Iria Zanar Key

> You think about death so much, that it seems you forgot how to live.
>
> Iria Zanar Key, to Hikaru Gado

Iria Zanar Key (*formerly Tomotsuki Sumire*) is the character played by Final Ecstasy X in the New World of Zhalt campaign. She is the aspiring diplomat of The Escapade Connection, hailing from the Jade Empire.

## Appearance

Key is a slim woman with shaggy taupe hair, thistle eyes and pale skin. Her height is above average for a woman in the Jade Empire, bearing a flat chest and thin limbs.

Although she constantly changes her outfits, she is typically in casual to business casual attire alongside her braces. More recently, she is seen wearing business suits, but in her first appearance she wore modified Ashigaru armor and sported her swords on her waist via sageo.

She carries two swords, one that she has attuned to teleport to her when she calls for it. The names of these blades are currently unknown.

## Personality

Key tends to live life day by day, trying not to ponder too hardly on things that don't ultimately effect day to day life. Typically carefree and an advocate for humanitarianism, she's adverse to conflict and especially killing others.

In spite of her naïve and confusing nature to most, she displays empathetic behavior whenever the subject of freedom and restriction is brought up. She is prone to making foolish decisions, but has a well meaning heart and attitude to any situation that she encounters, especially if she has the intent on handling it diplomatically. Although this naivety is present, she is not as stupid as many believe her to be on base value, showing her awareness of things when she grasps the situation at hand.

However, there have been glimpses of Key's seriousness on rare occasions, most notably whenever around Amelie.

## Relationships

### The Escapade Connection

Key is a member of The Escapade Connection (formerly named Group E), working for the Voyagers Incorporated. Together, the crew has gone on missions across multiple countries for work. Everyone in The Escapade Connection, she cares for them in her own... "Key" way, believing they are all her friends.

#### Amelie Blanchett

Having known Amelie Blanchett longer than any other member of The Escapade Connection, Key holds her closest to her heart. Although the start of their partnership started as a means to stop Amelie from constantly killing those she was hunting, it eventually grew closer to a friendship as time passed on. Their time in the Voyagers Company strengthened this relationship, as they traveled and got to know each other.

Amelie is the first person outside of the Jade Empire to learn about Key's braces and physical condition, which was showcased before the mission to deal with the Goblin cave infestation. As time passed on, Key began to feel a weird familiarity in Amelie's disposition, which is a feeling that remains to this day. Due to this, Key has grown a subconscious need to make sure that Amelie is free to live the way she desires, most notably seen when Key spent the night over at Amelie's and telling her upfront.

Overall, Key sees Amelie as a close friend and wishes to help her however she can. She is adverse to her violent and lethal tendencies during missions, but does her best to quell that with her own actions.

#### Thade Carrion

Upon meeting Thade Carrion, Key was originally confused at what he was. However, she quickly learned the differences between Yggdrasil and the Jade Empire, and quickly grew accustomed to different kinds of humanoid races.

Thade is a reliable figure that Key sees as the pillar of support for the party. As much as she respects and likes Thade, there have been a few occasions where he has scared her, most notably whenever he uses his lycanthropy.

#### Dio Caster

Dr. Dio Caster is one of the members of The Escapade Connection that Key feels a weird connection with. She believes it is because Caster is also a doctor of some kind, like Tokiko. However, Caster's disposition often leaves Key confused and worried, making her unsure how she should proceed with certain things.

Ultimately, Caster is someone that Key is watching closely and wants to get closer to.

##### Mr. Pollux

Mr. Pollux is the only person in the party that Key genuinely thinks negatively of, considering his lust for bloodshed and psychopathic tendencies. Although she has tried to talk him down, even going so far as to try subduing him with affection at one point during the voyage to the Shadowfell, she is now fully aware that there is little she can do about him.

She hopes that she can help Caster get this "parasite" out of her head, even going so far as to open her Mind Link to Caster at one point to see if she could get Pollux to move into her own body.

#### Asher Grimclaw

Culturally rich, Asher Grimclaw is a member of the party that Key wants to learn more about for the purpose of communication. The newest member of the party, she tries her best to understand everything he says, but she gets extremely disturbed when he makes suddenly violent and graphic statements that can be seen as a... cultural difference.

She is not capable of predicting or reading Asher fully, which isn't something she minds. She does respect that he tries his best to contain his instincts for the sake of others, but just like herself, he needs to learn more about the world.

#### Hikaru Gado

Upon the arrival of Hikaru Gado, she has realized that she is less knowledgeable about her home country than she initially thought. Often forgetting just how long she was petrified, Hikaru is the living proof of this new age. Initially off put by his extremely regal disposition, she tries her best not to offend him in any deep way, trying to slowly let him get accustomed to the kind of person she is.

