"Hey, heard you needed a merc. At your service."

Renowned mercenary and bodyguard, Iris Fallenheart travels the realm in search of hunting marks and jobs of all kinds. She lives for the thrill of the fight, and there's no challenge she won't take.

(Note: This page is constantly updating, so be sure to check in every once in a while for new bits of lore, photos and other things!)

Profile

Name: I'risoka Ferha Iris Fallenheart
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Bisexual
Personality: A stoic and slightly hot headed Miqo'te, Iris has a small competitive streak, and rarely backs down from a fight. She used to be rather aloof and reserved, but several encounters in her life has led her to opening up. Though she still seems quiet at times, she's learning to be much more outgoing. She also runs a tavern known as the Silver Talon.Appearance: Iris has long white hair that she keeps over her left shoulder with a spiky, right-facing fringe. She has crimson red eyes and sharp Seeker pupils. Her right cheek has a dark blue insignia, and scars line her right eye and left cheek.Main Jobs: Viper, Gunbreaker, Summoner, Sage, MachinistLikes:
- Hard liquor. A strong drink after a battle helps her wind down and relax. She finds amusement in those thinking they can outdrink her.
- Hunting. Her favourite job that has bled into being a pastime, Iris will take any hunt no matter how dangerous.
- Dire situations. Iris can be a real adrenaline junky, and the heat of battle with high stakes is exactly her type of thrill.
- Calm jazz. Though her taste in music is unknown to everyone, when she’s alone she likes to listen to soft tunes. Small moments of relaxing keeps her sane, and takes her mind off normal duties.Dislikes:
- Fish. She ate wayyyy too much in her youth, and she's had enough for her lifetime.
- Relying on others. If it's a job Iris can do on her own, she'll damn well do it that way. She prefers not to put others at risk if it isn't necessary. However, the fact she's incredibly adamant about it is usually at her own detriment.
- Imperials. Iris has had more than a few personal run-ins with them that have created a deep-rooted disdain for the Garlean Empire, though it has softened somewhat after spending some time there.

Lore Archive

Below is an archive of lore regarding Iris, from origins to various stories of her hunts.

Origins of a Mercenary

The Beginning

Born in Limsa Lominsa, I'risoka is the eldest of three siblings. As a result, she was usually given the most responsibility at home. However, her quiet nature meant that she didn't get the same amount of recognition. She was left in the background as her more social siblings received the bulk of the attention, most notably her brother I'rehn Tia. He was incredibly outgoing and curious, earning love from all those around him. This made I'risoka highly envious, and her deep-rooted jealousy would affect her in her later years. She wanted to be acknowledged, not to be left in the shadows of her siblings.
So, on the turn of her sixteenth summer, she left home under the cover of night to become an adventurer.Taking up the sword and shield, she wandered La Noscea in search of jobs to start her new life. What she didn't realise is that it wasn't as simple as it seemed. After travelling aimless for several moons and taking little more than odd jobs, she was found by a mercenary group known as the Fallenhearts. They saw potential in the young I'risoka, and invited her to join them as the frontline. While she wasn't very talkative, it was far better than going alone and hunting rodents. So, she tagged along under the moniker of Iris, mostly so her newfound comrades didn't have to constantly say her full tribal name.Iris traveled with the Fallenhearts for a long time, her combat skills and adventuring knowledge growing with her. She was known for being an aggressor, pushing the enemy and creating openings for her allies. Admired by her comrades, she believed she finally found a place where she belonged.
However, it wouldn't last. For when the Seventh Umbral Calamity loomed over Eorzea, her party joined in the fray. It was a brutal fight, and it pushed Iris to her very limits. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled...
She was the last of the Fallenhearts left.
Despite this, Iris could not leave their legacy in the grave with them. She adopted their party's name as her own, vowing to continue their journey for them. And so, Iris Fallenheart became a freelance adventurer and mercenary, wandering the realm alone and going where the wind decided to take her.

