The term "Eremites" does not reference a specific group or organization, but all those who are born of the desert and ply a trade using their martial prowess, operating as mercenaries.

Frail is humanity in such a desolate profession. To survive, those who walk the path of a mercenary will naturally come together, forming loose bands of mercenaries.

Though the Eremites are many, few among them will be remembered as legends, with most bound to be as evanescent as sand in the wind. Yet there are exceptions who, like Dehya, may linger in the annals of history.

The "Flame-Mane" Dehya is fierce and brave, the lion her moniker invokes an analogy for her might. The nickname itself, meanwhile, denotes her passionate nature.

Should you be planning to hire a mercenary to serve as a bodyguard, Dehya stands as a prime choice. Procuring her service runs an expensive premium, but her abilities make that a worthy expenditure indeed.

Compared to those overconfident fools hawking their talents as hired blades on the street and novices capable of little more than brute force, Dehya is a conscientious professional.

With all this said, those who wish to procure her services should make haste, for there is a long line of other potential clients that have need of the Flame-Mane, and the opportunity, just as grains in the desert, will slip away before long.

Unlocks at Friendship Lv. 2

All desertfolk, including Dehya, learn to master and comprehend the sands.

Here, where the blue of the sky is boundless, where the gold-paved waves of the sands bleed into the cleft of the horizon, it is easy to feel how small one truly is.

Even those familiar with the sights and scenes of the desert can be intermittently shaken by the forces wielded by nature, and find themselves yearning to profess their supplication upon the sands where they were born.

The feeble and meek fear this land, and only those strong of spirit can find themselves drifting free upon this golden ocean.

Amongst the desertfolk, the bravest, most inured to the cruelties of their existence amidst the flowing sands are the mercenaries — The Eremites.

Such a life is one with little comfort or ease, so what a mercenary truly desires are those who can support them, with such covenant-kin being the equal of blood relatives.

In her youth, Dehya's family consisted of her father and his mercenaries.

As she grew to independence, her new family was the "Blazing Beasts," fellow mercenaries she could trust and count on.

After battling together for a time, a tacit understanding forms between individuals, with entire thoughts conveyed with but a movement, a gaze.

Later, as she temporarily bid the desert farewell to commit to a commission in the rainforest, she often found herself reminiscing about the moments she spent with her companions, singing by the fireside.

She can rise as high as the sky or stray as far as the sea, but Dehya was and will always be a daughter of the sands.

Unlocks at Friendship Lv. 3

Before one makes any individual comparisons, broadly speaking, females are slightly edged out by males in raw physicality.

Dehya, likewise, was not born with immense might. Even so, the other mercenaries have a great many reasons to hold her in high regard.

Firstly, though she is not the strongest in her profession, she has force enough all the same.

Should one doubt this, they merely need to test the weight of her blade. To make such a greatsword dance and flow without sufficient strength would be impossible otherwise.

Secondly, she has tremendous combat instincts. It is known that the greatsword, Dehya's weapon of choice, demands a trade-off between force and speed. Should such a weapon fail to achieve a decisive first strike against a sufficiently mobile foe, it will prove more burden than a boon for the wielder. In moments like these, Dehya uses her superior insight and technique to overcome the opposition.

Sometimes, she will cast her weapon aside, eschewing the edge of a sword for the weight behind her fists. She will even hurl her weapon at foes without warning to buy a fleeting opportunity. How any such moment plays out all depends on the actual conditions presented by each battle.

Aside being good in a fight, she also knows plenty about surviving in the desert.

The commissions that the Eremites most often take will have them serving as bodyguards against raiders without outside support, herding away dangerous creatures, and assisting their clients in avoiding dreaded weather conditions.

Sometimes, they even find assignments that have them acting as guides, helping caravans, adventurers, and researchers reach their desired destinations.

Dehya knows how to deal with startled scorpion swarms, how to circle around vultures to avoid getting entangled with those nimble annoyances, and how to negotiate and minimize danger when faced with robbers.

Clients like it when matters are handled thoroughly and practically. To earn true praise from their employers, mercenaries must offer more than just brute capacity for violence.

Indeed, the ability to overcome one hundred or even a thousand foes has its limits, for when sandstorms scour the earth and sky, even the mightiest warrior will be buried beneath its shroud.

A wise mercenary knows when to retreat, and how to preserve themselves even while meeting their objectives, for doing so exemplifies the true heights of strategy.

Unlocks at Friendship Lv. 4

As Dehya's reputation gradually grew amongst the Eremites, those of her band grew proud of the fame she was earning and, during a day when everyone happened to be present, the rowdiest of her companions stated their desire to grant her a nickname worth remembering.

Everyone agreed that they would announce Dehya with the new nickname whenever she won future battles, so it needed to be something spectacular — capable of spreading goosebumps through people like a skin-raising plague.

The youngest members gave their all trying to come up with something. They chittered and clamored, trying to give Dehya a vicious moniker capable of instilling debilitating terror in potential clients, usually beginning with "bloody" or "terror."

