I haven’t drawn my girl Airi in a while, and I remembered I had a concept sketch (on the left, third pic) of her in a different displacer-styled outfit that’s geared toward the endgame so I decided to draw her in it (give or take a couple minor changes). I didn’t have the ripa (the sword) in mind when I did the sketch so I’m okay with her just holding the shep (the ritual staff, although I sort of had a chakram in mind).

This is normally an outfit reserved for displacers that have achieved acclaim, recognition, and risen through the ranks. It’s safe to say you can tell how notable and skillful a person is based off their outfit: the more elaborate it is, the more prestigious they are. However, some displacers would tell you they prefer the practicality of their uniforms over the gaudy ceremonial that belies their rank, and this is one such outfit that exudes the former over the latter.

Airi was not in the displacer forces for very long, having just been freshly minted as a new recruit when war between civil unrest between the lower classes and the Diamond Court, the Outer Essering’s elite, ruling government body in the nation, ramped up and engulfed the continent. As resources were being drained the longer it went on, the battle-garb for displacers were simplified, no different than what impoverished monks would wear, and would have been called humble under different circumstances.

In another world, Airi would have seen the end of the war and been promoted to a higher rank where she would wear this outfit. However, a fateful bout with Astolfo Orlando, a wanted fugitive, and his contracted demon known only as Ghestalt saw her fatally wounded and would have been left for dead if not for the long, ephemeral reach of the Demon King-In-Exile. 

For most of Airi’s story, I like to imagine she’s wearing her friend Lina’s outfit, which is admittedly no different than what any person regardless of gender would wear, and wields her ripa, for her own was lost in the fight against Astolfo.  It is thanks to Iryna, the young girl who knows about the changes in the world since Airi’s stasis, that she is able to take the first steps into the current era. However, sometime later, the weight of the role of being His Chosen Hero and the ever-present fact that she now lives in a world that has moved on without her and seen her family dispersed wears her down, and soon the ripa is shattered and the garb tattered to reflect her fraying mental state. Eventually, both Airi and Lina agree to burn the outfit, signifying the end of a troubling, bloody chapter in Airi’s new life as the King-In-Exile’s daemon familiar.

I do think she gets another outfit (and ripa) after that one that’s similar to it, and later on she acquires this one. I meant to give it some draconic features that would make her stand out from the other displacers (although at this point I would honestly compare her role to that of being a mercenary or “substitute Soul Reaper” a’la Bleach), except that’s only really apparent on the boots (and they’re not pointy enough!)...but it’s a concept, it’ll do. But I also like the other, simpler design, so maybe she’ll get both or a mix of the two in the future *shrug*