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monadexe
OOC Information
IC Information
IC Information
Name: Raine Sage
Canon: Tales of Symphonia
Gender: Female
Age: 23
History: Journey of World Regeneration
Personality: Raine was forced to grow up at a young age when she found herself alone with her infant brother in Sylvarant. This, together with the fact that they were both half-elves, a race largely shunned and despised, shaped her into a person who does her best to keep up a cool, strong front. In general, she is mature, calm, composed, and level-headed; she can also be understanding and supportive, as well as strict when necessary. All this does, however, go out the window when it comes to ruins, ancient treasures, and other things that draw her curiosity. Raine is highly intelligent and has a greatly inquisitive mind, but even more than that, she is absolutely fanatical about archaeology. When the topic comes up, her composure disappears and she may launch into passionate lectures or rants.
When Raine is not in so-called “Ruin Mode”, her usual demeanor combined with her scientific curiosity can cause her to seem insensitive or emotionally detached, such as her interest in Colette’s angel transformation. However, she is someone who is used to keeping her emotions at a distance at most times. She is almost always against acting on instinct or emotion; she prefers to assess situations and weigh options, prioritizing what she feels are the most important issues, to reach a pragmatic decision. This is easily seen in how her affection can be increased in the game by choosing cautious or logical options, even if these options seem cold, such as choosing to not help people. Her caution also manifests in her unwillingness to take people at face value; she is clearly suspicious of Kratos, Regal, Zelos, and Sheena and is against letting new people join the group. That said, even if she expresses her disapproval of Lloyd’s choices, she rarely—if ever—actively tries to stop him or change his mind, including events like taking on the Desians during the Journey of World Regeneration. This is because, although she believes that his choices are not the best course of action, she doesn’t necessarily think that they’re wrong, either. It isn’t wrong to help the towns or fight the Desians, but her concern is trying to keep the group focused on what she believes is the most important issue: the world regeneration. Regardless, she stays pragmatic even when they do decide to take on the Desian Human Ranches, with the logic that they might as well finish them off properly if they’re going to attack in the first place, and is therefore the one who decides to make the ranches self-destruct. She is also not above using what Sheena considers “sinister” plans or underhanded tactics, like causing prisoners to stage a revolt and taking advantage of the commotion or threatening to feed the Pope his own poison.
Of course, Raine isn’t always able to keep her emotions subdued. She is clearly stressed over Colette’s situation, which finally boils over when she snaps at Sheena for accusing her of being cold. She is also used to being rejected by people due to her race, so being accepted by the people of Iselia causes her to become so emotional that she runs away to be alone and recompose herself, though she is still obviously touched by their friendship. Her composure completely falls apart in her encounter with her mother; in a furious rant, she displays the blame, anger, and resentment she’s likely been harbouring for years after she believed they were abandoned and then runs out in tears when her mother refuses to recognize her. She also appears tempted by the idea of changing the past with the Eternal Sword, though she apologizes when Lloyd disagrees. Even after learning the truth about her abandonment, these feelings probably don’t go away immediately, as Raine is still mocked by the illusion of her mother in the Derris Emblem’s trap regardless of whether or not the Exire sidequest is seen. In that moment, Lloyd coming back to save them again rather than leave them behind helps her decide to move on.
Lloyd provides a great influence for Raine’s growth throughout the story. She didn’t often believe in optimistic possibilities; she felt that it was inevitable that something must be sacrificed if you want to save something else, such as the Chosen’s sacrifice for the world regeneration. Lloyd’s openness, acceptance, and determination to save everyone help to change her. She states herself that she still believes some things can’t be changed, but she becomes more open to the idea of possibilities and hope. She realizes late in the game, thanks to him, that she can start changing the world little by little by first changing her own outlook. Although Lloyd’s complete lack of studiousness aggravates her greatly at first, she comes to partially accept it as simply part of who he is.
