shadowsflame-ffxiv

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Umbra Mortis (Pt. 3)

“May I ask a question? Why are you still wearing my claw?” Zane stared at the forest once more, planted on the ground right in front of hte first tree, staring off into the distance. The world was starting to grey around him, he’d noticed. His mother no longer smiled, his father seemed tired. The dusty cracked clay beneath him was even more damaged than usual, he’d never in his short years seen it that bad.  “You’re going to have to make a choice.” The blonde miqo’te had told him sadly, and she had vanished from him in the morning, leaving him unmoving in his spot on the sun-warmed ground.  The choice was simple, he didn’t want to go in there. He wouldn’t, not anymore, not ever. That was his choice. There had been a warm rumbling around him, like the coming of a storm but not scary. He had heard Her voice, like he always did in his dreams, but she’d sounded far away and melancholy, as if she were leaving him to his fate.  The warmth though, it was back, and Zane tensed when he felt the heat on his back, soft fur against his bare arms, towering over his small form though the person behind him was sitting back to back with him. All he could see when he tilted his head up was a mountain of snowy white fur with stripes, and he knew them, he knew this mountain. The miqo’te child held very still suddenly, scared he would chase this new warm presence away like he had the other.  “He’s going to be happy when you open your eyes, you know.” the figure spoke, voice the rumbling storm that filled his chest with warmth.  He did not know, he wanted to protest, no one would care if he didn’t wake up, he didn’t want to wake up, he didn’t want to...didn’t want to face the forest.  “As will I. I trust you, Zane.”  Trust. Trust came so simply to the male behind him. Zane felt his eyes water and he hitched a soft breath as another memory came.  “Why are you still wearing my claw?” “You entrusted it to me, it’s a reminder...that even someone who was harmed by my past, who I was made to hurt could forgive me.”  Warm violet eyes that held compassion had pinned him as he had smiled. “You weren’t made to hurt me. Despite everything, you yourself made it so you weren’t such a thing. Keep it.”  “If I need to stop that from happening again, I’ll need you here.” Stop what? What had happened? “Not to help me, but to make sure Sigmund knows it I fall.” Who was going to hurt him, who would dare hurt him? I need to make sure it comes from someone I trust. That Baatu knows what happens.”  “Stop what? I don’t...I can’t...”  “I need you here.” Zane stood, turning as he wrapped small arms around the massive back of the Hrothgar, tears falling into warm fur as he tried to hug as much of him as he could. “Don’t leave me Rukh, please...don’t.” he begged.  He stumbled when the Hrothgar vanished, fear clenching his chest hard. Rukh was going to die, he was going to die and he..Zane couldn’t protect him from here. He had to. He had to face it. For Rukh, for Kast, for the others. He couldn’t let Rukh face whatever it was alone...if Rukh died the others would too and he would have been unable to help.  Turning back towards the forest he gasped, looking up and up at the towering hyur figure of the cloaked man that filled his nightmares. Instead of running though, he squared his small shoulders, eyes narrowing. “I’m...” “Not afraid of me?” The Hyur male smiled down at him, the expression sending a shard of ice down Zane’s back.  “N-No..I am...I am afraid of you.” Zane replied, voice trembling.  Turning back he saw it, the village in flames, the bodies of his family and friends scattered, his own home crackling in the fiery blaze that had come from the smoldering torch he was now holding. For a split second the bodies were of those he cared for now, Rukh in a door way, Baatu against a broken cart, Kast in front of him bleeding sluggishly from wounds he dared not count. They blinked back in the next moment to what they were...memories. Memories of the start of his life.  “Do you see? You will never be rid of me. I will always own you, and you will always be what I made you.” Melachi’s voice clung to his ears, to his mind and to his heart. Zane stared long and hard at the fire, but he knew this was it. He took a deep breath and turned back towards the dark spectre of his life.  “You will be part of me, always. What you did to me, to them...it’s going to always be here. But I won’t let you take anyone else away from me.” As Zane spoke he could feel himself aging. Ten years old when he’d done his first kill, twelve when he’d been sent in the wilderness for six months to survive. Fifteen on his first trip to Garlemald and how scared he had been of the power he had seen.  He felt them too, his memories shifting and he could feel the warmth of bodies behind him, standing with him as he faced down the creature that had tried to keep him from his path.  “You will end up causing their deaths. Isn’t it better to give up now? To be done with the pain, the torment that will come is a direct result of your actions right now.” The figure tried once more, voice harsh and sharp, commanding him to stop.  Zane shook it off, raising his head high as he stood shoulder to shoulder with the figures around him. They were shapeless but he could name them, his friends, his allies and those that cared. Those that wanted him to push through and come back. He pulled them to him like a shield, letting out a slow breath before he stood tall.  “You won’t keep me here. They need me, and I need them. Let me pass back to were I belong.” He took one step forward, and the world around him shook, the figure before him hesitant to move, but when he took another step...Melachi stepped back once.  That was all that was needed. Zane stepped again, and the world shattered around him. He saw the others running in the forest, felt the heat of sweat and the wet air around him sizzling from the build up of the Magitek Walker’s primary laser cannon. He saw Kast, so wounded that he wasn’t able to get out of the way...and he dove into him again, and smiled when he felt the blast hit him, knowing it would be worth it in the end.  Black became grey, and grey became a soft lit white tent. Zane blinked blearily up, wincing at the light and keeping his eyes closed as he just breathed. In, count, out. He didn’t move yet, cataloging the ache in his back, the pain of a body that hadn’t moved in however long. In, count, out.   Finally he opened his eyes back up, the light not so bad this time, and he turned his head, smiling slowly when he saw a familiar blond head. For a second he thought it was someone else, but the face came into vision and she was gone, and he was there. Zane didn’t feel strong enough to reach out, but he could try to speak. He felt the piercing stare of those two-toned eyes and he opened his mouth, whatever Goddess blessed him that day allowing him two words.  “Hey there.” 

