Sahay

By Stripes

• June 27, 2016




Age: 25

Gender: Male

Species: Non-Pony

Appearance: See reference.

Cutie Mark: A vague image of a leaf, representing his correlation with nature and the natural world.

Personality: Sahay is trusting to a fault to those he considers friends, and is more than willing to make some. He's almost dangerously curious, and always has an open ear for anyone willing to use it. He's not entirely a doormat, however, and will learn to be twice shy after getting taken advantage of.

Backstory: Sahay is a Grévy's Zebra.<br /><br />Born in the Zebra Territories, he embraced dozens of other species and peoples, from the lions that still hold their mighty prides throughout the continent, to the hardy Impalas. Raised by his single mother, Nuru, his childhood was often co-parented by his close-knit community, learning the many hardships and perceptions they all had. His mother stood close to his side yet never kept the youngling on a tight watch, instead letting him discover his own consequences and rewards. Even though she wasn’t too large a part in his life, she always made sure to support him just as much as his friends and mentors did. Sahay was taken in as an apprentice of the resident alchemist once he grew to an adolescent, taking the wild curiosity the young colt had and refining it into a worthy profession.<br /><br />His mentor trained him well after years of studies and research, granting Sahay the title of acolyte; the title then bestowing his runic mark as well. Sahay’s mother suddenly took a major step into her son’s life, providing him the option to continue his apprenticeship as an apothecarian in one one of the major cities; Maregadishu, the city of cauldron. Nuru had roots in the city, originally a merchant’s advisor and respected trader of reagents to noble families that owned the apothecaries, as well as the buildings themselves. As a parting gift, she was given a script that would admit her as an apprentice without an entrance cost (though this was later revealed to not include tuition), which she offered to Sahay. The recently made acolyte was hesitant, as he never knew a life outside of his small community in the settlement he was born in, but knew his future lay outside of his hometown. Just as Nuru did many years ago, Sahay set foot to Maregadishu at the age of eighteen, to a city larger than anything the zebra has ever known.<br /><br />The many miles between his hometown and the major city was filled with shifting terrains, unfamiliar surroundings, and many new faces. He was far from the only traveller on the hundreds of roads and routes that stretched across the Zebra Territories, meeting zebras and creatures of all stripes and personalities. The days were hot, the nights cold, and he may have tested the feat that zebras can last five days without water a few too many times, but he finally made it to the city he set out for a month later. The city’s great walls lay ahead of him, it’s many magic towers jutting into the sky as high as the houses lay outside the city stretched wide.<br /><br />Maregadishu proved itself to be more than just a culture shock for Sahay, introducing him to concepts like currency and needing a job. The script he used provided him a bunk amongst many other acolytes like him, but not much else past a bed and couple of roommates.Finding a job as a taxi cart-driver and balancing it with his studies, he suddenly found himself seeing a strange, new species he’s never encountered before. They bore strange colors, had a body much like his yet smaller than the average zebra, and a language that was alien to his ears; they had wings that somehow carried them despite their size; they had stubby horns unlike impalas or rhinoceri, yet never both on a single person. They were beyond friendly despite the differences, and loved to point out that they were called ponies. Sahay never held ill will to them, yet found them so strange that he couldn’t imagine an entire country full of such eager, clumsy things.<br /><br />Sahay spent the next five years under the eyes and training of many apothecary professors and alchemists, finding his main calling in natural alchemy. He could draw power from nature’s innate magic in his creations, and could feel the flow of magic and spellcasting around and within him. He honed his skill in creating classic spell forms, from potions to enchanted talismans. Formal laboratory experiments mixed with periods of wilderness alchemy, where Sahay and a select few practiced casting while in a natural, magically uncontrolled environment. Finally earning the title of an official Alchemist, Sahay finds himself a newer, prestigious job as a potion brewer beneath a Water Merchant house as a water purifier. Still living in his bunk with another roommate, the newly made alchemist slowly amassed funds other another two years, becoming close to the noble house and earning their favor, all while writing letters to his mother about his progress and plans. One day, he was approached by one of the newer heirs to the water merchant ownership, offering Sahay a gift in return for detailing his purification talismans. Seeing his recipes as already quite basic, he gladly gives shares it in return for this ‘gift’.<br /><br />Sahay, of course, wasn’t expecting an offer to smoothly immigrate to Equestria. Though he’s heard of the country in a vague sense, immigrating to such a new place was a great (and harrowing) opportunity. Alchemy was a respected, valuable profession in his homeland, but it’s almost seen as a mundane choice as well. Other countries may not take such a field for granted, and the chance of making newer recipes with ingredients he’s never encountered enticed him. The chance of discovery, perhaps even a breakthrough in alchemy stoked the curiosity that was tempered so many times over, and took the opportunity a month after.<br /><br />The boat trip across the ocean that separated the Zebra Territories and Equestria took two months, which was spent learning Equestrian tongue abroad. Speak-Easy potions, though very scarce to make while abroad, allowed him to speak fluently in such a short amount of time. Even with the language down, however, Sahay knew he’d be unprepared for the different culture. After making port in Equestria, the zebra found himself amongst a population full of ponies, and full of mystery.<br />