Chao Lingshen

CHAO LINGSHEN

FIREBRAND

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❝ They wanted war. Let's go give 'em war. ❞

Chao Lingshen.

VITAL INFORMATION ■ CURRENT ALIAS... Chao Lingshen. ■ RACE & CLAN... Miqo'te, Seeker of the Sun. ■ GENDER... Female. ■ AGE... 23. ■ NAMEDAY... 1st Sun of the 6th Umbral Moon, 1556 S.A.E. ■ ORIENTATION... Asexual/Aromantic. ■ MARITAL STATUS... Single.

OTHER STATISTICS ■ NATIONALITY... Doman. ■ CITIZENSHIP... Limsan. ■ RESIDENCE... Vylbrand Academy. ■ OCCUPATION... Founder, Misriah Armory. ■ PATRON DEITY... Azeyma, the Warden. ■ HEIGHT & WEIGHT... 5 fulms, 4 ilms. 116 ponzes. ■ ALIGNMENT... Chaotic Good.

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[edit]

• Details
• Combat
• Misriah Armory
• History
• Relationships
• Rumors
• Music & Gallery
• OOC Notes
• Credits

❝ Gods and empires have sworn to break me. And yet, here I stand, unbroken. ❞

GENERAL INFORMATION

Chao Lingshen is a female miqo'te Seeker of the Sun originally born in Doma. With the Garlean Empire's subjugation of that region, she was conscripted into their armed forces, where she applied her mechanical and magical genius to enhance the Empire's magitek arsenal. She eventually fled to Eorzea with the aid of personnel of the Garlond Ironworks, and has since taken up residence in Ul'dah, spending her days studying and improving her magical and physical capabilities in order to take the fight to the Empire.

APPEARANCE

Chao is tall for miqo'te, standing at five fulms and nearly four ilms tall, weighing one hundred and sixteen ponzes. She wears her hair cropped close in a somewhat-boyish style, with two forelocks hanging down just past her chin, secured in place with bronze bangles. Her hair is black, with faint auburn highlights best seen at the back of her head. Afflicted with the normal miqo'te tendency toward heterochromia, her left eye is a dark brown and her right a dark crimson, the two shades close enough together that she could easily be mistaken for having one eye color at a distance or in poor lighting. The tribal markings on her face are slightly more vibrant than normal, this due to the effect of the Garlean anti-aether sigils on her body. When activated, the markings glow bright red. A faint scar on her left cheek, not normally visible due to her tribal markings, is the only visible reminder of the ceruleum explosion at Castrum Meridianum.

The clothing she wears varies, but she has a marked tendency to prefer more subdued colors such as black, white, and dark browns. Typically she can be found wearing a black and white yukata she picked up from the most recent Moonfire Faire, as it reminds her of her lost home in Doma. She's not big on accessories or jewelry, but usually wears a pair of peach blossom earrings, again as a reminder of Doma. She also always wears either tall boots, dark-colored leggings, or some combination of the two to hide the ceruleum burns on the backs of her legs from sight.

PERSONALITY

As any who would have even taken notice of her at the Quicksand would be quick to point out that she very easily disappears in the background of much more colorful and varied individuals, often preferring to mind her own business and just listen to the goings-on around her, as they have occasionally helped provide some insight into a problem she had been working on. When approached, she is polite and well-spoken, demonstrating an amiable personality with a tendency to make jokes and tease. A favorite thing to do is begin an ominous-sounding statement, then laughing it off instead of finishing the threat. On romance and sexuality, however, Chao can be considered completely asexual, having no consideration of romantic emotions at all. She does recognize romantic advance, but is unresponsive to it.

Beneath that playful exterior, she is singularly-focused on the downfall of the Garlean Empire and the salvation not just of Eorzea, but of all lands that have suffered under Garlemald's iron fist. This desire drives every action she takes, from her research into greater and more powerful magitek to her quest for greater personal power. The lack of any sort of unity or cohesion amongst the city-states of Eorzea greatly distresses her, and she has considered several times a gambit wherein she presents herself as a great existential threat to the realm, thereby forcing them to unify or face destruction, but has so far held back because the clear and present threat presented by Garlemald sure hasn't done it so far. If the situation demands it, however, she is still more than willing to become a martyr and take on the role of a villain to ensure that the realm is saved.

L I K E S ■ Developing magitek. ■ Increasing her own combat ability. ■ Recovering advanced technology from ancient civilizations, even better when she can improve it and make it work again.	D I S L I K E S ■ The Garlean Empire ■ Those who advance personal profit at the expense of others, especially in the face of a grave existential threat. ■ Tribal miqo'te, considering them primitive.	H O B B I E S / T A L E N T S ■ Developing and enhancing magitek ■ Light culinarian skill ■ A decent head for business ■ Improvisation and customization of existing schools of talent
S T R E N G T H S ■ High intelligence ■ Strong melee aptitude ■ High magical aptitude	W E A K N E S S E S ■ Hubris ■ Martyr complex ■ Overreliant on self	O T H E R ■ Occasionally refers to the Allagan Empire as Forerunners. ■ She goes through a lot of gear and clothes (read: destroyed) in the process of testing and experimenting with her magic and magitek.

COMBAT & WEAPONRY

● Magical Prowess: A budding mage in her own right, Chao is talented in the arts of thaumaturgy, with a far greater affinity for magic of the fire element than other types. This affinity allows her mana to regenerate normally at all times; as such, she is not affected by the astral fire/umbral ice duology many thaumaturges are shackled by. Because of this trait, she is seeking to develop her own, personal style of magic outside the existing systems. Aside from this, she also has some light training in conjury.

● Fire Resistance: Due to absorbing both living and offensive aether of the Lord of the Inferno, Chao has become more heavily-aspected toward fire, further increasing the power of her magic as well as making her highly-resilient to heat or fire-based attacks.

● Magia Erebia: Translating to 'Dark Magic', Magia Erebia is the result of Chao's experimentation in magic circles, aetherflow, and how magic and spirit energy can be made to interact with the body. By creating a magic circle, she is able to then absorb a directed energy attack that comes in contact with her, fusing it with her soul and imbuing her with enhanced statistics, depending on the type of energy, for a limited period of time. As a drawback, the unnatural interaction between the soul and aetheric energies causes a corrosive effect, relegating the use of Magia Erebia to emergencies only.

● Magic Seal: As a result of the experimentation to resist tempering (see below), when her sigils are activated, she is a complete aetherial void, unable to access her latent magical talents or be affected by anything that would relate to a mana pool. This is mostly used to allow her to pass off as having no magic talent whatsoever, as her mana is not detectible when in this state.

● Martial Arts: Trained from a young age in the Doman style, unarmed combat is one of the most dangerous places to face her. Her style is visually similar to that of the Fist of Rhalgr, but structurally different. Whereas the monks favor strikes and work best from the flanks or rear of a foe, Chao's Hokuryuu Shourinken favors kicks, wide sweeping stances, and keeping a distance from the enemy. However, she has taken aspects of the Ala Mhigan style into her own, giving her a much wider array of abilities and actions in combat.

● Shundo: A ki-based technique of Doman origin, also known by its translated names of ' Ground Contractor ' or ' Instant Movement. ' By focusing ki or magic energy to the bottom of her feet, she is able to 'grip' the ground and propel herself forward at immense speed, traversing up to sixty fulms in less time than it takes to register movement in the brain. She is only capable of traveling in a straight line across relatively even terrain, and cannot pass obstacles. Individuals with high martial training are able to sense her movement to a degree.

● Spell List: Chao has developed a list of spells that she prefers to use in combat, primarily based around fire magic and other aetheric uses. All of them are incanted in Garlean (Latin). Additionally, she has her own incantation phrase, which is used to unlock the aetherflow in her body and allow her to channel more powerful magic spells. Said incantation phrase is "Rasteil mai magicscir magister." It should also be noted that all of Chao's fire-based spells are aetheric and therefore do not require oxygen to continue burning, and some can even continue to burn when fully immersed in water.

● Calefaciens Exarmatio: Translating to Heatwave Disarmament, this is a spell used to disarm a foe. It is specially-tuned fire magic that destroys equipment, weapons, and clothing, but leaves the person themselves unharmed.

● Cantus Bellax: Lit. Battle Song, this is a simple self-buffing spell that reinforces her body with aether. Aside from providing a long-lasting anti-physical shield, this magic also exponentially increases muscle tension, allowing greater power, speed and endurance; it also increases the flexibility of muscles and tendons to prevent Chao from damaging herself from overexertion. In addition, her reflexes are enhanced by a moderate increase in the stimulation of the nervous system.

● Captus Flammeus: A binding spell, Fiery Captor summons ropes of fire magic that bind a target in place. Though not intended to cause harm to the bound target, Chao can cause them to do so at will.

● Flagrantia Rubicans: A moderately-powerful fire spell, about on par with Fire II, Red Blaze is Chao's mainstay offensive spell.

● Incendium Gehennae: A very potent fire spell developed after absorbing the living and offensive aether of Ifrit. Visually, Hellfire Conflagration is similar to Ifrit's own ultimate attack.

● Ignis Deflexio: A fire-based anti-physical protective shield. Its defensive effects are small.

● Sagitta Magica Series Ignis: Chao can summon a number of magic missiles of fire, always a prime number, which will independently track and pursue their target with no input from her. Their tracking method can be defeated if faced cleverly, and one could simply knock the magic missile away when it reaches them. Their damage is limited individually, but she can also cast this spell as a massive, single magic missile comprised of the energy of all the individual ones. While this is more powerful, it is also easier to avoid or counter.

● Technological Genius: From her youth, she has had a disturbing knack for understanding and knowledge of magitek devices. This ingenuity saw her placed in the Garlean Empire's research division once she was conscripted, where she enhanced and streamlined numerous Garlean weaponry and drive systems. Though more than capable of creating new devices from her own mind, her skills are strongest at refining and adapting existing technology to perform even better. She is responsible for the technological control devices that the Garleans use on their colossi to prevent them from rampaging in battle. Since coming to Eorzea, she has developed a powered assault armor and numerous other systems.

● Temper Resistance: As a result of Garlean experimentation, Chao possesses a set of sigils inscribed on her body that allows her to seal her aether. The theory is that this will protect her from the primals' method of tempering individuals by way of overloading their aether with the primal's own, due to their aether being unable to interact with her. This has proven to function as intended, tested under fire during her confrontation with Ifrit.

● Weapon Proficiency (Firearm): As with all Garlean soldiers, she was trained to use their advanced firearms technology. Though she prefers magic and unarmed combat, she does keep a concealable pistol loaded with large-caliber, high-explosive ammunition on her person. Just in case.

● Weapon Proficiency (Gunblade): As a conscript of the Garlean army, and valued slightly above the rank-and-file for her technical genius, she was trained in how to use a gunblade. Though she does not favor the weapon herself, she is capable of picking up and easily-using any of the non-specialized types of gun-weapons.

OOC Note: I unilaterally prefer freeform combat to dice, as dice cannot adequately reflect skill and equipment of a character. I practice what I refer to as an "interrupt" style of RP combat, in that when I make an action, I include a description of the effects it would have, and leave it to the other individual to defend against the action and/or mitigate the effects. Don't hesitate to send a /t if you have questions or are unsure of something I did in a battle.

MISRIAH ARMORY

After settling at Vylbrand Academy, Chao finally found the stability required to dedicate her efforts fully to designing and developing her magitek weaponry. After a sizable payment for technologies rendered, she was able to fund the creation of her own arms company, Misriah Armory. Adapting the slogan "Battle-tested for your home", Chao has hired a number of production personnel from the Ironworks and purchased several proprietary systems from Cid nan Garlond to begin her work on magitek combat systems, primarily in the form of powered armor.

● Anti-Magic Reactive Armor: A system wherein a piece of armor or shield is imbued with reactive aether that, when an offensive spell acts upon it, explodes outward to disperse the effects of the spell and reduce harm to the wearer. This system is still in the prototype phase; currently, it reacts far too vigorously to offensive spells.

● Armory Device: Utilizing the principles of aetheric teleportation, Chao can imbue specific items with a unique aetheric signature, and then pair them to a device, traditionally a ring, that summons the items onto the wearer, allowing one to be armed and equipped in the blink of an eye.

● Electromagnetic Aether Pulse Protection: After an...unpleasant...event that saw her powered devices shut down by an enemy electromagnetic aether pulse, Chao worked to ensure that this never occurred again. By studying the recorded particulate effects just before her devices lost power, she was able to determine the frequency at which the particulates used interacted with her devices, and modify her shielding to nullify that frequency. To prevent circumvention by simply using a different frequency, all her powered equipment shielding is designed to modulate through differing frequencies.

● Ironworks Powered Armor Mk.I: The upgraded, field-ready combat version of her prototype armor. Designed as a modular system that supports varying upgrades as requested by the wearer. A detailed description can be found here. Unlike her other, proprietary powered armor designs, her personal set retains the designation 'Ironworks' partly out of nostalgia, and partly in recognition that she was aided by members of the Garlond Ironworks in designing and creating it.

● Misriah Powered Armor/BREAKER: A direct assault variant built for Grundy, focusing on strong armored protection, resilient shielding, armor-augmented strength enhancers, and a VISR (detailed below) uplink to identify allies and enemies. As Grundy lacks the technical expertise to manipulate armor systems, the BREAKER variant is designed to function largely autonomously, with all systems functioning when power is applied. Grundy's personal variant features two additional features: two spiked chain shots built into both forearms for grappling, and remote systems override allowing Chao to lock down his armor to stop him from going on a berserker rampage.

● Misriah Powered Armor/INFILTRATOR: An infiltrator variant designed for use by those who prefer a stealth approach. The INFILTRATOR variant lacks the plate protection of its more up-armored brethren, relying on faster-cycling aetheric shielding technology and the user's own ability to evade hits to provide its protection. This powered armor increases user reaction speed and possesses proprietary sound-dampening technology to enhance stealth.

● Powered Fist: Built to augment her new powered armor, Chao designed a gauntlet that allows her free range of hand motion and also has a powerful gun device built into it for added anti-armor punch. When not desired for use, it collapses down to the size of bracelets worn on both wrists.

● Project μ: Considered by Chao to be her Magnum Opus, Project μ saw the creation of a sentient, free-willed combat android in a form that would allow it to pass undetected in society (in this case, the prototype unit possesses the frame of a female miqo'te). Utilizing a combination of a purpose-built mammet heart and an unprogrammed Allagan Defense System node to achieve sentience, a frame was constructed using both Allagan metals and repurposed Garlean steel. The result: an infiltrator prototype given the name Myu whose combat potential is surpassed only by her learning potential.

● Remote/Observation, Self-Propelled Model 1B Reconnaissance Drone: A variant of the WASP drone, with its aetherochemical beam replaced with high-fidelity observation and monitoring equipment to perform the functions of battlefield reconnaissance. Recon data from these drones can be fed to any authorized user of a MISRIAH powered armor system.

● Sterilization Tools: A number of devices requested by Vylbrand medic Keero in order to sterilize medical equipment before use. A non-mobile version was delivered to the medical ward, allowing the sterilization of large numbers of equipment, or large pieces of equipment. Several smaller versions were also built for field use. Both versions generate high-heat, high-intensity energy beams that kill microorganisms and scour surfaces clean.

● Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance: A HUD feature included in all of her powered armors, VISR allows for unprecedented battlefield information to wearers of her powered armor. In its most base form, VISR serves as an identify-friend/foe system, highlighting friendly targets in a green outline, enemy targets in red, recognizable weapons in blue, items of interest in yellow, and unidentified persons/civilians in orange. It can also receive visual reconnaissance from any nearby ROSP drones and functions as low-light enhancement at night or in darkened spaces.

● Weapon/Anti-Magitek, Self-Propelled Model 1A Nonlinear Rifle: A small, high-mobility portable weapon system developed by Chao using the magitek bits of the Allagan and Garlean Empires as its base. Unlike it much larger cousins, the "WASP"--also known by the descriptor "funnel"--is small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand, but is no less deadly for it. Armed with an aetherochemical beam that can pierce the armor of a magitek reaper in a single strike, its power is balanced by its slow rate of fire and limited fire capacity. When drained of energy after five shots, it is capable of re-energizing itself by drawing aether from its environment, but this will only allow it to fire again once every five minutes. The WASP is targeted by voice commands.

HISTORY

PAST BACKGROUND Early Life Born in the region of Doma, Chao has been well-acquainted with Garlean tyranny her entire life. Her parents trained her from the time she could stand in the Doman martial arts style, despite it being outlawed by Garlemald as seditious. Early in life, she demonstrated a marked proclivity for an inability to keep secrets, prompting her parents to keep her uninvolved with the resistance against the Garlean Empire. She also showed an amazing affinity for magitek and other mechanical devices. As she grew older, the increasing activity of Garlean oppression saw Chao becoming aware of their atrocities throughout their claimed territory. Her discretion grew, and though she remained unaware of her parents' involvement in the resistance, she began to contribute to the resistance in her own way, notably by designing and providing specifications for cannon rounds that boasted a marked improvement rate in penetrating Garlean armor, among other defensive innovations. This enhanced ability on the Domans' part to fight them did not go unnoticed by Garlemald, and by the age of fifteen, they had determined that she was the one responsible for the technological improvements. One afternoon, a contingent of Garleans appeared at the Lingshen homestead, and a choice was offered: service in the Empire, or the deaths of herself and her family. Unwilling to be the cause of her parents' deaths, she agreed to join the Empire. Imperial Service Having been identified as a magitek prodigy, Chao avoided conscription into the generic rank and file of the Empire, instead placed in an institution that would teach her the intricacies of Garlean magitek as groundwork for creating next-generation weaponry. Recognizing the opportunity that had fallen into her lap, she played the part of the loyal Garlean engineer, all the while absorbing all the information she could and considering ways she could sabotage the Empire. It soon came to be discovered that she was especially adept at improving existing technology to perform better, seeing her placed in the Castrum Meridianum, where the foremost of Garlemald's technological terrors were constructed. Initially, the projects she was allowed access to were small, improved arms and armor for the soldiers stationed in the castrum and the like. Eventually, as the successes of her work became apparent and allowed Garlemald to solidify its holdings in the regions of Eorzea they occupied, she was granted more and more access to Imperial workings. Soon, she began to discreetly sabotage the projects she was working with, an example being the technological inhibitors that the Garleans used to control their magitek colossi and other tamed beasts. Sure, the inhibitors did their job--better than to spec once she got her hands on them--but if they took too much damage and were destroyed, the frenzied beasts would focus all their aggression on their Imperial masters. She always took great care to ensure that the technology she sabotaged would fail as a result of field conditions or misuse, and that their effects would be just shy of so catastrophic that the Garleans deemed them too costly to use. Her own research efforts were not the only Garlean projects that she was involved in. Owing to the Garleans' hatred of the primals, eventual conflict with the primals would be inevitable. Knowing of the primals' fondness for tempering, the Empire sought to devise a means to resist the tempering effect. Selecting from a pool of candidates with preexisting extremely strong willpower, Chao was selected to undergo numerous anti-tempering experiments. As tempering was reliant upon the primal surging their own aether to overpower the victim's mind and soul, the simplest method the Garleans saw to negate it was blocking one's aether. To this end, a series of sigils were inscribed across Chao's body, rendering her an aetherial void when active. A command code, painstakingly memorized by the magitek genius, deactivates the sigils and lets her act normally, though when it is active her aether is completely inactive, not even able to be detected by other mages, and she appears to be completely nonmagical. Though this system performs its intended purpose to lab specifications, it has yet to be tested against an actual primal. It was two years into her work at Meridianum that she discovered the Ultima Weapon program, and at that point she realized that it would take more than minor acts of sabotage to halt the Garlean advance. At around the same time, she began to hear whispers of a revolt in Doma, instigated in the hopes that the Garlean succession crisis would have them too distracted to respond. Activity around the Ultima Weapon project intensified, with many predicting that the fearsome monstrosity would be put to use suppressing the rebellion. It was not to be, however, as the Weapon was still not fully prepared for combat, and the might of the Imperial legions were plenty sufficient to crush the uprising and begin a reckoning of the Doman civilization. Suspecting deep in her heart that her parents had been killed in the rebellion, Chao devised her plan and made ready to depart the Empire forever. Defection For a long while, the Garlond Ironworks and its members had been a continual thorn in the side of the Imperial presence in Eorzea, raiding the castrums seemingly at random. Though she had not devoted a great deal of attention to it, she had a sense that there would soon be another such raid at Meridianum. Timing her actions carefully, she prepared another act of sabotage. In her part of the Ultima Weapon project, she was assigned to the conversion of the ancient Allagan power source to accept refined ceruleum as a fuel. While successful in this endeavor, she also weakened the structural integrity of the fueling lines and the storage tanks, forcing them to vent under strenuous operation lest they suffer a devastating case of overpressure. Under the guise of a 'stress test', she ordered one such storage tank filled to capacity and subjected to the sorts of stresses expected in lengthy combat. Just as she had expected, another raid by the Ironworks occurred in the middle of the stress test. With the defense force of the castrum distracted by the ruckus, Chao moved all her research notes to within proximity of the storage tank, then increased the stress the device was under. To her surprise, the raiding team from the Ironworks soon broke their way into her research chamber, pulling her attention away from monitoring the tank for reaching its failure point. Now no longer needing to be concerned with her intent to betray the Empire, she alerted the raiders of the impending explosion and warned them to get away. Almost immediately thereafter, a castrum security force broke into the lab from another direction and opened fire. A stray round struck the storage tank, resulting in an immediate detonation. The explosion wiped out the Garlean security force and sprayed flaming ceruleum throughout the lab, resulting in gruesome burn scars to the back of Chao's legs. Rendered unconscious by the explosion, Chao was recovered by the Ironworks raiding team, who fled as a chain reaction tore through the ceruleum storage facility, destroying a large number of the Ultima Weapon's spare tanks. Chao's act of sabotage resulted in the completion and battle readiness of the Ultima Weapon being delayed by nearly a full year.

