Of The Golden Hour

About Cliona

Age: 30 as of Shadowbringers
Nameday:15th Sun of the 4th Umbral Moon (August 15th)
Race/Clan: Hellsguard Roegadyn + Hyur Highlander
Sexuality: Lesbian
Jobs: Dark Knight, Dragoon, Dancer
Likes: Dogs, Gardening, Working with her hands, Dancing, Gambling
Dislikes: Grasshoppers
Family: Beathan (Father), Alastriona (Mother), Keign (Brother), Rielle de Caulignont (Adopted Daughter)

Personality: Cliona is a complicated woman at best and an insufferable bastard at worst. Her morals are a bit looser than most, but she holds fast to what she values: family - blood or bond - and duty.She is charismatic, calculating, intelligent, driven, and appears reckless to the untrained eye. She primarily operates through obfuscation and misdirection; as one of Thancred's many intelligence contacts and a proper spy in her own right, she's more than comfortable lying and cheating to get what she needs.Despite this, she's surprisingly earnest - she plays her cards carefully and often has nothing to hide. And what she chooses to hide, she does through omission.She enjoys getting a rise out of people - especially friends, and even moreso if they're an easy target. She's more than aware that she's not well-liked and doesn't have any intention of changing public opinion. She is what she is, and that's everyone else's problem.Her abrasive, prodding, purposely irritating persona is one of many - though no less intrinsic - aspects of her core personality. Deep down (like, way deep) she's caring, kind, and gentle, though she shows it in the least-intrusive way possible. It's incredibly rare for her to get angry or insulted - after all, she knows herself best, and she's heard most of it before.In short:

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Backstory

Born in Gyr Abania early into the Mad King Theodoric's reign to a member of the Ala Mhigan resistance and an Ul'dahn merchant, Cliona's lived her life with turbulence. Much to her thaumaturge mother's disappointent, Cliona's aptitude for the arcane was practically nonexistant, and as such she stayed in Gyr Abania with her father instead of travelling to Ul'dah. Her brother, Keign, would share what lessons he received from Alastriona with her during his visits back home.After Theodoric's death and during the subsequent Garlean coup, Beathan scooped up Cliona (Age 9), her brother, Keign (Age 15), and fled to Gridania.They settled on a farmstead near the Gyr Abanian border, and Cliona spent much of her youth learning various martial styles from her father (such as Ala Mhigan pikemanship, swordsmanship, etc.) or learning the family business from her mother in Ul'dah.As the Finn family grew in influence between the two city-states - from notoriety in Ul'dah and as a community pillar in Gridania - Keign became increasingly distant. He left a letter under Cliona's door and defected to join the Garleans.
Since that day, she's been dedicated to finding him.The scandal of Keign becoming a turncoat was kept closely under wraps, and Alastriona refused to mention him outside of the comfort of the Gridanian farmstead. In light of this, Alastriona shifted her focus - when she became of age, Cliona entered society in order to secure long-term security for the family via political marriage. Cliona hated everything about it except for the dancing and food. In hindsight, she feels hard-pressed to deny how well it prepared her for her current occupation.As she focused on the hunt for her brother, she eventually met Thancred while infiltrating a Garlean facility and they very nearly killed each other. Once they reached an understanding, they agreed to share information about Garlean movements with each other, and thus Cliona became involved with the Scions.After years of searching, she finally encountered Keign at a ceruleum manufactory and attempted to persuade him to return home. Keign escalated the exchange, and in the fight that followed he threw her into a ceruleum tank that ignited in the crossfire. And that was it - the man she knew as her brother didn't exist anymore, and in his place stood someone unforgivable.She now has deep, sprawling ceruleum burn scars across her back that flare up on occasion. While her aptitude for the arcane was weak beforehand, the ceruleum burned into her skin completely hampers any ability to channel aether aside from minor attunements.She spent much of her recovery at the farmstead, biding her time and throwing herself into research to keep her mind sharp. From then on, she decided that she would find him again. And, if need be, kill him. She wears a bright red scarf - a gift from Keign when they were younger - that covers the scars that reach up the back of her neck.At the start of ARR, she is a Lancer (though she never participated in the Lancer's Guild, since her father taught her in the Ala Mhigan style). She becomes a Dark Knight in Heavensward and later adopts Rielle.
Cliona is NOT the Warrior of Light, but travels alongside Joseline Gauvainault (WoL) and several others. She has the echo, but just enough to prevent tempering.

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Relationships

The Scions:
- Is an informant for Thancred and becomes the temporary spymaster during ShB and his absence. They are not friends, but they have a decent working relationship.
- She and Tataru get along like a house on fire; too well and too quickly for anyone's comfort.
- She also gets along swell with Krile.
- Urianger and Alphinaud remind her of her brother, but in a good way. She has a tense relationship with Urianger, but does care for him.
- Y'shtola initially didn't care for her, but they have a mutual respect for each other.
- Alisaie has mixed feelings about her, but they get along.
- After Stormblood, she and Lyse become close friends.
Ishgardians:
- Had a brief almost-relationship with Ysayle.
- She doesn't particularly care for Aymeric, but considers him harmless. Too good-natured for his own health.
- She does NOT like Estinien and actively chooses to make his life hell.
- Gets along well with Hilda, but they aren't close.
- Lucia cannot stand her.
- Is close with House Fortemps, saw Haurchefant as family. She's glad to see Emmanellain coming into his own, even if she thinks he needs a good swirlie. She and Artoirel exchange letters about business ventures often.
Stormblood NPCS:
- Yugiri cannot stand her, begrudgingly accepts that she's a good spy. Cliona is ambivalent towards her, but thinks it's fun to irritate her.
- Does NOT like Hien. Actively challenges him, not to help him improve, but because she doesn't respect him.
- Has a complex relationship with Gosetsu due to their shared connection with Yotsuyu, and the fact that he reminds her of Cliona's dad. It's largely positive, if a bit awkward.
- She and Sadu shouldn't be allowed in the same room.
Yotsuyu: It's complicated. What started off as mild curiosity and information-gathering on Cliona's part shifted as she spent more time studying Yotsuyu pre-Doma Castle, and became increasingly painful and complex during the patches. Cliona saw Yotsuyu as someone who was failed by the system, someone who was too far gone to recover. They have a lot of similarities in that they accept who they are and what they've become to reach their goals. Where Yotsuyu gives in to it, Cliona takes her hand and says "But we can be more than this."
Cliona knows how it will end, of course. Some people are backed in to their fates. But it doesn't stop her from pushing Yotsuyu in hopes that she improves.
And to Yotsuyu, even as she becomes Tsukuyomi and falls, Cliona will always have been a possibility. A chance for a brighter tomorrow.
Cliona wouldn't call what they had "love", but in another life, if they'd had more time, then maybe. It could've been different.
Shadowbringers NPCs:
[WIP - Timeline dependent]
Job Quest NPCS:
- She has a contentious relationship with Fray. She understands his purpose and allows him to stay, but she refuses to let anyone be in control other than herself. She knows herself too well, but he still needles at her weaknesses in order to help her improve. He's a backseat driver in the worst way. He knows he can't stop her from what she intends to do. They're friends.
- Sidurgu becomes a brother-like figure to her, and they become close friends. He's incredibly easy to get a rise out of, and she enjoys annoying him.
- She adopts Rielle at the end of the 50-60 quests, as they become very close. She purposely keeps her personal life out of her work and Scion business, and just wants Rielle to have a relatively normal childhood.