Name:	Rustam
Gender:	Male
Age:	150 (Level 7)
Species:	Desert Kaasht
Height:	27'8"
Length:	25'3"
Base Colour:	Red
Colour Ability:	Demon's Glare
Species Ability:	Camel Feet
Other Abilities:	Attention Slip, Combine, Element, Hyper Sense, Perceive, Reflex, Shackle, Shape Change, Shell, Shield, Telepathy, Track, Ward, Dance with Spirits, Glass Dragon, Glass Fire, Lashing Sand, Leaping Run, Retain Water/Fats, Sand Kaasht, Sonic Blast, Spirit Blast
Appearance:	Rustam is tall and powerful of build, of the largest kaasht species and taller than most kaasht his age even within that breed. His coat is a vibrant red, short by nature and well-groomed by intention, marked with violet and blue: violet for his mane, his paws, and the three curved stripes over his back, and blue for his glare stripes, the tips of his wide, mobile ears, and running down his back to envelope his tail. Eyes of an earthy green peer from a thoughtful face, proving his quiet but determined reputation to be true.
History:	Rustam was born in the Gergani Desert just north of Alcaine, his small clan, Shreeamosa, travelling over a route that brushed up against the forests and Highrock Lake. They were a fairly lenient clan, for a Desert, when it came to tradition and gender roles, most likely due to their proximity to the all-kaasht city. Rustam's mother was an example of such: she was an accomplished warrioress. Unfortunately, when Rustam was only nine years old, his clan was decimated by a pack of fleeruns, leaving only three kaasht and himself alive, out of a clan of fifteen. His mother, one of the survivors, led the remaining kaasht to Alcaine to recover. Though the other two survivors of Shreeamosa moved on, back into the desert, Rustam and his mother remained behind in the city. She took a job in the Alcaine Guard and he grew up mostly on his own, exploring the city and learning what he could. One of his earliest abilities to learn and master was Shape Change, and he spent his earlier years in the forms of kaasht much smaller than he, so as to explore the different sectors unnoticed. He even made friends in the Isle and Mountain sectors, under the guise of one of them. Of course, he told anyone who he spoke with that he was really a Desert, feeling honor-bound to tell the truth. When he developed Perceive in his third level, Rustam knew he was destined to follow his mother into the Guard. He practiced long and hard physically and with his abilities, often with his friends, many of whom were also interested in the Guard but several of whom were not. Rustam still kept in contact with those who weren't interested in the Guard, a Plateau named Kaleeri and a Sky named Avrey, but more often than not he could be found in the company of a small gang of Guard trainees. These kaasht comprised of another Desert named Kochiro, a strong Mountain named Haosha, a cheerful Valley named Eniiko, and an enigmatic Isle named Ileena. Rustam was the unofficial leader of the group, though he often deferred to Haosha, who was more outspoken than he. To Rustam's great dismay, even by his third level, he still had not learned a blade ability, even though all his compatriots had. Not wanting to be left behind in blade training, he sought out the metal smiths of Alcaine and commissioned a skilled Cave to make him a worthy metal sword. It ended up being longer than a regular ability blade, but Rustam didn't mind and practiced diligently with his friends. Even in his seventh level, he has yet to achieve a blade ability, but he is just as skilled with weapons of metal and stone as any other kaasht with a magical blade. When the time came that all five kaasht were old enough to join the Guard, when Rustam was 79, all five of them were easily accepted. Surprisingly, the only kaasht who didn't make it through the first year was Kochiro, the other Desert kaasht, even though he was an decent fighter. Rustam and his remaining companions rose swift through the ranks of the Guard. They were promoted to Soldier easily after one year, then to Sentinel swiftly following. Haosha moved into the Hunter Guards and Ileena put her interests in subterfuge and information hoarding to good use in the City division. Eniiko found a place as a Sentinel in the Palace Guard. Rustam, himself, found himself leading groups of Ensigns and Soldiers on training missions. His extensive knowledge of the streets and his mother's passed on experience made him an excellent leader, while his soft-spoken and honorable nature won him many supporters. It was a surprise to nokaasht but Rustam when he was invited to join the Elite earlier than most, at only 109 years as opposed to the usual 115. He served loyally for ten more years until the previous City Guard Commander resigned his position and the Elders elected Rustam to succeed him. The tall Desert took his promotion with humility and remains serving there still, content to be working to protect Alcaine and pleased to be working with his friend Haosha, who rose to be the Commander of the Hunter Guard. More than even his position, Rustam is famous for his interactions with and interest in the crime ring known as the Tashi. His first encounter with the Tashi occurred before he was even a part of the Guard. He, Eniiko, and their Sky friend Avrey were on their way to meet the rest of the group when a pair of Valley kaasht using Attention Slip wandered by them, deftly lifting Avrey's bag of claws. The Sky didn't even notice, but Rustam's Perceive flared up and he left his companions to persue the Valley pair. He did manage to retrieve Avrey's money pouch, but he was hit hard by a Forget as the pair were escaping. He would have been sitting there all night, stumped by what he had been doing and where he was, had Eniiko not followed him and seen the whole ordeal. Ileena, with aspirations towards becoming a spy and an already blooming network of information gatherers, filled the rest of them in on who these Valley kaasht likely belonged to: the Tashi. Kaleeri retrieved the memory for him with Mind Invasion, as it made the young Desert quite uncomfortable to not remember something. Rustam was curious about the Tashi, of course, but he had training to attend to so quickly forgot about the them. As an Ensign, however, they again came back to haunt him. He was out with a group of other Ensigns on one of their few duty assignments, cleaning up a street of prostitutes, when he came across a pair of the kaalaas with protection: a Valley and a massive Plains. He and his two current partners managed to arrest three of the four, narrowly missing the Valley, but he found the escaping kaasht to be very familiar. After a discussion with Eniiko, he remembered how: that was one of the pick-pockets Ileena had described as being a part of the Tashi. As a Soldier, with the help of Ileena's network of information and his own determination, Rustam broke up his first actual Tashi sceme. His Sky friend, Avrey, had been complaining of his small shop being constantly stolen from, and Rustam and Ileena set to work investigating. As it turned out, employees for Avrey's store and several others belonged to the Tashi. Rustam and his small compliment of Soldiers arrived at the scene of a large, well-planned heist at the most prosperous of these stores and ruined the whole affair, arresting nearly all of the Tashi members. Since then, Rustam has made it a matter of principle to be kept informed on the Tashi's plans, as best as possible. Though he respects the family of crime for their foresight and loyalty to each other, he still is duty-bound to protect Alcaine from them. Rustam is a quiet and sensible kaasht, always weighing options before he decides on something and always considering the consequences of his actions. His prudence, fighting ability, and strong sense of responsibility qualified him for his position, but it was his consideration for other kaasht, the respect he had accumulated from his fellows, and his talent for teaching and encouraging younger recruits that actually earned it.
Created and Played by Cacopheny.
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