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Inji

Inji's reference, drawn by @expressuh1 on Twitter

Inji is a guardian spirit, based on the species of the same name within the Ori universe. He's a four-armed engineer with a knack for repairs. Adopted by a a family of Gorlek after his leaf was carried, by a hefty gust of wind, deep into Windswept Wastes

Full backstory

As a child, Inji walked amongst Gorlek. Everyone he called family and friend fell under that umbrella, so it only made sense to him that he'd adorn the same title. The skills you'd typically expect of Gorlek were no exception. Inji was one of them, he was lucky to be largely accepted and not shunned by his peers. Though, on some occasions did he run into folks that saw his apparent differences as reason to mock or belittle him.

Call it, pardon the pun, a *glowing* difference; One that had been everpresent since his leaf blew far away from the tree that birthed him. Deep into the Windswept Wastes, a family of Gorlek ranging from child to fully grown adults saw a white leaf, carried in by a now gentle breeze, landing on a nearby rock. Surrounded, confused, by the family, the young Gorlek curiously looking from behind the legs of their carers, they neared and recoiled as the leaf expanded into a bright glow of white.

Spirits are left incredibly susceptible to their surroundings in their leaf state, usually defining them in their psychology or physical attributes once they become a living Spirit, some more than others, and this situation was no exception. Whether it be something in the air, or the surrounding of this family of Gorlek, this young Spirit was different. Gorlek are typically known for their extra pair of arms in comparison to most other species and, lo-and-behold, the Spirit had visibly taken on such trait.

What was one supposed to do in such a scenario? It was clear that they could not simply leave him. The family, thankfully, already experienced with the challenge of raising a child (although unfamiliar with the unique endeavour of raising a spirit) were kind-hearted enough to take him into their arms and raise him as one of their own, alongside his born-Gorlek brothers and sisters. His siblings looking on with curiousity and interest, unfamiliar with spirit-kind.

Now fully integrated into Gorlek society as an adult, Inji is a trained and skilled Spirit. Inji, as he was name, had taken on the skillsets of Gorlek; the traditional construction and building skills, as well as expanding into more advanced disciplines such as metalworks and, a recent development for Gorlek, machinery and electronics. Maybe weapons, if the situation called for it, but fortunately that need had not come to ahead.

Though, a feeling simmered in Inji's stomach. In his life so far, he was unfamiliar with his own kind. Spirits were not a common sight in this part of the Wastes, so up until now Inji had no experience with his own species. Fearing he may come off as alien, this feeling was left unaddressed for years, but the desire still bit at him. These feelings sat at odds until he decided to set hoof out of the wastes and venture to his place of origin, amongst a congregation of his own kind.

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