Yue Yuan
| Gender | None (they/them) |
|---|---|
| Birth year | ? |
| Birthday | 9/28 |
| Height | ~185cm |
A mysterious Holy Vessel who lives in a massive labyrinth, which they are always expanding.
They are the only known Aeon to have survived into the Common Era.
Little is known about them, as they are located deep in the Eastern Mountains.
They used to be one of two patron gods of Taiyue, an Old World city famed for its art.
A formal and cold individual, Yuan cares for little outside of their art.
They had always planned to die alongside Taiyue, which they saw as their greatest project.
In the end, however, they became a Vessel, and thus incapable of death.
They are building a tomb around the remains of their city-state as they patiently wait for the day they can die.
Appearance
Reference sheet
As an Aeon, Yuan is capable of taking on many forms by building and piloting artificial bodies.
In all of their forms, they have a golden orb, which stores their consciousness and powers.
Yuan typically appears as a humanoid with long black hair, red eyes, and their orb floating above their head.
They care a lot about their appearance, usually wearing some amount of makeup and jewelry.
They are often drawn with some combination of horns, pointed ears, tail, and doll joints.
After Taiyue fell, Yuan's orb becomes shattered, though it continues to hover around them.
They mainly wear white, a mourning color.
Their motifs include ceremonial swords, candles, and a fire burnt out.
Personality
Elegant, cold, and formal, Yuan comes off as someone above humanity, concerned with higher pursuits.
They are extremely dedicated to the arts, and take much pride in their skill.
They hold themself to extreme standards, but have the experience and drive to achieve them regardless.
Determined and unwaveringly loyal, they do not believe in impossibility.
This singlemindedness makes them extremely out of touch with the world outside of their own head.
Despite living among mortals, they have little knowledge of things like "how to use a stove" or "how much could one banana cost."
They are awful at reading the room and picking up on social cues.
They struggle to understand other people's emotions.
Despite this rigidity, Yuan can be quite open-minded.
They have a history of unconventional picks when selecting artists for patronage, unlike the strict tastes of other judges.
Additionally, when other Aeons argued that creating artificial life was heretical, Yuan nevertheless assissted in building Fortune.
Not being human themself, Yuan viewed their own appearance and conduct as a form of performance art.
Behaviors natural to humans, such as smiling or frowning, did not come naturally to them.
They took care to dress and act elegantly, playing the part of deity for their people.
After living with humans for a long time, they began to unconsciously adopt their mannerisms.
Likewise, the city that began as an art project became something much more personal and precious.
This made the fall of Taiyue all the more painful for them.
Yuan feels an intense sense of responsbility and guilt towards Taiyue.
They view their time in the New World as a sort of penance.
They lose all passion they had for art, but continues to build the tomb around the city as they feel there is nothing else they can do.
Upon meeting Mela and learning that he grew up in Taiyue, they immediately pledge themself to him out of a sense of duty.
As the story progresses, Yuan feels guilty when they stop wanting to die, feeling as though they have no right to live.
Background
In the past, Yuan was an Aeon.
At some point, they met An Tai, another Aeon, and decided to establish the city-state Taiyue with him.
Taiyue grew, eventually becoming a hub for art and science in the Old World.
Unlike An Tai, Yuan was a more distant ruler, preferring to work on their own art and observe the city from afar.
Despite this, they were still involved in the city's governance, defense, and culture, and seen by many as a patron god of art.
When the prophets first announced the Creator's impending death, Yuan, along with most Aeon, assumed that all life on Earth would die along with it.
Wanting to give their people the opportunity to die cleanly, Yuan and An Tai announced this to Taiyue.
The two would eventually end their own lives in the Final Ceremony.
None of them predicted the emergence of new gods, nor Yuan becoming one.
A month after the ceremony, Yuan woke up to a world that was practically unrecognizable.
Natural disasters had destroyed most of Taiyue, and most survivors had long fled.
Yuan stayed to take care of the remaining few, though none of them knew what was happening.
Eventually, Yuan set out to look for answers.
They were able to gather information on the post-death world by asking around nearby sesttlements.
In their absence, however, the state of the Taiyue survivors deteriorated greatly.
By the time they returned, they had nearly all died.
Consumed by grief and guilt, they saw no point in continuing to live.
They began to work on a tomb for their beloved city, waiting patiently for death.
Relationships
An Tai
Co-rulers of Taiyue. They complemented each other in every way. An Tai acted as the gleaming figurehead of the city-state, while Yuan operated more discretely. Yuan grieved for An Tai as much as Taiyue when the Old World ended.
Mela
Yuan was barely aware of Mela in the Old World. They meet when Mela travels to Taiyue in the New World, after both of them become Vessels. Upon learning Mela is from Taiyue, Yuan pledges themself to him out of obligation to their city. However, they also get along well, being fellow artists and Taiyueans. Yuan likes hearing about Mela's travels, and envies his genuine passion for art and life. However, they also fear becoming too attached to him because of their obligation to die.
Koga
An old friend from Taiyue. Yuan had attended one of his shows on a whim, back when he was still relatively unknown. They were impressed by his work, and wanted tell him as much. However, in order to be let backstage they had to reveal their identity. Though Yuan thought little of it at the time, their endorsement would make Koga famous overnight. Though their meetings were rare, Yuan appreciated hearing more about his unique approach to art. His insistence on doing random activities together was fine with them.
Songyun
A singer Yuan met in the early days of Taiyue. Yuan would frequent her teahouse to observe the people, which is where they met. Though friendly at first meeting, Songyun was kind of an asshole to anyone remotely close to her. Yuan had little patience for Songyun's antics, but still tried their best to understand her, seeing it as a test. What kind of a god would give up on their people so easily? Eventually earns her respect.
Trivia
- Their favorite medium is multimedia sculpture.
- They do not need to eat or sleep, though they have bodies that can simulate these functions.
- In the New World, their powers are greatly diminished. They mainly use their human form because it is the most energy efficient.
- They have decent physical strength from being an Aeon. If they were a human, they would have the arm strength of 2 ants.
