Multiverse Crisis MUSH - User contributions [en]

3186/A Wild Rose by Any Other Name

2015-10-11T04:57:06Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/10/10 |Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR> |Synopsis=Ten good reasons to ship Cirra and Thancred. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=255, 626, 627, 642, ..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/10/10
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Ten good reasons to ship Cirra and Thancred.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 626, 627, 642, 675, 747, 815, 819, 823, 826
|Tinyplot=The Six Crystals of Light
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Long weeks after the defeat of Ramuh, his slayer, and their allies, and other volunteers, have been summoned by the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Heroes who can slay Primals aren't exactly common, and if Hydaelyn is to be saved from an encroaching darkness, those heroes must needs work together.     Your summons take you to LIMSA LOMINSA, the port city, but your stay there once out of the Warp Gate is not long. An envoy from the Scions, a familiar Elezen (elf, tall) woman called LIAVINNE, in brown and green leather armor, bow and quiver on her back, awaits you with tickets to Limsa Lominsa's ferry.     The ferry, in this case, turns out to be a boat. Not a big one, but plenty of room for a dozen of you. The trip isn't very long, as you reach VESPER BAY, a small coastal village in the WESTERN THANALAN desert. Surrounded by mountains and hills, Vesper Bay is kind of well nudged, an easily defended position. And though the Sun is still high enough to provide plenty of heat and lighting, the telltale glow of an Aetheryte Crystal is not visible here; nor is the signature of a Warp Gate.     Once off the ferry, Liavinne motions towards one of the closest buildings, a two-story square house of gold and white aged stone, not marked by any particular sign. The Waking Sands, she calls it, is the secret headquarters of the Scions, and intentionally kept out of reach of the three primary city-states, as they don't feel they should be a 'weapon' that belongs to any one faction.     Those who head inside find themselves in front of a large, occupied only by a short female Lalafell in a pink linen tunic, a red-brown cap with a feather, and an absolutely to die for smile.     She's humming a song, wobbling back and forth as she sorts piles of papers and maps on the table. She does not notice people coming in. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Mr. N'raha... was not on the boat with the rest of the people. Not surprising, actually, given that's he's local. He's been here for other reasons... that are entirely 'the fishing is good here' and 'I like watching the boats come in, okay'? Let it never be said he's not getting into the pirate life.     That said, the miqo'te is relaxing a bit on the steps of the place as people saunter up from the docks. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     A summons from the Scions, people who seem to know a fair bit about Primals and who provided their assistance in the Ramuh crisis, is not something Setsuko would be inclined to ignore even if she hadn't actually been part of the group that felled the Lord of Levin. Given that she was? It would be downright foolish of her not to come when they call. Liavinne gets a brief, hard stare, but nothing more than that; she's inclined to make her continued distaste known, but not beyond that.     She spends more or less the whole trip out on the prow, feeling the wind in her face and watching the distance as they travel.     On arrival in Vesper Bay, she gives the building which turns out to be the Waking Sands a brief, scrutinizing it before giving N'raha a nod of greeting and stepping in the door... to herself be greeted by the sight of something small, pink and adorable. Her choice of actions is to softly clear her throat, wait a second or two, and then speak. "We're here per the summons of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. About the Ramuh incident." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Along the trip, Bertram has been quietly thinking. Which is somewhawt unusual, normally he would talk when in groups, but so far he hasn't said a single word, not even a greeting. Even when they arrive he doesn't say a think, the others get polite and firm nods of greeting, but he just maintains folded arms and pure silence. Something is probably bothering him. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra was kind of reluctant to show up for this. For one, she wasn't so much a slayer of anything, really, except for kitchen equipment. For another, that last battle against Ramuh had given off the distinct feeling that she was pretty unwelcome here.     Eventually, she decides to come, if only to see if there was some kind of Quest Reward in being part of a party that defeated a Primal.     After an uneventful ferry ride and a walk to an unmarked building, Kyra starts to grow a little suspicious. She tries to make small talk with the others out of nervousness but it ends up falling flat and the white mage eventually buries herself into her mPhone until they're escorted into the building. She seems...mildly interested in Lalafells since they /are/ cute. But they're not moogle-cute which makes all the difference.     "Hey, yeah, so what's up with that?" Formalities for Kyra? Not today it seems. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji was expecting the people od Hydaelyn to eventually notice what happened. Such a critical juncture of adventurer and Primal is not common, and the Primal losing is apparently even less common. When the request for a meeting arrives, Souji is sure to attend such a thing. Opportunity strikes like lightning, as the saying goes. Liavinne is basically handled with Souji's usual businesslike demeanor, and their trip to Vesper Bay is also faced with a seemingly endless well of patience. He doesn't speak on the trip, likely giving people a bit of deja vu as they might look between Souji and Setsuko. The arrival in the Waking Sands causes Souji to watch the Lalafell at the table with a stoic, even gaze, giving him pause for a moment as the subject of their arrival is brought up. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     As people start to shuffle in, Mr. N'raha is shying away from looking at either Souji or Setsuko. Ears are drooping a little bit too as they come in. He waves at bit to Tataru, but sorta stays near the back. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Stoic Person #3: Cirra Cosntantine remains quiet on the fairy ride. She does however constantly scan the horizon as the ship sails, generally keeping a deligent watch. Apon arrival at VESPER BAY, Cirra takes a mental note of the layout of the square and moves towards the indicted building. When faced with the Lalafell she somehow grows even more quiet at the humming ..girl? Woman. Until she coughs into her fist     "Ahem." 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Feeling a whole lot better than she did compared to the *last* time she'd set foot onto this world, Xiao took the time out to come and see just what the summons was for today. She stayed mostly quiet, humminga random tune to herself and teetering from side to side as she fiddled with an Mpad in her hands.      The ferry ride was uneventful and they arrived at their destination in fairly good time. Once off the boat and up the stairs into the building, they find...ah, a Lalafell. "Aw, how cute." Xiao mumbled aloud to no one in particular. She never could take Lalafell seriously. She just wanted to hug all of them. All of them, all the time. It was a problem.      Seriously.      "So what are we here for today? Are we going to be blindsided by assassins lingering in the shadows? Oooh, how exciting! When do we start?"      Xiao no. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      "Ah, Cirra, come now. You're possessed of a lovely set of lips and the words with which to use them! If you're so brusque, soon people won't even see you - they'll just see the armor and a scowl!"      The Prince of Ramuh had seen little need to interrupt until Cirra's cough, but he apparently takes great joy in doing so. The smile on his face is a good-natured one, matching the jovial tone of his voice and his stance.      "A lovely day to you all, both those I have not met before and of course those I am most familiar with," Landon offers, a polite bow accompanying the words. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "WAH!"     TATARU TARU's singing is interrupted, and the Lalafell's paperwork goes flying as she scrambles to keep hold of it in her jump. Maps and assorted reports stamped by the Maelstrom, the Twin Adder and the Immortal Flames slowly fall back onto the table or ground, as the small girls puffs her cheeks.     "I would thank you not to sneak up on me like that! A-Ah, I mean, sorry, sorry! You're here for the meeting, yes?" On cue, Alwyn's pet whelp, Kain, pops up from under the table, holding a large book in its mouth and dumping it back onto the table. It helps Tataru clean up her mess.     "One of your friends is already downstairs! The Antecedent is waiting for you all in the solar, along with the others. Here, here, this way!" On the way, she asides to Xiao: "A-Assassins?! I-I should hope not! Oooh, now that's kind of a scary thought..."     Tataru does not walk-- it's more like prancing, right now, a happy stride towards stairs off to the side heading into the basement. As happy as she can be after Xiao's suggestion, anyway. Liavinne seems completely oblivious to Setsuko's hostility, or perhaps she just doesn't care. The actual truth is that she's already tipsy.     To head downstairs is to find a basement indeed, a single long hallway splitting left into a side room, and ahead to a closed set of doors. Standing in this hallway are the SCIONS OF THE SEVENTH DAWN-- well, some of them. URIANGER stands in the doorwar headed left, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. The tale male Elezen is draped from head to toe in white and red robes, goggles hiding his eyes under the hood. Y'STHOLA is a white-haired Mi'qote (catgirl), wearing a simple if poofy white shirt and blue pants. Next to her is THANCRED, the ladykiller white-haired human in a cool black and white vest, knives sheathed to his side. YDA and PAPALYMO, the female human monk and small male blond Lalafell combination, stand to the right against the wall, talking with ALWYN HIGHWIND idly.     It's not long because THANCRED is the one to break the ice. "My, you came in force! And hello there, if it isn't the researcher!" He sliiiides over towards Xiao, kneeling down to grab her hand and do the whole routine. Then he looks up towards Cirra. "And you brought some friends! Pray forgive my rudeness, my name is Thancred," he says towards Cirra.     Y'shtola burries her face in one hand. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Compared to the look she gave Liavinne, the stare Xiao Li Yu gets out of Setsuko is absolutely /withering/. It lasts just long enough to make the swordswoman's distrust and dislike abundantly clear, and then like a passing cloud, it is gone. Setsuko isn't here to cause problems today. But she is keeping a wary eye on Xiao, oh yes.     Landon, meanwhile, gets a very very different sort of stare. Because Setsuko has never seen him in anywhere near this high a spirit. It's almost as if she doesn't know what to make of it.     Meeting new people, however, is something she can handle easily, and she does exactly that, offering a bow to the collected Scions. "Think of it more as all of us individually deciding we should heed the summons," she replies to Thancred. "It's good to see you all well. You weren't exactly standing back in safety while we fought, after all." They had their own battles to fight just to make sure there was no interference with Ramuh. To Y'shtola, she turns and adds, "I don't believe we've properly met. Major Setsuko Kaminagi, Union Armed Forces." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh hey we're all here and we're... all meeting the people that Bertram said he should be meeting... a long time ago.     N'raha looks slightly less anxious seeing a miqo'te in the motley crew of the Scions, though Thancred gets a shake of his head. N'raha follows... if not at the side of Setsuko, then nearby at least as she heads over to Y'shtola. He waves a hand in greetings as well, and murmurs. "N'Raha. I'm with... well. The Guild, for now. Haven't decided if I'm going anywhere else at this point. I mean, besides helping here, cause I'm doing that. Hi."     He holds his hand out slightly fitfully.     (So cool.) 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Whoops. Sorry about that." Kyra offers, inwardly giggling as she hears Landon wax poetic at Cirra, trying to entice her to cheer up. Quietly, she wishes Landon luck in these efforts and drifts out of arm's reach of the dark knight.     Xiao's comment draws a funny look from Kyra. "That seems to have come out of nowhere, Xiao, are you being stalked by assassins now? Piss anyone else off lately?" Her barbs become distracted as Kyra notices Kain fetching a /book/ and it's just about the cutest thing she's seen. Very quietly and very quickly she sneaks a picture of this with her phone.     Once lead downstairs, she sees a number of familiar faces, though she really hasn't had the chance to speak with the white-haired crew when they were around. She becomes miffed, as teenaged girls are wont to do, when the flirt of the bunch doesn't flirt with her and opts for ignoring Thancred. Instead she gravitates over to Urianger.     "Hi! So what did you guys need to talk to us about regarding the Ramuh thing? Like, is there a way to reverse the damage that he was getting so pissed off about? I mean short of kicking Garleans out of the forest." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Right when Thancred starts being, well... Thancred, Bertram asks Xiao a simple question, "Gone on any more volatile rampages lately, miss Yu?" He's not being subtle about it, either. Though at least his voice sounds more concerned than hostile. Then he smiles at the others present, especially Yda and Papalymo. "Yda, have you been causing Papalymo any more entertaining grief lately?" The cheer in his voice sounds forced. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji does not sigh outwardly when Tataru flails, but you can /feel/ a faint aura of disappointment emanating from him. Despite this, he follows the others into the basement, ignoring Xiao's shenanigans and letting Landon have his moment in the sun as they head into the basement towards the Solar. When they are met by the Scions, Souji gives them a bow. "Greetings. It is an honor to have a chance to meet with you all in... less dire circumstances." Souji states. "We have answered your summons. Please, tell us how we can assist one another." 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra looks over at Landon with a dry expression, when Tataru Taru's papers go flying she looks over and grasps three of the papers out of the air quickly and puts them back on the tabletop as the rest of the group walk down the stairs.     "I'm not hear to talk for you, Prince Landon. You do more then enough of that for both of us." It's hard to tell if she's joking back or not.     Once she enters the office though she blinks at the assembeled Scions. She thought there would be...more. Then THANCRED looks towards her, she just looks to the side without a word, but does toss her silver hair over her shoulder. "..." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Y'shtola. Like ser Bertram, I am a conjurer of Gridania. Unlike him, I am no White Mage, but I strive to benefit the Scions with my craft as much as possible," the catgirl answers Setsuko, with her refined and polite tone. "Would that these circumstances were not such troublesome ones." She nods to N'raha, probably if only because seeing another Mi'qote is never a bad thing. "Please, do not sell yourself short. Few heroes challenge a Primal and walk away unchanged. You have done what many of us cannot."     She looks towards Souji next, and nods. "Pray wait just a little bit longer. The Antecedent is discussing the matter with another one of us, to best present to you the whole picture. I fear we are required on four fronts, and the decision of which to tackle first will be yours to bear." 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Setsuko's look was noted. In fact, she met the woman's gaze and smiled in return, as well as offered a short wave.      Kyra's comment earned her a chuckle. "Assassins? Ah, perhaps. It comes with the territory. ...But don't we both know about, my bestest friend in the world~?"      They all made their way downstairs after that. Aha, so this is where they all wer- "Ah-"      And there it goes. ...what was his name again? MAN CRED? DAMN FRED? SAM BREAD? THAN...Oh! THANCRED! "-Thancred, right?" Xiao smiled pleasantly and nodded. "How nice to see you again. It's been weeks, no?" And immediately, her attention was stolen elsewhere. She observed all of the others, and watched as both groups began to mingle. "But my, what a varied little crew you have here. Have you all been faring well?" 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     The fact that Scarlet hadn't actually been there for the defeat of the Lord of Levin is beyond the point. Why would she put herself in such a position, after all? There are plenty of heroes and soldiers and warriors to do that instead. She has every right to be here due to the fact that the entire operation it was a part of was her idea to begin with. Mostly, at least. Plus, ghost crystal earth mom had spoken to her as well. Proof of legitimacy.     This is her first time meeting a Lalafell, but Scarlet's initial reaction is to immediately mistrust anything which seems deliberately adorable. Nobody looks and acts that cute unless they plan to gain something from it. Fortunately the Lalafell appears to merely be the secretary here, and so it isn't long before she finds herself in amongst whom appear to be the real movers and shakers. At this point, it hardly takes much effort to distinguish them as important. Everything on this world is absolutely saturated with magic.     "My my. I miss a day and you already have a suitor~" is her absolutely required remark to Setsuko. "You must be very popular by this point, after all." She does glance towards Cirra, apparently the first person to have initiated contact with this group, or at least this individual in particular, but she knows little to nothing about her at this point, so keeps her mouth shut. "A pleasure to meet you, Thancred, and no offense taken~ Showing consideration to a lady isn't something to apologize for." She might be teasing the Major a little, but more than anything, it comes off in exactly the kind of way she has determined the man will likely react most favourably to, through more than simple control of tone.     "While we're introducing ourselves, Scarlet Everille, magus in training, and predictably also with the Union. Charmed~" She directs that more broadly to the rest of the Scions. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Landon's good mood can probably be attributed to a lot of things. The fact that Ramuh has all but won the Shivan War is probably a not-inconsiderable contributor. Such a weight off his shoulders has probably really helped him cut loose and relax a bit more. The Landon of a country under war is a very different man than the Prince of a country victorious. He may even have let down his hair (so to speak) and gone out for entertainment!      The Prince's grin widens at Cirra, but he says nothing. He watches Thancred for a moment, his grin still wide, and, in a shocking display of the Prince's personal ability to keep a mask, it doesn't break.      Landon does, however, get serious within an instant when business gets put on the table. The Prince's grin disappears as soon as serious matters appear. "I hope that I can offer you any aid I may personally be able to offer. Whether my nation can do the same is a matter of some debate, but I at least am unwilling to allow more tragedy to spread at the hands of those who hold the titles of our gods."      Landon in Serious Face is perhaps a lot more reassuring for people who *haven't* seen the man relaxed.      Landon also lowers his head politely to Scarlet, since she's just joining the group. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Urianger perks up as he is approached, having been content until then to just loom in a corner like the absolutely trustworthy guy he is. The Elezen gives a stoic sigh, and then smiles at Kyra. "The damage to the Twelveswood will heal over time. Certainly if you have talents for healing magic, you may consider assisting the Conjurers of Gridania with their quest to restore the elements. It is true your time would be better spent terminating the threats at the root, though."     It takes him a moment to register who Kyra is; when he goes, his expression seems to change for the better. "Hold. You are... from the Academy, correct? The world where all nations have contributed to a single grand school where one may pursue knowledge and learning? What is it like?" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Cirra's cold treatment doesn't seem to discourage Thancred; he simply beams a smile, energy perhaps renewed by the interaction. Sometimes it pays to pursue the prize you CAN'T have. She answers Xiao, nonetheless, never missing a beat.     "We've been well, just a bit overrun." Scarlet, though, is a new face, and the white-haired man grins, moving over towards her instead. "A magus, hm? I've not heard of that profession before. Perhaps you'd explain over a glass of wine, after this?" He has to try, it's in his job description somewhere, surely. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     DON'T SELL YOURSELF SHORT N'RAHA THAT'S WHAT THE PRETTY LADY SAID. The message filters down into the young man's brain after a second or two and he takes a breath. "Right, no. Yes, Yes I did tdo that and you're welcome, then." Own it, cat man.     THough, he glances to Setsuko and then Souji again, murmuring. "Not really sure I can say 'unchanged' but I'll take it." He manages a grin, even as the news is delivered. More work for the Free Company. Well, that's how it is, these days.     A glance over his shoulder though at Thancred's very smooth delivery. How does he do that? 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Any help you wish to offer will be greatly appreciated," Papalymo says, walking towards Landon. Yda stays behind with Alwyn, for now, the two still chatting. "For I fear that was not the last Primal we must needs confront, and while I do not doubt our ability to, perhaps, battle one, I would think the damage upon us would write out the possibility of a second occurance of such a feat."     As much as Yda would insist she CAN punch a Primal into submission if given a chance, Papalymo wouldn't take the chance if it can be helped. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "I long ago consigned myself to a life of troubling circumstances," Setsuko replies, the traces of a grim smile on her face briefly. "At the very least, I have the right to choose the ones with agreeable allies."     Speaking of agreeable allies, there's Scarle-     Wat.     Setsuko turns around to face Scarlet Everille, only to be greeted with a bit of teasing that briefly has her looking utterly perplexed and perhaps just a touch awkward. She glances briefly at N'raha, then back at the magus with her eyebrows practically in the sky, before quietly turning herself back to the rest of the group - more specifically, Y'shtola, but even Urianger gets a brief glance of curiosity. "Four fronts... I hadn't realized the Scions were so pressed." 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Oh yes, yes we do~" Kyra replies in that sweet, saccharine YES YOU ARE TOTALLY MY BEST FRIEND voice to her BESTEST OF FRIENDS, Xiao. "It sure does come with the territory."     Kyra grins back at Uriagner. "Oh yeah, Bertram took us to manage some corrupted water elementals. White magic does seem to be pretty effective at getting rid of the corruption but...hmm. What do you mean by terminating threats at the root, though? Do you know what the root is?"     Eagerly, she nods. "Oh yeah, I'm from Alexander Academy. N'raha-" she gestures over at the Miq'ote, "-he's started taking classes there too. Me, I think it's pretty great." Not that people could really tell that from her class attendance records, "We get a place to learn and pactice stuff before going 'live' against things that can kill us! Great experience. Sometime the homework's kind of a pain though." 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     As Landon put sonhis serious face, Cirra turns back to look at the Scions. "How many of these Primals are there currently active?" she asks, studiously avoiding eye contact with THANCRED and his flirtatious nature. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Y'shtola smiles, approaching N'raha. "You seem to have trouble with your place in the world. Perhaps I might share advice I've received when I was still young? If ever you find yourself unknowing what to say, especially to a compliment, argue it not, simply smile, and nod."     As she takes a step back, she hms. "But perhaps unchanged was indeed a wrong choice of words. Nonetheless, you all have not only met Ramuh's challenge, but gained his approval through judgment. That is no small feat."     She turns to Setsuko, nodding. "We have word from all three Grand Companies that they have tracked activity hinting at the present of Primals on their land. Another of ours, Alphinaud, believes he may have found someone we must recruit and heal quickly. Thus, four fronts." 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      "Then I hope only that I will be up to the task of aiding you," Landon confirms.      Landon nods at Cirra's question. "Further, which? And what do you know about them?" 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Landon gets a coy little wave in return as acknowledgement from Scarlet. He's always been very courteous whenever she's seen him, so she's fairly well disposed towards him, even if not quite sharing in the princely air. Thancred she evaluates more carefully. It does come off as something of an obligatory gesture from him rather than real interest, but then, that's exactly what she's used to, isn't it? Rich people like to call this kind of pseudo-dating "networking" all the time, and with a fancy name like "Scions of the Seventh Dawn", it might actually be worth some time set aside. "Mmm, perhaps I will, provided we aren't here all night." Her smile is much less facetious than before, less intense so as not to appear flirty, but more genuine overall. "Presuming you have adequate taste in wine, of course~" That part might be a challenge though.     She has to restrain herself from laughing at Setsuko's reaction, though she makes no attempt to hide the fact that she is doing so, concealing only her grin behind the back of her hand. Her conversational partner appears to be on a more serious subject though, and she didn't come here just to play around. "I can see why you'd make the call-in if you're dealing with three potential Primal situations at once. Do you happen to know which?" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "What a wondrous place that sounds like. I would very much like to visit, one day. Perhaps obtain a library card and make frequent use of your facilities if you would let me. I enjoy the company of books more than people, I must admit," Urianger answers Kyra, trying to excuse his behavior a bit. "As for the root of the problem, no, I know not its true identity. The Garleans are certainly prime suspects. Dealing with the Primals will no doubt help, as well."     Yda frowns, crossing her arms as she turns her attention from Alwyn to Bertram. "Please! It's Papalymo who causes me grief. I could solve twice as many issues as we normally do if he'd just let me do it my way. He holds me back, that's what he does." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "You cause eachother grief, Yda. It's just that the grief you cause Papalymo makes me smile, and the grief that Papalymo causes you is so boringly mundane." Bertram tries to sound upbeat and cheerful, but even teasing those two doesn't seem to do much for him today. So, he shrugs and instead focuses on the important bit. "As a healer, healing someone sounds along the lines of my strengths, but if these primals are active I fear they may take priority. Pray tell me, which ones are they?" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha....     He smiles. And Nods. At Y'shtola. Okay. This is easy.     That said, he finally catches 'suitor' out of the noise of the room and starts looking around confusedly until he spots both Scarlet and Setsuko. And then his ears pin back more than a little.     Smile and nod? Meet 'hold thy tongue' and look grumpy. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Papalymo frowns as Cirra cuts to the chase; he is about to answer her and Landon both, when the doors at the end of the hallway open. ALPHINAUD, a teenager Elezen with white hair, in black and white clothes, steps out of the office, blinking a moment at the crowd.     "I see there was no exaggeration made as to your numbers. Please, come inside, we have readied our maps and information."     As the group no doubt heads into the office, seeing MINFILIA, a blonde female young woman, behind her desk, Papalymo answers Landon, Cirra and Scarlet on the way. "We have reason to believe that Ifrit, Titan and Leviathan have been summoned into this world again, but no concrete proof yet. Agitation amongst their respective beastmen, merely. Matters that cannot be investigated solely through one's FISTS," he says, glaring towards Yda, who sticks her tongue out. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Hmm, how about this..." Kyra lifts a finger, "You just give the word and I'll give you a personal tour of the campus. I don't think getting a library card would be a problem. You don't have to be a student to use the library but it helps. As long as you're registered and don't steal books, they're glad to accomodate." Her look sobers a little, "Despite certain unfortunate past problems, we're very welcoming of offworlders."     Switching subjects, Kyra looks thoughtful. "So confronting the other Primals, should they appear again, is the best route to go? Taking on a whole Empire is kind of beyond the skillset of my friends. Well, except for one, but I don't think the Prince of Ramuh is going to declare Extradimensional War on the Garlean Empire, even if he dislikes environment-destroying tyrants." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "Recruit and heal...?" Setsuko echos, frowning. That's... a peculiar description, and also sounds urgent. "Perhaps that will be our first task, but that's not for me to decide on my own. And not until we hear more of the situation, for that matter." For the time being, she turns where she stands, falling into place next to Y'shtola as the door to the Solar opens. She's one of the most stoic Scions present, so she seems like the easiest one for Setsuko to hang out near. Alphinaud gets a curious look, but with the group being called in at last, the demigod heads in with a simple, brisk pace. There, at least, they meet the leader of the Scions, whom Setsuko scrutinizes before offering the same bow she'd given Y'shtola. "Setsuko Kaminagi, Major with the Union Armed Forces." Simple and serviceable; an easy introduction to give, when she expects to be giving introductions repeatedly. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Ah, finally.      Information.      Xiao stepped into the office with the others, eager to finally know what was going on. "Hmmn, so the other Primals have allegedly appeared, have they?" She mused aloud, listening in on certain tidbits as they moved. A creepy smile crossed her face.      "...Fascinating."      Fascinating for Reasons of course.      Always Reasons.      Always. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji has nothing to add to the conversation until they enter the Solar proper and the rest of the Scions make themselves apparent. He bows again, this time introducing himself properly. "Souji Murasame, of the Murasame Zaibatsu. At your service." Papalymo provides additional data. "Ifrit, Titan, and Leviathan." Souji repeats. "A formidable situation even if it were one alone. Are any of the situations more critical than the others that would have us draw our attention to them, or would we be better off working to investigate and potentially stymie them with coordinated general action?" 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra is a direct, to the point kind of person and it ends up paying back as MINFILIA arrives and they head into the library. "Ifrit, Titan and Leviathan... If they're anything like our stories of old, thne they'll be difficult to approach."     She frowns briefly as she some how synchronizes with Souji. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      "Landon al Cid, Prince of Ramuh," Landon greets the leader of the Scions with a formal bow, then straightens. His face twists into a frown at the names. Leviathan. Titan. Ifrit.      All the Primals that had awakened so far bore the names of the First Divines. How twisted, how *sad*, that in this vast impossibility of worlds there would be a place where those whose blood ran through Galianda, where those whose bodies and souls were given up for their children, would be enemies of Humekind. Landon looks away, staring at the window. And Ramuh...he had acknowledged them, too. He had acknowledged the similarity, the blood. He had acknowledged that they were alike.      That only served to make the tragedy deeper.      "I pray only that they are not working together," Landon murmurs, and hates himself for it, "For one creature of such power alone is a nightmare, but scarce can I imagine the kind of power more than one might wield."      The power to create a world?      The power to destroy one? 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     NOW WE ARE DOING FORMAL THINGS.     N'raha puts aside thoughts of beign teased about his love life or lack there of, and instead gets to meet. Minfilia. There's a little hitch in the Miq's giddyup as he staggers to a stop. Not by 'oh hey she's pretty' but rather 'why does she feel so familiar?'.     Landon gets a look though. "That's because they don't like each other. The beast tribes don't get to run into each other much any more, but they probably did a long long time ago, and a primal... well, they're really old." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "So the Sahagin, Kobolds and Amaal'ja move. I must admit that from what I know, Leviathan and Ifrit are the cause of the most immediate worry. I thought the Kobolds and Limsa Lominsa had an understanding." Bertram sounds very serious, levity gone. He leans against the wall and seems to think to himself. "While I'm sure the Kobolds have their reasons for summoning Titan, I would assume Leviathan would prove a more immediate threat to Limsa Lominsa." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     "Oh but the numbers are a good thing, wouldn't you think?" Scarlet says to the newly presented Alphinaud. "The more help the better, right~?" Next she has to listen to Papalymo, though she's more inclined to do so by virtue of the fact that he isn't trying to affect a kind of saccharine aura of harmlessness. "Those would be the... fire, earth and water aligned Primals, yes?" It's handy that Galiandan mythology shares some similarities with Hydaelyn. The former has an internet of sorts, which suits Scarlet much better. "Investigating across all three nations simultaneously would be something of an undertaking even for us. I'd like to hear the full details of each situation, or at least as much as you can offer, though I admit the specific use of the word "quickly" makes me believe the young man may be more deserving of immediate action with this... " she deliberately leaves the sentence open ended, clearly prompting him with her eyes. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     As the group enters the solar-- really it's just a fancy word for office at this point, the room is pretty humble save the huge desk-- Minfilia beams a wide smile at each of them. The other Scions follow in, and likely a big circle forms around the table to look at what's on it. A map of Eorzea, with plenty of markers. Garlean movements are tracked and dated-- increasing, lately. Kobolds and Sahagans are being monitored in La Noscea, and the Amalj'aa in the Thanalans. There's a marker in the snowy North, untagged.     "Welcome, all. I am Minfilia, the Antecedent of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. As the others have explained, we are facing quite the crisis. Primals and Garleans are the top of our concern list, but hardly is that all we face."     No doubt Urianger uses a moment of silence to nod at Kyra, obviously anticipating this now.     Alphinaud, briefly, takes a polite bow, as Minfilia introduces him too. "And that is Alphinaud; grandson of our former leader."     "As as just been explained, we suspect three Primals are currently being summoned, or have been summoned. Fortunately, as ser N'raha explains, you won't be needing to fight all three at once. For all the Primals plague us, we are blessed they cannot seem coexist peacefully. Nonetheless, tales of your victory over Ramuh will have travelled, and they will no doubt be agitated and unhappy."     She looks down at the map, explaining.     "The Amalj'aa worshipping Ifrit have been kidnapping townsfolks in the Thanalans. The Immortal Flames don't know how the beastmen are managing to get past the various guards and patrols stationed around the area. As much as the beastmen must be stopped, the means they are using to capture innocents must be uncovered first."     "The Kobold and Sahagin situations are linked. It would seem that something has greatly upset the Kobolds and caused them to move on Sahagin territory. In rebutal the Sahagins are braving the frontlines of the Maelstrom to expand their breeding grounds. In both cases, theft of crystals have been reported, hinting both tribes are attempting to summon their respective lord."     "And finally, Alphinaud, if you would?"     The teenager steps forward, nodding. "Some of you, like mister Murasame, may have heard of the Garlond Ironworks. Garlean defectors who assist our resistance. Years ago, their leader, Cid, went missing. I've managed to find him again; he goes by the name of Marques now, and remembers naught. We must convince him to assist us. If we could have his talents, and his airship, it would expand our capabilities greatly. He currently lives in a small church near Camp Drybone, conveniently, near Amalj'aa activity sites. You may be able to handle those two matters together." 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     "Cid?" Cirra looks at Landon for a moment, then to Alphinaud. "Do the Garleans know of this Cid's survival? IF they do, they could be sending agents to perminantly neutralize him."     "If we're to have the best chance of success in attaining his help - and preventing his demise we should move on that matter immediatly." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "Indeed, I am quite familiar with the organization." He pauses. "I have assets in place in the Ul'dah area, so I will focus my own efforts upon investigating the loation of Cid and the encroaching Amal'jaa issue. Recovering the head of Garlond Ironworks would be a significant benefit to our overall efforts." 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Cid. Of course. Landon's face is an impassive mask. It is not the same Cid, for this is a world away, but again, the echoes cannot help but provoke something in Landon's heart. Cid.      "I would also like to assist in that," Landon surges in immediately, because anyone who didn't notice his last name PRESUMABLY noticed Cirra's glance at him when the name came up, "I will not allow harm to come to him." 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "I am interested in seeing Ifrit..." Xiao tapped her cheek with a finger thoughtfully. "Handling this Cid matter, along with Amal'jaa would be the most efficient first step to take. Two cockatrice, one stone, as they say." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "My concerns exactly," Alphinaud answers Cirra with a nod. "A few Garleans have been caught sneaking about, but we weren't able to extract their goal out of them. It's not known if they know whether or not he lives, but the Ironworks is known to them, and they have much to gain in its destruction, as it gives us access to the same technology they have-- and more importantly, an inside look on how to defeat it."     Minfilia steps in, showing concern. "As you can see, we face difficult choices. Whatever matter we prioritize will take time to resolve, and allow the remaining ones to become worse. If indeed the Primals are being called, each delay will strengthen them, as their worshippers collect more crystals. If you choose to address Ifrit and Cid first, steel yourselves well, for it gives Kobold and Sahagin both additional time to prepare." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "Cid lives?" Bertram sounds pleasantly surprised to hear this good news about his fellow garlean defector. It's the first time so far he's sounded genuinely upbeat, "In that case I agree we ought to handle the matter of Ifrit and the Amal'jaa first. Cid Garlond's expertise could be a great boon to us all." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko listens in silence, taking in each topic in turn. The final matter, the one that interested her the most at first, ends up being the least urgent overall; or at least the least urgent in terms of cost to human life. It's also probably the task to which she's least suited, though if the others ask her help she'd likely join them without hesitating. More concerning, however, are the three beast tribes. As expected, the Kobolds seem to be the least urgent.     But the most concerning, to the demigod's ear, is Ifrit and his Amalj'aa followers. "...worrying," the swordswoman muses. "If the Amalj'aa simply had secret methods of infiltrating and bypassing patrols, they would work once or twice and then tighter guard would render them less of an issue. If it's continuing, that suggests two things. Either the guard has not been strengthened, or someone inside is passing information. Foolishness, or treachery. I'd have to survey the patrol movements and organization myself, perhaps speak to a commanding officer, to know which. I believe I'll lend my blade to that situation."     Besides. It will let her keep an eye on Xiao.     To Minfilia, she has a reply as well. "Be that as it may, Ifrit's followers are of the most concern to me right now. If by taking injury later, I can save innocent lives now, I'm content with that price." 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "I agree that Ifrit should be handled first!" Kyra speaks up suddenly, having been quiet for a while to process all of this new information concerning the Primals and their restless followers. "Kidnapping is deplorable and it should be stopped as soon as possible!" 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Fortunately, Scarlet knows nothing important about any Cid or what relevance the name could have here. The details of the situation are far more important to her than parallels between worlds. Of course, she has to take the opportunity to greet Minfilia and Alphinaud now that she knows their names, and especially their respective ranks within this particular heirarchy, but good impressions will follow good results either way, so planning comes first.     "Mmm, I see." is her oh-so-helpful first response. After all, she has to at least pretend she's still thinking. "I'd think the order of operations here seems quite obvious. As long as the Kobolds and Sahagin continue to fight each other for the use of shared resources needed to summon their respective Primals, they will serve as check and balance against one another, alerting us to the likelihood of a Primal summoning by any major shifts in the conflict favouring one or the other. Meanwhile, the Amal'jaa operating independently means that they could be ready to summon at any time without our express notice."     "Furthermore, I'm not exactly inclined to ignore something involving innocent people in favour of protecting a commodity first. Their involvement in civilian populations immediately makes them my personal priority at least. The fact that this Cid is on our way only cements it. We're already close enough to the desert. With, specifically, a native airship, the rest should become much easier. I think Alphinaud has the right idea. We can work on his memories later. I at least have some methods that might help with that." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha grumbles a bit as they talk about Cid and the Amalj'aa. Lots of words floating around about the innocents as well. But he's a pirate cat now, and that's gotta be addressed. "Have the Kobolds and the Sahagin been getting rowdier than usual? If Leviathan gets riled up we could see the coastlines get battered by awful weather again. Maybe even another tsunami. That's... that's not nothing." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Alphinaud momentarily stutters. "Of course, I meant not imply the lives of innocents are less valuable than Cid. Merely that if so many of you are here to help, splitting up to handle both issues may save us much time and many headaches."     It's Papalymo who answers N'raha. "A disastrous quake from Titan, a tsunami from Leviathan. In either case, it isn't out of the question that Limsa Lominsa could fall. Would be best that we have to deal with neither, than try to judge which is more dangerous."     To everyone, Minfilia finally gives a nod. "Very well. The Thanalan matters it is. I will send word to the Immortal Flames, they may be able to lend some assistance."     She glances up from her map, especially towards Alwyn, Bertram and N'raha. "There is one more matter we must needs discuss. Yda and Papalymo have mentioned to me you have all been put in communication with Hydaelyn herself. The Echo, as it is called, is a rare blessing. Hydaelyn speaks through you now, and protects you as she does me. You must listen for her words, whenever you find yourselves astray in the darkness. Warriors of Light through the eras have used the Echo to combat evil. We had thought the last of them killed during the Calamity... but perhaps we should have looked for new ones, rather than the old."     Urianger is the one to pick this up and bring it to a more practical line of thought. "In theory, the Echo should shield you from the Primals, would they attempt to Temper you. I would not put this to the test unless you have no choice. Perchance, what did she say to you all? I've long wished word with her, as the Antecedent has, but lacking the Echo I was not afforded that chance." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     To Minfilia, Setsuko replies, "I don't believe that I have the Echo, in truth. I'm not of this world. Most of us aren't, in fact. But I have something similar enough as to serve the same purpose, I believe. I can explain more after this meeting comes to an end, if you'd like." She rests her left hand on Zanjintou's sheath. "Regardless, even though we focus first on Ifrit, it remains a possibility that one of the other two could become a more immediate crisis. If all else fails, I sleep quite literally once per week, and I'm almost constantly out on patrol as part of my Union duties. Others could come quickly as well. So don't hesitate to contact us." She glances over her shoulder at Bertram, N'raha and Alwyn. "We should probably give her access to our linkshell. Just in case." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     "That's a complicated question." Scarlet says to Urianger. "She's supportive of our cause at least. I'm not really sure about being called a hero, but it's clear that the summoning of each Primal is as much a threat to her being as it is to your civilization. She seems... like she wish she could do more, I suppose, but like she isn't what she used to be. She's promised guidance, but not the ability to do much more than that. I'd consider her sympathetic, and a source of valuable help, but not a trump card." She pauses for an additional moment. "It was a little sad, actually..."     Of course she sees absolutely no issue with Setsuko's suggestions. "That sounds perfect. The more lines of communication we have here, the better." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha seems to take that all in, and then perks up a bit. "Oh, hey, yeah, her being on the 'shell would be great! I mean, that would make getting to us a whole lot easier."     That tail of his swishes a bit, before he looks to Urianger with a little bit of a grin. "Oh, she's said plenty. A lot of it is to remind us to See... Feel. Think. But she spoke to plenty of us when we got the Crystal from the sylphs. She's seen bits of the outside too, or at least, uh, whatI could see. She seems... interested... in us bringing back the light."     A look to Scarlet. "And it's not sad. It's just... how things are. She's got us to handle things for her." 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "I agree that splitting up to tackle the smaller issues is a good idea. We have enough people to do that. But when we need to confront another Primal I think we need as many people as possible to help with that." Kyra agrees with Alphinaud.     N'raha seems to disagree, pointing out the problems of a raging Leviathan, which Kyra has to agree with given what she knows of things named 'Leviathan.' "I don't like holding off on any of them for very long either, N'raha." she murmurs but stops there.     Kyra stiffens a little at the words 'warriors of light' before she realizes exactly what that was referring to and relaxes. It isn't after Minfilia and Urianger have spoken does she adds, "Yeah, we from Galianda would be happy to help too. And, hey, why not open the linkshell?" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Alwyn nods, producing a LINKPEARL. He hands it to Minfilia, who seems delighted at the fact. She goes on to precise:     "I'm unsure if the Echo could manifest in people from other worlds; it'd be a first, if it did, but I keep my mind open." Implication being she mostly meant the three actual Warriors of Light present-- extracurricular group aside.     Urianger nods, obviously making mental note of it all. Minfilia explains: "Yes... Hydaelyn, her strength wanes. She spoke to me of coming darkness, and of heroes who would bear lights powerful enough to ward it. I have no doubt now you are those heroes. The light of the Crystal will guide you ever forward, but it is your own lights that will pave the way. As she will help us, we must help her back."     And that, likely, will be the end of that meeting. Preparations will be made to investigate the matters of the Amalj'aa and Cid. THANCRED will be your go-to for these missions, being most familiar with the Thanalan regions. He will contact you as soon as everything is in place. 

}}

The Six Crystals of Light

2015-08-31T00:13:21Z

Lightmage:

{{TPPage
|Summary=The Scions of the Seventh Dawn have found within Alwyn Highwind, Bertram Silent and N'raha Tia the new Warriors of Light, people gifted with the Echo and the Gift, capable of facing the impossible odds that Eorzeans normally cannot. But first, they must gather six crystals to amplify their bond with Hydaelyn-- crystals that are guarded by foes sure to give them a challenge. And in the meantime, the XIVth Legion of the Garlean Empire is readying to wake from its slumber and inactivity, a powerful weapon of Allagan descent now in their hands and almost functional. Thus starts the rise of the Warriors of Light's legends; will you earn a name for yourself as well?
|Scale=Major
|Plot_id=?
|Runner=815
|Contacts=[[Bertram Silent]], [[N'raha Tia]]
|Theme=Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1
|Audience=Everyone
|Genre=Fantasy/Magic RPG
|Events====The Crystal of Lightning===
What started as a simple request to investigate Tempered Sylphs quickly escalated, when it was discovered that [[Setsuko Kaminagi]] caused the Ramuh-worshipping Sylphs of the Black Shroud to begin summoning their Primal lord. The Seedseers of Gridania have tasked numerous adventurers, with Setsuko and [[Scarlet Everille]] at their head, to seek the aid of the non-Tempered Sylphs of Little Solace. There, they found their elder missing, captured by Garleans, but recovered him. The elder, Frixio, said he would entrust adventurers with a token, a crystal, that may help sway Ramuh before he takes his anger out on the forest, if they could cleanse the Tam-Tara Deepcroft of its Void-fueled activities. A large group of adventurers then went into the Deepcroft and rid it of its cultist and Voidsent presence.

After obtaining the crystal from the Sylphs, Hydaelyn addressed those gathered to warn them of the coming perils and the need to find all six crystals. Ramuh surged forth days later; threatened by infighting, the heroes nonetheless triumphed over the Primal, who deemed them worthy of upholding peace through their might. The Tempered Sylphs enter tentative peace with Gridania.

The Scions, now, would like a word.
===The Crystal of Fire===
===The Crystal of Earth===
===The Crystal of Water===
===The Crystal of Ice===
===The Crystal of Wind===
|Info=
|State=Current
}}

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-08-31T00:11:27Z

Lightmage: /* Things That Have Been Run */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5</div></div>

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.</div></div>

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.</div></div>

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. '''This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva".''' All Garleans, period, have such a name, because they go as far as having a title for regular citizens and even conscripted non-Garleans, who otherwise lack basic human rights but still get a title. Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Latin/Roman ranks!):
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol outranks sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, from highest to lowest rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''</div></div>

===Primals & Info===
Primals are legends, beliefs, faiths, and sometimes actual figures that existed, incarnated through the power of prayer, and Aether. To summon a Primal is to wound Hydaelyn, as each Primal takes from her a large amount of Aether to manifest itself, and does not give it back upon its defeat. A Primal's power is proportional to the belief and faith put into it and to the amount of Aether it is given, typically through gathering crystals charged with it-- thus, it cannot be said there is such a thing as a Primal above all others, or a Primal more powerful than others-- a Primal's strength fluctuates, and even the lowly Ifrit could overpower Bahamut or Odin given absurd amounts of worship and Aether. This section will be updated with information on each Primal as it is uncovered in-character. Lastly, while the term "Tempered" is used for all Primals, each Primal actually has their own word they use for their mind-broken minions. 

<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:purple;">RAMUH<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Ramuh is the Primal of the Sylphs, the guardian of the Twelveswood and the Lord of Levin. He uses lightning primarily, and his signature move is Judgment Bolt. Summoned only once in recent history, the Sylphs who did so were accidently Tempered ('Touched') as a result. Ramuh inflicted a crippling loss to the Garleans attempting to invade the Black Shroud before disappearing again. Wise, ancient, and protective of his land, his followers share that extreme protectiveness of their own territory.</div></div> 

<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:blue; color:white;">LEVIATHAN<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; color:black;">Leviathan is the Primal of the Sahagin, aggressive, piracy-prone fishmen. The massive sea serpent's signature move is Tsunami, and he uses water attacks mainly. Many pirates have come to worship him without being Tempered ('Drowned') by the Primal, like the Serpent Reavers.</div></div> 

<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:orange;">BAHAMUT<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Bahamut is a Primal with only little following; summoned several eras ago and imprisoned within the red moon Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower, the Primal bid his time in torture and agony, until through cracks he managed to Temper Nael van Darnus and his legion of Garleans. Breaking free, he caused the Calamity before disappearing mysteriously. It is worth nothing that in FFXIV, Bahamut does not retain his kingship or lordship over dragons-- indeed, he has no authority whatsoever, besides on those he Tempers. Where he is or why he disappeared is still a mystery. Bahamut's signature move varies, as he can use Megaflare, Gigaflare and Teraflare for increasingly worrying levels of damage.</div></div>

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea. '''Following Therion's defeat, the orb holding Diabolos is held in Gridania by the Conjurers' Guild.'''
* The adventurers have captured Captain Madison's pirate ship!
* The Syndicate of Ul'dah now employs [[Souji Murasame]]'s magitechnology.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Leve Plate
| A plate made of glass and steel, which identifies the bearer as being on a Leve, Duty or other.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
* The Murasame Zaibatsu has been recognized as an independant Free Company for political purposes.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

'''CURRENTLY ONGOING TP: [[The Six Crystals of Light]].'''

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]
* [[2716/Leve:_Sylph-Management|Leve: Sylph-Management]]
* [[2873/The_First_Crystal|The First Crystal]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]
* [[2805/FATE:_Rotten_to_the_Core|FATE: Rotten to the Core]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Ul'dah===

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* [[2679/Duty:_Sastasha_Seagrot|Sastasha Seagrot]]
* [[2740/Duty:_Halatali|Halatali]]
* [[2761/Duty:_The_Tam-Tara_Deepcroft|The Tam-Tara Deepcroft]]

===Primals/Trials===
* [[2918/Trial:_The_Striking_Tree|The Striking Tree (Ramuh)]]

