Natani

Natani is an assassin and one of the main characters of Twokinds. Initially appearing alongside his brother Zen with the purpose of attacking Trace, Flora, and Keith, but ended up joining the group. In the aftermath of a soul-fracturing curse from a botched mission, Natani's soul was merged with his brother's in order to revive him. The result of this merge left Natani with a male gender identity as well as a mental link with his brother.

Personality
"Brash, abrasive, and secretly lonely. Natani pushes all but a few away emotionally."

Biography
"The younger of the Assassin Brothers. Natani was forced to live homeless with his brother, Zen, after their parents and tribe were destroyed by human Templars. Through desperation, he and Zen joined an assassins guild to make ends meet. Due to an accident during an assassination mission, Natani became magically and permanently linked to his brother's mind. They can now actively read each other's thoughts and emotions through their link, which allows them to communicate over long distances. This link, while a huge advantage in the field, is not without its disadvantages. They can never be separated, and it is unknown what will happen if one should die.

''Natani has never had a formal education and is thus illiterate. He cannot write in any language, and can only speak Keidran, though he can understand a handful of human words. Nevertheless, Natani will often find himself left in the dark during conversations between species."''

Origins and Backstory
While Natani was very young and mentally intact, her village was destroyed by unknown forces (most likely a group of Templar), leaving her and her brother homeless. Zen initially planned to join an assassins guild to support his sibling, but Natani insisted he join as well-going so far as to cut her hair and disguise herself as male. Zen reluctantly agreed, and Natani thus began a life as a male assassin, with only a select few (accidentally) discovering her biological sex.

There was one particular mission in which they were instructed to eliminate an old white wolf named Issac. During the assassination attempt, they discovered that Issac was a mage who knew forbidden magic. When Natani jumped head first into combat, the wolf prompty used a curse which ripped apart Natani's soul.

Zen, desperate to save his sibling, found a medic and pleaded for help. The only solution, offered by Clovis, was to bind their souls, which Zen gladly agreed to do. Any gaps in Natani's soul were filled in by Zen's, and it so happened that one such gap was his gender. Consequently, Natani associated as being male in mind and female in body. Another consequence was the formation of a mental link between the siblings, allowing them to share any and all thoughts with one another (as well as sensations, at least in the beginning).

Ironically, using the curse killed Issac, making the duo's mission a sucess. The story evolved from a simple kill to an awe-inspiring display where the siblings' mere presence prompted Issac to kill himself. They soon became known as"The Magi Brothers" as a result.

How Natani met the group
Due to Flora's refusal to marry Sythe, and a decision on the Wolf Tribe's (possibly corrupted) leaders to break alliances with the Tiger Tribe, Natani and Zen were sent out to assassinate the trio. After tricking Keith away from the group with an illusion spell of Laura, Natani shot him with a poison arrow. However, Trace and Flora heard the illusion's cries, leading to a fight between Trace and the assassins. The two managed to wound Trace, but Keith recovered and wounded Zen, forcing Natani to teleport him away. A wounded Trace attempted to draw out more mana from the earth, but ended up tapping into Dark Mana, which briefly turned him into "Dark" Trace and resulted in the summoning of the "Dark Mana Dragon". Natani ended up using his last mana crystal to bring Trace out of his stupor, and Trace recalled part of the mana dragon before it was finished off by Lady Nora. Then, along with everyone else, he was put into a sleep and transported to a close human town by the dragon.

When Natani awoke, he told the group he would be banished from his tribe for his failure to eliminate the trio, but a mental conversation between him and his brother revealed that his King actually wished for Natani to follow the group. While he initially refused to go on "some crazy adventure", his run-in with a group of human farmers, believing Natani to be the source of the havoc wrought by the mana dragon, convinced him to join the group anyway.

Gender Reveal
After having met Eric and being invited into his home, Keith slipped into a private bath. Natani, thinking the bath to be empty, also slipped in, and was initially unnoticed by Keith. However, after taking off all his clothes, Keith opened his eyes to find himself staring at a naked Natani, thus revealing his secret. Luckily, he managed to convince Keith to keep his secret, which he has done ever since. Since then, the two have bonded, and formed a friendship. Keith has helped Natani keep his secret on multiple occasions, such as claiming to use "Dark Basitin Magic" after his bandages ripped in front of Mike and Evals during a sparring match, washing clothes for him, and standing guard during his heat while the group traveled to the Basidian Islands on Eric's boat. Then, in a fire on the boat, Natani's robes caught fire and his bandages ripped again in front of Mike and Kat. "Basitin Black Magic" again sufficed as an explanation.