Raine is very close to Genis, who has been her only family for years. She isn’t overprotective to the point of coddling him, though she does worry about his well-being, and her affection values can even decrease if Lloyd makes choices that endanger Genis. Protecting him includes keeping secrets that would hurt him, such as the fact that they were abandoned and that the Chosen is fated to die for the world regeneration. Her worry is sometimes expressed as anger, such as when she chastises him for getting overexcited and tripping, and he finds her Ruin Mode embarrassing, but they’re a tight-knit pair of siblings that share a love of knowledge. Unlike her brother, she appears apathetic when it comes to race: she generally doesn’t dislike humans as a whole and neither does she automatically approve of her fellow half-elves; rather, she’s fully aware that there are good and bad people of all races, and judges an individual based on their actions alone. Despite being a half-elf who has suffered discrimination, she firmly rejects the Desians’ and Yggdrasill’s ways and does not seem to empathize with them much. She reminds Genis that the two of them are different from the Desians and tries to prevent him from sympathizing too much with Mithos so that her brother isn’t led astray.
She is also fairly close to Colette, who has been her student since she came to Iselia. Raine was aware from the beginning that the Chosen would die, which may be why she often easily agrees to Colette’s requests, as she feels there is little else she can do and there may be a sense of guilt that she is knowingly helping guide the Chosen to her death. That said, once they decide to try and find a way to help Colette before they try saving the worlds, Raine fully devotes herself to this task.
Raine often expresses skepticism of Kratos’ supposed backstory during the world regeneration, though she didn’t realize he was an angel until he revealed himself. She doesn’t fully villify him after that, either, recognizing that he seemed to be genuinely concerned for Lloyd.
Her relationship with Sheena starts out rather antagonistic. After Sheena’s attempt to assassinate Colette, Raine wouldn’t trust her so easily, and the others had to beg Raine to heal her wounds, which she did only reluctantly. Sheena is also usually against the cautious decisions that Raine prefers, causing them to butt heads sometimes. Raine does slowly start to come around as Sheena proves herself a genuine ally who helps rescue them from the Papal Knights even after it’s revealed that they’re half-elves, and Raine helps her form the pact with Volt by translating his speech for her.
Like most of the group, Raine is cold towards Zelos and ignores him most of the time. She is unimpressed by his effort to hit on her and appears to take his joke about betraying Lloyd seriously, as she calmly threatens him in response.
She also does not seem to be fully satisfied with Regal’s half-explanations though she never pursues the matter further personally. They don’t have many interactions, though she recognizes that he’s level-headed and chooses him to discuss the idea of prioritizing Lloyd’s life if the situation comes down to it. He’s therefore someone with whom she knows she can discuss issues that they others wouldn’t like.
Raine has almost no private interactions with Presea. The only opinion she gives is her initial disapproval of having Presea and Regal accompany them but accepting Lloyd’s decision, anyway.
Powers/Abilities: As a half-elf, Raine can naturally perceive mana and use magic. Her specialties are healing and support magic, though she also uses a couple of light-elemental offensive spells. Her abilities are amplified via the Exsphere and Unicorn Horn she possesses. Half-elves also have a lifespan of about a thousand years.
Keepsakes/Mementos:
-Virginia’s Diary
-Exsphere and Key Crest
-Boltzmann’s Book
-Unicorn Horn
-staff
-Crown of Earth
-various ancient treasures she’s collected (holy vase, jewelled sword, and yellow ore are all explicitly mentioned)
Sample: She watched Lloyd’s form flee through the doors among the chunks of collapsing ceiling that rained down, until the debris completely filled the passage and obscured her view. That area was now impassable, but she had every confidence that Lloyd had made it through. Every confidence... How unusual for her. If it were anyone else, or only a few months prior, there would have been doubts in the back of her mind, but somehow Lloyd had inspired a belief in her that she hadn’t known she could ever possess. It was an intriguing change that simultaneously urged her to continue forward and fear what other effects it could have on her. Not that there was much else that could happen now...
A slab from the ceiling smashed into the rigged console she had used to open the way for Lloyd and secure her own death. She stepped back from the debris and sparks, trying to keep her balance as the platform shook hard enough to rattle her bones. Even with an Exsphere, it was impossible for her to jump across the chasm that had opened and separated her from the rest of the huge room. Furthermore...both passages were now caved in, she noted with a quick glance back. There was nowhere she could go.
