#s'ranni

[dinosrpg]

10 facts for Serani and Valus - you can pick the verse!

I’ll pick Elder Scrolls Valus and S’ranni, since khajiit!S’ranni is far more developed than her Mass Effect counterpart (primarily because she’s still alive in ES) and I haven’t talked a whole lot about argonian!Valus.  Also sorry it took so long to answer!

Valus

1 - In addition to his apparent martial prowess and financial expertise, Valus has a keen understanding of enchanted items and their fundamental properties.  He downplays this knowledge to take his foes by surprise with unusual enchanted items he wears almost constantly.

2 - Valus has a very low tolerance for sweets, having grown into his adult years before ever tasting anything with sugar, primarily thanks to his low birth and his forced service aboard the Talon.

3 - In spite of his crew’s insistence, Valus holds very few superstitions and does not openly worship any gods or daedric princes.  One of the few superstitions he does hold is that it’s unlucky to keep a blade he’s used to kill someone.

4 - Valus loves to crash high-society shindigs.  He’ll occasionally burst into a soiree he hasn’t been invited to and make a scene, sometimes even with some help from a few like-minded guests who can’t stand how stuffy their fellow nobles are.

5 - Shortly after the successful mutiny that placed him in command of the Talon alongside S’ranni, Valus changed his given Argonian name of Swiftly-He-Swims to the Imperial-sounding Valus Tallid to sound more intimidating.

6 - Stemming from the previous fact, Valus extremely rarely tells anyone his given name, and anyone (thus far, only one) who asks about Swiftly-He-Swims is told by the captain that he died in the mutiny aboard the Talon.

7 - Despite almost every opportunity to return to the home he once knew before he was press-ganged, Valus refuses to go back.  He knows that he’s not the young, bright-eyed fisher his parents knew anymore, and he’s ashamed to admit that he forgot about going home leading up to and even after the mutiny.  He’s not even sure if his parents are still alive.

8 - As a child, Valus dreamed of becoming a mage.  This got him teased quite often.

9 - Much to his dismay, Valus can’t stand the taste of crab meat.

10 - Though he usually favors his right hand, Valus is ambidextrous in a variety of tasks.

S’ranni

1 - Big bi disaster that she is, S’ranni has no working knowledge on how to cook, having relied first on her family and then the crew of the Talon to provide her palatable meals.  Now, as a mercenary, she does her best to find taverns for travel rations and hot meals.

2 - Before the mutiny that instated her as second-in-command, S’ranni’s primary job aboard the Talon was to inspect rigging, as her climbing skills were second to none compared to most of the crew.

3 - Before she was press-ganged into service, S’ranni’s family had bought her books on magic to study.  She had already mastered her novice-level spells by the time she was captured.

4 - S’ranni is far smarter than she gives herself credit for, often keeping quiet around “proper” mages despite her expertise in her fields of experimentation and study.

5 - Due to her circumstances, S’ranni has developed a unique style of combative conjuration, having honed her practice to the point of being able to summon daedric weaponry and armor at a moment’s notice.  It’s an alarming ability that rarely fails to take opponents off-guard.

6 - S’ranni is frequently mistaken for a large Suthay-raht when in actuality, she’s a Cathay.  She puts little effort in correcting this.

7 - S’ranni can’t resist solving a good puzzle.

8 - She can’t resist a good brawl or arm-wrestling contest, either.

9 - S’ranni also delights in drinking contests, having found few people capable of drinking her under the table... though this has led to a few forgotten nights of debauchery.

10 - Caverns and ruins tend to make S’ranni nervous, as she’s certainly not used to particularly confined areas.  She has adapted, however, incorporating space-conscious techniques into her style considering her preference for heavier weaponry.

[dinosrpg]

So fill us in a bit regarding S'ranni's background. Does she have ambitions? Any deep set fears? How might she use that abilities she picks up as she develops?

I managed to ramble again, so putting a read-more down below~

S’ranni was a mere sugarcane farmer on the southern coast of Elsweyr near Senchal.  As a kitten, she worked her hands to the bone to help provide for her expansive family, consisting of a diverse cast across the different breeds of khajiit.  By the time her family farm was raided, her mother had fallen ill, and the unknown fate of her parent haunts her to this day, though she’s certain the worst has come to pass long before she was able to do anything for her.

Press-ganged into service aboard a bosmer pirate vessel, S’ranni and a young argonian lad became fast friends.  They worked side by side almost constantly, the argonian teaching her Cyrodiilic piece by piece to better understand one another.  Eventually, the two were able to share their stories with each other, lamenting their cruel fate and resolving to take it by the reins for themselves.  They convinced the rest of their press-ganged comrades into a mutiny that ultimately saw the captain slain, and the argonian was made captain, S’ranni serving as his first mate.