SINCE CHARACTER CREATION The Ironworks Chao awoke some weeks later in Gridania, finding herself under care of the conjurers treating her injuries from the ceruleum explosion. Informed of the massive damage done to her musculature and nervous system, she was relieved to learn that she would regain the ability to walk after a time, but that the corrosive nature of ceruleum meant that the scars would never fade. This did not trouble her, and as she recovered, she requested a tome in which she could write, beginning to transfer what of her research she could recall to a page, glad to have denied Garlemald her knowledge and leaving them with prone-to-failure, sabotaged equipment. Soon thereafter, she was approached by a large roegadyn man who introduced himself as Biggs, naming himself as a member of the Garlond Ironworks and come to inquire what she had been up to when she had encountered the raid team. In no uncertain terms, she explained that she had been carefully sabotaging various Imperial projects over her years in their conscripted service, and had planned to take advantage of the confusion of the Ironworks raid to do one last grand act of sabotage and escape. Amused by her forthcoming explanation, Biggs offered for her to join the Ironworks, letting her turn her vast magitek talent to improving the lives of Eorzean citizens while continuing to stick it to the Empire. She readily accepted, and turned over her tome of notes for Biggs to copy in case any of it proved useful to any of the ongoing projects at the Ironworks. Once finished with the transcription, Biggs returned the book and suggested she get herself as far away from the Empire as possible. Changing the Game Unknown to either of them, she was in no danger of being hounded by the Empire, as they believed she had perished in the ceruleum explosions at the castrum. After regaining her ability to walk, she traveled to Ul'dah and took up residence there. To while away the time, she discovered that the jewel of the desert was home to the pugilist guild and the thaumaturge's guild, two combat schools that she had a keen interest in. Applying for training at both, she used their instruction to further her knowledge in both unarmed combat and the magical arts, but feared that what she could learn through the guilds would be insufficient to face the might of the Garlean Empire. To that end, she sought to combine the training of both guilds into a new personal discipline she referred to--admittedly unoriginally--as 'combat mage'. To this end, she practiced the casting of spells until they became as muscle memory to her, able to cast on the move and with greater speed. While training herself in such a way, she discovered her stronger affinity for fire magic, that the more she trained, the greater the potency of those spells became and the less taxing they were upon her. Before long, she had become adept at weaving fire not only as spells in between strikes, but the very elemental aspect itself into her strikes. The result was a combat style that is frightfully effective, one that the pugilists' guild regarded as an amusing and effective curiosity, but that was reviled by the thaumaturges' guild. Needless to say, she hasn't showed her face there very often in recent times. Even through her training time, one thing had weighed heavily on her mind at all times: the existence of the Ultima Weapon and what it could do to the people of Eorzea. Knowing of the Weapon's ability to absorb the essence of the primals and use their power for its own, she wondered if it was not possible for a man to do the same with magic. After all, the possibilities of magic were literally limitless. With that in mind, and keeping an open mind from which she could observe and calculate from all possible angles, Chao began to study arcanism and conjury as well. Initially dismissing conjury, she focused her attention on arcanism, finding the applications there far more wide-ranging given the geometric and mathematical means of bending aether to one's whim, and as an engineer, geometry and math were something of strong suits for her. She quickly began to experiment with using aetheric circles not just in books, but using the environment herself as her medium. She found that in doing so, she could enhance the power of her spells and perform various other effects. She has established a theory of a magic contract between a magically-talented person and one who is not, mostly for the purpose of additional power to the--presumably physically-inclined--partner, but has yet to perform any actual experimenting on this concept. The Dark Magic Through many a day spent sitting in a corner of the Quicksand pondering her magical theories while immersing herself in the lifeblood of the city, her thoughts traveled far and wide on the principles of magic and their relationship with man and the world. Such philosophical drivel aside, it occurred to her as she was watching a drinking contest that perhaps she was thinking too hard on a subject that was actually rather simple. The principle of the Ultima Weapon's most terrifying power was that it could absorb the power of the primals into itself and, so the theory went, use their powers as its own. As she had discovered through her arcane training, there already was a similar technique in play, the aetherflow. The problem was its limitations, and that it only drew upon ambient aether. While stumped on how to get around this block, she diverted some attention to figuring out methods of rapidly-deploying aetheric circles in combat, given that most enemies would be disinclined to stand around letting her draw runes on the ground around them. Musing on the fragility of crystals, she discovered a method to 'pre-cast' partial aetheric circles by inscribing them into specifically-marked spell catalysts that, when shattered in specific sequence in a set pattern, would inscribe an invisible aetheric circle on whatever solid surface they were shattered against. She found that this was most useful when fighting unarmed, as many would assume she was a bog-standard pugilist and therefore wouldn't be suspicious of her moving around in a fight. As the weeks passed and she wandered about the city, she chanced upon a handful of Sultansworn in a full-contact mock training exercise. Taking a moment to stop and observe their actions, she watched as a pre-cast protective spell flashed to life to ward off a harmful spell, but not fully mitigate its damage. That scene taking root in her mind, she returned to the Quicksand to ponder. The nature of protective spells were meant to turn away harmful effects, but using her aetheric circles, could she not invert its purpose, directing an opponent's magic or spirit energy into a user whose aetherflow was opened to draw in such energies? With thorough studying in the matter, she discovered that her theory was spot-on, allowing her to absorb the energies of an opponent's attack into herself, giving her a limited-time increase to specific attributes depending on the nature of the absorbed energies. This method of using her developing theory of magic was impractical, as it required her drawing a spell circle to influence the absorption of the energy, and therefore was ill-suited for most combat scenarios. Further, the act of absorbing spells or spirit energy infused that energy to her very soul, an unnatural and corrosive effect that forced her to determine that this new magic she was inventing be reserved for the most emergency of uses. Because of this, she has taken to calling her new magic system Magia Erebia. New Eras, New Places, New Faces Time waits for no man, and Chao was no exception. Word of a new terrifying superweapon in the hands of Garlemald spread through Eorzea like wildfire, and she knew that they had come with their Ultimate Weapon. To her surprise, however, the Eorzean leaders did not seem to fear the tremendous power of the weapon, instead were planning a preemptive strike to destroy the thing before it could be brought into play. Unknowing of what means the Eorzeans intended to fight it with, but well resolved in the knowledge that she would not suffer them to face that menace alone, she journeyed to the Hall of Flames to avail her burgeoning magical talent to the Alliance's efforts. And thus came to pass her involvement in Operation: Archon, a rather boring endeavor which saw her standing far from the front lines, raining concentrated blasts of fire down on far-away Garleans by way of indirect fire. Returning to Ul'dah after the successful destruction of the Ultimate Weapon and the heralding of the Seventh Astral Era, Chao felt herself adrift. Her entire life since coming to Eorzea had been dedicated to empowering herself and devising technology to destroy the weapon, and yet now she found herself without that clear adversary to test herself against. Returning to her usual haunt in the Quicksand to consider her notes on varying magitek research projects, she found herself attracting some interesting characters. First came an elezen lady curious of what she was reading, prompting a rather fast-paced and aggressive conversation which has Chao convinced that she was being hit upon, ending with a promise by Aeliette to 'discover all her dark secrets.' Several days later, she was approached by another elezen who offered thanks to her for the assistance she rendered in attempting to determine whether a wine bottle had been poisoned. Introducing himself as Isaudorel, their conversation was far more agreeable, despite the brief intrusion of a rather rude individual who accused Chao of being of purchaseable companionship. Electing to not dignify that with a response, the conversation soon found its way turning toward their preferred styles of combat, with Chao informing him of her creation of her 'combat mage' style of combat. Intrigued of a method by which one could combine hand-to-hand with magical combat, he requested a spar to allow her to demonstrate her style, to which she agreed, pleased to have the opportunity to test her style in 'real' combat. Traveling just outside of Forgotten Springs in the Sagolii Desert, Chao and Isaudorel squared off, observed by a small crowd of interested individuals who either came along from the Quicksand or happened to be passing through. Initiating the duel, Chao used her shundo to cross the distance separating them before he could react, a rising crescent kick almost finishing the fight in a single blow. Recovering from it, he retaliated with a blizzard spell, which she dispersed with a Red Blaze fire spell before charging back in to rain strikes at him. With a quick thought, he cast a manawall charged with electricity in an attempt to paralyze her. Though the charged energy knocked her back, she managed to avoid a paralysis and unleashed seven Sagitta Magica arrows to divert his attention. He answered in kind with a wide-area blizzard spell to destroy them, then began another incantation. To break the barrier, Chao used a floating chunk of ice as a springboard by which to shundo at him and use the entire force of her body to try and break the barrier. Just as she hit, he completed his incantation, casting a Fire-III directly on himself to catch both of them at once, an effective suicide-bomb attack. Blown to the side by the power of the strike, Chao was the first to her feet, laughing at the cleverness of the attack and commending him for its execution. Isaudorel, however, having exhausted his mana to pull that stunt and doing no small amount of harm to himself, ceded the spar at that point. Expressing his wish for a future re-engagement, he returned to Ul'dah--or so she presumed--to get himself some rest and recovery. Afterwards, she was approached by one of the observers, one Gunnbjorn Darkblade who was very impressed with her style and wished to challenge her himself at some point in the future. With a smirk, she stated that she would always be ready to test her skills out once more. A few days beyond that, she found herself approached once more at the Quicksand, this time by a man answering to the name of Lucian Malloy. Speaking at length of idle topics, he soon invited her to a place he liked wherein she could think free of distractions, citing the noise of the Quicksand being a cause of headaches for him. Initially concerned that it may be an ill-fated kidnapping attempt, given the nature of Ul'dah, she felt confident that she would be more than any would-be kidnappers were prepared for, and agreed to accompany him. Following along with his teleport to Costa del Sol, she soon discovered that his motives were no more ill than that of any red-blooded male attempting to woo a female. In further efforts to impress her, he cast a healing circle spell, the radius of which grew with every passing moment. It soon became clear that this spell was too powerful for him to sustain, causing him to become as though intoxicated, making ever more and more ridiculous statements as time went on. He soon passed unconscious from the effects of the significant drain on his aether, but not before he managed to activate a failsafe teleport of some sort that returned the two of them to his free company's homestead in the Goblet. At the mansion of the Reclaimers, Chao brought him to rest in an infirmary bed, then wandered the halls to find one of his free company mates to assist him. Atticus Buffalobane and Lena Ulionov appeared from their room, in a particular state that left no doubt in Chao's mind what they had been up to, but she politely refrained from saying anything on the matter. It was swiftly determined that he suffered from aetheric depletion, prompting Lena to head off to procure some ethers to solve the matter. After a few moments, she returned with Rinh Amariyo in tow, while Chao stood to the back of the room and let them see to their comrade. After some good-natured ribbing on their part once Lucian came around, Lena inquired as to Chao's occupation. When the combat mage informed them of her specialty in Garlean magitek, suddenly both Lena and Rinh became very interested in her, the former requesting that she return the next day to look at a piece of Garlean technology that the Reclaimers had "acquired." Coming the next day as promised, she was introduced to another associate of the Reclaimers, Popato Tomato, who presented a large Garlean orb and explained that it was an aetheric suppressor and that they wished to find a way to make it smaller and allow it to only suppress aether of unwanted intruders rather than the rightful occupants of the manor. Explaining that miniaturization was her specialty, Chao poked around in the device's innards and, following a demonstration of its effects during which she decided to see what would happen if the aether-absorbing field came into contact with her when her aether was sealed--the device short-circuited--she determined that she could meet all their specifications as long as they procured her a pair of Garlean magitek cores--one in case she made a mistake--with which to install in the machine; the rest she had the tools to do herself. They stated that it would be easy for them to acquire the cores, leaving her time to sketch out her redesign of the smaller device and acquire the parts she would need from the Ironworks. It took less than a day for her to complete her sketched redesign and even prototype a few replicas in the Ironworks of the modified device. Waiting to be contacted by the Reclaimers to complete her work for them, she resumed her habit of occupying the Quicksand, spending her time going over her design in exacting detail and ensuring everything would function as she expected it to. As she waited and tinkered with converting one of the miniature prototypes into a working autonomous device, she felt an intense gaze on her, and looked around to find a hyuran woman staring at her. The woman approached, stating aloud that Chao looked familiar to her, which became a shared sensation when the woman drew near enough to get a good look at in the dim lighting of the tavern. When Chao pointed out that she was only commonly found at the Quicksand or in the Ironworks, the woman seated herself and proclaimed that it was from the Ironworks that they were familiar with one another. The woman introduced herself as Satomi Hakase, primarily employed by the airship operations division. Though this introduction was to be brief, as an acquaintance of Satomi soon arrived portending a situation which required the hyur's attention, Chao was left with the feeling that she might begin to work with the Ironworks airship sector a bit more often. Even with that chance encounter with a fellow in the spirit of science, she continued to feel further and further adrift and separated from the currents of the realm, left as she was with no strong source of opposition to test herself against. The influx of refugees from Doma, the tension from Ul'dah's rejection of sanctuary of them, and the riots that ensued were not something that she, a purveyor of weapons and therefore a 'merchant of death', cared to involve herself in, as she would neither see her people oppressed nor would she hand out her developing forms of advanced weaponry a nation so rife with corruption. So she continued to spend her days in the city idle, chatting at random with whatever passers-by expressed interest in her, spending fewer and fewer hours contemplating new advancements of magitek or Magia Erebia. One conversation ended with a suggestion that she turn her attention to the Ishgardian war with the dravanian hordes and supply weapons for that battle, but she thought little of the backwards, dogmatic ways of the Holy See and did not see the dravanians as a threat to the other city-states should Ishgard fall. She did, at the least, state that she would give it her consideration, and if nothing else it would be an exercise in retrograding her inventions to withstand both the cold of Coerthas and the searing flames of a dragon's breath. Academic Pursuits As she took a meal one evening, the tavern as noisy as ever, her ears picked out of the din a small but overbearing voice aimed in her direction. Turning to see a lalafell staring down her nose at her--an act she'd hitherto thought lalafells physically incapable of--she found herself subjected to a barrage of queries regarding a male miqo'te she had never even heard of. When she said as much, the lalafell half-ranted out a slew of other names, only one of which caught her attention: Satomi Hakase. With that mentioned, the short one seemed to take a moment to reevaluate Chao, apparently considering there was more to her than met the eye to be an associate of Satomi's, and thereby deeming her 'worthy' by some arbitrary benchmark. Speaking more at length of this 'Sypher Corinth' she was after, she explained that he owed a not-inconsiderable debt to her, promising an unspecified percentage of it for delivering him or information on his whereabouts. Chao accepted, but money had little to do with it; in truth, she was far more interested in having something to do that would take her out of the city. The lalafell, who left only her given name Zoey, informed Chao that Sypher had ties with Vylbrand Academy, which sent the miqo'te to Ul'dah's airship landing for a journey to the island city-state. Some hours were spent querying practically every soul in Limsa Lominsa as to the location of the Academy, but perseverance eventually paid off. Upon entering the nondescript building, which initially appeared to be empty, she followed the sound of voices to a lower level that seemed to house a bar, where she queried if any present knew of Sypher. After a brief discussion, she was requested to speak of the matter privately with a miqo'te woman she presumed to be the Academy's master, accompanied by an elezen whose role was not explained but Chao presumed to be the master's second. Once in Kyra's office, she explained the situation as it had transpired in the Quicksand, swiftly becoming confused with the way they seemed to become very tense at someone pursuing this 'Sypher' for a substantial debt. It was now clear to her that she was being manipulated as a pawn in the schemes of the lalafell, a sensation she was none too pleased with. When the elezen asked her to convey to the lalafell a request to come to the Academy and 'discuss' the matter, she readily agreed to do so. The following afternoon, Chao returned to the Academy, having been informed by Ser Chevalier that a weapon class was to be given that day. As it turned out, she had mistakenly-assumed that it would be more of a showcase of varying weapons from which she might be able to draw inspiration for her projects, but as it turned out, it was an actual instructional class on the varieties of a specific weapon type, in this case axes. Unwilling to be rude by getting up and walking out in the middle of it, she decided to wait it out and observe. This turned out to be possibly one of her best decisions to date. In the midst of the class, who should appear out of the blue but Satomi herself. As it turned out, Vylbrand Academy was the fellow researcher's home away from the Ironworks. After politely waiting out the duration of the class and then exchanging a few words with the Academy master and Ser Chevalier, Satomi invited Chao to her laboratory-cum-room to catch up, along with a lalafell that quickly became apparent to be of significant emotional interest to Satomi. After he left on business, Satomi expressed her concern over the appearances inherent in that relationship, but Chao assured her that she would not judge, with the statement that one will find love wherever their heart desires, and that was all there was to that. With that fear settled, the pair discussed the situation involving Sypher and the debt, Satomi expressing her concern that he did not seem to be in that high an amount of debt, and Chao herself finding suspicion that so many at the Academy seemed to have their hackles raised by the entire affair. When Satomi remarked that she would gladly pay off the debt and needed to find the woman, Chao stated that she would be glad to accompany Satomi, both to get her own answers on what the hell she'd been dragged into and to provide martial help should it become necessary, promising her fellow Ironworks researcher that she was not as fragile as she looked. Turning their conversation to lighter topics, Satomi eventually discerned that, aside from the Ironworks, Chao had no place to call home other than the Hourglass inn attached to the Quicksand, and near of mandated that Chao avail herself of Satomi's lab as often as she deemed necessary. Though not necessarily wanting to take overmuch advantage of Satomi's hospitality--and that of the Academy, which she was sure did not think too highly of her--the truth was simple in that she was adrift in Ul'dah, and a newer locale nearer to where Satomi hung her proverbial hat would not only allow easier collaboration but might also provide some desperately-needed inspiration. And so, returning to Ul'dah, she gathered her meager belongings from the Hourglass and took a day or so to finish up all her activities in the jewel of the desert. Traveling by airship to Limsa, she procured a room at the Mizzenmast for a few days so as not to just show up out of the blue at the Academy like an unwanted relative. On the eve before she decided to make her trip to the Academy, she was met in the Drowning Wench by her erstwhile lalafell 'employer', who explained the actual purpose of the search for Sypher, that being a murder investigation that was now being considered a self-defense act. Chao was willing to let bygones be on the matter for a twofold reason: first, it was a bit of a mercy on Zoey's part to have him investigated for a debt rather than murder, and secondly, Chao's journey to the Academy enabled her to reconnect with Satomi, an all-around net gain for her. Any ire she may have had about Zoey leading her about in the dark was defused by the lalafellin investigator's sincere apologies. Further, Zoey seemed to sense an utmost trustworthiness in Chao, which took the Doman by surprise, and prompted a departure on good terms, with a note that Zoey might seek her out again for further--and much more transparent, as promised--ventures in the future. The Departed Chao had always considered herself intelligent, and whenever first approached by a new person, especially someone with a thuggish demeanor or appearance, always reminded herself that Eorzea was a realm full of malcontents and kept ready in the back of her mind the fact that the very next person to approach her may subject her to some ill-fated kidnapping attempt, assault, or issue of the like. Heretofore, that had never become an issue, but on the day that she prepared to finally make the sojourn to Vylbrand Academy, it turned out that she was properly paranoid after all. The lalafell that approached her side may well have