Khed'a Dakwhil

they/he | keeper of the moon | warrior of light
white mage / red mage / dark knight / black mage

Basics

Name: Khed'a DakwhilPronunciation: KAY-duh DAHK-wheelByname: Heavensflare (granted by Urianger)Nicknames: Khedy (Tataru & other scions); Khedy-Cat (Isolde); Khe (G'raha); Cicada (Ari-A)Age: 27 at the beginning of ARRNameday: Second Astral Moon, 16th Sun (3/16)Species/Clan: Keeper of the Moon Miqo'teGender: Nonbinary/GenderfluidOrientation: Bisexual with a slight lean towards guys.Home: He grew up in West Shroud. After being adopted, he lived in Gridania proper, though he often traveled to East & Central Shroud. At the advent of the Seventh Umbral Era, he went on a long journey wandering Eorzea, and eventually settled in Central Thanalan for a time (until the start of ARR story).Jobs: He’s primarily a White Mage/Black Mage but will take on specific jobs during specific expansions. These are: White Mage (ARR-HW), Red Mage (STB-SHB), Dark Knight (SHB), Black Mage (EW) and Sage (EW).Deity: Oschon, the Wanderer.Likes: Tea, nature walks, naps, drawing, journaling, birds, the sound of the ocean.Dislikes: People taking advantage of him, coffee, overly verbose people, staying inside, caves/dark places underground.Canon Minions: Black Coeurl (ARR); Wind-up Moogle (Post-ARR); Road Sparrow (HW, Post-HW); Doman Magpie (STB).Character songs: Blindness by Metric; Hit Me Where it Hurts by Caroline Polachek; Black out Days by Phantogram (see extended playlist.)Voice claim: See video

Personality: As the warrior of light, Khed'a wants to do the best he can with Hydaelyn’s blessing. Though, he often wonders why she chose to grant it to him of all people. His body is physically weaker due to his uniquely intense aetheric profile and he often experiences fainting spells unless he puts in careful effort to maintain his health. They are also introverted and slow to open up to other people. This can read as aloof and standoffish to others at times. As the warrior of light, they struggle with the public-facing aspect of the role. They have developed a facade to appear more confident and personable to others. When hiding behind the facade, he easily endears himself to people, which often leads to people opening up to him emotionally and asking more of him. He has trouble opening up emotionally to others, and people rarely see him express his true feelings. Nevertheless, they are a kind, observant, resilient, and resourceful person. They also have a snarky side, especially when healing. Though, he usually only shows that side of his personality around people he's close with. He struggles with the pressures of being the warrior of light, as well as his aetheric management and the toll it takes on his body. Despite it all, he always keeps moving forward. His attitude towards life is to make it work and to continue along his path, come what may.

