Application - Expiation

[pennaceous]

Player: Solaris
Contact: solarismagnum
Age: 30+
Current Characters: N/A
Link to Reserve: Here

Character Name: Hermes
Character Canon: Final Fantasy XIV
Canon Point: After accepting the title of Fandaniel.
Age: Unknown, but likely thousands of years old.

Crime: Disturbing the peace.

Hermes believes that his thoughtcrime is in question here. His people believed that they were shepherds of the star, and all their creations were meant to better the world. He oversaw those creations and was faced with a great contradiction. As part of bettering the star, his people generally tended to choose when they died. Once they had completed their life's work, their "return to the star" was heralded as a great achievement worth celebrating. This same reverence was not given to their creations, and as Chief Overseer of Elpis he saw many creatures returned to nothingness and their memories deleted when they were deemed failures. To them, death was a cruel punishment. Hermes, with his compassion for all living things, saw how much it hurt them and voiced his concerns, only for them to be dismissed by his peers. Now, he tends to keep his disagreement to himself.

His actual crime is that of sending Meteion into the stars. Meteion is an Entelechy that can maneuver and manipulate dynamis - a type of energy governed by emotions. Hermes sent her into space to ask beings of other worlds what gave their lives meaning. Meteion was not prepared for what she saw, having come to worlds at the end of civilization and in some cases, in the midst of that end. She was overwhelmed by despair and made her new purpose to end all life. It isn't known how many worlds her despair ended, but it is confirmed that she contributed to the fall in some cases.

Knowing that she had been overwhelmed by despair and what she intended to do because of it, Hermes let Meteion return to the stars as a test for all humanity. If they were as flawed as their creations, were they not subject to the same rules? He erased the memories of most present to give both sides a fair shot - including his own. Though he intended to resist, he had set calamity upon the universe.

Background: Wiki link. This page covers all of the incarnations of Fandaniel including later reincarnations.

Personality: Hermes is a researcher first and foremost, and is a veritable font of knowledge. As Chief Overseer, he oversaw the greatest research facility of the Ancient world, working with many adept researchers as they developed new life to better the star. Despite managing Elpis in a way that was looked upon favorably by those who worked with him, Hermes is as much of a people person as he needs to be. He can be a little awkward at times, but his failings do little to hide his kind heart. His focus on his studies lead him to forget to eat and sleep sometimes, but his cohorts are aware of this.

He struggles with the logical and impersonal nature of his society. Hermes cares deeply for all things and people, particularly those he's gotten to know, but as a result he feels alienated from them. He cares about experimental concepts and living creatures alike and struggles with the common perception that their lives are somehow lesser than that of man. In one case a concept for a predatory animal is deemed too ferocious to continue existing and must be destroyed. Hermes helps corral the creatures that escaped to preserve order in Elpis, but also rests with one of the defeated beasts and offers it words of comfort and understanding in its final moments.

Worst of all, he struggles with the concept of death. He created Kairos, a machine meant to erase memories completely, to allow concepts to have their memories erased rather than be unmade and recreated. It's common for people of his era to choose when they die once they consider their life's work to be finished. Hermes cannot understand why those who can still do so much good still seek to "return to the star." Such worries of his fall on sympathetic but not particularly understanding ears, as that is just how things have always been.

With such strong feelings regularly dismissed, Hermes feels misunderstood and alienated from society. He struggles with grief, anger, and sadness on his own until he finally decides to ask people of the stars beyond for answers. He's accustomed to hiding his true feelings and playing off the concerns of others if he feels they won't understand him. A foremost authority on Dynamis, he uses that emotion-based energy to create the Meteia to reach the stars. One Meteion is a regular companion of his on Elpis, understanding all his troubles easily and eagerly assisting him however she can. Her gentle and understanding nature is a reflection of his own, and the Meteia are all quite dear to him. Due to the incident in Ktisis Hyperborreia, he believes that she is dead and that it was his fault. He felt immense guilt at the harm that came to the Meteia as they attempted their journey, and he grieves their death even moreso than that of his predecessor. Hermes takes on the role of Fandaniel not to better the world, but to distract himself from his own despair.

Hermes doesn't remember what happened in Ktisis and that's his own fault. Seeing Meteion return with the message that the universe beyond was nothing but despair, he resolved to hear all of her reports and not dismiss them out of hand. Having been inspired by the Warrior of Light, who he found also experienced despair like his, he found the strength to resist attempts to abduct her and even released experimental creatures to stop his pursuers . Despite holding fast to his own morals, he despaired over the harm he knew they would come to and blamed only himself.

Hermes is gentle, awkward, depressed, curious, stubborn, and unfortunately quite naive. Ancient society was an idyllic utopia that could scarcely understand his emotional struggles, much less those of worlds in more tumultuous circumstances. While he still may not be prepared to deal with that on his own, he's nevertheless curious to see what this new world will bring.

Abilities:

Aetherial Manipulation/Creation Magic - the ability to shape aether into objects, concepts, or even beings. All Ancients were capable of this to some extent. Hermes specializes in the creation of flying creatures and favors the element of wind. While the potency of his spells isn't as strong as that of some other Ancients we meet, he's capable of using skills like Double or Quadruple to augment them. After losing Meteion, he's unlikely to try and create new life for some time.

The Echo - A power shared by all Ancients that grants the ability to understand all languages, view the memories of other beings, and even detect subtle shifts in aether. While all Ancients are said to have this ability, Hermes' Echo is not noteworthy in any way.

Transformation - Hermes can transform into an alternate form with a humanoid top half and a many-winged bottom half.

Inventory: The clothes he's wearing and a blue feather in his pocket.

Samples: TDM #1 and TDM #2

Questions: N/A