Sona Kobayashi

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lum
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Sona Kobayashi

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Sona Kobayashi, wanderer from the East


She hails from the archipelago nation Kozakura. Estimated age, judging by her appearance, Sona is somewhere between 35 and 40 years old, and there aren't any typical features that would tell people that she has Aasimar blood. Sona plays a stringed musical instrument typical for her country of origin, named a shamisen. Back in Kozakura she often used her instrument to perform at traditional puppet theatres where she made sure the scenes were accompanied with the appropriate stage music. At first glance she doesn't look particularly strong, agile or swift, but her true talent seems songcraft which she can use to channel magic from the Weave.

Currently Sona doesn't speak the local languages particularly well. She refuses to use her own native language though, as if in an attempt to boost her lingo skill. While she seems to miss out on that talent, she appears to be natural when it comes to communicating through music. Her compositions may strike as hair-raising, startlingly accurate, and the chords she creates are characterized by vibrations that can stir the very soul. As if one wouldn't pay attention anymore to the volume as the music becomes more like an auditory massage for the mind.

Some may stress the dangerous potential Sona seems to carry with her, while others may love to lose theirselves in her performances. And others may see no harm in the way how her music cheers up people. Sona doesn't seem to have a hidden agenda, or any agenda at all for that matter. Solitary but not lonely, and not always alone she just seems to roam the land.

Who ever stands before Sona may notice she is small and has the typical characteristics of a Kozakurian. She features straight jet black hair with twin platinum-silver streaks at the center of her forehead, all visible when she is not wearing her traditional helmet with a semi-transparent face mask. She is quite average when it comes to physical beauty, a face that could easily blend in,... if she would be among other Kozakurians that is...

:violin:

Last edited by lum on Sun Mar 08, 2020 3:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Moire Rouge : 'Coins are flat, and are meant to be piled up.'
Juniper : 'Your local tinkerer!'
Kitty -Less hell, more cat-
Athyna of Apecoe -Titan in progress-
Erickar Avery -More than meets the eye-
& Soraya, Jyn R., Bash B., Lux, Rift, Jezebeth, Isabel C., Depheant M., Sona K.
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lum
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Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:37 pm

Re: Sona Kobayashi

Unread post by lum »

(( An update
Moire Rouge : 'Coins are flat, and are meant to be piled up.'
Juniper : 'Your local tinkerer!'
Kitty -Less hell, more cat-
Athyna of Apecoe -Titan in progress-
Erickar Avery -More than meets the eye-
& Soraya, Jyn R., Bash B., Lux, Rift, Jezebeth, Isabel C., Depheant M., Sona K.
User avatar
lum
Posts: 926
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:37 pm

Re: Sona Kobayashi

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Twenty years ago...

In the fog the peninsula and bay was blurred, a bit like a worn painting. The rocks, the typical traditional minka* and the cherry trees were all silhouetted black and gray. A slender bekabune* left the misty veil which lightly and playfully entertained itself with a game of hide and seek on this very edge of the archipelago. The temple to Nagikami, Heavenly Brother, was the only part of the land untouched by the wispy act of dawn.

Hinomoto... one of the islands created by droplets which fell from the Heavenly Jeweled Spear held by Nagikami and his sister Namikami, was her home and the community she loved. She only didn’t like the shikken* very much. These days her daily life was fraught with tension, the reason a conflict between factions, locals and samurai which was shaping troubles bigger than they were before.

She waved at a single cart rolling over the paved road towards the village. The vehicle featured two large wheels and was pulled by a cow. The man on it waved back at her.

“Ohayou, Sona, ogenki desu ka*?”

“Oh, I’m good, arigatou gozaimasu*, mister Ching. More wool for the market?”

The older man smiled as he patted one of the packs. “Hai. So… any news from your father?”

Sona shook her head. “No, he left with the rest of the Shogun now almost month ago, and I still didn’t even receive a letter.”

Ching looked a moment thoughtful at the young woman, and then out over the foggy sea. “Well, I’m pretty sure he brings high honor to his family, which is also a decision and a way to show his love.” Ching smiled back at her and then clacked his tongue, motioning the cow to start walking again. “And in the meantime, don’t forget to shine like as if the whole universe is yours, Sona-chan.”

Sona blushed a little as she waved after Ching. Then, she turned back to look at the ocean, just like she was doing every morning on the same rock. But the blue surface she was looking at was as flat and undisturbed as the raised wooden floor in her house. Just like every morning...


*Minka (Japanese: 民家, lit. "house of the people") are vernacular houses constructed in any one of several traditional Japanese building styles.

*Bekabune ベカブネ or Beka ベカ- a one or two-person boat used in Tokyo Bay for shell fishing or gathering seaweed. The term might be used in other regions, as are the terms Beka, Kawabeka, and Noribeka. Bekabune are sometimes carried aboard larger Utasebune.

*Shikken, children too young to govern were given the title of shogun, resulting in the creation of shogunal regents.

*Ohayou or good morning

*Ogenki desu ka, or how are you

*Arigatou gozaimasu, or a very polite ‘thank you’.
Moire Rouge : 'Coins are flat, and are meant to be piled up.'
Juniper : 'Your local tinkerer!'
Kitty -Less hell, more cat-
Athyna of Apecoe -Titan in progress-
Erickar Avery -More than meets the eye-
& Soraya, Jyn R., Bash B., Lux, Rift, Jezebeth, Isabel C., Depheant M., Sona K.
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lum
Posts: 926
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:37 pm

Re: Sona Kobayashi

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Present day…

Multiple pairs of eyes turned toward the petite stranger entering the Broken Goblet. The woman wore very foreign clothes, and she seemed oriental by the looks of it. Her outfit was all greenish mixed with metal parts, and the scarf around her neck was a darker hue of scarlet. She carried a strange lute-like instrument slung over one shoulder, and a small traveling bag over the other. Her frame didn’t look particularly strong or impressive for that matter, and she likely would seem an easy prey in the eyes of several present. It was almost a very brave but also very foolish thing to walk in here.

