❀ ||    notes    

from the scattered files of an unknown sharlayan scholar...

⸻   i : on shrine priestesses

〔 i came across a "shrine priestess" on my travels across the far east.you see, there are numerous shrines scattered around kugane, tucked into alleyways, in the middle of buildings, or cordoned off into their own little areas. perhaps the sheer propensity of these shrines are but a product of the far eastern belief that divinity resides in everything from the mundane to the grand, but i must digress.the woman i met called herself a shinshoku and had taken on a job to excise an evil spirit from a cursed item that a wealthy merchant had purchased at an auction. we met by chance at an outdoor teahouse that had become so busy that seats were at a premium, so we ended up sharing a bench.for the sake of my studies and mild curiosity, i asked if i could come along to observe her work. after all, boarding a vessel so far to kugane meant i could not waste any opportunities to immerse myself in the culture while i was away from sharlayan (nor could i waste the amount of gil i had spent to get here).the priestess was an au'ra of small build, with white hair and equally white scales. it was a rather unique appearance. i had not realized au'ra scales could become so bright — perhaps a topic for research at another time, or something to ask other scholars about once i returned home.to my relief and delight, though she was hesitant at first, she indulged in my request. i accompanied her to a manor located near the center of the city. evidently, she must have been a priestess of some note, as the guards were quick to let her in when they saw her on the street, and only mildly questioned my presence.the item in question is insignificant to this next part. perhaps curse exorcism is done differently in kugane, but i must stress the sheer brutality of these next few pages in caution— 〕the pages after these notes are empty, as if the ink had simply... faded from the pages.

⸻   ii : on the concept of kami

〔 of course, i could not speak of the far east without touching upon its local culture and beliefs.there is a long-held belief in kugane and across much of hingashi that all manner of spirits, known as kami, dwell in everyday objects. these can be as benign as a piece of well-loved dust to the belief that well-used swords eventually come into sentience from a bond with their swordmaster. however, it is most interesting that it seems for the most part, this belief seems to be true in some way.relics that are worshipped long enough eventually come to possess such a kami. some are kind, while others may be malicious. merchants especially seem to be most aware of this, as i have seen 'cursed artifacts' and similar items sell for rather remarkable sums at auction.it brings me to wonder why this phenomena does not exist outside of hingashi and doma. while we at sharlayan imbue mammets with aether to help us accomplish menial tasks, they are not thought to possess a power whose sum is greater than its parts, nor do we worship them. this is not true in the far east.i have long wondered if this was due to the land itself. hingashi and doma reside on areas that are abundant with aether, though this is merely a hypothesis. perhaps there is another element i am missing, for eorzea was once replete with aether as well before the seventh umbral calamity, but such spirits have not manifested in the same manner as those in the east.perhaps it is due to a difference in belief and worship. could the thoughts and fervent prayers of the general populace influence aether to such an extent that new beings can be created from boundless nothing? 〕

⸻   iii : on one "rimi katakura"

〔 on the last day of my journey, i came across the shrine priestess i had met near the beginning of my stay in kugane, with whom i had accompanied to exorcise an evil spirit.after that harrowing experience, i had felt a hesitation to approach her, but i could not help calling out once i saw her wavering figure on the docks. for a moment, it seemed as though she would fade away into nothing. i know not why i felt this way, but nevertheless i hailed her attention. though she seemed surprised to see me, she was delighted to return my greetings. we chatted for some manner of time while i waited to board my ship home to sharlayan.she re-introduced herself as rimi katakura, a shrine priestess residing in kugane. with her introduction, she also verbally told me how to write her name in the native language.there was a custom of nobility in doma to introduce your name alongside an articulated way to write it by combining common words. this way, there would be no confusion amongst people with similar-sounding names.for example, when priestess katakura introduced her name, she also said "it is katakura, kata written with three drops of water, and kura from the first character of kuroudo." (meaning archive keeper)however, this method of introduction was rather archaic and purged when the garleans conquered doma, so it came as a surprise when priestess katakura introduced herself so.given how extensively the garleans had labored to erase doman culture in their subjugation of its people, i expected her to at least be somewhat sheepish upon realizing her mistake. however, priestess katakura did not so much as blink after she finished speaking, and only politely asked me if i needed her to write it down to better visualize her name after i had not spoken for a while.a thought came to me then that she did not seem to be aware that such a thing could be seen as taboo, or at least did not care for it. given that we were in hingashi where it mattered little, i decided to not bring up the topic in polite conversation. later, i learned she had grown up in the ruby sea, but her manner of speech was so very proper that it seemed almost contradictory that she grew up in a small fishing village or among the pirates of the confederacy.i must confess, i am not as much of an expert on far eastern culture as i strive to be, so perhaps there was a nuance there that i could not catch. notably, priestess katakura spoke with a very soft accent that i could not place, so i wonder if she was from a remote region of hingashi that we had yet to make contact with. perhaps she only spoke of the ruby sea in consideration of my lack of knowledge.of course, before i forget, she did end up writing her name down for me before i departed. though i consider myself a notable scholar of the far east, well versed in its languages, the construction of her name caught me by surprise. the characters used seem to be extremely archaic and not seen often today (at least in regards to their usage in a name).淵藏離海 - i have tried my best to write it according to her strokes. when i arrive home, i will have to consult the library for an older dictionary of doman-to-eorzean before i can expand on its meaning. 〕

❀ ||    at a glance...    

across the way, a hingan woman of short stature seems to glancing around rather peculiarly

