#Four Hyur

[desertleviathan]

The worst thing about having 13 alts in Final Fantasy XIV isn't the amount of repeated effort that goes into all of them, progressing them through the same content and the same grinds.

The worst thing is the nagging feeling that there should be 14 of them. Because that's what number the game is.

[ahollowgrave]

-- o, this sweet love!! o, this divine grief.

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

Another. One.

Bard is complete! Sage is next :D

[cinlat]

I’m a little late posting these, but here’s to @tishinada @rainofaugustsith and friends for finishing out the Four Lords Questline

[capriciousvisage]

I put together a little timeline of outfits + notes for my main WOL, a Padjal named Emrys Hywel, that showcases him throughout the base game and current expansions. I also updated his look in general, but he's still the same silly guy.

(There are some liberties taken with the Dark Knight job, but it's still the same at its core!)

[lettersnorth]

Sage work

[autumnslance]

Do you have the werlyt screenshots? 👀

This is only because I love you, Nonny.

I also took time to transcribe these under the "Keep Reading" cut, cuz this is a lot of text and cannot always be read clearly. These images were taken with my tablet. Errors in said transcript are probably just mine. These are pages 120-121 and 169-170 of Encyclopedia Eorzea volume III. The timeline's a little weird (especially the Gaius to Valens handover), but Werlyt was an Imperial province for over 50 years.

There's also pages specifically about the Weapon project and how the Garleans tried to have a system similar to soul crystals in legatus armor, but they were behind the curve on such magic-technology and so the data's incomplete (as we saw in those fights). If there's interest, I may do a follow up with those pages, but this is long enough and I have FC things to do tonight.

Werlyt

Following in the footsteps of its neighbor across the Ghimlyt Dark, Ala Mhigo, this small nation in the far western reaches of Ilsabard recently liberated itself from the Garlean Empire.

Flag: The flag originally bore the crest of the royal family. However, as their bloodline has long since run dry, and the nation now aspires to become a republic, the interim government has organized a committee to decide on a new design.

Motto: --

Government: Werlyt is presently led by an interim government. After careful deliberation, it has decided the nation will be rebuilt as a republic.

Leader: Talbot Hunte

Ruling Body: The interim government is formed of representatives from several rebel factions that fought against the Garlean Empire.

Racial Distribution:

Ilsabardian Hyur: 80%

Near Eastern Au Ra: 15%

Other: 5%

Religion: Though religion was largely discouraged under Garlean rule, the people of Werlyt were polytheistic, believing in thirteen gods. Their religious practices are said to be largely influenced by the traditions of their western neighbors in Eorzea and its teachings of the Twelve, as well as Corvosi mythology from the east.

Industry:

Livestock: The tending of cattle is a longstanding profession of Werlyt, made possible by its lush, far-reaching pastures. A knack for livestock breeding is evidenced by the myriad varieties of both beef and dairy cattle they raise, the latter including an especially rare breed said to number only one hundred.

Dairy: In tandem with their livestock industry, the people of Werlyt excel in the production of dairy products, including butter, yogurt, and milk-based beverages. They are well known for their high-quality cheeses, which became a mainstay export to Garlemald.

Fishing: The southern edge of Werlyt touches the sea, allowing for a bustling fishing trade in coastal towns. Its many steep cliffs, however, ensure their efforts are focused on but a few major ports.

Mining: In the northern mountain range of Werlyt, one can find four mines wherein copper, zinc, tungsten, and several other rare metals are extracted. The process was refined under Garlean rule with the introduction of magitek, and while the equipment remains, the country wants for the ceruleum to operate it. To that end, Werlyt has begin negotiations with Ul'dah to barter for fuel so they may resume their mining operations.

Beliefs: While the Au Ra who migrated from the Corvos region have ostensibly been welcomed in Werlyt, there yet remains a strong sense of social incohesion in this predominantly Hyuran nation. It remains to be seen if these disparate peoples can overcome their differences to flourish in this burgeoning republic.

Diet: Werlyt is perhaps best known for its stewed dishes made using local beef, dairy, and seafood. The intermingling of native wheat-based cuisines and rice dishes brought by the Au Ra also help distinguish Werlyt cooking. Dairy enthusiasts insist that milk produced in Werlyt is indispensable to strengthening one's muscles when training the body, and it is thought to be high in protein and effective in reducing muscle inflammation.

History

A Contentious Foundation

In ages past, the western reaches of Ilsabard, known today as Werlyt, were home to myriad Hyuran tribes. There was no harmony to be found between them, however--the ceaseless cycle of war and peace was no different than the changing of the seasons. Some brave few tribes thought to flee from this war-torn land, crossing the Ghimlyt Dark to pillage and plunder on Eorzean soil. They would inevitably return home, richer for their efforts, but these ventures westward would come to a halt when the leadership of Anshelm Cotter united Gyr Abania, Ala Mhigo becoming a shield from further incursion.

With dreams of pushing farther west dashed, and the Hyuran tribes growing weary of conflict, Au Ra outlanders hailing from Corvos saw this pall of languor as an opportunity. They formed an alliance with a handful of local tribes, and together they quickly subjugated the territories that would come to be Werlyt. Despite their pivotal role in its formation, however, the Au Ra would not seek the throne of this fledgling kingdom, knowing their alchemical knowledge and mastery of the mystic arts would prove no match for the sheer numbers of their Hyuran allies. Thus did they concede kingship to the Hyuran elders. With this, some Hyurs came to see the Au Ra as powerful allies, but others would continue to cruse them as ruthless invaders.

The Garlean Occupation

Unfortunately, the newly founded nation of Werlyt would not last. The advent of magitek and transformed Garlemald into a heretofore unseen military power, allowing them to take Corvos with ease and subsequently draw Werlyt under the Garlean yoke.

The province was charged with supplying foodstuffs and mineral resources to fuel the burgeoning empire, and in some ways the dissemination of magitek would prove a boon. The mechanization of mining, for example, was momentous, but any such innovations as the Garleans would bring ever remained beyond the reach of the subjugated. For thirty years the people of Werlyt toiled thus, but they would eventually be offered a glimmer of hope. The Empire had begin the second phase of its incursion into the Far Eastern territories, a campaign requiring a considerable portion of their military force. Even the occupying force in Werlyt had been greatly diminished, affording rebel factions the leverage needed to reclaim their home.

Their dreams of freedom were fleeting, however, as a young Gaius van Baelsar led imperial forces back to assault the capital of Werlyt and restore Garlean order. As the previous viceroy had been killed by the rebels, Gaius would assume command of the newly reclaimed province.

Two Sides of Governance

Reflecting on the plight of the Werlytian peoples that drove them to rebellion, Gaius, the newly appointed viceroy, well knew that drastic measures were needed to prevent a second uprising. He began by recruiting individuals he deemed competent and capable, paying no heed to their station, race, or place of origin. Indeed, no few Werlytians were sought out for their extensive knowledge of the land, serving in various bureaucratic positions. Over the next twenty years, Gaius would also oversee a more even distribution of the province's wealth; new infrastructure in the form of roads, ports, and harbors; an a compulsory education system that would substantially increase literacy rates throughout Werlyt. But the peace and order he established there was short-lived.

The invasion of Eorzea and its consequences, naturally, left van Baelsar unable to fulfill his duties in Werlyt. The man who would take his place was Valens van Varro, an otherwise unremarkable civilian who had somehow risen through the military ranks. After losing his position amidst political turmoil in the Empire, he was given command of a newly reformed VIIth Imperial Legion. The grim shadow he cast over Werlyt would undo all the good Gaius had achieved and so much worse. Forced labor, imprisonment, and executions quickly became normalcies of day-to-day living. So much so, that it was said one could only find rest under the mortician's roof.

The Treasonous Five

Rather than subjugate the enemy, Valens was satisfied with bleeding both their resources and people dry--a tyrannical approach to governance often said to be heinous even by his fellow countrymen. It was a path that would lead to ruin for the province of Werlyt. Yet despite appearances, he was an exceedingly brilliant engineer, and there was a method to his madness.