succeeded in the assassination attempt had she not stooped to pick up a dropped utensil at the exact moment the would-be assassin moved to draw his blade. A commendably-strengthed kick, given her less-than-stellar positioning seated on a barstool, launched the smallfolk into a pillar, where he was promptly joined by the stool she had just vacated. With the ambush attempt failed, a roegadyn, a hyur, and a miqo'te joined the fray. It was clear they lacked up-to-date knowledge on her skillset, as defeating them proved to be a far simpler endeavor than she had expected. Rifling through their pockets made it clear they were a Garlean hit squad, as if their banter during the unrepentant mugging they suffered had not already made that point. Troubling was that they'd come specifically for her, and that meant she was on Garlemald's radar again. Whether they sought blood for her sabotage of the Ultima Weapon or a return of her knowledge to their fold was unknown, and frankly irrelevant. What mattered was that they would stop at nothing to achieve their goal, and that endangered everyone she associated with. Knowing that, she knew that she could not, in good conscience, let the Academy and its occupants be brought to harm because of her, and so decided to instead go into hiding. Steeling her resolve, and feeling herself to be facing one of the greatest trials she ever had, she covered herself in a linen cloak and walked the rainy streets of Limsa, heading down to the ferry. She found bitter amusement that it would rain on this day, of all days. The ferry passed uneventfully, dropping Chao off near the Vylbrand Academy. The weather had long since broke, leaving it a cool, slightly clouded night. Keeping her eyes sharp for any signs of pursuit, she made her way toward the Academy, each step feeling heavier than the one before it. As she expected, the Academy itself was not vacant. As she neared, she espied Ser Chevallier conversing in one corner of the yard, and fully expected to be stopped as to her business. But, to her surprise, she was allowed to pass into the building without a word, and found no other souls as she made her way to Satomi's lab. Once inside, she located her tome that she had left previously within a few minutes, replacing it with a letter that explained her entire history, that she was now being hunted, and that she was choosing to disappear rather than endanger any others. With that heavy task complete, she lamented a moment on what may have been had they had the opportunity to combine their knowledge and skills, then turned and left the Academy, as silent and unremarkable as she had arrived. Tome in hand, she had only to pay a visit to the Ironworks to ensure they were properly warned and destroy her research data before she could complete her disappearing act. Upon arrival, she found herself trailed by a particular pair of a roegadyn and a lalafell as she moved about destroying her research data, the two attempting to talk her out of her chosen path. She would have none of it, however, remaining adamant about preventing the Empire from having any extra reasons to express their ire with the Ironworks due to her presence. Eventually relenting, Biggs and Wedge decided to, at the very least, do what they could to help her survival, handing her a completed prototype of one of her very own designs: a powered assault armor. With thanks and a promise to continue moving ever onward, Chao clothed herself in the prototype battlesuit and departed from the Ironworks, closing that chapter of her life as well. Traveling to the cliff edge of Silvertear Lake, Chao gazed upon the shattered wreck of the Agrius, musing on whether she would require a power equal to that of the Guardian of the Lake in order to turn back the Empire. As she considered this, she engulfed her tome in flames to forever deny its contents to the Empire. The scuffle of approaching persons drew her attention, but kept her back to them, knowing she could easily beat any Garlean to the draw who had hubris enough to make their approach known. To her surprise, it was the voice of Satomi who called out to her, demanding her purpose and threatening violence should she have been responsible for harm to....herself. Clearly, Satomi had mistaken her cloaked form for that of a Garlean assassin. She turned to identify herself properly, bracing for what was surely to be a lengthy attempt to convince her to not fleet into hiding. The sight of Chao unharmed brought the hyuran scientist great relief, and she launched quickly into a narrative of how hectic the last several days had been, in-between dodging Garlean assassins and interrogating captured spies. Confused by the explanation, Satomi continued that she had discovered a list of targets that the Garleans were going after, including both of the two researchers. That Satomi herself was targeted explained her being in the company of Kyrrae--beyond the obvious reasons therefore--but the knowledge that the Empire was doing more than just coming after her for revenge changed things. She couldn't very well run away and hide while others were being hunted and killed by the Garleans. Stating as much, she cast aside her cloak, revealing her newly-acquired armor to Kyrrae and Satomi in the process, and swore upon the wreckage of the Agrius that she would never stop fighting against the Empire. With all thoughts of flight now permanently out of the magitek prodigy's mind, Satomi bid they leave the far-too-open expanses of Mor Dhona for a more secure location. Utilizing a quick manipulation of aether, the trio teleported to Kyrrae's personal residence in the Lavender Beds, taking the extra opportunity to speak of the situation before bedding down for the evening. Academic Pursuits II Beginning to devise her own scheme for additional security against the Garleans, Chao set out the next morning to set it into motion. Over the course of the next several days, she visited sites of combat with Imperial forces across the realm, scavenging parts from downed vanguards, reapers, colossi, and death claws. After several days of this, she received a linkpearl call from Satomi, sounding highly distressed and requesting her presence at the Academy. Initially fearing that the Garleans had gotten Satomi and were using her to try and draw Chao out, she made haste to Vylbrand and entered Satomi's lab with a gusto normally reserved for breaching an enemy fortified position. As it turned out, no such precaution was necessary; the state of Satomi's health being due entirely to stress as a result of a near-death experience on Kyrrae's part while Chao was away. Before much more of the subject could be discussed--though enough was spoken of to cause Chao concern for Satomi's well-being--the hyur was called to socialize with the other members of the Academy. Chao, feeling the need to look after her a while longer, accompanied her downstairs and discovered to her amusement that Satomi was bartending this social event. Tucking herself out of the way, she observed the gathering as she had always observed every tavern interaction, reminded quite thoroughly of her days spent warming chairs in the Quicksand. These thoughts prompted her to wonder what some of her old acquaintances were now up to. As the afternoon wore on, however, the state of Satomi's health became all the more clear: between a dropped glass and nearly stumbling into Chao while passing out a drink, it was clear she was about to pass out on her feet. After a while, she was convinced to retire and rest for the evening, which she reluctantly agreed to do, with Chao ensuring she made it safely back to her room/lab. Once back in the lab, Satomi confided in Chao that she had been feeling increasingly depressed over the last several weeks, stemming from the sequence of events that had seemed to go from bad to worse: Chao's disappearance, the Garlean attacks, drama within the Academy, and finally Kyrrae's near-fatal experience. All these experiences, the scientist reasoned, were a negative consequence of deciding to emotionally open herself, rather than the previously-aloof way she had lived her life. In conclusion, she decided that her best course of action would be to return to that way of life, cutting ties with all who knew her and disappearing. The only thing standing between her and freedom was a miqo'te magitek prodigy now prepared to enact violence on her closest friend. Tactically and very overtly positioning herself between Satomi and the door, Chao immediately declared Satomi's plan a farce, pointing to her own recent experience with 'pulling a runner' that achieved nothing fruitful other than stress and harm to others' lives. This having no effect on Satomi's scheme, she moved on to directly counter the hyur's assertions that she was of no value to anyone by pointing out the positive effects she had had on the lives of Grundy, Kyrrae, and even herself, that without Satomi's influence one or all three of them may currently be dead. This began to crumble Satomi's emotional facade, but she remained adamant. Chao went for the kill: she pointed out, accurately, that if Satomi left the Academy, then Kyrrae would go looking for her, no matter if he was fully-recovered or not. And what then, Chao posited, would happen if he should run afoul of Garlean assassins while out in his weakened state? That destroyed Satomi's resolve to flee, and she broke down and confessed her insecurities to Chao, who promised that no matter what choice Satomi made, she would always have the likes of Grundy, Kyrrae, and Chao to stand by her side. Project µ Having researched, heard the tales of, and occasionally witnessed the grasp of the Allagans' technology in the field of automatons, Chao determined to move her own projects in that direction. Similar to the Garleans' favoring of large robotic minions, Chao also saw the value in a heavily-armored combatant with limits far beyond those of normal sentient beings. As ever, where Garlemald's cultural values leaned toward the largest, most visible and intimidating machine on the field, Chao felt far more could be accomplished with a much more compact form. Thus, with the salvaged parts of the various Garlean robots and her highly-useful talent for miniaturizing existing items, she had begun constructing a humanoid-sized combat frame using her own form as a reference. Keeping herself sequestered away in a back corner of Satomi's lab and spending all her waking hours on her work, completing the basic frame of the machine and all its inner workings went very quickly, taking her no longer than a week. With that completed, however, she needed to look to a way of giving life to the machine, and not simply in the form of its source of power. Knowing of the great combat power of the Allagans' automated defense mechanisms, one of their core processors would do the job nicely. The key laid in finding one that had not yet been programmed to murder everything in the name of the Forerunners, one that she could dictate the development of. She would, of course, also require a mammet heart to give her creation a true semblance of sentience, but that was almost trivial in comparison to acquiring an unprogrammed Allagan defense node core. Recalling well that Cid had left the doors of the Ironworks open to her, she returned once more to darken their doors, seeking any knowledge the Ironworks might have on sourcing a core to suit her needs. While they lacked a fresh, unprogrammed one, they had a number of cores recovered from destroyed drones recovered primarily from the battlegrounds of Carteneau Flats that she could use to get a feel for how they functioned, and how she might turn one to her own uses. Along with this, he suggested a number of known magitek part peddlers that she might attempt to source one through, lest she wish to get a shovel and start digging at Carteneau. After several fruitless endeavors, she managed to make contact with one Dogberry Himalspyr and met with him in Limsa Lominsa to discuss whether he could acquire the core she required. While he did not have any readily available, at least not of the Allagan variety and unprogrammed, he mentioned that he was planning to explore an Allagan ruin in the coming weeks and invited her to partake and search for what she was after. Deciding that to work well to her advantage, she agreed to come along on the venture, taking a linkpearl from him so that she might be informed of when it would gather. With that laid out, she returned to Vylbrand Academy to continue tweaking the frame and making adjustments to her combat unit. To her surprise, she discovered when she returned that Satomi had already solved the problem of a mammet heart: using her not-inconsiderable personal stores of gil, she had commissioned one from the goldsmiths' guild specifically to suit their needs. With the device delivered, Chao was able to activate her robotic creation, upon which she bestowed the name "Myu" as a phonetic of the Allagan symbol µ that she had used as the project codename. Curiously, though powered, Myu had yet to show signs of life. Days passed as Chao and Satomi both puzzled over Myu's reticence to awaken. Nothing mechanically was wrong, the machine simply just refused to start up. Both knew that such fickleness was common to mammets and other devices powered by their hearts, and so resolved to be patient. They knew that Myu's sensory functions and learning core were online and active, taking in data at a constant rate, and so they operated under the assumption that Myu was studying them. Into the Depths As the week ended, she was contacted regarding the Allagan expedition and asked to arrive at Camp Drybone within several days' time. Satomi, unfortunately, had other business to attend to, but Chao assured her friend that she would be fine to enter the ruin alone, and would bring back a mountain of data, and the necessary core. Donning her battlesuit and taking a supply of spare crystals for recharging if necessary, she took the airship to Ul'dah and, mindful of the continuing unrest in the city, rode her chocobo to the outer encampment of Drybone. By the time she had arrived, most of the rest of the venture had already made it, and so she stood off nearby and ran checks on her armor, ensuring everything was functioning at top form. After the last of the group formed up, they trekked by chocobo across eastern Thanalan, far into the scrubland. They arrived at a large work camp, many of the workers and sellswords within bearing injuries that Chao recognized as being caused by Allagan traps and defenses. Though she pitied those unfortunates, she lacked the skills necessary to heal them. As tasked by the expedition funder--or so she assumed since it was never fully explained--the team entered into the ruin, proceeding into an aether-swamped cavern filled with platforms of clearly-Allagan design and corrupted creatures tainted by the presence of so much aether. The vast majority posed no great threat to the party and were swiftly overcome, save for the last creature they encountered: a bio-engineered monstrously-sized snake fitted with Allagan control devices. Far more devious and empowered than the lesser creatures, this beast nearly laid low the expedition, leaving at four of its members unconscious, but at least still breathing. Reviving their downed comrades and retreating back to the surface, the group took the time to catch their breath as a follow-on force of mercenaries was sent to secure the first antechamber. It wasn't long before a runner in dire health reported a second chamber further into the ruin, with clearly far worse inhabitants. Leaving the winded Dogberry to rest, his place was taken by the other man behind the expedition, one Alexander Stormwind, and they ventured into the ruin again. Within, they found what Chao recognized as an Allagan networking center, the 'brain' behind the defense systems of all their facilities. Met at the entrance by a small node that immediately went on the offense, the group proceeded to systemically clear all the nodes around the network before engaging the ADS itself. After a grueling battle, they finally managed to destroy it. Immediately setting to scavenging it, Chao removed its destroyed processor core to discover a secondary core that had been intended to transfer its data to was left untouched by both the battle and any attempt to download data. It was the unprogrammed ADS core that she needed for Myu. With the network downed, the party took several minutes to recover. Chao herself took to exploring the network area. Her attention was soon drawn beyond the platforms, to large columns of smoke she saw rising from other such clusters of platforms. It took only a few moments of observation--and the sight of moving machinery--to realize she was staring at a Foundry, a place where the Allagans built their machines. This place would definitely merit returning to. Returning to the surface, she took a moment to inspect her prize, which Stormwind swiftly demanded she hand over for proper cataloging and storage. Unwilling to part with that which she had come for, and needed to bring Myu to her ideal of full combat readiness, she pointed out that she had been brought on this expedition to acquire this very part, which Dogberry attempted to intercede on her behalf over. Stormwind was adamant, however, refusing to pay for a half-completed venture, even as Dogberry himself pointed out that she still was perfectly willing to press on despite getting what she had come for. At this point, recognizing that there would be no way to have things her way without resorting to violence, Chao ceded for the time, shoving the core into the hands of a passing worker and immediately stonewalled the rest of the raid. Within minutes, a new chamber was found, this one seeming more confusing than threatening. Upon the party's arrival to the chamber in question, the reason became immediately apparent: a deep chamber running for over three hundred yalms straight down with the entire center section either lost to time or purposely omitted. The only way to move from section to section was by use of transporter pads dotted around the chamber that would propel an individual across a gap to a connected pad. How the pads were linked, and by what means an individual was propelled and then safely landed was a mystery to Chao, having never before heard of such devices in her studies of the Allagans. And the place was full of creatures of Allagan creation, genetically-engineered beasts that harried the party at every turn. Despite attempts to the contrary, the nature of the place and the continuous assaults from every direction swiftly saw the party largely separated, Chao herself winding up alongside one of the group's healers, Mikh'a Korofi. Knowing that they were better served to run than try to fight, Chao deployed her funnel in an attempt to clear a path and ward off any pursuers, but the largely-untested nature of the drone meant that its effectiveness was, at best, negligible. After a grueling struggle, and no small amount of paths being cleared by the other groups, Chao and Mikh'a eventually escaped through an Allagan teleportation device, winding up back on the surface. By ones and twos, the others soon returned, until only one had yet to show up. The elezen bladeswoman, Menelwen Veara, remained unaccounted for within the ruin. As the minutes stretched on, the group grew increasingly frantic, eventually culminating in nearly a re-entry into the deathtrap, until Menelwen reappeared at high velocity, nearly bowling over the lalafell warrior in the process. As it turned out, she had become separated when she took it upon herself to draw away a pack of monsters, barely escaping with her life. Sensing that the mystery objective of the expedition was near, Stormwind once more stepped forward to take part in the operation, allowing Menelwen the time to rest and recover from her harrowing ordeal. Clearing the central transport center apparently unlocked some sort of mechanism, revealing a lift at its entrance that allowed them to bypass it. Taking the lift down, the group was soon accosted by Allagan clockwork defenses, lesser in the hierarchy of the Allagans' nasties, to be sure, but they were part of the basis for Project µ for a reason. With determination and grit, the group steadily overcame them and Chao, no more immune to pride than any other, tore the processor from the still-fighting final dreadnaught and rode its smoking carcass to the ground, remarking on how Myu would soon surpass the Allagans' wildest dreams. With the lift guardians defeated, the remainder of the journey passed in tense silence. Chao took the opportunity to recharge her armor from her stock of crystals and center herself for whatever was to come. When the doors opened, she did not consider herself prepared enough. There, standing before them, was the Ultimate Weapon. Or rather, a seemingly-mass-produced knockoff of the very self-same weapon of mass destruction that had been employed by Garlemald. Given that it had originally been created by the Allagans to control and contain the primals, she realized she should not be surprised to find more than one in existence. Meanwhile, Stormwind seemed to lose his mind in that way that scientists were capable of; it was something she was familiar with not only from herself but from Satomi as well. So that was what it looked like, she mused. Still, and all, the thing had become active in their presence, and now had to be put down. Engaging in battle, Chao couldn't help but feel a thrill as she alternated between the use of her Doman martial style and the magicks she had trained on for nearly a year now; she had missed her chance to take down the Ultimate Weapon, and here again was a second chance to see what that had felt like. And through the ravages of time, combined with the skill of the expedition she was in, they steadily dismantled the monster, forcing it to use increasingly more desperate tactics to ward them off. When it deployed a series of magitek bits, as she suspected it might, she wasted no chance, diving one to the ground and prying open its casing even as it tried to blast her with lasers. From her own experience with working with the Ultimate Weapon and all she had learned in the construction of 'Dummy', she was able to alter its targeting processes to turn it against the Allagan superweapon. Before long, the monstrous device lay in ruins at their feet. Returning to the surface, Stormwind swiftly dispatched all the mercenaries and workers to that deepest of chambers, ordering the entire thing dismantled and brought back to the surface. Chao half-listened as he explained to the other members of the expedition that the Order of the Raven's Eye had come seeking that very superweapon, intent on using its technology to create a means to better combat the primal threat. Over the course of the discussion, she learned from the lalafell warrior that the Syndicate were also after another such weapon, a monstrosity hidden below the Carteneau Flats called the Omega Weapon. The revelation filled her with disgust, to know that those vile, amoral sycophants concerned only with their own wealth would seek a power of that magnitude. She could almost foresee conflict in her future with those fools. With many of the expedition dispersing, Stormwind turned his attention to Chao, fetching a worker to acquire the core she had found earlier, now more than pleased to hand over the device to her since he had found what he was looking for. As for what the Order was up to, she agreed with their ideal to protect the realm from the primals, but swore that if she caught wind of whatever they created being used for oppression, she'd destroy it herself. Stormwind actually seemed pleased with that vow, and promised himself that he would be careful in guiding their creation's use. ADS core in hand, Chao returned to Vylbrand once more, looking forward to the day when Myu would achieve her full combat potential. Might and Magic Back at the Academy, Chao secured the ADS core and stashed it away amidst the mass of other research materials Satomi kept in her lab, where it would remain until Chao judged it was time to install into Myu's processor. In the meantime, she spent several days repairing her armor and working on upgrades to her funnel. In the midst of one such repair session, taken on a couch to the side of the Academy's entrance so as to be out of the way, Chao was discovered by Zooey. After a brief discussion, during which Chao remarked on how she felt herself the nuisance stray at the Academy, the investigator took it upon herself to begin dissolving this notion, demanding Chao to step away from the couch even as she called out, rather loudly, for all nearby members of the group to gather around. This having happened while her funnel was fully-disassembled, and she didn't want to leave such sensitive material unattended for