The small woman briefly looked around after closing the door, before moving to the nearest table that seemed free. Leftovers from food half eaten, and a dirty empty ale glass standing upside-down decorated the table. She stared a little bit odd and turned her head as if looking for some waiter.

When she turned her head back, she noticed a man was standing at the other end of her table, his gross hand clasping the backrest of a chair.

“Could’ave picked a better accomodation, little missy. But since you be here now, let me and my mates welcome you properly. We’ve got an nice cozy room prepared upstairs where a chink chick like yourself would fit purfectly.” His beard split in a dirty grin at the level of his mouth.

The woman, much to his surprise perhaps, nodded while she took her instrument on her lap. “But I play song for you first, yes?”

“Oh, yes, sure lass, play your song if that helps to get in the mood, heh.”

She smiled. “You know Shamisen?” She motioned at her instrument.

The bearded man shrugged, not really interested. “Looks like a sort of lute to me.”

She nodded vigorously and smiled again. “Yes, is a little bit so. Here, one or two strings can carry a great melody. Listen.”

Her right hand started plucking the strings, her fingers following a rapid pattern that looked more like improvisation rather than epic melodic material. But it was not only the sound from the small soundbox that was a bit strange.

Sona made eye contact with the stranger and said,” You will mind your own business…”

The man blinked, stared back at her and then nodded affirmatively. “I will mind my own business…”

She kept playing the shamisen with gentle force, and there was an odd emotional depth to her tune. “You go back to table and sit with your friends…”

The man turned around and away from her. “I will go back to my table and sit with my friends…”

And as he started to walk away, Sona strummed the strings one last time and nearly whispered in his direction. “And you and your friends watch over me…


A few moments later Sona heard another man sitting at the bar, clapping behind her back. “Impressive lass, really impressive…” The man, clearly a pirate, lifted his stretched forefinger, downed his ale stein before slipping off his stool. Lazily he walked towards her. “There be only one problem…” He tapped at some amulet hanging from his neck as he put a fist on her table and leaned in towards her. “Your crap doesn’t work on me.”

His grin faded some as he sensed someone tapping on his shoulder, and to his surprise it was the first man who approached her, together with two of his buddies…

The leader grumbled at the pirate “You have a problem with the little missy here?”


Moire Rouge : 'Coins are flat, and are meant to be piled up.'
Juniper : 'Your local tinkerer!'
Kitty -Less hell, more cat-
Athyna of Apecoe -Titan in progress-
Erickar Avery -More than meets the eye-
& Soraya, Jyn R., Bash B., Lux, Rift, Jezebeth, Isabel C., Depheant M., Sona K.
User avatar
lum
Posts: 926
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:37 pm

Re: Sona Kobayashi

Unread post by lum »

The short foreign woman descended the narrow gangplank at Baldur Gate’s port. Her gaze was a little skeptical as she looked about her surroundings, but when she noticed this place was nowhere near her last port, she nodded to herself once and made her way to the seemingly center of the city.

All of a sudden a man jumped in front of her. He was tall, easily 7 feet, with a slim body and a fair portion of muscles for a man his size. His cloak was draped over his shoulders, making his chest stand out like a stage.
“Ahhh, forgive me, little lady, would you please like to buy some lottery tickets to support a good cause?”

She stopped. Actually was stopped or she would have run into him like on a wall. She craned her neck to look up at him.
“What is -good-?”

The guy blinked. “Eh… like helping orphans, feeding the poor, dress the homeless…?”

She motioned at the tickets in his hand. “Is for all that?”

He shook his head and offered her a warm smile. “No, these are just for one cause. We are supporting people who lost homes during an assault on this city some years ago. Most of them are farmers who already lived on an edge. By helping them we also help many others, since farmers are an important cornerstone to trade and society.”

“Hah, farmers. That be good cause indeed. I agree.” She slipped her hand in her pockets, and fished up coins, handing them to the man. “How many Sona buys with this?”

The man blinked when he noticed they were gold coins and scratched his ear. “Eh, all of the ones I am holding here? Are you sure you…?”

“Yes, yes, give them now. Is very good cause. What name is?”

“Eh, the name of the cause?” He answered a bit confused.

“No, silly man. You. What you name is?”

“Oh!” He laughed a bit. “Apologies, fair lady Sona. My name is Andy Anderson, paladin of Lathander. A pleasure to meet you.” He held his hand out to her.

She looked a little odd at his empty hand, since she already had offered him her money, her gaze shifting to his other hand holding the tickets.

“Oh.. oh right, here you go. These are all yours and I wish you the best with them.”

“Can ask where theatres are?”

“Sure! One of the greatest would be the White Mask, it’s up at the Palace district.” He offered her some instructions on how to get there.

The foreign woman lowered the upper part of her torso and her head a little, clearly a by her commonly used sign of salutation. “Sayounara, mata mite ne.”

“Eh, yes… may the light be with you…” He looked at her as she moved away with resolute, firm, and swift steps.
Moire Rouge : 'Coins are flat, and are meant to be piled up.'
Juniper : 'Your local tinkerer!'
Kitty -Less hell, more cat-
Athyna of Apecoe -Titan in progress-
Erickar Avery -More than meets the eye-
& Soraya, Jyn R., Bash B., Lux, Rift, Jezebeth, Isabel C., Depheant M., Sona K.
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