#ihget'sae

[fistsoflightning]

COMBAT MODE // ZAYA QESTIR

★★★★★★★★☆☆  —  STRENGTH ★★★★★★★☆☆☆  —  OFFENSE ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆  —  DEFENSE ★★★★★★★★★☆  —  SPEED ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆  —  DURABILITY ★★★★★★★★☆☆  —  ACCURACY ★★★★★★★★★☆  —  AGILITY ★★★★★★★★★☆  —  STAMINA ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆  —  TEAMWORK ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆  —  STEALTH ★★★★★★★★★☆  —  MELEE ★★★★★★★☆☆☆  —  BLADES ★★★★★★★★☆☆  —  BLUNT ★★★★★★★★☆☆  —  RANGED ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆  —  MAGIC ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆  —  TRAPS ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆  —  MEDIC

OVERVIEW:

Zaya grew up on the Steppe where fighting was almost guaranteed to be a daily occurrence with how they commonly went out “adventuring”, hunting, or parleying with their older brother for “khan experience” (especially when the Naadam was on the horizon), and as such has the combat experience to match. They’re extremely quick on their feet, hit hard and fast, and rarely let their guard down. Most of their combat set relies on being within melee range, but give them merely a few seconds and they’ll pull out either their chakrams or their bow to hunt you down.

With fighting experience linking back to a good dozen Naadams or so plus hunting experience, it doesn’t quite matter whether their enemy is monster or human; a life is a life, and a fight is a fight. Zaya does not hold back in a real fight, especially if the lives of others are at risk. It’s seldom known, but Zaya can and will call their yol down to spawn a thunderstorm if they need the extra advantage to win. They can also shock people themselves with their tattoo inscription, but they rarely do.

If Zaya finds themselves cornered or losing a fight (ex. Zenos during Rhalgr’s Reach), it’s very likely that they’ll overload their tattoo inscription to call down a very large bolt of lightning to turn the tides at the cost of their wellbeing; it’s killed them twice before, actually. There’s a reason they tend not to rely on it.

INJURIES:

If one didn’t know them personally, it would be an easy assumption to make that none of their injuries have left their mark on them; after all, Au’ra scale patterns differ from person to person... right? 

Those who do know them well enough know that their body is littered with scars; they’re merely hidden due to the fact that their scars fill in with scales. Among the numerous scars on their body, the most major ones lie on their calves, upper back, and left arm and hand; from shards of Ifrit’s nails, Lahabrea and Nidhogg’s claws, and Zenos several times respectively. These scales are much softer than the rest of Zaya’s scales, and need extra protection, which is why all of Zaya’s melee armor includes a pauldron and full armor cover on their left side, plus metal boots.

Their horns also bear numerous scars from unfortunate snaps, but those seem to have healed much better than the rest. Their quick speed has saved them from more... fatal injuries, like being blasted by Nidhogg’s Ala Morn or Hades’ claws swiping through their neck; a trait that also fools others into thinking they might very well be untouchable.

FIGHTING STYLE.

[ bold for often // italicize for situational // strikethrough for never ]

commander /  duelist / “honorable” / dishonorable / would have others do their fighting /  stealthy  / long-ranged / melee / technological / sorcery / superhuman abilities /  has fought in an illegal tourney / a lover of fighting / a hater of fighting  / cowardly / reckless / strategic / uses underhanded tricks  / renowned for their skill / trained /  untrained / keeps skills secret / won a battle / lost a battle / ruthless / merciful

FLAWS.

moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny | controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | liar | impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power-hungry | greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive | spiteful | stubborn | sadistic | petty | unlucky

STRENGTHS.

honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave | patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky | intelligent | confident | focused | humble | generous | merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming | cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm | loyal

tagged by: @whitherliliesbloom. but i took some inspiration from @lordofcrowns! 

tagging: @sati-ffxiv @to-the-voiceless @windupnamazu @winduphaurchefant @verbroil @ofthesilverlining @stars-bleed-hearts-shine @nuclearanomaly and you! feel free to tag me even if i didnt mention you; these are super fun to read!

bonus notes below the cut!

EXTENDED OVERVIEW.

Zaya is reliant on being all up in someone’s face in most fights, since their strength is most of what they have. All of their jobs do physical damage, if you haven’t noticed; they’re basically the equivalent of a DnD character with all their stats in strength and dexterity with nothing in constitution or intelligence.

Speaking of which; Zaya is magically inept. An incident in the Calamity where they faced off against a shard of the fallen Dalamud led to them 1) dying and 2) losing all magical capabilities they had beforehand. To make up for that (seeing as they can cast some magic today, like song and dark magicks), they have a series of magical inscriptions/tattoos on their body. It’s a little frightening to look at with all their scales, so most of them are hidden away with glamour prisms. The only one that isn’t hidden by prisms (instead hidden by an armband on their right arm) is their lightning inscription from a long time ago; it confers them a lot of lightning related benefits, such as full lightning resistance and the ability to discharge collected energy (Greased Lightning >:3). It also gives them a bond with their thunderbird yol, Ochir!

Once in a fight, Zaya will do everything they can to avoid extra damage; unlike most of their fellow Warriors of Light when under the effect of their Blessing of Light, they don’t heal over time. A setback from their aforementioned magical incapability, but it really does blow when they’re the only one around to fight [insert monster name here] since they have to rely on potions specially brewed for them by Tehra’ir. They’re heavily reliant on not taking damage at all instead of just eating it, which changes up parts of their dark knight skillset. The only exception to this is acting as a meatshield; if someone younger or more injured than them is about to take a blow (for example, Elwin or A’dewah), they will more than likely leap into the path of danger, whether they have The Blackest Night, Riddle of Earth, or nothing at all.

In most fights, Zaya will simply stick to one of their various skills to finish the job; most of the time, they’re not running the risk of death should they need to run. However, for fights such as Zenos, Shinryu, Innocence, or Hades, they pull out most (if not all) the stops. Rarely will they be seen using their dark knight soulstone, since the whole concept relies on one having mana to spare; instead of mana, their dark knight skills take from their health in exchange for longer protection/more damage. (Blood Gauge indeed.) They won’t hesitate to play dirty to win if it comes down to it, and are more than willing to die for a better chance of winning the fight for others.

Much of their fighting style is built on quickly defeating the enemy; long, drawn out fights are not their forte. In a one-on-one fight, Zaya will constantly try to trip up their opponent through quick movements and dodges for more free hits, but won’t go so far as to taunt. Hardened, scaley knuckles and kicks from metal boots are enough to knock most soldiers over easily, and their strength from years and years of training only adds to that.

Zaya actually does know how to fight on yolback; it’s dozens of times more complicated without proper magic, but it’s doable. As long as Ochir is in the area (a giant fricking bird that’s like. the size of a fairly small house.) Zaya has a variety of options that are all immensely reckless in nature.