Shienne Aldul

Shienne Myrielle Aldul
"Someone needs to be taught a lesson!"
Austere Arcanist
Gender	Female
Race	Elezen
Clan	Duskwight
Citizenship	Limsa Lominsa
Age	52 (47 experienced)
Nameday	Fifth Sun of the Sixth Astral Moon, 1525
Patron	Rhalgr, the Destroyer
Laterality	Left-handed
Jobs	Scholar, summoner
Alignment	Lawful Evil

Inquisitor Shienne Myrielle Aldul (née Mimieux) is a Duskwight Elezen adventurer who was born in Ul'dah, but resides in the Lavender Beds and is most active in the La Noscea and Coerthas regions. She is older than most active adventurers, having been born forty-seven years prior to the Calamity, and she has been known by a number of aliases and carried a number of affiliations, which makes for a lengthy and convoluted personal history.

Shienne is generally regarded as an extremely skilled and effective hunter, spellcaster, and tactician, with two decorated military careers and a lengthy Free Company tenure under her belt in addition to multiple victorious skirmishes with primals. She is also polite, well-mannered, and even charming when she chooses to be. However, many of those closest to her are appalled by the callous disregard she has for her opponents; she mercilessly slaughters almost anyone who interferes with her pursuit of goals she has deemed 'just.'

Character

History

Birth to Age 30

Born Marius Myriel Mimieux, the apparent son of a Keeper of the Moon father and a Duskwight mother, she was rejected at birth due to her appearance (more visibly Miqo'te than Elezen) and the societal beliefs of her mother, Genevieve Javert, which included female supremacy and the intrinsic superiority of the Duskwight race. She was then left in the care of her uncle, Valgeant Mimieux, and raised as his own child. The goal set forth by Javert was for Marius to be an interrogator, torturer, and mage with the blanket title 'Inquisitor'. Despite proving very effective at these tasks, Marius was treated very poorly by Valgeant and his associates; she was abused, neglected, and even underwent bodily mutilation in accordance with one of her mother's older customs. The only reprieve from her abuse and dysphoria came in the form of nightly bedtime stories from a mysterious woman named Raika, who read to Marius from outside of a tiny bedroom window and claimed to know her mother personally.

At the age of thirty, Marius conducted a botched interrogation which resulted in the bloody and agonizing death of the subject. Having never drawn blood before, Marius was driven into a panic which was exacerbated by Valgeant's furious reaction to her mistake. Valgeant chased Marius through their home and out into the street, where he caught her and proceeded to beat her savagely. His attempt to bludgeon Marius to death was halted when Valgeant himself was painfully slaughtered by Raika. Raika then brought Marius into her own home and nursed her wounds, both physical and psychological, for several months, culminating in Marius's admission of her gender and the administration of a phial of Fantasia, which altered her body to suit the whims of her mind. Rechristened Shienne, after the subject of many of Raika's bedtime stories, the young woman left Ul'dah for Gridania at Raika's suggestion.

Age 30 to 47

Being a Duskwight, Shienne faced a great deal of discrimination in Gridania and initially doubted the validity of Raika's prompts to live there. However, she found limited acceptance when she opted to live in the surrounding Black Shroud instead, under the care of a kindly older man who taught her the art of botany. This man, a Keeper of the Moon named Baltar Lampkin, was Shienne's biological father and a former contact of Raika's, but he declined to divulge this information to his daughter. Under Baltar's guidance, Shienne adopted the pseudonym 'Naiad' and channeled her extensive knowledge of anatomy into more benevolent means by taking up restorative massage as an additional occupation.

Baltar and Shienne lived together in seclusion and peace for seventeen years. Ultimately, Baltar contracted an unspecified illness and expired at the age of sixty-three. Shienne's mourning was intense, but very brief, and she decided to return to Ul'dah to seek further guidance from Raika. En route, however, she was ambushed by bandits who sought to rob her of her meager possessions. Although she was successful in fighting them off, she was injured in the process, and it was in her semi-conscious recovery that she beheld a vision of Hydaelyn, whom Shienne mistook for Nymeia, the goddess of fate.