Emperor Varis had been assassinated, and as various parties vied for the throne, Garlmald's aristocracy was in the throes of chaos. That is why Valens labored to complete his Weapons project, that he might make a triumphant return to Garlemald, wielding the ultimate tool of war. He well understood the need for urgency, and was more than willing to bring ruin upon Werlyt if it meant assuring his place as emperor.

For all his genius, however, Valens remained ignorant of his coming downfall until it was too late. The orphans he intended to use as test pilots for his project were plotting to use his Weapons against him, and the fruition of their plan would bring the VIIth Legion to its knees. One must not overlook, of course, the significance of Gaius's contributions to their efforts, as well as the rebel factions that also conspired to overthrow the Garleans. Even so, it was ultimately the bravery and sacrifice of five orphans that would spell the end of Valens, and earn Welryt her freedom.

Faces of Werlyt

GAIUS BAELSAR

"I see now that true strength is not granted by others, but resides within us. Strength of character, of spirit, of resolve."

With his defeat at the hands of the Warrior of Light in Castrum Meridianum, this former legatus of the XIVth Legion realized that he had long been a mere pawn in the Ascians' plans. He swore revenge against them for his fallen comrades, taking up the mantle of Shadowhunter, and though his quest for vengeance would claim the masks of Altima and Deudalaphon, the hunt for Ascians was quickly set aside when he learned of the Empire's plans to produce the noxious weapon Black Rose.

En route to Garlemald, Gaius crossed paths with Alphinaud, forming an alliance to halt production of the deadly gas--and this was not his only unexpected encounter with the Scions. As he infiltrated the capital, Gaius chanced to meet Estinien, and together they breached the imperial palace. There, they witnessed the assassination of Emperor Varis at the hands of Zenos. The rogue prince swiftly departed, and not moments later, imperial guards found Gaius standing over the late emperor's corpse.

His relationship with his home nation soured further when he discovered the previously abandoned Weapon project had been revived by the reformed VIIth Legion, who planned to deploy their prototypes in an assault on Eorzea. Gaius set off for Ghimlyt, hoping to warn the Eorzean Alliance before it was too late. There he found the Warrior of Light at the ready--this time, to stand with him against their common for. In a tragic twist, the orphans Gaius once fostered would also be caught up in the conflict.

Now, at the age of fifty-six and with Werlyt freed from the imperial yoke, Gaius has joined hands with its interim government in efforts to restore the region.

VALENS VAN VARRO

"As they say, 'to err is human, to forgive, divine.' And you know how forgiving I can be. When it suits me..."

Legatus of the reformed VIIth Legion, Valens joined the army following the completion of his studies at the Magitek Academy. Known for his ruthless and innovative magitek-based battle tactics, it seemed nothing could stop his ascension through the ranks. Those who served under him, however, knew well his unethical practices and penchant for sacrificing allies to serve his ambitions. Moreover, despite his achievements, he never escaped the shadow of Gaius, who was ultimately chosen to command the XIVth Legion. Believing the position stolen from him, Valens developed a deep hatred for the legatus even as he toiled to recreate Ultima Weapon under Nero's direction. This selfsame spite is what inspired him to later resume work on the Weapon project, believing that, by succeeding where Gaius had previously failed, he might at last prove himself the superior military officer.

Valens has ever been a staunch believer in Garlean supremacy. This was made all too apparent by his heinous decision to use villagers from the provinces as test subjects, believing them to be expendable. In the wake of the Emperor's death, he had hoped to take advantage of the chaos in Garlemald to assume the throne, but his dreams of grandeur would remain unfulfilled. The Weapon pilots, whom he had treated with such disdain, rebelled and eventually proved his undoing. After losing in a duel against Gaius, the fifty-six-year-old Valens met his demise at the hands of the Diamond Weapon.

SEVERA SOUTHER

"All that hatred, festering away...Nothing good could ever come of it."

Daughter to a citizen of Werlyt and a Garlean soldier, Severa joined the army in the hopes of deterring those who would cast scorn on her family. Even as she served, however, the Garleans denied Severa's mother the medicine she needed to maintain her faltering health. Though Severa deserted in the wake of the XIIth Legion's defeat in Ala Mhigo, she returned to Werlyt too late to save her mother and could do little but flee once more, eventually finding herself in the company of Gaius. Now twenty-three, she can often be found offering counsel to young Allie.

VALDEAULIN GANATHAIN

"It's taken me a long time--too long--but I've finally found a reason to live for the present. For the future."

Until Ala Mhigo fell to the Empire, Valdeaulin had made his home in the Black Shroud. As the Garleans continued their expansion, he lost not only his village, but his wife and daughter as well--his family abducted as test subjects for the fatal gas known as Black Rose. He later joined the Order of the Twin Adder, intent on exacting vengeance agains the invaders. The forty-eight-year-old Duskwight would have his chance amidst the ruin of the Praetorium, where he found a wounded Gaius on the verge of death, but ultimately chose to spare the Black Wolf and aid him in his hunt for Ascians.

ALFONSE AAN BAELSAR

"If it is the duty of the strong to lead the weak, we will become strong and protect those who cannot protect themselves."

An epidemic claimed the life of Alfonse's parents when he was still a child, leaving him and his sister Allie living on the streets of Werlyt. The two were adopted by Gaius, and Alfonse soon became an elder brother to all of the children in the Black Wolf's care. Wishing to be of greater help to their adoptive father, the Auri siblings joined the military, serving in the XIVth Legion/ During Operation Archon, they remained in Werlyt on a supply mission, but were soon transferred to the VIIth Legion, where they were coerced into becoming pilots for the Weapon project. Faced with a dire situation, they plotted to take advantage of their position and use the Weapons against the Garleans to liberate Werlyt. Although inextricably fused with the core of the Diamond Weapon, Alfonse managed to kill Valens and secure a future for his home and sister both. He was twenty-one summers old at the time of his death.

ALLIE AAN BAELSAR

"The days we spent together were the happiest of my life, and no matter what happens, nothing can take that away from me."

Allie and her brother were adopted by Gaius and given the surname Baelsar. When they were reassigned to the Legion, the name caught Valens's eye, and he wasted no time in selecting them as candidates for the Weapon project.

The youngest of her foster siblings, Allie was dearly loved by them all. She wanted nothing more than to have their portrait painted together as a family, but it was not meant to be, as she alone would survive the Weapon project. Despite having experienced so much loss by the age of sixteen summers, Allie works dauntlessly at Gaius's side to realize her siblings' dream of a free and flourishing Werlyt.

REX AAN BAELSAR

"This is our way of upholding the ideals Father instilled in us. Our lives are a small price to pay for Werlyt's freedom."

Though he too was tragically orphaned, Rex's cheery disposition always brightened the spirits of his foster siblings. He cared deeply for his adoptive family, and would do anything to shield them from harm, even should it mean defying his superiors. He placed complete faith in his brother Alfonse, whom he held in particularly high regard, seeing the elder brother's dreams as his own. Tragically, the eighteen-year-old's life was cut short when he took the helm of the Emerald Weapon, his essence overwritten with combat data modeling his beloved father Gaius as he merged with the machine's core.

RICON AAN BAELSAR

"You all made me happier than I had any right to be. And now...I've finally found my purpose. I have no regrets."

Though timid by nature, Ricon would not hesitate to lay down his life to save his adopted siblings. Upon joining the XIVth Legion, his skilled hands earned him a place working under Nero to hone his skills as an engineer, and the wealth of knowledge he gained from his training was readily applied to the Weapon project once he was permitted to assist with maintenance. Although determined to help correct the mistakes of past prototypes, he well knew they lacked time to fully prepare the Sapphire Weapon. This did Ricon elect to pilot the Weapon in place of his brother Rex, and the life of another brave youth was snuffed out by the Oversoul system. He was seventeen years of age.

MILISANDIA AAN BAELSAR

"Father still needs you. Please take care of him...in our place."

One of several orphans taken in by Gaius, Milisandia had hair of crimson, though it was not always so kissed by fire. When they still lived in an orphanage, the young lady believed that Alfonse was enamored with one of the institution's matrons and, perhaps hoping to win his attention, dyed her hair the same color as the woman who captivated him. This youthful infatuation would remain unspoken unto her dying day, when she passed away aboard the Ruby Weapon at the age of only twenty summers.

