Siyu

Siyu
Title	Elder of Grandis
Current Residence	Shangri-La
Gender	Female
Race	Sage (Snake Anima)
Affiliations	Elders of Grandis Four Symbols
Minions	Four Symbols Master Tai Yu Researchers of Odium Constables of Odium Guardian Kalos and the other Guardians
Enemies	Gerand Darmoor Kaling Shensung Maolang
Status	Alive

Siyu is one of the twelve elders of Grandis.

Story

The Elders of Grandis

Siyu was a snake Anima who lived during the era of the Ancient Gods, famed throughout Grandis for her strong sense of duty and her desire to help the world by sharing her wisdom and knowledge. Alongside her were eleven other wise and courageous Anima, who became known as the elders of Grandis.

The elders' talent and convictions drew the attention of the Overseers, whom the elders revered as the will of the world. The Overseers tasked the elders with a direct mission to quell the chaos of the gods by creating beings capable of facing them in combat. In order to do so, the Overseers created a powerful relic known as the World Heart, capable of stripping a god of all their power.

The Adversary Experiments

In order to aid the elders with their experiments, the Overseers imbued them with their divine blessings, giving them a nearly infinite lifespan and an army of researchers to serve as their helpers. With this divine blessing, Siyu ascended to sagehood and worked with the other elders to create the beings that the will of the world had asked of them.

With their ample resources, the elders created a large, floating laboratory known as Odium. In order to protect them and their research, the elders called in the four strongest Anima in the world - Ara the Blue Dragon, Shuli the Vermillion Bird, Baekyeon the White Tiger, and Gaon the Black Tortoise. These four warriors were blessed by the will of the world and became known as the Four Symbols.

In Odium, the elders began conducting research on how to weaponize the immense divine power inside the World Heart. Their experiments led to the creation of the Godsphere, a relic modeled off the World Heart. As these man-made Godspheres were weaker than the World Heart, they did not possess the power to drain the energy of higher beings, nor did they share the conditions required to awaken its power.

Instead, the Godspheres had their own unique conditions - namely that they would only awaken in response to the collective determination of the people, such that their immense power could never be monopolized by a single individual. The Godspheres were similar in nature to the holy relics of the Ancient Gods, which awakened in response to the believers of those respective gods, choosing a champion whom the followers of their religion placed their faith in.

With the creation of the Godspheres, the elders began conducting experiments to fuse mortals with the Godspheres in order to give them the power to match the gods. In order to do so, the elders created mechanical Guardians to defend the laboratory, as well as to identity suitable test subjects. Worthy candidates were known as Vessels, who would then be experimented upon in order to be fused with the Godspheres.

As the elders conducted their experiments, they began using a combination of magic and cybernetics to enhance their Vessels and make them stronger, as well as to forcibly make them compatible with the Godspheres. Their early experiments resulted in a number of failed test subjects, many of whom were deemed defective and either contained inside the laboratory or thrown off the edge of Odium.

Over time, the elders began perfecting their research and were soon able to successfully unite the Godspheres with their Vessels, giving rise to the first Adversaries. Imbued with the power to challenge the gods, the Adversaries began the conflict that would one day be known as the Ancient War. With the success of their experiments, the elders began mass-producing Adversaries in order to subdue the gods and end their chaos.

The Ancient War

As the war progressed, however, the elders soon began noticing that their research had a critical flaw. As a result of their experimentation, their Adversaries began losing everything that made them human - their memories, their emotions, their free will, and their sense of self - thereby reducing them into empty shells devoid of anything except their single-minded obsession to fulfill their assigned purpose as Adversaries of the gods.

This lack of humanity was called contamination by the elders, who were shocked and disgusted with themselves for having forcibly taken away the humanity and free will of so many heroes of the world. Nevertheless, as they had been given a direct mission by the Overseers to end the rampage of the wild and unaccountable gods, the elders continued with their research, despite knowing that they were committing grave atrocities and compromising all the core values that they held sacred.

Soon after, the elders also realized another side-effect of their Adversaries - one which had been directly created by the Overseers themselves. The Adversaries' power to destroy higher beings made them a great danger to the world, for while they were working to end the chaos of the gods, allowing such powerful and dangerous weapons to remain in the world was a grave risk, as their mere existence had the potential to usher in a new age of chaos, equal to that of the Ancient Gods.

