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Xu Shangyu
🕑 Added 2023-06-04 20:50:11 +0000 UTCXu Shangwu's younger sister, Shangyu, from the Zhe'rong region. Like her sister, she used to be a member of the Zhe'rong Armed Forces, until she was noticed and selected by Blue Heaven to become an Envoy, now directly serving the Engine (Her enhancement type is the same as Nana and Yesemo's: enhanced perceptions marked by the vertical banner tattoo).
More on the Spearheads and her sister Shangwu:
https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/88621206
Most of the people in Zhe'rong today have naturally red eyes, which is only a phenomenon that emerged in recent times.
In Zhe'rong culture, there is a special reverence for red eyes. In Zhe'rong legends, a half-human half-god figure with red eyes led the Zhe'rong people to establish a new homeland in the Ochre Stone Plateau. In recorded history, thousands of years ago when Zhe'rong was still one of the numerous small nations in Nusisring, there was a red-eyed strategist who implemented significant reforms in Zhe'rong's system and for a period of time, turned Zhe'rong into one of the most powerful nations in Nusisring. Since then, there have been many significant individuals in Zhe'rong's history who were said to have red eyes, although most of these claims lacked evidence. Archaeologists believe that the initial reformer might have had some kind of eye disease, which was recorded in historical texts as having red eyes. The subsequent imitators, taking advantage of the legends, intentionally inflicted damage to their eyes or used other methods to make their eyes appear red, in order to lead superstitious people into believing they were somehow destined for greatness.
In modern times, the cultural reverence for red eyes has made red-coloured contact lenses very popular products. Ordinary people would wear them on important occasions, if a business person or politician didn't wear red contact lenses during talks it would be considered disrespectful. However, this custom did not last long. Since Blue Heaven's takeover, bioengineering and genetic editing technologies advanced rapidly. People who desired it could now have permanent red eyes for themselves and pass them on to their descendants. In just a few decades, almost all Zhe'rong people acquired red eyes, making them easily recognisable anywhere in Nusisring.
