W'ren Tia
Miqo'te (Seeker of the Sun) · Male (ftm ⚧) · ⚣
- born: 14th sun of the Fifth astral moon, year 1542 of the Sixth Astral Era (9/13).
- Patron deity: Byregot, the Builder.
- Tradesman, gladiator, astrologian, Warrior of Light
W'ren Tia is one of two born to W'namtofo Sitcha and Zheth'a Epocan (who himself is the son of a Keeper mother and Hrothgar father). He and his full sister W'mila have more body hair than most Miqo'te, but otherwise look typical and so were named as part of the W tribe. W'mila seemed to find it easier to socialize within the tribe than W'ren. He felt deeply alienated and took to exploring Ul'dah with his father whenever he had business in the city. He was known to skulk around trade guilds or watch musicians and dancers, and his father took him to watch gladiator matches.
W'ren was born W'zheth Atchhoseh, a name which he seldom shares but holds dear for what it means. Zheth was not a gendered name, and his surname was given the Hrothgar prefix indicating loyalty. W'tchhoseh Tia (Nunh at the time of W'ren's birth) was someone W'ren looked up to in his life.
When he was old enough, some of Ul'Dah's guildmasters saw fit to have him for an apprentice. For a few years he bounced back and forth between practicing alchemy, tailoring, and goldsmithing. Though his masters considered him prodigious, his divided attentions frustrated them. In addition to the apprenticeships, W'ren spent three days a week in Northern Thanalan supporting his family and tribe who lived there and participating in worship with them.
As their name would suggest, Seekers of the Sun commonly worship Azeyma. The tribe of the W are no exception, but as they are the Seeker tribe represented by the wolf, worship of Menphina's hound Dalamud abounds as well. As a keeper of the Moon, Zheth'a was brought up worshipping Menphina (it follows naturally that the W were the Seeker tribe he found suitably welcoming).
W'ren did not initially think himself fit for combat, but he knew how to dance as well as dispatch monsters while working in the field or traveling between Ul'dah and his family residence. He was approached by Maximilian (a Raen man who had recently fled Werlyt with his ailing mother) and Flowing Grain (a Hellsguard woman and Ul'dah native who had taken a shine to Maximilian). The former was seeking a career in the games to secure a living in the city and the latter had taken it upon herself to become his patron.
W'ren was initially approached for costuming, this at the recommendation of Redolent Rose. W'ren took to the design process with an impressive fervor. He observed Maximilian training with other gladiators and imitated them while drafting prototypes at home. While showing off one of these prototypes, Flowing Grain suggested W'ren join Maximilian as a participant. It was as a duo that they caught the attention of spectators and gamemasters. They would see steady employment as recurring opponents for many gladiators and as characters performing outside of combat. The bold nouveau riche sensibilities gilding their presentation drew derision and adoration alike from the crowd. Depending on who you asked, it was a mockery of Ul'dahn values, bold artistic identity, gaudy, visionary; most agreed it made for excellent entertainment and all agreed it had proven lucrative.
W'ren would also field the idea of using ceruleum-based pyrotechnics in their performance. He had easy access to the stuff by way of his family and saw it as an expression of pride for his family's place of residence. It became a staple of their performances and swiftly saw them sponsored by Amajina and Sons' Mineral Concern. It was through this sponsorship that the idea of sending them to tour Garlemald and their occupied territories was fielded. The company was, at the time, a ceruleum supplier for the empire. They mainly hoped to secure future business, but emphasized their (vain) hopes of fostering peaceful relations and preventing outright invasion. Maximilian balked at the idea, but W'ren, driven by their financial position and abetted by his own political naivety, accepted the task.