Shemri

Name: Shemri Japheth

Race: Gerudo

Age: Adult

Gender: Female

Tropes:

• Loyal Animal Companion: Sheikah, a small black-furred cat
• Lightning Bruiser
• Scarily Competent Tracker (to a realistic degree)
• Unexplained Accent (sort of Russki)
• Greeneyed Redhead
• Proud Warrior Race Gal
• Overused Copycat Character (to be fair I never heard of Drizzt before making Shemri)

Appearance:

Image is approximate

|| [look] At first glance, one might mistake Shemri for a Hylian. Her face has no trace of paint, and she wears the dress of a Hylian farmer woman. More importantly, she holds her head high and does not glance about suspiciously the way most of her people do. Nevertheless, an experienced eye will immediately pick out the olive skin, flaming red hair (tied back with a black ribbon into a simple ponytail), pointed nose, and short ears of a Gerudo. Her dress is crossed over by a pair of leather belts, adorned with traveller's equipment and razor-sharp weaponry. At one time, she might have been a fine example of Gerudo beauty, but some ferocious battle has left an ugly, serrated series of parallel scars running down the right side of her face. ||

History:

Serious by Joy Williams

Serious

|| [history] Many generations ago, there was a time when the Gerudo were a fiercely honorable race. They were known for their strong warriors and noble traditions, and the Gerudo and the Hylia considered each other their brethren. Whenever there was an outbreak of monsters, the Gerudo clan was the first to send its sons into battle, protecting Hyrule as the goddesses intended them to.

Unfortunately, as so often happens, what the goddesses intended was not followed through as faithfully by one generation as it was the last. Over time, the Gerudo became prideful, and resented bearing the brunt of evil's attacks upon Hyrule. With each transition from parents to children, the honor of the Gerudo clan bent further. Then, with what could only have been carefully plotted timing, a pair of twins within the clan manifested sorcerous powers and gained the fear, admiration, and obedience of most of the Gerudo. The clan's honor broke, and they were led into a life of marauding and the worship of a cruel Goddess of the Sand.

There was much that happened soon after that time, but few know of it now. Twinrova had the Gerudo clan erase all of its historical records; this included sealing off the Tomb of Heroes, where the great champions of the clan were embalmed with their deeds memorialized upon the walls. The Hylia and other races also forgot the former glory of the Gerudo. Perhaps some record of the former days of brotherhood exist in a library somewhere, but none would see it save scholars, and there would be little incentive for them to share such knowledge.

Yet, for all the corruption of the Gerudo clan as a whole, a few individuals have always carried the honorable spirit of their forefathers. Before the Tomb of Heroes was forgotten, a brave Gerudo found another entrance to the catacombs through a floor in the Gerudo Fortress, opening a way to rediscover the noble past which Twinrova wished forgotten. This secret was passed on to certain trustworthy young ones in each generation, keeping a small flame of knowledge burning beneath the oppressive barbarism of the new Gerudo culture. One of the most recent initiates to this precious secret was a girl named Shemri Japheth.

Marked in a vague yet powerful way by her hidden knowledge, Shemri has always been a loner from a lonely people. She refused to wear traditional Gerudo clothing, believing that the revealing outfits showed weakness and a dependency on men. She also believed that thievery was weak, a parasitic way of life. When she found and adopted a bluish-black cat, she named him Sheikah after the shadow people, for whom she holds slightly grudging admiration, and most other Gerudo hold jealous hatred. For Shemri, the final straw came when the power-hungry Ganondorf rose to leadership of the Gerudo clan. Shemri slipped away one night, without a shred of remorse.

For a long time, Shemri lived in the wilderness of Hyrule as a maverick, with Sheikah as her only friend. The reputation of her clan made finding gainful employment near-impossible, so she became a huntress, living on the bounty of nature. Years later, when Ganondorf took hold of Hyrule Castle for the second time, Shemri ended up forging relationships with certain members of the Resistance in her efforts to do what she could against the Evil King's reign. Many adventures later, Shemri considers herself indebted to several people, particularly a few working at the Crimson Wolfos Inn, and spends nearly as much time there as she does roaming the fields. A tragic (and currently unsolved) genocide at the Gerudo Fortress has also put Shemri in the position of being guardian of a dozen orphaned Gerudo girls. Shemri is glad for the opportunity to guide the course of their innocent young minds, but their future remains uncertain as of yet... ||

Abilities:

|| [abilities] Huntress (master proficiency): Shemri has spent most of her adult life hunting the beasts of the field and forest for meat and pelts. She is very adept at tracking, stealthy approach, and ambushing prey, along with the other practical details of hunting like skinning, preserving meat, etc.