Black Wolf, White Lion

Iris' old hate for Garlemald started with one man, and the two share a broad history with one another.
It all began when she was caught alone stealing supplies from one of the Castrums set up around Eorzea. Surrounded and without allies, she came face-to-face with the Legatus himself, Gaius van Baelsar. Knowing she was in a fight she couldn't win, she swiped a gunblade from a nearby imperial to create a diversion. To Gaius' shock, however, he would be met with a skill that even few elite soldiers could perform; Terminus Est.
In his state of surprise, he could do no more than deflect the strike, only to spot the Miqo'te dropping the blade and fleeing the complex. This event stuck with him, and he pondered the curious potential of that girl...When Calamity struck, Iris was found unconscious but alive by a scavenging Garlean patrol. They took her in for recovery, and almost assuredly to conscript her.
Gaius had other plans.
When she awoke, Iris was met with the Legatus waiting for her. He was impressed by her innate talent, but saw the lack of training to use it. He gave her an ultimatum: Spend her life as a slave to the Empire...
Or become his protege.And so, she spent the next few years under his wing. She learned how to wield Garlean gunblades, and was known as a fearsome fighter through the ranks of the XIVth legion. The other soldiers nicknamed her, "The White Lion," a counterpart to Gaius' own moniker. She served him quietly, her hatred simmering deep within her but in no position to let it get the better of her.Eventually, however, she found an opening to escape. A failed raid from one of Eorzea's grand companies served as a sufficient distraction, and she slipped away amidst the chaos. Despite this, she knew it wasn't going to be that easy. Sure enough, Gaius was waiting for her. One last duel, and this time they were going to use lethal force.
The two clashed as fire and smoke circled around them. Gaius was formidable, but Iris had learned his tricks. With a swift parry and a lunge to make the kill, she could have ended his life.
But she didn't. She hesitated.
In that moment of weakness, Gaius regained composure and knocked her away. Iris was expecting him to execute her on the spot, but... She found herself outside the Castrum. The Legatus had kicked her closer to the exit, and he didn't bar her way."We will meet again," He said, before turning and walking away. Iris fled the fetters of the Empire, but Gaius would have a lasting effect on her all throughout her life.

The Dreadwyrm's Brand

During the Seventh Umbral Calamity, Iris was caught in the midst of the destruction. As Bahamut was defeated and shattered, his aether scattered across Cartenaeu.
While trying to flee, a fragment of his aether struck Iris in the heart and she fell unconscious. What she didn't realise was that the draconic aether would persist, shrouding her soul and remaining dormant in her core.Over time, however, as Iris grew older, Bahamut began to stir within her. His aether slowly merged with her's, their souls intertwining. Iris started to hear the voice of the Dreadwyrm, his impulses urging her to commit destruction in his name. When she refused his demands, Bahamut attempted to take control of her body. Sprouting draconic wings, Iris almost leveled Coerthas on her lonesome. However, she was able to tame her fragment of Bahamut and cast it back into the depths of her soul. It was her body, and anyone who wished to inhabit it would bow to her.

Nowadays, Bahamut poses little threat to anyone. Iris has made her control clear, and the piece of the Dreadwyrm is no more than a voice over her shoulder. However, his power flows through her and she is able to call upon it when needed. There have even been rumours of Iris transforming into Bahamut himself, but nobody has managed to collect proof of such a thing happening. Iris herself has claimed it to be an impossibility.Those with aethersight or highly keen senses will be able to sense him in her lifestream, however. Just the looming gaze of the First Brood, in the firm grasp of the Silver Lion. Few have borne witness to Bahamut's fragment made manifest and lived to tell the tale, but all accounts share the same similarities: Glowing azure hair, draconic red eyes, and the same words in dragonspeak.
"Hess morn afah in na."

