Cerydra/Story

Profile

Cerydra is the sovereign of both Hyperborea and the Imperator of the Okhema Alliance, described as "a chess piece biding its time" in the prophecy.^[1] She found and freed Tribbie when she was imprisoned in a cell and recruited Hysilens and Aglaea as her aids. She is the one who united the Chrysos Heirs, turning the prophecy into law.^[2] Known as Experimental Factor "HubRis504," among the Twelve Factors that make up the Amphoreus Experiment, she represents the Path of Order.

Appearance

Cerydra is a short woman with cyan, pink-highlighted eyes and diamond-shaped pupils. Her hair is silvery-white, fading to cyan at the ends, styled into a short bob and tied into a long, low ponytail with a large black bow. Some of her hair is partially braided along her right side, and choppy bangs frame her face with five cyan diamond patterns on the left. Her head is adorned with a black, white, gold, and cyan crown that spews blue flame.

Cerydra wears a short, sleeveless dress in blue and white. The bodice is a dark teal with a long, triangular cutout at the back, lined in gold. The front of her skirt has two layers in teal and white. The upper layer is a lighter teal fading to navy blue. The front splits into four sections of angular designs with sharp curves that expose the white lower layer, which is lined in bright blue. The back is split into four longer strips lined in gold, with the middle having a shorter cape in navy blue with a silver balance scale. On her chest is a white brooch lined in gold, with a pink bow and an eight-pointed star pinning a cyan cravat.

Her shoulders have the same diamond markings as those on her bangs, with two on each shoulder, as well as a pair of black and cyan crystal-like bat wings that connect to her lower back. She wears a black underbust corset lined in gold, a golden chain hangs a pink flower and a crystal queen chess piece. Cerydra has dark blue sleeves that are puffy at the upper arm with a cyan flame design. The right sleeve is black with a white diamond pattern at the end, and the left is the opposite. On her left hand, she wears two cyan rings on her pointer and a gold ring on her thumb, while her right hand has two cyan rings on her middle and a gold ring on her pinky.

On her right leg, she wears a thigh-high cuff boot; the right shaft is black, and from the ankle down, the boot is a dark teal with a white ruffle peeking above. While on her left leg, she wears a diamond-shaped garter and a ankle shoe; the left shaft is a dark teal heel with black accents and a golden buckle, revealing white ruffled socks. Both soles are gold with heels reminiscent of chess pieces.

History

Eternal Recurrences

In all known Eternal Recurrences to feature Cerydra, she is born in Hyperborea with traits that mark her as a scion of Talanton. She eventually takes control of Okhema through conquest, where she gathers Hysilens, Tribios and Aglaea into her army. She eventually passes her title of leadership onto Aglaea, with her exact fate in each timeline changing.

Eternal Recurrence #1

Following Cerydra's announcement detailing the decree of the Flame-Chase Journey, Khaslana arrived in Okhema in an attempt to strike a deal with Cerydra.

Cerydra deliberately sent Hysilens, Tribbie and Aglaea to gauge his sincerity, learning about the truth of Amphoreus and the Era Nova from Khaslana. Cerydra agreed to let Khaslana slay the Titans on his own and claim their Coreflames, circumventing her fate of becoming the Demigod of Law.

At an unknown point in time, Cerydra was swallowed by the Black Tide.^[3]

Eternal Recurrence #4,048,128

The Flame-Chase Journey is completed perfectly, with the Coreflames of Ocean, Earth, Strife, Death and Sky reclaimed.

After their victory, Cerydra used her Demigod abilities to modify an unknown law, allowing everyone to obtain what they deemed a perfect ending. Hysilens and Cerydra disappeared from the public eye, with Cerydra swearing to wander with Hysilens as her follower. After years of wandering, Hysilens decided to settle in order to write a book, which Cerydra accepted earnestly. She made sure to note her excitement for Hysilens' next melody, assuring the Sea Siren that she had no intention of leaving.

There was no Era Nova in this recurrence, and the fate of Cerydra is left ambiguous.^[4]

Eternal Recurrence #18,250,001

In the Year 3920, Cerydra finds Seliose and Terravox, asking them to join the Okheman Alliance. She utilised Seliose and Terravox's unique skills in the campaigns against Georios in Year 3957 and Phagousa in Year 3960. The former battle costs Terravox his life but does not sway Seliose out of Cerydra's service.

