Name: Hayate of house Ikeda
    Pronounced: Hah-Yah-te || Ee-ke-dah
    Nickname: 'Boomer' (Though only by family and close friends.)
Age: 42
Gender: Stallion
Breed: Unicorn
Conformation: Pega Donkey
Coat Colour: Flaxen roan liver chestnut with tobiano
Horn and Hooves: Blue Fluorite
Height: 15.2 Hh
Orientation: Homosexual
    Mate: None

Herd Affiliation: Breim
Generation: Umare 
    Rank: Ties
    Occupation: Runs a small calligraphy shop.

Patron God: Argus and Alya primarily, but invokes whichever God is most fitting in the situation, though never Ignacio.
First Blessing: Sonic Voice (Born Blessed) 
Second Blessing: --
Talent: Artist (Specialty: Calligraphy)
Second Talent: --

Items: 
    -

Family:
    Mother: Yua of house Ikeda, age 65, practiced paper pressing but is retired, hippocampus, NPC Alive
    Grandmother: Minako of house Sato, hippocampus, Deceased at 75
    Grandfather: Itsuki of house Sato, hippocampus, Deceased at 76

    Father: Kenshin of house Ikeda, age 68, practiced bookbinding but is retired, unicorn, NPC Alive
    Grandmother: Suzume of house Ikeda, age 92, unicorn, NPC Alive
    Grandfather: Horoto of house Ikeda, unicorn, Deceased at 84

    Sister: Yuuki, adopted
    Cousin: Nuriko

Familiar: None

    Hayate Trivia:

• Born blind in his left eye and with compromised vision in the right. Hayate gets by with lots of light and a magnifying glass while working, and his blessing to help navigate dark or dimly lit spaces. He has lost his vision entirely, poor sod.
• Shaves his forelock entirely, to keep it out of his eyes. 
• Hayate will never compromise his work and never take shortcuts! His calligraphy is sacred and he will not change.
  
• Hayate DESPISES kirins! There is no good kirin in Hireath and certainly not in Breim! They are evil murderous bastards who killed and slaughtered his people without remorse! And this collective memory loss that rumors whisper of? HAH! Ingenious and ridiculous! No, kirins are something to be very wary of, and he will turn them away from his doors. Hayate will not do business with kirins.
  

    Notes on House Ikeda:

• House Ikeda's bloodline can be traced back to the time of High King Jin... if one is to believe them. Whether this is true or not is difficult to prove, but it is widely accepted that the family is ancient.
• The Ikedas believe that no one should mess with tradition, and stubbornly cling on to things the way they've always done them. While family members are supportive of one another, any child/youngster found leaning towards the Kawaru's wild thoughts, will gently be shepherded back to the proper way of living. 
• Ikeda has always been synonymous with Calligraphy, Paper Pressing, and Book Binding. The family has housed several masters through the time, and even without the title in their possession, Ikeda craft is quality craft.

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    Kenshin and Yua met at random on the Day of the Wisps many years ago. Romantic Yua would claim that their eyes met in silence and their souls were locked for eternity, while the more practical Kenshin admitted to being smitten with his future wife's gorgeous fins. Kenshin was the one to track down Yua a few days later, and what started as a friendship soon deepened and blossomed into love. They became inseparable, each having dedicated their lives to a trade that blended together perfectly. Yua was taught by her mother how to make paper and bind books, and Kenshin was skilled in calligraphy, a craft passed down through generations from father to son. 

    While expecting their first child, Yua and Kenshin prayed daily for Argus to bless their unborn, a tradition Yua brought from her family. Personally, Kenshin didn't believe it would have an effect, but if it made the love of his life happy, then why not join her? He prayed for a son to follow in his hoof steps as his family tradition dictated, to become a calligraphist as well and when indeed a son was born, the little family was overjoyed.

    Yet all was not well. Hayate, as the child was named, displayed odd behavior from the moment he could stand on wobbly legs. He was a clingy child, always glued to the side of either mother or father and always getting in the way. He would be in front of legs, between legs, behind legs, in short, he was a constant tripping hazard. 'So he is a little shy, ' Yua would sigh and dismiss Kenshin's concern, but when little Hayate began tripping on furniture and developed a seemingly nervous habit of making clicking sounds continuously both realized something was wrong. 

    A doctor confirmed that Hayate had no vision in his left eye and that his right didn't respond properly either. It was estimated that the child might go blind entirely, but there was no explanation for the clicking. At least, not until Hayate himself grew old enough to speak. To his parents' surprise, the young one explained that the clicking helped him to see. It made the images in his mind clearer and helped him get around. Shockingly, little Hayate had been Born Blessed, not by Argus but Alya. Priests and parents alike speculated that the Wind Goddess knew of the child's loss of vision, and blessed him with Sonic Voice to aid him. Needless to say, the little family began to pay a lot more visits to Alya's temple. 