AVILINA AAN HORNE

"There's a way I can make a difference. I know there is."

Ten years ago, Ternclif-born Avilina was conscripted to serve as a magitek engineer in the XIVth Legion. These she met Milisandia, and the two became close friends. After the XIVth's defeat at Castrum Meridianum, she fled back to Werlyt, but with her experience working on the Ultima Weapon, it was inevitable that she would be assigned to the Weapon project with the VIIth Legion. Though the liberation of Werlyt granted her her freedom, she still carries the guilt of having assisted with the Weapon project, knowing that it claimed the life of her one true friend.

[tallbluelady]

Duskwight Children Tutorial

I have been asked on two separate occasions how I manged to have Duskwight skin tones on children so this is how I do it on Anamnesis!

Step 1: Fully Load and Customize your Young Wildwood character as a Carbuncle or Brio Actor. (Anam does not really like Children on Player characters.) Making any customizing or gear changes will revert the skin tone, so keep that in mind.

Step Two: Load/Pull Up an Adult Duskwight with the skin tone you want your character to be (ie your WoL in game if you want to make a child version of them).

Step Three: Left Click on the Left Box next to "Skin" in the "Extended Appearance" box above the Import/Export options.

Step Four: Copy/Write Down the RGB values listed. The color may save into the "Recent" section, but I would not rely on it. You only need to copy the whole numbers, ie 23, 46, 77.

Step Five: Paste/Type in the RGB values into your Young Wildwood actor on their Extended Appearance box.

Step Six: Export your file! Anam will save Extended Appearances in the chara file, so you can reload appearances if you're making multiple outfits.

Enjoy!

Notes:

1. Anam does not like to load NPC/Child models onto Player Characters. You may get to have a child character in the overworld, but entering into GPose may revert it to an adult character. So Carby/Brio Actor is best.

2. You can also use this method to give, say, green skin onto a Hyur model to have a half Roegadyn half Hyur character.

3. Apparently extended appearance is a bit of a headache for the Anam mods. Try not to bug them about it. Remember, loading Young Appearances onto Carbies and Brio Actors will consistently work where as loading onto a Player will not.

4. I have no idea how to accomplish this with just Ktisis (or with another plugin at the same time), as I am much less familiar with that plugin. Luckily Anam and Ktisis play nicely with each other so you can set up appearances in Anam then pose in Ktisis.

[astrology-bf]

A Primer on Ul'dahn Dance

(A bit of FFXIV headcanon regarding the performing arts in the Sultanate of Ul'dah)

As can be expected of a cosmopolitan merchant state, Ul'dah has a rich tradition of performing arts that is nonetheless deeply rooted in quite ancient folk customs. Dancing, in particular, has special significance in the Sultanate as it is seen to be a form of art that transcends wealth and class.

One of the more interesting quirks of Ul'dahn dance in particular arises from its demographic makeup: being a Lalafell-majority city necessitates accommodating dancers of very different heights. To get around this each dancer typically carries a handkerchief or scarf in the right hand which can be easily grasped by another dancer's left even if they are much taller or shorter, enabling a Hyur and Lalafell to dance together with relative ease. While these scarves are said to originally symbolize burial shrouds, in modern times they are usually quite colorful and personalized items that have acquired a connotation of representing one's personal favor; giving someone your dancing scarf is considered a declaration of intimacy to the point that 'trading scarves' is Ul'dahn slang used to describe people sleeping together.

Musical accompaniment to Ul'dahn dance generally features four elements at minimum: drums, an accompanying string instrument such as a lute or dulcimer, a vocalist, and finally a fourth leading instrument that will vary depending on the dance being performed - typically either a bowed string instrument such as a viol or a reed instrument such as a duduk or bagpipe. The drums and accompanying strings maintain the melody, while the vocalist and leading instrument engage in a back-and-forth, occasionally changing the tempo of the dance as they do. This is a legacy of Ul'dahn liturgical music, where the interplay of tempo and instrumentation is believed to symbolize the constant swinging of Traders' scales as they seek balance. Unlike its less secular predecessor, however, Ul'dahn dance music is rarely committed to notes and musicians are expected to improvise around the traditional rhythm.

There are a great number of individual dances within the Sultanate, and even then the same dance might be performed slightly differently in the city proper compared to a different region within Thanalan. That said, the three most commonly performed give a good general impression of the art as practiced by the people of Ul'dah:

Sagena

The Sagena is by far the oldest dance in Ul'dahn tradition and has a number of deeply symbolic elements believed to stem from before the city's founding. The name 'Sagena' is an ancient term for a drag or seine net, and is used both because the dance physically resembles the action of a team of fishers drawing in a net, as well as because it is said to descend from ancient funerary rites wherein a village would dance in a circle around a departed loved one to "fish" their spirit from the nether and offer it to Nald'thal. Similarly, the dance's twelve and a half steps are said to honor each of the Twelve, plus the dual nature of the Traders. The Sagena is considered a people's dance within the Sultanate and is commonly performed at weddings or public celebrations, and its universality is reflected in the fact that the order of the dancers is determined purely by age - the eldest lead, and the youngest follow.

The instrumentation for the Sagena can vary significantly between regions as well as between individual performances, but the most common accompaniments are a vocalist and a viol.

Sirocco

The Sirocco, named for the east wind, is one of the more spectacular and physically demanding Ul'dahn dances. Originating as a Lalafellin war dance, its brisk five steps are accompanied by the lead performer engaging in improvised, highly athletic feats whilst they dance - traditionally by leaping up and slapping the soles of the feet, the closer to Hyuran eye level the better. Owing to its physicality the Sirocco is a beloved method for Ul'dahn youths to show off their prowess, and its origin as a war dance means that being able to perform it well is considered a point of pride by the Sultanate's martialists.

The Sirocco is one of the few Ul’dahn dances that is traditionally performed without a dedicated vocalist, relying on a musical interplay between a reed instrument, a string instrument, and the occasional shouts from the dancers in answer to the musicians. It is also one of the rare dances in which a percussionist may end up leading.

Alinda

The Alinda is one of the younger dances in the Ul'dahn tradition. A couples' dance based on a simple eight steps, it originated in the Royal Court owing to influences by the then-recent contact with Thavnair (reflected in its name, 'alinda' being a Thavnairian term for a temple portico) and involves all participants in dancing a group before they break into pairs; this is intended to evoke an illicit courtship, further reinforced by the fact that the dancers are expected to be as close as possible without physically touching whilst in pairs. Unusually for a couples' dance, it's considered more appropriate for the shorter partner to lead regardless of their gender - believed to be a holdover from the play that originally inspired the dance, wherein the protagonist woos their secret lover, a priest, from the base of a set of temple stairs.

The Alinda’s instrumentation is quite standard owing to its origin as a court dance, though it is somewhat distinct in that the vocalist will be given the weight of the performance.

[ainyan]

The Last Memory

(This story can also be found on Ao3 for those who prefer.)

It was bitterly cold, the snow swirling in the air, but he did not feel it. Such mundane concerns like temperature and weather did not concern him; the ice did not touch him, and he felt no hint of the frigid wind. The thick coat that covered this body was only for show; neither it nor he needed it now; had not for some time - but one mustn’t upset the natives by wandering around in inappropriate clothing.

How tedious. Life had been much easier when everyone had worn the same thing, had been the same race, had wanted the same goal.

This parody of existence these creatures called living now was messy and fleeting and horribly insulting. But it is all he had to work with.

For now.

Pushing aside his dark thoughts, he paused on the graveled path leading up to the village before him, studying its wooden walls with disgust. No more the soaring towers of Amaurot; no more the glorious spires, the glass and steel etchings, the flowing lines and sleek curves. These creatures - these “men” - had barely discovered how to work iron again, much less build anything that wasn’t strictly functional.

But there was something behind those rough-hewn walls drawing him onwards; he’d been feeling the pull and tug for days now, forcing him ever northwards until he’d reached this tiny hamlet tucked deep into the snow-shrouded woods of the northern wilderness.

Another of his lost brethren, perhaps. So far he’d managed to find nine of the thirteen and restore their memories to those shattered, broken souls, but four still eluded him. It was possible - nay, probable - that another shard lay within those walls.