For this reason, it had been ordained that the fate of every Adversary - from the moment that they awakened - was to die soon after fulfilling their purpose. As a result, their Adversaries - after defeating the gods - began falling one by one. Because of this, the elders continued requiring candidates for their experiments in order to give rise to more Adversaries.

Kaling and the Four Perils

Over time, the war continued progressing as the elders had hoped, with the gods falling one by one to the Adversaries' power. Eventually, only one god remained and the elders continued their experiments to create an Adversary to confront the last god standing. Though their test subjects were typically brought in from outside Odium, there was one amongst the researchers who aided the elders named Kaling, who was deemed a suitable candidate for experimentation, despite the research team's reservations about whether she would be compatible with the Godsphere.

Kaling readily agreed to undergo the brutal experiments, though she was ultimately deemed a defective Vessel. Over time, the contamination began overtaking Kaling, whose humanity was stripped away from her, leaving her obsessed with fulfilling her purpose to defeat the Ancient Gods. Because of this, she created four mechanical monsters whom she released into Grandis, intending for them to consume smaller monsters and amass strength, which she would them combine with a Vessel and a Godsphere to give rise to an extremely powerful Adversary.

Despite the elders and the researchers recognizing the signs of contamination in Kaling, they turned a blind eye to her experiments, refusing to believe that the contamination could affect even the best of them.

The Bell Mysticant

Over time, however, the elders and the researchers began realizing that the contamination was beginning to affect even them, slowly eroding away their humanity. Hoping to stop the contamination, an elder named Weio proposed that they create an object known as a mysticant, which would be able to cleanse them of their contamination and wash away their grave sins.

Several elders refused, claiming that they should view their lack of humanity as punishment from the will of the world for their abhorrent crimes. However, some of the elders, including Siyu, agreed with Weio and began experimenting alongside her to create an object to stave off their contamination. Their efforts resulted in the creation of the bell mysticant, whose ring would be able to cleanse their sins and their contamination. However, as the bell would only ring in the hands of someone with an exceptionally pure heart, Weio - a sheep Anima - left the bell with a sheep Anima village, entrusting them to find someone who could make the bell ring.

End of the War

By the end of the war, the contamination completely took hold of Kaling, erasing her morality and causing her to fall completely to evil. After she released her four monsters - Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Taotie - into the world, her creations began consuming fiends and terrorizing the entirety of Grandis with their impunity, causing them to be reviled as the Four Perils. Though Kaling was unconcerned, believing that the results of her experiment would win the war, the last god was defeated at the holy city of Cernium before Kaling's experiment could finish.

At the end of the war, the elders realized that they could no longer turn a blind eye to Kaling's madness, and so they sent another defective Vessel named Tai Yu in order to stop Kaling and her Four Perils. Tai Yu successfully sealed away Kaling in a place that the researchers could not reach, and in a way that left no trace.

After the war ended, the elders realized that their contamination had spread critically, which threatened to completely erode their humanity. They also realized that though the war had ended, their research to create beings capable of destroying gods had the potential to give birth to a new age of chaos. For this reason, the elders, in accordance to the will of the world, decided that they would clear away their research and sequester themselves from the world in order to prevent both the contamination and the secrets of the Overseers from leaking out.

Shangri-La, the Realm of the Sages

With no Godspheres left in Odium, the elders took the World Heart - the original template made by the Overseers - and forcibly fused it with Hundun, the strongest of the Four Perils. As the World Heart's power was so strong that even they could not handle it, the elders hoped to deplete its power in order to ensure that no one would be able to misuse it. After fusing it with Hundun, the elders used him as the power source of Odium. Meanwhile, Tai Yu sealed away the other three Perils, though the elders kept the truth about Hundun secret from both Tai Yu and the researchers.

The researchers, using some of Kaling's old research, created mechanical dolls called Constables - sentient robots made in the researchers' own image, with their Anima features replaced with metal equivalents. The Constables were then tasked with maintaining the laboratory in the researchers' absence. Additionally, the elders left Guardian Kalos, the strongest of their mechanical Guardians, to serve as the laboratory's sentinel. With Hundun and the World Heart powering such a vast and complex mechanical system, the elders hoped to slowly deplete the World Heart's power over the span of many ages.

