Hikaru Inoshi

Adviser

Female

142

5'6"

180 pounds

Kitsune

March 27th, 1318

Hikaru was born to the rough seas and raised on a ship. The ocean was all she ever knew, and the thing she loved more than anything else in her life. She was taught to swim almost before she could walk, to read the winds and weather patterns, to sail and do all the duties around a ship from the lowest hands to the captain. And, most importantly, she was taught to respect the open waters. To always say her prayers before sailing, keep the ship's altar to the sea deities, and never forget that even then the ocean is a cruel mistress and death still lurks around every corner.

Sadly before she saw her teens Hikaru's mother was dead, and she had never known her father. But being raised by a sailor had done her good, though, because she was able to continue finding work on various ships. Hikaru liked to travel, though, so she never remained tied to a single ship and instead would venture with one to a port, finish her job and get paid before finding another ship headed somewhere else and jump in with them. She never kept much because she could only take what she could carry and the less the better so it couldn't be stolen, the only trinket of any value being a necklace her mother had given to her before she passed.

As she grew Hikaru also learned to disguise herself. Her natural kitsune form was fine for the ship and many sailors even considered her good luck, for though the species as a whole were widely considered to be tricksters when it came to ships they were loyal and knew better than do anything more than harmless pranks in such a dangerous environment. This rang especially true for a kitsune raised on the seas as Hikaru was, so while the crew respected her she learned quickly the folk of any towns they stopped in really did not. Her natural talent to shift herself into human form came in handy then, so the people wouldn't think the ship or her crew bad luck and such. Not that she minded, however, because looking human granted her the ability to simply blend in where she obviously stood out, something she was always reminded of on every ship she sailed because sea-faring kitsune were so rare.

In time Hikaru faced what she thought would be her own death. The ship she sailed with was hit by a storm and while trying to sail through it was also struck by lightning. As oil lanterns spilled their contents on the rough waters those that weren't killed by the strike or the splinters were thrown into the water as the oil caught fire and the ship burned. Hikaru was wounded and could do nothing but cling to a large piece of driftwood, watching and listening as her fellow sailors died around her until she passed out.

Death, however, would not claim her that day. She washed up on a nearby shore and was soon come upon by some fishermen who did not see her fox-like form as a curse. Instead she was seen as a good omen, and the people took her back to their village and cared for her until she woke. Hikaru told the villagers of her ship and its fate, and they helped her get word back to the port they had come from so that it would no longer be a mystery and anyone who needed to be contacted about the fate of the sailors could have some closure.

In order to help repay the people for saving her Hikaru stayed in the village as she recovered. She had issues walking due to the injuries, and what she thought were issues with her sight until she realized that the creature lurking in the shadows was no hallucination. That was no comfort to her, though, as the thing appeared to be a human with slimy, blue scaled skin like a fish and webbed fingers, a grin full of sharp teeth and fins where the ears should be. A reminder of the depths that had almost claimed her, and from time to time under that translucent skin light flashed as a reminder of the lightning strike that had sunk the ship. It was nothing except everything she hated, everything she tried to forget.

Thankfully even the fishermen knew of someone who could help - a woman named Diana up in the Defier Islands. She was somewhat of an expert in magical manifestations and teaching those with them how to manage said manifestations so they could live somewhat normally. Hikaru traveled there, seeking help from the tiefling woman, and was granted an audience and an offer of help from Diana who explained that what Hikaru was going through was unusual but not unheard of. Her manifestation was called a phantasm, borne of her trauma from nearly dying at sea; the creature was simply everything Hikaru feared rolled into a singular being. Only Hikaru and others who shared similar creatures would be able to see it unless it wanted to be seen, and the woman spent time teaching Hikaru to control it. While the creature had some manner of free will in the end it would always submit to her and do was she commanded, which was at least to some degree a relief.

Hikaru eventually named her Cordelia, the memory creature known as a phantasm becoming her friend as time passed. Two years went by in a blink as Hikaru continued down her long recovery path, but eventually she was back to functioning health. As much as she now feared the ocean and sailing, especially with Cordelia being a constant reminder of how close to death Hikaru had been, Hikaru did not want to stop sailing. But that proved too much to ask of herself, so she landed in Myrin and offered her services to a noble family there, hoping that her experience with the precarious political situations on ships could help in other aspects as well. The family agreed, and Hikaru has been serving with them ever since as a sort of day-to-day manager for the household but also useful in obtaining information - while Cordelia can't go far from her it's enough that Hikaru can step outside a room and leave a completely unseen watcher behind to see how certain individuals behave when they think no one is listening which makes her very useful indeed.

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