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Featured Article: Gaotona
“Is that not how you’ve made your entire career? Speaking honestly, teaching people what to expect of you, then expecting them to be honest to you in return? ”
—Shai about Gaotona
Gaotona is an arbiter of the Heritage Faction of the Rose Empire on Sel. He is noted as being the least influential of the arbiters, due to falling out of favor with the emperor.
Appearance and Personality
“I value truth, young woman. Not Forgery. ”
—Gaotona to Shai
Gaotona is elderly, and the oldest of the arbiters. He stands in a straight, thoughtful pose, with his hands clasped behind his back. He is a clever man, quickly picking up on exaggerations of Shai's abilities. Gaotona has a strong conscience, unwilling to force others to endure what he himself will not submit to. He is noted for being a very genuine person. He values truth in both himself and others, expecting them to treat him with the same honesty he treats them. Gaotona also has an extreme appreciation of art and beauty. He believes that art is for the people who view it and not the person who created it. Masterful art can bring him to tears. Gaotona expects the best in other people. This combined with his sincere, honest nature leads many people around him to feel perpetual disappointment from him. He encourages others to be what he feels is their best and gives disappointed looks when they fail to meet his hopes.
Attributes and Abilities
Gaotona has extensively studied art, to the point that he can recognize the styles of the Vivare dynasty or Chamrav at a glance. While he is not an expert on technique, he has enough knowledge of painting to examine how a painting was done. During Shai's captivity, Gaotona studies how soulstamps are made. He can understand and read specific symbols that go into the soulstamps, including a symbol denoting time. Gaotona considers himself to have only faint knowledge in the area, but he is able to decipher the purposes of Shai's five Essence Marks himself. Politically, Gaotona holds power as one of the five arbiters of the Heritage Faction appointed by Emperor Ashravan. Despite being less influential due to falling out of favor with the emperor, Gaotona is still one of the next five most powerful people in the Rose Empire. Particularly when Ashravan is injured, Gaotona is in charge of the emperor's security.
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