2918/Trial: The Striking Tree

2015-08-31T00:10:32Z

Lightmage:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/29
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Ramuh, Lord of Levin, casts his judgment upon Eorzea's heroes.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 367, 626, 627, 642, 666, 756, 815, 819, 823, 826, 829, 834
|Tinyplot=The Six Crystals of Light
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     It's an emergency! Or so the Scions and the Seedseers claim, when they send the call to the Adventurers' Guild, that they may get ahold of... well, muscle. Aetheric readings through the Black Shroud have gone a bit crazy, and it's all lightning-aspected, hinting the time has finally come to stop talking about Ramuh and start dealing with him.     The EAST SHROUD is the same as ever, but the sky is a dark grey, despite it being mid-day. Flashes of blue and purple occasionally illuminate it, and what few bolts of lightning can be seen through the clouds, seem to be striking a single location in the North of the Sylphlands. Tempered Sylphs will bar your way through, though, and so the Scions are unhappy to say they'll need to secure the area for you. That's unhappy because frankly it won't look good to Ramuh. They'll get it done nonlethally though. Just head north from the Hut, follow the Scions.     Waiting for you at the WARP GATE (and AETHERYTE CRYSTAL) of the Hawthorne Hut is ELDER SEEDSEER KAN-E-SENNA, the blonde teenager patient in her white robes, carrying a large white staff. She'd said she didn't want to interfere-- just watch, unless she became needed. With her already is ALWYN (and anyone else who wants to have gotten here early).     The travel North is not a long one; you'll pass through trees and shortcuts, finding occasionally Tempered Sylphs (small purple plant people!) that have been tied up, but not killed. And eventually, the noises of battle become louder, and more obvious.     There is a tree, a massive tree, with what looks like it could be an almost as high stone platform, or maybe it's another tree that got cut into a make-shift tower, a ramp spiraling up its side. At its base is a very large blue crystal, and a lot of symbols, the most prominent of which is a lightning bolt in a purple circle.     SCIONS are holding the area. YDA (human, wears white hat and black metal visor over her eyes, female, seems to be a monk), Y'SHTOLA (catgirl, obvious healer) and PAPALYMO (lalafell, tiny person, black robes, shooting fireballs around) are holding the frontline with assorted uniformed volunteers (namely, one could recognize LIAVINNE in the mix, using blunt arrows to help push Sylphs back). Near the crystal are URIANGER (tall elezen (elf) judging from the ears making points in his hood, robed from head to toe, YES HE LEFT THE WAKING SANDS FOR THIS) and THANCRED (human, short white hair, looks like the ladykiller type with his cool black shirt).     The situation could be better, but right now it's as clear as it'll get. The Seedseer will point towards the crystal, Urianger and Thancred, saying that's obviously where they want to be, if nobody else has. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' BERTRAM (hyur, tall, looks like a lumberjack, wears white robes) has gone ahead towards the Sylphlands and joins the group once they catch up. He's been assisting the Scions until that point, but when the group arrives he points towards the Crystal. "I'm fairly confident that's where the Lord of Levin is located. We must needs head there at once. Pray make haste." He sounds extremely serious and somewhat on edge. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     SO HE'S NOT A CUTE CATGIRL OKAY DON'T ALL DROOL OVER Y'SHTOLA okay maybe a little drooling.     N'raha is here, clad in what's now coming to be well worn and salty plundered platemail, his inferno axe up and blocking, as he does his best to stand between the Scions and the Sylphs. He is likewise On Edge, his tail all the way fluffed out, his expression serious and shrouded under that helmet. He starts backing up though as the others arrive.     Apparently he's a Light Warrior, so he's got Duties to perform. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Na`Sabal-Une has been... honestly around a fair amount lately. She had a vested interest in the land of Hydaelyn now, due to the fact that its nature was so deeply wounded. So she'd been visiting off and on. Instead of having to come from off-world, she was actually at the adventurer's guild to hear the call for aid!      So it wasn't long before Nasa was off on her way to the Hawthorne Hut, making use of the warp gate to get to it -- she still wasn't entirely certain about attuning to the Aetheryte Crystals just yet. If they'd even work for her, and all that! The whole 'being from a different world' thing. She met up with Kan-E-Senna and offers a polite bow of her head towards her.      As they travel north, she looks towards the Tempered Sylphs quietly, noting that they've been tied up. ...Which was probably for the best. They were fae. Even if they seemed unseelie. And... soon, they were at the giant tree and high stone platform! Scions and Sylphs fighting on a frontline that looked almost like war. She moves quickly over towards Orianger and Thancred when they're directed towards the crystal and those two. "What is plan to being?" She asks, fluttering her wings. It's a good thing she is distinctly not a plant person, or she might be easy to mistake for a Tempered Sylph. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     It has been stated that the Primals have the ability to Temper - essentially brainwash, to Valentha's understanding - 'lesser creatures.' So it is that Valentha responds to the call for help with all due haste and her Mind Block at full strength. Not even surface thoughts leak from her. Nothing's getting in and nothing's coming out.     Would that she could only extend this protection to others. The journey to the great tree is filled with enough examples of just why, much to her horror each time she sees one of the tied up Sylphs.     "There better be a good reason for all this mayhem. I've got a piece of my mind to give this so-called Primal, and he's gonna choke on it." Valentha exclaims upon reaching the tree.     She does grin at some of the figures around though. There's no shortage of good-looking people in these parts, even by her not-really-human standards. Ah well.     "Who's SUMMONING him anyways I've not seen any signs of a serious ritual..."     If she can figure out what ritual is involved in summoning a Primal, that might lead to an advantage down the line. She is intensely interested in figuring out how it's done. Even if it's only in abstract. She's well aware of how dangerous summoning magic is.     It's why she's never learned it. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     It's a day they've long expected, but still a somewhat ominous one to have to actually face. It is for that very reason that Setsuko has come; she would not leave this situation to anyone else, for a variety of reasons including her own responsibility in the matter. As soon as she arrives in the Hawthorne Hut, the demigod is greeted by enough important and familiar faces to know that it's happening. She gives Kan-E-Senna, Yda and Papalymo a polite bow of the head, and regards Thancred, Y'shtola and Urianger with more than a little curiosity, being new faces.     Liavinne gets a very cold, lingering stare.     "I do not mean to alarm those present," Setsuko says as they approach the crystal, "But battle is inevitable. I can sense it from here. I still intend to speak with Lord Ramuh and see what can come of it, but have your weapons with you and ready." It is a grim truth of her existence that sometimes, she has to be the one to tell people that a fight can't be avoided. And yet, she muses as she raises a hand to the purple aetheryte crystal, she'll try anyway. Foolish, probably. But necessary nonetheless. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     The East Shroud has become welcomly familiar to Kyra over the past few months. The rainy weather in stark contrast of the endless, massive forest would never stop being a novelty to the Galiandan. Though right now she can easily sense the imbalance in the forest and the raging lightning-aspected aether currently saturating the region. She follows the Scions, determined and resolute. She'll even provide them some support as they nonlethally disable tempered Sylphs.     Though the whole time she does, she errs on the safe side and uses nothing but her potions and mixtures to heal and buff.     She takes a picture or two of the Sylphs and sends them to Biteblade, curious as to what her plant person friend would say about non-Floran plant people.     Kyra seems not all that reluctant to approach the crystal, doing so as she wears her forehead-mounted camera. The camera, of course, is on and streaming the feed directly to the Light Warriors (the school club version) MogTube channel. "Do you think Ramuh will reason with us? Everything I've heard about Primals describes them as pretty hostile." Kyra directs her question at Setsuko. 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     MARISA KIRISAME has come when summoned and promised the opportunity to fight another of Eorzea's ridiculous god-monster-things. After all, those sorts of things have been empirically proven to guard some really awesome loot, and she is nothing if not a fan of loot.     Her traversal of the trail to their destination is arguably easier than most anyone else in the group. It's hard to beat being able to just fly around to wherever you need to go, after all. She sails over the brambles and through the woods with all the agility of an expert broom-flier, sailing around and between obstacles with a whistling song on her lips and a fistful of laser in her... fists.     She's not alone, either! There's a heavy tome strapped to her hip, and ~mysteriously~, a girl even younger than Marisa herself seems to materialize on her broom from time to time. Who is this mysterious waif!?     "Eh, if he talks, he talks. If he doesn't, we kick his ass, THEN we talk," Marisa chimes, her lips pulling up into a great, toothy grin. "It'll be fine, it'll be fine! Just don't worry and get ready for a brawl, and everything'll be just dandy." The girl on her broom says nothing, but her eyes betray a mild but prolonged sense of disbelief about this whole situation. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     It's an emergency! That sounds pretty important.     Thusly, Shin is here. Albeit, he's Shin, so while he's taking the summons pretty seriously, he's also kinda hyperactive and a bit overeager. He'll pretty eagerly dash his way towards the area where people are gathering up to deal with the tree.     He's notably not saying much, despite the pretty eager posture and attitude he has. It's not for any reason greater than simply lacking anything really dramatic to input. He rocks on his feet a bit as people start gathering, rolling and popping his shoulders and back, occasionally stretching an arm or a leg out or up to warm up for the fight.     Eventually, though, he does speak, "Fight or not, it needs to get handled. Can't just have people getting all uppity and summoning ancient power and shit all willy-nilly. Pretty much everything I've ever read marks it as a bad idea." 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     There's not much to say about this situation. In terms of an 'Emergency', they had been preparing for this sort of thing. Setting up scenarios and conditions of victory. If things came to a head, well, that's what they had been starting up fo-ooooookay that's a big tree.     Mirielle is dressed not in her school clothes but instead a dark robe that stops short of the ground, revealing heavy shoes for tromping around in a forest. Also because robes that drag on the ground are stupid as hell in a forest. An undrawn hood and a long, straight staff with a crescent upon the top completes her outfit, classic 'magic caster' gear, if samey and drab.     She arrives a little late, gasping and panting at the foot of the rest of the party, pressing her staff deeply into the soft forest earth and gasping for air. "Why did I... run here? Well, I mean, providing the profile of a rider is bad, but... still!" She complains. "I came as fast as I could, but..."     Mirielle looks about ready to fall the fsk over.     "I'll be fine in a moment..." 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      And then comes Xiao, plodding behind Mirielle without much urgency to her pace whatsoever. She's wearing a white labcoat and a blue cheongsam under it with her hair done up in a lazy updo rather than her usual buns. Her arms are folded into her sleeves casually. "Oh. Well it looks like everyone is here." No Xiao, you're late.      A pause. A looks around.      "And I do mean everyone." She cracked an amused smile at that.      The scientist's eyes settled onto the tree, observing it's overall design. "...Elaborate." To say the least.      She briefly considered how she was going to gather data on Ramuh without the proper tech though... A lightning bolt would fry her computer, tablet, and phone, if she dared to bring any of them out...      "Pen and paper it is~" And without further ado, a notepad and a pen were produced from her sleeves, all smiles and waiting for things to move along.      No urgency at all. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Ramuh.      The mere name evokes a myriad of thoughts from Landon al Cid, *Prince* of Ramuh. It calls to mind ancestral memories of an ancient war, the sound of thunder in the pounding rain, the flash of lightning in the ionized air, and the tingle of electricity that runs through his body. It brings forth images of sweeping towers under the furious storm, of humekind's dominion over - and cooperation with - the elements, and of the wisdom to know when to act rather than how. And, evidently, to the people of this world, it evokes the fear of might, the thunderous power of a dark force, and an enemy to be struck down.      Landon isn't quite sure how he feels about that. On the one hand, this is not his world, not his Ramuh, unless the continent has learned or decided to change its attitude at some point over eight thousand years, not to mention figured out how to switch from 'living' to 'dead'. And also learned how to transverse worlds with a city on its back. And...      It's safer just to assume that some things echo across dimensions, Landon decides.      The Prince of Ramuh has come dressed in his full regalia - the silvery Judge Armor, the long purple cape, and the massive, crystalline Judge Blade. He is well aware that metal conducts electricity, but when you've lived most of your life wearing full plate mail, you tend not to care about little details like that. Disrupting his own flow would be more dangerous than wearing rubber, and he highly doubted that something as simple as basic logic would stop a god-being from shocking him anyway.      The Prince pays little attention to the battle formation. He's been seeing war formations for the last two months, as nonstop battles with the Shivans keep both sides on the edge. Another one is basically second nature to him now. His eyes are also slightly more distant than people might remember, a little bit less eager and a little bit more...experienced. Aware. Still, he is the Prince, and outside that small change, nothing gives him away. His smile is still broad, and his stance is confident, and his walk is the walk of one born to rule and well-educated in the task, fully capable of combat both on and off the battlefield. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' The winds of the Shroud wail, the storm rising in propitiation to the ancient Lord of Levin. He finds it... Appropriate. There is no delay at the Warpgate. Souji Murasame approaches with purpose and speed, providing the most cursory of pleasantries, his mind already focused razor-sharp on the oncoming conflict. He concurs with Kaminiagi. Battle is inevitable. But not just battle... Judgement. That was always Ramuh's purview, and he doubts it has changed here. He arrives at the summoning-place, and looks over the Scions holding the area, nodding to them as well. There is nothing more for him to say that hasn't already been said. He saves his breath, and prepares for the inevitable. Until Landon arrives. He looks to one side, his gaze flicking to the al Cid scion. "Prince Landon." Souji greets, tersely. "This will be interesting." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Liavinne gives a friendly wave and smile to Setsuko! Heeeey bestie, she's not nearly drunk enough for the hostilities right now! And on the way, the Seedseer would comment how lively you people are. Not that it's bad.     Gathering up before the large blue crystal, the fact it's overcharged with magic becomes obvious. The quantity of Aether present here could indeed fuel something very powerful, like a summoning. Or it already has, and it's slowly being drained.     Urianger and Thancred turn to face the arrivals, the latter grinning. "Well! The Elder Seedseer herself, and that's quite a lot of adventurers. But, say, Bertram, you didn't say you were travelling with young ladies," he says, scooting towards XIAO. "Pray introduce us! My name is Thancred, pleasure to meet you." He reaches for her hand, knees, does the entire polite greeting dance.     Urianger rolls his eyes, but since he's wearing goggles you can't see that. The Elezen step forward, motioning towards the crystal. "I fear the Lord of Levin is already here. These readings are too powerful to be anything but. This way, qui--"     A thump, like a heart beat.     A ripple through the Aether, and an overwhelming force approaches.     A pillar of blinding blue-white light crashes before the crystal, causing Urianger to back away and fall in line with the gathered group. A stern, male voice echoes from within the massive lightning bolt.     "Thine aura betrays thee, servants of Hydaelyn."     The light clears away, revealing RAMUH. He's about twenty, maybe twenty-five foot tall. An old man, with glowing red eyes, and a massive beard longer than his robes, practically as large as he is. Within one hand he grasps a long red staff, and his black robes are lined with dark bronze, forming into armor around the shoulders and collar. He floats off the ground, glancing sternly at all gathered.     Bertram, Alwyn and N'raha might even feel his comment was aimed at them, specifically. He turns to gaze at Setsuko. "Thou bringeth war to this forest." Then he turns to Xiao, Souji, Landon and Kyra. "And amongst thee I sense a connection to mine own existence."     He pauses, examining the group.     "I am Ramuh, guardian of the children of the forest. Under the persecution of men have my children cried out to me. Ever have they only wanted to live in peace, alone, and ever has man sought to trespass. Now I find thee, invading the heart of their homes." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     In a heartbeat, Setsuko's arm comes up to shield her eyes. And in the instant she lowers it, she is greeted with the sight of a towering, robed humanoid whose very existence crackles with power, with lightning. It is such that even she can sense it.     And in response to his condemnation, to the hostility of his greeting to her in specific and all of them in general, Setsuko Kaminagi lowers herself into a deep, respectful bow.     "Forgive us our tresspass, Lord Ramuh of the Sylphs. We sought only to speak with you in person. Our attempts to parley with your children have been rebuffed time and again, and we had no other recourse if we wished to avert bloodshed on both sides. Please, hear us out. We seek only peace, and your summoning to this forest is rooted in a misunderstanding. One which I am at the heart of." 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Dude! Look at that guy's fucking beard! He must know MAD Kung fu!"     Shin declares as he points at Ramuh's beard with a single finger, "Or some magic bullshit, which would be much more boring than knowing wicked kung fu." Shin looks at Ramuh and shouts, "HEY! Is your beard indicative of Kung Fu or Magic? Probably magic, because, you know, the robes and magic staff, but I can kinda hope it's wicked Kung fu!"     Shin shrugs a bit and then rubs the back of his head. He debates on what to say to Ramuh, really, and seems uncertain of if he should answer or let the others. There's a couple people he recognizes, like the Nerd Mage and the Loud Mage, plus the regular crew that attends these. He scratches his head a few more moments.     He decides against it and reins in his usual impulsiveness to the people that wanna take point can. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     There is a lot going on right now but let's just chalk it all down to N'raha being slightly overwhelemed by the turn out, doing his best totry and keep ahead of allllllll of it...     And promptly loosing all of that delicately gathered poise as Ramuh is summoned. He staggers, lurches at the sensation. His being is tied to this creature, this primal, and the sensation is smothering. Alwyn and Bertram may have done this sort of thing in the past, facing down primals, but this is... this is something far past anything the catman would have been dreaming of right now.     That said, he's being addressed, and he swallows, straightens up, and in full view of aparently all of Kyra's Facespace Moogledrome followers, calls out. "We may be servants, but as... S-setsuko says, we have tried to reason with your Sylphs and they simply... There has been a lot of war here, and we'e trying to put this all right again, sir." 'Sir' what the crap N'raha did that come out of your mouth?" 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Liavinne, Thancred... Uranger. Each is carefully taken note of. Nasa's eyes briefly flit over Thancred as he addresses Xiao and reaches for her hand. She shakes her head slightly as she focuses on Uranger, fluttering forward. "...Does see..." Thumb. Thumb-thumb. Magic? Nasa's eyes trail around, looking up towards the source. And then... there was that pillar of blinding blue-white. Nasa /screeches/.      And she backs up, quickly covering her eyes with both hands. The spits out a string of words in the Drow tongue, the gist of it being something along the lines of 'Ow fuck my eyes why is there always a bright light goddess I should have expected this from a lightning god and brought protection'. ... She calms herself relatively quickly as the pain and blindness begins to fade, squinting as she looks up towards Ramuh. She takes a small breath as she looks up towards Ramuh.      And then she speaks clearly and crisply, "I am Na`Sabal-Une Of The Fang. I am the guardian of the Forest of another land. We do not come with wishes of battle, we come to hopefully soothe the potential battle and war brewing by seeking the heart of the danger." She murmurs, taking a deep breath as she lowers her fingers, twitching and flicking them a bit. And then... darkness falls over her eyes, a black mist to help protect herself from further blinding.      She flutters back a bit as Setsuko begins to talk, as she knew more of the situation than Nasa. Hopefully them having a Guardian of the Forest here, even if not /his/ forest... might help calm things? Slightly? Maybe? Right now, she wasn't planning on or initiating any spells beyond that shade of darkness over her own face. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram steps forward, instinctively reaching for the Crystal of Light that he has been given by the Sylphs, holding it in front of him and humbly making a simple statement. "Pray forgive us for our invasion, Lord of Levin. I am Bertram Silent. We know you seek only the protection of the Sylphs, but we seek audience to see if conflict can be avoided." His robe shifts slightly, revealing a tattoo of Rhalgr the Destroyer's symbol. Inconvenient timing. He doesn't notice. "If your children had let us pass peacefully, we would not have done anything to harm then. Even now, we did everything we could to prevent any permanent harm." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji is about to snap something irritable to one side, given the ongoing discussion, when he is interrupted by the arrival of the Lord of Levin. His jaw clenches, and he braces himself, the thundercrash almost knocking him away from its intensity. However, he holds, and Souji straightens, looking up at the Lord of Levin, his body straight as a steel pole. He cannot bend here, he cannot allow himself to show weakness. "Some of us hail from another universe, where our legends speak that another version of yourself had fashioned our land and created our people. I am Souji Murasame, and I bid greetings to you, Ramuh." He executes a bow. "We have come here not to wage war upon your people, but to entreat with you. The nature of coexistence is one of difficulty and compromise, something that ocasionally results in grave issues arising. The Sylphs have called you despite efforts to resolve these issues, and as such we must speak with you in order to determine the eventual fate of all who reside here." 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Landon is unsurprised by this. In fact, he's frighteningly unsurprised by this, at least visibly. Perhaps it's just royal instinct and training kicking in. Maybe underneath that calm surface, Landon is shocked as hell. It's hard to tell.      "I am Landon al Cid of Galianda, Prince of the continent that is the body of Ramuh. In ages long past, in the world from which we come, another version of you gave birth to our people, in order to fight against the forces of an enemy that would purge all things for its own selfishness. That Ramuh gave his life for the world, and laid down to become a continent upon which his children might live."      "You are - or a version of you is - our ancient ancestor, mighty Ramuh, Lord of the Lightning, Primarch of the Thundering Winds, Judgement Of The Endless Storm, and no words can do justice to the honor that is meeting you."      Landon lowers his head and folds his hand over his heart. "Though we are not kin by blood, this tie apparently exists across dimensions. And though it be high arrogance to ask, Judgement Of The Endless Storm, I act on behalf of the innocent who will be caught up in a war between your children here and humekind, calling upon that thin and distant tie for mercy and wisdom. Even across the worlds, you are spoken of as one whose judgement, whose wisdom, whose knowledge is vast, carried frm distant sources by the wind and the water." 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     Gensokyo is a land of spirits, monsters, demons and gods. Humanity lives there in tense peace with the supernatural. To say that its residents are... more familiar with these forces is not inaccurate. Marisa Kirisame, among almost all humans from that place, has come face to face with the supernatural more than nearly any other. (It helps that, unlike certain shrine maidens, Marisa actually gets out and causes her own brand of trouble)     Still, she can count on one hand the number of times she's encountered anything quite like Ramuh. There was the time in Makai, and again on Youkai Mountain, and again with the Buddhist. But in every situation, no matter what, one thing is constant. There's always, ALWAYS a fight. And then tea. Why would this be any different? Well, he's talking first, at least. That's usually a good sign- but it doesn't mean that they're not going to be going into a proper tussle.     Marisa sails on up to meet the massive Lord of Levin, hovering roughly at face-height. "W-wow," Marisa blinks, a silly smile on her face, "That beard is AWESOME. I've never seen anyone with a beard that massive! Uh. Ahem!" She clears her throat, coughing into a balled fist.     "I'm Marisa Kirisame, a completely ordinary magician who is, coincidentally, the greatest laser witch to have ever lived! Good t' meet'cha!" Her grin sparkles even under the gathering storm clouds and the shadows of the trees, "I hear you're a pretty crazy wise spirit. Like, one of the wisest. You must know all kinds of awesome stuff! Maybe instead of doing a whole big deal of a fight, you and us can sit down and have some tea, or maybe some booze- I brought some, y'see." The girl on her broom perks up, and retrieves what looks like a big, ceramic jar from... somewhere. "And we can talk magic. Or martial arts. Or something."     "'Course, I'm not really sure what brought you here, myself," she sing-songs, kicking her legs lazily from the sides of her broom, "But if it's somethin' that we need to brawl over, then maybe after, we can do the talky thing, eh? I'm pretty easy, I just don't usually talk to such a huge, be-bearded god-thing. It's a new experience for me! So, you know, should be fun. Whaddya say?" Quiet girl peeks over the rim of her sealed jar with slightly wide eyes. "It's 'oni wine,'" she says, carefully. "Master says it's really good." 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle, as soon as she catches her breath, begin to cast spells. There's a cool green light around her, that flows into her staff as it changes to a pale blue light. Then, with a sigh, she releases the magic, a strange 'opposite' of the hair-standing-on-edge effect falling over herself. Then she begins to cast again, this time on N'raha. She repeats this, over and over, even as she lays out her tactical plan over the Linkpearl, before Urianger hurries them aside. She nearly is swallowed up by the effect of Ramuh's entrance, sqeezing off her cast and hurrying to the side as her own barometric sense goes from 'shit's heavy' to     You Are Already Dead! ... at least from a weather point.     Mirielle's knees buckle out then, as she looks up at Ramuh, and /feels/ the power of the primal.     But, even on her knees, she can continue spamming out BarThunder. Her weather-sense is screaming at her that it's like wearing a windbreaker against a blizzard, but any protection is better than none.     To Ramuh, she does not speak, instead averting her eyes to the ground. Nope. Nnnnope. Nopenopenope.     Cast her spell, switch her target. Cast her spell, switch her target. Hopefully people will but her time so she can finish manually casting BarThunder on the entire group. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra steps back from the crystal as she senses just how burdened with magic the thing is right now. It does provide a good moment to reconvene with Mirielle and set up the needed buffs beforehand so when the encounter turned into a confrontation (and Kyra was certain it would if Setsuko said so), they would be ready to take on the wrath of the Primal. This consists of setting up the appropriate buffs. With Bertram and Mirielle handling the protective spells, Kyra loads a number of healing potions into her dartgun and arranges a number of debuffing mixtures she has on hand, ready to deploy them against Ramuh when the time comes.     When Ramuh does arrive, Kyra stops fiddling with her gear and stares in awe. She could feel it, smell it, eminating from the Primal-a power that undeniably reminded her of home. Her fists ball up and raise to her mouth as she shivers, a tiny 'squee' escaping the white mage. This is followed by a gasp as he addresses the Ramuhans here today. "He /knows/!" she whispers.     Eventually she gets herself together and manages to speak to the Primal with dignity. "Kyra Hyral, I'm also of the land of Ramuh. And it's like they say, Lord Ramuh! We're aware that the Shroud is out of balance and regret that it has grown to the point where you've been called forth to Judge. Surely there's a concession to be made, one where we can work together to restore the damage wrought by the Garleans?" 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      As they gathered up by the blue crystal, Xiao leaned forward a tad to observe it's form, as well as ascertain it's current state of being overcharged with magic. "My, this is interesting. It looks as if it's already...heh?" Xiao's musings were interrupted by the appearance of...who was this guy? He was in the way of her SCIENTIFIC MUSINGS.      With her hand taken, the girl blinked once, and then twice, and looked around to make sure he wasn't actually talking to anyone else. "...Are you referring to me?" What nonsense is this? Go hit on Mirielle! ...Actually no. Kyra then! ...No that's worse. Maris-AHAHAHA no. LANDON!? ...Wait, the BL route is locked. SOUJI THEN. ...Wait same thing. Plus that was her boss. Kinda.      Crap.      Okay, how to deal with people 101: Smile and nod.      And that's just what Xiao did. "A pleasure to meet you, Thancred." She finally replied politely. "My name is Xiao Li Yu. But it's good that you came, I wanted to ask-" Whatever she was going to ask was cut off at that. She could 'feel' something approaching.      "So it begins." Xiao muttered as her attention was taken off of Thancred and towards the materializing Ramuh. She took her hand back at that, using it to shield her eyes a tad as he appeared. ...And wow he was tall. The scientist angled her gaze upwards to meet the gaze of the Primal.      And while the others talked, she proceeded to scribble notes in her pad with a smile, looking up now and then. "Oh yes, hello Lord Ramuh. It's a pleasure to meet you. ...Well a version of you. As the others have said, we come from another world where you, are the ancestors of a certain race of people, and...well, they've already said it."      She shrugged.      Ahhh, she had a bunch of questions, but it would have bee inappropriate to ask them right now. Better let the discussion of the current situation take priority.      Scribble scribble into her notepad again. A shame she couldn't use a recording device. Maybe if Kyra's didn't get fried, she'd get a copy from her. Maybe. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Valentha is sensitive to magic. But even if she wasn't, so much saturates this place that her whole body tingles! ... Some of that might be static electricity though. Either way she throws a hand up to shield her eyes when the summoning reaches its climax... and she finds herself facing an enormous beard.     A few moments later she actually spots the man BEHIND the beard.. and blinks.     "....SpeccccccTACULAR." The blonde woman gasps, genuinely awed by the being's presence.     "Greetings unto you, Lord Ramuh, and my deepest apologies for the trespass. Were the situation not so dire we would not be here." Gone is her hyper, 21st century geek demeanor. Like many others here she's adopted a grander, yet more respectful speaking style.     Her actual manner, not the disguise. "Unfortunately I have little right to speak of the conflict the others do, having not enough time to learn the full details, but I stand with them as an ally nonetheless, and wish to converse on other matters when the time arises."     A few moments later, she blurts out, unable to help it, "That is a MAGNIFICENT beard." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Peace? PEACE? Thine claims of peace are but fleeting words, the act of barricading one's home before the storm. As thou wouldst have peace of my children, where art thy reciprocity? Men march upon the Twelveswood from the North-East, hailing a banner of technology and conquest. Garleans, Gridanians, it matters not. The darkness in the heart of men is ever present." Ramuh answers Setsuko. Okay, so, he's wise, but he might be kind of a racist too apparently. Or at least, firmly in the camp of 'men are kind of awful people'.     The Primal turns his head towards Shin, curious. "I am Ramuh, the Lord of Levin. I command lightning and thunder, for I AM lightning and thunder. Thou seeketh a martial artist? Wisdom and discipline are the greater part of such crafts. Thou wouldst do well to temper thy conviction and energy, for thy wasteful nature but allows darkness to seep through." he answers Shin.     Alwyn stands by N'raha, more or less exactly as impressed. No, really, this is his first Primal. He doesn't count Bahamut. NO ONE SANE would count Bahamut as an encounter. Not back then, anyway.     Ramuh glances at N'raha, speaking. "Bringer of Light. If thy kind seeketh peace, then where were thee when my children needed help fighting the Garleans? Content were thee to watch, unwilling to spread thy forces too thin."     Nasa gets a more curious, slightly more respectful glare from the Primal. "A fellow guardian? This mine expectations does blow past. But it is not the forest that suffers, but mine children. Spurned by man, crying in distress."     The sight of the crystal causes Ramuh to soften his expression, looking at Bertram. "The gift I bestowed to mine wayward children. That you would possess such, without a trace of blood upon it..." He seems to reconsider. "How strong is thy will for peace? Willst thou weather mine ire as proof?"     It is to Souji and Landon that he turns next, less severe in his gaze. "If thy tale is true, then thou art my children too. Thou inflicteth upon me a difficult choice. To fight mine children from another world, to preserve mine own from this one. But--" To Souji, "Within thy words doth I detect conflict and darkness." To Landon, "Yet within thy words, that divine authority my levin-light upholds. But that thou wouldst both proclaimeth peace, without any obligations to Eorzea, is a sight."     To Marisa, the Lord of Levin frowns. "But thy will, girl, is to battle. You examplify the darkness that doth bode ill for any living alongside men. Much I know and can do indeed, and much you will experience first-hand." A threat, finally.     A quiet gaze towards Mirielle, and a brief quip. "Thou art also my child, but I sense duality. Mine heritage in thee I can barely feel."     His red eyes turn to Kyra, and he hrms, musing to himself for a few seconds. "Thou wouldst offer to repair damaged caused by men? But what good are repairs, when I could halt the source of the damage itself? To smother all men in the storm, and with it free Eorzea."     THANCRED will totally keep hitting on Xiao, just, not now. Ramuh speaks to her first. "The stench of my crying children lingereth upon you. How am I to trust thy intentions?"     Perhaps as a culmination of all the beard comments, the Primal strokes through it with his one free hand, glancing at Valentha. "If thou wouldst know the details, thy questions I will answer. But my ire doth grow at thy group, and the time for words is past." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha can't really answer that one. He certainly wasn't here for the first time the Garleans came around. He was too busy watching them ruin Thanalan.     But then the time for words is past, and N'raha looks over to Bertram, calling out. "We shall weather your ire, Ramuh, if that can mean peace. We were hoping it wouldn't come to this, but..." He glances over at Setsuko. "Maybe this was fated from the very start." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram's response is without hesitation, he's familiar enough with the sylphs to know that Setsuko's prediction was likely accurate, and yet likely with some kind of justification. "Lord of Levin, if you would test our merit by show of force. Pray let us not delay the matter any longer than necessary. I will weather your ire, and I guarantee we shall stand through it." And then, he casts proshell followed by a groupwide stoneskin. He's hiding his nerves, this is no trivial matter regardless of his words. "But I must object to your accusations that I have done naught to aid your children. I have defended them from Garleans and beasts alike." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "I am not of this world, Lord Ramuh," the demigod replies, rising to her feet. "I bear no ill will towards your children, no designs on your forest. There have been no aggressions against the Sylphs on the part of those I come to this world to protect - your summoning was a response to my own use of power, against poachers. They thought me a Primal newly-summoned, and that, I believe, was the tipping point."     Setsuko lowers her head slightly. "For that foolishness on my part, for my acting without knowledge or tact, I do apologize. And in answer to the question you've posed to me and others, if the Garleans encroach upon Sylphic borders, you have but to ask and I will defend your children as readily as I do the men of Eorzea. And if you seek to test our resolve in battle, I cannot speak for the others, but I am willing."     Raising her head again, the demigod meeds the Primal's eyes directly. "I long ago consigned myself to eternal battle, it is true. But it is at least within my will to choose whom I bare my blade against. I will not bring war to those who have not earned it, and I will protect those who do not desire it." 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Forgive me, Lord Ramuh..." Kyra steps up, holding out her arms. "But if you went that route, you would lower yourself to those who are destroying the Shroud with little regard for anything besides their own progress! Would extinguishing all men be any different from those Garleans coming in to raze the forest and kill the local wildlife? You are lightning! You are thunder! You are above such a petty solution!" she cries, empathically trying to appeal to the Primal's sense of Primal-ness, if there were such a thing.     "Though." 'The time for words is past' "If you doubt our conviction to change the present state of things, then we'll gladly fight you to show you that we mean business, Lord Ramuh!" 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Bitch, don't tell me how to Kung Fu. You're a nerdy mage god," Shin says as he crosses his arms, "The minute you weren't a god of Kung Fu, your opinion on Kung Fu became moot. Don't sit there with your bigass nerd beard and lecture me about how to achieve Kung Fu englightenment. The day I take kung fu advice from the god of recharching iphones and teaching people not to golf in rainstorms is gonna be a non-existant day," Shin notes, huffing a bit and immediately disregarding Ramuh's existence.     Instead, he wanders off to the side and takes out his cell phone, starting to text someone. Probably Allenby, but really also probably just someone random, as it grumbles to himself, "Stupid-ass bearded nerd god telling me how to Kung Fu. Probably break his hip if he tried, where does he even get off thinking he can..." He sorta trails off into grumbling and muttering. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      So battle was inevitable.      "I would proclaim peace wherever there is pain, even as I myself must march to war. War is a suffering, a flaw, a waste of life and love. War divides and destroys, and you - all versions of you of which I know, all the great gods of our world - fought against the Darkness only because it was necessary." Landon presses his hand to his chest again. The metal clinks a bit, as gauntlet presses against breastplate.      "Raise a hand to protect the innocent. Fight to defend those you love. It brings me great sorrow to face you in battle, Primarch of the Thundering Winds. But the tenets of your own self, the divine justice you yourself uphold, require me to raise my blade against you."      Landon unslings the crystalline Judge Blade from his shoulders, levelling it at Ramuh. His eyes are still firm and unwavering as a card snaps into his other hand. "You are the Wise Wind, the Judgement of the Endless Storm."      "But I dare say your wisdom is in this world clouded, Lord of Lightning!" Landon suddenly roars, proving that the Prince is perfectly capable of being polite and still being angry, "I dare declare that you who is praised for discipline and peace, who speaks of self-control, have left yourself become corrupted by bitterness and anger! The suffering of the few is the responsibility of all? Inaction is the same as culpability?"      "I say thee *nay*, Lord of Lightning!" Landon walks forward, because he knows where this is going, "I say to you that you have *failed* in your holy duty, that you have allowed blood and bias to taint the divine justice you are sworn to uphold, that you have confused the choices of the Free with the temptations of the Darkness! I say to you that you who would dare blame all men for the actions of a few..."      "ARE GUILTY!"      The blue Law Card blazes to life as Landon fills it with mana. He swings it in front of his face.      "Here I come, Lord of Lightning! You have made your choice! And so have I made my judgement!"      And with that, Landon doesn't bother waiting for the others. The Prince of Ramuh lunges, all thought, all action. The blue trail of the Law Card blazes behind him as he runs forward, massive sword clutched in the other hand. Landon does not wait for the enemy to strike first. It is not the way of Ramuh to wait.      It is not the way of lightning.      Landon's Law Card explodes into a brilliant crystal barrier, laying horizontal directly in front of Ramuh's face. Landon leaps up it, darting forward, brings the hilt of his blade around...      And dares to punch the god directly in the face.      Because that is what it means to be of Ramuh. To judge, swiftly and wisely, and commit to a course of action as fast and true as a bolt of thunder. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "The Forest suffers as much as those that live upon it. The Forest and its People are one and the same. Without those that live within it, the forest suffers. Your children are a part of the forest, and thus I care for their suffering." Nasa responds, her wings fluttering as she dips very slightly into a bow. She straightens slowly, her head tilting slightly. "If the garleans are causing your children pain, it is likely that other races are being caused pain by them, but I do not know all of the situations of this world; I was simply drawn by suffering. Not entirely unlike yourself." Nasa continues in that melodic voice. She definitely, however, is not a Primal.      Weather his ire? She shifts her gaze slightly towards the crystal, and then back up towards Ramuh. "...I think that we were to ready for that from the beginning. If it was necessary, that is. We came in numbers in case of a battle, but we speak in the hopes of a resolution without it. If our blades and magic must speak for us... then that is something I am fine with." Nasa says, her wings slowly folding against her back as her bare feet rest upon the ground. She was strengthening her connection with the earth.      Lightning travels to the ground easier if you're not flying, as well. Nasa's hands slowly lower to the Viper's Blades at her side, taking hold of one and pulling it out of its sheathe, while her other hand shifts forward. She holds the blade back, her free hand forward as she slowly begins to move back from the thunder god. Under her breath, she begins to murmur, gathering power.      <Spirits of Earth, Your Guardian Calls. Grow, spears that gather lightning!>      Nasa shifts her foot, pushing her hand forward with one thumb to the side, and her pointer finger and middle finger pointing straight, her other two fingers folded. She stomps her foot onto the ground, and several pillars of rock begin to break through the ground; which will hopefully draw some of the worst of the lightning towards /them/ instead of her allies. They're also spaced widely enough that they also shouldn't hinder line of sight or movement much. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "Ehhhhh? You can smell th- I mean-" Xiao held her hands up in a feigned motion of defense, but really, she was totally not sorry.      Good job, Xiao.      "Well okay. But it was for science! I saw something I didn't know about, so I had to study them. ...Thoroughly." An innocent smile to go with her not so innocent actions. "Would you mind if I got a sample from you too? Perhaps a few strands of beard..." She stroked her chin momentarily, and then added. "Do Primals have blood? A sample of that too would be /grand/!"      Xiao please.      /Please/.      But well, it looked like Landon threw the first stone. "Oops. Looks like it's already started!" She smiled and reached into her sleeves, putting away her notepad and taking out a set of black gauntlets. "Think about it! All the advancements that could be made with your data!" 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:''' H-hey, Marisa isn't laughworthy! She can totally have fangirls! And fanboys! And people interested in her. God, Xiao, rude!!     The Primal's words illicit a good-natured laugh from the witch. Despite the danger behind Ramuh's voice, her smile seems invincible. How much hubris can one mage have!? Enough. They can have enough hubris.     "Well, of course! I mean, that's what happens in pretty much every run-in I have with divine anythings, so you can't blame a girl for having expectations. And!" Marisa leans forward, her back arching low over her broom. The girl behind her worriedly latches to her waist. "I can't say I don't want to fight you. You're like, an awesome judge-wizard god! I wanna see how far I've come! That's just normal."     "But, exemplifying darkness? Little ol' me?" Her smile becomes almost... dangerously wide and TREMENDOUSLY witchy. "Nah, for that, you want my teacher. I'm much more of a lightshow sort of mage. Within Marisa Kirisame's heart, there is no room for darkness of any kind! Everything I do and everything I am burns as bright as I can possibly manage. So!"     "Mister awesome beardman, Lord of the Levin, Big Boss Ramuh, if you want to get rough," The witch draws back, the girl at her back making another uncertain noise. Four crystalline orbs flash into the air around her, whirling in a tight, menacing orbit. "Then I'll get rough. And then we'll drink. But when we beat you, I'm want somethin' out of it!" "I think a little bit of ~magic lore~ would do nicely," Marisa muses, her shrewd eyes peering at the Primal, "Or maybe... somethin' else?"     "So," one hand reaches into the folds of her dress, fishing out the little octogonal block that is her trademark. The dense magical energies in the area surge like electricity through her veins, motes visibly pouring out of the air and into the four crystal orbs. She levels the Hakkero, winks an eye, and then declares: "Let's get this party started." One moment, Marisa is stationary. The next, she's rocketing in a smooth, wide ring around the Primal.     Four lances of blinding light erupt from the orreries, blasting at the Primal. A barrage of emerald missiles shriek out from her hakkero, while others seem to manifest in the air around her and join in the barrage. All the while, the girl at her back buries her head into the witch's shoulder-- she's apparently not used to doing this sort of thing so... unprotected. Alas, today is not a day for giant robots. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Valentha's attention SWERVES around wildly towards Shin with abject disbelief at his utter huffiness and disrespect. Her jaw is GAPING.     But then she just shakes her head, and responds to the Lord of Levin.     "Punishing all for the faults of a few? I can tell something happened in the past to color your opinion of mankind and all those like it, Ramuh, and wish to hear just what. I, too, have seen much suffering caused by greed, ignorance, and fear. Doubtless we could speak for hours on the subject... but never, NEVER..."     She extends a hand. Instead of using her Techno-Wizard arc-sword, Valentha summons pure psionic power into her grasp. It shimmers and pulses outwards, forming into a crackling, gleaming rapier.     "NEVER would I THINK to judge ALL of them as lost causes. I'll weather your ire, Lord of Lightning. When it passes, hopefully your good sense will return!" 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Ramuh's words to Souji are important, but those words are not all that Souji listens to. He tilts his head slightly, his expression darkening as he hears the implicit threats. This is standard high-stakes diplomacy, where both sides begin shaking their sticks. "Conflict is a part of life, Ramuh. Even amongst your own people, they are not one. The Sylvans and the Sylphs do not agree on the path to the future. But you refuse to look at either the greater picture, nor do you consider the specifics. You have been brought to pass judgement. The fact of the matter is, Ramuh, if you pit your power against that capable of being marshalled by Man, all you will do is destroy your own people in the process. The Twelveswood will burn, and your one-eyed judgement will simply proclaim your own land's doom. If you wish to engage in such folly, you do not deserve such consideration." There is a sudden movement as Souji pulls up his blade, stepping forward to stand beside Landon al Cid. There is a moment of unreality, as if he never thought he would be doing what he is about to do, before he shakes his head. "If you would speak of judgement, then we too, shalld judge you in turn. Murasame!" The blade responds, the crimson ribbon untying itself. And Souji staws the black blade with a flourish, crimson runes of hunger burning bright. "It is time to feed." Souji states ominously, before he lunges forward, slashing forward and past Ramuh with a scything blade strike. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle does not proclaim her alliegance or her heritage. Her head remains hanged, her body shudders, and she continues to cast. Over and over, until finally...     Shin Tokuyama recieves the final BarThunder cast, the cool ur-static feeling of a lack of charge, even a mild static one. This may also make his phone's touchscreen hard to use. Such are the plights of MAGIC.     She laughs darkly at the ideas being bandied around, standing up slowly with her staff. Her preparation is done. Even the light talking that they engaged in, the mild discourse before the Prince punched a god in the face, was enough. Not that 'punching a god in the face' was within her calculatons, but it wasn't something she could totally discount. It merely accellerated certain timescales.     "That... is to be expected, Lord of Levin. Unfortunately, I am not good at grand speeches. However, tactically, I am committed to supporting your demise."     She steadies herself, extending her staff lightly. She really isn't one to speech!     She does draw up her hood, though, and seethes with a shady power. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Numerous people declare their intend to fight him-- to prove him they mean what they're saying. Ramuh's frown disappears, his neutral gaze falling on the group. He lays ready to answer, to tell them they may be right, but that he cannot concede without judging them first. Too often have words been used to deceive and lie.     Well, except Shin, who is less being wise at Ramuh (like Setsuko and Kyra especially) and more being Shin at Ramuh. It's still amazing in its own way.     Landon's words hit like a hammer, and so does his fist, connecting with the Primal's jaw. He reels backward, bringing a hand up to touch the bruise, and then looking at his hand. Marisa comes at him for a second go, and the Primal's staff slams down onto the ground, thunder rocking through the Black Shroud so loud it causes a burst of wind, and temporarily shields Ramuh from assaults. Marisa's blasts impact the lightning shield, Souji's sword cutting it open, but the Primal has turned ethereal, like electricity.     "Thy offers of peace will be judged. Climb the Striking Tree, and I will test your might. Prove to me you have the strength to do what you claim, and to fight the darkness within."     The same way he arrived, Ramuh blasts away, like a massive lightning bolt. It strikes again, atop the stone (tree?) platform/tower. There is a ramp leading up, it's not a hard climb at all. At the top, Ramuh waits in the center of the platform, with Sylph decorations and his symbol all over the place. Tempered Sylphs have stopped fighting, and instead gather over the Striking Tree, humming a song of worship to their Lord in their own language.     Ramuh will wait for all to have gathered, assuming they intend to follow through. But once they have, lightning illuminates the sky, roaring in anticipation. Hair stands on its edges here, electricity heavy in the air.     "Now then. Weather mine ire, champions of Light. I will judge thy inner darkness, and thy ability to uphold thy own word." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' And Bertram climbs the striking tree, he doesn't even speak any further words. The fight is imminent, and in a way it's a relief to know that this is going to be something he knows how to do. He is no diplomat, he is no frontline combatant, but he is a combat medic. And this is going to call for combat medicine. He drinks a cup of homebrewn tea to help him focus, of course it's as magical as his cooking. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     And now we get into the meat of it. N'raha scowls at the... well. The presence of all these other people here. This all would have been SO MUCH EASIER without all these people MAKING TROUBLE maybe possibly. But the catman masks most of that anger as he trudges and moves up the tower, his lashing, frustrated tail the only sign of his inner turmoil right now.     Well, and the tight shoulders, the growling muttering, the fact he's not being cheery at people and the strangled noises he made when Landon and Marisa and Souji all started early.     Okay so he's bad at hiding anger. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Her allies lunge, and Setsuko's hand immediately reaches towards Zanjintou, and for a moment or two she simply waits; it's a sudden and hasty attack on their part, and she's not going to fling herself into it blindly on the possibility that such a disorganized attack invites easy counterattack. But he doesn't attack at all; merely shields himself long enough to disappear.     "...Had the fighting continued here," Setsuko observes in a rather loud voice, "The nearby Sylphs would have been in danger. Such a hasty attack speaks poorly of our intentions for peace." She directs her chastisement at no one person, simply lets it hang in the air.     And speaking of hang in the air, so does she, soaring up and alighting on the top of the Striking Tree directly rather than ascending the ramp or using the aetheryte.     Setsuko will not attack, however, until the others have arrived. Until then, she will but stand and wait, saying simply, "...Though it is my fate to fight, Lord Ramuh, I do not cherish ill will or hatred. If we must fight, I am at the least both satisfied and honored that you enter into it with respect for us."     But there is battle to be fought. And fight she shall, with no further warning. There is just a sudden lunge forward, an impossibly-fast draw of the blade. A picture-perfect battoujutsu draw, in an effort to meet lightning with lightning. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     'Dude, so this jagoff decides to lecture me about kung f'     Shin gets halfway into his text message when Mirielle's spell hits him. His fingers rapidly tap from reflex for a good half-minute as he watches Ramuh. Eventually, he looks down and realizes the rest of his message didn't type out. He looks down, "Aw man, what the fuck? The touch screen broke. Cheap piece of shit. Next time I'm getting one of those active phone cases for when people punch me so this doesn't happen," He doesn't think about how electricity impeding would diminish static charge and mess with a touch screen.     However, Shin is completely serious about not giving a fuck what Ramuh has to say any more. So instead of following up the striking tree, he elects to wander off in the opposite direction and go bug someone like... potentially... THANCRED.     "Hey pretty boy. Does your world have punch magic? I notice it has lots of other magic, like sword magic... and magic-magic... and monsters. What about punch magic? And then one of two potential follow-ups, if yes where do I get some? If no, why does your world suck?" 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     A wind wall? No. A shockwave generated by a crack of thunder. The fringes of Marisa's lips quirk ever so slightly upwards at the display. "You're not bad, old man," she whispers under her breath, a hand pressing her hat to her head as Ramuh warps away. "I can't wait to see what you're REALLY capable of."     "I'll meet you guys up there," Marisa chimes to the others as she ROCKETS up into the sky, her book making quiet noises of protest as the wind rushes past her ears. It doesn't take her too long- flight, again, is pretty wonderful in these situations.     "Inner darkness or whatever, it doesn't matter," the witch says as she crests the Striking Tree. "The moment you turned this into a contest of power, y'all threw all that philosophical, spiritual bullshit right out the window. Come on, Beardman--"     Once more, the orreries light up. Again, the magic missiles surge out, each one bursting into a sapping, mana-draining explosion. Does she expect her attack to actually work this time!? Or is she just being as flashy as possible to distract the Primal until someone else can pry open his guard? Whatever the case, Marisa stays mobile as she casts, whirling around the flat top of the Striking Tree like the world's most dangerous wasp. "--Let's see what you've got!" 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Strike! Setup! And then... Ramuh speaks. He turns ethereal. She slowly tilts her head as she looks up towards him. She flutters her wings slowly. "...Offers of peace judged by fighting." Nasa mumbles under her breath, thinking to herself. "...Does sound very much like the Drow." She continues with a slow shake of her head. She slowly begins to lift up into the air, beginning to hover her way towards the tower's base. She could fly ahead, but a long ramp to walk up was an excellent chance to plan and prepare for the battle.      Of course, Setsuko simply flies up to the top of the Tree. Nasa takes a deep breath as she looks towards her allies that ...well, cannot fly. She lifts her hand, motioning towards each of them. The wind begins to gather around her hand, as she begins to murmur another elemental spell.      <Winds of the sky, boost their flight.>      A simple spell, Nasa casts a spell over her grounded allies, small winds gathering around their bodies. "...Will the winds where you would go; and go." Nasa states simply as explanation. And if they did such, the wind would, in fact, do that! Carrying them to the base of the ramp, or to the top of the tree. Afterwards, Nasa begins to move with the main group, quietly hoping that Setsuko could weather the attacks while the rest of the party made it to the battlefield. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     After all that posturing and punching a god in the face, Mirielle, Ace Calculator, expected a fight. And this ineffable 'God' decides 'yeah ok cool story brah, climb my tree and fight me'. No. No! NO!     Mirielle looks at the Striking Tree and nearly falls to her knees again. "Defeated before we even began." She breathes, looking at the insurmountable Everest before her. Oh! Oh, there's a ramp. That's a little better. But only a little bit.     "... The need outweighs the risk. A caster should be physically fresh as well a..." Nobody is listening to her. Everyone is just going up the ramp. Well, then... Kyra needs one last buff.     Mirielle knows that Kyra is a powerful caster, and even her non-casted attacks technically work as magic, not physical effects. Thus, there's one buff that should be layered under Kyra's Reflect. She incants quickly, before extending her staff at her friend. "Do try not to get dispelled. This will be draining for me." She offers, before finishing her twice-long cast.     Mathemagic - Faith x Faith: Overfaith     A double shot of full-sectrum magical enhancement.     She slumps slightly, after this buff, but there's a smile under her glasses and hood. "There. Now..." She summons Black Chocobo, clambering up clumsily upon the magical horsechicken's back. "I'll see you at the top." She notes dryly, before she warki-woo's her way to the top, up the ramp.     Screw walking. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      It's hard to not follow through when you just told a God of Judgement he was guilty and punched him in the face. After something like that, you don't really have the option to say 'nah, I was just joshin', we cool.'      Not that Landon would. As the god goes up the tree, Landon's platform simply rises, guided by his will and his magic particles. He rises, eyes firm on the spot where Ramuh has gone.      The platform stops at the top of the tree. Landon dismisses it with a wave of his hand and strides forward, confidence in every step. The metal armor crackles with the mere suggestion of electricity, despite the BarLightning. It's a good spell. It probably won't be enough.      That's alright. Landon trusts in himself. If he has to dodge it, if he has to ride it, he'll pass the lightning and come out alive.      Metal fingers tighten around his blade. "So be it. I'll show you the strength of the al Cid family, and the justice we strive for!"      Landon does not wait for everyone else. Patience is a Ramuhan virtue only where it intends the correct time to strike, and the correct time to strike is still 'before your enemy does'. He'd already started the battle, after all.      So the instant he's stepped off the platform, he's going. He releases the Judge Blade, letting the massive crystal weapon spin above him as he charges. Wasting time is asking to get killed. Waiting and standing still is asking to get lightning bolted. It's worse than asking to get killed - it's asking to die.      Law Cards flash in Landon's hand. Blue light fills the area once again, swelling brilliantly. The Judge Blade goes stabbing for Ramuh's stomach as Landon drops the first card.      "Punishment: BLIND!"      Crystalline chains lash outwards around Ramuh's head. They aren't chains, though - they're law, law given form by magic and covenant, wrapping themselves around the eyes to blind. With the other card, Landon conjures a barrier, moving it by his own will.      Just like his punch, the barrier swings backwards, then charges forward for Ramuh's face.      Landon will punch the god as many times as he needs to make him see the error of his ways. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     As Ramuh vanishes, so too does Valentha Summers. No longer hiding what she can really do, her whole body flickers and sizzles blue... and is gone. With another flash of blue light she's up atop the Striking Tree platform, still holding that crackling sword.     Then she ceases hiding her aura altogether. What previously would've felt like a rather average amount of magical energy leaking from her becomes a storm. With one hand she gestures to accompany some chanting. Several layers of protection lock into place around her one after another. A thin barrier first forms skintight around her, visible only in magical sight. Then it expands outwards and becomes properly visible, shaping into silvery-blue plate armor. Over top of that a floating barrier forms... Protection from Energy.     She's just hoping it will be AT ALL good at warding off bolts of THIS caliber.     It probably won't. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "Oh. Right. Miss Kaminagi has a point. Fighting down here would have endangered others. That would have been a HUGE waste of research samples."      ...What, you expected actual human concern?      Xiao shielded her eyes a bit as Ramuh blasted away towards the destined arena. "...Well, I'm not interested in walking up /all of that/, so...." A pair of black anklets down below took on a faint glow, and the scientist began to rise up into the air. With a burst, she sailed all the way up, cutting the power as she reached the edge of the arena.      She landed and then reassumed a casual observing posture. "...Where to start..." She mused aloud, looking the Primal up and down. It sounded like she was searching not for the best point to do damage, but the best point to gather SAMPLES from.      She wasn't helping.      "Perhaps the beard's tip..."      Yeah, she REALLY wasn't helping.      With a grin, Xiao held out both arms, and the gauntlets surrounding her fists began to shift. The metal clacking forward and reorienting itself until what she was no longer wearing a pair of gauntlets, but rather, holding a pair of black blades. "Time to harvest~" And with a burst of speed, Xiao dove straight for Ramuh, lashing out with a pair of quick slashes...to tip of his beard. She was trying to collect beard cuttings. In the middle of a DECISIVE BOSS BATTLE. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "...how is it that I just tried to out diplomacy both Landon AND Souji??" Kyra mutters, quite cleanly capturing Landon going off on Ramuh and his 'Judgement' then punching the Primal in the face. Back in Galianda, the people watching Kyra's feed go /crazy/ over this. Hashtags are had. Memes are created. Lute being hit by Doomtrain finally has competition.     Of course, Kyra remains entirely unaware of this, focused on getting her stuff in order and queuing up Reflect for herself. She's slow to follow up the ramp to the Striking Tree since being in the back is more conductive to Kyra's particular Jobs. It just makes for better support, after all.     But before Landon slips by entirely, she quickly casts a Bravery spell upon him. Not that he needs extra courage but extra dealt damage would be very appreciative.     She lingers as well to wait for Mirielle to cast additional buffs on her, surprised that, along with the Barthunder, Shell, and Protect, she gets a Faith on herself. It's actually quite surprising to her that Mirielle would risk boosting Kyra's infamously dangerous magic. Nasa's wind magic lets her catch up easily after dawdling to wait on Mirielle, the white mage casting Reflect on herself to hopefully prevent some ELECTRIC DEATH on herself. Someone has to be around to cast Life. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji does not even pause as Ramuh vanishes into a huge mass of aetheric electricity and relocates, the wind wall launching him like a stone out the other side violently. He flips in the air as he impacts the side of the Striking Tree, running up the side and reaching the top. He reaches the top, and comes to a halt, looking upon Ramuh. He only spares a moment to sweep the Murasame Blade up into a salute, respect given moments before he sets into a combat stance. As much as he uses lightning, it would be beyond foolish to attempt to defeat Ramuh with lightning. He will have to change tactics. SAMURAI MYSTIC KNIGHT BUSHIDO SPELLBLADE > 1: DISPATCH BIO BLADE < "Consuming fang." Souji declares, blurring forward with a devastating direct strike, as his blade seethes with terrible, poisonous miasma. He has nothing else to say or prove to the Primal. Now there is only the proof of their actions. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Down at the crystal, Thancred eyes Shin and then motions vaguely towards Yda, who was moments ago still punching Sylphs. With fancy magic and flashy moves. "Try the Pugilists' Guild in Ul'dah. The guildmaster there is... what's his name. Hamon Holyfist, right! He'll teach pretty much anyone with the coin to pay the fee." Or anyone willing to help him get coins, too.     And up people go; at different speeds and paces.     To Setsuko, the Lord of Levin reassures: "And I enjoy no action I am forced to take; but mine children cry out for judgment, and judgment they will have." She lashes out like a lightning bolt, and her blade crashes into the Primal's staff. He stands his ground, however, straining to push the woman back.     Marisa's missiles are half intercepted by bolts of lightning, the other half reaching the Primal and detonating. The mana draining seems to disrupt Ramuh's form momentarily, but she's trying to drain a five gallons barrel with a syringe. On the other hand, if she keeps at it, it'll have an impact eventually for sure.     Blindness and another punch from Landon are inflicted upon the Primal, but time time he doesn't budge, taking the impact and letting the Judge bruise and blind him. Eyes closed, Ramuh rumbles.     "You would judge judgment itself; would that all my children be as brave and able to stand on their own, but my duty is to protect them, and MY will will not falter!"     Xiao charges in, carving with her knives; she secures a small lock of divine Primal hair, though this seems to upset Ramuh greatly. "How quickly man turns to such ways; you would still tell me to hold my judgment, to let men kill my children?"     Souji's blade poisons the Primal, though it's obvious the magic will wear off eventually. There's too much Aether in Ramuh for something to hold permanently, but even poisoning him for a few moments is a good deal. Also the sword cuts through robes and armor, Ramuh's form torn and reforming afterwards.     Ramuh's staff, still holding Setsuko at bay, if moments from breaking, suddenly flashes a bright blue. Lightning lashes out at her, attempting to send her back before she can break his weapon.     He follows through, despite being blinded, by thrusting his staff upward. A large surge of magic suddenly marks VALENTHA, KYRA, LANDON and NASA. The air around them becomes heavier, and electricity seems attracted to them. They'll have a few moments to move, or for people to get away from them, before a hail of a dozen lightning bolts a piece crash towards all four, and anyone still near them. The magical barriers are unlikely to stop this cold, but it'll definitely help soak it if anything.     Those still in MELEE then have to deal with the staff coming down to strike the ground, sending ripples of lightning in a full circle around Ramuh, in an attempt to knock them all back. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     The catman just boggles at all of this, snarling into his linkpearl at... someone, and then charges in once that first Knockback goes off. The Great Levin has his attention on others and that just won't do. Not now, not like this. Not with all these outsiders here, making things worse.     He channels every single piratical magic angrymode thing he can, his frame turning vagely reddish, his axe glowing with dull red flames, and those green eyes flare over. He can't possibly compete like this. Not like how the Judge is Judging and there's blinds and everything going like this. How could he? He can only do what he can. What he must.     N'raha howls and launches himself forward, a furious flurry of axe attacks aiing to strike alongside Setsuko, trying to get Ramuh's attention off the others. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He can't even help it, not even a little bit. The youthful anger is roiling through the Miqo'te as a noise of Pure Rage escapes him. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "No one is /letting/ people kill your children. They are killing men themselves." Souji replies, leaping out of the proximity of the targeted people. "The Garleans make war on all, man and Sylph alike. You blame them for not protecting your children, when your children prey on the Eorzeans just as much as the Garleans. Your argument is flawed from the beignning, Ramuh. But then, you were asked for judgement... Not that your own children are worthy of being found in favor." Souji replies dryly. He sees that the poison quickly wears off... but Souji's blade has not become any less noxious. He can simply keep reapplying it. He spins, dancing around Ramuh and lashing out repeatedly, letting his spellblade slowly sap Ramuh's strength. Ramuh has no blood to drain, and... Never mind. Either way, he cannot afford to draw Ramuh's direct wrath yet. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     A contest of strength. Setsuko sets her feet, holds her ground against Ramuh; in the end, it is neither her nor Ramuh that gives, but the very ground beneath her feet. Dirt shifts, the demigod's boots give, and she realizes her mistake. She will need to rely on her full abilities to even match him physically. And so she hops back, moments before the Shock Strike would surge through her, neither of them taking injury from the exchange. There is a silent, respectful look in her eyes for a moment.     And then the demigod hops up into the air, about the time Ramuh uses his staff to clear himself some space. She brings Zanjintou up, holding the weapon vertically as it expands to its immense size, before sweeping it around herself and dashing back in - this time, in the air, where she can meet Ramuh in a clash face-to-face. The tremendous blade swings around, a vertical slash, a diagonal, a series of powerful, battering strikes backed by not just her strength, but all the flight power she can muster as well. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      "It matters not who it is!" Landon shouts over the whirling wind, "I would judge my creators themselves, if I felt they had pre-empted justice! I would judge all the gods, if they strayed from their words!"      "Your duty is *not* to protect!" The Prince roars as he dodges the first lightning bolt, "Your duty is to *teach*, to *guide*, to be a shining example! Teach them to stand upon their own two feet! Show them justice, wisdom, and courage! Your coddling - your self-righteousness - your arrogance - all these have led to this war! Because they do not know wisdom! Because they do not know justice! Because they do not know courage!"      LIGHTNING. Landon is struck. Lightning courses through his body, amplified by the metal he wears, and then dulled by the BarLightning. Thunder pours out his mouth and his eyes, threatens to fry his eyes. He screams, because how can you *not*, in those circumstances? Lightning fills his body. Lightning is his blood.      But he will not be denied. Landon summons up his strength to lunge *into* the whirling staff. The massive thing comes down and flings him backwards, out of the destructive bolts. Smoldering, the prince rolls to a stop atop the field of green, smoke still rolling from his body.      It hurts to move. Every muscle seems suffused with the power of the god. His fingers twitch, his toes spasm, and his tongue attempts to betray him and force itself down his throat. The inside of his mouth is hot fire. He's fairly sure he broke a bone.      He stands. Or, rather, he calls his sword back to him, and leans upon it, rising as though it was a cane. Landon's eyes fix on Ramuh as he forces himself back into control of his body, the lightning arcing off him slowly dying.      "If you had taught them wisdom," Landon manages, "If you had taught them cooperation...if you had taught them to be brave, rather than relying upon you for safety..."      "What might have been?"      "What might still be?!"      Landon hefts the Judge Blade in his hands again. He charges, his feet stumbling as he regains his surety of footing. Even wounded, Landon is still an exceptional swordsman. He lunges at the Primal, another Law Card falling to raise him up. His knee lashes outwards for the god's face as his blade comes down for Ramuh's shoulder.      This close, he's sure to eat more damage, but Judge is a tank class anyway. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     If there was anything a native of Galianda's Ramuh learned early in life, it was how to tell when you were about to be hit by lightning. Though she feels the sensation building, her hair standing on end and static cling sparking across her hoodie, she assumes that because she has Reflect on herself, she'll be fine.     She is wrong. The might of Ramuh cannot be deflected by her magical barrier and lightning crashes down on her. Sure, some of it is diverted to the ground around her but the majority still comes through, leaving a surprised Kyra knocked off her feet. She coughs, groans, and pulls herself up. Thanks to the Shell and Barthunder, it didn't do nearly as much as it should have but it was still a big shock (pun intended) to be hit at all.     Kyra's Lifestream feed is momentarily disrupted by this, much to the watcher's dismay.     "I'M ALRIGHT!" she calls out to no one in particular as she gets back up again. Since nobody seems to be down, though definitely not undamaged, she decides to take full advantage of the Faith that Mirielle dropped on her earlier.     Magic functions as intended, meaning that Kyra can drop her Holy spell (which seems suspiciously orbital-ray like in execution) down upon Ramuh. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "Nobody has said to let men kill your children! Nobody has said not to defend those who call for your aid!" Nasa calls out to the Primal as she lands on the ground, lifting her hand. She had been about to call forth the earth to give another series of lightning-attracting spikes... however, there was suddenly a magical Marking on her. Nasa's skin prickles and she feels the electricity begin to attract her.      This was too much for magic resistance to resist. She shifts immediately, moving back away from others, and then SLAMMING one of her feet down into the ground. "Stay back from me!" Nasa calls to her allies, before she pulls her hands towards the center of her body, two stone slabs breaking through the ground to form a covering for her to disperse the worst of the lightning bolts.      Sadly, it only takes a few of the bolts striking to break down Nasa's shelter, and one or two of the strikes hit her directly. Magical shielding and her rock shelter made it so that the relatively frail fae-drow doesn't take /too/ much damage, thankfully. Nasa takes a soft breath as she shifts her gaze around. Alright. What can she do. She steps forward towards the various fighters, taking note of weapons and abilities. And then ... she sees her target.      N'raha. She steps forward, glancing towards the people who were fighting. She points a finger towards him, a brown energy beginning to gather around the tip of her finger, swirling around it as she begins to cast a spell again.      <Spirits of Earth, lend weight to these strikes. May this axe hit with all his might.>      She unleashes the spell towards N'raha, aimed for his axe. Those dull red flames would be joined by magical stone wrapping his weapon; though they didn't add weight that N'raha would feel, he might notice that his axeblade is striking with heavier force. Nasa breathes slowly as she glances around, looking for the next target. Landon? Maybe. Next, though... she lifts her hand, beginning to gather earth energy again, preparing for her next spell. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' To ground out the lightning, to defend against the element of the raging skies, and to teach Ramuh his worth, Bertram calls upon the patient power of the Earth. His focus on this element strong enough to pull rock from deep below the tree and rise up. Covering those who seem to be threatened by lightning, and then followed up by a direct assault on the Lord of Levin. "I wish it did not have to be this way." 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      SAMPLE GET      "Heehee~ Excellent!" And with that, Xiao immediately stopped attacking and instead produced a sample collection kit from her sleeves. The lock of divine hair was deposited, and then promptly put back into THE INVENTORY. "Okay, now for sample number two--whoops!"      She could feel the force of that thunder as it washed across the ground. Crossing her arms over herself, the girl leapt back with the wave, the electrical force cascading over her. And boy, did it hurt. Even through BarThunder, she could feel the pulse of electricity coarsing through her body. She hardly wanted to imagine what it would have been like without protection.      Xiao landed, skidding to a stop some ways away from the Primal before lowering her arms. "...Now...where was I?" Nope. Still not going to attack him seriously. She regripped her blades and burst straight forward again. "Aw come on. It's not like I'm going on a genocidal warpath! I only studied a few! Their lives went towards a good cause! Let me tell you, the data I got from studying their genetic makeup was quite useful for the development of the AANS."      As if BEARD DAD had any idea what that was. "And your data will be useful as well! You should be happy! You get to contribute to my endless quest for knowledge~" And like that, Xiao jumped straight up into the air, aiming to slash into Ramuh's side, not really to do any heavy damage, but to carve out something. ANYTHING. Cloth or piece of /him/. Did he bleed? Magic particles? Liquid? Whatever she could take, she's go for it.      Real helpful. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Xiao's antics get a frown, but Valentha has bigger things to worry about. She detects the magic gathering around her, pegging her as a target. Her response is swift. She kicks off the ground and slides away from allies...     Then starts to chant and gesture. Instead of going aggressive with that sword she raises it for DEFENSE!     The lightning slams into her hard, coursing through most of her defenses. Large bolts split off from the strike, diverted and deflected, but it still slams into Valentha's flesh with the fury of a fierce deity. Right in the middle of chanting. But even as her flesh sizzles and bones smoke, her disciplined mind refuses to flinch, her lips do not falter. Years upon years of intense training to ignore pain in times of battle is required of any who'd call themselves a wizard.     One single lightning bolt, no matter how fierce, won't stop her spellcasting. It will take much more pain to do that.     And she has something quite interesting mind too. A thin tendril of blue reaches out for everyone using magic by what Valentha can detect - such as Kyra and Marisa. If this touches them and isn't resisted... it pulses once, then vanishes.     All those touched will feel an enormous RUSH of power flowing into them as Valentha offers her enormous magical reserves to her allies!     Notably, Xiao is not offered anything. 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     Even sucking a trickle of energy away from the Primal is a victory when that same energy is being shaped into lasers, missiles and all manner of other projectiles. The trouble though is that Ramuh is made of so MUCH of the stuff that wearing him down with magic- even draining magic- will just take far, far too much time. The good news- for now- is that Marisa is NOT the focus of the Great Levin's divine ire, freeing her up to get a bit more... creative.     "Made of magic particles, huh?" Marisa mutters into the channel that connects her to the others. "Alright. Let's give it a shot. I've got no idea what it'll do, but..."     "Hey, RAMUH," the witch yells, suddenly going from conducting her orbital assault to barreling straight at the Primal. Lightning bolts streak down from the sky- but she can weave around them, the telltale buzz of the air around her being warning enough to get out of the air. The Primal's staff swings wide, but she's still just out of range. For now, she doesn't have his attention. That's a very good thing. Because she needs to get VERY close to do what must be done.     A card slides in between her fingertips. At first brush, it might look much like Landon's own Law Cards, but it brims with a very different sort of magic indeed. "Hey Beardman!!" Marisa roars, her collision course set, "OPEN WIDE!" Marisa flicks her wrist. Her hand closes around the Spell Card. --==DECLARE SPELLCARD==-- MAGIC ABSORBER     There's a tremendous un-sound, a wave of silence that precedes the formation of a bubble of gold surrounding a sphere of un-light. To anyone who can sense such things, the ball seems like a veritable black hole of mana, drawing in all magic it comes into contact with, digesting active spells, enchantments and whatever else into component motes. A umbilicus of raw power flows from the sphere to the witch, who roars as she pulls up and twists away, her bombing run complete. But, what happens if such a thing is used on a being of PURE MANA? If her missiles were like trying to take in three gallons with a syringe, the, this is a lot more like... Well, like trying to drink from a firehose. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Being told to give a 'soft eight' when she asks someone what power of buff they want on a scale of one to ten... The obvious answer is a ten, right? If you're asking for a boost, getting the highest amount is only natural!     As the residual lightning smashes down from on high (on people that aren't Mirielle), much of the aftershock is absorbed by her layered defensive spells that had been set up before - Shell from Bartrand, plus BarThunder. This gives her plenty of breathing room to cast more empowerment magic. As Shin runs up the ramp, she's preparing her spell - one that's extra draining, but always tends to come out.     Beyond a 'soft eight', Shin Tokuyama gets a Solid Ten.     Mathemagic - (Aura x Bravery x Haste / Mini     Gunning an immense swell of magic into this power, as the mana fountain refills her own incredible reserves. She doens't have to hold back. This power that she can pour into Shin is beyond the realms of previous uses of the GigaSwole. No... this is even more beyond.     This is the WWE SUUUUUPERSWOOOOLE. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Sweet, thanks, I might check that out," He says to Thancred before jerking a thumb over towards Yda, "Are all the other punch magic people as hot as her? Because that chick's like..." He tries to think of a good way to describe it, but sort of lets it trail off there, "... I'm just saying," Shin finishes with a shrug.     He then turns away and decides he should probably actually go help the others. He sights and takes off his jacket and tie, rolling up his sleeves, "Watch my nice jacket and stuff. I gotta go beat up a Nerd God," Shin comments to Thancred before tossing his discarded suit jacket and tie towards the rogue. He then takes off at a jog towards the ramp, moving pretty fast in terms of jogging.     As soon as Shin gets up there, Mirielle is buffing him. And it has an incredible effect, because as the spell his Shin, he gets WAY more powerful. He grows by a large amount, namely by the end of it he's taller than the Primal they're facing. He also has been buffed offensively in almost all of his physical attributes. Aura ups his strongest powers, while Bravery increases him all around.     "WOAH!" Shin booms, flexing a bit, "Gonna need to get used to this. Holy shit I feel awesome," Shin intones in his new massive size. He then turns and points to Ramuh, "YOU. NERD GOD. I HAVE SOME SHIT TO SAY..." He then turns the point into a finger-gun, "In the form of a RAP." He might just be biding time to get used to the new body.     "At first I was going to walk away, and let them beat your ass," Shin rap-talks, grinning at Ramuh as he gets used to the power flowing through him, "But then I decided I couldn't just let that shit you were talking pass," He adds, sighing a bit and shrugging, "At first it wasn't personal, you actually seemed pretty coo," He runs a hand through his hair and puts on his sunglasses to cover those heterochromatic eyes, "But you fucked up when you decided to talk smack about my kung fu."     "I had so many moves to show you, but I couldn't decide which," Shin continues, his tone holding that more rhythmic matter of speaking as he he shrugs, "In the end, they'll all work fine, because you're a nerdy little bitch," Shin continues, staring at the Primal of Thunder and waving his hand a bit, pacing, "You come in here and talk some shit," He pauses, "And I don't give a fuck about it," Shin points at him, "But I do have one last move to show..."     Shin darts forward towards Ramuh, finally used to the new form Mirielle has given him. The martial artist flashes into MELEE, more than willing to risk the inherent damages and problems of doing so. When he gets to Ramuh, he spins around, moving his back towards the old man and hooking one of his arms backwards. And then he lets his legs out from under him, trying to use a wrestling move on the frail old man Primal as they both slam into the ground.     Shin finishes his rap as he gets up from the maneuver, "So why don't you just suck on that RKO?" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     N'raha braves Ramuh, charging in with his axe. The weapon cuts through the Primal's robes, trailing disrupted Aether as though it were blood, especially thanks to Nasa's enhancement. The Primal's attention shifts to him, allowing Souji to strike in. The poison is reapplied, and the Primal's Aether weakens again, being drained away by the task of regenerating.     "My children lived in peace, isolated from men," he declares, sternly. "They asked for not a thing more, and yet men have distrubed them, again and again. You would ask me to forgive those who committed the first sin?"     Setsuko comes down with her much larger blade, cutting through Ramuh with a vertical cleave. His form twists in pain and he floats backwards, wounds sealing, Aether mending the robes and armor. One can never quite catch a glimpse of what's under the robes; perhaps there's nothing, really.     Landon's knee connects with the Primal's face, as his blade digs into a shoulder plate. Ramuh turns to face the Judge. "We Primals are fleeting beings. We have not the luxury to teach our children anything; we come, we do, we go. Too divided are the people of Eorzea to sustain any one of us for a long time. Mine children did not seek the Aether necessary to sustain mine existence. They wished to be at peace, isolated, and in turn this hath for effect to constrain their ability to call upon me."     But those are excuses.     Kyra's Holy spell is met with Ramuh raising his staff, firing a bolt of lightning upward to intercept the spell. Rays of light still pass through, singing and burning the Primal. Stones slam into him next, thanks to Bertram conjuring the elements; they tear at his robes and beard, which reform afterwards.     Xiao will find he doesn't really bleed, so much as leak Aether. Cloth and hair can certainly be acquired in the mess, though, as her knives find purchase again.     Marisa deploys a MAGIC BLACK HOLE, which seems to severely damage Ramuh, as he strains to retain a tangible form. Aether is sucked out of the Primal, but there's a problem with the witch's plan: there is a LOT of Aether in the being. If it's feeding into her, she might be getting burned by the absurd quantity of magic flowing into her. The black hole may also just overeat and explode. On the other hand, that looks like it hurt Ramuh alright.     Shin verbally abuses Ramuh, before spinning him and pretty much literally wrestling him into the ground, their combined strength and masses cratering the Striking Tree slightly. There's a moment of silence, and Ramuh finally answers Shin.     "I did not understand half of that, but thy intent speaketh loudly indeed. Judgment is nigh, Bringers of Light, of war, of suffering. Steel thyself! Prove you can protect Eorzea! TO ME, MINE ARBITERS!"     Lightning slams down in front of everyone. A tiny (well, it's still the size of a person) incarnation of Ramuh appears before everyone, as the Primal himself vanishes from under Shin. The Arbiters swing their staves, bringing them down with fury and lightning at everyone.     Those who can see magic will immediatly be able to tell each strike, and each moment the Arbiters exist, seems to be feeding power to Ramuh, who isn't gone, just... not quite here either.     And to make matters worse, ripples of electricity arc on the ground: they attempt to bind XIAO and SHIN in place, rooting them through incredible static.     All the while a tether of lightning forms between BERTRAM and MIRIELLE, as well as LANDON and SOUJI. While linked, any action taken by one person will cause harm to both! But you guys have some competent healers and magic people, surely the tethers can be broken. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      That tendril reaches out towards Nasa, who glances towards it. She reaches out with her free hand to grasp it mid-spell, easily accepting it. That rush of power causes Nasa to briefly falter, glowing as the magic overwhelms her. Some of it is reflexively devoured and shunted into her Hand of Growth for later use. She doesn't take more than is offered or given though. Once the magical surge ends, she shifts her hands again, her single drawn Kukri held to the side, frost beginning to coat the edge of the blade. She subtly presses a button, a dose of poison mixing with the ice that's coating the blade.      Nasa slowly takes a breath as she lifts her hand up, the earth beginning to rumble beneath her. She doesn't bother speaking for this spell. It was just calling forth the spikes from before to come to the /top of the tree/. Once more, these stony spikes begin to break through the ground, setting themselves in place with simple intent; to be taller than everyone around them and absorb some of the worst of the lightning, drawing it towards /them/ instead of the people, by virtue of being taller. There were only about 10 of them, spaced out throughout the battlefield so as not to be a hindrance to combat.      As one of the spears breaks through the ground, Nasa steps slightly towards it; though maintains a bit of distance. Alright. Time for the next thing. The Kukri in her hand began to be more thoroughly coated with ice; the length of it elongating as the poison transferred into it. Shimmering poison and frigid i     <cxterm36">Frozen Poison, awaken from your slumber. Icy Web!>      Her wings flare out, and she's simply hovering for a moment... before she's suddenly dashing forwards at an angle, slashing towards the giant Ramuh's neck and head. Only for him to disappear midway through the attack. The Rahmuhling that appears in front of her gets targetted instead, and she dashes for it! She attempts to strike the center of the Ramuhling's chest! If the strike lands, the poison would begin to take hold rapidly. The area struck would begin to rapidly freeze; even aetheric energies might begin to do such. As the freezing continues, icy spikes would rapidly begin to expand, tearing through flesh and causing the wound to open and spiderweb out in a series of cracks.      It seemed Nasa had a thing for aesthetics, as a handful of spiders made of ice would crawl out of the wound. They were just ice, however, and would fade when the icy damage would no doubt fade from the Ramuhling's form. Immediately after this strike, Nasa flies away again, zipping back to take a place in the back; ensuring that she's close enough that she can aid anyone who needs it(Or be aided if she needs it), but far enough away that hopefully; she won't be a threat to others if she's caught by some sort of spell.      And then... she notes those tethers. She looks towards them quietly, frowning slightly. "..." She turns her attention on Mirielle and Bertram. She takes a small breath as she looks towards them... right. Prioritize the support. She begins to move quickly towards them, her Hand of Growth beginning to glow. "Staying still a moment if you can, will to get rid of that as quickly as can!" Nasa calls out! 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     If it wasn't silly enough before now all this is happening. We are wrestling the Primal, we are joking about the Primal, we're live-tweeting the Primal, we are telling the Primal what his own business is, we are waltzing in from outside, "-CAUSING PROBLEMS, STARTING SHIT AND TRYING TO JUSTIFY IT ALL WITH GLIB BULLSHIT." Oh dear, inside thoughts have turned to outside thoughts     N'raha snaps. If there was any single measure of anything resembling control at all right now, it would be the sudden pulsing shove forward as Na`sa's spell swats into him, the heavy blade of the axe swinging even harder as he is screaming out into the arena Ramuh has chosen for them. "LISTEN TO ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL COME IN HERE AND MAKE GRANDIOSE HELLS-DAMNED REASONING." He's glaring over his shoulder at Landon on this one. "YOU MAKE LIGHT OF THE DANGER YOU'VE PUT US IN." This one at Xiao.     "THIS IS OUR LIVES. THIS IS WHAT WE ARE, AND YOU PEOPLE ARE TRAMPLING IT." He turns in place. Fuck the fight with Ramuh right now, fuck all of this     The Arbiter appears in front of him, slapping at him with magic and lightning and aggravating shit that he can't really feel at all right now. It's clearly scorching at him and shocking him right through his plate mail, but there is too much anger there for the young man to even comprehend it.     "WE ARE HERE TO FIX THINGS NOT MAKE THEM WORSE YOU IDIOTS."     There's a sudden flux of Aether around the Miqo'te, and a flareover of energy as that axe seemingly doubles in size and he unleashes a twirling, spinning murder dance through his Arbiter, through the middle of the fight, and he finishes up in the middle of Shin's business, pretty much uncaring of who or what is in the way. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      SAMPLE #2 GET      Xiao grabbed the piece of fluttering cloth before it vanished into aether particles, taking out her sample kit and placing it inside. By the time she finished and landed, she found herself nearly stuck to the ground, along with Shin.      "Oh. Hello there Mr. Tokuyama. We seem to be in a bit of a pinch, don't we?" For as much of a pinch as it was, there was no urgency in her voice at all. Just amusement and curiosity.      Typical.      "Well then. I guess we should clear the ground before 'Something Bad' happens." That said, she held a hand out for Shin to take, should he so please, and then proceeded to--      Oh, the kitty blew up.      And he was spinning their way.      "Well, that's a problem." Just a problem. She'd heard everything he said, and all she could offer the raging Miqo'te was...a smile. Xiao looked towards Shin again, hand still offered, and without further delay, she diverted all MP to her anklets. There was a burst of magic power from those anklets following, and she struggled with the static keeping her to the ground, aiming to break the static link and gain altitude. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko's blade dances and swings until there is suddenly no longer a target... or, at least, no longer the original target. A smaller elemental has appeared before her, and before the demigod can respond, she's bathed in lighning, a searing voltage that throws her to the ground with a hiss of pain. It's not able to suppress her for long, though, and through sheer willpower the swordswoman pushes herself into the air again, Zanjintou returning to the size of a katana - much better for striking out at the Arbiter before her. But then there is the explosion of N'raha's rage, and the act of battle becomes automatic, almost an afterthought, as her attention shifts.     "N'RAHA! If you have issue, I will gladly hear you out after this battle, but now is /NOT THE TIME TO LOSE YOURSELF TO THAT FURY/, unless you want to get yourself and everyone else here /KILLED/! Control yourself!" 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     So, turns out that that Primals are made up of a whole shit-ton of mana. This is something of a problem when Magic Absorber doesn't actually HAVE an off-button. Sure, the first few seconds are about as normal as these sorts of things can get, but the Absorber just keeps /going./ Marisa's flight jerks and spasms as power continues to flood through her veins. It burns like liquid lightning, and her spell doesn't stop, filling her with more and more of the Primal's cast-off power. Eventually, it becomes too much even for the greatest laser witch.     Coils of lightning twist out from the witch's skin, blinding, blue-white light blazes from between grit teeth. Her broom dips, skimming the ground before flipping end-over-brush, sending the witch and her companion bouncing across the broad plateau of the Striking Tree. She doubles over, hands clutching at her midsection as the raw might of the storm tears through her nerves and screams into her marrow.     She can't even scream. All her attention is turned inward, trying to wrest the power under control. The slightest lapse of concentration means it's liable to escape, taking the path of least resistance... And the witch along with it. But in the meantime, she has... other problems. One of Ramuh's adjudicators draws close, its staff raised, poised to crush the witch's behatted head with its blunt end--     And then it gets waylayed by what is quite literally a horizontal tornado. The Celaeno Fragments stumbles towards her master, broom in tow. Vortices of wind twist all around her, but... Can a grimoire alone protect the fallen witch!? 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Power flows into Kyra, power beyond her already large MP reserve she carries with her. "Wow, this is..." she flexes her fingers. Though not afforded the luxury of spending time reflecting on the sudden massive influx of magic particles, she finds herself confronted by a smaller version of Ramuh, who swings his lightning-spewing staff at her. Kyra reacts as any white mage would react when confronted with melee attacks and runs the hell away from it, leaving the Ramuhling to swing at empty air. "Ack!" she exclaims before rounding on the Ramuhling and taking full advantage of the extra MP to direct another Holy at it. This time, it does not drop from the sky so much as it emerges from her hands.     She doesn't spend much time dallying on the Ramuhling because the state of affairs for the others at the moment demanded various degree of healing. In particular, she directs an esuna at Shin and one at Xiao. Shin because he needs to move in order to damage things. Xiao because she's in immenent danger of being whacked by a raging N'raha.     Kyra doesn't say anything to N'raha right now but she does look pretty disappointed. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin is pretty firmly bound in place by Ramuh's static spell. Thanks to Mirielle earlier, he's not totally motionless due to the BARTHUNDER on him. But he's moving a bit more sluggishly between his new huge size and the binding being put on him.     "Yeah, it looks pretty crazy, Miss Li Yu," He notes, still trying to get used to the new form. He's sluggish, and this makes him a perfect target for N'RAHA to come in with his axe.     Shin brings up both his arms over himself to cover his face and body, the massive axe digging into the forearms and eventually hitting bone. A river of blood begins to pour from Shin's arms as the axe severs god knows how many vital internal workings of his arms. He grunts from the exertion of stopping it and stares hard at N'raha.     "What the FUCK do you think you're doing?" He asks. All of the humor, all of the aloof coping mechanism, and every single drop of the dismissive attitude drops from Shin's voice as if it had never existed at all. As his own blood begins to pool at his feet, Shin's sunglasses have cracked from the pushthrough force of the axe blow. It's a medical marvel his arms weren't sheared off by the strike.     "I come to your world to help. You don't like my attitude because it doesn't fit how YOU would act, so you hit me with an axe?" Shin lectures, as if baffled by the fact, "Fine. After this mission, I'm out. Tell your... buddies... tell the guy with the spear. After this one, I quit."     "I thought you were cool, and I wanted to help. My attitude is who I am, but at least I don't hit my fucking friends with an axe when I lose control." Shin tries to kick N'raha at the end of this. A straight, fireman's kick to the center of his arm to push him off Shin's arms so they can dangle limply at his side, "This, by the way? This is me actually mad. So you better back the fuck off and get back to the fight or kill me with the next attack, because this is your one, guy. This is the one you're ever gonna get where I don't beat your ass so bad they bury you in a tupperware container because there weren't enough pieces for a coffin." 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      "Those are nothing but excuses!" Landon roars, "Empty, pitiful excuses! The Ramuh whose blood charges through my veins gave up even his fleeting existence to teach his children right and wrong!"      "How dare you be anything less than the best! How dare you push your failures upon the innocent for the sake of your children! You claim to be judgement itself - how dare you stain that holy title with bias!"      "You are *unworthy*!"      Landon's blade clashes against the Arbiter's staff, the sword of crystallized Law shining brilliantly in the collision. Thunder rolls down the field as Landon presses against the strength of a god with the strength of his willpower, and finds his flesh weak, though the spirit willing. The lightning bolts from earlier haven't been healed yet, and the sword goes flying from his hand. The Arbiter's staff rises.      Landon dumps what remains of the magic from Valentha into another Law Card, shoving a rectangular barrier directly into the Arbiter's face. The barrier smashes with the force of a missile, backed not by muscle but by raw telekinetic force.      Landon dismisses the barrier. He's running low on magic. Based on the pain in his body, he's running low on *everything*. He's not sure how much more he can take.      No, actually, he knows exactly how much he can take.      Enough.      "Murasame!"      Landon's fist closes as the lightning lashes around them. He points over at the man. "I can handle this. I trust you can do the same! Grit your teeth, and prepare!"      Landon reaches into his cape. In his hand is...      In his hand is nearly every single Judge Card he has in his possession.      They burn with light. Landon fills them with what remains of his Magic Points, burning everything he's got and then some. Every bit of his store empties. He closes his eyes, feeling out the battlefield as others start carving into the field.      "Ramuh, Judgement of the Endless Storm...I, Landon al Cid, Prince of Ramuh, pronounce you: guilty, once again! You who stand for judgement have been corrupted by the bias of blood! Your punishment..."      "Is everything I have left! JUDGEMENT!"      Landon throws the cards upwards as lightning begins to crash into him (and presumably Souji as well). They hover in the air, full of brilliant blue fire. Then they start spinning, whirling, furiously blazing above the Judge.      IMMOBILIZE SLOW          BLIND              BARRIER.      Spells lash out. Chains of pure, crystallized law explode from the ground. They form out of the air, wrapping around the Arbiters' eyes, legs, arms - anything they can get a fold on. They lash, and wrap, and spread, as Landon pours all his reserves into the attack and grits his teeth to withstand the fury of the lightning.      And then come the barriers. As the light of the other cards dies, their work done, the last card spins up twice as hard. Crystalline barriers surge into being, already in motion. Landon guides them with his mind, battering into the Arbiters from all sides. The barriers appear, smash, vanish, and reappear elsewhere, a constant assault from all sides as Landon feels his teeth ringing from the lightning lash. He sinks, as if to fall to his knees, pain filling every part of his body.      But he doesn't. The Prince of Ramuh stands, though every part of him wishes he did not, though he burns inside-out with lightning and drains every part of his strength to power the assault.      It doesn't last long. No assault like that possibly could. Crystal chains break, shattering into nothingness as the last drops of magic particles fade from Landon al Cid's reserve. The barriers stop their furious assault as the card burns its final light.      But he raises his eyes to meet whichever Ramuh is still standing, defiance, anger, and righteous judgement still blazing firm within them.      "I will cast judgement upon even the storm itself, if I must!" 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     With all the things going on, it's the actions of Shin and Xiao that most upset Valentha Summers. The wrath of an angry god venting rage, that she's willing to weather, as a matter of dignity, if it means a better outcome.     But in the last few minutes things have happened which have her indignantly fuming for the sake of the very being they came to beseech. Yes, her own initial thoughts were that Ramuh needed a piece of her mind, but THIS.     This is too much. "That is QUITE ENOUGH making a mockery of our duel!"     Valentha's whole body EXPANDS and clothes rip and tear, all her belongings cast aside. Belongings that cost her hours and hours of work and countless thousands of credits.     They're cast aside like nothing as her growing body becomes scaley and elongates, growing swiftly. She stoops over to land on her hands as they transform into clawed forelegs. Human features are exchanged for draconic features.     Yet given how small the platform is - by draconic standards - Valenthanixa does not assume her full size. She is perhaps the size of an elephant, but no larger.     This explains why she really didn't care about a few lightning bolts though!     "I will not stand arm in arm with you fools who treat this so lightly. This is the very sort of behavior he is furious about to begin with. And I will have NONE OF IT."     Shaking her head furiously and just allowing the many lightning bolts to slam into her if they so choose, scorching her hide and drawing rumbles.     She begins casting a spell. There is judgement of her own to pass. The stormy skies above, already stoked to a feverish pitch by Ramuh, sizzle and crackle in reply to her commanding words of power.     But although she was ABOUT to join Ramuh in passing judgement, calling lightning down on Xiao, she halts that spell the moment she sees Marisa's in terrible danger. Val's whole body glimmers blue and flicker-flashes, reappearing over top of Marisa, huge wings folding down to shield her and give her a chance to recover! 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Well...attempt to avoid N'raha's berserker rage failed. She felt sorry for Shin, but, well...Marisa needed help! With Kyra's Esuna in effect, the scientist took off through the air, quickly crossing the distance before cutting power to her anklets and skidding to a stop by the struggling witch.      Whether or not she was aware of the spell that was potentially going to be aimed at her, she didn't show it. Instead, she knelt down by Marisa and raised a hand. The knife she was holding changed form into a gauntlet again and she muttered a spell. "Aspir." Her body took on a shimmery aquamarine glow, channeling into her hand...      ...And then she simple reached for Marisa, aiming to make contact and begin draining excess magic back into her own body. Sure, Primals had a LOT of magic, but...maybe the pain will be less if two people deal with it. Hopefully Marisa will be well enough then.      The dragon protecting Marisa gets a look from Xiao meanwhile, and a smile. As if she knew what was about to happen, but didn't. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     There's too much going on. She feels the lightning link on her, and each draw of her mana sends tiny sparks across the line. Fine. If each action caused by her, her partner would feel pain. Her Reflex skill was useless, as this was a status effect, and her natural resistances - even BarLightning - weren't foolproof by any methods. This was...     This was Mechanics. The dreaded enemy of Adventurers.     She began to analyze the link, dodging scatterings of lightning and the hanging orbs around - obvious persistent zone damage effects - and trying to simply move away from Bartram. No such luck. But then -- Nasa simply 'eats' the link, consuming the damage and the effect. Mirielle gives her a glance of thanks at Nasa, but she can't waste further time. Using her 'Trump Card' in such a desperate situation takes time, even if she was going for a partial usage.     She lets her staff hang in both hands, slightly raise, as her glasses - no, her eyes - begin to smoke. No, it's more like a fine white mist that rises from under her hood. And as she incants, under her breath, to her the world falls away.     If she were to be ready for a turnabout, her calculations noted she had to start now. For Kyra and Bartram, she expected healing - and thanks to the ideas of 'Triage', one must always address the worst cases first, to the best of one's abilities. Spending the time to use her relatively weak curative magic or support. But this...     This is beyond the pale. Allies are attacking allies, even in such a tenuous position. She could rely on Bartram and Kyra, but instantly wrote off most of the others. Shin landed an excellent attack, but had been taken down. Marisa, their magical artillery, was likewise down.     Landon and Souji were handling jobs, as well as... Well, there was too many variables. None of them were functioning fully within ideal limits.     And so she begins to seethe something that isn't darkness, her eyes hidden behind her glasses and cowl, her mouth moving quietly. She was casting and casting, but, the situation couldn't be worse for her concentration. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "Sin is sin. Whoever made it first is irrelevant." Souji replies. "If you would punish Man, while excusing the crimes of your own people, then you are just as bad as you claim Mankind to be." When Ramuh vanishes, the smaller Arbiters appearing and beginning their work, Souji looks to them and grimaces as the crackling tether of lightning connects both him and Landon. A bond of lightning. How appropriate. "This twisted judgement will do nothing but spell the destruction of the people you would hope to protect." With a motion, Souji sets into a preparation stance, trying to focus, to find his center as he prepares to strike. He can possibly endure the pain of the assault, but in this case, efficiency is paramount. "Murasame Sword Arts..." Souji hisses, as he prepares... And he screams as the crackling feedback from the lightning tether surges into him. The smell of cooking flesh drifts on the ionized air, and he jerks and shakes with agony that dances along his nerves. He has been struck by lightning before... but the intensity is on an entirely new level. He is almost driven to a knee from the pain. Almost. But it is essential that he retains his focus. If he loses that... Finally, the time comes. SAMURAI MYSTIC KNIGHT BUSHIDO SPELLBLADE > 8: OBLIVION FLARE BLADE < "Wind of Sorrow." The Murasame Blade loses the poisonous sheen, before flaring white-hot with annihilating force. The air surges around him, boiling and rumbling as he draws his blade back and cleaves forward, a single slash of nuclear flame and boiling, soulless wind shearing out in a line across the Striking Tree. Where the wind passes, the tiny Ramuhs are struck with a wave of disintegrating force, taking full advantage of the massive number of debilitating actions that Landon has placed on them as he uses his offense to compliment Landon's defensive support. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Nasa strikes clean through her Arbiter; it dies. Well, turns back into Aether. There's not much difference for what it concerns you! She'll also find the tethers aren't the sturdiest spells or anything, either. They're potent magic but they're not beyond being outhealed, dispelled, or physically broken even.     The same can be said of the electricity trying to bind people to the ground, as Xiao stretches hers to its limit and then takes off the ground.     Setsuko, too, kills her Arbiter.     Marisa's grimoire, dutiful and on the ball, blasts away the Arbiter aimed at her, so that's one less!     Kyra's Esuna won't have any trouble breaking the binds (well, Shin's, since Xiao already took care of her own).     Xiao eats magic! It's delicious Ramuh magic.     Landon's spell puts a severe chain of debuffs on every Arbiter; they slow, they stop, they weaken. Their Aether is struck, and partially torn. Souji works unusually well with Landon there, turning his now white-hot blade upon many of the smaller Ramuhs. They're torn to shreds, the Murasame heir covering for those who had missed theirs. The Arbiters disappear.     Ramuh reappears, overhead, staff raised. His entire Aether gathers into a single strike, as he gazes down upon the infighting group of adventurers, heroes, combat vagrants and others. "So passionate thy will to do Good. So strong thy beliefs that thy very bonds of friendship and purpose shatter when strained. Perhaps I have failed my children indeed, but now I must do as they ask me: I pronounce thy sentence. By the radiance of eld be thee judged."     JUDGMENT BOLT rains down, giant pillars of lightning-- and judgment. They spin around the arena, some centered on Ramuh, but overall it would be very difficult to avoid, especially with all the infighting.     The damage it causes is equal parts lightning, and equal parts 'how sinful is your life'. The harsher one could be judged, if their life was laid out for all to see, the more damage it'll cause. On the other hand, it's perfectly possible to steel one's mind enough it doesn't get to do that, and just shocks a lot.     More importantly, it reveals INTENT. Those who are truthful about being here to promote peace will receive less damage. Those who are not will take significantly more. And those too busy infighting to remember the big picture will fall somewhere in the middle regardless of their intentions.     Following the blinding display of lightning magic, Ramuh lands in the center of the Striking Tree, lowering his staff. His intent to fight disappears, if such could even be perceived, as he watches to see who is still standing, who rises, and what they have to say. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     A detached part of N'raha watches that axe sink into Shin's arms, watches the blood the carnage and recoils in horror.     Another part revels in it. Right now he can't figure out which is worse.     The Rage is still coiling off N'raha as he's kicked away from Shin, as he watches Landon and Souji tank the damage from the paired attack, all of it around him as he /seethes/. The aetheric axe is still there, the catman is still smouldering but he's not charging in at Shin again. If he was in a better spot right now he'd be apologizing but...     Ramuh. Shin manages to get that back in his head. Ramuh. He's seeing red but he can at least direct this Fury into a direction that isn't the rest of the party.     The catman's muscles /shake/ and he turns in place to face the Primal again. And it's then that the bolt of Judgement hits him, and he crumples to the platform of the Tree, the electricity arcing through his body, shutting down all the bits of him that had any desire to move. The Rage howls inside him, aching to be released rather than just fade away, but the Miqo'te lets it happen, the hazy red mist around his frame boiling away, healing some of the damage on its way out of his body. He's panting now, the wounds from the fight catching up with him, as he plants the head of his axe into the stone and levers himself... to a kneel. He sits there for a few long moments, before trying to get up to his feet. But what surprises him, is that it's shame, not weak knees, that is making it hard to stand.     Shame? Shame. Shame for himself, for this whole debacle, for everything here. His voice lifts. "...This isn't what I wanted at all. This was s-supposed to be... This was supposed to be a chance to prove ourselves..." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko's dancing blade halt, her target having disappeared. She brings Zanjintou up, turning, looking, trying to spot the return of the Primal-     And then he appears, above, passing judgement in a thunderous radiance that causes the demigod to buckle. There has been sin in her life. Much of it. She is a soldier. No matter the creed she follows to ensure that her killing is not unjust, it is still a creed that sanctions killing, and kill she has. That, more than anything, is the weight the Judgement Bolt brings down on her. But her body rallies against the lightning - if anything, though it causes her pain, something about it seems to enliven the demigod, causing her divine presence to swell just slightly. And as for intent? Hers is as pure as it comes. She is here to defend, to bring peace.     Setsuko rises, having taken some damage from Judgement Bolt beyond the lightning aspect, but not much. "Passions run high," Setsuko agrees. "It is the nature of man. We are, all of us, individuals. We disagree with each other. It is in our nature not to be unified; though we work for a common goal, we may believe differently in how to achieve it. Sometimes, we will butt heads."     Her hand takes hold of N'raha's armor. With inhuman strength, she hauls him to his feet. And supports him if she has to.     "But though we falter, though we lose sight and make mistakes, if our heart is pure, we will ever strive to correct them, and ever reach for a better world. So do not judge us by our mistakes, but by our willingness to correct them." Her words, once again, are meant as much for N'raha as they are for the person she's ostensibly talking to. She's defending him to the Primal. "And please. Do not blame us for the mistakes of others, just as we do not blame you for the cruel behavior of other Primals. You are you, and they are they." 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Infighting. Anger. Rage. Things that Nasa knew well. N'Raha struck out wildly, injuring an ally in the process. It sparked flare after flare of anger and distrust within the group. A group of largely-strangers and outsiders. Even Nasa's own anger flared briefly, focused on Xiao. But she focused that silent, and internal.      Nasa's gaze focuses on Mirielle as she gives her that brief smile. She returns it, stepping away from her briefly, but carefully placing herself so that she's in a defensive position nearby her, facing Ramuh. A dragon formed, speaking of anger. She looks up towards Ramuh as he speaks. "...Passion does always to runnning high in combat. ...This combat is to being nau different." Nasa murmurs softly. And then... Ramuh pronounces her judged.      There wasn't even time to bring up a defensive spell, so all Nasa can do is plant her feet firmly on the ground and hope to weather the effects by letting it go through her bare feet. But... she hadn't ... really been prepared for the rest of that judgement bolt. She was not the one to take the most damage, her intent here had truly been to make peace. Ramuh, too, was a part of her beloved Wilds, in his own way. But she had been born a Drow, and raised a Drow. Though she had been working to repent over her life, her soul was Stained.      And... well. It hurt. A lot. Not the worst, but she was almost definitely towards the lighter mid-range, most likely. It had her wavering in place, her wings fluttering as she twitches. But... regardless of this fact... she stands. She even moves. Slowly, painfully, but she moves. Ramuh is ... actually ignored. In favor of N'Raha Tia.      Nasa moves slowly towards him, a hand reaching out towards him. "...Things do to rarely go as planned. Even the best of intentions can to causing the wildest chaos and worst pain. All you can to doing is make the best of it and apologize when you do to make a mistake." Nasa murmurs quietly. She does not, actually, touch the cat though. A last minute moment of clarity resulting in her thinking not to shock the cat with the likely heavy static discharge. "...And talk when you are upset, preferably before does to coming to boiling head."      She slowly shifts her gaze up towards Ramuh, watching him silently for several long moments. "...Naubody is perfect. Naut even you. Everyone does to make mistakes. Is sure the people of Gridania wished to help your children, but they may to have naught even known... or been able to because their own situation has to being unpleasant. Nasa has been busy, has been going around, doing her best to help the land here. Has seen it? Is ravaged. Is monsters everywhere. Everyone is to doing what they can to improve the planet, and while there are to being some who are dark and hold ill intent... does naut mean that all do to deserve to be judged harshly." Nasa shifts slowly, wavering in place.      She lifts her hands to rub at her face. Ugh. It hurts. She hates pain. She shifts her mouth slightly, biting down on an already-melted painkiller capsule in her mouth reflexively, letting the pain-killing medicine flow through her body. "...Can naut say that understands this land fully yet, but can to telling you... right now, what world needs is to naught being Judgement, but teamwork. Something that did to breaking down today at the end, but until then... we were to being working together well. It did to even letting us stand a chance against you."      She lowers her hands. "Is naut Nasa's place to speak though. She is of another land. Of another world. Is helping those of this world, hoping that they can to getting the peace they wish for." She looks pointedly towards Alwyn, Bertram, and N'Raha, before looking back towards Ramuh, the dark mist over her eyes shifting, working at regathering after having been burned away by Judgement Bolt.      "... Your children wish peace away from the rest of the world... first they do to need to make peace with the rest of the world, so that the rest of the world does to naut look at them with mistrust 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "... Your children wish peace away from the rest of the world... first they do to need to make peace with the rest of the world, so that the rest of the world does to naut look at them with mistrust or fear. The Sylphs of Little Solace have to doing this excellently, and does hope that eventually the rest of the sylphs can to doing the same." Nasa shifts slowly, before eventually just ... falling on her rear. Ugh. Everything hurt. That painkiller needs to start acting faster. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Landon al Cid is not without sin. There are no human beings who are without sin. Living itself presents temptations, and Landon isn't perfect. He has...he has his indulgences, and he's made mistakes. He's done things he's not altogether happy about, although he's never done anything he's truly *ashamed* of. He's never done anything *evil*. He doesn't lie, he doesn't cheat, though he does withhold information when he feels lives can be saved by hiding things. That's the price of government - even the best of it isn't completely clean.      And he's killed. He's killed men, and gotten men killed. The battlefield of Shiva may not have had any major incursions in the last few months, but even in the brief skirmishes, people die. People on both sides. Landon has fought hard to go back to the people he loves, fought fierce to protect that which he cares for.      In love alone is he a tyrant. In all matters of government, in all manners of life, Landon al Cid strives to be a saint.      He holds himself to an impossible standard. He pushes himself to the limit of health and sanity. He throws himself into battles he cannot win to protect others.      And he does that now. Landon throws Shin, Kyra, and Souji to the ground. He takes the lightning into himself, three bolts beyond the one meant for him. Selflessness, self-sacrifice, even though one of the men involved is one of his worst enemies. Mercy, even for those who may not deserve it. Punishment, for those who do.      Landon sears. He courses with thunder, arcs again racing up and down his body. Mercifully, Landon is not a bad man, and his honesty, his morality, his willingness to sacrifice for what he believes in and tell even a god to hold itself to a higher standard spare him some of the worst of it.      Not all the worst of it. He's got nothing left. He stumbles for a moment, smoldering and swaying as if he's about to fall over.      He doesn't. He takes a step forward. His eyes are locked so firmly on Ramuh that it seems as if he diverts his gaze he might simply topple there. Smoke pours out of his mouth and nose as he breathes out, then breathes in to speak.      "You have...failed them," Landon manages, his breath rattling in his throat as he tries to take another step and finds his feet unwilling to move, "But you...too...can do better. You can teach them now, with peace. You can pass to them the word of what happened here, that they..."      Landon fights himself to get the word out. "That they...might learn from it...and learn to coexist. That they might..."      "Be..."      "...wiser..."      The Prince wobbles for a moment. Then he topples forward, exhaustion burning every muscle.      "Better..."      The clang of metal against the tree reverberates as Landon lands. It rings outwards like a gong, filling the air with its brilliant sound. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra's eyes widen in fear as it clicks in her mind that the Judgement Bolt actually contains Judgement from the Primal, that it wasn't just a whole lot of lightning. The bottom drops out of her stomach for she knows that in so many ways, she would be judged guilty. From the events that lead to her being ejected from her family and religion to accidentally ending a life, there was quite a lot she would be paying for.     That is until Landon grabs her and throws her on the ground alongside Shin and /Souji/ of all people. She isn't unaware of Landon's self-sacrificial nature and knows exactly what is coming. So while she is protected, Kyra strives to make sure that Landon and those next to her, for Souji and Shin could no doubt use it from the fighting, were well-healed.     Using up all of the extra MP that was gifted to her by the dragon, Kyra calls upon her healing magic and saturates the mound of people from herself, to Shin, to Souji, to Landon. The pile glows brightly with white magic that was just starting to re-emerge in this world.     "CURAGA!"     Following that, Kyra is silent. She really doesn't have much to say nor does she really think her support really proved anything to Ramuh. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin is mostly out of the fight, due to the injuries that have managed to royally damage his arms. The act of punching would probably tear his muscle clean from the bone that's how wide his wounds are. This is fortunate for some, Ramuh chief among them, but unfortunate for Shin since he wanted to help the others in the first place.     Instead, he occupies himself with other tasks. Namely, he starts tearing strips of fabric from his dress shirt and wrapping them around the huge, gaping wounds in his arms so that they'll at least stay put instead of spreading. Makeshift bandages at best so he can actually move his arms at all without making the wounds worse. Instantly, the white fabric turns a ruby red and Shin scowls.     If nothing else, though, the look he gives N'raha isn't one of disdain or hatred. Shin's angry, but he doesn't seem to have any hatred in his eyes. Simply that of someone prepared to defend himself if he has to. Luckily, he doesn't, as N'raha manages to find his correct target again and the martial artist can heave a sigh of relief and revert to his normal posture for the moment, "Fwaaaaah. It's hard to believe the guy that FF'd me with an axe won't be the person I leave here with the lowest opinion of," He murmurs to himself.     Shin finds himself thrown to the ground, immediately going,"Fuck me, again with this shi-" But he cuts off as it turns out to be Landon tanking Judgment Bolt for him. Shin, as someone who lives a Monk's Lifestyle is actually pretty pure and generally GOOD. But the lightning probably would have put him down for a long time after the injuries he already sustained. That's why, as Landon falls down, Shin manages to prop himself up onto a knee and murmur, "Shit man. Thanks. I owe you one." He notes, looking at the fallen and armored Prince, "And I swear I'll pay it back."     Not today, though. As people begin looking to Ramuh to talk after the fight, Shin simply wants to leave. Judging Landon as someone that needs more medical care than him, Shin kinda slowly stands up and then tries to just quietly walk to the ramp so he can leave. This is not a situation he wants to be around for in post.     This means that he IS hit by the Curaga from Kyra. He looks back over his shoulder, "Thanks. I think that'll hold me. Focus on him," Shin says. He can feel that, at least, the wounds under his makeshift bandages have stopped bleeding and closed a little. He's still leaving, though, for now. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' This is what Souji was seeking to prevent. While he, like all Ramuhan nobility, might wear a mask and dance the dance of daggers in the upper echelons of the government, he knows what he has done and what is good, and what is evil. As the words ring out, Souji stops fighting, closing his eyes and sighing. "Judgement is nigh." He says, quietly. Is this how he chooses to face the cleansing power of Ramuh? Perhaps, perhaps not, as he is suddenly surprised by Landon throwing him to the ground. "WHAT?" Souji yells, genuinely surprised for a moment as he hits the scorched surface of the Striking Tree. He looks up, and observes Landon, taking the strikes meant for them. Him, Kyra, and Shin... And he scowls. "You damn fool." Souji snaps, but there's no weight behind the words as he stands up again. "Kyra, see to him, quickly." As if she would need the prompting. He looks towards Ramuh again, noticing that he seems to have expended his will to fight. Is this the end? As the Curaga suffuss him, undoing much of the damage of the battle, he stares at Ramuh. He has no speech. He has no grandiose words. All he has is a blade in his hand... And he turns, sheathing it. the ribbon ties itself around the handle silently. "Are you satisfied?" He asks the Primal. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle is about to unleash hell, her frail body shuddering with the immense magic she had been working up until the point that Ramuh returns to the real world. She raises her hand, and the pressure she had been exuding lightly becomes nearly overpowering, in a wave of force that blows outward - the precursor to grand arcanery.     And then she gets hit by Judgement Bolt. The overwhelming karmic lightning strikes her in her very soul and erases the carefully contstructed thoughts she had brought forth for his arrival.     Her mind goes blank, her sight goes white, and her body knew only pain. But it was 'gentle' as far as being annihilated by lightning went.     Which is to say, for all her darkness, all her shade, and all of her vile activities, her resolve here was at least somewhat admirable. She was here to stop Ramuh, to back Landon in pressing upon mercy and peace. These were optimal things, to her.     While her soul was judged harshly, her mind was graced with some leniance.     And so, as the bolt ended, she fell to her knees, her charred staff falling away from her hands and she threw up on the ground, heaving and falling to her side, twitching.     "H-hate... zzz-z-zone A-o-E." She groans, scooting away from her 'lost cookies'.     "Even with BarThunder..." 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     Well, that's about the last time Marisa intentionally tries to eat an energy field larger than her head. Of course, this one was approximately four times her size, so maybe she can just try eating a smaller one and be fine, or something. Wizard Hubris knows no bounds, after all.     Xiao's treatment seems to work, though. A surge of magic pours into the Dark Knight, even as Valentha alights over them, protecting the trio from the torrents of lightning. Marisa's eyes slowly focus through the pain still pounding in her veins. But at least, for now, she's NOT literally turning into lightning. Even so though, there's still... power. Too much power. The judgment bolt builds in the sky, beyond the canopy of Valentha's wings, and Marisa... Responds. She lifts her Hakkero to the sky, the other hand reaches for her Grimoire's shoulder--     Above Valentha, the atmosphere seems to thicken with a peal of thunder, accumulating into a solid cushion of compressed air. When the Judgment Bolts pour in, they'll find significantly more resistance than the Primal may have expected. After all, this IS his own trick she's borrowing.     With a groan, the witch rises to sit, her skin still... crackling. "Goddamn," Marisa mutters, staring out at the Primal beyond the dragon's wings. "You ain't that bad, old man. Kind of a shitty judge, but I guess not an awful dad, either. Heh." Better than hers, at least. ...Probably.     "Xiao," Marisa glances towards the Dark Knight. Her eyes linger for a moment, before smirking- it's a little weaker than she usually manages, though, "Thanks for that. Woulda been bad otherwise." 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Down comes the Judgement of Heaven and Valentha eyes the clouds warily. Then those eyes CLOSE after giving Xiao a return glare full of the wrath of nearly a millenia of life.     And in that millenia of life, Valentha has made many mistakes. As a hatchling, too young to know any better or control her emotions she's killed and mangled. Time and again she has fallen prey to arrogance and delved after forbidden knowledge or dared things that should not have been dared. Her life is full of errors.     But equally so is it full of repentence and efforts to make reparations. She has stood for the rights of all sapient beings, for justice and for peaceful co-existence. Risked herself selflessly time and again in fights even a dragon cannot face fearlessly.     Just as she stands now shelteringly over Marisa and an 'ally' she doesn't at all respect but is depending on to save the one she does.     That's a LOT Of power coming down to strike her. Both wings stretch out though to catch as much of it that might've otherwise threatened Marisa and Xiao as possible. And Valentha simply clenches her jaw shut in preparation.     The JUDGEMENT BOLT slams hard into her, scorching deep through her bones and internal organs. Her whole body crackles, illuminated in the stormy fury.     THIS one is enough to make the dragon roar in pain. A ferocious, deep, ear-shattering noise nearly as loud as the thundrous crack from Judgement Bolt itself.     When it's all over with, Valenthanixa's still standing shelteringly. In all likelihood she couldn't offer full protection, with the nature of that attack. But what she received was enough to leave her paralyzed in place. Standing not through any remaining physical strength, but sheer willpower to not fall and crush anyone.     When all's said and done, Val's principles and ideals, her intent, is unquestionable. She's here in the hopes of mending the ills suffered by a world and its people, and so she turns her mighty head - ignoring the pain in every spasming muscle - to turn her centuries-old gaze at the Primal.     "We ALL fail. Learning from mistakes, making amends for them, and not repeating them is the cornerstone of maturity. I have done so my whole life."     Her eyes swerve about though, fixating down on Xiao Li Yu with an excruciating ferocity. It's asking clearly, 'what about you?' 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Xiao grasped Marisa and drew some of Ramuh's power away from her and into herself. "...Agh....ow...seriously?" She grumbled, wincing and shuddering as the electric charged aether entered her body and coarsed through her veins. She was in absolutely no position to be tanking judgment bolts right now, so Valentha's (unwilling)defense of her and Marisa is...convenient.      She stopped draining the witch once she realized that the other had regained consciousness. "Aha. There you are." She smiled a bit. "Welcome back to the waking world." And then a pained sigh. "Never do that again, you hear me?" Speaking sweetly, she pat Marisa's shoulder once it was all over, then rose to her feet.      It looked like it was truly over. Ramuh was back as well. But she didn't have anything amazing to say. People were people. That's all it was.      Valentha's glare is met with a curious look and a tilt of the head. She smiled pleasantly despite the anger being directed towards her, eyes twinkling as if saying...      'I wonder about that.' 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Judgment comes down, and then it passes.     "Doth thou regret your mistakes, Miqo'te?" Ramuh asks N'raha, with a tone that implies if he does, that will be proof enough.     "Thy sentence has been met, Bringers of Light. Thou hast proven, if nothing else, that thy strength can overcome much. Perhaps to put the safety of mine children in your hands is not such a folly after all," the Primal muses at Setsuko.     To Nasa, he nods. "Mine children saught isolation. If that was their wish, t'was not mine place to tell them they were wrong. But peace cannot be achieved through isolation alone. I see now that to separate all people in corners is not peace."     Tempered Sylphs fly in, flocking around their Lord. They chatter, looking back and forth between he and the adventurers.     Ramuh points at Landon; assuming nobody else gets to it (well, even if they do), one of the Tempered Sylphs starts casting healing spells. They're not anywhere near Kyra's level, but they'll help him up. "Rise, child. I sought to judge thy worth here, but it was mine that was found wanting. Mine ire should not target all men, when only some are evil. Once, mine children did summon me, and I laid waste to an army of Garleans. Unwittingly, my children were Tempered, touched by mine light. It is mine fault alone that they are so territorial."     To Souji, he nods. "I am satisfied."     Ramuh's form breaks; unable to sustain itself, mostly due to Marisa, honestly, the Primal is reduced to a sphere of glowing lightning, which hovers in the air.     "My children will learn from this. Peace can be achieved; thy strength will ensure it," he answers to everyone, prompted by Valentha's words.     "I judge thee champions of Light. Thy task, to excise evil from men's hearts. Falter not when comes time to use your strength. Like hungering shadows do the enemies of harmony gather, and meekness will but feed them. If man is to be delivered from the Dark, it will be by your guiding Light."     And then, Ramuh is gone. His form breaks, and his Aether scatters back to the four corners of the Black Shroud. The Tempered Sylphs down below have all stopped fighting, and the Scions seem to already be untying them.     It won't be EASY, but having their Lord tell them to seek peace will go a long way. Having Tempered people, beastmen of all things, coexist with Eorzeans will be a strange, new thing.     It won't be long before the Scions (and the Elder Seedseer) will be up to congratulate you. And, well, now they want to talk. Because Ramuh sure said some ominous shit, and the Scions are all about that. Not now, though. Rest up first. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Right.      Well that was all warm, fuzzy and touching, but...      Xiao had research samples to study! As such, she proceeded to casually sidle off to the edge of the arena, plainly intending to leave while the talking, bickering, and heartfelt confessions of love and cameraderie started up.      Priorities. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Landon is put back on his feet by a combination of Ramuh's awesome power and Kyra's awesome power. He stands, though he's still a little wobbly (getting hit by four god blasters and like every other attack will do that to you). He listens to Ramuh, slowly, as the god speaks.      Then he vanishes.      The Sylphs, the Scions, the Seedseer, they cluster to congratulate. Landon simply starts laughing, ironclad hand on his head. It is the laugh of tension shattering like glass on contact with the ground.      The sheer arrogance of him to lecture the god on the proper method of judgement! And not just any god - his own ancestor, of a sort, the distant common father of his entire lineage, and the lineage of all those of his continent! It was staggering. But nonetheless...if a god is not held to a higher standard, if it cannot be an example to be followed, then what good is it? He laughs, and laughs, and laughs. His laughter rings out across the tree for a solid minute before he takes a deep breath and regains his demeanor. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "...Does naut think that Isolation is bad in and of itself. If does want to keep to self for most part, is okay... that is to being what diplomats and people who do to go out and make sure that all is to being well with people they do to naut want war with is for, yes." Nasa murmurs, shifting slowly as she roots around in her pouches a bit. Eventually, she pulls out a small bottle of some form of liquid. Luckily, it hadn't been destroyed or even really damaged by the lightning. It was warm now, though.      Nasa slowly stands as she listens to Ramuh talk. Champions of Light? She was among those judged! She takes a small breath. That was something that made her silently happy and joyous, really. Regardless, though, she began to make her way towards Valentha.      She then takes out a small needle. She would then dip the tip of the needle into the bottle of painkillers and, provided that Valentha doesn't stop her from doing such... unceremoniously attempt to prick a softer area of her flesh. It would likely barely even hurt -- especially with the /extremely/ powerful painkillers and healing aids on the needle. Afterwards, she would carefully stop up the bottle, and offer the needle up to the dragon. "...Has your blood on it." ...Blood was valuable. Especially dragon blood. She was sure Valentha could understand why she was offering it to her.      She then glances towards the tree. And then towards the Tempered Sylphs. "...Why is tree like this? Can Nasa help?" She asks towards them. "...Grand tree, cut as it is to being... is unpleasant to seeing." Nasa adds as an explanation to her offer. Mind you, she wouldn't help /immediately/. She just fought Ramuh. She had very little magical energy left right now.      Oh sweet wonderful painkillers though. She could move! Thank goodness! Because otherwise she would be in a world of pain. She looks towards the approaching Scions and the elder Seedseer, simply nodding towards them. And then she goes more or less quiet, waiting for her healing aids to start their job. She was even sitting cross-legged. Just right there. Yaaaaaay painkillers. Also the ability to be semi-conscious while 'sleeping' by performing Reverie instead of sleeping. 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:''' "Pfahahahaha," Marisa laughs! But it's an achey, too-sore-to-do-this-properly sort of thing, "Don't worry, I'll try to keep from uh, eatin' that much energy all at once." Lightning arcs briefly between her teeth, "Still feels sorta buzzy-tingly though. Could be worse though, I could be dead!"     The witch groans as she rises further, taking a moment to ruffle her Grimoire's hair... And then looks up to the dragon still overtop of her. "Thanks a lot too, by the way! Appreciate not bein' nice and toasty. So!" She... looks around, glancing at the beastmen and the others, "What do we do now, exactly?" 

