A Closer Look
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"Never let them take what you’re not willing to give."
― Elissa Sussman, Stray
YASHA
Яша | supplanter | Russian
ISAEV
Исаев | son of Isay | Russian -
B a s i c s
◖BIRTH NAME◗
Yakov Isaev, though no one ever refers to him by that and he would never, ever tell anyone that name.
◖NICKNAME◗
Yasha, which he would honestly say is his name rather than a nickname. That's the name he introduces himself with. Well, and then The Sun Summoner, sure.
◖BIRTH DATE◗
6th April.
◖AGE◗
22 years old.
◖ZODIAC◗
Aries.
◖NATIONALITY◗
Ravkan.
◖OCCUPATION◗
He's a tracker.
◖RESIDENCE◗
Officially, Little Palace, though he prefers to just move around.
◖RACE◗
Grisha (unfortunately).
◖HEIGHT◗
1,87 m.
◖BODY TYPE◗
Lean, yet muscular and defined underneath all the layers.
◖EYES◗
A warm, dark hazel brown.
◖HAIR◗
Dark brown that he keeps long.
◖COMPLEXION◗
A warm brown skin colour.
◖TATTOOS◗
None.
◖SCARS◗
Plenty, scattered around his body, mostly from blades.
◖HANDEDNESS◗
Right-handed.
◖SEXUALITY◗
Homosexual.
◖RELATIONSHIP STATUS◗
Single.
◖STRENGTHS◗
Tracking and hunting, sword fighting and fencing, foraging and general survival, generally a good learner, standing his ground, being decisive, lock-picking and tinkering.
◖WEAKNESSES◗
Being told what to do and taking orders, respecting superiors, waking up early, staying put.
◖LIKES◗
Being outside, snow, though spring has its qualities too, swimming, a good night's sleep, stargazing, though he also has a very big weakness for a nice, big, soft bed and a warm hearth.
◖DISLIKES◗
Bossy people, uniforms, schedules, superiors, orders, being woken up. He's not too fond of other Grishas either, mainly because he finds them to be very full of themselves and judgemental, responsibilities are not his greatest joy either.
◖FACECLAIM◗
Luke Pasqualino.
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B a c k g r o u n d
"The thing I realize is, that it’s not what you take, it’s what you leave."
― Jennifer Niven, All the Bright Places
THE SUN SUMMONER
WHO NEVER CARED FOR THE LIGHT
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Yasha Isaev was born in the northern part of Ravka, not too close to the hostility of Fjerda, but far enough from the centre of Ravka, rather finding comfort in Tsibeya than Os Alta. He never got to know his parents, as they disappeared when he was an infant, instead being raised by his aunt, Alesya, his father's older sister. They lived in a small village where he helped out from a young age to gather necessities, foraging, hunting, cooking, cleaning. It came natural to him, or at least after he was forced to do it and slowly succumbed to it. He always had an issue with following the rules, but his aunt was the only one who could tell him what to do, where he would actually do it, even if he had to be told once or twice. He was never an easy child, but he grew up to be a survivor thanks to his aunt. There were very few children and the few banded together, exploring the nature and the woods by themselves. They lived off the grid, which gave them much more freedom and that was something he had always enjoyed. He had the friends and family he needed, he could sustain himself there, and he felt right about it. Nothing too much, but enough.
This freedom ended when his aunt died. He could have continued living off the grid, but he wanted to get away, maybe in an attempt to grieve. He knew of the world outside and had even visited some of the larger neighbouring cities, but he never cared much for it. He was 17 at the time and he simply just packed a bag and left. He travelled and explored, living by himself, sometimes hunting for money and a bed to sleep in, before he stumbled upon the army. He didn't have much passion for it, but he knew it would give him some stability for something as simple as tracking, something he had passion for. This was probably his biggest meeting with the 'real' world. He had no great joy as part of The First Army, but he got to do what he wanted and got something out of it. That was his main goal, sustaining himself, and if that meant joining the army, he'd do it... even if he was a horrible soldier. Yes, he was an amazing tracker, but he was horrible at taking orders, which instantly made him a horrible candidate. Popular amongst his fellow soldiers, but detested by his superiors, known as a resisting troublemaker and he didn't mind that.
He was in the army for three years, before he saw The Fold for the first time. He had of course heard of it, but he could never had imagined anything like it. He honestly wanted nothing to do with it, being creeped out. He understood the necessity of crossing it, but he would prefer not to, probably being unnerved by the thought of darkness and the unknown, where he could possibly not find his way out – an unknown territory. But what would be the odds of him having to cross it? He was merely a tracker... so when they pulled his name out of basically a hat to cross the following day, he was surely both surprised, pissed, and very unwilling. He considered deserting, simply running and ditching all of this that he didn't care for, if it hadn't provided him with a bed and food, however bad the quality might have been. One of his friends was also pulled, though, and in a rare sight of sympathy, he stepped onto the vessel the following day. He's not sure what happened after that. They were attacked, they weren't prepared, The First Army soldiers too, everything went crazy for a moment, and then he lost consciousness. The next moment, he woke up, back in camp, all eyes on him, and from that moment his world was turned upside down.