Backstory
An orphan raised by the Conjurer's Guild and padjal of Gridania, Khed'a was a quiet and unsure child. When Khed'a was found in the forest, barely eight summers old, he was initially mistaken for a child of the forest due to the high concentration of aether in his body. Due to actions of his birth family, his body had an alarmingly high concentration of aether. Even most mages do not have aether at such a high concentration. His aetheric profile most closely resembled that of a padjal child. It was also found that the aether in his body was slowly corrupting his flesh. The Conjurer's Guild deemed it dangerous to leave the child alone with no understanding of how to manage the unique situation of his body, so they opted to take him in as a ward of the guild. Conjurers of the guild aided him by limiting the spread of his aetheric corruption and teaching him how to manage his internal aether. He began his training as a conjurer following his tenth nameday.Soon after he was adopted, Khed’a indicated that he identified with masculine language. Those among the guild were accepting of his identity. He chose a masculine name within the Keeper of the Moon cultural tradition, though he derived his name from a historical figure he admired. He did not name himself after his birth mother for reasons related to their strained relationship. His adoptive mother insisted that he choose a name all his own as a way to encourage his autonomy and sense of identity. The name he chose holds a lot of personal meaning for him.He was raised by the padjal white mage, Ari-A-Yan, and her brother, E-Sumi-Yan. Khed'a considers Ari-A his true mother. He often felt like an imposition on those within the conjurer's guild, though much of that had to do with his young age and difficulties socializing. Ari-A helped him build confidence when he initially joined the guild by sending him on small fetch quests in Central and East Shroud to gather different plants and bugs. This helped him learn the lay of the land and gave him a fondness for wandering around natural areas. Ari-A took to calling him her "cicada" as he caught that kind of bug most easily and often on his errands.Khed'a eventually grew to be a trusted and reputed mage among those of the Conjurer's Guild. When war came to Eorzea, he joined the ranks of healers amid the Battle of Carteneau. During this battle, Khed'a had his first taste of war and nearly died at the calamitous summoning of Bahamut. Khed'a was among those transported to safety by Louisoix's magic after the primal broke through the sealing spell.In the aftermath of the battle, he learned that his adoptive mother, Ari-A, had died among the chaos. He also realized that he could no longer use his conjury magic. Louisoix’s spell had sealed away the aether in his body and interrupted his ability to conjure. Grieving and uncertain, Khed’a packed away what little he owned and took to the road. He traveled across Eorzea as a wanderer, drifting from place to place. He lived out of inn rooms and the spare beds of friendly people he met along the way, picking up odd jobs here and there to keep some coin in his pocket.He ultimately stayed in Central Thanalan for a while, working out of Black Brush Station. Khed’a was drawn to the Coliseum pits as a fighter. For a short time, he fought as a gladiator for extra coin. It was during this time that he first met Thancred and began to develop a bond with one of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. It was also during this time that Hydaelyn reached out to him, and granted him her blessing. The blessing of light restored his ability to use magic. Khed’a returned to the Conjurer’s Guild soon after to reconnect with his allies and family from Gridania. After spending time with the Conjurer’s Guild to relearn his magical skills, Khed’a set out to Ul’dah. At this point, Central Thanalan had become like a second home to him. Soon after he arrived in Ul’dah once more, Thancred introduced him to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.
Aether & the Blessing of Light
Khed'a has an unusually high concentration of aether in his body. He was exposed to excessive amounts of aether at a young age over a period of several years. This caused his body to change the way it manages aether. It now stores much more aether than is normal. It also changed the skin around his chest, stomach, and back to orange-tinted crystalline scar tissue due to earth-aspected aether corruption. His forearms have diffuse aetheric scarring as well. When he first came to live among the padjal, they found a way to seal the spread of the aetheric corruption in his body. However, the impact of his excess aether still affects his health and physical constitution. It makes him more physically frail and prone to fatigue. He is more susceptible to volatile aether in the environment. If he is in an area with highly volatile aether and it suddenly shifts in concentrations, his health may be impacted. Most often, unexpected shifts in aether can cause him to faint. He can concentrate on maintaining his internal aether to sometimes mitigate his fainting episodes. Additionally, he is susceptible to voidsent influence. Traveling through places with high concentrations of voidsent can be very taxing on his health. He feels fatigued just being near them.They are more sensitive to aether than the average person. They can sense the presence of a specific person based on their aether. They can also discern any changes in a person they are familiar with based on their aetheric profile.Their excess of aether is not wholly a drawback. It lends them incredible magical ability as a caster. They are especially skilled as a conjurer, as their primary internal aether is earth-aspected. Later on in their journey, they find they are suited to fire magic and become a formidable black mage as well. It’s this surfeit of power that drains their physical abilities and worsens their health. As the warrior of light, they are forced to draw on this power more than they care to for the good of others. However, each time they do so it taxes their health. After intense battles, he often passes out soon after the battle ends. They must spend days recovering energy and usually sleep for extended periods of time to rest.They have a morning routine which consists of stretches that help maintain their internal aether. They must do this each morning, otherwise they’re more susceptible to volatile aether and may encounter issues managing their aetheric profile.Khed'a has noticeable scarring on his chest, stomach, back, and forearms. He usually covers his scars because he prefers not having to explain the reason behind them.Heavensward spoilers: When he regained Hydaelyn's blessing, his hair and eye color changed. His hair went from a dark brown-black to a light, coppery brown, and his eye color went from a deep brown to a bright orange. This is due to Hydaelyn's blessing strengthening his own internal aether. The primary aether that his body contains is earth-aspected aether. His hair color and eye are influenced by the hue of that aether (thus they appear more orange). His eyes also begin to glow after this occurs in the story.Hydaelyn's blessing slowly changes his eyesight so that he no longer needs to use glasses. However he's worn glasses since he was a child. When he realizes this, Khed'a continues wearing glasses because the changes of the light’s blessing scare him. It's more comforting for him to continue wearing false lenses. Glasses become a physical element of the facade he presents as the warrior of light. Isolde and Y'shtola are the only two who know about this.

Relationships

art by @NyanyanDraws (twitter)