Natani and Keith, Back to Back

Natani and Keith are in the middle of a nighttime battle on a dark, fiery battlefield. They’re surrounded and outnumbered by robed spellcasters wielding mana energy. Despite being injured and exhausted, they fight back-to-back with seamless coordination. As the enemies begin casting a powerful spell to trap them, Natani disrupts one caster, and Keith protects her from a counterattack. They rely on each other’s instincts and trust to survive the encounter.

Natani:

Natani (IPA(key) /nəˈtɑni/) was born as a female Forest Wolf Keidran, was forced to turn into a male Forest Wolf Keidran with a spell that merged his soul with his brother's soul, Zen, after an accident that cost Natani's life, and the last of the four main characters in Twokinds to introduced. Throughout his life Natani faced a lot of hardship, his parents were murdered by Humans when he was young and, alongside his older brother Zen, they were left to forced to fend for themselves. Soon after their parent's deaths Natani and Zen joined a crimal guild to survive, due to the "no women" memebership policy the Guild had Natani was forced to conceal his true sex, a situation that contributed to his future gender questioning. Due to the events of their first assignment with the guild Natani and Zen souls were literally merged together. Natani and Zen first appeared after they were sent sent to kill Trace Legacy and his companions in Chapter 7, but complications and failure following the mission forced Natani into joining Trace and company on their journey to the Basidian Islands.

Over the events of their travels he grew closer with one of his newfound travel partners, Keith Keiser, and developed feelings for him. Whether his attraction to Keith was a result of his female body is unclear to even himself but considering his male identity Natani accepted that would technically make him gay. During his journey proceeding the Basidian Islands he was able to accept his female body and feelings more but still considers himself male. As of present, he and Keith plan to settle down in the hidden village of Lyn'Knol, along with Trace and Flora.

Appearance: Natani appearance wise is a typical Forest Wolf Keidran, he is covered in brown fur with extra more human placed hair onto of his head. Natani's head hair is more of a darker shade of brown compared to that of his brown fur and this hair trials Downton just below his shoulders. When Natani was younger he used to have a pair of normal brown eyes but after events in his life occurred which cause he and his brother's souls to literally become intertwined his right eye became grey. Natani appears to be above slightly average hight even for a normal male Forest Wolf, being 6'3". As a female physically Natani is definitely much taller than the average female Forest Wolf.

Natani is seen in a few outfits throughout the Main Comics. During his first appears and up until Chapter 16 he is seen dressed in a bluish robe with a black cloak over the top, presumably both given to him by his Guild. Due to his need to hide his female body Natani wears cloth bindings around his breasts and had them enchanted with magic to allow them to be more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Unlike most other Keidran Natani is incredibly uncomfortable being "in the fur" (walking around naked) when not around people he trusts, this is probably due to the fact he has gone much of his life covering himself up he still wishes to hide his female body from others either way. As of Chapter 16 Natani is now seen wearing a green leather jacket and black trousers made for him by Kathrin after his old clothes were damaged. In recent Chapters all of Group A and multiple members of the main cast have become aware of his true gender, this caused Natani to relax covering up as much, however he still wears his old black robe occasionally when around strangers or when it is colder.

Biography: History: Natani was born in into a typical Forest Wolf village, for the first few years she lived a normal life alongisde his older brother Zen and the their two parents. During her early life Natani had never outright questioned seeing himself as the other gender than what she was born as, that being female, but does mention having some doubts even then. When Natani was still young her village was attacked by Humans, presumably the Templar, and during this event both of her parents were both murdered. Natani was able to escape along with Zen and the two were assumed to be among the few survivors of the attack, what had originally provoked the attack is unknown besides typical tensions that had always existed between both Humans and Forest Wolves especially.[2]

With no family or friends left to support them Zen took it upon himself to keep him and his little sister safe and taken care of. A short while after they were left orphaned Zen attempted to get him and Natani into an criminal Guild so they could earn money and have allies to look after them, this Guild was ran by another Keidran named Clovis. Due to the sexist beliefs that Clovis and many other members of the Guild shared female membership was not allowed. Originally Zen planned to only join the Guild to earn money for him and his sister, however after Natani insisted that he should join too Zen reluctantly lied about Natani's true gender and successfully convinced Clovis to let them both join. As mentioned, Natani had always been unsure of her true gender but after the unexpected turn in her life which caused her act as a male she began to question her true gender identity further.

