Faruzan

If you were to open any Kshahrewar textbook, you will find Faruzan's record penned proudly upon the author page.

"Faruzan, outstanding researcher of the Akademiya, winner of the Sumeru Puzzlers' League Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the seminal scholars of Ancient Mechanics."

But if you were to talk to Haravatat students about their choices, they frown as they speak of Faruzan's current state.

"Oh, you mean her... Well, her research is... obsolete, and there's no way it'll pass review, so you might as well find another mentor."

Such reviews, as disparate as heaven and earth, arouse one's curiosity as a matter of course.

And when asked by her juniors, Madam Faruzan often wears an inscrutable look.

"Hmm? You mean to ask what happened these past hundred years? And how things came to this pass? Ah, but this is a secret most great. Come closer, and I shall tell you. Yes, yes, closer..."

—And then she gives them a good conk on the head.

"First! That curiosity of yours is best served in your studies. And secondly! You shall remember to call me 'Madam'!"

For many researchers at the Akademiya, Faruzan, who has been one of their number since a century prior, has always been a legendary figure.

In her brief academic career, she was able to analyze over half the ruins within Sumeru's borders, thereby greatly lowering the difficulty of various further analyses into them and their machinery.

The manuscripts and theses she left behind have laid firm foundations for all researchers who would come after, lighting the way for the countless Kshahrewar researchers' pursuit of knowledge.

Her "end" would also add several layers of mystique to her legendary life, for she would disappear under mysterious circumstances while exploring some ruins, and would never be heard from again.

Each retelling of her tale would grow ever more mysterious with regard to her disappearance.

Some claim that she came into contact with King Deshret's ancient knowledge and was secretly imprisoned within the Temple of Silence.

Others said that her intellect that had been acknowledged by the gods, and that she had been brought up to the heavens to dwell with them.

After all, people generally believed that a legendary figure should have an equally legendary end.

Thus did the tale drift further and further from the truth.

"So I made a miscalculation while solving a puzzle, and got trapped in the ruins. What? Is there a rule that says that senior researchers aren't allowed to mess up?"

What may come as a surprise to many younger researchers is that though Faruzan has made great contributions to the study of mechanics, she is in fact a member of Haravatat, which specializes in the study of languages.

Simply put, her field of study is "the analysis of the structure of and solutions to various ruin devices via the study of stone carvings and other ancient texts."

A century ago, the Akademiya's studies into Ancient Mechanics were not yet mature. As such, Faruzan's ability to prejudge the operations of such machines was indeed of great benefit to the act of exploring ruins.

However, as the number of as-yet-unexplored ruins grew fewer and fewer, and the Kshahrewar's understanding of mechanics grew more advanced, this field of research would slowly lose the luster of yesteryear.

By the time Faruzan re-entered the Akademiya a century later, no student in Haravatat could even understand her essays, and the mentors could only look at each other in dismay at the topics she would submit for study.

On the other hand, there are many students in Kshahwerar who, having graduated on the back of manuscripts she had written and hearing of her present plight, have come to persuade her to join their Darshan instead, only to see little success in that matter.

A certain researcher even went a bridge too far in their persuasion, making such claims as "in the future, Kshahrewar will be the only Darshan that can do research into machines!" and "the era of interpreting ancient texts is over!" This person wound up being chastised by an irate Faruzan for as long as it would take to sit through two entire classes.

They say that that evening, this poor researcher would be nursing some alcohol in Lambad's Tavern, aghast and humbled in equal measure.

A friend of his from Haravatat spent the whole night consoling him, while plotting in his heart to debate this old fogey and show her what for.

Alas, Lambad's Tavern would have a new inconsolable drunk the very next day.

Apart from having her topics rejected during review, Faruzan's other major headache is finding a student after her own heart.

Each time she plans a lecture at Haravatat, the students in the audience either scratch their heads or struggle not to fall asleep as they are subjected to a veritable barrage of mechanics jargon.

In a fury, Faruzan will hurl her pointer and begin lambasting her old colleagues in Haravatat for failing in their duties as teachers and training such a generation of juniors.

Her fury only grows when she realizes that the students pay more attention to her criticisms of folk from the previous century than her explanations of the principles of mechanics.

