I don’t look like the other guy?
Well no duh. It’s a pretty big country, you know! There must be like… hundreds of magi families hidden all over the place wanting to be left alone so they can keep up their studies.
How do I know him?
Simple, we attended a couple lectures together. Had to turn in a paper for a grade. Which we did together.
I guess we just hit it off after that, ya know?
He’s a druid, I’m a botanist, plenty of overlap to chat about.
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Why Chaldea?
Well, why not?
I dunno what he was thinking when he brought in those flyers. Suppose Director Olga was pretty convincing when she came by to give a lecture on whatever it was. He got interested and said we coulda take advantage of it.
Then I thought ‘why not’.
Like, it was weird though. Having a Druid be the one wanting to go out into the world rather than staying at their grove. And I wanted to see why that grouchy shut in wanted to go to Chaldea so badly.
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Any relation to the ‘other’ Niemeyer?
Don’t know. Never asked.
See, my family is all about self expression. Artistry. We wanna improve ourselves and other people so we can reach an idealized perfect form. To some, that means creating a body as close to the ‘original human’ as possible. Going back to our roots, so to speak.
Pretty traditional, amirite?
But you see. I’m not like folks in that I wanna go back to being a perfect human.
I wanna make the ‘me’ of today into a better ‘me’.
So I applied what I cold of the family magecraft into ways people nowadays look for improving their lives. Exercising, dieting, hand made medicine and even did some crossfit at some point. Paid a heap of money and sold a ton of important stuff for some pretty shady tomes and materials. You know, some of that silly New Age stuff.
Thought it would be fun.
And it kinda was. Only it did nothing to improve ‘me’, just my body.
And that wasn’t what I wanted.
But that all changed when I started studying at the Academia.
It was such a nice vivid place with so much color and wonder. I couldn’t help but feel inspired by everything that happened there. How everyone did their best to get where they wanted to be. And there was I, just a reedy little girl with nothing but some family tomes on creating dyes and paints from plants.
So I thought. Hey, if the family business is to create a perfect human. And all I had for a canvas was myself, then I should totally use what I have to get to where I want to be. And after that lecture with Professor Brocco-
I mean Director Pindovy, I knew just what I wanted to turn myself into.
To become like the Primordial Humans who were one with nature.
It’s so romantic, isn’t it?!
If the original humans were really born from the Divine Tree, then that means I have a direct link straight to the source because of my Botanic Artistry! Creating things out of flora and then using my own body as a canvas to create the ‘image’ of a Primordial Humans.
But its real difficult finding materials, you know?
I don’t have the money to dump on an expedition to the Amazon Rainforest.
And I doubt Mr. Broccoli is gonna let me having one of his branches after I tried to sneak with one of them that one time. So of course I’m out of luck when it comes to find materials connected to the origin of mankind. I’d have to do something silly like travel back in time.
Oh wait, silly me, that’s why I went to Chaldea.
But that didn’t end up working out very well, did it?
Dead before the very first mission. And there I was looking forward to collecting some interesting specimens. To look for some new inspiration for my art. But most of us ended up dying before we could ever cross the start line. Me and Del, we were right there when Lev betrayed us all.
And I’m pretty sure I died.
So, why am I here no? Why are both of us still alive?
Well, I can’t speak for him, but I heard a voice ask me if I still wanted to live. If I still had what it took to fight for my life. And of course, I was! Because that dirty cheater Lev had to sabotage us to actually get anything done. So I was pretty sure I was still up for the challenge.
Which is why I am here now, I guess.
In this strange world where humans serve as crops for the Gods. Ruled by the Authority of a so-called ‘Perfect’ King. Threatened by the awakening of the Ultimate One slumbering in the Divine Forest. The threat that thing represents is bad enough, and that’s not going into whatever this Mystery Crypter is doing.
And then there is the Golden King and whatever he is planning.
Gathering all those Divine Spirits.
It’s a free for all with the Lostbelt on the line! By the end of it there might not be anything left.
So yeah, it seemed like a pretty good deal to me at first. Fight against this unnatural being and prevent the collapse of the Human Order, as well as bully whoever this Crypter is. That was the deal I made with the Collective Consciousness. I have to stop that damned Spider from awakening at all costs. And for that I’m gonna need that Golden King’s treasure.
Please don’t take too long, Novum Chaldea.
I don’t know how long we have before all the racket wakes it up.
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Reckless, airhead, whimsical, freeloader…
Deadbeat?!
Where are you getting all this blackmail… I mean… all of these dirty-dirty lies from?!
It was Delfinger wasn’t he?! That shut in won’t shut up about me owing him money ever since we started working together. So what if he’s had to bankroll me once or twice, its normal for friends to pay for each other’s food right? And their rent, too! As well as part of their tuition every now and again!
Listen, I’m a botanist and an artist, not an accountant.
I spend money on stuff that’s gonna help make myself a better person. And sometimes its gotta be some special ink made off a shady tree imported from polynesia. So what if it turns out it wasn’t the real deal. What counts is the experience!
Experience enriches our lives.
Just uhh… don’t tell him that the polynesian Sacred Tree was a dud, okay?
I may have kinda spent my allowance on that one.
Why, you ask?
Because an artist must be dedicated to their creations first and foremost. Everything else is secondary to our craft! And I still got a pretty cool hair dye out of it. The stuff can make you grow blue hair for months on end from just one wash!
Some people are really into the whole spiky, weird colored protagonist hair.
I don’t judge.
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Botanic Artistry
The self-made (cobbled together) magecraft of Lydiavogel Niemeyer is centered around the idea of modifying the body in order to increase its quality by imbuing it with materials such as inks, dyes and implants created through her botanical expertise. Collecting rare plants to develop her products, and then using said products to increase the ‘quality’ of the human body.
As if painting a blank canvas, Botanic Artistry can be considered a form of physical modification which grants different properties depending on the resources of the artist and the quality of their artwork. Lydiavogel sees her magecraft as a form of personal expression and thus only makes modifications to her own body. Though each symbol and image she adds to her body are supposed to increase the overall ‘quality’ of her ‘self’, they could be considered tangible manifestations of her experience and knowledge.
And through them, she is able to perform mystics on the same level as a much older and more experienced magus.
Because for her, experience is something she can produce and wear on her skin.
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Originally Posted by Wyvern
