Ruby

Details

Full Name	Ruby
Aliases	"Lady Scarlet", "Lady Quill"
Title	Wandering Scribe Curio Investigator
Occupation	Scribe Curator, Investigator
Affiliation	Great Library (Scribe)
Age	Yes
Height	163cm
Weight	59kg
Likes	Books, mysteries, dusting bookshelves with wind magic, sweet pastries
Dislikes	Loud noises, unkempt places, Nuloa's "Scribe's Brew" (coffee)
Featured In	Archivist's Curse Scarlet Record

A bright but rather timid and ‘by the book’ librarian with a penchant for the thrill of solving mysteries.

The Lady Scarlet herself, age unknown. She is a knowledgeable character thanks to her occupation as a librarian; however, she is pretty much unremarkable in other fields. Once a mere background character, she now rises and takes the challenge of being the main character in her own adventure.

Introduction

Ruby is a Great Library Scribe who was recently appointed to the position of Scarlet Corner Curator. Though her background is ambiguous at best, she has a significant amount of experience and time with the Library.

An observer of various Library events, from the infamous Mad Queen Invasion to the return of Pawnsmoor Hall. Things changed when she met a fabled owl creature who gifted her a coveted relic, capable of controlling the wind and golden dust in her vicinity.

Led with her newfound talent and confidence, she began seeking more active work. When the Archivists requested assistance with artifact retrieval from Pawnsmoor Hall, she volunteered for the task—unknowingly, into her first adventure.

Background

Origin

Little is known about Ruby’s past beyond her involvement with the Great Library in its early days, which happened circa the 4th millennium BE. When she was first mentioned in the Great Library’s journal log, she had already been a Scribe assigned to the west wing section where she was tasked to manage collections of recovered records from Numidium.

While her involvement in the Great Library has been recorded for at least 5000 years, there are almost no notable mentions or explicit references to her until a series of events that led to Pars Mythos Revolt at the end of the 1st millennium AE.

Involvement in Mad Queen Incident

Mad Queen Incident is one of the major events that severely threatened the Great Library’s existence. Led by Agatha Loux of Highvale Culture (a.k.a. Mad Queen), an army of Ancientkin went into a campaign from their homeworld in order to claim the Great Library as their prize. Their campaign was not without difficulty, as The Rift itself was proven challenging even for the formidable ancient race.

After the campaign came to an abrupt end and Grand Archivists erased Ancientkin from existence, Ruby was assigned to the last Ancientkin that Grand Archivists spared, acting as a handler for the man who would become the longest-serving Wandering Scribe to date.

Involvement in Pars Mythos Revolt

In the early years of what would become the Pars Mythos Revolt, Ruby had been assigned to manage Scarlet Corner, a small section within the Great Library that she would become more well-known about. Ruby had started her work on updating Numidium records during this time, using information from her patrons and Wandering Scribes who were available at the time.

When Pars Mythos initiated their coordinated attacks towards the Great Library, Scarlet Corner was chosen as one of their attack targets. They summoned a Lurker inside the room, hoping that it would decimate everything within the location. Ruby was almost succumbed to it but was rescued by a group of wanderers from the forbidden world. As a gesture of thanks, she offered Scarlet Corner as a base of operation for the group as they were heading to the Forbidden Chamber–the deepest chamber within the Library–in order to find the source of chaos that affected both the Great Library and their home world.

In the aftermath of the revolt, Ruby suggested Numidium–the place she has studied for years–as a prison for the Terra Sisters, Pars Mythos’ penultimate creation.

Pawnsmoor Hall Incident (Archivist’s Curse)

Ten years after Pars Mythos Revolt, Ruby stumbled upon and was trapped inside a mysterious chamber that would later be identified as Pawnsmoor Hall, one of Pars Mythos’s bases of operation within the Great Library. Moments later, an unknown Library patron was also trapped inside the chamber. Ruby then proposed a plan to the patron in order to outsmart the “Chessmaster” and get out of the chamber.

The “Chessmaster”, who later identified as a revenant of Pars Mythos’ leader, vanished from the scene as Ruby and the patron outplayed him in his twisted game of chess. Pawnsmoor Hall was then permanently resurfaced, leading to Grand Archivist’s plan to retrieve relics and records that were once deemed lost to Pars Mythos from within the chamber.