And when students who have a mind to study mechanics hear that Madam Faruzan would like them to join her, they often express gratitude initially, only to waffle and claim that they must reconsider when they realize, conflict clear on their faces, that it is Haravatat to which they must go.

Of course, Faruzan never hears these "considerations" — the next time they meet, that student will have already joined Kshahrewar.

But there was once, when Faruzan had accepted Tighnari's invitation to investigate some rainforest ruins, when she happened upon the humblest of prayers as she walked: "Oh, great Dendro Archon, please help me learn words faster!"

Those words were spoken sadly yet earnestly, and even Faruzan was moved: To think that Sumeru still played host to people with such a passion for the written word!

That voice did not seem to belong to a child who had yet to read or write, nor did it sound like a researcher of Satyavada Life. And yet this must have been a person of some skill, for normal folk would not be able to delve this deep into the forest alone. Perhaps this person might even have some experience in dealing with machines in the forest.

Following a brief moment of consideration, Faruzan concluded that this was a student of suitable age, fitting direction, and excellent quality — someone worth taking on as a disciple for sure. So decided, she revealed her presence from behind a tree.

Having thought that there was no one about, Collei squeaked in surprise, the sound echoing through the woods.

Tighnari was quick to the rescue, however, and following a stammering explanation from Collei (supplemented with interjections from Tighnari), this most major of misunderstandings was cleared up.

With time, Faruzan would reacquaint herself with this young trainee Forest Ranger and get to know her better, even bringing her delicious food every time she visits Gandharva Ville.

However, Collei has realized, to her consternation, that the resolution of the misunderstanding has only made Madam Faruzan... more eager to take her on as a student.

Surely there must be lots of Akademiya students who "respect their teachers and their teachings" and "devote themselves to diligence," no?

Perhaps even Faruzan has not realized that there is one other thing about Collei that has attracted her attention:

That despite having experienced inhuman suffering, she has nonetheless been able to gain the strength to face life.

Even Faruzan herself cannot speak very articulately about the century in which she was trapped within the ruins, for her memories of it are very foggy.

The ruins' origin? Unknown. Its location? Unknown. All she remembers is that it was related to King Deshret's civilization and filled from wall to wall with mechanisms and secret inscriptions.

The mysterious power within the ruins had kept her body in a state of stasis, knowing neither hunger nor physical fatigue, yet not wholly able to shake off mental wear.

She expended all the writing material she had on hand, yet could not translate a single line of text; used up a lifetime's worth of knowledge, yet could not unlock a single device.

Lying amidst a mountain of manuscript paper, she stared blankly at the cipher-text on the ceiling.

They mocked her, these legacies of an ancient deity — scorned her ignorance and the pettiness of the modern person.

Did all she had studied and prided herself upon, did the painstaking research done by generations of scholars truly matter so little in the face of this ancient civilization?

Faruzan got up from the ground, picked up a piece of smashed stone, and continued carving upon the tiles.

As long as there was life, there was hope. What was unknown today could be learned tomorrow. Civilizations that existed could continue to evolve. Solutions unreached by the people of today would be uncovered by those who would come after.

Even if this was to be her grave, she would leave some deductions and trial-and-error records behind to grant the next unfortunate, trapped soul some chance of escape.

This was the spirit of scholarship — this was why researchers existed in the first place.

After who knows how long, the entire floor, as far as she could touch it, had been filled with the symbols of obscure deductions.

After that indeterminate time, her memories began to grow fuzzy and her consciousness faded, and she began to mutter words none could comprehend.

And at one point — she knew not when — she finally found a way to solve the enigma.

In her addled state, she did not yet realize that the true struggle still awaited her, beyond the walls of those ruins.

Faruzan would have to recuperate for quite some time after her escape to regain consciousness.

Seeing Sumeru vastly changed from what she remembered, Faruzan almost believed that she was still within the ruins, trapped in some kind of illusion-generated device.

It was not until someone from the Akademiya came to confirm her identity using past records within Akasha and explained the changes the world had undergone during this time that Faruzan began to slowly accept that time had indeed passed.

That researcher brought her a Kshahrewar book, and as she cracked it open, she found this written on the title page:

"Much of the content in this book came from Madam Faruzan's treatises and manuscripts. We hope that her name will still be remembered by future generations of students when she returns."