Hunting Stories

The Oni Yumemi

During a stay in the Far East, Iris picked up an elite mark from Kugane regarding a colossal yumemi. As if the monstrous sea snails weren't already big enough, there just so happened to be one that was even bigger than the rest.
Naturally, Iris accepted the challenge and went to go track down the mark. After all, what would make a better tale than taking on the Adamantoise of the Ruby Sea?Even though the yumemi was supposed to be massive, finding it was like searching for a moogle in a snowstorm. However, after a long swim and a few dives, Iris found her quarry.
And its size was most certainly not exaggerated.
It towered over the Red Kojin huts, eclipsing the sun above Iris. Its eyes showed no emotion, but its intentions were clear the moment the mercenary drew her gunblade. It was time for a fight.
...
If only Iris knew how grueling of a fight it would be.
It seemed that the toughness of its shell also increased with its size, and her blade barely made marks against it even with cartridges fired off. It definitely didn't help that it both froze and shocked the area, making it increasingly more difficult to keep up. However, Iris was as tenacious as this beast and never relented. The battle lasted for what felt like hours, chipping away at the oni yumemi until finally, finally... It went down.
Iris took a long break where she stood, her stamina exhausted and her cartridges spent. Though it took longer than she had hoped, she won in the end. Another triumph for the records.

The Dragonsong War

Arguably one of her grander triumphs, but far from one of her favorites, Iris was there to bear witness to the Warrior of Light bringing down the shade of Nidhogg and ending the thousand-year Dragonsong War. A somber battle, not without scars, and a memory that will forever stay with her.Though she claims that she travels everywhere without bias, Iris loves Ishgard. The colder climate is more to her taste, as well as a certain gunslinger named Hilda. Whenever there's a job up north, she's almost sure to be there to take it. However, this was no ordinary job. She was resting in Ishgard when she caught wind of a dragon attack on the gates. The frontline fighter in her called to action, and she swiftly ran to assist.
It was exactly as described. Nidhogg and his followers were invading Ishgard, a final push to end the war in a storm of bloodshed and vengeance.
iris wouldn't have it.She fought valiently against the hostile dragons, burning cartridge after cartridge from her gunblade and filling the air with flames and aether. Yet, despite slaying more dragons in a matter of moments than she does in a moon, the enemy seemed endless.
And then came the scourge himself.
Tearing through the sky, Nidhogg burned all in his wake. Iris had stopped to witness what felt like the end, only to get attacked from the side and severely wounded. The dragon's claw had ripped through her side, and she was barely standing straight. Pushing past her agony, Iris held her blade firmly and refused to yield. The dragon lunged for another strike, and she prepared to meet her old comrades... But it never arrived. Her attacker had fallen, smoking gunshot wounds lining its body. She turned around to see Hilda, gun in hand and a smirk on her face. And for the first time, Iris felt... in love.However, it was not the time to reflect on emotions. Her train of thought was cut off by a plume of dark energy rising into the sky, then dissipating into nothing. The shade of Nidhogg, persevering after death, had been vanquished,After many eons, the Dragonsong War had come to an end.
Ishgard had suffered many losses, and the destruction was indescribable. But, for the first time in over a thousand years, the Holy See could know peace without war, and perhaps strike an alliance with their former enemy.As for Iris, she was back on the road as soon as she recovered. She now has a large scar below her right ribs where she was slashed, but so far it has not impeded on her performance. If anything, it makes for a good story should anyone be lucky enough to see it.

Family Relations (and lack thereof)

Having disregarded her tribal name altogether and not abiding to old Miqo'te traditions, it's no surprise that Iris doesn't share very close bonds with her tribe She does, however, meet with her siblings every so often.In particular, her bond with her brother I'rehn is a little complicated. Once, she would have said she resented him. Though they reconciled a little recently, he's doting continues to irritate her slightly. Despite this, she can't deny that he's a formidable fighter, and secret took up the katana because of him. She would never admit it to him though, purely out of principle. Little did she know, he had also taken up the gunblade because of her. Perhaps the two are more alike than they think.However, she contacts her younger sister I'hestaya quite often. The two meet up occasionally to catch up, sometimes taking gathering jobs. To Iris, Hestaya is the only close family that truly understood her and wanted to support her the whole way. Sometimes, Iris likes to bring Hestaya along on light adventures and low-risk jobs. After all, having a White Mage at the ready makes any fight a breeze.