Fiachna ní Cionnaoith
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Fiachna ní Cionnaoith
24
24th Flowers, 8271
168 cm | 5’6”
Male
Half Elf (Dark)
Acolyte
Apprentice healer
The Birch Nest
Likes
Pancakes | Writing | Embroidery and small needlework | Sunny weather | Tulips | Good manners | Being treated gently | Fantasy novels | Compliments | Tedious tasks | Feeling useful
Dislikes
Red meat | Fighting | Mockery | Being put on the spot | Slugs | Abrasive language | Pushy or overbearing people | Competing | Dancing | Nihilistic attitudes | Leaving a task half-finished
Personality
Diligent | Polite | Earnest | Painstaking | Fretful | Empathetic | Accommodating | Self-effacing | Gullible | Sensitive
Fiachna is a hardworking and sincere sort, to the point of extremity as well as virtue. All of his actions are conducted with great care and a lot of heart, and he often aims to do a better job at everything than he frankly needs to. As a result, he is very considerate and comprehensive, but inefficient. His fixation on every little aspect of something makes him prone to overcomplicating problems, misdirecting his efforts and generally missing the bigger picture. He doesn't do well in situations that require a swift response – whether it is a crisis or a simple comeback to a quip – because he is often still mired in minor details when action is needed.
If kept within his comfort zone though, his serious and painstaking attitude is helpful in many ways. He can be counted on to finish things no matter what, with consistent quality. He is easy to approach with problems or requests, since he is so credulous and attentive to the needs of others. His general demeanour is well-mannered, modest and pleasant, with an aura that just about radiates good intentions. Overall, he makes for kindly and supportive, if somewhat high-strung, company. While this does well as a bedside manner, in more casual social settings he tends to come across as bland and tense. Humour and sarcasm regularly fly over his head since he takes them at face value and he is appallingly easy to trick. Always ready to relent in a battle of wills yet too conscientious to compromise on his commitments, he is quick to get overwhelmed in confrontations as well.
In truth, much of Fiachna's behaviour stems from a crippling inferiority complex that was ingrained in him from childhood. He works overly hard in order to make up for a perceived lack in himself and is so meticulous because he doesn’t feel like he can afford to make any mistakes. The opinions of others are held far above his own, which lends to his gullibility and general eagerness to please. Harsh words and disappointment can swiftly tear him down, while genuine praise can mean the world. In recent years, he has been trying very hard to gain a sense of self-worth that isn't dependent on others, and is making slow progress.
History
Fiachna's father was a human who married into a well-established dark elf family, as the second husband of the matriarch's sister. Fiachna was therefore born with many cousins and three much older elvish half-siblings, in addition to his own elder sister. From the start, it was clear that he was a step behind all of them - in appearance, charisma and potential - and thus began a life shaped heavily by this.
His family, the Arlandair clan, was an old line in Iadlain capital known for producing several important historians. They continued to be reputed for their exemplary minstrels and Troubadours, who would pass down their tales as songs, and this tradition was proudly maintained. Like his siblings, Fiachna displayed healing ability at a young age and was set on the path to becoming a Bard. Unlike his siblings, he didn't excel. He learned slowly and even with extra tutoring, his work was average at best. While this wasn't unusual in the grand scheme of things, for his parents it was a grave disappointment. Still, they endeavoured to raise Fiachna into a worthy healer and historykeeper, and so did he.
Fiachna himself was, by nature, a sentimental and open-hearted child. He struggled to get into the competitiveness that the rest of his peers seemed to thrive in, often ending up stung by the friendly teasing or daunted by the challenges. Since no one really meant harm though, he concluded that it was just him who lacked humour and fortitude. To toughen up, he learned to laugh off his feelings and adopt opinions that seemed right rather than what he truly thought. This worked in helping him get along with the others, but also kept him from forming any genuine bonds. Not that this bothered him - more importantly than gaining friends, he had to gain achievements. As his peers drew further and further ahead in their studies, he devoted more and more of his life to keeping pace with them. Despite his efforts though, he fell steadily behind. Desperate not to look like a complete failure, he finally turned to feigning his progress. He jumped through his lessons without fully understanding them and acted competent in things he was not. Although he knew that this was a dangerous and fragile lie, he didn't - didn't think he could afford to - stop.
His health ran down under the accumulating stress, which he hid behind instead of trying to fix. Poor health was a good excuse for his lagging training, after all. At 17 though, patience for his sickliness grew thin within the family and a test of his skills was organised so he could advance properly to being a Bard. Fiachna, all too aware that he didn't measure up, feared it greatly. He seriously considered getting himself into an accident to avoid it but ultimately decided to just give it his best. Maybe he wasn't as bad as he thought.
The test went disastrously, to the point that it was terminated partway. Incredulous at just how incompetent he was, the head of the family severely lambasted Fiachna and his parents, who in turn were humiliated and furious. In a fit of anger, his mother threw him out of the house and told him she regretted having him, and his father was too upset to even look at him. Unable to see any way he could possibly come back from this, Fiachna ran straight to the highest bridge in town and jumped off.
He was seen by a passerby and narrowly rescued from death. The next thing he knew, he was awake in a healing clinic. His parents, having been notified of what happened, visited him but it was a brief, icy encounter and he was too ashamed to speak. On the third day of his recovery, Fiachna was informed by the clinic's healer - Rowan, the same person who had rescued him - that his family had disowned him.
To Fiachna, it felt like his world had ended. There was nothing he could do in this situation though except come to terms with it. He was kept at the clinic until his health returned and then, without a place to go, he was permitted to stay in exchange for running errands. It was truthfully a nominal deal, as his stay at the clinic essentially became a months-long recovery period while he figured out how to exist separately from his family. He eventually managed to start thinking about work, or what work he could do, and found himself a little drawn towards what the other healers at the clinic were doing - it was just different and just familiar enough to his existing training. After observing him, Rowan remarked that Fiachna was probably a classical healer rather than a harmonic one, and offered him an apprenticeship.
Fiachna accepted it and thus settled properly into the Birchbird clinic, where he has finally been learning at his own pace over the past few years. Recent world turmoil has tested his abilities but not in an entirely bad way - he successfully became an Acolyte in the aftermath of the Harvest Eve rampage and has been learning to operate independently while his seniors are called away to crises. With every passing day and challenge, he grows into someone that he may some day see as equal to everyone else.
Current Story
The influx of refugees from Reluir saw Fiachna meet unexpected new people, expand his horizons, and experience a different kind of heartbreak. While he doesn't think he has made much progress overall, and certainly doesn't feel so, all these things are slowly growing him into a more resilient person who can tackle the increasing crises - imperfectly, but sufficiently.
Additional Info
Ní Cionnaoith is a fabricated surname. Since Fiachna lost his surname after being disowned, Rowan got him to make up a new one and then legalised it.
Fiachna uses needles and string arranged in patterns to facilitate his casting. He is shaping up to be particularly good at suturing and dermal healing, so he can leave very little scarring for wounds within his ability.
He keeps a diary and secretly writes fic as a pastime. His handwriting is very neat.
He's not a fan of eating meat in general, with the exception of some types of fish - he just doesn't like the texture and smell. He will, however, eat it if it's put in front of him, in order to not cause a fuss.
Though he tries not to voice this, he really wishes his colouring was more dark elvish or human, not some muddy in-between. The reasonable part of him knows it's perfectly fine for a half-elf, but after years of 'friendly jokes' about how he clashes with every colour and could pass for a corpse if he wanted to, he can't shake the feeling that it is ugly.