Ayumi means 'visible step', or footprint. Asanagi means 'morning calm (over the ocean)'. Her pseudonym means 'rough sea'.
Warrior Name: Kaieron, Warrior of Sachiel
Age: 28
Birthdate: the 14th day of the 7th season
Family: [Warning: This is a comparatively large list. Despite the complex inflection system given below under Kingdom information, I'll be using the shortest version possible to keep this down to a reasonable size. This list is for the benefit of reading both history and Kingdom -- it'll help clarify things.]
mother - Asanagi Minamiyori Umikaze Umikaze died of fright and shock from a wound during the Swarm invasion.
father - Asanagi Kaiba Kaiba died defying the Kamichinin's edict of passive resistance and fighting hand-to-hand with the Swarm.
younger sister - Asanagi Atsumi Atsumi is being held as a hostage for the Sachelyn's good behaviour by the Swarm. She is 26.
younger brother - Asanagi Sotoumi Sotoumi is being held as a hostage for the Sachelyn's good behaviour by the Swarm. He is 23.
younger brother - Asanagi Kasui Kasui is being held as a hostage for the Sachelyn's good behaviour by the Swarm. He is 20.
uncle - Asanagi Nanmei Nanmei became Kamichinin-elect during the Swarm invasion, and subsequently died at the hands of the Swarm.
male first cousin - Asanagi Geikirou Geikirou is Kamichinin-elect, hidden away somewhere away from the Swarm. He is 18.
grandfather - Asanagi Akisame Akisame died of a stroke some two years prior to the Swarm invasion.
great-uncle - Asanagi Chinoumi Chinoumi is the former Kamichinin. He died in a freak accident early in his reign, leaving his son to take the throne early.
male first cousin once removed - Asanagi Onibasu Onibasu was the Kamichinin at the time of the Swarm's invasion. He died at the hands (claws?) of the Swarm, at the age of 36, having reigned only 5 years.
female second cousin - Asanagi Ame Ame died at the hands of the Swarm because she was known to be the Warrior of Sachiel. She was 4.
Araumi has LOTS more relatives, including siblings of those listed here. Assume that those in the direct line of the Kamichinin are dead, and all others are either dead or hostages.
Likes:
romance -- this is going to get mentioned so many times it'll make you sick. Araumi is seriously romantic. EXTREMELY seriously overboard romantic. If she was openly emotional, people would actually be able to tell how horribly, seriously romantic Araumi is.
love songs, heavy rhythm -- Araumi, besides being a hopeless romantic, has somewhat of a thing for beats. Music with heavy bass / drum beats or strange rhythms keep her from brooding heavily, which is a good thing. Also, rhythms carry underwater quite well.
lapis lazuli, aquamarine, blue topaz -- all of these stones resemble or represent the ocean in some fashion ... mostly just by being blue.
pale crystal blue -- much, much lighter than your normal sea colour, this is the shade water is over purely white sand, or the shade of the sky as it meets the water far out on the horizon's edge. Incidentally, fog over the ocean in the early morning can also be this shade. Araumi is very drawn to this colour, but never wears it.
astronomy -- Something about the combination of pure science and mysticality in this science really intrigues Araumi. The study of the stars is often linked to the sea. It's a solitary kind of study, as well.
Dislikes:
shogi -- This is a chess-like game very common in Sachiel. Children learn to play it at their parents' knees. Simply aside from the fact that this game is far too intellectual for Araumi (not that her intelligence is limited but it goes in a more mystical direction); it also requires decisions. Lots of decisions. Lots of KEY decisions. In such a situation, Araumi completely panicks and freezes. In this line, she's a horrible test-taker unless it's an essay test - which she excels at.
laziness -- this is another point that will be beat into the ground. Araumi dislikes very much to have nothing to do. She wants to keep her hands busy as much as possible, and if the hand-busyer keeps her mind busy, so much the better. Going along with this, she dislikes to see anyone wasting time, although her reaction is going to be more internal grumbling than outward correction of erring person.
pretty boys -- even though Araumi doesn't get mixed up with a boy (she's far too short and small for most people to make that mistake), on principle she dislikes the type. She very much stereotypes any pretty boy she sees, and finds it hard to get over the stereotype even when she's been proven wrong.
horror -- Araumi's problem with horror is that she thinks too much ... and while her own imaginings are just fine, anyone else's tend to give her sleepless nights. Whenever she sees or reads something scarey that's completely fictional, her mind won't let go of it. But real-life scarey doesn't seem to bother her a bit. On the other hand, most of what is encountered in horror fiction DOESN'T show up in real life.
Color:
deep royal purple
Hobbies:
Araumi tends to prefer to keep her hands busy, and she's discovered that if she looks busy people won't bother her much. Embroidery allows both these requirements to be filled and has the added bonus of being somewhat useful. She carries around a pouch with whatever pattern she's working on, the thread, and the needles in a little packet, and a lot of her clothing has embroidered patches, cuffs, bands, and collars on it.