As Faruzan read this text, organized by old friends of hers, she felt as if she could almost see her classmates again, talking and chatting about their futures. Yet this was already something from a century ago.

The people she knew, the people who knew her... they were all no longer here.

She had returned to Sumeru indeed, but it was as if she had drifted to some strange land instead.

Even wayfarers adrift may return to their home, but she had been left unmoored on time's ocean, and there was no returning to the past.

The poor researcher at her side was trying to pick and choose their words such that they might inquire as to what had happened to this senior from times past without touching any sore spots.

Faruzan closed her book in silence before speaking of those past events in an even tone.

"—It was just a failed experiment. Such things happen to us researchers, don't they?"

No matter the location, situation, or generation, time would never stop for Faruzan again.

This multi-purpose ruin exploration auxiliary support terminal, code-named "Vairambhaka," is one of the few projects that Faruzan was able to successfully secure funding for from the Akademiya following her return.

This device can perform escort, monster dispersal, sand-clearing, and various other tasks. As per her usual preferences, it also contains various components that can be pressed interactively to relieve boredom.

Unexpectedly, this travel essential actually wound up attracting the attention of a group of matra. They barged into her workshop without explanation and began to look the Vairambhaka up and down.

Upon discovering its many seemingly useless components, their suspicions were aroused further, and ignoring Faruzan's protests that they "were just for stress relief," they planned on taking her latest work apart to examine it carefully.

Fortunately, the General Mahamatra, Cyno, arrived in time to stop them.

As it turned out, they suspected that Faruzan had been reticent about her mysterious disappearance on account of some nefarious secret.

They also believed that she had refused to join Kshahrewar so that she could use Haravatat's lack of expertise in mechanics to build something dangerous.

After all, few are the researchers who have not been seduced by the ominous knowledge that King Deshret's civilization had gained access to. As such, they came flocking the moment they heard that Faruzan was making some machine, as if to fight some terrible foe.

Cyno, armed with records related with Faruzan, was able to dispel their doubts one by one, before apologizing to Faruzan for his subordinates' trespass, leaving one of them to help clear up the mess.

Faruzan, who was just suffering from a lack of manpower right at that moment, was quite satisfied indeed with that arrangement. Quite liking this General Mahamatra's style, she invited Cyno to give this new machine a name.

Cyno thought for a moment before saying that since it could stir up strong winds and had a connection with the matra, she could call it the "Great Vayuvyastra."

Faruzan's puzzlement at that could easily rival that which she had shown in the ruins belonging to King Deshret.

Fortunately, one of the matra came to her rescue, mentioning that Kshahrewar already possessed a machine with the same name, thus saving them all what would come if she were to inquire about the "deeper meaning" behind such a name.

Later, having done her own independent study into how that name was formed, Faruzan would come up with her own name for her newest work — and thus, the Vairambhaka Gear was born.

Although she has forgotten how she solved that puzzle, Faruzan does have some vague impression about what happened to her as she left the ruins.

The first thing she felt was light, stinging her eyes till they shut and causing her to stagger back a little.

It was then followed by wind, whipping about her face and flowing across her shoulders like a searing, welcoming kiss.

Her eyes were closed, and yet she felt that she could see everything, and following the wind she took one step, and then another, toward newfound freedom after a century of being lost.

Such a long period of time would have changed the environment and eroded her memory, and she might have failed to find the way home.

Yet she followed the wind's guidance even in her semi-conscious state, and it led her swaying through the wilds, avoiding monsters and hazardous areas alike, until she was assaulted by a familiar yet foreign sensation.

As she collapsed, her stomach began to grumble.

"Ah... Is that hunger? It's been a while, hasn't it..."

She had solved the machine, escaped the ruins, but at the end, she had forgotten the most primal of needs!

The wind died down, and unable to continue on, Faruzan collapsed, falling into a deep sleep."

A sudden wind whipped about a merchant caravan traversing the lands at a leisurely pace, getting into one Sumpter Beast's eyes, causing it to turn away and stop advancing.

The merchant was about to pull it back into line, only to notice something glittering in the distance.

"Hey, keep up with the group! What are you looking at, anyway? Treasure?"

"No, wait... That looks like a person over there, lying on the ground!"

And in the distance, a Vision shone brightly at the side of an unconscious Faruzan.