even such a brief time, she found herself getting to meet several of the Academy's occupants while carrying an armful of funnel parts. Of the half-dozen individuals present, all welcomed her warmly into their midst, several even offering her crash space in their residences if it was necessary. Even with that welcome extended, she still couldn't shake the inescapable sensation of being an outsider looking in, and so maintained the excuse of working on her projects to remain out of everyone's way. Over the course of several days, she began working on a means to have weapons and gear on-hand any time it was necessary without being overly encumbered. Using the existing knowledge of aetheryte teleportation, she imbued each of the key components of her battlesuit with a unique aetheric signature that she then tied to an Allagan magic focus ring recovered from the ruin she had explored. When successfully tested, she could now go about in everyday attire without having to fear being caught by assassins without her armor. Learning of an upcoming festival of science and magic to be hosted by the Academy, she decided to partake of this event, seeing it as an opportunity to showcase the arms she was developing for the realm. That is, until she saw the rules forbidding weapons and dangerous magic, which automatically disqualified nearly all of her work. While she could have used Myu as her demonstrator, she was not willing to reveal the existence of a humanoid combat robot yet. After a day or so to ponder it, she realized that there was something she could safely demonstrate: her theory of provisional contract. So she recollected her since-destroyed research on the matter, acquired a new showy coat in the Allagan fashion, and waited until the day of the festival. Shortly before it was to begin, in order to settle her restlessness, she took her funnel outside and tested several of its settings on the target dummy outside. Her initial test of nonlethal settings at extremely limited power nearly resulted in the thing shooting her, but on subsequent tests after being very specific on what, precisely, to shoot at, she noted that even at minimum power, the nonlethal setting possessed enough energy and impact to potentially stun victims and destroy clothing and equipment. A further test on the lethal setting at half power completely obliterated the target dummy. Leaving herself a mental reminder to either replace or pay to replace the target dummy, she headed inside to partake in the presentation portion of the festival. Having been selected to go first, she took the stage and presented her theory of what she was taking to refer to as pactio: that through the use of a specifically-designed magic circle, an individual proficient in magic could create a bond of partnership--a provisional contract--with another person that would allow the mage to imbue the partner with their own aether to increase their attributes. To demonstrate, she called forth two volunteers from the audience and cast the magic circle on the stage. She explained the basics of the contract, that it was formed by an exchange of bodily fluids; a blood pact would suffice for the matter, but if the two parties were not amenable to that, even something as simple as a kiss would do the job. The two volunteers decided on the latter, and in a flash of magic and light, Chao's theory was proven to be truthful: the successfully-created provisional contract validated by the presence of a tarot-like card bearing the likeness and several details of Nebula. After a short session to answer questions, Chao stepped down to observe the rest of the presentations. One concerning the use of aether to reduce fatigue on mechanical systems drew her close inspection for obvious reasons. Last of the presentations was from Satomi, creating a rather fitting set of book ends to the whole affair in Chao's opinion. Her friend and partner in crime showcased a combat-purposed mammet that she had built in the likeness of Grundy. While Chao had known that Satomi had been working on such a thing in tandem with Chao's own work on Myu, she hadn't realized that Satomi's machine had reached the prototype and test phase. When a request for volunteers to face the mammet in mock combat came, Chao stepped forward to test her friend's creation herself, but was beaten to the punch by an Academy local, O'rahn Kevelan. In the long run, that was probably the better choice, as Chao would have held nothing back in the interest of giving it a proper combat test, and they may have wound up making a mess that way. There were a few glitches in the test, but overall, Satomi's showcase was successful. Unfortunately, the machine was soon destroyed by the real Grundy, who mistook it for an enemy accosting Satomi and shattered it in a single blow. Without waiting to be asked to help, Chao retrieved a rolling cart and began to load the parts of the mammet into it, along with the assistance of several others. While Satomi went off to take a walk in order to keep her wits about her regarding the matter, Chao held a brief discussion with Academy resident Imogene about Project µ, remarking on how devastated she would be if something similar happened to Myu as had happened to Satomi's machine. Describing in general the technological achievements that Myu represented, Chao left the other woman quite astounded at the level of complexity in comparison between Myu and the mammet Satomi had built. The difference laid in their purpose: Satomi's machine had been intended solely for combat, and not with the level of sophistication Chao had attempted, while Myu was built to not only have astounding combat capabilities but also to be able to pass herself off as a living, breathing individual. After bringing the cart of destroyed mammet parts to Satomi's lab, and with the scientist herself still out of the Academy, Chao spent several hours sitting and talking to Myu, telling the sleeping android of her dreams and hopes for the future, a world where people could live free of the fear of oppression, both from external and internal threats. While Chao had spent some time each day since activating Myu speaking to her in such a manner, this day was markedly different in both the time she spent doing so and the nature of her conversation topic: philosophical and whimsical rather than scientific and factual. Days later, just when Chao had begun to let the ever-present concern of Garlemald recede from the forefront of her mind, another stark reminder made itself known. While in the front of the Academy practicing her martial arts, she watched several members of the Academy carry a gravely-wounded person inside. Curiously, she followed them within and stood outside the infirmary--knowing her lack of any knowledge of practical or magical healing arts would see her only getting in the way--and listened as Satomi treated the poor woman, who had been captured and tortured by Garlean agents, operating out of a hidden camp located somewhere on the island of Vylbrand. That was greatly troubling news. Eventually, Satomi treated the worst of the woman's injuries, though time would tell if she healed properly. The hyuran scientist headed away to recover and clean herself after the messy procedure, and just minutes later, an elezen woman arrived with a package of supplies for someone in the Academy. Having been nearby, Chao looked within and, finding all manner of alchemy supplies, assumed it was meant for Satomi, and so showed the delivery woman to the lab. Inside, as they waited for Satomi, they struck up a brief conversation, with the elezen--an Ishgardian expatriot, so she revealed--speaking of her interest in technology and weapons, particularly of Garlean origin, to be put to use against the dravanians in Ishgard's long war. Chao warned the elezen that if she had made a habit of pillaging equipment and technology from Garlemald, that she need be alert to the fact that she may have put herself on the very same hit list occupied by Chao and Satomi themselves. In the midst of this discussion, Satomi returned to the lab and, confused at the elezen's presence, made clear in an unusually-curt manner that she had scheduled no such delivery. The elezen woman was not troubled, merely collecting the package to be returned to the guild from whence it came. Chao, suddenly and alarmingly realizing that the entire thing may have been a setup, surreptitiously scanned its contents for any sort of Garlean tracking devices--or explosives--but thankfully found none. With the elezen gone, she apologized to Satomi for being the source of the confusion. Satomi, for her part, apologized for being so short-tempered, which Chao understood perfectly when explained that the woman convalescing in the infirmary was one of Satomi's friends. Even despite knowing that was what was weighing so heavily on her friend's mind, Chao remained insistent on her apology for causing Satomi additional headache and usurping as much of her lab as she did. Satomi brushed the thought aside, knowing that Chao had only been intending to help her, and further remarking that Chao need not concern how much time and space she required for her "beautiful project." At this, Chao smiled, and mused aloud that perhaps they might coax Myu to awaken by installing the ADS core ahead of schedule, despite the inherent danger that might come of the Allagan base programming overtaking Myu's functions and turning her into a sentient killing machine. Satomi suggested that a backup mammet core be used to store Myu's existing data on, and then use the aetheroelectric security field in her lab to contain Myu within until they determined it safe. It was a sound plan, and so the scientists agreed to take that step the next day, allowing them time to rest and come at it refreshed. Moving to rest in the room's seating area, Chao remembered the armory ring and micro-teleportation device she'd created, demonstrating it to Satomi by calling her battlesuit, hitherto stored in an armoire, onto her person, replacing the general-purpose work and research attire she'd been wearing. Leaving her fellow researcher quite stunned, Chao briefly explained the setup, and then handed Satomi an armory ring of her own that Chao had made for her, to ensure that neither of them would ever be caught unarmed and unprepared by Garlean assassins. Afterward, with the call of sleep tugging at both of them, they each took up occupancy on a separate couch--with Satomi explaining that she found normal beds difficult to sleep on--and rested up for whatever the next day may bring. The Logical Ideologist The next afternoon, Chao decided that the time had come to take that gamble. With Satomi away on business, regrettably, she performed the necessary prerequisite steps herself: creating a backup of Myu's data to that point and moving her into the zone of the aetheric field. This latter was a difficult task with Chao by herself; given her metal construction, Myu easily massed twice Chao's own weight. Once she was positioned, however, Chao retrieved the ADS core and, observed only by the myriad of diagnostic and sensory equipment in Satomi's lab, plugged it into Myu's processor, then stepped away and brought the security field online. The elation that filled Chao's heart when Myu opened her eyes for that first time was immeasurable, as was the terror that seized her when Myu lifted her hand and aimed her palm-located Allagan laser in Chao's direction. Despite the grave and imminent threat to her very life, Chao stood her ground, determined not to show fear to Myu; not out of an animalistic sense of establishing dominance, but that she had faith in the being she had breathed life into. For several long and terrifying moments, she watched the color spectrum shift in Myu's eyes, from their natural blue to a blood-evoking crimson likely caused by the Allagan programming. Finally, Myu gained control over the Allagan processes--quarantining them as she later explained to Chao--and greeted her maker. Lowering the aetheric field, Chao wasted no time in welcoming Myu to the world, speaking at length with her about her start-up process, the data she had created thus far, and a brief explanation of what it meant that Chao was extremely proud of her. Knowing that she had spent all her time since coming online cooped up inside the lab, Chao took Myu outside the Academy, giving her the first taste of the outside world. It was here, when Myu questioned what caused the plants to sway and the mist of a nearby fountain to move, that Chao realized she'd ommitted installing a tactile sensory function in Myu, something she quickly brought the android back inside to rectify. The next day, Myu was introduced to Satomi and the scientists began to measure the robotic girl's capabilities and functions. As the day progressed and grew into the evening, a rapport was quickly established, but it was noted--by Chao if not by Satomi--that Myu clearly held Chao in far higher regard, being the only one of the two that she referred to as master. She still regarded Satomi as an individual high on her protection list, however, as evidenced when she nearly came to violence against another member of the Academy who happened to make teasing remarks at Satomi in Myu's presence. Between the defensive knowledge gleaned from the Allagan core, Chao's own mastery of Doman martial arts, and the library of materials available to study at the Academy, it didn't take long for them to discover the incredible combat potential of Myu, easily the equivalent of at least a company's worth of normal soldiers and adventurers. As she was not a living being, she was not capable of manipulating aether in any form, but Chao reasoned that between herself and Satomi, they could make a technological combat system that could perform similar effects; after all, if Garlemald could theorize it, the two of them could make it reality in less than a moon. Because of this lack of aetherial ability, Myu took to following in Chao's footsteps, adopting unarmed martial combat as her primary method of battle. It was fortunate that the scientists put so much work into developing Myu's combat abilities, as their greatest trial yet was soon to come. The Nightshade As the trio cataloged and practiced combat skills with Myu one evening a short distance from the Academy, they were beset by yet another Garlean assassination squad, this one comprised of two highlanders, a miqo'te, and even a vanguard for support. Chao wasted no time in going on the offensive, engaging the axe-wielding highlander she perceived to be the leader in order to create an opening to allow Satomi and Myu to escape. This endeavor proved to be futile, however, as the other Garleans engaged the two in equal measure. While Satomi's adversary caused her a great deal of trouble due to the scientist not being suited for direct combat, Myu and Chao initially fared better against their foes. The miqo'te shinobi quickly ascertained Myu's artificial nature from her speech patterns and having managed to drive a blade into her right shoulder--barely penetrating her armor plating--and attempted to taunt her, referring to her as a useless puppet. Myu was having none of it, however, and simply grabbed her foe before striking him down with her Allagan laser. As this was going on, Chao stayed in close with her opponent, preventing him from getting the full use out of his augmented axe. The Garlean then ordered in the vanguard for support, and knowing the kind of damage those things could cause, Chao slipped past him to engage and destroy the oversized magitek. This turned out to be a ruse on the enemy's part, for as soon as she got within reach, it unleashed a full broadside of all of its frontal attacks. The shielding and material construction of her armor protected her from truly devastating damage, but the attack was still enough to knock her away, stunning her momentarily. In that moment of inattention as Myu looked toward her maker, the dying shinobi stuck an adhesive explosive device to her frame, intent on ensuring she went out with him. Unperturbed, she merely tore the device from herself, taking some of her synthetic covering with it, and threw the now-dead shinobi's corpse over the device to smother some of the blast. The resultant shockwave from the powerful explosion caused a large amount of damage to Myu, who positioned herself to intercept the shockwave so it wouldn't harm Chao. The Garlean axeman, mortally wounded by the blast, directed the vanguard into the center of the trio--Satomi now attempting emergency field repairs on Myu after having driven off her opponent a short time before--and armed its self-destruct system. Before it could reach them, however, it was struck numerous times by electrically-charged arrows from an intervening ally, the very same blacksmith guild representative that Chao had spoken to some days prior. The charges of the arrows short-circuited the machine, bringing it crashing harmlessly to the ground just short of them. The threat, it seemed, had been overcome. That was when a new adversary revealed himself, a highly-skilled and chemically-modified shinobi wielding Allagan blades with a cutting laser's edge. Chao, back on her feet again, moved to engage him immediately, but to her surprise, he read her shundo perfectly and executed one of his own to avoid her attack, leaving behind a number of outward-aimed blades at the last minute for her to careen into, each of them coated with liquid ceruleum. As with the vanguard, her armor deflected most of the blades, but two got through her defenses and released their deadly poisons into her body. At the other end of his shundo, the enemy Garlean directed an overwhelming electrical charge at Myu, overloading and shutting down her systems. Nadine, the archer-blacksmith, struck the man's helm with a trick arrow loaded with a powerful explosive as he was attacking Myu, and in response, he threw the headgear toward Satomi and made to attack the archer. Chao knocked the ticking time-bomb away from her compatriot with a sagitta magica, then immediately leapt to Nadine's defense, wreathing herself in fire as she came down in a kick over the elezen's head. The Garlean intercepted her strike, absorbing the very aether she released in her attack into himself in a manner identical to that of the Ultimate Weapon. Without giving the magitek prodigy time to react, he grabbed her by the foot and hurled her toward Satomi, who was still trying to restore some combat ability to Myu, the impact rendering the hyuran scientist unconscious. By now coming to the conclusion that this enemy had a clear counter to everything she could do, she called on desperation. She rushed him again as he catapulted Nadine back into the Vylbrand Academy's wall, grappling him and ordering her funnel to fire on him at maximum power and lethality, even if it meant firing through herself to do so. This broke the man's superior air, and he desperately began striking and kicking at Chao to dislodge her grip, eventually succeeding after delivering a crushing strike to her chest that crumpled her armor and broke several ribs, and several kicks to her left leg that broke the limb. She fell away, but the man did not have time to avoid the laser strike from her funnel, which overloaded and brought his battle armor's protection down. Seeing him in that weakened state, she drew the Garlean pistol she kept on herself at all times, aiming and firing at his chest. He initially derided her when he saw the weapon, unaware of the size of the slug it fired, and was very nearly killed by the impact. Cursing Chao's name, the Garlean fled, leaving Chao to finally succumb to her injuries, and leaving behind one hell of a scene of carnage for the occupants of the Academy to discover. Phantasmagoria With the close proximity of the engagement to Vylbrand Academy, it took little time at all for its occupants to find and recover the wounded, safely ensconcing Chao and Satomi within the infirmary, and Myu and her disparate parts in the lab. Satomi quickly recovered from her light injuries, whereupon it was discovered that Chao had fallen into a coma. Against the recommendations of Rurujua, Satomi began to assist the lalafellin medic in tending to her friend. In only a few hours, the ceruleum poisoning was cleared from her system, but she remained unresponsive and unconscious. However, she occasionally manifested highly-alarming, sudden expulsions of blood and signs of severe physical trauma, the source of which was a complete mystery to either scholar. What they did know, however, was that the erratic and random manifestation of the symptoms meant that she needed constant monitoring to heal her as necessary. Again, despite protests from Rurujua, Satomi burdened herself with this task, citing that she owed it to her fellow magitek prodigy. Unbeknownst to the two, Chao was trapped within the dreamscape of her mind, called Phantasmagoria, where she was forced to uncover the true nature behind Magia Erebia. At every turn, she was beset by a manifestation of her subconscious that shifted and altered its form willingly between everyone she had ever met. Referring to this creature as The Other, she fought it countless times, but was defeated and slain in every instance. Yet, in Phantasmagoria, she was unable to die, constantly revived following every fall. As the hours progressed, and The Other used more and more of the people from her memories against her, the more Phantasmagoria came to resemble a conflated amalgamation of several cities she had resided in: her home in Doma, Castrum Meridianum, Limsa Lominsa, and Ul'dah. Eventually, Chao came to the realization that she could take advantage of the fact that they were within her dreaming mind to will all of her technological notions into 'reality' and use them to her advantage. Thus, in this way, she momentarily seized the upper hand by summoning four of her funnels and an aetheric energy sword to defend herself, driving The Other back until it form-shifted into Nero tol Scaeva. Utilizing her speed to her advantage, she avoided a fatal strike from the magitek warhammer and moved to capitalize on the overextended shade of the Garlean, whereupon it changed form into a full impersonation of Satomi. This took Chao off-guard, causing her to purposefully miss her strike, and leaving herself vulnerable to a fatal shot from the shadowy being. After several more encounters, she happened upon a lucky break, succeeding in casting a sleep spell on The Other while it was in the guise of Grundy, allowing her to escape across the mindscape of her city. Taking shelter, she was met by one of the last things she expected to find in Phantasmagoria: a manifestation of the primal Ifrit. Speaking cryptically of how her soul had been tainted by fire, the primal made abundantly clear its desire to add her to its host of enthralled servants. Chao, confident in the manifestation's inability to temper or even truly harm her within Phantasmagoria, casually dismissed Ifrit's words, leaving no uncertainty of her opinion on the primal's intelligence--or the lack thereof. Infuriated by her irreverence, the primal remarked that it had already dispatched its Tempered after her, and manipulated the Phantasmagoria to show her an image of Vylbrand Academy in flames, many of its occupants killed, and several key others being led away to be tempered, all in the name of capturing her. Enraged by this clear and obvious threat against those she held important, she willed the pinnacle ideal of her battlesuit technology onto her being and struck the manifestation down with an immensely-powerful attack of combined ki and aether. Within only moments, The Other was upon her again, this time engaging her in the form of her long lost cousin, a master martial artist. Declaring that they were finally fighting on equal terms, The Other drew forth Chao's envisioning of the Garlean razing of Doma to remind her of her most base motives: to gain power to take revenge against the Garlean Empire. But that strength alone would not be sufficient, it remarked as it struck a crushing blow and then shifted form into that of Zoey, preparing an immense ice spell to finish Chao for good and end her effort to discern the truth of Magia Erebia. It was as she was falling that Chao finally understood, remembering the words that she had been told by her friends and compatriots: Magia Erebia was, at its base, the power to accept things for the way they were and draw them into oneself. With this newfound knowledge, Chao was able to fully absorb the entire power of The Other's spell into herself and use it for empowerment. Pleased at her successes, The Other shifted one final time and challenged her to show her results. A Reclaimer Reborn Awakening from her coma, Chao found herself alone in the Vylbrand infirmary. Moving slowly, her legs unsteady after so many days of misuse, she made her way out into the