Dehya was not such an amateur as to think that a title alone might encapsulate the entirety of what others felt about her. But still, as if everyone wanted to kill some time on this matter, she didn't mind.

As she listened to bad suggestion after terrible suggestion, she couldn't help but guffaw with laughter. The atmosphere reminded her of moments from her childhood when her father gathered his compatriots to put on plays for her, detailing chivalrous heroes defending the helpless or messy brawls between siblings to amuse everyone. There was no specific point to it, except to bring some cheer while surviving in the vast emptiness under the desert's midnight sky.

And just as the chatting was starting to put her in a good mood, that old ne'er-do-well's shadow slid back into her mind. Though admittedly disgruntled, Dehya did her best to keep the curl of her lips imperceptible.

That night, Dehya rejected several laughable names, such as the "Sovereign of the Sands" and "The Crimson Edge." She thought it was time to let the farce come to a close. It was just a name after all, and true mercenaries did not let such things affect their business much.

Just then, an aged mercenary interrupted the discussion. At first, he snorted disdainfully at the stupidity of those around him. Then, he asked a question: "The Legend of the Lion. This story ring a bell for anyone?"

This tale was, naturally, one Dehya was familiar with. During her childhood, her father had told her lots of old stories — far too many, really. She had wanted to forget everything that had to do with him, but memories are not so easily consigned to oblivion.

While she was lost in the twists and turns of her past, her companions decided upon a title for her that actually sounded quite alright: "Flame-Mane."

And though she loathed the man The Legend of the Lion reminded her of, she found herself halted just before she could reject the name. Was it not all too petty to refuse such goodwill on that account?

Must she avoid all the things related to her father, just because she wanted to forget him? Of course not. Besides, the story had brought a genuine feeling of warmth and comfort to Dehya, allowing her to face the world with open eyes, experience all it had to offer — and those experiences had not been falsehoods.

So why not take up the title of "Flame-Mane?" She could have done far worse.

Unlocks at Friendship Lv. 5

Dehya is an individual of immense beauty, a fact undeniable to all who know her.

She is blessed with eyes of frosted sapphire capable of shivering souls, honeyed skin that bears a nigh-resplendent gleam when greeted by sunlight, and a length of wavy, black-and-gold hair that drifts behind her with every light-footed step she takes.

The desertfolk hold maidens imbued with attractiveness and vigor in great esteem, seeing them as embodiments of vitality.

Dehya, likewise, pays a great deal of attention to her looks. When she finds the opportunity, should her environment allow it, she always seizes the chance to take a shower and part her person from the stench of sweat. During her leisure time, she hits up the market for personal care products, procuring powder for her eyes and face alongside other cosmetics for times when she might need them. With how she uses these consumables daily, she often finds her supply depleting rapidly.

Mercenaries are typically a crude bunch, accustomed to violence with little focus placed on how they present themselves, making Dehya something of an oddity in that regard. Unable to understand why she is so concerned about her appearance, some of her companions have asked her as much.

Well, what else could it be? The men of the desert smell so foul — a stench only made worse when they kick off their boots — that the nausea that follows is near-debilitating.

Coated with sweat, having not washed their feet for the better part of a month, and reeking of alcohol, they infuse the air in a room with unfathomable rankness.

Imagine, an entire room filled with such unsanitary individuals. Mighty though Dehya might be, she has little desire to spend her time choking for breath.

As such, she sticks to a number of ironclad personal habits that separate her from the many slobs who plague their trade, leave her employers with a good impression, and keep her looking good at all times.

A portion of her hard-earned Mora, likewise, is always placed into getting jewelry and cosmetics. She treats such purchases as rightful rewards derived from fruitful labor.

When one is constantly surrounded by such fatiguing things as weapons, enemies, and business, a little care and gentleness go a long way toward lowering her defenses, allowing her to face the coming future with a softened heart.

Though it is true that Dehya is a ferocious mercenary, she is, always first and foremost, a lovely and carefree woman.

Unlocks at Friendship Lv. 6

Unlike many who leave the desert and never look back, Dehya has always been proud of her heritage. However, her identity has indeed also introduced a great many obstacles into her life.

She lacked a systematized education and was in turn also bereft of any complex technical knowledge besides that which had to do with martial prowess and desert survival. Such was the case for many an Eremite mercenary.

It is clear to Dehya that this lack of knowledge has constrained her people and their potential, their energies and curiosity long subsumed by the sandstorms and the sweltering heat. If she hadn't encountered the miraculous creations of the Akademiya, tasted the fine wines of Mondstadt, beheld the elaborately crafted utensils from Liyue, or the mechanical brilliance possessed by the people of Fontaine, she too would have been unable to see past the borders of her environment.

Measured on merits of courage alone, the folk of the rainforest pale before the tenacious desertfolk. Avatars of determination, even after being lashed by the winnowing tongue of the withering winds for years uncounted, the people of the desert continue to live on, generation to generation, their bodies and minds as enduring as the rock of mountains, perhaps even more so.