Araumi is a romantic at heart, plus she has a lot of free time, and she prefers to spend that free time reading. Her favourite genre is romance, and from those her favourite is art-stories, known as geihan in Sachelyni. She doesn't have a favourite artist, but she tends toward reading heterosexual couples more than homosexual couples, and sometimes she's so moved by the story that she actually cries, a rare display of emotion for her. Actually, her geihan are more likely to get an emotional response out of her than almost anything else. She pretends that's because the situations are more dramatic and powerful than real life ones are.
One of the few things that Araumi will do in a group without much coaxing is play certain card games. The ones she will play, and enjoy, are the kind where play is based entirely on randomness or luck ... she has trouble with games where she has to decide what card to put down, especially if a lot is metaphorically riding on it. She likes to play one called 'War', and there is a partner game that breaks her decision problem called 'Spades' or 'Hearts'. When she's playing those two games especially she can get quite competitive, slapping the cards down like a challenge.
Araumi swims more for her health than anything else. Swimming strengthens the arm and leg muscles and builds stamina. She enjoys being in the water, where she can shut out the importunate world by simply ducking under (or above) the surface. Even though she's trying to be more open and social, sometimes she feels too much pressure, and swimming seems to help with that feeling.
Skip the obvious here -- all the Warriors want to see Euphoria freed from the Swarm, so we can pass on that one. Therefore, tops on the list comes the desire to be the one who brings greater trade and prosperity to both Sachiel and Aftiel; she wants to be a bit famous. Let's be honest here, she wants to be the one who, with Ayita, brings Aftiel back into the real world. This would accord quite a bit of status to Sachiel, as well. Araumi is all about service to her nation. From there, we can go the the fairly typical romantic girl's desire to get married to a wonderful, loving man who treats her well and gives her children. Loving, talented, useful and beautiful children wouldn't hurt, either.
Animal / Pet: nary a one
Weapon: There is a kind of net that is often used in Sachiel that has the magical property of being selectively permeable at the wielder's command -- something a thrifty and prudent seaman finds extremely useful. Araumi often carries one, and is quite skilled with it.
Once upon a time, in a far-off undersea kingdom -- wait. This is not the Little Mermaid.
Asanagi Ayumi'chkaisya Kaibaksa-y-Umikaze Akisamushe sa'Chinoumiyatka Kasuisya was born into Sachiel's royal family, and into a life of comfort and fulfillment. The oldest of four children, and the oldest surviving cousin, her inborn abilities guaranteed her an important place in Sachelyn government -- for the Aftelian blood in her line gave her the power of a Worldwalker; she would become Sachiel's ambassador to neighboring Aftiel. Thus, as a child, her time passed in a happy whirlwind of studies and play with her many cousins.
When she turned 5, she was deemed old enough to take up some of the lightest duties birth had fitted her for, and was put in nominal charge of guiding the Aftelian princess Ayita vec Kaeru dó Mathusgi. Obviously, with both girls at such a young age, an adult watched over them but for the most part, both were sensible girls, and needed little guidance to become fast friends. Araumi travelled to Aftiel as often as Ayita came to Sachiel, which resulted in a few inevitable consequences revolving around Vitka -- namely, that Araumi developed a puppy love crush on him, which both faded and lingered, as first loves tend to do.
Thus did life pass for eleven years.
Then the perfection of life in Sachiel came to an abrupt ending, as the Marine segment of the Swarm army descended on Sachiel, in the final year before the fall of Tradkiel. Kamichinin Onibasu, unsure on his throne and indecisive, made the most fatal decision of his ill-fated reign, and ordered the Sachelyn not to overtly resist. Instead, they would hamper the invasion by more subtle means -- in short, a simple refusal to cooperate with the Swarm in any way. Araumi's father, disturbed by this edict, took arms and fought alone against the Swarm, dying in a glorious, but futile, battle in the Gathering Room, largest room in the Royal compound. Umikaze, Araumi's mother, also took a wound in this epic battle and died of it.
Ruthlessly, the Swarm trampled Sachiel's government. The lack of overt resistance after Kaiba died meant that the city remained largely intact, but the passive resistance of the people resulted in a LOT of deaths. Nearly half the population of Adoriakai died in the first few months of Sachiel's occupation. The Kamichinin, Hidenka, and Shinnou all died early on as a matter of course. Those of the royal lines left were seized and held as hostages against the good behaviour of the rest of the Sachelyn, pressed into service as slaves in the mines of the undersea ranges. Others died when they refused to reveal information important to the Swarm -- like who would assume the mantles of the Warrior and the Kamichinin.
The first was Araumi, the second her first cousin Geikirou. In the first month, her uncle Nanmei sacrificed his life to give the two of them time to escape, by virtue of Araumi's Worldwalking power, to Aftiel. She was twelve, her cousin two. They escaped first to the real-world island of Aftiel, the island which Adoriakai is built up against, and thence to shadow-Aftiel. She left Geikirou in the care of a Worldwalker she met on her entrance into Aftiel, and fled for the capital and Ayita, carrying the news that both real-world island and Sachiel were lost to the Swarm.