foyer, pausing at the window to look outside. To her relief, nothing was on fire and there were no Amalj'aa standards decorating the yard, but the building was still a bit too quiet for her comfort. Convincing herself that everyone was simply away on business, she made her way to Satomi's lab, finding that her friend had begun repair work on Myu during her unconsciousness. As per the norm for Chao, she thought little of her own self and immediately located some tools to check on Satomi's repair work and continue the progress herself. After judging that Myu was repaired extremely-well by Satomi's hand--testament to how well the two worked together--Chao determined that she must leave the Academy, again, lest Ifrit's pursuit of her put the occupants in danger. Sharing this conclusion with Myu, who swore that she would show no mercy to any eikon that sought to harm her master, the pair set out immediately. Their first stop was the Garlond Ironworks, where Chao would hand in her damaged prototype armor and receive the field-ready Mark-I combat infiltrator armor, and a series of complaints on her treatment of the prototype from the armormaster. She also requested a specially-modified armor for Myu--taking into account such facts that she did not need an independent power source for her armor--that would take some few days to fabricate, and require Myu to spend most of that time with the Materials Division so as to properly generate a new set of armor. Chao took advantage of the forced downtime to machine herself a new weapon that would not interfere with her preferred fighting style but also give her the extra force necessary to penetrate armor. After three days, she devised a weapon which could be worn as a bangle that extends into a gauntlet housing a gun chamber. Thus equipped, miqo'te and machine set out for the desert. To Face the Inferno Arriving by airship back in Ul'dah, Chao secured an inn room for the pair from which to conduct their hunt. Deciding it best that Myu remain out of sight and attempt to use her aetheric sensors to search for potential summoning locations, Chao proceeded to the Hall of Flames to alert Commander Swift that a summoning was either imminent or had already occurred, and to seek assistance in tracking down and slaying the primal. Though thankful for the warning, the commander could not spare any forces on what seemed little more than a wild chocobo chase. Nonplussed, Chao returned to Myu with the poor news and decided to set out searching on their own, stopping to question any Flames forces or adventurers they found along the way. Scouring the Sagolii Desert for days with almost no time for rest, the pair went well out of their way to make their presence known to the Amalj’aa so that any raiding parties that might already have been dispatched to Vylbrand would be recalled, thereby sparing the Academy. Despite this, they were unable to locate the site of the ritual until the actual summoning took place, the resultant surge of aether appearing as a beacon to Myu’s sensors and Chao’s visor. The two immediately made for the location of the new Bowl of Embers, with Chao activating her aetheric seal en route. As they neared, the beastmen did nothing to impede their progress, commanded by their primal god to let Chao and Myu pass. After a brief exchange of banter, Ifrit--as predicted--immediately used his tempering breath to bend the pair to his servitude. The effort was wasted; Myu protected by her machine nature, and Chao’s sealed aether not allowing the eikon’s overpowering aether to affect her. The battle then began in earnest, the speed and agility of the two miqo’te allowing them to avoid the worst of the primal’s attacks. Those few telling blows that would have done severe damage were largely intercepted by Myu, her composite Allagan/Garlean metal frame unyielding to Ifrit’s claws and flames. All the while, as Chao led the primal around the flame-ringed arena, she discreetly applied her Magia Erebia spell circle via the aetheric stencils in her forearm plate armor. When Ifrit called forth his infernal nail, both miqo’te ignored it per their previously-established strategy to allow Chao to absorb the maximum amount of aether. Shortly thereafter, the moment of truth came: Ifrit began to cast Hellfire. As Myu shielded herself in a magitek field--just in case--Chao activated her Magia Erebia and met the attack head-on. Against all odds, she successfully absorbed the aether into herself, skyrocketing her attack power, but she knew such volatile aether could not be contained for long. Lifting her hand to the skies, she discharged much of it into a luminous aetheric beam called down upon Ifrit, but the primal was far from finished. Enraged by her turning his own power against him, Ifrit set upon Chao in earnest, relentlessly assaulting her even to the point of ignoring Myu’s punishing attacks against him. With little other alternative, Chao shielded herself and prepared to expend all the aether she could in a last-ditch effort to down the primal. Just before her shield broke, however, a massive wall of metal and muscle struck Ifrit from the side, knocking the eikon away. The towering interloper was none other than Grundy, there along with Satomi, who had tracked Chao and Myu all the way from Vylbrand. Expressing her mild annoyance with Chao’s tendency to run off and do things on her own, Satomi directed Grundy to ‘break’ the primal. With the combined power of the quartet, the already-weakened Ifrit was dispatched with little fanfare. Upon his defeat, Chao used her Magia Erebia once again, absorbing the dispersing aether into herself. Though unaware of it at the time, this consumption of Ifrit’s living aether--rather than merely an offensive form--would have a permanent affect on her, for both good and ill. With the primal threat dealt with--though no one held any illusion that it was any less a temporary measure than any other time Ifrit had fallen--Satomi advocated a return to Vylbrand. Myu, expressing her growing independent will, agreed with the hyur, ‘assisting’ Chao back to the airship landing in Ul’dah and on toward the Academy. Academic Pursuits III Back at Vylbrand Academy, Chao took a day to recover from the ordeal, spending it in rest under the watchful eye of Myu, ensuring that she rested. As this was going on, Satomi was meeting with the Academy mistress, Kyra, concerning Chao's future. Pointing out the three separation occasions on which the magitek engineer had acted on her own to head off potential disaster to the Academy, two of which at great threat to her own safety, Satomi advocated that Chao's 'temporary' stay become a more continuing affair. The headmistress agreed that Chao had done more for the Academy than could be expected of someone not truly affiliated with them, and in light of the knowledge that Satomi would soon be dedicating all her time to an Ironworks airship project, decided that the time had come to properly bring Chao into the fold. The following day, Kyra met with Chao to offer a position in the Academy's research and development sector. Finding no real reason not to, Chao accepted the offer. It didn't take long for her to get thrown headfirst into the Academy's own affairs, finding herself square in the middle of an ongoing conflict against four powerful archfiends and their legions of cultists and other allies. Though not understanding the background of the conflict, she nonetheless dedicated herself faithfully to standing with her new compatriots in their efforts to protect the realm. At the same time, she continued her own technological developments, making plans for a complete overhaul of Myu's frame to the newly-developed Garlond steel, along with more adjustments to her own armor, and conceptualizing a new armor system to protect against magic attacks. It was in the process of the first field test of this latter that she chanced to converse with two other members of the Academy, who happened to be nearby to observe the failure of her test. Over the course of speaking to Set Kattalakis and Senel Curtis, she agreed to redesign and streamline Set's magitek prosthesis, as well as provide what non-powered upgrades she could to Senel's gear in exchange for providing her with a steady source of raw materials to work with. Misriah With a more permanent station and the beginning of delving more deeply into her military technology, Chao knew that the time of her inevitable parting with the Garlond Ironworks was at hand. After all, the Ironworks developed magitek for the betterment of the realm, and Chao's strengths lay in the field of weapons of war. And so, meeting with Cid at the Ironworks' encampment at Camp Cloudtop, she informed him of her decision to part ways and begin her own company. Cid wished her well in her ventures, understanding that it would be through both weapons like hers and peaceful endeavors like his that prosperity would truly come to the realm. As per her arrangement with Set, in exchange for developing a new prosthetic, Chao received a considerable stipend and the backing of Set's import/export business. This allowed Chao to hire several of her former coworkers in the Ironworks' Weapons Division and acquire the means of producing aetherochemical metals and fiberweave, as well as the recipe for Garlond Steel. With all this in hand, she was able to initiate her new company: Misriah Armory. She immediately set about work on a new ambitious project: variants of her powered armor for the vetted members of Vylbrand Academy--its "Heroes" society, which she had joined only a short while ago. Top of the list was a set of powered assault armor for Grundy, partly as a means of repayment for saving her from Ifrit, partly because he was in sore need of an armor upgrade. Dark clouds soon began to gather on the horizon, however. Through having absorbed the primal's living aether into herself, she unwittingly allowed a fragment of its thoughts to take up residence in her mind. Two weeks following her confrontation, she first began to hear the whispers of the Lord of the Inferno in the back of her mind, pressing her to violence and destruction. Through her will, and the lack of any active enemies at the moment, she kept him at bay with some ease, but the eikon was nothing if not persistent, relenting only when she slept. On top of this, word came a moon later of a raid on the Ironworks' team working out in the Sea of Clouds by a band of sky pirates. Satomi, who had been out investigating sightings of a monstrous airship that would soon come to be known as the Void Ark, went missing, presumed dead at the hands of the brigands. Grief-stricken at the loss of her close friend, Chao blamed herself for Satomi's death, both for not having been there at her side, and for not even providing her a set of powered armor that surely--she believed--could have saved the hyur's life. The culmination of these events sewed the seeds for one of her darkest times. The Cost Chao began to work tirelessly on her projects, particularly the powered armors, so that never again would any close to her be caught without an adequate means of defense. On one morning, as she perused the Academy's library for inspiration, she chanced to overhear a conversation between the headmaster and a troubled Seeker tribe elder. There was trouble in Thanalan: mysterious music was causing those who heard it to become hypnotized and wander into the desert. Some began to show up in slave caravans, and a few even returned to their home, but all had no memory of any of the events. It was a textbook assignment for the heroes of Vylbrand: track down the nefarious party responsible and put a stop to their machinations. Arming herself in her battlesuit, Chao headed out to the desert with Grundy, the headmaster, and several others, leaving Myu behind to serve as a sort of 'mission control' and overwatch via the systems in her armor. As the party split into small groups to gather intelligence, Chao elected to stick by Grundy's side, keeping an eye on the well-meaning-but-not-too-smart roegadyn, and using her funnel as an eye-in-the-sky to watch over the village from above. Though initially bearing little fruit in their investigations, the enemy soon made a move, the music beginning to echo out across the sands. Tracking several of the enthralled miqo'te of the village--and barely regaining control of one of their own who hadn't been properly protected at the time--they found a work camp in the desert, where Grundy immediately pressed the attack. For her part, Chao sought to knock out and immobilize the enthralled victims, keeping them out of harm's way, before setting after the foes herself. Before she could, however, ambush troops using camouflaged fighting pits in the sand sprang up to flank them, forcing her to deploy her funnel's aetherochemical laser against them. As the battle raged, an enemy airship entered the fray from behind concealing dunes, scattering a strange aetheric field that disrupted magitek devices, shorting out Chao's armor. As she reeled in confusion and the airship dropped a large box nearby, the fragment of Ifrit within her mind took advantage of the chaos--and its higher influence as a result of being in Thanalan, Ifrit's stronghold--and seized control of Chao's body. Even though it was now in control through the airship's interference, it was just as displeased that the enemy forces had effectively handicapped Chao--whom Ifrit had previously considered a worthy champion--in one fell swoop. It began to cast, through Chao, a lesser version of the primal's own Hellfire attack--though 'lesser' here should by no means be considered any less deadly--targeted at the airship. Inexplicably, the airship and the enemy forces began to retreat as soon as the box was deployed. Knowing full well the likelihood that it was some manner of trap, the possessed Chao turned the fury of the devastating spell onto the box, unconcerned for the allied forces and civilian victims that would be caught in the blast radius. It was only through a combination of a fountain of ice aether from an unknown source--later revealed to be the headmaster herself--and healing magicks from one of Vylbrand's personnel, that nobody died to the application of Incendium Gehennae. Overtaxed to the extreme by the amount of aether expended in the attack, Chao immediately passed out. While she was helpless, two of the others from the Academy, a lalafellin mage and a hyuran rifleman, assaulted Chao over the events; the rifleman struck her hard enough in the face with the butt of his weapon to break her nose and cheekbone, and the pummeling from the lalafell doing a number on her as well. Within minutes thereafter, Myu arrived on the scene, having been forced to travel the long route from the Academy; as a machine, she was unable to manipulate aether allowing her to teleport, and the aetheric field had disabled the signals from Chao's powered armor that would have allowed her to relay directly to her maker's side. After exchanging words with several present, Myu collected Chao and returned to the Academy where, at the headmaster's request, sequestered Chao within her workshop and stood guard at the door, disallowing access to any without proper authorization--but in particular those individuals whom she had reason to suspect wished her maker further harm. Pariah In the days that passed, Chao remained in her workshop, watched over by Myu, her injuries tended to by Keero. She wound up suffering several broken bones in her face as a result of the assault on her, prompting him to conspire with her to create an aetherically-charged healing mask that she could wear over her injuries. Its purpose was threefold: to protect her from further harm, to ensure that her bones healed back into their proper shape, and to stimulate her own aether to speed up the healing process. A built-in vocabulator allowed her words to be heard through the metal without shouting, but it had the unfortunate side effect of giving her a much deeper tone and a metallic tinge to her words. It began to seem like, however, she had been largely forgotten. Though she expected a swift trial of her actions by those above her at the Academy, the days continued to pass in solitude, with only Myu and occasionally Keero for company. Though slightly put off by it, she nonetheless spent her time productively, buckling down and diving into her magitek designs. Within two bells, she had completed Grundy's armor design and sent it off to be machined up. In two more, she had created an entirely new system to ensure she never got chumped by anti-magitek fields again. After two weeks, she had redesigned her anti-magic reactive armor to react less vigorously, tweaked and streamlined the overlay of her VISR system, designed a reconnaissance variant of her magitek funnels, and begun three new powered armor variants. This productivity came at the cost of sleep, which she avoided so that the fragment of Ifrit in her mind could not trouble her dreams. Over that two weeks, she slept perhaps one total day. A freak spring storm overtaking Vylbrand marked the first time that she seemed to be recognized by the Academy at large, when a lightning strike knocked out the power grid. Summoned by Kyra down to the workshop, Chao was asked to bring the generator up and running to provide emergency power. Though nothing of the event in the desert was spoken of save Kyra's inquiring whether Chao was in control of her faculties, it was not lost on the magitek prodigy that no matter where she moved to work on the generator, Kyra was never outside of sword range. After a brief time, Kyra left the workshop, evidently deeming Chao not to be a threat. In silence, she finished the work and powered up the generator, bringing emergency power back to the Academy. Heading into the library to report her success, she took note of the silence that befell the room at her appearance, choosing to make her report and then return to her exile. Holding Patterns Throwing herself back into her work, Chao's reckless non-sleeping habits did not go unnoticed by Keero, who prescribed fast-acting and potent sleep aids to knock her out and ensure her recuperative sleep processes. Now able to focus more clearly when she was awake, her design progresses improved significantly. Another week passed, and growing tired of the neglect, Chao began to venture outside her workshop for brief periods, mostly in the efforts of acquiring food for herself, which had previously been left to Myu. Finally, after deciding she needed to actually test the new version of the AMRA system--and she was not about to have loose magic and reactive material interacting in her workshop--she took her design out to be tested on the dummies. During her test--which was a resounding success in that the reactive layer detonated outward and dispersed her spell without damaging the armor or the dummy--she met with a hyur well-versed in magitek knowledge who introduced himself as Saruna, founder of the company Resolve Industries. She hadn't heard of it, but was surprised to learn that they dealt in weaponry utilizing the power of the primals themselves. After cautioning him to exercise care in dealing with such powers, they parted ways, and she returned to her workshop to evaluate her test results. She didn't have long to consider this, however, as a scream soon pierced through the Academy. Tracing it back to its source, she found herself in the infirmary, where Keero and several others were working on freeing an unlucky miqo'te from voidsent possession. Lacking any means to assist, Chao simply stood by and watched, but armed one of her gun gauntlets should anything come to violence. After successfully purging the void taint, Keero asked Chao if she would create a prosthetic eye for the patient, whose eye had been destroyed in the process of saving him. She agreed on the mechanical end, knowing and stating her lack of knowledge in the medical side of it, to which Keero stated he could perform the necessary surgery. At this, Chao returned to her workshop to machine up the prosthetic and load it up with a lesser version of her VISR software. The next day, she delivered the prosthetic and observed the successful surgery to affix it to the victim's optical nerves. Afterward, as he rested, she spoke with Keero, who inquired after her own health. Removing her mask to show him that she had perhaps another week before being fully-healed, she was then asked what had caused her injuries. She revealed to him that she held a fragment of Ifrit bonded to her soul, and that it was her loss of control over it that had caused her to nearly kill several of their comrades. This revelation was overheard by one such comrade from the incident, and Chao took the opportunity to fully explain herself, stating that she didn't hold the others' contempt for her against them, and apologizing for her actions. The matter seemed settled for a time, at least to a few inidivudals, and so Chao returned to busying herself with work. A Reclaimer's Revenge Just when it seemed as though Chao would finally be able to come to terms with and move on from Satomi's death, old wounds were viciously torn open. A visitor arrived to the Academy one eve, one whom several of the others were apparently familiar with, speaking of a badly-damaged mammet named 'Seven' that had been spotted in Limsa lately. Recognizing that naming scheme as belonging to the series of mammets that Satomi had built, many of the fallen scientist's acquaintances made their way to Limsa, hunting down the woman who had the mammet in her possession. Chao arrived shortly thereafter, and was immediately recognized by the mammet, who spoke to her--in not only typical garbled mammet speech but further mangled by damage as well--of things hidden in Satomi's lab, as well as cryptic statements of her final moments. As Chao attempted to discern what it spoke of, O'rahn purchased the mammet from the woman who was currently holding it. Returning to the Academy, Chao immediately connected Seven to Myu, using their similar basic programming structure in an effort to attract as much data as possible. While that was going on, she began to repair what wiring and internals she could without interfering with the data extraction operation. The entire time, Seven continued to speak of the Doman scroll in Satomi's lab. Eventually, she loosed the little machine from its connection to Myu, upon which time it made immediately for Satomi's lab. Chasing after Seven, Chao entered the darkened room, and queried over the Academy linkpearl whether the room's power had been cut. Questioned as to why and what she was doing there, she was soon joined by several others, including Grundy, O'rahn, Imogene, and Myth. Before Chao could investigate the scroll, Seven malfunctioned again, and as she went to repair it, Grundy--having no patience for civility in this instance--tore the scroll from the wall, revealing a hidden cache behind it containing a lockbox and several parchments. Grundy retrieved the items and handed them over to Imogene, who began to read from the parchment. It was Satomi's last will and testament, containing personalized messages to those she had been closest to. As Imogene read the words--herself not even able to remain unaffected by it--those around her took it in their own way. Grundy, unable to understand his grief, hurled his helmet into the wall of Satomi's lab and unseated the doorframe with the haste in which he moved through it. O'rahn disintegrated into tears, rage, and regret. Even Chao, especially Chao, could not control her emotions, struggling to keep herself together but failing miserably, collapsing into a sobbing heap. Into this whirling chaos of emotion, the unexpected occurred: mammet Seven, still malfunctioning and not-altogether-there, responded to the grief of the others by beseeching them not to cry...in Satomi's voice. Her resolve hardened by the sound of her friend's voice, Chao determined that she would dedicate her time to seeking revenge on the pirates who had caused Satomi's death; a sentiment that was echoed by the others. Taking Seven back to her workshop, she set about repairing and replacing its damaged components, keeping it connected to Myu so that none of the remaining data would be lost. Even as she worked on this, she contacted the manufactory where her products were created and had them immediately get the completed BREAKER and INFILTRATOR power armor variants delivered to the Academy, as well as begin mass-production of the Mark-I battlesuit for distribution to the others that would come on the revenge mission. Knowing that they would have to head into the sky pirates' strongholds in the uncharted reaches of the Sea of Clouds, she began drawing up schematics to weaponize the Academy's airships. The seven hells, these pirates would come to learn, held no fury as could match that of a magitek prodigy with a fragment of Ifrit's power.