The resultant blessing of the mysterious power known as the "Echo" made Shienne much more powerful, but weighed on her already fragile mind. To make matters worse, she was unable to reestablish contact with Raika once she arrived in Ul'dah. For fear of discovery by Valgeant's subordinates, she constructed a false history and identity (now taking on the alias 'Shien Sarvong') and took to the profession of adventuring, believing that this was what Nymeia had tasked her with doing.

Adventuring Career: Sixth Astral Era

Shienne (or Shien) found work with relative ease in the Eorzean Guard, a private military company composed largely of younger Eorzeans eager to capitalize on the popularity of adventuring as a line of work. It was here that she made a number of friends and began to feel at home among other people. However, the Guard disbanded shortly after her arrival, once again leaving her adrift.

Several Eorzean Guard expatriates, including Shienne, enlisted in a Gridanian company called Everwatch, but Shienne's tenure there was even more brief and rife with conflict. The Adventure League of Eorzea, a much larger and more regionally focused organization, was the next to recruit her. Due to the intensity and severity of her behavior (particularly when angry), Shienne did not always fit in to the extent that she would have liked, but the positive treatment she received and the onset of her first romantic relationship (a Duskwight man named Elriche who was significantly younger than she) brought her a heretofore unknown level of inner peace and rewarding purpose.

Shienne's membership in the Adventure League was briefly threatened by her belief that one of Valgeant's former employees had discovered her identity. She quickly fashioned a new one, although it was assembled hastily and most of her friends (as well as her lover) found it difficult to believe. Following the death of her first romantic partner, who succumbed to a sickness similar to that which befell her father, Shienne was quick to seek solace elsewhere. Her second lover was a Hyur man named Zhaal(ten years her junior) with whom Shienne was involved for the remainder of the era.

As the lesser of Eorzea's moons, the red Dalamud, began to descend and rumors of Garlean influence spread rapidly among the populace, Shienne and the Adventure League investigated a mysterious doomsday cult centered around the worship of the moon. The Unyielding Dawn clashed with the Adventure League numerous times, culminating in a dramatic fight between its leader, an Elezen named Sauvage Bontisse, and eight members of the League, including Shienne. The skirmish ended with the deaths of Bontisse and Aveline Blue, the Adventure League's leader and founder and a close friend of Shienne's.

With the deaths of Baltar, Elriche, and Aveline occurring in such close proximity, Shienne began to question her decision to enter the profession she did, suspecting that she was being punished by Nymeia for poor judgement. These suspicions were quieted by Zhaal's assurance, along with his promise that they were strong enough together to endure the coming strife. Ablaze with confidence, Shienne and Zhaal lent their efforts to the Battle of Carteneau, a massive skirmish between allied Eorzean forces and the Garlean VIIth Legion.

This conflict was brought to an abrupt halt by Dalamud's impact upon Eorzea and the unleashing of Bahamut, a massive primal contained within the moon's hollow core, who unleashed a devastating assault on the entire realm. The intervention of the mage and scholar Louisoix Leveilleur allowed those with the Echo to be preserved, but not every member of the Adventure League was thusly blessed. Shienne was spirited away to the Rift to await such a time that she would be safe in Eorzea, but Zhaal lacked the Echo and, as a result, was vaporized by Bahamut's attack.

Adventuring Career: Seventh Astral Era

Shienne awoke five years later in the La Noscea area and was very quickly able to reunite with her friends from the Adventure League (including a resurrected Aveline). However, she had been so traumatized by the loss of Zhaal that she entirely forgot that she had witnessed his death. As a result, she spent most of her active time during the Seventh Umbral Era looking for him and did not play a role in most of the events regarding the return of the Warriors of Light and the downfall of the XIVth Legion. The most notable occurence pertaining to Shienne during this time was her happenstance discovery of the recently unearthed Wanderer's Palace, a former site of the long-lost Nymian society, and its remarkably still-living inhabitants, the tonberries. Shienne befriended these strange creatures and assisted in the dispersion of the 'rancor,' an illness which had consumed many of their kind. As a token of gratitude, the tonberries gifted Shienne with a soul stone, which granted her the abilities of Nymian martial scholars.

