#A'zaela Linh

[onwesterlywinds]

PROMPT #1: Steer

Livvy Ahtynwyb had sometimes contemplated, long before learning how to sail, what she might name her boat if she were ever to have one of her own. The decision had seemed monumental, as pivotal to her reputation as a Sea Wolf as the naming of a paladin's sword: such names were often writ large in legends, as much as the names of the sailors they carried.

To her misfortune, the Garlean Empire had already taken all of the best references to Ivalician myth for their biggest and most powerful airships.

A few too many teary rounds of drinks at the meyhane (after a few too many fogweed cookies at the Baldesion Annex) had left her emotionally and mentally settled on the name Starbird, with blue trim and perhaps blue sails for good measure. This had lasted only until she'd floated the concept around Sharlayan's docks and Erenville had replied, as dryly as ever, "Larboard of Starbird."

So it was that Allegoria - a former racing sloop converted into its previous owner's liveaboard - made her inaugural sail from Limsa Lominsa's docks on a voyage to Tural.

They'd had a rough go of it with the storm. Ahtyn had counted down the bells for the rain to break - then the minutes, then the seconds. All the while, she had kept both her hands on the wheel, the better to attempt heaving to after the line on their sea anchor had frayed and snapped, whispering shanties and prayers and fae charms that had availed her hardly at all.

When the downpour at last slowed to a drizzle and the gusts calmed to a light breeze, she could not summon the energy to unclip herself from the stanchions.

The bright blue mainsail, Ahtyn's sole vanity throughout all Allegoria's outfitting, had taken the most damage: the winds had carved a slice clean through its middle, even after several reefs to limit its surface area. Despite all the buffeting they'd endured, they were lucky to have lost only a small portion of their provisions during the storm, in the form of a few of the larger bottles of wine that the Riot-Marbrands had left in the cockpit while the rain had still been a drizzle.

The others emerged slowly from below deck, whether due to seasickness or some other trepidation. A'zaela Linh's ears were so flat against her head that Ahtyn first expected them to be stuck that way; then she went over, unfastened Ahtyn's lifelines, and unzipped her foul weather cloak.

"How are you doing?" A'zaela asked.

Her back was sore, she realized - not from maintaining her posture over the wheel, but from her pixie wings being blown about in the gale. Ahtyn rolled out her shoulders and her wings gave a gentle flutter. "I think I'm okay."

"You look like you just sailed us straight through the Hell of Water," Sihtric commented as he exited the companionway, before seeming to remember the magnitude of the feat. "Thanks, Ahtyn. Knew we were in good hands."

"Only one problem," she said. "I think my fucking compass went overboard."

A'zaela and Sihtric merely stared at her, then out to the becalmed waves.

"We could try-" Sihtric began, then, "Never mind."

"What about-" A'zaela chimed in, but did not elaborate. Neither of them suggested waking Ashe or Edge for their suggestions.

"We're still connected to the Sandsea's communication network, though, aren't we?" Ahtyn asked. "If nothing else, they'll know where we are. Even if we don't know where we are."

"Unless we got blown into another reflection," said Sihtric helpfully. "In which case, we probably won't know it until we make landfall."

"Thanks for that."

"Anytime."

They would have to bring down the torn main and replace it with the spare. They would have to reassess the condition of the sheets and rigging and other lines. They had any number of tasks that would be essential for their safety regardless of whether or not they knew their course, and yet the sheer dread of how close they had come to death in her little boat before even reaching Tural held Ahtyn in a stunned silence, rendering her unable or unwilling to mobilize her would-be crew into action. She followed her friends' gazes out to the sea beyond, as far as they could possibly be from assistance.

"Well," Ahtyn said at last. "Worst-case scenario… we wait for dusk, and hope for clear skies tonight. We can follow the stars west, even if it means we end up somewhere other than Tuliyollal." She paused as another thought struck her. "Unless…"

Ahtyn looked down at the wheel, toward where a certain engineer of the Ironworks and his interdimensional friend had performed modifications of their own: a panel only a few ilms wide, bearing the words "CAPTAIN'S USE ONLY: LIFT IN CASE OF EMERGENCY."

She lifted the panel with a single finger, and it flipped upward with a small clatter. Beneath it was another panel of identical shape and size, bearing two words: "LARBOARD" on the left, and "STARBOARD" on the right.

"Real helpful," she said, though Alpha and Omega would have no hope of hearing her and would likely offer no more than their respective head-tilts if they did.

