Riune Aventi

"You can't pray a lie - I found that out." - Huckleberry Finn

the basics
Name || Riune Aventi
Nicknames || Rivi
Age || Twenty-two
Species || North American River Otter
Gender || Female
Sexuality || Heterosexual
God || Nehrune, Goddess of Mercy
Birth God || Sharysaan, Goddess of the Sea
Gifts || Weak empath, can sense the emotions of those she touches
Occupation || Pearl diver/fisher

the appearance
Voice Claim || Ali Hillis (Scout Harding, Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Identifying Features || Like most otters, Rivi is sleek and small, with dark brown fur and a swath of cream color down her mouth and throat. A scattering of old scars run down the left side of her jaw and neck and across her left shoulder, more prominent than the many cuts, bruises, scrapes, and faint scars covering the rest of her solid frame. Rivi has a lot of tattoos along her arms, mostly bands of black in swirling runes and patterns. She also has the faded Mark of Sharysaan, a water droplet, between her shoulder blades. The Mark of her chosen goddess, Nehrune, a golden and purple eye, rests in the center of her chest.

Clothing || Rivi tends to dress light, preferring loose-fitting shirts or simple vests over any more elaborate setup. In the warmer summer months, she often goes without much clothing at all. Even in the cool weather, she keeps warm without much clothing, and prefers not to overburden herself with too much outerwear. The otter is more fond of earrings, and likes to wear copper or brass loops in her ears when she's not out fishing or diving. She also likes to wear a crimson bandanna when she's ashore that serves as a means of drying off after a refreshing dip.

Weapons || While her profession is not always dangerous, Rivi likes to be prepared. She tends to keep a couple daggers sheathed at her side, usually used for prying open oysters or river clams, depending on where she's diving. She's not a bad knife-thrower, when it comes down to it, and she can whittle just about anything given a few hours' respite and a decent sampling of wood.


the personality
Overall || Riune, Rivi for short, is a very warm-hearted otter, charitable and interested in others. That being said, she can be a hard creature to get to know. She's a bit evasive, using humor and a seemingly carefree demeanor to stem off questions or conversations about her past or her current circumstances. On the surface, she's all smiles and calm confidence, but take a closer look and you might catch her off guard, when the smile fades and her eyes become sad and distant. Her job can be physically demanding, and she's had her fair share of scrapes, but Rivi enjoys the hard work and she's never been known to shirk a good day's labor. The otter certainly handles herself well in any market situation, and she knows how to get a good price for her wares and when to call it a day. That being said, Rivi's not the most astute creature when it comes to business. She tends to be generous with her money, and she likes to care for those less fortunate whenever she gets the opportunity to do so. Still, she's not materialistic or obsessed with comfort. A rough night in the woods is no skin off her nose, and she's able to handle herself well given her low economic status. 


the history
Family || Saali Aventi, mother, missing, presumed dead. Alsuru Aventi, father, missing, presumed dead. Kiviki Aventi, sister, missing, presumed dead. Rani Aventi, brother, missing, presumed dead. 

Important People || Rivi gets along with people in general, but she doesn't have any close friends. She is no longer in contact with her old holt in Shen Cove.

Hometown || Shen Cove, Atheraan.

History || Riune grew up in Shen Cove with her entire holt, which included her parents and two siblings. They all lived as fishers, every otter in the group, and it was both a simple and pleasant life. Alsuru and Saali taught their children to swim from a young age, and Riune took to it quickly, which pleased her parents, who said Sharysaan, their patron deity, had gifted her with great grace and skill when it came to navigating the cove's sometimes-rough waters. By the time the kits were teenagers, they'd already begun to help their parents earn a living by fishing in the cove or rooting out clams and oysters for food or, occasionally, to harvest pearls to sell to jewelry-makers. One day, the family, along with other members of the holt, were out fishing when a mild rainfall turned into a violent storm. The sea became deadly, its currents too strong, and only a handful of the otters, including Riune, managed to catch passing driftwood to cling onto while the waves tossed them about. Some of the hardier sea otters were able to swim, but many of the river otters were swept away and drowned in the sea, including all of Riune's immediate family. 

The loss devastated the young otter. For a time, she remained with her holt, bitter and sad and angry at her goddess and the God of Storms for taking her family from her. She revoked her loyalty to Sharysaan, and for a time followed no gods, instead letting her anger and frustration take over. Eventually, the members of her holt turned her away, telling her that remaining in the cove where her family had been happy together was not good for her, and it would be better for her to travel and see more of the world. 

Riune did travel. She left Shen Cove and traveled east, first to Bauri Cove, where she spent some time as a fisher, and then on to Chendri Cove. She settled in the city of Chendri, finding rooms with cheap board and plenty of work diving in the cove for fish and pearls and clams. She spent many years devoted to her work, angry still but desperate to hide it, not wanting anyone to know about what she'd lost, not wanting their pity or their empty words of comfort. It wasn't until she met a young priestess of Nehrune, Goddess of Mercy, that her life began to change. The teachings of Nehrune, of mercy and of forgiveness, began to reach Riune's heart, and she began to see that she'd felt guilty for so long over surviving when her family died. Thanks to Nehrune's comfort, Riune was finally able to let go of that guilt and move on. She accepted the Goddess' Blessing, and the cold chill in her heart began to thaw.

With Nehrune's Blessing came a strange gift Riune did not expect. Touching other creatures gave her vague impressions, bursts of joy or sadness or unexpected pain sometimes, and she realized that the empathic abilities that Nehrune sometimes passed on to her followers had been given to her. She began to use them to help those around her, letting their emotions guide her and help her know what to do to comfort them. In a way, this work also became a distraction from what she'd lost, and while Riune has never quite found her happiness without her family, she's at least found a purpose that helps her get through each day. 

the roleplayer
Alias || Lion
Pronouns || She/her
Age || 24
Other Characters || Khazaan Dryden, Sehryn Raincatcher
Anything Else || Riune will likely not be my only otter. I love otters. Otters are adorable. When they're not being violent lol.

made by remi of rilla go!