Following the destruction of Ultima Weapon and the advent of the Seventh Astral Era, Shienne's vain search for Zhaal continued, albeit with significantly lessened vigor as she began to suspect that he had indeed perished. During a brief scan of the Coerthas area (one of several), she happened upon Rhio Aldul, a former member of the Eorzean Guard and Everwatch with whom Shienne had shared a pleasant passing friendship. It was Rhio who allowed Shienne to recall having watched Zhaal perish and helped her to cope with her grief. Both of them had changed significantly since they had last seen one another, and these changes resulted in an instant chemistry that was difficult for Shienne to ignore, albeit not for lack of trying.

Rhio and Shienne began dating roughly three moons after the commencement of the Seventh Astral Era. The resulting whirlwind romance endured multiple hardships, not the least of which was Rhio's near-fatal injury at the hands of the voidsent Diabolos. Due to various alterations to Rhio's body, she could only be healed by a complete reassembly of her physical being: formerly a Seeker of the Sun, she now appeared as a Highlander. It was not long after Rhio's recovery that she and Shienne were married in the Sanctum of the Twelve, with Shienne adopting Rhio's surname.

The civil unrest in Ul'dah and Ishgard kept Shienne very busy, and as such, she was unprepared for several chance encounters with two figures from her past. The first was her biological mother, Genevieve Javert, who had escaped from prison in Ishgard and was making her way back toward Limsa Lominsa, where her mission of conquest began. Javert attacked Shienne as the two were traveling in opposite directions on a road in Coerthas. Not knowing that she had a daughter, Javert was convinced that Shienne had been altered by glamour magic to resemble the mytho-historial heroine for whom she was named, and that Raika was responsible for this gesture. It was not long after this that Raika herself reemerged, not appearing to be any older than she was when last Shienne saw her even though more than two decades had passed.

Adventuring Career: The Dragonsong War

Upon discovering her daughter's identity, Javert attempted to recruit Shienne to her cause, but was soundly rejected due to Shienne's intense loyalty to Eorzea and the reemergence of Raika as a surrogate mother figure. Furious, Javert attacked and mortally wounded Shienne by shooting her with a very heavy pistol. The gunshot destroyed Shienne's left eye and severely damaged her right, rendering her blind. Rhio and Raika both summoned skilled physicians and surgeons to attend to Shienne, and the solution that was ultimately employed was to mechanically augment her aetheric sensitivity to compensate for her newfound lack of sight. When Shienne awoke, she was informed that her left eye had been replaced by a unique magitek prosthesis that combined Allagan and Garlean technology with a modified aetherometer akin to those used by the machinists of Ishgard's Skysteel Manufactory.

Following her injury and surgery, Shienne spent a great deal of time in Raika's company. Raika lamented her absence from Shienne's life and requested permission to adopt her, a proposal which Shienne tearfully accepted. Shienne's rehabilitation was seen to by both Raika and Rhio, both of whom formed almost the entirety of her social circle following her sudden resignation from the Adventure League.

Rhio and Raika arranged a plan to lure Javert out of hiding and apprehend her, and while the execution of said plan was very effective, it was to the shock of many that Shienne intervened, silently objecting to Javert's arrest by brutally throttling her instead. This was a turning point for Shienne; although she had made mistakes in the past that cost spoken lives and Javert was later thought to have survived only to perish shortly after, this was thought to be Shienne's first act of deliberate, remorseless murder. The subsequent positive reaction from both her wife and her adoptive mother enforced her belief that she had done only what was necessary to preserve Eorzea's safety. She looked to the future with intense certainty and formally readopted the title of "Inquisitor," which had haunted her in youth.

