Zeraia Reynard

Zeraia Reynard
"If you want something, you go out and get it yourself. No one owes you a living."
Gender	Female
Race	Hyur
Clan	Midlander
Citizenship	Lominsan?
Age	31
Nameday	10th sun of the 5th Astral Moon

(This is a Work in Progress)

Zeraia can be many things to different people.

Antique book dealer. Shrewd merchant. Snappy dresser. Polite and well-spoken. Scholar of Ancient Eorzea. Flirty and hedonistic.

Yet, there is a lot under the surface that she hides with her many masks and faces. She never has revealed much of her past, and she always has several different stories that she tells people when they ask. It is likely that all are true at some point or on some level, and yet, most, if not all, contradict each other. And she knows this. No one as of yet knows where she came from, only that she came to Eorzea ten years before the Calamity, as a girl, with nothing but the clothes on her back. Her initial port of call was Limsa Lominsa, and thus it is where she makes her home.

Her bookstore, Reynard's Tomes, is somewhere by the water's edge in Limsa Lominsa.

Character

History

Terra Incognita

Appearance

Physically short and petite, Zeraia looks quite unassuming at first glance.

However, upon further examination, she is anything but. Her eyes are bright and alert most times, and she always seems to examine the room with an inscrutable smile. She stands taller than her height, confident, often dressed in dark clothing lined with silver or gold, her long brown hair meticulously neat and curled down her shoulders. A trained Arcanist and Alchemist, she has the trappings of such on her person, with several notebooks, phials, and other assorted oddities on her person at most times; when outside, she also might have her large, leather backpack, which she uses to carry her books. Her eyes are a piercing, pale blue, almost close to white.

Her wire-rimmed spectacles, if she is not already wearing them, would be hanging around her neck; she seems to prefer them off while she is in combat, however rare that may be. She wears clothing that suits her mood at the time; she is quite the avid collector of clothing, and absolutely adores dresses in particular. Her preferred colours seem to be gold, black, or a very dark blue. In her travelling clothing, however, she wears a large, sturdy brown-leather longcoat.

Behavior

Terra Incognita

Tendencies

Likes

Zeraia, enjoying one of her guilty pleasures.

• Wine
• Literature
• Travel
• Secrets
• Dresses!
• Pretty people
• Sugary foods
• Conversation
• Picking out clothes, for herself or others

Dislikes

• Being trapped
• Having her freedom limited
• Not getting her own way
• Being snubbed
• Being ignored
• Arranged marriages/unions
• ???

Hobbies/Talents

• Languages
• Translation
• Book Appraisal
• Ancient Knowledge
• Reading
• Alchemy

Relationships

Family

Zeraia has no family that she is willing to speak of in certain terms. She has said that her parents have tried to get her to an arranged marriage, but her story diverges in wildly different paths everytime she tells it; it mostly ends in her leaving the groom at the altar and finding her way to Eorzea. She has not conclusively said where she came from.

Friends and Enemies

• Xenedra Ambreaus: The proprietress of the Soliloquy, Zeraia sees Xenedra as a kindred spirit, and bemoans her monogamous status. Of course, that does not stop Zeraia from flirting with her every chance she gets. Despite this, she seems to see Xenedra as dangerous in certain situations, and makes sure to not incur her wrath in any way.
• Abaigeal Causland: The waitress of the Soliloquy, and Zeraia's beautiful wine fairy, as described by Zeraia herself, she loves to tease the highlander, knowing how easily she gets embarrassed. She finds the girl adorable, beautiful, and talented, and flirts with her any chance she gets. She even has written a set of love poems for Abaigael, if only to get a response out of her.
• Scarlet Willow: Scarlet is a Lohengarde woman whom Zeraia is teaching the finer points of reading and writing, in exchange for some manual labour and fittings in her shop. Zeraia loves how easy it is to embarrass Scarlet with flirtations and innuendos. Their relationship is close, and yet it is likely that Zeraia herself is distancing herself from the Roegadyn.
• Moenlona Yssenwyn: Moenlona is another Roegadyn whom Zeraia is close to; their relationship is decidedly more relaxed, mostly because they met at the Soliloquy. Their first real night ended in Zeraia getting too drunk to walk, with Moenlona walking her to her shophouse. She thinks Moenlona is a fine person to be around; but again, her trend of distancing herself from others applies.
• Kari Illderthane: One of Zeraia's customers and acquaintances, Zeraia considers her a pretty and interesting elezen. Being not one to have experienced much from Duskwights, Zeraia wishes to learn more of them from Kari sometime, but work has kept Zeraia particularly busy.
• Rhio Aldul: Zeraia sees Rhio as not just a friend, but as a business associate. Despite this, their relationship with one another verges on something Zeraia has not particularly even considered feeling before. She is still puzzling out the implications, the angles, and the motivations of herself and Rhio. Outside of this, Rhio is one of her recent suppliers of rare tomes, and they have quite a successful partnership so far. She is likely the closest that others have gotten to Zeraia thus far.

(OOC: Please PM me if I missed you!)

Combat

Zeraia is not someone who gets involved in much combat, if at all. However, she has a book at her side that seems to always be with her, at all times, and easily accessible. From the patterns of the large, steel-bound notebook, a more learned individual would figure out that at least half of its contents are devoted to Arcanima glyphs and runes, likely penned by herself, and she can act as a passable arcanist if forced to fight. If one managed to take a peek in her book, however, amongst the ledgers and daily expenditures of her scribbled writing, there are some glyphs which are unknown to most arcanists, seemingly placed at random pages; though, they seem to look suspiciously like summoning rituals of some kind...

Rumours

Easily-overheard Rumours

• "She's a smart one, Miss Reynard. Surprised she hasn't gone off and got hitched yet, looking at how pretty she is."
• "I heard she sells almost any kind of book anyone would ever want! What? Why are you asking how I know? Err..."
• "She's always flirting with people, that one. Better watch out for her; those eyes are like a hawk's, and she'll just fly in and snatch your young men and maidens when you're not looking..."

Uncommon Rumours

• "She'll buy any book worth selling, Miss Reynard. You have to be careful, though; Better get a second opinion or she'll swindle you out of your money without even batting an eyelid."
• "Sometimes I see young men and women leave her house at night, or in the morning... sometimes two at once. Sometimes I see them kissing her too. Lucky bastards."
• "She definitely ain't from around here; she don't got that Limsan look, or Ul'dahan, or Gridanian. Apparently, I heard she's from Ala Mhigo." "You heard wrong, apparently she's from Garlemald!" "'ey, you both are gits, I heard she's from the Southern Seas." "I ain't a git!" *Bar Fight ensues*

Rare Rumours

• "I heard she's involved with more unsavoury folk for some of her stock. Garlean items from pirates and such. I ain't getting involved with her, and you shouldn't either, if you know what's good for you."
• "I saw her talking to a voidsent once! I ain't crazy, I swears it!"
• "Sometimes I see strange men in her shop. Quiet, tall, and pale, mostly... Once they come, everyone else has to leave. I wonder what that's about?"

Reference Sheet!