A Clan of Scarlet Eyes

The Kurta Clan is a tribe living in obscurity in Lukso Province's mountains.

They have a good reason for this.

They all possess the trait of Scarlet Eyes, eyes that turn red when emotionally upset.

It is said that flesh collectors sought out their eyes, and people fear them for this. So they hid themselves away, living in obscurity, away from the rest of the world in their self-inflicted isolation.

This is how Julianne Potter, now reborn as Kurapika sees herself.

Kurapika is born to the Clan Elder's niece, a very beautiful blonde woman, and a black-haired man who earned her hand in marriage by proving himself worthy of marrying a woman of high status in their tribe. Her mother's name is Lady Sanira and her father's name is Agito. Kurapika lived a life of prestige in a good home. That, and due to their isolation, everyone is a tightly-knit community where everyone knows each other. Tribe population? 128! That small!

In their culture, its required that everyone works together to live. Such that not even clansmen of high status have servants. Nope, no such thing.

The role of men is provider and security. They are trained warriors, and do the farming and hunting. They are also carpenters, artisans and craftsmen. And upon getting married, its their duty to provide a house for their family. That means they do it from scratch. By themselves!

The role of women is Homemaker.

In the life of a female Kurta, a young girl learns many things from their mothers other than knowing how to read, write, manners and maths. Spinning thread, weaving cloth, sewing, embroidery, cooking, and how to take care of the house and soon, become good wives and mothers. And they are educated and trained until the day they marry at age 17 or 18 while men marry at 20. Training starts at a very young age and after that, these young girls must prepare a big dowry of fabrics wherein they sewed embroidery into all of them. At least, a minimum of forty fabrics with which, to decorate their future homes. Curtains, Valances, Pelmets, Carpets, Rugs, Pillowcases, Towels, Swaddling Cloths, Beddings, and its also her job to make the family's clothes! And by tradition, a girl must learn her family's traditional patterns while also creating her own patterns. Not only that, the fabric and patterns must match for each purpose in the house. Cotton? Hemp? Wool? Silk? Linen? And the threads are made of silk threads. And making the bare minimum of forty will take four years if you rushed it. However, it must be done before you're sixteen as when you're that age, you'll be busy pouring your time on your own wedding gown.

So Kurapika worked hard because she was glad she's a woman, NOT a man. The man's dowry is that he makes the house! By himself! The carving designs and all!

A man's workload is far heavier and back-breaking, dammit. And she started at age seven in learning both sewing, embroidery and cooking, and joining her mother in doing chores, so she would learn.

However, while she learned sewing and embroidery the hard way, cleaning and cooking, she's very used to that its said 'she learns faster' and she's a good cook any man who marries her would be lucky. So now she's under pressure that her needlework should be just as a high level. But she found this culture too damn stereotypically...sexist. So she would ask her grand uncle to let her read books. Especially the forbidden ones if only to satisfy her curiosity. So she studied as well. Because to Kurtas who wish to see the outside world, they must learn the language outside. Speak fluently in it. But still, the outside world is somehow no different from her old world. Just with a little differences. Everyone in the outside world, no matter what country you're from, speak the same language. There's no foreign language, unless you count their tribe's unique language.

But still, its fun to see not much changed.

However, the one thing her people disdained, is money.

In the outside world, money and how to acquire money, makes the world go round. Her people disdain the mere thought of paying for even a loaf of bread, so they'd rather farm for it, and carefully conserve and preserve harvests to last them through.

But one day, at age 12...tragedy struck her village.

All she remembers is her mother stuffing her in the house's pantry and she was told never to come out for several hours as they are under attack, and food and water are stuffed in with her.

Kurapika bitterly wondered if she's fated to always lose her family at a young age no matter what life she was born to and she despaired in it.

Once the food and drink ran out, she came out a week later...to see her village in ruins and bloodstained. Damaged houses.

Dead people down to the last baby, dead with eyes gouged out that she threw up violently. She mourned her family and neighbors, and buried them all by herself. Luckily, the food wasn't touched as by tradition, food is stored in an underground pantry of the house to keep out pests. She was able to survive on her own while training in a man's ways of battle. Her father had the foresight of building that hiding chamber, other families didn't.

No sense in continuing the way of the woman now. But she pushed herself, as she wondered what power killed their menfolk who are all highly-acrobatic, powerful and skilled warriors as she often watched Fighting Tournaments. They made use of 'graded training armored weights', training to obtain ideal stamina, endurance and speed. This is because when a Kurta's eyes turn red, their physical prowess increases to the point of doubling temporarily. But its taxing on the stamina.

Kurapika learned how to activate her eyes at will, and pushed herself so hard while learning the language and knowledge of the outside world...and decided that given all options, she must become a Hunter.

Age 17...

Kurapika is currently in Whale Island, having found the Exam Site on her own.

She has come a long way, amassing a lot of knowledge she could get her hands on given what's necessary to know about the outside world but she studied people first and foremost. Sociology, Psychology, Culture, and many other topics necessary.

Because the most dangerous being in the world, is man. Not some beast.

But still...

"Am I the only woman here?!" she thought worriedly.

But still, in the Hunter Exam, you're on your own unless the proctors require teambuilding to pass a test.

Sabotaging happens.

She made sure to ask her guide and what she heard paints a nasty picture. So she knows she'll be alone, or she could possibly die in a stage. Deaths DO happen.

"But I'm a survivor." she thought. "I struggled since that day. I learned all means and methods of survival. I can do this! Besides...I'm used to it now...being...alone."

In her first life as Julianne Potter, she has been all alone until she was eleven years old, and periods of being socially ostracized for stupid reasons. Then in her present life after being orphaned, and being the only survivor. She was all alone for five years.

And now, Hunter Exam.

Her 18th year has begun.