Romantic Feelings
As a result of their intimacy, Natani began to harbor feelings for Keith. At first, he denied this, telling himself it wasn't possible because he's "male". But after Keith's betrayal during the Basidian Isle arc, his attempted suicide, and an explanation for the reasons why he was forced to betray the others, he was about to admit feelings towards Keith before being interrupted by the others due to a fire. In the end, though, he managed to kiss Keith, afterwards saying "I just wanted to get that off my chest. Don't look too much into it!" Due to their show of affections and several "accidents", some of the gang thought Natani was a homosexual with Keith.

Meeting the Basidian King
Knowing that their medics were missing a female, and identifying Natani as female due to her scent, King Adelaide summoned Natani to discuss the situation, explaining that she may be too busy to correct their records. The comic cuts back to the others while Natani explains why she identifies as male to King Adelaide. After this explanation, King Adelaide offers the advice that "strength and femininity do not have to be mutually exclusive" and when Natani retorts that the wolves will only view women as weak, even if one is strong like Natani. In reply, the King states that "that is unfortunate", before pointing out that "You are no longer among your people".

Unconsciousness
After Zen was captured, the mental link between the two was utilized to ask Flora questions only she would know in a bid to prove to B-Group, that the two know their friends. With the group deciding to begin trusting Zen, Raine placed her enchanted slave bracelet on his ankle as a means of preventing him from using magic on them, and as a result, Natani fell unconscious. Later, we see Natani wake up in bed, but it is quickly revealed to be in mindscape. Natani becomes frustrated to notice the persistence of a female body in mind. After attempting to calm down, Natani discovers a younger version of herself (possibly a portion of her damaged soul). Later, Natani asks Young Natani if she's "the reason I'm stuck like this". The response is wise, identifying that Zen's crutch being swept out from under them is why they're stuck in mind, before theorizing that because they are feeling weak without Zen, and Natani  holds Woman and Weakness in the same breath, that Natani is stuck with feminine attributes in mind.

Future
It is unlikely that Tom will come to a quick conclusion between Natani and Young Natani. However, Tom depending, Both Natani's may merge and become one again, resulting in the ability to be independent of Zen and possibly a restored female (albeit tomboyish) gender identity. Alternatively, Young Natani may be a figment of the imagination, leading to Natani's continued dependance on Zen and a continued male gender identity.

Abilities and fighting techniques
Natani is a moderately skilled mage as well as a decent melee-combatant, being knowledgeable in a variety of spells, including "Igniras", "Dispel Magic", an unnamed teleportation spell, the "Ultra Lock Spell", "Aquamentis", and "Aerismentis". His weapons include a sword and throwing knives, and he makes use of a mana necklace to cast spells without actually holding mana stones. His fighting technique consists of "Wolven Style" sword fighting and mixing in a spell or two as necessary. He is deadliest when partnered with his brother Zen, as he apparently draws his fighting spirit from his brother's side of the link.

Personality
Natani is a fiercely strong willed and independent person. However, is incredibly sensitive about gender-related topics, and overall holds unhealthy views of how "men" should act (for example, his refusal to accept help from Keith simply because he thinks he's treating him like a weak girl. ).

Trivia

 * Natani never had a formal education. As a result, he cannot write in any language, and can only speak Keidran. He is often excluded from group conversations conducted in another language.


 * Tom stated that Natani's bandages are bewitched with some sort of shrinking spell, explaining how he is able to effectively hide his chest from the rest of the cast.


 * Tom originally planned for Natani to be blind in his gray eye, but ret-conned the idea in favor of it being symbolism of his fractured soul.


 * "Natani" is apparently an American Indian name, which is interesting when coupled with the similarities between the Keidran and Native American Indians.


 * "Natani" is also a play on words in the persian language. The persian word "natani" means “half-blooded” (as in one's half-brother or half-sister, for example) on the one hand, but can also be deciphered as "na-tani", meaning no-body (in the sense of "negation of the body").


 * Of all the female cast, Natani has the largest bust size. This is extremely ironic considering the male gender identity.


 * Apparently, Tom planned for a fight scene between Trace and Natani during their first encounter. However, the page was scrapped, probably to move the story along.
 * Natani is a bot in the Twokinds Chatroom, using the Supybot freeware.