She hadn’t been lying when she had told Lloyd that as long as his he pursued his ideals, it was all right if she died there so that he could go on. But that didn’t mean she was satisfied with waiting for her life to end; Raine had fought and struggled for survival too many times to give in that easily. There had been times she wanted to scream and cry and give up, times she had imagined running back into the safety of her mother’s arms when it got to be too much in spite of how resentful she felt, and times she had almost dared to consider accepting a Desian’s offer for a place to belong. Pride, self-respect, subduing her feelings, and the desire to raise her brother properly had kept her strong. You’re better than that, she always reminded herself. Little acts of kindness from some humans prevented her from broadly judging them all when others rejected her. She couldn’t stomach the Desians’ grandstanding, but she also wouldn’t allow herself to stoop so low as to turn around and bite the few hands that were offered to her. Besides, it was simply how the world had come to be, and she alone couldn’t change it. She wanted to be a big sister Genis could look up to, one of the only things that hadn’t changed since they’d left the elf village, and maybe...just maybe, a part of her wanted to be able to meet her parents again one day and have nothing to be ashamed of. Eventually, though, she had come to accept that she and Genis were on their own, and they did what they could to quietly survive while Raine closed off her heart as much as she could against pain. Somehow, that had managed to find them a true home.
“Look at me, reminiscing at a time like this,” she said softly to herself as she crouched on the rumbling platform to avoid losing her footing. It really drove home the fact that she was about to die. She almost felt like a little girl again, thinking of her mother like this. The little twinges of anger that still simmered in her heart flared up again, even now that she’d learned the truth, but then a horrible thought struck her: she was leaving Genis behind, just as her mother had left her alone all those years ago. Logically, she knew that the circumstances were different, that Genis had his friends, that Lloyd would do his best to protect him, that he wouldn’t blame her, but...
She felt like such a hypocrite.
So much for not having any regrets.
She stretched out a hand to grip the edge of the destroyed console so she could get back to her feet. There was no way out of her tomb, certainly no chance that she would survive to face the new world with her brother. But...she was starting believe in possibilities now, and she had nothing to lose—only everything to gain—by trying. Change wouldn’t take away her will to survive, either. That said, determination couldn’t solve everything, and she had to wonder, what could she try?
Another large slab hit the edge of platform, which suddenly began to lurch to the side as whatever balance had kept it upright until then finally left. Raine gripped the console with white knuckles as the entire structure began to tilt into the chasm and she looked across at the other side of the drop. This was it. She wouldn’t have another chance; even if this one was slim at best, she had to take it. As the platform began to drop, its sideways fall closed the distance between Raine and the main floor of the room, and with a deep breath, she leapt when the distance and height were optimal. Doubts and fear gripped her mind and she didn’t dare look down into the death that awaited her if she failed, but she kept her eyes stubbornly fixed on the edge of the pit as it came up to meet her. It wasn’t a graceful landing by any means; the edge met her chest and knocked the wind out of her as she scrambled to grip the smooth tiles that lined the floor. She found a foothold and dug her boots in with all her strength, stopping her descent, and took a moment to regain her breath. It was a partial success! Of course, she had probably bought herself no more than a few more minutes to live, as the entire room was still threatening to cave in, but she wasn’t giving up. Not while there were possibilities. Not while she could allow herself to hope, just a little.
Her hopes were smashed when an enormous, jagged rock crashed into the floor directly nearby, causing the tiles to crumble beneath her. Before she knew it, she was sliding with the broken stones into the chasm and fell. She abruptly found herself landing, tightly wedged in a narrow space, much sooner than she expected, and realized that the platform had fallen against the wall of the pit; she had landed between them. It was no solace, though, as she was now too far down to climb back out, and rocks were now raining down in a rush of debris. The room was collapsing. There was no escape. A cry escaped her mouth as a large slab pinned her legs, securing her in the spot she would die.
