Rahna

Rahna is a wandering warrior-monk of sorts, in the tradition of wuxia fantasy. Focusing on a dance-like martial art tradition of her own, she is able to channel the very elements through her polearm; not through magic or the supernatural, but through sheer willpower and technique. Hailing from an ancient desert created by a magical battle long lost to history, she left her tribe to find the mentor who taught her once, and whom she wishes to see once more, though even she's afraid to ask herself why and will usually dodge the question if it comes up.

To keep herself fed, she has at times worked as a caravan guard, at at other times as a dancer on the street to earn a crowd's gold. Though her travels have taught her more of the wider world, she still finds common conveniences like running water and bathtubs amazing, and has developed a sweet tooth alongside her more carnivorous preferences when it comes to her meals. And even though her clothes may seem odd to the areas she passes through, she prefers to keep to the manner of dress from her homeland when possible, as a way to carry a piece of home with her.

One day, she hopes to find her teacher once more and perhaps find what became of the mission he had left on; but until then. she will continue to travel and strengthen her own abilities, mastering and discovering new techniques, and prove herself to be someone he can be proud of.

Rahna was born and raised among a nomadic tribe of desert-dwelling cheetah catfolk. She was very impulsive as a cub, so rather than join the hunters, she was trained as a scout for the hunting parties. That was how she was the one to find the Tian man, passed out from dehydration and carrying some sort of bundle.

Humans weren't unknown to the Sunwalker tribe, as when their path took them close to the desert's edge, they would meet with the occasional mage or merchant to trade the seemingly useless(but pretty) blue crystals they collected for things they could not craft or acquire themselves. Finding one this deep into the desert without any seeming idea of where the oasis were though was a surprise. Hospitality is the watchword though among those who survive the sun's harsh gaze, and they took him in to nurse him back to health.

Rahna felt sorry for him and took the primary role of caretaker, an as he began to get back his strength an resumed his martial arts drills, found herself fascinated by them. She started copying them on her own at first, until he stumbled upon her doing so one evening. Rather than admonishing her or asking questions, his first action was to correct her on a couple flaws in her form, and thereafter began properly training her, rather than her hurting herself trying some maneuver her body was not suited for.

Another difference quickly came up - while her new teacher primarily used a sword, Rahna preferred the spear. Within the month, it became clear that she was going to have find her own techniques, so the training instead became about discipline and simply put, how to move. It was then that Rahna discovered how to hear the song of battle, and while her mentor far outskilled her, she was soon able to hold her own in their light sparring matches. Over the year he stayed with them, recovering and travelling wiht the catfolk, Rahna turned from an impulsive teen into a capable and serene warrior of her own, to her tribe's delight.

All too soon however, her teacher had to return to his mission that had taken him so far into the desert to begin with, though this time he actually had a map of the various watering holes thanks to the tribe's knowledge. He refused to discuss what that mission was, or take Rahna with him. As a parting gift, however, he surprised her with a glaive he had purchased from the last trading party the tribe had met with, telling her he felt it fit her fighting style far better than a spear. And then he was gone.

Rahna remained with the Sunwalkers for a couple more years, now as one of the encampments guards, and continued to hone her own brand of martial arts she had developed. Every time she mastered something new though, it was also a reminder that she couldn't share her discovery with her teacher and she found herself missing his presence more and more. Finally, on her 19th summer, she declared her intent to go and find him once more. The tribe elders did not seem surprised(as if they had expected it), only a slight sadness, as they knew they would likely not see her again. Preparation were made, and she was given enough supplies to make it to the trading town on the desert's edge that lay in the direction her mentor had been traveling. He may not have passed through there, but it was the only lead she had, and from there, everything else would be up to her.

Two years was plenty of time for a trail to have gone cold, but she kept her eyes and ears open for any signs of him, as his different appearance and mode of dress compared to the locals would have made him stand out as he passed through. The trail went cold even sooner than she expected, but she vowed she would reunite with him one day, and continued onward. Until then, she would wander the world, experiencing it with her own senses as she walked all paths, known and unknown, and trust in the elements to guide her to him when the time was right.

Rahna was created in 2017 from inspiration in multiple directions. First came the spearman Juǎn Cán Yún in Thunderbolt Fantasy, and the "Polearm Dancer" feat in the Path of War supplement for Pathfinder that allowed you to use Dex with polearms. Additionally, I had recently read of the idea of a tribe of desert cheetah catfolk that worshiped fire, and the elemental discipline in Path of War really intrigued me. Take all these factors and add a dash of Force monk, and Rahna leapt into existence nearly fully formed as a elemental monk from desert lands, wielding a glaive with finesse and a dance-style of martial arts, playing into the feat name literally.

I wanted to establish a specific look for her as well, and the first attempt I commissioned ended up drawing heavily on Oktobria from the Queen's Council release of the Seventh Kingdom action figure line, with my own twists and additions of course. Being a cheetah, I wanted her small of bust but long of leg, and the tribal-style outfit that Four Horseman had created made a great starting point for Rahna's own. From there, she evolved across various other art depictions that gave her outfit its own character, though the details varied between each depiction. Only in 2024 have I finally worked all that out with the commission of a reference sheet, taking the best of each of these and melding it together into a consistent vision of her appearance for any future art works.