Akura Mercy

Akura Mercy
General information
Path	Path of Seven Pages, bonding with the Book of Eternal Night
Rank	Underlady
Faction	Akura Clan
First Appearance	Skysworn
Family
Mother	Akura Malice
Home	Moongrave

Biography

Skysworn

Akura Mercy was first introduced during the Skysworn low-gold application contest where she helps heal an applicant that Lindon injured in a squabble. Despite her kindness, the other applicants are afraid of interacting with her due to recognizing her as an Akura, the rulers’ of the vassal states and who have a poor reputation. She ends up taking first place in the low-gold application race/contest by riding her bow through the obstacles. Later after the contest she is left with Lindon and Yerin during squad formation, seen as a troublesome and unwanted Skysworn appointee. She remains friendly and understanding during this and tries to form familiarity with Lindon, Yerin, Bai Rou, and Renfei. Soon after the bleeding phoenix rises she is the one who saves Yerin from being thrown off Stormrock by also jumping off the cloud-fortress after Lindon. She helps fend off the bloodspawn while Yerin and Lindon wrestle for control over the bloodspawn within Yerin. Her techniques are shown to be using shadow madra which she uses mostly to bind and tangle foes with. Lindon comments that he is unsure of her advancement as her spiritual pressure fluctuates during combat. She reveals the gaintess fighting off the phoenix is in-fact her mother and that she is the heir of the Akuras though the circumstances as to why she joined the Skysworn are still left unsaid. Once Eithan finds the squad and Mercy is alone not allowed to see Eithan’s inherited vision left by Ozriel however Eithan promises to support her future in the group. Throughout the book Mercy shows empathy and kindness to all she meets, a quality which so far is unseen in any other character in Cradle.

Ghostwater

Mercy continues to be a member of Lindon and Yerin’s Skysworn squad helping those affected by the aftermath of the phoenix and her mothers’s fight. She travels along with her squad to the island with the portal to the Ghostwater facilities. After the portal is destroyed she restrains Yerin from killing Bai Rou since she noticed the several hidden cloudship presences on the island. After travelling to the Akura’s cloudship she is forbidden from entering as this would be possibly violating her agreement with her mother. Once Yerin returns alone she travels with her despite concern for Bai Rou. While she travels with Yerin she charitably shares survival gear and medicine and practices advancement with Yerin when they are stalled by dragons. During this training she shows off her acrobatic and dexterous fighting style only to fumble the landing. She hints that before she had no issues with her coordination and balance. She tells Yerin that her bow’s name is Eclipse, Ancient Bow of the Soulseeker, or as she colloquially calls Suu. She also reveals to Yerin her path of the Book of Eternal Night which combines techniques from seven different shadow aspected paths. Once they engage in battle with an enraged Sophara Mercy temporarily advances to high gold and uses her Akura bloodline armor ability to shield Yerin from the underlady’s striker technique. During this most of her hair is scorched off and she is severely burned. Yerin retreats with Mercy’s unconscious body and uses Mercy’s scripted tent and medical supplies to treat their injuries despite Mercy objecting to treatment for Yerin’s sake. At Yerin’s askance she explains she can temporarily advance to a higher advancement of the same tier. Still injured Mercy backs Yerin up when Yerin seeks a fight to push for advancement. After being saved from Sophara by Ziel, a stranger, Mercy happily introduces herself. After Lindon escapes a collapsing Ghostwater Mercy hauls him and Orthos off a cliff they were climbing to land, shocking him with her new Yerin cropped haircut. During their travels across the island she and Yerin form a bond of trust and more of the Akura clan is revealed to the reader.

Underlord

Mercy stays in a Skysworn squad with Yerin and Lindon after their return from Ghostwater, led by Eithan Arelius this time. She assists them on their path to Underlord, helping Lindon find his revelation and never taking any resources from them.

Towards the end of the book, Mercy - still a Highgold - is severely injured by Seishen Daji, an Underlord. She then falls on his swords, but is quickly saved by her Monarch mother, Akura Malice. It is revealed why Mercy left the Akuras:

Akura Mercy was the family genius, who set records at every turn. She bonded the book her mother, Akura Malice, had crafted, and was following the Monarch's idea of a perfect shadow Path. However, she found herself disgusted by her family's lack of regard for those weaker than themselves and blind willingness to debase themselves to those who were stronger. Determined to be different, she made an effort to try and change that in herself. She was succeeding, earning a reputation as kind-hearted and respectful, until she discovered her Underlord revelation and was confronted with the fact that she too craved approval of her Monarch mother. Disgusted with this fact, Mercy made a bet with her mother that she could survive outside the family without their help and in return, she would be free of them. In order to make it as if she were truly without the help of her family, Mercy's power was sealed and reduced to Lowgold and the benefits of her Iron body taken away. As long as she could survive under said conditions, she would have no responsibility. But if she died, she would have to return to the clan as their heir.

Akura Malice returns her powers and brings her back to life, but she requires Mercy to return to the Akura clan and compete as their main fighter in the Uncrowned King tournament.