Querc

Querc grew up in an indigenous tribe deep in the forests of the Middle Tier, largely removed from the Empire’s civilization. Their world changed when Tristan Bas, a linguist anthropologist, came to live with the tribe for several months to study their language and oral traditions. He befriended Querc, told them about the wider world, and left something unresolved between them. Feelings that seemed mutual but were never spoken aloud before he returned to his research.

Two things have since gone wrong. The environment around the tribal village has shifted in ways that feel unnatural, and Querc’s mother Jenevele, the tribe’s matriarch, has fallen ill with a sickness that no traditional remedy can touch. Querc stayed as long as they could, helping care for her alongside their younger sister Chi-Ro. Eventually they made the difficult decision to leave, telling themselves it was to understand what was happening to the land. The quieter truth is that they also hoped to find Tristan again.

Tristan once mentioned working at a research facility called Jakata in the Outer Tier, near Brinegate. That became their destination. They arrived three months ago in Brinegate and have been stuck here since. Indigenous people face a complicated legal status under Imperial law, and Querc is caught in a bureaucratic process to obtain citizenship before they can even apply for gate access.