Hingashi's Pearl

❛  Never born — only gathered, shaped, and set where longing rests. A pearl polished by silence, an echo wrapped in silk. Not quite real, not quite gone. Just waiting — somewhere between reflection and dream — for something to stir.  ❜CW: Fretia's backstory includes darker themes. Please be careful before continuing.

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About

  •   name    fretia.

  •   alias    little pearl.

  •   age    a couple decades.

  •   pronouns    she/it.

  •   species    raen au'ra.

  •   birthdate    unknown.

  •   sexuality    bisexual.

  •   origin    hingashi.

  •   location    gridania.

Features

  •   height    4'

  •   weight    90 lbs.

  •   build    thin.

  •   eyes    blue.

  •   hair    blue with white highlights.

  •   notable marks    a glowing odd eye and aether stained limbs.

  •   languages    eorzean, hingan.

  •   faceclaim    fretia, ender lilies.

  •   voiceclaim    mili.

Testimonials and Rumors

  •   Rumor.    "Fretia is rather precious, I find her quite scoopable."

  •   Bitters, a carbuncle.    "Squeeak."

  •   Noel, a friend.    "What's a testimonial? Like those things guys have between their legs?"

  •   Taylor, a friend.    "She's pretty weird. Sometimes she stares at walls for fun, never seen anyone else do that before."

  •   Malon, a friend.    "Fretia once healed me through a dungeon and when I asked what magic she practiced, she said none. She was just throwing healing potions at me for several hours and I never noticed. I had to get so many stitches."

  •   Theodule Molisouix, chirurgeon and 'very boring man'.    "Miss Fretia? A gentle soul, easily charmed by simple joys and quiet company. A friend to carbuncles, and, I suppose after mutual agreement, a friend of mine as well."

  •   Villanelle Moon, co-worker and fellow Bitters supporter.   “Fretia seems like a very kind person and carbuncle enthusiast! …Do you think she likes marshmallows?”

History -and- Hooks

  •   her appearance.    The first thing anyone will notice about Fretia is how she looks. She is quite short, even for a female Raen, standing at just 4' tall. She also has white, aether-stained hands that are usually left uncovered. Not to mention, only one eye has a limbal ring--something she is teased about frequently.

  •   new to gridania.    Fretia previously called the busy city of Kugane home, and lived within a wealthy private residence. She's currently living in The Roost, and is learning her way around the Black Shroud. See her looking a bit lost? Maybe you can help her find her way.

  •   society's pearl.    For most of her life, Fretia was paraded around some of the top most, and somewhat shady, circles of Kugane nobility. Her presence was treated as entertainment, and she was reduced to little more than a living music box, doll, or statue to behold. Perhaps you recognize her from a speakeasy or lounge where she sat motionless, draped over someone's lap.

  •   something's not quite right...    If your character is aether-sensitive or quite knowledgeable in the practice, they will immediately be able to sense that something seems very off with Fretia. Her aetheric makeup and general disposition are almost identical to that of a carbuncle, which should be impossible. If focused enough, you may even be able to discern that her odd eye is her 'jewel' around which she is summoned.

  BIOGRAPHY    Fretia's backstory contains themes of: objectification and commodification of a person, lack of bodily autonomy and consent, manipulation, identity erasure, exploitation, and existenstialism. Please read with caution if any of these topics may upset you.Please do not continue reading if you prefer to roleplay to find out (RP2FO). The following context and background contain details that not even Fretia knows about herself, and only seek to explain her origin in full.Born of dark magic and obsessive desire, Fretia is the hollow shell of a whispered wish made corporeal. Originating as an aether-pearl on the floor of the Ruby Sea, she was found by Yun, an Hingan merchant whose livelihood rests on his ability to discover 'lost' relics and sell them to the highest bidder.Fretia was unearthed on a particularly stormy voyage as Yun's ship tore through the waves, dumped unceremoniously onto his desk with a ripped apart clam clinging around her lifelessly. Smooth and circular, Yun felt a soft, unformed voice call to him in whispers as soon as the pearl touched his skin.Months of whispers that he couldn't understand plagued him, eventually leading him to deliriously believe the pearl itself was giving him insight into the universe directly. He began to speak back, to discuss, to know the pearl--or at least what he believed the pearl to be. Yun began to search desperately for a mage powerful enough to give his pearl form, to allow him to converse with it properly. He began with White Mages, well known sorcerers, anyone he could be connected with easily. Soon, though, it proved more successful to begin delving into magicks more frowned upon by the larger sphere.The mage was slimy, giving even Yun a distasteful impression--but he proved himself more than capable of completing Yun's request. Expensive ingredients and costly additional mages irritated Yun's wallet, but not a cent would be spared for his pearl. He crafted a beautiful avatar for his pearl to inhabit, with smooth skin and long, silky hair to adorn her Raen features. Something pure, something regal--sophisticated and elegant.Fear is not something Yun often feels, but he felt it that night in the cave.All was worth while when, at the crescendo of the casting, a slender hand reached from the depths of the pot. Fretia was born with stained skin, her hands and feet white with the glittering remnants of aether displayed on her skin.She was new and unburdened with knowledge, born with only basic language comprehension and the understanding that Yun was some sort of protector. With an appointed Lady's Maid from a noble family, Aki, Fretia was not only named--but prepped for debut into society. She was pressured to learn reading, writing, and etiquette at an extremely accelerated pace; something she managed to excel at thanks to her penchant for grasping concepts relatively quickly.Fretia continued her life on essentially the same track as she did when given no form, following Yun to meetings, dinners, and social gatherings as an accessory to be shown off and glitter among interested parties. As an asset generating buy in, it was only a matter of time before Yun began to allow Fretia's company to be bought.Soon, she was escorted to venues across the source to offer company to the lonely and dazzle the wealthy. Yun couldn't have predicted that exposing her to more and more people would cause Fretia to develop something he hadn't intended her to have: a personality. And, more shockingly, opinions different than his own.Most recently...Fretia's ability to make friends may be stronger than realized, and she's seemingly landed a sweet new home to call house. Or-With new friends come new revelations. Discoveries about Fretia's origin are beginning to fall into her lap as more studious people around her begin to notice something is off. As her roots begin to sink into the soft Shroud soil, other Hingan natives seem to be falling through the woodwork more often than she expected. Is this weird feeling in her stomach homesickness? Or perhaps something to do with her aether that's not yet been discovered?

  •   Master Yun  ㅤ . Guardian . A well known Hingan merchant with no last name, Yun is prolific for locating lost, or 'lost', artifacts and relics and bringing them back onto the market. While not necessarily infamous, he is known for being hard-headed and always managing to get his way, one way or another.

  •   Aki Takizawa  ㅤ . Lady's Maid . Fretia's closest friend and confidante, Aki is a wealth of information about society and girlhood. The two have such a small 'age gap' that it's treated as meaningless, and Aki does her best to help Fretia feel like a normal young adult woman.