There she found even more trouble, for an illness had swept the land, and Ayita was Queen. Queen, and too busy mourning to be able to spare much time for a refugee, even a refugee Warrior. Araumi attempted to turn to Vitka, and was repulsed by his hunger for greater power. However, rather than return to Sachiel, she remained in Aftiel, attempting to assist in rebuilding, while her fear for her homeland grew.
Four years passed, and Araumi grew, and changed, and at last she determined to return to Sachiel. She was their Warrior, she thought, and she should be there, to rally them, if nothing else. Thus, nearly on the eve of Vitka's betrayal of Aftiel, she returned to her homeland.
She returned to a land under complete dominion, and quickly discovered that other nobles had been coming out of the 'woodwork' for years, offering themselves or being offered to the Swarm's hostage group. Thus, the Swarm suspected nothing unusual, and seized her as a hostage, where she remains now, silently plotting their downfall. She is disguised as a fourth rank princess and using her former nickname as her given name.
Over the last years, Araumi has attempted to train secretly in her power as Warrior with a certain amount of limited success.
Well-versed in theory, if nothing else, in the building of complex plots, she has spent the last eight years slowly and cautiously constructing something of an underground ; at times she exercised so much caution even the most frightened of her followers pleaded to move faster. Two years ago, she planned the dangerous and daring mission that extracted Geikirou, now aged 16, from Aftiel. He resides now with a cell of loyalists miles from Adoriakai, and Araumi keeps contact with him only through the media of others. Over the last year, she has begun to seek not only her old friend Ayita, but news of any other Warriors, as well as attempting to link up with any other resistance groups that may exist on Euphoria. So far, success has been minimal, but Araumi is, if nothing else, patient, and willing to wait years, if need be, for her plots to come to fruition.
Araumi is a quiet person, introspective and pensive. Her personality has a lot of breadth and scope tucked away. She is always watching, staring, observing, and mulling over in her mind what she has seen. She is extremely sensitive, and there is much more to her than ever really meets the eye. She is rarely speaks in social situations, and is considered standoffish and distant.
At the same time, she wishes to be more open than she is, and these contradictory pulls in her nature make her very difficult for others to understand. Reserve and shyness seem her main strengths. She is not a complete social hermit only because a core of strength within urges her to become involved in life instead of sitting on the sidelines. Courteous and refined, good manners are important to her. She exhibits them and she expects them. Tactful, diplomatic, and refined, she strives to say and do the right thing.
Araumi possesses a quiet, reserved manner that seems to take no effort on her part no matter how much activity is going on around her. Very little seems to ruffle her calm. She has a genuine concern for others, can convey this to them, and is a superb listener. She is both an idea person and an idealist.
Araumi can be overly idealistic, sometimes looking at the world through "rose colored glasses." Emotionally naive, she continually overlooks other people's shortcomings and deficiencies. She is tremendously unselfish, trusting, open-handed, and at times a little too generous, especially with her boundless sympathy. In many situations, she is too giving. Romantic tendencies are strongly marked in Araumi's nature, despite her training and natural inclination to keep her emotions private. She has a strong aesthetic sense, and responds readily to beauty, kindness, or perfection.
She prefers working in a pleasant and very orderly atmosphere, with people who don't put undue pressure on her. She sees her role as that of peacemaker. Peace and tranquillity are so important. The least sign of hostility or discord is very upsetting to her. She will always refrains from speaking her mind if she fears her thoughts would alienate or start an argument. Unfortunately, this tendency makes her seem wishy-washy, less than reliable.
This is because she weighs each decision before choosing her direction. She experiences problems if called on to make snap decisions for the group. She tends to at least try to see the good in both sides of a situation. Unfortunately, such a balanced view of situations sometimes makes decisive action more difficult. She can have a hard time making everyday decisions of little or no consequence. On the big issues, she sometimes vacillates indefinitely.
Araumi is nothing like a leader in any type of situation; however, given time she is quite capable of constructing deeply complex plans. She leads by not leading; rather she knows who can do what task and turns them loose to do it. As a matter of fact, the better term for Araum is a skilled figurehead, rather than an actual leader. When forced into a position of true leadership under a stressful situation, she tends to freeze.
In many ways, Araumi is dependent upon the approval of others. She thinks of herself as half a partnership rather than an individual. Because of this feeling of dependence, she will put any close friend's needs and desires ahead of her own. She can get pretty confused as to what she wants at any particular time, as compared to what her friends or lovers want. Her friends' goals and ambitions become her goals and ambitions. She achieves her greatest potential in a codependent situation.
As attached as she is to her friends, she is not one to express strong emotions of any kind. Her emotions can be difficult to bring to the surface. In fact, it is impolite in Sachelyn culture to reveal strong emotions. Her demeanour is detached, preferring instead a dispassionate, almost protective role. Despite this lack of overt emotion, or perhaps because of it, she can be nearly fanatical about keeping hurtful, dangerous, or frightening information from her friends. This is the truest way she has of expressing emotions she prefers to keep to herself, although there is no denying the feeling of them. Araumi's attachments are rare, but strong.