The first mission the "brothers" where tasked with was the assassination of a Snow Wolf Keidran named Issac. Only during the assassination attempt did they discover that Issac was, in fact, a powerful mage who knew forbidden magic. When Natani unknowingly jumped head first into combat, Issac promptly cast a curse which ripped apart Natani's soul, which also ended his own life in the process.

Zen, desperate to save his sibling, pleaded Clovis for help. Clovis said that the only option would be to use magic to bind their souls, a process which would involve Zen sacrificing a small part of his own soul to restore Natani back to consciousness, from that point on Natani and Zen's souls were forever binded.[3] Consequently, the soul merge was once again a large event in Natani's gender crisis, with Zen's male soul combined with hers she began to see herself as more male than ever. Soon after the soul merge Natani opened up to Zen about her identity troubles for the first time ever, although originally Zen believed these feeling to just be a side effect of the merge, he later realized how long it had been a problem for his sister. From this point on Zen began to treat Natani as less of a brother to conceal Natani's physical identity and more because of how Natani felt, both of them agreed from that point onward the two were truly brothers. Another consequence of the soul merge was the formation of a mental link between the siblings, allowing them to share all thoughts and most feelings with one another, although with both time and physical distance the link seems to grow weaker.

The large irony it that due to the forbidden spell that Issac used on Natani also ending his own life, the brother's mission a success. The events of the mission were quick to spread and be exaggerated, though the fact that such an inexperienced pair of young assassins had somehow been able to eliminate such a powerful target earned them a huge reputation. The duo was soon nicknamed by their fellow guild mates as the "The Magi Brothers" and the tale also earned them the respect of many other criminals alike.

For the next few years Natani and his brother worked under Cloivs' Guild performing many criminal activities including anything from theft to other assassinations. At some point Clovis became aware of Natani's true sex but seeing the potential in her female body to infiltrate curtain groups he decided to keep it a secret and allowed him to stay. Although Natani was allowed to stay in the guild he began to face Clovis' sexist views from then on, such as being excluded from important conversations or the receiving the odd sexist remarks.

INFORMATION TO BE FORMATTED INTO ABOVE SECTION: 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.

Sex 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 sex a secret, which he has done ever since. Since then, the two have bonded, and formed a close relationship. Keith has helped Natani keep his secret on multiple occasions, such as claiming to have used "Basitin dark magic" after Natani's bandages ripped in front of Mike and Evals during a sparring match, washing clothes for him, and standing guard while Natani was in heat during the group's journey to the Basidian Isles on Eric's boat. Then, in a fire, Natani's robes caught fire and his bandages ripped again in front of Mike and Kat. "Basitin black magic" again sufficed as an explanation, due in part to Mike's experience with Lady Nora's magic.

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, Natani 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 realized Natani was gay and had feelings for Keith.

Meeting the Basitin King: Knowing that their medics were missing a female, and identifying Natani as female in sex due to his scent, King Adelaide summoned Natani to discuss the situation. She asks why he is 'pretending' to be male, and he says he is not pretending, but the reason to why this is happening is a long story. (x) Adelaide gets curious, suggesting that she may be "too busy" to correct their records if he tells her the story. The comic cuts back to the others while Natani explains why he 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".[4]