❀ ||    Lore    

a small cry echoes from the abyss

⸻   i : the city beneath the sea, sui-no-sato

Rimi Katakura was born in Sui-no-sato with the name "Yumiya", reflecting her mother and father's sincerest and deepest love for her once upon a time — "a place of happiness" (愉宮). Yumiya.Yet, due to a complication with the pregnancy and her subsequent troubled birth, Yumiya's mother suffered a dementia so severe that it robbed her of most coherent thought. An accident had infused the fetus with an overwhelming amount of light aether, leading to the stagnation and decay of her mother's mind as a result.Her father, driven to grief and despair by the loss of his beloved (who was still alive, yet not), blamed Yumiya for the misfortune that befell them. In order to get away from his braindead wife and daughter of misfortune, he took a job within the Ruby Palace that required him to be away. Still, he sent money back home to take care of them.Yumiya grew up very quickly, faster than most children do. At the age of three, she was already learning how to cook and clean. Her mother had random bouts of lucidity here and there, but for the most part, Yumiya took care of her instead of the other way around. Once a week, a maid hired by her father would come by to fix up the house and make sure all affairs were in order.At the age of five, her mother passed away. Her father, growing ever cold and distant, decided that the best path forward for Yumiya would be to become the high priestess of the Ruby Palace."It is the only way to control your misfortune," he would say.From then on, all Yumiya knew were classes, tutors, and scrolls. She read everything she could get her hands on in an attempt to please her always-displeased father, but soon it became an attempt to try and escape into the worlds found within. Enamored by tales of faraway lands, monster-slaying adventurers, righteous heroes, and everything else in-between, Yumiya found solace in imagining herself as part of these long, epic tales.Desperately, she wanted to be the damsel in distress—the one saved by a charming, dashing hero. The one for whom someone would do everything and anything for. The one who received love.She worked diligently on her studies, chasing her remaining parent's love, which she would never get. Her powers grew exponentially in her yearning, and her brain became a library of everything she had ever read, retained in picture perfect memory.Months went by. Years passed.No matter how hard she tried, her father still only viewed her as a magnet for misfortune, and steadfastly reminded her that this would only be corrected if she could be corralled into the Ruby Palace to be healed by its wards. But if Yumiya became the high priestess, she would never be able to leave its grounds ever again.It was in this growing sense of despair that Yumiya finally felt as though she desired. More than anything, she desired to leave. She desired to travel. She desired to escape. Before, this feeling was only something small, bundled in the fact that her wishes were only delusions that she could never have outside of her imaginary world.Through her years of visiting the palace, she came across a spirit—a kami—that had been created from the yearning of previous Ruby Princesses who were trapped in their duties and the palace. Both Yumiya and this kami desired the same thing, though both lacked the power to truly escape. The kami was bound to the palace, and Yumiya had not the power to breach the surface.But finally, bursting with desire, Yumiya approached the kami and proposed a deal. The both of them would help each other leave and explore the world. In order to do that, the kami and Yumiya had to fuse as one being.So at first light, on the day she would be ordained as the high priestess, she fled.With no money to her name, only the clothes on her back, and the ceremonial wand, Yumiya swam all the way to the surface and past that—to Kugane.

⸻   ii : a flood of light

In their haste to leave as soon as possible, neither Yumiya nor the kami ever considered the possible consequences of their fusion. This would only come to light after they surfaced in Kugane—quite literally.As a result of Yumiya's tumultuous birth, she was infused with a lot more light aether than was normal. Her mother had accidentally chanced upon a knot of stilted aether caused by blockage from The Burn within the Steppe while on a diplomatic trip. It is the reason why Yumiya's scales are so bright.As the kami fused with her, turning Yumiya into essentially a primal avatar, the already-accumulated light aether began to burst and expand with the surge of power. As Yumiya stumbled onto the docks of Kugane in the dead of night, weary from the long swim, she vomitted pure light into the ocean. It was too much for her body to handle.After spending the night in complete agony and growing delusion, Yumiya stumbled her way to a local abandoned shrine, feeling as though called by some manner of spirit. In reality, it was nothing more than a hallucination born from her delirium, but it was a blessing in disguise. There, out of pure instinct to try anything to get rid of the burning pain, she infused her power into the shrine itself.Drained of her energy, solace was found.Later, when she finally became lucid again, she found that the only way to control her unstable power was to constantly find new vessels to imbue it with. Whether that was sharing her aether with others through healing, expending it through grueling exorcisms or combat, she needed to keep her flow of power constant.Even to this day, she is highly unstable and always moments away from coughing up more light again. The fusion was and has not been kind to her—and in the process, the kami that fused with her had its consciousness completely destroyed. Their dreams of seeing the world together were extinguished as soon as it began.

⸻   iii : press on, keep pressing on

Yumiya changed her name to Rimi in order to get away from her past in Sui-no-sato, though her appearance is so stark and unique that anyone from the city would recognize her immediately if they ever went up to the surface.Currently, Rimi works as a shrine priestess in and around Kugane, making use of her lifetime of training to find work and a steady source of income. Of course, performing exorcisms and getting ahold of power vessels now emptied of their previous host also serve to help manage her unstable power. One of the few positives is that this makes her an exceptionally skilled priestess, with her abundant (though out-of-control) aether.Though she is essentially a ticking time bomb of a primal avatar, she has no powers of tempering. Her light-aspected aether makes her more like a sineater just waiting to turn into a monster. Sometimes, it can even cause auditory or visual hallucinations, though Rimi has gotten much better at suppressing her aether before that happens.If she seems especially quiet and spaced out, it's because she is trying her best to hold back random surges of light.

❀ ||    hooks    

in a small, tucked-away shrine in kugane with unusually high walls...

❀ ||    Gallery    

❀ ||    rules & ooc    

oh shit i need to think of an intro

❀ ||    hi, i'm ciel!