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Magical Ability:

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Andreii may take the form of a buckskin akhal-teke stallion at will. He stands 16hh, delicately boned and built for speed and endurance. His tail is black but he has no mane, only a darker stripe of hair running from poll to withers.
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Appearance:

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Andreii is a slim 5"11, athletic but gangly as though he has not quite outgrown the coltishness of youth. His skin is dusky bronze, both from blood and the sun. His hair is black, slightly coarse, and grows in careless waves that he keeps cut fairly short to stay out of his way. Frame by dark lashes and brows, his eyes are hazel- bright amber aroudn the pupil fading to green and then captured by a ring of dark blue. He tends to wear practical clothing, plain colored punctuated here and there by interesting color or pattern or texture. Reds, coppers, and tans dominate his limited wardrobe. His ears are pierced, typically decorated by tiny hoops of copper wire and small moonstones.
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Personality:

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Andreii is young, starry eyed, and optimistic. What some might mistake for naivety is a powerful belief that things will always change, sometimes for the worse but usually for the better. He takes failure in stride, usually with a ready smile and perhaps a story that helps to soothe the sting. Stories are the fodder for his soul. He actively seeks them out and willing accepts a well told story as currency. He is not so unlearned as to think that stories are the currency of the world but he might sometimes wish they are. He has a penchant for theatrics and a boundless enthusiasm to learn about knew people and places. Histories especially enthrall him, stories of gods and heroes.
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Despite being something of a romantic, romance itself has remained elusive to Andreii. It is not something he readily addresses- in some ways, he is much happier to just be infatuated from affar, to write poetry and song until that ship has sailed it's course. He might pine for a while but he rarely seems truly put out by his lack of relations. In line with his typical philosophy, time will tell whether that changes or not. Privately, he's not sure he wants it to change. He likes the idea of romance, but the work of a true relationship and the prospect of perhaps starting a family is not something he's entirely prepared for.
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Despite his sunny disposition, Andreii has a ruthless streak. Death is a part of the cycle and it doesn't phase him. He has defended his tribe and their herd from thieves, desperate travelers lost in the desert, and the vicious predators that prowl the desert itself. He and Sokol have done battle together, both alone and alongside his other tribes people. His youth means he does not have the experience of others. He will, however, try to diffuse and avoid violent conflict when possible because he knows the consequences. If he had his preference, he would engage only at a distance with his bow, rather than up close where he risks more danger to himself and his horses.
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History:

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The Astricus desert. Beautiful. Deadly. Home.
To most, the Astricus desert is a wasteland. To Andreii it was cradle and playground. His people were birthed from the sands and they thrive there in the heat and sun at the edge of the world. He has stood a that edge and wondered what lies beyond. He has seen the City of Stars and conversed with those who live there, traded with them for fine goods and brought them back across the deserts. But the edges of the desert have every been a tantalizing boundary.
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His life started simply, as most stories do. He was born on a moonless night brilliant with stars, in a tent pitched with seven horses tethered outside. He was one of half a dozen children, raised by loving parents. They filled his younger years with the wonder of nature and the music of stories. He learned to ride horses the same time he learned to walk. As he learned the speech of man, he also learned the speech of his four-legged brethren. For the Vetish Tribes live closely with the horses. Every Vetish tribesman can take the form of a horse. Their horses are the life's blood of the clan, four-legged siblings to every man who walks among them. They are never bought and sold, only occasionally given as gifts to someone who has earned the highest respect.
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And so was Andreii raised. When he was ten he was allowed to choose a foal to raise. He chose a blood colored stallion and named him Sokol- the falcon. When he was sixteen, he was sent into the desert alone with only Sokol as company. He carried nothing with him, not even clothing. It was during this time of solitude and fasting that he found his horse shape, that of a brilliant golden horse alike to Sokol in nearly every way but color. They ran as brothers for a year and a day until they again came upon his tribe. Andreii was welcomed back with a celebration- he had become an adult.
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Music had always been a part of Andreii's life but it was only now that he began to pursue it in earnest, chosen to join the apprentices of his tribe's shaman and healer. Though he learned something of herbs and medicine and even the tricks that passed for magic, his heart was only in the stories. He spent his free time following traders and craftsmen and warriors, learning bits of their craft and enticing them to tell him their own tales.
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The one thing he heard little of was of people beyond the desert. He knew they existed- he had seen them, watched his tribe trade with some of them. He had learned their language and the stories of their gods from those who knew them but he yearned to see the lands that birthed such people. He wanted to learn their stories too. The shaman said it was in his blood to fly beyond the edges of the desert and it showed in the naming of his first horse- Sokol. With wishes that he fly far and return safely, he took leave of his people and passed beyond the edges of the Astricus desert.
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Miscellaneous:

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Sokol - a red bay akhal-teke stallion, as bright as blood with a black mane and tail
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Sheptat - a cream white akhal-teke mare, blue eyed and swift
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Sova - a yearling stallion, near black with a startling white face and blue eyes as bright as his mother's
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His primary instrument is the two stringed Dutar, though he is adept with all the traditional instruments of his people. He also carries with him a six-holed reed flute but often when he sings he does so unaccompanied.
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He always wears a narrow (about 1 inch) woven cloth ribbon around his neck. It is primarily red with a geometric pattern of goldenrod and ivory woven into it. It is long so it need not be taken off before he shifts. It ties closed at the front with two bits of black cord, from which dangles a small glass pendant of concentric circles- dark blue, white, and a tiny black dot for an eye. Each of his horses has a similar collar of ribbon, though no pendant. The collars serve two purposes, one to ward off illness and bad luck and the other two mark who the horses belong to as the geometric pattern is unique to the individual.

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RIEN

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OOC Notes

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HOW'D YOU FIND US (1st only)