Yesterday, 11:15 PM
Name: Irihapeti te Rakena-Williams
Age: 26
Origin: Aotearoa New Zealand
Occupation: Conservation field biologist at the University of Moscow
Powers: As the reincarnation of Papatūānuku, the Māori creation goddess, Iri's powers come from and are directly related to the earth. Her strongest talent is that of Singing, and reading the earth and its needs. Though she is entirely unaware she can channel, her strengths lie in earth and water and she has a small talent for healing.
Channeler experience level: New/blocked.
Current strength level: 6
Potential strength level: 34
Reborn as: Papatūānuku, Māori creation and earth goddess.
Other reincarnations: Yelendrian Sedai of the Blue Ajah (third age).
Pyschological description: Iri is Māori, and as such, many of her values emphasise community, relationships, and the connection to and stewardship of the earth and all it's resources. She is hard working, and always prioritises family, iwi (tribe), and duty. As is the case for many New Zealanders, she is friendly, easy going, and shows her affection through teasing... until she's angry, and then everybody knows it. Iri is pragmatic and hands on, and though she is an academic by career, she stays involved with the practical side of her profession wherever possible.
Physical description: Iri has the creamy brown skin typical of Māori, with thick, dark almost-black-brown hair, and equally dark eyes. She prefers to wear practical clothing that would not be out of place in a sub-tropical rain forest, but is as equally happy to dress up, should the situation call for it.
Biography:
Aotearoa1[ New Zealand, a small group of islands isolated at the bottom of the South-Pacific, has always been at the mercy of Mother Nature. Earthquakes are a daily occurrence, though most go unnoticed, and geothermic activity is prevalent. Tsunami warnings are so common that any ten year old could tell you what to do, and dormant volcanoes litter the landscape – in fact, the largest city, Auckland, is built on the slopes of over fifty such volcanoes. Needless to say, when the earth began to try and rid itself of it’s most destructive virus, those in New Zealand didn’t see anything out of the norm. Until it kept happening. Until the sea rose up and claimed countless towns. Until the Southern Alps shook off their mantle of sleep. Until Auckland drowned in magma.
But New Zealanders are resilient, and lucky. They were masters in the art of alternative energy generation – prior to the end of the world, 80% of their electricity was created by renewable means. They had vast stores of fresh water, and endless fields in which to grow food. But whilst they persevered, life was not easy. It was into this life, of returning to the land, of unimaginable isolation, of safety and destruction, that Irihapeti te Rakena-Williams2 was born, the youngest child of Ngaio and Tama, and a daughter of the Kāi Tahu iwi3 .
Growing up in Christchurch, Iri had a relatively safe childhood. Granted, it was not the childhood her parents had, and it was much less connected to the world, but she had access to education, safety, and never lacked for food, comfort, or love. As a modern Māori, she walked in two worlds; one foot as kaitiakitanga4 of the land and te ao Māori5, and the other in modernity. Now, more than ever since colonisation, the use of traditional Māori practices has become more common, more easily integrated with the knowledge and ways of modern life.
Many Māori returned to their iwi when Papatūānuku6 rained her wrath on the land, and the cultural bias of New Zealand gradually shifted so that the Māori ethos was more widely accepted. Whilst New Zealand had always been more ready to pay for the sins of it’s forebearers than other countries, there were still points of contention. Iri was raised in a world where these slowly ebbed away, making room for new knowledge and ways of life that more harmoniously combined different perspectives and traditions.
As a child, Iri was rambunctious, opinionated, and sassy. From the moment she became aware, Iri was enamoured with nature, and why it existed as it did. As the youngest of four siblings, she was both babied, and quick to grow up. She always wanted to follow after her siblings, and was determined to be involved wherever possible. School, both primary and secondary, blew past in a parade of endless kapa haka7 practice, scientific exploration, books, netball, events at the marae8, and whānau9. Every opportunity she was given, Iri made her way into the many places of untouched nature, finding peace and a sense of belonging amongst the cool, hushed boughs of dappled light and loamy earth. And if the earth also took sustenance and fortitude from this, well then, it was simply seen as nature regenerating after suffering greatly.