She had tried. She had hoped. But this was one thing that she couldn’t change, and she was suddenly full of regret that she wouldn’t have another chance. The regret gave way to nothingness as rocks, roots, and tiles became her coffin.
Mindset: Raine will remember her death, but Monad will be a very different afterlife from anything she could have possibly expected. She’ll likely be suspicious of the circumstances and the description of the afterlife that she receives; combined with the trauma of dying, she’ll default to her usual caution and try to avoid letting her emotions get to her, since that’s the best way she knows to stay strong. It’ll still haunt her, and she won’t be able to hide the effect it had on her, but she’ll put her focus into investigating her new surroundings to keep busy. She may wonder what becomes of her world after her death, but if she truly is dead, then it would be merely curiosity—a desire to see their ideals satisfied and their struggles meaningful—and she knows it would no longer be something she could affect.
G̶̶l̨͡i̵͢t̷c͝͠h̕é͠s̷̷͡: Raine has a ton of issues that she’s tried to repress but will affect her greatly nevertheless.
She’s been traumatized by her near-death experience before, when she nearly drowned in the ocean as a child. This has left her with a great fear of water, especially the sea (though it would apply to any large body of water; basically, if it’s bigger than a bathtub, she won’t want to touch it). She won’t even go into shallow water at the beach and boards ships with great reluctance. In addition, since her near-drowning occurred in winter, extreme cold and numbness could trigger a response as well.
Now she has an actual death experience to top that off, so things that cause her to feel trapped or claustrophobic, as well as situations like building collapses, could ellicit fear.
Raine’s mother has been one of her most personal issues and this is something she still hasn’t quite gotten over, although she learned that her mother didn’t actually hate her as she so long suspected. Her feelings towards her mother tie in similarly to fear of abandonment and rejection that she has experienced as a half-elf in both Sylvarant and Tethe’alla. Possible glitches here could be reminders of her childhood, the idea that her mother or father never wanted her, having to constantly flee from place to place, isolation, and being pursued, shunned, or otherwise neglected.
Canon: Tales of Symphonia
Gender: Female
Age: 23
History: Journey of World Regeneration
Personality: Raine was forced to grow up at a young age when she found herself alone with her infant brother in Sylvarant. This, together with the fact that they were both half-elves, a race largely shunned and despised, shaped her into a person who does her best to keep up a cool, strong front. In general, she is mature, calm, composed, and level-headed; she can also be understanding and supportive, as well as strict when necessary. All this does, however, go out the window when it comes to ruins, ancient treasures, and other things that draw her curiosity. Raine is highly intelligent and has a greatly inquisitive mind, but even more than that, she is absolutely fanatical about archaeology. When the topic comes up, her composure disappears and she may launch into passionate lectures or rants.
When Raine is not in so-called “Ruin Mode”, her usual demeanor combined with her scientific curiosity can cause her to seem insensitive or emotionally detached, such as her interest in Colette’s angel transformation. However, she is someone who is used to keeping her emotions at a distance at most times. She is almost always against acting on instinct or emotion; she prefers to assess situations and weigh options, prioritizing what she feels are the most important issues, to reach a pragmatic decision. This is easily seen in how her affection can be increased in the game by choosing cautious or logical options, even if these options seem cold, such as choosing to not help people. Her caution also manifests in her unwillingness to take people at face value; she is clearly suspicious of Kratos, Regal, Zelos, and Sheena and is against letting new people join the group. That said, even if she expresses her disapproval of Lloyd’s choices, she rarely—if ever—actively tries to stop him or change his mind, including events like taking on the Desians during the Journey of World Regeneration. This is because, although she believes that his choices are not the best course of action, she doesn’t necessarily think that they’re wrong, either. It isn’t wrong to help the towns or fight the Desians, but her concern is trying to keep the group focused on what she believes is the most important issue: the world regeneration. Regardless, she stays pragmatic even when they do decide to take on the Desian Human Ranches, with the logic that they might as well finish them off properly if they’re going to attack in the first place, and is therefore the one who decides to make the ranches self-destruct. She is also not above using what Sheena considers “sinister” plans or underhanded tactics, like causing prisoners to stage a revolt and taking advantage of the commotion or threatening to feed the Pope his own poison.
