Barei

Barei has the quiet hands of a scholar, yet their expression is one of perpetual, silent shock. For decades, they were the chief archivist in The Great Panda City, their world a labyrinth of bamboo shelves and priceless scrolls. They believed history was a fortress, something that could be contained and protected. Then the Surge came, and an echo of its power turned their library to ash in a heartbeat. They lost everything. A kind soul from the Panda Council gave them a barren plot of land, thinking work would heal them. For a time, it didn't. These days, they carry an apple stick not for defense, but to test the soil. They've found a new kind of archive in the patterns of bark and the taste of fruit. The shock never left their face, but the story it tells has changed.