omg that ask is so cute! i was thinking of n. 12 for aida, 9 for aarcha and 4 for sanzhar! + n. 20 for everyone if you want ♥
*Manju voice* GOOD TO SEE YOU!
(Okay, to clarify, Aida is Nurlan’s wife, who died of the plague three years before Nurlan meets Julian. Aarcha Naayagi is best friends with Haider and romances Nasmira. Sanzhar is Nurlan’s younger brother, and he’s consort to Crown Princess Nafizah.)
Whew. This long.
From the Non MC OC asks
12. What’s one of their favorite memories? (Aida)
Her wedding day, for sure. Neither of them had the money for a grand or elaborate celebration. Everything was hand made or handed down, but it only made it sweeter when Nurlan took her hand, and she could barely hear the vows or see the All Faith’s Square through the blur of happiness and tears. She really wasn’t expecting it to be so emotional, because both of them were well aware that they’ve loved each other for most of their lives and didn’t need to put a ring on it to prove it, but neither of them neither could say “my wife” for the next couple of weeks without blushing and/or tearing up, nor could they hold back on saying it, every single chance they could get, and then some.
9. Do they have connections to the major arcana? If so, what, and why? (Aarcha)
Justice. Aarcha’s Law School background only helped her sharpen her ability to evaluate an issue from every side, analyzing every possible argument and the convictions she arrives at from that point, are near-unshakeable. To that end, she’s also rankled the most by injustice and unfairness, and being an expert in Martial and Military Law, she sees a hell lot of it, every instance only leaving her even angrier and more determined. It’s a huge part of why she pushed back as hard as she did, writing and petioning and drumming up support from every possible corner that she can to put as much pressure as she can and then some, to shut down Vesuvia’s Coliseum. (Plus, Justice and Nasmira's Strength make a dynamite combination.)
4. Where were they during the plague in Vesuvia? (Sanzhar)
In Zadith, studying magic. Sanzhar left home as soon as he turned eighteen. and apprenticed under a couple of big metaphysical names in Zadith and set up his own practice thereafter. Word took a while to reach Zadith, and by the time he was thinking of going over to help, the ports were closed and his family begged him to stay away. They opened shortly after he heard the news about his sister in law Aida’s death, and he came back, briefly. Nurlan wouldn’t talk to him, or anyone, and wouldn’t even cry where anyone could see her, and not knowing what to do, he left again in a couple of days.
20. Share one piece of lore that you want everyone to know!
Haider’s Parents- Zainaba’s from Prakra,and was known as one of the greatest Green Magicians of her time, and Tasveer Wazim’s family were travelling poets and bards who hailed from the Fennekh Desert. Haider’s father himself was much more of an artist than a poet, but that didn’t stop him from writing very dramatic sets of badly rhymed Prakran couplets to recite pointedly from the rooftop of Zainaba’s house when he was apprenticing under her parents, until she finally went and said something to the effect of “If you've got something to say, Wazim, are you gonna say it to my face, or-?”
Thangam Maitreya- Balam and Thangam’s family are also from Prakra, from a smaller town, and notorious social climbers who lived most of their lives trying to inch their kids into the Royal Court. After Balam’s death and disappearance, certain that she can’t wait on her sibling to get her out of there, Thangam managed to set off on her own, securing an apprenticeship under Nazali Satrinava. After her reunion with Balam, she moved into Vesuvia with him/her. Doctor Satrinava was great, but battlefields are so not Thangam’s style, so she’s assisting Julian in South End ‘til she’s ready to set up her own practice. (She’s sort of eyeing that Court Physician Title).
Aida Lorenzi - Used to run the teashop at South End that Julian liked for it's smoky tea. (The one where he takes you to), that was since then turned into the Community Theatre. She grew up without a family, often having to resort to stealing and pickpocketing to keep herself fed. By the time she was 18, she was quite a part of Nurlan's family, and they lent her the money she needed to start the teashop, and her head for business turned it into a wild success, up until she met her untimely, unfortunate demise from the plague.
Sanzhar- Met and fell in love with Nafizah Satrinava at a symposium for alchemy and associated magic. They’re both busy people, but he loves to surprise her by being the dashing romantic and climbing in through her chamber-windows and in-disguise-but-not-quite taking her out dancing in dive-bars and taverns. Whenever Nafizah’s caught up in Crown Princess business and couldn’t catch some time to spend with him, she sends elaborately calligraphed love notes to him via Daarude for moral support. It’s, well...a bit slow, but Daarude always gets treats and pets for the valiant effort.
Aarcha Naayagi- Is actually, cousin to Kadambari Naayagi. Unlike Kaathu, her side of the family moved away quite amicably from the West to focus more on administrative work and martial law, both of which were acceptable to Grandma Kadhiravi, unlike Kaathu’s love for the arts. Aarcha doesn’t meet Kadambari properly until After Everything, and she loves her, loves her partner, and thinks she and Muriel are amazing together. Muriel knows how hard Aarcha had worked to shut down the Coliseum for good, and he...he appreciates it. And he’s said so. He thinks she deserves to hear it, and he’s whittled out Justice’s scales and Strength’s likeness for Aarcha and Nasmira’s anniversary.
