Nneka

N’neka Mafouz (ネネカ・マフフーズ) is a nomadic Southern Sergal working as a doctor. Due to the scarcity of resources and the mental inability to settle she travels across Tal in order to increase her stock, develop new medicines, and heal the sick.

Appearance
N’neka has blonde and white fur and is rather small bodied among Sergals. Her years of forced servitude in the north have resulted in a lean body, damaged ears longer than that of the average of Southern Sergals, with a body covered in numerous scars which have been furred over, but are visible when wet. The scars on her body are due to being lashed, physically abused and the result of hard training regiments intended for adult Northern Sergals during the war. Her tongue was forcibly split.

She wore non permanent facial marks as part of her internment protocol and continued to do so even after her involvement with the war.

Her hair is short with a sections of longer hair attached to two gold rings. Her tail carries the rest of the rings. The sideburns of her hair are frayed and wild sticking out from the corners of her goggle straps.

Behavior
Positive, analytical, and forgiving.

Due to her treatment under slavers she spent a portion of her life as a mute, only speaking to address her superiors or engaging in war cries. At her job she converses with patients in a slow and methodical way as if she’s thinking hard about what words should come out if at all.

She isn’t openly cynical or angry at Shigu or by extension Rain Silves but perceives slavery as a unnecessary but unavoidable part of human conflict. She believes that war happens but with persistence and the correct medicine can help fix a war torn society. Instead of looking for revenge. She becomes skittish around northerners, those of certain bloodlines, and those aligned with Shigu attesting that they “Have a strange smell.” But ultimately does not treat them differently, at least not intentionally. She does not discriminate against against those who she considers her patients and even to the most aggressive Talyxian wildlife. But is not pacifistic in pursuit of resources.

N’neka likes to express femininity in moderation as southern girls do. She enjoys sweets and buying clothing from different regions of Tal. Although her fur is naturally bright, she is small bodied, and has a nice physique which could be considered Judda qualities, she would disagree stating the antithesis:

''“To be strong and durable.. is beauty. Without a guard a Judda will die. Sheltered.”''

Biography
Her rural desert village was sacked and, she was taken into slavery by the Shigu Army at a young age. The nameless Sergal spent years in their custody being trained to fight in a war that she couldn’t understand the meaning of. Her body was lithe and skinny which encouraged her to fight in an articulate manner to survive. Unknowingly she was being prepared to fight her own people.

She had many masters over the years but her spirit was never broken. Her final slave owner was a brute who assigned her, and multiple other slaves to fight on the front lines of the war in order to escape the shame of having slaves repossessed due to his bankruptcy. He sent her to death.

Almost succumbing to her wounds an unusually warm and cheery Shigu army doctor saved her life. His name was Mafouz. She did not trust him as his demeanor was uncharacteristic of any warrish northern man she had met. Although he understood she was a slave, he did not believe in slavery. He would eventually devise a plan to gain her freedom. Behind Shigu lines she began wearing a costume while working as the medical assistant to the man. Her wages were low and she’d seen what physical trauma could happen to a Sergal during war, but after years of hard work she bought herself. Mafouz then removed her ear tags with less than surgical precision.



Because the man had no next in line kin he decided to adopt her as his own. He did not believe that Northern Sergals were superior to any other race living on Tal. He taught her to read and write in two languages, which was not a requirement of being a medical hand but what he felt should be passed down. Along with this he imbued her with the knowledge of everything medical and her name.

Life in Gold Ring
When N’neka's surrogate father passed away she left for Gold Ring as part of the exodus in 33. Using her medical talents and inheritance to purchase a shop. Although she would leave the maintenance and sales to a business partner and split the revenue. After a decade of traveling from place to place with the Shigu army she could not truly settle and began traveling around Tal to help those in need, just as the man who saved her did. TBC



Sources: Character profile image by Mick39 @mowamowafluff all other images are by owner