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Umbra Mortis (pt. 2)

There was fire and it was everywhere, and a face of anger and betrayal was in front of him. Halls he remembered so vividly now curled in black smoke, and he was going to die. There was a window, and he took his chance, falling from flames as glass sparkled around him, the white sea-wind worn walls of Limsa the last he saw before cold water surrounded him, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs. He stared at the glimmering surface as he sank towards the bottom of the harbor...he could stop now...he could give in.. “Mama..” He stood against the dark-skinned Keeper, his fiery temper and her icy irritation clashing as he snarled at her and she hissed at him. “Hypocritical Garlean Filth.” It stung, and he was stopped from going further, he had to stop...he couldn’t... “Mama!” The dark haired highlander was so gentle, despite his appearance. Deep scars across his face marred his handsome features, taking away something precious, and yet despite it all he was a rock for their ragtag group. Violet eyes peered at him from a furred face as the hrothgar made him cringe with a look of betrayal...he had deceived them, he had lied and deceived them and they...they would draw their weapons, he was going to have to fight them, he was going to have to...

“MAMA!” Zane stared at the forest at the end of his yard, tail twitching in agitation as he fidgeted. He moved his small weight from one foot to the other, bouncing on them as if dancing to a melody only the child could hear. His mother had been speaking to his father quietly, worried for her son and the dreams that plagued him, and he had been told to stay outside for the day but stay in the yard. 

The trees he would have been happy to escape into no longer seemed inviting. Their branches twisted like gnarled claws, limbs ready to reach out and grab him, to pull him in and tangle him in vines so he would never be found again. He hissed as his left leg suddenly ached, a sharp throb from a phantom pain that had him rubbing hard at his calf to make it stop. He made up his mind as he looked once more at the tree’s limbs. He would not go there today...he would stay in the yard with his mother and wait like he was supposed to.  As Zane turned, he jumped when he spotted a miqo’te girl a few yalms away from him. She had beautiful blond hair like his mother, and kind blue eyes that glowed faintly in the sun. She was older than him, but not an adult, perhaps a teenager. She wore a white dress with small flowers on it that went down to her knees. She gave him a sad smile, hands moving in front of her to clasp there as she watched him, before finally speaking.  “You’ll have to face it. You’ve always had to.”  The boy hissed, ears pinning back as he growled at her as menacingly as he could. “The forest is scary! Mama told me not to go there.” He replied sharply.  “You must, little one. You have to face what you’re afraid of. You’re needed again.” she insisted, taking a step, then another, towards him until she was close enough to kneel down, in arms length. “Only by facing your fear can you go back to where you’re supposed to be. You have to give in, and go back.”  Zane looked everywhere else, trying not to panic, but he finally had nowhere to gaze but at her face. Her kind face that had tears in her eyes, like this was a great pain she knew she was asking him to take on. With a sudden jolt he realized she wasn’t a stranger...he knew this girl. An ache as wide as a chasm opened in his chest and he whined as tears began to stream from his eyes. A memory that wasn’t his own, pain that threatened to pull him into a void, her dress had lilies on it...symbols of death and peace. Guilt and agony not his own had him gasping and he felt her arms wrap around his small form, trying to still his sobbing and shaking as she hugged him.  “I don’t...I don’t k-know you...b-but..” he stammered through his tears.  “Yes you do, little one. I am the nightmare you took, the memory you watched and the pain you have yet to fully heal. Do you remember him? You promised him...you can’t break your promise.” Zane saw suddenly her death, a haze in front as if he were peering through dirty glass, but the anguish he felt seared through him. He saw the other miqo’te from his dreams, the blond that looked so like the girl comforting him, his face with a soft smile for him, but then twisted into pain as he saw the other miqo’te sobbing in an alley of a city he did not know.  All at once the youth jerked out of her arms, staring at her in shock and fear. “I don’t...I don’t know what to do.” he whimpered.  “Yes you do...you have to face it. And you have to let it happen. You have to let him happen.” Her voice was gentle but the words hung like weights threatening to pull his soul down.  Zane stared at the forest, heart pounding. He took one step towards it, before he shook his head so violently his vision went blurry. “I can’t...I don’t want to. I can’t!” he screamed, before turning and fleeing. He didn’t know where he was running to, he could hear her calling him back but he just ran faster. He felt the sun on his back and the voices in his head called him back as well, but he refused, racing as fast as he could away from it all. 

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Umbra Mortis (Pt.1)

“Zane RUN!”

He didn’t mind the tone Rukh used, it didn’t bother him that the Hrothgar sounded like he wanted to throttle him. It had been accompanied by the staggering behemoth of the Magitek armor, and the accompanied high pitched whine that he had grown used to in his years. 

Seven Seconds. 

He had seven seconds until the armor powered up it’s main laser cannon. Time enough to bolt, to sprint ahead and get to the side to...he saw Kast, Kast who had been pinned to the jungle floor, Kast who had been shot multiple times. His heart clenched, the decision made somewhere between second five and six. 