}}

2918/Trial: The Striking Tree

2015-08-31T00:09:26Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/08/29 |Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR> |Synopsis=Ramuh, Lord of Levin, casts his judgment upon Eorzea's heroes. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=25..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/29
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Ramuh, Lord of Levin, casts his judgment upon Eorzea's heroes.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 367, 626, 627, 642, 666, 756, 815, 819, 823, 826, 829, 834
|Tinyplot=The Six Crystals Of Light
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     It's an emergency! Or so the Scions and the Seedseers claim, when they send the call to the Adventurers' Guild, that they may get ahold of... well, muscle. Aetheric readings through the Black Shroud have gone a bit crazy, and it's all lightning-aspected, hinting the time has finally come to stop talking about Ramuh and start dealing with him.     The EAST SHROUD is the same as ever, but the sky is a dark grey, despite it being mid-day. Flashes of blue and purple occasionally illuminate it, and what few bolts of lightning can be seen through the clouds, seem to be striking a single location in the North of the Sylphlands. Tempered Sylphs will bar your way through, though, and so the Scions are unhappy to say they'll need to secure the area for you. That's unhappy because frankly it won't look good to Ramuh. They'll get it done nonlethally though. Just head north from the Hut, follow the Scions.     Waiting for you at the WARP GATE (and AETHERYTE CRYSTAL) of the Hawthorne Hut is ELDER SEEDSEER KAN-E-SENNA, the blonde teenager patient in her white robes, carrying a large white staff. She'd said she didn't want to interfere-- just watch, unless she became needed. With her already is ALWYN (and anyone else who wants to have gotten here early).     The travel North is not a long one; you'll pass through trees and shortcuts, finding occasionally Tempered Sylphs (small purple plant people!) that have been tied up, but not killed. And eventually, the noises of battle become louder, and more obvious.     There is a tree, a massive tree, with what looks like it could be an almost as high stone platform, or maybe it's another tree that got cut into a make-shift tower, a ramp spiraling up its side. At its base is a very large blue crystal, and a lot of symbols, the most prominent of which is a lightning bolt in a purple circle.     SCIONS are holding the area. YDA (human, wears white hat and black metal visor over her eyes, female, seems to be a monk), Y'SHTOLA (catgirl, obvious healer) and PAPALYMO (lalafell, tiny person, black robes, shooting fireballs around) are holding the frontline with assorted uniformed volunteers (namely, one could recognize LIAVINNE in the mix, using blunt arrows to help push Sylphs back). Near the crystal are URIANGER (tall elezen (elf) judging from the ears making points in his hood, robed from head to toe, YES HE LEFT THE WAKING SANDS FOR THIS) and THANCRED (human, short white hair, looks like the ladykiller type with his cool black shirt).     The situation could be better, but right now it's as clear as it'll get. The Seedseer will point towards the crystal, Urianger and Thancred, saying that's obviously where they want to be, if nobody else has. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' BERTRAM (hyur, tall, looks like a lumberjack, wears white robes) has gone ahead towards the Sylphlands and joins the group once they catch up. He's been assisting the Scions until that point, but when the group arrives he points towards the Crystal. "I'm fairly confident that's where the Lord of Levin is located. We must needs head there at once. Pray make haste." He sounds extremely serious and somewhat on edge. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     SO HE'S NOT A CUTE CATGIRL OKAY DON'T ALL DROOL OVER Y'SHTOLA okay maybe a little drooling.     N'raha is here, clad in what's now coming to be well worn and salty plundered platemail, his inferno axe up and blocking, as he does his best to stand between the Scions and the Sylphs. He is likewise On Edge, his tail all the way fluffed out, his expression serious and shrouded under that helmet. He starts backing up though as the others arrive.     Apparently he's a Light Warrior, so he's got Duties to perform. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Na`Sabal-Une has been... honestly around a fair amount lately. She had a vested interest in the land of Hydaelyn now, due to the fact that its nature was so deeply wounded. So she'd been visiting off and on. Instead of having to come from off-world, she was actually at the adventurer's guild to hear the call for aid!      So it wasn't long before Nasa was off on her way to the Hawthorne Hut, making use of the warp gate to get to it -- she still wasn't entirely certain about attuning to the Aetheryte Crystals just yet. If they'd even work for her, and all that! The whole 'being from a different world' thing. She met up with Kan-E-Senna and offers a polite bow of her head towards her.      As they travel north, she looks towards the Tempered Sylphs quietly, noting that they've been tied up. ...Which was probably for the best. They were fae. Even if they seemed unseelie. And... soon, they were at the giant tree and high stone platform! Scions and Sylphs fighting on a frontline that looked almost like war. She moves quickly over towards Orianger and Thancred when they're directed towards the crystal and those two. "What is plan to being?" She asks, fluttering her wings. It's a good thing she is distinctly not a plant person, or she might be easy to mistake for a Tempered Sylph. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     It has been stated that the Primals have the ability to Temper - essentially brainwash, to Valentha's understanding - 'lesser creatures.' So it is that Valentha responds to the call for help with all due haste and her Mind Block at full strength. Not even surface thoughts leak from her. Nothing's getting in and nothing's coming out.     Would that she could only extend this protection to others. The journey to the great tree is filled with enough examples of just why, much to her horror each time she sees one of the tied up Sylphs.     "There better be a good reason for all this mayhem. I've got a piece of my mind to give this so-called Primal, and he's gonna choke on it." Valentha exclaims upon reaching the tree.     She does grin at some of the figures around though. There's no shortage of good-looking people in these parts, even by her not-really-human standards. Ah well.     "Who's SUMMONING him anyways I've not seen any signs of a serious ritual..."     If she can figure out what ritual is involved in summoning a Primal, that might lead to an advantage down the line. She is intensely interested in figuring out how it's done. Even if it's only in abstract. She's well aware of how dangerous summoning magic is.     It's why she's never learned it. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     It's a day they've long expected, but still a somewhat ominous one to have to actually face. It is for that very reason that Setsuko has come; she would not leave this situation to anyone else, for a variety of reasons including her own responsibility in the matter. As soon as she arrives in the Hawthorne Hut, the demigod is greeted by enough important and familiar faces to know that it's happening. She gives Kan-E-Senna, Yda and Papalymo a polite bow of the head, and regards Thancred, Y'shtola and Urianger with more than a little curiosity, being new faces.     Liavinne gets a very cold, lingering stare.     "I do not mean to alarm those present," Setsuko says as they approach the crystal, "But battle is inevitable. I can sense it from here. I still intend to speak with Lord Ramuh and see what can come of it, but have your weapons with you and ready." It is a grim truth of her existence that sometimes, she has to be the one to tell people that a fight can't be avoided. And yet, she muses as she raises a hand to the purple aetheryte crystal, she'll try anyway. Foolish, probably. But necessary nonetheless. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     The East Shroud has become welcomly familiar to Kyra over the past few months. The rainy weather in stark contrast of the endless, massive forest would never stop being a novelty to the Galiandan. Though right now she can easily sense the imbalance in the forest and the raging lightning-aspected aether currently saturating the region. She follows the Scions, determined and resolute. She'll even provide them some support as they nonlethally disable tempered Sylphs.     Though the whole time she does, she errs on the safe side and uses nothing but her potions and mixtures to heal and buff.     She takes a picture or two of the Sylphs and sends them to Biteblade, curious as to what her plant person friend would say about non-Floran plant people.     Kyra seems not all that reluctant to approach the crystal, doing so as she wears her forehead-mounted camera. The camera, of course, is on and streaming the feed directly to the Light Warriors (the school club version) MogTube channel. "Do you think Ramuh will reason with us? Everything I've heard about Primals describes them as pretty hostile." Kyra directs her question at Setsuko. 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     MARISA KIRISAME has come when summoned and promised the opportunity to fight another of Eorzea's ridiculous god-monster-things. After all, those sorts of things have been empirically proven to guard some really awesome loot, and she is nothing if not a fan of loot.     Her traversal of the trail to their destination is arguably easier than most anyone else in the group. It's hard to beat being able to just fly around to wherever you need to go, after all. She sails over the brambles and through the woods with all the agility of an expert broom-flier, sailing around and between obstacles with a whistling song on her lips and a fistful of laser in her... fists.     She's not alone, either! There's a heavy tome strapped to her hip, and ~mysteriously~, a girl even younger than Marisa herself seems to materialize on her broom from time to time. Who is this mysterious waif!?     "Eh, if he talks, he talks. If he doesn't, we kick his ass, THEN we talk," Marisa chimes, her lips pulling up into a great, toothy grin. "It'll be fine, it'll be fine! Just don't worry and get ready for a brawl, and everything'll be just dandy." The girl on her broom says nothing, but her eyes betray a mild but prolonged sense of disbelief about this whole situation. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     It's an emergency! That sounds pretty important.     Thusly, Shin is here. Albeit, he's Shin, so while he's taking the summons pretty seriously, he's also kinda hyperactive and a bit overeager. He'll pretty eagerly dash his way towards the area where people are gathering up to deal with the tree.     He's notably not saying much, despite the pretty eager posture and attitude he has. It's not for any reason greater than simply lacking anything really dramatic to input. He rocks on his feet a bit as people start gathering, rolling and popping his shoulders and back, occasionally stretching an arm or a leg out or up to warm up for the fight.     Eventually, though, he does speak, "Fight or not, it needs to get handled. Can't just have people getting all uppity and summoning ancient power and shit all willy-nilly. Pretty much everything I've ever read marks it as a bad idea." 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     There's not much to say about this situation. In terms of an 'Emergency', they had been preparing for this sort of thing. Setting up scenarios and conditions of victory. If things came to a head, well, that's what they had been starting up fo-ooooookay that's a big tree.     Mirielle is dressed not in her school clothes but instead a dark robe that stops short of the ground, revealing heavy shoes for tromping around in a forest. Also because robes that drag on the ground are stupid as hell in a forest. An undrawn hood and a long, straight staff with a crescent upon the top completes her outfit, classic 'magic caster' gear, if samey and drab.     She arrives a little late, gasping and panting at the foot of the rest of the party, pressing her staff deeply into the soft forest earth and gasping for air. "Why did I... run here? Well, I mean, providing the profile of a rider is bad, but... still!" She complains. "I came as fast as I could, but..."     Mirielle looks about ready to fall the fsk over.     "I'll be fine in a moment..." 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      And then comes Xiao, plodding behind Mirielle without much urgency to her pace whatsoever. She's wearing a white labcoat and a blue cheongsam under it with her hair done up in a lazy updo rather than her usual buns. Her arms are folded into her sleeves casually. "Oh. Well it looks like everyone is here." No Xiao, you're late.      A pause. A looks around.      "And I do mean everyone." She cracked an amused smile at that.      The scientist's eyes settled onto the tree, observing it's overall design. "...Elaborate." To say the least.      She briefly considered how she was going to gather data on Ramuh without the proper tech though... A lightning bolt would fry her computer, tablet, and phone, if she dared to bring any of them out...      "Pen and paper it is~" And without further ado, a notepad and a pen were produced from her sleeves, all smiles and waiting for things to move along.      No urgency at all. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Ramuh.      The mere name evokes a myriad of thoughts from Landon al Cid, *Prince* of Ramuh. It calls to mind ancestral memories of an ancient war, the sound of thunder in the pounding rain, the flash of lightning in the ionized air, and the tingle of electricity that runs through his body. It brings forth images of sweeping towers under the furious storm, of humekind's dominion over - and cooperation with - the elements, and of the wisdom to know when to act rather than how. And, evidently, to the people of this world, it evokes the fear of might, the thunderous power of a dark force, and an enemy to be struck down.      Landon isn't quite sure how he feels about that. On the one hand, this is not his world, not his Ramuh, unless the continent has learned or decided to change its attitude at some point over eight thousand years, not to mention figured out how to switch from 'living' to 'dead'. And also learned how to transverse worlds with a city on its back. And...      It's safer just to assume that some things echo across dimensions, Landon decides.      The Prince of Ramuh has come dressed in his full regalia - the silvery Judge Armor, the long purple cape, and the massive, crystalline Judge Blade. He is well aware that metal conducts electricity, but when you've lived most of your life wearing full plate mail, you tend not to care about little details like that. Disrupting his own flow would be more dangerous than wearing rubber, and he highly doubted that something as simple as basic logic would stop a god-being from shocking him anyway.      The Prince pays little attention to the battle formation. He's been seeing war formations for the last two months, as nonstop battles with the Shivans keep both sides on the edge. Another one is basically second nature to him now. His eyes are also slightly more distant than people might remember, a little bit less eager and a little bit more...experienced. Aware. Still, he is the Prince, and outside that small change, nothing gives him away. His smile is still broad, and his stance is confident, and his walk is the walk of one born to rule and well-educated in the task, fully capable of combat both on and off the battlefield. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' The winds of the Shroud wail, the storm rising in propitiation to the ancient Lord of Levin. He finds it... Appropriate. There is no delay at the Warpgate. Souji Murasame approaches with purpose and speed, providing the most cursory of pleasantries, his mind already focused razor-sharp on the oncoming conflict. He concurs with Kaminiagi. Battle is inevitable. But not just battle... Judgement. That was always Ramuh's purview, and he doubts it has changed here. He arrives at the summoning-place, and looks over the Scions holding the area, nodding to them as well. There is nothing more for him to say that hasn't already been said. He saves his breath, and prepares for the inevitable. Until Landon arrives. He looks to one side, his gaze flicking to the al Cid scion. "Prince Landon." Souji greets, tersely. "This will be interesting." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Liavinne gives a friendly wave and smile to Setsuko! Heeeey bestie, she's not nearly drunk enough for the hostilities right now! And on the way, the Seedseer would comment how lively you people are. Not that it's bad.     Gathering up before the large blue crystal, the fact it's overcharged with magic becomes obvious. The quantity of Aether present here could indeed fuel something very powerful, like a summoning. Or it already has, and it's slowly being drained.     Urianger and Thancred turn to face the arrivals, the latter grinning. "Well! The Elder Seedseer herself, and that's quite a lot of adventurers. But, say, Bertram, you didn't say you were travelling with young ladies," he says, scooting towards XIAO. "Pray introduce us! My name is Thancred, pleasure to meet you." He reaches for her hand, knees, does the entire polite greeting dance.     Urianger rolls his eyes, but since he's wearing goggles you can't see that. The Elezen step forward, motioning towards the crystal. "I fear the Lord of Levin is already here. These readings are too powerful to be anything but. This way, qui--"     A thump, like a heart beat.     A ripple through the Aether, and an overwhelming force approaches.     A pillar of blinding blue-white light crashes before the crystal, causing Urianger to back away and fall in line with the gathered group. A stern, male voice echoes from within the massive lightning bolt.     "Thine aura betrays thee, servants of Hydaelyn."     The light clears away, revealing RAMUH. He's about twenty, maybe twenty-five foot tall. An old man, with glowing red eyes, and a massive beard longer than his robes, practically as large as he is. Within one hand he grasps a long red staff, and his black robes are lined with dark bronze, forming into armor around the shoulders and collar. He floats off the ground, glancing sternly at all gathered.     Bertram, Alwyn and N'raha might even feel his comment was aimed at them, specifically. He turns to gaze at Setsuko. "Thou bringeth war to this forest." Then he turns to Xiao, Souji, Landon and Kyra. "And amongst thee I sense a connection to mine own existence."     He pauses, examining the group.     "I am Ramuh, guardian of the children of the forest. Under the persecution of men have my children cried out to me. Ever have they only wanted to live in peace, alone, and ever has man sought to trespass. Now I find thee, invading the heart of their homes." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     In a heartbeat, Setsuko's arm comes up to shield her eyes. And in the instant she lowers it, she is greeted with the sight of a towering, robed humanoid whose very existence crackles with power, with lightning. It is such that even she can sense it.     And in response to his condemnation, to the hostility of his greeting to her in specific and all of them in general, Setsuko Kaminagi lowers herself into a deep, respectful bow.     "Forgive us our tresspass, Lord Ramuh of the Sylphs. We sought only to speak with you in person. Our attempts to parley with your children have been rebuffed time and again, and we had no other recourse if we wished to avert bloodshed on both sides. Please, hear us out. We seek only peace, and your summoning to this forest is rooted in a misunderstanding. One which I am at the heart of." 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Dude! Look at that guy's fucking beard! He must know MAD Kung fu!"     Shin declares as he points at Ramuh's beard with a single finger, "Or some magic bullshit, which would be much more boring than knowing wicked kung fu." Shin looks at Ramuh and shouts, "HEY! Is your beard indicative of Kung Fu or Magic? Probably magic, because, you know, the robes and magic staff, but I can kinda hope it's wicked Kung fu!"     Shin shrugs a bit and then rubs the back of his head. He debates on what to say to Ramuh, really, and seems uncertain of if he should answer or let the others. There's a couple people he recognizes, like the Nerd Mage and the Loud Mage, plus the regular crew that attends these. He scratches his head a few more moments.     He decides against it and reins in his usual impulsiveness to the people that wanna take point can. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     There is a lot going on right now but let's just chalk it all down to N'raha being slightly overwhelemed by the turn out, doing his best totry and keep ahead of allllllll of it...     And promptly loosing all of that delicately gathered poise as Ramuh is summoned. He staggers, lurches at the sensation. His being is tied to this creature, this primal, and the sensation is smothering. Alwyn and Bertram may have done this sort of thing in the past, facing down primals, but this is... this is something far past anything the catman would have been dreaming of right now.     That said, he's being addressed, and he swallows, straightens up, and in full view of aparently all of Kyra's Facespace Moogledrome followers, calls out. "We may be servants, but as... S-setsuko says, we have tried to reason with your Sylphs and they simply... There has been a lot of war here, and we'e trying to put this all right again, sir." 'Sir' what the crap N'raha did that come out of your mouth?" 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Liavinne, Thancred... Uranger. Each is carefully taken note of. Nasa's eyes briefly flit over Thancred as he addresses Xiao and reaches for her hand. She shakes her head slightly as she focuses on Uranger, fluttering forward. "...Does see..." Thumb. Thumb-thumb. Magic? Nasa's eyes trail around, looking up towards the source. And then... there was that pillar of blinding blue-white. Nasa /screeches/.      And she backs up, quickly covering her eyes with both hands. The spits out a string of words in the Drow tongue, the gist of it being something along the lines of 'Ow fuck my eyes why is there always a bright light goddess I should have expected this from a lightning god and brought protection'. ... She calms herself relatively quickly as the pain and blindness begins to fade, squinting as she looks up towards Ramuh. She takes a small breath as she looks up towards Ramuh.      And then she speaks clearly and crisply, "I am Na`Sabal-Une Of The Fang. I am the guardian of the Forest of another land. We do not come with wishes of battle, we come to hopefully soothe the potential battle and war brewing by seeking the heart of the danger." She murmurs, taking a deep breath as she lowers her fingers, twitching and flicking them a bit. And then... darkness falls over her eyes, a black mist to help protect herself from further blinding.      She flutters back a bit as Setsuko begins to talk, as she knew more of the situation than Nasa. Hopefully them having a Guardian of the Forest here, even if not /his/ forest... might help calm things? Slightly? Maybe? Right now, she wasn't planning on or initiating any spells beyond that shade of darkness over her own face. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram steps forward, instinctively reaching for the Crystal of Light that he has been given by the Sylphs, holding it in front of him and humbly making a simple statement. "Pray forgive us for our invasion, Lord of Levin. I am Bertram Silent. We know you seek only the protection of the Sylphs, but we seek audience to see if conflict can be avoided." His robe shifts slightly, revealing a tattoo of Rhalgr the Destroyer's symbol. Inconvenient timing. He doesn't notice. "If your children had let us pass peacefully, we would not have done anything to harm then. Even now, we did everything we could to prevent any permanent harm." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji is about to snap something irritable to one side, given the ongoing discussion, when he is interrupted by the arrival of the Lord of Levin. His jaw clenches, and he braces himself, the thundercrash almost knocking him away from its intensity. However, he holds, and Souji straightens, looking up at the Lord of Levin, his body straight as a steel pole. He cannot bend here, he cannot allow himself to show weakness. "Some of us hail from another universe, where our legends speak that another version of yourself had fashioned our land and created our people. I am Souji Murasame, and I bid greetings to you, Ramuh." He executes a bow. "We have come here not to wage war upon your people, but to entreat with you. The nature of coexistence is one of difficulty and compromise, something that ocasionally results in grave issues arising. The Sylphs have called you despite efforts to resolve these issues, and as such we must speak with you in order to determine the eventual fate of all who reside here." 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Landon is unsurprised by this. In fact, he's frighteningly unsurprised by this, at least visibly. Perhaps it's just royal instinct and training kicking in. Maybe underneath that calm surface, Landon is shocked as hell. It's hard to tell.      "I am Landon al Cid of Galianda, Prince of the continent that is the body of Ramuh. In ages long past, in the world from which we come, another version of you gave birth to our people, in order to fight against the forces of an enemy that would purge all things for its own selfishness. That Ramuh gave his life for the world, and laid down to become a continent upon which his children might live."      "You are - or a version of you is - our ancient ancestor, mighty Ramuh, Lord of the Lightning, Primarch of the Thundering Winds, Judgement Of The Endless Storm, and no words can do justice to the honor that is meeting you."      Landon lowers his head and folds his hand over his heart. "Though we are not kin by blood, this tie apparently exists across dimensions. And though it be high arrogance to ask, Judgement Of The Endless Storm, I act on behalf of the innocent who will be caught up in a war between your children here and humekind, calling upon that thin and distant tie for mercy and wisdom. Even across the worlds, you are spoken of as one whose judgement, whose wisdom, whose knowledge is vast, carried frm distant sources by the wind and the water." 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     Gensokyo is a land of spirits, monsters, demons and gods. Humanity lives there in tense peace with the supernatural. To say that its residents are... more familiar with these forces is not inaccurate. Marisa Kirisame, among almost all humans from that place, has come face to face with the supernatural more than nearly any other. (It helps that, unlike certain shrine maidens, Marisa actually gets out and causes her own brand of trouble)     Still, she can count on one hand the number of times she's encountered anything quite like Ramuh. There was the time in Makai, and again on Youkai Mountain, and again with the Buddhist. But in every situation, no matter what, one thing is constant. There's always, ALWAYS a fight. And then tea. Why would this be any different? Well, he's talking first, at least. That's usually a good sign- but it doesn't mean that they're not going to be going into a proper tussle.     Marisa sails on up to meet the massive Lord of Levin, hovering roughly at face-height. "W-wow," Marisa blinks, a silly smile on her face, "That beard is AWESOME. I've never seen anyone with a beard that massive! Uh. Ahem!" She clears her throat, coughing into a balled fist.     "I'm Marisa Kirisame, a completely ordinary magician who is, coincidentally, the greatest laser witch to have ever lived! Good t' meet'cha!" Her grin sparkles even under the gathering storm clouds and the shadows of the trees, "I hear you're a pretty crazy wise spirit. Like, one of the wisest. You must know all kinds of awesome stuff! Maybe instead of doing a whole big deal of a fight, you and us can sit down and have some tea, or maybe some booze- I brought some, y'see." The girl on her broom perks up, and retrieves what looks like a big, ceramic jar from... somewhere. "And we can talk magic. Or martial arts. Or something."     "'Course, I'm not really sure what brought you here, myself," she sing-songs, kicking her legs lazily from the sides of her broom, "But if it's somethin' that we need to brawl over, then maybe after, we can do the talky thing, eh? I'm pretty easy, I just don't usually talk to such a huge, be-bearded god-thing. It's a new experience for me! So, you know, should be fun. Whaddya say?" Quiet girl peeks over the rim of her sealed jar with slightly wide eyes. "It's 'oni wine,'" she says, carefully. "Master says it's really good." 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle, as soon as she catches her breath, begin to cast spells. There's a cool green light around her, that flows into her staff as it changes to a pale blue light. Then, with a sigh, she releases the magic, a strange 'opposite' of the hair-standing-on-edge effect falling over herself. Then she begins to cast again, this time on N'raha. She repeats this, over and over, even as she lays out her tactical plan over the Linkpearl, before Urianger hurries them aside. She nearly is swallowed up by the effect of Ramuh's entrance, sqeezing off her cast and hurrying to the side as her own barometric sense goes from 'shit's heavy' to     You Are Already Dead! ... at least from a weather point.     Mirielle's knees buckle out then, as she looks up at Ramuh, and /feels/ the power of the primal.     But, even on her knees, she can continue spamming out BarThunder. Her weather-sense is screaming at her that it's like wearing a windbreaker against a blizzard, but any protection is better than none.     To Ramuh, she does not speak, instead averting her eyes to the ground. Nope. Nnnnope. Nopenopenope.     Cast her spell, switch her target. Cast her spell, switch her target. Hopefully people will but her time so she can finish manually casting BarThunder on the entire group. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra steps back from the crystal as she senses just how burdened with magic the thing is right now. It does provide a good moment to reconvene with Mirielle and set up the needed buffs beforehand so when the encounter turned into a confrontation (and Kyra was certain it would if Setsuko said so), they would be ready to take on the wrath of the Primal. This consists of setting up the appropriate buffs. With Bertram and Mirielle handling the protective spells, Kyra loads a number of healing potions into her dartgun and arranges a number of debuffing mixtures she has on hand, ready to deploy them against Ramuh when the time comes.     When Ramuh does arrive, Kyra stops fiddling with her gear and stares in awe. She could feel it, smell it, eminating from the Primal-a power that undeniably reminded her of home. Her fists ball up and raise to her mouth as she shivers, a tiny 'squee' escaping the white mage. This is followed by a gasp as he addresses the Ramuhans here today. "He /knows/!" she whispers.     Eventually she gets herself together and manages to speak to the Primal with dignity. "Kyra Hyral, I'm also of the land of Ramuh. And it's like they say, Lord Ramuh! We're aware that the Shroud is out of balance and regret that it has grown to the point where you've been called forth to Judge. Surely there's a concession to be made, one where we can work together to restore the damage wrought by the Garleans?" 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      As they gathered up by the blue crystal, Xiao leaned forward a tad to observe it's form, as well as ascertain it's current state of being overcharged with magic. "My, this is interesting. It looks as if it's already...heh?" Xiao's musings were interrupted by the appearance of...who was this guy? He was in the way of her SCIENTIFIC MUSINGS.      With her hand taken, the girl blinked once, and then twice, and looked around to make sure he wasn't actually talking to anyone else. "...Are you referring to me?" What nonsense is this? Go hit on Mirielle! ...Actually no. Kyra then! ...No that's worse. Maris-AHAHAHA no. LANDON!? ...Wait, the BL route is locked. SOUJI THEN. ...Wait same thing. Plus that was her boss. Kinda.      Crap.      Okay, how to deal with people 101: Smile and nod.      And that's just what Xiao did. "A pleasure to meet you, Thancred." She finally replied politely. "My name is Xiao Li Yu. But it's good that you came, I wanted to ask-" Whatever she was going to ask was cut off at that. She could 'feel' something approaching.      "So it begins." Xiao muttered as her attention was taken off of Thancred and towards the materializing Ramuh. She took her hand back at that, using it to shield her eyes a tad as he appeared. ...And wow he was tall. The scientist angled her gaze upwards to meet the gaze of the Primal.      And while the others talked, she proceeded to scribble notes in her pad with a smile, looking up now and then. "Oh yes, hello Lord Ramuh. It's a pleasure to meet you. ...Well a version of you. As the others have said, we come from another world where you, are the ancestors of a certain race of people, and...well, they've already said it."      She shrugged.      Ahhh, she had a bunch of questions, but it would have bee inappropriate to ask them right now. Better let the discussion of the current situation take priority.      Scribble scribble into her notepad again. A shame she couldn't use a recording device. Maybe if Kyra's didn't get fried, she'd get a copy from her. Maybe. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Valentha is sensitive to magic. But even if she wasn't, so much saturates this place that her whole body tingles! ... Some of that might be static electricity though. Either way she throws a hand up to shield her eyes when the summoning reaches its climax... and she finds herself facing an enormous beard.     A few moments later she actually spots the man BEHIND the beard.. and blinks.     "....SpeccccccTACULAR." The blonde woman gasps, genuinely awed by the being's presence.     "Greetings unto you, Lord Ramuh, and my deepest apologies for the trespass. Were the situation not so dire we would not be here." Gone is her hyper, 21st century geek demeanor. Like many others here she's adopted a grander, yet more respectful speaking style.     Her actual manner, not the disguise. "Unfortunately I have little right to speak of the conflict the others do, having not enough time to learn the full details, but I stand with them as an ally nonetheless, and wish to converse on other matters when the time arises."     A few moments later, she blurts out, unable to help it, "That is a MAGNIFICENT beard." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Peace? PEACE? Thine claims of peace are but fleeting words, the act of barricading one's home before the storm. As thou wouldst have peace of my children, where art thy reciprocity? Men march upon the Twelveswood from the North-East, hailing a banner of technology and conquest. Garleans, Gridanians, it matters not. The darkness in the heart of men is ever present." Ramuh answers Setsuko. Okay, so, he's wise, but he might be kind of a racist too apparently. Or at least, firmly in the camp of 'men are kind of awful people'.     The Primal turns his head towards Shin, curious. "I am Ramuh, the Lord of Levin. I command lightning and thunder, for I AM lightning and thunder. Thou seeketh a martial artist? Wisdom and discipline are the greater part of such crafts. Thou wouldst do well to temper thy conviction and energy, for thy wasteful nature but allows darkness to seep through." he answers Shin.     Alwyn stands by N'raha, more or less exactly as impressed. No, really, this is his first Primal. He doesn't count Bahamut. NO ONE SANE would count Bahamut as an encounter. Not back then, anyway.     Ramuh glances at N'raha, speaking. "Bringer of Light. If thy kind seeketh peace, then where were thee when my children needed help fighting the Garleans? Content were thee to watch, unwilling to spread thy forces too thin."     Nasa gets a more curious, slightly more respectful glare from the Primal. "A fellow guardian? This mine expectations does blow past. But it is not the forest that suffers, but mine children. Spurned by man, crying in distress."     The sight of the crystal causes Ramuh to soften his expression, looking at Bertram. "The gift I bestowed to mine wayward children. That you would possess such, without a trace of blood upon it..." He seems to reconsider. "How strong is thy will for peace? Willst thou weather mine ire as proof?"     It is to Souji and Landon that he turns next, less severe in his gaze. "If thy tale is true, then thou art my children too. Thou inflicteth upon me a difficult choice. To fight mine children from another world, to preserve mine own from this one. But--" To Souji, "Within thy words doth I detect conflict and darkness." To Landon, "Yet within thy words, that divine authority my levin-light upholds. But that thou wouldst both proclaimeth peace, without any obligations to Eorzea, is a sight."     To Marisa, the Lord of Levin frowns. "But thy will, girl, is to battle. You examplify the darkness that doth bode ill for any living alongside men. Much I know and can do indeed, and much you will experience first-hand." A threat, finally.     A quiet gaze towards Mirielle, and a brief quip. "Thou art also my child, but I sense duality. Mine heritage in thee I can barely feel."     His red eyes turn to Kyra, and he hrms, musing to himself for a few seconds. "Thou wouldst offer to repair damaged caused by men? But what good are repairs, when I could halt the source of the damage itself? To smother all men in the storm, and with it free Eorzea."     THANCRED will totally keep hitting on Xiao, just, not now. Ramuh speaks to her first. "The stench of my crying children lingereth upon you. How am I to trust thy intentions?"     Perhaps as a culmination of all the beard comments, the Primal strokes through it with his one free hand, glancing at Valentha. "If thou wouldst know the details, thy questions I will answer. But my ire doth grow at thy group, and the time for words is past." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha can't really answer that one. He certainly wasn't here for the first time the Garleans came around. He was too busy watching them ruin Thanalan.     But then the time for words is past, and N'raha looks over to Bertram, calling out. "We shall weather your ire, Ramuh, if that can mean peace. We were hoping it wouldn't come to this, but..." He glances over at Setsuko. "Maybe this was fated from the very start." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram's response is without hesitation, he's familiar enough with the sylphs to know that Setsuko's prediction was likely accurate, and yet likely with some kind of justification. "Lord of Levin, if you would test our merit by show of force. Pray let us not delay the matter any longer than necessary. I will weather your ire, and I guarantee we shall stand through it." And then, he casts proshell followed by a groupwide stoneskin. He's hiding his nerves, this is no trivial matter regardless of his words. "But I must object to your accusations that I have done naught to aid your children. I have defended them from Garleans and beasts alike." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "I am not of this world, Lord Ramuh," the demigod replies, rising to her feet. "I bear no ill will towards your children, no designs on your forest. There have been no aggressions against the Sylphs on the part of those I come to this world to protect - your summoning was a response to my own use of power, against poachers. They thought me a Primal newly-summoned, and that, I believe, was the tipping point."     Setsuko lowers her head slightly. "For that foolishness on my part, for my acting without knowledge or tact, I do apologize. And in answer to the question you've posed to me and others, if the Garleans encroach upon Sylphic borders, you have but to ask and I will defend your children as readily as I do the men of Eorzea. And if you seek to test our resolve in battle, I cannot speak for the others, but I am willing."     Raising her head again, the demigod meeds the Primal's eyes directly. "I long ago consigned myself to eternal battle, it is true. But it is at least within my will to choose whom I bare my blade against. I will not bring war to those who have not earned it, and I will protect those who do not desire it." 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Forgive me, Lord Ramuh..." Kyra steps up, holding out her arms. "But if you went that route, you would lower yourself to those who are destroying the Shroud with little regard for anything besides their own progress! Would extinguishing all men be any different from those Garleans coming in to raze the forest and kill the local wildlife? You are lightning! You are thunder! You are above such a petty solution!" she cries, empathically trying to appeal to the Primal's sense of Primal-ness, if there were such a thing.     "Though." 'The time for words is past' "If you doubt our conviction to change the present state of things, then we'll gladly fight you to show you that we mean business, Lord Ramuh!" 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Bitch, don't tell me how to Kung Fu. You're a nerdy mage god," Shin says as he crosses his arms, "The minute you weren't a god of Kung Fu, your opinion on Kung Fu became moot. Don't sit there with your bigass nerd beard and lecture me about how to achieve Kung Fu englightenment. The day I take kung fu advice from the god of recharching iphones and teaching people not to golf in rainstorms is gonna be a non-existant day," Shin notes, huffing a bit and immediately disregarding Ramuh's existence.     Instead, he wanders off to the side and takes out his cell phone, starting to text someone. Probably Allenby, but really also probably just someone random, as it grumbles to himself, "Stupid-ass bearded nerd god telling me how to Kung Fu. Probably break his hip if he tried, where does he even get off thinking he can..." He sorta trails off into grumbling and muttering. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      So battle was inevitable.      "I would proclaim peace wherever there is pain, even as I myself must march to war. War is a suffering, a flaw, a waste of life and love. War divides and destroys, and you - all versions of you of which I know, all the great gods of our world - fought against the Darkness only because it was necessary." Landon presses his hand to his chest again. The metal clinks a bit, as gauntlet presses against breastplate.      "Raise a hand to protect the innocent. Fight to defend those you love. It brings me great sorrow to face you in battle, Primarch of the Thundering Winds. But the tenets of your own self, the divine justice you yourself uphold, require me to raise my blade against you."      Landon unslings the crystalline Judge Blade from his shoulders, levelling it at Ramuh. His eyes are still firm and unwavering as a card snaps into his other hand. "You are the Wise Wind, the Judgement of the Endless Storm."      "But I dare say your wisdom is in this world clouded, Lord of Lightning!" Landon suddenly roars, proving that the Prince is perfectly capable of being polite and still being angry, "I dare declare that you who is praised for discipline and peace, who speaks of self-control, have left yourself become corrupted by bitterness and anger! The suffering of the few is the responsibility of all? Inaction is the same as culpability?"      "I say thee *nay*, Lord of Lightning!" Landon walks forward, because he knows where this is going, "I say to you that you have *failed* in your holy duty, that you have allowed blood and bias to taint the divine justice you are sworn to uphold, that you have confused the choices of the Free with the temptations of the Darkness! I say to you that you who would dare blame all men for the actions of a few..."      "ARE GUILTY!"      The blue Law Card blazes to life as Landon fills it with mana. He swings it in front of his face.      "Here I come, Lord of Lightning! You have made your choice! And so have I made my judgement!"      And with that, Landon doesn't bother waiting for the others. The Prince of Ramuh lunges, all thought, all action. The blue trail of the Law Card blazes behind him as he runs forward, massive sword clutched in the other hand. Landon does not wait for the enemy to strike first. It is not the way of Ramuh to wait.      It is not the way of lightning.      Landon's Law Card explodes into a brilliant crystal barrier, laying horizontal directly in front of Ramuh's face. Landon leaps up it, darting forward, brings the hilt of his blade around...      And dares to punch the god directly in the face.      Because that is what it means to be of Ramuh. To judge, swiftly and wisely, and commit to a course of action as fast and true as a bolt of thunder. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "The Forest suffers as much as those that live upon it. The Forest and its People are one and the same. Without those that live within it, the forest suffers. Your children are a part of the forest, and thus I care for their suffering." Nasa responds, her wings fluttering as she dips very slightly into a bow. She straightens slowly, her head tilting slightly. "If the garleans are causing your children pain, it is likely that other races are being caused pain by them, but I do not know all of the situations of this world; I was simply drawn by suffering. Not entirely unlike yourself." Nasa continues in that melodic voice. She definitely, however, is not a Primal.      Weather his ire? She shifts her gaze slightly towards the crystal, and then back up towards Ramuh. "...I think that we were to ready for that from the beginning. If it was necessary, that is. We came in numbers in case of a battle, but we speak in the hopes of a resolution without it. If our blades and magic must speak for us... then that is something I am fine with." Nasa says, her wings slowly folding against her back as her bare feet rest upon the ground. She was strengthening her connection with the earth.      Lightning travels to the ground easier if you're not flying, as well. Nasa's hands slowly lower to the Viper's Blades at her side, taking hold of one and pulling it out of its sheathe, while her other hand shifts forward. She holds the blade back, her free hand forward as she slowly begins to move back from the thunder god. Under her breath, she begins to murmur, gathering power.      <Spirits of Earth, Your Guardian Calls. Grow, spears that gather lightning!>      Nasa shifts her foot, pushing her hand forward with one thumb to the side, and her pointer finger and middle finger pointing straight, her other two fingers folded. She stomps her foot onto the ground, and several pillars of rock begin to break through the ground; which will hopefully draw some of the worst of the lightning towards /them/ instead of her allies. They're also spaced widely enough that they also shouldn't hinder line of sight or movement much. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "Ehhhhh? You can smell th- I mean-" Xiao held her hands up in a feigned motion of defense, but really, she was totally not sorry.      Good job, Xiao.      "Well okay. But it was for science! I saw something I didn't know about, so I had to study them. ...Thoroughly." An innocent smile to go with her not so innocent actions. "Would you mind if I got a sample from you too? Perhaps a few strands of beard..." She stroked her chin momentarily, and then added. "Do Primals have blood? A sample of that too would be /grand/!"      Xiao please.      /Please/.      But well, it looked like Landon threw the first stone. "Oops. Looks like it's already started!" She smiled and reached into her sleeves, putting away her notepad and taking out a set of black gauntlets. "Think about it! All the advancements that could be made with your data!" 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:''' H-hey, Marisa isn't laughworthy! She can totally have fangirls! And fanboys! And people interested in her. God, Xiao, rude!!     The Primal's words illicit a good-natured laugh from the witch. Despite the danger behind Ramuh's voice, her smile seems invincible. How much hubris can one mage have!? Enough. They can have enough hubris.     "Well, of course! I mean, that's what happens in pretty much every run-in I have with divine anythings, so you can't blame a girl for having expectations. And!" Marisa leans forward, her back arching low over her broom. The girl behind her worriedly latches to her waist. "I can't say I don't want to fight you. You're like, an awesome judge-wizard god! I wanna see how far I've come! That's just normal."     "But, exemplifying darkness? Little ol' me?" Her smile becomes almost... dangerously wide and TREMENDOUSLY witchy. "Nah, for that, you want my teacher. I'm much more of a lightshow sort of mage. Within Marisa Kirisame's heart, there is no room for darkness of any kind! Everything I do and everything I am burns as bright as I can possibly manage. So!"     "Mister awesome beardman, Lord of the Levin, Big Boss Ramuh, if you want to get rough," The witch draws back, the girl at her back making another uncertain noise. Four crystalline orbs flash into the air around her, whirling in a tight, menacing orbit. "Then I'll get rough. And then we'll drink. But when we beat you, I'm want somethin' out of it!" "I think a little bit of ~magic lore~ would do nicely," Marisa muses, her shrewd eyes peering at the Primal, "Or maybe... somethin' else?"     "So," one hand reaches into the folds of her dress, fishing out the little octogonal block that is her trademark. The dense magical energies in the area surge like electricity through her veins, motes visibly pouring out of the air and into the four crystal orbs. She levels the Hakkero, winks an eye, and then declares: "Let's get this party started." One moment, Marisa is stationary. The next, she's rocketing in a smooth, wide ring around the Primal.     Four lances of blinding light erupt from the orreries, blasting at the Primal. A barrage of emerald missiles shriek out from her hakkero, while others seem to manifest in the air around her and join in the barrage. All the while, the girl at her back buries her head into the witch's shoulder-- she's apparently not used to doing this sort of thing so... unprotected. Alas, today is not a day for giant robots. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Valentha's attention SWERVES around wildly towards Shin with abject disbelief at his utter huffiness and disrespect. Her jaw is GAPING.     But then she just shakes her head, and responds to the Lord of Levin.     "Punishing all for the faults of a few? I can tell something happened in the past to color your opinion of mankind and all those like it, Ramuh, and wish to hear just what. I, too, have seen much suffering caused by greed, ignorance, and fear. Doubtless we could speak for hours on the subject... but never, NEVER..."     She extends a hand. Instead of using her Techno-Wizard arc-sword, Valentha summons pure psionic power into her grasp. It shimmers and pulses outwards, forming into a crackling, gleaming rapier.     "NEVER would I THINK to judge ALL of them as lost causes. I'll weather your ire, Lord of Lightning. When it passes, hopefully your good sense will return!" 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Ramuh's words to Souji are important, but those words are not all that Souji listens to. He tilts his head slightly, his expression darkening as he hears the implicit threats. This is standard high-stakes diplomacy, where both sides begin shaking their sticks. "Conflict is a part of life, Ramuh. Even amongst your own people, they are not one. The Sylvans and the Sylphs do not agree on the path to the future. But you refuse to look at either the greater picture, nor do you consider the specifics. You have been brought to pass judgement. The fact of the matter is, Ramuh, if you pit your power against that capable of being marshalled by Man, all you will do is destroy your own people in the process. The Twelveswood will burn, and your one-eyed judgement will simply proclaim your own land's doom. If you wish to engage in such folly, you do not deserve such consideration." There is a sudden movement as Souji pulls up his blade, stepping forward to stand beside Landon al Cid. There is a moment of unreality, as if he never thought he would be doing what he is about to do, before he shakes his head. "If you would speak of judgement, then we too, shalld judge you in turn. Murasame!" The blade responds, the crimson ribbon untying itself. And Souji staws the black blade with a flourish, crimson runes of hunger burning bright. "It is time to feed." Souji states ominously, before he lunges forward, slashing forward and past Ramuh with a scything blade strike. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle does not proclaim her alliegance or her heritage. Her head remains hanged, her body shudders, and she continues to cast. Over and over, until finally...     Shin Tokuyama recieves the final BarThunder cast, the cool ur-static feeling of a lack of charge, even a mild static one. This may also make his phone's touchscreen hard to use. Such are the plights of MAGIC.     She laughs darkly at the ideas being bandied around, standing up slowly with her staff. Her preparation is done. Even the light talking that they engaged in, the mild discourse before the Prince punched a god in the face, was enough. Not that 'punching a god in the face' was within her calculatons, but it wasn't something she could totally discount. It merely accellerated certain timescales.     "That... is to be expected, Lord of Levin. Unfortunately, I am not good at grand speeches. However, tactically, I am committed to supporting your demise."     She steadies herself, extending her staff lightly. She really isn't one to speech!     She does draw up her hood, though, and seethes with a shady power. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Numerous people declare their intend to fight him-- to prove him they mean what they're saying. Ramuh's frown disappears, his neutral gaze falling on the group. He lays ready to answer, to tell them they may be right, but that he cannot concede without judging them first. Too often have words been used to deceive and lie.     Well, except Shin, who is less being wise at Ramuh (like Setsuko and Kyra especially) and more being Shin at Ramuh. It's still amazing in its own way.     Landon's words hit like a hammer, and so does his fist, connecting with the Primal's jaw. He reels backward, bringing a hand up to touch the bruise, and then looking at his hand. Marisa comes at him for a second go, and the Primal's staff slams down onto the ground, thunder rocking through the Black Shroud so loud it causes a burst of wind, and temporarily shields Ramuh from assaults. Marisa's blasts impact the lightning shield, Souji's sword cutting it open, but the Primal has turned ethereal, like electricity.     "Thy offers of peace will be judged. Climb the Striking Tree, and I will test your might. Prove to me you have the strength to do what you claim, and to fight the darkness within."     The same way he arrived, Ramuh blasts away, like a massive lightning bolt. It strikes again, atop the stone (tree?) platform/tower. There is a ramp leading up, it's not a hard climb at all. At the top, Ramuh waits in the center of the platform, with Sylph decorations and his symbol all over the place. Tempered Sylphs have stopped fighting, and instead gather over the Striking Tree, humming a song of worship to their Lord in their own language.     Ramuh will wait for all to have gathered, assuming they intend to follow through. But once they have, lightning illuminates the sky, roaring in anticipation. Hair stands on its edges here, electricity heavy in the air.     "Now then. Weather mine ire, champions of Light. I will judge thy inner darkness, and thy ability to uphold thy own word." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' And Bertram climbs the striking tree, he doesn't even speak any further words. The fight is imminent, and in a way it's a relief to know that this is going to be something he knows how to do. He is no diplomat, he is no frontline combatant, but he is a combat medic. And this is going to call for combat medicine. He drinks a cup of homebrewn tea to help him focus, of course it's as magical as his cooking. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     And now we get into the meat of it. N'raha scowls at the... well. The presence of all these other people here. This all would have been SO MUCH EASIER without all these people MAKING TROUBLE maybe possibly. But the catman masks most of that anger as he trudges and moves up the tower, his lashing, frustrated tail the only sign of his inner turmoil right now.     Well, and the tight shoulders, the growling muttering, the fact he's not being cheery at people and the strangled noises he made when Landon and Marisa and Souji all started early.     Okay so he's bad at hiding anger. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Her allies lunge, and Setsuko's hand immediately reaches towards Zanjintou, and for a moment or two she simply waits; it's a sudden and hasty attack on their part, and she's not going to fling herself into it blindly on the possibility that such a disorganized attack invites easy counterattack. But he doesn't attack at all; merely shields himself long enough to disappear.     "...Had the fighting continued here," Setsuko observes in a rather loud voice, "The nearby Sylphs would have been in danger. Such a hasty attack speaks poorly of our intentions for peace." She directs her chastisement at no one person, simply lets it hang in the air.     And speaking of hang in the air, so does she, soaring up and alighting on the top of the Striking Tree directly rather than ascending the ramp or using the aetheryte.     Setsuko will not attack, however, until the others have arrived. Until then, she will but stand and wait, saying simply, "...Though it is my fate to fight, Lord Ramuh, I do not cherish ill will or hatred. If we must fight, I am at the least both satisfied and honored that you enter into it with respect for us."     But there is battle to be fought. And fight she shall, with no further warning. There is just a sudden lunge forward, an impossibly-fast draw of the blade. A picture-perfect battoujutsu draw, in an effort to meet lightning with lightning. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     'Dude, so this jagoff decides to lecture me about kung f'     Shin gets halfway into his text message when Mirielle's spell hits him. His fingers rapidly tap from reflex for a good half-minute as he watches Ramuh. Eventually, he looks down and realizes the rest of his message didn't type out. He looks down, "Aw man, what the fuck? The touch screen broke. Cheap piece of shit. Next time I'm getting one of those active phone cases for when people punch me so this doesn't happen," He doesn't think about how electricity impeding would diminish static charge and mess with a touch screen.     However, Shin is completely serious about not giving a fuck what Ramuh has to say any more. So instead of following up the striking tree, he elects to wander off in the opposite direction and go bug someone like... potentially... THANCRED.     "Hey pretty boy. Does your world have punch magic? I notice it has lots of other magic, like sword magic... and magic-magic... and monsters. What about punch magic? And then one of two potential follow-ups, if yes where do I get some? If no, why does your world suck?" 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     A wind wall? No. A shockwave generated by a crack of thunder. The fringes of Marisa's lips quirk ever so slightly upwards at the display. "You're not bad, old man," she whispers under her breath, a hand pressing her hat to her head as Ramuh warps away. "I can't wait to see what you're REALLY capable of."     "I'll meet you guys up there," Marisa chimes to the others as she ROCKETS up into the sky, her book making quiet noises of protest as the wind rushes past her ears. It doesn't take her too long- flight, again, is pretty wonderful in these situations.     "Inner darkness or whatever, it doesn't matter," the witch says as she crests the Striking Tree. "The moment you turned this into a contest of power, y'all threw all that philosophical, spiritual bullshit right out the window. Come on, Beardman--"     Once more, the orreries light up. Again, the magic missiles surge out, each one bursting into a sapping, mana-draining explosion. Does she expect her attack to actually work this time!? Or is she just being as flashy as possible to distract the Primal until someone else can pry open his guard? Whatever the case, Marisa stays mobile as she casts, whirling around the flat top of the Striking Tree like the world's most dangerous wasp. "--Let's see what you've got!" 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Strike! Setup! And then... Ramuh speaks. He turns ethereal. She slowly tilts her head as she looks up towards him. She flutters her wings slowly. "...Offers of peace judged by fighting." Nasa mumbles under her breath, thinking to herself. "...Does sound very much like the Drow." She continues with a slow shake of her head. She slowly begins to lift up into the air, beginning to hover her way towards the tower's base. She could fly ahead, but a long ramp to walk up was an excellent chance to plan and prepare for the battle.      Of course, Setsuko simply flies up to the top of the Tree. Nasa takes a deep breath as she looks towards her allies that ...well, cannot fly. She lifts her hand, motioning towards each of them. The wind begins to gather around her hand, as she begins to murmur another elemental spell.      <Winds of the sky, boost their flight.>      A simple spell, Nasa casts a spell over her grounded allies, small winds gathering around their bodies. "...Will the winds where you would go; and go." Nasa states simply as explanation. And if they did such, the wind would, in fact, do that! Carrying them to the base of the ramp, or to the top of the tree. Afterwards, Nasa begins to move with the main group, quietly hoping that Setsuko could weather the attacks while the rest of the party made it to the battlefield. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     After all that posturing and punching a god in the face, Mirielle, Ace Calculator, expected a fight. And this ineffable 'God' decides 'yeah ok cool story brah, climb my tree and fight me'. No. No! NO!     Mirielle looks at the Striking Tree and nearly falls to her knees again. "Defeated before we even began." She breathes, looking at the insurmountable Everest before her. Oh! Oh, there's a ramp. That's a little better. But only a little bit.     "... The need outweighs the risk. A caster should be physically fresh as well a..." Nobody is listening to her. Everyone is just going up the ramp. Well, then... Kyra needs one last buff.     Mirielle knows that Kyra is a powerful caster, and even her non-casted attacks technically work as magic, not physical effects. Thus, there's one buff that should be layered under Kyra's Reflect. She incants quickly, before extending her staff at her friend. "Do try not to get dispelled. This will be draining for me." She offers, before finishing her twice-long cast.     Mathemagic - Faith x Faith: Overfaith     A double shot of full-sectrum magical enhancement.     She slumps slightly, after this buff, but there's a smile under her glasses and hood. "There. Now..." She summons Black Chocobo, clambering up clumsily upon the magical horsechicken's back. "I'll see you at the top." She notes dryly, before she warki-woo's her way to the top, up the ramp.     Screw walking. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      It's hard to not follow through when you just told a God of Judgement he was guilty and punched him in the face. After something like that, you don't really have the option to say 'nah, I was just joshin', we cool.'      Not that Landon would. As the god goes up the tree, Landon's platform simply rises, guided by his will and his magic particles. He rises, eyes firm on the spot where Ramuh has gone.      The platform stops at the top of the tree. Landon dismisses it with a wave of his hand and strides forward, confidence in every step. The metal armor crackles with the mere suggestion of electricity, despite the BarLightning. It's a good spell. It probably won't be enough.      That's alright. Landon trusts in himself. If he has to dodge it, if he has to ride it, he'll pass the lightning and come out alive.      Metal fingers tighten around his blade. "So be it. I'll show you the strength of the al Cid family, and the justice we strive for!"      Landon does not wait for everyone else. Patience is a Ramuhan virtue only where it intends the correct time to strike, and the correct time to strike is still 'before your enemy does'. He'd already started the battle, after all.      So the instant he's stepped off the platform, he's going. He releases the Judge Blade, letting the massive crystal weapon spin above him as he charges. Wasting time is asking to get killed. Waiting and standing still is asking to get lightning bolted. It's worse than asking to get killed - it's asking to die.      Law Cards flash in Landon's hand. Blue light fills the area once again, swelling brilliantly. The Judge Blade goes stabbing for Ramuh's stomach as Landon drops the first card.      "Punishment: BLIND!"      Crystalline chains lash outwards around Ramuh's head. They aren't chains, though - they're law, law given form by magic and covenant, wrapping themselves around the eyes to blind. With the other card, Landon conjures a barrier, moving it by his own will.      Just like his punch, the barrier swings backwards, then charges forward for Ramuh's face.      Landon will punch the god as many times as he needs to make him see the error of his ways. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     As Ramuh vanishes, so too does Valentha Summers. No longer hiding what she can really do, her whole body flickers and sizzles blue... and is gone. With another flash of blue light she's up atop the Striking Tree platform, still holding that crackling sword.     Then she ceases hiding her aura altogether. What previously would've felt like a rather average amount of magical energy leaking from her becomes a storm. With one hand she gestures to accompany some chanting. Several layers of protection lock into place around her one after another. A thin barrier first forms skintight around her, visible only in magical sight. Then it expands outwards and becomes properly visible, shaping into silvery-blue plate armor. Over top of that a floating barrier forms... Protection from Energy.     She's just hoping it will be AT ALL good at warding off bolts of THIS caliber.     It probably won't. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "Oh. Right. Miss Kaminagi has a point. Fighting down here would have endangered others. That would have been a HUGE waste of research samples."      ...What, you expected actual human concern?      Xiao shielded her eyes a bit as Ramuh blasted away towards the destined arena. "...Well, I'm not interested in walking up /all of that/, so...." A pair of black anklets down below took on a faint glow, and the scientist began to rise up into the air. With a burst, she sailed all the way up, cutting the power as she reached the edge of the arena.      She landed and then reassumed a casual observing posture. "...Where to start..." She mused aloud, looking the Primal up and down. It sounded like she was searching not for the best point to do damage, but the best point to gather SAMPLES from.      She wasn't helping.      "Perhaps the beard's tip..."      Yeah, she REALLY wasn't helping.      With a grin, Xiao held out both arms, and the gauntlets surrounding her fists began to shift. The metal clacking forward and reorienting itself until what she was no longer wearing a pair of gauntlets, but rather, holding a pair of black blades. "Time to harvest~" And with a burst of speed, Xiao dove straight for Ramuh, lashing out with a pair of quick slashes...to tip of his beard. She was trying to collect beard cuttings. In the middle of a DECISIVE BOSS BATTLE. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "...how is it that I just tried to out diplomacy both Landon AND Souji??" Kyra mutters, quite cleanly capturing Landon going off on Ramuh and his 'Judgement' then punching the Primal in the face. Back in Galianda, the people watching Kyra's feed go /crazy/ over this. Hashtags are had. Memes are created. Lute being hit by Doomtrain finally has competition.     Of course, Kyra remains entirely unaware of this, focused on getting her stuff in order and queuing up Reflect for herself. She's slow to follow up the ramp to the Striking Tree since being in the back is more conductive to Kyra's particular Jobs. It just makes for better support, after all.     But before Landon slips by entirely, she quickly casts a Bravery spell upon him. Not that he needs extra courage but extra dealt damage would be very appreciative.     She lingers as well to wait for Mirielle to cast additional buffs on her, surprised that, along with the Barthunder, Shell, and Protect, she gets a Faith on herself. It's actually quite surprising to her that Mirielle would risk boosting Kyra's infamously dangerous magic. Nasa's wind magic lets her catch up easily after dawdling to wait on Mirielle, the white mage casting Reflect on herself to hopefully prevent some ELECTRIC DEATH on herself. Someone has to be around to cast Life. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji does not even pause as Ramuh vanishes into a huge mass of aetheric electricity and relocates, the wind wall launching him like a stone out the other side violently. He flips in the air as he impacts the side of the Striking Tree, running up the side and reaching the top. He reaches the top, and comes to a halt, looking upon Ramuh. He only spares a moment to sweep the Murasame Blade up into a salute, respect given moments before he sets into a combat stance. As much as he uses lightning, it would be beyond foolish to attempt to defeat Ramuh with lightning. He will have to change tactics. SAMURAI MYSTIC KNIGHT BUSHIDO SPELLBLADE > 1: DISPATCH BIO BLADE < "Consuming fang." Souji declares, blurring forward with a devastating direct strike, as his blade seethes with terrible, poisonous miasma. He has nothing else to say or prove to the Primal. Now there is only the proof of their actions. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Down at the crystal, Thancred eyes Shin and then motions vaguely towards Yda, who was moments ago still punching Sylphs. With fancy magic and flashy moves. "Try the Pugilists' Guild in Ul'dah. The guildmaster there is... what's his name. Hamon Holyfist, right! He'll teach pretty much anyone with the coin to pay the fee." Or anyone willing to help him get coins, too.     And up people go; at different speeds and paces.     To Setsuko, the Lord of Levin reassures: "And I enjoy no action I am forced to take; but mine children cry out for judgment, and judgment they will have." She lashes out like a lightning bolt, and her blade crashes into the Primal's staff. He stands his ground, however, straining to push the woman back.     Marisa's missiles are half intercepted by bolts of lightning, the other half reaching the Primal and detonating. The mana draining seems to disrupt Ramuh's form momentarily, but she's trying to drain a five gallons barrel with a syringe. On the other hand, if she keeps at it, it'll have an impact eventually for sure.     Blindness and another punch from Landon are inflicted upon the Primal, but time time he doesn't budge, taking the impact and letting the Judge bruise and blind him. Eyes closed, Ramuh rumbles.     "You would judge judgment itself; would that all my children be as brave and able to stand on their own, but my duty is to protect them, and MY will will not falter!"     Xiao charges in, carving with her knives; she secures a small lock of divine Primal hair, though this seems to upset Ramuh greatly. "How quickly man turns to such ways; you would still tell me to hold my judgment, to let men kill my children?"     Souji's blade poisons the Primal, though it's obvious the magic will wear off eventually. There's too much Aether in Ramuh for something to hold permanently, but even poisoning him for a few moments is a good deal. Also the sword cuts through robes and armor, Ramuh's form torn and reforming afterwards.     Ramuh's staff, still holding Setsuko at bay, if moments from breaking, suddenly flashes a bright blue. Lightning lashes out at her, attempting to send her back before she can break his weapon.     He follows through, despite being blinded, by thrusting his staff upward. A large surge of magic suddenly marks VALENTHA, KYRA, LANDON and NASA. The air around them becomes heavier, and electricity seems attracted to them. They'll have a few moments to move, or for people to get away from them, before a hail of a dozen lightning bolts a piece crash towards all four, and anyone still near them. The magical barriers are unlikely to stop this cold, but it'll definitely help soak it if anything.     Those still in MELEE then have to deal with the staff coming down to strike the ground, sending ripples of lightning in a full circle around Ramuh, in an attempt to knock them all back. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     The catman just boggles at all of this, snarling into his linkpearl at... someone, and then charges in once that first Knockback goes off. The Great Levin has his attention on others and that just won't do. Not now, not like this. Not with all these outsiders here, making things worse.     He channels every single piratical magic angrymode thing he can, his frame turning vagely reddish, his axe glowing with dull red flames, and those green eyes flare over. He can't possibly compete like this. Not like how the Judge is Judging and there's blinds and everything going like this. How could he? He can only do what he can. What he must.     N'raha howls and launches himself forward, a furious flurry of axe attacks aiing to strike alongside Setsuko, trying to get Ramuh's attention off the others. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He can't even help it, not even a little bit. The youthful anger is roiling through the Miqo'te as a noise of Pure Rage escapes him. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "No one is /letting/ people kill your children. They are killing men themselves." Souji replies, leaping out of the proximity of the targeted people. "The Garleans make war on all, man and Sylph alike. You blame them for not protecting your children, when your children prey on the Eorzeans just as much as the Garleans. Your argument is flawed from the beignning, Ramuh. But then, you were asked for judgement... Not that your own children are worthy of being found in favor." Souji replies dryly. He sees that the poison quickly wears off... but Souji's blade has not become any less noxious. He can simply keep reapplying it. He spins, dancing around Ramuh and lashing out repeatedly, letting his spellblade slowly sap Ramuh's strength. Ramuh has no blood to drain, and... Never mind. Either way, he cannot afford to draw Ramuh's direct wrath yet. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     A contest of strength. Setsuko sets her feet, holds her ground against Ramuh; in the end, it is neither her nor Ramuh that gives, but the very ground beneath her feet. Dirt shifts, the demigod's boots give, and she realizes her mistake. She will need to rely on her full abilities to even match him physically. And so she hops back, moments before the Shock Strike would surge through her, neither of them taking injury from the exchange. There is a silent, respectful look in her eyes for a moment.     And then the demigod hops up into the air, about the time Ramuh uses his staff to clear himself some space. She brings Zanjintou up, holding the weapon vertically as it expands to its immense size, before sweeping it around herself and dashing back in - this time, in the air, where she can meet Ramuh in a clash face-to-face. The tremendous blade swings around, a vertical slash, a diagonal, a series of powerful, battering strikes backed by not just her strength, but all the flight power she can muster as well. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      "It matters not who it is!" Landon shouts over the whirling wind, "I would judge my creators themselves, if I felt they had pre-empted justice! I would judge all the gods, if they strayed from their words!"      "Your duty is *not* to protect!" The Prince roars as he dodges the first lightning bolt, "Your duty is to *teach*, to *guide*, to be a shining example! Teach them to stand upon their own two feet! Show them justice, wisdom, and courage! Your coddling - your self-righteousness - your arrogance - all these have led to this war! Because they do not know wisdom! Because they do not know justice! Because they do not know courage!"      LIGHTNING. Landon is struck. Lightning courses through his body, amplified by the metal he wears, and then dulled by the BarLightning. Thunder pours out his mouth and his eyes, threatens to fry his eyes. He screams, because how can you *not*, in those circumstances? Lightning fills his body. Lightning is his blood.      But he will not be denied. Landon summons up his strength to lunge *into* the whirling staff. The massive thing comes down and flings him backwards, out of the destructive bolts. Smoldering, the prince rolls to a stop atop the field of green, smoke still rolling from his body.      It hurts to move. Every muscle seems suffused with the power of the god. His fingers twitch, his toes spasm, and his tongue attempts to betray him and force itself down his throat. The inside of his mouth is hot fire. He's fairly sure he broke a bone.      He stands. Or, rather, he calls his sword back to him, and leans upon it, rising as though it was a cane. Landon's eyes fix on Ramuh as he forces himself back into control of his body, the lightning arcing off him slowly dying.      "If you had taught them wisdom," Landon manages, "If you had taught them cooperation...if you had taught them to be brave, rather than relying upon you for safety..."      "What might have been?"      "What might still be?!"      Landon hefts the Judge Blade in his hands again. He charges, his feet stumbling as he regains his surety of footing. Even wounded, Landon is still an exceptional swordsman. He lunges at the Primal, another Law Card falling to raise him up. His knee lashes outwards for the god's face as his blade comes down for Ramuh's shoulder.      This close, he's sure to eat more damage, but Judge is a tank class anyway. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     If there was anything a native of Galianda's Ramuh learned early in life, it was how to tell when you were about to be hit by lightning. Though she feels the sensation building, her hair standing on end and static cling sparking across her hoodie, she assumes that because she has Reflect on herself, she'll be fine.     She is wrong. The might of Ramuh cannot be deflected by her magical barrier and lightning crashes down on her. Sure, some of it is diverted to the ground around her but the majority still comes through, leaving a surprised Kyra knocked off her feet. She coughs, groans, and pulls herself up. Thanks to the Shell and Barthunder, it didn't do nearly as much as it should have but it was still a big shock (pun intended) to be hit at all.     Kyra's Lifestream feed is momentarily disrupted by this, much to the watcher's dismay.     "I'M ALRIGHT!" she calls out to no one in particular as she gets back up again. Since nobody seems to be down, though definitely not undamaged, she decides to take full advantage of the Faith that Mirielle dropped on her earlier.     Magic functions as intended, meaning that Kyra can drop her Holy spell (which seems suspiciously orbital-ray like in execution) down upon Ramuh. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "Nobody has said to let men kill your children! Nobody has said not to defend those who call for your aid!" Nasa calls out to the Primal as she lands on the ground, lifting her hand. She had been about to call forth the earth to give another series of lightning-attracting spikes... however, there was suddenly a magical Marking on her. Nasa's skin prickles and she feels the electricity begin to attract her.      This was too much for magic resistance to resist. She shifts immediately, moving back away from others, and then SLAMMING one of her feet down into the ground. "Stay back from me!" Nasa calls to her allies, before she pulls her hands towards the center of her body, two stone slabs breaking through the ground to form a covering for her to disperse the worst of the lightning bolts.      Sadly, it only takes a few of the bolts striking to break down Nasa's shelter, and one or two of the strikes hit her directly. Magical shielding and her rock shelter made it so that the relatively frail fae-drow doesn't take /too/ much damage, thankfully. Nasa takes a soft breath as she shifts her gaze around. Alright. What can she do. She steps forward towards the various fighters, taking note of weapons and abilities. And then ... she sees her target.      N'raha. She steps forward, glancing towards the people who were fighting. She points a finger towards him, a brown energy beginning to gather around the tip of her finger, swirling around it as she begins to cast a spell again.      <Spirits of Earth, lend weight to these strikes. May this axe hit with all his might.>      She unleashes the spell towards N'raha, aimed for his axe. Those dull red flames would be joined by magical stone wrapping his weapon; though they didn't add weight that N'raha would feel, he might notice that his axeblade is striking with heavier force. Nasa breathes slowly as she glances around, looking for the next target. Landon? Maybe. Next, though... she lifts her hand, beginning to gather earth energy again, preparing for her next spell. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' To ground out the lightning, to defend against the element of the raging skies, and to teach Ramuh his worth, Bertram calls upon the patient power of the Earth. His focus on this element strong enough to pull rock from deep below the tree and rise up. Covering those who seem to be threatened by lightning, and then followed up by a direct assault on the Lord of Levin. "I wish it did not have to be this way." 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      SAMPLE GET      "Heehee~ Excellent!" And with that, Xiao immediately stopped attacking and instead produced a sample collection kit from her sleeves. The lock of divine hair was deposited, and then promptly put back into THE INVENTORY. "Okay, now for sample number two--whoops!"      She could feel the force of that thunder as it washed across the ground. Crossing her arms over herself, the girl leapt back with the wave, the electrical force cascading over her. And boy, did it hurt. Even through BarThunder, she could feel the pulse of electricity coarsing through her body. She hardly wanted to imagine what it would have been like without protection.      Xiao landed, skidding to a stop some ways away from the Primal before lowering her arms. "...Now...where was I?" Nope. Still not going to attack him seriously. She regripped her blades and burst straight forward again. "Aw come on. It's not like I'm going on a genocidal warpath! I only studied a few! Their lives went towards a good cause! Let me tell you, the data I got from studying their genetic makeup was quite useful for the development of the AANS."      As if BEARD DAD had any idea what that was. "And your data will be useful as well! You should be happy! You get to contribute to my endless quest for knowledge~" And like that, Xiao jumped straight up into the air, aiming to slash into Ramuh's side, not really to do any heavy damage, but to carve out something. ANYTHING. Cloth or piece of /him/. Did he bleed? Magic particles? Liquid? Whatever she could take, she's go for it.      Real helpful. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Xiao's antics get a frown, but Valentha has bigger things to worry about. She detects the magic gathering around her, pegging her as a target. Her response is swift. She kicks off the ground and slides away from allies...     Then starts to chant and gesture. Instead of going aggressive with that sword she raises it for DEFENSE!     The lightning slams into her hard, coursing through most of her defenses. Large bolts split off from the strike, diverted and deflected, but it still slams into Valentha's flesh with the fury of a fierce deity. Right in the middle of chanting. But even as her flesh sizzles and bones smoke, her disciplined mind refuses to flinch, her lips do not falter. Years upon years of intense training to ignore pain in times of battle is required of any who'd call themselves a wizard.     One single lightning bolt, no matter how fierce, won't stop her spellcasting. It will take much more pain to do that.     And she has something quite interesting mind too. A thin tendril of blue reaches out for everyone using magic by what Valentha can detect - such as Kyra and Marisa. If this touches them and isn't resisted... it pulses once, then vanishes.     All those touched will feel an enormous RUSH of power flowing into them as Valentha offers her enormous magical reserves to her allies!     Notably, Xiao is not offered anything. 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     Even sucking a trickle of energy away from the Primal is a victory when that same energy is being shaped into lasers, missiles and all manner of other projectiles. The trouble though is that Ramuh is made of so MUCH of the stuff that wearing him down with magic- even draining magic- will just take far, far too much time. The good news- for now- is that Marisa is NOT the focus of the Great Levin's divine ire, freeing her up to get a bit more... creative.     "Made of magic particles, huh?" Marisa mutters into the channel that connects her to the others. "Alright. Let's give it a shot. I've got no idea what it'll do, but..."     "Hey, RAMUH," the witch yells, suddenly going from conducting her orbital assault to barreling straight at the Primal. Lightning bolts streak down from the sky- but she can weave around them, the telltale buzz of the air around her being warning enough to get out of the air. The Primal's staff swings wide, but she's still just out of range. For now, she doesn't have his attention. That's a very good thing. Because she needs to get VERY close to do what must be done.     A card slides in between her fingertips. At first brush, it might look much like Landon's own Law Cards, but it brims with a very different sort of magic indeed. "Hey Beardman!!" Marisa roars, her collision course set, "OPEN WIDE!" Marisa flicks her wrist. Her hand closes around the Spell Card. --==DECLARE SPELLCARD==-- MAGIC ABSORBER     There's a tremendous un-sound, a wave of silence that precedes the formation of a bubble of gold surrounding a sphere of un-light. To anyone who can sense such things, the ball seems like a veritable black hole of mana, drawing in all magic it comes into contact with, digesting active spells, enchantments and whatever else into component motes. A umbilicus of raw power flows from the sphere to the witch, who roars as she pulls up and twists away, her bombing run complete. But, what happens if such a thing is used on a being of PURE MANA? If her missiles were like trying to take in three gallons with a syringe, the, this is a lot more like... Well, like trying to drink from a firehose. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Being told to give a 'soft eight' when she asks someone what power of buff they want on a scale of one to ten... The obvious answer is a ten, right? If you're asking for a boost, getting the highest amount is only natural!     As the residual lightning smashes down from on high (on people that aren't Mirielle), much of the aftershock is absorbed by her layered defensive spells that had been set up before - Shell from Bartrand, plus BarThunder. This gives her plenty of breathing room to cast more empowerment magic. As Shin runs up the ramp, she's preparing her spell - one that's extra draining, but always tends to come out.     Beyond a 'soft eight', Shin Tokuyama gets a Solid Ten.     Mathemagic - (Aura x Bravery x Haste / Mini     Gunning an immense swell of magic into this power, as the mana fountain refills her own incredible reserves. She doens't have to hold back. This power that she can pour into Shin is beyond the realms of previous uses of the GigaSwole. No... this is even more beyond.     This is the WWE SUUUUUPERSWOOOOLE. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Sweet, thanks, I might check that out," He says to Thancred before jerking a thumb over towards Yda, "Are all the other punch magic people as hot as her? Because that chick's like..." He tries to think of a good way to describe it, but sort of lets it trail off there, "... I'm just saying," Shin finishes with a shrug.     He then turns away and decides he should probably actually go help the others. He sights and takes off his jacket and tie, rolling up his sleeves, "Watch my nice jacket and stuff. I gotta go beat up a Nerd God," Shin comments to Thancred before tossing his discarded suit jacket and tie towards the rogue. He then takes off at a jog towards the ramp, moving pretty fast in terms of jogging.     As soon as Shin gets up there, Mirielle is buffing him. And it has an incredible effect, because as the spell his Shin, he gets WAY more powerful. He grows by a large amount, namely by the end of it he's taller than the Primal they're facing. He also has been buffed offensively in almost all of his physical attributes. Aura ups his strongest powers, while Bravery increases him all around.     "WOAH!" Shin booms, flexing a bit, "Gonna need to get used to this. Holy shit I feel awesome," Shin intones in his new massive size. He then turns and points to Ramuh, "YOU. NERD GOD. I HAVE SOME SHIT TO SAY..." He then turns the point into a finger-gun, "In the form of a RAP." He might just be biding time to get used to the new body.     "At first I was going to walk away, and let them beat your ass," Shin rap-talks, grinning at Ramuh as he gets used to the power flowing through him, "But then I decided I couldn't just let that shit you were talking pass," He adds, sighing a bit and shrugging, "At first it wasn't personal, you actually seemed pretty coo," He runs a hand through his hair and puts on his sunglasses to cover those heterochromatic eyes, "But you fucked up when you decided to talk smack about my kung fu."     "I had so many moves to show you, but I couldn't decide which," Shin continues, his tone holding that more rhythmic matter of speaking as he he shrugs, "In the end, they'll all work fine, because you're a nerdy little bitch," Shin continues, staring at the Primal of Thunder and waving his hand a bit, pacing, "You come in here and talk some shit," He pauses, "And I don't give a fuck about it," Shin points at him, "But I do have one last move to show..."     Shin darts forward towards Ramuh, finally used to the new form Mirielle has given him. The martial artist flashes into MELEE, more than willing to risk the inherent damages and problems of doing so. When he gets to Ramuh, he spins around, moving his back towards the old man and hooking one of his arms backwards. And then he lets his legs out from under him, trying to use a wrestling move on the frail old man Primal as they both slam into the ground.     Shin finishes his rap as he gets up from the maneuver, "So why don't you just suck on that RKO?" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     N'raha braves Ramuh, charging in with his axe. The weapon cuts through the Primal's robes, trailing disrupted Aether as though it were blood, especially thanks to Nasa's enhancement. The Primal's attention shifts to him, allowing Souji to strike in. The poison is reapplied, and the Primal's Aether weakens again, being drained away by the task of regenerating.     "My children lived in peace, isolated from men," he declares, sternly. "They asked for not a thing more, and yet men have distrubed them, again and again. You would ask me to forgive those who committed the first sin?"     Setsuko comes down with her much larger blade, cutting through Ramuh with a vertical cleave. His form twists in pain and he floats backwards, wounds sealing, Aether mending the robes and armor. One can never quite catch a glimpse of what's under the robes; perhaps there's nothing, really.     Landon's knee connects with the Primal's face, as his blade digs into a shoulder plate. Ramuh turns to face the Judge. "We Primals are fleeting beings. We have not the luxury to teach our children anything; we come, we do, we go. Too divided are the people of Eorzea to sustain any one of us for a long time. Mine children did not seek the Aether necessary to sustain mine existence. They wished to be at peace, isolated, and in turn this hath for effect to constrain their ability to call upon me."     But those are excuses.     Kyra's Holy spell is met with Ramuh raising his staff, firing a bolt of lightning upward to intercept the spell. Rays of light still pass through, singing and burning the Primal. Stones slam into him next, thanks to Bertram conjuring the elements; they tear at his robes and beard, which reform afterwards.     Xiao will find he doesn't really bleed, so much as leak Aether. Cloth and hair can certainly be acquired in the mess, though, as her knives find purchase again.     Marisa deploys a MAGIC BLACK HOLE, which seems to severely damage Ramuh, as he strains to retain a tangible form. Aether is sucked out of the Primal, but there's a problem with the witch's plan: there is a LOT of Aether in the being. If it's feeding into her, she might be getting burned by the absurd quantity of magic flowing into her. The black hole may also just overeat and explode. On the other hand, that looks like it hurt Ramuh alright.     Shin verbally abuses Ramuh, before spinning him and pretty much literally wrestling him into the ground, their combined strength and masses cratering the Striking Tree slightly. There's a moment of silence, and Ramuh finally answers Shin.     "I did not understand half of that, but thy intent speaketh loudly indeed. Judgment is nigh, Bringers of Light, of war, of suffering. Steel thyself! Prove you can protect Eorzea! TO ME, MINE ARBITERS!"     Lightning slams down in front of everyone. A tiny (well, it's still the size of a person) incarnation of Ramuh appears before everyone, as the Primal himself vanishes from under Shin. The Arbiters swing their staves, bringing them down with fury and lightning at everyone.     Those who can see magic will immediatly be able to tell each strike, and each moment the Arbiters exist, seems to be feeding power to Ramuh, who isn't gone, just... not quite here either.     And to make matters worse, ripples of electricity arc on the ground: they attempt to bind XIAO and SHIN in place, rooting them through incredible static.     All the while a tether of lightning forms between BERTRAM and MIRIELLE, as well as LANDON and SOUJI. While linked, any action taken by one person will cause harm to both! But you guys have some competent healers and magic people, surely the tethers can be broken. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      That tendril reaches out towards Nasa, who glances towards it. She reaches out with her free hand to grasp it mid-spell, easily accepting it. That rush of power causes Nasa to briefly falter, glowing as the magic overwhelms her. Some of it is reflexively devoured and shunted into her Hand of Growth for later use. She doesn't take more than is offered or given though. Once the magical surge ends, she shifts her hands again, her single drawn Kukri held to the side, frost beginning to coat the edge of the blade. She subtly presses a button, a dose of poison mixing with the ice that's coating the blade.      Nasa slowly takes a breath as she lifts her hand up, the earth beginning to rumble beneath her. She doesn't bother speaking for this spell. It was just calling forth the spikes from before to come to the /top of the tree/. Once more, these stony spikes begin to break through the ground, setting themselves in place with simple intent; to be taller than everyone around them and absorb some of the worst of the lightning, drawing it towards /them/ instead of the people, by virtue of being taller. There were only about 10 of them, spaced out throughout the battlefield so as not to be a hindrance to combat.      As one of the spears breaks through the ground, Nasa steps slightly towards it; though maintains a bit of distance. Alright. Time for the next thing. The Kukri in her hand began to be more thoroughly coated with ice; the length of it elongating as the poison transferred into it. Shimmering poison and frigid i     <cxterm36">Frozen Poison, awaken from your slumber. Icy Web!>      Her wings flare out, and she's simply hovering for a moment... before she's suddenly dashing forwards at an angle, slashing towards the giant Ramuh's neck and head. Only for him to disappear midway through the attack. The Rahmuhling that appears in front of her gets targetted instead, and she dashes for it! She attempts to strike the center of the Ramuhling's chest! If the strike lands, the poison would begin to take hold rapidly. The area struck would begin to rapidly freeze; even aetheric energies might begin to do such. As the freezing continues, icy spikes would rapidly begin to expand, tearing through flesh and causing the wound to open and spiderweb out in a series of cracks.      It seemed Nasa had a thing for aesthetics, as a handful of spiders made of ice would crawl out of the wound. They were just ice, however, and would fade when the icy damage would no doubt fade from the Ramuhling's form. Immediately after this strike, Nasa flies away again, zipping back to take a place in the back; ensuring that she's close enough that she can aid anyone who needs it(Or be aided if she needs it), but far enough away that hopefully; she won't be a threat to others if she's caught by some sort of spell.      And then... she notes those tethers. She looks towards them quietly, frowning slightly. "..." She turns her attention on Mirielle and Bertram. She takes a small breath as she looks towards them... right. Prioritize the support. She begins to move quickly towards them, her Hand of Growth beginning to glow. "Staying still a moment if you can, will to get rid of that as quickly as can!" Nasa calls out! 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     If it wasn't silly enough before now all this is happening. We are wrestling the Primal, we are joking about the Primal, we're live-tweeting the Primal, we are telling the Primal what his own business is, we are waltzing in from outside, "-CAUSING PROBLEMS, STARTING SHIT AND TRYING TO JUSTIFY IT ALL WITH GLIB BULLSHIT." Oh dear, inside thoughts have turned to outside thoughts     N'raha snaps. If there was any single measure of anything resembling control at all right now, it would be the sudden pulsing shove forward as Na`sa's spell swats into him, the heavy blade of the axe swinging even harder as he is screaming out into the arena Ramuh has chosen for them. "LISTEN TO ALL OF YOU. YOU ALL COME IN HERE AND MAKE GRANDIOSE HELLS-DAMNED REASONING." He's glaring over his shoulder at Landon on this one. "YOU MAKE LIGHT OF THE DANGER YOU'VE PUT US IN." This one at Xiao.     "THIS IS OUR LIVES. THIS IS WHAT WE ARE, AND YOU PEOPLE ARE TRAMPLING IT." He turns in place. Fuck the fight with Ramuh right now, fuck all of this     The Arbiter appears in front of him, slapping at him with magic and lightning and aggravating shit that he can't really feel at all right now. It's clearly scorching at him and shocking him right through his plate mail, but there is too much anger there for the young man to even comprehend it.     "WE ARE HERE TO FIX THINGS NOT MAKE THEM WORSE YOU IDIOTS."     There's a sudden flux of Aether around the Miqo'te, and a flareover of energy as that axe seemingly doubles in size and he unleashes a twirling, spinning murder dance through his Arbiter, through the middle of the fight, and he finishes up in the middle of Shin's business, pretty much uncaring of who or what is in the way. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      SAMPLE #2 GET      Xiao grabbed the piece of fluttering cloth before it vanished into aether particles, taking out her sample kit and placing it inside. By the time she finished and landed, she found herself nearly stuck to the ground, along with Shin.      "Oh. Hello there Mr. Tokuyama. We seem to be in a bit of a pinch, don't we?" For as much of a pinch as it was, there was no urgency in her voice at all. Just amusement and curiosity.      Typical.      "Well then. I guess we should clear the ground before 'Something Bad' happens." That said, she held a hand out for Shin to take, should he so please, and then proceeded to--      Oh, the kitty blew up.      And he was spinning their way.      "Well, that's a problem." Just a problem. She'd heard everything he said, and all she could offer the raging Miqo'te was...a smile. Xiao looked towards Shin again, hand still offered, and without further delay, she diverted all MP to her anklets. There was a burst of magic power from those anklets following, and she struggled with the static keeping her to the ground, aiming to break the static link and gain altitude. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko's blade dances and swings until there is suddenly no longer a target... or, at least, no longer the original target. A smaller elemental has appeared before her, and before the demigod can respond, she's bathed in lighning, a searing voltage that throws her to the ground with a hiss of pain. It's not able to suppress her for long, though, and through sheer willpower the swordswoman pushes herself into the air again, Zanjintou returning to the size of a katana - much better for striking out at the Arbiter before her. But then there is the explosion of N'raha's rage, and the act of battle becomes automatic, almost an afterthought, as her attention shifts.     "N'RAHA! If you have issue, I will gladly hear you out after this battle, but now is /NOT THE TIME TO LOSE YOURSELF TO THAT FURY/, unless you want to get yourself and everyone else here /KILLED/! Control yourself!" 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     So, turns out that that Primals are made up of a whole shit-ton of mana. This is something of a problem when Magic Absorber doesn't actually HAVE an off-button. Sure, the first few seconds are about as normal as these sorts of things can get, but the Absorber just keeps /going./ Marisa's flight jerks and spasms as power continues to flood through her veins. It burns like liquid lightning, and her spell doesn't stop, filling her with more and more of the Primal's cast-off power. Eventually, it becomes too much even for the greatest laser witch.     Coils of lightning twist out from the witch's skin, blinding, blue-white light blazes from between grit teeth. Her broom dips, skimming the ground before flipping end-over-brush, sending the witch and her companion bouncing across the broad plateau of the Striking Tree. She doubles over, hands clutching at her midsection as the raw might of the storm tears through her nerves and screams into her marrow.     She can't even scream. All her attention is turned inward, trying to wrest the power under control. The slightest lapse of concentration means it's liable to escape, taking the path of least resistance... And the witch along with it. But in the meantime, she has... other problems. One of Ramuh's adjudicators draws close, its staff raised, poised to crush the witch's behatted head with its blunt end--     And then it gets waylayed by what is quite literally a horizontal tornado. The Celaeno Fragments stumbles towards her master, broom in tow. Vortices of wind twist all around her, but... Can a grimoire alone protect the fallen witch!? 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Power flows into Kyra, power beyond her already large MP reserve she carries with her. "Wow, this is..." she flexes her fingers. Though not afforded the luxury of spending time reflecting on the sudden massive influx of magic particles, she finds herself confronted by a smaller version of Ramuh, who swings his lightning-spewing staff at her. Kyra reacts as any white mage would react when confronted with melee attacks and runs the hell away from it, leaving the Ramuhling to swing at empty air. "Ack!" she exclaims before rounding on the Ramuhling and taking full advantage of the extra MP to direct another Holy at it. This time, it does not drop from the sky so much as it emerges from her hands.     She doesn't spend much time dallying on the Ramuhling because the state of affairs for the others at the moment demanded various degree of healing. In particular, she directs an esuna at Shin and one at Xiao. Shin because he needs to move in order to damage things. Xiao because she's in immenent danger of being whacked by a raging N'raha.     Kyra doesn't say anything to N'raha right now but she does look pretty disappointed. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin is pretty firmly bound in place by Ramuh's static spell. Thanks to Mirielle earlier, he's not totally motionless due to the BARTHUNDER on him. But he's moving a bit more sluggishly between his new huge size and the binding being put on him.     "Yeah, it looks pretty crazy, Miss Li Yu," He notes, still trying to get used to the new form. He's sluggish, and this makes him a perfect target for N'RAHA to come in with his axe.     Shin brings up both his arms over himself to cover his face and body, the massive axe digging into the forearms and eventually hitting bone. A river of blood begins to pour from Shin's arms as the axe severs god knows how many vital internal workings of his arms. He grunts from the exertion of stopping it and stares hard at N'raha.     "What the FUCK do you think you're doing?" He asks. All of the humor, all of the aloof coping mechanism, and every single drop of the dismissive attitude drops from Shin's voice as if it had never existed at all. As his own blood begins to pool at his feet, Shin's sunglasses have cracked from the pushthrough force of the axe blow. It's a medical marvel his arms weren't sheared off by the strike.     "I come to your world to help. You don't like my attitude because it doesn't fit how YOU would act, so you hit me with an axe?" Shin lectures, as if baffled by the fact, "Fine. After this mission, I'm out. Tell your... buddies... tell the guy with the spear. After this one, I quit."     "I thought you were cool, and I wanted to help. My attitude is who I am, but at least I don't hit my fucking friends with an axe when I lose control." Shin tries to kick N'raha at the end of this. A straight, fireman's kick to the center of his arm to push him off Shin's arms so they can dangle limply at his side, "This, by the way? This is me actually mad. So you better back the fuck off and get back to the fight or kill me with the next attack, because this is your one, guy. This is the one you're ever gonna get where I don't beat your ass so bad they bury you in a tupperware container because there weren't enough pieces for a coffin." 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      "Those are nothing but excuses!" Landon roars, "Empty, pitiful excuses! The Ramuh whose blood charges through my veins gave up even his fleeting existence to teach his children right and wrong!"      "How dare you be anything less than the best! How dare you push your failures upon the innocent for the sake of your children! You claim to be judgement itself - how dare you stain that holy title with bias!"      "You are *unworthy*!"      Landon's blade clashes against the Arbiter's staff, the sword of crystallized Law shining brilliantly in the collision. Thunder rolls down the field as Landon presses against the strength of a god with the strength of his willpower, and finds his flesh weak, though the spirit willing. The lightning bolts from earlier haven't been healed yet, and the sword goes flying from his hand. The Arbiter's staff rises.      Landon dumps what remains of the magic from Valentha into another Law Card, shoving a rectangular barrier directly into the Arbiter's face. The barrier smashes with the force of a missile, backed not by muscle but by raw telekinetic force.      Landon dismisses the barrier. He's running low on magic. Based on the pain in his body, he's running low on *everything*. He's not sure how much more he can take.      No, actually, he knows exactly how much he can take.      Enough.      "Murasame!"      Landon's fist closes as the lightning lashes around them. He points over at the man. "I can handle this. I trust you can do the same! Grit your teeth, and prepare!"      Landon reaches into his cape. In his hand is...      In his hand is nearly every single Judge Card he has in his possession.      They burn with light. Landon fills them with what remains of his Magic Points, burning everything he's got and then some. Every bit of his store empties. He closes his eyes, feeling out the battlefield as others start carving into the field.      "Ramuh, Judgement of the Endless Storm...I, Landon al Cid, Prince of Ramuh, pronounce you: guilty, once again! You who stand for judgement have been corrupted by the bias of blood! Your punishment..."      "Is everything I have left! JUDGEMENT!"      Landon throws the cards upwards as lightning begins to crash into him (and presumably Souji as well). They hover in the air, full of brilliant blue fire. Then they start spinning, whirling, furiously blazing above the Judge.      IMMOBILIZE SLOW          BLIND              BARRIER.      Spells lash out. Chains of pure, crystallized law explode from the ground. They form out of the air, wrapping around the Arbiters' eyes, legs, arms - anything they can get a fold on. They lash, and wrap, and spread, as Landon pours all his reserves into the attack and grits his teeth to withstand the fury of the lightning.      And then come the barriers. As the light of the other cards dies, their work done, the last card spins up twice as hard. Crystalline barriers surge into being, already in motion. Landon guides them with his mind, battering into the Arbiters from all sides. The barriers appear, smash, vanish, and reappear elsewhere, a constant assault from all sides as Landon feels his teeth ringing from the lightning lash. He sinks, as if to fall to his knees, pain filling every part of his body.      But he doesn't. The Prince of Ramuh stands, though every part of him wishes he did not, though he burns inside-out with lightning and drains every part of his strength to power the assault.      It doesn't last long. No assault like that possibly could. Crystal chains break, shattering into nothingness as the last drops of magic particles fade from Landon al Cid's reserve. The barriers stop their furious assault as the card burns its final light.      But he raises his eyes to meet whichever Ramuh is still standing, defiance, anger, and righteous judgement still blazing firm within them.      "I will cast judgement upon even the storm itself, if I must!" 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     With all the things going on, it's the actions of Shin and Xiao that most upset Valentha Summers. The wrath of an angry god venting rage, that she's willing to weather, as a matter of dignity, if it means a better outcome.     But in the last few minutes things have happened which have her indignantly fuming for the sake of the very being they came to beseech. Yes, her own initial thoughts were that Ramuh needed a piece of her mind, but THIS.     This is too much. "That is QUITE ENOUGH making a mockery of our duel!"     Valentha's whole body EXPANDS and clothes rip and tear, all her belongings cast aside. Belongings that cost her hours and hours of work and countless thousands of credits.     They're cast aside like nothing as her growing body becomes scaley and elongates, growing swiftly. She stoops over to land on her hands as they transform into clawed forelegs. Human features are exchanged for draconic features.     Yet given how small the platform is - by draconic standards - Valenthanixa does not assume her full size. She is perhaps the size of an elephant, but no larger.     This explains why she really didn't care about a few lightning bolts though!     "I will not stand arm in arm with you fools who treat this so lightly. This is the very sort of behavior he is furious about to begin with. And I will have NONE OF IT."     Shaking her head furiously and just allowing the many lightning bolts to slam into her if they so choose, scorching her hide and drawing rumbles.     She begins casting a spell. There is judgement of her own to pass. The stormy skies above, already stoked to a feverish pitch by Ramuh, sizzle and crackle in reply to her commanding words of power.     But although she was ABOUT to join Ramuh in passing judgement, calling lightning down on Xiao, she halts that spell the moment she sees Marisa's in terrible danger. Val's whole body glimmers blue and flicker-flashes, reappearing over top of Marisa, huge wings folding down to shield her and give her a chance to recover! 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Well...attempt to avoid N'raha's berserker rage failed. She felt sorry for Shin, but, well...Marisa needed help! With Kyra's Esuna in effect, the scientist took off through the air, quickly crossing the distance before cutting power to her anklets and skidding to a stop by the struggling witch.      Whether or not she was aware of the spell that was potentially going to be aimed at her, she didn't show it. Instead, she knelt down by Marisa and raised a hand. The knife she was holding changed form into a gauntlet again and she muttered a spell. "Aspir." Her body took on a shimmery aquamarine glow, channeling into her hand...      ...And then she simple reached for Marisa, aiming to make contact and begin draining excess magic back into her own body. Sure, Primals had a LOT of magic, but...maybe the pain will be less if two people deal with it. Hopefully Marisa will be well enough then.      The dragon protecting Marisa gets a look from Xiao meanwhile, and a smile. As if she knew what was about to happen, but didn't. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     There's too much going on. She feels the lightning link on her, and each draw of her mana sends tiny sparks across the line. Fine. If each action caused by her, her partner would feel pain. Her Reflex skill was useless, as this was a status effect, and her natural resistances - even BarLightning - weren't foolproof by any methods. This was...     This was Mechanics. The dreaded enemy of Adventurers.     She began to analyze the link, dodging scatterings of lightning and the hanging orbs around - obvious persistent zone damage effects - and trying to simply move away from Bartram. No such luck. But then -- Nasa simply 'eats' the link, consuming the damage and the effect. Mirielle gives her a glance of thanks at Nasa, but she can't waste further time. Using her 'Trump Card' in such a desperate situation takes time, even if she was going for a partial usage.     She lets her staff hang in both hands, slightly raise, as her glasses - no, her eyes - begin to smoke. No, it's more like a fine white mist that rises from under her hood. And as she incants, under her breath, to her the world falls away.     If she were to be ready for a turnabout, her calculations noted she had to start now. For Kyra and Bartram, she expected healing - and thanks to the ideas of 'Triage', one must always address the worst cases first, to the best of one's abilities. Spending the time to use her relatively weak curative magic or support. But this...     This is beyond the pale. Allies are attacking allies, even in such a tenuous position. She could rely on Bartram and Kyra, but instantly wrote off most of the others. Shin landed an excellent attack, but had been taken down. Marisa, their magical artillery, was likewise down.     Landon and Souji were handling jobs, as well as... Well, there was too many variables. None of them were functioning fully within ideal limits.     And so she begins to seethe something that isn't darkness, her eyes hidden behind her glasses and cowl, her mouth moving quietly. She was casting and casting, but, the situation couldn't be worse for her concentration. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "Sin is sin. Whoever made it first is irrelevant." Souji replies. "If you would punish Man, while excusing the crimes of your own people, then you are just as bad as you claim Mankind to be." When Ramuh vanishes, the smaller Arbiters appearing and beginning their work, Souji looks to them and grimaces as the crackling tether of lightning connects both him and Landon. A bond of lightning. How appropriate. "This twisted judgement will do nothing but spell the destruction of the people you would hope to protect." With a motion, Souji sets into a preparation stance, trying to focus, to find his center as he prepares to strike. He can possibly endure the pain of the assault, but in this case, efficiency is paramount. "Murasame Sword Arts..." Souji hisses, as he prepares... And he screams as the crackling feedback from the lightning tether surges into him. The smell of cooking flesh drifts on the ionized air, and he jerks and shakes with agony that dances along his nerves. He has been struck by lightning before... but the intensity is on an entirely new level. He is almost driven to a knee from the pain. Almost. But it is essential that he retains his focus. If he loses that... Finally, the time comes. SAMURAI MYSTIC KNIGHT BUSHIDO SPELLBLADE > 8: OBLIVION FLARE BLADE < "Wind of Sorrow." The Murasame Blade loses the poisonous sheen, before flaring white-hot with annihilating force. The air surges around him, boiling and rumbling as he draws his blade back and cleaves forward, a single slash of nuclear flame and boiling, soulless wind shearing out in a line across the Striking Tree. Where the wind passes, the tiny Ramuhs are struck with a wave of disintegrating force, taking full advantage of the massive number of debilitating actions that Landon has placed on them as he uses his offense to compliment Landon's defensive support. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Nasa strikes clean through her Arbiter; it dies. Well, turns back into Aether. There's not much difference for what it concerns you! She'll also find the tethers aren't the sturdiest spells or anything, either. They're potent magic but they're not beyond being outhealed, dispelled, or physically broken even.     The same can be said of the electricity trying to bind people to the ground, as Xiao stretches hers to its limit and then takes off the ground.     Setsuko, too, kills her Arbiter.     Marisa's grimoire, dutiful and on the ball, blasts away the Arbiter aimed at her, so that's one less!     Kyra's Esuna won't have any trouble breaking the binds (well, Shin's, since Xiao already took care of her own).     Xiao eats magic! It's delicious Ramuh magic.     Landon's spell puts a severe chain of debuffs on every Arbiter; they slow, they stop, they weaken. Their Aether is struck, and partially torn. Souji works unusually well with Landon there, turning his now white-hot blade upon many of the smaller Ramuhs. They're torn to shreds, the Murasame heir covering for those who had missed theirs. The Arbiters disappear.     Ramuh reappears, overhead, staff raised. His entire Aether gathers into a single strike, as he gazes down upon the infighting group of adventurers, heroes, combat vagrants and others. "So passionate thy will to do Good. So strong thy beliefs that thy very bonds of friendship and purpose shatter when strained. Perhaps I have failed my children indeed, but now I must do as they ask me: I pronounce thy sentence. By the radiance of eld be thee judged."     JUDGMENT BOLT rains down, giant pillars of lightning-- and judgment. They spin around the arena, some centered on Ramuh, but overall it would be very difficult to avoid, especially with all the infighting.     The damage it causes is equal parts lightning, and equal parts 'how sinful is your life'. The harsher one could be judged, if their life was laid out for all to see, the more damage it'll cause. On the other hand, it's perfectly possible to steel one's mind enough it doesn't get to do that, and just shocks a lot.     More importantly, it reveals INTENT. Those who are truthful about being here to promote peace will receive less damage. Those who are not will take significantly more. And those too busy infighting to remember the big picture will fall somewhere in the middle regardless of their intentions.     Following the blinding display of lightning magic, Ramuh lands in the center of the Striking Tree, lowering his staff. His intent to fight disappears, if such could even be perceived, as he watches to see who is still standing, who rises, and what they have to say. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     A detached part of N'raha watches that axe sink into Shin's arms, watches the blood the carnage and recoils in horror.     Another part revels in it. Right now he can't figure out which is worse.     The Rage is still coiling off N'raha as he's kicked away from Shin, as he watches Landon and Souji tank the damage from the paired attack, all of it around him as he /seethes/. The aetheric axe is still there, the catman is still smouldering but he's not charging in at Shin again. If he was in a better spot right now he'd be apologizing but...     Ramuh. Shin manages to get that back in his head. Ramuh. He's seeing red but he can at least direct this Fury into a direction that isn't the rest of the party.     The catman's muscles /shake/ and he turns in place to face the Primal again. And it's then that the bolt of Judgement hits him, and he crumples to the platform of the Tree, the electricity arcing through his body, shutting down all the bits of him that had any desire to move. The Rage howls inside him, aching to be released rather than just fade away, but the Miqo'te lets it happen, the hazy red mist around his frame boiling away, healing some of the damage on its way out of his body. He's panting now, the wounds from the fight catching up with him, as he plants the head of his axe into the stone and levers himself... to a kneel. He sits there for a few long moments, before trying to get up to his feet. But what surprises him, is that it's shame, not weak knees, that is making it hard to stand.     Shame? Shame. Shame for himself, for this whole debacle, for everything here. His voice lifts. "...This isn't what I wanted at all. This was s-supposed to be... This was supposed to be a chance to prove ourselves..." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko's dancing blade halt, her target having disappeared. She brings Zanjintou up, turning, looking, trying to spot the return of the Primal-     And then he appears, above, passing judgement in a thunderous radiance that causes the demigod to buckle. There has been sin in her life. Much of it. She is a soldier. No matter the creed she follows to ensure that her killing is not unjust, it is still a creed that sanctions killing, and kill she has. That, more than anything, is the weight the Judgement Bolt brings down on her. But her body rallies against the lightning - if anything, though it causes her pain, something about it seems to enliven the demigod, causing her divine presence to swell just slightly. And as for intent? Hers is as pure as it comes. She is here to defend, to bring peace.     Setsuko rises, having taken some damage from Judgement Bolt beyond the lightning aspect, but not much. "Passions run high," Setsuko agrees. "It is the nature of man. We are, all of us, individuals. We disagree with each other. It is in our nature not to be unified; though we work for a common goal, we may believe differently in how to achieve it. Sometimes, we will butt heads."     Her hand takes hold of N'raha's armor. With inhuman strength, she hauls him to his feet. And supports him if she has to.     "But though we falter, though we lose sight and make mistakes, if our heart is pure, we will ever strive to correct them, and ever reach for a better world. So do not judge us by our mistakes, but by our willingness to correct them." Her words, once again, are meant as much for N'raha as they are for the person she's ostensibly talking to. She's defending him to the Primal. "And please. Do not blame us for the mistakes of others, just as we do not blame you for the cruel behavior of other Primals. You are you, and they are they." 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Infighting. Anger. Rage. Things that Nasa knew well. N'Raha struck out wildly, injuring an ally in the process. It sparked flare after flare of anger and distrust within the group. A group of largely-strangers and outsiders. Even Nasa's own anger flared briefly, focused on Xiao. But she focused that silent, and internal.      Nasa's gaze focuses on Mirielle as she gives her that brief smile. She returns it, stepping away from her briefly, but carefully placing herself so that she's in a defensive position nearby her, facing Ramuh. A dragon formed, speaking of anger. She looks up towards Ramuh as he speaks. "...Passion does always to runnning high in combat. ...This combat is to being nau different." Nasa murmurs softly. And then... Ramuh pronounces her judged.      There wasn't even time to bring up a defensive spell, so all Nasa can do is plant her feet firmly on the ground and hope to weather the effects by letting it go through her bare feet. But... she hadn't ... really been prepared for the rest of that judgement bolt. She was not the one to take the most damage, her intent here had truly been to make peace. Ramuh, too, was a part of her beloved Wilds, in his own way. But she had been born a Drow, and raised a Drow. Though she had been working to repent over her life, her soul was Stained.      And... well. It hurt. A lot. Not the worst, but she was almost definitely towards the lighter mid-range, most likely. It had her wavering in place, her wings fluttering as she twitches. But... regardless of this fact... she stands. She even moves. Slowly, painfully, but she moves. Ramuh is ... actually ignored. In favor of N'Raha Tia.      Nasa moves slowly towards him, a hand reaching out towards him. "...Things do to rarely go as planned. Even the best of intentions can to causing the wildest chaos and worst pain. All you can to doing is make the best of it and apologize when you do to make a mistake." Nasa murmurs quietly. She does not, actually, touch the cat though. A last minute moment of clarity resulting in her thinking not to shock the cat with the likely heavy static discharge. "...And talk when you are upset, preferably before does to coming to boiling head."      She slowly shifts her gaze up towards Ramuh, watching him silently for several long moments. "...Naubody is perfect. Naut even you. Everyone does to make mistakes. Is sure the people of Gridania wished to help your children, but they may to have naught even known... or been able to because their own situation has to being unpleasant. Nasa has been busy, has been going around, doing her best to help the land here. Has seen it? Is ravaged. Is monsters everywhere. Everyone is to doing what they can to improve the planet, and while there are to being some who are dark and hold ill intent... does naut mean that all do to deserve to be judged harshly." Nasa shifts slowly, wavering in place.      She lifts her hands to rub at her face. Ugh. It hurts. She hates pain. She shifts her mouth slightly, biting down on an already-melted painkiller capsule in her mouth reflexively, letting the pain-killing medicine flow through her body. "...Can naut say that understands this land fully yet, but can to telling you... right now, what world needs is to naught being Judgement, but teamwork. Something that did to breaking down today at the end, but until then... we were to being working together well. It did to even letting us stand a chance against you."      She lowers her hands. "Is naut Nasa's place to speak though. She is of another land. Of another world. Is helping those of this world, hoping that they can to getting the peace they wish for." She looks pointedly towards Alwyn, Bertram, and N'Raha, before looking back towards Ramuh, the dark mist over her eyes shifting, working at regathering after having been burned away by Judgement Bolt.      "... Your children wish peace away from the rest of the world... first they do to need to make peace with the rest of the world, so that the rest of the world does to naut look at them with mistrust 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "... Your children wish peace away from the rest of the world... first they do to need to make peace with the rest of the world, so that the rest of the world does to naut look at them with mistrust or fear. The Sylphs of Little Solace have to doing this excellently, and does hope that eventually the rest of the sylphs can to doing the same." Nasa shifts slowly, before eventually just ... falling on her rear. Ugh. Everything hurt. That painkiller needs to start acting faster. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Landon al Cid is not without sin. There are no human beings who are without sin. Living itself presents temptations, and Landon isn't perfect. He has...he has his indulgences, and he's made mistakes. He's done things he's not altogether happy about, although he's never done anything he's truly *ashamed* of. He's never done anything *evil*. He doesn't lie, he doesn't cheat, though he does withhold information when he feels lives can be saved by hiding things. That's the price of government - even the best of it isn't completely clean.      And he's killed. He's killed men, and gotten men killed. The battlefield of Shiva may not have had any major incursions in the last few months, but even in the brief skirmishes, people die. People on both sides. Landon has fought hard to go back to the people he loves, fought fierce to protect that which he cares for.      In love alone is he a tyrant. In all matters of government, in all manners of life, Landon al Cid strives to be a saint.      He holds himself to an impossible standard. He pushes himself to the limit of health and sanity. He throws himself into battles he cannot win to protect others.      And he does that now. Landon throws Shin, Kyra, and Souji to the ground. He takes the lightning into himself, three bolts beyond the one meant for him. Selflessness, self-sacrifice, even though one of the men involved is one of his worst enemies. Mercy, even for those who may not deserve it. Punishment, for those who do.      Landon sears. He courses with thunder, arcs again racing up and down his body. Mercifully, Landon is not a bad man, and his honesty, his morality, his willingness to sacrifice for what he believes in and tell even a god to hold itself to a higher standard spare him some of the worst of it.      Not all the worst of it. He's got nothing left. He stumbles for a moment, smoldering and swaying as if he's about to fall over.      He doesn't. He takes a step forward. His eyes are locked so firmly on Ramuh that it seems as if he diverts his gaze he might simply topple there. Smoke pours out of his mouth and nose as he breathes out, then breathes in to speak.      "You have...failed them," Landon manages, his breath rattling in his throat as he tries to take another step and finds his feet unwilling to move, "But you...too...can do better. You can teach them now, with peace. You can pass to them the word of what happened here, that they..."      Landon fights himself to get the word out. "That they...might learn from it...and learn to coexist. That they might..."      "Be..."      "...wiser..."      The Prince wobbles for a moment. Then he topples forward, exhaustion burning every muscle.      "Better..."      The clang of metal against the tree reverberates as Landon lands. It rings outwards like a gong, filling the air with its brilliant sound. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra's eyes widen in fear as it clicks in her mind that the Judgement Bolt actually contains Judgement from the Primal, that it wasn't just a whole lot of lightning. The bottom drops out of her stomach for she knows that in so many ways, she would be judged guilty. From the events that lead to her being ejected from her family and religion to accidentally ending a life, there was quite a lot she would be paying for.     That is until Landon grabs her and throws her on the ground alongside Shin and /Souji/ of all people. She isn't unaware of Landon's self-sacrificial nature and knows exactly what is coming. So while she is protected, Kyra strives to make sure that Landon and those next to her, for Souji and Shin could no doubt use it from the fighting, were well-healed.     Using up all of the extra MP that was gifted to her by the dragon, Kyra calls upon her healing magic and saturates the mound of people from herself, to Shin, to Souji, to Landon. The pile glows brightly with white magic that was just starting to re-emerge in this world.     "CURAGA!"     Following that, Kyra is silent. She really doesn't have much to say nor does she really think her support really proved anything to Ramuh. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin is mostly out of the fight, due to the injuries that have managed to royally damage his arms. The act of punching would probably tear his muscle clean from the bone that's how wide his wounds are. This is fortunate for some, Ramuh chief among them, but unfortunate for Shin since he wanted to help the others in the first place.     Instead, he occupies himself with other tasks. Namely, he starts tearing strips of fabric from his dress shirt and wrapping them around the huge, gaping wounds in his arms so that they'll at least stay put instead of spreading. Makeshift bandages at best so he can actually move his arms at all without making the wounds worse. Instantly, the white fabric turns a ruby red and Shin scowls.     If nothing else, though, the look he gives N'raha isn't one of disdain or hatred. Shin's angry, but he doesn't seem to have any hatred in his eyes. Simply that of someone prepared to defend himself if he has to. Luckily, he doesn't, as N'raha manages to find his correct target again and the martial artist can heave a sigh of relief and revert to his normal posture for the moment, "Fwaaaaah. It's hard to believe the guy that FF'd me with an axe won't be the person I leave here with the lowest opinion of," He murmurs to himself.     Shin finds himself thrown to the ground, immediately going,"Fuck me, again with this shi-" But he cuts off as it turns out to be Landon tanking Judgment Bolt for him. Shin, as someone who lives a Monk's Lifestyle is actually pretty pure and generally GOOD. But the lightning probably would have put him down for a long time after the injuries he already sustained. That's why, as Landon falls down, Shin manages to prop himself up onto a knee and murmur, "Shit man. Thanks. I owe you one." He notes, looking at the fallen and armored Prince, "And I swear I'll pay it back."     Not today, though. As people begin looking to Ramuh to talk after the fight, Shin simply wants to leave. Judging Landon as someone that needs more medical care than him, Shin kinda slowly stands up and then tries to just quietly walk to the ramp so he can leave. This is not a situation he wants to be around for in post.     This means that he IS hit by the Curaga from Kyra. He looks back over his shoulder, "Thanks. I think that'll hold me. Focus on him," Shin says. He can feel that, at least, the wounds under his makeshift bandages have stopped bleeding and closed a little. He's still leaving, though, for now. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' This is what Souji was seeking to prevent. While he, like all Ramuhan nobility, might wear a mask and dance the dance of daggers in the upper echelons of the government, he knows what he has done and what is good, and what is evil. As the words ring out, Souji stops fighting, closing his eyes and sighing. "Judgement is nigh." He says, quietly. Is this how he chooses to face the cleansing power of Ramuh? Perhaps, perhaps not, as he is suddenly surprised by Landon throwing him to the ground. "WHAT?" Souji yells, genuinely surprised for a moment as he hits the scorched surface of the Striking Tree. He looks up, and observes Landon, taking the strikes meant for them. Him, Kyra, and Shin... And he scowls. "You damn fool." Souji snaps, but there's no weight behind the words as he stands up again. "Kyra, see to him, quickly." As if she would need the prompting. He looks towards Ramuh again, noticing that he seems to have expended his will to fight. Is this the end? As the Curaga suffuss him, undoing much of the damage of the battle, he stares at Ramuh. He has no speech. He has no grandiose words. All he has is a blade in his hand... And he turns, sheathing it. the ribbon ties itself around the handle silently. "Are you satisfied?" He asks the Primal. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle is about to unleash hell, her frail body shuddering with the immense magic she had been working up until the point that Ramuh returns to the real world. She raises her hand, and the pressure she had been exuding lightly becomes nearly overpowering, in a wave of force that blows outward - the precursor to grand arcanery.     And then she gets hit by Judgement Bolt. The overwhelming karmic lightning strikes her in her very soul and erases the carefully contstructed thoughts she had brought forth for his arrival.     Her mind goes blank, her sight goes white, and her body knew only pain. But it was 'gentle' as far as being annihilated by lightning went.     Which is to say, for all her darkness, all her shade, and all of her vile activities, her resolve here was at least somewhat admirable. She was here to stop Ramuh, to back Landon in pressing upon mercy and peace. These were optimal things, to her.     While her soul was judged harshly, her mind was graced with some leniance.     And so, as the bolt ended, she fell to her knees, her charred staff falling away from her hands and she threw up on the ground, heaving and falling to her side, twitching.     "H-hate... zzz-z-zone A-o-E." She groans, scooting away from her 'lost cookies'.     "Even with BarThunder..." 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:'''     Well, that's about the last time Marisa intentionally tries to eat an energy field larger than her head. Of course, this one was approximately four times her size, so maybe she can just try eating a smaller one and be fine, or something. Wizard Hubris knows no bounds, after all.     Xiao's treatment seems to work, though. A surge of magic pours into the Dark Knight, even as Valentha alights over them, protecting the trio from the torrents of lightning. Marisa's eyes slowly focus through the pain still pounding in her veins. But at least, for now, she's NOT literally turning into lightning. Even so though, there's still... power. Too much power. The judgment bolt builds in the sky, beyond the canopy of Valentha's wings, and Marisa... Responds. She lifts her Hakkero to the sky, the other hand reaches for her Grimoire's shoulder--     Above Valentha, the atmosphere seems to thicken with a peal of thunder, accumulating into a solid cushion of compressed air. When the Judgment Bolts pour in, they'll find significantly more resistance than the Primal may have expected. After all, this IS his own trick she's borrowing.     With a groan, the witch rises to sit, her skin still... crackling. "Goddamn," Marisa mutters, staring out at the Primal beyond the dragon's wings. "You ain't that bad, old man. Kind of a shitty judge, but I guess not an awful dad, either. Heh." Better than hers, at least. ...Probably.     "Xiao," Marisa glances towards the Dark Knight. Her eyes linger for a moment, before smirking- it's a little weaker than she usually manages, though, "Thanks for that. Woulda been bad otherwise." 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Down comes the Judgement of Heaven and Valentha eyes the clouds warily. Then those eyes CLOSE after giving Xiao a return glare full of the wrath of nearly a millenia of life.     And in that millenia of life, Valentha has made many mistakes. As a hatchling, too young to know any better or control her emotions she's killed and mangled. Time and again she has fallen prey to arrogance and delved after forbidden knowledge or dared things that should not have been dared. Her life is full of errors.     But equally so is it full of repentence and efforts to make reparations. She has stood for the rights of all sapient beings, for justice and for peaceful co-existence. Risked herself selflessly time and again in fights even a dragon cannot face fearlessly.     Just as she stands now shelteringly over Marisa and an 'ally' she doesn't at all respect but is depending on to save the one she does.     That's a LOT Of power coming down to strike her. Both wings stretch out though to catch as much of it that might've otherwise threatened Marisa and Xiao as possible. And Valentha simply clenches her jaw shut in preparation.     The JUDGEMENT BOLT slams hard into her, scorching deep through her bones and internal organs. Her whole body crackles, illuminated in the stormy fury.     THIS one is enough to make the dragon roar in pain. A ferocious, deep, ear-shattering noise nearly as loud as the thundrous crack from Judgement Bolt itself.     When it's all over with, Valenthanixa's still standing shelteringly. In all likelihood she couldn't offer full protection, with the nature of that attack. But what she received was enough to leave her paralyzed in place. Standing not through any remaining physical strength, but sheer willpower to not fall and crush anyone.     When all's said and done, Val's principles and ideals, her intent, is unquestionable. She's here in the hopes of mending the ills suffered by a world and its people, and so she turns her mighty head - ignoring the pain in every spasming muscle - to turn her centuries-old gaze at the Primal.     "We ALL fail. Learning from mistakes, making amends for them, and not repeating them is the cornerstone of maturity. I have done so my whole life."     Her eyes swerve about though, fixating down on Xiao Li Yu with an excruciating ferocity. It's asking clearly, 'what about you?' 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Xiao grasped Marisa and drew some of Ramuh's power away from her and into herself. "...Agh....ow...seriously?" She grumbled, wincing and shuddering as the electric charged aether entered her body and coarsed through her veins. She was in absolutely no position to be tanking judgment bolts right now, so Valentha's (unwilling)defense of her and Marisa is...convenient.      She stopped draining the witch once she realized that the other had regained consciousness. "Aha. There you are." She smiled a bit. "Welcome back to the waking world." And then a pained sigh. "Never do that again, you hear me?" Speaking sweetly, she pat Marisa's shoulder once it was all over, then rose to her feet.      It looked like it was truly over. Ramuh was back as well. But she didn't have anything amazing to say. People were people. That's all it was.      Valentha's glare is met with a curious look and a tilt of the head. She smiled pleasantly despite the anger being directed towards her, eyes twinkling as if saying...      'I wonder about that.' 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Judgment comes down, and then it passes.     "Doth thou regret your mistakes, Miqo'te?" Ramuh asks N'raha, with a tone that implies if he does, that will be proof enough.     "Thy sentence has been met, Bringers of Light. Thou hast proven, if nothing else, that thy strength can overcome much. Perhaps to put the safety of mine children in your hands is not such a folly after all," the Primal muses at Setsuko.     To Nasa, he nods. "Mine children saught isolation. If that was their wish, t'was not mine place to tell them they were wrong. But peace cannot be achieved through isolation alone. I see now that to separate all people in corners is not peace."     Tempered Sylphs fly in, flocking around their Lord. They chatter, looking back and forth between he and the adventurers.     Ramuh points at Landon; assuming nobody else gets to it (well, even if they do), one of the Tempered Sylphs starts casting healing spells. They're not anywhere near Kyra's level, but they'll help him up. "Rise, child. I sought to judge thy worth here, but it was mine that was found wanting. Mine ire should not target all men, when only some are evil. Once, mine children did summon me, and I laid waste to an army of Garleans. Unwittingly, my children were Tempered, touched by mine light. It is mine fault alone that they are so territorial."     To Souji, he nods. "I am satisfied."     Ramuh's form breaks; unable to sustain itself, mostly due to Marisa, honestly, the Primal is reduced to a sphere of glowing lightning, which hovers in the air.     "My children will learn from this. Peace can be achieved; thy strength will ensure it," he answers to everyone, prompted by Valentha's words.     "I judge thee champions of Light. Thy task, to excise evil from men's hearts. Falter not when comes time to use your strength. Like hungering shadows do the enemies of harmony gather, and meekness will but feed them. If man is to be delivered from the Dark, it will be by your guiding Light."     And then, Ramuh is gone. His form breaks, and his Aether scatters back to the four corners of the Black Shroud. The Tempered Sylphs down below have all stopped fighting, and the Scions seem to already be untying them.     It won't be EASY, but having their Lord tell them to seek peace will go a long way. Having Tempered people, beastmen of all things, coexist with Eorzeans will be a strange, new thing.     It won't be long before the Scions (and the Elder Seedseer) will be up to congratulate you. And, well, now they want to talk. Because Ramuh sure said some ominous shit, and the Scions are all about that. Not now, though. Rest up first. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Right.      Well that was all warm, fuzzy and touching, but...      Xiao had research samples to study! As such, she proceeded to casually sidle off to the edge of the arena, plainly intending to leave while the talking, bickering, and heartfelt confessions of love and cameraderie started up.      Priorities. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Landon is put back on his feet by a combination of Ramuh's awesome power and Kyra's awesome power. He stands, though he's still a little wobbly (getting hit by four god blasters and like every other attack will do that to you). He listens to Ramuh, slowly, as the god speaks.      Then he vanishes.      The Sylphs, the Scions, the Seedseer, they cluster to congratulate. Landon simply starts laughing, ironclad hand on his head. It is the laugh of tension shattering like glass on contact with the ground.      The sheer arrogance of him to lecture the god on the proper method of judgement! And not just any god - his own ancestor, of a sort, the distant common father of his entire lineage, and the lineage of all those of his continent! It was staggering. But nonetheless...if a god is not held to a higher standard, if it cannot be an example to be followed, then what good is it? He laughs, and laughs, and laughs. His laughter rings out across the tree for a solid minute before he takes a deep breath and regains his demeanor. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "...Does naut think that Isolation is bad in and of itself. If does want to keep to self for most part, is okay... that is to being what diplomats and people who do to go out and make sure that all is to being well with people they do to naut want war with is for, yes." Nasa murmurs, shifting slowly as she roots around in her pouches a bit. Eventually, she pulls out a small bottle of some form of liquid. Luckily, it hadn't been destroyed or even really damaged by the lightning. It was warm now, though.      Nasa slowly stands as she listens to Ramuh talk. Champions of Light? She was among those judged! She takes a small breath. That was something that made her silently happy and joyous, really. Regardless, though, she began to make her way towards Valentha.      She then takes out a small needle. She would then dip the tip of the needle into the bottle of painkillers and, provided that Valentha doesn't stop her from doing such... unceremoniously attempt to prick a softer area of her flesh. It would likely barely even hurt -- especially with the /extremely/ powerful painkillers and healing aids on the needle. Afterwards, she would carefully stop up the bottle, and offer the needle up to the dragon. "...Has your blood on it." ...Blood was valuable. Especially dragon blood. She was sure Valentha could understand why she was offering it to her.      She then glances towards the tree. And then towards the Tempered Sylphs. "...Why is tree like this? Can Nasa help?" She asks towards them. "...Grand tree, cut as it is to being... is unpleasant to seeing." Nasa adds as an explanation to her offer. Mind you, she wouldn't help /immediately/. She just fought Ramuh. She had very little magical energy left right now.      Oh sweet wonderful painkillers though. She could move! Thank goodness! Because otherwise she would be in a world of pain. She looks towards the approaching Scions and the elder Seedseer, simply nodding towards them. And then she goes more or less quiet, waiting for her healing aids to start their job. She was even sitting cross-legged. Just right there. Yaaaaaay painkillers. Also the ability to be semi-conscious while 'sleeping' by performing Reverie instead of sleeping. 