As the two continued on as pirates, they grew closer and ignited a passionately romantic relationship.  But, as the years went on, eventually the argonian (who had taken the Imperial name of Valus) wanted more than a life as a pirate captain and saw smuggling as a safer avenue of revenue.  This terrified S’ranni and a number of the crew, who had known nothing more than pirating since they had been forced aboard the Talon years ago.  They feared that, without a need for a martial presence aboard, their role aboard the ship would become a financial liability.  Grievances were aired and negotiations were set, but both sides failed to listen to one another and tensions flared until S’ranni lost her temper, striking her captain and lover.  Her side saw this as a spark of mutiny, quickly drawing their weapons and beginning to fight even as S’ranni tried to stop them.  Unfortunately, Valus took the blow personally, the captain and first mate engaging in a deadly duel that resulted in Valus losing an eye and S’ranni drifting off toward shore with a hole in her gut.

Luckily, she was able to mend the worst of her wounds and make it to dry land, but she had lost her home, her lover, and her livelihood.  Everything she feared had come to pass of her own doing.  Now, she works as a mercenary and adventurer to scrape out a living, her skills in magic all she has left to rely upon.

And with background out of the way, let’s move on, shall we?

As far as ambitions go, S’ranni doesn’t really have much she’s aiming for other than survival.  She’s taking her life one day at a time, though she’s accumulated a fair amount of money considering she conjures her own equipment with her skills.

S’ranni’s worst fears have already come to pass, leaving her with only a handful of minor reservations and aversions.  Undead, unbound daedra, and being recognized by the authorities of the southern regions are the quickest ways to muss her fur, but beyond those, she’s remarkably unflappable.

And for new abilities, S’ranni would see them put to use improving her lifestyle or correcting mistakes she’s made.  She knows how to work with next to nothing, so adding more tools to her belt simply gives her more options to employ in her exploits.

[dinosrpg]

Tell me about your nerds. In any universe. Particularly Valus and S'ranni.

I covered most of Valus and S’ranni’s history together in the Elder Scrolls AU in this ask, actually!  In Mass Effect, though, things are a bit different.  For instance, Sorani Nieriax is a far more ruthless and calculating individual, not quite the tragic story she is in Elder Scrolls.  While their aims are similar, the motives are very different: Sorani wanted to build a criminal empire in the Terminus and become top dog(s) to live in the lap of luxury for the rest of her days.  S’ranni simply didn’t want to lose her place aboard the Talon, along with the others of the crew who had no business skills or would become restless with mere menial labor.

And, of course, the mutiny is also very different.  In Elder Scrolls, the mutiny was an unintended conflict, brought on by high tensions and lost tempers.  Sorani planned it out in Mass Effect once it was clear Valus wasn’t going to see eye-to-eye with her.

As for the differences in Elder Scrolls and Mass Effect Valus, there are quite a few!  Argonian!Valus was a mere fisherman’s child and grew up a fisherman himself, having never even picked up a weapon before he was press-ganged into service aboard the Talon.  Mass Effect Valus was a soldier for most of his teenage and adult life, even being a mercenary soldier for a short stint before going independent.

Hope that was satisfactory~

[dinosrpg]

What's the worst thing that's happened to each of your ES characters? What long term effects did it have on them?

For both Valus and S’ranni, it would definitely be the day they were press-ganged into service aboard the Talon.  They both lost their homes and their families, so it’s pretty difficult to top that, I’d say.

Amargo’s most unfortunate moment was when several Nords caught him carting bodies using a few summoned skeletons.  He was viciously beaten, but managed to escape with his life.  Unfortunately, his reputation as a harmless potion peddler was a casualty of that encounter.

Ji’Daashi’s lowest moment was being captured by mercenaries looking for a quick ransom.  Unfortunately, being so far from home and having little reputation, no one was willing to collect.  He managed to subdue his captors with some clever thinking and quick action, but he lost most of an ear in the scrape and has always been cautious of even thin crowds since.

[dinosrpg]

Kitty S'ranni - What was she like as a child? Are there any traits that stuck with her as she grew? If she could go back to where she was born, would she and what what she find there?

S’ranni was a hard-working kitten, always eager to help around the farm and the house.  She was also kind and caring, looking out for her younger siblings and reminding older siblings not to work themselves too hard.

For the most part, S’ranni never really abandoned those particular traits; they just sort of morphed to better suit her position as a pirate.  Ever diligent, and constantly watching for fatigue to swap out crewmates and keep the Talon running smoothly and the rest of the crew happy.

She wouldn’t want to go back.  She watched the farm burn after the pirates that abducted her took what they could carry.  All that would remain, if not new farmland under another’s care, would be ashes and memories best left forgotten.