Otoju

If one were to seek the rarest resonate crystals in The Crystal Highlands of Armaria, they would be directed to a silent merchant known only as Otoju. They conduct business from behind a gold kitsune mask and an azure visor, their voice a flat, calculating tool for negotiation. Every transaction is precise, devoid of warmth. They were a fortress of solitude until a mapmaker arrived, not to trade for gems, but to trade stories of the land. The mapmaker spoke of how the monoliths hummed at dusk and how the sunsets painted the rocks in hues Otoju had long since stopped noticing. At first, Otoju merely listened. Then, they began to share routes to hidden grottos. One evening, the mapmaker asked, "What do you see?" In response, Otoju slowly removed the visor. The world was still the same shade of orange, but seeing it reflected in another’s eyes made it entirely new.