( Raiden Makoto The Hitchhiker Everybody ) - Tumblr Posts
WISTFUL HOPE ﹂ Those flowers pinned in your hair... are they the gentle blooms of the immortal wisterias or the fleeting red petals of the spider lilies ?
During the fall of Khaenri'ah, the Raiden Shogun ( the first Electro Archon ), and her kagemusha participated in the conflict. There are several contributing factors for the decision, but the most prevalent at the forefront of her mind was preserving the safety of the people of Inazuma. Tragedy befell all sides, and amidst the many casualties was Makoto herself.
Despite being shaken by the death, Ei inherits both her gnosis and Musou Isshin, assuming her sister's position as the Shogunate and member of The Seven with an ideal of Eternity. Makoto's body is buried beneath the Sacred Sakura, the final resting place of Ei's original body from which the great tree sprouted during the Archon War. Thunder Sakura are then formed from branches of the Sacred Sakura and parts of Makoto's own spirit lingering within the empty shell that eventually becomes one with the tree. The first incarnations of the siblings forever defend Inazuma together, cleansing the land of its impurity.
Yet the flame of a divine will is not something so easy to extinguish. The physical form perished, yes, but the purity of memories are a powerful thing.
In a dark place, a woman finds herself awakening many years after the Cataclysm with naught but her stray thoughts and the barest snippets of a forgotten memory. Cognizant of the world around her, yet unable interact with it, lacking the ability to freely move. She has no mouth, but desires to speak. Over time, the woman acquires self-awareness and remembers who she is bit by bit along with pieces of events prior. As this self perception expands, it formulates a mental domain, a plane reflecting her existence. One steadfast yet ephemeral. Upon it's completion, the woman realizes what has taken place.
Rather than experiencing the same fate that some did upon their passing, Makoto had come back into existence, revived in the image of her final imprint upon the world instead of manifesting in a new, separate entity like so many others. It took an extended amount of time to coalesce her energies and form them back into what she was ( an archon / a divine being ) due to the strains placed on her, and the nature of her destruction. There was but one caveat. Her body had long since been consumed by the Sacred Sakura. In the same technique known to Miko and Ei, her consciousness and the remnants of her spirit not yet absorbed into the tree had to latch onto the one object untouched by the erosion of time: the ornate hairpin worn at the moment of her death.
Post realization, Makoto is left to ponder the state of the world beyond her grave. How long has it been ? Is Inazuma still safe, enjoying the peace she wished for ? What was the state of her sister, Ei ? All questions she couldn't seek answers for.
One day during her meditations, a light breaks into the periphery of her enclosed world, illuminating the small shrine enclosed within the space. Apparently she'd been residing in a cave and bandits came knocking. They waste no time pocketing any treasures to be found, including the hairpin, certain a high price would be fetched from the incredible haul. During transit to pawn off the goods, forces led by Kujou Sara blindside the group and swiftly capture them, taking them into custody. However, the ornate box housing the hairpin was in lost in the skirmish, knocked into a nearby river and carried off by the currents. Unbeknownst to Makoto, the treasure hoarders were subsequently brought before the Raiden Shogun and personally executed for the unforgivable transgression of defiling her sister's sacred resting place.
Following this, some time passes before another discovers the box, fishing it from the bottom of a river in Chinju. A young girl named Chika, hailing from a small rural village hidden from most on the outskirts of the forest. Elated, Chika takes to wearing the hairpin everywhere in her daily life. Through her, Makoto silently observes the changes in this part of modern day Inazuma.
Then, news of the vision hunt decree reaches the village. Most carry on with their lives, unaffected as none of them bear a vision. The sole exception is one resident unseen to the rest. The land closing it's borders ? Countless visions being seized for the almighty Shogun ? Unsettled and apprehensive about what such acts indicated of both the world at large and her sister, Makoto can only watch over Chika.
More months trickle by. During a standard chore of delivering goods, in her haste Chika accidentally strays off the beaten path and winds up cornered by a pack of hilichurls led by a Mitachurl. Defenseless to the threat, she flees and missteps, the ground crumbling away beneath her feet and caving in. Falling through the cracks of the hole, she's knocked unconscious. When she comes to, Chika is laying in a patch of soft grass a safe distance from the pit she was certain she collapsed into, not a hilichurl in sight. Only the charred husks of singed weapons and the crisp smell of ozone thick in the air remained. No one can explain the sound of rolling thunder that echoed within the forest that day.
Shortly after, Makoto makes an effort to speak to Chika. It's done sparingly, but the girl takes it in stride, happy to talk to the voice. When asked of her name, there's a pause before the response comes.
❝ You may call me Setsuna. ❞
Most write off Chika's 'one-sided' conversations as overactive imaginations at work. After all, it's nothing more than a child spinning up a pretend friend to play with, right ?
Extra Notes
Her twin used a technique to specifically craft an automaton after a lot of trial and error over the course of years. An artificial vessel designed to seamlessly accommodate Ei and she's had hundreds of years to adjust. Makoto's process was not so meticulously constructed, so she's still learning in a number of different things.
Unlike Ei, who can and will communicate directly through the puppet to share her thoughts, Makoto prefers to mentally speak to the holder of the hairpin she resides in. Chika is her default but there can be situations where others get their hands on the hairpin.
As her new repertoire expands, Makoto devises another method of interaction. By gathering enough elemental energy she projects an image of herself into the world, like a type of hologram. She can't touch anything and is bound to staying with a certain distance of the hairpin.
She can circumvent these restrictions by creating a physical clone out of elemental energy, splitting her consciousness in half. This is what happened when she saved Chika from the hilichurls. It's not that different from when she created Ei's body anew or from when Azhdaha made an avatar to spy on the people of the surface, but without a gnosis she can never make a full, permanent replacement like before. This technique requires a large expenditure of energy and the construct is fragile compared to her original body. Her full powers can't be used in this state. It's powered by the energy used to make it but it can't be replenished, and the longer it's active the more taxing it is to maintain, so Makoto limits usage as much as possible.
When Makoto saved Chika she manifested a new sword that she stores within her hairpin, the Setsunai Kibō / Wistful Hope.
It's possible for her to channel some of her own power through the holder and assume control over the body. They become a conduit, an avatar. An extension of the former Shogun. A change in eye color to Makoto's own signifies this. Taken one step farther, she can alter the holder's outward appearance to the point they entirely mirror her original image. Essentially a full possession where she can use her full strength. She does not do this unless she has a sufficient bond with the holder and their express permission.
In time, she can bring others directly into her Ephemeral Plane and speak to them face to face. It has the appearance of an idylic field with a sakura tree at the center of it.