Kika

Kika (full name Kikalea) is a tiefling ranger from the Tihaka region. Her curiosity about the Barrier resulted in the formation of a party with Fan Brightgrass, Milla Kramer and Ridley Elderstone, united by the goal of discovering what lies beyond it.

Personality
Due to the negative associations of her race, Kika tends to be withdrawn and curt with strangers, preferring to keep interactions as brief as possible. She does not have any significant relationships with other beings - besides a small handful of people - and likes her solitude in the wooded wilderness of Tihaka. Bose and Faelan are the exceptions, being the closest thing she has to family. Kika sports a serious expression most of the time and has a dry, deadpan tone to her voice. Her guarded demeanor is as obvious as her demonic features.

Kika is definitely passionate, when she is set on doing something she will put everything she has into it. This goes doubly for helping those who are being hurt by the powerful. She has a strong dislike for the noble class of her society, having seen first-hand the injustice they carry out for personal gain. Despite being cautious around strangers, Kika will not hesitate to help someone if they are being exploited by those in power.

This passion is most apparent in her drive to discover what is beyond the Barrier, unable to live with the knowledge that there is more to the world as she knows it. Kika has become convinced that she might find answers about the nature and origins of her race out there as well.

Biography
Life has not been kind to Kika, mainly because of the mistreatment by others justified by her race.

Childhood:
Kika does not know who her birth parents are or if they are even alive. She was rescued by Faelan as an infant, though her mentor has never revealed any more details beyond that. Faelan left the infant tiefling at a local orphanage in Marell, as is typical for rangers who discover abandoned children in the wilderness. Unfortunately, the caretakers at the orphanage were especially harsh on young Kika due to their fear and prejudice of her demonic heritage. Kika, miserable from the abusive treatment, escaped the orphanage and lived on the streets. She learned to fend for herself by stealing and being crafty, picking up techniques from other street urchins.

Kika was able to sustain herself this way for a while, honing her skills on the streets and having to grow up very fast. But her tiefling heritage haunted her yet, making living especially difficult on the streets, necessitating resourceful thinking to get by. She never made any lasting friendships, learning that she could only rely on herself to survive.

Eventually, she felt herself drawn to the wilds of Tihaka, where she was found as an infant. Determined to find her birth family, Kika left Marell and made her way deep into the forest. She was able to last only a few days before becoming thoroughly lost in the wilderness. By a stroke of luck, Kika's path crossed with Faelan a second time. Instantly recognizing Kika as the tiefling she rescued years ago, Faelan gave the youngster a stern lecture and resolved to return her to the orphanage. When the half-orc ranger heard of the mistreatment Kika endured, she did not hesitate to take her under her wing and teach her the ways of being a ranger. Kika gratefully accepted her new life, eager to learn the ways of beasts and survival.

Trying to Understand the Barrier:
stuuf

Crossing Paths with Fan Brightgrass:
starff

Making off with the Metal Sphere:
bwarp

Crimson Drum and Ghostly Visions:
gnarp

Reaching Gladeston and Meeting Ridley Elderstone:
gurff

Quest for Answers to University of Khaldun:
buarp

Ring of Ruin Mystery:
beep beep

Appearance
Kika's demonic heritage is most apparent in her purple skin and ram-like horns. Her hair is a giant white bush that is rarely brushed or washed, yet mysteriously retains its snow-white color.

Her golden-yellow eyes lack any pupils, another trait of the tiefling race that also grants her darkvision. She possesses a prehensile tail that she uses to anchor herself or carry light-weight things. Her tail proven to be useful in a pinch, like steering the reins of the wagon while firing her bow.

Fan Brightgrass:
When they first met, Kika paired up with Fan out of convenience when they realized that the nature of their quests overlapped. What would have been a passing acquaintance has instead become a slowly developing friendship. While Kika doesn’t always agree with how Fan goes about things, Fan has definitely proven herself as a reliable companion and great fighter. Fan gained Kika’s trust when the two became outlaws together and stole the metal sphere from Bartholomew. Kika respects Fan’s strong moral compass, even though she does not fully comprehend Fan’s insistence on helping everyone they come across. After literally being carried out of battle by the paladin a couple of times, Kika's friendship with the human began to grow into a more meaningful one.

Ridley Elderstone:
Kika never wanted Ridley to join the party when she first met him, thinking him to be just a dumb drunkard who was being irresponsible with a ruby. She reluctantly tolerated his presence at Fan’s insistence, on the condition that they would accompany him to the next town and then part ways with him. Things came to a head when – after being attacked by bandits – Kika demanded to know Ridley’s identity. Kika heard out Ridley’s plea and, despite his noble status, tentatively accepted him as a party member after making clear to him her own larger goals. Ridley has proven himself to be useful, and Kika has appreciated when his inventiveness has come through for the team. She is harsh on him, though, mainly because of his sheltered behavior. He is also incredibly easy to tease, which Kika takes full advantage of. Despite her harsh treatment of the halfling, Kika does think of Ridley as a close friend, admitting to him that she would attend his grandfather's funeral just to be there for him.

Milla Kramer:
Kika did not expect anything to come of Milla's assignment to investigate a mysterious noise, only answering the "kooky" gnome's flyer because it could possibly lead to more information on the Barrier. When the assignment did lead to the capturing of a metal sphere, Kika was willing to deliver the strange object to Milla... for a price. Specifically the one promised on the flyer. Kika was about to walk out with the sphere when it became clear Milla did not actually have that kind of gold, but it was Milla's story about her own experience with the barrier that gave Kika pause. Feeling sympathy for Milla, Kika decided it would be best to let Milla have the sphere so they could discover more about the barrier together. After the shenanigans with Bartholomew, Kika was more than happy to have Milla come along with her and Fan on their quest to understand the sphere and its connection to the Barrier. Kika even gave the gnome her own dagger to wield for the next time they get in a tight spot.

