Cael Aoyama
"the memories of the past,
our hopes for tomorrow,
if that is who i must be, then..."
| age | 25 |
| height | 5'2" (158cm) |
| gender | girl (non-comittal) |
| orientation | aromantic asexual |
| main jobs | gnb, sge |
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key story points
Origins
Cael's parents were part of the Xaela Kha tribe, one of the few Xaela tribes to leave the steppe for the purposes of trade
They were caught outside of the homeland during the Garlean invasion of Othard and were thus forced to flee
Cael was born during her parents' sea voyage from the Far East to Eorzea
She grew up in the Silver Bazaar in Western Thanalan (just outside of Ul'Dah)
her family was warm and caring to her, but also quite poor due to their status as refugees
Young Cael had little formal education, but was taught mathematics by her merchant parents
Cael's adventure does not deviate from canon much during Heavensward or Stormblood, with the exception of sharing the Warrior of Light title with her partner, the Moon Keeper Miqo'te Ahra Rilgusa.
Child of Sky and Sea
In Shadowbringers, Cael and Ahra temporarily break up and complete parts of the story separately
Emet-Selch takes advantage of Cael's isolation to stalk and harass her
Feeding on the insecurity that she built up over the past two expansions, Cael comes very close to breaking mentally, but is eventually rescued by reconciling with Ahra
Cael is not as much at risk of light poisoning because Ahra takes on some of it, instead being more threatened by memories of the unsundered world and Azem's shadow
Endwalker proceeds mostly as canon for Cael, with her focus being primarily through learning to accept her place in Azem's legacy and what that means for her identity. Most significantly, Cael dies during the fight against the Endsinger at the journey's end, but she is revived by the combined efforts of Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus, and Azem.
New Horizons
After her death, Cael is placed on forced vacation leave from the Scions, leading her to travel to Tural with Estinien
She is mostly hands off during the Dawntrail main story quest until the initial journey into the time displaced bubble
She picks up VPR during this time as a chance to try something new, but ultimately decides that it doesn't suit her well
Now, Cael spends most of her time doing research as an honorary student of Sharlayan's Studium and working on her thesis on the history of the unsundered world
personality & trivia
Cael is ultimately a kind person, always going out of her way to help others even at her own expense, she has particular empathy for ordinary citizens or anyone harmed by the machinations of a higher authority
She is curious to a fault and loves learning new things, when something new catches her interest, she will throw herself into studying to the point of ignoring food, sleep, and communication
One of Cael's biggest struggles is her shyness and inability to communicate her feelings well, leading her to come off as cold or uncaring
At the beginning of her adventure, Cael rarely spoke unless it was absolutely necessary and rarely ever emoted, though this has changed as she continues to grow as a person
A notable quirk that Cael has is how fastidiously stingy she is, hating to waste money and being quick to reprimand anyone else for doing so
Cael is not good at lying
She also becomes easily flustered if someone tries flirting with her
She will become very excited if someone asks her about her research
Cael's will happily eat almost anything but her favorite food is extremely spicy mapo tofu
She is lactose intolerant
The surname Aoyama was adopted from the Hingan ship captain who smuggled Cael's parents out of Othard
The name "Cael" is derived from the Latin caelum meaning "heaven"
She is fluent in Eorzean Common, Hingan, and Steppe Auri and is currently studying the draconic tongue
Cael's favorite real world band would be Radiohead
If Cael existed in the real world, she would become an IRS agent
Cael would see a bug and just eat it
design details
hair color: black with subtle dark blue streaks
hair texture: fine, has a tendency towards untidiness which is not helped by Cael's general disregard for her appearance
hair style: primarily short and messy (I always compare it to Ramona Flowers from the Scott Pilgrim comics), post Dawntrail she allows it to grow out down to her shoulders
eye color: sky blue, initially a more natural light blue-ish color but became more vibrant after awakening to Azem's power, now also possesses the trait of having the color shift when her mood changes
complexion: Cael's skin is a medium grey with a slight blue tint, her scales are the standard Xaela dark blue
body type: tall for an Au Ra, short compared to everyone else, not heavily muscled but not completely dry spaghetti either, strength distribution similar to a gymnast or acrobat, has a longer than average tail
aesthetic choices: always wears glasses, never wears makeup, does not like flashy clothes, tends to dress plainly, could be described as "if business casual was a person"
heavensward
shadowbringers
endwalker
present
important relationships
| Ahra Rilgusa | another adventurer who first joined up with Cael when fleeing the Bloody Banquet, a flirtatious girl with a reckless side and a hidden darkness inside of her, she is a "new" soul with no ancient counterpart |
| Mnemosyne (click here!) | the former seat of Azem whose soul eventually reformed into Cael, manifests as a ghost after reviving Cael at the end of EW, an annoying older brother figure, Cael acts like she can't stand him but is thankful for his guidance |
| Emet-Selch | Cael's most hated person, his empire caused the war which dislocated her parents from their homes and later forced her into a life of heroism, repeatedly abused her physically and emotionally during ShB, she can never forgive him |
| Alphinaud Leveilleur | Cael always had a fondness for the boy which transformed into a kind of sibling instinct, she is very protective of him and in return he will offer to help Cael with her studies both in and out of the classroom |
| Estinien Varlineau | originally a person Cael hated but grew to bond with over the course of Heavensward due to their compatible personalities, rumors about a potential romantic relatioship between the two saturate Ishgard even after Cael and Ahra's relationship became public |
| Tataru Taru | Cael gets along swimmingly with the Scions' treasurer due to their shared financial acumen though Cael has not been allowed into Tataru and Krile's doujin circle because she doesn't know what NTR is |
| Maral and Oyuun Kha | Cael's parents have always been very supportive of her and her dreams, they tend toward high spirits and hot blood in the Xaela way which sometimes grates upon Cael but she loves them anyway, upon becoming a wealthy hero, Cael bought them a house in Hingashi |
Mnemosyne
the former seat of Azem
the child of two prominent Amaurotine scholars, born to be a physical embodiment of their own hubris
spent much of his early childhood alone, making him something of an attention whore
around adolescence, pursued a friendship with Hades and Hythlodaeus as part of status powergrab but ended up catching real feelings
lived a rakish and hedonistic young adulthood before pestering Venat into taking him on as an apprentice
grew to be more compassionate and sensible after that
generally pretty outgoing and energetic, very expressive when talking and he talks a lot
has a bad habit of "lmao XD"-ing his way out of confronting his feelings
believes "actions speak louder than words", and tries very hard to live up to a heroic image
long dark brown hair, vibrant blue eyes, medium warm complexion
oddly thin to the point of near grotesquerie, only about 5ft 7in or 172cm, legs are surprisingly strong from walking but anything else is a wash
doesn't care about his appearance in the slightest, usually somewhat disheveled