Whenever the subject of the Jade Empire is brought up, she braces for his nationalist ideals and worries that it clouds his view a little too much. Despite their obvious differences, politically or otherwise, she does value him as a friend and wishes to learn more about him and the current Jade Empire as a whole. She has been confused by a few things he has done or said, but tries to keep her thoughts open to him for transparency's sake.

Overall, he is one of the members of The Escapade Connection that she is most mindful of whenever around.

### Jade Empire

Hailing from the Jade Empire, Key has a certain feeling about her home country. Unlike certain citizens, she does not view the Jade Empire as this extremely advanced and superior nation with the right way to do everything. She believes that like every country, it has it's fair share of problems, and isn't very nationalistic. If asked the question, "Do you pledge your life to the Emperor?", she would answer with an honest "no".

#### Dr. Iria Tokiko

Dr. Iria Tokiko is a figure that Key has made reference to on several occasions, thanking her for bringing her back from her petrification and assisting her for as long as she did. She hopes to see her again in the future, sharing the stories she's gathered while outside of the Jade Empire.

#### Emperor Misshu

Hideo Misshu is a man that confuses Key to a great extent. During her time alive, he was a lord in the north, and when she awakened and learned that he was now the Emperor of the Jade Empire, she was shocked beyond belief.

### The Morthros Family

Although Key is well aware of the ban that the Morthros Family has in the Jade Empire, she doesn't let that alone decide how she feels about the family as a whole. Whenever she meets a Morthros, she tends to just omit their last name from her mind, so that she can look at them as individuals. However, she is aware of the desire to lift the ban, and is weary about it.

#### Zudain Morthros

Zudain Morthros is the first member of the Morthros family that she met, and she even works for his Cops and Robbers company as an employee. She respects him, but sees him more casually compared to other members of the Morthros family due to the length of time that she's know him compared to the others. After her bender with Scarlett & Sapphire Morthros, she knows him slightly more, but not purposefully.

#### Scarlett & Sapphire

Although initially confused by the duo in their Gamma personas, Key has become closer to them than the other Morthros. She has seen many different sides of them, even though she has only known them for a few hours to a day at the current day, but can see they have more to them than what they lead others to believe.

Sapphire & Scarlett's "differing" opinions on being heroes, gives her some insight on what they may be feeling about their circumstances, and with her run-in with Xavier Morthros II, doesn't want them to have to deal with more than they already don't want to deal with.

Overall, they are two fun friends that she hopes to learn more about, even if the rest of her companions don't see them that way.

#### Xavier Morthros II

Key knows little about Xavier Morthros II, however her first impressions of him showcased his serious nature. After Key's reluctance to give names in regards to how she bypassed the magical barrier, his threats made Key aware of how serious it is for him.

However, after she decided to use her rank in the Embassy to try and stave off further threats, she quickly saw his brown-nosing, which made her lose a little bit of that respect for his serious demeanor. She quickly learned afterwards that he is the father of XJ3, aka, Xavier Morthros III.

#### Xavier Morthros III

Frequenting his bar, Key thinks pretty indifferently of Xavier Morthros III. She hasn't had a moment where she has had a one on one discussion with him, but due to his friendliness with Thade, Hikaru and Asher, she sees him as an ally.

#### Dante Morthros

Upon first impressions of Dante Morthros, Key initially felt bad for the man... until he started acting out in public. His ill-tempered nature alongside his aggression towards Amelie and Thade, Key doesn't think too highly of Dante. She wants to know why he acts out like he did in the Red Snapper.

#### Domingo Morthros

After working with Domingo during the Goblin cave mission, Key holds Domingo in high regards. His handiness in the eventual victory of that mission has not been lost on Key, and she even complimented his poses while he was in the Destiny Hero attire, despite her never calling him "Destiny Hero" and opting to just call him Domingo.

#### Diego Morthros

Diego Morthros is a member of the Morthros family that Key has briefly met, but never got to talk or interact with past introductions. She currently sees him as "the guy who shot that magic bullet".

#### D' Angelo Morthros

Although she has only met D' Angelo once while with Amelie, she is extremely curious about who he was. Having minimal knowledge on what he was doing at the orphanage, and the god that he follows, Key wonders if she'll see him again. If she does, she will make sure to ask him a bunch of questions.

### Friends

Currently, not much is publicly known to the players about any outside friends that Key may or may not have.

### Family

Currently, not much is publicly known to the players about any family members that Key has, outside of a minor reference to her disdain for someone in the past.

### Enemies

Currently, we are unaware if Key has any actual enemies.

### Other

While traveling with The Escapade Connection, Key has met many people that either intrigued her, or she has taken note of.