Following Javert's death, Shienne and Rhio began plans to construct an independent intelligence effort to preemptively and covertly locate and suppress threats to Eorzea's safety. To this end, they forged a partnership with Meela Jakkya, the proprietress of a tavern in the Lavender Beds that, on an official note, hired Shienne as a bouncer. Shienne did indeed perform the duties for which she was employed, but the back rooms of the tavern were also set aside for Shienne and Rhio to use to whatever end they deemed necessary. Their plans to move the project forward went awry, however, when complications from Shienne's wound led to erratic behavior on her part. This culminated in her forceful removal of her implant and a long and self-destructive journey across Eorzea, during which she binge-drank and committed multiple infidelities. Throughout all of this, she was trailed and observed by subordinates of both Raika and Rhio who were tasked to interfere with her actions only if her life was in danger.

Upon experiencing a random moment of clarity, Shienne returned home and agreed to allow Raika to sedate her. Raika then solicited the services of Freawaru Theodora, a practiced psychic (who also had a lengthy history with Javert and Rhio), to probe Shienne's mind as she slept and remedy her mental instability. Shienne awoke with her good eye colored a deep purple (the same as Freawaru) and soon received a glass eye to match it. With a clearer mind, she was forced to face the consequences of her rash actions and chaotic behavior that had worn Rhio down throughout their marriage. The two of them resolved to do all that they could to repair their relationship while simultaneously returning to the previous endeavor that had been planned.

Appearance

Height: Six fulms, nine ilms

Weight: 222 ponz

Body: Shienne is tall and thin, with a very wiry frame that belies her impressive brawn. The few who have seen her without very modest clothing can confirm that she possesses a very sinewy body and a defined muscular structure, especially in her legs, shoulders, and stomach.

Complexion: Shienne's skin is as dark as any Duskwight's. Depending on the observer, it appears to be either a very dark grey or a dull, dusky black. Her skin is also very clear, as despite her utilitarian forthrightness, Shienne cares deeply about her appearance and goes to great lengths to remain aesthetically pleasant, even after being blinded.

Face: Shienne's face is gaunt and tapered with a strong, pointed jaw. It's also deceptively feminine; beyond her androgynous fashion sense and practical hairstyles lie high cheekbones and surprisingly full lips. Her eyes are a deep purple, and the left eye is glass. In spite of her blindness, Shienne often wears glasses and makeup (the latter of which is applied by Raika); her style of choice is subtle black shadow and eyeliner and a purple lip gloss to match her eyes.

Hair: Shienne's natural hair color is an intense white, but she had a long history of dying it black prior to her injury, after which it was recolored silver. She always favors practical styles over elaborate ones, but enjoys a touch of traditional femininity. Her hairdo of choice for many years was a tight braid that encircled her head, but since then, she's opted for many others.

Fashion: Shienne is rarely seen without some manner of clothing that reacts to wind. Long, heavy coats are her preferred garment, but she has also been seen in robes, dresses, and crisp suits. Her favorite colors are red, black, and silver, and her favorite accessories are scarves and cravats. In combat, she is wont to don a mortarboard, the traditional headwear of Nymian scholars, in honor of her tonberry friends. She also goes into battle in a red coat indicating her allegiance to the Maelstrom and a pair of thick leather gloves that she claims were given to her by a traveler from another world.

Behavior

Voice: Shienne's voice is low and severe. She speaks quietly much of the time, but is quick to raise her voice in anger. When speaking with affection, her voice will soften almost to a whisper and take on a warm, almost maternal tone. Her laughter is sharp and haughty and can elevate to an insufferably smug cackle. When she weeps, she is silent.

Demeanor: Shienne casts a stern, imposing figure which makes her difficult to approach, but if engaged in conversation, it can be discovered that she possesses an extensive vocabulary and top-notch etiquette. In trusted company, she can be very nurturing and warm, and she is quick to compliment what few friends she has. Her temper is fragile, and she has a history of being driven to fits of explosive rage by comparatively minor stimuli. In the past, she was also very quick to express herself through acts of physical violence, often slapping the faces of those who offended her. This tendency has been reduced to nonexistence in recent months.