Though he was eager to be done with this damnable duty, it would ill-suit his current form to go bursting through those gates and causing a ruckus. As much as it pained him to admit it, he had a role to play, and it would not do to have the natives - or whatever they were - discover that there were forces so much more powerful than their insignificant selves in their midst.

Not until they’d finalized their plans to undo what that wretched woman had done.

So he took his time, striding up the path, straight backed, square shouldered, just another traveler like those who infrequently wound their way along the dirt-and-gravel paths that traced the vast distances between the scattered villages and hamlets that dotted the northern tundra. As he approached the gates, he could hear a muffled shout - directed not at him, but at the guard who stood within the walls, and one of the great doors ponderously swung open.

Trusting fools.

He stepped across the threshold and onto the main thoroughfare for the hamlet, one that ran directly from this gate to the one on the other side of town. In the distance, he could see what passed for a town square, the shingled buildings rising around it, short and squat and nothing like the magnificent edifices of a bygone era. Trying to ignore the twinge in his heart, he instead turned to face the guard who approached him.

And he knew why he’d come.

Her eyes should have been green - a bright, emerald green with rims of brilliant platinum, their flowering irises shaded with hints of forest green and tawny gold - not such a pedestrian shade of cornflower blue. Her hair should never have been the bland color of wheat, without a hint of individuality - rarely had her hair been so much as its original raven hue; instead, always an ever-changing rainbow based on her whims.

Even her skin was wrong - sunkissed rose now, rather than the rich color of walnuts, as smooth as the finest silk woven from her precious bombicae. Tall for one of the creatures that called themselves a ‘hyur’, she was nevertheless significantly shorter than she’d once been, her body slimmer, less lushly curved beneath the furs and leathers of her clothing.

Wrong. She was all wrong. This was all wrong.

Even her soul was all wrong.

That it was hers, he had no doubt. Faint and dull like any of the sundered, it was still a thousand times brighter than those of the creatures who inhabited the world that had been theirs. Only a few shades of blue rose from within to shimmer below her skin: sapphire and cobalt and lapis lazuli. Less the oceanic tides that had once surged with vigor and more an insipid pond like one of the ornamental water fixtures that had graced the city parks.

Still. It was hers. Mnemosyne.

She smiled at him, her eyes meeting his with a frank curiosity as she crossed her arms and leaned back on one heel. He could sense her confusion and knew that she felt that same tug and pull - so much stronger now in such close proximity - that had drawn him all this way. Unlike him, however, she had no idea what it meant. No idea what connection it portended, a connection that would last until the last star burned out and the universe collapsed upon itself. One that would draw their souls together again and again and again, as it had for countless millennia before. “Welcome, stranger.”

Soft, breathy, lilted. In no way the powerful, rich, sinfully deep voice that used to tease him to a fever pitch, that would cut across the floor of the Convocation chamber and slice her opponents to shreds without a single blow, that would lift in song - out-of-tune, but still - when she showered or would rise in ecstasy as he drove her up and over the edge again and again.

“Greetings,” he said, trying his best to modulate his tone - he’d been told that even at his most pleasant, he often came across as supercilious. By the flicker in her eyes, he gathered he’d once more failed. As her expression lost some of its cheerful welcome, his hand slid into his pocket, clenched around a stone.

The rest he carried in a pouch beneath his jacket, but this one - this one he couldn’t bear to place with the others.

It never should have been made. Lahabrea and Elidibus would be appalled if they knew he’d gone behind their backs and created a stone for her as well as the missing ten members of the Convocation, but he didn’t care. She was a hope he could not give up.

And now she was here. He had only to draw out the stone, to channel his magicks through it, and she would remember.

She would be.

“What brings you to Hearthward?” she was asking, her eyes glinting suspiciously as they flicked down towards the hand he’d slid into his pocket, her own fingers skimming surreptitiously towards the sword dangling at her side. “Don’t get many strangers around here.”

His mind raced, considering ramifications even as he answered in an off-hand tone, offering a ready-made excuse for his presence. “I’m scouting ahead; the rest of my party is a few days behind, but I wanted to make certain nothing had changed on our maps.”

Those pale blue eyes flickered over him, and he knew she was seeing his well-worn gear - similar to hers, leather and hide and fur, sturdy and ugly, with a heavy, primal scent that still offended his nose after all of these years. The pack on his back was filled with all manner of tools he had no idea how to use, but was certain the malformed soul that had once worn this body had. He’d learned enough during the conversation he’d struck up with the creature in the last town, before luring him out and shedding his body of its burden, to take it for his own.

“I see,” she said, nodding slowly as her hand fell away from her sword, and he knew she’d accepted his response. “Very well. If you have any need of resupply or wish to take an evening’s respite, the inn,” and she pointed to the largest building in town, just off the square, “and the general store,” and that was the smaller building squatting in the inn’s shadow, “are there, and open for another several marks of the candle.”

Just a simple spell, a shove really, to release the memories, the personality, the person within the stone, to restore her to herself. To restore a little balance to a world gone mad.

A little equilibrium to himself.

Even as his fingers closed around the amber-colored stone, her eyes shifted past him and, for a brief second, her eyes lit up. He knew that look; he’d seen it directed at himself. At Hythlodaeus.

He turned.

The hyur was tall and slim, dressed as they were. His hair was pale blond, his eyes a rich chestnut brown. His smile was quick and ready as he greeted the guard, and in it, the visitor could read his interest, his desire. A quick glance back at her showed him the same; no affection - not beyond the bounds of friendship, not yet, but an attraction. 

Jealousy, hot and angry, curled in his belly, and he could feel his aether rise in his breast, already forming the spell that would smite this misborn upstart into his component pieces, motes too small to see with the naked eye.

“Excuse me,” she said, breaking his concentration. “Is there aught else you needed?” He turned to meet her eyes, and she stared up at him, her smile faltering. “Forgive me, good sir, but… have you been here before? I would swear I know you from somewhere.”

Her fingers raised unbidden to brush between her breasts, across that point from which heart and soul sprang, that center of self.

That center that bound them together through eternity and beyond.

One little twist of his magic.

And yet.

She had stood in opposition of the Plan. She’d turned away from him, from them, refusing to give her aid to summon their lord Zodiark, to bring forth the only being which could restore balance to the world. She’d left him, left Hythlodaeus, left the Convocation and their people to walk amongst these- these twisted, stunted creatures, these creations with their pallid, insipid souls. To save them, at the cost of them.

And if he restored her… if he restored her, she would do the same. She would never espouse what they were doing now, never agree with the tentative plans Lahabrea had begun to make to rejoin the fourteen shards of their shattered star.

He could have her back, but she would never be his again. And their disagreement would be an ache in his breast from now until eternity ended.

“No,” he said after an uncomfortable stretch of moments, during which both hyurs had stared at him, perplexed. “No, I have not been here before. I’m afraid we have never met.” He forced his lips into a smile, and deliberately slid his eyes towards the man. “A pity, I think.”

Her brow furrowed and the man stiffened. “Indeed,” she said slowly. “If that is all, then I bid you a good day. Should you have need of aught else, simply see me, or anyone within the village, and we shall be happy to help you.” Her smile was quick and bright - almost too bright; the bond was beginning to pull at her, draw her in. Draw her to him.

He bowed slightly, and her eyes widened, then crinkled in amusement. Such a familiar expression; such a familiar pang in his breast. As he turned to walk away, he could feel her eyes on his back, then felt her regard slip away. A few more steps, then he turned back.

She was staring up at the pale-haired hyur, and he was gazing back. They did not speak, but there was a comfortable familiarity that spoke of friendship, of comradeship. He could read the tentative courtship in their stances; the way that they angled themselves towards each other, the way the man’s fingers curled, as if to keep himself from touching her. The way she twisted her fingers together for much the same reason.

The bond pulsed and pulled in his breast, tugging him back to her. Now that he had found her, he would never lose her again, not as long as their souls remained tied together by fate and destiny and a love too profound to ever be defined by words.

And he knew she could feel it too. Even as the man began to speak, her head turned back towards the visitor and met his eyes - and he could see her puzzled confusion, her helpless interest. The man faltered, frowning, then also turned to stare at him, eyes darkening with jealousy.

