Astra Yao

Real Name: Astra Yao Gender: Female Height: 5'9" Birthday: January 31st Species: Human Faction: Stars of Lyra Affiliation: Odeum HAE Attribute: Ether Specialty: Support

Astra Yao is New Eridu’s most celebrated singer, known as the “Queen” of the city’s music scene. As a child, she survived the fall of the old Eridu after being trapped near Hollow Zero, where an H.I.A. rescue captain calmed her with a song before sacrificing the rest of the squad’s chance of escape to get Astra out alive. In the shelter afterward, Astra heard the music of Joran de Winter and saw how it gave frightened survivors something to hold onto. That experience convinced her that the new era needed a singer who could give people the same kind of hope, and she eventually built her career from modest beginnings into one of the largest names in New Eridu entertainment.

Her career eventually brought her under Odeum HAE, where she released major records, appeared in films, and became a defining public figure of the city. Behind that glamorous life, Astra repeatedly became involved in dangerous affairs tied to powerful corporations and experimental technology. After learning that an Intelligent Construct had fallen into a coma during a concealed VR experiment backed by TOPS, she secretly searched for someone capable of entering the system and found Phaethon. That connection later pulled her into further incidents involving Sixth Street, attacks on her performances, and the hidden interests surrounding the entertainment industry.

Astra also became entangled in the legacy of Joran de Winter and the people still affected by his life and music. She helped uncover truths surrounding Cersea and the old voice-double controversy while confronting forces trying to exploit Joran’s legacy for their own ends. Rather than simply protecting her own career, Astra repeatedly used her influence and public position to help people caught beneath much larger organizations, even when doing so meant acting against company expectations or placing herself in danger.

Appearance: Astra Yao has fair peach skin and a tall, slender build with long legs, a narrow waist, gently rounded hips, and a full bust. She has large reddish-pink eyes framed by dark lashes, fine brows, and deep black hair with a subtle violet cast. Her hair is cut into a sleek chin-length bob with blunt bangs, while longer sections extend behind her jaw and down the back of her neck. A broad pale silver headband rests across the crown of her head, and ornate gold-and-green earrings hang beside her jaw.

She wears a fitted silver-white corseted mini dress with a low scalloped neckline, dark edging, black lacing between the cups, and narrow structured panels running down the torso. The waist is sharply fitted before widening into layered skirt panels with scalloped borders, fine gray ornamentation, metallic studs, and two elaborate gold floral clasps near the front. A dark plum central panel hangs beneath the skirt opening and ends in a small star-shaped ornament. Over the dress is a cropped deep crimson garment with structured shoulders, layered sleeves, silver stud detailing, and flared cuffs. Around her neck is a broad red choker decorated with pearl-like beads and a large ornate gold medallion set with a dark central stone.

A layered white-and-silver accessory with curved panels, metallic edging, and engraved detailing rests against one side of her skirt. She wears a pearl-like bracelet at one wrist and another strand around one upper thigh, with a thin dark ribbon hanging beneath it. Her legs are bare beneath the short hem, with pearl-like anklets circling both ankles. Her dark plum closed-toe heels have rounded fronts, thick soles, and large matching ribbon bows at the backs.

Personality: Astra is bright, playful, and far less composed in private than her public image suggests. Onstage she can command an enormous crowd with effortless confidence, but away from work she is curious, impulsive, and prone to slipping out whenever her schedule becomes suffocating. When she wants to be in disguise, she simply wears a pair of sunglasses. She genuinely enjoys meeting fans and exploring ordinary parts of New Eridu, even when doing so creates problems for the people responsible for protecting her. Beneath the carefree behavior is a strong sense of empathy shaped by what music meant to her when she was a frightened child.

Evelyn Chevalier is Astra’s manager, bodyguard, and closest companion. Their relationship began under false pretenses when Evelyn was sent to infiltrate Astra’s circle, but genuine trust developed between them, and Astra continued believing in her even after learning the truth. Wise and Belle, the siblings behind Phaethon, become close friends whom Astra trusts with dangerous matters she cannot safely handle through official channels. Joran de Winter remains one of the strongest influences on her life despite never becoming a conventional personal relationship, since his music inspired her career and shaped her belief that songs can give people hope when everything else has collapsed.

Combat Overview: Astra Yao fights by turning Ether-charged music into both direct attacks and battlefield support. Through Capriccio, she sends waves of Ether forward in rhythm, with stronger phrases capable of drawing enemies inward before bursting across a wider area. Her movement techniques, including Mini Waltz and Umbrella Waltz, let her slip around attacks and answer immediately with a counter, making her far more mobile than her stage presence initially suggests.

With Windchimes & Oaths, Astra creates distance and releases a Tremolo of Ether before entering Idyllic Cadenza, a focused performance state in which her music strengthens nearby allies while she continues attacking from a fixed position. From there she can use Interlude, Chorus, and Finale to send out successive Tremolos and clustered bursts of energy, while Chord lets her weave supporting attacks between the movements of her companions instead of fighting as a completely separate presence.

Her strongest techniques turn song itself into a weapon. Tipsy Concerto channels her voice into a large Ether blast before returning her to Idyllic Cadenza, while Fantasian Sonata releases an even greater surge of Ether that also restores wounded allies. Astra’s combat style is therefore built around rhythm, positioning, and coordination, using her voice to damage enemies while simultaneously keeping the people fighting beside her stronger and harder to bring down.

Lore: Proxies are individuals who guide those who enter the Hollows. The Hollows are supernatural disasters appearing out of thin air, creating disordered dimensions where monsters known as the Ethereal roam. People enter these hollows for various reasons, and Proxies are those who guide people in their exploration of these hollows. Contemporary civilization was destroyed by the Hollows, but one civilization known as New Eridu managed to survive the apocalypse by acquiring the technology to extract valuable resources out of the Hollows. The Hollows then became industrialized and monetized under the city's administration, which gradually led to the increasing tension between monopolistic enterprises, gangs, conspirators, and fanatics.

The Ethereals are mysterious monsters that roam the Hollows. Ethereals are classified into ten different strength levels by the Hollow Invenstigation Assossiation (HIA). Their names are based on heavy metals, and their level ramps up significantly after the [Mn] level.

Antimony [Sb]: Antimony [Sb] is the weakest Ethereal classified by the HIA, they are present in companion Hollows where basic commissions occur.

Tin [Sn]: Only a few Tin [Sn] Ethereals are present in companion Hollows.

Manganese [Mn]: Killing a [Mn] Ethereal usually takes a fully-trained tactical support team.

New Eridu is the last surviving city after contemporary civilization was destroyed by the Hollows. New Eridu managed to survive and thrive after the apocalypse by acquiring the technology to be able to extract resources out of the Hollows.

Bangboo are intelligent devices unique to New Eridu. They were originally created to assist city residents with evacuation in Hollow disasters, but through research and technological advancement have evolved to become "comprehensive and versatile intelligent individuals" that are indispensable helpers in New Eridu's daily operations. Most Bangboo are short and stout, only around knee-height. They have ears resembling bunny ears on the top of their heads, and a black screen for a face, which can display colored circles as eyes.