The blond Keeper hit the ground and rolled, black and blue two-toned eyes stared into his own green and grey, and Zane felt a pang of guilt, of sorrow. He wanted to apologize, he wanted to tell him he loved him. He had a million things he wanted to say...

“Mama! MAMA!” Zane snapped awake, shrieking and pulling at his blankets, the last thing in his mind the heat of the laser cannon as it collided with him, the stench of burning leather mingled with flesh, the pain in his body and then nothing. 

“Shanna? Oh, Shan, what happened?!” The soft lilting voice full of concern soothed his sobs, and he looked helplessly at the blonde Seeker in his doorway, despair radiating off his form. 

“Mama..mama there was a boy and he...I got hurted. I got hurt real bad and he was so sad mama, the Crystal cried. Mama..” he whimpered and curled up in her lap, small tail twitching as he cuddled into her chest, trying to get his emotions under control. 

“Shan, it’s okay...it was a nightmare, you’re safe, you’re home and you’re here at my heart.” She said softly, rocking his toddler body as she rubbed his back. 

Zane wanted to correct her, that wasn’t his name, he didn’t understand...but as he looked at his small hands, he just wrapped his pudgy arms around her neck and soaked in her warmth. This woman was familiar, somewhere in his mind he knew. Mama, she was his mother...he was home.  “Shan guess what? Your Papa is coming today!” 

Zane looked up into her soft blue eyes, her honey blonde hair framing her face in frizzy curls. Images of a man, with bright red hair and an easy smile, with eyes like his own, green like a verdant field of grass, with scars across his lip and nose, and rough hands. “Papa?” he asked softly. 

“Mmhmm, you better get ready.” she smiled mischievously at him, and another memory came unbidden. 

Zane smiled back, sniffling one last time before he nodded. “Okay Mama.” 

She put him down, and he went to wash himself from the basin, scrubbing tears from his face and fussing with his dark hair to get it just so. Then he put on his shirt and shorts, frowning when he couldn’t quite figure out one armhole. He went to her in the kitchen, pouting at his uncooperative clothing, and she laughed softly. It was a beautiful sound, like the bells in Ishgard on a clear day, and he found he wanted her to do it forever.  They had a breakfast of dried meats and scrambled eggs, Zane fidgeting on his chair, small legs kicking idly with a weird excitement as he watched the front door.

“Go Shan, go on! He’s coming!” His mother said suddenly, and he quickly leapt off the chair, feet carrying him even though he felt half in a daze, quickly hiding in the closet by the door, crouching down to keep hidden. 

There was a knock and then the door opened, and the Miqo’te from Zane’s memory came through, his leather duster hitting just at their dirt floor. The male was burly but in an agile fighting kind of way, his short red hair had beads hanging in leather decorations down the right side of his face. The Miqo’te turned and held out his arms for the blonde, pulling her in to kiss her, and to keep his back to the closet.  “Shayna, I’ve missed you. And where’s my little cub?” he looked around curiously in the kitchen. “Has he run away to finally become a feral kit in the forest?” he teased.  “That surely is where he’s gone, Veth.” Shayna laughed. “He’s around somewhere I’m sure. Have you already been to see Lara? How are Ohna and Rehna?”  The crimson haired Miqo’te nodded. “I have, they’ve gotten so big! I think they’re ready for their first Hunt. I want to call a tribe meeting, and have them go out on the next full moon at the end of the month.” Veth seemed focused on the conversation, but his tail gave him away, twitching in anticipation, and he couldn’t hold back the grin to Shayna when he heard a soft swish of feet on the dirt floor.  Veth gasped, letting out a good cry of pain when teeth sank into his thigh and twenty-five pounds of four-year-old collided with him, falling to the ground and letting his son scramble over him, proud as Zane hit multiple weak points with little blunt nails while they scrapped. It took him a bit to actually catch the boy, but finally he wrapped the wriggling child in his arms and laughed. “Do you yield, Little Sun?”  “Never! The Oh Tribe never suddenders!” Zane said strongly. 

“Surrenders.” Shayna corrected airily as she watched them wrestle. 

“Mm, then you give me no choice!” Veth snickered as he began to tickle the boy mercilessly, holding him tightly to not let him squirm away. “Yield!”

Zane pouted but finally stopped squirming. “Fine, I sud-..surrender.” he whined, and then squealed as Veth peppered his face in little kisses. 

“Ew! Papa stop!” he huffed, escaping as his father let him go, wiping off his face and glowering at the older miqo’te. 

Veth chuckled, getting up and scooping the boy into his lap as he sat at the table, giving him a little toy he’d brought along to keep him entertained. He smiled as Shayna brought him coffee, sipping it thankfully. 

“Shan had another bad dream last night.” She said finally, sighing as she watched their son play. “Thev I’m getting worried, even our Seers weren’t having dreams like this so young.” 

Thev brushed Zane’s hair from his face, frowning as he studied him, looking deep into green eyes that matched his own. 

“I think we should bring him to see my father. He might have more knowledge than even our Seers, as they’re still young by other Tribe standards.” he said finally. 

“What if they want to take him? I don’t want to lose him.” Shayna fretted. 

Thev grinned, this time feral. “They won’t. I’ll protect my progeny with blood and fang until not a one would stand against me. You have my word as Nunh. Still, it would help to know more.” 

