Airawat

> Even chance meetings are the result of karma… Things in life are fated by our previous lives. That even in the smallest events there’s no such thing as coincidence.
>
> Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

## **Biography**

Once there was a small spider who made its nest in the palace of a Maharaja. One day, it was found and almost killed for dirtying the royal palace. Fortunately, the royal tutor passed by and saved its life, claiming that they were fated for greatness. The tutor was a cultivator who had lived for a long time, giving up their chance of apotheosis to forever protect their saviour’s descendants. They took the little spider in as a disciple and taught it how to cultivate until it gained a human form. Years later, they fell while trying to protect the Maharaja at the time. The spider yaojing, without a place to call home, aimlessly drifted away in the human world.

The wheel of fate unexpectedly turned. Airawat one day saw a familiar face amidst the crowd, mingling with a group of adventurers. Judging that the person -- Kuma -- was a reincarnation of her master. The yaojing threw caution to the wind and did everything to join their group, just sliver away from dropping her disguise entirely, rousing their suspicion. The spider came to her senses a bit later and regretted it ever since. She resolutely chose to keep her distance, helping them from afar so that her secret is safe, from their adventuring days to the creation of Xiaojiang, way until the execution of the Four. The yaojing went as far as to make a deal with Wang Ciuxin after the coup, nominating herself as member of the new council.

## **Personality**

* A somewhat aloof person who seems to always have something on her mind.
* She prefers to wait and see, weighing all options before taking an action. Dealing with everything in a calm and collected manner.

#### **Flaws**

* She is a bit slow to react and often makes big leaps when she is in a rush, significantly altering the situation for the better or worse.
* Prone to overthinking.

#### **Strengths**

* Wise and knowledgeable.
* Can easily find the balance in everything and settle conflicts with options that are fair to both sides, at least emotionally.

## **Bonds**

* Mixed feelings toward Kuma. On one hand, she knows that they aren’t the same person but on the other hand, she can't get rid of the overlapping images in her mind. The longer she observes, the stronger her feeling becomes. Airawat knew that the other side already had doubts about her identity and thus decided to keep a distance at all cost.
* Friend to Baihu, seeing her as a talented young one.
* Weary of Pipi’s mischievousness and had to run her through disciplinary sometimes.
* Extremely wary of Ebba. She has a hunch that the wizard has already seen through her disguise.
* With Baihu and Mingan, Airawat has a feeling they are the ones who would care least about her not being human. However, since Baihu and Mingan are close friends with Ebba, Airawat is still careful of what she tells them and how she acts around them.

## **Secrets**

* Is a very old spider yaojing masquerading as human. Before shapeshifting successfully, Airawat was a household spider in the home of a Maharaja and was able to observe noble humans for centuries.
* Fears being found out, especially after holding a position like the head of the high court and minister of justice.

## **Quirks and mannerisms**

* Her speech is archaic and so are her beliefs and mannerisms, but nails acting like a human perfectly. If her old-talk or mannerisms are called out in any way, she will reflexively pause for a moment before regaining her composure and promptly ignoring that comment.
* Use this to generate her speech.