Birth Form
general : Araumi has pretty skin that's a kind of pale creamy porcelain colour, with a tint of aquamarine blue. She has a pointed little chin and a widow's peak in her hairline that makes her face look heartshaped. At barely 5'1", with a slight, fragile build, Araumi could stand to eat a lot more than she does. Frequent royal inter-marriage with Aftiel has brought some of that Kingdom's pale colouring to Sachiel's royal family, along with some of their less Angelically-bound powers.
hair : Araumi's hair is pretty short, cut in a haphazard way. None of the strands are more than a couple inches or so long, and wave all over her head like an out of control mop ... or maybe a windblown collie. At any rate, there's no managing it without much gel or water, and little need to, either. It could be said that she has bangs, but it's not like they're formal-type bangs, actual bangs ... more like sometimes her hair straggles over her forehead. Habitually she flicks the ends out of her eyes. When she has to really look nice, she takes a handful of little butterfly shaped clips and a lot of water and firmly pins it to her head. In colour it's a soft honey blonde, seeming to glow somewhat in bright sunlight.
eyes : Araumi's eyes are the royal deep, clear blue, dark like the sky near sunset, streaked with gold. If Araumi was an anime character, her eyes would be pretty large. They're set a little close to her nose, giving her a slightly prissy expression, which is enhanced by the narrow square glasses she wears. Her eyebrows are what's known as winged, meaning the outer edges rise somewhat instead of curving down along the eye socket. The effect of this is to contradict the prissy effect of her eyes and make her look somewhat surprised.
clothing : Araumi has a strong sense of style that shows up most strongly in her clothing. Elegant and normally graceful, she favours flowing skirts and billowy sleeves on her tops. Araumi envelops her fragile frame in yards of sheer, flowing fabrics in shades of blue, sea green, toffee, and lavender.
voice : Araumi's voice is a sweet, low contralto, surprisingly low for her height and build. She tends to speak softly as well and has to be encouraged to speak up usually.
Warrior Form
In Warrior form, Araumi barely looks like herself. Someone who was skilled at recognising people from their profile, or from general shape, could probably recognise her, but there's little to connect Araumi with Kaieron. This is because Araumi's Warrior appearance consists of an ill-detailed Araumi-shaped body filled with carbonated water.
Yes.
Kaieron is a glittering, waterfilled Sachelyn shape. Mind you, this shape is actually defined by a sort of 'shell', or maybe skin is a better way to put it. Otherwise she'd splash everywhere and just be a puddle of water. Thus, the 'water' that makes up Kaieron's shape is enclosed in a transparent skin that is exactly the same as humyn skin, with the same properties, feel, etc.etc. When Kaieron is woulded enough to bleed, she bleeds water instead of blood, and when the transformation reverts, the water becomes blood as Kaieron becomes Araumi.
Kaieron wears only a rectangle of translucent purple fabric, tied at the top of the right shoulder and sweeping down under the left arm. Come on, she's a body made of water. How sexy can that be?
Worldwalker :: Araumi possesses the Aftelian ability called 'Worldwalking', which enables her to cross between Sachiel and Aftiel. Unlike Aftelian-born Worldwalkers, she gains no other benefit from this other than access to a land where most people cannot go. She receives this ability through the inter-marriage of Aftelian royalty with Sachelyn royalty. (for more information, please visit http://darkfire.firechildren.net/woe/ and look at the section concerning Sirsi's powers.)
Waterbreather :: This name is somewhat misleading, since Araumi can't actually breathe water. This power enables Araumi (and all Sachelyn, really) to 'capture' bubbles of air around them when they go underwater. Through the magic, the air and pressure within the bubble remain breathable and constant, allowing Sachelyn to travel
beneath the water or to the surface at will. It is this ability which enables the Sachelyn to work the Mines.
Sea Shadow :: Araumi possesses the ability to turn herself, or parts of her anatomy, semi-permeable at will. Semi-permeable means that objects thrown at her, or even things she picks up, will pass through whatever part of her is semi-permeable as though moving through water. Leaves and other light objects have been known to 'float' on the surface. Araumi seems to have gained this ability as part of becoming the Warrior of Sachiel, even though she can use it in mundane form.
In order to use it, she has to concentrate and keep a part of her mind focussed on being semi-permeable. Yes, she basically has to sit there and think, "I'm semi-permeable, I'm semi-permeable." It's very much akin to how one would keep a mental shield; that kind of concentration on the task. The more of herself she is trying to keep semi-permeable, the more concentration it takes, until when she is trying to make her entire body that way, that's all she can focus on.
In order to invoke this ability, she has to be able to devote her entire concentration to the thought for about five seconds, which makes it difficult to use on a battlefield, with arrows, or whatever, flying around. Once it's invoked, she can hold it pretty much indefinitely -- which amounts to however long her concentration holds out. In practise, this comes to about five minutes or so, which is a loooong time for one to be focused on a single thing. Usually, when she lets it go, she's got a major headache tending toward migraine and is ravenously hungry. The very first time she ever invoked it for her entire body, she passed out after a minute.