The Beginning of Scarlet Record

In her long career as the Great Library’s stewardess, Ruby had no experience outside her assigned jobs. After the Pawnsmoor Hall incident, however, something sparked an idea in Ruby’s mind to take a pivotal turn and become a Wandering Scribe. However, in order to become a Wandering Scribe, a means of self-defense was required, as the outer world could be very dangerous, especially for a delicate lady like her.

One fateful night, she was walking down the Library’s deep alleyway and stumbled upon a strange yet majestic entity. Identified within the Great Library’s record as “Hororo the Unfettered”, the entity bestowed Ruby a portion of its power as she showed her resolve to not be a liability to her peers. The power manifested in the form of a vibrant quill pen capable of drawing ink from ether and generating golden dust, which Ruby could use to command forth a gust of wind at her whim.

Three cycles later, Archivists issued an assignment for her: collect relics from Pawnsmoor Hall. While she performed well in the assignment of recovering four particular relics–a compass that points to nowhere, a blue lantern, a four-dimensional astrolabe, and a tesseract formed out of primordial ether–she returned from the hall missing one of the relics, a very important one which may cause mayhem if it falls into the wrong hands. Knowing the importance of the relic, Master Librarian (one of the Archivists) personally assigned her to track down the lost relic and retrieve it by any means necessary.

Characteristics

Ruby is often described as a prim, proper lady with upstanding mannerisms. She often comes across as a cool-headed, reasonable person and would assess her surroundings before making a move, making her a good decision-maker as long as she’s not being pushed too hard.

Her outward appearance contrasts with her rather reclusive nature, however. Thousands of years of living in a very limited space, offering service to her patrons, affected her view towards the outer world. It also conditioned her to adjust herself to others’ customs and habits, which often resulted in her being a little bit timid in front of certain people.

It is rare to see Ruby being upset or even showing her anger toward someone or something. Most of the time, she would pause for a while and make a rather calm response towards something that irks her. While commendable, her sheer composure sure does have a limit–something that’s better to keep that way for the sake of the people around her.

Ruby has a strong maternal instinct despite never settling into a family or having a child in her lifetime. This side of her became more apparent after Beryl comes into her life–she would do anything to keep Beryl away from hazards.

Capabilities

Acting as the handler, Ruby is capable of taking resources and information in order to reach her goals. While the relic in her hand is powerful, her connections within the Great Library are actually her greatest asset.

As a custodian of Library collections, Ruby is accustomed to the whimsical nature of the Great Library and its vast (and sometimes anomalous) collections. For at least one millennium, Ruby has taken care of Scarlet Corner herself, maintaining the condition and properties of collections she’s assigned to with utmost brilliance.

Initially a non-combatant, Ruby had no experience in dealing with threats directly until she obtained “Penna Aurea”, the quill pen bestowed upon her by Hororo the Unfettered.

Equipment

Penna Aurea (Quill): A quill with a vibrant red and blue plume and a golden nib. Manifested from a portion of the Library’s revered creature’s power, the quill pen becomes an extension of Ruby’s newfound powers. With it, she’s able to command the power of wind in various ways, including but not limited to boosting her dexterity, removing curses and ailments, and decimating her foes with a series of golden arrows and vortexes of golden wind.
Outside combat, the quill pen is used to extract ink from the ether or fallen enemies, which Ruby can use for various purposes, such as duplicating artifacts with exact properties and analyzing entities it makes contact with.
Scarlet Journal (Book): Essentially, it’s Ruby’s leather-bound journal book with a red book cover matching Ruby’s fiery red hair. Paired with Penna Aurea, the journal works as a catalyst for Ruby’s actions, allowing golden dust and ether ink to flow from and to it.
The journal contains discoveries, curiosities, and information Ruby has gathered over time.
Blue Lantern (Trinket): A small lantern that contains a flickering blue flame. It is said that the flame originated from the first torch lit beneath the Lux Primus tower and has never been snuffed out ever since. Its shimmering light reveals secret paths and rooms within the Great Library, most of which hide in plain sight.
Pericyclene (Trinket): A small metal rod encased in an oversized locket. The metal rod possesses an anomalous quality that allows it to hover inside the locket and seems attracted to the ether flow. One of its ends tends to point towards places where ether flow congregates, such as intersections and communal sites.
Ald Mekansm (Trinket): A trinket resembling a stopwatch that tells nothing about time, capable of “capturing” the moments within its vicinity by a level pull.
While Ruby doesn’t possess this trinket herself, she can use it via Luna, the legitimate owner of such an odd gizmo.

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