Esther Iteya

Esther had a suspicion something was still not right, but she was being instructed elsewhere. So she did what she was told. She moved to Laira to see if there was anything I could help with. When Kallera returned, she gave her a helpless side-glance. She didn't know what she had did, but she knew she couldn't quite fix it. "Maybe we need some more water, if any of you would be so kind?" She said quietly, trying to move on.

So keep in mind what I do is a controversial thing. I've gotten my ear chewed off by people with some differing opinions in the past, but I will throw thoughts, feelings, internal dialogues, nearly anything into emotes. I write in third person omniscient when I emote, even in game. This is not right or wrong, but it's not always considered 'good.' So play devils advocate for me for a moment. Here is why. The act of roleplaying is at it's core, an expression of a fictional character to another person. It's a team effort. Anything your audience doesn't know, has no value. This doesn't mean it's useless, or that you are doing something wrong! But rather, these private facts or feelings only exist once it is out of your mind and onto the chatbox or page. These private thoughts, feelings, expressions, can be almost essential to knowing the full situation or to fully grasp your character in a given moment. To hide that from your audience is to deny them the full picture of the story they are creating with you. Yes, they are not controlling that particular character, but both players exist outside the world your creating. This is meta-gaming. I know for many that is a sin, but I do not believe it's inherently bad. To use emotes to give another player information they otherwise wouldn't know, is giving them a perspective they otherwise wouldn't have. It can be a very powerful tool. Especially for introverted or silent characters. Instead of just standing there, you think. You feel. You get confused. You move with context. There is something for people to read, maybe OOCly they get an inside joke because of it. When done properly, it can enhance a scene. But! You are breaking an unspoken rule. It's important you do so with intent, and confidence. I don't recommend it to people who are new to role-playing or haven't the ability to explain why they are emoting what they are. To sum it up, I think of it like this. Roleplaying is just a form of creative writing. Creative writing is like any other piece of art. First you learn the rules, then can you break them. And always remember: This world is fake. No one has more authority on it than anyone else. Be respectful of your fellow rp'ers, take into account their preferences, but don't be bullied by them either.

I'm adjusting to this as well, so you're not alone in this regard. I think many people feel this way. My main concern is like many others here, the perception of a character. Especially in such a larger group where you can easily be just another face in a crowd. I like blank slates. I take a very general trope, characterization, or concept, and I see how far it can be pushed when set against 'the world." It's been extremely successful for me in the past and I enjoy making characters more than once to see how other RPer's 'change' them. The upside to this is my character feels alive. Every conversation my character has had in game has influenced her. It is very much so in the hands of the people I interact with, and in my experience it creates a character that feels like a team effort. The downside is I need to start with a quickly recognizable set of characteristics that immediately gives the other player the tools they need to be included. This makes the character intentionally flat on creation. Flat characters are boring. I could understand someone taking a first glance at Esther and thinking she's a stereotype with little else to offer because in some ways she is, at least until the player get's into what parts they can mold.

Esther could feel something was wrong, but she couldn't put her thumb on what. She leaned over slightly, following Fey's shifting and fidgeting. Her tail acting as a ballast as her body tilted at the waist. Then she followed Fey's gaze to double check if she was missing something and moved into the shade of the tent, just in case the sun was hurting the girl's eyes. It took a few minutes for it to click that she was what was wrong. Esther blinked at the air, and she became stuck. What had she done wrong? Did she say something? Esther reeled. Her first interaction with the locals and she'd already botched it! Esther strove to salvage her first impression. First she fixed her stance, so it was straighter, more proper. She fixed her posture so it was square, her hands delicately folded in front of her, feet together, her chin lifted level so an invisible book could balance on either side of her horns. She softened her voice, and lowered the volume. Despite all of this, Esther wasn't helping much. She had an innate inability to lie, and her heart was always on her sleeve. She looked less like a poised and well-mannered woman, and more of what she really was; a girl terrified to make a wrong impression. "Everyone who I have met here has been kind and generous. I am honored to be in the Pearl Lane." She said with a genuine naivety. Her eyes were locked onto Fey, looking desperately for any hint of progress.

After inviting Laira to use the healing tent as she saw fit, she politely bowed her head and stepped towards it. She squared her shoulders at the two others inside. The third had made her way to the market. "Thank you for the water. I don't know what happened to mine...I guess I forgot it at home. I'll have to remember to bring more." Esther then clasped her hands together and respectfully dipped at the waist to the miqo'te. "My name is Iteya, and I am here to serve Pearl Lane." She spoke with a quiet respect, a tone of someone who has had one too many lectures about being polite to strangers.