RELATIONSHIPS

RELATIONSHIP STATUS LEGEND

♥ Family – ☀ Platonic – ♦ Friend – ★ Acquaintance – $ Business – ✝ Deceased – ✔ Positive – ✖ Negative – ● Neutral – � Unsure – ☠ Enemy

NPC Ku Fei, Cousin. ( ♥ ☀ ✝ ) - The Fallen. Chao's cousin, an extremely-talented martial artist unsurpassed in the Doman styles of unarmed combat. Ku Fei was street smart, but academically dim, and was always amazed by the technological toys that Chao would create. Though never active in the Doman resistance, Ku Fei's pride in her ancestry and traditional mindset ensured that she considered the Garlean Empire a threat. The two were forcibly parted when Chao was conscripted by the Garlean Empire, but knowing her cousin, Chao is convinced that Ku Fei perished defending the homeland during The Reckoning. Cid nan Garlond, Former Employer. ( ♦ $ ) - The Pinnacle of Magitek. Leader of the Garlond Ironworks, Cid was Chao's employer for most of the time she spent in Eorzea after defecting from the Garlean Empire. Though preferring to develop peaceful models of magitek to better the lives of the average Eorzean, Cid was full aware that weapon technologies like Chao's would also be instrumental in defending the realm against Garlemald, and so brought her into the Ironworks to assist in their development. When she made known her plans to formally create her own arms company, he wholeheartedly encouraged her to follow her ambitions, with the implicit understanding that the Ironworks would be full business partners with Misriah Armory. Biggs, Former Coworker. ( ♦ ) - The Instigator. A Sea Wolf roegadyn working under Cid in the Ironworks, and largely the blame for why Chao has come to Eorzea and found employment with the Ironworks. Biggs led the Ironworks raiding team that helped Chao escape from Castrum Meridianum after she sabotaged the Ultimate Weapon, and later came to her as she was recovering and gave her the original tome that she once used to record her technological ideas in, while suggesting she apply at the Ironworks. He assisted with the development of her powered infiltrator armor prototype. Wedge, Former Coworker. ( ♦ ) - The Littlest Assistant. Biggs' lalafell partner at the Ironworks, the timid little fellow is never far from his friend's side, and so has often spent much time in the company of Chao in her workshop at the Ironworks. Despite his talents more lying in the field of large magitek vehicles, he nevertheless faithfully assisted Chao and Biggs in their work on her powered armor. Unknown Garlean, Imperial Assassin. ( ☠ ) - The Nightshade. A Garlean assassin known only to Chao by his codename, Nightshade, this man is the most formidable foe she has ever faced. Aetherochemically augmented by Garlean experimentation, this shinobi possesses superior strength and agility than Chao, a more-advanced combat skin, and the ability to absorb aetheric attacks to empower himself. Wielding powered Allagan lightblades, the Nightshade was able to effortlessly defeat Chao, Myu, Satomi and a fourth combatant during the ambush outside Vylbrand Academy. Only his hubris allowed Chao to defeat him, grappling him in place long enough for her funnel to strike him at full power, an energy blast which he remarkably survived. He escaped the battle, and Chao knows that they will meet again in the future. His hatred of her is all-consuming, referring to her repeatedly as an animal; Chao assumes that he was experimented on by the Empire to create a soldier perfectly tailored to counter her.

PC Myu, Creation. ( ☀ ) - The Realistic, Logical Ideologist. The very first of her kind, an autonomous, sentient combat automaton built by Chao in the likeness of a miqo'te. Newly-awakened to the world, her every new discovery is a source of pride for Chao, and her enthusiasm to learn always brightens her maker's day. Chao dotes on her like a beloved companion rather than the weapon of war that she is. Grundy Byrde, Trusted Comrade. ( ♦ $ ) - The Unstoppable Force. A roegadyn male and near-constant companion of Satomi, before the latter's untimely death. Since coming to Vylbrand Academy, Chao has stepped in an effort to fill Satomi's shoes in serving as Grundy's mentor and guide in the world, a role she does not feel she is adequately performing. Grundy is not an intelligent individual, due to having lived the majority of his life feral in the caves of Eastern La Noscea. He is, however, exceedingly kind, and possessed of a frightening combat strength; a strength that Chao intends to amplify by creating a set of powered armor for him. Satomi Hakase, Trusted Comrade. ( ♦ ✝ ) - Science Sister. A hyuran female and fellow researcher at the Garlond Ironworks. Due to working in different divisions, Chao and Satomi had not interacted prior to a chance meeting in the Quicksand, at which point they hit it off spectacularly well over their shared enthusiasm for science and magitek. After no small number of misadventures--many of them involving Satomi pulling Chao out of a self-created no-win scenario--Satomi was instrumental in finally getting Chao to settle at Vylbrand Academy, and the miqo'te has long since viewed the hyur as a sister. The news of her suspected death in the Sea of Clouds has left Chao gutted. Kyrrae Liminia, Trusted Comrade. ( ★ ✔ ) - The Strategist. A lalafellin mage associated with Vylbrand Academy, and Satomi's former lover. Though they've spoken barely a few sentences to each other, Chao considers him a trusted ally due to his association with Satomi. Senel Curtis, Comrade. ( ★ ● ) - The Serious. An occupant of Vylbrand Academy who has offered to provide raw materials to Chao in exchange for equipment augmentations. She's unsure if he's truly associated with the Academy or just a mercenary in their employ, but he shows concern for its members, and annoyance with those who bring undue harm onto themselves. Isaudorel Dorr, Acquaintance. ( ★ ● ) - The Fire Suicide Bomber. An elezen thaumaturge who showed up to thank her for assisting several of his guildmates several days earlier in determining whether or not a wine bottle had been poisoned. They struck up a conversation, during the course of which another elezen woman arrived and rather rudely accused Chao of being of purchasable companionship, which both she and Isaudorel found incredibly rude. Neither seemed to be too bothered by it though. After remarking on her combat style to him, he wished to see it in action, and so the two traveled to the Sagolii Desert for a spar. It was a draw by clever Fire III suicide-bombing. Keero Ganajai, Comrade. ( ★ ✔ $ ) - The Healer. A male Keeper who serves as one of the primary medical staff for Vylbrand Academy. Intelligent and well-spoken, he has stated that he chose to move permanently into the home station setting in order to be able to be near his wife and soon-to-be child. Though not desiring powered armor, he has contracted Chao and Misriah for medical magitek devices. He has a profound fear of fire, which has prompted Chao to promise that she will never use her aetheric skills in his presence. Zoey Holendoey, Trusted. ( ★ ✔ ) - The Icy Spitfire Detective. Another lalafellin mage and freelance investigator, though it seems she too has become associated with Vylbrand as of late. Initially having hired Chao to find an individual on a farce, being played as a pawn initially set Zoey in poor standing with Chao. That job did, however, set the magitek prodigy on her course back toward association with Satomi. Afterwards, Zoey did apologize for misleading Chao and seems to have a great deal of trust--Chao would say an overabundance--in her. Imogene Holmes, Comrade. ( ★ ✔ ) - The Fancy Hat Paladin. A hyuran swordswoman and resident at Vylbrand Academy. She favors Ironworks-crafted armor and has thus spoken with Chao on a few occasions regarding said equipment, as well as Chao's own battlesuit. Seems to be heavily-involved with security at the Academy. Due to The Other favoring Imogene's form while Chao was trapped in Phantasmagoria, and consequently causing her death no small number of times, Chao holds a slight irrational fear of Imogene. Set Kattalakis, Business Associate. ( ★ ✔ $ ) - Red Left Hand. Daughter of a successful trading mogul, seems to be involved with financial affairs at the Academy, though this does not stop her from putting herself in harm's way. Due to an unknown past event, her left forearm and hand are replaced by a magitek prosthetic which Chao designed an enhanced model of. As payment, Set made a generous donation of gil which allowed Chao to form Misriah Armory. O'rahn Kevelan, Comrade. ( ★ ● $ ) - That Poor Cat. A male miqo'te living at Vylbrand who is involved with Set, often violently. Chao is reasonably sure the two are mated, but has not heard anything confirming either way. He seems to specialize in thievery, and so the set of powered armor Chao is building for him will take that into account. Kyra Tsukino, Commander. ( ★ ✔ ) - The Boss. The boss and headmistress of Vylbrand Academy, Kyra is a female miqo'te who is level-headed, soft-spoken, yet possesses an aura that marks it plain that only a fool would dare to cross her. Though she is typically only seen carrying a sword and shield, Chao suspects that her talents are not so one-dimensional. For reasons unknown, Kyra seems to possess an intrinsic faith in Chao, a faith that the magitek engineer is sure has been shattered by the revelation of her darker side.