But life did not exist without difficulty. In the summer of her fifteenth year, Iri spent a night in the bush that bordered her grandparents property. She had done so a thousand times before, and she was more than capable of keeping herself safe. Nature, however, is not often governed by expectation and preparedness, even if you know the area like the back of your hand. All it took was a miscalculated step whilst scrambling across a narrow ravine, and Iri went plumetting – and somehow, at just the right angle, jagged rocks and reaching tree limbs rushed past her face, narrowly missed her flailing limbs. Further chance would see the soft fronds of the native ferns grow in such a way as to soften her unexpected descent, and cushion her gently when gravity had finished its job. Days later, and telling herself it was simply because the evening had grown frigid during her camp, Iri fell violently ill. When, after months of recovery, the same illness returned, her family began to suspect Iri had contracted the new illness sweeping the globe. Each bout of sickness came sooner and more violently, and it seemed inevitable that Iri would be one of the unlucky ones who would perish as the fevers ran their course. At the suggestion of the tribe elders, Iri was sent to a small, West Coast hapu10, where another woman had survived the sickness and could help Iri with her recovery. There, Iri spent her time cloaked in the nature of the whenua11 and learned to meditate. Six months passed in this way, and whilst Iri never quite felt the sensations that Aroha[12] described, she felt herself come close, but it always remained just a hairs breath away. Aroha12 often mentioned that she felt Iri was ‘blocked,’ though Iri hadn’t the faintest idea what that actually meant or what she was blocked by. Life, however, gradually returned to normal.
University, at the rebuilt and refurbished University of Canterbury, was spent focusing on conservation biology, an area New Zealand has always been a leader. It afforded Iri opportunities to work in multiple areas of conservation, and in the few years since university she has made her career in environmental conservation and regeneration. That her studies or programme outcomes are almost always overwhelmingly successful is considered a blessing; for how could somebody falsify something everybody could see with their own eyes? Did the kaumātua13 whisper that there was an other-wordly element to her success with and connection to nature, one that maybe harked back to her illness? Of course, but most just wrote it off as the spiritual considerations of their ancestors.
Eventually, whispers of Iri’s skill and success in environmental regeneration found their way across the globe – and she was offered a position at the University of Moscow as a field researcher in flora conservation. It seemed, as her first task, Iri was to be sent to a place called Belizna, where she would be able to conduct a small conservation research programme that would hopefully breathe new life into the derelict grounds. It wasn’t typically the type of job Iri worked at, but it did offer the opportunity to understand what she loved most in a different environment, so she went.
1. 1Aotearoa: Māori name for New Zealand, meaning Land of the Long White Cloud. Ow-tey-a-row-a
2. Irihapeti te Rakena-Williams: pronounced Ih-ree-ha-pet-ee te ra-ken-a
3. Iwi: Tribe, pronounced e-wee. Kāi Tahu (also known as Ngai Tahu) is the largest tribe from the South Island of New Zealand. Kai Tah-hu.
[4. Kaitiakitanga: Guardian, steward, protector of the land and environment. Kai-tee-ark-kee-tung-ah
5. Te ao Māori: The Māori world. Te ow Maa-ree
6. Papatūānuku: Māori creation/earth goddess. Pa-pa-tuu-aa-nu-ku
7. Kapa haka: Traditional Māori performing art that includes singing and dancing. Ka-pa Ha-ka
8. Marae: Māori meeting/tribal house. Maa-rai
9. Whānau: Extended family, often also includes close friends. Faa-noe
10. Hapu: smaller, subtribe or family group within a bigger tribe. Ha-pu
11. Whenua: Land/Placenta. The dual meaning shows the spiritual connection between the land and the people. Fen-nu-ah
12. Aroha: Love. Common female name pronounced Ah-ro-ha.
13. Kaumātua: Māori and tribal elders. Ko-maa-toe-ah
Age: 26
Origin: Aotearoa New Zealand
Occupation: Conservation field biologist at the University of Moscow
Powers: As the reincarnation of Papatūānuku, the Māori creation goddess, Iri's powers come from and are directly related to the earth. Her strongest talent is that of Singing, and reading the earth and its needs. Though she is entirely unaware she can channel, her strengths lie in earth and water and she has a small talent for healing.
