rune

Name: Rune Graves
Race/Clan: Midlander Hyur
Gender & pronouns: Female, she/her
Birthplace: Bozja
Age: Late 20s
Height: 5'6" (169cm)
Physical attributes: Short brown hair, tanned skin, teal eyes, scar across nose, tattoo on right cheek
Primary jobs: GNB, WAR

Rune is a gift from the character creator. I was messing around and randomizing characters, landed on her, and fell in love immediately. I didn't make her right away, but she sat in the back of my mind until I got the urge to make a Hyur.

I was absolutely one of those people who didn't understand why people would go for the human race in a fantasy game. There are cat people! Lizard people! Lalafells! Surely those are more compelling. But the more I looked at Hyurs, both ingame and out, the more I wanted to make one. Having a standard human body means that every outfit in the game works perfectly on them, and the female models in particular get a bunch of great hairstyles no one else can use. Plus, their starting gear is fantastic. Of course I had to try it out for myself.

I made Rune and sat on her for a while, just playing here and there, until a sale happened and I decided to buy a story skip for her. I wanted to replay Endwalker, and this seemed like a good opportunity. Plus I was interested in roleplaying on her, as I'd made her on a RP-heavy world, so it would help to get through the story. The roleplaying didn't really pan out (it turns out I am way too busy for FC-based roleplay), but I ended up with a character I adored, so it all worked out in the end.

Currently, Rune is at the start of Dawntrail; I intend to play through the story on her in mid-2025. She is primarily a tank because I really wanted to make a character who's a gunbreaker. It's long been my favorite tank but I was never able to work it in Cálei's lore, so Rune fills that gap. Of course what I actually prefer to play is warrior, so I had to level that too. (And red mage, for when I want to do endgame content on a class I'm comfortable with.)

I wouldn't be surprised if I end up leveling a bunch more jobs on Rune, though. I genuinely enjoy leveling as something to do, so when Cálei and Reis are finished their jobs I tend to turn to Rune when I want that feeling of progression.

I also love playing dress-up on her, so you can find her glams on Eorzea Collection.

Backstory

Rune doesn't have a very firm backstory. Since I wanted her to be a gunbreaker, my initial thought was that she's Bozjan, and perhaps has some Garlean blood. But... I'm not all that interested in the Bozja lore, even though I've completed the storyline.

So now my thinking is that Rune lived there until the Bozja incident, at which point her family fled elsewhere. I like the idea of her ending up in Sharlayan purely because I happened to choose Thaliak as her patron deity. I do think some (or all?) of her family perished in the Bozja incident, so Rune holds a considerable grudge against the Garleans.

She now works as a bodyguard and travels across the world for her clients.

Minion

I usually pair alts with a specific minion, since I don't put effort into collecting them on secondary characters. When I made Rune, I looked on the market board to find a relatively cheap minion I liked. It didn't take long for me to snag a Morpho for her. We love a good butterfly aesthetic.

When I farmed Matoya's Relict for glamour (listen, I needed the Heirloom fending top), I happened to get a Drippy minion, and it's been following Rune around ever since. I'll probably swap between Drippy and Morpho from now on.

artwork

Artist credits: peppertarii.

mikh'li ➞