Alan Karritt

"My brother was a hunter, even better than I was. He warned me to be cautious. But me? I wanted to take a risk, and it ended up costing him his life...Not a day goes by that I don't think about him." - Ara Karritt

## Physical Description

### Eye Color

Yellow.

Alan is Ara Karritt's beloved brother, who fell in battle against a massive ogre when the pair of hunters became overconfident in their abilities. His death was what inspired Ara to leave her homeland and find solace in the temples of Shizuru, eventually becoming an Inquisotor and Monk in service to the deity. While Ara has done her best to move on from the passing of her brother, losing him still haunts her to this day.

## A Brother and Sister

Alan Karritt was born in the city of Riferia on an island to the south. Riferia itself is a tropical paradise and is the home to many colorful Tengus who, unlike their mainland brethren who primarily resemble crows, come in a variety of vibrant colors. The Karritt's were, historically, the hunters of the island, tracking down and killing all manner of beasts in order to feed their city. Ara and Alan were to be the next generation of these hunters; a brother and sister pair who were very adept at working together in order to take down their prey.

Ara and Alan were quite the unique pair as brother and sister. Complete opposites in terms of personality, the two grew up watching out for each other. Ara was the more headstrong of the pair; she was more adventurous and was often curious about what other lands there were beyond the island they called home. Alan, meanwhile, was content to remain on the island for his entire life, much as his ancestors had done for centuries before. He was often the voice of reason for the pair, helping to calm situations when his sister's quick temper got the better of her.

Like any brother and sister, they had their squabbles, but the two balanced each other out in terms of their personalities. When Alan had trouble showing courage (such as when he had a crush on a green Tengu who lived across the street), it was Ara who pushed him towards his goal. And when Ara got in over her head, it was Alan who helped to bail her out. The same could be said for how they fought in battle. Ara was the close-range fighter of the two, content to rely on her beak and claws while in the midst of her hunt. Alan, meanwhile, was an archer, able to shoot a foe from such a far distance that his sister often doubted if he could eve see the target he was aiming at. The two became hunters for the city, and went out almost everyday to see out their prey. Together, they were very successful.

## Overconfidence

As hunters, Ara and Alan seemed like an unstoppable and invincible pair. Together, they hunted down every manner of animal and monster their island had to offer. However, during their hunts, Alan began to notice signs that a more dangerous monster than anything they had faced before had made its presence felt on the island. While they were tracking a group of elk traveling across the island, they found large tracks, similar to that of a man but far larger in size, following the same path they did. When they eventually found the elks, they were already slain, with many of them lying on the ground half-eaten, killed seemingly for pleasure as opposed to food. Disgusted, horrified, and frustrated, Ara and Alan debated what their next course of action should be.

Alan suggested that they return to the village. They should warn the others that a monster of some sort was on the loose, and gather a larger hunting party to pursue the beast. Ara, meanwhile, wanted to pursue the monster themselves. By the time they returned to the city, the monster may be gone. If nothing else, perhaps they could determine where it slept so that they knew where to search for it in the morning. Reluctantly, Alan agreed to follow Ara's plan, and the two began to follow in the footsteps of their new foe.

However, the monster they were hunting was more intelligent than they had given it credit for. It was aware that it was being followed, and relished the challenge the pair of hunters chose. Eventually, Alan got the feeling that the tracks they were following were leading them in circles, but by then it was too late. The Tengu siblings found themselves face to face with a massive ogre. While it is unknown how the beast had ended up on their island, they had little time to ponder that before the beast attacked them. Ara was the first to go down, a hit from the ogre's club sending her spiraling into a nearby tree. Alan, meanwhile, tried to lure the beast away, drawing the ogre's ire with his bow. Anytime the beast tried to go after Ara, he sent an arrow towards his head. Alan told Ara to run, and at first, his sister refused. However, when she stood up, she found that her arm had been broken from the Ogre's previous attack. Unable to fight, but able to run, the Tengu retreated, praying that her brother would last long enough for her to return with help.

Unfortunately, she was too late. While the hunters she brought with her were able to finish off the Ogre, which had already been weakened by the dozens of arrows sticking up out of its flesh, they were unable to rescue Alan. She heard all of the usual comforts that people tried to give her; they claimed that it wasn't her fault, that her brother would have wanted to protect her, and that anyone else would have done the same. However, it did little to make Ara feel less guilty for pushing her brother to help her follow the monster on their own, or any less weak for being unable to rescue her brother by herself. The very sight of her home filled her with dread, knowing that her brother would no longer be there to greet her.

She said goodbye to her parents and, the next day, made arrangements with a group of merchants visiting the town to leave the island behind for good. Her destination? Anywhere else.

## Aftermath

Ara and Alan as children.

Since then, Ara still thinks about her brother from time to time. For a while, she relied primarily on drinking whenever the memory of what had happened became too much for her to handle. She soon found solace in a temple of Shizuru, where she was trained to be a monk, and eventually found herself in the employ of Chessur as a knight. However, she is still haunted by the memory of what had occurred, and occasionally falls back into her bad habits.

Ara was recently slain in battle, and while she was brought back to life, the experience was traumatic for her. She could swear that, as she passed onto the other side, that she could see her brother waiting for her. Since then, Ara has wished that the two had traded places, though she knows that he would feel just as guilty if the situation was reversed.