:'''{{#var:829|Marisa Kirisame (829)}} has posed:''' "Pfahahahaha," Marisa laughs! But it's an achey, too-sore-to-do-this-properly sort of thing, "Don't worry, I'll try to keep from uh, eatin' that much energy all at once." Lightning arcs briefly between her teeth, "Still feels sorta buzzy-tingly though. Could be worse though, I could be dead!"     The witch groans as she rises further, taking a moment to ruffle her Grimoire's hair... And then looks up to the dragon still overtop of her. "Thanks a lot too, by the way! Appreciate not bein' nice and toasty. So!" She... looks around, glancing at the beastmen and the others, "What do we do now, exactly?" 

}}

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-08-24T10:58:44Z

Lightmage:

The Six Crystals of Light

2015-08-24T10:53:15Z

Lightmage:

{{TPPage
|Summary=The Scions of the Seventh Dawn have found within Alwyn Highwind, Bertram Silent and N'raha Tia the new Warriors of Light, people gifted with the Echo and the Gift, capable of facing the impossible odds that Eorzeans normally cannot. But first, they must gather six crystals to amplify their bond with Hydaelyn-- crystals that are guarded by foes sure to give them a challenge. And in the meantime, the XIVth Legion of the Garlean Empire is readying to wake from its slumber and inactivity, a powerful weapon of Allagan descent now in their hands and almost functional. Thus starts the rise of the Warriors of Light's legends; will you earn a name for yourself as well?
|Scale=Major
|Plot_id=?
|Runner=815
|Contacts=[[Bertram Silent]], [[N'raha Tia]]
|Theme=Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1
|Audience=Everyone
|Genre=Fantasy/Magic RPG
|Events====The Crystal of Lightning===
What started as a simple request to investigate Tempered Sylphs quickly escalated, when it was discovered that [[Setsuko Kaminagi]] caused the Ramuh-worshipping Sylphs of the Black Shroud to begin summoning their Primal lord. The Seedseers of Gridania have tasked numerous adventurers, with Setsuko and [[Scarlet Everille]] at their head, to seek the aid of the non-Tempered Sylphs of Little Solace. There, they found their elder missing, captured by Garleans, but recovered him. The elder, Frixio, said he would entrust adventurers with a token, a crystal, that may help sway Ramuh before he takes his anger out on the forest, if they could cleanse the Tam-Tara Deepcroft of its Void-fueled activities. A large group of adventurers then went into the Deepcroft and rid it of its cultist and Voidsent presence.

After obtaining the crystal from the Sylphs, Hydaelyn addressed those gathered to warn them of the coming perils and the need to find all six crystals. Ramuh stirs, and confrontation is nigh.
===The Crystal of Fire===
===The Crystal of Earth===
===The Crystal of Water===
===The Crystal of Ice===
===The Crystal of Wind===
|Info=
|State=Current
}}

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-08-24T10:51:06Z

Lightmage:

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5</div></div>

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.</div></div>

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.</div></div>

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. '''This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva".''' All Garleans, period, have such a name, because they go as far as having a title for regular citizens and even conscripted non-Garleans. Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''</div></div>

===Primals & Info===
Primals are legends, beliefs, faiths, and sometimes actual figures that existed, incarnated through the power of prayer, and Aether. To summon a Primal is to wound Hydaelyn, as each Primal takes from her a large amount of Aether to manifest itself, and does not give it back upon its defeat. A Primal's power is proportional to the belief and faith put into it and to the amount of Aether it is given, typically through gathering crystals charged with it-- thus, it cannot be said there is such a thing as a Primal above all others, or a Primal more powerful than others-- a Primal's strength fluctuates, and even the lowly Ifrit could overpower Bahamut or Odin given absurd amounts of worship and Aether. This section will be updated with information on each Primal as it is uncovered in-character. Lastly, while the term "Tempered" is used for all Primals, each Primal actually has their own word they use for their mind-broken minions. 

<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:purple;">RAMUH<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Ramuh is the Primal of the Sylphs, the guardian of the Twelveswood and the Lord of Levin. He uses lightning primarily, and his signature move is Judgment Bolt. Summoned only once in recent history, the Sylphs who did so were accidently Tempered ('Touched') as a result. Ramuh inflicted a crippling loss to the Garleans attempting to invade the Black Shroud before disappearing again. Wise, ancient, and protective of his land, his followers share that extreme protectiveness of their own territory.</div></div> 

<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:blue; color:white;">LEVIATHAN<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; color:black;">Leviathan is the Primal of the Sahagin, aggressive, piracy-prone fishmen. The massive sea serpent's signature move is Tsunami, and he uses water attacks mainly. Many pirates have come to worship him without being Tempered ('Drowned') by the Primal, like the Serpent Reavers.</div></div> 

<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:orange;">BAHAMUT<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Bahamut is a Primal with only little following; summoned several eras ago and imprisoned within the red moon Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower, the Primal bid his time in torture and agony, until through cracks he managed to Temper Nael van Darnus and his legion of Garleans. Breaking free, he caused the Calamity before disappearing mysteriously. It is worth nothing that in FFXIV, Bahamut does not retain his kingship or lordship over dragons-- indeed, he has no authority whatsoever, besides on those he Tempers. Where he is or why he disappeared is still a mystery. Bahamut's signature move varies, as he can use Megaflare, Gigaflare and Teraflare for increasingly worrying levels of damage.</div></div>

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea. '''Following Therion's defeat, the orb holding Diabolos is held in Gridania by the Conjurers' Guild.'''
* The adventurers have captured Captain Madison's pirate ship!
* The Syndicate of Ul'dah now employs [[Souji Murasame]]'s magitechnology.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Leve Plate
| A plate made of glass and steel, which identifies the bearer as being on a Leve, Duty or other.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
* The Murasame Zaibatsu has been recognized as an independant Free Company for political purposes.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

'''CURRENTLY ONGOING TP: [[The Six Crystals of Light]].'''

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]
* [[2716/Leve:_Sylph-Management|Leve: Sylph-Management]]
* [[2873/The_First_Crystal|The First Crystal]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]
* [[2805/FATE:_Rotten_to_the_Core|FATE: Rotten to the Core]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Ul'dah===

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* [[2679/Duty:_Sastasha_Seagrot|Sastasha Seagrot]]
* [[2740/Duty:_Halatali|Halatali]]
* [[2761/Duty:_The_Tam-Tara_Deepcroft|The Tam-Tara Deepcroft]]

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-08-24T10:28:38Z

Lightmage:

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5</div></div>

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.</div></div>

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.</div></div>

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. '''This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva".''' All Garleans, period, have such a name, because they go as far as having a title for regular citizens and even conscripted non-Garleans. Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''</div></div>

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea. '''Following Therion's defeat, the orb holding Diabolos is held in Gridania by the Conjurers' Guild.'''
* The adventurers have captured Captain Madison's pirate ship!
* The Syndicate of Ul'dah now employs [[Souji Murasame]]'s magitechnology.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Leve Plate
| A plate made of glass and steel, which identifies the bearer as being on a Leve, Duty or other.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
* The Murasame Zaibatsu has been recognized as an independant Free Company for political purposes.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

'''CURRENTLY ONGOING TP: [[The Six Crystals of Light]].'''

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]
* [[2716/Leve:_Sylph-Management|Leve: Sylph-Management]]
* [[2873/The_First_Crystal|The First Crystal]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]
* [[2805/FATE:_Rotten_to_the_Core|FATE: Rotten to the Core]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Ul'dah===

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* [[2679/Duty:_Sastasha_Seagrot|Sastasha Seagrot]]
* [[2740/Duty:_Halatali|Halatali]]
* [[2761/Duty:_The_Tam-Tara_Deepcroft|The Tam-Tara Deepcroft]]

2805/FATE: Rotten to the Core

2015-08-24T10:25:54Z

Lightmage: Lightmage moved page 2805/Rotten to the Core to 2805/FATE: Rotten to the Core without leaving a redirect

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/14
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Another corrupt, angry elemental of the Twelveswood manifests, and must be cleansed.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=367, 525, 819, 826, 842, 850
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Duty: Rotten to the Core Location: Blessed Bud, North Shroud Type: Investigation Urgency: High Difficulty: Medium Enclosed Message: Guildmaster E-Sumi-Yan of Stillglade Fane has received word from the Hearers about elemental corruption in the farmland near the Blessed Bud. Adventurers are requested to investigate the site and purify the corruption if possible. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram Silent has been waiting in Gridania, near the Aetheryte and the Warpgate for those who responded to the Leve, ready to lead any who have offered to help towards the place. He's wearing his white mage's robes and in general looks to be in a somber mood. The Blessed Bud is a normally pleasant vale near Treespeak stables, within a malm of the city state of Gridania's walls. Unfortunately, the weather has rumbled with foreboding thunderstorms lately, and the dark clouds haven't yet abandoned the highly magical forest. This, however is a different matter than the one that has drawn the attention of Stillglade Fane, the Conjurer's Guild of Gridania. The earth surrounding the Blessed Bud looks to off, and some of the plants have started to shrivel up as though the recent thunderstorms have failed to bring any moisture. There is a clear central spot from which this effect spreads. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha is here with the Doc, standingclose to Bertram with a hint of worry. The last time they did this he was still experiments with his other styles of combat, but now...     That armor he's wearing looks more comfortable. His axe seems more firm in his hands. His demeanor right now is more sure. Even his tail is calmer. And there's a brightness in those eyes. He's ready for this. 

:'''{{#var:525|Inga (525)}} has posed:''' Inga has been a bit out of touch as of late. It is easy for a Seer to do. Get lost watching the wyrd, discover its days later and you've forgotten to eat or sleep... Anyway, heard there was something she might be able to help with, and it is in the world of a certain catman that fate seems to have thrown her way. After the thoroughly unnerving experience she's followed the threads here. The woman arrives swathed in a long cloak with the hood up, ready for rain. She holds an oak staff in her hand, leaning on it a bit as she walks toward the gathering group, her eyes on the clouds for a few moments, slight smile curving. Thunderstorms don't mean doom to Inga. They're an omen of Thor's presence. She then takes in the strangeness of the withered plants, frowning thoughtfully. Upon sighting N'raha, she moves in his direction. "N'raha," she greets cautiously, as if she's half expecting him to flinch away. Or run screaming? She looks at the plants again, pursing her lips. "Should have brought a goat." 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Gridania! It was a large and bustling city. And also one wholly unfamiliar to a certain Guardian of the Wilds that was fluttering her way through the city, searching for the meeting point. Luckily, Bertram Silent had been waiting next to the warpgate, otherwise Nasa may have /never/ found her way to it! Okay no she probably would have. Probably after it was done. Depending on how used to purple faeries people are... they might find Nasa a bit odd. Considering she didn't look like the /other/ faeries that tended to be around even remotely.      She shifts her gaze around, those light silvery-pink eyes glancing towards each person in the nearby area. "...Is looking for the people who are to being seeking out the corruption." Nasa says to nobody in particular, and everyone in the area. She should have gotten a name. Ugh. Still, she decided to stay next to the warpgate. Her eyes trailed towards the White Mage and the cat holding the axe, watching them for a few moments. Were those the people? Maybe? Hmm.      Nasa flits over to them and lands, her feet resting on the ground. "...You are to being the ones who mentioned Twelveswood Corruption, yes?" Nasa asks, glancing up towards those rumbling and roiling storms. Today, rather than her usual paired Kukri, she had a single dagger strapped to her waist, the hilt of which appeared to be a lightly glowing silvery color. It emenated a Holy energy. Presumably to help with the corruption. 

:'''{{#var:842|Testament (842)}} has posed:''' Through the warpgate comes a pale, thin man with long black hair and black... sort-of-robes. He's so thin in fact, that the outline of his ribs can be faintly seen on his sides. He looks like a mage, doesn't he? Maybe? A little? Probably not. But still, he's here to help. There's a raven on his shoulder, a black bird with a silver collar. There's a gathering there, it looks like, so Testament heads over there. "I'm here to help with the corruption as well," he says, after Nasa speaks. His voice is just... WEIRD! It sounds heavily distorted, and like there's two of him speaking at a slightly different time, with a heavy reverb effect behind it. It's understandable, though. 

:'''{{#var:850|Tiki (850)}} has posed:'''     The red and pink wearing Tiki emerges from the Warpgate and she immediately begins to blink her green eyes rapidly as her vision adjusts to this new world. This vale was supposedly quite beautiful and Tiki was quite excited to see this world's beauty in all its splendor. Unfortunately, the reports of corruption were proving to be quite true and the natural beauty of this land has been cruelly warped from its natural state. The Manakete slowly crouches down to inspect a nearby withered plant. Her expression immediately sours at what she observes so far of this new world. There is much work to be done.     Tiki rises back up and glances towards the nearby gathering of interesting individuals. But what she could overhear, Tiki sumises that this group represented an allied force and thus walks over to join them. "Salutations, I am Lady Tiki and I would like to pledge my assistance in removing the corruption from this land." The 'young' Manakete then smiles succinctly towards the group at large. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram leads everyone to the site. "Thanks you for coming, this is a serious problem. I'm Bertram Silent, a conjurer of Stillglade Vane." He introduces himself on the way there. "To cleanse the corruption we must draw out the corrupted elementals and excise the corruption. Please remember that sometimes the proper cure is painful for the patient, this is one of those times." He does a doubletake at seeing a short purple fae-like creature come to help, but the similarities to tempered sylphs appear to end there, so he lets it slide. At the site of corruption, Bertram sits down on the ground and holds onto his staff, concentrating. "I probably won't be of much direct help, I'll have to spend all my attention to draw out the elementals and keep the healthy ones from lashing out." This said, he concentrates, and at the center of the corruption, where some of the withered plants have already died and started to grow moldy, a yellow crystal with deep purple streaks slowly emerges from the ground, drawing rocks and stones from the corrupted area around it to form a protective layer. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha... well, a whole bunch of new people he doesn't know... AND INGA! His super serious reverie breaks as he waves cheerily at his Fellow Chosen, and gives her a thumbs up. Well, if he was worried about their last meeting, it seems to be gone. Maybe someone gave him a talking to?     He does offer waves to everyone else though. "Hi! Name's N'raha! I sorta work for Bert and Alwyn, maybe a little." Narratively speaking, that might as well be true. But now we're heading for the site, and the Miqo'te's tail flicks back and forth fitfully. Business time.     And as the first of the earth sprites shows itself, he grumps. "It had to be earth elementals, didn't it? Least it's not something nasier like a golem." He looks over his shoulder. "They're gonna huck rocks at you, try to bind you up in the dirt, there's probably more nasty stuff with that purple crap that's in there. Be ready!"     And with that, he lifts the axe, hefts it over his shoulder, and starts dashing in, lifting his Aether and hurling himself towards the Rock Thing. 

:'''{{#var:525|Inga (525)}} has posed:''' Inga smiles in recognition upon seeing Nasa, nodding to her. "Nasa, how good to see you," she greets. Her eyes are drawn to the others as well, giving Testament a quick look over, focusing then on his raven. Another omen perhaps? She nods her head to him, as he certainly looks to be a mage of some sort. Tiki gets a raised brow with her nod after Inga has taken in her very colorful outfit and very high heels. Inga then turns to Bertram Silent, nodding respectfully. "I am Inga, wisewoman," she introduces, as they've never met. "I hope that I can be of assistance," she adds. To N'raha, she unexpectedly smiles. Well, alright then. IT is always good when the victims of your visions and what not don't run screaming when they see you again. She takes his advice gratefully, frowning. "Well, I can provide wards. I'm afraid I have no experience with...whatever that is," she says, motioning to the crystal. She does however, pull back her cloak to pull the knife from her belt. A quick flick and she's drawn blood from the veins on the inside of her arm, flicking the blood outward around herself, the crimson liquid turning to a shimmering mist that surrounds her like a barrier. N'raha soon gets the same treatment, as she figures as a warrior he will be getting himself into trouble. The stabby kind of trouble. Yup, there he goes. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa follows after Betram, her wings fluttering slowly as she's lead along by Bertram. She lifts her fingers to wiggle them towards Inga in acknowledgement and greeting, a small smile flashed towards her. Which would likely easily let people see her sharp teeth. Just another reason to be a bit nervous of Nasa. Luckily, she's not Tempered! "Is good to see you too, Inga-shaman." Nasa says cheerfully towards her.      "Excising corruption... ah, should to being relatively easy then. Probably." Nasa says, fluttering a bit lazily around Bertram as he sits down on the ground. She takes a small breath as she draws the dagger from its sheathe, moving to a somewhat protective orbit of the Conjurer as he concentrates. And then... there was a yellow crystal?      Nasa looks curiously at that crystal. Purple streaks, and she /thought/ she could feel corruption. Though this land was noisy, so much magic all around. Literally everyone and everything. Which was part of why just tracking down the corruption on her own wouldn't have been as easy. "Oh right. Name is Na`Sabal-Une Fang, Guardian of the Wilds." Nasa murmurs softly, lifting her free hand up. The tips of her fingers begin to glow a colorful purple, flecked with little green sparks. "Thorned Brambles, grip and hold." Nasa says, her voice coming out with a melodical energy to it.      She gently kneels down, a small seed forming in her fingers. She slowly pushes it into the ground, and a small sprout begins to grow, what seemed to be... blackberry brambles rapidly growing out to attempt to wrap around the Earth Elemental! Unlike normal blackberry brambles, however, these ones were much stronger, and glowed with the Wilds' holy energy. It seemed she was attempting to set things up for N'raha to strike! 

:'''{{#var:842|Testament (842)}} has posed:''' Testament listens to the explanation as they head to the site. They're to destroy a corrupted elemental, he read that in the job mission. When the yellow crystal comes out of the ground Testament gets ready to fight. At least, given what Bertram's said, they shouldn't have to worry about the not-corrupted elementals attacking them. Hopefully. But he'll prepare for the worst. Oh yeah. That name thing. "My name is Testament," he offers to the group at large. And then N'raha offers tactical information about the thing they're about to fight. "Thank you," Testament replies. The raven flies up into the air, as if to spot. And Testament brings his hand to his mouth.     There's a moment's pause and then he bites down HARD on the side of his finger. Hard enough, in fact, to draw blood. But the blood doesn't just flow from the wound, no. He tears his hand free from his teeth violently, producing an arc of blood that seems to literally freeze in place, and then sculpt itself into a scythe in his hands. The wound? Gone. He nods to Inga in return. Yeah, it seems like he's a mage, all right... a blood mage! If that little thing he just did was any indication, anyway. 

:'''{{#var:850|Tiki (850)}} has posed:'''     "A pleasure to meet you all." A rebellious breeze soon sneaks through the area and gently picks up Tiki's pink cape before releasing it shortly after. The green-haired, green-eyed Manakete seems rather unconcerned with this as her attention is on Bertram as he offers an explanation on what the situation was. "Using violence to remove corruption is never the ideal solution, but benevolent solutions have grown increasing scarce as the millenia pass. What must be done, will be done." Lady Tiki lets her smile fade as she steels herself for what must come next.     The Manakete reaches down to retrieve a golden orb from a pouch hanging from around her waist. The orb pulses with latent energy and would appear very valuable if not for the multitude of fractures forming on its surface. She holds the orb aloft, but nothing happens at first. Tiki hesitates as two mages before her both use black magic. "Am I surrounded by servants of Grima?" Tiki ponders alound with a grimace before shaking her head. No, they must simply be Dark Mages. The Manakete's thoughts are distracted as she stares into the golden orb in her hands.     Whatever the case may be, there was still a job to be done. "Let us vanquish our foes, together!" Tiki suddenly calls out as she is enveloped in a bright light. The elf-like figure that stood there before is gone and a nearly iridescent -dragon- stands in her place. Outstretching her wings, Tiki takes flight into the air. It has been too long since she's really gotten the chance to stretch her wings and she's going to take a moment to do just that before the engagement begins in earnest. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram is focused on his concentration, and has his eyes closes, so he doesn't notice the draconic transformation. A chocobokeep who was coming by to collect some Gysahl Greens from Treespeak Stables however shrieks 'Heretics!' and turns around to run away. What's up with that, one may wonder. N'raha gets the Elemental's attention, his axe cleaving through the rocks and chipping away at the elemental's core. In response, the just shattered rocks are sent flying toward's N'raha's face. If they land, at least Inga's protective magic will reduce how much they hurt. Nasa's thorns wrap around the Elemental, rooting it in place, though its corruption fights with the holy energy inside the brambles. Whatever the source of this corruption, it does not agree with holy energy. Testament's Raven can notice large mushrooms, not too far away, uprooting themselves and starting to waddle towards the group. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha's axe takes a chunk out of the Thing, but now it's drawing backup. He grunts and spins a bit, turning to snarl at the Funguars. If you could see his hackles under the armor, they're certainly raising. His tail's all poofed out at least.     "MORE COMING! I GOT EM!" And even as the rock tries to bite back, he's already trying to Overpower the new adds, Aether lashing out to buffet the Shroms with energy and entice them to pay attention to him. 

:'''{{#var:525|Inga (525)}} has posed:''' Inga turns and looks toward Testament, eyes widening slightly. Her own wound is already closing--not quite as quickly as his did. Then, a fierce grin. "Well /that/ is a nice trick!" she calls. Another bloodmage! Is he one of the Bees as well? "I do prefer the cleanness of a knife however!" she says, waving her seax lightly. Seems the day holds more surprises, for the girl in the brightly colored outfit shifts into /a dragon/! Inga gasps as she watches the creature take flight. "Odin's bones...another dragon," she breathes, a bit awed. She's still not jaded to the multitude of wonders in the multiverse. Inga looks back to N'raha, charging in, ready to be crushed by rocks. Inga winces, then cuts into her arm again, drawing a fresh swath of blood that rises into the air, solidifying into wicked looking spears that fly toward the Elemental. She glances toward Testament, flashes a small grin. Comparing skills. 

:'''{{#var:842|Testament (842)}} has posed:''' Testament pauses at the sight of Tiki. He utterly FREEZES, in fact. But he misses her words about being servants of Grima entirely. The form of a shimmering dragon. That reminds him of his father... ...He should visit his father's grave again. It's been too long. BUT! Right now he has a task in front of him. A corrupted elemental. He straightens, and then extends his hand out to the elemental, as if he were offering it something. But this is not a gift. At least, not one that it wants. A skull appears in that opened hand, glowing a malevolent red, and begins to arc through the air towards the elemental, trying to bite it. Should it be able to do so, red blood magic circles will begin to spin around the elemental. He pauses, as the raven caws! "Careful. There are mushrooms joining the fray," he cautions to the group at large. He looks back in time to see Inga's grins, and smirks. It seems to say, 'just watch'. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa is -- or at least was -- a Drow. So she's rather used to certain calls. 'Heretic!' is one of them. Nasa's ear perks and twitches at the sound of that Chocobokeep, and Nasa glances in his direction as he runs off. "...Huh. Did to naut think Drow would be known here." Nasa comments.      They could, however, be talking about the blood. That could definitely be it too, as the scent of blood tinges the air, Nasa's nose twitches. She was hungry now. Ugh. Nasa begins to approach that struggling elemental as that Holy Energy continues to pulse through the brambles. As Nasa wasn't directly powering them at the moment, those holy pulses were beginning to fade.      On the /other/ hand, Nasa was now lifting her dagger. "Purifying blade, shine thy light." Nasa murmurs, the already-holy dagger beginning to glow brighter. "...Can probably purify the Elemental if the rest are taken care of." Nasa says, darting in towards the Earth Sprite. She dashes her dagger forward attempting to stab in a break in the rocks -- attempting to strike the stone with the very tip of that holy silver dagger. "The darkness has gripped you, child of earth." Nasa says, doing her best to keep that dagger-tip pressed against the yellow crystal at the center of the elemental. "We shall free you... do not fear. We are here." Nasa says, her tone warm and almost affectionate towards the elemental. If it cares or understnds is questionable, but the effort was still there on the Guardian of the Wilds' part. 

:'''{{#var:850|Tiki (850)}} has posed:'''     Lady Tiki is not used to being called a heretic as Dragons are more or less feared or worshipped in her world. And so, the comment goes right over her now scaled head. She merely believes the statement to be in reference to the Dark Mages that were using blood magic.     Tiki's green eyes may have become blood red, but the majority of her body is differing shades of green and yellow. Her great half-translucent wings work tirelessly to allow Tiki to gain altitude before she outstretches her wings to transition into a graceful glide.     From this vantage point, the green dragon can see bits and pieces of the engagement through the trees. The dark powers that were being used on their side was distressing to her. But she did know that sometimes good tidings can come upon dark wings. She decides to let this matter be for and now and wonder to exactly where did that elemental go? However, Testament's warning alerts Tiki of a more pressing matter. She follows Nraha's lead in attacking the would be ambushers. Tiki doesn't want to set the world nor this forest a fire. So instead of using her dragon breath, she merely comes crashing down, claws first, towards the not-so-fun-guys. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' The Funguar focus on the Miqo'te and his painful aether-fueled swings. Each of them attempting to bash N'raha with their cap. Fortunately, there's not too many of them. Inga's spears pierce through the elemental's protective layers of earth, chipping at the corrupted core a bit more. The opening allows the skull to get a bite in on the elemental, and with every little bit of damage, little purple pieces of crystal fall to the ground, while the yellow crystals remain in place. Nasa's holy energy doesn't quite drive out the corruption, unfortunately, though it seems to assist the damage inflicted in focusing the damage on the corruption and shielding the parts of the elemental that are healthy. And, after all, people were supposed to cleanse the taint, not merely destroy the tained elementals. As she crashes down and tears apart one of the Funguar, Tika should be able to see what the Raven sees, a tree uprooting itself to join the fray. And of course, the elemental itself isn't done resisting. It faces one of the people bothering it, Nasa specifically, and the energy about to spill forth is palpable. Mere moments after, the earth itself shakes and a wave goes throug the earth, with enough force to knock back any who stand in its path. Nasa or otherwise. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha barely notices the incoming damage as he boils with fury, a red sheen all of his own adding to Inga's shields and wards. Cuts and dents are rent into his armor as he lashes out at the Funguars. They aren't that much though and turn into puddles of mush after a few concerted moments of attack.     But now the real work begins. The purple is being chopped out of the Sprite and the catman howls. "KEEP HITTING IT. We gotta force that crap out of there. It's being concentrated and we can get rid of it in one swoop!" 

:'''{{#var:525|Inga (525)}} has posed:''' Inga raises an eyebrow toward Testament, wondering what he'll pull out next. Inga doesn't want to accidentally bleed herself into exhaustion before this is all over, so she may have to switch things up a bit until someone needs healing. Really, most of her blood magic is healing and protection. Not exactly what most people would define as dark magic. Ah, so many are eager to buy into such stark definitions of good and evil! "Whoa!" she calls as the earth begins to shake, grabbing onto her staff with both hands, trying to keep he balance. Miraculously, she manages to stay on her feet. Apparently, mushrooms are coming!? Well, that's a first for her. Plants are generally weak to being set on fire, right? As the mushrooms approach, Inga turns her attention toward one of them, the runes carved along the length of her staff beginning to glow with a golden light. She raises it, points it in the direction of the fungus attack N'raha, then shouts an incantation. Fire bursts forth in an arc, /hopefully/ managing to set the mushroom on fire and NOT N'raha. She could fix burns anyway. 

:'''{{#var:842|Testament (842)}} has posed:''' The elemental is marked now, and this becomes clear when, rather than Testament attacking it, the raven does. The raven swoops down... but instead of simply dive-bombing... she changes. Into a woman with powder-blue skin with lavender whorls across her body, and a pair of golden curling horns much like a ram's upon her head. She carries a giant black scythe. Which she uses to strike at the marked elemental from above. this is good, because the shaking of the ground distracts Testament sufficiently that he can't engage immediately! He's smart enough to know to jump, though, and he jumps quite high. Teleporting higher up can also aid in keeping him aloft longer! It's gotta stop sometime, right? With the elemental thus engaged, Testament turns his attention to the treant. It's tree versus tree then-- a wind ruffles his kilt and hair briefly. And then the treant better watch where it walks, because a large, dead tree just might erupt out of the ground underneath its feet! 

:'''{{#var:850|Tiki (850)}} has posed:'''     A fire burns deep within Tiki even as the Divine Dragon exercises restraint in her fire-breathing abilities. It is really only a matter of time before Tiki gets pushed hard enough to where she will have to unleash her fiery breath at their mutual foes. But the cat-like Miqo'te is doing a fine job by himself. She respectfully nods her scaly head in recognition of his abilites before craning her neck around to see a tree uprooting itself to join in the attack!     Before Tiki can truly react to the treant, the elemental's shockwave approaches her direction. "<<Take care, the earth below moves against us!>>" declares the dragon in a booming voice as she beats her wings furiously in order to gain upward momentum. The great green dragon nearly topples over before she is able to take flight again. That was too close! Tiki surveys the battlefield from the air and decides to focus her attention on the treant. She loathes to stike a blow against such a creature, but she cannot let their efforts here be in vain. The others were getting closer and closer to purging this area of its corruption.     And so, the Divine Dragon whispers a silent apology as she rears back and breathes a short breath of dragonfire towards the Treant. Red eyes blink as she realizes there are now -two- tree creatures fighting each other. Uh oh. Hopefully, the scary dead tree is fire-resistant. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Oh crap, Nasa was generating too much Emnity right now! Nasa stole aggro from the tank! ... Luckily, Nasa could probably handle herself for the most part! As that wave goes through the earth, it does exactly what it had intended to do! Nasa was sent flying backwards away, the subtle shimmer of the magical protective smells of her armor coming to bear as she hits the ground rather hard afterwards. She was light and portable. And that wasn't a good thing right now!      She slowly begins to push herself up again, standing as she looks towards the Elemental. "...Seems as if you are to not being able to hear through the darkness." Nasa begins to lift herself up off of the ground, her wings fluttering as she begins to flit around the elemental, working at staying out of harms' way for a bit while she thinks on how to approach it next. She takes a deep breath.      "That will do." Nasa nods slowly as she quickly slides her dagger away, holding her hands out, as that purple-and-green energy begins to gather between her hands. She shifts slowly, her hands lifting up. She waits a moment or two while Inga casts her magical fire. Because what would happen next would likely make fire rather difficult to maintain. "Cleansing Rain, wash the stain from this land."      She releases that sphere of energy, sending the energy up into the clouds. Assuming the corruption up in the clouds is not too strong, or magic does not resist it somehow... there would be a sudden rumble. The telltale sound of rain beginning to fall is audible. It wasn't a particularly heavy storm. However... what was beginning to rain down was likely quite unpleasant for those corrupted; water droplets infused with holy energy.      Nasa lowers her hand, pointing at the elemental. "...Apologies, Child of Earth. This will hurt." Another rumble in the clouds, thunder... and then Nasa speaks once more, "The cycle of destruction and renewal shall continue. Lightning bolt, strike!" Nasa immediately closes her eyes, covering her face with the hand not pointing at the Elemental. FLASH! A bolt of lightning flashes down from the heavens, striking the tip of Nasa's fingers. Once that flash is over, Nasa uncovers her face, squinting against the bright light of her own spell. After a moment of aiming, Nasa unleashes that lightning in a bolt, aimed towards the center of that concentrated corruption. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' The landslide only lasts briefly, and fortunately for Nasa this is not an arena one can fall off of. As the ground settles down, the corrupted Earth Elemental takes a beating, and the remaining Funguars fall to the combined onslaught. Inga's Fire has the unfortunate side effect of setting the withered plants aflame, though this help harm the angry treant as it comes barelling in. Testament's dead tree grabs the burning tree, the two struggling for a brief moment, but with Testament's summon emerging the victor, forcing the treant to back off and fall. Tiki's fire further harms the walking tree. Right afterwards the holy water douses the flames, preventing it from spreading through the Twelveswood, and further drives out the corruption in the elemental. The treant is reinvigorated somewhat by the water, but at the same time freed from the corrupting influence, and heads off. The Earth Elemental, though weakened, and with most corruption by now gone, is not giving up yet. The ground below N'raha starts to shake until a miniature mountain bursts forth from the ground, the earth hard and spiky. Hard to dodge, but not impossible. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh hey, appreciation! The young Miqo'te would totally be trying to grandstand a bit more for the Dragon if he wasn't so focused on trying to beat the shit out of this rock. IT IS A ROCK. THIS IS WHAT I DO. THIS IS WHAT I TRAIN FOR.     He can hear the treants doing battle behind him and the rush of combat is filling his body, but-     A groundswell lashes out from underneath him, and slashing spikes of rock slice up his legs, gaouging into the cracks of his armor and pinning him in place with a howl of frustration and anger. That tail lashes again, and the miqo'te instincts are to find a place to heal or run to Bertram or chug a potion... but there's no time. He knows he's got support though.     That axe comes around and the Marauder tears himself free of his binding. He lifts the heavy blade up high, screams something about 'death to rocks', and brings the aerther filled axe downwards into the mass of rocks and crystals. 

:'''{{#var:842|Testament (842)}} has posed:''' Bleh, holy water. Testament dodges back, to make sure he's out of the way of the holy rain. He's not getting under that. But in the meantime, the elemental is still marked. Thus as the raven moves back, she hovers, and fires several feathers from her wings at the thing. It's a weak attack, but that's what she can do at range. And he pauses when he sees N'raha in trouble. But then he'd have to go into the circle of holy rain. Oh well. Testament disappears from his location with an odd, low warping sound, appearing next to N'raha. then he attempts to take hold of the Mi'quote's arm and disappear again. With any luck he should be able to warp himself out of the holy circle and N'raha out of danger. Though his skin is smoking a bit regardless. 

:'''{{#var:525|Inga (525)}} has posed:''' Inga watches the results of everyone's combined assault, finally looking to Nasa. "Whatever it is you just did, I hope you can continue doing it!" she cries. That seems to cure the corruption. A blessing of sorts? Aha! That's what she should have been doing! But would it work in this foreign world? Well...the gods had spoken to her before, Inga hopes they're still watching. N'raha had said she was a goddess of the earth, correct? So, Inga begins to pray. "Great goddess Hydealyn I have heard your voice, I hope that you can also hear mine. If you are a goddess of the good earth, help us to purge the corruption from this land. Give your warrior strength of arm and bless his blade!" she cries, then digs her knife deep into her arm, another spray of shimmering blood shoots toward N'raha--specifically, his weapon. A little anima from Gaia, and perhaps, if the gods are with them, a blessing from his Hydaelyn as well. 

:'''{{#var:850|Tiki (850)}} has posed:'''     Dragon-Tiki's mouth is agape and full of sharp looking teeth. But this is as close as a dragon can get to smiling in appreciation for the holy shower. It simply felt wonderful on her old bones. The flying dragon performs a loop to loop as she happily soaks in the rain. However, all good things have to come to an end as the rain was making her feel vaguely sleepy the more she was in it. And she shant lose her focus now, there was an elemental still to free.     The elemental seems to be quite intent on smashing the cat-boy, but the one Dark Mage was already assisting him. That meant that the elemental now had Tiki's undivided attention. She rears back and sends a green fireball of dragonbreath its way. With any luck, her attack will help weaken the elemental even further. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      As the treant flees, Nasa finds herself... rather pleased. She had hoped that the cleansing rain would help with that! Free the treant! As well as aid those poor whithered plants that had been lit on fire. Nasa takes a slow breath as she thinks on this. The earth elemental was weakened, and the corruption was mostly gone by now. It would only take a little more, she was sure.      The cat with the axe had been pinned, at least briefly. That looked painful. Nasa takes a small breath as she rapidly decides her next course of action. She lifts her hands, eyes glowing faintly as the rain continues, subtle rumblings of thunder continuing in those clouds above. She turns her gaze towards the elemental again, beginning to flutter towards it. "...You will heal." Nasa says softly, a soft brown glow beginning to consume both of her hands. "Holy Earth, free your child from darkness." Nasa flits forward, attempting to simply rest her hands against two of the earth elemental's sections.      And then... Nasa simply attempts to ... more or less enchant the Earth Sprite with holy energy. She worked at carefully pushing the pieces together, magic attempting to draw each of those sections back in to touch... and if pieces touch, the holy infusion would spread. Most importantly, she attempts to make the pieces touch the central crystal. To attempt to fill that core with holy energy so that between the attacks and the holy... the elemental can hopefully cleanse itself of the remaining corruption -- regardless of if it's destroyed or not in the end... the corruption being gone was /far/ more important.      Regardless of success or not, Nasa rather quickly leaps back. Because, among other things. There was a green fireball heading towards that elemental, and being caught in a fireball was a /terrible/ idea! That and being close to an earth elemental was dangerous! Rocks hurt when they're hurled at you at high speeds. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Hydaelyn's blessing is not given to all who ask for it, unfortunately. If Inga's prayers have any effect, they are channeled through N'raha. He might not be able to notice any effect regardless of presence as the matter is fortunately well in hand, and even the Mother Crystal does not have limitless energy. Fortunately, everything else makes up for this lack of noticeable response to prayer. N'raha, the Raven, and Tiki's combined offensives shake loose the last of the corruption, making it docile enough for Nasa to get in and cleanse ot properly. It then spins around before letting go off the loose rock flying around it, the cleansed yellow crystal sinking into the ground. Unfortunately there's still a purple, though different shade of purple than before, crystal left behind. Condensed corruption. Bertram opens his eyes, and looks around. "Well done everyone. Pray return to Mother Miounne with that corrupted crystal." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha grumps and resists the urge to pose for the group in a smug manner once the Duty is Complete. Who does that anyways? That said, he does shuffle over to pluck up the crystal and heft it in a gauntleted palm. "Twelves. Such a little thing causing so much trouble."     He finally notices the Dragon though and stammers and falls backwards over the big mound of rock left behind the Elemental's passing. "Uwah!" 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      The earth elemental begins to sink into the ground, and Nasa's lips twitch into a small smile. Good. It was cleansed. As the elemental sank into the ground, that holy rain began to slow down until it finally stopped, though the spell itself may trigger the clouds to give off their own liquids, instead of the rain caused by Nasa's own magical powers. Nasa shifts slowly, resting her left hand on the ground as she closes her eyes. The purple crystal is ignored.      The Hand of Growth sparks into life, her fingers resting in the center of those dead and burned plants. "Your balance was ruined. Will restore it now." Nasa says softly, lowering her head as a mixed purple-and-green energy begins to swirl around her hand. It swirls up briefly, small sparkles spreading around... before she focuses the energy ground, re-fertilizing the ground, as well as beginning to return life to those previously-burned plants. She didn't do anything as fantastical as making the plants sprout back into full bloom or anything of the sort. She simply... restored life to the plants, so that they could recover and grow on their own... or at least have a chance to. Survival of the fittest in nature, after all. She simply was giving them their chance back. Slowly, Nasa straightens up. She glances towards N'raha, watching him as he holds that crystal. "... Be sure to delivering that to Mother Miounne sooner than later. Holding such things for too long is likely to having effects in the long run." Nasa says, gradually relaxing. This land was still wounded, but a small step had been taken to heal it.      Nasa flutters up into the sky, looking towards N'raha as he falls over. "...Yep. Is definitely a cat." Nasa says with an amused look. All he needed to do was go 'I meant to do that!' or something like that. He was probably fine. He had armor. Nasa's gaze continues towards Testament. "Apologizes. Holy magic and holy rain to heal land was to being best option. Was not intending to burn you." She says simply towards Testament. A brief bow of her head was made towards Testament, before Nasa simply opts to do something to make things nice and easy. A brief purple sphere of energy consumes Nasa, shrinking down... and Nasa is revealed as a 3 inch tall version of herself, flitting over to lazily attempt to settle upon Inga's shoulder. An easy ride back to Gridania! 

:'''{{#var:850|Tiki (850)}} has posed:'''     Through their combined efforts, the day is won. The green dragon known as Tiki lands on her hind legs and turns towards N'raha whom apparently only just remembered that he was fighting alongside a dragoness. She places her clawed fore-arms on the ground and looks curiously in his direction, tendrils of smoke lazily escaping from the dragon's maw.     A bright light soon envelops the dragon and the elvish looking woman from before reappears. Tiki then groggily gets up off of all fours and casts a glance about. She then lets out a surprisingly childish giggle before clapping her hands together. "Congratulations everyone on their victory here today. Our combined efforts have resulted in a small semblance of peace returning to this land. However fleeting it proves to be matters not. We should still rejoice in our efforts."     Tiki follows her words with a demure smile before nearly toppling over. She raises a hand up to her temple and smiles more tiredly towards the others. "Perchance we celebrate after a well-deserved rest instead? I feel exhausted." 

:'''{{#var:525|Inga (525)}} has posed:''' Nasa didn't exactly choose the quickest ride, but Inga more or less gets where she needs to be. Plus, her shoulder is totally comfortable! Nice soft wool cloak, fur on the trim...totally cuddly. Inga looks to Nasa, smiling. "That was well done," she compliments. She merely shakes her head as N'raha falls over. She sympathizes. Inga looks to Tiki as she changes once more, eyes blinking in momentary disbelief. Such strong magics. She really needn't have come. Ah, well. At least she got out of the house. "Rejoice. Yes, alright," she says, finishing her taco. "I have...at least fifty tacos left. And mead," she offers, pulling a flask from her belt. Inga takes a sip, then hold it out to anyone who might want a swig. The wisewoman looks to Testament then. "Another blood mage...but you are not a Chosen of the Buzzing, are you? I think somehow that I would know." 

:'''{{#var:842|Testament (842)}} has posed:''' There, that's dealt with. With the battle seemingly over, Testament allows the scythe to float before him and then places his hands at either end of the haft. As he brings his hands together, the weapon seems to shrink, until it disappears entirely. He blinks a little at N'raha's freakout. "What? I think she looks quite nice as a dragon." Then again he has a much different experience with dragons. Nasa's words get a nod. "It was effective here, my own... 'allergy' to it notwithstanding," he agrees. "No harm done. I will recover." The raven alights upon Testament's shoulder and 'cawp's at him quietly, tilting her head as if to see for herself that he was all right. He also nods to Tiki's suggestion. "A good idea." Inga asks the question... and the raised eyebrow should probably be enough to tell the answer. "No, I'm not," he confirms. "What is the buzzing?" He also wants toknow something of Bertram. "What will be done with the crystal once it's turned over?" 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "We'll be trying to analyze it to find out more about the source of the corruption." Bertram explains his motivations, "Mother Miounne is the leader of the local branch of the Adventurer's Guild, she's easy to find and we can take it from there." He also starts walking back towards Gridania, at a steady, pleasant pace. He sneaks in a few spells at those who look wounded, simple magic designed to knit wounds closed over time. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      And then the dragon lands! Unfortunately, while Nasa was very fae now, she did still have some of her weaknesses. Her hand reaches suddenly to grip at Inga's clothing, cringing as the bright light briefly blinds her, her eyes beginning to water as she works at recovering from the sudden bright light. It wasn't really the dragon's fault. Nasa had thrown around her own bright lights during the fight. But she wasn't prepared for the dragon's. "Yes, this land is to being in pain in many places. Still, does to take the small efforts to heal it, yes." Nasa says towards Tiki! Or well, in her vague direction. All Nasa could see was stars and brightness, as her vision clears.      When Inga looks towards her and compliments her, Nasa gives a somewhat restrained smile, blinking rapidly as she murmurs softly, "Appreciates compliment, you did to doing well, as well." Nasa murmurs softly. Her eyes begin to open again, looking down towards where Inga had been cutting herself. "...You do to need to figure out a better way to doing that somehow." Nasa comments, seeing very vaguely. "Maybe to prepare some in advance so you do to not using blood in battle? Or does have to being fresh?" Nasa questions Inga.      When Testament accepts her apology, Nasa simply gives a small nod of acknowledgement towards the Gear. And then, she just kind of ... settles in comfortably on Inga's shoulder, holding contently through that walk. She mostly didn't need much healing, as she'd not been attacked much. The others had managed things well, like she'd asked. It had honestly gone best-case-scenerio for Nasa! "Maybe will to have to visit more often, especially if there is to being corruption involved. Can try to help more." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha finally gets up to his feet as the dragon turns back into the nice elf lady and he... bluhs. Heretics. This is just going to keep getting weird for Eorzea, isn't it? He sighs and peels his helmet off, following after Bertram and... casting a glance over his shoulders at the others. "Come on, I'm making perch salad. Don't want to miss that!" 

:'''{{#var:850|Tiki (850)}} has posed:'''     Green eyes drift towards the ground and Tiki soon spies her dropped dragonstone. She gently crouches near it and holds it up in the air to examine it. A slightly puzzled expression crosses Tiki's face as she traces a finger alongside a new crack in the stone. She then tucks the golden stone away silently.     Tiki then turns towards Testament. Did he just say she looks quite nice as a dragon, but not now? Once more Tiki looks perplexed as she tilts her head to the side. "My thanks for the kind words, it is rare for someone not of my world to compliment me on my appearance." This Dark Mage had introduced himself hadn't he? "Testament was it? I shall remember your name." That might not sound like a big deal to most people, but to a millenia old being...its quite a feat.     The green-eyed Manakete looks inbetween the various individuals assembled before covering up a small yawn. Nasa's statement about the land brings an earnest smile to her lips. "One day peace will return to all lands." Tiki suddenly frowns at her own statement. "And I honestly hope it is within a short lifetime that we all see that day." Being a long-lived Manakete does have its drawbacks when it comes to having the patience to see things through.     Tiki glances towards the departing Bertram and N'raha for a moment. Would the corrupted gem be safe with such a person as this guild master? Tiki decides to follow after and find out for herself. Only time would tell and time was something that Tiki had plenty of to spare. 

:'''{{#var:525|Inga (525)}} has posed:''' Inga shakes her head. "Thought not. The Buzzing is...complicated. Messengers of the gods," she says, waving it off. "I only asked because you use blood much as I do....and seem to heal as I do as well," she comments. Inga doesn't need the healing now that she's had a little time and eaten a taco, but nods her thanks to Bertram all the same. Inga laughs softly in response to Nasa. "It is best fresh, yes. There are some things I can prepare in advance, but this? This is combat magic. Really, it works well enough," she says, shrugging gently. Doesn't want to send Nasa flying off after all! Inga looks to Tiki. "It was quite impressive. I was certainly not expecting....tch, you'd think I'd get more used to these things," she says, shaking her head. % A brow is raised to N'raha. "Alright..." 

}}

2805/FATE: Rotten to the Core

2015-08-24T10:24:21Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/08/14 |Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR> |Synopsis=Another corrupt, angry elemental of the Twelveswood manifests, and must be cleansed. |Thanks= ..."

The Six Crystals of Light

2015-08-22T11:07:48Z

Lightmage:

{{TPPage
|Summary=The Six Crystals of Light: The Scions of the Seventh Dawn have found within Alwyn Highwind, Bertram Silent and N'raha Tia the new Warriors of Light, people gifted with The Echo and The Gift, capable of facing the impossible odds that Eorzeans normally cannot. But first, they must gather six crystals to amplify their bond with Hydaelyn-- crystals that are guarded by foes sure to give them a challenge. And in the meantime, the XIVth Legion of the Garlean Empire is readying to wake from its slumber and inactivity, a powerful weapon of Allagan descent now in their hands and almost functional. Thus starts the rise of the Warriors of Light's legends; will you earn a name for yourself as well?
|Scale=Major
|Plot_id=?
|Runner=815
|Contacts=[[Bertram Silent]], [[N'raha Tia]]
|Theme=Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1
|Audience=Everyone
|Genre=Fantasy/Magic RPG
|Events====The Crystal of Lightning===
What started as a simple request to investigate Tempered Sylphs quickly escalated, when it was discovered that [[Setsuko Kaminagi]] caused the Ramuh-worshipping Sylphs of the Black Shroud to begin summoning their Primal lord. The Seedseers of Gridania have tasked numerous adventurers, with Setsuko and [[Scarlet Everille]] at their head, to seek the aid of the non-Tempered Sylphs of Little Solace. There, they found their elder missing, captured by Garleans, but recovered him. The elder, Frixio, said he would entrust adventurers with a token, a crystal, that may help sway Ramuh before he takes his anger out on the forest, if they could cleanse the Tam-Tara Deepcroft of its Void-fueled activities. A large group of adventurers then went into the Deepcroft and rid it of its cultist and Voidsent presence.

After obtaining the crystal from the Sylphs, Hydaelyn addressed those gathered to warn them of the coming perils and the need to find all six crystals. Ramuh stirs, and confrontation is nigh.
===The Crystal of Fire===
===The Crystal of Earth===
===The Crystal of Water===
===The Crystal of Ice===
===The Crystal of Wind===
|Info=
|State=Current
}}