Of course, Raine isn’t always able to keep her emotions subdued. She is clearly stressed over Colette’s situation, which finally boils over when she snaps at Sheena for accusing her of being cold. She is also used to being rejected by people due to her race, so being accepted by the people of Iselia causes her to become so emotional that she runs away to be alone and recompose herself, though she is still obviously touched by their friendship. Her composure completely falls apart in her encounter with her mother; in a furious rant, she displays the blame, anger, and resentment she’s likely been harbouring for years after she believed they were abandoned and then runs out in tears when her mother refuses to recognize her. She also appears tempted by the idea of changing the past with the Eternal Sword, though she apologizes when Lloyd disagrees. Even after learning the truth about her abandonment, these feelings probably don’t go away immediately, as Raine is still mocked by the illusion of her mother in the Derris Emblem’s trap regardless of whether or not the Exire sidequest is seen. In that moment, Lloyd coming back to save them again rather than leave them behind helps her decide to move on.
Lloyd provides a great influence for Raine’s growth throughout the story. She didn’t often believe in optimistic possibilities; she felt that it was inevitable that something must be sacrificed if you want to save something else, such as the Chosen’s sacrifice for the world regeneration. Lloyd’s openness, acceptance, and determination to save everyone help to change her. She states herself that she still believes some things can’t be changed, but she becomes more open to the idea of possibilities and hope. She realizes late in the game, thanks to him, that she can start changing the world little by little by first changing her own outlook. Although Lloyd’s complete lack of studiousness aggravates her greatly at first, she comes to partially accept it as simply part of who he is.
Raine is very close to Genis, who has been her only family for years. She isn’t overprotective to the point of coddling him, though she does worry about his well-being, and her affection values can even decrease if Lloyd makes choices that endanger Genis. Protecting him includes keeping secrets that would hurt him, such as the fact that they were abandoned and that the Chosen is fated to die for the world regeneration. Her worry is sometimes expressed as anger, such as when she chastises him for getting overexcited and tripping, and he finds her Ruin Mode embarrassing, but they’re a tight-knit pair of siblings that share a love of knowledge. Unlike her brother, she appears apathetic when it comes to race: she generally doesn’t dislike humans as a whole and neither does she automatically approve of her fellow half-elves; rather, she’s fully aware that there are good and bad people of all races, and judges an individual based on their actions alone. Despite being a half-elf who has suffered discrimination, she firmly rejects the Desians’ and Yggdrasill’s ways and does not seem to empathize with them much. She reminds Genis that the two of them are different from the Desians and tries to prevent him from sympathizing too much with Mithos so that her brother isn’t led astray.
She is also fairly close to Colette, who has been her student since she came to Iselia. Raine was aware from the beginning that the Chosen would die, which may be why she often easily agrees to Colette’s requests, as she feels there is little else she can do and there may be a sense of guilt that she is knowingly helping guide the Chosen to her death. That said, once they decide to try and find a way to help Colette before they try saving the worlds, Raine fully devotes herself to this task.
Raine often expresses skepticism of Kratos’ supposed backstory during the world regeneration, though she didn’t realize he was an angel until he revealed himself. She doesn’t fully villify him after that, either, recognizing that he seemed to be genuinely concerned for Lloyd.
Her relationship with Sheena starts out rather antagonistic. After Sheena’s attempt to assassinate Colette, Raine wouldn’t trust her so easily, and the others had to beg Raine to heal her wounds, which she did only reluctantly. Sheena is also usually against the cautious decisions that Raine prefers, causing them to butt heads sometimes. Raine does slowly start to come around as Sheena proves herself a genuine ally who helps rescue them from the Papal Knights even after it’s revealed that they’re half-elves, and Raine helps her form the pact with Volt by translating his speech for her.