Their conversation was interrupted by the squirming boy who had finally gotten bored of his toy. “Mama? May I go outside please?” 

Shayna nodded “Go on, stay in the yard and as far as the tree line.” She recited, and waited until her son recited it back to let him run off out the door.  Zane ran outside, standing still and stretching his little arms over his head, turning his face up and smiling as the sun beat down on him, warming his skin. Bare calloused feet lead a path across cracked desert ground as he scurried this way and that, chasing small lizards and bugs into the trees, but always keeping his yard and house in sight. 

He had followed a horned beetle up a tree to a place where the trunk went mostly horizontal, when the bug suddenly froze, and he blinked in confusion at it. He poked it, trying to get it to move, but it was hunkered down. He had the sudden urge to do exactly as the beetle was doing, a weird palpitation of danger hitting him, something was here and it was wrong. The dark haired youth looked up, green eyes widening when he saw a pair of slate grey eyes staring down at him, barely twenty feet from him in the same tree. There was a weird crackle around him, as if he had magic hiding him, but somehow Zane could see him. 

The fact the man was a hoor, he thought that’s what his mama said, registered before he suddenly launched himself back as the man tried to grab him, and Zane’s reflexes managed to catch himself so when he hit the ground, he was bolting. He heard the figure hit the ground and Zane forced himself faster...how had he got so far into the trees? Why was he so far away? 

Suddenly with a muffled cry he was tackled, everything that was light becoming darkness as the figure forced him under, no light entered around the monster that had caught him, all he could smell was gun oil and all he could feel was treated leather. Until he became aware of another sensation, a dagger against his throat, tracing gently along his cheek at the tip. 

“I wondered who might volunteer first.” 

A deep voice filled his trembling ears, and Zane growled as he did exactly what his father had taught him. 

A surprised hiss and the removal of the blade against his neck came when Zane sank his sharp fangs deep into the arm by his face. He didn’t stop to think about anything, bolting again as the man rolled off of him. He thought he could make it, he could do it he could get help. 

That thought was ended as a dagger slammed into his leg at his thigh, making him cry out and fall. The monster grabbed him, picking him up and grey met green again, anger on the man’s face palpable. 

“That was stupid, boy. I was going to kill you quickly, but now..” 

Zane didn’t realize it was strange he could understand him, he didn’t know he shouldn’t be able to understand the high Garlean the man was speaking. 

“My Papa will kill you, nothing is stupid if it meant I got away!” He replied with as much of a snarl as he could, tears running down his cheeks from fear and pain. 

Everything seemed to stop, the man’s eyes widening. “You...understand me.” he said, head cocking to the side in curiosity. 

“W..What?” Zane blinked through his tears, staring at him in confusion. 

“How, in a tribe of savage beasts, how do you understand me? Is Her reach truly this far?” The man was rambling, grip tightening on Zane’s arms and it made the boy whimper. 

“S-Stop...Stop please.” He begged. 

“A Sign...this is a sign.” He continued to ramble, a sudden terrifying grin sliding across his face. “You will be Mine.” 

“Let me go. LET ME GO!” Zane kicked and squirmed, but he couldn’t stop the man from pulling his arms behind him, binding him with rope and shoving a cloth gag into his mouth. 

“Be silent boy. I am going to let you decide. Your family, your friends, and your life..for me. Be Mine. Whatever I want you to be, and they live.” The dark voice whispered, his mind fuzzing, the world suddenly shifting and seeming to shatter. 

Suddenly, he wasn’t a little boy, he was himself, not a child but as he was supposed to be, still bound, still gagged, staring at Melachi who gazed down at him with terrible grey eyes, sightless but full of rage. His forehead had a jagged hole, which slowly dripped blood. 

“Choose..they will die, Zane. Come with me...or they die..”

He could smell the burning, the rancid odor of flesh in fire, and when he looked behind Melachi he could see the Vanguard. The building crackled in a blaze, and he could see figures. His mind supplied who was where, they were all there, dead, burning...he screamed against his gag, screamed as pain flared in his body and his back felt like it was on fire.  “Choose Zane...you have to Choose...”

“MAMA! Mama!” Shan screamed, twisting in his sheets as he sobbed violently. 

“Shan?! Shan oh my little sun and soul, shh.” His mother’s touch and voice soothed away the night terrors, and he buried his little face into her shoulder as she pulled him into her lap. 

“They died Mama...they died and the Crystal...she was crying. I had to choose...Mama I don’t want to go away..” He sniffled as she soothed him. 

I don’t want to leave...

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

I had this message to to me, I went to the youtube video but did not enter my information. Please be careful everyone, the video sounds legit if you don’t pay special attention to what the guy is talking about in it and the link looks super legit.

FFXIV Scam alert

Hey, so, if you get a /tell that goes:

“750M Gil Giveaway Starting in 15Mins! Search for Gil722 On YouTube Then Trade Me To Collect Your 5M Gil Entry Prize!”

It is, in fact a scam. The name could be different, the method too maybe but: It’ll take you to a youtube link, with another link linked in a pinned comment that will, from what you can tell, look a like a legit ffxiv forum link. Login page looks the same as always, except when you enter your info, it’ll look like it didn’t go through and just refresh.

If you enter it, you will be disconnected from the internet within minutes or less. When you log in next, you will be standing in Rhalgar’s Reach and your gil count will look like this:

If this happens to you, you need to:

change your pasword, stat

contact SE via their support center

contact a GM online via ticket, just in case they used your account to continue the scheme.

