Lyric

✦ "The God of Falsehoods". -- About

On appearance alone, Lyric is easily-recognised as one of Mondstadt's busking bards; elegant apparel, a lyre at his belt and flowers in his hair betray a certain lighthearted and whimsical feeling iconic of the wind-blown city. However, this is also where comparisons with more typical bards end - when they meet Lyric for the first time, many are often more wary around him if anything. After all, his vacant and almost critical expression isn't the most welcoming of sights, and he's not very talkative when the situation doesn't suit it. He tends to stay away from other people and drift around by himself, which has lent him a mysterious and elusive air among Mondstadt's people - and that's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his strange reputation among the grown-up population of the city.

Lyric likes people, and cares about them a lot. He's usually ambiverted, with his preference for having company or none depending on his general mood that day, so his tendency to isolate himself from others isn't born from any hatred or malice. The reason he avoids crowds is for the sake of protecting his fragile persona, lest someone see right through it and bring his world crashing down around him once again - after all, Lyric has been playing different characters since he was very young, doing whatever he needed to do to survive whether it be fraudulently claim money or fast-track his way to finding work or shelter. With the most recent identity he's adopted being that of the Anemo Archon, Lord Barbatos, there's far too much room for error when it comes to people figuring him out at once; just another reason for his strange reputation in the city, as very few people aside from the local children actually believe he's the newest vessel of their absent god. Lyric is a believer in 'show, don't tell' and likes to suggest the possibility that he could be Barbatos using little feats of 'magic' and allowing them to draw the conclusion themselves; concealing his Vision to hide the source of his Anemo power, he charms with summoned spring winds and slight-of-hand tricks that see him pull flowers, sweets and Mora from his sleeves to offer. Such tricks have earned him popularity among the children, who are intrigued by the magical stranger, but distrust in him among adults - and especially among the sisters of the Cathedral - is as high as ever. And, though Lyric attempts to keep his cool when faced with someone trying to bring down his delusions of grandeur, even his calm and his kindness will not stop him from becoming haughty, defensive or even rude.

Behind the guises he wears, there are a few steadfast traits in Lyric that carry over to his characters. He's a diligent soul, wilful and persevering even in the worst of circumstances - his life has been chaotic from a very young age, as his training to be a future mercenary began the moment he received his Vision, not even 10 years old when his mercenary clan family were torn apart by furious aristocrats slighted by them. While Lyric tries not to let his past get to him, he's determined to unlock his repressed memories and figure out who he used to be before he was taken in by a family in Springvale. However, a life spent playing roles to acquire what he needs means that he doesn't really have much sense of self, and struggles to identify with people as his own person - he's a stranger in his own skin, filled with a sense of loneliness, emptiness and unshakeable loss, and seeks only the feeling of belonging to someplace or someone and finding out where he fits in among the people.

Since he's presently playing the role of Mondstadt's god, he's committed to fitting the bill absolutely perfectly, believing that if the real Barbatos won't be there for his people, then someone needs to help guide and watch over them. His affection for others regardless of how they treat him is at the heart of what he does; he's gentle and kind by nature, and will comfortably approach strangers in need to offer them comfort, advice or just a listening ear. Though many are distrustful of him, those who know him better or have allowed him to help them in the past consider him reliable and comforting, and he's never led them wrong. Lyric also maintains a mild sense of humour - often dry and lightly teasing, he can be quite the gadfly when with someone he knows well-enough that they won't take his needling the wrong way.

Appearance

Lyric stands at 5'6" ( 167 cm ) with a small but notably pear-shaped build, slender shoulders and wide hips. He's pale-skinned, with a delicate round face and slight features; a slight nose that turns up a little at the end, striking azure-blue eyes that are often half-lidded or narrowed, and rosy lips with a natural pout. Lyric's expression is naturally somewhat stern and often gives the impression he's judging everything around him or that he's in a world of his own, and he's not very expressive either, which means he can often deliver lighthearted sentiments with the same almost-stormy visage. He has a single gold drop earring shaped like a feather in his left ear, and wears a simple brown beret on top of his mop of dark, smoky grey-blue hair that's fashioned into a big, lower-chest-length braid over his right shoulder with white daisies woven into it. His bangs are long and brush his jaw, brushed to the right over his face. His hair is actually dyed using a series of natural ingredients he mixes up himself, and is naturally a sandy blonde colour.

For his attire when out on the streets, Lyric wears brown overalls with a bodice-esque front and a diamond-shaped cutout on the back panel, and gold decorations embroidered in swirls and flowers down both sides. Underneath he wears a white button-up blouse with elbow-length sleeves and frilled cuffs, fastened at the neck with a gold cecilia-patterned brooch inset with a turquoise gem. There's a very pale blue cloak fastened around his shoulder shaped rather like a wing, with gold spikes at the 'bend' reminiscent of art depictions of Barbatos' wings, and pinned at his back with a gold decoration with a tiny jar of dandelion seeds attached that covers the Anemo Vision underneath his cloak and conceals it from being noticed. Lyric wears dark brown leather thigh-high boots and a thick belt around his waist with a gold buckle, and fingerless gloves on both hands. He also wears a lot of gold jewellery picked up with his fraudulent wealth - multiple rings on both hands and strings of chains around his collar. There are windwheel asters tucked into his belt and right boot and fastened to the front of his cloak, and a small wooden lyre carved with wind spirits and lamp grass patterns is fastened to his belt.