#### Jeremiah Swam

The strange yet eccentric Jeremiah Swam is someone that Key has noted of having an unusual kind of charisma to him. His tone of voice and weirdly marketable stature makes him a real business man.

#### Drake Broomstein

Drake Broomstein is a fellow employee of Cops and Robbers, and is someone that Key would trust with handling tasks if asked. One time, she gave him an owl that she named "Braska" that she retrieved while on her first mission with Amelie.

#### Julius Belmont

Despite their extremely rough start, Julius Belmont is someone that Key can respect. He fights against the King Voltaire annually for the sake of ridding the Shadowfell of his oppressive rule, and one day, Key hopes to help him achieve that goal.

#### Queen Kincaid Voltaire

Queen Kincaid Voltaire is the unfortunate queen of the Shadowfell. Key noticed quickly that Kincaid was unhappy with her current position alongside the king, and hopes that one day The Escapade Connection can help her out when they become stronger.

#### Alderic Regis Blanchett

Wildly, Alderic Regis Blanchett, the father of Amelie, is the first person that she has met outside of the Jade Empire that has sparked actual anger and disgust from her. Meeting him only one time, she had extreme feelings of de ja vu, revealing feelings that Key did not know she had.

If it meant making sure that Amelie doesn't have to deal with her father in the way she is now, Key would do anything in her power to help out, even if it meant to give her own freedom for Amelie's somehow.

#### Mr. Gob Leno

The confusing Gob Leno startles Key in more ways than one. She has no idea how he learned about her braces, and especially has no clue how he knew what she wanted more than she did herself. After learning he wrote a newspaper article about her and the party, she is more and more confused about what this man did to her.

#### Ms. Richblade

Ms. Richblade is an extremely influential and powerful businesswoman that Key met while visiting the Cloud District with Scarlett & Sapphire. Key overheard a conversation between her and Gob Leno, learning about something regarding a Hydrophobic Collider. Due to Key's limited but important knowledge, Richblade did her best to quiet any further conversation about it, even offering Key a job as "Machinery Supervisor Unjammer Extraordinaire", due to Key's small build.

#### Hycis Zyltris

Hycis Zyltris is a blind elven woman that Key met while in the Cloud District.

## History

### Early Life

Currently, not much is publicly known to the players about Key's early life. The only references that Key has made herself has been seen in her actions throughout the campaign, especially through Amelie.

### Pre-Petrification

Currently, not much is publicly known to the players about Key's life before she was petrified.

### Post-Petrification

After awakening from her one hundred sixty six year period of petrification, she was recovered by Dr. Iria Tokiko and given her braces to help her body rebuild its strength.

### Current Day

In the current day, Key spends her time working for the Voyagers Incorporated as a member of The Escapade Connection, wandering the city of Shdaowmourn via her position in the Jadean Embassy. Her current residence is in an apartment alongside Hikaru Gado and his retainers, splitting the rent evenly.

## Abilities

### Physical Abilities

Due to Key's prior petrification, a lot of her physical strength is limited. However, her braces help support her, allowing her to function semi-normally. If these braces were to break, she's left fairly defenseless in a battle.

Key wields two shortswords as her primary weapons, but is somewhat able to wield guns thanks to Amelie.

### Ranger Skills

Key's abilities as a ranger gives her access to the ranger spell list, using spells such as Zephyr Strike, Hunters Mark and more. Due to the magical surge that fell on the world around 80 years ago, her magical abilities were heightened slightly, giving her more access to other kinds of spells.

Outside of this, Key is proficient at navigating through forests and has experience against fighting other humanoid creatures. Her knowledge on Niten techniques, although it is (currently) unknown where she got such knowledge, she has shown that she has a basic understanding of the style, allowing her to bond to her weapon, use maneuvers and more.

### Unique Features

Now reborn, Key's physiology allows for her to function without food, water, oxygen and more. She has the unique ability to Mind Link with those she can see and speak to, alongside her natural empathetic nature.

After exiting the Shadowfell, her body underwent a minor change that allowed her to become more in touch with the magic inside of her. Now, she can occasionally turn invisible, or cast it on another creature.

## Trivia

* Final Ecstasy X has gone on record to admit that Key's name is inspired by the 1994 OVA "Key the Metal Idol" by Hiroaki Sato. The decision to use this name came from the idea of her being reborn via mechanical means. Furthermore, the name Iria comes from another OVA named "Iria: Zeiram the Animation" by Tetsuro Amino, because the opening and ending themes were constantly listened to during the writing process. Lastly, the name Zanar is a not so subtle reference to Final Fantasy X, due to Final Ecstasy X's love for the game.

* On record, Key has been seen completely nude more than any other player character in the campaign, bar none.
* Key has very few genuine fears, one of her biggest fears are of enclosed spaces.