Faranak

Faranak^[2] is a mentioned character. She is the mother of Kaveh. Like her son, she is a Kshahrewar alumnus and a famous architect.

Profile[]

Over 30 years ago, Faranak attended the Akademiya under the Kshahrewar darshan, mentored by Professor Zaha Hadi. During this period, she met and fell in love with Kaveh's father, and the two planned out a future together. Together, they decided to name their son Kaveh, conceiving him over 20 years before the Chapter III began.^[2][3]

After the untimely passing of Kaveh's unnamed father, Faranak fell into depression, and "would never again smile." After Kaveh reached schooling age and enrolled in the Akademiya, which resulted in him spending less time with her, she decided to visit Fontaine to ease her grief, and was eventually offered a job there. Kaveh would encourage her, reassuring her that he would be fine on his own, after which she left for Fontaine. Sometime after Kaveh's graduation, she remarried and held a small wedding, which Kaveh attended. All her remaining property in Sumeru, including her home, would be transferred to Kaveh, indicating that she had decided to remain in Fontaine permanently, and she eventually set up a new family there.^[4][5] Kaveh has had little contact with her since her remarriage.^[6]

She, along with Kaveh's father, had a significant influence on Kaveh's interest in architecture, which he developed at a young age. They both encouraged his interest by providing him with a sketchbook and building blocks to play with as a child, and she also gave him the book "Architectural Drawing Basics," which was authored by her.^[7]

She was the primary motivator for Kaveh's interest in architecture. As a child, he would observe her working on blueprints and try to imitate her, resulting in his first sloppy blueprint that he slipped into her work. After inadvertently giving the blueprint that the young Kaveh drew to her client, causing a misunderstanding for everyone involved, she taught Kaveh the basics of creating a blueprint and was patient with him rather than being angry at him for causing the misunderstanding in the first place.^[8] She also passed on her love of the arts to him, with Zaha Hadi quoting her as saying during a previous argument with a friend, "True art cannot be understood, but as an artist, I wish some people could understand its meaning and value," echoing Kaveh's feelings about artistic pursuits.^[2]

Despite their estrangement, Kaveh speaks highly of her and supports her decision to start a new life in Fontaine, citing how difficult it was for her to raise him alone after his father died. Zaha Hadi further supports this, stating that she had to make many lifestyle changes in order to raise him.

While Faranak's current feelings toward Kaveh are unknown, she considered his future long before he was born and continued to think about what the future had in store for him when she moved to Fontaine.^[2]

She may have also been concerned about Kaveh's reaction to her remarriage, as the news was reported to him with "great trepidation and expectation." ^[5]

Appearance[]

Her mentor Zaha Hadi describes her as having golden blonde hair and a beautiful and radiant appearance that had attracted many potential suitors to her. She also notes that Kaveh bears a resemblance to his mother.^[2]

Quests and Events[]

Story Quests

Hangout Events

• Kaveh
  • Act I: The Pendulum of Weal and Woe
    • Wondrous Times

Character Mentions[]

Character Stories

Character	Stories
Kaveh	Character Story 2 Character Story 3 Character Story 5 Old Sketchbook

Trivia[]

• In Wondrous Times, her voice is used to narrate her diary entries as Kaveh is reading them:
  • Notably, Faranak's tone shifts in the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese dubs, emphasizing the passage of time in her notebook. Faranak is more youthful sounding in earlier entries, whereas the newer entry that addresses a young Kaveh directly sounds older and more world weary.
  • Another difference in voice acting is that the Chinese dub gives young Faranak a distinctly soft-spoken tone, emphasizing her reserved personality, whereas the other dubs make young Faranak sound more extroverted and confident.
• It is implied that her parents are deceased or estranged from her; Kaveh's Hangout Event suggests that they were present at some point and that he met them, however, in his third character story, he is referred to as Faranak's only relative, which implies that they are no longer around.

Etymology[]

• The name Faranak derives from a character in the Persian epic Shahnameh, which is where Kaveh's name is also derived from. In it, Faranak was the wife of Abtin and the mother of Fereydun.

Other Languages[]

Change History[]

References[]