Raily

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Life under the Gear Council

Raily underwent mechanical modification but refused further surgeries after experiencing severe pain, difficult adjustment, and the alienation of having an incomplete body. Her refusal earned her the label of an outcast and an isolated observer posting. Despite the usefulness of her prosthetic hands, she never regretted rejecting additional modifications 37.

Her assignment was to monitor ecological encroachment along the border between the Black River Plains and the Pitch-Black Nest. Restless and unwilling to remain at one post, she instead investigated unusual developments around Bastion City. She contrasted its grand buildings and freely chosen purchases with her homeland's cost-cutting and rationing system 34.

Theft at Bastion City

Raily stole a laborer's black robe to conceal her mechanical hands and entered Bastion City. The radiance atop its central tower drew her forward in a trance until soldiers stopped her. Although frightened by the loss of control, she became more interested in discovering the light's source than in protecting her own life 34.

Using her prosthetic hands, she climbed the tower's exterior and entered through a window. She took an ancient orange-red book, discovered a concealed ceiling hatch, and sealed a small portion of the blazing light above it inside her jar. Believing she had escaped unnoticed, she hurried back before her absence could be discovered 37.

Her escape actually depended on Lin Jin's secret intervention. Recognizing her as a descendant of the Ancient Civilization, he allowed the Essence to accompany her as a means of introducing his faith to her people 37 38.

Becoming the Flame Saintess

After Raily fell asleep at home, the Essence passed through the jar and entered her forehead. In a dream, she encountered Lin Jin in the guise of a black-robed old man beside a campfire. His stories of ancient heroes captivated her and encouraged her to embrace the idea of carrying their will forward 38 40.

The old man presented the Sunfire God as a wounded deity who needed faith to recover and asked Raily to undertake that task. She agreed and underwent a painful transformation. Upon waking, she discovered her restored hands and altered body, confirming that the dream had been real 40.

Raily initially concealed her transformation and tested her body at the remote Observation Station. Unsure how to gather faith, she remained there until Lin Jin dropped a pebble onto her head to spur her into action. Her angry reaction made her recognize that her new power was already encouraging the same arrogance she despised in the council's leaders 41 42.

Establishing the Sunfire Church

Following faint lights perceived through her new power, Raily traveled to Medel Mine and rescued its workers from Stone-Eroding Bugs. She left a strengthening amulet, a restorative crystal, and her own scroll, Blazing Sun's Protection, to encourage interest in the Sunfire God 42 43.

She then returned in disguise to teach the miners the scroll's unfamiliar script. Their study group developed into a hidden religious community, complete with a stone altar and an imitation Sun Emblem. Raily intended to make the mine the starting point for spreading faith throughout the territory 43.

Through miners' families and friends, the Sunfire Church spread among the Royal Airfield's poorest residents. Its compassionate doctrine, healing warmth, and useful charms helped it gain several hundred followers in less than a month, with signs of interest reaching middle management 45.

Arrest

Gear Council troops interrupted one of Raily's secret gatherings. The Silver-White Bug accused her of organizing a cult, and soldiers shackled her. After an initial moment of alarm, she regained her composure and described the confrontation as a trial she had anticipated 45.

When believers prepared to risk their lives for her, Raily ordered them to remain calm. She offered herself as the mastermind in exchange for their release and walked out under escort. Tiny sparks began kindling in the believers' eyes as she was taken away; their subsequent actions are not documented in the provided account 45.

Appearance

• Original appearance: A yellow or bronze-yellow ladybug with antennae and two brass prosthetic hands. Her mechanical modifications were conspicuous enough that she concealed them beneath a black robe in Bastion City 34 37 38.
• After transformation: Taller, with a slender body, longer limbs, a harder and glossier shell, and wings several times larger than before. Her head mask remained unchanged 40 41.
• Restored hands: New organic arms and hands replaced the prosthetics, returning sensations she had lost 40.
• Bearing: Her transformed body carried a faint air of nobility, making her resemble an Upper Layer official rather than a low-ranking worker 40 41 45.

Personality

Raily prizes freedom and bodily autonomy. She rejects further modification despite its practical advantages and openly criticizes the Gear Council's stagnation, obsession with purity, and struggles over privilege. Nevertheless, fear of the overseers initially keeps her from openly challenging their rules 34 37 40.

