Rani
Singh
Farmhand from Harmel. Ex-Garlean soldier and defector. Loyal friend.
Blessed by the Light
Physical CharacteristicsHeight: 5' 10" (1.78m)
Weight: 137lb (62.14kg)
Skin Color: Olive
Eye Color: Green (Verdant Green)
Hair Color: Black with Red HighlightsOrientation: GynesexualHair Style: Generally a ponytail of some kind. Styled in several different ways either straight or with a braid of some kind.
TraitsDutiful: Rani takes her job seriously. Whether it be in service to Hydaelyn or protecting a merchant caravan, she will do what is requested. While certain exceptions can be made, it is very rare for her to not see a job through to it's end.Ex-Imperial: Her prior service as an imperial legionary provides her with extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the rank and file. Her rank prior to defection also provides her with substantial knowledge of organization, leadership and general structure of the Garlean legions. However, still being an ex-imperial, she is treated with mistrust by those who find out about her past and is almost always looked at with disdain by those still in the legions who happen to recognize her.Brooding Introvert: While friendly when she opens up, Rani spends a lot of her time alone, watching for social cues and danger as well as reflecting on her life. Her past demons tend to come up during this time and she's prone to brooding, often ignoring everyone and everything around her; sometimes to her own detriment.Highly Trained: Rani is an expert swordswoman as well as an accomplished Magick user. She's at home on the frontlines where she picks apart enemy formations by hunting and killing enemy leaders/commanders.Intensely Loyal: Ever since her time in the legions and beyond, Rani is intensely loyal to her comrades and friends. She will often throw herself into a fight she probably has no business being in just to ensure they get out alive. She's used herself as bait more than once in that regard. She lives by the phrase "Death before Dishonor" and will not abandon her comrades even at the risk of death.PTSD: Rani has seen things; things she would much rather forget. While rare, Rani has had PTSD episodes and while even rarer, in combat. Rani does not like when people are standing behind her and will sit with her back to a wall while facing primary entrances to locations so that she can keep an eye on everyone. Rani is prone to overanalyzing locations she's at for all entrances, exits, and escape methods should something go wrong.Dawn Seeker: While not devoutly religious or belonging to any organized gathering, Rani will offer a prayer to Hydaelyn every morning. She does this by taking a solemn knee in the direction of the sunrise as it crests the horizon.
"Sometimes the reason for serving isn't so clear. For me?
They offered me a better life. An education. Can you blame me?" -Rani Singh
Rani Singh is a farmhand from Harmel from a rather large family. Destined to be nothing more than simply a farm wife, she ran away from home to join the Garlean military after being awestruck by some of the female members.She was assigned to the XIVth Legion as they were currently passing through Harmel on their way to Ala Mhigo to stage their invasion of Eorzea proper. She is an expert swordswoman and Soldier.Rani didn't actually take part in the invasion of Eorzea. She was stationed in Ala Mhigo for years as the preparations for the invasion took longer than she thought would be the case. During that time, she proved her usefulness and rose through the ranks to Primus Pilus making her one of the most important members of the XIVth. She was on track to become a junior Tribunus and to join the leadership caste of the Legion but that didn't come to pass.She defected from the XIVth after she was ordered to torch a village full of non-combatants as a reprisal for the Ala Mhigan resistance's attacks on Garlean troops as a show of strength. She refused and abandoned her unit. She was hunted down in the Sylphlands and after a pitched battle verses over 20 members of her former unit, she got careless and caught a blade under her cuirass in the stomach. She was left for dead and while bleeding out she heard the call - and answered.
"Your time isn't through yet. The Twelve sees to that otherwise you'd be gracing the insides of the Sylvan beasts." - Mother Miounne
Rescued by Wood Wailers who spotted and were tracking the Garlean movements through the Twelveswood, they chanced upon a dying Rani. Rushed back to Gridania proper, she was nursed to health. As repayment, she temporarily joined the Wood Wailers and patrolled the forests for people who were upsetting the balance of nature. Despite many requests, she kept her past allegiances to herself. After sometime with the Wailers, Rani saved up enough money to book a flight to Ul'dah so that she could become anonymous and get as far away from the XIVth as possible. She got her anonymity and it was incredibly easy to blend into the refugees. She had sidework setup running supplies into Little Ala Mhigo as she knew the people's culture from her time in the XIVth. Little Ala Mhigo was essentially her second home. Her main job however was tending the graveyard at the Church of Saint Adama Landama. Here she eventually met Cid and heard the call again from Hydaelyn. This is when Rani became moved out to become the Warrior of Light.