Glaive use (high proficiency): Shemri is trained in the common spear-like sword weapon of Gerudo guards, and is quite skilled with it.

Knife throwing (high proficiency): Shemri has a collection of tiny knives with rings for handles, and is well-practiced at throwing them either singly or in a spread. This is how she kills or at least cripples most of her prey.

Cat companion (high proficiency): Shemri's cat Sheikah assists her in her hunts and warns her of impending danger. He generally can't do much direct damage to targets bigger than himself, but he's good at going unnoticed and his surprise attacks can create critical openings for Shemri. ||

Relationships:

Nabooru:

The leader of the Gerudo Remnant and Shemri's direct superior in the chain of command. Shemri is glad to have an anti-Ganondorf commander at the head of the clan, although she wishes Nabooru were more critical of their thieving habits. e.e;

Adoptive daughters:

As mentioned in Shemri's history, she has taken charge of some orphaned girls of the Gerudo clan. Fortunately she has plenty of help in looking after them now, but she still considers herself their primary guardian.

Irina:

A former barmaid (now blacksmith's assistant) who wants to be a painter. Shemri has found herself under Irina's care at the Crimson Wolfos Inn on more than one afflicted occasion, and thus views Irina as somebody to whom she owes a debt. How much of a debt is hard to say anymore, with all the selfless support Irina gives to Shemri and everyone else...Shemri will just have to hope she has an opportunity to save Irina's life or something, that should square them.

Aubrey:

A scrawny bard with a naive but pleasant attitude. Like Irina, also a Crimson Wolfos worker to whom Shemri owes a debt for selfless hospitality and help, though to a lesser degree. Shemri finds Aubrey's perpetual cheerfulness a touch foolish, but she respects his virtuous nature and the historical knowledge he gained from the Book of Mudora.

Fallon:

An astute researcher and the Gerudo clan's schoolteacher, which takes a tremendous burden off Shemri's shoulders as caretaker of the clan's orphans. u.u; Shemri is also very pleased that Fallon set an example for the clan by entering into an honorable marriage, though Shemri finds Fallon's choice of husband...puzzling. Don't misunderstand, Aubrey is a respectable fellow and all, but Fallon could practically benchpress the stripling. :P

Arumarg:

A member of Hyrule's Royal Guard who takes his role seriously enough to acquire his own armor and weaponry. While Shemri considers herself to have vague but finite debts to others, to Arumarg she believes she squarely owes a life-debt, as he once carried her to safety on his horse when she had suffered a broken ankle in the middle of Hyrule Field. A simple enough favor to most people's way of thinking perhaps, arguably even part of his duty as a guard, but Shemri will not be satisfied until she has saved his life in return, and considers herself honor-bound to do him any reasonable favors until then. Don't listen to the gleeful rumors Shemri's adoptive daughters spread, it's got nothing to do with her finding Arumarg admirable and handsome. c.c;

Malise:

A Gerudo witch who tried to take over the Remnant in a coup and return them to life as marauders. This enemy was defeated and her power greatly broken, but you can be sure Shemri will be on high alert if she sees Malise again, especially near Gerudo Fortress.

Itami:

A Gerudo who was Malise's right hand in the attempted coup. Despite this, Itami has somehow managed to achieve "tolerated" status amongst the Gerudo Remnant, primarily by providing medicine during a plague Malise sneakily caused. Shemri also wound up forced to cooperate with Itami on a misadventure in the Sacred Realm caused by an accident in Itami's apothecary. Shemri still doesn't trust or like Itami, but she manages to avoid pointing a weapon at her unless provoked. Usually. e.e

Gonff:

An alchemist from the Sacred Realm who helped Shemri and Itami return to Hyrule, in exchange for going with them. In the Sacred Realm, Gonff held the form of a rat, symbolizing his shifty nature. Of course, he told them it was because he was "Sharp-witted an' quick, but kinda meek." Gonff wanted to go to Hyrule so that his nature wouldn't be immediately apparent to anyone who looked at him. Once there, he started selling pep tonic with a subtle but growing addictive element to the Gerudo, and was ousted by Itami of all people. To Shemri, Gonff is a painful proof that her judgment of character can be way off. >.<;