APP.

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OOC INFORMATION

Player Name: Pearl
Are you over 18?: Yes!
Contact: PM this journal or witchbolts
Other Characters in Game: Urianger Augurelt

IC INFORMATION

Character Name: Benedikta Harman
Canon: Final Fantasy XVI
Canon Point: Post-death
Age: Early thirties
Background: Link!

Arrival Scenario: Thorne

Suitability: Benedikta is well suited to the overarching themes of Abraxas as not only does she come from a land mired in politcal strife and factional warfare, she thrives in it. As an intelligencer of Waloed she is well-practiced in the behind-the-scenes realities of gathering and using information, and is quick to use all the tools at her disposal — from her powers, to her influence, to her charms — to achieve her goals. Coming to Abraxas with her powers depleted and her influence at zero is a new situation for her, however she will be determined to climb up through the ranks and establish herself in some kind of official position with whichever side looks the strongest to her.

She's no stranger to murder, scheming, or war, and she is comfortable in turning her blade on whomever might stand in her way. The darker themes of the game will provide an environment in which she can do what she does best, and I'm keen to have her get her hands dirty early on!

Powers: Benedikta is the Dominant of the Eikon Garuda. This sets her apart from Bearers — the name given to those born with the inherent ability to cast spells without the aid of a crystal — in that she has been gifted access to the God-like magical powers of an Eikon. Garuda's power is associated with the element of wind and so Benedikta's powers manifest as such, and in desperate situations she can enter a 'semi-primed' state in which she partially transforms into an Eikon-human hybrid. Over-use of these abilities comes at significant physical cost: Dominants are subject to a slow degradation that leaves them weak and physically fragile after particularly difficult battles, which has the potential to kill them outright if not managed properly.

At the time of her arrival in Abraxas she will have suffered the near complete removal of her powers by Clive Rosfield. She's shown to have barely anything left of her previous powers at her disposal: all she can really do is summon a breeze around her fingertips. There is, however, just enough of Garuda left within her to allow the Eikon to take over her body completely before her death, which suggests she still has an affinity towards air magic. This is something I'm hoping to explore in Abraxas, and hopefully find a way for her to regain some of her former power through tutelage in Thorne (or indeed elsewhere).

PERSONALITY QUESTIONS

Describe an important event in your character's life and how it impacted them.

Cid's abandonment of Benedikta when he left Waloed for good is perhaps the major event in her life — even more so than when he rescued her from a life of slavery from the Iron Kingdom.

Benedikta had never known kindness before she was rescued by Cid. Born into slavery in south-west Waloed, Benedikta spent the early portion of her life being viciously abused and mistreated by the people who would call themselves her owners. When she was captured as part of an Iron Kindom raid her lot in life became significantly worse — not least because during her years in captivity is when the power of Garuda manifested within her. Considering her an abomination barely worthy of life, Benedikta was used and brutalised as a living weapon for many years before Waloed got wind that the Iron Kingdom had a Dominant from their land. King Barnabas would have to see to that.

Cidolfus Telamon, the Lord Commander of Waloed's armies, was dispatched to return the Dominant to Waloed. He and his men demolished the forces holding her in Iron Kingdom, before rescuing her and returning her to Waloed. They fell into a brief but intense relationship that ended when, after establishing Benedikta in King Barnabas's circle, Cid abandoned Waloed to pursue his own ideals and agenda for Valisthea. Benedikta refused to pin her survival on a man with no men or resources at his disposal — in her mind it was a foolish, fruitless pursuit that would only lead to his death — and so she remained at King Barnabas's side where her future was all but assured.

His defection broke her heart. Benedikta never forgave him for refusing to listen to reason and leaving her behind, and it has hardened her heart to all others since. After he disappeared her goal in life became simply to survive; to attach herself to King Barnabas and make herself indispensable to him. She is bitter, selfish, and has proven she'll do anything to secure her own position and status in Waloed, which led to her engaging in a sexual relationship with Barnabas as well as stringing Hugo Kupka along with sex and affection on Barnabas's orders. Cid's actions also led her to believe that no-one can be trusted, that the only person she can truly rely on is herself, and that the people around her will always be a means to her own survival.

Does your character have a moral code, or other set of standards they try to live by?