Like most of the group, Raine is cold towards Zelos and ignores him most of the time. She is unimpressed by his effort to hit on her and appears to take his joke about betraying Lloyd seriously, as she calmly threatens him in response.
She also does not seem to be fully satisfied with Regal’s half-explanations though she never pursues the matter further personally. They don’t have many interactions, though she recognizes that he’s level-headed and chooses him to discuss the idea of prioritizing Lloyd’s life if the situation comes down to it. He’s therefore someone with whom she knows she can discuss issues that they others wouldn’t like.
Raine has almost no private interactions with Presea. The only opinion she gives is her initial disapproval of having Presea and Regal accompany them but accepting Lloyd’s decision, anyway.
Powers/Abilities: As a half-elf, Raine can naturally perceive mana and use magic. Her specialties are healing and support magic, though she also uses a couple of light-elemental offensive spells. Her abilities are amplified via the Exsphere and Unicorn Horn she possesses. Half-elves also have a lifespan of about a thousand years.
Keepsakes/Mementos:
-Virginia’s Diary
-Exsphere and Key Crest
-Boltzmann’s Book
-Unicorn Horn
-staff
-Crown of Earth
-various ancient treasures she’s collected (holy vase, jewelled sword, and yellow ore are all explicitly mentioned)
Sample: She watched Lloyd’s form flee through the doors among the chunks of collapsing ceiling that rained down, until the debris completely filled the passage and obscured her view. That area was now impassable, but she had every confidence that Lloyd had made it through. Every confidence... How unusual for her. If it were anyone else, or only a few months prior, there would have been doubts in the back of her mind, but somehow Lloyd had inspired a belief in her that she hadn’t known she could ever possess. It was an intriguing change that simultaneously urged her to continue forward and fear what other effects it could have on her. Not that there was much else that could happen now...
A slab from the ceiling smashed into the rigged console she had used to open the way for Lloyd and secure her own death. She stepped back from the debris and sparks, trying to keep her balance as the platform shook hard enough to rattle her bones. Even with an Exsphere, it was impossible for her to jump across the chasm that had opened and separated her from the rest of the huge room. Furthermore...both passages were now caved in, she noted with a quick glance back. There was nowhere she could go.
She hadn’t been lying when she had told Lloyd that as long as his he pursued his ideals, it was all right if she died there so that he could go on. But that didn’t mean she was satisfied with waiting for her life to end; Raine had fought and struggled for survival too many times to give in that easily. There had been times she wanted to scream and cry and give up, times she had imagined running back into the safety of her mother’s arms when it got to be too much in spite of how resentful she felt, and times she had almost dared to consider accepting a Desian’s offer for a place to belong. Pride, self-respect, subduing her feelings, and the desire to raise her brother properly had kept her strong. You’re better than that, she always reminded herself. Little acts of kindness from some humans prevented her from broadly judging them all when others rejected her. She couldn’t stomach the Desians’ grandstanding, but she also wouldn’t allow herself to stoop so low as to turn around and bite the few hands that were offered to her. Besides, it was simply how the world had come to be, and she alone couldn’t change it. She wanted to be a big sister Genis could look up to, one of the only things that hadn’t changed since they’d left the elf village, and maybe...just maybe, a part of her wanted to be able to meet her parents again one day and have nothing to be ashamed of. Eventually, though, she had come to accept that she and Genis were on their own, and they did what they could to quietly survive while Raine closed off her heart as much as she could against pain. Somehow, that had managed to find them a true home.
“Look at me, reminiscing at a time like this,” she said softly to herself as she crouched on the rumbling platform to avoid losing her footing. It really drove home the fact that she was about to die. She almost felt like a little girl again, thinking of her mother like this. The little twinges of anger that still simmered in her heart flared up again, even now that she’d learned the truth, but then a horrible thought struck her: she was leaving Genis behind, just as her mother had left her alone all those years ago. Logically, she knew that the circumstances were different, that Genis had his friends, that Lloyd would do his best to protect him, that he wouldn’t blame her, but...
She felt like such a hypocrite.
So much for not having any regrets.