Her curiosity frequently overrides caution and duty. She neglects to report Bastion City's anomaly and pursues its radiance despite knowing that unauthorized absence could cost her posting or result in being sent back to the furnace for remaking. The light also makes her more emotional and impulsive than usual 34 37 38.

After her revelation, Raily embraces freedom, equality, and compassion. She helps miners whom other residents refuse to assist and begins viewing former tormentors as misguided people rather than merely enemies. She also checks her own emerging arrogance, recognizing how quickly power can turn her into the kind of person she once hated 42 43.

Her enthusiasm for heroic stories develops into determined missionary work. During the raid, she places her followers' safety ahead of resistance and maintains her composure even after being shackled 40 45.

Abilities & Skills

Enhanced Physiology

The Essence reconstructs Raily's body into a more advanced form, allowing her unmodified flesh to outperform her former prosthetics 40 41.

• Tests her movement, jumping, flight, and strikes against stone walls 41.
• Can see Bastion City's distant glow from the Observation Station after her senses are strengthened 41.
• Produces a brief pressure that an overseer instinctively associates with higher-ranking beings 41.
• Still experiences fatigue during physical testing 41.

Orange-Red Flames

Raily uses orange-red flames to destroy the Stone-Eroding Bug swarm attacking Medel Mine 42.

• Her first attack is powerful enough to surprise even her 43.
• No named combat technique or formal rank for this flame power is documented 42 43.

Light and Faith Perception

Raily can perceive faint clusters of light by concentrating on the power within her 42.

• Follows their direction toward Medel Mine 42.
• Must concentrate intensely because the lights are extremely small 42.
• Later sees motes of starlight rising from believers and gathering in a Campfire 45.

Literacy and Religious Teaching

Raily awakens with complete mastery of an unusual script taught by the old man in her dream 43.

• Writes Blazing Sun's Protection and compiles simple teaching materials for the miners 43.
• Teaches the script and translates its religious message; without her translation, she expects overseers to dismiss it as meaningless scribbles 43.
• Preaches from the Book of Sunfire during church gatherings 45.

Infiltration and Disguise

Raily uses concealment, route selection, and knowledge of local officials to move without attracting attention 34 38 41.

• Climbs sheer stone walls with her prosthetic hands and checks for guards with her antennae 37.
• Conceals her transformed body beneath a cloak and uses an Iron Gauntlet to imitate a mechanically modified worker 41.
• Her apparently flawless escape from Bastion City relies on Lin Jin's unseen assistance 37.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Brass prosthetic hands — Gear Council technology enabling climbing at otherwise impossible angles; unable to feel touch. They detach when her organic limbs regrow 37 40.
• Black robe and Iron Gauntlet — Disguise items used to hide either her distinctive modifications or her later transformation 34 41.
• Jar containing Essence — Carries the light taken from the tower. Lin Jin watches through it, and its Essence passes through the glass to enter her dream 37 38.
• Ancient orange-red book — Taken from the tower's upper room; bears a central flame symbol but no visible title or annotations 37.
• Copper amulet and warm orange-red crystal — Acquired in Bastion City by bartering treasured pickled delicacies, then left for the miners. The amulet strengthens its wearer, while the crystal restores health 42 43.
• Blazing Sun's Protection — A scroll she writes to introduce the Sunfire God's legend to the miners 42 43.
• Book of Sunfire — Scripture recited during her preaching 45.

Relationships

• Lin Jin / Sunfire God — Secret patron and source of her transformation. He engineers her escape, persuades her through dreams, and guides her efforts to spread his faith 37 38 40 41.
• Medel Mine workers — People she rescues, teaches, and recruits into the Sunfire God's faith; their gratitude and study group provide the church's initial foothold 42 43.
• Sunfire Church believers — Regard her as their Saintess and are willing to risk their lives to rescue her. She prevents them from resisting the troops and offers herself for their safety 45.
• Silver-White Bug — Gear Council agent who condemns her as a deviant and leads her arrest, hoping that suppressing the church will advance his own standing 45.
• Gear Council — Governing authority whose modification practices and conservative leadership she rejects. Its forces eventually accuse her church of being a cult 37 45.

Notable Quotes

“If only we could learn from them, even a little.” 37

“The dream was real! Was I really chosen by the Sunfire God to become the Flame Saintess?!” 40

“Please remain calm, everyone. This is my trial. There is no need to worry about me.” 45