Nariaken (Nari), 25 yrs old
   Phys: 6'7", athletic build, pale gold mane and eyes, pale tan skin w/
dark markings, tail 3 1/4 feet or so.
   Pers: Nari is a typical young adult in the tribe in her strong tendency
to do her part and her effortless faith in the will of the wind.  She is
known for her kindness and patience, but also her bravery in defending the
things she loves.  Her spirituality is, to her, a simple, day-to-day
thing, and not something she devotes excessive time or ritual to.  She
seeks the beauty and reverence that comes in daily tasks and simple
pleasures.  She has a particular affinity for water and the river.  Her
skills are standard for her people, but she specializes in finding unique
ways to dye weavings and textiles to dark colors, a unique art amidst her
village.
   Relationship to Shen: Nari had just been weened when Shen's mother
left, and it was her mother (Kalia, see below) who nursed Shen and cared
much for him from there.  During childhood, Nari, even though only
slightly older than Shen, often took a motherlike responsibility for him.  
Even today, she looks out for him out of sheer nature, and Shen often
simply lets her.  Although Nari has been something of a sister to Shen,
they share no blood, and there has been an unspoken attraction between
them for some time.  Shen, though caring for her deeply, is shy about
this, and Nari has also withheld from such pursuits thus far, giving Shen
the space he's always seemed to need for some distant reason.


Erisrakari (Shen's father), 59 yrs old
   Phys: 6'11" stocky build, sandy blonde mane w/ silver streaks, grey
eyes, pale tan skin with olive green markings, 4-foot tail
   Pers: Eris is on the border of being a village elder.  His strong
people tend to live a bit longer, having children somewhat later and more
rarely, relative to humans.  Like many of the larger males in the village,
he is a "strong weaver", specializing in harvesting large crops of grasses
and bamboo and crafting them into larger items, like hut rooves and water
troughs.  He is a quiet man who focusses on his work intensely.  He takes
parhen now and again, often by travelling alone for several days, but
considers his work the best form of focus.
   Relationship: Eris cares greatly for Shen, and expressed it mostly
during Shen's childhood by keeping the boy close to him while he worked.  
He was not overprotective, however, especially when it became apparent
that Shen's size and strength were more than adequate for Shen to survive
on his own.  He loved Shen's mother deeply, but rarely speaks of her, and
explains her absense to Shen only by "her need to follow her own way".  
He has not taken another lifemate.


Kaliakeri (Nari's mother), 48 yrs old
   Phys: 5'10", light athletic build, gold mane with light brown stripes,
pale gold-green eyes, pale green skin with dark markings, tail about 3
feet long
   Pers: Kalia was a relatively young mother in her tribe, and amidst the
smallist/slenderist of her folk.  She takes great interest in caring for
children and animals as best she can, often with the knowledge of herbs
and treatments passed down to her from her mother.  Kalia's spiritual
devotion shows most with her love of the beasts of the plains, especially
the bears deep in the bamboo forests, and she often spends time on her
long herb-gathering treks from home carefully stalking and studying them.  
She loves her village, but finds her deepest peace far from it, and often
likes to awaken the dreams of the children she teaches and cares for with
her wild tales of the wonders of the deep forest and open plains.
   Relationship: Kalia's caring for Shen was certainly rooted in her
caring for all the children of the village, but was deeper with him, as it
was of course with her own daughers, Nari and Rhea (see below).  Kalia was
careful not to overstep her bounds and replace Shen's missing mother,
mostly out of respect to Eris and her own lifemate, Kren (see below).  
Nonetheless, she holds great motherly feelings for him, and took what
opportunities she could to enrich his life with tales of her scoutings,
and teachings of her ways and philosophies.  Shen sees her as more of an
aunt than a mother, but holds her in great regard for her devotion to him.


Krenraken (Nari's father), 56 yrs old
   Phys: 6'3", lean bulky build, silver mane with brown stripes, gold
eyes, tan skin with greenish-tan markings, 4-foot tail
   Pers: Kren spends most of his time away from the village.  For most of
his life he has devoted himself to the study and preservation of what
remains of the old tales of the ancient warriors and hunters that were his
people's ancestry.  He is one of the few living members of the village who
has travelled over and beyond the mountains more than once.  He finds his
deepest connection with his blood by seeking its roots, and though not
unnecessarily violent, he holds a deep respect for the fighting and
hunting that is sometimes necessary while on his journeys far from home.
Kren recognizes that this sets him somewhat apart from his people, and so
he is generally reclusive.  While he believes the roots of his people must
be preserved, he has no wishes to force his ways on those in peace.  He
sees his seperation as necessary and considers himself something of a
martyr to the ancient ways, with his reclusion as its cost.  He returns
home now and again, often gone for several seasons at a time, to see his
family, pass on what he has learned to his village, and prepare to leave
again.
   Relationship: Kren's relationship to just about anyone is minimal.  He
holds no hatred for anyone, but has always been a little wary of Shen, as
he holds some distrust for foreigners (like Shen's mother).


Rhealiaki (Nari's sister), 17 yrs old
   Phys: 6'2", athletic build, silver mane w/ light brown stripes, pale
green skin w/ greenish-tan markings, pale gold-green eyes, tail about 3
3/4 feet long
   Pers: Although still young, Rhea is now beginning to follow in her
mother's footsteps of learning the ways of herbalism and scouting.  She
was given the mix of her father's wanderlust and her mother's love of the
secrets of wild places, but her inclination to care for the sick and keep
watch over children has kept her close to home.  Nevertheless,
unsupervised misadventures and wanderings were commonplace in her youth,
as were the wild tales spun to her peers upon her "return" (read
"recovery").  She is fiesty, and always prepared to lead and defend those
smaller than she, but she is mellowing a bit as she matures, finding more
and more peace in the deeper learning she's taking in her mother's ways.
   Relationship: To Shen, Rhea is a little sister, but Rhea, in her
younger days of looking up to and mimicking Nari, has often acted as if it
were the other way around.  Nevertheless, Shen has been known to fish her
out of trouble on more than one occasion when her unstoppable wanderings
and youthful bravery has gotten her in over her head (perhaps even
literally).  Shen, ever-passive, is not the type to gloat about this, and
he all but ascribed to Rhea's kiddish tendency to lead and lecture him in
her youth, despite fate's occasional lesson to her.  As she's gotten
older, Rhea's begun to realize this, and come to love Shen much for it.