Shia

Many would consider Shia the heart of the operation and I completely understand why. Due to... unfortunate circumstances surrounding myself, getting on contracts' good sides can be rather difficult. But Shia, on the other hand, always seems to start out on the right foot with anyone. Perhaps it's the unassuming attitude, yet dependable and easy-going vibe that lets others truly connect with her. When one looks at Shia, you wouldn't necessarily see her as she truly is. She acts just like a standard, morally driven extrovert who's highly sociable. But when you get closer, you start to see that truly strong and unique person behind it that leaves you wanting more. At that point, you're in too deep in the relationship to back off. Even if you're strongly introverted or socially inept, she gives you something to latch onto in ways that many other people can't. There's a reason she's essentially the face of Augustia; Shia is the perfect leader in many people's eyes.

That said, the "perfect leader" atmosphere she releases is a front. Shia, when left in the dark so to speak, is a highly emotional and anxious person. She often struggles to see what's in front of her because of the murky past she forces herself to wade through. She often feels heavy regret for her actions, even when it's widely considered uncalled for. It's only through her sociability that she can hide her short comings. And, through her network of close friends, it's not hard to fulfill expectations placed upon her. She's multi-talented, for sure. Her ability to think on the fly is impressive, her all-situation ability is powerful, and her charming attitude is addicting, to say the least. But in the end, she's not perfect. That's why we're here for her.

She likes to call me the leader of Augustia, but if she fully realized her capabilities she could easily replace me. It's merely the fact that she considers herself "not enough" that she cannot rise to the occasion. But in the end, that's fine. We all have our shortcomings. But she has me to make the decisions she cannot, Freya to do the research she cannot, and Ryan to do the tech work which she cannot. No one's truly enough on their own. That's why we have each other, after all.

--- Kai, head of Augustia

Shia's power does not seem to be the only unique thing about her, at least according to our medical understanding of her (as well as witness testimony).

Shia herself is hardly trained with weaponry. It's quite obvious when you watch her attack a training dummy. But somehow, she seems to have an strong reactionary defense that doesn't often give the same drawbacks as a defense weaponry combination. For instance, heavy armor and proper shielding is often considered limiting to her power because of the loss of mobility it bestows. This often gives Shia an element of surprise, allowing her to win most battles with those who are unaware of her strengths (and even those unaware will still struggle due to her innate powerset). That said, she still relies on typical human traits in this enhanced state. She isn't able to move faster, nor does she have enhanced senses or anything, it's just the ability to quickly recognize things, essentially. She is still vulnerable to something impossible for any normal person to notice.

The most important thing about Shia, however, is that she has unprecedented control of her powers when all is working as intended. She's able to sculpt her ice crystals as they're being made, which is unheard of in the world of Ruelid powers. Typically, one can create a rough idea of what the shape will be, and then fling it out as a projectile in powers akin to Shia's. Rei, for instance, can create vague shapes in her mind with her fire and then shoot it out as said shape. Shia, however, can almost instinctually create whatever she desires. It doesn't take her a long amount of time either, especially when in combat due to her quick thinking, and before you know it she can have an item of her choosing made out of her ice. Granted, her ice is quite fragile, but it's also entirely unmelting unless under excessive heat (90 degrees fahrenheit or plus).

Once I've studied her combative ability a bit more, I will add another report about her capabilities. It may take sometime though, as it's purely a personal project that bears little importance.

--- Freya in a note written to herself in one of her many tossed about notebooks.

The following is a continuation of contract file 6, completed after some time has passed.

A few things should be updated in regards to the last file. First, Shia's proficiency with the rapier has gone up. While she is still below average due to her lack of talent with the weapon, she does at least know some basics. Next, due to her increased infection rate, we have completed a bit more research on her mind. We have concluded that her quick thinking is not due to the disease, as it did not increase in strength as powers related to Rueliedis normally do. While it's possible that its some strange off-shoot we don't fully understand, it is more likely to be a strange adaptation to her environment.

Anyways, Shia, as said before, uses a rapier as her main weapon (presumably due to her affection for Kai). However, the main draw back of a rapier is its incredibly fragile blade and relative lack of range. But due to her reactionary combat style, quick thinking, and unique rapier, she's able to largely circumvent the disadvantages of such a weapon. Shia creates her weapon out of ice, but as mentioned earlier within her first contract, the ice is almost unbreakable when in the process of being formed. Shia takes advantage of this by continually forming her weapon, shooting out small, tiny ice crystal like snow flakes out of the blade in order to prolong the blade creation process. Because the blade is technically still being made, the rapier is, in realistic circumstances, unbreakable. Through this loop-hole, Shia (and specifically only Shia as she's the only person who can up-keep the forming process) holds a powerful weapon that would be nearly impossible to beat if Shia was an expert in the combative field. The only downside, other than the fact that Shia could contract frostbite if not minding the weapon's ice nature, is that Shia must continually use her powers in order to up-keep the blade. This doesn't realistically mean much in the Rueliedis power side of things, as the draw is incredibly small and therefore she is not vulnerable to overuse of her powers when using the blade. The problem falls with the fact that Shia, by nature, can lose control of her powers at any moment. The longer she uses her weapon, the higher chance that she may lose control and fire off her powers excessively, or cause a Rueliedis build up in her system that stops blood flow. While Shia is quite well known for being dependable in combat when it matters most, the risk of using these powers without thinking is undeniable. As such, she was forced to promise that she would only use her powers when under supervision or in emergencies.

--- Freya's final addition over Shia's powers, sometime later added into the contract files.