But something else lay beneath the second panel. As Ahtyn revealed it, a black screen sparked to life - and within moments, their coordinates, heading, and speed shone across its surface in beautiful crystalline blue.

[dat-paw]

sometimes bein a friend means giving tough advice

feat. @thelegendofivalice

bonus:

feat. @thecat-inthehat

[greenmagic-oilspill]

Some assorted screens I never got around to posting. In the first two, Edge meets with Ashelia Riot, Crimson Bull, and Alaq’it Moks after they all arrive in Rhalgr’s Reach to aid the Resistance and discuss plans to go to the East.

In the third picture, Edge and A’zaela ventured into the Peaks for the first time, and find flowers that they thought Ashe would like.

Meanwhile, in one of her trips back to the Sandsea, Ashe meets with Granny Moss and they discuss the grave tidings from Ashe’s informant in the East - that a monstrous Garlean weapon called Vegnagun is nearing completion.

[theriskbreakers-rp]

[moonlifter-archive]

so i changed upa’s skintone to match her sister’s.. She’s so much darker now i die? also her blue eye was lightened just a shade >w>

[safestsephiroth]

@sylvan-rain @thefateofivalice @dragoons-spear-fish-the-sky

[theriskbreakers]

It is my absolute joy to introduce the Riskbreakers’ newest officer, Zodiac Brave A’zaela Linh!

[onwesterlywinds]

PROMPT #2: Horizon

When the Crystal Tower had first emerged along Mor Dhona's shattered skyline, Ashelia Riot's initial reaction had been one of dismay - as well as no small amount of indignation that the wreckage of the Praetorium had already been overshadowed. But the ubiquity of NOAH's operations in the region helped to restore some normalcy to life at the Sandsea: in keeping with Sylvan Rain's prediction, the realm's next crop of would-be heroes turned to new horizons scarcely three weeks after the Riskbreakers' grand victory, and no small number of them were set on plumbing the Labyrinth of the Ancients.

A'zaela Linh was among them.

The Riskbreakers lacked two significant resources following Operation Archon: leads, and coin. The Eorzean Alliance had seen fit to reinstate the utmost confidentiality to any further missions against the Garlean Empire, and Ashe found the mere thought of begging Raubahn Aldynn for her inclusion galling in the extreme. The mad rush of visitors to the Sandsea's bar, inspired by the company's fifteen minutes of fame, had since slowed to a trickle; the resulting profits had prevented them from bankruptcy but did not leave them with enough overhead to make the kinds of investments that would ultimately provide security in near- or long-term future.

That made A'zaela's partnership with NOAH something of a godssend, as it would empower them to keep an ear to the ground for intelligence of a realm-threatening nature. Even so, their best dragoon would need outfitting for such a dangerous mission.

"Really, Ashe, it's fine," A'zaela said for the umpteenth time as Ashe pulled her axe from the belly of a particularly large leech. "I-I can find other work to get the equipment I need. You should think of yourself."

It was a polite way for her to say that Ashe was still wearing the same cast-off warrior furs that had barely deflected Gaius van Baelsar's bullets. All the same, Ashe shook her head. "Nonsense. You're out in the field far more often than I am."

A'zaela wrinkled her nose but offered no protest to that logic.

Ashe stared down at the dead leech without the faintest idea of how best to claim her proof of victory from its slimy hide. "If you're looking to repay me," she said, "consider a detailed report on the Crystal Tower's interior more than sufficient compensation." She settled on skinning the turgid lump of flesh as if it were a sandworm, then regretted the course of action immediately as a foul-smelling ooze emerged from beneath her axe's heel.

The task did not require two people, and yet A'zaela surged into action at the creature's tail. "I can start by telling you what I've seen so far."

"Please do."

"The good news is that the Labyrinth's dangers seem to be… self-contained, if that makes sense? They were created to guard the Crystal Tower. Even now that they've woken up, they're not in any danger of leaving."

Ashe breathed a sigh of relief, even as she tore the leech's pelt free.

"But there's a lot we still don't know." It was reassuring to Ashe that her friend used the word "we" to describe NOAH and its work. "Like how so many of the Tower's defenses are intact after so long, let alone how they operate at all. G'raha - he's a researcher from Sharlayan - he expects that Syrcus Tower will be even more dangerous, since it was the center of the Allagan Empire."

"Well," Ashe said. For a moment, she might have left her remarks there; then she stood and straightened her back, and the Crystal Tower shone out at her through Mor Dhona's roiling, aether-drenched sky. "…Fucking Allagans."

"A-Ashe?"