While this ability is invoked, Araumi is useless for any other magical ability. No Worldwalking. No Waterbreather. She can, therefore, only use this ability where there is air for her to breathe. She can't transform while semi-permeable, nor use her attack, although she can use this ability while transformed.
As Kaieron, she gains no new weapons or items, but continues to use the net she's familiar with as Araumi.
"For the honor of Sachiel..." A pool of water begins to seep out around Araumi's feet. A random breeze begins, and whips at the water, swirling it up around her in a whirlpool that first hides, then becomes Araumi's body. The pool recedes back beneath her feet.
Wave Dance :: With this attack, Kaieron summons a tsunami to overwhelm her opponents. She cries the words aloud, lifting both arms to the sky, or out to the sea if she can see the sea, in invocation. She clenches her fists, and the water rises -- if she is near the sea, the water will rise directly out of the sea and takes correspondingly less energy; otherwise, the water magically appears about fifty feet out from her in the direction she is looking. She lifts her fists high, almost literally lifting the crest of the wave higher, then opens her fists and releases the tsunami down on her opponents. Kaieron herself will never be affected by this attack, since she possesses the Sachelyn Waterbreather ability, but anyone else in the vicinity will be drenched, probably swept off their feet, and runs the risk of being drowned. The attack is not at all limited to affecting opponents; she can -- and has -- hit allies with it. For this reason, she is hesitant to use it often.
Throughout its history, Sachiel as a nation has had very little to do with the land-nations. Its association with Aftiel, Kingdom of Twilight, is marked, as is a similar but much less significant relationship with Gaghiel, Kingdom of Fish. During the Luciferian war, they came down formidably on the side of Tradkiel, but since that time interaction as a nation with any nations other than Aftiel or Gaghiel has been fairly minimal, limited almost exclusively to trade treaties.
Within Sachiel, however, history takes a turn for the interesting, as even a haphazard scholar taking a peek into the past will discover multitudes of rebellions, revolutions, coups, and power plays. A certain level of civil war seems a constant for Sachiel right up until the Swarm arrived. Amazingly, the basic governmental forms remained very stable; it was the family in power that altered. Equally amazingly, at least half of these revolutions were accomplished virtually without bloodshed, proving the Sachelyn past masters at the art of politics. Sadly, this skill seems to have vanished in the more recent generation of Asanagyn, as demonstrated by the ill-luck of Chinoumi's early death and Onibasu's foolish and fatal final command. Araumi herself, though steeped in theory and perforce putting it into practise, shows none of the skill and flair her ancestor-of-descent showed in his time.
Sachiel's domain is the ocean, a dominion which covers a vast and near-ungovernable area. Wisely, they usually didn't try, instead preferring to impose certain light taxes and duties on sea-going ships. Most other kingdoms found it the better part of valour, not to mention wisdom, to simply accept these -- bearing in mind always that if sufficiently provoked, the Sachelyn could rouse the ocean water itself against their enemy.
So things stood when the Swarm arrived. Seirettab moved in with his Strike Force and smashed the Sachelyn complacency in a brutal cascade of destruction. Since that time, the Swarm has maintained a strong grip on Sachiel.
Currently
It didn't take long for the Swarm to subdue the Sachelyn -- or at least for the Sachelyn to seem subdued. Onibasu's death did not release them from his last command, in the minds of most Sachelyn, and it was indeed easier to simply go along with the Swarm. The fact that the Swarm captured and imprisoned most of the nobles, threatening the commoners with their deaths, didn't hurt either.
Life in Sachiel now is simple. Strong or agile males are employed in the Mines. The Swarm quickly discovered that the death rate was significantly lower when they let the natives do the mining -- after two or three deadly accidents they chose to let the Sachelyn take the risks and save their men. Old men and children are used in support positions, chiefly domestic. Someone has to feed those workers. Women are bred.
In an odd kind of way, much of Sachelyn life is as it was before the Swarm came. Cooperating, and even the passive resistance they offer, has allowed them to earn a number of privileges, including a good deal of free movement within Adoriakai. Those who travel back and forth to the Mines have keycards, which must be checked at the single portal in the wall of Adoriakai. Araumi's resistance has made some use of this stricture, appropriating the keycards of some of those who die in the Mines or switching out the usual support 'slave' with one of their own.
Sachiel is underwater. That's right, Sachiel, of all the Euphorian Kingdoms, is completely underwater. Mind you, this does NOT mean that the residents breathe water like fish. They are completely humanoid, with legs, lungs, and the usual complement of senses and limbs.
Being underwater necessitates an alternative to the usual arrangement of cities and countryside. Although it could be said that the entire sea is Sachiel's Kingdom, this is impractical for ruling people. Therefore, most of the people are concentrated in a large bubble-domed city located near the base of the island that is Aftiel's real-world counterpart. Remember the Gungan city from Episode I? That's what Adoriakai looks like -- a great, golden mass of bubbles. The domes are constructed out of magic, and are to the surrounding seawater what trees are to air.