RUMORS

N P C Some of these rumors are untrue, speculation, or are greatly exaggerated. ◢ Common Rumors - Easily overheard. Use these freely! ■ "All she ever does is sit in that corner with her nose buried in that journal of hers, muttering to herself and occasionally having some stew. Really odd one, that one." — Quicksand patron. ■ "She sure gave those Garleans a thumpin' they wasn't lookin' for. Guess that settles that as to whose side she's on." — Drowning Wench patron. ◢ Uncommon Rumors - A little more difficult to hear. Use sparingly or ask first! ■ "Word is she used to be in the Garlean military. So as to whether she's absconded from their service or is here to spy on us, no one's yet figured." — Unknown. ◢ Rare Rumors - Very rarely overheard. Please ask before using! ■ "There be two of that'n, I tells ye! At the very same time I had on good authority from a mate o' mine she was sittin' in the Quicksand, I seen another one answerin' to the same name head off toward the Imps (Imperials) outside Wineport. Only this'n was a hyur lass wearin' some sort o' strange armor. She waltzed in like she bloody owned the joint, and then there weren't nothin' but fire and explosions comin' from there, an' them screams weren't from a wee hyuran lass, either." — Drunken Storm Sergeant.

P C Feel free to add your own rumors to this section. ◢ Player Character Rumors - Some of these are more rare than others! ■ "She's Doman, no doubt about that. But the look in her eyes shows something unnatural. Not in a foul manner either, but one that draws you in and buys your trust. If anyone asks, I'd say you can rely on her." — Zoey Holendoey.

MUSIC

Amazing Artist: Aerosmith. Origin: Get a Grip Context: Character theme. Revival Artist: Neil Davidge Origin: Halo 4 Context: Magitek genius. Loose Ends Artist: Hans Zimmer Origin: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Context: The hard decision.

Sacred Icon Suite 2 Artist: Marty O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori Origin: Halo Legends Context: Big damn heroes. J-E-N-O-V-A Artist: Nobuo Uematsu Origin: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Context: Intense battle. The Oath Artist: Nobuo Uematsu Origin: Final Fantasy VIII Context: The bonds of sisterhood.

I Burn Artist: Jeff and Casey Lee Williams Origin: RWBY Context: Kung-fu wizard. Maybe I'm a Lion Artist: The Black Mages Origin: The Skies Above Context: Unleashed battle. Something to Fight For Artist: Sencit Music Origin: Iron Man 3 Context: Facing her inner demon.

GALLERY

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  Chao in traditional Doman martial art garb, which she began wearing in honor of her fallen cousin, Ku Fei.

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  Chao and Satomi, science bros! (Non-canon instance)

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  Chao in the Quicksand, her usual haunt.

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  Chao, Satomi, and their party face down the Ultimate Weapon (Non-canon instance).

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  By might and by right, Team Science defeats the menace (Non-canon instance).

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  And on that day, the heavens trembled, as though the realm looked outward to see what awaited it, and found only terror.

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  Reclaiming the personal tome she had left with Satomi, Chao leaves a letter of explanation in its place. (It's unlikely to be found for weeks)

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  Chao looks back upon Vylbrand Academy, likely the last time she'll ever see it.

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  On a clear Mor Dhona night, Chao contemplates the Keeper of the Lake on her way to the Garlond Ironworks.

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  Confronted by a strange duo on the cliffs of Silvertear Lake.

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  Chao and Satomi discussing the current situation, as Kyrrae keeps watch for any interlopers. (Scene directed by JJ Abrams)

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  Armed with a new resolve, Chao swears her defiance to the corpse of the Agrius.

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  Satomi is overcome with emotion at Chao's safety and change of heart.

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  As Satomi and Kyrrae confer, Chao looks toward the crystalline structure piercing the sky in Mor Dhona. "Soon..." the magitek genius thinks to herself.

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  Chao considers...something.

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  "Wait, you're bartending?"

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  Chao fiddles with her armor out of the way. Satomi's actually pretty good at this whole tending bar thing.

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  Except when she trips backwards and almost falls on Chao.

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  "You!"

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  Satomi has revealed her plans to run away, but there's a power-armored combat mage standing in the way.

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  A meeting to discuss acquiring extremely rare, and extremely powerful, Allagan technology.

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  Chao looks to test the effectiveness of her prototype funnel--affectionately known as 'Dummy'--in the rain, but the little guy's not cooperating.

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  The expedition is informed of recent occurrences in the ruin.

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  The first obstacle, a wandering Allagan defense sphere. Chao scavenged an undamaged laser coupler for Myu from it.

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  Aftermath of the battle with the bio-engineered snake.

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  Detailing their encounter in the first level.

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  An Allagan foundry!? This site will definitely merit returning to for further exploration.

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  The large ADS falls. An inspection of its innards reveals...a secondary core! Unprogrammed even!

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  Chao inspects her prize. But the man behind the expedition isn't willing to part with it...

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  Chao considers the implications of a hidden lift. What more could be in the depths of this ruin?

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  Wherever this lift leads, it is something the Allagans wanted protected.

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  With the expedition complete and the eyebrow-raising goals of Dogberry and the other man completed, Chao accepts her promised ADS core. Nothing can stop Project µ now!

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  Despite having been a stray living off Satomi's couch for several moons, Chao has little interacted with the occupants of Vylbrand Academy. Zoey, of all people, plans to rectify this. By force.

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  First to the stage, Chao begins presenting her theory of pactio.

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  With one volunteer ready, Chao selects the next victim.

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  Provisional contract complete! ...But these two don't seem suited to being partners.

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  Her part over, Chao observes the other presentations.

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  Aetheric means of reducing machine wear? She watches this presentation with great interest.

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  Satomi's combat mammet: fully-operational and armed....for dance?

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  Unfortunately, it's not to last. The real Grundy has mistaken the mammet for an enemy and demolished it.

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  While helping clean up the wreckage, Chao tells Academy resident Imogene a little about Project µ.

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  Chao observes as Satomi tends to an unfortunate soul tortured by the Garlean Empire.

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  Chao makes fun of the fact that Satomi doesn't have any beds in her room/lab.

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  Standing her ground despite her nerves, Chao watches as Myu finally comes fully online.

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  Threatened by an Allagan-grade laser weapon was not how Chao planned to begin Myu's lifespan.

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  Showing Myu a Limsan sunrise.

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  Chao and Myu practice combatives while Satomi takes measurements.

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  Garlean attack! These assassins have come explicitly for Chao.

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  With the initial attackers defeated, the Vanguard trashed, and Myu damaged by a suicide explosive, the leader makes his move. To Chao's horror, it seems that everything she can do, he can do better.

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  In desperation to end the fight, Chao grapples with the enemy commander and orders her funnel to fire on him at maximum lethality setting, even if it means shooting through herself.

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  After a failed AMRA system test, Chao inspects the pieces of the device as she listens to Senel and Set speak.

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  Chao in her research lab within Vylbrand Academy.

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  Chao contemplates one of her research projects, with her funnel drifting nearby.

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  Chao speaks with O'rahn and Set about her projects.

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  Performing an early test of the helmet for Grundy's powered armor.

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  Speaking with Keero in the gardens, with O'rahn and Set nearby doing whatever it is they do.

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  Following a power failure at the Academy, Chao readies the backup generator to be turned on for emergency power...and is not ignorant to Kyra standing within sword range behind her.

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  Two weeks into her exile within her workshop, Chao has been somewhat neglecting the tidiness of her workspace.

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  Inspecting the results of another AMRA test, this one successful.

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  After witnessing a successful voidsent exorcism, Chao offers to create a prosthetic eye for the victim. Magitek-enhanced, of course.

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  Chao reveals the truth of her condition.

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  Wholeheartedly apologizing for the incident in Southern Thanalan.

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  Chao and Myu analyze the fragmented data from Seven, one of Satomi's mammets. It seems that justice may be within reach.

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  Searching Satomi's abandoned lab.

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  Chao nearly discovers the hidden cache, but stops to perform emergency repairs on Seven.

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  Imogene reads Satomi's will.

OOC NOTES

OOC INFORMATION Player Note ... Personal RP Limits I like to consider myself a flexible player who is willing to commit to a number of different types of scenes and role-play scenarios, but even I have my limits. If something is on the play list, assume it means yes, as long as it's within the context of the current play or ongoing plot. No's are typically a hard no, and it means don't ask, and if I'm in the mood for it, I'll be the one to initiate. ■ I will play mature content and themes (violence, drug / alcohol use) as long as they're logical in a plot-driven encounter. Coarse and excessive language. Temporary injury and incapacitation. Temporary imprisonment. Most walk-up encounters. ■ Ask about long-term and/or permanent injury and disfigurement. Long-term captivity or imprisonment. Temporary character death. Kidnap and/or abuse plots will require advance planning, as these can be seriously impacting, as well as take a significant amount of time to resolve on an infrequently played character. ■ I won't play permanent character death. Disclaimer Chao is my take on an existent character from the Negima! Magister Negi Magi manga by Ken Akamatsu. I have developed her from the ground up to fit within the FFXIV setting, while still maintaining as many similarities from the source material as possible. ■ Chao is a technological and scientific prodigy. I am not. I try my best, but typically have to rely on technobabble more than I would like. ■ Chao is highly skilled in both unarmed combat and magic. Traditionally, my preferred means of RP combat has always been firearms or swords, so I'm sure I come across as an untalented hack to anyone more experienced in those combat fields. ■ Regarding nearly everything to do with Chao, she is the character with which I push the bounds of established lore. While I do nothing that has been directly contradicted by lore, she almost entirely operates in an extremely shadowy, unspecified zone regarding lore. Bear this in mind for interactive purposes.

CHARACTER TIDBITS Potential Plot Hooks Chao is a very busy individual. Even when I'm not actively playing her, she's always got something going on. While the below is by no means comprehensive, it's a kind of spring board for walk-up RP. I am more than open to longer-term RP plots that carry on over multiple sessions, all I ask is that you coordinate with me beforehand. I am nearly always willing to drop anything I'm doing and RP, even if I'm on another character. ■ Chao was, until recently, a prominent weapons developer at the Garlond Ironworks. ■ She has most recently opened her own weapons company, Misriah Armory. While no formal office location exists, she can typically be found in or around Vylbrand Academy in the Mist. ■ She is a known member of Vylbrand Academy. ■ Garlemald is still aware of her continued existence, and still wishes to see her killed for her actions against them. Character Lore Adherence Information in this Wiki is Lore Compliant to the best of my knowledge pre-Calamity using Wikis, and lore-dredging on Google. Information that has been changed to better fit with the lore of XIV will be listed below as necessary. ■ No changes required. Tropes & Explanations A trope is a convention or device that is often found in creative works. In this case, the tropes below describe the character either in part, or as a whole. Their background, personality, appearance, etc, most of them can be described in the tropes below. ■ Action Girl She's usually seen doing more fighting than science-ing. ■ Bare-Fisted Monk Unarmed combat is her primary means of engaging the enemy. Though trained at the Ul'dah pugilist guild, her fighting style is a modified Doman style that favors kicks rather than strikes. ■ Clothes Make the Superman Her battlesuits are powered armor and provide her an incredible boost in combat potential and survivability, but she's by no means helpless without them. ■ Combat Pragmatist When her foes want to run their mouths, she will very quickly demonstrate that talking is not a free action. ■ Deadly Upgrade Emphasis on the deadly part, as she is well aware that overusing Magia Erebia can destroy her soul. The one time she's used it to date, she wound up with a fragment of a primal living in her head. ■ Enemy Within An unintended side effect of absorbing the dissipating aether of Ifrit via Magia Erebia, a semblance of the primal was able to take residence within her mind. Though it lacks the ability to exert any proper power or temper her or others, it still whispers in the back of her mind and has, on one occasion, seized control of her body. ■ Facial Markings Par for the course given she's a miqo'te, but hers prominently glow when her aether seal is active, as another reference to her home series. ■ Heroic RROD Overusing Magia Erebia runs the risk of causing this effect on her. Sometimes, if she's caught unawares, the fragment of Ifrit bound to her soul will force this effect on her--even potentially out of combat--in order to seize control of her. ■ Playing With Fire When using magic, she only uses fire. Her aetheric aspect is so strongly tilted toward fire that she is in a permanent state of Astral Fire but does not suffer from the inability to recover mana when in that state. ■ Renaissance Girl She can fight barehanded, with magic, with a gun (or any gun-type derivative weapon), cook, build all manner of stupendously-advanced magitek devices, strategize fairly well on the battlefield, and run arms companies. ■ Roaring Rampage of Revenge The sky pirates who caused Satomi's death are in for some very rough times. ■ Superpowered Evil Side Arguable on how superpowered it is, as she's not inherently stronger when this side is released, but when the fragment of Ifrit residing in her soul seizes control, Dark Chao then proceeds to completely ignore such trivial niceties as "friendly fire" and is more than happy to expend all of her power in such a way that she achieves her objectives and immediately passes out. ■ Trying Not to Cry When she listened to Satomi's last will being read aloud. She failed. Miserably. ■ Will Not Tell A Lie Though more an informed attribute as a throwback to her home series, Chao does remain remarkably honest about what she's doing at all times, occasionally finding that the truth of what she's doing often makes people disbelieve her. She is not, however, above using misinformation and omission to achieve her goals.

CREDITS

Layout Information

The following is not entirely comprehensive, but contains general credits. Please leave the link-backs if you use this template!

■ Original template by Bancroft Gairn.

■ Adapted by Xheja Rajhera.

■ Tabs by Unnamed Mercenary.

■ Expanded bits by Lucaell Tareth'eian.

■ Header image inspired by D'lyhhia Lhuil.

■ Music bits from J'karu Rhome.

■ Relationships & OOC notes by Glioca Sargonnai.