Cerydra is killed in the battle against Phagousa, with the Council of Elders choosing to blame Seliose. Regardless of the truth, Cerydra is succeeded by Aglaea, with Seliose eliminating the entire council to ensure Aglaea's rise to power.^[5]

Eternal Recurrence #33,550,336

When Loukas, Icaria, and Corinth allied together in Year 3867 of the Light Calendar, Cerydra led the Hyperborean army with Hysilens to push back their invasion. During this battle, she allied with Chrysos Heir Fortunado, swaying the Loukas army to her side.^{[6][Note 1]} Their victory allowed Cerydra to crown herself the ruler of Okhema, silencing the Council of Elders and quashing all opposition. Under her leadership, she vowed to bring justice for the commonfolk, with her reign laying the foundations for the prosperity and strength that Okhema enjoyed up until the Era Nova. She also worked with Hysilensd to conquer the other city-states one by one, ending the Chrysos War. Despite this, she failed to save Janusopolis from destruction.^[7][8]

After Seliose slew Aquila and became the first Flame-Chaser, Cerydra issued an edict proclaiming the fulfillment of Kephale's prophecy, thereby elevating it to the status of law. At an unknown point after the Month of Freedom in Year 3870, Cerydra was able to claim the Coreflame of Law, becoming the Demigod of Law as a result.^[9] However, in an unknown battle, the Flame-Chasing Army suffered a devastating defeat. Afterwards, Cerydra changed, becoming obstinate and dismissive of all counsel, and eventually disappeared from public eye. Her position in the Flame-Chase Journey was passed onto Aglaea, with her death going unrecorded.^[10]

Eternal Recurrence #33,550,337

Early Life

Cerydra was born prior to Year 3851 of the Light Calendar, living life in poverty within the Northern Empire of Hyperborea. Due to her blue hair and golden blood matching that of the fallen Hyperborean royal family, an ambitious aristocrat took her in, raising her to be a fake heir to the throne. Through rumors, coercion and other means, the aristocrat succeeded in making Cerydra a puppet ruler, taking over the empire as their Regent due to her age. To keep up the facade, he privately punished Cerydra with physical violence if she showed hesitation, ruthlessly trained her in royal duties, and did all he could to keep her from taking power by conspiring with the chancellor. Despite this, Cerydra's teacher believed her to be capable of overthrowing the regent, encouraging her through veiled commentary.^[11]

Over the years, Cerydra begun to knit together a plan to take power from the regent, using servants as her eyes and ears. When opponents to the regent begun sneaking assassins into the royal guard, Cerydra "aided" them in their plots, while secretly using them for her own plans. In time, she turned her attention to the civilians who revered her, supporting the elderly and vulnerable and growing her reputation as a just heir. By the time she had laid out her foundations, the chancellor and regent sent her north in order to conquer the other cities for them.^[6] Cerydra, of course, turned this into an opportunity, assimilating the city-state of Loukas under her banner and executing the city's enforcer, Chrysos Heir Fortunado.^{[12][Note 1]} From there, she swept through the entire north, assimilating multiple city-states by the time Tribios ascended to Demigodhood. Upon hearing the prophecy of Flame-Chase, Cerydra begun to assimilate more city-states based on its contents by Year 3865, and may have recruited Tribios during this time.

The Imperator

After conquering the northern city-states, Cerydra returned with her army to Hyperborea, dethroning the regent and his followers. She sentenced him to death by fire, taking the imperial crown for herself.^[6] Around this time, Cerydra found the sole remaining Sea Siren, Helektra, and offered her a place in her army. She also found success in recruiting the Bulsa crown prince, Labienus, and a member of the Twilight Courtyard, Seneca of the Winterfolk. In Year 3867, Cerydra led her army to the defence of Okhema, repelling the united forces of Icaria and Corinth under Loukas' former tyrant in half a day. Cerydra and her forces succeeded in capturing the Loukas and Icaria tyrants as a result, with the Hyperborean queen crowning herself the Imperator of the newly created Okheman Alliance.

