Etherei and Zephyr Sketches 1

In their search for an airship, the pair had a chance encounter with Leonard Lightfell, a general in the Caladrian Royal Army. He had come to Argent after hearing of their heroic deeds in the floating island of Ferro, wishing to personally thank them for slaying the abomination they had encountered in the Coperna Mines.

But the man's visit was beyond merely a display of courtesy on behalf of his kingdom; he sought them out to recruit them for the kingdom's upcoming assault on Fjalar, the Valkyrian fortress on the isolated continent of Titania. War had been coming to a head between the two nations, and the skirmishes began transpiring more frequently on the soil of northern Aurum, where Caladria was located. Now the Kingdom wanted to take the fight to the Valkyries and put a swift, decisive end to their nations' historical animosity once and for all. He believed that extra help from mercenaries and adventurers would bolster their strength, as it once had several centuries past, when the entire Aethersphere rallied up against the Queendom during their imperial campaign of conquest across the skies.

In return for their service, Leonard offered the opportunity for them to be granted an airship upon war's end. Beyond the fleet under the Kingdom's employ, finding anyone manufacturing airships outside of Argent was rare... If not unaffordable by what few sparks they held. It wasn't as if they had a lot of options, though Zephyr had told the knight that they would take the time to think on his offer, which he agreed.

As Leonard turned to leave, however, he made one final request... A duel to prove one's mettle in combat. He was curious to discover the strength behind the saviors of Ferro, which would perhaps have been wiped off the face of the map by now were it not for their intervention.

"Well, Eth," Zephyr starts as she gives her shorter companion a smack on his upper back, "Guess you're up."

"What!?" Etherei staggered from the force of her hand, but quickly regained his balance. "Wait, why me!? Shouldn't it be you? Out of the two of us, you're stronger than I am!"

"It could be, but the man's offered the challenge to you, not me. Would be wrong of me to take it in your stead."

"Full glad am I to know you've the honor to match your strength, Lady Zephyr." The Caladrian general turned his gaze onto the rattled Etherei. "And to you, Sir Etherei. I once again entreat you to a demonstration of your combat prowess."

Backed into a corner, Etherei once again looked pleadingly at Zephyr for help. But she simply gave him a thumbs up in solidarity.

For the first time since coming to the Aether, he was on his own...

---

A quick little story involving my two OCs, Etherei and Zephyr. I ended up writing a much longer story than I expected originally, so much that I had to cut so much of it off and replace it with something more succinct to read. I also really wanted to move on from this so I had to take what wasn't necessary and save it on a separate file. 😅

Nameless Summoner Sketches 2

"Hey..." Arc kept their voice down, but spoke loud enough for their feline companion to hear. "Hey, Sitri."

"Huh?" Sitri turned around, his attention distracted from watching his schoolmates rush off to the festival grounds. "What's up, Arc?"

Arc pointed discreetly with a flick of their head at the black-haired woman wearing a red, Shinjuku letterman jacket striding across the hallway. Reaching her hand out towards the handle of the glass doors, she pushed it open and walked right out of the school.

"Who is that? I've never seen her around before. Is she a new student?"

"Oh, her?" Sitri's face beamed at his friend's interest. "She's just the coolest cat you'll find in town. She's not a student though. One of the TA's. She's super nice and really awesome. She just started working here recently. I think it was like... Two weeks ago when she first came around?"

Arc crossed their arms over their chest. "Huh."

A cheeky grin spread across Sitri's face. "Why, you like her or something?"

"W-What?" Arc blinked, their face quickly turning pink. "I don't even know her at all. How could I like anyone from just seeing them once?"

Sitri laughed, elbowing his friend. "Aww, you know I'm playin', Arc. But I don't blame you. She's really pretty. Lots of folks know her and like her too. She's got her own little fanclub around school, not that she knows too much about it. But..."

"But...?"

Sitri's shoulders slumped a bit as he sighed. "Well. I dunno if this is true or not, but I hear she's dated a lot of other people before. Rumor has it she's dumped them all for some reason or another." He shrugged. "They say it's always her who leaves first. You wouldn't think it to look at her though. Would be a real darn shame if it was true..."

---

Running with more Nameless Summoner content while I still feel up for it! Had to write the text up in like half an hour just so I can move on to my next OC-tober entry... 😅

Nameless Summoner Sketches 1

Gender: Female

Guild: Unaffiliated/Independent

School: Setagaya Agricultural Academy

Height: 160 cm./5'2"

Weight: 54 kg./119 lbs.

A young woman living a quiet life in the Suginami suburbs of Tokyo. Although she takes horticulture classes in Setagaya Agricultural Academy and is a member of their mountaineering club, she works full-time as a teaching assistant in Shinjuku Academy. A social butterfly to her peers, she maintains amicable ties with all she meets, though these ties are, more often than not, skin-deep at best; very few are the individuals that have ever really crossed the threshold of her pleasant outer shell to really know who she is beneath the surface.

Outside of her work life, she engages in a number of outdoorsy hobbies ranging from hiking to swimming, and even hunting. One of her favorite hobbies is actually gardening, and she keeps an elaborately furnished greenhouse on the second floor of her Suginami home.

A stray dog from Arakawa has taken an interest in her after learning she was into hunting. While she admires his allure from afar, she light-heartedly rebuffs his efforts to seduce her, fully aware of his reputation. However, she has no qualms about treating him as a friend.

She's no stranger to the dating scene, having dated a few Transients throughout her time in Tokyo. Unfortunately, she's had to end each relationship every single time, finding that everyone she's dated all see someone else in her rather than who she actually is. This has left her quite disillusioned and even distraught that the people who are interested in her will only ever see the person they want her to be. A certain chain-wielder, whom she befriended during a school event in Shinjuku and she has since grown close to, is especially privy to this information.

---

Time to put my Nameless Summoner in the spotlight for a change! I don't think I've ever set aside any time to talk about her in depth (just like the Wayfinder 😔). She's a bit older in my AU Housamo timeloop, between 18-20 years old.