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.[5] Later, we see Natani wake up in bed, but it is quickly revealed to be in his mindscape. Natani becomes frustrated when he notices he has a female body even in his mind. After attempting to calm down, Natani discovers a younger version of himself (possibly a portion of his damaged soul).[6] Later, Natani asks the younger version of himself if he'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 his mind, before theorizing that because they are feeling weak without Zen, and Natani views Woman and Weakness as inseparable.[7] After this, Young Natani offers a hand up, but is rebutted because Natani feels he is being mocked by "my own imagination". Natani then runs off in a bid to locate Zen, leaving a saddened young Natani calling for him to come back. Natani then sees Zen, walking away from where he is, ears down, with Raine's shackle on.[8] After this, Natani runs into an invisible wall separating him from his brother and is approached by his younger self again, who remarks that it's funny to want Zen in his head so badly, while hinting that he can help. Natani indicates that he doesn't want to "become you again". Young Natani reveals that he knows Natani is afraid of ending up in a dress and embracing "girly" behavior, before indicating that he remembers his younger self the way Zen remembered him: as his "helpless baby sister". Next, young Natani indicates that, unlike what Natani believed, he actually did like being seen as a boy, rather than being desparate to hide his gender from the guild members. In an enlightening moment, Young Natani informs his older self that the feelings thus far experienced, both the masculine and the feminine, have come from the soul, not from the body, and not from Zen.

The Awakening: After the above explanation, Natani accepted the counsel of Young Natani, who, prior to Natani's awakening informed Natani that this is the way it needs to be, and that he fears they will both burn to death if they don't wake up soon.

This acceptance, as well as this statement, causes him to wake up, before realizing what Young Natani had just said. Natani asks Kathrin what is happening, prompting Kathrin, who had lost hope, to excitedly pounce on him.

Prior to this, Kathrin attempted to drag Natani out of the Na'Rella because of the fires going on the docks or the ship (It's unclear which at this point) but due to her size and muscular strength, seemingly lost hope after successfully dragging Natani from bed, and being incapable of pulling him from the room.

Natani then retrieved Laura's urn from Keith's room, saved Kathrin from falling debris, and the two prepare to jump through a window to escape the Na'Rella. The urn is not visible when Natani and Kathrin make it to the dock, and it is not readily apparent whether Laura's ashes or locket ended up surviving the escape.

Personality: Natani is a fiercely strong willed and independent person, but 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[9]). TBA

Abilities and Powers: Magic

Swordsmanship: Great

INFORMATION TO BE FORMATED: Natani is a 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 method of learning magic is known as "Dirty Magic". 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" [10][11]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. As well as the psychological benefits of the link, there are a number of abilities the link grants the brothers, such as the ability to fully merge their minds and deploy their skills through each others' bodies[12], and the ability to actualize themselves near each other as independent 'ghosts', similar to astral projection. This allows them to share 'two sets of eyes' even when far apart, and even act in the physical world, unseen by others[13].

Homeland: Forest Wolf Territory

Current Age: 13 (Human Years) ~27-30 (Keidran Years)

Born: 468-469

Species: Keidran (Forest Wolf)

Sex: Female

Gender: Male

Height: 6'3" (191 cm)

Mass: 200 lbs (91 kg)

Hair color: Brown

Eye color: Left Brown, Right Gray (Formerly) Brown (Restored)

Fur color: Clay-Brown

Class: Assassin and Thief (Formerly, Still possible assassin)

Affiliation(s): Border Forest Tribe (Formerly) Clovis' Guild (Formerly)

Relationships: Nayana and Koan (Deceased Parents) Zen (Older Brother) Keith Keiser (Mate)

Keith Keiser:

Keith Keiser (IPA(key) /kiθ 'kaɪzəɹ/) is the Eastern Basitin's Ambassador for Mekkan and is one of the main characters of Twokinds. Keith was exiled from the Basitin Isles for charges of killing his parents, and told he could only come back after bringing Trace Legacy with him. Keith joins Trace's group after Trace swears they'll go to the Basitin Isles to help Keith.

After the events that transpired on the Basitin Isles; Keith is promoted, by Nickolai II, to be the first ever ambassador of the Basitins. He then leaves the islands with Trace and company to travel across Mekkan. Like most Basitins, Keith is pretty short with big ears. His fur and hair are all the same shade of light brown and he has a very muscular build. Unlike most characters in the comic, Keith has "undefined eyes", lacking irises.

His original appearance had him wearing a green long sleeved shirt with a lighter green cape and grey pants. He also wore his fathers helmet as a reminder of his banishment.