2873/The First Crystal

2015-08-22T11:05:50Z

Lightmage:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/21
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=The Lightning Crystal is acquired, and Crystal Mom is met.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 367, 607, 627, 666, 747, 756, 815, 819, 823, 826, 834
|Tinyplot=The Six Crystals of Light
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Today, you don't need to be summoned by the Adventurers' Guild. Rather, you have been summoned by Komuxio (the Sylph elder's assistant? it was never very clear), who wishes to thank you personally for the work you've done so far in the Black Shroud. Tales of your deeds in the Tam-Tara Deepcroft (those of you who were there) have already reached them, and the Sylph elder Frixio intends to fulfill his promise.     For newcomers, you'll be arriving at the HAWTHORNE HUT in the EAST SHROUD. It is a big, magical forest, everything here feels super magical and connected to the world, giant trees, big wildlife, sometimes aggressive, Warp Gate next to giant blue crystal at the hut that allows teleportation between other giant blue crystals, etc.!     The walk to LITTLE SOLACE is about five or ten minutes, directly east of the hut. You'll no doubt be guided by Bertram, N'raha or Alwyn (he is totally present), and the road will in fact be pretty quiet and eventless. It is early evening, the Sun still provides mild light, and for once it's not cloudy or raining. The building presences (north and south, from here) are still here, though.     LITTLE SOLACE is a small village of tents, traders and bulb-houses suspended to the trees by ropes. The Sylphs are short, green, plant-like people barely two to three feet tall, and they float in the air rather than walk. Here at Little Solace they trade assorted plants and baubles to traders for assorted baubles, money or even food.     Waiting at the entrance is Komuxio, a Sylph in almost no way different from all the others save for a rainbow hairclip he said he would wear for your conveniences, since he 'is aware it can be difficult for walking ones to tell these ones apart'.     The narration doesn't look forward to typing like that the whole scene, by the way. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha is here, looking rather less menacing than he did at the WMAT. After a pair of wins, the Miqo'te is feeling much more chipper about things, there's a spring in his step, and hopefully he's not quite so anxious about the offworlders.     That said, once Setsuko does show up, which he's expecting... he's going to be giving her a wider berth than usual. No reason for that, at all, nope none. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram is here, of course. Ready to guide and answer questions like always. There's definitely a difference from past events, however. Unlike back then, he has the advantage of noticing the Lord of Levin has calmed down somewhat, easing his worries and allowing him to smile just a bit more. "Well done in the arena, N'raha. Have you ever done any competition in the bloodsands?" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Tam-Tara was... rough, to put it mildly. The loss of life there was entirely preventable and has utterly destroyed at least one life that really shouldn't have been in that sort of work to begin with. It still bothers Setsuko, to some extent. But she's put it behind her. It is what it is, and dwelling on it won't change it. Maybe she'll find Edda some time and be able to help her, but that's just idle hope. There's work to be done.     And thankfully, today's work seems to be much less unpleasant. Meeting with the Sylphs, as regards the work they've been doing on Little Solace's behalf. Hopefully, they'll be pleased with how things have gone on the whole.     Setsuko arrives as she always does, by entering the Shroud via warpgate and then simply flying. Her stride is brisk and businesslike when she reaches the sylvan village, and Bertram and N'raha both receive simple nods of greeting. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa was not one of those ones who went to the Tam-Tarra Deepcroft. She had arrived later, and instead helped the Conjurers with some corrupted dirt. That strange purple fae girl who had helped purify things! She'd since been fluttering around the land, doing her best to help heal little bits of the land here and there. A sick animal, a dying plant. They were little bits of aid here and there, but Nasa was doing what she could to help the calamaty-riddled land get better! At present, she'd largely avoided fighting with most of the animals of the land, except when necessary. She'd also largely stayed to the areas close to towns or cities, where it tended to have less aggressive monsters.      So she arrived at the Hawthorne Hut, eyes flitting around to find N'raha and Beltram. People she recognized. She fluttered over to them quietly, moving to hover nearby them. Likely, once more, getting more than a few looks. Those web-like wings, that purple skin, and lightly glowing eyes. Luckily, she knew people, and she was generally polite and friendly when addressed by guards and such.      Soon, she's fluttering along to Little Solace, taking little steps in between flutters. It was almost a hopping motion that likely hinted at the only mildly-contained energy of the fae girl. "Sylphs, sylphs. Does sound like they will to being fae, yes!" Nasa says, she was a bit excited to see them! Once she arrives at the village of little Solace... she was not disappointed at all. They were definitely fae! They looked basically like leaves and plants that had taken form, to her.      She dips into a curtsey towards the Sylph guards as she enters the city, straightening up afterwards with a bright smile. "Nasa greets." She murmurs softly. She straightens up again, eyes shifting over towards her own allies. Hmm. She recognized most of them. That was good. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     Serenity hasn't been quite as involved in these matters as some, but neither is she a stranger to the world. She's dressed as she normally is, complete with shockblade at her side, and for the time being takes a position slightly behind Setsuko. The demigod has a bit more information on these matters than she does, so she might as well follow her lead.     A small nod of greeting to anyone she knows, for now, should suffice. She does look about Little Solace as she walks though, taking in the sights... as they are, for her. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh hey. N'raha looks up at Bertram as they walk, and grins. "Oh? Yeah I did! Well, enough time, anyways. I've got the basics of swording and shielding down and I... well, where did you think I got the name Desert Marvel from? I, uh. Well, I wasn't the best at it, but I guess maybe now I should try out again, maybe." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Considering it was her plan of action in the first place, there's absolutely no way that Scarlet wouldn't be here to actually reap the rewards of going through the trouble of dancing around two separate, violent conflicts. She'd been the one who had pulled the slyph elder from out of his cage and the one who had personally promised him that Tam-Tara would be dealt with, and so even if it was largely the work of other people, it only makes sense that she'd be here to take credit.     She's showed up well ahead of time so she doesn't have to deal with the ignomity of seeing people, or otherwise be forced to participate in, dancing around, still inwardly cringing a little to think of what Bertram had put her through last time. She looks on as the rest begin to arrive, before inclining formally towards Komuxio. "As promised~" is all she has to say within earshot of anyone else, as if she had personally dragged everyone here. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Breaking the silence! Nevertheless, we aim for another day! Show the way beyond the darkness, RAY OF LIGHT!"     Shin bobs his head up and down, singing to himself (In Japanese, I just translated it for convenience) as he wears a pair of earbuds in his ears and strolling along. Despite some dings and scratches on him from his fight with one Shizune Nakamura several days hence, he seems remarkably recovered. A testament to his weird ability to heal incredibly quickly.     "Our parched chests push on. It's a battle in which we fight all alone. Despair and hope is like a Mobius loop. What'll be waiting when we overcome? Instead of grieving and continuing to wait for a miracle it's better to run on all the way until you collapse."     He seems pretty content to hang out and jam out to whatever he's listening to on the way to Little Solace, rocking out to whatever continuation of the song there is that you will be spared from being too spammed out by.     "DUDE WHAT'S UP? I'M HERE TO HELP," He shouts at a Sylph at about point-blank range, because he still has earbuds in. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Little Solace... Bugs Mirielle. It's natural, sure, and the place hums with magic, but the whole affair seems /off/ to the Calculator. /Everything/ is magic in this place, but it's not the same kind of magic as in Galianda, and in fact, the metaphysiological impacts of...     Look, she's got a well-referenced paper she's working on, just let her finish the footnotes and bibliography.     Her normally blank and dour look scans across the area. "So we are to be arranging the lines of attack for an upcoming operation, right?" She asks, before Shin starts shouting lyrics in translated japanese to some song. "Your earbuds." She glooms, before moving to tug one out of his ear. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Having heard that adventurers are needed to possibly sway the wrath of a mad god, Valentha Summers has stepped up to the plate! She's on foot today. No flying around, no flashy magic or noisy hovercycle. Just footwork and lots of it carry her along the forest paths. The outfit she's got on does appear a bit too hot for the locale but this isn't apparently bothering her whatsoever. She's not even sweating!     Upon reaching the entrance, Valentha adjusts her outfit slightly and shines a smile at the greeting part! She's full of wonder at this. Seeing new lands and meeting interesting peoples of all shapes and sizes is one of her many pleasures.     "Good day! I hear there's some trouble in these parts."     You wouldn't have a group this huge if there wasn't, probably. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji arrives at Little Solace. He does not need guidance, his own automapping system in his Moogle Glasses handles directions just fine. Past the Hawthorn Hut, past the occasional boil of giant flies that are constantly being beaten back by adventurers, Souji arrives at the gates, where he performs a small spin and bows to Komuxio. "Greetings, Komuxio. It is a pleasure to see you again." Souji states in his businesslike tone. While he was not present at the Deepcroft, there were other matters to attend to. Matters that did not at all involve setting up military-industrial contracts. Pay no attention to the man behind the expensive Ul'dahn tapestry. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Xiao had not actually been around for most of these recent shenanigans. She'd heard at the very least, but did not see. So why in the world was she here? WELL. Curiosity is a wonderful thing. Having heard of Souji's plans to head out here, she decided to tag along. If only for the sole purpose of seeing just what this would all be about.      A such, she just gave people polite nods as she walked down to path to Little Solace, but otherwise kept silent, with an impish smile forever on her face. Forget all of these greetings and social niceties, she wanted to know what they would be talking about!      ...Okay maybe not FORGET them, but certainly move it along. Time was money! Or research time. Or knowledge. Or something to that effect.      Yes.      Totally reasonable. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     One can assume Alwyn gave N'raha a friendly pat on the back for his victory. And probably food at some point. But that's not quite important right now!     Nasa makes a curtsy bow for a Sylph, who returns a twirling, dance-like motion in greeting. "This one greets walking one!" the guard says. Scarlet approaches Komuxio, and he smiles, twirling in the air with joy. "Dancing ones promised, and dancing ones delivered! These ones are all overjoyed at your arrival. Elder one is finishing preparing these ones' gift, please wait a moment!"     Shin, much louder, immediatly obtains Komuxio's attention from Scarlet. "Loud one is full of life and energy! Perhaps loud one would like to assist these ones with further tasks, later? These ones still have occasional problems with imperial ones and creatures, perhaps loud one will find much to do here?" Basically: if he sticks around later there is no shortage of jobs here. Punch the wildlife, punch a few Garleans.     Komuxio nods to Mirielle. "If walking and dancing ones would like to use these ones' home to plan their next moves, these ones will be honored to provide food and shelter for the evening!"     Souji gets a sort of dancing military salute in response. "Serious dancing one is welcome too! Now, wait one moment!"     Komuxio flies off into one of the suspended houses, and a few moments later, returns, accompanied by another Sylph. Thie one is pale beige rather than green, with a towering haircut and elderly glasses. Frixio and Komuxio do a sort of dancing duet together in front of everyone, before taking a bow. Frixio speaks:     "This one is most impressed. As promised, these ones' token is yours. Lord Ramuh gifted these ones the token when these ones summoned him years ago, to combat imperial ones. Touched ones have attempted to steal it numerous times, but now walking and dancing ones must keep it safe."     Aether gathers in Frixio's hand, and lightning crashes down from the heavens into his palm, bright purple. It forms a large purple crystal, about twice the size of one's fist. He offers it towards Bertram specifically. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram smiles, "Ah, I see. Well, I'm sure you could make some good gil in the bloodsands if you want to. You've grown a lot, and I know they like that kind of spectacle over there." Bertram then grows quiet again, greeting all the others and moving from walking to a kind moving dance as they get closer to Little Solace. He seems surprised when he hears what it is, and when he accepts the crystal he makes a very solemn statement. "Rest assured that I will do all in my power to protect it." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     YAY PATTING. N'raha puffs up at the headpats and then falls into place next to Bertram and Alwyn, trying to look semi important in his lack of armor and gear. Though, as the crystal appears he looks... awestruck. Really and truely awestruck. He's seen crystals before, shards and larger elemental things but this... this was no comparison to those paltry pieces of aether.     A hand reaches up to tap a finger against one of the faces of the stone and the catman's ears flick and swiver at Bertram's words. He'll talk about the Bloodsands at some other point that a Primal Piece of Aether is not right in front of him...     "...Twelves." 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa cringes slightly at Shin's shout, her ears folding down to cut out some of the noise almost as quickly as his mouth opens. Ow. Once the shouting ends, her ears perk up once more. Luckily, someone was attempting to pull out his earbuds. Which was much better in the end. Bertram. N'raha... the cat! She flashes a playful grin towards N'raha. However, her attention returns to the guard. That twirling, dance like motion is ... almost immediately mimiced, wings fluttering out to lift her off the ground.      "This one rarely walks, she is to being hovering one most of time!" She says with a light giggle. She wiggles her finger a bit towards the guard, before fluttering over towards Komuxio. The mention of offering shelter and food gets an interested look from Nasa. "This one is hunter-gathering one, can maybe to offering help with that sometime if does ever needing it." She says in a friendly tone, resting on the balls of her feet. As Frixio talks of the token and promised gifts, Nasa's attention ... slightly strays, as this gift was not for her. She had not earned it yet. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The bow from Komuxio and Frixio is returned respectfully by Setsuko; she remains otherwise silent until the crystal is produced and handed to Bertram, at which point she smiles faintly. Even she can feel how special that particular crystal is. Bertram receives another faint nod, and then she bows her head more formally to Frixio. "We thank you for your assistance. If there's any chance that we can show Ramuh the wisdom in peacefully resolving things, I hope to find it, and this will be a great help. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "DUDE YEAH, THEY'RE NICE RIGHT? I WAS GONNA GET SKULLCANDY ONES, BUT I THOUGHT FUCK THAT. I GOT SOME BOSE ONES INSTEAD, SUPER NICE," He shouts right into Mirielle as she reaches for his headset, "WOAH. LOOK WITH YOUR EYES, NOT YOUR HANDS," He chides a bit, frowning.     "DUDE FUCK YEAH, I'LL HELP YOU OUT," Shin continues shouting at Komuxio, nodding his head and giving a thumbs up, "BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THOSE GARLICANS," He adds as an afternote, grinning to the sylph.     When he just sort of watches the crystal appear to see what happens. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     A few people get a small glance, but for the most part Serenity does not remark upon her companions. The Multiverse is full of strangeness, and it's never been clear even to Serenity what sort of things she could see, and what they meant. Most of it is nonsense to her... much like the dancing she sees. It's an interesting little distraction, that's for sure.     She's listening, but she doesn't actually change her attention fully until that crystal appears in Frixio's hand. This has her head snapping forward, staring at it for a long moment. She holds her tongue for now, but Bertram gets a quick, curious look from her.     Sigh. "Did something damage his hearing?" 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Now this is definitely more like it. Scarlet would be considerably more cross with Shin's general obliviousness, possibly intentional or not, if the sylphs didn't appear to like it anyways, though it seems that Komuxio might just be overjoyed in general with how wide his range of favourable receptions is, if Souji is anything to judge by.     She's somewhat familiar with Galianda and its magitech by now, through continued association with Kyra, and so Xiao and Mirielle don't trip her attention too much, but Na'Sabal almost instantly and openly catches her eye, though attempting to assess the fairy's magical nature is done more subtly. She keeps her vague scrutiny of Valentha on the downlow for the time being. Setsuko she's already met a few times, but Serenity she only knows from personnel files, and so the presence of a second officer changes things in quiet, non-obvious ways.     Apparently, with all that company, it's all too easy to forget the natives are even here, because Scarlet's smile invisibly slips for an instant as Frixio immediately hands the priceless artifact over to Bertram of all people. Bertram! "Rest assured, it'll be more than safe in Union custody." The fact she had mentioned the superfaction seems somehow more like a namedrop rather than a particular slight or omission against anyone from elsewhere. "That said, we do hope we can count on your continued trust and cooperation. As happy as we are to have this, the matter of Ramuh has yet to be fully resolved." She suppresses a frown at Shin's screaming, surreptitiously twirling a finger with a flicker of barely used magic to try and dislodge the lightweight earbuds from one side before continuing. "Is the token recognized in any way by the "Touched Ones"?" she makes a deliberate attempt to use the verbiage. "Or will only the primal himself appreciate it?" 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle frows deeply at Shin. This, right here, this is the thing. This is the cancer that is killing Eorzea. This, right here, is the Primal Threat.     And Mirielle is the hero with the Green Magic to fix it. Pulling minute amounts of power from her inner reserves, she shapes a spell. Something easily overcome-able from a raised voice, even.     Her hand glows a sickly black and green as the spell falls over Shin's face, focusing on his throat.     It's Silence! But a very, very low yield one.     "I've saved us all." Mirielle deadpans, as she smiles to everyone else. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Even Xiao had to wince at Shin's shouting. Every bit as loud and rambunctious as always, this one. In person and on the radio. An amused smile found it's way onto her face as she Well, there were worse things that could be happening, so she could tolerate it. She could be getting set on fire or torn in half, or any other gruesome things.      ...Wait a second.      Right about then, Mirielle had cast silence on the loud, bellowing fiend. Nevermind then! "Well, that's one global threat neutralized." She mumbled aloud in a casual manner.      Once the crystal was unveiled, Xiao quieted down, watching with an intensely interested gaze. She might have taken a step or two closer to better observe the crystal that Bertram was entrusted with. It certainly looked and sounded important. A shame she couldn't study it back at her lab. She wouldn't even bother asking that one. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' The yelling from Shin causes Souji's eyebrow to twitch, the slightest of cracks in his otherwise stony stoic mask. However, Mirielle seems to be on the case before he even ask-orders her to handle it. He nods to Mirielle. "Good work, Edelweiss." Someone is getting a favorable performance review. His gaze strays to the purple crystal, and he frowns for a moment, staring at it. One hand moves up to the side of his head, idly tapping in a show of thought as he considers the nature of the presented object, but does not comment on it. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     As Bertram grasps the crystal, something echoes out. It resonates-- to those with strange vision, or magical sight-- between Alwyn, Bertram and N'raha, like a bridge being built between the crystal and the world.     A female voice rings out in all heads.     Hear... feel... think...     The world goes completely dark. The ground under your feet is removed, but you float rather than fall. The Sylphs, the forest, it's all gone. Blue light shines through this voice, and stars slowly illuminate the sky.     Again for those with such senses: you are no longer 'in' Hydaelyn. You are 'at' Hydaelyn. The source of all Aether, all magic, all life. You're in the core.     As you glance about, you see a gigantic crystal, perhaps fifty or more foot tall, blue and white in color. It is being orbitted by numerous smaller, people-sized crystals of various shapes.     The female voice speaks again; it sounds weak, but motherly.     Crystal bearers. I am Hydaelyn. All made one. A Light there once was that shone thorough this realm... yet it hath since grown dim.     The orbitting crystals break off, floating slowly towards each person, as though providing someone to 'reply' to directly, though it feels obvious the voice comes from the much larger crystal.     Odd as it may feel, the smaller crystals, the ones roughly the same size as you, seem to be starring intently. Not at you, but into you. You can shut them out, if you focus, or you can let them probe. They gauge your worth, your story, your present, and your destiny.     While here, your forms shine the color most significant to your being. For Alwyn, Bertram and N'raha, this is a light shade of blue close to white, the exact same shade as the massive crystal. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Aaaand then the shouting came again, only louder this time. Nasa's ears fold down again with a wince. Oh goddess he's so loud. "...Does politely request that you do to trying to talk quieter. Some of us do to having sensitive ears to loud noises." Nasa says towards Shin. The energy wasn't the problem. It was just the loudness. The energy just meant that he was healthy, probably! And he seemed happy enough. So that was also good.      Scarlet Everille's examination of Nasa would find that she's relatively straightforward. She has nature magic, and it seemed to hang around and cling to her, not even remotely hidden. There were some inherent magics that seemed attached to her being as well, but they were possibly less obvious. The most obvious thing right now, is that Nasa had a spell cast over her, and one over her armor. The one ON Nasa was a simple environmental control, protecting her from environmental effects. The spell on her armor was a shielding spell, as well as a much more subtle magic-enhancing spell. Meanwhile, Nasa was listening to Scarlet, as she seemed to be the most actively engaging with the sylph leader right now. And asking the important questions.      That 'silence' spell was noted, and Nasa's gaze flits towards Mirielle. She doesn't praise or condemn her either way though. She'd wait to see how the boy responds to it, before responding herself. If he seemed particularly frustrated about it, she might do something about it. Maybe. Her attention focuses back on Frixio though.      "We did to recovering a corruption-filled gemstone from infected earth elemental. Is being examined by Gridania people, yes. Was wondering if maybe you did to maybe have information that could to being useful on that. Nasa is to being a guardian of the Wilds, so anything that can to helping eliminate the perversion of the wilds here would to being appreciated."      That resonation of the crystal though.... and then... a female voice? Nasa's gaze shifts immediately. Darkness. Almost comforting. The sight of that giant crystal, the sound of that weak, yet motherly voice. It was bright, something that caused Nasa to squint her eyes, a bit of watering in them. "...What is..." She shifts very slightly, looking at that smaller orbiting crystal, which floats in front of her. A mixture of purple and green made up her glowing aura, which seemed to dance both chaotically and yet in harmony with itself. The child of the moon and the child of nature in one. "..." All made one. Hydaelyn. She shifts her gaze towards that crystal, reflexively lifting a hand to reach out towards the smaller one that floats towards her. If it allowed it, the fae would simply attempt to take it into her arms. "...You to feeling like Goddess of the Moon." She murmurs quietly, warmly. And happily allowing that probing. Awe caused that secretiveness that Nasa might normally have to simply fade away. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The voice is Setsuko's first inkling of something peculiar going on. Then the world seems to disappear, and her hand is halfway to Zanjintou before she realizes that her own supernatural senses are telling her that this is no threat. She relaxes, and falls silent, briefly looking to the others - particularly Nasa and Serenity - to confirm their wellbeing. And then Hydaelyn speaks to them, and the demigod's eyes turn to the massive crystal itself. She seems to keep her focus there, rather than on the smaller one before her; that, she allows to do its work without resistance.     Setsuko's light, for those who know her, is probably unsurprising. A vibrant sky blue light, the same color as her eyes. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha... panics for a moment or two as he's suddenly finding himself inside one of those hallucinations he has but... but this time everyone else is here too. He stammers and flails a bit, before finding his non-footing and floating upright again.     There's a sheepish look to the others, before he bows his head a moment, and looks up to Hydaelyn. Something warmer in his cheeks, a joy that he can't explain. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Well, others seem to have things well in hand. So Valentha has little more to say. Instead she studies the Crystal being handede to Bertram with a ferocious intensity. No doubt trying to read its aura and glean what she can about it while it's in view. The rest of her attention is on the locale - she's studying the Sylphs and mostly just enjoying the environment.     Until there's a VOICE. Then things get disturbing.     Valentha blinks. Gazes up.     And promptly jawdrops.     She was NOT expecting to be sent to such an incredible 'place' so utterly acasually. It's enough to invoke minor panic.     Valentha glows an intense shade of blue. Very differently from the three actual Crystal bearers. It's the color of ley lines, of her world's magic. Purest, undiluted power.     "What an honor, and on such short notice." She answers softly, quite certain that this Hydaelyn can hear her whether she whispers or shouts. She makes no attempt to stop the probe.     "I bear no Crystal, but know a call for help... what has dimmed the light so?" 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     So a lot of things all work against Shin at once. He's rubbing his hands together as Mirielle casts her spell on him "SO LIKE, WH-at are we doing today?" He's still full-on shouting, but she's cut the volume down so that it sounds like he's just very enthusiastically speaking, "Because I'm down to dungeon. Or fight some Garleans. Generally hanging out is cool too, I can get out some of those cool cards games," He adds, looking around. Still shouting, but the volume is way closer to standard speech.     His earbuds fall out of his ears a moment later thanks to Scarlet, but before he can say anything, they're transported to a new and magical land. Shin looks around a bit curiously as he's suddenly floating in a skyline sort of environment. This is pretty weird for the martial artist, but he seems to be taking it in stride. He is totally glowing red by the way.     "Oh shit, is this the prophecy part? I was really hoping I'd get to be a part of one of these," He says, his voice stifled by the mute spell now that he's speaking normally. It'd take the most careful listening to pick out his now-muted voice as he floats there, looking at the crystal.     He doesn't stop the crystal from probing at him, tilting his head at it a bit, "Hey there little buddy. What're you up to? It feels pretty probe-y, but in the mystical sense instead of the 'take me to your leader' sort of deal. What's the dealio with that?" 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram seems comfortable. He doesn't speak, but there's familiarity on his face. The kind that suggests he knows exactly what it's like, and he even includes a brief glance and a smile towards N'raha. A smile that is both encouraging and holds an element of 'told you so.' He bows towards Hydaelyn after, and briefly lets go of the Crystal he had received, letting it float naturally if it's so inclined. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet blinks as the flicker of magic arcs between the three natives like a circuit catching, her head reflexively snapping towards the emission fast enough for her hair to flutter. She doesn't have much time to do or say anything further before the "event" taking place becomes blindingly obvious to everyone else. She briefly struggles, and then succeeds in remaining expectantly composed as the world drops out from around her, steeling her resolve for whatever kind of bizarre vision awaits, before being pleasantly surprised at how inoffensive the sights and sounds are.     It quickly becomes apparent that this isn't some kind of pre-recorded magical message however. The timing is sudden and the targeting seemingly indiscriminate, but Scarlet can tell that the entity, bearing the name of the world itself, is speaking directly to her rather than at her. She regards the crystal that seeks out her in particular warily, her expression perfectly kept as the object draws even with her gaze. She even manages to maintain that facade as it begins to probe into... something she can't quite describe. What she knows however, is that it isn't something she'd decided to show, and thus is immediately worth concern. Does she try to shut it out and potentially spurn the charity of the local God? Does she take the huge gamble of allowing a foreign quasi-deity to know whatever kind of inner secrets about her it might be looking for?     The answer is neither. An aura the same colour as her namesake briefly flickers with shots of unnatural violet before stabilizing into gentle gold as she cranks her personal, secret, and inviolable magic up to its highest level. The goal? Bluffing Hydaelyn. If she can overpower that cursory examination, for all intents and purposes, she'll come off as nothing less than a stunningly capable and upright individual with great things in store for their future, potentially of benefit to everyone. The kind of person who goes on to become a Gandhi or Abraham Lincoln, if somewhat less hamfisted and overplayed.     As always, even before the eyes of divinity, lying is the quickest, easiest, and best solution. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     Serenity stares up at the crystal, and doesn't comment on the events that follow. The slight tense of her shoulders betrays that no, she wasn't expecting this. However, she does allow that starry probe to reach into her body, letting it feel her out without attempting to reject or flinch away. Her own 'aura' is blue as well, though a deeper blue than seems to be the case for the natives. It's just her natural color.     "Is that the source of the troubles in this land? The dying of the light?" Serenity finally speaks, addressing 'her' crystal with a simple question. "Will restoring you remove some of the ills?" 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "Eh?"      Where there was once ground and slyphs, there was suddenly darkness. And then the ground vanished. "Wha!" Xiao panicked for a second, flailing her arms and legs, about to activate the A.A.N.S., when she realized soon after they they were floating already. "Huh. How strange." Well, about as strange as anything else she's seen so far.      The giant crystal and it's smaller contemporaries was deftly noted, as well as the voice. It was weak, but...also kind of nostalgic in a way. She couldn't place why, but didn't dwell on it either. "Light grown dim, hm...?" She folded her arms into her sleeves, eyeing the smaller crystal that had floated in front of her. She could vaguely sense that it was probing her for something, and didn't try to stop it. Rather, the scientist just stared curiously, letting the process run it's course.      "How curious. What could this be for?" She asked no one in particular. It should be noted that currently, her form was shining a sickly black and purple. Mixing together erratically like the tendrils of a misshapen fiend. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji was not expecting this. The dussen rush of sensation, the vision that streams through Souji's head causes him to put a hand to his head, grimacing in what looks like almost pain as he hears the voice of Hydaelyn. His grimace quickly becomes a scowl as he observes the situation, and he drifts backwards. As the crystal approaches him, Souji affixes the generic-looking crystal with a stare. "I have nothing for you." Souji states in a frosty tone. He turns away, the motion trailing a dimness, as if shadow pooled like liquid into the cracks around him... but little more. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle is surprised when she's drawn into the world of Hydaelyn, and she's bathed in the light of the Mother Crystal. She watches on, interestedly, as the Light Warrior trio meet with glowing facets of the larger one itself, and hears the words of that giant hunk of shiny mineral in her head. To hear, to feel, to think. Well, Hydaelyn, Mirielle already does all that. She's not terribly stressed out about this situation - it seems to be important to the trio of Destined People (which tracks well with her estimations and experiences with each of them) and is well in line with projected curves and the data she had gathered. But then there is the matter of her own crystal, whose outside is shiny and crystalline, like a crystal should be, but the inside is a stormy coal black.     It probes her, and a hand moves to her head, a strong wince of pain and... someting else. Her eyes are hidden, her thick glasses reflecting the light of Hydaelyn.     "I'd prefer if you didn't do the usual to my... head..." She mutters, to herself. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     I am many things. I am Hydaelyn. I am a star, its world, its people, its magic, even its moons. In turn, all are of Hydaelyn. the crystal answers Nasa; it is obvious she speaks of her world only, making no assumptions of those gathered besides three. You struggle against darkness, seeking to tame and redeem it. Your path will be long, but rewarding.     The Light has been dimmed by agents of Darkness. With each summoning, the Light dims further. The beings you call Primals are of Hydaelyn too; Aether making legend, thought, worship and power manifest. Each that rises dims the Light. the crystal answers Valentha.     I sense much pain in you. the crystal answers Shin, as it floats there idly. A beaten path, walked by a beaten man. Ever onward with broken legs. It pauses. I merely seek to know you, who exist outside me.     In my current state, my Light cannot shine through lies and deceit. the crystal tells Scarlet. But I sense even in the lies a spark of truth. Do you deny who you are? Do you attempt to lie to me, or to yourself?     To Serenity, the crystal's voice softens. And one who has already suffered so much, yet still you would help others. The Light dims, but it is only a symptom. In the Light can great heroes find strength, but the Light will not keep the Darkness at bay on its own, no matter how strong. Light must be used by worthy hearts to combat Darkness. My strength wanes, but it was never for me to push back the Darkness. Merely to empower those chosen. To restore Light would allow its champions to triumph, but alone, it would simply dim again.     Xiao gets an answer, even if she wasn't speaking to anyone. This has for task to answer your questions and set you on the proper path. I sense a great, destructive path ahead of you. One walked by more than heroes.     Though Setsuko gets nothing, it's on the same topic the crystal addresses her. War and bloodshed seem inevitable in all cycles of life, but yours may yet transcend that. Purpose determines the worth of war.     Souji receives the same coldness from the crystal. There's no disdain, no hatred, no rejection, merely silence, and the smaller crystal floats back to the larger one.     And Mirielle is treated much better. Darkness exists alongside Light. No doubt you have heard the idiom before, but one cannot exist without the other. You use one to fulfill the purpose of the other. Pray do not lose yourself to it.     Finally, Alwyn, Bertram and N'raha are gathered together, with their three smaller crystals. The purple crystal Bertram held produces a beam of light, which blasts towards the larger crystal. The light produces a massive spell circle underneath it, with six slots. The light forms into a copy of the purple crystal, in one of the slots. Hydaelyn, for it, seems to shine a bit brighter.     And you three, my children. You must seek the Crystals of Light to restore Light. Through your actions, they will appear. Stray not from your current path, continue on as you are now. Seek not the Crystals for my sake, but rather seek to do what is right. Only then will they appear before you.     The purple crystal returns to Bertram's hand. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' And Bertram holds onto it, even stronger now. He still doesn't speak, he simply nods, knowing that Hydaelyn has faith in him and words are superfluous. Again, he smiles at N'raha, and now also at Alwyn, and he makes no comments about what Hydaelyn says to others. He merely listens. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha... boggles as the energy flows through him, the sigils expand outwards and he's... declared a child. He'd heard that before, but only in snippets of what was surely ramblings of a crazy miq-brain.     Now though, hands grip tightly at his sides, his face looks up at the Crystal, and he bites his lip. "Do what is right. How...?" He looks over at Bertram and Alwyn though, and then behind him at Setsuko and the others. "How do we know?" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     A glance at Nasa and Serenity tells Setsuko that they're both fine. And so, she has nothing to say to the beating heart of this world; but simply listens, quietly. To the crisis of the land itself, to the fact that the Primals dim the light of this being, and thus harm the very world they're summoned into. She listens to the words of Hydaelyn to her allies, and in particular her eyes linger on Scarlet for a moment. Curious, but she has no intention to press.     And then there are words directed to Setsuko herself, eyes widening faintly. May yet transcend the inevitability of war? She's not certain what to think of that. But as for purpose... "I feel the same way," Setsuko says quietly. "So I choose the light as my purpose. That includes the light of this world." Knowing there is no ill will towards her from this world's high goddess is a relief, on some level.     And Bertram, Alwyn and N'raha have their mission. To that, she has nothing to say; simply watching their reactions is enough. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "You are of the Wilds. Though maybe not my own, it is close enough." Nasa murmurs softly. She shifts calmly, her wings gradually floating. Even though she was floating without them, it was reflexive. "The Guardian of the Wilds are here. Yours are wounded, so she seeks to help where she can spare it." Nasa would release that crystal if it had allowed her to take it in the first place. "...Is reassuring to hear those words. That it will to being rewarding in the end." Doubts. She had questioned if it was even possible many times; the Drow were so steeped in their own hatred. Still, it was likely a much-needed reassurance that she's not struggling uselessly.      She shifts slightly, her gaze shifting towards each of those that she could see. She examined each, taking in what she could, her sharp ears twitching to listen and take note of those who seemed to welcome Hydaelin, and those who seemed to reject it. Souji was noted. Xiao was noted. They both seemed shrouded in darkness, but darkness did not necessarily mean evil, so Xiao avoids any assumptions on Nasa's part. Souji, however, is marked as a potential danger in the future.      What happened with Bertram, N'raha, and Alwyn is also paid close attention to. She was gathering information, beginning to think, beginning to muse and plan on how much she might be able to help these people. Making allies was going to be necessary for her. She had a difficult road ahead of her, one that she couldn't tread alone.      She shifts very slightly, wings fluttering as she tries to approach N'raha. Her hand reaches to attempt to rest on his shoulder. If she could move in that place, at any rate. "...Can never to truly know, can just to trying to do what heart and mind do to tell us is right." Nasa says, giving a firm nod. "...You do to seeming to have decent grasp of that, though, yes." Now that she wasn't addressing the goddess as the Guardian of the Wilds, she seems to have slipped back into her normal speech patterns. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     Serenity closes her eyes as she hears the answers. "I see. And I understand, I think. If you will take my help, I will do my best to see that your people follow through to the end." In truth, she's not sure she'll need to DO anything there, and she's just rather pleased to be speaking to something like this. She's done many things in her long life, but she never had the chance to speak to her own planet's will... or to ask it questions she wishes she could have.     "And, if I can, I will help as well. Your enemies are much like my own," she admits. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Haha, yeah. I get my ass kicked a ton, yo," Shin says with an awkward gesture to the crystal, rubbing his hand against the back of his head, "I'm down to get known, though. Nothing to hide, really. Just a dude trying to do his own thing, maybe help some people on the way. Standard cliche hero gig, really. I'm happy to help out your world however I can, though. Bustin' ass on douchebags is about the only skill I have."     "You can count me in to help your world however I can." Shin says, lifting up a bicep and flexing it confidently. It doesn't show off much in the suit, though. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Hydaelyn has nothing to say to Souji, and much like he had stated, he has nothing to say to Hydaelyn. He simply floats there, listening, his demeanor almost... Indignant, as he waits for this invasion into his perceptions, or spiritual journey, or whatever it may be to end. He does not seem to respond or care about the examinations of others, hanging there like a stain on the edge of perception. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "Hah?"      Xiao tilted her head at the answers she hadn't asked for. "Great, destructive path?" And then she tilted her head the other way, a finger pressed to her cheek and brows furrowed in confusion. After several moments, she drifted backwards towards the general vicinity of Souji and Mirielle before asking the both of them. "Have I done anything greatly destructivee recently? I don't think I have, have I?"      She looked upwards in thought, as if considering this all. "Well, I supposed there was last tuesday when I....but that hardly counts as greatly! Or even on the scale of destructive! Ahhhhh I'm so confused!" And comically, the researcher held her head in her hands as she whined aloud about how she didn't get it. "Am I going to go insane and blow up a planet by crashing a meteor into it? Will I poison a river and watch an entire castle's inhabitants die?"      Xiao please. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     "Then I shall investigate them." Valentha answers. "You have no small amount of champions here already, but I'll help where I can." Her answer is simple indeed, but the Dragon has little need of being flowery to a being like this...     "I seem to have been caught up in something terrifically large.." But what can she do except investigate further and try to answer the trust that's being shown to so many people here? 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Partial success. She should have tried harder. Trying this on the prime creator of a world is a first for her, but a learning experience at least for Scarlet. More or less though she accomplishes the task of not being read like a book by a giant crystal she's never met before with indeterminate cosmic power. A minor victory. Still though, even if these types of beings are normally known for their profound wisdom, the last thing the magus is about to accept is being preached to by a glowing rock. After all, it's her personal information in the first place. Why should she be obligated to let a nosy Gaia figure see any of it?     Her disapproval falls short of hostility though. It's already abundantly clear that being contacted by Hydaelyn is a big deal, and it or she seemingly has no malevolent intent. Rather than draw attention to herself by arguing, she just lets that one slip under the radar, remaining quiet until that strangely motherly voice moves on. She notices, but doesn't validate Setsuko's look towards her with any sign of awareness.     "The primals are in opposition to you, then?" she asks instead, plainly and unassumingly as before. "How aware is anyone of this interaction?" It's a legitimate question. To the outside observer, the primals sound more like the incarnations of the world's primal aspects, but something that would clash with and corrode its essence. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle frowns. "I know that. That's my life. But... You're probably right on the forgetfulness thing. Crystal-being who can probe my thoughts." She mutters something else, darkly. It amounts to 'you're not the first thing that's done that'.     She floats there, in the light of the crystal, and sort of curls up as everything's happening, hugging her knees to her chest. The words are true, but...     Mirielle really doesn't like this. "I'm ready to be done." She whispers, frowning. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "I don't know," Alwyn answers N'raha. "I guess that means keep being adventurers? Eventually it'll make sense, for now don't worry about it?" He's as overwhelmed as you, catte, he's evidently just a bit better at hiding it! Meanwhile Bertram is pretty much chilling like this is normal.     Correct. A lit path is merely and only that much. None can tell a man he must walk the path, and each is different. My Light illuminates paths, but it cannot make them. the crystal answers Nasa. With or without the Light, all here are great people. All I can do is help make it more obvious.     Serenity's crystal pulses briefly, acknowledging her. All aid is welcome. And while I cannot assist directly, I pray the Light shines on you when you face your own devils too. My children will assist if they are able; of their worth I have no doubt, and I am sure that was on their mind just now. Though the crystal can't really speak for Alwyn, N'raha and Bertram, it's true that was on Alwyn's mind just now, so he just smiles.     Then I will pray for there to be a light, any light, at the end of your hard path. the crystal tells Shin.     Xiao, whether legitimately confused or just being very sarcastic, gets no further replies from her crystal. It floats back to the main body, like Souji's did.     All things are large when compared to just one person. Is that not what makes all things worth it? the crystal asks Valentha, without necessarily expecting an answer.     The Primals are part of Hydaelyn too, their energies coming from it. It is their summoning that is unnatural, as though a means to weaponize faith, to take a portion of the Light for yourself, and to turn it into your very own deity. the crystal answers Scarlet, essentially explaining that Primals themselves aren't harmful, but the ritual through which people, beastmen or otherwise summon them is. It fragments Hydaelyn, draining some of her life to form a body for the Primal.     Only believe, for the Light dwells in thy hearts. Darkness threatens the end of all things, and of life. I beseech you all: deliver us from this fate. Go now, my children. Shine thy Light on all of creation.     The crystal pulses again, and weakens. The connection to it falters, as you are sent rocketing past the crystal and into the sky. There's no vertigo or side-effect to speak of; actually it probably feels rather pleasant.     And then, you're back in LITTLE SOLACE.     Frixio and Komuxio are just kind of staring at those of you who were before them curiously, unaware of what just happened. Frixio at least answers Scarlet, as though they hadn't just skipped a beat. "Are walking and dancing ones alright? But yes, these ones will continue cooperating. It is this one's hope the token will prove to horned one Kan-E-Senna these ones mean no harm. Touched ones usually mean no harm, but imperial ones have disturbed them often lately, and so they are on edge."     The elder's eyes move to Bertram. "This one saw the crystal shine. This one cannot even imagine the cruel path that must be walked if it means what this one thinks it does." 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     "I am growing to find a strong aversion to this place. Sadly, PE credits do not earn themselves." Mirielle deadpans to Alwyn as she stands up from her fetal position scooch on the ground.     Ugh, Crystal Mom made her sit on moss and dirt and stuff, her skirt's all scuzzy now. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     The low-level Mute spell has, thankfully, worn off of Shin by now, "Woo. Yeah, I hope there is too. Wouldn't it be a crazy twist if I turned out to be the villain?" Shin asks while continuing that awkward rub to the back of his head, "I doubt I will, though. Pretty low chance of that," He muses before shrugging at the crystal.     When he's back in Little Solace, he kinda just looks around, "Woo, holy shit. What a trippy event that was, right? Fucking... flying in space talkin' to crystals. I thought I'd drank some peyote or whatever it is they drink before vision quests."     He claps his hands together once and rubs his hands together, "But if the world needs help, I'm down to toss in my fair share." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' When they return, Souji looks exactly the way he did before. It seems almost irrational, really, considering the nature of the visit, but it is what it is. The air around Souji almost seems to swirl, the air tinged with the scent of an afternoon just before a summer storm. However, Frixio's words cause him to immediately smooth himself out, his stormy expression becoming pleasant and businesslike once more. "Thank you for your concern, Frixio. We will be sure to meet your expectations." He glances over to Bertram, however. "Many paths are cruel in their own ways. It is up to the walker to decide how to meet the needs of those paths." Ominous. Ominous. Ominous ominous. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Well if Komuxio isn't going to skip a beat then neither is Scarlet of course. Pretending is both her specialty and an adequate descriptor of most of her life, and her social class in general. "The Seedseers spoke very fondly of you. There's no need to worry~ They'll be more than happy to see it, I guarantee you."     If Frixio's just going to throw it out in the open, there's no real sense hiding it though. "It's nothing they can't handle." she says in a deliberately token tone of reassurance, as if to make it clear that even if she believes they'll come out fine, she doesn't have any desire to disagree that might might very well be an ordeal for those chosen by Hydaelyn herself. It also expertly deflects the idea that she could be centrally involved before it can be imagined and forwarded. Oh she'll help alright, but those three adventurers are the "destined" ones, right? 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha stammers and flops back on his butt as they are released by the vision, his ears flicking back against his head. A glance to Alwyn and Bertram who... who have clearly seen this before. It's hard to deny that to the miq now as their reactions aren't nearly as surprised as his.     But then the words of the others finally sink in to his head. A look over to Xiao and Souji and... and Scarlet. At least two of them he'd trusted but... something is there now as he tries to pick himself back up to a proper position. Wariness? Maybe. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     And so they return - having never, in truth, left. Some corner of Setsuko's mind is not truly surprised. "I do not know this world very well," she says to Frixio. "But I wouldn't be surprised if your guess is correct, We have a large task before us."     Then she takes a couple of steps over to N'raha of all people, to whom she offers a hand to help his attempt to stand. "Are you all right?" 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     The dragon-in-disguise chuckles. "Yes. Very true." She also cocks her head, hearing a rather juicy tidbit. "An improper summoning ritual. Sadly a field I know little of. It might be time to learn! ... Well, it's ALWAYS a good time to learn..."     But just as soon as she's done speaking she finds herself launched into... the great void and then... back to where she was.     Valentha promptly rubs at her head and glances around at all the others...     But finally settles her gaze on the elder. "You know a thing or two about it, don't you, old one?" 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      And after all is said and done, they are...back. Xiao is standing once again, her arms still folded in her sleeves. "....Oh." She blinked a few times, realizing that they had returned. Wow that was way too abrupt.      Thanks for the premonition, Crystal Mom!      She listened to the elder's words, canting her head aside a bit. "Cruel path, hm...? Well, no matter. If there is knowledge to be had, I will assist if I can." That said, Xiao smiled a little, as though it were funny, and said nothing further.      N'raha's look earned him a wider smile and a cute wave, but no words. She was messing with him of course. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     "Mmhmm." Serenity remains mostly silent throughout the discussion, now considering both her companions and the three ordained 'heroes' that were with her. A narrowing of her eyes considers some of her companions here, but she looks back to the Sylph without comment on them. This situation, she thinks, is one where it is best to wait and observe... especially after what she learned in that crystal realm.     Not for the first time, she wishes she'd developed her sight like the seers of her realm. Too late now. "This is going to take a bit more planning, I think," she murmurs softly. Louder, she speaks to the elder, "I am confident they will rise to the challenge, and they have our support." Best be diplomatic, anyway. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram puts the crystal away securely once they're back in the mortal world. "A cruel path perhaps, elder. But if you know what it is, then pray don't pretend it's not a path someone must walk; and if it's to be me, then Twelves know, I will. Thus must needs be done." He sounds a fair bit more serious than normal, yet also more upbeat. Below the seriousness is a tone that has not appeared in his voice before, not since before he met anyone present here. Hope. Real, genuine hope. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa shifts her ears slightly. A lit path... she can light the path for the other Drow, maybe? Show them that there is a better way, and help them escape the frequently-forced shackles of the dark goddess. Yes. That could work. Maybe... she shifts very slightly, giving a small nod. "...Yes, is great people." She murmurs. She doesn't speak any further though, simply allowing herself to passively listen while in that place. She wasn't ignoring, so much as not really having much further to ask or say.      And then they're returned to their time. She shifts slightly, blinking a few moments as the more normal light returns. That was the closest to 'sleep' she'd had, really... ever. "Is fine." Nasa says, flashing a smile towards Frixio and Komuxio, listening to their explanation. She twitches her ears thoughtfully. Touched ones... and proving to Kan-E-Senna they meant no harm. Friction? Hmm.      "...Does think that is going to be interesting path, if nauthing else. ... But, easy path is to being rarely the most fun or the most worthwhile in end, yes." She says, streeeetching slightly, her wings fluttering. She flutters over towards Bertram, toes hovering about an inch off of the ground as she does. "Does naut ever need to being alone in path that is walking though. Most paths are to being best walked with allies, yes." She'd learned that the hard way before. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin, almost as soon as he hits the ground, is also bounding over towards Scarlet, "You're her, right? Everille?" He asks as he holds out a hand to her, "Shin Tokuyama, you bought that Garlican Staff from me when I was trying to sell it on the Multiversal Auction house and no one was buying. I remember the voice! Recognize it, more!"     "You're pitching in on these? I never knew you were involved in anything beyond collecting the weapons as curios. What's your interest in this whole business?" He's bouncing on his feet a bit as he shotguns questions at the student, sorta rocking back and forth as he watches her. If he weren't closing on 20 in age-range, it'd be a somewhat childish gesture. Now it's more like a rowdy adult. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     It's good everyone is so energetic! Alwyn tosses an arm over N'raha's shoulder, grinning. "Cheer up, we're not dead yet! We just have to keep doing the same thing we were already doing, right? So when can we start calling you Captain N'raha?" They still haven't named the ship either.     Frixio answers Valentha honestly: "Chosen ones walk a cruel path. Chosen ones, and all their helping ones. Five or six years ago, this one met other chosen ones. Many of them, this one has not seen again."     The elder playfully dances-- well, an elegant twirl, a sort of dancing motion, respectful-- as he says: "This one believes Lord Ramuh can be swayed. This one has witnessed walking and dancing ones being heroes. And now this one has witnessed the path beyond. Walking ones, dancing ones, chosen ones, it does not matter. These ones will pray for success. Lord Ramuh is wise, and strong. Levin One will judge walking ones. Walking ones will prove worthy." He nods, certain of this. Just because there's only a few of you who are 'Warriors of Light' doesn't mean he thinks it's all up to them. And if Ramuh even slightly lives up to his reputation, it'll definitely be a team effort.     Komuxio is the one to move forward-- well, dance forward-- next, the Sylph offering: "Would walking ones wish to stay for a meal? These ones do not usually consume walking ones' food, but many walking ones stay here with these ones, so these ones have both supplies and skill." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha just blanches a bit as he rubs at his hair at the sudden attention and... and grumbles. He's hugged/clapped on the shoudler and manages not to wilt too much. "Right, yeah, sure... Captain. Hah hah ah haahahaaa."     The ears flick a bit more as he glance around and looks to Mirielle the Not-Arcanist. The other dark souled one he'd managed to see. Why are so many with such dark futures... helping them? Just... He bites his lip and misses a bunch more of the teasing as his face screws up in thought. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      The fae-type people seemed generally rather happy, really! Still, Nasa had noticed something about this land. There seemed to be an incredibly large amount of predators, many of which didn't seem to be kept in very good check. They also tended to be ... rather large. The Sylphs seemed rather small. The offer to staying for a meal gets Nasa coming out of her thoughts again. "Ah, yes, would to liking staying for meal." Nasa says, offering a little bow of her head.      "Would offer to helping find food or helping culling of the large amount of predators in area as trade." Nasa offers, rather than saying that they NEED help, offering it as a trade. Because sparing pride sometimes is rather important when dealing with fae or ... really anyone. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Suddenly the, now slightly awkward, diplomatic encounter is interrupted by Shin, catching Scarlet off guard by his sudden interest in her and not loudly singing Japanese music and or flexing his biceps. Without really thinking about it, she offers her hand in return as a matter of course, having done more than enough shaking in her adolescence alone, which does a pretty good job of disguising her imprecise bafflement. "I did. And you must be mister Tokuyama, correct?" It's only through passive magical enhancement that her memory is good enough to recall his name from the auction details.     "Nothing too spectacular I'm afraid. A general interest in magic, drawn to somewhere where magic is completely ubiquitous, totally natural, and relatively unexploited in direct opposition to where my field of experience lies. The Garlean items are a matter of practicality as well as collector's value. If it becomes necessary, I'd like to know the correct countermagic for their standardized uses." It's all very nonspecific when really thought about, but it genuinely doesn't seem as if she's omitting anything. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Oh!" Shin says as he shakes her hand. In total fairness, Shin only remembers her because she's in the little book he carried, so he wouldn't blame her too much for forgetting him. He shakes the hand and then releases it, "Yeah, that's me. Combat Vagrant, in the flesh."     "That's pretty cool, though!" He folds his hands behind his head in a relaxed gesture, milling over her answer, "So like...You're running the academic angle. Research paper or something?" He seems to consider the answer, "Pretty legit, pretty legit. I bet that figuring out counter-magic to their nega-magic-tech is gonna be way more effective than me just punchin' dudes." He's filling in the gaps a lot for her answers, nodding his head a bit, "Plus, you know, the staff looked cool. Mount that shit in your office and people think you're some kinda total badass collector." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet lets slip a genuine smile at that. "Choosing to do multiversal work was something of a controversial career orientation move, so I'm holding up the idiom that the best revenge is a life well lived. Aside from advancing my personal knowledge of magic beyond what they'll teach at home, the exponential boost in subscriptions and followers that comes from posting multiversal content is satisfying in its own, spiteful way~ It's proven far more valuable than toadying around in parliament on the coattails of a professor's favourite politician at any rate."     Being a magus provides the unexpected benefit of happening to carry paper and writing utensils despite it almost being the 22nd century, which lets her write down a short list of tags, domain and user names to hand over. "In case you're interested~" she says simultaneously with opening Twitter hands free, using eye movement to scroll through the AR menu until she can subscribe to Shin's account. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "That's a pretty chill goal, gotta say. I did the same thing, really, but to a different end," He confesses as he hooks one foot backwards and taps the toe of his shoe against the ground, "Martial Arts is great on my world, but no one wants to ADVANCE it. It's about the old, not the new. I wanna take it somewhere people haven't seen, really, beyond the traditionalist style," He sighs a bit and looks skyward. If she hadn't spotted it by now due to the sunglasses, his heterochromia is easily apparent at that gesture.     "I'll most def add you on some social media," He says as he takes the paper and looks over the various social media venues, "I recognize... some of these. My Twitter is pretty chill, I'll probably update it again later tonight about the crystals thing," He says, folding her paper and putting it in his jacket pocket. Scarlet will probably have a new follower on most of her accessible social media by the end of the night. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle has faded into the background, having found some insanely huge fairy flower bud thing to sit on and whip out a journal to begin scribing stuff down. She catches the dirty looks N'raha gives her, and looks confused, before giving him a two-finger wave and gong back to her writing.     Dear Diary: Today I met a giant freaking crystal that violated my soul and when most people's were bright and happy mine was dark and filled with Evil. But it was still shiny on the outside, so I had that going for me, which is nice.     She begins sketching Hydaeyln, and the realm, as well as her smaller crystal in quick, precise terms. It helps to have memories recorded in this way. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     "A meal would be lovely! That and some chat time about this Ramuh and his brethren. I love hearing about magical beings of all kinds. Your people appear to count!" Valentha chirps out rather happily, adjusting her goggles. 

}}

2873/The First Crystal

2015-08-22T11:04:54Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/08/21 |Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR> |Synopsis=The Lightning Crystal is acquired, and Crystal Mom is met. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=255, 3..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/21
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=The Lightning Crystal is acquired, and Crystal Mom is met.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 367, 607, 627, 666, 747, 756, 815, 819, 823, 826, 834
|Tinyplot=Six Crystals of Light
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Today, you don't need to be summoned by the Adventurers' Guild. Rather, you have been summoned by Komuxio (the Sylph elder's assistant? it was never very clear), who wishes to thank you personally for the work you've done so far in the Black Shroud. Tales of your deeds in the Tam-Tara Deepcroft (those of you who were there) have already reached them, and the Sylph elder Frixio intends to fulfill his promise.     For newcomers, you'll be arriving at the HAWTHORNE HUT in the EAST SHROUD. It is a big, magical forest, everything here feels super magical and connected to the world, giant trees, big wildlife, sometimes aggressive, Warp Gate next to giant blue crystal at the hut that allows teleportation between other giant blue crystals, etc.!     The walk to LITTLE SOLACE is about five or ten minutes, directly east of the hut. You'll no doubt be guided by Bertram, N'raha or Alwyn (he is totally present), and the road will in fact be pretty quiet and eventless. It is early evening, the Sun still provides mild light, and for once it's not cloudy or raining. The building presences (north and south, from here) are still here, though.     LITTLE SOLACE is a small village of tents, traders and bulb-houses suspended to the trees by ropes. The Sylphs are short, green, plant-like people barely two to three feet tall, and they float in the air rather than walk. Here at Little Solace they trade assorted plants and baubles to traders for assorted baubles, money or even food.     Waiting at the entrance is Komuxio, a Sylph in almost no way different from all the others save for a rainbow hairclip he said he would wear for your conveniences, since he 'is aware it can be difficult for walking ones to tell these ones apart'.     The narration doesn't look forward to typing like that the whole scene, by the way. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha is here, looking rather less menacing than he did at the WMAT. After a pair of wins, the Miqo'te is feeling much more chipper about things, there's a spring in his step, and hopefully he's not quite so anxious about the offworlders.     That said, once Setsuko does show up, which he's expecting... he's going to be giving her a wider berth than usual. No reason for that, at all, nope none. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram is here, of course. Ready to guide and answer questions like always. There's definitely a difference from past events, however. Unlike back then, he has the advantage of noticing the Lord of Levin has calmed down somewhat, easing his worries and allowing him to smile just a bit more. "Well done in the arena, N'raha. Have you ever done any competition in the bloodsands?" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Tam-Tara was... rough, to put it mildly. The loss of life there was entirely preventable and has utterly destroyed at least one life that really shouldn't have been in that sort of work to begin with. It still bothers Setsuko, to some extent. But she's put it behind her. It is what it is, and dwelling on it won't change it. Maybe she'll find Edda some time and be able to help her, but that's just idle hope. There's work to be done.     And thankfully, today's work seems to be much less unpleasant. Meeting with the Sylphs, as regards the work they've been doing on Little Solace's behalf. Hopefully, they'll be pleased with how things have gone on the whole.     Setsuko arrives as she always does, by entering the Shroud via warpgate and then simply flying. Her stride is brisk and businesslike when she reaches the sylvan village, and Bertram and N'raha both receive simple nods of greeting. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa was not one of those ones who went to the Tam-Tarra Deepcroft. She had arrived later, and instead helped the Conjurers with some corrupted dirt. That strange purple fae girl who had helped purify things! She'd since been fluttering around the land, doing her best to help heal little bits of the land here and there. A sick animal, a dying plant. They were little bits of aid here and there, but Nasa was doing what she could to help the calamaty-riddled land get better! At present, she'd largely avoided fighting with most of the animals of the land, except when necessary. She'd also largely stayed to the areas close to towns or cities, where it tended to have less aggressive monsters.      So she arrived at the Hawthorne Hut, eyes flitting around to find N'raha and Beltram. People she recognized. She fluttered over to them quietly, moving to hover nearby them. Likely, once more, getting more than a few looks. Those web-like wings, that purple skin, and lightly glowing eyes. Luckily, she knew people, and she was generally polite and friendly when addressed by guards and such.      Soon, she's fluttering along to Little Solace, taking little steps in between flutters. It was almost a hopping motion that likely hinted at the only mildly-contained energy of the fae girl. "Sylphs, sylphs. Does sound like they will to being fae, yes!" Nasa says, she was a bit excited to see them! Once she arrives at the village of little Solace... she was not disappointed at all. They were definitely fae! They looked basically like leaves and plants that had taken form, to her.      She dips into a curtsey towards the Sylph guards as she enters the city, straightening up afterwards with a bright smile. "Nasa greets." She murmurs softly. She straightens up again, eyes shifting over towards her own allies. Hmm. She recognized most of them. That was good. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     Serenity hasn't been quite as involved in these matters as some, but neither is she a stranger to the world. She's dressed as she normally is, complete with shockblade at her side, and for the time being takes a position slightly behind Setsuko. The demigod has a bit more information on these matters than she does, so she might as well follow her lead.     A small nod of greeting to anyone she knows, for now, should suffice. She does look about Little Solace as she walks though, taking in the sights... as they are, for her. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh hey. N'raha looks up at Bertram as they walk, and grins. "Oh? Yeah I did! Well, enough time, anyways. I've got the basics of swording and shielding down and I... well, where did you think I got the name Desert Marvel from? I, uh. Well, I wasn't the best at it, but I guess maybe now I should try out again, maybe." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Considering it was her plan of action in the first place, there's absolutely no way that Scarlet wouldn't be here to actually reap the rewards of going through the trouble of dancing around two separate, violent conflicts. She'd been the one who had pulled the slyph elder from out of his cage and the one who had personally promised him that Tam-Tara would be dealt with, and so even if it was largely the work of other people, it only makes sense that she'd be here to take credit.     She's showed up well ahead of time so she doesn't have to deal with the ignomity of seeing people, or otherwise be forced to participate in, dancing around, still inwardly cringing a little to think of what Bertram had put her through last time. She looks on as the rest begin to arrive, before inclining formally towards Komuxio. "As promised~" is all she has to say within earshot of anyone else, as if she had personally dragged everyone here. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Breaking the silence! Nevertheless, we aim for another day! Show the way beyond the darkness, RAY OF LIGHT!"     Shin bobs his head up and down, singing to himself (In Japanese, I just translated it for convenience) as he wears a pair of earbuds in his ears and strolling along. Despite some dings and scratches on him from his fight with one Shizune Nakamura several days hence, he seems remarkably recovered. A testament to his weird ability to heal incredibly quickly.     "Our parched chests push on. It's a battle in which we fight all alone. Despair and hope is like a Mobius loop. What'll be waiting when we overcome? Instead of grieving and continuing to wait for a miracle it's better to run on all the way until you collapse."     He seems pretty content to hang out and jam out to whatever he's listening to on the way to Little Solace, rocking out to whatever continuation of the song there is that you will be spared from being too spammed out by.     "DUDE WHAT'S UP? I'M HERE TO HELP," He shouts at a Sylph at about point-blank range, because he still has earbuds in. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Little Solace... Bugs Mirielle. It's natural, sure, and the place hums with magic, but the whole affair seems /off/ to the Calculator. /Everything/ is magic in this place, but it's not the same kind of magic as in Galianda, and in fact, the metaphysiological impacts of...     Look, she's got a well-referenced paper she's working on, just let her finish the footnotes and bibliography.     Her normally blank and dour look scans across the area. "So we are to be arranging the lines of attack for an upcoming operation, right?" She asks, before Shin starts shouting lyrics in translated japanese to some song. "Your earbuds." She glooms, before moving to tug one out of his ear. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Having heard that adventurers are needed to possibly sway the wrath of a mad god, Valentha Summers has stepped up to the plate! She's on foot today. No flying around, no flashy magic or noisy hovercycle. Just footwork and lots of it carry her along the forest paths. The outfit she's got on does appear a bit too hot for the locale but this isn't apparently bothering her whatsoever. She's not even sweating!     Upon reaching the entrance, Valentha adjusts her outfit slightly and shines a smile at the greeting part! She's full of wonder at this. Seeing new lands and meeting interesting peoples of all shapes and sizes is one of her many pleasures.     "Good day! I hear there's some trouble in these parts."     You wouldn't have a group this huge if there wasn't, probably. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji arrives at Little Solace. He does not need guidance, his own automapping system in his Moogle Glasses handles directions just fine. Past the Hawthorn Hut, past the occasional boil of giant flies that are constantly being beaten back by adventurers, Souji arrives at the gates, where he performs a small spin and bows to Komuxio. "Greetings, Komuxio. It is a pleasure to see you again." Souji states in his businesslike tone. While he was not present at the Deepcroft, there were other matters to attend to. Matters that did not at all involve setting up military-industrial contracts. Pay no attention to the man behind the expensive Ul'dahn tapestry. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Xiao had not actually been around for most of these recent shenanigans. She'd heard at the very least, but did not see. So why in the world was she here? WELL. Curiosity is a wonderful thing. Having heard of Souji's plans to head out here, she decided to tag along. If only for the sole purpose of seeing just what this would all be about.      A such, she just gave people polite nods as she walked down to path to Little Solace, but otherwise kept silent, with an impish smile forever on her face. Forget all of these greetings and social niceties, she wanted to know what they would be talking about!      ...Okay maybe not FORGET them, but certainly move it along. Time was money! Or research time. Or knowledge. Or something to that effect.      Yes.      Totally reasonable. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     One can assume Alwyn gave N'raha a friendly pat on the back for his victory. And probably food at some point. But that's not quite important right now!     Nasa makes a curtsy bow for a Sylph, who returns a twirling, dance-like motion in greeting. "This one greets walking one!" the guard says. Scarlet approaches Komuxio, and he smiles, twirling in the air with joy. "Dancing ones promised, and dancing ones delivered! These ones are all overjoyed at your arrival. Elder one is finishing preparing these ones' gift, please wait a moment!"     Shin, much louder, immediatly obtains Komuxio's attention from Scarlet. "Loud one is full of life and energy! Perhaps loud one would like to assist these ones with further tasks, later? These ones still have occasional problems with imperial ones and creatures, perhaps loud one will find much to do here?" Basically: if he sticks around later there is no shortage of jobs here. Punch the wildlife, punch a few Garleans.     Komuxio nods to Mirielle. "If walking and dancing ones would like to use these ones' home to plan their next moves, these ones will be honored to provide food and shelter for the evening!"     Souji gets a sort of dancing military salute in response. "Serious dancing one is welcome too! Now, wait one moment!"     Komuxio flies off into one of the suspended houses, and a few moments later, returns, accompanied by another Sylph. Thie one is pale beige rather than green, with a towering haircut and elderly glasses. Frixio and Komuxio do a sort of dancing duet together in front of everyone, before taking a bow. Frixio speaks:     "This one is most impressed. As promised, these ones' token is yours. Lord Ramuh gifted these ones the token when these ones summoned him years ago, to combat imperial ones. Touched ones have attempted to steal it numerous times, but now walking and dancing ones must keep it safe."     Aether gathers in Frixio's hand, and lightning crashes down from the heavens into his palm, bright purple. It forms a large purple crystal, about twice the size of one's fist. He offers it towards Bertram specifically. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram smiles, "Ah, I see. Well, I'm sure you could make some good gil in the bloodsands if you want to. You've grown a lot, and I know they like that kind of spectacle over there." Bertram then grows quiet again, greeting all the others and moving from walking to a kind moving dance as they get closer to Little Solace. He seems surprised when he hears what it is, and when he accepts the crystal he makes a very solemn statement. "Rest assured that I will do all in my power to protect it." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     YAY PATTING. N'raha puffs up at the headpats and then falls into place next to Bertram and Alwyn, trying to look semi important in his lack of armor and gear. Though, as the crystal appears he looks... awestruck. Really and truely awestruck. He's seen crystals before, shards and larger elemental things but this... this was no comparison to those paltry pieces of aether.     A hand reaches up to tap a finger against one of the faces of the stone and the catman's ears flick and swiver at Bertram's words. He'll talk about the Bloodsands at some other point that a Primal Piece of Aether is not right in front of him...     "...Twelves." 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa cringes slightly at Shin's shout, her ears folding down to cut out some of the noise almost as quickly as his mouth opens. Ow. Once the shouting ends, her ears perk up once more. Luckily, someone was attempting to pull out his earbuds. Which was much better in the end. Bertram. N'raha... the cat! She flashes a playful grin towards N'raha. However, her attention returns to the guard. That twirling, dance like motion is ... almost immediately mimiced, wings fluttering out to lift her off the ground.      "This one rarely walks, she is to being hovering one most of time!" She says with a light giggle. She wiggles her finger a bit towards the guard, before fluttering over towards Komuxio. The mention of offering shelter and food gets an interested look from Nasa. "This one is hunter-gathering one, can maybe to offering help with that sometime if does ever needing it." She says in a friendly tone, resting on the balls of her feet. As Frixio talks of the token and promised gifts, Nasa's attention ... slightly strays, as this gift was not for her. She had not earned it yet. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The bow from Komuxio and Frixio is returned respectfully by Setsuko; she remains otherwise silent until the crystal is produced and handed to Bertram, at which point she smiles faintly. Even she can feel how special that particular crystal is. Bertram receives another faint nod, and then she bows her head more formally to Frixio. "We thank you for your assistance. If there's any chance that we can show Ramuh the wisdom in peacefully resolving things, I hope to find it, and this will be a great help. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "DUDE YEAH, THEY'RE NICE RIGHT? I WAS GONNA GET SKULLCANDY ONES, BUT I THOUGHT FUCK THAT. I GOT SOME BOSE ONES INSTEAD, SUPER NICE," He shouts right into Mirielle as she reaches for his headset, "WOAH. LOOK WITH YOUR EYES, NOT YOUR HANDS," He chides a bit, frowning.     "DUDE FUCK YEAH, I'LL HELP YOU OUT," Shin continues shouting at Komuxio, nodding his head and giving a thumbs up, "BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THOSE GARLICANS," He adds as an afternote, grinning to the sylph.     When he just sort of watches the crystal appear to see what happens. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     A few people get a small glance, but for the most part Serenity does not remark upon her companions. The Multiverse is full of strangeness, and it's never been clear even to Serenity what sort of things she could see, and what they meant. Most of it is nonsense to her... much like the dancing she sees. It's an interesting little distraction, that's for sure.     She's listening, but she doesn't actually change her attention fully until that crystal appears in Frixio's hand. This has her head snapping forward, staring at it for a long moment. She holds her tongue for now, but Bertram gets a quick, curious look from her.     Sigh. "Did something damage his hearing?" 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Now this is definitely more like it. Scarlet would be considerably more cross with Shin's general obliviousness, possibly intentional or not, if the sylphs didn't appear to like it anyways, though it seems that Komuxio might just be overjoyed in general with how wide his range of favourable receptions is, if Souji is anything to judge by.     She's somewhat familiar with Galianda and its magitech by now, through continued association with Kyra, and so Xiao and Mirielle don't trip her attention too much, but Na'Sabal almost instantly and openly catches her eye, though attempting to assess the fairy's magical nature is done more subtly. She keeps her vague scrutiny of Valentha on the downlow for the time being. Setsuko she's already met a few times, but Serenity she only knows from personnel files, and so the presence of a second officer changes things in quiet, non-obvious ways.     Apparently, with all that company, it's all too easy to forget the natives are even here, because Scarlet's smile invisibly slips for an instant as Frixio immediately hands the priceless artifact over to Bertram of all people. Bertram! "Rest assured, it'll be more than safe in Union custody." The fact she had mentioned the superfaction seems somehow more like a namedrop rather than a particular slight or omission against anyone from elsewhere. "That said, we do hope we can count on your continued trust and cooperation. As happy as we are to have this, the matter of Ramuh has yet to be fully resolved." She suppresses a frown at Shin's screaming, surreptitiously twirling a finger with a flicker of barely used magic to try and dislodge the lightweight earbuds from one side before continuing. "Is the token recognized in any way by the "Touched Ones"?" she makes a deliberate attempt to use the verbiage. "Or will only the primal himself appreciate it?" 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle frows deeply at Shin. This, right here, this is the thing. This is the cancer that is killing Eorzea. This, right here, is the Primal Threat.     And Mirielle is the hero with the Green Magic to fix it. Pulling minute amounts of power from her inner reserves, she shapes a spell. Something easily overcome-able from a raised voice, even.     Her hand glows a sickly black and green as the spell falls over Shin's face, focusing on his throat.     It's Silence! But a very, very low yield one.     "I've saved us all." Mirielle deadpans, as she smiles to everyone else. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Even Xiao had to wince at Shin's shouting. Every bit as loud and rambunctious as always, this one. In person and on the radio. An amused smile found it's way onto her face as she Well, there were worse things that could be happening, so she could tolerate it. She could be getting set on fire or torn in half, or any other gruesome things.      ...Wait a second.      Right about then, Mirielle had cast silence on the loud, bellowing fiend. Nevermind then! "Well, that's one global threat neutralized." She mumbled aloud in a casual manner.      Once the crystal was unveiled, Xiao quieted down, watching with an intensely interested gaze. She might have taken a step or two closer to better observe the crystal that Bertram was entrusted with. It certainly looked and sounded important. A shame she couldn't study it back at her lab. She wouldn't even bother asking that one. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' The yelling from Shin causes Souji's eyebrow to twitch, the slightest of cracks in his otherwise stony stoic mask. However, Mirielle seems to be on the case before he even ask-orders her to handle it. He nods to Mirielle. "Good work, Edelweiss." Someone is getting a favorable performance review. His gaze strays to the purple crystal, and he frowns for a moment, staring at it. One hand moves up to the side of his head, idly tapping in a show of thought as he considers the nature of the presented object, but does not comment on it. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     As Bertram grasps the crystal, something echoes out. It resonates-- to those with strange vision, or magical sight-- between Alwyn, Bertram and N'raha, like a bridge being built between the crystal and the world.     A female voice rings out in all heads.     Hear... feel... think...     The world goes completely dark. The ground under your feet is removed, but you float rather than fall. The Sylphs, the forest, it's all gone. Blue light shines through this voice, and stars slowly illuminate the sky.     Again for those with such senses: you are no longer 'in' Hydaelyn. You are 'at' Hydaelyn. The source of all Aether, all magic, all life. You're in the core.     As you glance about, you see a gigantic crystal, perhaps fifty or more foot tall, blue and white in color. It is being orbitted by numerous smaller, people-sized crystals of various shapes.     The female voice speaks again; it sounds weak, but motherly.     Crystal bearers. I am Hydaelyn. All made one. A Light there once was that shone thorough this realm... yet it hath since grown dim.     The orbitting crystals break off, floating slowly towards each person, as though providing someone to 'reply' to directly, though it feels obvious the voice comes from the much larger crystal.     Odd as it may feel, the smaller crystals, the ones roughly the same size as you, seem to be starring intently. Not at you, but into you. You can shut them out, if you focus, or you can let them probe. They gauge your worth, your story, your present, and your destiny.     While here, your forms shine the color most significant to your being. For Alwyn, Bertram and N'raha, this is a light shade of blue close to white, the exact same shade as the massive crystal. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Aaaand then the shouting came again, only louder this time. Nasa's ears fold down again with a wince. Oh goddess he's so loud. "...Does politely request that you do to trying to talk quieter. Some of us do to having sensitive ears to loud noises." Nasa says towards Shin. The energy wasn't the problem. It was just the loudness. The energy just meant that he was healthy, probably! And he seemed happy enough. So that was also good.      Scarlet Everille's examination of Nasa would find that she's relatively straightforward. She has nature magic, and it seemed to hang around and cling to her, not even remotely hidden. There were some inherent magics that seemed attached to her being as well, but they were possibly less obvious. The most obvious thing right now, is that Nasa had a spell cast over her, and one over her armor. The one ON Nasa was a simple environmental control, protecting her from environmental effects. The spell on her armor was a shielding spell, as well as a much more subtle magic-enhancing spell. Meanwhile, Nasa was listening to Scarlet, as she seemed to be the most actively engaging with the sylph leader right now. And asking the important questions.      That 'silence' spell was noted, and Nasa's gaze flits towards Mirielle. She doesn't praise or condemn her either way though. She'd wait to see how the boy responds to it, before responding herself. If he seemed particularly frustrated about it, she might do something about it. Maybe. Her attention focuses back on Frixio though.      "We did to recovering a corruption-filled gemstone from infected earth elemental. Is being examined by Gridania people, yes. Was wondering if maybe you did to maybe have information that could to being useful on that. Nasa is to being a guardian of the Wilds, so anything that can to helping eliminate the perversion of the wilds here would to being appreciated."      That resonation of the crystal though.... and then... a female voice? Nasa's gaze shifts immediately. Darkness. Almost comforting. The sight of that giant crystal, the sound of that weak, yet motherly voice. It was bright, something that caused Nasa to squint her eyes, a bit of watering in them. "...What is..." She shifts very slightly, looking at that smaller orbiting crystal, which floats in front of her. A mixture of purple and green made up her glowing aura, which seemed to dance both chaotically and yet in harmony with itself. The child of the moon and the child of nature in one. "..." All made one. Hydaelyn. She shifts her gaze towards that crystal, reflexively lifting a hand to reach out towards the smaller one that floats towards her. If it allowed it, the fae would simply attempt to take it into her arms. "...You to feeling like Goddess of the Moon." She murmurs quietly, warmly. And happily allowing that probing. Awe caused that secretiveness that Nasa might normally have to simply fade away. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The voice is Setsuko's first inkling of something peculiar going on. Then the world seems to disappear, and her hand is halfway to Zanjintou before she realizes that her own supernatural senses are telling her that this is no threat. She relaxes, and falls silent, briefly looking to the others - particularly Nasa and Serenity - to confirm their wellbeing. And then Hydaelyn speaks to them, and the demigod's eyes turn to the massive crystal itself. She seems to keep her focus there, rather than on the smaller one before her; that, she allows to do its work without resistance.     Setsuko's light, for those who know her, is probably unsurprising. A vibrant sky blue light, the same color as her eyes. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha... panics for a moment or two as he's suddenly finding himself inside one of those hallucinations he has but... but this time everyone else is here too. He stammers and flails a bit, before finding his non-footing and floating upright again.     There's a sheepish look to the others, before he bows his head a moment, and looks up to Hydaelyn. Something warmer in his cheeks, a joy that he can't explain. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     Well, others seem to have things well in hand. So Valentha has little more to say. Instead she studies the Crystal being handede to Bertram with a ferocious intensity. No doubt trying to read its aura and glean what she can about it while it's in view. The rest of her attention is on the locale - she's studying the Sylphs and mostly just enjoying the environment.     Until there's a VOICE. Then things get disturbing.     Valentha blinks. Gazes up.     And promptly jawdrops.     She was NOT expecting to be sent to such an incredible 'place' so utterly acasually. It's enough to invoke minor panic.     Valentha glows an intense shade of blue. Very differently from the three actual Crystal bearers. It's the color of ley lines, of her world's magic. Purest, undiluted power.     "What an honor, and on such short notice." She answers softly, quite certain that this Hydaelyn can hear her whether she whispers or shouts. She makes no attempt to stop the probe.     "I bear no Crystal, but know a call for help... what has dimmed the light so?" 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     So a lot of things all work against Shin at once. He's rubbing his hands together as Mirielle casts her spell on him "SO LIKE, WH-at are we doing today?" He's still full-on shouting, but she's cut the volume down so that it sounds like he's just very enthusiastically speaking, "Because I'm down to dungeon. Or fight some Garleans. Generally hanging out is cool too, I can get out some of those cool cards games," He adds, looking around. Still shouting, but the volume is way closer to standard speech.     His earbuds fall out of his ears a moment later thanks to Scarlet, but before he can say anything, they're transported to a new and magical land. Shin looks around a bit curiously as he's suddenly floating in a skyline sort of environment. This is pretty weird for the martial artist, but he seems to be taking it in stride. He is totally glowing red by the way.     "Oh shit, is this the prophecy part? I was really hoping I'd get to be a part of one of these," He says, his voice stifled by the mute spell now that he's speaking normally. It'd take the most careful listening to pick out his now-muted voice as he floats there, looking at the crystal.     He doesn't stop the crystal from probing at him, tilting his head at it a bit, "Hey there little buddy. What're you up to? It feels pretty probe-y, but in the mystical sense instead of the 'take me to your leader' sort of deal. What's the dealio with that?" 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram seems comfortable. He doesn't speak, but there's familiarity on his face. The kind that suggests he knows exactly what it's like, and he even includes a brief glance and a smile towards N'raha. A smile that is both encouraging and holds an element of 'told you so.' He bows towards Hydaelyn after, and briefly lets go of the Crystal he had received, letting it float naturally if it's so inclined. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet blinks as the flicker of magic arcs between the three natives like a circuit catching, her head reflexively snapping towards the emission fast enough for her hair to flutter. She doesn't have much time to do or say anything further before the "event" taking place becomes blindingly obvious to everyone else. She briefly struggles, and then succeeds in remaining expectantly composed as the world drops out from around her, steeling her resolve for whatever kind of bizarre vision awaits, before being pleasantly surprised at how inoffensive the sights and sounds are.     It quickly becomes apparent that this isn't some kind of pre-recorded magical message however. The timing is sudden and the targeting seemingly indiscriminate, but Scarlet can tell that the entity, bearing the name of the world itself, is speaking directly to her rather than at her. She regards the crystal that seeks out her in particular warily, her expression perfectly kept as the object draws even with her gaze. She even manages to maintain that facade as it begins to probe into... something she can't quite describe. What she knows however, is that it isn't something she'd decided to show, and thus is immediately worth concern. Does she try to shut it out and potentially spurn the charity of the local God? Does she take the huge gamble of allowing a foreign quasi-deity to know whatever kind of inner secrets about her it might be looking for?     The answer is neither. An aura the same colour as her namesake briefly flickers with shots of unnatural violet before stabilizing into gentle gold as she cranks her personal, secret, and inviolable magic up to its highest level. The goal? Bluffing Hydaelyn. If she can overpower that cursory examination, for all intents and purposes, she'll come off as nothing less than a stunningly capable and upright individual with great things in store for their future, potentially of benefit to everyone. The kind of person who goes on to become a Gandhi or Abraham Lincoln, if somewhat less hamfisted and overplayed.     As always, even before the eyes of divinity, lying is the quickest, easiest, and best solution. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     Serenity stares up at the crystal, and doesn't comment on the events that follow. The slight tense of her shoulders betrays that no, she wasn't expecting this. However, she does allow that starry probe to reach into her body, letting it feel her out without attempting to reject or flinch away. Her own 'aura' is blue as well, though a deeper blue than seems to be the case for the natives. It's just her natural color.     "Is that the source of the troubles in this land? The dying of the light?" Serenity finally speaks, addressing 'her' crystal with a simple question. "Will restoring you remove some of the ills?" 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "Eh?"      Where there was once ground and slyphs, there was suddenly darkness. And then the ground vanished. "Wha!" Xiao panicked for a second, flailing her arms and legs, about to activate the A.A.N.S., when she realized soon after they they were floating already. "Huh. How strange." Well, about as strange as anything else she's seen so far.      The giant crystal and it's smaller contemporaries was deftly noted, as well as the voice. It was weak, but...also kind of nostalgic in a way. She couldn't place why, but didn't dwell on it either. "Light grown dim, hm...?" She folded her arms into her sleeves, eyeing the smaller crystal that had floated in front of her. She could vaguely sense that it was probing her for something, and didn't try to stop it. Rather, the scientist just stared curiously, letting the process run it's course.      "How curious. What could this be for?" She asked no one in particular. It should be noted that currently, her form was shining a sickly black and purple. Mixing together erratically like the tendrils of a misshapen fiend. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji was not expecting this. The dussen rush of sensation, the vision that streams through Souji's head causes him to put a hand to his head, grimacing in what looks like almost pain as he hears the voice of Hydaelyn. His grimace quickly becomes a scowl as he observes the situation, and he drifts backwards. As the crystal approaches him, Souji affixes the generic-looking crystal with a stare. "I have nothing for you." Souji states in a frosty tone. He turns away, the motion trailing a dimness, as if shadow pooled like liquid into the cracks around him... but little more. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle is surprised when she's drawn into the world of Hydaelyn, and she's bathed in the light of the Mother Crystal. She watches on, interestedly, as the Light Warrior trio meet with glowing facets of the larger one itself, and hears the words of that giant hunk of shiny mineral in her head. To hear, to feel, to think. Well, Hydaelyn, Mirielle already does all that. She's not terribly stressed out about this situation - it seems to be important to the trio of Destined People (which tracks well with her estimations and experiences with each of them) and is well in line with projected curves and the data she had gathered. But then there is the matter of her own crystal, whose outside is shiny and crystalline, like a crystal should be, but the inside is a stormy coal black.     It probes her, and a hand moves to her head, a strong wince of pain and... someting else. Her eyes are hidden, her thick glasses reflecting the light of Hydaelyn.     "I'd prefer if you didn't do the usual to my... head..." She mutters, to herself. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     I am many things. I am Hydaelyn. I am a star, its world, its people, its magic, even its moons. In turn, all are of Hydaelyn. the crystal answers Nasa; it is obvious she speaks of her world only, making no assumptions of those gathered besides three. You struggle against darkness, seeking to tame and redeem it. Your path will be long, but rewarding.     The Light has been dimmed by agents of Darkness. With each summoning, the Light dims further. The beings you call Primals are of Hydaelyn too; Aether making legend, thought, worship and power manifest. Each that rises dims the Light. the crystal answers Valentha.     I sense much pain in you. the crystal answers Shin, as it floats there idly. A beaten path, walked by a beaten man. Ever onward with broken legs. It pauses. I merely seek to know you, who exist outside me.     In my current state, my Light cannot shine through lies and deceit. the crystal tells Scarlet. But I sense even in the lies a spark of truth. Do you deny who you are? Do you attempt to lie to me, or to yourself?     To Serenity, the crystal's voice softens. And one who has already suffered so much, yet still you would help others. The Light dims, but it is only a symptom. In the Light can great heroes find strength, but the Light will not keep the Darkness at bay on its own, no matter how strong. Light must be used by worthy hearts to combat Darkness. My strength wanes, but it was never for me to push back the Darkness. Merely to empower those chosen. To restore Light would allow its champions to triumph, but alone, it would simply dim again.     Xiao gets an answer, even if she wasn't speaking to anyone. This has for task to answer your questions and set you on the proper path. I sense a great, destructive path ahead of you. One walked by more than heroes.     Though Setsuko gets nothing, it's on the same topic the crystal addresses her. War and bloodshed seem inevitable in all cycles of life, but yours may yet transcend that. Purpose determines the worth of war.     Souji receives the same coldness from the crystal. There's no disdain, no hatred, no rejection, merely silence, and the smaller crystal floats back to the larger one.     And Mirielle is treated much better. Darkness exists alongside Light. No doubt you have heard the idiom before, but one cannot exist without the other. You use one to fulfill the purpose of the other. Pray do not lose yourself to it.     Finally, Alwyn, Bertram and N'raha are gathered together, with their three smaller crystals. The purple crystal Bertram held produces a beam of light, which blasts towards the larger crystal. The light produces a massive spell circle underneath it, with six slots. The light forms into a copy of the purple crystal, in one of the slots. Hydaelyn, for it, seems to shine a bit brighter.     And you three, my children. You must seek the Crystals of Light to restore Light. Through your actions, they will appear. Stray not from your current path, continue on as you are now. Seek not the Crystals for my sake, but rather seek to do what is right. Only then will they appear before you.     The purple crystal returns to Bertram's hand. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' And Bertram holds onto it, even stronger now. He still doesn't speak, he simply nods, knowing that Hydaelyn has faith in him and words are superfluous. Again, he smiles at N'raha, and now also at Alwyn, and he makes no comments about what Hydaelyn says to others. He merely listens. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha... boggles as the energy flows through him, the sigils expand outwards and he's... declared a child. He'd heard that before, but only in snippets of what was surely ramblings of a crazy miq-brain.     Now though, hands grip tightly at his sides, his face looks up at the Crystal, and he bites his lip. "Do what is right. How...?" He looks over at Bertram and Alwyn though, and then behind him at Setsuko and the others. "How do we know?" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     A glance at Nasa and Serenity tells Setsuko that they're both fine. And so, she has nothing to say to the beating heart of this world; but simply listens, quietly. To the crisis of the land itself, to the fact that the Primals dim the light of this being, and thus harm the very world they're summoned into. She listens to the words of Hydaelyn to her allies, and in particular her eyes linger on Scarlet for a moment. Curious, but she has no intention to press.     And then there are words directed to Setsuko herself, eyes widening faintly. May yet transcend the inevitability of war? She's not certain what to think of that. But as for purpose... "I feel the same way," Setsuko says quietly. "So I choose the light as my purpose. That includes the light of this world." Knowing there is no ill will towards her from this world's high goddess is a relief, on some level.     And Bertram, Alwyn and N'raha have their mission. To that, she has nothing to say; simply watching their reactions is enough. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "You are of the Wilds. Though maybe not my own, it is close enough." Nasa murmurs softly. She shifts calmly, her wings gradually floating. Even though she was floating without them, it was reflexive. "The Guardian of the Wilds are here. Yours are wounded, so she seeks to help where she can spare it." Nasa would release that crystal if it had allowed her to take it in the first place. "...Is reassuring to hear those words. That it will to being rewarding in the end." Doubts. She had questioned if it was even possible many times; the Drow were so steeped in their own hatred. Still, it was likely a much-needed reassurance that she's not struggling uselessly.      She shifts slightly, her gaze shifting towards each of those that she could see. She examined each, taking in what she could, her sharp ears twitching to listen and take note of those who seemed to welcome Hydaelin, and those who seemed to reject it. Souji was noted. Xiao was noted. They both seemed shrouded in darkness, but darkness did not necessarily mean evil, so Xiao avoids any assumptions on Nasa's part. Souji, however, is marked as a potential danger in the future.      What happened with Bertram, N'raha, and Alwyn is also paid close attention to. She was gathering information, beginning to think, beginning to muse and plan on how much she might be able to help these people. Making allies was going to be necessary for her. She had a difficult road ahead of her, one that she couldn't tread alone.      She shifts very slightly, wings fluttering as she tries to approach N'raha. Her hand reaches to attempt to rest on his shoulder. If she could move in that place, at any rate. "...Can never to truly know, can just to trying to do what heart and mind do to tell us is right." Nasa says, giving a firm nod. "...You do to seeming to have decent grasp of that, though, yes." Now that she wasn't addressing the goddess as the Guardian of the Wilds, she seems to have slipped back into her normal speech patterns. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     Serenity closes her eyes as she hears the answers. "I see. And I understand, I think. If you will take my help, I will do my best to see that your people follow through to the end." In truth, she's not sure she'll need to DO anything there, and she's just rather pleased to be speaking to something like this. She's done many things in her long life, but she never had the chance to speak to her own planet's will... or to ask it questions she wishes she could have.     "And, if I can, I will help as well. Your enemies are much like my own," she admits. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Haha, yeah. I get my ass kicked a ton, yo," Shin says with an awkward gesture to the crystal, rubbing his hand against the back of his head, "I'm down to get known, though. Nothing to hide, really. Just a dude trying to do his own thing, maybe help some people on the way. Standard cliche hero gig, really. I'm happy to help out your world however I can, though. Bustin' ass on douchebags is about the only skill I have."     "You can count me in to help your world however I can." Shin says, lifting up a bicep and flexing it confidently. It doesn't show off much in the suit, though. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Hydaelyn has nothing to say to Souji, and much like he had stated, he has nothing to say to Hydaelyn. He simply floats there, listening, his demeanor almost... Indignant, as he waits for this invasion into his perceptions, or spiritual journey, or whatever it may be to end. He does not seem to respond or care about the examinations of others, hanging there like a stain on the edge of perception. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "Hah?"      Xiao tilted her head at the answers she hadn't asked for. "Great, destructive path?" And then she tilted her head the other way, a finger pressed to her cheek and brows furrowed in confusion. After several moments, she drifted backwards towards the general vicinity of Souji and Mirielle before asking the both of them. "Have I done anything greatly destructivee recently? I don't think I have, have I?"      She looked upwards in thought, as if considering this all. "Well, I supposed there was last tuesday when I....but that hardly counts as greatly! Or even on the scale of destructive! Ahhhhh I'm so confused!" And comically, the researcher held her head in her hands as she whined aloud about how she didn't get it. "Am I going to go insane and blow up a planet by crashing a meteor into it? Will I poison a river and watch an entire castle's inhabitants die?"      Xiao please. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     "Then I shall investigate them." Valentha answers. "You have no small amount of champions here already, but I'll help where I can." Her answer is simple indeed, but the Dragon has little need of being flowery to a being like this...     "I seem to have been caught up in something terrifically large.." But what can she do except investigate further and try to answer the trust that's being shown to so many people here? 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Partial success. She should have tried harder. Trying this on the prime creator of a world is a first for her, but a learning experience at least for Scarlet. More or less though she accomplishes the task of not being read like a book by a giant crystal she's never met before with indeterminate cosmic power. A minor victory. Still though, even if these types of beings are normally known for their profound wisdom, the last thing the magus is about to accept is being preached to by a glowing rock. After all, it's her personal information in the first place. Why should she be obligated to let a nosy Gaia figure see any of it?     Her disapproval falls short of hostility though. It's already abundantly clear that being contacted by Hydaelyn is a big deal, and it or she seemingly has no malevolent intent. Rather than draw attention to herself by arguing, she just lets that one slip under the radar, remaining quiet until that strangely motherly voice moves on. She notices, but doesn't validate Setsuko's look towards her with any sign of awareness.     "The primals are in opposition to you, then?" she asks instead, plainly and unassumingly as before. "How aware is anyone of this interaction?" It's a legitimate question. To the outside observer, the primals sound more like the incarnations of the world's primal aspects, but something that would clash with and corrode its essence. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle frowns. "I know that. That's my life. But... You're probably right on the forgetfulness thing. Crystal-being who can probe my thoughts." She mutters something else, darkly. It amounts to 'you're not the first thing that's done that'.     She floats there, in the light of the crystal, and sort of curls up as everything's happening, hugging her knees to her chest. The words are true, but...     Mirielle really doesn't like this. "I'm ready to be done." She whispers, frowning. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "I don't know," Alwyn answers N'raha. "I guess that means keep being adventurers? Eventually it'll make sense, for now don't worry about it?" He's as overwhelmed as you, catte, he's evidently just a bit better at hiding it! Meanwhile Bertram is pretty much chilling like this is normal.     Correct. A lit path is merely and only that much. None can tell a man he must walk the path, and each is different. My Light illuminates paths, but it cannot make them. the crystal answers Nasa. With or without the Light, all here are great people. All I can do is help make it more obvious.     Serenity's crystal pulses briefly, acknowledging her. All aid is welcome. And while I cannot assist directly, I pray the Light shines on you when you face your own devils too. My children will assist if they are able; of their worth I have no doubt, and I am sure that was on their mind just now. Though the crystal can't really speak for Alwyn, N'raha and Bertram, it's true that was on Alwyn's mind just now, so he just smiles.     Then I will pray for there to be a light, any light, at the end of your hard path. the crystal tells Shin.     Xiao, whether legitimately confused or just being very sarcastic, gets no further replies from her crystal. It floats back to the main body, like Souji's did.     All things are large when compared to just one person. Is that not what makes all things worth it? the crystal asks Valentha, without necessarily expecting an answer.     The Primals are part of Hydaelyn too, their energies coming from it. It is their summoning that is unnatural, as though a means to weaponize faith, to take a portion of the Light for yourself, and to turn it into your very own deity. the crystal answers Scarlet, essentially explaining that Primals themselves aren't harmful, but the ritual through which people, beastmen or otherwise summon them is. It fragments Hydaelyn, draining some of her life to form a body for the Primal.     Only believe, for the Light dwells in thy hearts. Darkness threatens the end of all things, and of life. I beseech you all: deliver us from this fate. Go now, my children. Shine thy Light on all of creation.     The crystal pulses again, and weakens. The connection to it falters, as you are sent rocketing past the crystal and into the sky. There's no vertigo or side-effect to speak of; actually it probably feels rather pleasant.     And then, you're back in LITTLE SOLACE.     Frixio and Komuxio are just kind of staring at those of you who were before them curiously, unaware of what just happened. Frixio at least answers Scarlet, as though they hadn't just skipped a beat. "Are walking and dancing ones alright? But yes, these ones will continue cooperating. It is this one's hope the token will prove to horned one Kan-E-Senna these ones mean no harm. Touched ones usually mean no harm, but imperial ones have disturbed them often lately, and so they are on edge."     The elder's eyes move to Bertram. "This one saw the crystal shine. This one cannot even imagine the cruel path that must be walked if it means what this one thinks it does." 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     "I am growing to find a strong aversion to this place. Sadly, PE credits do not earn themselves." Mirielle deadpans to Alwyn as she stands up from her fetal position scooch on the ground.     Ugh, Crystal Mom made her sit on moss and dirt and stuff, her skirt's all scuzzy now. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     The low-level Mute spell has, thankfully, worn off of Shin by now, "Woo. Yeah, I hope there is too. Wouldn't it be a crazy twist if I turned out to be the villain?" Shin asks while continuing that awkward rub to the back of his head, "I doubt I will, though. Pretty low chance of that," He muses before shrugging at the crystal.     When he's back in Little Solace, he kinda just looks around, "Woo, holy shit. What a trippy event that was, right? Fucking... flying in space talkin' to crystals. I thought I'd drank some peyote or whatever it is they drink before vision quests."     He claps his hands together once and rubs his hands together, "But if the world needs help, I'm down to toss in my fair share." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' When they return, Souji looks exactly the way he did before. It seems almost irrational, really, considering the nature of the visit, but it is what it is. The air around Souji almost seems to swirl, the air tinged with the scent of an afternoon just before a summer storm. However, Frixio's words cause him to immediately smooth himself out, his stormy expression becoming pleasant and businesslike once more. "Thank you for your concern, Frixio. We will be sure to meet your expectations." He glances over to Bertram, however. "Many paths are cruel in their own ways. It is up to the walker to decide how to meet the needs of those paths." Ominous. Ominous. Ominous ominous. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Well if Komuxio isn't going to skip a beat then neither is Scarlet of course. Pretending is both her specialty and an adequate descriptor of most of her life, and her social class in general. "The Seedseers spoke very fondly of you. There's no need to worry~ They'll be more than happy to see it, I guarantee you."     If Frixio's just going to throw it out in the open, there's no real sense hiding it though. "It's nothing they can't handle." she says in a deliberately token tone of reassurance, as if to make it clear that even if she believes they'll come out fine, she doesn't have any desire to disagree that might might very well be an ordeal for those chosen by Hydaelyn herself. It also expertly deflects the idea that she could be centrally involved before it can be imagined and forwarded. Oh she'll help alright, but those three adventurers are the "destined" ones, right? 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha stammers and flops back on his butt as they are released by the vision, his ears flicking back against his head. A glance to Alwyn and Bertram who... who have clearly seen this before. It's hard to deny that to the miq now as their reactions aren't nearly as surprised as his.     But then the words of the others finally sink in to his head. A look over to Xiao and Souji and... and Scarlet. At least two of them he'd trusted but... something is there now as he tries to pick himself back up to a proper position. Wariness? Maybe. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     And so they return - having never, in truth, left. Some corner of Setsuko's mind is not truly surprised. "I do not know this world very well," she says to Frixio. "But I wouldn't be surprised if your guess is correct, We have a large task before us."     Then she takes a couple of steps over to N'raha of all people, to whom she offers a hand to help his attempt to stand. "Are you all right?" 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     The dragon-in-disguise chuckles. "Yes. Very true." She also cocks her head, hearing a rather juicy tidbit. "An improper summoning ritual. Sadly a field I know little of. It might be time to learn! ... Well, it's ALWAYS a good time to learn..."     But just as soon as she's done speaking she finds herself launched into... the great void and then... back to where she was.     Valentha promptly rubs at her head and glances around at all the others...     But finally settles her gaze on the elder. "You know a thing or two about it, don't you, old one?" 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      And after all is said and done, they are...back. Xiao is standing once again, her arms still folded in her sleeves. "....Oh." She blinked a few times, realizing that they had returned. Wow that was way too abrupt.      Thanks for the premonition, Crystal Mom!      She listened to the elder's words, canting her head aside a bit. "Cruel path, hm...? Well, no matter. If there is knowledge to be had, I will assist if I can." That said, Xiao smiled a little, as though it were funny, and said nothing further.      N'raha's look earned him a wider smile and a cute wave, but no words. She was messing with him of course. 