Within the city, which literally spreads for miles underwater, life is a bit different from land-cities. Instead of separate buildings, which would be a bit impractical, all the rooms and such are interconnected, and walled with stiff, heavy paper stretched over sunbirch-wood frames. This gives the city a fairly open, airy feel to it, and rooms can be enlarged or made smaller in a trice, by moving the frames about. Although the domes arch at least 25 feet in the water, it is extremely rare for a frame to reach even half that high.
Without the city, the 'land' is much as you would find an ocean floor anywhere. Sand stretches for miles, pocked with large rocks, chasms, caves, and mountains. Located significantly near to Adoriakai are vast reaches of seafield, one of the Kingdom's chief exports. Minerals and gems are mined from the mountain ranges. There are 'forests' of mendou, an oceanic variety of conifer.
the Mines :: Much of Sachiel's actual portable wealth comes from these mines, located miles from the city itself and very near the centre of the seafloor, where new seafloor is created. Because of this, mining is EXTREMELy dangerous, as pockets of deadly gases can float about in the water for literally months before dissipating or rising to the surface far above. The pressure is incredible, the darkness is Stygian, and the rock which must be mined for the best-quality metals and gemstones is highly unstable. 'Landslides' occur regularly, and are often unpredictable, along with earthquakes. Until the Swarm's arrival, the Sachelyn didn't actually do a lot of development of these mines, because of the dangers. Why develop a dangerous resource when you can make more money with your monopoly on something less life-threatening?
People
Sachelyn are usually fairly short, and unless the blood is extremely diluted, never top 5'10". They are basically humanoid, as stated above. Build is often one of two types: extremely slender, with long bones and a deceptively fragile appearance; or ... well, more or less round, clearly well-insulated against the chill of the sea. This is not a limit on what Sachelyn look like, but those are the two most common types.
There are two major distinguishing characteristics of Sachelyn. One is the blue eyes. Sachelyn ALWAYS have eyes of some shade of blue. Many of them have eyes that have multiple rings of colour. The massive royal family is distinguished by eyes the clear blue of the eastern horizon at sunset, flecked and streaked with gold. Any Sachelyn who possesses 1/2 or more royal blood will always show these eyes, and it's a possibility for royal blood of many generations back to show up in a commoner Sachelyn. Fortunately for these commoner Sachelyn -- and for the Asanagyn -- the Swarm seems to have assumed that because the trait shows up in the general populace that it is not as much of an identifying factor as it actually is.
The other is the skin tint, which varies from bluegreen or jade to true blue to purple and even gray. This tint is more evident than that found in an Aftelian, partly due to the fact that originally the colour was a Sachelyn characteristic alone before intermarriage with the Aftelians, and also due to the pale ivory or cream skin tones of the typical Sachelyn. It is most prominent around the base and tips of the ears, the palms of the hands and feet, and the midriff, and may appear to shift around underneath the skin.
Sachelyn are fairly longlived, with lifespans ranging from about 90 to 120 years. Aging is near-undetectable in most Sachelyn, and is most often characterised by stiffening or crippling in the joints. Fertility is high, with the result that some children actually have uncles or aunts younger than they are.
Language
The basic language of Sachiel tends to be very similar to Terran Japanese. However, there is a linguistic convention relating to the tribal/familial structure of hierarchy that is distinctly different from the rest of the language.
There is a standard word progression for familial, gender, and dialect identification. Examples as follows:
Seidan - family name, used exclusively as a proper noun
Seidanyn - name of the family when speaking as a group (singular and plural, ie the Seidanyn, many Seidanyn, a Seidanyn)
Seidana - female member/descendant of the family (singular and plural)
Seidanu - male member/descendant of the family (singular and plural)
Seidanyni - name of the dialect
(fallen into disuse)
Sometimes vowels in the final syllable are dropped or slurred. Therefore, when speaking of the people of Sachiel, the progression is Sachiel, Sachelyn, Sachela, Sachelu, Sachelyni.
Naming
Full names in Sachiel are quite complex. There are many dozens of inflections indicating degrees of relationship, and like Aftelian names, can be quite long. Below is a table delineating the most commonly used inflections and their meanings.
| 'chka | Warrior | ie/ei/e | honoured ancestor | (e)ksa | 1st daughter | (u)shka | 1st son | |||
| (e/i/u)sya | ancestor of descent | ykha | grandmother | niya | 2nd daughter | anka | 2nd son | |||
| y | and | ushe | grandfather | liya | 3rd daughter | enka/inka | 3rd son | |||
| ko/ka/ya/da | child | na'/sa'/me' | denotes generation | yshka | sister | yatka | brother |
This much of the system seems simple, yes? Add the inflection to the name, dropping or slurring vowels as necessary. However, the meaning of certain inflections can change, depending on which name in the sequence they are attached to. For instance, esya/isya/usya/sya, when on the last name in the list, denotes the ancestor of descent (see Culture). But when used on the given name, it denotes what rank the person is, and the leading vowel becomes the key marker, making esya denote first rank, isya denote second rank, usya denote third rank, and sya denote fourth rank.