After the Basitin Isles Arc, Keith got into a fight with Nickolai Alaric leaving him with a slash over his right ear and a scar over his right eye and has grown a bit of stubble on his chin. Since becoming an Ambassador for the Basitin people, he now wears, all black armor with gold accents and a red cape with a gold trim. Keith was born on the East Basidian Islands, he was first born and only child of the former East Basitin Arms General Cornelius Keiser and a Western Basitin called Cathleen. A relationship between a Eastern and Western Basitin is considered taboo on both sides of the Basitin Isle, the East believe the West to be savages and the West see anyone outside of their territory as hostile, Eastern Basitin included. Keith grew up to become a soldier at the age of 8, a year later than other Basitins. He then continued remain as a soldier like many other Basitin are encouraged to do. In his childhood Cathleen tried to shelter Keith from military life, the main reason why Keith would end up joining the military so late. Keith's father considered him weak for this despite the fact he really had no choice in the matter. When Keith was 13 he was charged for the murder of both his parents deaths when in fact his drunken father had beaten his mother to death and his father was so drunk that he fell on Keith's spear. Although he was only guilty of arguably just one killing, Keith was banished from the islands on a tiny raft anyway. In Basitin culture those who are exiled are given a task to complete, and should they complete it they are able to return, however the tasks given are usually so difficult no Basitin in history has ever been able to complete one. Keith's task was to find the current Grand Templar, Trace Legacy, and bring him back to the islands with him.

After a long time at sea, Keith's raft washed ashore on the main landmass. Unconscious and dying he is rescued by a family of Fox Keidran, two parents and 4 daughters, which nursed him back to health in their village. The parents of family treated him like a son despite their differences and several months of staying with the family, Keith fell in love with the third youngest daughter of the family, Laura. He received permission from Laura's parents to court her, and after three months he proposed to which she excitedly agrees. Two days before their wedding Laura vanished into the nearby forest. After unsuccessfully searching for her for many days Keith was told by her sisters, who had never really approved of their marriage, that Laura no longer wanted him and was now sleeping with another Fox Keidran. In a fit of sadness and anger he gave up his search and fled the village to continue his search for Trace Legacy, a quest that he had only just come to terms with giving up.

Keith spent the next 5 or so years of his life attempting to track down the Trace Legacy, only for him to happen upon him by sheer luck in the tavern of a small remote village. Keith usually acts serious or indifferent most of the time. However, deep down he's really caring and protective. Years of banishment however have made him very cynical, and Laura's disappearance before their wedding also made him biased against Keidran for a short time. Keith has the Basitin traits of always being focused on his duty and honor. He is extremely loyal, going so far as to warning Trace that he might have to turn on him, and attempting to take his own life rather than Natani's. He also has a lot of self blame, blaming the death of his Mother, Father, Alaric, and Laura on himself (despite the fact he didn't cause the death of Laura or his mother, tried his best to save Alaric, and his father basically killed himself on Keith's spear.) Deep down however Keith is passionate, though not always the best to put his feelings to words, stating "Aw crap. I was never good at being sensitive." Like all other Basitin Keith has a natural resistance to poison

Keith is the only main character to not appear in every chapter after their introduction, this is due to his absence in Chapter 14. Keith is one the four characters that would be considered "LGBT+" in our world, or five depending on Nickolai Alaric but he is yet to be confirmed. Keith has shown both an attraction to female characters such as Laura who he intended to marry as well as Natani who he still has feelings for despite his gender identity, together this means that Keith could be considered queer. Keith is the only Basitin member of the main cast. The name Keith means "from the battleground", which relates well to Keith being a Basitin, a race built on a military style culture. Keith is the only member in the whole cast to not have actual irises. They are instead just yellow dots. This is joked about in a non canon side sketch where Natani is appalled to see Keith with normal eyes. Homeland: Eastern Basidian Islands

Current Age: 19

Born: 462-463

Current Status: Alive

Species: Basitin (Half Eastern and Half Western)

Gender: Male

Height: 5'5" (165 cm)

Mass: 160 lbs (72 kg)

Hair color: Light Brown

Eye color: Yellow

Fur color: Light Brown

Class: Eastern Basitin Ambassador

Powers / Skills: Expert swordsman High intelligence Great agility Surprising strength for his size Polyglot (Basitin, Keidran and Human) Enhanced senses Resistance to poison Master combatant