With all the Adversaries meeting their demise as a result of their preordained fate, the divine power of the Godspheres - originally stemming from the World Heart - permeated deep into the land. The elders then locked all remnants of their research - including the monstrous creatures born from their failed experiments - inside the laboratory, tasking their Constables and Guardians with safeguarding Odium. With all traces of their research cleared away, the elders used their power to create Shangri-La, also known as the realm of the sages, where they planned to imprison themselves.

Shangri-La - a realm made completely out of magic - was created in the image of a beautiful painting and structured with four inner realms that corresponded to the four seasons. The outermost barrier was Spring, which led deeper into Summer, Autumn, Winter, and finally to the innermost pavilion where the elders lived. Shangri-La was created to be closed to outsiders, with only a true sage being allowed to enter and leave, either physically through a special hanging scroll, or by astral projection through their dreams.

In order to prevent outsiders from forcing their way into Shangri-La, the Four Symbols who protected the elders were tasked with guarding each of the inner realms and their barriers. Ara the Blue Dragon protected Spring, Shuli the Vermillion Bird protected Summer, Baekyeon the White Tiger protected Autumn, and Gaon the Black Tortoise protected Winter. Each of the Four Symbols had their life forces tied to special scrolls that served as gateways in and out of their respective realms.

With the natural balance of the four seasons, the elders hoped that the contamination spreading to themselves and the researchers would be halted. After imprisoning themselves inside Shangri-La, the elders spent the ages filled with guilt and remorse for the atrocities that they had committed during the war. Because of the contamination, the elders and the researchers also began having their humanity stripped away, slowly eroding their ability to feel. Nevertheless, the spiritual balance of Shangri-La countered the contamination and prevented it from worsening.

Filled with unending regret, the elders branded themselves as the Sinners and waited ages for the one who would ring the bell and wash away their sins to appear. Despite their guilt and their contamination, the elders maintained their strong sense of duty and morality for which the Overseers had chosen them. Seeing it as their continued responsibility to quell the chaos of the world, just as the Overseers had ordered, the elders sent Tai Yu and several other sages to the outside world in order to correct all that had gone awry.

In Shangri-La, Siyu took the responsibility of overseeing the realm of Summer, alongside Weio and Wushuai.

Meeting the New Adversary

Eons after the end of the Ancient War, Tai Yu brought a new Adversary to Shangri-La after the Angler Company's invasion of Odium. Zigang, Maolang, Shensung, and Weio appeared to greet the Adversary, and were shocked to find that not only had they retained their humanity and sense of self, but that they had also escaped their preordained death, despite having fulfilled their purpose by killing a god.

Upon learning that Gerand Darmoor had broken their Seal Stone, thereby saving their life, Zigang and the other elders realized that the Adversary had rejected the will of the world, and that they would one day throw the world into chaos. Zigang ordered the Adversary and the World Heart, which they had brought from Odium, to be locked in Shangri-La, but soon after, Kaling broke into the realm of the sages with the help of several traitorous elders, including Shinseng and Maolang.

The Adversary worked to help the elders by defeating Kaling, who was killed after the World Heart drained the Transcendent powers inside of her that Darmoor had bestowed. Following the battle, Siyu and the other elders imparted a portion of their power to Tai Yu, who partially restored the broken barriers of Shangri-La.

After an internal discussion, the elders agreed to allow the Adversary to leave with the World Heart, as Shangri-La was no longer a safe place to keep it. The Adversary then prepared to leave with Gaon the Black Tortoise, who had decided to come with them in order to rescue Baekyeon and Ara, who had been kidnapped by the traitorous elders in the battle.

After the Shangri-La storyline, the player can speak to Siyu, who tells them that the World Heart is where everything began, and that she'd never thought that she'd see it again. She then wonders whether it all comes down to destiny in the end and asks the player what they think. She notes that they seem to disagree, which she says makes sense, given that they're an Adversary of Destiny.

Lara can also choose to trigger an exclusive dialogue by selecting a second prompt that only appears to her. Siyu explains that Weio had initially come up with the idea of making the bell, though everyone who had supported her idea had contributed to its development, including herself. She explains that she had left behind quite a few test tubes in Odium and wonders if they're still intact. She tells Lara that she might have seen some of them lying around. One of these can be found in Sunny Laboratory 3, which has an Abandoned Worktable that Lara can get exclusive dialogue from by clicking on it.

NPC

Shangri-La

Siyu
Location	Four Seasons Pavilion

Gallery

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  NPC Portrait of Siyu