Prefixes, such as na', sa', and me', indicate how many generations back the relationship is, so that a great-uncle is indicated by prefixing sa' to the name, then adding the inflection for brother. There are more prefixes than those listed, but except on occasions of supreme formality, relationships are not listed past the ancestor of descent. There are dozens of obscure inflections indicating cousinship, but these are not commonly used.
When naming oneself, the family name is always given first, followed by the given name, followed by naming one's parents and the order of birth in the family -- usually, birth order is inflected on the father's name, followed by 'and' and the mother's name. Finally, the ancestor of descent is named. These four parts are always given. Also, usually the partner of lesser rank in a marriage gives their birth family name immediately prior to their given name. Beyond that, all manner of relationships may be listed; often one names those family members who are well-known. The ancestor of descent is always listed last, however.
Thus, Araumi's full name (as much of it as can be given here) is: Asanagi Ayumi'chkaisya Kaibaksa-y-Umikaze Akisamushe sa'Chinoumiyatka Kasuisya.
Translated, this is: Of the Asanagi family Ayumi Warrior of Sachiel second-rank daughter of Kaiba and Umikaze granddaughter of Akisame grand-niece of Chinoumi of the branch of Kasui.
Government & Ranks
For the most part, the only consciousness of rank exists among the royal family, the Asanagyn, itself, where jostling for precedence can become quite ... dangerous. A geat deal of subtle, polite, deadly maneuvering took place behind the shell-mosaicked walls of the Royal compound. Any member of the royal family outranks every other Sachelyn family, regardless. Marrying into the royal family automatically grants one status as a member of the family; no-one in all of history has chosen to belong to a lesser family than the Asanagyn; it would be considered a deadly insult. Within the Asanagyn itself, rank is determined by how closely one is blood-related to whomever rules, the Kamichinin.
The Kamichinin (male or female) and his/her immediate family -- parents, spouse and children -- are first rank. Males are titled Shinnou, females Hidenka. Below first rank, all males are styled prince, and females styled princess. The brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews of the Kamichinin are also first rank. The first cousins and descendants are second rank, and second cousins with descendants are third rank, and so forth.
This does, in fact, mean that ranks within the royal family change, often drastically, when a new Kamichinin takes the throne. Araumi is currently a second rank princess, the daughter of the second-born first cousin of the Swarm-murdered Kamichinin and second cousin to the Hidenka who would have been his heir -- but since those two both were killed in the invasion, the direct-line inheritance of the throne passed to the Kamichinin's father's brother's eldest son (eldest first cousin), Nanmei. The Swarm subsequently killed him off as well, for refusing to identify which Asanaga was Sachiel's Warrior. Now Araumi's first cousin, Geikirou, is heir, and hidden somewhere away from the Swarm, and Araumi is incipient Warrior in the deceased Hidenka's stead.
The basic form of government in Sachiel was a monarchy. Sachelyn style their home an 'Empire of the sea', and refer to their government as imperial, but the words are mostly irrelevant. Most of the important positions were occupied by Asanagyn, with other important families filling in the ranks. While the common people did not have an active voice in their government, most of the Kamichinins of the post have done a fairly good job of paying attention to their people, usually through the media of fourth rank or lower family members. The more recent Kamichinin have actually been quite popular, thereby increasing the popularity of the nobility as well.
Culture
Sachelyn culture is very polite. VERY polite. Politeness becomes ingrained quickly when you live in a city where neighbours half a mile away can hear you if you argue. Originally, there were multiple levels of politeness, depending on whom you were speaking to, what their rank was, what your rank was, and what time of year it was. Over time, that became worn away with the inexorability of the sea, and now there are two distinct levels. When first meeting someone, when with a member of the royal family (if you aren't also a member of the royal family), or when asking a favour, one is expected to use formal politeness -- High Sachelyni. When with familiar friends, in normal conversation, or generally overall, one may use common politeness -- Low Sachelyni. Bargaining, for example, is often carried out in High Sachelyni, with its ability to deliver subtle -- and ignorable -- insults.
Given all of that, it is unsurprising that most Sachelyn prefer to keep their emotions hidden. It is considered somewhat impolite, or at the very least as an imposition, for one to openly reveal strong emotion. This is not to say that Sachelyn do not feel strong emotion, and many a weapons-practise room can attest to the extremes of emotion a Sachelyn may get to when alone, but when with others, a Sachelyn at least pretends to calm under any circumstances.
As a general rule, Sachelyn culture is family-based. Sons and daughters, when they marry, must declare which family they and their children will belong to, thus eliminating the tangles of deciding who belongs to which family. Name inflections reflect a given person's heritage, a custom adopted from Aftiel. It is (was) possible to petition the ruler to start a new family name, but the last time this was even done, never mind granted, was nearly a hundred years ago. For the most part, a given family is considered to be the brothers, sisters, and other descendants of a named person about four or five generations back. This Ancestor is always specified in the person's name. This style leads to branching of families, but the bond of blood is stronger than anything else, so when challenged, even the distant branches of a family will draw together to present a unified face.