In Year 3870, as Seliose slew Aquila and executed the Skyfolk, Castrum Kremnos declared war on the Okheman Alliance. Because of their threat, Cerydra was forced to focus her efforts on suppressing them, weakening her control over other city states. In Year 3874, Cerydra sent Seneca, now "Dux Brumalis", to deal with the rebellion in Campa alongside forces from Ladon. Seneca was successful in achieving Cerydra's task and in subduing the burgeoning rebellion in Ladon as well. In Year 3903, Cerydra sent Labienus, now "Dux Fragoris", to route the Kremnoans in the Tretos Plains. Through a struggle lasting three months, Labienus was successful in breaking through the Kremnoan command structure, with the war finished after Cerydra identified a weakness in the Kremnoan formations.^[12] Either before or after the fifty-year peace deal was brokered between the two cities, Labienus was able to slay Nikador and take the Coreflame of Strife, though what happened to the Coreflame after is unclear.^[13]

In the Year 3910, after a failed siege attempt against Okhema, Cerydra ordered Helektra - now going by Hysilens - to enact a surprise attack on Corinth. Her attack led to the tyrant king jumping from a window to take his own life, with the Corinthian army surrendering immediately afterwards. In Year 3930, after failing to hear from both Apollonius, Verginia and a fragment of Tribios, launched a surprise attack on the Grove of Epiphany, without Labienus, Seneca or Hysilens present. Her attack on the Grove allowed her to slay Mnestia and overthrow the Sages of the Lotophagist, Caprist, Nodist, and Venerationist schools, declaring Georios her next target.^[14][12]

In Year 3955, Cerydra led an assault on Georios, being briefly inconvenienced by forces from Oleinus Odressia, Icaria, and Handak in Year 3956. Cerydra, fortunately, only ensured these forces were disarmed and not killed, recognising they were merely farming communities who once received aid from Georios. Cerydra's forces finally reached Georios in 3957, with the Alliance losing a sum of her army in the fight. Fortunately, Terravox was able to slay the titan alone, taking the Coreflame of Earth and mending the land with its power.^[12]

In Year 3959, six years after the Kremnos-Okhema peace treaty broke, Cerydra sent Labienus and Seneca to the Dolos Riverbed to deal with the Kremnoans there. After a brief clash with Gorgo and Eurypon, the two sides held a secretive meeting that was not recorded in later texts. After this talk, the Kremnoans withdrew completely.^[12]

At an unknown point in time during this era, Cerydra took control of the Cleaners, utilising them to dispose of political enemies. When "Dux Ironclad" Lucitus was killed instead of captured, she ordered the execution of all Cleaners associated with his death. She later ordered the Cleaner known as Darius to kill Caenis as a tribute to the Trailblazer, with Darius taking Caenis' name after the fact.^[15]

Meeting the Trailblazer

In Year 3960, Cerydra and Hysilens led a siege on Janusopolis, aided by "Bladed Black Velvet" Ferrum, the 97th of the 300 Rogues of Dolos, and Dolosian native Cifera. With Cifera and Ferrum's tunnel (made with information supplied by Tribios), Cerydra, Hysilens and a small party of elite Chrysos Heirs breached the Scales of Justice. Though met with resistance, they were successful in claiming the Coreflame of Law.^[12] Whilst there, they encounter Cyrene and the Trailblazer, who travelled to Janusopolis to warn Cerydra about the power of the Law Coreflame.^[16] Cerydra, having known of their arrival, gifted them the corpse of Caenis and invited them back to Okhema, intending to gauge their sincerity over their stay.

Once they returned to Okhema, Cerydra resumed her duties, allowing Cyrene and Trailblazer to roam as they wished. After the meeting to pass the campaign against Phagousa, Cerydra ordered Hysilens to assassinates the representative of Landon in retribution for the death of an Okheman messenger a few days before. Shortly after, she is approached by Lycurgus, who tried to sway her to his side by mentioning the dangers of the Trailblazer's Stellaron, amongst other things.