Quirks: Shienne's injury damaged her brain and resulted in several odd behavioral habits, as well as a single verbal quirk: she cannot use vocal contractions (i.e. "can't," "you've," "I'm"). She also rarely makes eye contact in conversation anymore, which strikes some as standoffish and rude, although it usually indicates that Shienne is actively focused on listening.

Intelligence: Shienne is very educated and perceptive, possessing an extensive knowledge of history, anatomy, vocabulary, martial and magical theory, theater, and music. She also has a keen sense of deductive reasoning, making her a skilled detective, although this is rarely a skill she's had the opportunity to exercise.

Tendencies

Likes

• Her wife
• Pastries, particularly fruit tarts
• Smoking
• Exercise
• Leafy vegetables
• Her mother
• Long trips
• Chocobos
• Red wine

Dislikes

• Idealism
• Chauvinism
• Ul'dah
• Gridania
• Red meat
• Ale
• The Gold Saucer
• Discrimination of any kind

Hobbies/Talents

• Playing the harp, cello, and harpsichord
• Singing
• Dancing
• Mining
• Botany
• Massage

Relationships

Family

• Raika Roselynne (Mother): The relationship Shienne shares with Raika is complex. Raika adopted Shienne after her injury and for all practical purposes, the two are mother and daughter. However, Shienne didn't see Raika's face until about twenty years after they met, which led to a reverent view that endured even in the face of Raika's flaws becoming much more apparent. As a result, Shienne is quick to laud Raika and defend her actions in the face of scrutiny, often against her better judgment.
• Genevieve Javert (Biological Mother): Shienne didn't know her biological mother until well into adulthood, and as a result of this, she is hesitant to refer to Javert as her mother at all. Genevieve is responsible for Shienne's missing left eye, and Shienne is believed to have killed Genevieve in retaliation. As the architect of many of the practices carried out by the abusive people who raised Shienne, Javert is seen by her daughter as little more than a cretin whose nonexistence is a great boon to Eorzea.
• Baltar Lampkin (Father): Shienne met Baltar shortly after her thirtieth birthday, and by that point, she had abandoned her birth name and was unaware that the man that Raika had sent her to find was actually her father. Shienne and Baltar got along fairly easily, however, and he was a kind, nurturing parent to her for the seventeen years between their meeting and his death. Shienne named her company-issued chocobo after him, and she was unsurprised to discover his identity years later. She has nothing but fond memories of her father, and she misses him dearly.
• Valgeant Mimieux (Uncle): Valgeant raised Shienne (then Marius) as his own child and was incredibly abusive, often depriving her of food until she performed certain strenuous duties and savagely beating her for her failures. His death at Raika's hands was the first death in which Shienne actively rejoiced, and that act of harsh judgement influenced her greatly. Valgeant continues to haunt her dreams from time to time.
• Rhio Aldul (Wife): Rhio is one of the few constants in Shienne's life and the two are deeply in love. That such secretive people choose to keep no secrets from one another is a testament to the strength of their mutual trust; even if Shienne's erratic behavior wears on Rhio's nerves, the two seem impossible to fully separate.

