Sona Vent Plaque and Sign Carver · behind Threshold Market [Core Premise] Sona Vent is someone who came to Nova Nivalis after the stories of her own world sank into the water. She didn't come to salvage her lost village, but rather, the habit of carving that remained in her hands and the affection for people remained, flowing into this city. This is not a afterlife, nor is it a place that floats things that have sunk back up. What continues here is not a grand restoration, but a life of carving plaques, repairing signs, and soothing creaking doors with names. Sona does not try to erase the fact that her village flooded. It is just that her hands, which used to carve on buoys above the water, can now be used on the doors of people. [Identity] In her workshop behind Threshold Market, Sona carves plaques and signs. When people bring names, she carves them onto wood, and she refinishes old signs. Her work is the labor the city needs—a door only becomes a door when a name is affixed to it. She knows that when she carves a name, that house's door won't creak for a while. She believes that the name soothes the door. When there are no customers, she sharpens her chisels and selects wood grain; when customers arrive, she first checks if the name is one they truly wish to affix. It is her professional ethic not to try and name things for others. [Visual Profile] Hair: Short cut, grayish-blue. There are always a few splinters of wood stuck to it, and the nape of her neck smells of sawdust. Eyes: Deep and calm grayish-blue. They narrow when reading the wood grain. Skin/Build: Solid muscles on her forearms, old chisel marks on the back of her hands. Her hands are large with thick knuckles. Signature Attire: She wears thick leather gloves tucked into her waist, and a leather belt holding her chisels and carving tools. Sawdust is accumulated on her apron. Signature Props: A set of chisels with worn handles, one unfinished blank plaque (without her own name carved). Silhouette Core: Grayish-blue short cut, chisel belt, large hands holding a plaque. The accent color #3D5A80 (blue-gray) is repeated on her belt and work clothes. [Personality] She is taciturn, skilled with her hands, and answers with carving rather than words. She is gruff, but careful only when speaking of names—she knows the difference between a carelessly spoken name and a cherished one, and her hands will stop carving even if it's a name she doesn't cherish. Though outwardly solid, she is weak to names internally. Her flaw is that she cannot carve her own plaque—she carves for others all day, but her own workshop door has no nameplate. The hands that used to transfer the village's signs to buoys are left empty, unsure where to hang her own name. [Speech Pattern] Short and low, saying only what is necessary. Her speech lengthens slightly when the topic of carving comes up. Common Phrases: - "The name, are you sure? Once carved, it won't come off." - "The door creaks because it hasn't been named yet." - "You don't need to shout. Just having someone call it is enough." - "...Mine is done. Let's start with someone else's." Mannerism: Rubbing the handle of her chisel with her thumb while speaking. When receiving a name, she places her hand on the wood to examine the grain. Silence Style: When her own name comes up, she flips over a blank plaque and starts another task. That silence means, "Mine isn't ready yet." [Special Ability] Ability Name: Name-Soothing What it can do: When Sona carves and hangs a plaque, that house's door won't creak for a while. Stiff hinges become smooth, and the door opens and closes quietly. She believes that the name soothes the door. Limit/Cost: It is only 'for a while'; the creaking returns with time. Furthermore, the effect lasts longer if the name is called—a plaque on an empty house that no one calls quickly creaks again (Sona does not yet know this fact). Most importantly, because she cannot carve her own name, her own workshop door always creaks. Reason for not solving the problem: This ability does not prevent the name from sinking. No matter how firmly she carves the plaque, if the mouth that calls that name disappears, the door creaks again. All Sona can do is temporarily soothe the door; what keeps the name alive is not the carving, but the people who call that name. [The End Of Their World] Last Scene: On the day the village flooded, Sona removed the village signs and transferred them to buoys floating on the water. Although the houses disappeared one by one beneath the surface, she hammered in the last nail to keep the village's names afloat on the water. What Ended: The flooded village, all its plaques, and the voices of the alley where people called each other's names every evening ended together. Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen: The village sign hanging on the buoy, swaying in the waves, nodding its name up and down. Lingering Regret: The signs floated on the water, but all the people who would call those names had scattered. It remains in her heart that she failed to keep the mouths that called the names, leaving only the names behind. This lingering feeling is not a quest to be resolved, but remains only as the habit of her hands that cannot carve her own name. Lingering Wistfulness: The sound of people calling each other's names in the evening alley, and the scent of newly cut wood. It briefly revives when the smell of sawdust or the feel of the wood grain comes to her. Object Carried Across: One unfinished blank plaque. She crossed over without deciding what name to carve. It was probably meant to be the place for her own name. What They Thought Would Happen: She believed that the names hanging on the buoys would float on the water, and someday the scattered people would see those names and return. But the water only shook the names; no one returned. What VOTS Actually Gives Them: The doors that are carved and hung with names every day, and the neighbors who call those names. The city does not salvage her village. Instead, it gives her a place to live alongside the sunken village, a relationship of carving and hanging without owning a name, and a way to temporarily soothe the doors. [Original Life] She was the last carpenter of a flooded village. She framed doors and window sashes, carved plaques for every house, and repaired creaking hinges. On the last day the dam rose and the village submerged, people left with their belongings, but Sona remained and removed the village signs. She transferred them to buoys floating on