[Vital Stats]
Name: Rhiannon ("Rhia") Nijikouri (虹冰 リアノン)
DOB: 12/24/1992
Hometown: Yorktown, England/Mikage-cho, Japan
Affiliations: Moonlight Blossom maid cafe, Iwatodai PD (detective)
Sign: Capricorn
Blood Type: AB-
Arcana: Empress
Persona: Diana
Initial Skills: Zio, Media, Rakukaja
Summoning Style: Invocation (P1)
Weaponry: Dagger (slash), handgun (pierce)
[Bio]
Irasshaimase, young master. Welcome to the Moonlight Blossom.
A maid cafe in Iwatodai, fairly well known for its late hours, limited client numbers (and thereby faster and more personal service), and recently, for one maid in particular. Rhiannon Nijikouri, a young bilingual woman of mixed British and Japanese parentage. Between her slight British-accented Japanese and her exotic, rare hair and eye coloration, she is rather sought-after by the patrons. For the last few months, she can often be found working the afternoon and midnight shifts. Patrons delight at her calm, quiet demeanor and friendly willingness to accomodate their requests.
Don't, however, take that as an indication of submissiveness. Even among the more "servile" industries, there are some who still hold a firm will, who are more than willing to act as their patrons desire... until the patron crosses the line, at which point they tend to make a Kirijo execution look friendly. Rhiannon is one such woman, an Empress among maids. Patrons who do not cross the line are treated with the utmost kindness and respect, and their wants are seen to without fail or complaint. Those crossing the line are reminded politely and gently of the limits and rules of the establishment. Further untoward behavior results in a rather pointed removal by an apologetic but very insistent maid. One who a number of rude, burly male patrons found out the hard way is... rather impossible to resist.
In addition to the more relaxed clientele, there is another reason for Rhiannon's near-insistence that she work the late shift at the cafe. Put simply, she is a Persona-user, and has been one for over two years. With the resurgence of the Dark Hour in Iwatodai, her employment at the cafe puts her in a uniquely suited position to investigate the Dark Hour, as well as scout out those who might have the potential or who might be targeted by Shadows.
There is another side to the girl, of course, that this interest in the Dark Hour and her inner steel might hint at... one that can be seen in her choice of
combat style for facing down Shadows. Those familiar with Japanese law might be able to guess this from what she's holding in that picture...
I'm afraid, sir, that as representative of the Iwatodai authorities I'll have to ask you a few questions...
Indeed... being a cafe maid is really Rhiannon's second job. Her primary employment is in fact as a member of the police force, recently appointed a rookie detective. She tends to conceal this fact while on the job, but when the need comes she'll assert her authority to its utmost. Clever and talented, she tries to keep emotions separate from police work... homicides are ugly enough as they are. However, pretty much all are agreed she does excellent police work when she's actually on the beat, even if one or two of the more senior detectives tend to haze her anyway.
That's Rhiannon in a nutshell, however... polite and friendly, a helpful maid and a devoted policewoman, but Philemon himself couldn't help you if you step over the line with her. She
does have the same arcana as Mitsuru, after all...
[Story]
Rhiannon Nijikouri, or just Rhia, is in fact British by birth and partly by ancestry. A few decades back, her father fell in love with an Englishwoman and moved to the United Kingdom. Rhiannon was eventually born to the line, inheriting the golden hair and azure eyes of her female parentage. As a young girl, she grew up with a single father who had a tendency to lapse into his native Japanese in anger. Curious, at age 7 she bought a Japanese dictionary and started teaching herself the words.
While this was far from fluency, this experience proved useful when, at the age of 10, her father took severely ill and she was sent to her father's relatives in Mikage-cho to be cared for. Eventually, she elected to stay even after her father finally recovered. Quickly becoming fluent in both languages, she grew up a sought-after beauty, the "queen" of St. Hermelin High during her time there. During her time in school, she naturally drew much attention due to her foreign looks and the light accent her Japanese bore, but still managed to end up fast friends with a number of both classmates and former students.
In the process, she picked up quite a number of odd rumors. In the years to come, it fell buried into her mind, until early in 2010. A long series of rumors that had plagued Iwatodai, her then-current assignment as a rookie officer, had blossomed into a wide-spread cult and hysteria concerning "The Fall". In the midst of these rumors, Rhia remembered one of her own from her days at St. Hermelin, namely the rumor regarding "the Persona Game", a vague and occult-seeming ritual whose effects varied from telling to telling. All forms, however, seemed to regard the calling of a guardian.
Desperate to take her colleagues' minds off of the Fall and the cult's deity, a being known only as Nyx, and focus the minds of her fellow officers back onto the tasks at hand, Rhiannon spread the rumor among the others. A number of people were willing to take her up on it, and one stormy night Rhiannon and three of her close friends gathered in the dark break room, each standing at one corner of the room. Each, in turn, walked clockwise to the next person's corner, each time the person walking intoning, "Persona, Persona, please come here to me!" Rhiannon was last to move, speaking the words correctly at least, if not with the same enthusiasm. Despite the rumor having been given to her by a very old friend, she hadn't ever believed it in the least.
... luckily, belief hadn't ever been a prerequisite for the game.