Esther nearly turned her pack upside down and onto the ground trying to find her water-skin. It didn't seem to be anywhere. Thankfully the curious miqo'te had come to the rescue. Esther couldn't help but smile as her tent was now in full use. It was shabby, and barely even enough shade for two elezen, let alone a third miqo'te, but it was perfect in her eyes. Esther had been told time and time again about the world being a dangerous place. Liara could probably account first hand the dangerous in this very alleyway, but Esther was blinded by the simple gestures of life. Like a goodly miqo'te giving water to a thirsty stranger. This unfortunately made her miss some crucial details about her life, such as the thief who made off with her water-skin before she even set up this morning. Her attention drew back to Laira. "I should have asked if there was a senior healer here. I apologize for not finding you sooner." Esther motioned to the tent in all of it's glory. One of the signs fell off and landed in the dirt. "Please feel free to use it as you will, it's made for that intent after all. I'm out of supplies...but I have a cot folded up over there for the sick." She motioned. "I also had healing potions I was giving out, but they went faster than I thought. Miss Syranelle--The one right there, she has a friend. Mr. Zhan'a? He is an alchemist and gave me a crate."

There was a rush of dust and the scattering of feet asKallera’s perpetrators sped past and formed a cloud of dust that settled over the make-shift tent. Esther coughed and waved the dust away from her eyes. Kallera stood before her tent, talking into a linkpearl. At first, Esther didn’t see her speaking into it, and nearly interrupted her with a wave and a short burst of noise meant to be a greeting. Her vocal chords slammed on the breaks once she realized she was talking, and she instead brushed the dirt off her things to make the tent look more presentable. She waited for the woman to not be occupied. Then right as she opened her mouth to try and speak again, Syranelle stepped in. “Hello Miss Syranelle.” Esther said, and she dropped into with a polite bow. Shedidn’t have a chance to offer water before Kallera caught on. Esther swept over to a chair and pulled it out. Motioning to them both. “Come sit in the shade. I'll fetch some water.” She said as her hands dove into her pack, rummaging around. She had the foresight to bring a few bowls, and in a pinch they’d work for a thirsty traveler. As she looked, she moved away from the tent’s shade. It was a modest space, only fitting two at a time. She made room, and shuffled around with her things, making no means to hide her possessions. As she did this, she heard another voice. A smaller one, alower one. She paused to look down at Liara. Her blue eyes blinked as the words clicked into place, then she broke into a wide and warm smile. “Thank you very much. Do you work here too?” She spoke as she continued to search. Where had her water-skin gone?

The people of Ul’dah know an unspoken rule about misery. That is, if you wish to be miserable, you should spend your time trying to look for the good in world. It is the fastest and most reliable path to unhappiness, betrayal and stomach ulcers. Unfortunately this story is not about the wise people of Ul’dah. It is about a girl destined for disappointment. Esther Iteya had just crawled out of the tranquil valleys of Othard, from a village whose only crime on record was an ‘accidental radish borrowing.' She didn’t believe in lies, nor that would anyone have reason to tell one. She didn’t know breaking a promise was possible, or that loyalty was optional. She did believe that people were inherently good and kind and that the world was fair, just, and helpful. Needless to say Esther was unprepared for Pearl Lane much in the same way that an egg rolling off a cliff is unprepared for the laws of physics. Most citizens would be skeptical of her surviving long enough to even reach the end of this sentence. But Esther had managed to survive. She managed a whole week within the walls of Ul’dah. In that time she met six people, all of which were exactly as she assumed them to be: kind, generous, and dangerously feeding her idealism. One in particular, an Elezen by the name of Syranelle Ironleaf had gone so far as to fund her and encourage her. That is how Esther gained the enthusiasm to begin her work, to create a place for those who lacked what Ul’dah valued most. Coin. Within the first week of arrival to this new continent she had everything she needed to start a healing tent for the needy, and what better place to put it than Pearl Lane? After all, it had such a nice name. That is where our story begins. Under a sheet tied up alongside Pearl Lane’s alleyway with two signs hanging over the side. The first read: [align=center][FREE HEALING AND HEALING ELIXERS][/align] [align=center](Please only one per person)[/align] And the second, in smaller handwriting: [align=center][Guard Wanted. Inquire within][/align] The “within” being the immediate two feet behind the sign currently being occupied by Esther in a green robe. She had blue eyes, brown hair, white scales, and a coin purse loosely tied on her person for all to see. She stood under her self-made tent, shuffling her feet and waiting anxiously for customers. She had expected to be handing out healing elixirs for most of the afternoon. Syranelle had graciously introduced her to an alchemist named Zhan’a Rakhin who gave her a healthy crate of potions. However, his supplies only lasted the first half hour. She hadn’t expected so many large families in such a small alleyway. One man in particular, claimed he had ten terminally ill children, three sick dogs, four sick cats, and a goldfish with an ear infection. Esther couldn't deny such a large order to someone who had already suffered so much heartache. She only hopped she gave him the right dose for a fish, as it was her first encounter with aquatic medicine. Another man had six nearly dead children, and another eight! These large distributions had quickly dwindled her stock down to one emergency potion that she kept on her person and little else to hand out for the rest of the day. So instead she just waited and waved as people walked on by, trying to make the best of first impressions.