Lailaah

Appearance
Lailaah has an average height and a small frame; though her appearance strikes as exotic with her dark tanned skin. Her face is oval shaped and young looking with long black hair that curls slightly at the ends.

Dark, long lashes surround her almond shaped light brown eyes under thin curving black eyebrows. She has a small, elegantly curving nose and slightly full lips.

A small emerald pendent surrounded in gold wiring hangs from a thin gold chain around her neck.

Personality
Lailaah’s personality reflects the fire and ice she conjures, at times she is fiery and passionate then at other times she is cold and aloof. She is not a shy girl, though she is very curious. She is not hesitant to talk to new people, and when she is it’s only because of her attempt to not be seen as rude or uncouth. When speaking with others, she usually keeps her eyes downcast out of respect for the other person, though should not be mistaken for timid or submissive.

Lailaah has a good sense of humor, though some things can escape her or be taken the wrong way. She smiles often and generally has a good attitude about things. She initially trusts people and gives them the benefit of the doubt, and is always willing to give someone a second chance. But once her trust is broken, she may forgive but never forget.

Ancestry
Many years ago, several years before the first war, a pirate vessel from the Eastern Kingdoms travelled across the sea to Kalimdor. They landed in a savannah that is now known as the Barrens. A few pirates consisting of humans and goblins, jumped ship and stayed on the new continent while the main crew continued pirating the coast, eventually returning home. The few who remained behind gathered their sparse belongings and set out into the wilderness.

They travelled south through the Barrens and climbed down the treacherous cliffs of Thousand Needles. Coming across a centaur hunting party, the group was split two ways. One group continued southeast while the other went northwest. The group travelling northwest found their way into the jungle land of Feralas. Dodging tauren and wildlife, they eventually were captured by the Shen’dralar near Eldre'thalas or Dire Maul.

While most in the group were sacrificed in rituals, two men managed to escape their prisons. As they snuck out of the city, they each took one item. One took a sinister looking dagger while the other took a simple looking emerald pendant. Finding themselves back in the Feralas jungle, they back tracked their steps in order to put as much distance as they thought safe between them and the Shen’dralar.

After several months, the two men trekked their way into Tanaris discovering the companions they had lost in the centaur attack. Forming an alliance with the Sandfury trolls of Zul’Farrak, the small group began a new life in the desert.

The outside world passed them by, and eventually the settlers formed their own culture with little influence from their former lives. Becoming a superstitious clan, they studied the stars to dictate their lives and took up worship of the troll’s religion, Loa. They became hunter gatherers, learning to create armor, clothing, jewelry, and various tools from the parts of animals. They would often trade with Zul’Farrak and soon Gadgetzan. The goblins fondly refer to them as sand gypsies.

Background
Star Filled Destiny Six years after the second war ended, Lailaah was born under a star filled night. As her first cry echoed into the night, a small meteor shower began. Though it only lasted a few minutes, the elders of the tribe took this as a sign Lailaah had a greater destiny in life and named her accordingly.

Attack and Awakening When Lailaah was nearly 5 years old, her tribe was attacked by a rogue group of trolls. Lailaah’s mother hid with her, her younger brother and younger sister in a small tent in an attempt to escape notice. Unfortunately, they didn’t manage to escape detection as a large troll burst into the tent and grabbed her mother. Plunging a knife through her belly, he tossed the body to the ground near Lailaah’s feet and advanced on the children.

Dropping to her knees, Lailaah grabbed at the nearest thing to her in fear, which happened to be the emerald pendent her mother had always worn, and held up a hand in a feeble attempt to defend herself. As the troll raised his wicked blade in the air, Lailaah shut her eyes and silently pleaded for help. Feeling a deep calm in the center of her being, Lailaah reached into it and found a strange innate ability. Opening her eyes just in time to see the blade swinging down at her, Lailaah summoned a ball of fire in her hand and threw it at the troll while she jumped aside. The fireball caught the troll square in the face and clung to him as he reeled screaming out of the tent, only to be cut down by a tribesman.

