Concept Artwork: Maika

Hello and welcome to another concept art showcase!

Today's character concept is the result of a set of patron polls where we asked patrons to vote for their favourite dark-skinned characters from various other works of fiction and fantasy! One of the winning characters was Rurina/Nessa from Pokemon S/S, and so we've accordingly designed a new character going into Claire's Quest's upcoming "Merchant" questline after her!

Maika may come off cold and aloof at first, but her glacial exterior has both cultural roots and is also a result of her having to deal with the rougher sort of people you usually find on the mercantile road. Her father is from the Isles, and her mother was from the desert plains of the Ankharadi Peninsula. When she was young, her father returned back to the Isles, promising to return, but never did. After the passing of her mother, Maika sold off all her possessions and set off on the road in search of her father, hoping to find closure.

Though Maika wants to take after her father's footsteps, it has been hard finding a caravan willing to take her on. Most of the caraveneers are more interested in her body than they are in apprenticing her. She's made her way out of Ankharad by working odd jobs at caravanserais and taverns along the road, and learned what she could of trading by picking up odd snippets of conversation between the merchant types.

In this way, Maika has slowly worked her way towards the coast, and finally managed to pay for a voyage to Rathpike. Now that she's on the Isles, she's hoping to both locate her father as well as find a suitable mentor to impress into apprenticing her.

In the Merchant Questline, Maika initially starts off as a rival of Claire's, as they both seek to apprentice themselves to the Merchants Guild in Rathpike, and must compete for the limited spots. Eventually, however, at the end of the questline Maika comes to befriend Claire, and will end up as a business partner.