art by @pitypatblack.

Astraea Galanthos

Originally hailing from the far mountains of dravania, Astraea came to Eorzea in order to pursue her goals of learning how to heal aetherically, and seeing more of the world around her. despite having arrived about two or three years ago at this point, Astraea still carries herself with the enthusiastic curiosity and out of touch demeanor of a newcomer.she spends her time taking on healing jobs for the Carline Canopy, and filling the spaces in between with all sorts of odd jobs, thrill seeking, and research on things both scholarly and mundane. chances are you can find her wandering in all sorts of strange places, if you keep your eyes peeled.

physicality

between sitting at a shorter height then even most feminine au ra and her starkly pale complexion, astraea stands out amidst most eorzean crowds even if she does not wish to. not that she even really minds, of course! she was made aware fairly quickly upon her arrival to Eorzea that, with exceptions made for other adventurers such as herself, she would be a rarity. her softer features and curled hair are mirrored by the sharp, shining edges of her horns and scales, which can hurt to the touch if approached incorrectly. the reflective, bright pink of her eyes can also serve to throw people off kilter. most of the scarring she sports from her adventures are well hidden but surprisingly brutal, and each holds a story of their own.

Only just having gotten a chance to really start experimenting with fashion, Astraea loves to wear a wide variety of things. She tends to favor pastel colors (especially pinks) or monochromes (whites and blacks, not really grays), and prefers clothing that gives her extra senses of movement. Shoes are a huge centerpiece of hers, and she loves thigh or knee high boots - heeled, sometimes, even in impractical situations (where she is otherwise surprisingly meticulous about the practicality of her wardrobe). It is often pointed out to her that she tends to not wear pants vs skirts or MAYBE shorts, but…eh. She has nice legs, right? She also has a tendency to accessorize with flowers in her hair, or occasionally a very small or very large hat.

art by @moonlitvesper.

personality

Astraea is an excitable, passionate person through and through. She is always exhilarated by the chance to see new things and meet new people, and her naturally caring demeanor is what drove her to a life of studying healing to begin with. At a glance she seems to be somewhat thoughtless or too wide-eyed to have a good sense of the world around her, but she can surprise people with her more book-learned intelligence or her stubborn tenacity. Which is not to say that this entirely prevents her from rushing into circumstances or missing key details of her surroundings...she definitely has her dimmer moments as well. the smartest idiot in the room, as one might say. astraea is usually quite chipper and friendly, and is always far too determined to make new connections.

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted
Disorganized / In Between / Organized
Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded
Calm / In Between / Anxious
Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable
Cautious / In Between / Reckless
Patient / In Between / Impatient
Outspoken / In Between / Reserved
Leader / In Between / Follower
Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic
Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic
Traditional / In Between / Modern
Hard-working / In Between / Lazy
Cultured / In Between / Uncultured
Loyal / In Between / Disloyal
Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful
Religious / Agnostic / Unreligious

Jobs and Skillsets

astraea is always looking to learn new things, and spends a lot of her time training herself in various forms of other arcane or combative techniques as a result. she is extremely unlikely to say no to learning new things, if pressed. if asked, she is a conjurer first; she is far more hesitant to discuss her forays into black magic or dark knights, despite those fascinating her so...

esoteric details

• find out more?

past.

The daughter of a self exiled Sharlayan academic, Astraea grew up knowing only the cold harsh terrain of the mountains that bordered Dravania and northern Coerthas. From a young age she felt pangs of wanderlust and curiosity both simple and academic that simply could not be cured within the confines of her renegade village. While she loved the people there and the lifestyle of a shepherdess in training, eventually it grew to be not enough. A few years after the Calamity, Astraea decided that if she did not weave her own fate she would be stuck with nothing left to live for. she departed.

Moving towards the Conjurer's guild of Gridania, Astraea took to white magics as some people take to breathing. It didn't take long at all before she was a standout student who wasn't able to learn much more in the confines of Stillglade Fane. to sustain herself in the meantime she signed on as a Healer for Hire in Eorzea through the Free and Grand Companies, honing her skills and taking her chances to learn more about an oh-so vast world she never got to live in before now. this allowed her to travel all over eorzea, see the skies of Thanalan and la noscea and more...

present.

...and yet she still found herself left wanting. she hesitated on making any changes to her life, but eventually life changed itself for her. after a mission gone wrong that stuck with her, she moved herself from the forests of the shrouds to the spires of a once-inaccessible ishgard to take up her mother's craft of Astromancy; as she intended to when she originally left home. fearing the lack of stability that the carline canopy inn rooms and steady work had brought her in the shroud, she took on other work as well; the most notable and different being a server's job, at an Empyreum tavern. work that allowed her to, for once, meet people like her. who had come here for a changing of pace, and needed comradery above all else.

so this is where she has remained since, making a home out of a place that had been filled with nothing but torrid histories and bad bedtime stories when she was younger. she's found herself endeared to the city despite it, invested both in those touched by it's past and the other travelers working to forge it a new future. with the amount of time she has been in eorzea, astraea finds it far easier to travel around to accomplish whatever goal suits her, be it mercenary work, playing doctor, researching the unknown.

future...?

alas, things are not as settled as she would like them to be, despite outside appearances. while she is happier with her circumstances now then ever before, there are still so many questions to answer, so many new things to see. astraea will keep working, and keep studying, no matter whether the pathways she looks to follow are too few or far, far too many to go after.

