Backstory, Personality, Story Themes/Character Arc/Motivations and Fears, Looks
BACKSTORY
Jedi Master Ighazi is a Mirialan, meaning she was allowed to maintain strong ties with her original culture once adopted by the Jedi. Despite being considered a prodigy, she rejected attempts to speed up her training, wanting to be sure she was mature enough and ready to move ahead.
I described how I envision the timeline of the Jedi training period in my Jedi Knight description (and I simply cannot be bothered to type all that again). Part of my reasoning for envisioning it this way as of the Old Republic period is to justify the super short training time on Tython in the Jedi prologues. The other way I justify this is by saying that Rakiya already had another master as a padawan, but is no longer being trained by that master.
Rakiya's first master was Master Nimi, a fellow Mirialan who taught her the ways of their people. When he was assigned to the Republic fleet, he felt he had taught her everything he possibly could and wanted her to become a knight, but she was uncertain that she was ready for the trials. For this reason she was sent to Tython to be assigned a new master and complete her training.
PERSONALITY
poised, insightful, inquisitive
balanced, poised, serene, patient - she's very put together at just about any given moment. She has always excelled at the mastery of emotions, as her trainers always managed to convey the lesson across in a way she understood well. She believes in the power of redemption through internal strength and serenity
sharply intelligent, studious, curious, inquisitive - she has a desperate thirst for knowledge. She loves reading, loves learning and new experiences. In addition to a general love of learning, she also likes to stay well informed in regards to current events and politics
insightful, wise, diplomatic, honest - even from a young age, she was regarded as greatly mature for her age. These natural traits of hers make her ideally suited for the role of political negotiator on behalf of the Jedi
understanding, empathetic, selfless - pretty self-explanatory, expanded on in a bit. She displays compassion even towards her enemies. She feels a strong sense of responsibility for the forces under her command and does not believe in ordering her troops to do anything that she would not do herself
devoted, visionary, assured - she trusts in the Force and trusts that all will work out as it is meant to. She has dedicated her life to understanding the mysteries of the Force and what it means for the future of the galaxy. She has a deep respect for the Force and religion
spiritual, mystical - she is very connected to her original culture, which is very spiritual and religious, described in more detail in a bit. She has a strong affinity for nature and the protection of the natural world
Best quality: her care for everyone she encounters is clear in her patience and understanding; she walks the line successfully between being very forgiving and trusting without being naive
Worst quality: her general character can make a first impression of an air of superiority, stuffiness, or judgement; she struggles to accept that her interest in learning more about the mysteries of the Force could tempt her to the Dark Side
STORY THEMES/CHARACTER ARC/ MOTIVATIONS AND FEARS
What the role of a peacekeeper becomes during a war, the contributions of our actions to the fate of the universe around us, coming face to face with the casualties of war, compromise, the role of trust in politics and diplomacy.
Mirialans believe in the cosmic Force - that every action someone takes contributes to their overall destiny, and on a broader scale, the destiny of their entire species. Rakiya is no different. The theme of destiny, of cosmic fate, of the butterfly theory is a reoccurring one that crops up regularly for her.
A big arc of hers is coming to terms with what war actually looks like in reality. While she is skilled as a commander, she isn't someone who ever wanted to be on the frontlines. She's made to be a scholar and a diplomat, not a part of the military. "We're keepers of the peace, not soldiers" - her arc strongly revolves around this quote, and what the role of the Jedi actually is when war breaks out.
Part of that arc is coming face to face with the ugliness of war. Casualties are no longer just abstract numbers she reads about, but become the dead bodies of friends, allies, and innocent civilians - having that reality hit her is one of Rakiya's struggles that she has to cope with over the course of the story. The fact is that it is impossible to truly understand war without experiencing it firsthand.
Given the whole Rift Alliance thing, compromise is a recurring theme too, as is trust. The role that those play in politics and diplomacy crops up quite a bit.
LOOKS
As a Mirialan, her skin is a shade of yellow-green (that's closer to green). She has blue eyes, but not a shade of blue that's found in human eyes, a much more vibrant shade than that. She has more agility and flexibility than humans, along with quicker reflexes.
She has a rectangular face and slightly flat eyebrows. Her eyes are round, further making the color stand out. Her hair is thick and black, though no one ever sees it as she wears a Mirialan headscarf (I will never forgive Filoni for what he did to my Muslim queen Barriss).
She has three sets of Mirialan geometric tattoos - a tattoo design on her forehead, which she gave herself upon transitioning from initiate to padawan; a matching pair of tattoos on her cheeks, which she gives herself when she becomes a Jedi Knight; and a set around her wrists, which she gives herself when she takes on Nadia as her first padawan.
On her forehead are even lozenges/diamonds/ rhombuses that connect and make a thick line bisecting her forehead, coming to a stop with a point in between her eyebrows. On her cheeks are small arrowhead shapes (or triangles with only two sides), both pointing inwards and slightly upwards.
Around each wrist is a singular line of lozenge diamonds wrapping once around the joint at the base of the hand.
She mostly wears loose and light weight clothing.
This generally consists of light cloaks and ornamented robes, as well as traditional Mirialan clothing. She sticks to a pretty standard colour scheme, mostly black (a significant colour in Mirialan culture) with other neutrals like brown and gold. She wears a headscarf to keep her hair covered, and traditional black lipstick and black nail polish.