:'''{{#var:607|Serenity (607)}} has posed:'''     "Mmhmm." Serenity remains mostly silent throughout the discussion, now considering both her companions and the three ordained 'heroes' that were with her. A narrowing of her eyes considers some of her companions here, but she looks back to the Sylph without comment on them. This situation, she thinks, is one where it is best to wait and observe... especially after what she learned in that crystal realm.     Not for the first time, she wishes she'd developed her sight like the seers of her realm. Too late now. "This is going to take a bit more planning, I think," she murmurs softly. Louder, she speaks to the elder, "I am confident they will rise to the challenge, and they have our support." Best be diplomatic, anyway. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram puts the crystal away securely once they're back in the mortal world. "A cruel path perhaps, elder. But if you know what it is, then pray don't pretend it's not a path someone must walk; and if it's to be me, then Twelves know, I will. Thus must needs be done." He sounds a fair bit more serious than normal, yet also more upbeat. Below the seriousness is a tone that has not appeared in his voice before, not since before he met anyone present here. Hope. Real, genuine hope. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa shifts her ears slightly. A lit path... she can light the path for the other Drow, maybe? Show them that there is a better way, and help them escape the frequently-forced shackles of the dark goddess. Yes. That could work. Maybe... she shifts very slightly, giving a small nod. "...Yes, is great people." She murmurs. She doesn't speak any further though, simply allowing herself to passively listen while in that place. She wasn't ignoring, so much as not really having much further to ask or say.      And then they're returned to their time. She shifts slightly, blinking a few moments as the more normal light returns. That was the closest to 'sleep' she'd had, really... ever. "Is fine." Nasa says, flashing a smile towards Frixio and Komuxio, listening to their explanation. She twitches her ears thoughtfully. Touched ones... and proving to Kan-E-Senna they meant no harm. Friction? Hmm.      "...Does think that is going to be interesting path, if nauthing else. ... But, easy path is to being rarely the most fun or the most worthwhile in end, yes." She says, streeeetching slightly, her wings fluttering. She flutters over towards Bertram, toes hovering about an inch off of the ground as she does. "Does naut ever need to being alone in path that is walking though. Most paths are to being best walked with allies, yes." She'd learned that the hard way before. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin, almost as soon as he hits the ground, is also bounding over towards Scarlet, "You're her, right? Everille?" He asks as he holds out a hand to her, "Shin Tokuyama, you bought that Garlican Staff from me when I was trying to sell it on the Multiversal Auction house and no one was buying. I remember the voice! Recognize it, more!"     "You're pitching in on these? I never knew you were involved in anything beyond collecting the weapons as curios. What's your interest in this whole business?" He's bouncing on his feet a bit as he shotguns questions at the student, sorta rocking back and forth as he watches her. If he weren't closing on 20 in age-range, it'd be a somewhat childish gesture. Now it's more like a rowdy adult. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     It's good everyone is so energetic! Alwyn tosses an arm over N'raha's shoulder, grinning. "Cheer up, we're not dead yet! We just have to keep doing the same thing we were already doing, right? So when can we start calling you Captain N'raha?" They still haven't named the ship either.     Frixio answers Valentha honestly: "Chosen ones walk a cruel path. Chosen ones, and all their helping ones. Five or six years ago, this one met other chosen ones. Many of them, this one has not seen again."     The elder playfully dances-- well, an elegant twirl, a sort of dancing motion, respectful-- as he says: "This one believes Lord Ramuh can be swayed. This one has witnessed walking and dancing ones being heroes. And now this one has witnessed the path beyond. Walking ones, dancing ones, chosen ones, it does not matter. These ones will pray for success. Lord Ramuh is wise, and strong. Levin One will judge walking ones. Walking ones will prove worthy." He nods, certain of this. Just because there's only a few of you who are 'Warriors of Light' doesn't mean he thinks it's all up to them. And if Ramuh even slightly lives up to his reputation, it'll definitely be a team effort.     Komuxio is the one to move forward-- well, dance forward-- next, the Sylph offering: "Would walking ones wish to stay for a meal? These ones do not usually consume walking ones' food, but many walking ones stay here with these ones, so these ones have both supplies and skill." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha just blanches a bit as he rubs at his hair at the sudden attention and... and grumbles. He's hugged/clapped on the shoudler and manages not to wilt too much. "Right, yeah, sure... Captain. Hah hah ah haahahaaa."     The ears flick a bit more as he glance around and looks to Mirielle the Not-Arcanist. The other dark souled one he'd managed to see. Why are so many with such dark futures... helping them? Just... He bites his lip and misses a bunch more of the teasing as his face screws up in thought. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      The fae-type people seemed generally rather happy, really! Still, Nasa had noticed something about this land. There seemed to be an incredibly large amount of predators, many of which didn't seem to be kept in very good check. They also tended to be ... rather large. The Sylphs seemed rather small. The offer to staying for a meal gets Nasa coming out of her thoughts again. "Ah, yes, would to liking staying for meal." Nasa says, offering a little bow of her head.      "Would offer to helping find food or helping culling of the large amount of predators in area as trade." Nasa offers, rather than saying that they NEED help, offering it as a trade. Because sparing pride sometimes is rather important when dealing with fae or ... really anyone. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Suddenly the, now slightly awkward, diplomatic encounter is interrupted by Shin, catching Scarlet off guard by his sudden interest in her and not loudly singing Japanese music and or flexing his biceps. Without really thinking about it, she offers her hand in return as a matter of course, having done more than enough shaking in her adolescence alone, which does a pretty good job of disguising her imprecise bafflement. "I did. And you must be mister Tokuyama, correct?" It's only through passive magical enhancement that her memory is good enough to recall his name from the auction details.     "Nothing too spectacular I'm afraid. A general interest in magic, drawn to somewhere where magic is completely ubiquitous, totally natural, and relatively unexploited in direct opposition to where my field of experience lies. The Garlean items are a matter of practicality as well as collector's value. If it becomes necessary, I'd like to know the correct countermagic for their standardized uses." It's all very nonspecific when really thought about, but it genuinely doesn't seem as if she's omitting anything. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Oh!" Shin says as he shakes her hand. In total fairness, Shin only remembers her because she's in the little book he carried, so he wouldn't blame her too much for forgetting him. He shakes the hand and then releases it, "Yeah, that's me. Combat Vagrant, in the flesh."     "That's pretty cool, though!" He folds his hands behind his head in a relaxed gesture, milling over her answer, "So like...You're running the academic angle. Research paper or something?" He seems to consider the answer, "Pretty legit, pretty legit. I bet that figuring out counter-magic to their nega-magic-tech is gonna be way more effective than me just punchin' dudes." He's filling in the gaps a lot for her answers, nodding his head a bit, "Plus, you know, the staff looked cool. Mount that shit in your office and people think you're some kinda total badass collector." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet lets slip a genuine smile at that. "Choosing to do multiversal work was something of a controversial career orientation move, so I'm holding up the idiom that the best revenge is a life well lived. Aside from advancing my personal knowledge of magic beyond what they'll teach at home, the exponential boost in subscriptions and followers that comes from posting multiversal content is satisfying in its own, spiteful way~ It's proven far more valuable than toadying around in parliament on the coattails of a professor's favourite politician at any rate."     Being a magus provides the unexpected benefit of happening to carry paper and writing utensils despite it almost being the 22nd century, which lets her write down a short list of tags, domain and user names to hand over. "In case you're interested~" she says simultaneously with opening Twitter hands free, using eye movement to scroll through the AR menu until she can subscribe to Shin's account. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "That's a pretty chill goal, gotta say. I did the same thing, really, but to a different end," He confesses as he hooks one foot backwards and taps the toe of his shoe against the ground, "Martial Arts is great on my world, but no one wants to ADVANCE it. It's about the old, not the new. I wanna take it somewhere people haven't seen, really, beyond the traditionalist style," He sighs a bit and looks skyward. If she hadn't spotted it by now due to the sunglasses, his heterochromia is easily apparent at that gesture.     "I'll most def add you on some social media," He says as he takes the paper and looks over the various social media venues, "I recognize... some of these. My Twitter is pretty chill, I'll probably update it again later tonight about the crystals thing," He says, folding her paper and putting it in his jacket pocket. Scarlet will probably have a new follower on most of her accessible social media by the end of the night. 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle has faded into the background, having found some insanely huge fairy flower bud thing to sit on and whip out a journal to begin scribing stuff down. She catches the dirty looks N'raha gives her, and looks confused, before giving him a two-finger wave and gong back to her writing.     Dear Diary: Today I met a giant freaking crystal that violated my soul and when most people's were bright and happy mine was dark and filled with Evil. But it was still shiny on the outside, so I had that going for me, which is nice.     She begins sketching Hydaeyln, and the realm, as well as her smaller crystal in quick, precise terms. It helps to have memories recorded in this way. 

:'''{{#var:834|Valentha Summers (834)}} has posed:'''     "A meal would be lovely! That and some chat time about this Ramuh and his brethren. I love hearing about magical beings of all kinds. Your people appear to count!" Valentha chirps out rather happily, adjusting her goggles. 

}}

The Six Crystals of Light

2015-08-17T05:51:05Z

Lightmage:

{{TPPage
|Summary=The Six Crystals of Light: The Scions of the Seventh Dawn have found within Alwyn Highwind, Bertram Silent and N'raha Tia the new Warriors of Light, people gifted with The Echo and The Gift, capable of facing the impossible odds that Eorzeans normally cannot. But first, they must gather six crystals to amplify their bond with Hydaelyn-- crystals that are guarded by foes sure to give them a challenge. And in the meantime, the XIVth Legion of the Garlean Empire is readying to wake from its slumber and inactivity, a powerful weapon of Allagan descent now in their hands and almost functional. Thus starts the rise of the Warriors of Light's legends; will you earn a name for yourself as well?
|Scale=Major
|Plot_id=?
|Runner=815
|Contacts=[[Bertram Silent]], [[N'raha Tia]]
|Theme=Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1
|Audience=Everyone
|Genre=Fantasy/Magic RPG
|Events====The Crystal of Lightning===
What started as a simple request to investigate Tempered Sylphs quickly escalated, when it was discovered that [[Setsuko Kaminagi]] caused the Ramuh-worshipping Sylphs of the Black Shroud to begin summoning their Primal lord. The Seedseers of Gridania have tasked numerous adventurers, with Setsuko and [[Scarlet Everille]] at their head, to seek the aid of the non-Tempered Sylphs of Little Solace. There, they found their elder missing, captured by Garleans, but recovered him. The elder, Frixio, said he would entrust adventurers with a token, a crystal, that may help sway Ramuh before he takes his anger out on the forest, if they could cleanse the Tam-Tara Deepcroft of its Void-fueled activities. A large group of adventurers then went into the Deepcroft and rid it of its cultist and Voidsent presence.

Is left now but to return to the Sylphs and obtain their token.
===The Crystal of Fire===
===The Crystal of Earth===
===The Crystal of Water===
===The Crystal of Ice===
===The Crystal of Wind===
|Info=
|State=Current
}}

2667/Leve: We Come In Peace

2015-08-17T05:38:39Z

Lightmage:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/07/22
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Adventurers meet the Seedseers of Gridania and discuss assorted matters. Also Alwyn sucks at spelling their names consistently and correctly.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 627, 747, 815, 819
|Tinyplot=The Six Crystals of Light
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:''' Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)! Leve: We Come In Peace Location: Gridania Type: Meeting Urgency: High Difficulty: None Enclosed Message: The Elder Seedseer of Gridania would meet those adventurers and assorted heroes willing to assist with the issue posed by the imminent return of Ramuh, the Lord of Levin. She would discuss options with you, as well as diplomacy, and by the same token answer any questions you may have, not just on this matter but on Eorzea itself. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji Murasame is present. Establishing communications routes with the leadership of a member of the Eorzean Alliance is quite useful for someone like him, even if he already has plans to get his fingers into Uldah. He waits patiently beside Nophica's Altar in Old Gridania, looking about at the lush landscape, general pastoral serenity, and most importantly... The absolute boatload of conjurors present. He adjusts his glasses, folding his arms as he waits for a signal that the Seedseer is prepared to receive guests. He doesn't seem particularly talkative, but then, he has little to say at the moment. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     If you had ever told N'raha he would be meeing the Seedseer in person... maybe last month, even last week, he'd have laughed and asked you to pull his tail again. Maybe this time it would take.     That said, the young miq is now here in his finest armor, still looking slightly dingy despite the shine he's put to it this morning. Hat's off too, letting his roughly brushed hair slick back along his ears. That tail swishes in a rather distracted manner as he waits for that time to come forward. Goodness. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Welcome to Gridania, the city in the forest.     A Warp Gate is located by the main Aetheryte Crystal of the city, its blue light currently feeble compared to the bright light of day. A city built amongst rocky hills and trees, it feels very connected to its surrounding nature, wooden buildings built simply but standing firm, while a river cuts through the city.     TL;DR: http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130623115955/finalfantasy/images/thumb/0/08/New_Gridania_Aetheryte_Plaza.jpg/1024px-New_Gridania_Aetheryte_Plaza.jpg     You've been invited, specifically, to the Lotus Stand, where you will be meeting the three primary Seedseers. Taking you there will be a small escort of two men, one Elezen and one-- Garlean, judging by the white dot/third eye on his forehead?-- from the main Aetheryte. Located in the back of the city, the Lotus Stand is a tranquil clearing at the base of a slow, calming waterfall, platforms of stone shaped like lilypads present in the middle of the water. Onto the central one, a large table and three chairs.     TL;DR: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eFiH-DMG3JU/VFCFLReTMtI/AAAAAAAADVc/n6R5xXTk5IU/s1600/ffxiv_10282014_225639.png     After a moment's wait, the three Seedseers arrive from the opposite direction; Kan-E-Senna, the oldest of the three, is a blonde woman dressed in white with a white staff. The other two, Raya-O-Senna and A-Ruhn-Senna, are a few years younger, a boy and a girl with red hair. They are all dressed in a variety of whites, though the two 'twins' also mainline red (Raya) and green (A-Ruhn). They all have white horns sprouting out of their hair, looking like very fancy head ornaments.     TL;DR: http://img01.3dmgame.com/uploads/allimg/130730/153_130730152017_1.jpg     Kan-E-Senna will be the one to address what few adventurers came (Alwyn is here, chatting up one of the royal guards to the side) first. "Welcome to the Lotus Stand, Gridania's seat of power. I'm glad a few of you were able to make it to address our concerns and help form a plan." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh shit, right, bowing.     N'raha does that too, though in a thoroughly uncultured not-quite-right Ul'dan bowing. "Ah, N'raha, ma'am. Adventurer's Guild." The voice is strong and firm, much firmer than his manner would suggest right now. He doesn't belong here. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' All too soon Souji stands in the Lotus Stand. He looks like he could belong here, perhaps... If there were perhaps some other affectations to the incredibly natural surroundings. Souji steps along the stones and gives a deep bow to the Seedseers. "It is a pleasure to meet yoo all. I am Souji Murasame ,of the Murasame Zaibatsu. We have many interests in the progress of the Eorzean Alliance and would see them flourish." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     More than simply wishing to offer her assistance, one of those attending the meeting with Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna is here because she feels an obligation. It is, after all, her fault that the tempered Sylphs of the Sylphlands feel the need to summon their Lord of Levin to protect themselves. Her exercise of power was performed in ignorance of the world's political and metaphysical situation, and as a result, Setsuko Kaminagi has caused this city problems.     It's only right that she helps to mitigate them.     And Gridania is a city worth protecting. Natural and beautiful, filled with life and energy. The demigod cannot help but feel a certain sense of calm... and, for the first time, perhaps a hint of discomfort at her own presence. The way her inherent aura of 'significance' keeps drawing eyes, especially of Conjurers, leaves her feeling a touch out of place. But allowing herself to dwell on it will solve nothing; arriving at the Lotus Strand means getting down to business.     It doesn't mean discarding manners, however. This is no less than the leader of a city-state. Already bucking her usual trend by arriving in a pure white, far more formal outfit than she's usually seen in, Setsuko further steps out of her usual behavior by dropping herself to one knee and lowering her head deferentially. "Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna, it's an honor. Major Setsuko Kaminagi, Union Armed Forces. I bear responsibility for the situation at hand - it's only right that I lend my aid to its solution. I'm thankful that you were willing to reach out."     Only then does she rise to her feet again. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Please, rise," Kan-E-Senna asks.     A-Ruhn-Senna snorts impolitely, evidently at N'raha.     Raya-O-Senna tugs onto one of his horns. "Brother, be polite."     "The Sylphs have told me that those Tempered by Ramuh had been stirring for a while. That you were what made them go from plan to action should not be held against you, bearing in mind it was a matter of time in the first place. Perhaps it is providence we must deal with this matter before the Garleans become active again, rather than at the same time."     N'raha gets a shorter: "And any adventurer brave enough to assist in the matter of Primals is welcome in my company. Most would avoid it."     Souji gets a curious glance, as Kan-E-Senna motions towards the chairs. "Please, sit. You are our guests today. I'm afraid the Eorzean Alliance isn't as strong as it used to be; before long I must personally see to reestablishing our strong bonds again. Pray forgive my ignorance, but won't you explain this 'Murasame Zaibatsu' to us?"     Raya-O-Senna chimes in with, "We don't leave the forest very often, and the amount of news that has been pouring in from the Adventurers' Guild link to the Syndicate Network is pretty overwhelming." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Those kind words from Kan-E-Senna give N'raha at least some comfort as he does take a seat and dusts at his armor needlessly. He's going to be self-concious the whole time here, deal with it.     "Well, it's not as if... I could ignore it, right? What sort of hero would I be if I did?" He blinks, and thinks a moment. Yep, those words did just come out of his mouth in front of the leader of Gridania. Good. A start. "And Miss Kaminagi shouldn't feel... too bad about it, really. That was really a lot of the off-worlder's first time to the Shroud... or really Eorzea. They wouldn't have known that would have been a problem."     The Miq looks at the twins behind the Seedseer and frowns a bit. "But I'm pretty sure they're all trying to help, at least." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "We wouldn't judge a hero harshly for running from a Primal," Raya-O-Senna answers N'raha, although A-Ruhn-Senna gives a sort of dismissive snort again.     "I absolutely would," he says, before he gets tugged aside again by his sister. The two have a mild argument off to the side, before returning. "My apologies. What I meant to say was 'foolhardy the hero who does not know his limits'."     Raya-O-Senna still glares at him funny but it'll do. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko gives both Kan-E-Senna and N'raha a small, grateful nod, before moving to take her seat. "Nevertheless, my blade and my word are yours until there is a resolution to this situation, one way or the other." She is careful to tilt her sword so that it doesn't interfere with her seated position, and laces her fingers together on the tabletop for a moment or two before proceeding. "Is there any means by which this might be resolved peacefully? We joined the Scions of the Seventh Dawn on a venture into Sylph territory recently, but they seemed... uninterested in parley. Particularly with me present." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji sits when bid to do so, and nods. "The Zaibatsu is a collection of mercantile companies who all work together under the control of our Family. It bears some resemblance to what I have heard of the Syndicate of Uldah. Murasame is the name of my family, and I bear the name proudly." He smiles faintly. "I have had some experience with the Garleans. Their behavior has assured me that they are not the way forward for Eorzea." He folds his hands. "I am also very curious about the situation that has arisen in the Shroud. The actions of a few appears to threaten events in the Shroud." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     'Know your limits'. If only N'raha could figure that one out. His luck had held out so far, for sure. But...     The talk of the Scions gets N'raha's ears to perk up. "We also work with Master Silent, who's with the Scions. He's been a big help too. Though... yeah, the Tempered Sylphs really didn't like us even being there. The Garleans in the woods didn't help either. Too many bad memories for them, I suppose, to pick most of us out."     He does look over at Souji. "Thing is, the Forest, the Shroud, has a Long Memory and the place is still healing. The forest is mad, and stuff is mad and it's really not helping to have the Empire skulking about." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "It is unlikely we can convince the touched Sylphs that we mean no harm, but the Lord of Levin himself is said to be wise and protective. If nothing else, we must hope we can appeal to his judgment. Failing that, we will need to defeat him, a grim but necessary second plan." Kan-E-Senna answers Setsuko.     Raya-O-Senna steps forward, adding: "I think we might have found a solution for that. My brother and I investigated the Sylphs, those still siding with Gridania. Their elder has gone missing, and they are wanting for a show of good faith from us. I believe that you could be sent as envoys to Little Solace, and convince the Sylphs to side with you against their Lord. Such a token would surely help sway Ramuh's fury in your favor, to see some of his children at peace with us."     A-Ruhn-Senna completes, "Those untouched by the Lord of Levin refuse to summon him. They value their alliance with us and the elements over the benefits of having their Primal out. It shouldn't be hard to convince them by... doing assorted tasks." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     To Souji, Kan-E-Senna nods. "That does indeed sound like Ul'dah's leadership. To be perfectly honest, I never understood it, and so I don't judge it." A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "Anymore." Both Kan-E-Senna and Raya-O-Senna give him the mean older sister glare this time.     "Nonetheless you are correct. While not all Garleans are evil," she motions towards one of her royal guards, the one with the third eye on his forehead, "Most are misguided and misinformed on Eorzea. Savages and barbarians, they call us, in fear of our magic. I cannot fault them, given what we have done with it in the past."     A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "Speaking of, I must thank you for your journey into the Lost City. The knowledge we will gleam from it will be invaluable, though the elements have expressed discomfort at our looking into it. It would seem they were the ones to hide the city from us, but now that it has been found, would have us be careful instead." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "The elements can be a little bit scornful and unreasonable at times," Raya-O-Senna answers N'raha, shaking her head slowly. "The Calamity has clouded their judgment and vision. Poachers roam the forest, the Garleans slowly take steps in, and corruption lingers, harming the elements directly. Bertram Silent is one of our best hopes into calming the elements and purging their corruption. It is very rare the elements will welcome Ala Mhigans, but he's blended in perfectly." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet arrives just a little bit late due to unavoidable circumstances, but fashionably so. If Eorzeans don't have a concept of "fashionably late" then she'll just have to teach it to them.     That said, she is anything but disrespectful, despite Gridania's thoroughly rustic charms. A certain method of information gathering she had circulated through the region on her first mission here is enough for her to know of the city-state's economic and political relevance and general reputation. It also doesn't take a genius to figure out a Seedseer's general position of authority within the heirarchy. She greets the three with a very refined, deliberately culture non-specific bow as seems to have been indicated to be the practise before introducing herself properly shortly after.     "It's a rare case that any one group of people can really be called wholeheartedly evil. Regardless, it doesn't seem as if that demonization is going to leave cultural memory any time soon, and so we'll have to bear it in mind either way while going forward. I think we probably already agree that facing off against a Primal, this Lord of the Levin, would be a last resort at best. That said, doesn't there seem to be a possibility that the Slyph's elder may have been taken by the Tempered? Suppose it were a deliberate ploy to have us provoke them in the process of recovering him or her, do you believe it would be worth it?" It's mostly busytalk while she stealthily assesses the Seedseers. She wants to know whether they're purely political figures or equivalently powerful mages. It won't change how she addresses them (much), but it'll certainly change how she thinks of them. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Hmm. So Ramuh is considered a wise being. Perhaps he will be willing to listen if she, the reason they finally chose to summon him, speaks with him directly. Moreover, there is a chance for her to demonstrate to un-tempered Sylphs that their purple-leafed bretheren are mistaken about humans and humanlike people. Ordinarily, she isn't very inclined towards politicking and diplomacy, but in this particular case... "I'll have to see what I can do for Little Solace, then. If we can sway the Lord of Levin, that would be preferable for all involved. If not... I am a soldier. I will fight whatever battles I must."     There is a pause in which the demigod listens to Raya speaking on the topic of the Elementals, and then she adds, "Ah... another thing I should offer apology for. When I first set foot in the Black Shroud, I sensed these 'Elementals', and offered them apology and explanation for my presence. They haven't seemed to take issue with me, but if they've been more difficult as a result of my presence, you have my sincere apologies." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Indeed. Social stigma is difficult to erase," Kan-E-Senna answers, as Scarlet finally joins them. She would motion for her to seat herself, but the table only has three chairs. An oversight, but on the other hand, the Lotus Stand is only rarely used for large gatherings anymore.     "While we don't doubt in our ability to overpower the Lord of Levin, if at great cost, we would very much enjoy peace with the Sylphs, and their Tempered cousins as well. If we could but convince Ramuh to order his children to be at peace with us, we would stand that much stronger for it."     On the matter of the ploy, it's Raya-O-Senna who answers. "That's possible. They don't have any solid leads yet, but they've suspected a number of their disappearances lately were linked to the Tempered ones. It's possible they mean to have them Tempered as well. If that's the case, then speed and haste will be needed in our search." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha looks up at Miss Everille steps into the conversation as well, waving a little bit. It's that nice-ish lady from the Deepcrofts!     That said, Setsuko also gets a murmur. "It could be worse. Ifrit and Titan are conquerers and lead their tribes on... well. That's never any good. Ramuh is less... well. I don't think he's gone crazy and tried takin' stuff over. I know the Brass Blades and the Immortal Flames have their hands full with the desert when the Kobolds and Amalj'aa start getting antsy and angry."     He rubs at his nose and looks to Kan-E-Senna. "Who should we be looking for at Little Solace? Who's in charge withthe Elder gone... or is that one of the problems?" 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "So you would have us liason with the as of yet uncontaminated Sylphs in hopes that we can still broker some form of... de-escalation of temsions before they go out of control." Souji states. "This is a reasonable course of action." We'll see how reasonable he sees it when they go meet the Sylphs. "In the meantime, I and the rest of the members of my organization are pleased to be of service to Gridania." He nods to N'raha. "We'll simply have to work with what we have. It's all we can do, correct? We have insufficient information on the ground to make definitive plans. We do not know if Ramuh has truly been summoned, nor the last known state of the Elder of the Sylphs. We will need to determine these facts before we can truly examine our chances of de-escalating this situation." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Raya-O-Senna glances towards Setsuko, offering a sort of shrug. "It's hard to tell what upsets them these days. Sometimes, the sun rising at all angers them. An adventurer steps on a moth or flower by accident and an elemental quakes in fury. They fight amongst themselves, and those of them that have been corrupt border on the uncontrollable."     A-Ruhn-Senna summarizes it as, "It's kind of a coin flip."     Kan-E-Senna says nonetheless, "That you sensed them and offered that upfront may have calmed them rather than angered them, as well. The elements have never had much faith in outsiders, but gave us their blessings years ago to open the Shroud's borders. Since then adventurers and heroes have been proving them right and wrong both. Seeing more people prove them wrong helps our cause, in the end."     Rare the times she'd say she's glad people are proving the elements wrong, but that's one subject she'll be glad if people do. 'Outsiders are awful and mean us harm'. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "That would be Komuxio, a delightful little Sylph, that one," Raya-O-Senna answers N'raha, though A-Ruhn-Senna immediatly adds: "Not sure we can really talk of leadership though. They seem disorganized and confused right now."     Kan-E-Senna adds, to the catte's first remark: "We had not seen Ramuh manifested in a long time. We only have the legends to go by; pray they are correct." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     "Out of curiosity, when was the last time anyone met Ramuh? Anyone besides a Sylph, that is." Scarlet asks, for all the world apparently just that, curious. In reality, she has serious reservations about plans that base themselves around the alleged character and personality of a god-entity someone might not have even seen in decades, centuries, millenia, or whatever unfathomable span of history might have passed in this world. The idea of god figures being active in day to day life in any real capacity is still something of a new concept to her, and she has a long and storied distrust of those that claim to speak for them word for word.     "In any case, Tempering of the elder would most likely be an even less desirable outcome. That said, I would like to request a certain level of time and information to attempt a prepatory search myself before we all go storming into the forest. If they're really as ornery as you say, a lighter touch to begin with might smooth things out considerably." She spares a moment to wave sidelong at N'raha, though coyly. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Correct," Kan-E-Senna answers Souji, though she adds, "But in truth, it is more to increase our standing than establish it. The Sylphs are already allies of Gridania, but we have been neglectful of that alliance due to the Calamity's damage to our lands. We have no excuse for this, and thus we must send envoys. The Sylphs are peaceful, if untrusting. They have always been considered the weakest of the Primal worshippers, and it is only through Ramuh's protection that they were able to break free from the other tribes. Still, it should not be difficult to sway them."     His other observations being correct, the Elder Seedseer simply nods. "We have not felt the presence of Ramuh yet; we must assume we still have time. Primals are... not subtle."     She decides to ask Souji about himself, now; "This Zaibatsu, tell me. What would you bring to the Eorzean Alliance? With the Garleans rallying, it may be that we are in no position to turn down help." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     The Miqo'te settles in again, questions answered. And then he looks a bit pensive at the whole thing for a few moments. Well, at least he appears to be pensive, if you could call 'staring off into space while in thought' pensive. His ears twitch a few times as he tries to piece information together in his head.     "...How much does this have to do with the increased... angry monster activity in the Shroud? We had to deal with a big grumpy water elemental the other day, and I've heard some of the local critters are getting big in their britches." Scarlet touches on the point and he gives her a thumbs up as well. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Having already answered Scarlet's first question, her second (or rather, the assorted concerns and guesses) are answered by Raya-O-Senna. "Tempering of anyone at all isn't a very desirable outcome. I'm sure in time they would find a new elder, but it would certainly set us back if they succeeded. Not to mention that if the Tempered Sylphs grow in numbers, that directly threatens us."     A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "I like this one, she's wise. Yes, a lighter touch would probably be better. If we sent two dozen adventurers out as envoys to the Sylphs, they'll feel overwhelmed. Half a dozen well-intentioned, mannered people should be enough. They'll no doubt have all manners of tasks to make you do, so you'll want enough pairs of hands present. Probably." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji nods when the talk turns to what he can offer the Alliance. "I have noticed that the Garleans make use of magitech to make up for, I hear, their inability to use magical power. Our organization also manufactures magitechnological weaponry of various forms. I am interested in either observing if the Alliance is interested in making use of my products, or perhaps establishing a mutual research initative in order to advance your own projects should you have an existing corps." There is a pause. "I understand if such a proposal will take some time to negotiate. Perhaps together we can show that the Garleans hardly would have a monopoly on mechanized warfare." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     'Well-intentioned, mannered.' N'raha's ears droop.     'All manners of tasks, pairs of hands.' N'raha's ears perk up. He can help! 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko bows her head in response to the Elder Seedseer and her siblings. "I'm grateful to lend strength to your arguments. I'm not quite the same as most adventurers; I've grown accustomed to my presence causing issues. So I try to neutralize them ahead of time where I can." Sadly, they're in one of those situations that happens when she doesn't neutralize an issue ahead of time. But there are ways out of it, it would seem. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Kan-E-Senna looks at N'raha, shaking her head. "The wildlife in the deeper sections of the forest has always been... large and aggressive, but not this much, you're correct. How much of it is due to the Calamity, how much is due to the elements' reaction to it, and how much is caused by other parties, we could not say. Though that would bring me to another subject."     A-Ruhn-Senna steps forward, presenting a dark medallion, picturing the red moon Dalamud.     "I believe you met Lothaire. He says his men found this near the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, and that the seals had been tampered with again." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     The Miqo'te picks up the trinket, and looks over at Scarlet. She'd been there too. The warrior flips it around a few times in his hands, looking at it. It's not that fancy, really, but something about it feels... Wrong. Ugly. Like it was staining his fingers.     "Well, that's rude, but I guess... if the seals were messed with last time and they've been messed with again, we might have a rude person trying to properly wake the dead inside." He's not entirely dumb. He does hand the medallion over to Scarlet for inspection as well. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     At Souji's questioning, Kan-E-Senna motions for one of her honor guards to step forward. The man with the Garlean mark upon his forehead does so, and nods. "That's right. Us pure-bloods can't use magic, at all. We can't sense or connect to Aether. That's why you're all so frightening to us. Why the average citizen and soldier thinks you savages. Your powers are no different from a Primal's, and to the Empire's eyes, the Twelve and Hydaelyn are just more Primals, not proper divinities. I'm lucky the Elder Seedseer saved me and taught me wrong rather than have me executed."     As for the other matter, Kan-E-Senna eyes Souji more closely now, considering. "We only use minimal amounts of Magitek in our lives, and that is for our airships. The technology Garleans use is... forceful, invasive. It does not coexist with the Aether or Lifestream, it subdues it. If yours is anything like, pray forgive Gridania's refusal of it, though I am certain the other two city-states would consider the tactical advantage above all else." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Raya-O-Senna smiles at Setsuko. "Most adventurers who come to Gridania or the Shroud are just looking for quick jobs anymore. Most of the jobs posted by the Adventurers' Guild are ones that should please the elements, like dealing with the poachers, but to have one come and pay their respects to them so openly, I'm sure they must have noticed."     A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "So, you said you were kind of a Primal. Or I've been told. Of what? Primals have natures, elemental affinities. Concepts. What's yours, that it upset the Sylphs so much?"     Raya-O-Senna yanks on A-Ruhn-Senna's horn. "Brother! That is rude. Or at least, it is a very rude way of phrasing that. Pray forgive him, sometimes I feel he lacks the maturity to be Seedseer."     A-Ruhn-Senna frowns. "And you the talent, but you don't see me telling strangers that." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "It's alright," Setsuko replies to Raya-O, her expression showing traces of amusement. "Time will temper his choice of phrasing well enough, with such well-spoken siblings. And his curiosity is well-founded."     She reaches down to her side, in a slow, deliberate movement, making it obvious to Kan-E's bodyguards that she's not drawing her blade - rather, she unclips it, and sets it sheath and all on the table. "I'm not a Primal, although given my nature, I'm not surprised that people of this world would have that impression after exerting my power. This sword is called 'Zanjintou'. It belonged to a previous, now-dead God of War from my world; a 'God' in the sense of 'a being with divine authority over a concept', rather than simply 'a being of power'. As the current owner of Zanjintou, its divinity has intermingled with my humanity, rendering us one entity, neither mortal nor god. 'Demigod' would be the closest term for it." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji shakes his head. "Not the same, no. Ours functions on Patterns, much like the world we live in is shaped through these patterns. Our Magic Particles... Not dissimlar to your Aether, flows through these patterns and provides us with gravity, rain, the thunderstorms our city depends on for power, and more." He pauses, and gestures. "Anyone who is capable of using Aether can simply invest a small amount into it and it will function. Unfortunately, this means that as your associate has mentioned, it would be difficult for a pureblood Garlean to use our wares unless they were to adapt their own power systems to them. We spend our lives working with magic, we have no need to force it to do what we want when it will simply flow through a channel provided for it like water through a riverbed." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Then to the uninformed eye you must seem as a Primal of war. No wonder the Sylphs reacted so strongly," A-Ruhn-Senna notes, while Raya-O-Senna frowns a bit as she adds, "Yes, considering the Sylphs' ancestry, that they would fear war, any war, isn't surprising."     Kan-E-Senna considers how best to phrase her addition, before settling on: "Us Padjal are not too different. These horns are the sign that we were blessed, in a way, by the elements. We can speak to them, relay their word, commune. I would not be so boastful as to claim us a step between Eorzeans and presences such as the elements of the Twelveswood, however." For one, they lack the raw firepower to make such claims. But for two, she's too humble for that in general. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "So your technology works with Aether, not against it? Interesting," Kan-E-Senna notes, though quickly covers her bases with: "I must admit I know little of technology; such has always been the strong suit of the Maelstrom and the Flames. And Garleans are not so eager to share their secrets, and us, not so equipped to decrypt them. If your technology truly works as you claim, it may be an advantage the Eorzean Alliance cannot pass on, though many are the eyes that will be wary. Ware the stranger bearing gifts."     She says that with no accusation or hostility, rather she assumes such a saying must be commonplace no matter the world.     "Were I you, I would seek an audience with the Sultana or the Flame General to start with. With their approval, contacting the Admiral of the Maelstrom to set up a meeting that you may demonstrate your wares to all of us at once should prove a trivial matter. From there, perhaps you may find your place amidst the Alliance." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko can only nod towards the younger Seedseers. "It's understandable, yes. War... isn't a pretty thing. It isn't kind, or gentle. It leaves orphans and widows, ruins and barrens. I was raised under a soldier's creed of drawing my blade only so that others can live their life in peace. So I'm very careful about how and when I apply my abilities. That use of my power frightened the Slyphs so..." She shakes her head, finally taking her sword from the table and returning it to her side. "Though I myself dwell on the battlefield, I would never drag someone else there. If we can settle this without bloodshed, I would be deeply gratified. And either way, I have a responsibility to help you and your people." A demigod of War, pushing for peace. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "That is my hope," Kan-E-Senna nods towards Setsuko. "We must pray the Lord of Levin is as the tales say, and perhaps we may for the first time in Eorzea's recent history reach a peaceful ending with a Primal. Though it is not unheard of to negotiate peace with the Beast Tribes, to do so with their Primal directly is a dangerous prospect. Pray allow me to come with you, when the time comes, if only to observe. As you are the ones who will be interacting with the Sylphs, it would not be for me to speak with Ramuh, but you." As for the matters of war, well, she doesn't feel the need to mirror agreement. It's a very strong given. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     It isn't Scarlet's first time hearing of the subjects up for discussion here, but most of it is new. What her allies, temporary or official, have to say on the issue is equally as informative as what the locals do, if towards other ends. It is indeed the medallion is what immediately catches her interest though, and to which she has to feign a little bit of additional ignorance. "You are correct. Deliberately so as well. I'm a little curious what makes you mention that in the same breath however. I have an idea of course, but if you would, please spell it out for me."     She pauses just a little to quickly juggle two topics with different members of the family. "You've mentioned specific tasks the Sylphs would have us perform. How will this relate to the recovery of their elder? Do you have reason to believe it won't be sufficient evidence for them of our intentions?" More importantly, she wants to know what level of "tasks" these are going to be. It's unlikely she'll get to pick a team, but she'd at least like to organize around it. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "I mention it," A-Ruhn-Senna says, "Because this adventurer inquired on the state of the wildlife. We have reason to believe a cult worshipping the fallen moon of Dalamud may be making its home in the deeper levels of the Deepcroft. That medallion all but proves it."     If examined, the medallion would be quickly revealed to be Void-touched. Rather than Aether, it is charged with... well, anti-existence, essentially. Dark magic. It doesn't seem to be enchanted to do anything much beyond... dispel something? Something specific, of similar nature. A dark medallion that dispels something equally dark.     "We would have you adventurers go in and... well, need I really lay that one out?" The boy asks, in his ever-so-humble tone.     Raya-O-Senna chips in about the Sylphs. "A number of Sylphs have gone missing lately, in separate trails. It's likely they'll ask you to find them. I've also heard they're fond of... dancing. Perhaps it is a diplomatic tradition for them. And lastly, the local wildlife has been giving them trouble, and so they may ask you to deter the beasts away from Little Solace." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "Were I one of your bodyguards," Setsuko replies, giving them a brief glance, "I would object for the sake of your wellbeing." There's a trace of amusement in her voice again. "But I don't imagine you easily deterred. So I will say only, don't get too close to Ramuh. I'm fairly certain I am at no risk of tempering, but I wouldn't want to put the Elder Seedseer of Gridania under the same test. Beyond that, I have no objections." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha looks at Raya and murmurs. "Well. I'll see what I can put together, I suppose. That's not... not something you just jump into." 'Know your limits'. The adventurer slides his thumb over the medallion again, catching...     A man in a mask. Watching. A familiar man in a mask. Why is he familiar? W-why does he feel like he should know this person?     The Miqo'te comes back to the here and now, seemingly shaking off another one of those bouts of 'stare at the wall and think'. "Buh. That's weird." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet outwardly displays no reaction to the young male Seedseer's tone, being generally far too experienced. Instead she manages to look interested but unsurprised, as if happy to have someone confirm something she already knew in their own words, though it's the first time she's had the specifics put to this particular thread of intrigue. "No, it's more or less as I thought. That particular cause is almost linked to the grievances of the Sylphs, and so should be held until after our first objective is seen to, so we can hand it over to maximum effect. They won't thank us for it if their elder is still missing, or worse, comes back Tempered."     She doesn't even so much as blink at the mention of dancing though. "Humouring those kinds of traditions is a trivial affair really. I think I can construct a priority list going forward." She stops to deliberately look thoughtful. "An ideal sequence of objectives. Yes, I definitely think this is well within our collective ability." The real meaning of the word "our" there is anyone's guess. "Will you be wanting an official update on this, or are you hoping to just fire and forget on this one?" She manages to refrain from using her computer just yet, committing it to memory instead. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     The Garlean standing by Kan-E-Senna shakes his head. "Stubborn to her dying breath, yeah. It's usually been to her advantage." He beams her a grin, and the dignity and posture of the Elder Seedseer falters for all but a moment until she shakes her head and smiles.     "What a leader I would be if I but sent adventurers to take care of all my problems and never at least attended to one or two with them," she offers, more or less confirming both her guard and Setsuko's say.     ENJOY YOUR AWFUL ASCIAN ECHO, N'RAHA.     Though, that medallion has equal parts masked man and equal parts Bahamut worshipping crazies in it. They've got a cult! It's cool, they have punch and all. Lambs of Dalamud. They've been around since before the Calamity, but their numbers have kind of dwindled since. Not their crazies, though. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     A-Ruhn-Senna actually smiles for the first time this meeting, the boy definitely enjoying Scarlet's business attitude. "We'd like to hear about major breakthroughs, but you sound like you have this figured out already. Just keep in touch with the Adventurers' Guild if you need to recruit help, and tell them you're working on something for the Seedseers. They'll give you priority one treatment."     Raya-O-Senna comments, idly, "That's a good idea, though. We think we can keep what the cultists are doing in the Deepcroft contained for now, while you address the Sylphs. Once that's done, we can get you a map of the Deepcroft and... well, you can do your adventurer thing." Murder, mostly. Of undead, wildlife, cultists. 
}}

