Ral Shir-Del
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Ral Shir-Del
Madam Ral, Head Honcho of Shir-Dels, Headmistress
56
Thursday, Day 21 of the Month of Fire, Year of Paths (8243) / Day 21 of the Month of the Raven, Year of the Lambent Gold Cormorant
159 cm / 5 ft 2 inch
Female
Human
Conjurer
Hobby mage researcher
Likes
Luxury fashion, Songluan traditional sweets, libraries, freedom to move about
Dislikes
Responsibilities, fish markets, arrogant people, small spaces
Personality
Intelligent, Jovial // Boisterous, Knowledge-hungry // Nosy, Hypocritical
Under normal circumstances, Ral assumes the role of the intrusive aunt, a figure one must gracefully endure during familial gatherings. She excuses her nosiness with gentle persuasion, tiptoeing around gossip and sensitive topics. Years of teaching experience endowed Ral with an understanding of the intricacies of youthful hearts, leading her to conclude that the most effective approach is to simply let the other person indulge.
Beyond her charitable endeavors, Ral has garnered popularity among young adults for her humility and casual demeanor in contrast to her more senior counterparts. If there is a valuable legacy passed down by her researcher parents, it's the lesson that screw ups are permissible in the pursuit of knowledge—a conviction Ral cherishes deeply and abuses to her own benefit. Over the course of her five decades, Ral's evolution is palpable; once an ambitious young girl resolute in her goals, she has transformed into someone who pursues desires simply because she can, leveraging resources at her disposal. Though her actions may be meticulously planned, Ral remains fundamentally reckless.
Ral trusts her own judgement, often prioritizing her perspective over others. Her observations are deeply personal, and she remains unyielding in her belief that firsthand experience shapes one's understanding of the world.
History
As the first child and daughter of Ara Shir-Del and Jiro Isshiki, Ral was born the best of both worlds for the scholarly mage couple, she exhibited a profound aptitude and fervor for magic, mirroring the talents and enthusiasm inherent in both her parents. Ral displayed a genuine curiosity and eagerness for knowledge, albeit tinged with a hint of uninhibited enthusiasm.
But in the wake of , leaving Ral and her younger brother Seifer under the care of the family elders. Ral's endeavors tend to be overlooked in favour of the latter being the future family head and lack of supervision allows Ral to grow up uninhibited, treading paths bordering on the scandalous much to the chagrin of her elders. Ral followed her father's steps on the path of conjuring as taught by her mage elders, though as soon as she was of age and established herself as a trainedsummoner, Ral diverged from her intended path as a scholar and joined the Song-lu Peacekeepers instead.
Her participation of the guild was mostly described as her thrill-seeking phase: brief, educational and memorable all at the same time. Ral employed herself as a very active peacekeeper and a magic's expert, she was never short of exciting crime-solving adventures and extended travels. It was during these times that she met her future husband, Seid Dul Camara, a Tusar roughhouse that Ral that she fell for head to toe within a short time and proposed marriage to, much to her elders' horror. The summoner and the half-wood elf married happily despite their jarring differences and had three children: Hida, Sergei and Rohayu.
Ral had a fairly content life with her budding family in Tusa until her brother Seifer renounced his name and eloped with the girl he promised to, forcing the older Shir-Del to take his place as the head of the family. Things seems to roll downhill from there on as Ral tries to acclimate into her new position, starting from her eldest daughter losing her eyesight due to an affliction, followed by the sudden disappearance of her husband. Compounded by her brother's scandal, Ral had to return to Song-lu to calm the uproar. In addition to forsaking her Tusar home, Ral resigned from the Peacekeepers, assuming leadership of the Shir-Del's school of mages. The family's reputation, already facing a decline in enrollments following the death of Ral's parents, continue to suffer due to the Shir-Dels' intolerance of Seifer's marriage to a non-mage.
The arrogance that runs in the Shir-Dels may be the one thing that kept Ral going as she grappled to solve the clan's predicament. Resolving the family's financial turmoil required leveraging age-old alliances and persuading 'acquaintances' to extend favors, albeit at the expense of her peers' respect and strained relations with her children, given her deep involvement in these efforts.
After nearly two decades at the helm of the mage school, Ral introduced novel branches of study, including beast taming and performing arts. While met initially with protests for supposedly diminishing the school's esteemed mage status, the criticism was eventually eclipsed by a wave of positive reception, ultimately restoring the Shir-Del name to its former glory.
The school's performance improved drastically since then, drawing an increasing number of enrollments with each passing year. Ral now basks in the small glory of the school's success, but now a senior nearing retirement, remains convinced that her life has yet to reach its full potential.
Current Story
In the aftermath of her son Sergei's disappearance, Ral immersed herself in an ongoing research collaboration with the Wissen Fellowship—an attempt to both occupy her time and make amends for neglecting her son. But the revelation that Sergei is well and alive leading the expedition in the North left her flabbergasted. Scammed even, to a degree. Once the initial shock subsided, a renewed sense of purpose filled Ral, propelling her to be uninhibited with her newfound endeavors.
The revelation that Ral was present at the Citadel during the conflict between Delverne and Reluir prompted her eldest daughter, Hida, to forcibly transport her away. Much to Ral's chagrin, she not only faced reprimand but also found herself under house arrest within the secure confines of her son-in-law's residence—the Taft estate in Koben.
Presently, Ral is only permitted to leave for visits to Peony Village, where she can spend time with Rohayu and her recently born grandson. The future of the Shir-Dels hangs in uncertainty, torn between settling down in Koben and rebuilding the mage school from the ground up. But her heart yearns to go back to Song-lu to investigate the damage brought on by Huozai's awakening, whether the madness that follows can be reversed.
Additional Info
The Shir-Del School of Mastery of Sorcery was founded almost 300 years ago. As the badly transcribed name suggests, the school provides a hands-on approach of mastering one's magic in general, though it's worth noting that the school initially specializes in Summoning. Being an experienced Conjurer, Ral also teaches a handful of classes.
Primarily the older generation Shir-Dels harbor the perception that the mage school has devolved into a mere drama institution. This assumption is rooted in the belief that those who enroll are predominantly aspiring for careers in the performing arts, and with valid reason. However, it is not unfounded for the clan to feel threatened by the influx of non-mages. In order to resolve this, Ral brought in certified trainers from Tusa to spearhead the revamping of courses.
In essence, the school's curriculum has been categorized into three distinct domains: the mastery of magical control, summoning practices, and beast taming tailored for aspiring Rangers, complemented by an integrated approach to performing arts.
Like every other Shir-Dels, Ral is a hardcore gambler and connoisseur of harder liquor.
She mingles a lot with nobility and business families, but beyond petty gossip she maintain a disinterest in political matters, unless they pertain to substantial discussions on incidents or studies relating to magic. Ral does her best to try get on their good side and money.
Ral favors the classic methods of drawing gylphs and summoning circles on a flat surface, she's always proud to mention fine circles and improved caligraphy skills a byproduct. These are among her favourite familiars, mainly brought out for teaching purposes and posterity.