How do I know this? Because it happened to me. It robbed me of 5 years of hard earned savings and housing dreams. Worse than that though, they cleaned @luckysparrowffxiv​ ‘s fc chest too through me. That means they took years of donations of the community that sustained the fc. Personal accounts can be rerolled but FC chests cannot be. I asked.

I’m usually extremely careful. I’ve never fallen for any of these. I examined the link and it legit looked like something linking to a ffxiv forum. But. I clicked just to see what in the world would spawn such a giveaway, not even to enter it cause… who in the world would need that amount of gil. Alas. I clicked, I fucked up. And so, I vowed to repay everything the FC lost if and when my account can be rolled back or, if it won’t be, I’ll farm it back asap to not let other people be found lacking for my lapse of judgement.

But please, let my experience be a lesson no one else needs to learn on their own skin. Share this, don’t let innocent people become victims of these scammers. Thank you.

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Hey everyone! A lot of people were liking this old headcount post but, since that post was created late September and we’re almost midway through December, I figured a fresh count was in order. So, without further adieu:

Please like/reblog this post if you’re an active FINAL FANTASY XIV blog looking for other people to interact with! Whether you mostly post aesthetic, screenshots, rp, etc; as long as you’re a roleplayer, you like the game and you’re looking for new people to follow, this post is for you! By looking through the notes, you should be able to get a quick snapshot of what players are out there and what content might be of interest to you.

This way the headcount should be a little more up to date and reflective of people looking for content, rather than a post that is close to three months old. Hopefully this will be of more use!

-Kupo mod.

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Gone

“What do I do if you don’t come back?”

Sehvah pulled out her bow, the twang of the string a dull thud in his ears as the arrow crunched through bone and came out Melachi’s forehead. Zane couldn’t think, the overwhelming urge to protect, to save...his Master, his God...his everything. 

Melachi paused, looking down at the small Miqo’te that rested against his side. The boy was no more than eight, three years since he had ‘adopted’ him. He wasn’t looking up at his Master, instead eyes focused on the book Melachi had instructed he read. The boy was perfectly obedient now, two years had given him a few hiccups but now his apprentice did exactly what he wanted. There was still a sweetness in the boy, a compassion he hadn’t quite managed to snuff out, but Melachi had decided to turn that to his advantage, occasionally giving in to the boy’s touch starved desires for connection. Perhaps a hug here, or in this case letting the boy be in his personal space for an afternoon of study.

The voices in his mind screamed for him to stop. This was his quickly-being-adopted sister, this was his new -family- the one that would protect him and Sehvah herself had proven she didn’t care what he was, she had trusted him and worked well with him and Zane had felt comfortable with her. Yet he couldn’t stop, he felt rage like he’d never known, a dark gaping void ripped in his mind, images flooding even as he moved. 

This question though...he raised a brow as he followed up with his own. “Are you expecting me not to return?”

Finally those odd hued eyes landed on him, flicking nervously up to his face before resting on his shoulder, as he had taught him.

“No Master, but...if you do not return one day...what do I do?” Zane looked worried that he had asked the wrong question, oversized ridiculous ears flicking back and forth nervously.

Strong arms wrapped around him, tearing him away from the unmoving Miqo’te and back into sun-warmed armor. Zane felt the part of him that wanted to be grateful, but the all consuming anger and distress was at the front, his mind flashing back and forth...he had to reach him...he had to, he had to check. 

Melachi raised a hand, gently petting over his apprentice’s mess of black hair, calming the boy easily. “I do not plan to never return, however that is a good thing for you to know. Being prepared is very important.” he praised, watching the boy melt at his kind words.

So easy.

“There are three things that will happen if I do not return. There are people who will come for you, and you will go with them as long as they give you my sigil. Do you remember what that is?”

“Zane...ZANE!” the Hrothgar had tried to hold him, tried to get through to him, but Zane had panicked, blindly lashing out at his other friend...he didn’t understand, he had to check. There were steps in place and he had to check. 

Zane immediately nodded, showing him the scar on his hand between his pointer finger and thumb, where he had made the boy carve it into his flesh, a brand to speak of just who owned the miqo’te. It was delicate, a circle with a stylized Garlean symbol inside, carefully hidden to form a flower. A simple mark with insidious meanings, easy to overlook as it was to recognize.

“If you are presented with that, you are to go with them. They will take you to Garlemald, where you will be trained by others.” Melachi continued, watching the boy’s face. True to form he could see as Zane looked confused, torn as he knew the boy’s savage upbringing until he had gotten him still sometimes came to the surface.

“Do you not want to go to Garlemald?” He asked, tilting his head feigning curiosity.

“No! I mean I do, Master, but...would they accept me there?” he looked shy, green and grey eyes once again flicking up to Melachi’s face then back down. “I know I’ve been...been touched by Hydaelyn. Is that...is that okay?”

He heard Rukh demand Olin put him to sleep. He had seen what the Lalafell could do when he and Sehvah had fought, and he turned, ready to beg. He couldn’t go down he had to check, why didn’t they understand?

“NO!”

His plea was ignored as the magic swirled around him, and he was dropped into his mind, unconscious but the images kept coming. That day, that day that he remembered. Seen from both his side and the dieing man’s on the ground...why would his Master think of this? What...