At the banquet, Cerydra ordered Hysilens to use her Sea Siren song to enchant the crowd, allowing her and Lygus to speak undisturbed. She also made sure to confiscate the belongings of Cyrene and the Traiblazer to secretly obtain the Chronocognitive Anchor, intending to use it as a last resort method against Lygus. As planned, she had Hysilens' give Cyrene and Trailblazer the God of Banquets' Dew to allow them to see the conversation hidden by the veil. Hysilens was able to gain the assurance for Ceyrdra that the outsiders would not transgress her authority regarding the Coreflame of Law, and in turn assured their loyalty to the Chrysos Heirs as a whole. After Cyrene and Trailblazer spied on the conversation for a while, Hysilens lowered the barrier on Cerydra's orders, and to her "surprise" is deemed a traitor. For the "crime" of using her veil to aid Trailblazer and Cyrene in "robbing the Coreflame of Law," the trio are sentenced to imprisonment.

This, however, was merely a ruse to discern Lygus' true intentions, which he revealed without hesitation. Cerydra, now fully aware of the truth, sided with Trailblazer and Cyrene, breaking her promise to hand over the Law Coreflame to Lygus. Enraged, Lygus exiled the Trailblazer to the Exomyth, despite Hysilens' attempt to stop him from doing as such. Equally as enraged, Cerydra used the Chronocognitive Anchor to summon Herta and Screwllum for aid, which Hysilens witnesses.^[17]

In the aftermath of the party, Cyrene used As I've Written to show Cerydra Trailblazer's memories in an attempt to secure the Imperator's alliance with the Trailblazer. Cerydra, of course, saw through Cyrene's intentions, and asked only to see a memory of an ocean, in order to gift it to Hysilens.^[14] Afterwards, she declared war on Lycurgus, and begun plans to slay Phagousa.

Ascension and Death

Unbeknownst to Hysilens and most of her key warriors, Cerydra planned to use the battle to complete her Trial of Law, sacrificing five hundred Chrysos Heirs for victory. Before she left, she forbade Aglaea and the fragments of Tribios from joining her, informing them alone of her plans. She asked of them not to mourn her and to instead lead the next Flame-Chase bravely. As the sole survivor of Cerydra's campaign, Hysilens claimed the Coreflame of Oceans, becoming its Demigod in turn. At the battle's conclusion, Cerydra revealed to Hysilens the price to overturn a Law of Amphoreus: The death of a demigod. She granted Hysilens the choice to either die or kill Cerydra to achieve this, with Hysilens choosing the latter.^[18]

Through her death, Cerydra was able to grant Herta and Screwllum access permissions to Scepter δ-me13, marking Lygus as a malicious intruder and freezing approximately 60% of his special permissions.^[19]. She also placed a failsafe within the Era Nova, claiming "If any anomaly occurs during the Era Nova process, all foreign elements will be eliminated immediately — whether it's the Remembrance or the Trailblaze — and the twelve Coreflames will complete the final Era Nova through the purest form of Destruction."^[20]

Legacy

After the death of the Imperator, Hysilens' whereabouts were unknown up until Year 4534. In the meantime, Aglaea succeeded her as the leader of the Flame-Chase, defending Okhema until her death in Year 4210.^[21]

In Year 4931, the Trailblazer broke out of the Exomyth with the aid of Evernight, bringing the modified Coreflame of Worldbearing with them. They used the memory guide created by Cyrene to find Hysilens, awakening her and then facing Lygus.^[22] After his defeat, the memory Cyrene cultivated for Cerydra was passed to Hysilens, giving her solace in the memoria existence of Scalegorge Waterscape.^[23] Due to her countermeasure tied to the Era Nova, Cerydra was able to stop Evernight's plan to modify Amphoreus a millennia after her own death.^[20] At the end of the cycle, an apparition of Cerydra appeared in the Demiurge Matrix, proclaiming that humanity in the next cycle would make its own laws, and that she would be both the cornerstone and foundation for Amphoreus' new empire.^[24]

The Final Cycle

In the Final Cycle, Cerydra ascended to the seat of Talanton, becoming the Titan of Law.^[25] In the Year 4931, Cerydra appeared in mortal form within the Ruins of Time, with all memories of her lives in the Eternal Recurrence. Reuniting with Hysilens, the two noticed they were being rejected by the Ruins - and Khaslana - theorizing that it was due to their lack of connection to him. As such, they turned down the offer to accompany the Trailblazer, Dan Heng, March 7th and Cyrene as memories, instead resolving to meet them on the battlefield.^[26]