Much of Euphoria's populations of mercats and merdogs can be found here, and breeding them is a common hobby. Some folk herd fish, and hunt dogfish and catfish, which prey on the herds.
Commerce
Sachiel has an exclusive contract with Aftiel to ship Aftelian goods -- even after the Swarm takeover this continues in more or less the same manner, since getting off Aftiel requires Worldwalking through the mists to the island which lies at the heart of both kingdoms, an island which remains at least nominally controlled by Sachiel, or at least the Swarm in Sachiel. This contract comprises about 50% of their trade and gross income. For the rest, it is -- or was -- just as you'd expect, significant exports of oceanic foods, including seafield, namako (sea cucumber), mendou-wood and other products from the mendou tree, as well as raw metals and gemstones from the undersea mountain ranges.
Sachiel does possess a monopoly on one product -- a deep purple dye that is made from the shells of a deep-sea shellfish. It's the only way to get the true royal purple dye, which is sometimes called Sachelyn purple, and only the Sachelyn known the secrets to making the dye fix -- anyone else can make it, but it won't set and would wash out immediately on getting wet. Currently, this particular export is being neglected, as the Swarm have absolutely no use for purple dye, and considerable use for the folk who once made their livelihood from it.
Araumi sighed, poring over the slates of gathered information. "You're sure that Ameashi has defected to the Swarm?"
Kasui nodded, unusual regret showing clear on his face. "She couldn't take the pressure," he said. He laid a hand on Araumi's shoulder. "I'm sorry, sister. Better now -- "
"Better now than later, when we trust her, I know." Araumi's royal blue eyes glittered with tears, despite the reassurance. "We can't afford to keep losing people. The Swarm keeps getting stronger, Vitka's -- " she choked off, the defection of a childhood crush still painful even after so many years.
"Leave Vikta to his sister," Kasui said grimly. "You worry about Sachiel. JUST Sachiel."
Araumi sighed again. "I can't. Ayita's -- gone, gods know where, and for all I know Vikta and I are the only Worldwalkers left. If nothing else, I can find Ayita and help her regain her kingdom."
Kasui slammed a fist down on the table, rocking it on the trestles. Unabara put her head in the doorway, but left at Araumi's dismissive wave. "Damn it, sister!"
Araumi covered her brother's hand with her own. "I know. Believe me, Kasui, I know. Will you leave me now?" The two of them looked at each other, kinship clear in the gold-flecked blue eyes and delicately tinted skin. Kasui left. Araumi rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the headache born of making too many decisions, too many life-altering choices. Hot tears began to leak down her cheeks. She put her head down on her hands and sobbed briefly, indulging in self-pity now that she was in private. 'I can't do this alone anymore ... it's too hard. WHY won't Geikirou come back? He should be leading this Resistance I've built for him -- he's Kamichinin! I'm only the Warrior ... it's so unfair. So unfair.'
Smearing the tracks of tears off her cheeks, she rose, slinging the net from its hook on her belt. Gauzy skirts swirled around her ankles, along with a mercat, demanding attention. She caressed its head briefly, allowing a brief spasm of fear and worry to crimp her mouth, before settling a social mask of calm and unconcern over her expression and stepping out the door. Unabara looked up from the stew she was stirring, a questioning expression on her face. Araumi shook her head. "It's all right, Una." Satisfied that the security of the hideout was uncompromised, Unabara returned to cooking, and Araumi slipped out the door.
Whirling currents surrounded her immediately; the hideout was built with door opening directly into ocean in an effort to prevent any but Sachelyn from coming there. So far, it had worked. So far.
Araumi was no longer inclined to trust to that luck. Not after Aftiel. Not after Geikirou's stubborn refusal to take his place as the head of the Resistance, if not the ruler of their people. It was the Warrior's place to guard the throne, not sit on it, and Araumi was all too aware of her lack of fitness for either position.
The city's domes glowed in the distance, still brilliant and golden despite all. Despite Swarm; despite death; despite sorrow and frustration, home was still home.
She set off for Adoriakai.
Resume
I have three active characters in Shades of Grey; an active character in FFHS; two active characters in Missing Shard; and an active character in [on hiatus] Return of Evil. I have 21 retired characters from games like Lumina Senshi, Arcana Senshi, Materia Girls (closed), Return of the Legend (closed), Saikoubi Kyaku, Magick of Olde (closed), System Crash, Gairo Tame Makai (closed), and Mythos Senshi. I've only been rejected twice from games. For my complete and total character resume, visit the Codex.
Why me? Because I'm ME. If you haven't heard of me -- *is muffled* !!!
Araumi: Please pardon her; sometimes her hubris gets out of control. Panya is a very good writer, and she has worked with Charis for over seven years, making her the perfect person to handle a character so closely related to Aftiel and Sirsi. As you can see, she is quite skilled at creating well-rounded and fleshed-out characters.
*breaks out* I have a degree in writing, dammit! *muffled again*
Araumi: *bows deeply* Please pardon my mun. Please accept my mun, and myself, as humble applicants for a glorious game.
!!! *struggles*