He took a step back. She took a step toward.

This would not do.

He could not break the bond. Would not break the bond. To do so would jeopardize her chances of ever finding fulfillment, the snapped thread of their futures together forever tripping her up. As frustrated and unhappy as he was; as disgusted as this world made him, he would not wish such misery upon anyone - especially her.

But perhaps…

He forced himself to turn away again, to begin striding towards the square. He heard a deep, rich voice rise in question, and felt her falter, heard her voice answer, anxious and confused. He waited until he was certain her attention had been diverted once more, then turned back.

The man had a hand on her arm, and his expression was one of distress and concern; that told him all he needed to know. Despite his jealousy, his first thought was her and her wellbeing. This man could never give her everything that he could - and the one thing he could not give that she needed more than anything.

Support.

Together, they would be at odds. She would remember the world they had lost, would once again feel her impotence and helplessness to aid those who had once looked to her for succor. She would blame him for the death of their beloved Hythlodaeus, just as she had before, and she would be no more likely to stay now than she had then. He would lose her again and again, and she would lose him again and again, and through their bond, they would suffer.

Apart - she would live her life, die her death, a thousand, thousand times. She would love, she would lose, she would weep and she would laugh, and she would never remember the love they had shared within their perfect paradise. And he… he would never forget.

He took a breath.

He let it out.

He reached into himself, into his limitless wellspring of aether, and he crafted a spell, a breaking, a rebinding. He tore free their bond from his own soul, snapped the threads of their future with an almost audible snap. He felt the pain of it sing through his body, saw her convulse as the loss of it struck her as well. Even as the other hyur caught at her, calling her name, he threw the spell at him.

It struck home, it sank in; it pulsed, he convulsed - and then it settled, braiding itself indelibly into his soul. The pair leaned drunkenly on each other, disoriented and confused. He waited with baited breath to see if his spell had done its work.

The woman looked up. The man looked down.

Their eyes met. Widened.

Then their mouths met. The bond would not push them into love; not immediately, but it would break down the barriers formed by shyness, by reticence, by the nagging feeling of waiting that would have kept her from forming any such bonds at all.

He did not wait to see what came of it. Already the ache of it was fading, and nothing pulled him here any longer. Head clear, heart clear, he strode off, bypassing the inn, the store, for the gate on the other side of the wall.

And when he passed through it, he dismissed it from his mind, and relegated her to where she belonged.

To memory.

[arakhnesreiyr]

All I Will Ever Know

My eyes peeled open like they had been glued shut. Residue, flaky and yellow, stuck to my eyelashes, and I found, as I tried to wipe it away, that my arm felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. I tried to open my mouth to complain, but no sound emerged.

"She's awake," a deep voice rumbled, and I could hear a few chairs squeaking across a wooden floor. Faces swam into my blurry vision: three Hyur males and an Au Ra female. Two of the men were Hingan in both appearance and dress, and the other was clearly Eorzean - Ala Mhigan, it seemed, though I was not familiar with the Eorzean ethnic groups. He was built like a mountain. The Au Ra was tiny in comparison to the men at her side, but she was clearly in charge. As my eyes adjusted, I realized she was dressed in medical robes: a chirurgeon.

"There you go," the Au Ra said to me soothingly as she wiped the gunk from my eyes with a warm cloth. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Arakhne."

I swallowed, trying to speak, but still no words came out.

"Easy," the Eorzean man said to me gently. "You've been through a hell of a lot, samurai."

"We should change her dressings," one of the Hingan men said to the Au Ra, who nodded sagely.

Dressings? Looking down, I saw that I had been stripped of my clothes, with bandages covering my chest and legs. Dried blood could be seen seeping through the layers of cloth, and at the sight of it, my mind whirled, suddenly remembering what had happened.

"Ando," I cracked out hoarsely, struggling to sit up. As I did, all four of them frantically sought to keep me on my back.

"Whoa there," the Au Ra said firmly, "you're not going anywhere, young lady. Your blood pressure is, like, on the floor it's so low."

"She asked about Ando," the Eorzean said to her.

"I know what she said, Lukasz," the Au Ra barked as she checked the bandage on my breasts. "Do you want to tell her, or me?"

At that, the Eorzean, who I could only assume to be named Lukasz, wrinkled his nose, his mouth becoming a flat line. "I'd be happy to tell her, but she needs her strength back."

"I'm doing the best I can, you big oaf," the Au Ra groaned at him. "Now get out of here. I'm going to change her dressings."

The men obediently left the room quickly, closing the door behind them, and the Au Ra got to work, rolling up her sleeves and smiling a tiny smile at me as she worked to remove the bandages and cleaning the wounds.

"That Lukasz," she said with a shake of her head. "He dragged you all the way here from where Ando left you. Carried you like you were made of feathers, he did."

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out once again. And even if something had come out, the Au Ra raised a hand up to stop me from continuing to try.

"Don't even think about trying to talk yet," she muttered. "You're lucky to be alive, you are. I'm sure you're anxious to get back out there and hunt Ando down, but you need to be able to even stand, first." As she said that, she looked into my eyes, and seemed to read my mind. She sighed, and then looked back at her task at hand while saying softly, "Ando survived. He wound up at the ferry without a single scratch, the ferrymaster said. He wasn't aware Ando was a wanted criminal - he just thought he was a bad swimmer." At that, a tiny smile flickered across her lips. "And honestly, perhaps he is. But he's lucky to have survived that fall."

I tried to speak again, but she stopped me. "Don't you worry," she said firmly. "We'll find him. The whole of Hingashi is on your side. The school fire has been put out. And your dear friend, rest her soul, is awaiting cremation at the mortuary."

The shock on my face must have been obvious, for she noticed it and immediately said, "You were out for almost a solid day, dear." Finishing with the dressing on my breasts, she moved to my groin and leg.

"Who's Lukasz?" I croaked out, and then coughed, some blood splattering out of my mouth.

"Oh dear," the Au Ra grumbled, moving to clean me up. "Don't worry, that's just your lungs still healing. They've been through a hell of a lot." She seemed to ignore my question, for after cleaning my mouth, she went back to removing the bandages and replacing them with clean ones.

"Lukasz," I croaked out again, fighting the urge to cough again.

The Au Ra chuckled, looking at me. "Lukasz Mraidurien. A lancer from Gyr Abania, apparently. I don't know much more than you do, except that he's got a personal vendetta against Ando. He came here to kill him. Seems like you did, too."

My brain could not compute that collection of sentences, and I blinked at her.

She finished her work, leaning back on her heels to admire what she'd just done before scooping up the old bandages and stuffing them into a trash bag. As she did so, she said, "He wanted to talk to you, I guess. Something personal that he wanted to discuss alone."

My eyebrows shot up.

She noticed and snorted. "Don't look at me, I don't know a thing. All I do is fix broken bones and cover up wounds." She then stood and slung the bag over her shoulder. "I'll go get him. DON'T MOVE. My name is Weena, by the way." And before I could croak out a thanks, she left me.

I laid back on my pillow, staring up at the intricate ceiling. I was clearly still in Kugane; I didn't recognize the particular hospital, but I hadn't really ever had a reason to go to a hospital before.

After a moment, the door opened, and Lukasz reappeared, this time alone. Now that my vision had adjusted, I got a better look at him: he looked to be middle-age, perhaps his mid-forties. Dark brown hair, dark brown beard, and light brown eyes - clearly a Highlander. He was a little paler than the typical Highlanders I'd known, but otherwise he fit the bill. And on his back sat an enormous lance that was taller than he was. Despite being armed, he was wearing simple clothes.

He seemed to be getting a good look at me, too. He grabbed a stool, pulling it up and sitting next to me. "Weena told you I'd be coming," he said with a small smile. "How are you feeling, other than speechless?"

"Thirsty," I whispered, and at that, he stood and went to the small pitcher of water at the washbasin across from the door. He poured me a glass, and after he handed it to me, I gulped it down like it was the best thing I'd ever tasted.

"That's a good sign," he chuckled. "Lots of water will help get that blood pressure up."

My throat felt less crackly, too. "Thank you," I said quietly. "Although perhaps I should be apologizing. I let your quarry escape."