Survival is Benedikta's main goal. Although she claims to believe in Barnabas's vision for the future of Valisthea it becomes increasingly apparent that she hold the whole world in contempt, and following the heartbreak of her youth and subsequent use by Waloed she's simply thrown her lot in with the person who seems the strongest. King Barnabas's history as a soldier and leader — not to mention his vast armies and powers as a Dominant — was more than enough to keep her by his side, and while she might not hold much stock in his vision she seems to truly believe that her chances of living are greatest with him.

She is cunning in this, and while being a Dominant herself has certainly helped it's clear that she has more than simply Garuda in her arsenal. Benedikta is shown to be ruthless and dismissive — she kills an enemy defector who provided them with information, stating that he evidently couldn't be trusted while implying that he should be ashamed of himself — however she is also an accomplished liar, seductress, and torturer where need be. None of it matters to her as long as it protects her in some way, and ensures that she has some kind of future on the winning side of the war.

What quality or qualities do they admire most? Is this a quality they themselves have, something they wish they had, or something they like to see in others?

These days Benedikta is most strongly attracted to power. She comes from a society in which the weak are near-literally crushed underfoot: Bearers and other slaves are thought of as less than human — we see examples of them being actively hunted for sport in the game — and Benedikta's own past as a slave is something she would rather die than experience again. As a Dominant she's powerful in her own right however she knows she needs the protection of a place (or indeed, a person) that values her gift: the Iron Kingdom, for example, treat their Dominant like caged vermin, and so she is firmly entrenched with Waloed and King Barnabas who would have her use her powers for him in comfort.

As such, she has little patience for dreamers and idealists. She isn't interested in the concept of "doing the right thing," nor would she ever place her life in the hands of a person who couldn't guarantee her protection. Those who give up their creature comforts and safety for the sake of an esoteric goal are, in her mind, fools for doing so, as is anyone who would stand against the inexorable push of Waloed. What use is a dream without an army? What use is a vision without the political might to make it a reality? Benedikta's allegiance is to strength, not to one man's hopeless fantasy, and she has long sacrificed any beliefs of the heart in order to see to her own future.

Do they have a part of themselves they dislike? A trait or habit they wish they could change, something they're in denial about or afraid of, etc.

Benedikta hates the part of herself that still thinks of Cid — wishes she'd listened to him all those years ago — and she would do anything to crush out the voice in the back of her mind that reminds her of it. It comes to the fore in the moments before she loses control to Garuda: she knows she was wrong, and in that moment she wishes Cid were there to once again offer his hand and lift her out of her despair. In a moment of post-coital conversation even Barnabas comments on the fact that she's talking about him again, hinting that he knows her true feelings towards him even as she drapes herself across him, however she's quick to dismiss his comment and states that any feelings for him died long ago.

Evidently, that is a lie. As much is alluded to later in the game when Ultima takes on her form before Clive and cries out "won't somebody save me? Won't anybody love me?" Ultima is the puppet-master behind the plot of the game but it's clear that he is as perceptive as he is manipulative: he knows what drives people and how to best use that to furhter his own ends. In Benedikta's case it is evident that all she's ever really wanted is to feel safe and loved — something she experienced briefly with Cid after he rescued her from the Iron Kingdom soldiers, but never again.

What is their sign, and why?

The Devil best suits Benedikta as it represents the fact that she has carefully crafted her whole identity around being the Dominant of Garuda — and she's extremely proud of that fact. It's her identity that sets her apart from other people, makes her better than them, and it's that which she believes will ultimately save her. She likes knowing that she inspires fear and obedience simply by being the Lady of the Winds — a name she is called in reverence by her men — and she makes sure everyone around her knows who she is and what she's capable of.

It also speaks to the fact that she is in many ways shackled by the dark well of negativity that has been hollowing her out since Cid abandoned her in Waloed. Benedikta chooses not to acknowledge the fact that her life could have been incredibly different if she'd gone with him — if he'd listened to what he'd said all those years ago — and so in many ways she tightens her own chains willingly so that she doesn't have to think about it. She leans into the darkness in her breast as heavily as she can, to the point where she's able to make herself believe that what she's doing is the only choice she ever had.

Of course, it isn't true. She realises this her final moment of darkness before Garuda takes her completely: Benedikta curses herself for not listening to Cid, and for not allowing herself to see that she could have been more than what she became, but Garuda's frenzy takes her moments later. Instead of making peace with herself she decides to damn the rest of the world instead, swearing to tear it apart with her bare hands as she Primes into the Eikon. She has always lost the fight against her own inner darkness and lust for revenge, oftentimes by choice, which makes her a prime candidate for The Devil.

SAMPLES

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