"I'll not claim to be especially well-versed in history," she said, perhaps as a concession, "but it is always striking to me that none of our present troubles would exist without the Allagan Empire and its legacy: Dalamud, Garlemald-" Ludo. The thought, the memory of him might have stopped her nascent rant on any other day, with any other friend in her company. "I cannot look on that bright blue eyesore without imagining the endless conquest once required to sustain it - all the Ala Mhigos and Domas of ages past. Power begetting power; misery begetting misery."

When she turned back to A'zaela, it was to find her with her ears lowered, her tail curled almost between her legs.

"I'm sorry, A'zaela," she said at once, surprised to realize that she meant it. "I didn't mean to imply- That is, I know you despise the Empire as I do."

"I understand," A'zaela replied, though her voice had fallen even quieter than usual.

Ashe busied herself with scraping away as much of the leech's subcutaneous fat as she could, then folding the pelt into her satchel. "Do you think there's a way for Allag's legacy to be redeemed?" she asked at length. "That all its technology could be… I don't know, repurposed? That it could come to stand for something greater than oppression?"

But A'zaela simply shook her head. "I don't know, Ashe." She, too, stared up at the glowing crystal spire, though her face conveyed a more mundane sadness than Ashe might have expected. "I suppose… I suppose we'll find out. When the expedition's over."

***

Ashe spent much longer in the Seventh Heaven's bathrooms than she'd intended, but the leech's stink had lingered all up and down her arms in a manner that no amount of scrubbing had seemed able to remedy and she was loath to greet Ilberd in such a state. When at last she emerged devoid of her armor, Astodan stood next in line for the toilets, this time wearing a porter's coat and a low turban to hide the linkpearl in his ear.

"Your comrade should know," he murmured, "that her activities have attracted the notice of a particularly high-ranking imperial defector."

She knew better than to draw attention to the warning by acknowledging it in public - and yet the mere possibility of a threat to A'zaela of all people sent a chill through her blood. "What do I need to do?"

Astodan scowled at her. "I'll inform you should I learn more."

The bastard would make her work for the information, much as he always did, but it did not bear thinking of with A'zaela unreachable in the Labyrinth. She pushed past Astodan without another word to him and made her way over to her old contact flashing Resistance hand signals from the bar: hostile territory, ready to engage.

[dat-paw]

when u and ur friend are both Chaotic Dumbass and u gotta figure out whose turn it is to use the single brain cell you have between the two of you

[thecat-inthehat]

Entry 5

[inside an arcanist’s grimoire is a bundle of parchment, notes and journal entries from the previous bout in the Palace of the Dead. It has several rings of tea stains from a chipped mug, and a few writing utensils around. The pages and grimoire are scattered around on a desk, and lie next to a napping coeurl kitten.]

We’re home. It's been almost a full night since we got back, but I put off writing because I needed to spend time with Mila and the sky. Being underground never used to bother me, but the caverns filled with voidsent certainly started to do that.

I don't know how I can recover from this, honestly. Sleeping is going to be a task and a half, and I need to try and learn how to use my globe, not have a crash course in it. Maybe after I nap I’ll look through the Riskbreaker’s library to find a book about astrology.

I feel better, after tea and a shower, but I'm scared to sleep. And I made my good tea too, the one I was saving. After all this, I deserve it. Boni and A’zaela both are with their lovers now, probably trying to scrape together some sense of calm or normalcy. Akhutai left as soon as we got back to the house, teleporting off somewhere with the words “I have to see if it was real”. I pray he's alright… He hasn't fully healed from his wounds, and he's yet to see a healer in the house. I've only known him a short while, but he's my friend, and I'd loathe for him to die just from a wound that I couldn't heal.

Speaking of Tai, I've noticed something odd with him…. sometimes people refer to him as Akoo, and then correct themselves to Tai. Almost like he's a different person….? I don’t actually know if there’s anything actually going on there, but… I’ll keep my mouth shut for now.

Thankfully Mila hasn’t minded me leaning on her, and she’s more than happy that I’m back. She practically bowled me over when we teleported back to the house-- gave Tai and A’zaela a fright too. She’s been grooming me non stop too -- though now she’s moved to my chest, and not my hands. I think she hates the scent that the Palace left on me, which… I don’t blame her for in the slightest. That place smelled horrible, and I feel like it’s still lingering on me even after I took a shower. 

I’ve rambled on enough. Time to actually write about what happened. We heard a growling as we stepped through the last door way, and it felt like it was the same creature that attacked Tai. It followed us around the whole time, always on the edges of our sight, and made us more afraid than before. I hate feeling afraid, but that Palace is made of fear.

