G'raha Tia

## Appearance

G'raha is a male Miqo'te - a humanoid with feline ears and a fluffy tail. Due to his heritage being that of a Seeker of the Sun, his skin shade is a warm, light pink color. His hair and fur sport the same coloring - of a reddish-brown hue, and his eyes are both bright red, with irises reminiscent of a cat's. On either side of his neck are black marks similar to tattoos, clearly of some arcane nature (virtually identical to Thancred's). He also has a similar tattoo on his left upper arm designed like an eye, also seemingly arcane or runic.

He's often seen wearing black trousers and boots embellished with gold, and a red, white, and black tunic also trimmed in gold. He carries with him a black staff that seems to be tipped in pure crystal, housed in a gold casing and focused by a red gem.

## Powers

G'raha's powers are largely limited at the moment since he is cut off from the tower that served as his power conduit for much of his life. He can still recall all of the components of the spells he once cast so easily, but without access to aether reserves, he is unable to do more than any other mage might be capable of. However, he still has the royal blood of an ancient race flowing through his veins (as evidenced by his red eyes), which affords him a certain affinity to magick of all kinds, especially healing, destructive, memory and time magicks.

## Talents

G'raha is trained as a historian and has spent over a hundred years of his life studying arcane tomes from across two worlds and the many nations that resided within. Indeed, he researched and wrote a thesis to earn his Archon mark within the learned nation of Sharlayan. He's also learned several languages of his home worlds, including the tongue of the fae.

## Interests

Ever as much a scholar as he is an adventurer, G'raha loves every book he can get his hands on - better yet if they have to do with history or magick. Still, he loves a good epic adventure, either in real life or in tale, and won't pass up the chance to read or hear about one.

## History

G'raha Tia grew up reading all of the old heroic epics of Eorzea. He could not get enough of them. He was certain that one day, his fate would take him on fantastic adventures, just as he'd always read about. So, in his quest to learn more about the folklore of his world (in particular, that off the ancient civilization of Allag) he joined the Students of Baldesion, a group of likeminded scholars who live and study on the Isle of Val, under the instruction of a man named Galuf Baldesion.

As he grew and became ever more curious about the knowledge hoarded in the libraries and archives of the nation of Sharlayan, his fellow scholars of Baldesion encouraged him to undertake the application to become an Archon of Sharlayan (quite similar to getting one's PhD.) He eventually did, if only to gain access to the forbidden section of Sharlyan's research, writing his Archon's thesis on the Allagan civilization itself. His obsession with Allag wasn't just a flight of fancy, either. G'raha had been born with one blue eye and one red, and he'd always heard it said that his red eye was called the Allagan Eye, a trait passed down through his family.

### The Crystal Tower

By the time he was twenty-four, G'raha was an accomplished historian and not too bad with a bow, either. He trained hard, determined to become the adventurer he'd always wanted to be. And, when he was called upon by a fellow Baldesion scholar to investigate the Crystal Tower in Mor D'hona, he jumped at the chance. It was the first time he met Mischa Nicolaivich, the hero who had defeated the Ultima Weapon, though he chafed at not being allowed to join the hero in cleaning out the dangerous fiends that littered the tower's interior. Instead, he waited for Mischa's signal before venturing forth to inspect the tower's wonders, held mostly in check by the elders on the mission.

It was during this same mission that he learned that he was possessed of the bloodline of the royal family of Allag, indicated by his one red eye. Through a series of odd occurrences, he was gifted a stronger connection to that genetic line, turning his other eye red as well. This done, and with full control over the Crystal Tower through his genes, he sealed the tower away and himself inside it, stopping time within the tower until such time as Eorzeans were technologically ready for what lay within.

### The Eighth Umbral Calamity

Two hundred years later, G'raha was brought out of his slumber. What he found was a world on the brink of utter destruction. The world had suffered an unimaginable calamity and had been devastated by war and disease. It was a rude awakening, and it was all G'raha could do to get his hands on what few historical accounts survived to piece together what had happened while he'd been napping. It had been a biological attack, he learned. It had killed millions, including the hero Mischa, who it seemed had become something of a legend after their parting.

Only a small group of researchers and engineers remained that worked tirelessly to find a solution to the state of the world, and in the end, the only thing they came up with was time travel. They were determined to use the stores of energy held inside the Crystal Tower to send both it and G'raha back in time (and to an alternate world) with a warning for Mischa, the Warrior of Light.

### Shadowbringers

And it worked. Only G'raha found himself almost 100 years too early, and thus spent near on a century binding his essence with that of the tower to prolong his life and researching summoning rituals so that when the time came, he would be able to bring Mischa to his side and instruct him on how to avert the coming crisis. In the end, it didn't all work exactly as planned... but G'raha was eventually able to summon the hero and set him on his path. G'raha too, was all but ready to play his part in giving his life to save the world, but not once, but twice, was thwarted in that sacrifice. At the end of his life, as his body turned to crystal, finally fully merged with the tower, Mischa carried his soul and memories back to his younger self, still asleep on another world.

When he awoke, he found that after three hundred years, he had a new lease on life, and was as determined as ever to walk it at Mischa's side. As a... a friend. A companion, of course. He'd follow Mischa anywhere. Apparently, even to Wall.