But if they lack foresight to see beyond the present and visible, they will always only be crawling about in the sand.

The Mora they earn devoted solely to food and drink, their wealth flowing out as fast as it comes in, passing through them like the sand within an hourglass. The few among them who possessed foresight and intellect knew that to find a better life, changes were needed. But those individuals often cast the desert behind them upon embracing said better life, shifting to lives lived only for themselves.

"Why can't we be more? Why must we be bound to spending our strength — even our lives — to live just a little better?"

They were made by the desert, but also shackled to it. Dehya desires to transcend such limitations. At present, she is still contemplating what kind of future she desires to seek.

How far someone can progress in life is not all determined by something as subjective as personal will — Dehya understands that all too well. But she also knows that, so long as there is a chance, she will try to deliver hope back to the desert, to do something for those still living there.

Though her future paths may lead elsewhere, the sands will always be her home.

Unlocks at Friendship Lv. 4

Complete "Lionsblood"

According to Kusayla, when a lion roars, even the blazing sun must shiver.
Little Dehya had never seen an actual lion before, so whatever Kusayla claimed, she heeded without question.
Kusayla would vividly describe how the sun would cleave the land with its heat, warping mud to powder and distorting the very air in the atmosphere. Despite this, the lion constantly thundered onward, striding across this burning plain. Try as the sun might, the lion's approach was constant and unrelenting, pursuing the star tirelessly with its roaring until the light finally fled past the horizon.
Such was the might of the lion.
Enraptured by the story, little Dehya's eyes gleamed bright, brighter even than the campfire burning beneath a blanket of night.
"The lion can..." Kusayla's eyes scythed about for a moment before he snatched one of his slimmer compatriots to use as a volunteer to complete his analogy. "The lion can take out ten guys his size. Easy."

"What about you? Can you beat the lion?" Little Dehya asked Kusayla.

"Hard to say, but I know quite a few tricks, so I think should be able to give that beast the business." Caution lit Kusayla's expression, betraying no hint of boasting.

"If the lion charges me, I'll... dip down beneath it, angle myself under its body, and then... Open its stomach with my blade. That should be enough to do it in."

Unsatisfied with mere words, Kusayla called upon another of their band to pretend to be a lion, planning to give a personal performance for a triumph most hypothetical. Unfortunately, their acting left much to be desired, with the "lion's" roars crippled by a lack of presence, sounding more dog-like than anything.

Dehya was unsurprised. She knew what kind of character her father was. It was folly to take all he said seriously, and only disappointment awaited if one did so. All she really had to do was laugh along with him.

The Legend of the Lion, however, did linger in her recollections.

Many years later, just as Dehya and her companions were deciding what title would sound best for her, the Lion was mentioned, pulling her back to this childhood fable, and her father, who had put everything into the form of a play for her.

Though she had been estranged from Kusayla by then, she couldn't help but indulge in the nostalgia of her youth.

Now, she finally understood what her father felt in his heart all those years ago, though he was now gone, adrift in the Eternal Dreamland.

This would prove one regret she would not be able to reverse. But still, one must veer toward optimism, for bitterness did not suit the lifestyle of one working in the desert. Besides, the memories of her preadolescence were now things she could openly look back upon with a sense of satisfaction.

Recalling her girlhood, Dehya's eyes couldn't help but light up just as they had beside the campfire beneath the night sky all those years ago.

She would become a lion, akin to the one told of in Kusayla's story, so that the legend might yet live on through her.

Unlocks at Friendship Lv. 6

Complete "Lionsblood"

Dehya isn't all that sure when her Vision manifested precisely, but she guesses that it might have appeared when she had just started walking her own path.

During that time, she was consumed with thoughts of growing stronger.

As a mercenary, being weak meant not being able to take on enough commissions, which in turn meant no Mora for food.

It was during this critical juncture that the Vision appeared by her side. With how stretched for Mora she was, she even considered trading it in for actual currency.

People all say that to be granted a Vision is a sign of divine favor, but Dehya felt that if she was truly chosen, the gods would have sent her Mora instead of some trinket that lacked instant monetary value.

Additionally, though the Vision can help her direct the elements, victory in a true battle is still decided by skill, judgment, strategy, and physical conditioning.

There are many legendary mercenaries who achieved such renown even without a Vision, relying only on training and grit.Dehya likewise understood that, should one become overcome by pride at having the gods' favor, stop thinking things through, and fail to appreciate that which is before them, no enemy would be required to punish such hubris. The desert itself would exact vengeance upon such folly on its own.

The things she would experience thereafter would serve as further proof that even divine power has limitations. For all their might and wisdom, even a god might be constrained.

Dehya likes her Vision, but she will not bend to become an apostle after a mere brush with divine attention.

She is a mercenary. Someone who lives and dies by the blade. Such a person trusts only in the sweat shed to feed countless gardens of battle and bloodshed.