A’zaela was the first to use the pomander that we had saved, because none of us wanted to touch it. A thick cloud of vapor surrounded her, and in her place was a monster. Larger than all three of us, fangs and claws, prowling around on all fours… I believe it’s classified as a manticore, but gods above it was frightening. The monster swiped left and right at the Voidsent, and they died instantly. We cleared room after room like that, following her form as close as we dared. I think Tai was especially shaken up over it -- he muttered something about hating the idea.

We found another pomander of Rage a few floors later, after a Gravekeeper was making rounds and giving us trouble. Bonibel decided to take it, and I couldn’t help but start to observe her as she transformed and cleared the next floor. The pomander wasn’t strong enough to force a permanent transformation, but I can’t help but suspect that it was made with that intent, and the magicks have faded over the eras. Both her and A’zaela’s power was terrifying, but was mercifully short lived.

The growls got louder as we came to the last floor, and suddenly we were standing in a ritual circle. I’ve seen the like before, but never to that degree. It was covered in paint and blood, the lines shaky and made with an unsteady hand. By that alone, whatever ritual she was trying to do would have failed. Arcanima uses runes and ritual circles, but this seemed…. Older. Like magic that shouldn’t be here.

The monster that had been chasing us for the entire journey was at her side, shifting shape and changing constantly, never still. I think it was the failed experiment of whatever ritual she was trying to do, but I don’t know… I didn’t get a chance to really look, as she saw us and attacked. Her laugh nearly drove me mad -- it sounded like the Siren, but so, so much worse. I was flinging spells and cards left and right, trying to keep everyone healed while shifting our fates just enough to let us live. It was the hardest battle I’ve ever done. She had so many spells and effects at her disposal, that I thought maybe she was a Void Queen come to our world, but … 

Tai was stony the entire time he fought her. I think he saw someone else, instead of the actual woman in front of us. I worry for him -- this whole thing feels like it struck too close to home. A’zaela knew what she was getting into when she led us in, because she had gone under with Lady Sylvan and Lady Ashe. Bonibel has a spine of pure steel, and she knows how to handle herself, even if she’s distraught. I … well. My breakdown over the Siren notwithstanding, I’ve been able to handle this fairly well. I’ll have nightmares, sure, but…

[several lines are scratched out, and started over on a new paragraph.]

I’m worried. These people are close to me, but I can’t seem to help them. I’ve formed a bond with them throughout this, but I don’t know if it’ll last, or if it even has any meaning out of that place. I don’t want to just pretend that it never happened, but I can’t even think about confronting my own fears.

Perhaps I’m just being optimistic, and placing too much stock in bonds forged by fire. Maybe I just miss Hel and Shine so much that I’ve started to project my own loneliness onto others who don’t deserve it. Either way, I need to try and sleep, or at least pretend to.

I’m going to put all these entries together in one of my old grimoires, and come back to them later, after my mind has done some healing. Perhaps I’ll see things that aren’t clouded by my current judgement.

[sylvan-rain]

Happy Birthday to thefateofivalice! I gave A'zaela a cute kitty yukata! I'm grateful to have made such a wonderful friend as you through FFXIV. I hope your recovery from surgery has been going well and hopefully this somehow helps that!  I'm really bad at this so HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN!

[theriskbreakers-rp]

Fhiliht Merlhaemrwyn: I feel we are on th’ verge o’ discovery ‘ere, sirs and/or madams! Per'aps I might suggest, obliquely, that we subvert our moogle taskmasters’ agendas? Nathaniel Rhys: Hm? Fhiliht Merlhaemrwyn: Personally, I give a minimum o’ figs at th'amount o’ work done on these ancient towers, nice as they are… but could we not bribe said moogles with them nuts f'r information? A'zaela Linh: I-I can make those! A'zaela Linh: …Do you want it to explode? Fhiliht Merlhaemrwyn: I mean, d'you not? Alaq'it Moks: Yes, I do believe it should obviously explode. Alaq'it Moks nods sagely. Fhiliht Merlhaemrwyn: All in favour, then. Alaq'it Moks: Aye! A'zaela Linh: I-I mean…I don’t want to hurt anyone… A'zaela Linh: Nate? Fhiliht Merlhaemrwyn: Okay, well… they could explode nicely… Nathaniel Rhys: …Sure, why the hell not. A'zaela Linh: It… could be as a trick. Moogles enjoy tricking us… perhaps we can trick them? Alaq'it Moks: They can fly! They will be fine. We are on the ground, we may not be fine, but in that case, we will not need to do reports. Fhiliht Merlhaemrwyn: I’ll sign that ticket, Miss A'zaela, an’ call it JUSTICE.