Friends

• Micharan Danasorian: It's hard to believe that two very severe women with such conflicting notions of morality would make such close friends, and Shienne and Micharan indeed held a lot of hostility toward each other at one point. However, as time went on, their relationship grew more cordial, then respectful, then amicable, and they're now very close to one another. Micharan has referred to Shienne as a surrogate sister on many occasions and stated that should she bear children, 'Auntie Shienne' would be a common utterance in her household.
• Qin Danasorian: Shienne has a long and sordid history with Micharan's husband. Like Micharan, Shienne and Qin began on negative terms, but they became friends much more quickly through a shared sense of humor. Shienne and Qin had a very pleasant friendship, but it was not without its complications. Ever since her injury, Shienne's behavior has concerned and even frightened Qin, and the two of them currently avoid each other even as Shienne grows closer to Micharan and Qin develops a strong rapport with Shienne's mother.
• Bex'li Nelhah: Shienne is an employee of the Drunken Moogle, a popular tavern in the Lavender Beds. There are several people there she counts as friends, one of whom is Bex'li, a fellow bartender. The two have a pleasant if shallow relationship; they are quick to compliment one another and swap stories when they find the time. Shienne often wonders if Bex'li is hiding something, and Bex'li appears to suspect very strongly that Shienne does the same.
• [Lightning]: The mysterious warrior-woman known only as Lightning is confirmed to have visited Eorzea and subsequently departed, causing a brief flurry of discussion and speculation as to her identity and origins. It's also confirmed that she claimed to be of unusually foreign origins; according to reports, Lightning spoke of a faraway land that was much more "grim and dark" than she found Eorzea to be. Shienne, for her part, claims to have met and befriended Lightning during their mutual travels throughout the realm, and she developed a rather embarrassing crush that greatly amuses her wife. Shienne will occasionally speak of Lightning with reverence and familiarity, but it's worth noting that the only apparent proof that Shienne and Lightning even met at all is in Shienne's word.

Combat

• Style:
  Shienne is a tactician and a strategist at heart, and she won't go into combat without feeling that she's adequately prepared. Her various grimoires are not all for the purposes of arcanima; battle strategies are important to her, and she crafts new game plans in her spare time. In the thick of a fight, Shienne can be relied upon to balance healing and support magic for her allies and debilitating spells for her enemies with perfect efficiency. 'Efficiency' really is the key word.
• Specialization:
  Shienne is an arcanist. She's respectable as a conjurer or thaumaturge, but arcanima is her specialty, as are its twin derivatives, Allagan summoning and Nymian scholastics. A more unorthodox branch of Shienne's technique employs her impressive physical strength; she will occasionally lure spoken opponents into close quarters only to punch, choke, or throw them. This is a rare gambit, but it is more often effective than not.
• Strengths:
  As mentioned above, Shienne is a cunning and ruthless tactician. She's at her best when working with a small team and standing at the rear of it, assessing the situation and adjusting her strategies on the fly. Because of this, she actually makes a half-decent leader, but she doesn't deal well with insubordination.
• Weaknesses:
  Shienne can't take a hit to save her life, and if her iron-clad strategies fall apart, she's quick to reduce to agitated fuming. She is fragile in every sense of the word: her body and ego possess great strength, but lack durability.
• Armor:
  Shienne rarely armors herself at all, preferring to wear heavy cloth or leather that allows her to move comfortably (if slowly) and adds to her posh, unapproachable appearance.

OOC Trivia

Shienne's first name is derivative of the French chienne, the feminine form of 'dog.' While this has an immediately noticeable vulgar meaning to it (Shienne is seen by some as a 'bitch' in the contemporary sense), it's also indicative of her dependence. She works best when she's being groomed, tailored, nurtured, and directed by someone else. She has a reverent, submissive personality at her core, much like the traditional portrayal of dogs in modern culture.

Shienne's maiden name is a reference to the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, in which a central character, a Jewish woman hiding from the Nazis in occupied France, lives under the assumed identity of "Emmanuelle Mimieux." Shienne has lived under several assumed identities, but Mimieux was her true name until she married.

Shienne's history is rife with names that reference Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables. The names Marius (her birth name) and Javert (her biological mother) are taken directly from the novel, whereas her uncle's name, Valgeant, is a phonetic corruption of 'Valjean', the surname of the novel's protagonist. Shienne's middle name is Myrielle, a feminization of the name of Bishop Myriel, a key character in the novel's first narrative arc. Many of these names deliberately defy their source material; for example, the novel's Jean Valjean is portrayed as a selfless and redemptive figure, whereas Valgeant Mimieux is an abusive coward.