Skye Rose

*"It's either my way or no way, so stay out of it."*

*"I guess I'll take you up on being your 'protagonist.' Why not?" - Skye to Queen Kendra, circa 2018*

*"Catch ya later, Your Bitchesty." - Skye's final words to Kendra before bailing on her during the rebellion.*

**Skye Rose** is a young adult Salvager Mage, the last of her race of mages, tasked with saving all kinds of land, air, and sea vehicles from Parasites and other forms of nightmare energy in ways the Etheridge Collective hadn't been able to before. Her skill in battle has led to a safer continent, as vehicular Parasites have been known to grow into worse forms of nightmare energies.

## Backstory

### Thief

Skye grew up in a junkyard with her family, and alongside her brother, Orion, they made money and stirred the pot during their teenage years stealing from local celebrities and politicians, and for five years, nobody knew who was behind the thefts. This was until a politician with better security than Skye and Orion could've imagined caught them, and as punishment, gunned down Skye's younger brother. With her collection of riches returned to their owners, being disowned by her family, having her only family in that situation being killed, along with being sent to prison to serve life, she had nothing.

### Life Imitates Art

One day, she was bailed out by an unknown party and subsequently sent a job request. Considering that her criminal record would make it impossible to get a job quickly and her family had already disowned her, she took the job. It turned out to be a job request from none other than Etheridge's ruler, who heard of the debacle and absolutely hated the politician that Skye was stealing from since the two of them had a personal beef for years. In exchange for being Her protagonist in a book she was writing, Skye would be given food and a place to live in the castle all for free. Skye signed a contract and began her work.

Little did Skye realize that Queen Kendra had the power to decree anything, so overtime, Skye's physical appearance and personality was slowly being warped to fit what She wanted - a hero who was kind and sugary sweet, who put love before money and is a hopeless romantic - a caricature of Skye that looked like the most perfect version of Her Majesty. Thankfully, Makibishi whipped up a potion with anti-magic properties months before the Etheridgeon Rebels could get their feet wet in battle, just in case Skye "thought enough was enough." During the siege, Skye drank it and reversed all of the decreeing magic, and therefore made her immune to all future attempts to use it against her.

According to a few guards, Skye's last conversation with Her Majesty involved her dropping out of the throne room's window, flipping the bird, and saying that she'll see her around. All with a pillowcase full of valuables slung on her shoulder.

### Disaster Scavenger

The collapse of Kendra's castle left behind ruins full of untold history, such as the abuse of Cabinet members, corruption, and an insight into diary entries that let the world know of her true colors hidden under a charismatic mask. While scholars were studying the site, they couldn't find as many expensive items as they hoped to, leading to confusion among researchers as royalty was usually very affluent.

This was thanks to Skye, who slipped through the ruins every night scrounging for the most expensive things she could find. Whilst she was scrounging, she was caught by none other than Kodachi Tsurugi. While Skye wanted nothing to do with being part of another collective, Kodachi offered her a place to stay for a while until she got her bearings, not seeming to mind that Skye was stealing from a historical site and profiting off of selling her treasures on the black market.

### Life in the Etheridge Collective

Skye is a trusted friend and one of ten hosts. She's an older sister to other protectors who project a cold personality, and finds those who are overly silly (and small) to be a unique mix of annoying and endearing. She's also a mentor on the battlefield and has taught the children how to use a sword. Today, she writes her own version of the story Queen Kendra wanted to write in order to reclaim her history.

## Personality

Skye doesn't screw around. When she's serious about something, she'll pull out all the stops to accomplish that goal. She has a reputation for being one of the more serious members of the Etheridge Collective, but has been caught cutting loose every now and again with those who are younger, shorter, or more vulnerable than herself. That being said, she has a remarkable ability to distinguish the different "vibes" people give off, which was useful in her past when she was a thief who stole from celebrities and politicians during her teenage years. This kind of ability is rendered useless in crowded environments and in places where she has to talk to a lot of people for an extended period, since others' energies can become indistinguishable - this is more of an ability that comes from her high intuition, rather than a supernatural capability to pick up the intentions of others.

That being said, Skye is an introvert who'd be more likely to be found reading a book in her room than to be found at a boisterous party, which isn't helped by her capability to face sensory overload. While Skye has more endurance in that department than most of the other members, she has little restraint when it comes to those who push her right over the edge, which is hard to do if she's in a bad environment to begin with, but easy if she's reading in a room next to a louder room. This might be because she has to prepare herself before knowingly going into situations that require her social battery. Afterward, she tends to hide from the world for a day or two as she recovers.

Skye is also studious, whether she's doing homework for college, researching magic to further her Salvager mage training, or picking up an instructional guide for something mundane. Her studious nature is influenced by her love of money - if education was a gateway to more money, she would take that opportunity. She also functions as a pseudo-accountant for her friends in the Etheridge Collective as she knows how to diversify paychecks when nobody else knows what to do with them.