The last few months have been trying, as Astraea moves onwards and upwards, but she tries her damndest to keep a smile on through all of the various difficulties that come up in her journey. even as she still wonders what she's missing...

• maybe you would know?

mercenary work

while she has many connections at this point, astraea's longest and most tangible is as a healer for hire at the carline canopy, in the shroud. she's worked there for about two or three years now, and has taken on far, far more jobs then should be possible in the time frame. she tends to travel throughout all of eorzea, taking on whatever freelance work she can find; she likes to socialize with the people she spends that time with. maybe you end up on a job together? maybe you've been on a job together before? maybe that job didn't end well?

overly enthusiastic

When given opportunity, Astraea will always tease or encourage people to show off their various skills and hobbies. If there is something you would love your character to need to do or discuss that they would not, such as playing an instrument, or doing a dance, or talking about their love life, have them make one innocuous implication as such in her presence and she will puppy-dog eyes her way into making it a reality. she is also far, far too friendly, and far too willing to get into shenanigans.

scholarly pursuits

the main reason astraea came to eorzea was because she had exhausted every last book available to her back home, and it shows in how she acts now. the very promise of new knowledge or any sort of conversation about aetherology, about foreign cultures and geography, or...anything interesting, and you have her on a hooked line and sinker. you will often find her chipping away at a new book, or writing in a very worn, well loved journal. maybe you'll even catch her doing her homework sometime! only ask her about nerdy subjects if you have plenty of time on your hands. the woman can and will ramble.

empyreum native

being a dravanian native now living in ishgard is admittedly strange, but astraea has made the most of it nontheless. she lives her for the familiar climate, and so she can attend lessons at the astrologicum, despite...less then stellar results. do you frequent here too? maybe you live close, go to the same bars, know about the same weird women in the home owners association?[astraea does also hold some very interesting opinions of ishgardian politics, but she usually tries not to get very heavily involved in them.]

conjuring prodigy

while her main focus of study lies in astromancy, astraea first came to eorzea and found a footing through the help of stillglade fane. usually gridania does not hold foreigners in a very high regard, but her natural connection to the elementals and already very disconnected heritage made it quite easy for astraea to catch the guild's eyes. except she has started to outgrow their teachings, and they seem to have some very specific ideas of what she should be using that conjury for. becoming a hearer holds very little interest for her, when she wants to bend the traditional confines of the art; this may borrow trouble later.

aethersensitive

if asked after it, astraea struggles to define the relationship she has with aether. she has an overabundance of it as a resource of her own, and she is highly in=tune with the littlest of changes to the aether surrounding her...similar to aethersight, but not so specific she would feel comforted calling it that. she claims it's a very innate, unfathomable sort of thing. if your character has any sort of weird aether, she will likely be able to catch it given enough time...or if you have any sensitivity yourself, she might ring a few alarm bells as well.

sharlayan origins

although estranged twicefold, astraea is keenly aware of the fact that her mother grew up on the isles of the northern empty. she has only recently gotten to see the city for herself, but she still knows very, very little of her family there. everything from astromancy to somanoutics fascinates her. depending on the day that you catch her, mentioning the place will either gain you an excited light or a sad little twinkle in her eye.perhaps you don't know her; perhaps you know a relative.

born within the spine

while she speaks freely as to the vague details of her hometown, astraea often does not like to provide specifics, especially when it comes to things such as exact locations. why would she, when so many of the people who she grew up around had very good reason to hide there?a good hook about heretics, criminals, and garlean refugees; ask if you think your character knows more!

tension in the shroud

there is often strange weather and even stranger happenstances in the woods of gridania, and astraea claims her interest in them is solely academic, or on behalf of the elementals...it can be very obvious sometimes that isn't the case. when that strange eerie quiet comes over the forest, she seems almost haunted by it.

an odd name

astraea is fairly open with the fact that galanthos is a surname she did not grow up with, but rather the one of her otherwise unknown father's. most think of it as odd and move on, but anyone with enough of a familiarity with the culture will be able to tell it's roots could very well have come from garlemald. It raises more questions then it answers; especially since it is unclear if she knows this.

friends of tryphaniel

it is a bold move to admit to being friendly with tryphaniel, and therefore confessing to walking the path of a dark knight. astraea's relationship with the art is extremely complex and it doesn't seem like she walks that path, but she is far too knowledgeable about such things to not have any investment in them herself...more of a long term hook.