Enkhutuya Hotgo
Ruby's life before she came to Eorzea.
Before
Life on the Steppe
Born into the Xaela tribe of Hotgo, blue-haired like much of her family, but with one curiously colourless eye, she was given the name Enkhutuya at birth. Growing up, she trained, as did her peers, as a warrior for her tribe - when she passed the trials of Bardam's Mettle and became a fully fledged warrior, she was gifted a black-and-gold bladed greataxe, which she wields to this day.
In her youth, she idolised a group of her older cousins, most of whom teased and cared for her in equal measure. Dayan and his younger brother in particular liked to tease the annoyingly enthusiastic girl, playfully calling her 'Tuya' instead of the longer name that felt awkward even to some other Xaela.
A day finally came when Dayan and his group announced they were planning to travel to the distant land of Eorzea, promising to return with treasures and tales of adventure. Enkhutuya, still two summers shy of her coming of age, begged to be allowed to join them, but was refused - though encouraged to catch up to them when she was old enough. She did her best to wait out the time patiently, studying a map of the route to Eorzea that Dayan had left her, learning the Eorzean language and continuing to train. Every time the tribe visited Reunion, she eagerly asked for any news of her wayward tribemates, but none ever arrived.
On the night of her coming of age celebrations, Dayan's younger brother stepped forward and announced his intentions to be mated and joined with her. It hadn't come as a surprise - they had spent a lot of time together as they waited for news, and she had grown fond of him, so she accepted his proposal. Though they were mated soon after, Enkhutuya still wished to follow her tribemates to Eorzea and find out what happened to them, perhaps even bring them home - and then they could celebrate their joining as a full family. Her new mate reluctantly agreed to let her go, staying behind to protect their tribe while she ventured forth.
Setting Forth
Enkhutuya bid farewell to her tribe at Reunion and set forth, trading her tribal clothing for travelling attire she was told was more suitable for the world beyond the Steppe. Carrying little other than her axe and a bundle of goods to sell, she hiked to the shores of the Ruby Sea and thence to Kugane, where she sold her goods and sought to buy passage to Eorzea. Seeing she had only a handful of gil, the captain kindly allowed her to work as a cabin girl instead of paying the extortionate fare.
Soon into the voyage though, she discovered that none of the crew or passengers could pronounce her name correctly. Wanting to keep her nickname only for family, she decided to take on a new name for her journey. Looking out over the waves of the Ruby Sea, she decided to name herself Ruby, after the place where her adventure started.
Landing in Limsa Lominsa, she immediately sought out work and took on various odd jobs - loading and unloading cargo, making deliveries, serving drinks in the Drowning Wench, she did it all, earning a small living while she also made enquiries about the group of Xaela who would have arrived some years before.
Loss
Following information gathered while working her various odd jobs, Ruby made her way across most of Eorzea, finally making her way to the Dravanian Hinterlands and Idyllshire. Here as well, there was no sign of her tribemates, but unlike other places she received curious, pitying looks from the locals. She asked everyone she came across, even the strange gobbies, and from this she pieced together a disjointed tale of some kind of disaster involving the huge metal structure in the lake in the valley below - a disaster which claimed the lives of a group of blue-haired Xaela who had arrived some years before. No one seemed able to tell her the whole story, but she came to realise this was the final resting place of her idolised cousins.
Her search complete, Ruby returned to Limsa Lominsa and made preparations to sail home. Shortly before her planned departure, she met a pair of Xaela fresh off the boat and asked for news from the Steppe, specifically about the Hotgo. The pair shared a momentary look and then explained to her that the tribe's last encampment had been found destroyed, no living souls left. The Hotgo had been massacred. The pair spoke of a tribal war, but if they mentioned the name of the opposing tribe, Ruby didn't hear it as she collapsed, vomiting into the waters of the dock.
Found by the Yellowjackets and presumed to be a drunk, she spent a few nights in a cell. When she was released, she considered returning home in the hopes of finding survivors, maybe even her bonded-to-be - but she couldn't bear the idea of making another journey in search of her tribemates that would likely only end in failure.
Returning to her odd-job work, she was one day asked to make a delivery to a certain establishment in the Goblet. Carrying her axe as always, the bosses there asked for a demonstration of her martial skill, and offered her a job working security.