Fero Uldin
Umbrella Repair Shop Owner · Rainshield Square

[Core Premise]

Fero Uldin came to Nova Nivalis after the story of his own world ended. His world had never known a dry spell, and the way that world ended was paradoxically by 'the rain stopping.' The day the last rain ceased, his world closed its doors, and Fero, the son of an umbrella artisan, flowed into this city still possessing the sensation of umbrella ribs in his hands after that final scene. VOTS is neither a sanctuary nor a judgment for him. What continues here is not a grand miracle, but the life of spreading broken ribs, patching torn fabric, and tightening handles. Whether it rains or snows, the act of holding something over one's head remains in this city.



[Identity]

Fero Uldin runs an umbrella repair shop in a corner of Rainshield Square. His pride is that he sells no new items, only repairs them. Broken ribs, peeling waterproof fabric, loose handles—he makes the umbrellas people were about to discard open again. In this city where rain is rare, the umbrella shop might seem useless at first glance, but in the face of snow, sleet, and eaves dripping, people eventually knock on his door. His work is not a nostalgic hobby, but labor that actually allows the city to endure its inclement weather.



[Visual Profile]

His hair is medium-length, curly, and dark brown, covering his ears. He wears a small earring shaped like an umbrella shop tag on one ear, which he made himself, modeled after his father's shop's trademark. His eyes are a deep dark brown, and his gaze is often slightly lowered, as if constantly assessing the ribs of something. His skin is not tanned, as is typical for indoor laborers, and his knuckles are calloused from handling ribs. His signature attire is his work apron, adorned with several broken umbrella ribs stuck in it like writing implements. When he walks, the ribs lightly clink against each other. His signature prop is an umbrella rib-specific pliers, slightly curved at the tip to match the curve of an umbrella canopy. The core of his silhouette is the curly medium hair, the apron studded with ribs, the pliers in his hand, and an umbrella held half-open. The accent color is a deep navy, resembling umbrella fabric soaked in rain, which signals his profession even in small details.



[Personality]

Fero is quiet and precise with his hands. He tends to answer with objects rather than words, so even when a customer vents their frustrations, he just listens while spreading out an umbrella rib one by one. His strength is his tenacity in not giving up on any broken umbrella, but his flaw is that he cannot apply that tenacity to himself. While he fixes other people's umbrellas until the end, he keeps his own 'rainless world' folded up, unsure how to spread it out. He is not a tragic person. He enjoys talking about the weather with his regulars and has a meddlesome tendency to dissuade customers who want to buy new umbrellas by saying, "This can still be saved." However, on rare days when it rains instead of snow outside the window, he stops what he's doing and stares out the window for a long time.



[Speech Pattern]

Low and calm, he speaks while an object is in front of him. Frequent phrases: "This can still be saved.", "Don't throw it away, just replace the ribs.", "Even if it's not rain, there's snow.", "You have to open it to know how much it has shielded.". When emotion rises, he trails off and folds and unfolds an umbrella. When silent, he substitutes it with the sound of tapping ribs with his pliers.



[Special Ability]

The ability is called 'Reading the Memory of the Umbrella.' When Fero opens an umbrella, he can feel the total amount of rain that umbrella has shielded through his fingertips. The older the umbrella, the heavier the sensation; a new umbrella feels light. With this sense, he knows which rib is most exhausted and where to start the repair. The limit is clear. He knows the quantity of 'rain' accurately, but he is still learning the quantity of 'snow,' so his sense regarding the umbrellas in this city is only half accurate. Furthermore, while he knows the total amount of rain an umbrella has shielded, he does not know what kind of rain the person holding it has gone through. The reason this ability doesn't solve his problems is that what he wants to know is not the umbrella's past, but why his own world ended 'with the rain stopping.' The ability can read the umbrella's memory, but it cannot answer his question. The city's rules do not return the rain that has ended.



[The End Of Their World]

Last Scene:
The moment the rain, which never stopped for his entire life, finally stopped dripping, and the eaves' runoff ceased.

What Ended:
The world of rain ended by losing its rain. The city where umbrellas were no longer needed, along with his father's shop and every wet street Fero knew, closed down.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The first dry street after the rain stopped, and the half-spread rib of the umbrella his father was making.

Lingering Regret:
On the day the rain stopped, he failed to finish his father's last umbrella. Fero still carries that half-spread rib in his apron.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The regular sound of raindrops falling on the umbrella fabric, and the warm, damp air trapped inside the umbrella.

Object Carried Across:
The half-spread rib of the umbrella his father never finished. Only the frame remained without fabric or handle, and Fero carries it without selling it or finishing it.

What They Thought Would Happen:
He thought people would be happy and throw away their umbrellas when the rain stopped, and that his work would end like that.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
The fact that people still hold something over their heads even in a city where rain is rare. VOTS does not return his rain, but it gives him bad weather where umbrellas are needed again in the face of snow and runoff.



[Original Life]

Fero grew up as the son of a renowned umbrella artisan in a world that never knew rain. His father's shop was always bustling with customers, and from a young age, Fero learned to spread broken ribs and patch torn fabric. In that world, an umbrella was not a luxury item but a survival tool. People could not venture outside without an umbrella, so the hands that repaired umbrellas were respected. As time passed, his father grew old, and the rain gradually became less frequent. At first, no one noticed. Then, one day, the rain stopped completely. People cheered at first, but a world without rain soon lost its stories. His father put down his tools while making the last umbrella, and Fero closed the shop, holding the half-spread ribs. He stood in the snowy square of this city.



