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nameless-brand · 2 years ago

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📑 ((For Erna :3))

Ernastrel ( Erna ) :: witchofthescions

A self-proclaimed adventurer of a universe extremely differently from mine. She is part of a group known as the Scions, which appears to be defenders of her world but mostly in a region called Ul'dah?? Further delving into her blog will have to take place when there is less work to deal with. Having Chi around has significantly impaired my focus for work, but that's neither here or there.

Background Information:

Ul'dah appears to be a world where magic is the rule rather than the exception. A series of posts where it seems Erna is talking to herself is the anecdote for that; I suspect she is replying to either Levant or Lillian given there is a conversation going on, but I cannot see the other posts. However, it seems that magic does appears to be innate to people, except for a certain people (Garleans), but it actually requires teaching. (I'm a little jealous.)

Technology level is difficult to ascertain, but it's enough to interface with Tunglr. She mentions Magitech at one point, which likely is the means of how she reaches the website - different from an artifact-like item such as Mirielle's Torn Notebook. From the sound of it, there are large regions of non-civilization, nothing like suburbia, between large population centers, which have a tendency to be more technologically advanced than the surrounding area.

Should inquire more about transportation in her world - teleportation, motorized vehicles (steam, oil, etc), horse-drawn carriages.

Her origins appear to be from a place called the Farreach. Given the name, it is likely that she is considered a foreigner to the area she currently lives in. It is a tactic of many civilizations to treat themselves as one side and everyone else as the other to give a sense of belonging, though the circumstances that have done that likely no longer exist as Erna seems relatively accepted in Ul'dah and perhaps even famous.

Description:

She is a farmer or at least comes from a rural area. That tang in one's voice, even in writing, is difficult to fake. This information is confirmed by Levant when I casually asked about all her friends. It may be a little stereotypical of me to think of this, but you do not get that sort of sturdy reliable appearance by just being a mage...probably. She likely has some sort of martial ability too, because she said she needed to be taught magic - and one doesn't travel from a place called the "Farreach" without some means to defend oneself. These are a lot of assumptions though.

Her writing style is very fast paced and very casual. There's a lot of utterances such as Ha and Hm in her writing, so she likely speaks the way she writes. There's a bluntness that's refreshing, though typically with that sort of bluntness, there's the expectation that people should reply genuinely in kind. Fair play and all.

In terms of money, the fact she is aware of her own weekly grocery bill probably puts her ahead of a lot of city dwellers and second-generation rich. The mention of going out and gathering extra produce on her own suggests a strong ability to forage - especially since she doesn't do it if "she's not in the mood." I suspect she's fairly well off through either her adventuring or her association with these Scions. She's probably more of a savings type of person rather than an investing type of person though.

There's a bit of recklessness in her. It may be related to being a very strong person in her world, despite everyone having some degree of magic ability. Likely part of the woman's headstrongness, most likely.

Miscellaneous:

She's good with kids, which could be related to having a big family. Hard to tell if she's an elder or a younger child. Given her independence, I'd put my money on the elder child or even the eldest child.

She's also friends with Chi and Lev despite not having met them in person. Lev makes sense since they have similar personalities - women who prefer action but can go into intelligent mode when necessary. Chi is a bit more difficult thing to pinpoint, mostly because references to Lillian's relationships do make her a bit uncomfortable - and I'd rather not distress her. The memories do seem to become hers though - and she responds more to gentle probes. Could just be related to how Erna gets along with kids.

She mentions gods in the plural.

Considerations:

Adventuring, I'd imagine, is a dangerous profession. Given that the dangers Erna face are so bad that a group is dedicated to fighting them, there is unfortunately a high probability that Erna could be killed or put out of commission permanently in the future.

Though I doubt these Scions will leave her to flounder - a group such as theirs is likely close-knit- the future can't be predicted. Not to mention that if she is permanently put out of commission, the Scions probably won't be doing much better either. Farming is likely out in that case as an alternate profession.

Investment in real estate is likely the best thing to start with depending on how much liquid assets - gil - she has. The fact she can consider 300,000 gil for a bar of soap as simply excessive but not unattainable is suggestive that she has a significant amount from adventuring. Assuming a few hundred gil could be considered up to 500 gil and 52 weeks a year, she had close to 12 years worth of food. Gil seems like a common term for gold - hard currency - so it's likely the money is tied to the value of whatever it is on, thus more resistant to inflation (assumption, need to ask). Dollar equivalent is likely around 60 thousand dollars, so that bar of soap does seem more than excessive - or I am miscalculating.

Given the significantly lower population densities, land is likely cheap - but only the land in the cities is safe given the wild-dominant world. I doubt an apartment / rentals will catch on this world. Maybe an inn or bar of some sort. Erna likely does have some degree of clout with the government for a smooth transition, though how much I don't know.

Investment in precious goods - probably the most valuable things would likely require a high amount of ability given danger - Erna seems like she could probably get them. But the point here is to disconnect her income from the need to adventure.

Investment in technology or perhaps in education - she knows several engineers and schools. Transportation and weapon technology would be beneficial in a world that is more dominated than wilderness than anything else.

Crop and food preservation research is another thing, particularly the latter. Do they use salt primarily or ice magic? In a world that could potentially use ice magic for refrigeration, will techniques such as brining or fermentation have developed? It's difficult to say, and chances are they probably do - not everyone learns to use magic - but it is a question to ask.

Even outside of a bleak future, equipment and magical reagents are likely expensive. Putting the money to work through investments would generate some passive income that would offset the costs. If the Scions pay for the upkeep, that is more money in Erna's pocket just in case something bad happens.

Should ask if she obliquely is capable of doing things like a craft if she is ever grievously harmed. This may help with ideas for money gaining. Erna unfortunately does not seem like the type who will sit idle, even if out of commission.

Negotiation Considerations:

The most advantageous setting here will be high formal with all the etiquette that is required - from silverware, to the kind of food, to the rules of what should be worn. Chances are it will make Erna feel awkward and out of water, and that is the point.

She is likely good at negotiation as a function of being an adventurer and acquiring compensation for tasks - to underestimate her based on her more casual speaking style would be to my detriment. Her ability to gather information is unlikely to be any poorer either, because information is likely connected to her being able to preserve her life. The best thing to assume is that she is better than I am at negotiating.

She'll likely utilize a more stubborn style of negotiating. She will give a price and stick with it, citing personal reasons why the price can't get lowered. If she is the one who wants to change the price, she'll likely badger forcibly for her target price.

She seems like the type to lull into a mistake if she's angry. But the cause has to be very specific. An anger that disrespects her will likely cause her to drag in her heels - negotiations will end at that point unless the cost involves lives. Directing her anger towards a specific target, an injustice, would be helpful - she seems like the type of person to settle for a lower price if the task is aligned with her morals.

Emotional arguments would appeal to her better than logical ones. You don't go after region-sized disasters by listening to logic.

#sato's notes //#witchofthescions #not visible ic #headcanon ;;#will eventually get rb'd to the note blog //#sato using lillian for the original chi //

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