Channeler experience level: New/blocked.
Current strength level: 6
Potential strength level: 34
Reborn as: Papatūānuku, Māori creation and earth goddess.
Other reincarnations: Yelendrian Sedai of the Blue Ajah (third age).
Pyschological description: Iri is Māori, and as such, many of her values emphasise community, relationships, and the connection to and stewardship of the earth and all it's resources. She is hard working, and always prioritises family, iwi (tribe), and duty. As is the case for many New Zealanders, she is friendly, easy going, and shows her affection through teasing... until she's angry, and then everybody knows it. Iri is pragmatic and hands on, and though she is an academic by career, she stays involved with the practical side of her profession wherever possible.
Physical description: Iri has the creamy brown skin typical of Māori, with thick, dark almost-black-brown hair, and equally dark eyes. She prefers to wear practical clothing that would not be out of place in a sub-tropical rain forest, but is as equally happy to dress up, should the situation call for it.
Biography:
Aotearoa1[ New Zealand, a small group of islands isolated at the bottom of the South-Pacific, has always been at the mercy of Mother Nature. Earthquakes are a daily occurrence, though most go unnoticed, and geothermic activity is prevalent. Tsunami warnings are so common that any ten year old could tell you what to do, and dormant volcanoes litter the landscape – in fact, the largest city, Auckland, is built on the slopes of over fifty such volcanoes. Needless to say, when the earth began to try and rid itself of it’s most destructive virus, those in New Zealand didn’t see anything out of the norm. Until it kept happening. Until the sea rose up and claimed countless towns. Until the Southern Alps shook off their mantle of sleep. Until Auckland drowned in magma.
But New Zealanders are resilient, and lucky. They were masters in the art of alternative energy generation – prior to the end of the world, 80% of their electricity was created by renewable means. They had vast stores of fresh water, and endless fields in which to grow food. But whilst they persevered, life was not easy. It was into this life, of returning to the land, of unimaginable isolation, of safety and destruction, that Irihapeti te Rakena-Williams2 was born, the youngest child of Ngaio and Tama, and a daughter of the Kāi Tahu iwi3 .
Growing up in Christchurch, Iri had a relatively safe childhood. Granted, it was not the childhood her parents had, and it was much less connected to the world, but she had access to education, safety, and never lacked for food, comfort, or love. As a modern Māori, she walked in two worlds; one foot as kaitiakitanga4 of the land and te ao Māori5, and the other in modernity. Now, more than ever since colonisation, the use of traditional Māori practices has become more common, more easily integrated with the knowledge and ways of modern life.
Many Māori returned to their iwi when Papatūānuku6 rained her wrath on the land, and the cultural bias of New Zealand gradually shifted so that the Māori ethos was more widely accepted. Whilst New Zealand had always been more ready to pay for the sins of it’s forebearers than other countries, there were still points of contention. Iri was raised in a world where these slowly ebbed away, making room for new knowledge and ways of life that more harmoniously combined different perspectives and traditions.
As a child, Iri was rambunctious, opinionated, and sassy. From the moment she became aware, Iri was enamoured with nature, and why it existed as it did. As the youngest of four siblings, she was both babied, and quick to grow up. She always wanted to follow after her siblings, and was determined to be involved wherever possible. School, both primary and secondary, blew past in a parade of endless kapa haka7 practice, scientific exploration, books, netball, events at the marae8, and whānau9. Every opportunity she was given, Iri made her way into the many places of untouched nature, finding peace and a sense of belonging amongst the cool, hushed boughs of dappled light and loamy earth. And if the earth also took sustenance and fortitude from this, well then, it was simply seen as nature regenerating after suffering greatly.
