High Chieftain of Makkah - Hiamovi
Hiamovi is the High Chieftain, leader of the
Makkah spirit binders. Only a barely passable warrior, his true strength lies in spiritual connection to the world around and beyond him. He's respected as a leader of both humans and spirits. It's possible that he's the only reason all the tribes in the Makkah Nation are still united and that the mountain tribe stay put and that the spirit binders function as efficiently as they do.
Physical Description
He's of average height, thickset and heavy. He's not a great athlete but is pretty active, making him pretty fit.
His ears are pierced; he wears porcupine quills as earrings.
He tries to move slow and calm but often ends up walking fast in long strides because he gets excited.
He knows how to spirit bind but is much better at shaman work, the calling and speaking to spirits and recognizing symbols, warnings, signs.
His clothes are very traditional and heavily decorated with bead and quillwork.
Mental characteristics
As a little boy, it was his dream to meet a High Spirit in person. He grew up in an eastern farming settlement, the youngest of three sisters and one brother. The shaman of his band took interest in him and taught him all she knew before encouraging him to join the spirit binders to learn more. He had a hard time earning his place there, due to his shoddy skills as a warrior and poor athleticism in general. But his ability to call incredibly powerful spirits and speak near-fluent spirit chant enabled him to carry out entire conversations with the spirits he called, and that turned out to be a very valuable asset. Though his prowess as a warrior never improved, he climbed the tiers of the Makkah spirit binders, earning the respect of his peers, superiors, and the entire Makkah Nation as he resolved conflicts not with a fiery fist but through calm words, kind smiles, reasonable compromises, and much, much patience.
He says he's not sure how he became High Chieftain, but he is grateful for being entrusted with the title. All the honor given to him keeps him humble. He has only ever wanted to help his Nation draw closer to peace.
He was trained by a shaman before joining the Makkah spirit binders. His extensive travels across the land has taught him a lot as well.
His job is to lead the spirit binders in the defense of the Makkah Nation. He thinks he can do that best by encouraging spiritual connection in everyone. As High Chieftain, he is also a prominent member--some would say leader--of the National Council, helping make decisions that affect the whole of the Makkah Nation.
Despite the spirit binders being a primarily military organization, Hiamovi became its leader without being an incredible warrior.
He's met several High Spirits and their High Servants. He's a friend of the Storm Spirit themself and has close relations with the Dreams Spirit.
He really is a poor warrior.
He tried to make a peace treaty with the mountain tribe, which failed miserably and worsened the two nations' relations further.
He has an excellent mind for military tactics and politics.
The people of the Makkah Nation come first, before any other god or nation or singular person. Hiamovi is willing to do anything to keep his Nation at peace. He believes the best way to do that is to become close to the spirit land and the High Spirits.
He could never harm anyone of the Makkah Nation, perhaps not even in self-defense.
Personality Characteristics
He wants peace and stability for his people.
Hiamovi is incredibly skilled at shaman work, the calling and speaking with spirits. He's an excellent leader, politician, public speaker. He has some learning in healing and medicines.
Hiamovi is, frankly, a horrible warrior. He was trained the same as every other spirit binder, so he can hold a spear and shoot a bow, but he doesn't possess the innate ability that makes battle prowess click. He never figured out how to move with a bonded spirit, and that's the number one skill needed for a good spirit binder warrior. So he sticks with speaking with spirits.
He's also bad at family relations. He tends to forget a little bit about the people closest to him because he's so concerned with everyone, especially those far away from his help.
He loves his Nation, the grasslands, the spirit land. He's constantly amazed at spirits and High Spirits and their power. He likes sweet things and crops from the east, corn most of all.
He does not like the no-heartbeat creatures, the mountain tribe, or the tribe in the Badlands region. To him, full-binding is a most despicable act, an insult to the High Spirits and terrible bondage to the individual spirit and a corruption to the human's heart, mind, and body. He's not fond of the practice of gathering and training wild horses, because of how the Star Spirit hates it.
He's patient, compassionate, organized, selfless.
He gets caught up in the grand scheme of things, always looking and worrying about the future, rarely ever right here and now in the present. He worries a lot about other people's opinions. He's a tad prideful and often convinced that he is right and everyone else is wrong and if only they would listen to him they'd find that out too and then they could work together to fix their problem.
He makes sure he's clean and orderly, but he's not afraid to get dirty.
Social
He has connections with practically everyone. He has personal friendships and deals with a handful of High Spirits, he's a prominent member of the National Council, he's met with chiefs and leaders of peoples and tribes outside the Makkah Nation, even met with the chief of the mountain tribe.
He was born into a large family, with four older siblings, most of them grown up by the time he came around. He was closest to his brother, the second youngest, and would follow him around constantly as a kid. He wanted to be exactly like him, except he sucked at most everything his brother was good at. The older his brother got, the more often he was gone on hunting trips or wild horse gathers or anything that would get him out of the settlement, and Hiamovi was left behind each time. With no other friends, he spent a lot of time alone, until the band's shaman took an interest in this quiet, unskilled little boy and took him under her wing. She became like a mother to him, because Hiamovi's birth mother was a river trader when she wasn't working the fields and spent moons traveling. Hiamovi's father had always been much more interested in his older siblings than him. Hiamovi didn't leave much behind when he joined the spirit binders, but now he wishes he had closer relationships with his parents and siblings, especially his brother.