"No need to apologize," he said with a chuckle. "Ando is a snake. He will hide in the tall grass as he usually does, but other than a bite, he's nothing to fear."

"He's gotten so much stronger," I said, swallowing back another cough. "I had no idea."

Lukasz nodded solemnly. "Ando and I have a long history," he said vaguely. "But even I was surprised at how strong he's gotten." He gestured to my katana, which I hadn't noticed until now and, much to my glee, was propped up against the wall. "But...I was also pleasantly surprised at how well you fought him."

"Yahiro's teachings didn't fail me," I said softly.

"Until they did," Lukasz said just as softly.

At that, anger rose up in my cheeks, and I sent a fiery glare into his eyes, but it was only met with a solemn sureness. "I don't mean that in a bad way, Arakhne," he said assuringly. "But you must admit - Ando has only ever fought samurai. And he had your same teacher. You could never beat him - he knows all your tricks."

"SOMEONE had to stop him," I said angrily, but it was too much for my lungs, and I coughed again, blood spattering onto the bedsheets. At that, Lukasz jumped to his feet and grabbed a wet cloth, handing it to me so I could clean myself up.

After I did my best on the bedsheets and drank some water, Lukasz sat back down, folding his hands on his lap as his elbows rested on his knees, his eyes intently looking at me. "Arakhne," he said softly, "we have the same goal. Perhaps for different reasons, but the same goal. I want to offer you tutelage as a lancer."

I blinked several times in a row. Lancer? Me? "You're kidding."

"Not in the slightest."

"I can't be a lancer," I said, looking at my katana. I felt like I was getting proposed to by someone else while my husband was literally in the same room. "Being a samurai is all I've ever known."

Lukasz's eyes brightened. "Arakhne, with all due respect...it's all you have ever known, but it doesn't have to be all you will ever know."

All I will ever know. "Why are you offering this to me?" I whispered, looking back at him.

"I think we both know why," he said gently, "but I'll say it aloud. Ando cannot be defeated by one of Yahiro's students. Now you can rely on other people to defeat him if you like...but I don't think you can...and I don't think you should."

"Look what he did to me," I whispered, gesturing to the wound at my womb.

"Oh, I do," he said simply, leaning back, his eyes flickering to the wound and then back to my eyes. "I think that's even more of a reason for you to be the one to defeat him. I see what he's done to you...and I saw what he did to your friend."

Ehira. My eyes filled with tears.

Lukasz fell silent, letting me ride the wave of emotion, before standing. "I'm going back to Ala Mhigo in a few days, but I'm not offering this to anyone else," he said gently. "Think about it. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Wait," I croaked out, trying to sit straighter as he turned to face me, waiting. "Why do YOU want to kill Ando?"

Lukasz smiled softly, clearly musing over his response before saying, "Same reason you do," he said gently. "He killed my friend."

And at that, he left, closing the door behind him.

[sjofn-lofnsdottr]

Miscellaneous Alts

So there are Other Alts besides the main four, I just either don't play them very much so I don't have as much to say about them, or ... well. Or because they're ridiculous that they exist in the first place.

Random picture because pictures are fun, then I'll actually get to babbling:

First up is Levi, a hyur fella based on yet another post-apocalypse character. He ran a drug den. He is also a babyfaced cherub.

I asked my husband what he thought of this glam, and he told me 'Teen Boy's First Adventure.' He's actually in his mid-20s, but literally every single one of my friends refers to him as a teenager. So ... babyface achieved, I suppose.

Another character I wish I played more often, but don't, is Nellwen:

Part of why I don't play her more often is because I only play her when my husband is playing her husband, Pellian. Alas, during lulls, my husband does crazy things like 'play other games,' usually. They're based on a married couple we played in a Pathfinder campaign (this is rare for us, we usually don't play characters that are romantic with each other). She was an arcanist that set all her problems on fire and/or rattled the bones of annoying people. Obviously, she's a BLM.

I made bunny versions of all the boys, and where Bjalla was Bunny Dusk, Svend is Bunny Mercuriel:

I barely ever play him, but his fuckin' attitude cracks me up, and I know he'll pop up occasionally picture-wise, so why not acknowledge him. The main thing I decided about him, is he also left the woods after getting fed up with being a feral forest hermit ... but doesn't want to admit it, and tries to pretend that no, he's always been a city boy and no he definitely has no idea how to hunt, kill and dress wild game or anything of the sort. Who told you he did? He'll bite their faces off.

So I know this is absurd, but I have, on occasion, made other Dusks on other servers. The first Other Dusk I made during the interminable wait for 5.3 to finally release, on a server that had Road to 70. I wanted to see how far I got leveling everything before I got bored and stopped. He hit all 50s before I got tired of trying to level everything, but I sort of wound up playing through the entire MSQ with him.

So if you see a picture of Dusk with this hair, it's likely Bertrand. The funniest thing to me about ol' Bert is for some reason I think of him as the most focused of the Dusks. Something about his hair just makes him seem a little more put together to me. And yet whenever he's sad, like in the picture above, he more looks like he's trying to remember where he put his keys.

Seriously, he just had them.

The OTHER other Dusk, I made on Seraph with Farron. Dusk is going by his real name, Bellinor, and Farron is technically doing the same, using Kare. We're sort of treating it as an AU, where the boys met at the start of ARR instead of the end of Endwalker, but the reason they exist at all is a) Road to <number> makes my brain light up and b) Farron hadn't actually played the bulk of the MSQ as Farron, what with rabbit dudes not even being a thing until EW. Yes, he could do NG+, but he likes having me along to nag him to progress. And honestly, being able to spam each other with silly cutscene faces makes it all a lot more fun, imo.

I don't know what it is about THIS hair, but I think it makes him look like the biggest airhead on the planet. He is the Dumbest Dusk, and we love that for him.

Kare is relatively new to being civilized, by the way, but Bellinor is doing his best to help:

Kare doesn't really know how to read very well, for example.

Bellinor thinks the lessons are going great.

Kare still is a regular-ass adventurer dude, Bellinor is still the WoL. Kare keeps getting dragged into shit he doesn't actually care about because this big dumb ?roommate? of his keeps making big puppy eyes whenever he asks Kare to come with him.

[jazzpostsrandomthings]

Journey Retold: The First Dungeons and Trials

<< Previous Entry

Sorry for cutting the last entry a bit short, I ran out of time and space and then got busy with the next exam. But I have time now so let's pick up from where we left off!

After Pi took flight, the scene transitioned to a different airship flying through the air and landing in a fortress on a... space rock of some kindAt first I was very confused and thought for a second that it was the same ship my character had boarded… But it still was a nice transition.

From the airship came four figures dressed in metal garb, looking quite alien to the rest of the people we've seen so far. They also looked very "Star Wars" in addition to their own theme music, which is probably why I thought we were on a completely different planet now.

And who is that guy, Gaius van Baelsar? He sounds quite fami--

OH YOU--

I didn't check his voice immediately after hearing it for the first time (I did do it near the end of ARR), I had my doubts about it since I am known for confusing voice actors a lot, but man, I did manage to hear the guy's voice right and he still sounds incredible after so many years since Rockman X7 came out. But if someone didn't know, he is also the Japanese voice of Solid Snake and Big Boss. I am just more familiar with his role as Red.

Anyways, we have an evil Empire trying to conquer Eorzea and who are quite ruthless to others. Most definitely they are our antagonists, at least for this expansion. Note taken.

After that scene, Pi finally arrives to one of the city-states Admiral Merlwyb had sent him to, the liveliest and the largest settlement of The Black Shroud -- Gridania. It's the least confusing city to traverse through by far which is a plus, but I wasn't too interested in it because it was looking like a normal fantasy forest village, but I still don't think it's bad, don't get me wrong, I just think Limsa and the next city we'll visit after that were more memorable.

Here we meet up with the Elder Seedseer, the local governor of sorts -- Kan-E-Senna, who I, for a moment, thought was a weird kind of Au Ra lady because of the horns, but it's actually a really rare subrace of hyurs that only lives here which I found interesting. She signed some documents after reminising about the days prior ot Calamity and what happened after (mostly latter) and Pi moved on to the other city-state on the list, the richest city of Thanalan -- Ul'dah.