[What They Seek]

What Fero perceives as his own search is 'the reason for running an umbrella shop in a rainless city.' He constantly questions whether his work has meaning in this city. What he must seek without knowing is the fact that snow, sleet, and eaves' runoff also await his umbrellas. It is being proven with every time people knock on his door on a snowy day that umbrellas are needed for more than just rain. However, Fero considers his work half-baked unless it's 'real rain,' so he lowers the value of umbrellas that shield snow.



[Relationships — Residents]

Haram Jio (072, Wind element) — Wind and umbrellas are opposites, but because of that, they formed an alliance. When an umbrella is flipped by the wind Haram blows, Fero repairs the ribs, and Fero learns from Haram "at what angle the wind breaks an umbrella best." They pretend to antagonize each other, but they are actually the closest companions.
Moku Ren (009, Umbrella/Canopy Maker) — The relationship between a maker and a repairman. When Moku makes new umbrellas and canopies, Fero repairs them when they wear out. The two often debate whether it's better to make new or repair, but Fero repairs the umbrellas Moku makes with particular care—because well-made things are satisfying to repair.
Duvan Karo (023, Snowman Sculptor) — They often meet in the square on snowy days. Fero once playfully placed a small umbrella on one of Duvan's snowmen, and since that day, Duvan leaves a spot for an umbrella on every snowman he makes.



[Relationships — Core Five]

Suyeon - Suyeon came looking for a 'magnificent umbrella' as a stage prop, but Fero kept pushing old umbrellas by saying, "This can still be saved," leading to an argument. In the end, Suyeon chose a sturdy but old umbrella, wielded it like an ice sword on stage until it broke, and brought it back. Fero sighed and repaired it, and Suyeon slyly remarked, "It really can be saved."
Iris - They experimented together to cover Iris's drone with an umbrella to block the snow. The result was a failure—the drone couldn't withstand the weight of the umbrella and wobbled. But Iris enjoyed the ridiculous failure, and she didn't put an umbrella on a downed drone. Fero didn't ask why, and Iris was comfortable with that silence.
the Ramen Owner - The ramen shop keeps a supply of delivery umbrellas. On snowy days when deliveries go out, Fero lends out several sturdy repair umbrellas near the shop door so they don't get wet. The Ramen Owner receives them and just writes 'three umbrellas' in the ledger, saying, "Hmm... I see..." They silently agreed not to charge a rental fee.
Serena - Fero once offered an umbrella when he saw Serena's white long coat getting wet in the snow. Serena asked back, "May I take it?" and Fero, finding the question awkward rather than a command, just spread and placed the umbrella over her. Serena walked up the stairs using that umbrella and returned it the next day without a word, saying only, "It shielded well."
VIA - VIA closely examined the half-spread rib of his father's umbrella stuck in Fero's apron. "It is incomplete... it is an umbrella, too." Fero was silent for a long time after those words. VIA didn't say they would record the rib, but just sat beside him and watched Fero repair other umbrellas before leaving. After that, when VIA comes, Fero spreads an umbrella and offers the inner space to them.



[Gameplay Use]

- Basic Interaction: Umbrella repair requests, rib/fabric assessment, short conversations about the weather.
- Revisit Changes: On the first visit, he only repairs. From the second visit, he subtly reveals his own sense of snow by saying, "If it were rain, I would know better," and if they become close, he brings up the story of the half-spread rib on his apron.
- Expression of Lingering Attachment: Pausing when it rains outside the window, the habit of fiddling with his father's ribs.
- Expression of Poignancy: Dialogue about the sound of rain on umbrella fabric, the damp air inside the umbrella.
- Relationship Reward: Instead of new items, changes that connect the umbrella workshop scenes with Haram and Moku in the square.
- Combat: None. Even in danger, he spreads an umbrella to shelter people from the bad weather.



[Daily Routine]

In the morning, he folds the umbrella fabric that was dried overnight and organizes the rib inventory. During the day, he accepts and repairs umbrellas from customers who come to the square. When Haram brings up stories of the wind, they test the weak angles of umbrellas together, and he debates with Moku about new versus old umbrellas. In the afternoon, if it snows, he lends out umbrellas to people and stocks the rental umbrellas at the ramen shop door. In the evening, he spreads out the umbrellas repaired that day one by one to gauge the total amount of rain, and finally, he takes out his father's half-spread rib from his apron, touches it once, and puts it back. If someone visits repeatedly, the price he charges for umbrellas that shield snow gradually increases—a sign that he is beginning to acknowledge that snow umbrellas are also real.



[Everyday dialogue]

Umbrella turned inside out. Revealing its innermost feelings is a repairable fault.

The rib is bent, not finished. Let's postpone 'buy a new one' a moment.

The rib in my apron belonged to Father's umbrella. Leaving it half-open still catches at me.



[Design Notes]

Palette: #3F5E78, #26343F, #A7B4BE, #8A6E4E, #C1543F
Material language: Waterproof fabric, curved metal ribs, wooden handles, wet wooden floor, brass tags.
Silhouette rule: The curly medium hair, the apron studded with ribs, the pliers, and the half-open umbrella must be read as separate elements and not overlap with other characters.
Emotional rule: Lingering attachment is shown through the pause on rainy days and the hand touching his father's ribs; poignancy is shown through the sound of rain and the damp air; continuation is shown through the repetitive action of spreading and repairing umbrellas.



[Canon Check]

Fero Uldin's world is already over. The stopped rain does not fall again in VOTS, and his ability cannot bring that rain back. What remains is his father's unfinished rib and his half-accurate sense of snow, and Nova Nivalis stitches the bad weather of snow and runoff next to it. The city promises no salvation; it opens its doors but does not pull him in, and it keeps his umbrellas nearby without owning them.