Melachi hid his smirk as he looked away, pretending to look thoughtful at the boy’s question. “Yes, because you are my apprentice. You are special, boy. Perhaps a bit too connected to the creatures of Eorzea, but you are now above them because you have been inducted into a greater cause. Now, if those men do not come, if you are met by perhaps the militia and Grand Companies of the cities? What do you think you should do?”

Zane frowned in deep thought, Melachi had to admit to himself the youth was adorable when he was really thinking. He could imagine the little gears clicking into place in the boy’s head. He waited patiently until at last the boy spoke. “I...I should turn on the defenses. And then burn the upper rooms. Then...then I should sneak out of my balcony and get to the docks.”

Melachi nodded “Good boy, that is exactly what you should do. We will add things as you get older, but right now and for the next few years that is what I want you to do and practice.”

Zane looked positively enraptured at being told he was good twice. Melachi decided to cement it, curling his arm around the boy and pulling him against his side again. “Now continue to read, I will be questioning you on the tactics in that book at sundown and for every answer you do not know you will not eat for one day, understood?”

Zane nodded vigorously, quickly snuggling back into his Master’s side as he started reading, not letting himself be distracted anymore.

Melachi smirked as he went back to his own report, the boy was soft, but he would be turned nonetheless. After all, not everyone was taught the same way, and if this was what this child needed to become the best assassin? He would suffer it until the boy was old enough for him to deny.

When he woke, the memory echoed. The terrible emptiness he felt, the gaping hole in his head and chest, it ached like he’d been shot through. He no longer tried to harm them, thankful that his true self had come back at least a bit. He knew, logically, Melachi’s death was important, it was necessary. He couldn’t bring himself to accept it yet though...not yet. 

“When I don’t come back...what are you going to do?”

Zane closed his eyes, sighing softly as he curled into a ball in the silence of the edge of camp, away from the others and hidden in his grief. 

I don’t know Master...I don’t know.

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Yearning

It had hit suddenly. He could blame it on the adrenaline and anger coursing through him about the almost-loss of one of their members. Not just that, his friend and the first person who had ever seen him as something else...something outside what he secretly feared he would always be.  As Rukh held up the communicator, spitting Melachi’s name into  the world, Zane felt himself freeze. It only lasted a moment, his heart racing and it seemed as if his lungs refused to catch up, only small gasps of air able to pump minimal oxygen into the miqo’te’s body. 

Take this. I will not be coming with you on this mission. Do not fail me.  It had taken ten years for him to say that, and when he had a fierce pride had burned into his very core. Zane had proven himself to his God, he had proven himself and he would be able to prove he was good enough for this. The communicator had been heavy in his calloused hands, and he reverently placed it in his inner hidden pocket over his heart, protection against shots to a vulnerable place and a reminder that he would not fail his Master. At sixteen he knew what he was, and this was just one more step into it. 

Come to my location. I need your assistance. 

The voice had been taught and sharp, Zane had immediately packed up his rifle and been gone within ten minutes, into the shadows heading for Western La Noscea. Assistance had turned out to be injury, and Zane had nursed his Master to health from the poisons he had been injected with, taking on his Master’s mantle just for a few days while Melachi rested to finish his job for him. He expected neither praise nor thanks, and as he waited in his normal spot on his knees for debrief, for punishment for not finishing his own job beforehand, he simply received a warm fleeting hand in his hair, ruffling the wild black mane.  You did well.  The communicator in Rukh’s hand called to him like a beacon. It had been almost four weeks since he had spoken last to Melachi, four weeks since he had heard his Master’s...former Master’s he growled mentally...voice. Four weeks since he had followed direct orders and four weeks since he had found this new family who had accepted him despite his betrayal. He knew, logically, that the only thing he would hear if he called out to the man was a proclamation of his failure, of his imminent death or an order to return so he could be executed. He knew, logically, that the only reason the communicator had been left was to taunt them, no doubt over Sigmund’s supposed death. Melachi seemed obsessed with the Hrothgar currently in the medical bay, and this would have been a blow directly aimed at him. 

Yet...yet he wanted. He felt it in his constricted lungs, in his racing heart, saw it in the little black dots clouding his vision. He wanted to hear his voice, he needed it like the very aether that flowed through his veins. He had almost convinced himself to lunge for it when a warm presence stood beside him, Kaiden’s voice coming to him and breaking him of the panic that had gripped him so tightly. 

“We should go outside for air.” was all Zane heard, and he moved robotically away, each step feeling like he had weights the size of Titan on his legs. It got easier though, as he stepped into the cooling desert air, Kaiden beside him, letting him vent, not showing him the anger he thought the Doman would but instead understanding, caring. Kaiden, the one Zane had been sent to kill...was comforting him. 

The Miqo’te closed his eyes and then looked up at the stars, opening them again to peer at the endless jewels against the black void. This...this was where he belonged now. He had principles to find, like Olin had said, and Kaiden’s words of comfort stilled the raging need to find his former Master and destroy everything he had learned and done in the last month. 

You will always be mine. 

Zane huffed, the words echoing in Melachi’s voice so perfectly in his mind, but he felt the kindling fire of rebellion and defiance burn in his chest once more. 

“Not anymore.”

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Primals: tl;dr Versions

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Guess whos making shitty memes on his phone again! Thats right its me!

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

echo

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Reblog if you RP on Discord and it's okay for people to PM you for a plot.