Now, I really liked the whole look of Ul'dah. Its West Asian aesthetic and the way it's structured like a big palace with rich-looking buildings and bazaars around it was just so memorable and unique to me, and I absolutely loved looking around Ul'dah for the first time… even though it was the worst city for me so far in terms of actually exploring it because of the amount of layers it had. I was getting lost even more than I did in Limsa...... ;w;

We go talk to the guy here who isn't the ruler of the city-state but instead is the leader of the local Grand Company called "Immortal Flames" -- Raubahn Aldynn. He didn't talk to me much because everything has already been explained to Pi by Kan-E, so he quickly signed the papers and let me go.

OK, what did I do next, I genuenly don't remember, let me look at the fold--

Oh. I went to unlock a few dances instead of MSQ. That's hilarious.

But after that, I unlocked the first dungeon! I made sure to tell my friends about it because they wanted to take me through it so I wouldn't be afraid to do the next ones. I had to wait for one of them to come back from a raid they happened to be doing at the time though.

It was... fun! Although the fact that my friend was a level 90 tank who knew how to pull enemies quickly made me sweat because I was falling behind and doing shit damage due to my equipment being very low-level in comparison. But I was told to ask others to slow down in the next dungeons if I happened to have troubles catching up. However, I wasn't afraid anymore. I wasn't playing as Tank or Healer so I didn't need to take note of everything at the same time, I just needed to maximize my damage output and stay alive -- simple enough.

Next day, I did a few sidequests before proceeding to the next dungeon, this time in The Black Shroud... and I actually couldn't find the entrance to it for a while because I somehow missed the fact it was under the ground.

I also asked my friend how to do a character portrait (and by extension the Adventure Plate) and it took me nearly an hour to make, if not more, but this was the result:

The variation of this portrait is still on my Adventure Plate to this day actually. I think it just shows the character of Pi quite nicely (at least when he isn't out exploring the world).

After I came back from university (and I remember that because I actually wrote to my friend about finishing the portrait as I was going outside to catch a bus), I actually went to the second dungeon. And then to the third one. None of them gave me troubles fortunately.

At this point, according to the screenshots at least, I seemed to have drifted off into Arcanist questline for some reason. Either because I wanted to unlock Scholar and Summoner (and hitting a brick wall because of Sylth-management quest) or because its story was just more interesting than MSQ itself to me at the moment, or maybe even both. So yeah, I ended up picking the MSQ back only a few days after, on September 7th.

And also have a funny excerpt from a conversation we had in Discord before that point:

Me: Probably we won't be able to play together until Saturday, my University classes are held until 8PM for four days straight. The player of the self-proclaimed Emo Catboy: Das fine... miss 20 hours in THREE DAYS.

Me: You two are so fun to play with though... but do you have a problem with my progress?

The player of the self-proclaimed Emo Catboy: YOU ARE ALREADY LIKE A SIXTH OF THE WAY THROUGH THE FREE TRIAL. At the pace you are going, you'll outrun me when we hit StormBlood. Me: :D Skill issue.

(You are allowed to give me shit for this, Emo Catboy :) )

But I did have a problem of playing too much Final Fantasy XIV in a span of three days at that time, I won't deny that. I too had (and still have) a bit of a skill issue in this regard if you can say so.

OK, let's continue. So, some thugs attacked a defenseless woman because they thought she was stealing food, my little baby defeated them, and then Y'shtola showed up again and told Pi that it must be fate that they have been bumping into each other so often and that he does actually have a gift that her good friend also has. This gift is called "Echo" and it's the reason why we can look into other people's memories, along with a few other powers we will learn of later. The miqo'te woman also invited us to visit her organisation's headquarters in Waking Sands at the Vesper Bay. But before I actually visited the Scions of the Seventh Dawn (that's what the group was called), I made sure to unlock Glamour, which also allowed me to obtain a beret, which I dyed blue and proudly put on Pi's head. Now he could finally have his most recognizable design feature and stop wearing ugly wizard hats and mismatched robes. After that, his appearance remained largely unchanged until the start of the next expansion.

But let's go back to the story.

This is the receptionist at the Waking Sands. And I think I was more buffled with her unironically singing "Trololo" than her standing on a chair because she was too short to reach the table. But yeah, her name is Tataru. She lets my lalafell boy in after finding his name on the list and here we are finally introduced to the full cast of main protagonists.

(Sorry I actually never made a screenshot with them all in one frame...)

Their leader, a young woman by the name of Minfilia (voiced by Milla Maxwell of all people lmao) who also had Echo, told us that they have been working on protecting the peace on Eorzea after the Seventh Umbral Calamity (hence "Scions of the Seventh Dawn") and how they are searching for people that too have the gift of Echo because it helps with resisting the tempering of the primals, gods summoned by the beast tribes, which can brainwash people without such gift into serving them for the rest of their lives so there could be even more bloodshed. Minfilia politely asks if the lalafell boy of mine even wants to join the team, but of course he wants to save the world and be as cool as them so he answers with a nod. Now Pi too is a scion!

At this point, I had already formed a group of friends to get to the first trial as quickly as possible. And then something absolutely hilarious happened, which I unfortunately did not capture in a screenshot. So I was in a cutscene and all, and when I finished it, I saw a giant fucking level 50 lizard thing that my friends were fighting. I panicked, tried to run away while I heard one of my friends scream, and then this thing killed me in one hit, scoring me my first death in the game. Even though I was swearing and typing in caps in the part chat at that moment (couldn't use the mic), I was actually laughing my ass off. I don't think I could have had a moment like that in any single player game, or even if I was playing FFXIV alone because I think my friends accidentally got the monster too close to me, so it was another moment that made this game worth it for me.

But just a few cutscenes after that, Pi got taken into some cave with other people by the lizard beastfolk tribe, Amalj'aa, that wanted to summon their god -- Ifrit. This was the first trial, the first actual boss fight, and--

The player of the stern-looking Auri man: Jazz? Where are you? The player of the self-proclaimed Emo Catboy: ...Actually, yeah, where ARE you?

I opened the map, saw that the location was called "???" and that there was no way out of it, and then I was told that you can actually start duties through a menu -- no need to approach the entry points to dungeons or trials once you unlock them. That was a relief because I was afraid my party leader won't be able to register for this duty and I would have to do it with a bunch of randoms.

I am sorry, I didn't screenshot Ifrit either. But the cutscene that showed how summons happen, with the whole demon-ass flame monster emerging while this musical theme of approaching disaster played, it all was quite great! As for Ifrit himself, though... he didn't stay alive for long, all because of my friend's equipment again, I am pretty sure.

We stopped the primal, sending the lizard folk running, and, oh! Ifrit left a crystal behind! Great, now its ours and we are 2/6th of the way to... whatever would actually happen once we collect all 6 crystals.

Damn, I do write quite a lot here, don't I? And I didn't even mention all the things that happened along the way, I had to skip a few (such as Golden Saucer and Aesthetician guy) since the post was too big already and I was diverding attention from MSQ a bit too much. But I assure you, once we get over the middle part of ARR, my writing will end up being more focused on MSQ itself, just bear with me here :'D

[sealrock]

I meant to post this a few weeks ago whoops

a companion piece to my foulques and paris misadventures post, here's foulques' family and brief backstories for all (set before 1.0):

bohort 'bors' carhaix: an elezen of seventy winters, bors is the father of tristeux and grandfather to the carhaix brood. a miner for most of his life, bors lost his wife in a freak chocobo carriage accident when tristeux was nine years of age, something his youngest son blames him for to this day. their relationship is distant at best, and estranged at worst, but the wizened elder doesn't hold it against his son. he feels guilty for his son's pain and does his best to stay out of his way whenever possible. bors lives with tristeux and his family after he grew too old to take care of his tiny homestead. he enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, especially the youngest as he always has stories to tell.

tristeux carhaix: having just seen his fifty-second nameday, tristeux works tirelessly mining in the west shroud's ore-rich caverns and teaches his young sons the family tradition that spans back generations. the youngest of nine children, tristeux lost his elder brothers in various mining accidents, and the death of his mother is a sore spot for him. for years, he blamed his father despite him having no hand in the tragedy. resentful and unable to move on, tristeux focuses his energy in keeping his family fed and sheltered, but he's frequently spotted in the hamlet tavern after a hard day's work in the mines.