Arcane Instruction When the troll band had been finally driven away, the elders took Lailaah before them to find out what happened. She tried explaining the event to them and reaching into her talent again, but failed in doing so. After a brief discussion of what to do with this little girl who possessed such a strange and frightening talent, it was decided to speak with the Sandfury trolls on the matter, since they understood the arcane while the tribesmen did not. A troll magistrix in Zul’Farrak recognized the girl for what she was and agreed to teach her how to harness her ability. Leaving her in the care of the trolls, the tribe left to return to normal life, relieved to be rid of such an abnormality.

For nearly 12 years, Lailaah was taught to harness her natural arcane talent. Finding her to be a very adept student, the magistrix began branching out in other studies as well, such as extensive teaching of Loa worship. Finally satisfied with the girl’s progress and abilities, the magistrix returned her to her tribe. Lailaah was overjoyed to see her fellow tribesmen again, but was treated with open fear and mistrust. The elders gave her the emerald pendent her mother had once carried as her birthright, but even they treated her with trepidation and near contempt.

Return and Betrayal Two months passed while Lailaah attempted to placate any fears her people had towards her with little to no success. She began to grow uneasy towards her own abilities and withdraw slightly from contact, making her even more of an outcast than before. One night, she awoke with a heavy hand clamped over her mouth. Looking up with fright, she relaxed to see it was only her brother, Mensah. Pulling his hand from her mouth, she quietly asked what the problem was.

Looking back at her with dark eyes, Mensah whispered coldly back at her, “You, sister.”

“Mensah… what do you mean?” Lailaah asked quietly, frowning at the ropes lying beside him.

He shook his head and looked back up at her with a half crazed look in his eyes. “You are different… you are strange. And you don’t belong. I’m sorry my sister, but I must get rid of you now.” He lunged at her, producing a small club he had been holding behind his back and cracked it against the side of her head. Uttering nothing more than a soft groan, Lailaah fell to the ground unconscious. Mensah bound her wrists and ankles, and then picked her up over his shoulder. He left the camp to meet up with a small band of pirates nearby, collecting his promised price before returning to the tribe.

Across the Sea Knowing of Lailaah’s talent by Mensah’s information, the pirates kept her unconscious the majority of the time, only allowing her to be awake for food and water. Barely understanding what was happening; Lailaah was taken aboard a ship bound for Stranglethorn Vale. Once they reached Booty Bay, Lailaah was finally able to keep consciousness but was weakened too much to attempt any escape. The pirates took her and a few other captives to a slave auction being held in The Old Port Authority. Lailaah was about to be sold to a young noble from Stormwind when a strangely dressed troll came and paid twice the amount being offered by the noble.

A New Beginning Fortunately for Lailaah, the troll had no intention of keeping her as a slave and was none other than Rinling of the Darkmoon Faire. Lailaah felt almost instantly at ease with him, being by now more used to trolls than any other race. He took her back with him to the faire and she began traveling with them across Azeroth. She began learning common and about the current state of affairs in the world, though she couldn’t understand most of it. After about four months of traveling with them, they came to Elwynn to set up camp. Lailaah wandered off from the camp and came to Northshire Abbey where she was taken in by Khelden Bremen.

Spending nearly half a year learning how to become an upstanding citizen and polishing off her crude teachings of the arcane, Lailaah finally felt ready to face her new life. Leaving the safety of the Abbey, clutching tightly to the emerald pendant, Lailaah began her journey by the movement of the stars.

Relationships
Mensah Lailaah doesn’t hold any resentment for her brother and she will speak well of him to others. She is sure there was a reason for it, even if he just acted out of fear.

Idiosyncrasies

 * Lailaah could easily be thought of as naïve and immature.


 * Lailaah has an acute fear of ships, though is generally okay when others are there to ride with her. Sometimes she will wait until there is someone else to ride the same ship she needs to.


 * Lailaah can speak Troll, but she will only say a few phrases, even when asked to do otherwise.

Public Knowledge and Rumors
No information or papers can be found about Lailaah. Visitors of Tanaris could possibly know the name Bashandi to be wandering traders in the desert, but most likely have never come across them.