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

If you roleplay a ship with me,

You will get— Adequate ship building time. Realistic obstacles for them to overcome. Sweet fluff. Sexy smut. (if you want) As much action as I can mange. Tons of angst. Possibly random drabbles. Occasional gif/photo sets, or manips. @ tagged in all kinds of things. Headcanons about anything and everything. Completely sick of my ass.

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

“are you a top or a bottom?” i’m a threat

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Coerthan Torment

The first of the two new abilities added to Dragoon in FFXIV Shadowbringers.

I really like this skill. Not only because it gives us an awesome three-step AoE rotation, but because it has both a nice animation and fancy blue effects to it. After Stormblood not giving us anything that actually looks like a spear attack, this was very welcome.

Raiden Thrust is a lot more tricky, but I’ll have that one up here soon enough too.

I’m back to playing, so if you bump into Lhyet Nostraire on Balmung; feel free to say Hi!

I’m also starting to post these of Twitter because Tumblr is, well, yanno… Tumblr. Follow me there!

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

Reward

Zane felt a warm fuzzy feeling as he left the Vangard early in the morning, creeping out just as the sun began to crest and mounting Azrael, heading for where they could begin their few hour trek to Limsa. His ribs no longer ached, the apothecary and her remedies helping take away the bite of broken bone and bruising. He had also just...enjoyed himself. Speaking to the others, saying whatever sarcastic thing popped into his head. Even his pleasant conversation with Olin left him feeling warm, though he felt he had insulted the lalafell earlier by backhandedly insulting Ul’dah. Still, they had arrived back together, laughing and eating sugary small doughnuts, and that had been a wonderful way to end the evening. 

The sensation usually stopped as he arrived in Limsa, the cool air that welcomed him like a mother’s hug also spoke of the danger he would be in if he was not prompt. This time, however, he was still riding his high. He had defeated an Eikon. Well, not him in specific, but his team, which he had joined, had defeated Ravana! He had protected, and been wounded in battle, he’d climbed an Eikon and stabbed at it’s back, and he had survived. It was like a new fire had been lit inside him, and he had to be careful not to show it. 

“Report.” Was the first word out of his Master’s mouth three hours later as he rested on his knees, head down, waiting for the man to appear. 

Not too much. Zane thought to himself, opening his mouth...and everything poured before he could stop it. The members of the Vanguard, the interactions with them, the tentative trust he had been given by those he had fought beside. He even told him of meeting the dragon, of trying to attack the dragon accidentally. He explained Ravana, how the Eikon had been challenged and how they had won. When he finally ended he kept his head down, but he flicked his eyes up, peering through long lashes, worried he had done too much outside the parameters of his mission. 

Melachi had listened passively, but as the boy finished, he stepped forward. He could see him looking at him, so the hyur carefully schooled his features as he stopped right in front of his apprentice. Only when he reached out and squeezed Zane’s shoulder did he feel the boy relax, and he smirked, knowing what would cement this. 

“You have done well.” he praised, and true to form Zane looked right at him in shock, the words might as well have been a proclamation of undying love for the way the youth drank them in. Melachi removed his hand, motioning for the boy to follow him. 

“The Hrothgar joining the Vanguard is surprising, but not unexpected. With their rebellious actions against Garlemald it was only a matter of time before a smattering of refugees arrived on our shores, begging for aid much like the Domans had. Do not underestimate them, they are strong savages.” He lectured as he moved to his desk, opening a drawer and fishing through it. 

“Yes sir. They both were on the front lines of fire against Ravana, and against the Vath to protect us while we fought back. The one I have befriended...he is utilizing me to teach him more of how Eorzeans speak and operate. I have access to him easily in case I need to do anything.” Zane replied, careful to keep his tone respectful and vague, not at all about to admit he would move against his new snowy colored ally as much as he would move against the Admiral herself. 

“Good, continue to watch them, train with them if you can.” Melachi found what he was looking for finally, slowly pulling out a silver chain, holding it up for the boy to see.  On the end of the chain was a thick claw, cream on top with a darkened grain on the bottom. It was sharp, fully intact, the fattest part of the claw carefully covered in a melted silver metal, an odd engraving on the center of the claw top helping show which side was to be facing outward. 

Whatever Melachi said next was completely lost as Zane reached out in wonder, taking the claw gently in one hand. However it wasn’t just the gift, a thing his Master very rarely did. As his fingers brushed over the engraving, there was a sudden shift, as if his world slid backwards and he fell into darkness, sharp pounding his mind all he could feel. 

The fire was burning, the creatures of the forest were shrieking and his people...they were running. But not away, no, the fierce roar of battle erupted and they were going...going to protect...he felt the burning pain, fire had seared him, lacerations dripped staining his snowy fur, but still he fought on. It wasn’t until he heard the scream...the scream that sliced into his very soul, a voice who should never had sounded so pained, so afraid...a fatal cut off choked cry from the scream and he looked. He looked and he did not want to believe. The smoke cascaded around him but he could see the blood, he could see it...she had fallen. The figure behind her...a shadow...a familiar shadow...

MY QUEEN

Zane came back to himself just as his fist collided with Melachi’s face, sending the hyur actually sprawling across the floor. Of all the things he had expected, the youth punching him had apparently not been one of them, and for once in his life Zane had caught him off guard. There was a split second of triumph before the burning dread of reality crashed into him, and he softly whimpered as Melachi rose and smoothly went to him, towering over him and making the Miqo’te shrink and tremble. 