All was well and good until Milla was felled by an air elemental. Milla's death shook Kika up in ways she did not expect, feeling responsible for it by encouraging Milla to go in harm's way by gifting her the dagger. After Milla was resurrected, Kika felt the need to keep her from danger until she is strong enough to hold her own in a fight. Taking on a sort of mentor position, Kika has begun to train Milla in ranged combat and target practice. Kika knows she can rely on Milla's clever inventiveness to help the party out, and will often task her with building equipment for the party or helping with solving a puzzling mystery.

Bose:
Kika raised Bose from a cub after saving him from poachers. They formed a strong bond and he became her animal companion. He is Kika’s best friend and the only creature that she openly showers with love. Kika has trained Bose well and relies on him for help whenever she gets in a fight.

Faelan:
Kika's history with Faelan makes her the closest thing to a parental figure she has in her life. The two share a bond over having experience racial prejudice, with Faelan's orcish heritage allowing her to understand Kika's struggles. Kika knows she can count on Faelan's help and guidance when she is in a tight spot. Faelan's parenting technique was based in tough love and harsh training to ensure that Kika would be a prepared as possible for whatever she would face out in the world. It was Faelan that taught Kika to wield a bow and survive off the land. Though their relationship seems emotionally distant, Kika does care about Faelan and thinks of her as her mother.

Luciana Vogel:
After their first meeting, Kika saw Luciana as a threatening authority figure and did not want to engage in any fighting. This did not stop her from flipping off Luciana and stealing her Dimension Door ring, though. As time went on, and it became apparent that Luciana would not let up her pursuit of the party, Kika gave her the nickname "Bitchface" and became more irritated by the Enforcer than threatened. Kika fiercely hated what Luciana was doing and what she represented, this hatred only grew after Luciana managed to capture Milla. Kika's stubbornness and hatred for authority left her wanting to kill Luciana to get her off the party's back. But after her time in Oratia and gaining information about the Enforcers of the First Order, Kika's plan to simply murder Luciana began to wane. After learning about Luciana's background and relationship to Frederick, Kika was confronted with conflicting feelings of anger and compassion, unable to understand how someone with a similar background to herself could ever willingly become an enforcer of the law, and even arrest petty thieves trying to get by.

Thanks to Ridley's insistence on not killing Luciana and Frederick, Kika resorted to capturing the pair and taking them with her party beyond the barrier. Despite her anger towards Luciana, Kika was hopeful that the siblings would be swayed by whatever lies discovered beyond the barrier and become advocates for their cause.

It was only after Kika shot and killed an eagle - which turned out to have been Luciana's companion animal - that things began to change. Kika felt immense guilt over her actions, empathizing with the pain Luciana felt over the loss of her pet. Resolved to make things right, Kika bought the necessary materials for Luciana to perform a ranger resurrection ritual for her bird. After the party managed to cross the barrier into the wastelands, Kika took Luciana aside to perform the ritual. The tiefling apologized to the Enforcer for killing her pet, and offered to keep watch so the ritual would not be interrupted. After the successful resurrection of Luciana's eagle, Corvus, the tension between Kika and Luciana slowly began to lift over the next several days.

When the siblings expressed their wish to remain with the party and help them with their task of protecting Panterra, Kika and Luciana began to become friendly with each other. Kika even offered to train the fellow ranger on how to speak with animals.

Frederick Vogel:
Kika didn't care much for Frederick until she learned of his relationship to Luciana. She considered him the greater threat of the two siblings after witnessing his magical abilities in the F.O.E Headquarters. Frederick would have been no more significant to Kika, if it was not for his violin. Kika was troubled by the instrument's similarity to the ones she used during her time at Sune's Home for Foundling Children. Further troubling, is Frederick's uncanny resemblance to the Lady Blanka du Blois, the noble patron of Kika's orphanage. These revelations left Kika uneasy and wanting to confirm exactly who Frederick Vogel really is and if he is somehow tied to her past.

When opportunity to question Frederick about his true identity finally arose, Kika did not hesitate to act on it, confronting the human alone on the deck of the Epoch. After confirming her suspicions that Frederick Vogel is in fact Frederick du Blois, Kika's demeanor changed towards him. She told Frederick of the time she met the Lady du Blois, and how the encounter effected her. In return, Frederick told Kika of how he came to work for the Enforcers and how he joined them to prevent his friends from being sent to Sune orphanages. Kika apologized to Frederick for thinking the worst of him simply for being related to a bad person. She was relieved to discover someone who might truly understand her past and her pain better than anyone: another person who was driven away from the cultish Sune religion. Moved by this realization, Kika chose to remove Frederick's magical handcuffs, despite his warning that her friends would disapprove.

Over the course of their time spent on E and in the wastelands beyond the barrier, Kika began to slowly learn more about Frederick and his relationship to the F.O.E. She has been particularly interested in his violin playing, having once played the instrument herself, she remains curious about how Frederick produces certain notes and melodies. Kika has gone to Frederick for advice and recently learned that the two ran away around the same time, 17 years ago. Though Kika does not believe in fate, she does find this coincidence to be a wonderful accident.