But life did not exist without difficulty. In the summer of her fifteenth year, Iri spent a night in the bush that bordered her grandparents property. She had done so a thousand times before, and she was more than capable of keeping herself safe. Nature, however, is not often governed by expectation and preparedness, even if you know the area like the back of your hand. All it took was a miscalculated step whilst scrambling across a narrow ravine, and Iri went plumetting – and somehow, at just the right angle, jagged rocks and reaching tree limbs rushed past her face, narrowly missed her flailing limbs. Further chance would see the soft fronds of the native ferns grow in such a way as to soften her unexpected descent, and cushion her gently when gravity had finished its job. Days later, and telling herself it was simply because the evening had grown frigid during her camp, Iri fell violently ill. When, after months of recovery, the same illness returned, her family began to suspect Iri had contracted the new illness sweeping the globe. Each bout of sickness came sooner and more violently, and it seemed inevitable that Iri would be one of the unlucky ones who would perish as the fevers ran their course. At the suggestion of the tribe elders, Iri was sent to a small, West Coast hapu10, where another woman had survived the sickness and could help Iri with her recovery. There, Iri spent her time cloaked in the nature of the whenua11 and learned to meditate. Six months passed in this way, and whilst Iri never quite felt the sensations that Aroha[12] described, she felt herself come close, but it always remained just a hairs breath away. Aroha12 often mentioned that she felt Iri was ‘blocked,’ though Iri hadn’t the faintest idea what that actually meant or what she was blocked by. Life, however, gradually returned to normal.
University, at the rebuilt and refurbished University of Canterbury, was spent focusing on conservation biology, an area New Zealand has always been a leader. It afforded Iri opportunities to work in multiple areas of conservation, and in the few years since university she has made her career in environmental conservation and regeneration. That her studies or programme outcomes are almost always overwhelmingly successful is considered a blessing; for how could somebody falsify something everybody could see with their own eyes? Did the kaumātua13 whisper that there was an other-wordly element to her success with and connection to nature, one that maybe harked back to her illness? Of course, but most just wrote it off as the spiritual considerations of their ancestors.
Eventually, whispers of Iri’s skill and success in environmental regeneration found their way across the globe – and she was offered a position at the University of Moscow as a field researcher in flora conservation. It seemed, as her first task, Iri was to be sent to a place called Belizna, where she would be able to conduct a small conservation research programme that would hopefully breathe new life into the derelict grounds. It wasn’t typically the type of job Iri worked at, but it did offer the opportunity to understand what she loved most in a different environment, so she went.
1. 1Aotearoa: Māori name for New Zealand, meaning Land of the Long White Cloud. Ow-tey-a-row-a
2. Irihapeti te Rakena-Williams: pronounced Ih-ree-ha-pet-ee te ra-ken-a
3. Iwi: Tribe, pronounced e-wee. Kāi Tahu (also known as Ngai Tahu) is the largest tribe from the South Island of New Zealand. Kai Tah-hu.
[4. Kaitiakitanga: Guardian, steward, protector of the land and environment. Kai-tee-ark-kee-tung-ah
5. Te ao Māori: The Māori world. Te ow Maa-ree
6. Papatūānuku: Māori creation/earth goddess. Pa-pa-tuu-aa-nu-ku
7. Kapa haka: Traditional Māori performing art that includes singing and dancing. Ka-pa Ha-ka
8. Marae: Māori meeting/tribal house. Maa-rai
9. Whānau: Extended family, often also includes close friends. Faa-noe
10. Hapu: smaller, subtribe or family group within a bigger tribe. Ha-pu
11. Whenua: Land/Placenta. The dual meaning shows the spiritual connection between the land and the people. Fen-nu-ah
12. Aroha: Love. Common female name pronounced Ah-ro-ha.
13. Kaumātua: Māori and tribal elders. Ko-maa-toe-ah