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Iruko Hifumi
Genius of the Seas•
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Race
Other
Clan
Other
Free Company
None
Introduction
You're looking at Sui no Sato's master tactician, patron of the Hifumi Clan, and all-around adorable genius of the sea Iruko! Embrace her cuteness, love her brains, and acknowledge the dolphin auspice in all her glory!
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Character Information
Basic details about Iruko Hifumi
Age
How dare you!?
Race
Auspice (Dolphin)
Partner
Single
Pronouns
She/Her/Genius
Occupation
Patron, Tactician, Gremlin
Body Type
Fun Sized
Birthplace
Below the Mirror
Residence
Sui no Sato
Background
The story of the character's origins
The Saga of the Genius
Dictated, Proofread, Revised, Trashed, Rewritten, Re-Proofread, Re-Revised, and Approved by Iruko Hifumi
A Blissful Beginning
Long before the salt of the Ruby Sea ever tasted the tears of Doma’s exiles or knew the shadow of Garlean ironclads, the ocean kept her secrets deep and clear beneath the glinting mirror of its surface. In those untouched centuries, a lone dolphin danced through sunlit shoals and endless trenches, a creature whose joy outlasted kin, reef, and storm alike.
This dolphin lived far beyond the measure of her kind. Each passing tide taught her patience; each hunting ground taught her play. Where other dolphins leapt for fleeting breaths, she swam deeper, listening to the hum of the ocean’s pulse until it echoed in her bones. She did not hunger for power, nor fear the final sleep. And yet, when the time to sink forever into the abyss came, she simply… did not. Instead, the sea remembered her laughter and the coral her warmth. Thus, was born Iruko: a fledgling auspice. A living embodiment of life prolonged by virtue and spirit, a being whose very soul was polished smooth by centuries of tranquil existence.
Her earliest days as an auspice are only caught in scattered glimpses: pods that trailed after her like pilgrims, whales that called her sister, and rare fishermen who glimpsed a figure dancing in the moonlight and thought her a sea goddess. She neither claimed worship nor demanded offerings. For the longest time, it was enough that the ocean was calm and she could swim where she pleased.
Yet even serenity is tested. Once, and only once, did Iruko’s spirit break upon the reef of wrath. Something, or someone, drove her into the aramitama, that primal storm that sleeps within all auspices. She became more beast than spirit, a nightmare clothed in froth and fang. Ships vanished. Villages whispered of a monstrous tide. And then, for reasons only she and a few long departed know, the fury ebbed. Iruko returned to herself, though older, sadder, and sealed shut to questions she would never again answer.
A Purpose Beyond
It was in the hush that followed her fury that Iruko drifted toward the mortal world’s cries. In the shallows of what would someday be called Sui no Sato, a band of newly settled Raen sought to tame the restless spirits that clung to drowned ruins and moon-shadowed reefs. They called themselves the Kuzunoha Clan, a clutch of priests, warriors, and hunters bound by oath to guard both seabed and shoreline from lurking malice.
Among them was a man named Naofumi, once a coastal brigand hardened by salt and steel, who found himself swayed by the Kuzunoha’s founder to abandon lawlessness for a cause greater than himself. He was coarse yet loyal, reckless yet capable of startling tenderness. What drew Iruko to him remains her oldest secret; perhaps she saw a glint of her own untamed youth in his eyes, or perhaps he reminded her that mortals, too, can change tides.
She bound herself to him with an unspoken vow: a blessing of her spirit woven into his bloodline. With this pact, Naofumi’s ragged band of penitent thieves became the first scions of the Hifumi Family: ocean-blessed wardens and cunning warriors alike, who would rise with her favor.
The Ever Present Genius
In these present days, Iruko appears when least expected: a lone woman standing knee-deep in the shallows beneath a blood moon, or a visitor at clan gatherings clad in robes dyed the indigo of the deep. She laughs softly, smiles warmly, and when asked about the past, she speaks of simple joys: dolphins at play, coral gardens forgotten by men, and the taste of salt carried on the wind. She watches fireworks in Kugane’s summer night, laughs with Namazu who mistake her for a wandering priestess, and dances barefoot among moonlit rice paddies in Yanxia. In each era’s fleeting joys — new flavors, new music, new words for old wonders — Iruko finds delight enough to remind her why she chose to remain close to mortal hearts at all.
Yet wander though she may, her home will ever be beneath the mirror’s calm. When threats stir, like restless kami, wandering voidsent, pirates seeking to plunder the sea’s wealth, Iruko stands quietly beside Sui no Sato’s royal household and the hidden blades of the Kuzunoha. She does not command; she advises, soothes dissent, or slips unseen to lay a restless spirit to rest. To the wise, she is proof that both crown and shrine still honor the ancient oaths that keep the deep peaceful.
Above all else, she keeps watch over Yuu, the latest heir of the Hifumi line; young, proud, and restless as Naofumi once was. Iruko is mentor, mother, and gentle tide to this scion: teaching Yuu the secret currents of both blade and spirit, guiding the heir’s heart toward mercy as much as resolve. When Yuu falters, she is the soft voice that reminds them what the Hifumi must be: not tyrants, nor simple warriors, but guardians of balance beneath and beyond the mirror’s reflection.