[theriskbreakers]

Happy New Year from the Riskbreakers!

[dat-paw]

Seeking to end the pursuits of the Garlean soldiers that hunt her and friends relentlessly, Jenesis Labariel hatches a plan to snare the VIth Legion in a trap of her own... And it’s just crazy enough to work. After all, what target could be more tempting than a wedding?

Jenesis Labariel (Balmung) and Azaela Linh (Balmung) will be holding their Ceremony of Eternal Bonding this Sunday, June 23rd, at 7PM EST!

Hit us up if you’d like an invitation, but note that we’re also looking for casual roleplayers interested in playing the part of Garlean soldiers staging an ambush for the brides! You’ll need to be on Balmung to be part of the wedding party, but anyone from the Crystal Data Center can be part of the ambush on the steps of the chapel!

We’re looking for players willing to approach this RP with an open mind, and a willingness to not take it too seriously. This is unlikely to turn into some kind of Red Wedding situation, so if that’s what you’re looking for, this might not be the event for you. If, however, you’re up for having some fun playing a throwaway, low-ranking Garlean soldier OC, this is a great chance to give it a try!

If you’ve ever wanted to embrace your inner Stormtrooper, crash a wedding, watch chaos unfold, or some combination of the three, now’s your opportunity! Contact me or @thelegendofivalice for more details!

[thecat-inthehat]

Under the Earth and Into the Dark 

Nivelth Ajuyn Journal Entries Masterpost! 

Entry 1  || Entry 2  || Entry 3 || Entry 4 || Entry 5 

[theriskbreakers-rp]

Livvy Ahtynwyb: ...We did it. Sylvan Rain: Are you alright? Iieha Beautemps: N-No! It isn't done! H-His eyes--! Iieha Beautemps: We must separate them from his catalyst b-but... Estinien Wyrmblood is still breathing, still fighting Nidhogg for control of his own body. Iieha Beautemps swallows heavily as she approaches the dragoon her aether trying to push back at Nidhogg's. Iieha Beautemps: N-No! Stop the aether will hurt you! Estinien Wyrmblood: Get... back... Chakha Sagahl: The shade will linger as long as the eyes remain! Iieha Beautemps gently reaches out for the right eye incased on the dragoon's pauldron. Her eyes close and she says something quietly to him. It sounds soothing as she grips onto the embedded eye. Iieha Beautemps: Be still, please... Sylvan Rain is pushed back by a sudden surge of dark energy. She quickly sits up, breathing heavily. Sylvan Rain: It.. it remains! A'zaela, finish it! A'zaela Linh watches the scene, almost stunned. With the blue aura flaring around her, she isn't sure she can do it. She's certain she'll become a dragon's thrall within moments of touching the eyes. She is visible hesitation in her posture. Iieha Beautemps is humming something despite the tension rising in the air as she keeps her grip steady to wedge the eye out. Iieha Beautemps: Ong drah orh... non drah orh... sohm, sohm... sohm... Iieha Beautemps looks to A'zaela Linh and reaches to guide her hand. Iieha Beautemps: You'll be alright. Rivienne Marcellus circles the group with her blade out in the open. Rivienne Marcellus: Destroy these accursed things. A'zaela Linh runs towards the dragoon, reaching for the bloody eyes. The amount of raw aether hits her hard as she stares back at Iieha Beautemps, knowing what must be done. She reaches for the other eye and /pulls/ with all of the might of a dragoon. Aymeric de Borel: The eyes! Cast them into the abyss! Iieha Beautemps wrests free the eye at Estinien Wyrmblood's pauldron and throws it over the side of the Steps of Faith. A'zaela Linh is far too nervous to hold her for longer than needed; she tosses it without too much thought to it, as she really doesn't want to become a dragon. The rest of the horde retreats at once, back to the Churning Mists, albeit without their leader. Livvy Ahtynwyb: We've done it! A'zaela Linh cannot stop rubbing her hands on her pants. Like somehow, the residue from the eyes can ruin all of the work she's done and turn her. She's truly terrified. Ivaan Arkwright: We lived. Ivaan Arkwright looks about just to double check. Ivaan Arkwright: We did it... Iieha Beautemps looks up to the sky as she sees the surge of aether released in the form of Nidhogg. Iieha Beautemps: Sohm, Nidhogg...