The short form of his name is pronounced "caw" like the sound a crow makes.
Early life
Qau hatched in the northside pools of Ādīsi Geneti, and was raised under the Guide Mifh-merī with 6 hatching mates. When he was younger, Qau was closest to Jik of his hatching mates, as the pair were very intelligent, and both had aims on studying pharmacology at the University of Adisi Geneti. To this end, they studied heavily, isolating themselves from others to spend more time alone with books. When they hit fourteen years old, it was time for the entrance exams. Many students were taking nootrophics, but both Qau and Jik refused believing that they should get in on their own merits.
When it came for the announcement of who had gotten in, the hatching mates were excitedly awaiting the news - they had worked hard, revised together and believed they were set to get in. But tragedy struck. While Jik achieved just well enough to get in, Qau had failed by just a hair. Where he should have congratulated his friend and long term companion, Qau, enraged, accused her of taking nootrophic drugs and left in ignominy, friendless and guildless on the streets of Adisi Geneti. As such Qau gained the name āy'ḥāk or “failed doctor”.
Lacking any kind of aim in life having had his ambition taken away from him, Qau got in contact with his old Guide, who sent him to Skri-giba-ālek of the Harvesters’ Guild in Sī’oli-zafi, a guild known for taking in drop outs for their expeditions in the deep heart of the fungal forest. Here Qau gained Guild Membership and worked as part of an expedition team to recover rare and new drugs, gaining the name āda. The once clean chameleon began to blame his failings on not taking performance enhancers, and started to dabble like many young members of the Harvesters’. Initially he worked with steroids to boost his physical strength and athleticism, and his increased size and strength went noted by the Guild who assigned him to protection duty.
Protection duty was dangerous however, and after being severely injured by an attacking jaguar, for some time Qau ended up on a strong painkiller known as “Mist” or “Crimson Mist” for the red mushroom caps it entailed. The painkiller had the additional effect of heightening aggression and bloodlust within the user for a short time after being taken. Even after his recovery, the now addicted Qau continued to use the Mist, and his fighting prowess increased further with his heightened state of aggression gaining the name “dibab” or berserker. However, this career too was not to last for Qau. After a disagreement with his supervisor over safety, the young chameleon, now seventeen, assaulted him while under the Mist’s influence. This led to his expulsion from the guild, and the removal of any purpose within his life.
Now guildless, poor, depressed and drug-addicted on the streets of Adisi Geneti, Qau had nowhere left to turn and had all but resigned himself to drinking himself to an early grave when a chance encounter with Shayla Fitzreine in Mouldtown's infamous The Emerald Lantern tavern led him to travel to the Grand Duchy of Tir to undertake an assignment for the Grand Order of Wizards. On the trip over, he spent time with Ashraiah "Ash" el Sabine, a fellow societal outcast from Adisi who had joined Shayla's troupe, and the two bonded over their shared origins and collective misery at their lot in life, quickly becoming close friends and forming an almost sibling-like connection.
He travelled with the Band of Misfits for the rest of its original existence as a unified unit, earning the nickname "Qau the Mighty" during his travels and gaining quite the number of admirers for his skill and combat prowess. With some assistance from Ash, he managed to wean himself off of Mist and overcame his addiction completely, and as of now, he has the distinction being the only member of the team still adventuring; as his friends either died or settled down in T'Kashire, he continued to roam.
After Tale of Tir and Nox, Part I
Qau continued to adventure after this, travelling far and wide, though going off the grid and seemingly disappearing for significant periods of time. He is known to have returned to Beti in early 3A 206 and fulfilled his promise to Ash of murdering Hayk before getting into an altercation with Ash's elder brother Magri over it. He was noted to have met Wretch "Shadowborn" while spending time with Tribe Threefinger in the Great Desert. He is easily spotted due to his height (he is unusually tall for a Chameleon) and his distinctive wolf-pelt cloak which he wears near-constantly, and has had enchanted to protect both it and himself. Since then, he has acquired two further magical items on his journeys - the Ring of Plentiful Water and the Axe of Bound Lightning.
The Axe of Bound Lightning was found by Qau while exploring a largely ruined dwarven hold on the western edge of the Dwarven Mountains. He had to fight through a hold infested with monsters and haunted by the long dead, in search of treasure to fund a voyage west. The treasure he did indeed find, including the axe, at the buried heart of the hold. However, along the way, he rescued the last living dwarf of the hold, Sten Bjorksson, who had been petrified by one of the monsters. Though initially grateful, Sten was shocked and appalled that Qau had claimed his ancestors' axe, but refused to fight the man who had saved him. Instead Sten vowed to follow Qau until he died, at which point he would reclaim the axe. Qau treats this with quiet amusement, as under Betin tradition he would pass on no inheritance anyway, and the dwarf is useful to have around - largely for carrying Qau's collection of equipment and trophies from his travels, but also for his skill in navigating complex social situations.
Qau did amass enough gold to make his voyage eventually, and headed west of Ja'Pa and finding the Portal to Neró, which he sailed through and explored the Western Isles. In return for slaying a monstrously mutated Unknown for a noble family, he was awarded the Ring of Plentiful Water, which he wears as evidence of having been to Neró. As additional evidence, a friend that Qau made while through the portal, Glaw Trwm, has accompanied him back to explore Orth in return.
Tales of the chameleon's exploits have travelled far and wide, even in areas that he has not been. "Qau the MIGHTY!" is a common topic for bards in the taverns of Orth, especially in Beti and the Empire, and Qau has met many notable individuals who have respected his prowess and sought to capitalise on his fame. He is slightly less abrasive than when he was younger, though is still no great orator, and often comes across as foreign or strange to non-Betins. His actions have also reduced the fear and hatred of more muscular Lizardfolk in the Empire (mostly Crocodilids, despite Qau not being one), and given them a reputation more for heroism that barbarity.
On a brief stay in Mor'Koc, with the aim of returning to Tir, Qau's ship was delayed by a freak storm. Due to this he heard about a the Troll Bridge Association recruiting mercenaries to head to Balla to fight the armies of Nox. With his fame, and capability, Qau negotiated a hefty wage, and was sent with his companions on the first wave of airships to Balla, hoping to arrive in time to affect the ongoing battle...