Rani Singh is a serious but friendly individual. She lives almost a life of duality where she has her adventurer life and her own life - or Rani Time - as she calls it. This double life persisted since long before she even joined the XIVth legion and her closest friends in the legion found it perplexing on the rare chance they managed to see her in her "off time". She was almost like a completely different person.Rani doesn't hold prejudices like many from Garlemald seem to do. It's possible this is because she was raised on a humble farm where what mattered were work ethic and integrity. This doesn't matter to a lot of people outside of the Empire though - Rani once served the imperial army and to them she was an imp. An enemy. Even when with the legion and she tried to help, she was regarded with extreme mistrust and outright fear.Rani's strong sense of morality and justice is what led her to desert the legions and risk death by decimation. She just couldn't justify or bring herself to torch a village to "send a message".After leaving the legion, she had a lot of time think. Most of her adult life, and even some years prior to she gave to the legion. She gave that time to Garlemald - she lived in Garlemald for almost 5 years while she was trained and indoctrinated in the ways of the Garleans. She knew how they lived and what they wanted. She also lived in Ala Mhigo for several years and again learned of the people, the culture and naturally, their plight. She was furthering the subjugation of a people. This stood directly against her being.From these experiences and from almost being killed Rani has developed PTSD and a anxious trigger when anyone is behind her. She prefers her back to always be facing a wall or some obstacle so people can't sneak up on her. She tends to brood a lot if left alone, retreating into her own mind often to the point of staring into the abyss.Despite all this, Rani is an incredibly loyal friend and she has put her life on the line a number of times for people she feels a connection to. She's also a very reliable ally. When tasked with an objective it will get seen to the end or an alternative will be made to get as close as possible. She has no problem mixing with a crowd and can make friends anywhere she goes.Rani doesn't complain if she can help it. It could always be worse.Aside from being an expert swordswoman from her time with the empire and her extensive personal training, Rani is also skilled in the use of Katana, healing arts, a firearm, a few magick disciplines, her bare fists, and even a combat scythe which allows her to fill any role required for any task at hand. She is also trained in the use of Magitek warmachina although she was assigned to any roles requiring their long term use. Rani is also an accomplished armorer and weapon smith as well as a miner.In her off time, Rani can probably be found reading something such as an allagan tomestone or new information from either Sharlayan or out of the situation in Garlemald.Rani doesn't talk about her past. She considers when she was rescued by the woodwailers and healed up to be the hard stop to how far back she will go when talking about herself.
Due to Rani's ability connection to both aether and the aetherstream, through Hydaelyn's blessings, she is possessed of abilities that are beyond most living creatures. These abilites come at a cost to her physically and mentally, outside of standard aether drain.
Six-Pointed Aether Concept
It appears from study that Rani's aetheric structure is different from a vast majority of creatures. With knowledge gathered in the First and through personal study with the Aetheric colleges in Sharlayan and beyond, it is settled on being vaguely similar to the six-pointed aether concept, which is a field of study that holds the 6 primary aetheric forces in balance with one another. For a creature to be able to properly survive, their aetheric composition must remain in balance.
It is believed that if something's aetheric balance is too far out of alignment, then they can suffer aether sickness. In extreme circumstances, this can lead to irreversible physical or mental changes as well as outright death. The knowledge of sin eaters from the first has advanced this field of study significantly.
Rani and the Six-Pointed Star
Growing up, Rani's aetheric balance was normal. However this changed after acquiring the cursed demonic relic, the Blood Sword, from Halicarnassus in the depts of Haukke Manor. This sword was actually possessed of a demon that would slowly hijack the wielders aether and continued use of the sword would actually absorb the life aether of it's victims, filling the user with a dopamine euphoric rush, essentially addicting them to killing. It also healed the wielder of their own wounds to help facilitate this. The price however was that the demon would grow stronger as it converted all absorbed aether into the dark aspect; eventually being able to usurp the aether of the wielder and take over their body.Rani's extensive use of this relic damaged her aetheric balance in ways that most scholars didn't think possible. While she was briefly possessed of the demon itself, it was quickly banished by exorcists after a fight. The sword was clean, but still contained the ability to absorb the aether of those it killed however it did so aimlessly. Essentially it absorbed whatever aether was most abundant in the target. While her body would dispel this imbalance naturally, this changed in the First.
