Kannadi Albedo

Kannadi Albedo
The Professional
Race	Hyur
Clan	Midlander
Citizenship	Ul'dah
Age	"26 by chronology, 31 by calendar"
Namesday	Second Sun, Fifth Astral Moon
Occupations	Ecologist, researcher
Disciplines	Black Mage, Scholar, Goldsmith, Weaver, etc.
Deity	Azeyma, the Warden

Kannadi Albedo (KAHN-ah-dee ● al-BAY-doh) is a scholar of monsters, behavior, and monster behavior. Somehow she has managed to fit that into an aristocratic upbringing.

Lately, despairing of ever catching up to the new-to-her fauna that arose after the Calamity, she has turned her studies to magic.

Physical Description

Though tall for a Midlander woman, Kannadi is more identifiable by her style of dress: even in the oppressive heat of Thanalan, she's rarely out of long sleeves and unbroken skin coverage neck to toe. Gloves aren't uncommon for her either. The style and material of it all trends toward the expensive.

Above the neck, her skin is a medium brown, her eyes are light gray, and her hair is dark brown and very exactingly kept. She often wears jewelry as well, save for field work where it might get damaged.

The typical length and coverage of her clothing conceals a surprisingly fit and toned physique, the sort honed through long days of extensive walking, hiking, and studies of monsters and geology. She couldn't out-sprint a cactuar, but she could outpace most creatures, as she occasionally must when they do not take kindly to being studied.

Personality

Polite with permanently proper diction and fastidious attention to detail, which some may confuse for haughtiness but which is simply indicative of her adherence to educated professionalism. She's very much a scholar (both lowercase-s and capital-S) and defines herself by what she knows and doesn't know. What she knows are magic and monsters. On those subjects she is authoritative and (tries to be) interesting.

Kannadi is rarely angered, just annoyed or disappointed -- and even on those occasions when she is angry, she's not apt to show it beyond curtness and withering looks.

Her careful investments and her family's wealth have put her in the enviable position of not needing to do much work at all, which has caused her no shortage of guilt. In response to how Ul'dah's less fortunate live and what other wealthy Ul'dahns do with their freedom, Kannadi donates frequently and generously between her deliberately long hours of crafting, researching, and/or writing.

She also has a dry sense of humor and occasionally makes observations which employ it.

Background

Kannadi is who you get when a decade and a half of expensive high-class education helps sculpt, but fails to completely stick to, a smart young lady who has a passion for scientific observation and a knack for magic. In addition to being a craftswoman of profitable talent, she is a published author of informative booklets on notorious monsters as well as the uncredited co-author of On the Properties of Beastmen. (Don't get her started on that one.)

Her education and personal wealth allowed her to follow her whims, which led her through a geological survey bureau, a research/exploration academy, and most lately a certain league of adventurers. What impact she has on Eorzea at large is currently light, as she is fond of roaming monster paths or lodging herself in her study, but she has risen through the ranks of the Immortal Flames with respectable speed.

She currently holds an officer's commission as Second Lieutenant, and is attached to the garrison at Forgotten Springs, from which she conducts surveys of the Sagolii Desert's monsters, ruins, and mineral wealth.

Family

Family is very important to Kannadi, being that she is the product of two notable ones.

The Albedos are a wealthy family built on finance and carnivorous opportunism. The Calamity claimed many of their records and therefore much of their fortune, but decisive action by family matriarch and former Syndicate member Karen "the Silver Giant" saved them from the depredations of competitors. Though their wealth no longer ranks among Ul'dah's 1% or even 10%, they are still very comfortable and work to stay that way.

The Lahar family, once very prominent in Eorzea's textile industry, has crumbled to a humble standing. The Garlean attack on Ala Mhigo destroyed most of their wealth and claimed multiple family members, and the Calamity's ruin claimed nearly all the rest. The last two Lahars of their generation have no interest in rebuilding what was lost, but rather look to build for the future.

Kannadi's Extant Relatives:

Father: Torrent Albedo (55), curator of the "History's Torrent" Museum in Ul'dah. A former treasure-hunting adventurer even before the term became common, many of the exhibits were attained by his hand.

Mother: Avani Lahar-Albedo (52), full-time priestess for Ul'dah's Nophican community. Highly devout even before her family's collapse. Very well-read.

Cousins:

Rasim Albedo (33)

Leyla Albedo (25 +5)

Dima Albedo (26)

Nadra Albedo (22)

Airavata Lahar (25)

Akupara Lahar (25)

Uncles:

Rilo Albedo (45)

Avinash Lahar (56)

Grandmother: Karen Albedo (84) - Family matriarch and capitalist shark, slowly devouring her way back into prominence with her remaining years. One-quarter Sea Wolf. Kannadi has her eyes, part of her height, and all of the favoritism a grandmother can provide.

Published Works

• Concerning Kobolds

A brief pamphlet on the kobold beastkin. Out of print, copies impossible to find.

• Fatal Fauna of Thanalan

An informative booklet of Thanalan's twelve deadliest monster species.

• On Notorious Monsters

An informative listing of notorious monsters for all adventurers of Eorzea. Written in 1572, yet out of print by 1577 due to being a whole realm out of date, it is still possible to find among rare book dealers.

• On the Properties of Beastmen

A scientific study of beastmen, for which Kannadi is an uncredited co-author. She was left off the byline over a disagreement regarding the book's sale price; she wanted it cheaper.

Theme Music

General: Rabao (FFXI Piano Collection)

Battle: Something to Protect (FFIX OST)

Travel: Royal Blood, Fraternal Love (Edgar & Sabin) (FFVI Balance and Ruin, Overclocked Remix)

Emotional: Rose of May (FFIX OST)

In Study: Whispers of the Gods (FFXI Piano Collection)

Internal Struggle: Aishou (Fullmetal Alchemist OST 3)