During the climax of the battle against Irontomb, Cerydra and the other Flame-Chase Titans used their existences to help enact a cosmic-sized Era Nova on the world, reversing the damage done by the Lord Ravager.^[27] Cerydra appeared once more on the Astral Express, where she took the time to reflect on all that has happened.^[28] Afterwards, she and the other heirs returned to As I've Written, awaiting the rebirth of Amphoreus in reality.^[29]

Interlude Between Realities

Cerydra and her allies were able to briefly contact Trailblazer during the events of Cosmic Data Roaming. During their meeting, Cerydra revealed she had been scaling the landscapes of Amphoreus alone, though had since grown somewhat bored of it. Depending on the player's choice, she talked to the Trailblazer about either a self-inflicted failed career as a travel streamer (suggested by Hyacine) or a vested interest in meeting Jing Yuan for a game of strategy. After having her queries satiated, she departed to go climb the divine corpus of Cerces in the Grove of Epiphany, claiming she had let those beyond the sky "off the hook for now."^[30]

Trivia

• The top right of Cerydra's official introduction artwork reads "The stars shall sing of the Imperator's great journey." in Amphoreus Script.
  • During the Trailblaze Mission Silver Chariot, Part With That Humanity's Epic, it is revealed that this sentence was the Trailblazer's parting words to Cerydra as As I've Written was concluded.
• Some of Cerydra's abilities have nods to chess:
  • Her overworld attack summons a knight piece.
  • Her Technique, First-Move Advantage, refers to the tradition of White playing first.
  • Her Basic ATK, King's Castling, refers to a special move that can be done by the king and either rook as a way of further protecting the king from threats; so long as both pieces have not moved yet, the squares between the king and rook are vacant, and the king does not cross over or end on a square that can check it. Additionally, she hits the enemy with a rook.
  • Her Skill, Pawn's Promotion, refers to a special move that can be done by a pawn upon reaching the other side of the chessboard, where it can be replaced with any other piece except for a king. The pawn turning into a queen is a nod to how pawns are usually promoted to queens in most games of chess.
  • Her Ultimate, Scholar's Mate, refers to a four-move checkmate position of the same name.
• Cerydra's Bonus Abilities, Veni, Vidi, and Vici, are quoted from the Latin phrase "Veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered) attributed to Julius Caesar.
• Cerydra has the following aliases:
  • Chessmaster Monarch (title in As I've Written, Amphoreus' Saga of Heroes)
  • Law (self-proclaimed during Sun, Repel Stars and Pale Moon)
  • Flamebearer
    • Flamebearer Who Ends Wars
  • Tyrant
    • Tyrant of Dawncloud
  • Empress
    • Empress of the Holy City
  • Supreme Commander
  • Imperator
    • Imperator of the Flame-Chase
    • "Kaiser" (Chinese: 凯撒; Japanese: カイザー)
  • Mad Queen
• According to Evernight, Cerydra's Myers–Briggs personality type is ENTJ.^[31]
• Ceydra wears many rings on both hands, which may indicate the following — index: authority, middle: power and or prominence, thumb: logic, strength, pinky: intelligence. Which corresponds to her role and personality extracted from her appearances in quests.

HoYoverse Shared VAs

• Cerydra shares the same English voice actor, Rhiannon Moushall, with Velina Airgid in Zenless Zone Zero.
• Cerydra shares the same Chinese voice actor, Shi Xinlei (时欣蕾), with:
  • Bailu and Gray Bean Paste
  • Rozaliya Olenyeva in Honkai Impact 3rd
  • Femirins and Connor Hord in Houkai Gakuen 2
  • Paimon and Chuychu in Genshin Impact
  • Alice Thymefield in Zenless Zone Zero
• Cerydra shares the same Japanese voice actor, Takao Kanon (高尾 奏音), with:
  • Noelle in Genshin Impact
  • Nangong Yu in Zenless Zone Zero
• Cerydra shares the same Korean voice actor, Kim Yun-chae (김윤채), with:
  • Linnea and Sorush in Genshin Impact
  • Norma Hollowell in Zenless Zone Zero

Etymology

• Cerydra may derive from the name Ceryneia (Greek: Κερύνεια Keruneíā), a city state of Achaea.
• HubRis504 may derive from the Ancient Greek word ὕβρις húbris meaning "pride," "insolence," or "outrage."

Notes

References

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