Because Rani's aetheric balance was broken, she had to dispel overcharges in her aether through magick use, which prompted her to pick up the arts of a Red Mage. With this under control, she eventually was summoned to the First by the Exarch. Once there, her use of the Blood Sword caused her to absorb large amounts of light aether. At first, this wasn't a problem - until she slain her first Lightwarden. The inundation of light aether threw her entire aether balance out of sync. Still undaunted, she continued use of the sword but around the time of the second Lightwarden, Rani knew something was seriously wrong.
Rani was unable to dispel the Light aspected aether from her body. In fact, it became more difficult to conjure magick in other elements. While still doable, she remarked it took an increasing degree of concentration and aetheric draw in order to do so. This condition only worsened as time went on and after slaying Innocence, the condition became critical. It was only through the fading strength of Hydaelyn was she able to contain the corruption. Y'shtola essentially remarked that it was like dipping the six-pointed star into a bucket of paint. The deeper it goes, the more of the star is covered in paint until eventually the whole star is painted white. In short, the light aspected aether was so strong that it was bleeding into all other aspects, eventually nothing would be left but light.
During the final confrontation with Emet-Selch after Rani stepped up, a massive aether surge that usually precedes tapping into the echo shattered the fragile "aether dam" that Hydaelyn helped build to contain the light and a fatal aetheric cascade happened in Rani. As she lost consciousness and slowly succumbed to the light aether in her body, she convened with Hydaelyn in the aetherstream. It was here that Hydaelyn taught Rani ancient aetheric manipulation techniques, such as those used by the ancient Etheirans before the sundering, though she didn't know what that was at this time. After learning this ability, Rani was able to take the massive oversurge of light aether and actually shape and direct it herself. Using this she was able to "transform" into what she called the perfect warrior of light. Augmenting all of her physical characteristics she was able to combat the pure darkness of both Emet-Selch and Hades, eventually overcoming him.
After this conflict and her return to the Source, Rani began training this aether ability as much as she possibly could. She was determined to master it. She learned that she can use this ability to channel aether in ways that Magick users have been taught could kill a user. This allowed her to directly manipulate her aetheric balance both ways - incoming and outgoing.
Aether SiphonUsing the same concept as the Blood Sword, Rani's researcher contacts have figured out how to essentially mimic the aether absorption properties of the blade. Replicating the process, Rani is able to absorb aether out of the environment. She cannot use this ability to drain aether from living creatures however and it isn't known if that will ever be possible. This ability is crucial in using any of her aetheric abilities as it wouldn't be possible to recover aether fast enough to use any of them safely.The Blood Sword can also be used to assist in this endeavor, but that weapon has the ability to drain aether from living creatures.
Aetherophasic BlinkThe Aetherophasic Blink is an ability that allows Rani to essentially cast herself directly in front of her. This isn't a full out teleport but a short range relocation. Unlike a teleport, this ability essentially rides local aether currents meaning that it cannot be used to pass through other people or solid objects. If she can't physically walk to the location, this cannot be used to get there. It can be used to jump gaps or other obstacles however.
When used, this ability basically breaks Rani down into pure aether and casts her into another location. Due to this, the "aether stream" that Rani's body becomes will absorb aether form the local area, basically affecting her aetheric balance toward whatever aether is dominant in the area.
Perfect Warrior of Light
This ability is the same as the one used during the fight with Emet-Selch. Using an obscenely excessive amount of light Aether, Rani can augment her physical characteristics, essentially taking her to a new level. Unlike in the First though, where Hydaelyn was directly involved, using this ability will start to skew Rani's aetheric balance toward the dark as it will begin to burn up her actual light aether. Luckily for her, and others, this can actually be physically monitored as when Rani uses it, her undyed hair switches into a silver/white color and her iris becomes a vibrant white. As it begins to shift to black, that's when it's time to cut the ability.This ability will also leave her physically and mentally exhausted.
Aetheric ReconstructionAn expanded ability similar to the Echo's ability to relive past memories as vibrant events. When Venat taught Rani how to use the residual aether in an area to play back events that happened without having a host to bounce off of, Rani discovered that she can push her own aether into the ability to bring a more vibrant recollection forward. This is a highly costly ability that could kill her if used too extensively.
AetherblastAs of now, Rani's only purely offensive ability using her Aether abilities and perhaps for good reason. Rani absorbs an almost fatal amount of Aether and then directs it at an object all at once. The pure aether blast has enough power to kill. After using this ability, Rani is unable to channel or use any other aetheric abilities, including those that are not related this gift, including just normal magick. This makes her effectively aether inert for a while.