Although Skye can make a cold first impression, she cherishes her each of her friends and would lay down her life to protect them. She also clicks well with others who have a less than stellar past in terms of having a negative reputation due to their actions, real and perceived by others. This has made her a close friend of Zeph and Wren, both of whom are referred to as her "Skrunklies" meaning that she finds them adorable.

## Relationships

### Queen Kendra

*"Maybe if you didn't shit on your system, you'd be in a better place."*

While Skye's got a snarky attitude at times, and an uncaring outlook in general, Kendra crossed a lot of boundaries working with the Salvager Mage. Skye's history was often derailed and her personality was slowly molded overtime to something more of a traditional hero's or to that of a sweet girl to fit Kendra's vision. Skye is also still recollecting her true history and true memories after the decrement magic warped her mind, which has left the mage wishing that she was the one who dealt the final blow. When Skye realized that Queen Kendra was only writing to bend to the likes of her suitor by giving her a boyfriend in the narrative and forcing her to fall in love, she broke out of her shackles with Makibishi's help, stole some of Her valuables, and left.

### Kodachi Tsurugi

*"She's not perfect, but she does her best to make life better every day. I'm impressed, and she's a good friend."*

Skye and Kodachi have a respectful relationship, even if Skye is driven insane by Kodachi's wild energy at times and her tendency to back out of things at the last minute, and her high distractibility has been a point of conflict when it clashes with Skye's more focused nature. At the end of the day, the Salvager Mage realizes that she's doing the best with what she has, even if she knows the drifter can do better and wants her to know that she can. She considers Kodachi's habits a byproduct of her anxiety and difficulties in regulating her attention, and finds it amusing when she has to keep relearning the same lesson over and over; sometimes you have to see your potential to know it's there, and use it.

Otherwise, she respects Kodachi's leadership style. She's fairly tires-off and won't intervene with many things unless they're dire, and in contrast to the above, she takes her role as a leader seriously and has seen the more protective side of her when it comes to her friends. Skye and Kodachi also work together to bring the mage's true history to light, whether that's helping out with her story or giving her the space and resources needed for her to discover her past.

### Makibishi Tsurugi

*"When people think of witches, they think of the evil kind. I think of witches, and I think of Makibishi."*

Skye and Makibishi have a respectful relationship. Although Skye thinks Makibishi is too high-energy and too high strung for comfort, a small part of her adores the positive energy she gives off. When the two of them first met, Skye found her to be distracting when it came to her work with Ledger, as she and Kodachi would prank the two of them when they were even just a little bit serious. While this drove a wedge early on, Skye came around when she realized that Makibishi wasn't just into the witchcraft aesthetic, but she made a potion to cure her and the others of the effects of Kendra's decrement magic.

In the Etheridge Collective, the two of them have a mutual respect despite Makibishi's mischief making, and is always down for an adventure or two. Makibishi's skills as a seamstress is also something Skye admires, and has acknowledged that when it came to concepts, she and her sister make a great team. Skye views herself as a guinea pig of sorts for Makibishi's ideas, which is a small point of conflict (but she's fairly compensated for her time which is fine).

### Chokuto Tsurugi

*"Chokuto's all right."*

Skye and Chokuto are amicable and pleasant with one another in their interactions, and he remains one of the only people who she doesn't try to be dominant with, as he's also just as responsible as her, even though he has his irresponsible moments. The two of them working together are an authoritative powerhouse that can bring everyone in line when the situation calls for it. Skye sees Chokuto as a good example of fatherhood, being a good older brother, being a good leader, and most importantly, the perfect person to cook garlic bread - her favorite food.

Chokuto's swordsmanship has also had an influence on her own battling, as at least one move incorporates his strategies, such as his signature sword-spin. The two of them see each other as siblings for the most part.

### Arashi Tsurugi

*"The kid's not even six yet, and she's a powerhouse." - Skye, 2023*

Skye has a soft spot for young children; Arashi is among them. Since she's also Chokuto's daughter, she's grateful that Arashi is a product of a mentor/brother who serves as a good example. Skye enjoys teaching Arashi about weaponry and melee battle styles despite her pupil's preference and heavy use of long range weapons, such as her bow and arrows. Despite this, Skye believes in broadening her horizons and often trains her with different forms of weaponry to get an idea of their weaknesses and strengths, so that she may use a wide array of techniques in the future if the situation arose. Outside of training, Skye finds Arashi to be a pleasant and warm addition to her life, like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

While Skye can be strict and sometimes unyielding, sometimes a little prying from Arashi will encourage her to bend the rules ever so slightly.

### Wren

*"Anybody who dare hurts my skrunkly may or may not see why we've abolished lethal self defense methods."*

Skye refers Wren as her "skrunkly," which is a term of endearment for eccentric, cryptic, or weird, and yet cute people or animals - and carries a positive connotation. Skye is very strict and sometimes unyielding, and if Arashi's encouragement isn't enough to get her to bend the rules, Wren's prying sure would. Skye, simply put, sees Wren as her little brother in spite of the things he had done in his past and his age (granted, he reverted to 18 once again after being reborn in Synaptum, otherwise he'd be implied to be in his mid-thirties). This inkling is the only one who can melt Skye's heart almost immediately, as she'll get hyper if she sees him during a time where he's at his "cutest" (like sleeping).