Apparently, he was a Sun Summoner. The Sun Summoner, the one everyone had waited for. And he would have preferred to stay completely human, never being found. He had never had any hopes of saving the world, for luxury, fame, not even magic. Little Palace did, well, little to sway him, the worst though being The Darkling. He met him back at the camp when he woke up and it was entirely unpleasant. Sure, the bed, the warmth, the food, that was good, but he struggled with the discipline, mostly the attention. He got better, stronger, even managed to get a control over his magic thanks to Baghra, but he felt generally unliked by most, and those who didn't were ... well, The Darkling. Yes, a few were kind to him, but he had rarely felt so out of place even with all of his travels. So as he felt the net tightening, he did the only thing he really felt like he could: He ran. It was not at all easy, the security of Little Palace is undoubtedly some of the best, but he did, moving towards home, towards north. He might be the one to save it all, but he never asked to be and based on the general opinion, he would never be able to do it, magical enhancers or not. To leave was the only option, turning his back to what he had learnt about himself, The Darkling, him being a Grisha. He was better on his own anyway, even if he surely feels nothing like himself. He has seen light pour from within himself, from his hands, from his being and he still hasn't come perfectly to term with it, not entirely sure that he can actually turn his back on this – especially knowing that he is now one of the most hunted men in Ravka, getting a headstart or not.
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C o r e t r a i t s
"A knife takes a decision out of your hand and puts it in the world and it never goes back again."
― Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go
○ U N R U L Y
adj. | un·ruly
Given to resisting authority or another's control, not readily ruled, disciplined, or managed. Yasha struggles with any kind of authority, anyone telling him what to do. It's a principle, tell him to do something, and he will most likely do all he can to do the opposite. He is not completely impossible to work with, but he's definitely not easy. He goes his own ways, whatever he feels like is right, even when he deep down knows that it might not be the right thing to do, not even the safest or smartest thing. Reverse psychology, though, works like a charm because of this (though he might be pissed when he realises, even if he sometimes willingly plays along...).○ T E N A C I O U S
adj. | te·na·cious
Continuing despite difficulties, opposition, or discouragement. Even when he makes the not-so-wise choices in life, Yasha goes on. He's used to continue no matter what, probably being raised in an environment where you needed that to survive. He was taught to never give up, to keep up the fight, since it might turn to your advantage at the very last moment. This is probably also the reason why he actually stayed at Little Palace for so long: He might have despised the entire place and Grishas in general, but being tested – and told that he couldn't do it – made him push even if he felt that he shouldn't be a part of this entire show.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔○ F I E R Y
adj. | fi·ery
Marked by a lively display of strong feeling. Horrible to work with, but hardworking when he gets to it: Yasha could easily be described as a flame, hot, flickering, burning. He is definitely flammable, not having a horrible temper, but it's definitely there, mostly driven by passion – which is why it's so hard for him to follow something that he's not passionate about. He knows he has to sustain himself, but he would prefer to to that with something he enjoys, that mostly being tracking currently. He's snappy, will definitely fight you and talk back to you, stand up for himself in any way possible, even being hot to the touch as if it's the light within him making him this uncontrollably warm in nature.○ S E L F - R E L I A N T
adj. | self-re·li·ant
Able to take care of oneself or itself without outside help. Yasha likes being able to take care of himself, not relying on others, only adding to his disdain towards authority as it speaks against this self-reliant trait of his. He likes to be able to live on his own, hunt food, forarge, build, stay alive only because of himself and his skills. He enjoys being alone, not being in complete solitude, but he doesn't mind the quietness of the wilderness. He often needs a network to do so, he is aware, but he feels that he can get that if necessary. He struggles with getting close to others, only being truly close to his aunt. Commitment is just not his strong-suit and currently he just ignores that fact, hanging onto this self-reliance without wanting to admit anything else. -
A b i l i t i e s
GRISHA
"If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter."
― Victoria Aveyard, Glass Sword
Grisha are humans who practice Small Science and are traditionally divided into three orders, Corporalki, Etherealki, and Materialki, with each order being further divided into specialized types.
Often principles such as 'like calls to like' are used to explain Grisha power, and most Grisha see their powers as "extensions" of the natural world which is why they don't call their power "magic" but instead Small Science. For example, Inferni cannot produce fire but can manipulate naturally occurring combustible gases, and Durasts do not create metal: rather, they simply have the ability to alter it.
The name "Grisha" is a diminutive of the name Grigori and is derived from the original Sankt Grigori, who trained the first Corporalki in Ravka.
|SUN SUMMONER|
Sun Summoners are Grisha of the Etherealki Order, once believed to simply be nothing but a myth, prophesied to be the saviour of Ravka and the dissolver of The Fold. The belief in their existence stems from the known existence of Shadow Summoners like the Dark Heretic; they reasoned that if a Grisha with the ability to summon darkness exists, there must surely also be a Grisha who can summon light.
Like other Etherealki, Sun Summoners' powers lie in the manipulation of different natural elements, while it is incredibly rare and powerful just like the Shadow Summoners. It is very simple: They have the ability to bend and summon light, even being able to summon heat from the sun. The ability mirrors those of the Shadow Summoners, shaping and manipulation light into tendrils, waves, balls of blinding light and showers of sparkles, bathing all and everything in it, creating shields of various sizes, even being able to use it offensively, adding not only the sheer power of light, but the heat of it.
|TRACKING|
While tracking has nothing to do with him being a Grisha, Yasha would first and foremost describe himself as a tracker. He can track people and animals, through different environments, of course being able to slay the target in question if necessary.
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S i g n a t u r e