“What did you see?” The hyur asked very softly. 

“I...I don’t...there was fire...I-I’m sorry Master I didn’t...” Zane stammered. “I saw something burning...someone had died, been killed.” he quickly added as he knew from the smallest twitch in the other man’s jaw his first explanation hadn’t been good enough. 

Melachi waited, letting his jaw throb as he stared down his apprentice, taking delight in the cowering mess the youth was turning into. Finally though he reached for the necklace, simply moving to clip it around Zane’s neck and then turning. 

“Come. Your training has been lax.” He said sharply, not even stopping, assured he would hear footsteps behind him immediately. 

Zane took quick gulping breaths, green and grey eyes watching the other male as he headed away, quickly falling in step behind him. He grabbed the claw, digging it sharply into his palm. The terror he had felt was amplified by his nerves for his Master, but there was one small thing...one tiny thing that even though this was going to hurt, and he was going to be going back to the Vanguard with more bruises than he left, kept that little fire burning deep. 

He had caught him off guard. 

[shadowsflame-ffxiv]

A Name

It had been three days since he had brought the small Miqo’te child to his home. Far from the heat of the desert that had been where the child had grown until his fifth year, Limsa Lominsa was cool, humid, and everything he had never seen before, yet the child seemed not in the least bit interested in venturing past the room he had placed him in the first night. 

Melachi narrowed his steel grey eyes, leaning against the door frame as he watched the black haired youth just sit on his bed. Shoulders hunched, head down almost to his chest, everything about the child screamed defeat. He shouldn’t be surprised, after all the dark haired hyur had made sure the child watched as he systematically destroyed his entire village...and yet it was infuriating to see his new heir apparent being so...

Weak 

“Get up.” He said, deep voice cutting through the silence, and he was pleased when he watched the boy’s spine shiver, his head snapping up and those odd two-toned eyes of his lock onto him. 

“I...I don’t want to.” The boy said softly, afraid but defiant. 

Melachi considered that...defiance was something he could use. It was a fine line he was about to walk with this one, but if he did it correctly...the rewards would be vast. Another great assassin, in the whole of Eorzea, pure and for the Glory of Garlemald. He just had to make sure it was started quickly. 

Decision made, the man strode to the boy, ignoring the scrabbling effort to get away from him as he grabbed onto the boy’s arm, twisting it and slamming him into the soft carpeted rug that kept the cold granite floor seeping into feet when one awoke and stepped off the bed. Before the boy could move, he dropped his knee directly onto his back, placing all his weight there. 

The boy shrieked, squirming and then started sobbing, whimpering as he went limp. Only then did Melachi ease off the pressure with his knee, his other hand coming to slowly work his fingers through that mop of black messy hair on the boy’s head. 

“Now.” he said quietly. “You will do as I say, or your fate will be worse than that of your family. Do you remember what I did? Remember the sound of their bones breaking, the sound of their eyes being pulled from their sockets...do you remember?” 

He waited, listening to the soft sniffles and whimpers until he grew tired of waiting for an answer, fingers fisting into the same hair he had been stroking seconds before. “Answer me.”

“YES!” the boy screamed, head arched back as he whined, scrabbling again uselessly and squirming like a worm on a hook. 

Melachi smirked as he held him there, counting to ten before letting his head drop back to the carpet. “When you started the fire that razed the town, it was a glorious thing...I was proud of you. It was very lovely...watching your family and friends burn, wasn’t it?” 

The boy trembled, the crazed man above him had forced him to hold a torch, had made him drop it into some kind of accelerant. He had been held there shaking in iron clad arms as he listened to the village shriek, locked in fiery homes, unable to flee or escape, each one that managed to get outside picked off with the soft twang of a crossbow next to his head. He hadn’t...he hadn’t done it..

He hadn’t tried to stop it hard enough.

“Do you know why I chose you? You have a very special place in this world...touched by a Goddess. You will be my greatest achievement. Do as I say, do what I tell you, and you will reach heights in this world that you could never have dreamed...you are dead to the world now, do you understand that?”

The boy sniffled, and nodded, wincing when he felt the hand on his arm tighten slightly. “Y-Yes.” 

Melachi nodded at his response, that was a start...still. “As you are my apprentice now, it would be proper for you to call me by my proper name. I am your Master. Do you understand?”

The boy hesitated, tensing but another squeeze that ground bones together had him speaking “Yes master! Yes..yes master.” 

Finally the hyur let up, standing and watching as the boy rolled over, gripping his wrist to him in a childish manner, and he sneered. “Get up boy. We are to start your training today. I do not wish to be late.” 

The boy looked up at him with wide tear-filled eyes, quickly standing and swaying as he tried to keep up with the fast pace the other male set, nearly jogging. Melachi smirked inwardly, keeping his quick steps up as he lead the boy towards the doors to lead out into the city. Yes, this would do nicely...as long as the boy obeyed. 

“We need to think of a name for you.” he said suddenly as he gathered his jacket. 

The boy blinked, staring at him “I...My name is...was-”

“You killed your entire tribe boy, you have no name now.” Melachi interrupted, enjoying the wince as he once again blamed the youth for his own deeds. 

“Mm...I think...something with a Z. I always liked those names...” he headed out into the bright sunlight, not even bothering to watch if the boy was following him now. He had tempered his shadow for now, he had no doubt he could keep his iron grip on this one. 

“Zane...I think I’ll call you Zane.”