She stretched out a hand to grip the edge of the destroyed console so she could get back to her feet. There was no way out of her tomb, certainly no chance that she would survive to face the new world with her brother. But...she was starting believe in possibilities now, and she had nothing to lose—only everything to gain—by trying. Change wouldn’t take away her will to survive, either. That said, determination couldn’t solve everything, and she had to wonder, what could she try?
Another large slab hit the edge of platform, which suddenly began to lurch to the side as whatever balance had kept it upright until then finally left. Raine gripped the console with white knuckles as the entire structure began to tilt into the chasm and she looked across at the other side of the drop. This was it. She wouldn’t have another chance; even if this one was slim at best, she had to take it. As the platform began to drop, its sideways fall closed the distance between Raine and the main floor of the room, and with a deep breath, she leapt when the distance and height were optimal. Doubts and fear gripped her mind and she didn’t dare look down into the death that awaited her if she failed, but she kept her eyes stubbornly fixed on the edge of the pit as it came up to meet her. It wasn’t a graceful landing by any means; the edge met her chest and knocked the wind out of her as she scrambled to grip the smooth tiles that lined the floor. She found a foothold and dug her boots in with all her strength, stopping her descent, and took a moment to regain her breath. It was a partial success! Of course, she had probably bought herself no more than a few more minutes to live, as the entire room was still threatening to cave in, but she wasn’t giving up. Not while there were possibilities. Not while she could allow herself to hope, just a little.
Her hopes were smashed when an enormous, jagged rock crashed into the floor directly nearby, causing the tiles to crumble beneath her. Before she knew it, she was sliding with the broken stones into the chasm and fell. She abruptly found herself landing, tightly wedged in a narrow space, much sooner than she expected, and realized that the platform had fallen against the wall of the pit; she had landed between them. It was no solace, though, as she was now too far down to climb back out, and rocks were now raining down in a rush of debris. The room was collapsing. There was no escape. A cry escaped her mouth as a large slab pinned her legs, securing her in the spot she would die.
She had tried. She had hoped. But this was one thing that she couldn’t change, and she was suddenly full of regret that she wouldn’t have another chance. The regret gave way to nothingness as rocks, roots, and tiles became her coffin.
Mindset: Raine will remember her death, but Monad will be a very different afterlife from anything she could have possibly expected. She’ll likely be suspicious of the circumstances and the description of the afterlife that she receives; combined with the trauma of dying, she’ll default to her usual caution and try to avoid letting her emotions get to her, since that’s the best way she knows to stay strong. It’ll still haunt her, and she won’t be able to hide the effect it had on her, but she’ll put her focus into investigating her new surroundings to keep busy. She may wonder what becomes of her world after her death, but if she truly is dead, then it would be merely curiosity—a desire to see their ideals satisfied and their struggles meaningful—and she knows it would no longer be something she could affect.
G̶̶l̨͡i̵͢t̷c͝͠h̕é͠s̷̷͡: Raine has a ton of issues that she’s tried to repress but will affect her greatly nevertheless.
She’s been traumatized by her near-death experience before, when she nearly drowned in the ocean as a child. This has left her with a great fear of water, especially the sea (though it would apply to any large body of water; basically, if it’s bigger than a bathtub, she won’t want to touch it). She won’t even go into shallow water at the beach and boards ships with great reluctance. In addition, since her near-drowning occurred in winter, extreme cold and numbness could trigger a response as well.
Now she has an actual death experience to top that off, so things that cause her to feel trapped or claustrophobic, as well as situations like building collapses, could ellicit fear.
Raine’s mother has been one of her most personal issues and this is something she still hasn’t quite gotten over, although she learned that her mother didn’t actually hate her as she so long suspected. Her feelings towards her mother tie in similarly to fear of abandonment and rejection that she has experienced as a half-elf in both Sylvarant and Tethe’alla. Possible glitches here could be reminders of her childhood, the idea that her mother or father never wanted her, having to constantly flee from place to place, isolation, and being pursued, shunned, or otherwise neglected.