    As time passed it got easier to deal with Hayate's clicking and echo navigation, especially as he grew more confident and less reliant on the blessing once he had his home mentally mapped. He attended school just like any other, made friends, enjoyed life and began studying under his father at the age of thirteen. Hayate wanted desperately to be seen not as the unicorn who was half blind, but a normal kid, and he wanted to make his father and mother proud by learning calligraphy.

    While the youngster worked hard to improve in record time, his parents came to a heartbreaking realization; Hayate would be their only biological child. For reasons that were never discovered, Yua and Kenshin could not conceive a second time, but that did not stop them from expanding their family. Yua persuaded Kenshin to adopt. If they could not make a child, they could give an orphan a family. And thus they adopted baby Yuuki, and Hayate became a protective big brother. Between his studies (which left him more ink-stained than not) and house chores, Hayate bonded deeply with his adopted sister. He was happy to babysit whenever it was required of him and never saw Yuuki as anything other than his flesh-and-blood sister, even as she grew taller and buffer than the rest of the family. 


    After six years of studying under his father, and being allowed to perform small calligraphy jobs towards the end, Kenshin suggested that his passionate son might learn more if he was to study under Master Kazuo, a strict man but the only person Kenshin felt would be able to expand his son's already impressive skill set. After meeting with the old master and being tested, Hayate was accepted as an apprentice and expected to start the very next day. He was also expected to move in with his teacher and only have two days off a month, but it was a sacrifice the nineteen-year-old Hayate was more than happy to pay. He promised to visit his family as often as possible and that he would write his little sister weekly.

    Hayate was not the only apprentice, of course, and found himself isolated because of his visual impairment. The general consensus amongst the others was that Hayate's family had paid or otherwise bribed the Master into accepting a near-blind apprentice, and Hayate had to work double as hard to prove himself and clear the ugly rumor from his family name. The days off that he was supposed to spend with his family were all used to study and practice and expand his skills. He explained in letters why he was unable to come home yet again, and although it hurt bitterly it was worth it in the end.

    Master Kazuo took note of Hayate's determination and sacrifices. The old stallion thought it only natural to make sacrifices for the art, and Hayate was one of the only apprentices willing to do so. Besides his studies, Hayate was put to work in the shop, as were the other advanced apprentices. They had the 'luxury' of performing the grunt work so that Master Kazuo could focus on his craft. The apprentices who moaned and groaned never lasted long past this point and were dismissed in favor of those that understood hard work. Hayate hung in there tenaciously, and as he grew he rose swiftly through the apprentice ranks. Gone were the whispered rumors. No longer could the others deny his skills, Hayate graciously accepted their apologies and even formed friendships.

    When Hayate was thirty-two, Master Kazuo's old age caught up with him. At this point, Hayate had long since graduated and been permanently employed by the Master who had also become like a second father to him. With more freedom, Hayate was able to visit his family regularly, and it was while visiting that a courier brought a letter of Kazuo's passing. It wasn't unexpected, but it was still devastation. Master Kazuo he left behind a document stating that his title was passed onto Hayate. It was an unexpected honor and in the document, Kazuo stated that his choice was based on the dedication, passion, understanding of personal sacrifices and utmost attention to detail and care, that made his decision in the end. 

    Hayate returned to his old Master's workshop, to help his widow Aina sort through personal belongings, as she had no children or family left of her own. Hayate stayed with Aina and worked in the old shop, taking on the apprentices as his own, until Aina passed away three years later. 

    Once the ache had settled, business went on as normal. Hayate carried on the teachings of Kazuo in much the same fashion. He became known as a stern but also a reasonable teacher and a perfectionist. Apprentices learned the hard way that a single mistake could lead to repeating hours of work. 

Currently

Pre Chapter Six:
Hayate loses his vision entirely and is forced to step down from his rank as a Master. He retires with his family and a few apprentices to open up a calligraphy shop.

    Chapter Six: (Did not participate)
- Hayate is caught in the middle of the cave collapse in Nariah. Despite his echolocation, he cannot navigate to safety quickly enough and becomes trapped under fallen rocks. He has little memory of the event, waking up days later in the care of Healers, and with his young friend Riviera at his side. She is the one who breaks the news of his injuries to him; A fractured horn and hindlegs so damaged, they had to be amputated.

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Fitting Music