In all instances in which he's harmed, she will go berserk and remind her adversaries and her friends why exactly The Etheridge Collective had vowed to never deliberately snuff someone's life out even in self defense.

### Talia Annemieke

*"Talia is an encyclopedia of knowledge; just ask her anything about Graelenncia and she can tell you what she knows. It's kind of funny watching her reaction when it turns out history has been revised all because new knowledge has come to light, though."*

Skye sees Talia has a mentor, a teacher, and an encyclopedia in general that's obsessed with knowledge and sharing that knowledge, such as when she proposed to build a library in Shuugou-mura built from Synaptum's memory and history and had it built within a week. Skye frequents the library to find out her own history, to mixed results as the books change and the library grows internally with each passing month. As Skye puts it, "it's infinitely bigger on the inside, but looks like an innocent little house on the outside." The two of them spend time together reading and researching different topics whilst comparing notes. The salvager mage once commented that she wished she could've been there while the continent was getting destroyed, because she could've "ended the fight before it started."

### Ledger Quill

*"He would've reached even bigger heights if he wasn't held back by Her Bitchesty."*

Skye sees a lot of potential in Ledger, as she still consults his editing and narrative help with the story she's written, posthumously taking over for Kendra. She also delved into his past when he was big in writing philosophy during his time with an obscure community back in the 2010's, but the content seemed to be held back by his own age, but not as much as it was held back by his own lack of identity. During their time in the Cabinet together, Skye saw the worst of Ledger; haughty, condescending, full of himself, and overzealous. Even pointing out a minor typo in his work gained reactions that ranged from defensive anger to pure panic.

Today, she recognizes that those attributes came from the environment he was forced to be in, as perfectionism kept him from being punished. While Ledger's personality still has those attributes, she finds them more tolerable, which comes from a place of understanding and just being happy that the Etheridge Collective isn't actively molding him to become something else. That is to say, if he matured, that was on its own, to which he has. Somewhat.

### Zeph Tsurugi

*"How is she not related to me?"*

Skye sees Zeph as a younger sister due to their similarities in personality and past struggles. Zeph, like Skye, spends most of her time on the edge of the seat waiting for the "other shoe to drop" whether that applies to a relationship, financial matters, health matters, and just in general when life is going too well for too long. Despite their mutual pessimism, it's something they bond over - they have vowed to protect each other during the hard times, knowing that any lapse in judgement on either of their parts could mean the loss of opportunities and people being hurt (well, mentally at least. They both have poison tongues).

The two of them have also bonded over combat techniques and have been frequently found sparring for training and for fun. Skye jokingly calls Zeph her other skrunkly, to mixed reactions from the aforementioned avian.

## Abilities and Combat

* **Enhanced Agility -** Salvager Mages have enhanced agility. Skye is quick on her feet in both mind and body, and can jump ten feet high as well as run on walls for brief periods when in a pinch.
* **Magic Sword -** Skye wields her trusty Salvager Blade summoned by transforming it from her trusty socket wrench. Like all Salvager Mage weapons, they're chosen based on the user's favorite tool to use.
* **Sarcasm Mastery -** She's been through a lot and knows how to use it.
* **Lapidekinesis** - Like all Salvager Mages, Skye can use magic gemstones to access different powers, but only if Salvagers Companions (that is to say, they're officially recognized as part of her team) and allies have the abilities that correspond to the gem in question.
	+ A Tourmaline, for example, has terrakinetic abilities. If someone else on the team has those abilities, Skye can access a low level version of those powers. If nobody has those powers, then it's useless.

## Likes and Dislikes

### Likes

* Reading
* Writing
* Sparring
* Her friends
* Quiet places
* Garlic bread
* Cake
* Coffee
* Warm laundry that comes out of the dryer
* Stealing from wealthy, corrupt people

### Dislikes

* People screwing around when it interferes with her and the team's goals
* Disruptions (minor or major, mostly sound based)
* Loud and crowded places
* Being stolen from
* Being reminded about Orion unnecessarily
* Her friends being in any sort of danger, real or perceived
* Romance and other people coming up to her for, or using her for, romantic needs.
* Being involved in sexual matters in any point - she'll disappear the second it comes up in conversation.
* Corrupt politicians and people who want to control her.

## Trivia

* Skye identifies as asexual, which means having little to no sexual attraction toward anyone, and is repulsed by the idea of getting intimate beyond hugs.
	+ She also identifies as aromantic, which means having little to no romantic attraction toward anyone. She doesn't see the point of romance, but respects that it's highly valued in society.
	+ She wears a black ring on her right middle finger, signifying her self-chosen identity.