Effinidih does not know her place of birth: she was abducted by slavers as a child of six. She only knows that she was not happy there. Soon after her abduction, she was sold to the sea mage Zarastro. She grew up on his remote island stronghold as a handmaiden to his three daughters. While there, she learned some of Zarastro's magic, but no enough to become a true sorceress; rather she became a sa'luki bard, a nanny, dancer, entertainer, trickster and dabbler all in one. Effinidih loved Zarastro as a father, but detested the younger daughters. As they grew up, her situation became more and more intolerable, and she finally decided to run away. This she did with the help of a fisherman who came to sell his catch. She now owes the old man a debt and has a terrible secret, all in one. Effinidih has grown up in a very sheltered environment, and knows next to nothing of the outside world. This gives her a certain charming naiveté. At the same time, she can be stubborn and cocksure, as she has never encountered serious opposition. She has no real survival skills and no plan on how to survive in the world. She is trusting and honest, and willing to do domestic work as long as it is not too onerous or heavy; she will not do any professional work or manual labor and expects the menfolk to heave in with the heavier chores, such as carrying her rather extensive luggage. Having heard stories of Huzuz since childhood, Effinidih decided that her courtly graces would do best there. At the same time, she is fearful that Zarastro will demand her back, so she tries to keep out of the public eye. Dialect: Effinidih normally speaks Midani with a western dialect. This means she uses an e sound were a normal Midani speaker would use an a, o or u sound. So Al Faddi (of siver) becomes El Feddi and so on. As a lady with a proper upbringing, she can speak normal Midani when she puts her mind to it, but this is her usual mode of speaking. It's about as exotic as a American vs. British English. |