Because of that regret, his niece
Washta is somewhat his chance for redemption in a way. Hiamovi had met her before, but visits were rare and far between until Washta showed up out of nowhere and asked to join the spirit binders. When he learned of her situation, what happened to her parents and what she'd gone through, he oathed he would protect and support her from then on. She's proven to be very hardworking and trustworthy, and he sees a lot of himself in her. He cares for her very much, but he fears she doesn't know of his love. He wishes they were closer, but doesn't want to push her either, so he's hoping she'll open up more to him over the cycles.
With all of his experiences calling spirits, speaking with them, meeting High Spirits in person, Hiamovi's faith and trust in the High Spirit Council is strong. Officially the Makkah spirit binders protect the Makkah Nation, but Hiamovi knows they only came to be because of the Sun Spirit and owe everything to him, so he does his best to lead the spirit binders in following the Sun Spirit.
Most of Hiamovi's free time is spent praying to the High Spirits. He constantly strives to strengthen and deepen his connection to the spirit land. He spends a lot of time in trances in attempts to perhaps enter the spirit land someday.
He's introverted but very sociable and outgoing, so that people mistake him as an extrovert. As a kid he had low self esteem and poor social skills, but his shaman mentor and time training as a spirit binder helped him grow into the person he is today--confident in himself and in social situations, charismatic and respectful/polite, someone people turn and listen to.
His primary mount is a handsome buckskin mare who was a gift horse from the Storm Spirit. She acts a little funny during rainstorms, but otherwise is a fine and dependable horse.
Hiamovi has two dogs, littermates, who are supposed to be hunting dogs but spend most of their time either sleeping, making a mess of his tipi during important meetings, and stealing his moccasins and hiding/burying them somewhere in camp. He talks about trading them away at each summer gathering but never does (because otherwise he wouldn't have any reason to end long meetings early).
History
Washta knew she had an Uncle Hiamovi from his occasional visits in her childhood, and she knew he was High Chieftain, but she never understood how important that position was until she joined the spirit binders. She was surprised to discover how happy he seemed to see her, and how kindly he treated her, and wasn't entirely sure how to respond to his affection. But she decided he was the only person she had left to trust, so she told him most of everything, and was relieved to discover she'd made a good choice.
Hiamovi visited his brother's family a handful of times since becoming a spirit binder and High Chieftain, and has always liked his niece. He and his brother weren't close, almost unfriendly, and Hiamovi never knew how bad life had gotten for his family before it was too late and Washta showed up at his camp, half-starved and in pain and asking only to be taught the skills necessary to serve her Nation.
Relationship Reasoning
Washta sees Hiamovi as her only remaining family member, really, because her parents joined the mountain tribe and she never met any of her aunts or grandparents. She figures he's the only one she can really trust now, so she did, and the moons she's spent training as a spirit binder in his camp has only improved her opinion in him.
Hiamovi feels partly responsible for what happened to Washta and her parents. He wonders if he could have prevented what happened had he bothered to be closer to his brother. He hopes that by caring for Washta now he can redeem himself a little, and help Washta become the strong person he knows she has the potential to become. He seems a lot of himself in her.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
They're both spirit binders, and both failures in some way in that aspect. Hiamovi can call spirits of every type and strength, but he can't actually half-bind them and fight with that bond. Washta can bind and move and fight, but only with a single type of spirit, it seems. They both had/are having a rough time of it training.
They're also both introverted, rather quiet and solemn, and kinda lonely/friendless--at least, Hiamovi was as an adolescent and young adult.
Shared Secrets
Washta told him most everything about her parents, and he hasn't told anyone else. They share the burden together.
History
The Storm Spirit has always liked making friends. So when they learned of a passionate young human who earnestly wished to meet a High Spirit in person, they were very excited to fulfill his dreams. Hiamovi was shocked to be praying one rainy day and have the Storm Spirit themself appear in a crack of thunder. After getting over his initial shock and awe--which took a long time, moons in fact--the two became friends, though Hiamovi has always treated the High Spirit with great respect and deference no matter how many times the Storm Spirit says he can relax.
When Hiamovi was younger and not yet High Chieftain, just a young man struggling to earn his place as a spirit binder, they slept together a few times. It took a lot of time for the Storm Spirit to seduce Hiamovi into doing so. They don't often do so any more, because Hiamovi doesn't feel comfortable making love with a High Spirit, but their friendship remains strong without sexual relations.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
They both care a lot about the people of the Makkah Nation, though the Storm Spirit is more concerned about the fun aspect of life and Hiamovi worries about their peace and stability.
They're both fond of wild celebrations. The Storm Spirit has caused many a bedlam in the spirit binders' camp because they were invited to a celebration and decided to make it better.
Legal Status
Hiamovi keeps their past sexual relationship private, while the Storm Spirit likes to hint at a lot of things. But the Storm Spirit says a lot of things, so no one thinks too hard when they profess their undying love for their "unmarried husband".
As High Chieftain, he has access to a lot of resources. He uses it to serve his image and role as the High Chieftain, in things such as heavily decorated clothing and a tipi large enough to host council meetings with his fellow spirit binders or tribe chiefs. He's also not afraid to hold a celebration to honor a won battle or a certain High Spirit or just to boost morale. But, as leader of the spirit binders, he also has to pay attention to the running of such a large organization, so he makes sure not to use more than they have, to never take more for himself than what his warriors has, and to encourage the self-sufficiency of the Makkah spirit binders.
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