isaut (née lejelle) carhaix: tristeux's wife of twenty-odd summers, this fourty-six year old elezen is the matriarch and owner of the hamlet's only bed-and-breakfast, having inherited the business from her late grandmother. a no-nonsense woman, isaut strives to be a good wife and mother while also acting as a buffer between her husband and father-in-law. she doles out chores equally amongst her children, but some might say she spoils her youngest as she tends to call him her 'surprise baby' and lets him stay close by her. she views paris as one of her own, and she became a mother figure for the young hyur.

gavain carhaix: the eldest child of the brood, gavain is a reserved young man of twenty-four summers. having worked in the mines since the age of five, his father holds gavain in high esteem as the firstborn son. but when gavain announced his plans to join the gridanian lancer's guild and become a soldier, tristeux was taken aback, but nonetheless filled with pride. wanting to give back to his community beyond chipping away for gold and silver, gavain wanted to make a difference in showing others the good qualities of duskwights. he left home at seventeen, and through blood, sweat, and tears, gavain achieved the position of a serpent officer of the twin adders. he writes back to his family often and tends to drop by every now and then if duty allows it.

linette carhaix: at twenty-three, linette is the second child and only daughter. an avid reader and songstress, linette is a staple at the tavern as she sings old hymns and songs in her people's native tongue of high gelmorran, thus keeping the dying language alive a little bit longer. she often helps her mother with housework and upkeep of the boarding house, but she dreams of leaving the boundary of the west shroud like her elder brother and finding a partner to start a family of her own. for now, she keeps her younger brothers in line with the authority only an older sister can have, but she adores them both regardless. she had a slight crush on hector, though it seemed he was oblivious to this.

keux carhaix: the second son and third child, keux is a rebellious and mulish youth of seventeen summers. while he has experience in the mines, keux took on most of the responsibility and teachings of his father after gavain left, but keux would rather be tipping cows, playing footie, or betting his gil on a game of fivestones with his father's friends. while gavain attempts to set a good example for his brothers, keux follows the beat of his own drum at his parents' chagrin. keux takes advantage of his older age and tends to taunt his youngest sibling, and he sometimes shirks off his household chores to his brother to play hooky.

foulques galath carhaix: the fourth child and baby of the brood, galath is a boy of twelve summers and a bundle of mischievous energy. doted on by his mother, galath spends the less amount of time in the mines and instead follows his mother and sister around the hamlet, curious and bright. a little fearful of his father, galath loves spending time with his grandfather. he idolizes his eldest brother and tries to impress gavain with his fighting skills whenever he comes home. he's often teased by keux for being the youngest. the only other child in the hamlet is paris, and the two have been attached to the hip since they were very young.

[placesyoucallhome]

FFXIVWrite #4 Off the Hook

He knew what he was walking into, didn’t mean he liked the bureaucracy of it. 

“A dozen counts of theft, three poaching, four resisting arrest, and… one public indecency?” The Serpent officer raised an eyebrow over the stack of papers, an elezen man looking none too pleased to be on this job in particular despite the cushy seat and clean desk, flanked by standing serpent privates, an uninterested hyur boy, and a familiar moonkeeper. Mikro’a only shrugged, giving nothing, that was only the list of broken laws he’d been caught for. 

“Yeah. And you said--”

“I know what I said.” The elezen snapped, “For enlisting for the Cartinau conflict, your record will be wiped. A clean slate. On paper.” 

The threat was clear, gone, but not forgotten, he’d still be walking on eggshells at best, he wouldn’t be arrested for previous crimes, but new ones would not be given any grace. Dark claws scratched at ratty clothes and dingy lavender hair, he didn’t have anything to lose at this point really. But the only other moonkeeper in the room looked like she was about to lose her lunch, dark skin almost ashen, pink-purple ears flattened back as she could only look at Mikro’a in abject horror. There was nothing she could do, could say.  

“I get it. Sennight of barracks and training, then off to the bloodfields.” He huffed again, a hand held out to ask for a pen, to scribble along the bottom line of the contract laid out in front of him. The officer pushed a quill and ink pot over, time to sign his life away. 

“No, wait--” She finally burst, reaching out to stay Mikro’a’s hand, the officer sputtering orders to stand down that she couldn’t heed, “You can’t- If you’d just said you wanted to do better- I- I could’ve figured out something, we could’ve--” 

“Mihki, you know damn well you wouldn’t have given me a second thought even if I had been on my knees about it.” He pulled his hand out of reach, and she flinched back. 

“N- No. No I-” She stuttered, she’d given up her family tradition of poaching, looked down her nose at the rest of them as they struggled in the Shroud. She struggled into the ranks of the law and order instead, and now she was going to have to file her baby brother’s death sentence for it. It was too late.

His signature wasn’t much more than a scribble, the paper shoved back over the desk before he turned to leave for the armory and barracks, “Hey, at least I’ll get a few meals before I die, more than you ever did for me.” He shot over his shoulder, he knew what he was walking into. 

[the-baschet]

#23 - Suit

Continued from #18 - A Fish Out of Water

Severin looked as if he fit right in; his silken midnight tresses always seemed to frame the ghostly features of his sunken mien perfectly and his posture spoke that of a nobleman in some respect. The uniform he suggested for all of them to don may have complimented him the most though he had a more specific reason in his choice of garb in mind. A reason he only got to enjoy for a moment.

In contrast, Chance’s shoulders rounded as he lingered about the snack foods with his lofty companion, bidding the other’s demands without complaint. His darting eyes and meekness made it clear how out of his element he was while endless streams of sighs groaned in and out of him.

“Really? That’s how you two want to spend the next few... four, five bells?” A lean Midlander in their same black and ivory formalwear waltzed up to the pair of sulking Elezen with a wide grin stretching his tanned face. “There’s music, food, ladies that are looking at us.” He glanced to his left, their right, at a table of overly dressed Elezen staring at the trio, though namely, staring at Severin.

To which the man sipped from his glass, a long, nearly provocative drain, until he handed the empty cup to the Hyur. “Nicholas, you were always good at entertainment, mayhap you could keep them busy? I might have heard them whispering something about you before you arrived here, you know? About a swarthy man with scars littering his face, how courageous he might be and the sort.”

Whatever Nicholas’ reaction may have been, Severin saw none of it, already walking past him for one of the vacant balconies to spend his time. The ornate balustrade held the weight of his elbows and then some, vehemently wishing for the night to advance into the morrow though his expression remained as bleak as ever.

“Severin! Pray, don’t leave me alone like that...” Chance followed him outside, far too young and dependent to feel a sense of confidence on his lonesome.

“You did not wish to keep Nicholas and the others company?”

“Everyone else is already talking to someone, and you know how awkward I am.” Admitting such a thing aloud tinted his sallow neck and ears just a tad. “I just want this over with; they all keep staring...”

“You and me both, Chance. We must hope and wish that our dear lord keeps us lesser people in mind... Or mayhap I might end it early with a mishap.” A devilish smirk cracked his wintry disposition as he pulled a glittering ruby from the breast of his coat.

Chance hurried closer to the other, snatching Severin’s hand just to quickly yank himself back. “Stop messing around,” he whispered in great distress.

A large laugh shook Severin over the railing, turning to face Chance in his lounge with a sudden mark of enjoyment coloring his expression. “Oh, you know I would never. This is too important a time anyroad and I will not be the one to ruin it for him. Should anyone of us fall out of line, I will deal with them personally though I have confidence not all of us are witless.”

Chance merely peered over his comrade’s unusual countenance, noting the pleased curl of his lips and strange lift of his eyes. Seeing him actually not dour for once brought an easy smile to his own face. “Right, and I’ll help you with keeping everyone in line too.”

“Of course. We need only wait until Matti is freed and then the night will hurry along much faster.”

Severin peered through the doors which they came wisping a small sigh scarcely heard by Chance. Within remained just as they had left it, Nicholas seeming to truly make a fool of himself in the distance, though it was enough to wipe his face clean of whatever joy he felt a moment ago.