The moment Rhiannon finished speaking, the lights in the break room suddenly flashed on bright white. This only lasted for an instant, however; the lights quickly dimmed, shafts of bright energy lancing around the room. The other three players crumpled one by one, and as Rhiannon ran towards the nearest, a curling bolt of light struck directly through her, and she slumped.
For a moment, she thought she saw a strange man in white, a porcelain mask enameled with the figure of a butterfly covering even his eyes. The man regarded her with what she somehow knew was a smile even behind the mask, and asked her name. Then, she was laying on the floor of the darkened break room again, listening to the clock strike midnight... and when she and the others made their weary way out into the lobby, it was to find a red pool staining the tiles, and a coffin standing behind the desk where the reception officer had been before.
That was about the point where the door slid open and a trio of strange, black, crawling creatures entered, each bearing a differently colored mask. Rhiannon, in a panic, drew her weapon and fired... the shots barely seeming to affect the creature. As the Mayas drew closer, however, a voice seemed to fill Rhiannon's mind, one that she would later learn had reached out to her three fellow officers as well.
~
Have no fear, young one. I art thou, and thou art I... I, the huntress beneath the pale moon, dwell within the sea of your soul... In time of peril, I will become the mask to shelter you from life's hardships... Now, call upon me, Rhiannon Nijikouri...~
Rhiannon... raised her hand as the voice faded, somehow knowing whose voice it had been, even as a pair of blue rings flickered and spun around her. "Diana!" The other three called out names of their own, and in a blaze of multicolored light that overpowered the greenish glow of the full moon, the three Shadows... simply weren't there anymore.
That was Rhiannon's first foray into the Dark Hour, as it was called... though less than a month later it vanished, before the four could do much proper investigation into just what it was, or what that strange tower in the direction of Gekkoukan High might be. Her memories remained, however, and as she got back in touch with a few old friends from St. Hermelin, she began to learn more about the "Persona" she had awakened, and the "Shadows" she had fought.
It would be another two years and more before she encountered the Dark Hour once again... She had, at the time, been working part-time at the Moonlight Blossom. In part, for a little extra spending money, in part because she had been recently promoted to detective and people are far more comfortable around a woman in a maid outfit than in a detective's uniform, and in part as a form of stress relief after two homicide investigations in a row. On a whim, she had taken a later shift; people are more relaxed at night, and Rhiannon had been somewhat of a night owl since her youth (talking to relatives in Japan when you live in England will do that).
In the midst of tea service, she looked up with her usual smile from a cup to find a coffin rather awkwardly placed where the customer had just been sitting. A quick scan of the restaurant confirmed the worst: all but one frightened-looking young man had vanished, and the waning moon shone green outside once more. She hastened to the remaining man's side to reassure him, when the door creaked open, a pair of black-feathered birds fluttering in, each bearing a tiny lantern.
A few well-placed lightning attacks later, and the Shadows dispersed, Diana lingering a few moments longer as Rhiannon looked up at her, lightly engaging the safety on her pistol. "Looks like we're back in business, partner..."
[Persona Stats]
Initial Persona: Diana
The twin brother of the sun god Phoebus, Diana was worshipped by the Romans as a goddess of the hunt and often associated with the moon. Oak groves are sacred to her, and she is associated strongly with forests, being often attributed the power to speak with animals. She is also often regarded as a symbol of feminine power, and is one of the three "maiden goddesses", along with Minerva/Athena and Vesta.
Diana also serves as the Prime Persona of Rhiannon, the Prime form bringing some minor cosmetic changes as well as improved stats and access to the strongest ability in each line.
Skills:
Zio->Zionga->Ziodyne
The basic single target Elec-element spell line. The first version is inherent to Diana, while the third can only be learned by Diana Prime.
Mazio->Mazionga
Group-target versions of the Zio line of spells. The third-tier version is not accessible until the Ultimate level of Rhiannon's Persona is unlocked.
Cleave->Double Fangs->Mighty Swing->Luna Shear
A progression of physical skills, each of which does single-target physical Slash damage. Each has a slight increase in critical chance over the last as well as growing power. Luna Shear is a specialty technique only accessible as Diana Prime, and in addition to damage carries a 10% base chance of dealing kill via Mudo to the opponent. This can be resisted, nullified, or even reflected as normal. For enemies weak to Mudo, the chance becomes 25%.
Mudo->Mamudo->Mudoon
This line of spells carries varying percentage chance of inflicting an instant kill to the opponent, dependent on their resistance to Darkness magic. (Base chances are 25%, 20%, and 50%.) Enemies weak to Mudo spells have a high chance of being killed instantly. The second version affects all enemies at once.
Media->Mediarama
Healing spells that affect the entire party. These do not heal for significantly less than their single-target counterparts, but cost proportionately more SP. Media is an inherent skill for Diana.
Rakukaja->Marakukaja
A buffing skill that improves the target's Defense skill for three turns. The upgraded version affects the entire party at once for double the SP. Rakukaja is an inherent skill for Diana.
Tarukaja->Matarukaja
A buffing skill that improves the target's Attack power for three turns. The upgraded version affects the entire party at once for double the SP.
Sukukaja->Masukukaja
A buffing skill that improves the target's Agility for three turns, boosting both chance of hitting the opponent and of evading attacks. The upgraded version affects the entire party at once for double the SP.
