Personality

Kairi is not a pleasant person to be around. She frequently comes off as bored and disinterested in anything that doesn't involve fighting, and is more than willing to insult those she is working alongside if they aren't pulling their weight. She frequently curses whenever she is upset or excited in what she claims is an ancient Cyclopian language...but is actually just words she made up. Kairi is also very awkward, often finding herself at a loss for words, particularly around those she likes, and comes off as a bit of a tsundere. She has grown tired of other people judging her because of her appearance, and she rarely opens up to people unless she is sure that she can trust them. Since spending time with Arashi, Kairi's overall mood has improved significantly, and she finds herself smiling more than she had prior.

* Tsundere.
* Grumpy.
* Protective.
* Brave.
* Insensitive.
* Awkward.

## Appearance

Kairi's appearance stands out to anyone she meets. She is half cyclops, which granted her a single large eye at the center of her skull (along with terrible depth perception) and freakish levels of strength that allows her to wield weapons that appear too large for her. She is very tall, and outside of other giants, she is able to look down both physically and metaphorically on anyone. Kairi is very muscular, with most of her bulk resting on her lower half. Her legs and thighs are very thick, allowing her to be practically immovable once she braces her shield. A certain elf may also like her booty...but we won't talk about that.

Being part Tiefling gave Kairi red skin and devilish horns. Because of her appearance, many people mistake Kairi for a monster, and so she often goes to great lengths to hide her appearance in public. She often hides beneath her heavy armor or pulls a hood over her head when around other people. Despite her size, she often works to avoid eye contact, and is very self-conscious about her appearance.

Lately, Kairi's bitterness towards her own appearance has begun to dissipate, in part because she now had a lover who liked her for who she was. Kairi has begun to embrace her giant-side, paying a local mage to increase her size...permanently. The decision was made a bit hastily by Kairi, who soon realized it made fitting back into her home more difficult, but she felt the benefits were worth it so she can do more to protect her friends.

She does blush, but it is rarely visible because of her skin color.

## Fighting Style

It is unknown if anyone has ever mastered the use of the tower shield quite like Kairi has. Despite the fact that she used it initially to appear *less* threatening, it is clear to anyone who meets her that Kairi is actually *very* threatening with this piece of equipment in her hands. Using her tall body and impressive physique to her advantage, Kairi is capable of utterly **crushing** her foes with her shield. She typically attacks with it by pressing her shoulder into the other side and charging forward like an unstoppable battering ram. Oh, and she covered it with spikes. Seemed like the right thing to do.

And then she throws the darn thing. With a maneuver that seemingly no enemy ever suspects, Kairi occasionally unstraps her shield and chucks it at her enemies with enough force that it always bounces right back to her hands so she can use it again. And she always manages to catch her shield. Every. Stinking. Time. Just ask those goblins riding around on spiders trying to stay out of her range.

While her offensive abilities are incredibly, Kairi is particularly concerned with defending her allies. She will always put herself between her weaker allies and whatever it is that's threatening them, and often uses her shield to provide herself and them with cover whenever they need it. No matter where they are, Kairi brings with her a wall between themselves and the enemy.

Kairi has also devoted herself to Iomodae, and her deity has granted her the power to not only protect herself, but also to shield her allies from harm. In battle, Kairi's shield glows with a warm light that protects her allies from physical harm, as though they were all carrying tower shields of their own. She has become both a force to be reckoned with on offense, and a considerable boon to her allies on defense.

"Rally to me...idiots!"

## Apirations

Kairi wants gold, plain and simple, and she wants enough of it to be able to survive on her own independently. If she had enough gold to buy herself a small cabin in the middle of the woods far enough from civilization so that she

wouldn't have to interact with people and would have access to everything she needs to take care of herself...she'd be satisfied. At least, this is what she claims. But in reality, Kairi longs for social interaction, no matter how much she claims that she doesn't.

Kairi has also found love recently, particularly due to the allure of a young elven druid with little clothing. She isn't quite sure what to even call these feelings and has never been in a serious relationship before, but...she finds herself fascinated by her nonetheless. So, she wants booty in the form of gold, and booty in the form of dat elf.

## Friends

* Teryn - A druid who walks around with the a massive living tree. She removed some of her clothing for magic or something during a mission, and Kairi hasn't been able to stop thinking about her since.
* Qretac - She is not overly fond of this rogue, despite having worked together on multiple missions, but he has his uses. Even though she insults him to his face.
* Arashi - A friendly gnome and former pirate. Kairi admires her strength in battle. Now, the pair are lovers, even though Kairi is still confused by the gnome's many riddles.
* Ruuska - A fellow Paladin and tower shield devotee. Helped to train Kairi in new ways of protecting her allies with her faith and her shield.

## Foes

* Robin Banks - A rude little person who can't be trusted.
* Spiders - Who needs em'? They get their webs everywhere.