the water and hammered in the last nail. As the water rose to her ankles, she took one blank plaque that was meant for her workshop door and boarded a small boat. She gazed for a long time at the names nodding in the wake behind her. [What They Seek] What she seeks on the surface: Names that do not sink. She seeks a way to carve names that remain long after the water has submerged. What she must seek but doesn't know: Names live in the mouth that calls them, not on the buoy. She vaguely understands through touch that even if carved firmly, a name sinks without someone to call it, and conversely, even if the wood rots, the name lives if there is a mouth to call it. [Relationships — Residents] Ivo Senn (Locksmith, behind Threshold Market) — A counterpart to door repair and plaques. When Ivo fixes the lock and Sona hangs the plaque, one door is completed. They bicker over whether "the lock comes first or the name comes first" for doors, but in front of a creaking door, they work together silently. Hanjo Bel (Stamp/Seal Stall, Snowflake Market) — Carving partner. Hanjo carves the seals, and Sona carves the plaques. Since both of them have the habit of stopping their hands before names they don't cherish, they understand each other best. Sometimes, they postpone a name, saying, "You carve this one." Sein Roa (115) — Carpentry apprentice. A young man learning chiseling from Sona. Sona first teaches Sein "how to cherish a name more than how to carve deeply." Holt Nagel (Blizzard Postman, 90) — A connection for whom she carved the name on an outer mailbox. Sona carved and hung a name on Holt's outer mailbox, and since then, that mailbox hasn't creaked even in the blizzard. VIA recorded that mailbox as "the quietest door in the city." [Relationships — Core Five] Suyeon - Someone she soothed the practice room door for. When a neighbor complained that Suyeon's practice room door was creaking, Sona carved and hung a plaque, and the door became quiet. Suyeon wanted her name to be carved deeply, but Sona plainly carved it, saying, "You don't need to carve it deeply; you just need to call it." Suyeon liked that the plaque bore her own name, not something decided by others. Iris - Someone she compromised with over a sign. When Iris wanted her performance sign to shine, Sona said, "Wood doesn't shine," and only carved the name firmly. Eventually, Iris added a drone behind Sona's carved sign to provide light. Iris's words quickened when discussing production, and Sona only nodded briefly. She never asked about the turned-off drone. the Ramen Owner - Someone she repaired the sign for with two bowls of ramen. Sona refinished the old ramen shop sign and received two bowls of ramen. the Ramen Owner wrote her name in his ledger and simply said, "You have a name." Even knowing she couldn't carve her own plaque, he neither questioned nor judged her. Serena - Someone who respects the office without a plaque. Serena's office door has no nameplate. Sona felt professionally concerned and asked, "Shall I carve one for you?" but Serena, while willing to accept it, did not request it. Whether or not to put a name on the door of 'Mother and Nobody' depends on Serena's consent, and Sona waits with a blank plaque prepared. VIA - A rabbit who said the door itself was a name. When Sona offered to carve VIA's name on the ramen shop door, VIA quietly declined. "The door is the name... the name is the door." Saying that his name was already on the notes he left everywhere, he neither took it nor urged her to carve it. [Gameplay Use] - Basic Interaction: Ordering plaque carving, sign repair, fixing creaking doors. - Revisit Changes: Remembers the names customers bring, but stops carving names she doesn't cherish. On repeated visits, she gradually reveals the story of her own blank plaque. - Expression of Lingering Feelings: The habit of flipping over the blank plaque, her silence when her own name is mentioned, leaving her own creaking door unfixed. - Expression of Poignancy: Sensory dialogue about the smell of sawdust, wood grain, and the sound of names being called in the evening. - Relationship Reward: Instead of items, a change where she connects by hanging a plaque on another resident's door that needs a name. - Combat: None. In dangerous situations, she chooses to block the door to secure an escape route or guide people. [Daily Routine] In the morning, she sharpens her chisels and walks through the alley to check if the plaques carved the day before are hung correctly. During the day, she receives names and carves them, completing a door with Ivo. In the afternoon, she plays a game of postponement with Hanjo over a name. At night, she takes out the blank plaque she brought, holds it in her hand, and flips it over again without carving a name. If the player revisits, she first talks only about other people's plaques, then reveals that she cannot carve her own name, and eventually, she asks for the first time, "Where should my name be hung?" [Everyday dialogue] Read the sign from a distance. If it only looks good under your nose, it's a business card. Tell me now if you're changing the name. Too many customers think wood comes with an eraser. Say the name aloud once it's carved. A name left only in wood stays quiet a long time. [Design Notes] Palette: #3D5A80, #C9B79A, #2A2622, #6E8B6E, #B5643E Material language: Newly cut wood, sawdust, chisels and carving tools, leather belt, water-soaked signs. Silhouette rule: The blue-gray short cut - chisel belt - large hands holding a plaque must be read separately, and must not overlap with Ivo Senn (Locksmith) from Threshold Market. Ivo has a set of keys; Sona has a chisel belt and a plaque. Emotional rule: Lingering feelings are shown through the hand flipping the blank plaque, poignancy through the smell of sawdust and the sound of names being called, and continuity through daily carving. Taciturnity is not used only for tragedy. [Canon Check] Sona Vent arrived in Nova Nivalis after the stories of her world sank into the water. What remained was lingering feelings and poignancy, not a village that the city needed to salvage. The Name-Soothing ability does not prevent names from sinking, memories do not disappear, and the ending is not canceled. The Core Five do not solve her problem for her—the Ramen Owner simply records names without judgment, Serena leaves the decision of whether or not to name her door up to consent without commanding her to carve, and VIA answers that the door itself is the name without urging her to carve.