Rhea Taiyo

(Originally posted on the Felarya Forum (Apr 19, 2012): https://felarya.forumotion.com/t3168-the-centari-caravan#101729)

Name: Rhea Taiyo

Species: Torinian Human

Age: 18 / 18

Sex: Female

Height: 5'10

Skin complexion: Light, slightly rosy

Hair color: Strawberry Blonde (but typically colored red in my drawings)

Eye color: Light Green

Affinity: Fire magic, Lightning magic, and Wind magic

Other characteristics: As a Torinian, she has avian-looking eyes and thicker looking hair due to the presence of filoplume and down feathers. She sometimes wears her hair in a long, braided ponytail with a large pink (or red) ribbon tied at the end. The tendency of her skin to become bright red when she blushes from embarrassment, or anger, has contributed to her gaining the nicknames "the Killer Strawberry" and "Strawberry Short Fuse." There's that and the fact that she smells of strawberries, apparently because she adds them to her perfumes.

Quote: "There is no right or wrong; there is only predator and prey. This is the only truth I know."

Rhea is an Elite Legion candidate who has advanced to the top of her class by her tremendous talent, and by being a fiercely competitive person. She has steely focus and rarely shows any emotion besides anger. Rhea is the great-granddaughter of the venerated Torinian hero, Pyros Taiyo. The heroic feats that Pyros performed in the defense of Torin City are not likely to be matched by anyone ever, and yet many people hope for similar greatness out of Rhea. Perhaps if her father were still alive, he would tell Rhea to not carry such a heavy burden, a burden that he died trying to carry. But it was almost six years ago that her father was swallowed alive by fox-human hybrid creature, known among the Torinians as the Scarlet Vixen. Rhea is expected to go out and avenge her father's death, or at least she believes this to be the case. However, Rhea, curiously, doesn’t appear to hold a grudge against the Phix; as she says, "The predator did nothing wrong. It was my father's weakness that killed him."

Rhea feels tremendous pressure to live up to everyone's expectations; due to her being one of the historically rare Torinians to show affinity for multiple types of elemental magic, the people of Torin have convinced themselves that Rhea is destined for greatness. Surely, this rare talent is a product of her lineage. Rhea has certainly been helped by her natural gifts, but it’s her singular focus on being the best that makes her excel. The people of Torin heap praise upon Rhea and will even burst into song about her perfect she is. Apparently, as the city’s “Golden Child,” she can do no wrong. And yet, in the end, Rhea can only see how small she is. No matter how strong a warrior she becomes, it will never be enough. Every day, she looks up at the harpies that tower over her and every other Torinian. She wonders just how good the power and the freedom that their size grants them must feel; she wonders what it’s like to see someone such as herself as a meal.

Rhea is the cousin of Leon Gaudius. They've always been close since Rhea was a child and they are taking the final trial to become an Elite Legionnaire together. Though Rhea doesn’t care for her other classmate, Atreus Speros, she is fascinated with him because of his interactions with the giant harpy named Helia. Rhea has a measure of respect for Helia because of her reputation for being a nuisance, even to the other harpies; she sees Helia as someone who lives by her own rules, and for that, she somewhat admires her. Rhea has also seen the way Helia will impulsively eat Atreus, before spitting him up after she feels that she has teased him enough. And Rhea has seen how helpless Atreus has been to stop Helia from doing it, again and again. It’s this helplessness that Rhea sees in Atreus that causes her to loathe him. Rhea considers, that if Atreus doesn’t get killed by some giant predator during their upcoming trial to become an Elite Legionnaire, that she just might end him herself.

Combat: Rhea has the rare ability among Torinians to manifest her innate magic as three different elements: fire, lightning, and wind. Using the Iracal Crystals crafted into her favorite weapon, the greatsword (resembling a two-handed gladius), Rhea cleaves obstacles in-two and scorches them with fire. Combining wind and fire, she casts blasts of fire from her blade at her enemies like a fire-breathing dragon. She is remarkably quick with the blade, using speed and agility as her primary defense, never ceasing to attack her opponent until they are defeated.