Ashes to Ashes

Question: I was reading Faruza Alinejad's character sheet and it says her Guide Shmashana is a Yakshini. Isn't a Yakshini a Hindu figure? Did she get this Yakshini because of Vayu's strong Hindu identity? More importantly, how does the Yakshini feel about helping a Yazata Scion, or did Vayu convince her Faruza was actually a Hindu Scion?

Shmashana is indeed a yakshini and yakshini are indeed entirely Hindu; Shmashana in particular is the guardian yakshini of graveyards and cremations, death associations that match Vayu's (and Faruza's). She is summoned via a handful of ash from a sacred cremation ground, which Faruza keeps in a small box. She also has a bit of a 'tude whenever she's forced to show up.

Your guess is a good one - Faruza is running aroud with access to a yakshini thanks to Vayu's strong ties to the Devas, among whom he claims membership despite being one of the Yazata. While Shmashana is probably more likely to be closely associated with Shiva, who is the official lord of cremations and graveyards and other creepy things, Vayu's death connotations probably allow him to hold some sway over her as well (and one assumes he and Shiva are probably on at least passingly cordial terms anyway). Faruza herself is not really sure what Shmashana is, other than a strange magical being that sometimes appears in a cloud of ash and refuses to provide any useful information; if she realized she was hanging out with a servant of the dreaded daevas she'd probably panic, but for the moment she merely sees her Guide as an enigma that must serve some purpose if her father sent it to her.

Shmashana appears to be under orders (or possibly even magical coercion) not to reveal her true nature to Faruza, nor to in any way let slip that she isn't the kind of creature that would normally be friendly with a Scion of the Yazata. More than once she's caught her tongue or switched directions mid-sentence rather than say something that might cause Faruza to question her origins or loyalties. Nevertheless, she is obviously not very impressed by Faruza and usually makes it known that she considers her ineffective and a little bit stupid whenever she is summoned for advice. Faruza, in turn, wonders what Shmashana is supposed to do to help her when her response to any question is usually, "I don't know. Why aren't you smart enough to figure it out?"

Neither of them seems to know what to do with the other, though their relationship will probably grow more close and complex given some time. In the meantime, considering that Faruza is literally surrounded by Deva Scions (Nisha, Akhileswar, Penelope and Sanjiv; she is a lone Yazata lighthouse in her band), it's not outside the realm of possibility that she might learn to understand her Guide a little better, or that Shmashana might intentionally try to influence her into acting more like her companions than the devout Persian instructor she was in her mortal life.