Claire

Summary
Claire is a southern sergal, born and raised in Gold Ring. At age 11, in a trip to the lands of Reono, she got in contact with toxic gasses from the Talyxian Jungles nearby, damaging her vocal chords, throat and lungs. As such she has been mute since then, and communicates through sign language, writing, and through her friend and translator, Sapphira - A nevrean she has known since she started to learn sign language.

Once reaching adulthood, she opened a space near the Gold Ring marketplace with two nevrean assistants, specializing in the design of tailor-made clothing for all sorts of people, seeing modest success thanks to her designs.

Personality
She is often described as a calm and kind person; patient, and fearful of confrontation. A hard worker at heart, having been working from a young age.

While charismatic and friendly, she struggles deeply with large crowds, and her inability to speak greatly frustrates her in these scenarios, often needing to get away from people to recompose.

Prone to escape conflicts and situations that may make her feel uneasy, one of her assistants - Sapphira - is always at her side, making sure to keep her comfortable and safe. Sapphira often aids Claire whenever she's in need of a translator for her signs, when writing isn't viable.

Early Life
Born from two natural southern sergals from the region of Gold Ring, who worked cooking and feeding many of the military troops for the city, her early years were spent at the care of an agudner family, friends of her parents, who were instrumental in the shaping of her knowledge. The head, or matron of this family, named Sebu, took special interest in Claire, teaching her from a young age how to cook, sew, write, and even draw. These skills later leading to what would become a clear love and respect for her own self image, and the image of others around her - Sewing small pieces of fabric for herself already at age 5 to wear as dresses and accessories.

As time went on, she started going to the area her parents worked to take care of the troops - and as such found a small job, bringing materials needed for the preparation of food from the carts that arrived to the city.

The Accident
After a few years, Claire, now 11 years old, alongside her parents, and some of the kitchen staff, went on trips to the neighboring regions alongside the troops. She was already a common sight among them, bringing plates of food to every soldier in the ranks, often praised by her quickness and eagerness to help and serve.

One of the expeditions with these troops and her family, involved going to the region of Reono, to a station near some of the Talixyan jungles, to aid those stationed there.

Between curiosity, wonder and carelessness, she ventured into these jungles a few times, during the brief days they would spend in these stations. In one of these adventures into the jungle, she found herself in the middle of an area filled with toxi, acidic gasses that quickly took over her, lacking any and all safety equipment. These gasses leading to severe burning in her throat and lungs. She was found hours later as some of the troops did a routine check around the area on the brink of death, extracted from the jungle, and kept under supervision until she could be taken back to Gold Ring for proper medical care. The incident left her unable to move for a few days, and even after a few weeks her mobility was limited. But the greatest impact was to her vocal cords - the acidic fumes severily damaging the muscle tissue and making her unable to properly speak without suffering a great deal of pain.

During this time of recovery, Sebu, the agudner that took care of her, was again watching over the small sergal until she could move again. As soon as Claire could stand and walk, Sebu to return to the region of Reono, seeking for people that could teach Claire how to use sign language to communicate, since writing was often a lengthy laborious activity.

It was here that Claire met another young creature - A young, similarly-aged female Nevrean named Sapphira, daughter of traders and performers who often stationed in the region for seasons at a time.

A Newfound Friendship
Sapphira showed interest in Claire as a peculiar case of a sergal that, unlike the rest, couldn't speak or express properly, and was notably sad for someone her age; at the same time, Claire found Sapphira to be a peculiar sight - as she was more colorful that other females, leaner, sleeker... And friendlier than many of the adult females she would see around the camps in Gold Ring.

The two quickly formed a friendship, where Claire would write down anything she wanted to say, and Sapphira would answer accordingly.

During the time Claire stayed with Sebu in Reono, learning sign language, she would teach Sapphira whenever she learned something new. Whenever Sapphira had to go back to Gold Ring for the season, she would bring with her many of the notes Claire would write for her, and study them. After a couple years, the two could hold a conversation - A bit rudimentary, but a conversation nonetheless.

As more time passed, with their communication skills improving and sharing interests, the two became inseparable - Often seen together walking around the city, with Sapphira working as Claire's mouth when needed.

Teen Years - Communication and Skills
The process of learning something as rare and complex as sign language was certainly a challenge for anybody, but it was specially hard for a sergal. But thanks to her new friend, Claire was able to slowly but surely learn how to communicate effectively. Not only by learning with the help of her teachers, but also by her teaching Sapphira how to use and read signs.

This was, however, not the only thing Claire would learn during her extended stay in Reono. Sebu's teachings during her early years were very useful during this time. Her love for clothing, fashion and designing was deeply helped and entertained by the varied communities, races and ever-changing styles of the region. Thanks to Sebu's (and a bit of Sapphira's) help, Claire was able to afford her first fabrics, jumping right into the creation of new clothes for her and her friend - A huge upgrade from the wardrobe they both would usually wear. These marked a beginning into what would later become Claire's bread and butter. Within short time, her efforts would be noticed by others. Still not of great quality, but certainly notable for someone so young. Some people started asking her to design things for them, paying Claire accordingly. She had found her muse - and with Sapphira next to her, aiding in communication, the two saw quick success.

By the time Claire was 17, she had already learned enough sign language to be aptly proficient at it, alongside her friend, and earned a somewhat impressive notoriety within the region, with plenty of coin to back it up.

So, having learned most of what she could, Claired decided that after 6 long years, she would return to Gold Ring alongside her guardian, Sebu, and her now friend and business partner, Sapphira.

The New Business
[TBA]