2761/Duty: The Tam-Tara Deepcroft

2015-08-17T05:38:31Z

Lightmage:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/08
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Adventurers head into the Tam-Tara Deepcroft to stop the ritual being cast by the Lambs of Dalamud, and encounter Avere Bravearm's party again. Also Setsuko cuts off someone else's arm for a change.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 626, 670, 675, 747, 789, 791, 815, 819, 826
|Tinyplot=The Six Crystals of Light
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:''' Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)! Duty: The Tam-Tara Deepcroft Location: The Tam-Tara Deepcroft, Central Shroud Type: Dungeon Urgency: Medium Difficulty: Medium Enclosed Message: Whether or not the Sylph elder is saved, it is time to do something about the local wildlife. A cult of Dalamud worshippers, known as the Lambs of Dalamud, have tampered with the seals of the Deepcroft and broken in. They have reanimated the bodies therein for their ploys and likely seek to bring about great chaos and destruction. The Seedseers of Gridania would request able-bodied adventurers to enter the Deepcroft, put the poor souls back to rest, and deal with the cultist concerns-- permanently. Their magicks cannot be allowed to continue, for it warps even the simplest creatures of the Black Shroud into aggressive beasts. Or so that is their belief. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     If you're new: welcome to Eorzea, more specifically to the Black Shroud, a very large forest that covers a good part of the continent. If you have any magical senses at all, this place is bursting with magic-- everyone, everything, is made of it, connected to the world like one big unified magical whole. As concerns the forest specifically, the trees are massive, and multiple, powerful forces seem present within-- to the EAST, a growing, thunderous force, aligned with lightning, and to the SOUTH, a sleeping pressure aligned with battle. EVERYWHERE in general, nature itself seems to be 'alive', not in the sense plants are alive but in the sense the forest watches after itself. Deeper probing reveals discord, corruption and weakness that can't be quite pinpointed, as though the elements of the forest were infighting, or otherwise wounded.     The WARP GATE is located next to an AETHERYTE CRYSTAL (think giant blue glowing crystal with a lot of decorating and magical setup) out in the Central Shroud, in a small barely fortified village slash camp known as Bentbranch Meadows. You won't be staying here very long, though, as you'll be guided by assorted parties (whether Scarlet, Setsuko, Bertram or N'raha) south on the road towards what is known as the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, what used to be the royal tombs of Gridania. If you were Gridanian, and you mattered, you were probably buried here.     Reaching a large clearing in the forest, the Deepcroft becomes immediatly visible-- it's a large grassy area, with old ruins and one very big hill in the center. Dug into the front of the hill is the catacombs entrance, which is a single large, round room with stairs leading down near the back. Four bonfires are in each 'corner', unlit, and both gates, the one leading into the room and the one barring access to the stairs going down, have been torn open despite being solid metal. The leftovers of magic seals that were bruteforced are present in the form of half-faded runes.     PAIYO REIYO, a small Lalafell in blue mage robes with a hood, is standing by the stairs leading down. He looks injured, exhausted, and his staff is broken. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' BERTRAM SILENT, a tall Hyur in white mage robes with a good, is arriving alone. He hasn't picked up anyone else, trusting others to take care of that. Instead, he's brought what looks to be some kind of huge folding lunchbox, made out of solid wood. Once he's at the site, whether first or not, he starts unfolding the lunchbox into a table, several kinds of food are placed on top. Then he starts healing Paiyo. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA, looking somehow more refreshed than usual, is already inside the first bit of the ruins themselves, before you actually go in any deeper. There's a sheen on his old armor, and in his demeanor as he busies himself with battering some stubborn skeletons and crap that just keep trying to wake up.     That axe of his is getting some work.     Also he is throwing very dirty looks at the Thaumaturge every so often. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko has been to the East Shroud a fair bit, but not to other parts of the Twelveswood; so for her, this is something of a branching out.     She keeps her pace calm and steady, walking alongside Bertram and N'raha... at least, until Paiyo Reiyo is spotted. At that point, she rushes ahead to check on him; he's the only member of Avere's group she felt had any kind of sound judgement by the end of their foray into the Sastasha Seagrot, so her concern is instant and noticeable. "Paiyo Reiyo. You're hurt. What's happened?" Bertram is a fine healer; he's got the wounds covered, so she'll cover the 'what'. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Given the nature of this particular Duty, Kyra appeared to be especially eager to join. As had become commonplace when she went on the missions in Eorzea, she's come fully equipped with her usual medical loadout (CURE-ALL included) and a full stock of explosives and utility potions. Her gear is clearly visible, the front zipper of her hoodie jacket pulled down to allow her easy access to her gear. Held in both of her hands is a hunting rifle, already pre-loaded with hipotion-filled darts. The healing bases are definitely covered today with contingencies in case she has ANOTHER Wild Magic incident.     (Like the last TWO TIMES she's been here. Maybe there was just something about this place that stirred her magic particles wrong.)     "Hey." she greets Paiyo as they arrive, "What's the damage down there?" Bertram beats her to healing the Lalafell but that doesn't stop her from trying something else out.     She gestures to the staff. "Heal! The scar of the burning sun!" she intones, tapping on the white magic (though closer to time magic) that Orphen taught her. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason is here once more she was finding it was quite a good experiance to help out Alwyn and his friends with the various job postings from their world. The Gil also didn't hurt much either, Lyia muses. Still it was less the gil and more starting to help out new friends. Well that and being on an adventure with said friends as well. The Galendian Machinist was just stepping out of the WArp Gate not as she made note of the Aetheryte crystal near the gate. She's not going to be staying here too long eithere as she's going to move to form up with everyone else and soon enough She's a bhit behind Kyra as she arrives a bit after she looks to Paiyo however she doesn't act as several people far better at healing are already on it. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     The honest truth is that Izzy Hyland hadn't actually been paying attention to what he was doing on his iWear, and had accidentally accepted a mission on the mission boards. It seemed rude to accept it and then not go do anything about it, so he'd decided that he may as well do it. It would probably be fun! Truth be told, Izzy is kind of clueless a lot of the time, despite his general demeanor of being in control of the situation regardless of what happens. Unfortunately he got here a little bit (a lot) early, got hungry, and wandered off for a little while.     Right now, he's RETURNING to the entrance of the catacombs, where everyone has long since been.     Izzy is carrying what appears to have been one of the local squirrels, which he killed, cooked, and is now most of the way through eating on a hand-carved spit he skewered it on. He's actually holding a second one in his left hand, which has been entirely untouched so far.     "HEY, DOES ANYBODY ELSE LIKE SQUIRREL?" He asks, waving the spare squirrel-on-a-stick around. "WHAT ABOUT YOU?"     Izzy jabs the freshly cooked squirrel-on-a-stick towards the wounded Lalafel. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet's been here before, and so she's relatively familiar with the setup, the distant presence of what can only be Ramuh's gathering set aside. That also means she has the proper context to frown at the sight of the flames out and the seals undone yet again, mere weeks after she'd personally seen the issue resolved.     Though she looks the same as she always does due to her magic's extreme bent of subtelty, she's done the equivalent of coming loaded for bear this time, knowing full well how this particular brand of adventuring goes and having swapped the bulk of her wards for ones concerned with personal defense and narrowed her familiar selection down to a much smaller entourage of more dangerously combat focused ones, currently occupying such a low level of phase that anyone with any kind of magical inclination might be able to catch glimpses of phantom movement in her vicinity.     Of course the lalafel immediately demands her attention, in that she is obligated to at least ask "Forgive me for asking you in such a state, but if you've already been down there, could you tell us exactly what happened? How far did you get? Who else is still there? And when did you find this place like.. this?" She gestures nonspecifically at the snuffed fires. Most of her attention is really focused on assessing the battered old seals to see how long ago they were broken, yet again, and if there's even enough left of them to be fixed once more, even temporarily, or whether they'll have to be rewritten from scratch. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra's been to Eorzea before, briefly. But not the Black Shroud, and she has to admit she doesn't think theres anywhere on Galianda that gives off the same... living vibe.     The judge is dressed...as a Judge, but there aren't too many of those in Eorzea, (not good ones anyways) but her silver and bronze coloured armor with the big horns gets a few looks from passersby. She stops just left of Kyra and looks at the burial mounds through her red visor and hnns. "I'm suprised the local authorities wouldn't deal with an undead uprising. But hopefully there isn't a Vampire involved." Vampires on Galianda make people reach for the scorched earth buttons, but it seems in other worlds they're approached more subtly, something about a stake through the heart, or was it head...?     "Kyra. Do you think your white magic can disrupt the animated bodies?" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Avere happened, I'm afraid," Paiyo explains. "He got a hint a big group of adventurers was coming here. He decided if we went ahead and did your work for you, we'd become rich and famous. I can't terribly fault him, if it worked we'd be rather well-off right now." Thankful for the heals, he rises, dusting himself and sighing.     "Patience isn't his strong suit, as you likely figured out last time. He ran ahead. Edda and Liavinne actually kept up with him, somehow, but barely. I feel behind, and then the undead surrounded them... well, here I am, having run for my life." He doesn't seem very proud of the fact.     He takes Izzy up on his offer-- when you're an adventurer you eat what you can. Squirrel's... not five-star cuisine exactly but they're big enough around here you can feel two Lalafells with one squirrel.     "I'm sorry to place this burden on you, but could you... go find them? They're tough, they'll have lasted until now... I'm sure." To Cirra, he answers: "No vampires. Cultists, from what we saw, and skeletons. A lot of skeletons. Some imps, some bugs." And to Scarlet: "Not very long ago. Twenty, thirty minutes? I lost track, amidst the running. We didn't get far-- we took a path overtaken by vegetation, rather than the straight one the cultists are using. A bad decision in hindsight."     He also thanks Izzy, if a bit late due to having to explain some things.     HEADING DOWN: As you walk down, and down, and down the stairs, for what seems like five minutes, you eventually reach a massive, open cavern, with pathways and levels built around a deep, hollow... well, hole. Destroyed brick roads and bridges indicate the catacomps may have once been much more claustrophobic, and perhaps not so open.     To your RIGHT, a path overtaken by vegetation seems to head to the level below the one you're on, via stairs and ramps. To your RIGHT, as you walk closer to the edge of the hole, the path continues, hugging the wall and forming a circle around the central area. The area is large enough that this circular road around the hole would take a good ten minutes to walk across and return to your starting location, at a walking pace.     In the center of the hole is a large platform of stone built atop a massive tree trunk reaching a fair distance down. It is protected by a bright purple forcefield, powered by an orb hovering over the platform, itself tethered to FOUR altars. Two of them are on the level you're on, and two seem to be down below. Each altar has numerous men in dark robes around them, accompanied by skeletons and imps-- and the road to the altars themselves has quite the number of skeletons patrolling, too.     It seems a given that accessing the central platform will require dealing with all four altars. Rather than magic, the air here is abuzz with darkness and necromancy, not unlike the pendant Scarlet may still have. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     There's a reason N'raha had been glaring at the Lalafell, and there it is. This whole place stank and it wasn't just the undead that were the problem. He shoulders his axe again, and with the idea that he's always been placed there so far, takes up the lead of the party as the head downstairs, likely flanked by Setsuko. That's how it's been, and he's getting comfortable with that.     The Miqo'te, looking over the mess below, looks to the rest. "I'll make sure the butts up top are handled. Someone come on with." He pulls out the axe again, and also a big piece of jerky which he shoves into his mouth to chew on to maye get rid of the smell of this place. Bluh. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Unfortunately for N'raha, Setsuko does not walk. Once she has heard what Paiyo Reiyo has to say, with a muttered oath she comes up to her feet and /runs/. Far ahead of the group, probably in an ill-advised dash, she skids to a stop right on the edge of the huge, open space, and closes her eyes. Straining. Listening. And then, after only a second's pause, she turns and heads RIGHT, towards the LOWER LEVELs.     She's already got Zanjintou at hand, ready to hack away at any vines (or enemies) that happen to get in the way. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' After a quick discussion, and another encouragement of the food, Bertram follows his own advice and consumes bits and pieces of the food on offer, then grips Yagrush firmly and follows Setsuko, getting ready to heal a lot. As by the looks of it, Setsuko isn't going for small pulls. He sprints, fortunate enough not to rely on physical exercise to do his job, and makes sure to cast protect and swiftcast stoneskin 2 before the fighting starts. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     It's actually a little bit surprising to Izzy that people take up the food he offered, but he seems reasonably pleased by it. Consequentially though, Izzy isn't really paying all that much attention to what's being said. Seems like there's a lot of backstory here that he didn't have anything to do with, and no reference point for. He smiles kindly and just sort of nods along, pretending to understand exactly what's happened. Then, Setsuko takes off in one direction with at least one or two people racing after her pretty much immediately.     He looks out after them, shrugs, and then heads towards the UPPER LEVEL.     "OKAY. I GUESS I'LL GO THIS WAY, THEN. THERE'S PROBABLY SOME PUZZLES THAT NEED TO GO DOWN BEFORE WE'RE DONE HERE ANYWAY, SO SPLITTING UP MAKES SENSE." Evidently Izzy is an optimist who doesn't believe that splitting the party is too much of a bad thing. He finishes off HIS squirrel-on-a-stick and captchalogues what's left for later disposal.     No sense in defiling tombs with squirrel remains.     Then again, maybe it would just be particularly respectful to the dead squirrel? 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "I'm pretty sure my white magic is very good at disrupting undead bodies." Kyra grins fanatically. Undead were one of the few places a white mage could really shine in offense where she was from, after all.     As Paiyo starts up: "Oh, this again." Kyra palms her face. "You know, the Shroud is pretty big, aren't there enough adventures for everyone...? Hey Izzy, glad to see you out and about. Where's everyone else, though?" She seems confused. Weren't they supposed to work as a team too...? Kyra swipes some of the food offered by Bertram before heading up top, splitting healing duties and heading for the UPPER LEVEL. There, Kyra wastes no time.     "HELLO EVERYONE!" she greets cheerfully before promptly hitting skeletons with healing magic. Which she expects will kill them. If they don't, she'll feel quite silly. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason looks to Paiyo as they make the request to finf thier friends she looks to Paiyo for a moment nodding. "Wee'll do what we can to try and find your friends." She gets why they were trying to make names for themselves and she can't fault them for trying. She's going to get her pistols ready and keep to the upper level. "I'll do what I can up here." She notes ash she moves to remain top side and fall in with those who do. As Kyra starts to heal bomb, Lyira starts to give her covering fire frm her pistols, which are tuned to the fire element right now. "I got you back Kyra, N'raha! Izzy if you need anything just call out! I got a few gadgets with me that might help out." 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra watches Setsuko turn for the exit going RIGHT. She shrugs her shoulders, and can't very well let her run off on her own. She turns and heads down the RIGHT path for the LOWER LEVELS. Summon the Judge Blade to her hand as she descends downwards.     She isn't familiar with this other group of adventurers that being admonished, but perhaps by the end of the night, she too will have reason to bash on them. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet is just going to ignore someone eating a cooked squirrel on a stick. Gross.     All said, Paiyo's description of events isn't far from what she'd expected just from first laying eyes on him in his current condition. Were she the more heroically pragmatic sort, the sigh of frustrated worry and the shake of her head she replies with would be completely sincere. As it is, rescuing the rest of the adventuring party is more or less a bonus objective for extra points. There are more than enough able bodies present to accomplish that as well, right? "It's a good thing you did at least. Otherwise, we'd have no idea where to start, or maybe if you were even here. We might have just assumed nobody showed up." She smiles reassuringly at the lalafel before turning to the stairs, shuffling through her bag.     Setsuko running off is about as to be expected, and there's no point in trying to keep up with the demigoddess of war. Likewise, the men in robes are what the "adventurers" are for. She's surrounded by enough hired muscle that she shouldn't have to try and deal with them directly. As usual, what has her interest is the area's magic. Specifically, the forcefield, the orb, and how it is linked to the altars. It seems pretty elaborate for an elevator control mechanism, and so there must be a reason for it.     She finishes fishing the medallion out of her bag, standing aside as the armed Elites come rushing through, finding a quiet spot off to the side. She sends off a couple of obligatory, bottom level scout familiars, little more than remote eyes and ears, to keep track of them, but busies herself instead with inscribing the correct circles for a proper, in-depth analysis of the area and comparison to the voidsent energies of her token artifact, focusing on discerning any details she can of the orb, forcefield, altars, cultists, and minions in that descending order.     With any luck, by the time everyone else finishes killing (or re-killing) everything in sight, she might have a more permanent solution for this. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' If you thought you would be spared the noob brigade, think again. DUMBFACE MCGLOOMYPOO- I mean, SARAH PARSLE has scurried onto the scene. LATE. The fact Izzy is on site and active instead of living in his hippieland is even more motifaction than normal. As she clambers over the broken rocks and looks over the smashed area, she frowns at the central pit-like environment. "What the crap is this." She says aloud to no one in particular, because she hasn't CAUGHT UP yet. As she surveys all the BEAMS OF EVIL shooting at the ORB OF OMINOUS POWER, she observes, similarly to no one in particular, "This smells like evil asshole power." Turning, she zips along through the tunnels, following the trail of what mauled evil things and bugs and undead there might be until she reaches Paiyo. "Oh, hi, smart guy." Sarah says, waving to said Lalafell. "Sorry I'm late. Looks like everything went straight past hell and into some kind of double hell." She nods. "Don't worry, the forces of overkill present will help clean everything up. I'm going to go supervise." Sarah gives the lalafell who is only slightly shorter than she is a wave, and then she putters along, figuring Izzy is going to take the most direct path like usual, which means the upper levels. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     The upper level, the simpler of the two options and more straightforward path, being just a very large ring around the central platform and hole, is also the one with the most enemies. N'raha takes the lead, followed by Kyra and Lyria who immediatly turn things hostile as they rampage towards one of the altars. Though many skeletons immediatly charge, they're bombed down by gunshots and Kyra's magic right away; the imps, however, aren't so vulnerable to healing magic. The half a dozen of flying creatures charge the group, flinging ice spells left and right. Three cultists are at the first altar; one immediatly starts channeling a powerful spell upon seeing the untruders, while the other two fire volleys of lightning and void-y magic. One such spell misses N'raha but smashes the ground out from under him, causing a collapse! N'raha might find himself falling towards the altar down below (see next pose segment) if he isn't careful.     GENERIC INFO: Each altar has a bright purple-ish orb on it, which is what seems to be feeding power to the magical sphere and forcefield. The orbs seem to be siphoning nearby magic to gather it in one place, and there are many runes and inscriptions on and around them, indicating a complex spell.     LOWER LEVEL:     Unlike the upper level, the lower level is more contained, the caverns and tunnels still standing. Massive roots seem to hold the place together, as though the plantlife had grown specifically to support the tunnels.     Heading down reveals traces of fighting-- broken skeletons, a few dead Yarzon (think five foot tall six-legged granddaddy longlegs-- yeah, you can hate me for that description)-- and the likes. A great many side-rooms are empty, with tombs, graves and sarcophaguses that have been forced open. There are many riches here for the taking, if it interests you at all. Ancient armor and weaponry not made for combat but made to look pretty, plenty of gil, that sort of stuff.     Ahead, one can see the bright purple and blue hue of one of the altars feeding power to the orb now far above the group. Around it are three men in dark red robes, with a number of skeletons and imps with them. Three adventurers are in their midst-- Edda, the Conjurer in white and beige robe, clutching her backpack tightly as she sits on the ground, Liavinne, the Archer in green and brown leather, quiver empty and held at swordpoint by one skeleton, and Avere, flat on the ground next to Edda. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA IS MIGHTY AND POWERFUL AND CHARGING RIGHT IN AFTER THE OTHERS AAAAAH I'M A TANK FACE M-     Wait no, now we're falling and the catman flails in midair as he goes, flailing his axe a bit to right himself at at least try to land on his feet. "UWAAAHHHH!"     And it's not on his feet that he lands, but on top of one of the sword-wieling cultists, like some great red Mario. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The skeleton in front of Liavinne is Setsuko's first target.     Or rather, its sword is. The divine sharpness of Zanjintou is enough to split even ordinary metals easily, and she means to remove the danger with a quick downward slash through the sword itself, followed by a reverse cut up through the skeleton. Without missing a beat, she lunges in a bid to shoulder-tackle her way /through/ that skeleton, hurling herself over towards Edda and Avere. She means to plant herself directly above and in front of Edda, sword at the ready, in a defensive posture that puts her in position to respond to any of the cultists, imps or skeletons that might move to attack. But her gaze falls solely on the cultists themselves.     "I will give you one chance and one chance only. Leave, or all of you will die. I promise you, you do not have enough demons or undead to stop me. And I'm not alone." For pure effect, she allows her aura to begin simmering around her faintly, a subtle haze of blue divinity... and then down comes a catman from above. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     "YOU KNOW, NORMALLY I DON'T LIKE TO LABEL THINGS THAT WAY, BUT THEY MAKE IT REALLY HARD WHEN IT'S THIS OBVIOUS THAT IT'S EVIL ASSHOLE POWER." Izzy replies to Sarah, looking unamused at this fact. He shakes his head, whipping his hair from side to side in the doing. Like Sarah, he's somewhat behind the others, albeit with something of a head start on /her/. These weirdos aren't going to talk with them, as evidenced by all of the spooky skeletons and obviously demonic beings that start revving up.     This is a time to increase his armor class.     Izzy whips off his shirt and ties it around his waist. This absolutely makes sense in context, but probably just makes him look even weirder than he already does here. Not at all coincidentally, this kid is fucking built. He moves in with the kind of reckless confidence that only youth can conjure and decides to try something quite risky! Riskier than taking your shirt off in a fight. He ponders aloud, "I WONDER IF I CAN JUST..."     Then he tries to punch one of the volleys of voidy magic that got launched at his group. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Imps are not undead!" Kyra announces, "Those being shot as normal would be really helpful! I don't think the cultists are undead either!" Kyra says the word cultist with disdain, especially as their magic crumbles out the ground from N'raha, dropping him down deeper into the dungeon: "N'raha!!" She starts to advance only to be struck by a void-flavored spell from one of the cultists and sent sprawling.     She growls as she hauls herself up to her feet, immediately taking steps to wreck the magical onslaught. "SHELLGA!" she starts with, casting it on everyone still remaining on the upper level, imbuing them with the protective spell that will reduce the magic damage done when they get hit by spells.     Izzy personally is singled out for the next trick, knowing that the fighty tanky guy would certainly appreciate it as he'll no doubt get up close with the magic users.     "Reflect!" A blue barrier flickers around Izzy, not impeding him but most likely making cultists cry. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     The general flow of magic is useful information, and the runes on plain display will be once Scarlet has the chance to take pictures of them, but she needs to know a little more than that. She can sense the ambient magic is charged with the same kind of negative energy that the amulet recovered previously is, and so she attempts to find out where exactly it is, whether it's simply just what the cultists are using, whether it's radiating from the crypt itself, whether it's the orb artifacts individually, or whether it's what the orbs just happen to be siphoning in from one of the other sources.     Secondly is the forcefield itself. Specficially, what it's meant to block out, what means there are of bypassing it other than cutting off its power supply, if any, and if it really is just there to block off the use of what is probably a lift downwards simply to protect the burial site itself, in which case, why are the cultists tending to it? If it really is a harmless barrier, there is an immediately obvious use she has for it. If it's something more sinister, there's an equally immediate means of dealing with it. If it's neither, well then it's still an extra piece in her personal project.     "When you have the opportunity, could one of you try removing an orb from one of those altars for a few seconds, please?" She asks quietly over the radio while she focuses. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra skips over the vendor trash, only so many incventory slots after all.     When setsuko dashes out, the Judge hangs back for a just a moment, long enough for the cultists to draw their focus on SEtsuko, then rushes out. The Judge Blade is not a true holy weapon, but with Cirra strength and speed behind it it can rend bond. She slashes upwards into the back of one of the skeletons then spins around, brining the tip of the weapon low to the ground as it cuts directly across an imp.     The Judge, despite her plate mail style armor is contantly in motion, leaping up to spin around and bring a heavily amrored knees directly to one cultist's head and then tucking and rolling closer to the alters, springing up to take position near Setsuko...     and theres a cat-man falling from the ceiling.     "Maybe they don't have enoguh to stop you, but I think theres enough to inconvience us." 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' "Yeah, well, you can be all understanding and nonjudgemental and accepting while I just call it like I see it, Izzy." Sarah replies laconically to their now-tank since they lost catte-tank. "That's a whole lot of evil asshole, to boot. I'm surprised they're not full of horrorterrors while we're at it." Kyra provides useful information whole Sarah shimmies off to one side, using her inoffensiveness as a shield as usual. A few Blizzard blasts strike towards her, but the Shell flares, cutting the damage down to managable levels. "Bluuuuuh." She mutters. "Someone kill the stupid imp things, they're biting my style." While she offers that bit of advice, she tries to shimmy over to the stands of EVIL ORBS and tries to engage in a bit of YOINKING, attempting to remove it as per Scarlet's request. "This is probably going to explode in my face." She predicts with her standard fatalism. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' When N'raha drops down, Bertram responds on instinct. A quick cure followed by an immediate regen, which should hopefully top him off. Bertram then goes right for Avere, kneeling down next to the fallen adventurer, and checking for a pulse, then notices something rather upsetting. He makes one loud, angry statement, before switching his internal mana flow. "Rhalgr's wrath upon you!" Oh yeah, he's not happy, and he doesn't give the cultists the opportunity to respond to Setsuko, weaving energies and calling upon the energy of earth to summon rock spikes to launch up from right below the nearest one. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason had missed the bit about talking when she saw the undead? Well she kinda just acted like her training at school had taught her. She's mostly focusing on the undead to take them down. There's a lot of them, but the Imps? The imps are not really effected by the healing attacks. It's too late to do anytthing else now as she attemps to keep fiting with the imps and she's getting hit by ice spells and it's clearly hurting he as the icey magic claws at her body. Worse N'raha has gone falling into the depths and there's nothing she cna do. "N'raha!" She staggerss back a bit and she's aware of th alters but she's too tied up with the imps at the moment. Then Izzy gets a reflect spell from Kyra things might improve a bit now. She also trusts that Scarlet will be able to figure out things hera dn she makes note of her request if she gets a chance she will very much do this. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     One can't blame Izzy for the logic, this has evil ritual written all over it. And to answer his question: yes, he absolutely can. The black bolt of magic is punched, right back at one cultist, who practically chokes on it and falls over gasping for air. That must have been some sort of disease spell or something.     Kyra does reach the proper conlusion that Voidsent are not undead. Just evil. The protection spells she shoots will help! And so will that Reflect spell. A cultist is shocked by his own lightning bolt trying to fry Izzy with it. Izzy is either very lucky or the cultists are very unlucky.     Scarlet's analysis reveals the following: the orbs are siphoning magic in general, but the place being so tinted by death is REALLY helping the matter. It's also aligning the magic heavily with darkness and death, allowing such easy control of the undead. The massive orb above the forcefield is pretty much pure Aether, some sort of cocoon. The cultists use very similar magic, but the orbs are more complex and powerful in nature, the trade off being they must have required quite some time to set up correctly. The forcefield is linked to the cocoon, and seems to be present to keep things off the central platform. Within it one can see shadows and shapes gathering, as though being summoned.     Sarah loots one of the cultist orbs. It is overcharged with dark, Void-aligned magic, specialized to summon and empower Voidsent. It's about as comfortable as trying to hold a Palantir while Sauron is watching, but without the horrible mind intrusion. The removal of the orb from the altar does cause it to stop feeding magic to the cocoon though.     This angers the remaining cultist-- while imps are busy killing themselves on Izzy's Reflect, he slams his staff down, and a portal to the Void opens. A large Voidsent carrying a scythe walks out, a sort of demonic gargoyle. It charges for Izzy, swinging the weapon in a wide arc threatening Kyra and Lyria too!     LOWER LEVEL:     N'raha makes the most of his fall, landing atop one of the cultists. Some bones sound broken there, and they're not the catman's.     A one-two from Setsuko cleaves the skeleton's blade and then the skeleton himself, freeing Liavinne from its threats. As she steps closer, she may notice that Avere is... well, not an adventurer anymore. He's missing his head, and is fairly beaten up besides, many of the skeletons' weapons bloodied. This is likely what has Bertram so upset now. Edda is just kind of tightly hugging her backpack while still grounded.     Holy sword or not, Cirra's blade cuts through imps and skeletons with ease, and then her knee smashes one of the cultist's jaw in. The remaining one frowns.     "Your threats mean nothing! Dalamud grants us strength!"     Before he can say anything else, he's smashed in the face repeatedly by conjured rocks from Bertram, falling on his ass and writhing in pain. The remaining few skeletons and imps that didn't get offed by Cirra engage the group-- Liavinne pulls a knife out to help, but Edda just keeps hugging her backpack.     "WILL YOU STOP HUGGING THAT AND HELP US?" she shouts.     Edda doesn't answer.     Three skeletons make for Setsuko with spears and axes, two for N'raha both wielding swords, two imps fire blizzard volleys at Cirra, and Bertram is beset by one firing a mix of darkness and lightning. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Right this is shitty, everything is shitty, this has already gone to hell. N'RAHA manages to stumble up to his feet, kicking the man underneath him several times to encourage him to STAY DOWN. The healing spells help quite a bit. That said, there's Skeletons again! OH NO!     Actually fuck everything right now. The miqo'te's TEENAGE ANGER flares at this whole situation and he lashes out at the approaching skeletons, a Tomahawk blast of energy getting their attention properly as he steps in with a wave of anger and aether roiling off his axe. "SETSUKO DEAL WITH HER LATER, We've got more problems! He's already dead, Bertram can't fix headlessness!" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko's gaze is turned briefly over her shoulder. "You put your faith in a power that has fallen. Had I room to criticize, I would. But my blade makes me little better, I suppose."     She comes around just in time to cleave the head right off a spear, then lunge forward into a slash on the skeleton that launched it, followed by a quick turn; she grabs the second spear thrust at her and stops it cold, then uses her inhuman strength to simply lift the skeleton off the ground with that spear, and toss it over the edge. This gives the axe-wielding skeleton an opportunity to swing its weapon, and the demigod whips around - just in time to have the blade bury itself on her left shoulder, biting deep enough to draw plentiful blood.     The silver-haired glares fiercely at the skeleton, but the words that come out are for someone else. "I'm perfectly aware that he's already dead," she replies to N'raha, her voice coming out in a dangerously wintery tone. "You can all finish the job here if you like. I have faith that you can manage it. But vengeance is useless against enemies like these, and the dead are beyond help. /I intend to save those who still live./"     Zanjintou whips up, then down, a slash meant to completely bisect the skeleton whose axe is stuck in her shoulder. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Setsuko's words may have been meant for N'raha, but they reach Bertram, and he calms down. Somewhat. He's still calling upon the elements to smite his foes, but he does so in a more controlled manner, one more conducive to achieving goals rather than enacting vengeance. He draws upon the wind, trying to tear the skeletons apart through the harsh erosion of magic-enhanced air as he tries to make his way towards the altar. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     Technically speaking, the concept of luck doesn't really apply to Izzy. He's just getting convenient buffs applied to him at the right time and happens to be specialized in dealing with void-flavored juju. Which this is completely made of. Really, it's mostly just a happy coincidence, but not one that he's going to do anything -less- than ruthlessly exploit it. Speaking of which, if you think he's not going to ruthlessly exploit it against this voidsent, you've got another thing coming to you.     "HEY. WHOA NOW, THAT'S NOT HOW YOU USE THAT." Izzy declares, as the Voidsent comes at him with a scythe. He doesn't use tools if he can help it, but Izzy is in fact familiar with a scythe and gardening in a general sense. A war scythe is used quite a bit differently.     The Prince of Void demonstrates this by stepping in close to the charging voidsent so that it CAN hit him. Here's the problem with that, and the criticism that Izzy is laying forth: A scythe can essentially only be used in a limited number of ways. Swiping at multiple opponents essentially requires that it be swiped in a great horizontal sweep. Ideally the blade would mow through the targets, but in this case Izzy steps forward past the blade and into the path of the shaft, so it's lined up with his right side. There's no way it could possibly miss, but the blade has nowhere to go but behind him.     Consequentially, it'd also be incredibly difficult for the scythe's area-effect attack to take place.     If this wasn't ENOUGH, Izzy also snaps his elbow down and his knee up with abrupt and significant force, trying to catch the shaft of the scythe as it strikes him and break it. It won't stop the weapon from striking him, he's just hoping to break it before the voidsent can recover. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra's pleasure with her handiwork of buffing quickly fades as she hears an update from the lower level team. Sure, that Avere guy was kind of a jerk but he didn't deserve /that/. Wordlessly, she reaches under her left arm and pulls her Galiandan-style handgun out of its holster. She swings the weapon to point at the remaining cultist, firing upon him with the gun. But it's too late, he opens a portal to the Void and summoning a Voidsent.     Thanks to that, though, she flings herself aside, her shot missing, but she is not caught in the arc of the scythe. She doesn't pick herself back up fully, remaining crouched as she chants, calling forth more white magic. In particular, she turns her attentions to the Voidsent now tangling with Izzy. White light surges down her outstretched hand. "Banish!!" 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet's expression of distant concentration intensifies at her findings, though it doesn't waver as she multitasks with the radio and maintaining her circle. "Change of plans. Destroy the orbs, leave the altar if possible, but destroy them too if the first course of action has no effect. Main priority. We may be on a time limit." Normally something that barbaric wouldn't be her first choice, but the amount of aether being gathered on the main platform makes her doubt she has the time to try and defuse something like that by hand in what could well be a very short period of time. If breaking the orbs halts the process but doesn't cause it to collapse, she can try later.     On the off chance it does, she drops the spell, smudges out the circle with her shoe, reshoulders her bag and hurries over to the first altar on the upper floor where Sarah has already removed the orb, trying to reaquire a visual of the battle down below. As soon as she arrives, she begins quickly snapping as many shots as she can of the ritualistic runes and engravings with her collar and quickly examining the physical structure of the altar itself for relevance. She just has to know one last thing... 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason has thanks to Izzy gets some breathing room and can recover from the Imp's assaults upon her and she's going to make the best of it hnow with the cults thankfully she's got allies who are quite skills with to hopefully figure out just what's going on with the ritual here. Well then comes a gargoyle she's force to let one pistol go and pulls her cutlass as the last moment to parry the incoming strike she pulls back and leaps up attempting to land down and launch into a combo of strikes even as she turns some geomancey of the earth against the beast causing a spike of earth to attempt to rocket at the creature even as she engages it. If she's lucky she can keep it off Scarlet and let her get the information she needs to and thankfully with Kyra here she's after the Voidsent, wait what the deep six are those things?! 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' Sarah gets the news about Avere. She frowns, but doesn't seem to freak out like many others might. Being raised in Death Game High results in certain... psychological habits. the orb is something entirely different. Picking up the orb, she shudders at the power flowing through it, yelling out eloquently, "Eeyaaaaahagauuuurgh." As she wobbles back, her young body trembling. "Fffffffffffblllluuuuuuuuuuh!" She yells, about to reflexively hurl it at the ground... But instead, she pulls out a Captchalogue card and dumps it in there, the card getting summarily locked down and shuffled into her ENIGMA MODUS. Surely this is going to have no terrifyingly horrible effects later on. In her current state, she can't do much about the Voidbringer or the cultist. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Well, these cultists are deffinatly at the very least accessories to murder. Cirra purses her lips as the imps start up their spell casting. "Hmph." She's Shivan, but that kind of ice spell exceeds her ability to shrug off a drop in temperature.     The Shivan Judge does not flinch or look to run away though. Instead, she charges directly ahead. She drops down in a slide kick and skids directly across the stone floor with one hand proping her up as the Blizzard spells go off over her head, smashing into the floor where she was moments ago. The Judge hops up, and spins around, grasping at one of th eImp's necks.     "Begone."     Then, with black curls of smoke leaking out of her armor seams, she tosses the imp with enhanced strength at the other Imp, then grasps the Judge Blade in both hands, and aims to skewer through both their stoma hes in one go. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     Izzy abuses the logistics of swinging a scythe to have it smash into him shaft-first, and then shatter the weapon. This does spare Kyra and Lyria from the weapon's wrath entirely, though Izzy might be learning this thing is while not quite AS strong as him, not a wimp either. The shaft hit might leave a red mark! Either way, the gargoyle is now only wielding a scythe shaft for a weapon.     Kyra's banish spell smashes into the gargoyle, almost shredding it out of existence. It struggles, vainly, to remain materialized, but Lyria's cutlass rips the last of its strength away. The Voidsent disappears, and the group is no longer coming under fire.     Remains on the upper level one altar feeding power to the orb, and two on the lower levels.     Scarlet also acquires many pictures! It becomes clearer and clearer the spell was made to summon something, or feed something large quantities of power.     You can either walk to the next altar by going around the ring, or find a way across the hole that's more direct if that's available to you. Either way, that last altar is guarded by two more cultists, six imps, and another one of those large, summoned gargoyles with a scythe.     LOWER LEVEL:     N'raha just swings his axe around wildly, trying to carve absolutely everything up. There's certainly worse plans out there, since that does a number on the skeletons and imps he catches in the axe's shockwave. If the cultists could reply, they would shout about how Dalamud hasn't fallen at all and Setsuko just doesn't understand, but one has a broken jaw and the other two are in horrible pain. Thought that counts?     With a cool and cold attitude, Setsuko cleaves skeletons and states her intent to protect the living; Liavinne would express thanks, if she weren't busy cramming that knife in a skeleton's skull. Also a way to express thanks, really.     Harsh winds from Bertram slice apart skeletons and imps as well; predictably, he far outclasses them.     Cirra's maneuver allows her to skewer multiple imps in one flourish of the blade, and then silence falls on their section of the maze. The ALTAR glows ominously, blue and purple, as the orb on it continues siphoning magic above. Down the hallway and much further away is another altar and orb, with only one cultist guarding it. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko falls still for a moment as Cirra finishes the last of the skeletons, and then finally returns Zanjintou to its sheath. With a brief shrug of her shoulder to test it - and both a wince of pain and a fresh flow of blood from the wound in response - she then turns to the remaining two adventurers. Her words for the archer are simple. "Liavinne. Come here. I'm getting both of you out of here." However, when she addresses Edda, it's with a much gentler tone, and a light touch on the shoulder. "Edda. Come on. We have to go, it isn't safe here."     Unless Edda fights it, Setsuko will loop her right arm around the Conjurer's waist, and then her left around Liavinne's - that arm still hurts, but she can at least carry the elezen with it. With both of them in arm, she intends to fly them both all the way back outside through the tunnel the group came in, and while she can't manage her full speed in that closed space without endangering the both of them, she can still move fairly quickly. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     RIGHT. That's handled, and N'RAHA kicks one of the cultists again on the way past, as he shoulders his axe. There's cuts and slashes in his armor and he's bleeding in places, but he'll... you know, maybe notice that at some other point.     He's been asked nicely not to break the thing, but the Miqo'te looks to Setsuko dashing off with the fallen adventurers, and Bertram and Cirra with him. Hmph. Well. Brusers and a doc, what could go wrong?     He reaches up to the orb, and with a concentration of aether, tries to pull the thing off the pedestal without it scorching his hands with antimagic or void or whatever the crap this stuff is. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' With all the cultists taken care off, Bertram returns his internal aether patterns back to normal, spreading the lovely healing energies of Medica to help with whatever wounds have been taken during the fighting. "I hope we don't need to find out what these orbs were doing, but anyone in fighting condition should stay around just in case. We must needs respond if something demands our attention." 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra leaves the Judge Blade in the stomaches of the Imps as she turns back towards the altar. Then the blade dissappears, reappearing in her hand, and letting the blood that coated the blade to fall to the floor. Good guy or not, this young woman is clearly a stone cold combatant herself.     THe Judge tilts her head at Setsuko as she passes. "Go, I can handle one Cultist."     The Judge proceeds first to the nearest Orb, ungaurded as it is, and begins to search for a way to deactivate it. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Rather than Kyra circling around to the final altar, she waits for others to do that (well, save for Scarlet whom Kyra knows will not be engaging in dirrect combat if she can avoid it). She hangs back, electing to pick herself up off the ground and standing fully. From on the other side, she was at least fairly safe, she felt.     This won't stop her from trying to shoot one of the cultists with her gun, though. "So..." she says to Scarlet conversationally, "What are you picking up from those orbs? All I can sense is Void but I can feel it even without a Scan spell. It's very intense and very...hm, is evil the right word for it? It feels evil. Chaotic." 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     Izzy Hyland makes a loud grunting sound as the shaft of the scythe slaps against his side. He wouldn't be all that surprised if it cracked something, but his training has been extreme enough that he can ignore the pain that's started radiating out from his right side. There's going to be a hell of a bruise, and it's already red and swollen-looking even now. He shakes his head, "MAYBE NEXT TIME I SHOULD JUST WAIT UNTIL ITS RIDICULOUS SWING RANGE WAS ALREADY DONE AND PUNCH IT AFTERWARDS. OH WELL." He glances over towards the EVIL ORB on the opposite end of where he's at.     Then towards the hole in the middle of the room, and back towards the opposite evil orb.     "WHY IS THIS PLACE LAID OUT LIKE THIS?" He asks nobody in particular, moving on to try to find a way around the pit to the other side. He'd like to try and rocket jump over, but he's pretty sure he can't take on all of those guys by himself once he gets there. Also, it'd hurt him on the way in.     Rocket jumps really aren't that smart when you're made of meat.     "SUMMONING VAGUELY DEMONIC THINGS IS USUALLY PRETTY EVIL." He asides to Kyra, scratching at the back of his head. "ACTUALLY I WONDER IF THEY'D JUST TALK WITH ME ABOUT THEIR RELIGION. PROBABLY NOT, HUH?"     Izzy is the sort of person to entertain Jehova's Witnesses. It's not good for his popularity. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "No." Kyra comes her extremely quick, terse reply, "They're cultists, they're bad news. I bet they're fanatics too." She sounds Very Opinionated about this particular matter. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     LOWER LEVEL:     Liavinne shakes her head. "Nah, it's fine. You guys cleared the way in, right? I'll take her out, and then I'm done being an adventurer. This is nothing like what Avere said, you know? Glory, riches. What've we got instead? Just a dead guy and a creepy girl hugging his--" She frowns, yanking Edda by the arm since she hadn't stood up yet. Setsuko's certainly free to grab them both anyway. "Will you lose the bloody thing anyway, that's BEYOND creepy. Come on, let's get out.     Edda mutters a weak thank you towards Setsuko-- assuming she does not impose herself, Liavinne will see Edda out. If Setsuko does impose herself, though, neither will complain. Liavinne just figures Setsuko might prefer to finish the business here.     N'raha successfully removes the cultist orb from the altar.     TWO AETHER TETHERS REMAIN.     Bertram provides some medical care.     Cirra approaches the final altar, going down the hallway. OCTAVEL THE UNFORGIVING turns to face her, grinning under his hood. "A small adventurer party? I will use your Aether to fuel our ritual! Watch, O Dalamud, as I perform your will!"     He taps into the orb's power and then-- something shakes, rumbles. He glances around nervously. "What?"     Before he can benefit from INCREDIBLE COSMIC POWER, gigantic tree roots surge out of the catacomb walls and tunnels, ripping him to shreds. A large, bulbous, plant-like head emerges from the ceiling, glaring with anger and-- pain? Is that pain?     The roots surge for Cirra now, flailing about violently.     Bertram might remember, before the Calamity, of the way the elementals of the Black Shroud kept their eye on the Deepcroft. THE CARETAKER, a massive, singular tree larger than any other in the forest. That massive hole in the catacombs? The tree used to be there. That platform is built on its destroyed trunk. It's in agony, in confused anger, like the corrupt elementals of the Shroud. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason sees Izzy abuse the issue with the scythe, good. He works fast, and saves her from getting hit by something really nasty. Thankfully this opens things up for her own attacks she sees the voidsent vanish and she hopes that's the end of it for the moment. She looks about to make sure nothing else is threatening them, with that confirmed she holste4rs one pistol and recovers the other, she remains armed for the moment, just looks to the next pack of enemies. Scarlet seems to have not been bothered by them, good, very good. She'll make ready to head in and deal with the new enemies s she looks over to Kyra for a moment she then raises her own pistol to try and do much the same as her. She thinks about what she knows and wonders, Scarlet's going to likely know more at this point she lines up the shot and pulls a trigger. "I'm pretty with Kyra on this given what they are trafficking in I doubt they are going to want to talk things out, but if you can prove us wrong, do so." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha... Stops. Right in his tracks at the sight of the Caretaker. He's not a religious Miq by any means, but this is the sort of thing that makes even jaded young assholes take notice. "Twelves..."     And then Nice Lady Judge Cirra is gettign assaulted by roots and vines and crap and the Marauder... well, he just so happens to have an axe. He's knocked out of his awe induced stupor and turns to start hacking at the stems, aiming to keep Cirra free from Offending Tentacles. "DOC, THAT THING IS YOUR SIDE OF BUSINESS!" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko relents, though there is concern in her eyes; there might still be lingering Voidsent or undead or cultists. But perhaps it is better to let them go on their own. She does, however, stop them briefly before they go, with a hand on Liavinne's shoulder this time.     "Liavinne. Please, if you have any decency as a person, watch after her. If you can't or won't take care of her yourself, find someone who can. I've seen too many like her. This is going to shatter her - make sure someone is there to help her pick up the pieces."     That much said, she turns - just in time to see The Caretaker come after Cirra. In an instant, she has her katana in hand, and darts in to start hacking away at the roots alongside N'raha. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram is in a temporary state of shock as he realizes what's going on. N'raha's shout gets him out of it, fortunately, and he says out loud what he realizes. "It's the Caretaker. They mutilated the Caretaker; and I don't think it knows the difference between us and them." He starts casting regens on those present, including the -- hopefully -- departing remnants of the failed adventuring group. No offensives just yet. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra looks up at Octavel the Unforgiving. She stands ready with her sword up as her taps the Orb. "I don't have any-" The roots break through the walls, taking Octavel is torn to shreds by the roots.     It is a /hair's breadth/ that cirra leaps backwards, away from the mass that destroyed the cultist and is only caught in a wave of vines thick enough to bowl her over in sheer weigh, grabbing arond her body and arms and slamming her against the wall, forcing air out of her lungs in a rush. "Haa!" That hurts. She can't summon her Dark Knight strength after that. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     As the group starts to converge on the fourth and final altar, Scarlet gathers the last of her notes and finally drops the inquisition, having all the information she can realistically obtain for the time being. She doesn't have a totally conclusive picture of the ritual, but enough to know what's going on. Now glad that she'd asked specifically to preserve the altars, she drops to her knees by the first one, unbuckling her bag and getting out the handful of neatly tagged regeants labelled by AR display in their identical canisters she needs for her next task. One of two.     "That much is correct. The whole area's ambient magic has been tainted with it, probably deliberately. The orbs are siphoning it to power an elaborate summoning ritual, but the forcefield is there mostly just to keep people away from it. That's why I want those orbs destroyed or neutralized as soon as possible. By now the ritual could very well have been set up to run without any further input from a magus. It might still activate without the cult present." Her tone addressing Kyra is considerably more businesslike in its seriousness.     She's no scholar in Eorzean magical languages, however Scarlet feels fairly confident that she can at least identify the vital components in the physical guides for the spell written down on the stones with her experience in various kinds of magecraft. Picking out which pieces of the script appear to be crucial to both gathering and focusing energy, she begins carefully overlaying them with a small arsenal of abjuration circles of her own, jabbing it with various kinds of magic cancelling and deconstruction until one kind or another appears to be effective.     Her second objective proceeds without her direct guidance. The fourth altar is abruptly assaulted by the winged teeth and claws that fade from out of the inbetween, abruptly landing on the congregation of minions and masters in a thrashing whirlwind of bone-white chitin and burning embers. There's no real finesse to the attack, just the element of surprise followed by uncontrolled berserk violence from a kind of familiar she had used previously, forbidden only from using its breath weapon. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     Kyra has a gun, so range is meaningless. With accurate shots she can take a cultist out early!     Izzy finds that the stony platforms and road continue on all the way around; if he minds his footing a bit, he won't fall down or cause a collapse, and he'll reach the other altar just fine. If he doesn't hurry it looks like Lyria and Kyra are just going to gun all the things though, because another few gunshots from Lyria take the second cultist and an imp out. Remains a Voidsent and a few imps now.     Scarlet's familiar starts shredding imps, and soon there's only the Voidsent left, the gargoyle actually going the long way around to meet Izzy halfway-- just faster, since it has wings. This one swings its scythe too, but downward and from above, trying to make an abrupt landing on the Prince of Void.     The ORB is still on the altar.     LOWER LEVEL:     Liavinne gives Setsuko a shrug as she begins escorting Edda out. "Not my problem. I warned them she was creepy and I didn't like her. Avere was a dumbass for running ahead so much but--" She bites her tongue, if only because Edda is RIGHT THERE. "Whatever. I'll get her back to Gridania's inn and then I'm out. I hear they're looking for workers in Vesper Bay, I think that'll be more up my alley." PRAY RETURN TO THE WAKING SA-- okay no not yet. But soon.     Setsuko and N'raha dive right ahead, clipping the Caretaker's roots away. Each one cut is replaced by another, which tears through the stone foundations of the Deepcroft to reach at them. With the aid of Bertram's regeneration spell, the roots probably can't cause much harm individually, though together it's another matter. Cirra had it much worse, being part of the initial flailing.     The 'head' of the Caretaker glares, that weird, large bulb with strange eyes and no other features. Earth magic flows from it, sending quakes along the ground, trying to prevent people from dodging the roots quite as easily.     The ORB is still on the altar.     CENTRAL PLATFORM: Something stirs within the forcefield, as magic begins flowing from the cocoon into it. A large, very tall shape, somewhat bulky, evidently in robes of some kind. It's preparing to break free-- dealing with the last two orbs may be a bigger priority than finishing the chaff off.     Modifications to the spell by Scarlet seem to be causing one of the remaining two tethers to shift from purple-blue to red-yellow. This is very obviously damaging the spell and scattering the Aether across the crypt rather than into the cocoon or forcefield. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Elaborate summoning ritual?" Kyra thinks back to Diabolos sealed in that city. "Maybe there was some Primal they were trying to call forth? That seems like a dumb thing to do but these are cultists we're talking about and Primals here might be able to temper people. That is brainwash them into servants. We might want to ask about that later, see if that's still a thing." She tells Scarlet, "Can you figure out anything else about this ritual?"     Since they want the orbs destroyed and, frankly, walking and platforming is for people with non single-digit STR scores, Kyra turns the aim of her gun to a different target now that all of the cultists have been shot. Strangely, here she doesn't seem too disturbed that she probably killed those guys even though direct killing of sentinent races was not something she indulged in.     She's aiming for the remaining orb, of course. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Liavinne receives a positively glacial glare. But Setsuko doesn't take it further than that.     Instead, she's got something else to worry about; namely, Cirra. The quakes aren't much trouble for Setsuko, whose feet simply lift right off the ground. But in doing so, amidst all her slashing and slicing, her head turns in just the right way to notice the bulb up above. It seems to be the source of all this... and, if she can trust her dim supernatural senses, one of the Elementals. Unfortunate. But it needs to be done, and the Elemental seems to be suffering.     Up she goes, soaring through the air past the aethereal cocoon and straight at the bulb high above. "My apologies for ending your existence, but it will be best for you and us both-!" For the first time since entering the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, the swordswoman awakens Zanjintou fully, growing it out to its full twelve-foot length and bringing it around in a mighty slash meant to cleave the 'head' in half. And then another, and then a third. She's being thorough. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' Sarah isn't even bothering to fling JENGA BLOCKS at the monsters, the rest of TEAM MURDERFACE is all over Strifing these guys into the ground. Instead, she seems to scurry along at the periphery, running from point to point in order to try to beat people to these DARK ORBS OF EVIL MAGICS and captchalogue them. After all, she's got one already, she can just stack them. Efficient, albeit perhaps worrying to people who care about potentially hauling around terrifying manifestations of death and destruction in one's inventory system. It might be a race to see if she can beat Kyra's aim to one of those. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason turns her gun's attention on the imps now as she contiunes to try to clear out the remaining parts of the pack to make Izzy's life easier when he gets there hopefully she will be able to do this well enough. Information comes out and she thinks for a moment about it. "So they might be summoning one to try andf chain it? That doesn't bode well." She keeps trying to keep the remaining monsters off balance with her shots as she sees Kyra line up her shot. Hopefully she can pull this off, but it seems now Scarlet has the information that they need, right? Things are looking up. "Well if we need to do anything else Lady Everille. Just tell us what we need to do we can ask questions about the ritual once it's fully shut down!" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     "These are tough bastards to cut!" Chop chop chop, goes that axe, N'raha busy trying to free Cirra from the roots as he watches the exchange and Bertram and all of it. The din of battle rings in his ears as he spins in place, stepping into the mass of vines and surging with power.     There's a palpable sense of energy as he feels all of his wounds just fade into the background, his swings becomes more focused, his body thrilling with battle. All of this is a grand adventure right now.     But even over his own rushing blood, he can sense Setsuko awakening again, and... and there's a twinge of worry in his core, as she unleashes herself. He can hear the execution of the great tree up above and it's just... it's a lot to take in. He puts himself back to the vines, growling to Cirra. "We may need to run here. That tree holds much of this place, or what's left of it, intact." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' This isn't going too well by the looks of it, and Bertram adds on a few cures for Cirra before throwing an aero at the caretaker. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve this." He says, though it's not clear to who he's speaking. He makes sure to try to avoid standing near anything too dangerous. "Setsuko, I'll see what I can do for her when we're done here. Conjurers are healers of the spirit as well as the body." He then quickly throws a stoneskin on N'raha to help with his survival. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     The Judge catches her breath by focusing on breathing, instead of letting her abused lungs try to suck air in greedily. The Judge's armor starts to leak black curls of smoke again as she strains against the vines, it is slow but eventually she manages to get her Judge Blade free and drops it from her hand.     The blade flips through the air as it falls. The Judge breaks apart the weaker viens holding her legs, and grabs the Judge Blade between her feet, and with another outpowering of dark knight power, kicks her feet as hard as she can, releasing the blade to send it flying.     She van feel the anger from the plant monster, normally she wouldn't pick up on it so keenly, but it's angry at /everything/ and the corruption...     THe Judge blade flies straight and true, for the orb. Aiming to either knock it off it's pedestal, or shatter it.     The Judge herself slips her arms out of her armor and lurches forward, trying to grasp the bulb with both hands. A Dark Knight for Galianda feeds on their own pain to make themselves stronger. This is why they have a reputation of being loners, misfits and miscreants.     The truth is, a lot of them can't bear other's pain. "STOP." she tries to command the plant. She can't controll it, she can't even take away pain or anguish. But she can show that other people are in pain too, if it's receptive. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     "ALRIGHT. I GUESS YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT ABOUT THEM ANYWAY." Izzy asides to Kyra with a shrug, and since they spoke on the same issue, he doesn't bother to address Lyria directly. He doesn't really feel a need to prove anybody wrong! And these guys keep coming at him with scythes. Unfortunately for him this one gets the drop on him, by breaking off from its group and also using its mobility advantage. He gets slashed pretty good, from head to about halfway down his waist. It traces a shallow path across the center of his face at a slight angle, losing contact momentarily before continuing in a semibroken line down the front of his chest. It's shallow, though he bleeds quite profusely along his head for fairly obvious reasons.     "GOD DAMN IT," He swears, circling to one side of the scythe and unable to actually assess the damage. But, he doesn't forget the weaknesses of scythes. They're simply not configured to be swung that way, which is part of why that wasn't a fatal blow. If it had been an axe, or perhaps even a hacking blade, it could've killed him.     This time, he just uses the relative slowness of recovering from a swing like that -- particularly with an unbalanced thing like a scythe -- to execute his own offensive motion without actually checking the voidsent's location. One hand rises open palmed, aiming to strike the voidsent in the chin and force its head upwards, continuing on until fully extended and then drawing back, trying to drag the voidsent's head down.     Preferably towards the ground, but he's doing this one-handed and can't really see what he's doing that well. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     "Not much else without further examination, which we really don't have the time for" Scarlet replies urgently to Kyra, glancing pointedly at the "cocoon" of aether beginning to take definition on the main platform. "Right now, the reason why or the specifics of what are less relevant than stopping it before either becomes important." She seems to be pointedly ignoring the caretaker, not being her problem for the moment, and presuming that as violent as it is, it should probably be less threatening than whatever might be brought into existence at the completion of the ritual. The tragedy of what it represents slips right by her.     The moment the altar is free of pressing obstruction, the familiar carries out the remainder of its orders, snatching whichever orb the others are unable to get to immediately and trying to simply crush it between its exagerrated, xenomorph jaws, obviously heedless to how suicidal that could potentially be. Should that not prove adequate, it will simply stretch its massive, reverse swept wings again and launch itself across the chasm, back to its master, dropping the artifact off where she can isolate it with directly applied wards, and ready it for later disposal. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     Kyra's shots screech through the air and impact the orb. It doesn't break or shatter outright, though it does crack and start leaking Aether slowly. This seems enough to stop it from feeding any more magic to the ritual.     Sarah can snatch the cracked orb no problem. It's still quite charged with magic, just leaking it quickly. If she stuffs it in her inventory the leaking will stop, at least.     Izzy tanks the scythe slash and once more abuses the logistics of swinging such a weapon around to smash the Voidsent into the ground; perhaps because the cultist that summoned it isn't around anymore, or maybe it's just Izzy's affinity for messing with Void-related matters, the gargoyle does not get back up, dissipating into Aether, leaving just its blade behind.     LOWER LEVEL:     Setsuko's massive blade cleaves into the Caretaker's would-be head, causing not blood but corrupt, purple-tinted Aether to flow out. As the roots begin to slooooow, the ambient magic in the air causes BERTRAM and N'RAHA to suddenly just completely lose focus and stare ahead for half a minute, as soon as they're done axing and healing.     Through THE ECHO, the elements address them both. The message is confused, unclear and difficult to translate in a spoken language, but they understand it clear as day. The forest apologizes. The Caretaker was the watcher of the dead, there to protect Gridania's ancestry. But a flow of images shows them the coming of the Lambs of Dalamud shortly after the Calamity, using their fell magicks to break the Caretaker and build atop him. It shows the falling ashes of the Calamity landing on the grass of the Deepcroft, each flake draining the life around it. And it shows the great, majestic tree the Caretaker used to be, and it simply says 'thank you'.     They will come to again to see Cirra's blade smashing through the fourth orb, scattering the Aether in the air. As the final tether disappears, the final, still-moving roots of the Caretaker forms a ramp so that those of the lower level can climb to the central platform now.     CENTRAL PLATFORM: The forcefield and the Aether cocoon both burst, causing a gust of wind in the catacombs. In the center of the platform stands GALVANTH THE DOMINATOR, a very large (10ish feet) Mindflayer-- essentially a humanoid in robes with a squid face. Cthulhu's lesser known and younger brother. Wielding a scepter with a blue orb at the end, the Mindflayer immediatly falls to one knee, seemingly weakened by Scarlet's messing with the spell and the cancellation of the ritual.     "WHO DARES SUMMON ME IN THIS CRUDE VESSEL?" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko could, strictly speaking, weather that rush of corrupt aether without issue. But it would be extremely unpleasant, and she somehow realizes this on pure instinct; Zanjintou comes up and becomes a barrier to protect her from it, and for a few seconds that's all she does. That, and to close her eyes, and extend her senses outward, reaching out to offer wordless apology to the Elementals in general.     And then a Mindflayer appears below them.     That thing needs to die. And, imagine that, Setsuko is in perfect position for her signature attack. She doesn't have nearly the altitude she'd usually like for it, but this much will be enough to at least cause a fair degree of harm. So the swordswoman allows herself to fall, brings Zanjintou around, and then uses her power of flight to PUSH herself the last fifty or so feet down towards Galvanth the Dominator - and whips her colossal blade around to parley all that momentum into a single, vicious falling strike.     "SHIPPU... DOUTOU!!" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA... well. The Echo speaks to him, the land speaks to him. The world speaks to him, and there's a sense of ease that slides into his being, easing through the pain and theanger that had been pouring through him before.     In its place, though, is something more righteous, as he takes up that Inferno Axe once more, stepping up the platform to the central spire. He growls, a very low and predetory noise, at the Mindflayer. "Well, as it turns out a bunch of crazy people tried to do that. But Dalamud /fell/. It's over, and you aren't sticking around long enough to find out anything more, Voidspawn."     The blunt edge of the axe scrapes on the old stone tile, as he steps in close, charges in, and looks up at the Demigoddess taking the first shot. There's something deep inside him that aches seeing this. Why did they need so much help from the outside? He should be able to do this. He should...     The miqo'te calls out. "SETSUKO, LET ME TAKE THIS." The axe falls, and he /slams/ into the creature with a aether powered shoulder tackle, following up with a heavy swing of that axe. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' To some it may look like the corrupt aether has made Bertram ill, he half-collapses as the Echo starts doing its job. After the visions dissipate, Bertram looks around to see what happened while he was stuck in the Echo, and responds the best way he knows how while he tries to assess the situation, healing energies flow forth, spreading around to help knit tight wounds and close future wounds as they come. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     "THERE ARE ALREADY WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THAT MELEE." Izzy decides aloud, looking down at the fight from his possition at the UPPER LEVEL. They clearly don't need him in the thick of things. So, he decides, he's going to use his big gun. There's a faint flickering above his shoulder as a BAZOOKA appears over him. He grabs it one-handed and kneels down at the edge of the platform, raising a hand to wipe the blood out of one of his eyes and hold it in place to prevent the blood from getting -back- into his eye. Temporarily, at least. It'll just pool on his hand instead for now.     Somebody gave this shouting, vaguely irresponsible teenager a bazooka.     Just think about that.     Speaking of, Izzy fires his bazooka at the Mindflayer's back. He's not really aiming that well, he just has to get it in the splash damage. Or so he figures. He may also be banking on that thing's sheer size causing it to absorb any collateral that might otherwise occur.     "FIRE INCOMING." He calls, possibly as an afterthought. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     With the Caretaker retreating, Cirra shuts her eyes briefly...     Until squid face McJerkass appears. "Why is it never easy?" She grabs her armored gauntlets and straps them back on, summoning the Judge Blade back to her hand. The Judge gives N'raha a shake. "Keep moving." She turns and heads up towards to wehre she cans ee the central platform.     "Establishing battlefield control." The judge draws a card from some invisible pocket at her side. "The. RAMPART!" she slaps the card into the ground. Spikes begin to jut up from the platform, pointing towards the Mindflayer type thing, but with a pattern of free movement within for the party members to get through. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     The tone of Scarlet's radio chatter abruptly changes as the ritual manages to complete, deliberately truncated as it may have been. It doesn't take someone as experienced and talented in magic as her to recognize that whatever the thing on the central platform it, it's been badly weakened by their combined efforts.     "New plan. I've worked enough countermagic on the ritual that...whatever that thing is should have left a significant portion of its power behind in where it was summoned from. I was hoping to cancel it completely, but we'll have to take what we can get. Kill it now. If we let it run off, it'll regain its power and become much more difficult to deal with. Take advantage of the opportunity and coordinate fire. Anyone using long distance attacks, circle so that you're not firing directly across the roots, they're the only real way the melee fighters have to get up there. Stick to the lower level if you need to stay out of the way. I'd like it if someone were to position themselves towards me so we can prevent it from escaping if it tries to run. We'll get nothing from the Sylphs if it vanishes off into the forest only to reappear and resume causing them trouble later."     Bandits, primals and magitech soldiers aren't things the magus normally concerns herself with, however containing and terminating a rogue summon is well, well within her area of expertise. In her own world, a closed room with one exit filled with a coordinated and experienced kill team with all angles of fire on a single target are the ideal conditions for cleaning up a botched translocation, which, fortunately, more or less appears to be the scenario they have on their hands here.     Her rehearsed role in this situation is simple. Recall her familiar to herself while she moves for the exit and drops a high-level, pre-prepared, multi-layer ward on top of it, consuming the extremely expensive regeants used to inscribe on the pre-written talisman to erect a short lived, yet highly effective barrier tuned to prevent the passage of translocation magic, roughly translating to "summoned creatures and teleportation" in this world. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' Sarah's not all that useful in the grand melee, sticking back on the UPPER LEVEL. She knows her specialties lie elsewhere compared to the mass of head-biting tooth-gnashing instant hell murder that is present in the area. Thus it is that she sits back to one side, staying out of the grand melee as she waits for the inevitable twist. There's always a twist. That, and helping Izzy aim by standing beside him and sort of tilting him to help compensate for the fact that he's apparently half-blind from blood getting in his eyes. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason seems to have handled the last of the inps from the looks of things, well the rituatl may still be an issue right? She looks about the level keeping her pistol level. She sees the Mindflayer and there's a feeling of fear in the pit of her stomach and she's wishing she'd brought Remora along for this. Still she now goes for her other pistol again and starts to look forth at the thing down there. She's going to take care with her shots as she sets them to non elemental shots, she doesn't want to make things harder for the close combat types with the party. "I understand Lady Everille." She then opens fire trying to supress the thing giving her allies a chance to get close. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     The extremely weakened Mindflayer is not exactly up for a fight. Setsuko leaps up and down, cleaving downward with her massive sword. She cuts one of Galvanth's arms straight off, as it barely manages to move aside.     As N'raha taunts the Voidsent, it replies: "Dalamud's message will ring through the ages! Its descent was a sign, one these little Lambs have followed through on. Syrcus lay unpowered, unprotected-- Darkness shall devour all."     Darkness with a capital letter, there.     It obviously refers to an entity.     N'raha slams into Galvanth, knocking him back a few feet, but it seems much more alert now, not so easily cut into pieces.     Bertram's healing, as usual, is sure to be invaluable.     Izzy fires a BAZOOKA at Galvanth. Hopefully people in melee duck out, although it's true the sheer size of the Mindflayer prevents the collateral from being too great as its body shields people from the explosion, which scorches and sears the fishman.     Cirra's Judge magic creates spikes and obstacles preventing Galvanth from moving about, if it could at all; and numerous spikes skewer through him, locking him further in place.     Lyria's gunshots put numerous holes in the beast's chest, and then Scarlet's spell takes effect. It starts to strike at Galvanth's presence and stability-- and with a roar of rage, dispels the summoning. Galvanth's scepter falls to the ground, the weapon topped by a blue jewel that seems fairly charged with water-aligned Aether. No doubt this could be used to strongly amplify water spells or effects, or with some creativity and retooling could be used for other purposes. There's only one, though, so you'll have to decide who wants it most.     With that, the Deepcroft falls silent. The clattering of bones resounds through all of it, as undead fall to the ground, no longer animated. It'll take time for the Aether to heal, but at least it's not being polluted by cultists anymore.     It's unfortunate, but Edda won't be found in Gridania after the fact. Mother Miounne (the Adventurers' Guild innkeep) will certainly report both she and Liavinne arriving, but shortly after Liavinne left, Edda did too. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The instant Setsuko hears N'raha's words, she hurls herself back and out of the way, keeping Zanjintou at a low ready position. She'll let the catman take things unless her blade proves necessary.     And thankfully, it doesn't. The swordswoman finally returns her sword to its smaller state and sheathes it, looking from the dead Mindflayer, up to the ceiling, and then over to where Avere's body lies.     She finds it difficult to call this any sort of victory. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra lets her sword vanish again, the crystal blade seemingly deconstructing itself. She looks over at Avere's body, she didn't know him but gets the sense of loss from others. "..." she walks back to the lower sectin and picks up one of the cultsists by the back of the hood.     "You and I are going to have a long conversation." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     But as the others look to Avere and the cultists and everything... N'raha just sinks to the floor in the central platform, catching his breath and trying to find a calm place again.     A glance is tossed at Setsuko as she heads out and he feels a pang of...     Something. Right now, sorting out individual emotions is rough, and the Miqo'te is just trying to put himself all the way back together. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Questioning of the cultists will reveal that the Lambs of Dalamud believe that the scent of blood will call down something called Menphina's Loyal Hound, Menphina being the Eorzean goddess of love (AKA one of the Twelve) and the keeper of its formerly twin moons (now only one). They don't feel in the slightest their cause was lessened by Dalamud's fall, but rather take it as a sign of impending success.     Some of the cultists have taken straight up to worshipping Bahamut instead of Menphina as a result of Dalamud being brought down and revealed to contain him, and they call upon denizens of the Void to assist them.     For reasons unknown, Voidsent have willingly been helping the Lambs of Dalamud since its fall, but prior to that were significantly more difficult to command. Something about 'Syrcus' and 'Darkness' capital-D, but the questioned cultist doesn't know more. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra brings the cultist back from the side room she went to have this 'conversation' with, still dragging him by his hood. She lifts him up and dumps him back at the feet of the group, allowing him to babble on about the same information she just heard so she doesn't have to repeat it.     "He was cooperative..." she turns and begins walking. "...Once I asked him /properly/." 

}}

2585/Leve: Levin an Impression

2015-08-17T05:38:22Z

Lightmage:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/07/05
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Yda and Papalymo request and receive assistance to investigate a disturbance amongst the Tempered Sylphs of the Black Shroud.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 666, 670, 714, 815, 819, 826
|Tinyplot=The Six Crystals of Light
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:''' Notice from the Scions of the Seventh Dawn (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)! Leve: Levin An Impression Location: Sylphlands, East Shroud Type: Escort Urgency: Very High Difficulty: Unknown Enclosed Message: Papalymo and Yda, two members of the Scions, have requested an escort into the Sylphlands, a region of the East Shroud, to investigate the behavior of the hostile Sylvans in the area. Something seems to have agitated them terribly recently, to the point it's left an imprint in the Aether, and the friendlier Sylphs don't seem to know what's going on either. Please come prepared for combat against magic-wielding foes. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     WELCOME TO THE BLACK SHROUD.     You've heard this a dozen times. Magical forest, watchful presences, energy in the air, yadda yadda. You've all been here before so we'll skip over presentation.     The Hawthorne Hut, a small somewhat fortified Gridanian holding, is where you were told to meet Yda and Papalymo... but they're not here. Instead, as you arrived (through whatever means; Warp Gate, Aetheryte, your own methods), you find a note glued to the Aetheryte Crystal, sealed by a symbol resembling an eye surrounded by runes, recognizable as the logo of the Scions, per the request for help.     As such: http://puu.sh/iOrhe/4b126531c4.jpg     Whoever reaches for it and opens it finds that it consists in only one line: "Yda ran off ahead, please meet us at the bridge. -Papalymo"     In finer print, near the bottom: "That idiot."     Fortunately, both Bertram and Alwyn should know of the bridge up north that leads into the Larkscall, just near the border of the Sylphlands. It's not a long trek, once people are gathered!     For reference, the weather is foggy. Lightning illuminates the sky through the trees now and again, thunder echoing through the forest, but it's not raining at least. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Some kind of problem agitating the local beast tribes is immediately a point of concern; while Setsuko does not know this herself, members of her faction native to this world /do/ - and after having come to help once aready, she's willing to come and do so again, however her blade might be of service.     "So there's a danger they could summon one of these 'Primals'... what exactly are they? The last time I was here, I put on a show of power to... quell a situation, let's say, and I was mistaken for one." The swordswoman has once again arrived via the Hawthorne Hut warpgate, but it seems that their contacts have gone on ahead. Rather than hop astride a mount as so many locals might do, however, she's quite content to walk the distance from there to Little Solace. But even if others do opt for mounted travel, it's not as if she can't keep up. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason is back at Black Shround once more she knoes the deal of the job she's brought her drones but this time? Remora is here but it's looking on edge. For now they might. She's got her goggles down as it helps a little with the dog by keeping it directly out of he eyes. she hears about the talk of a Primal and shudders slightly. If it comes ot that it's gong to be very bad day for everyone." 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle is here, astride her magical (and thus not actually real) chocobo-creation with black feathers. It does wark convincingly! And does so, as she rolls into the area of the Hawthorn Hut. She checks the note, and presses her glasses up her nose. "Ah. It appears that I am not the only one with a penchant for drawing off from the main group foolishly. Thankfully, that notion has been rather firmly beaten out of me." She notes, before finding someone - anyone - to party up with for the ride to meet Alwyn and the Scions party. Thankfully, mounted, she's not getting any exercise - which is pretty much where the Calculator wants to be, with respect to doing things. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "Ahhh, Yda. Never change." Bertram says after reading the note, clearly amused. He picks up his staff and waits for others to arrive, clearly intent on showing others the way. He looks to be in a good mood. He answers Setsuko's question with a brief summary, "They are powerful entities composed of condensed Aether, summoned by the faith of the Beastmen tribes and copious crystals. They're dangerous not just because they're powerful, but because most people who get near them end up being devout followers of those primals. As such, we must needs prevent their summoning, or if that's not possible, disperse them as soon as possible." Once everyone has arrived, he starts walking in the proper direction. "Pray follow me, I know the way, and I'm on good terms with the Sylphs who haven't been touched by the Lord of Levin's influence. It's not far, a malm at most, unless Yda has pressed on beyond the bridge. I wouldn't put it beyond her." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Well it's good that they're helping these folks out today, really, cause Bertram said N'raha should be talking to them anyways. And so, dressed in his finest dingy looking plate mail, the miq is following along side the others. "Ah, that's because really, summoning the Primals is how the Beast Tribes work. Something happens and they call up their god and then crap starts off. I mean, the Primals are just plain bad news."     His tail droops a little bit as he fidgets with his axe. "It's like... They aren't just a representative of their people, they're a corrupted piece of the Elements or something like it? I-if that makes sense?" 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Today's job: Look into that second Eorzea under the guise of investigating some... Sylphans? Silbans? Something unfamiliar. Whatever's going on, gathering more intel is never a bad thing, and Sanary shows up ready for action! Sort of.      So maybe she's a little late, but it doesn't take that long for the axe cleric to catch up with the group. Instead of wearing her usual clunky suit of armor, she's wearing the Lagombi set today for easier movement!      And ear flaps. "Hey! Ach.. Sorry I'm late. Got a little lost, but.. Ah. I miss anything?" She's got one hand resting on the gunaxe at her hip while letting the other dangle freely, glancing from unfamiliar face to unfamiliar face. Mirielle gets a recognizing nod, though! 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Alwyn is in fact here! He is however beaten to answering the questions being asked. Some of them, anyway.     To those who are new, Alwyn offers a Linkpearl. These have been modified to only work for the first person to touch them, thanks to the Union. (+radio/init Bluh=20132.0, +radio/key Bluh=0.23102)     He'll also say hi to Sanary! That's a new face.     "I don't know much about Primals myself. I guess what those two said sounds right? I'd rather never find out, aheh..." It's not that he doesn't think it'd go a great length to fulfill his desires, if he slew one, it's that maybe he's not ready for that yet. Maybe.     ROUGHLY ONE MILE LATER:     As the group headed north, they went through small, cramped clearings, passed by a section of the forest where giant angry boars and walking hostile trees are a thing, and finally came upon a wooden suspended bridge over the river bisecting this section of the Shroud in two. To the right, a large waterfall, beautiful, leading to a higher plateau of the forest. To the right, the river just continues on. Ahead, a wooden bridge! ... with two people on it, surrounded by about a dozen small, purple, plant-like humanoid creatures, not unlike the Sylphs encountered on the way to the Larkscall.     Yda is a standard Hyur, in a white and red vest, with plated red sabatons and a white hat, a black plate over her eyes and a set of fancy glasses raised over it. She's got large metal knuckles over each hand. With her is Papalymo, a short blond Lalafell in black and silver robes, armored yellow gauntlets, a staff, and the same fancy glasses hanging around his neck.     "I do wish you hadn't insulted them," Papalymo complains.     "They were going to attack us anyway!" Yda replies.     The Sylvans are readying magical attacks, it looks like! 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh right, he left that part out. N'raha's words echo a bit under his helmet. "And yeah, if you get Tempered, that's it for you, you belong to the Primal forever. That's... it's awful. The Flames... well. They put those folks out of their misery."     But then there's the Scions, and that's a lot of angry maybe-Sylphs. N'raha's eyes flick around under his celata, and he shoves the visor back down over his eyes. Right. He hefts his axe, his tail flicks deciseivly, and he starts striding long steps across the bridge. The catman limbers out that axe, does a fancy swing, and a blast of energy lances out to swat at one of the magical purple things, mostly getting its attention more than anything else. "BACK ME UP, GUYS! GET IN THERE!" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Information on these Primals is... worrying. They're powerful beings summoned by worship, composed of pure magic, and capable of turning people into followers, permanently. Setsuko frowns softly. "And this 'Lord of Levin', he's one of those corrupted elem-" Their walk-and-talk is cut short, when the demigod catches sight of the people on the bridge ahead. Explanation on this particular Lord will have to wait.     Like a bolt from a crossbow, Setsuko breaks into a dead run. From 'walking pace' to 'keeping up with speeding freeway drivers' in a heartbeat, and off she goes. The two are surrounded, a human and a... rather smaller being, trapped in the horde of sylphs accosting them in the middle of the bridge. If they're gonna save them, they'll need to break through. So that's exactly what Setsuko does.     The demigod darts right past N'raha's target to the next nearest, her blade clearing its sheath in a simple but impressively swift movement. Iaijutsu techniques might not suit her style in most places, but she's found ways to work them in - like 'blitz-charging a caster plant-thing and slashing before it can attack'. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram responds calmly to Setsuko's unfinished question when they arrive. "Yes, he is the Primal of the Sylphs." Then he gets to the important task of support magic. Within moments, glowing blue fields of aether briefly surround people Bertram deems allies, fading away to invisibility only to re-appear when something impacts them. It won't stop any attack, but the White Mage's Protect should reduce the impact of any attack, magical or physical, that passes through them. "Up to your usual tricks, Yda? Pray show some restraint next time." Bertram says jovially, he doesn't seem to be too concerned just yet. Of course, he's not in the front lines. "We got your note, Papalymo. I hope you don't mind if I give it to Yda after we're done here?" 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Sanary is given a quiet little nod, and maybe a smile, though with her rather shady look and little accompanying smile it may in fact look like she's plotting something horrible.     She probably is, but it's not horrible for SANARY.     The buddy system is real, though, as she joins her coworker on chocoback, to the area.     As they arrive, and Yda prompts the sylphs to action... Magical attacks? Well, there's something for that. Skidding her chocobo to a halt, she begins casting -- and Bertram lands the Proshell before she does, causing her to have to refocus her magics to a different spell. She rears back her hand, the white magic giving way to a sickly green as she lobs a ball over Setsuko's head, erupting in a cloud of eerie silence.     If the sylphs wish to cast, that may make it harder! Of course, Setsuko's more direct and singular approach may also yield more tangible fruit. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      That didn't take very long. The hike wasn't the most pleasant thing with all the sweating and the heat retention in that fuzzy outfit Sanary's in, but at least there's ambient noise to listen to and a co-worker to linger around so she doesn't feel so out of place. That potential plotting smile just goes right over the healer's head, though.      Or maybe she just recognizes the lack of horrible plotting in her direction. Who knows? The sweating is mostly forgotten by the time the group comes across their targets. She raises an eyebrow at N'raha as he charges in with the axe, eventually letting out a hearty laugh before charging into the fray herself.      "Another one, eh? Alright... Let's bust right through 'em!" Unstrapping the gunaxe from her hip and the charge blade's kite shield from her back, the healer does very little actual healing to start with. Instead, she's aiming to just barrel right into a Sylph with the shield itself.      And if she actually manages to pin it down or against something solid? She'll just start bashing away with the shield. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "That's unfair, two on one!" Yda protests.     "Do give it to her, but I would not expect her brain to be able to read at this point," Papalymo answers Bertram, without skipping a beat.     N'raha's thrown axe slams into one of the Tempered Sylphs; the small purple creature impacts the ground past the bridge, struggling to rise to its feet again.     With a clean charge-in, Setsuko finds herself alongside the two Scions, slashing at one of the Sylvans. Its casting interrupted, the now heavily wounded being falls back, floating to the safer ground past the bridge.     Bertram's own spells, as usual, will go a long way to prevent otherwise only mildly threatening spells from striking truly decisive blows.     Mirielle's own contribution is unique, the grenade bursting and silencing most of the casters straight up. This cuts their casting short, their purple lightning stopping for the most part.     Sanary smashes into a Sylph, and then pummels it with a shield. Before long the little creature is completely unconscious.     Yda grins, and a quick one-two from her fists sends a silenced Sylph flying. Papalymo's own contribution is a burst of fire, which disperses a number of them. Alwyn presumably spears one somewhere in all this.     Moments later, the remaining Sylphs just BLITZ OFF, into the deeper woods. Papalymo dusts himself, Yda tries to speak-- and finds herself silenced. The little Lalafell laughs.     "Miss, pray tell me what wonderous technology that was, that I may have the Scions purchase a crateful just to deal with Yda."     Yda makes obvious annoyed gestures, including stomping her foot down and crossing her arms to silently hmph.     "Do forgive her haste. I am Papalymo, and this is Yda. We are a member of the Scions, though I fear if you ask around you will find only little information on us. We study the Primals and other related problems, in the hopes of defeating them through brains rather than brawn. We hope one day to present the city-states with more long-term solutions." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko remains in a ready stance, sword drawn, until she's fairly sure the sylphs are no longer a danger. "...Setsuko Kaminagi," she replies after a moment or so, sheathing her blade and turning to face the two Scions. "Major in the Union Armed Forces. I'm from offworld, but I'm here to help. ...and I apologize if my presence is disconcerting," she adds. "I can't easily conceal my power. I know people here tend to be fairly magic-sensitive." Resting one hand on Zanjintou's sheath idly, she turns to look further into the forest. "What are we here to do, this evening?" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     The young miqo'te lifts up his visor as he watches the Sylphs rush off, grinning under the helmet and waving goodbye to the now exunting creatures. That said... buh. Tempered. A little shiver runs up his tail as he hefts his axe back over his shoulder and lifts a gauntlet in greetings to the Hyur and the Lalafell.     "Ah, hello, I'm N'raha. It's nice to meet you both, very much!" He bows as well as he can in the armor, before looking up at Setsuko and her... presence. Twelves, that's still formidable.     He looks back at everyone else and waves people over to meet the Scions. "Come on, shold be good now!" 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "As I'm sure you were aware, I already know you two, Yda, Papalymo, but I don't think I know everyone here does, so I might as well. I'm Bertram Silent, a conjurer. I've helped out the Scions a few times in the past. Mostly concerning the Sylphs." Yda and Papalymo, at least, would know that Bertram is on quite good terms with the Sylphs of Little Solace. Bertram then decides to show mercy, and casts Esuna on Yda. "I didn't mean to gang up on you Yda, sorry. I just thought some caution wouldn't hurt." He eyes Papalymo, "Respecting your allies wouldn't hurt either." He folds his arms, clearly not interested in brooking defiance on the topic. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "We are here to study disruptions in the local Aetheric fields," Papalymo explains, before launching into exposition. "In all places but those touched by the Void does Aether flow in Eorzea. When areas exhibit higher amounts than normal, not only can it sometimes become observable, but it is always a sign something is amiss. More often than not, such a gathering of Aether is the telltale sign a Primal is nearby, or nearing summoning. Then the city-states deploy dozens of adventurers and soldiers, half of them are lost in the conflict, and we call the matter resolved until it happens again. Very bothersome, overall."     Yda, now unsilenced thanks to Bertram, sticks her tongue out. "These Sylphs call themselves the Sylvans, and they were shouting about Lord Ramuh before we even got here. They're so Tempered a blacksmith asked us to study their make."     Papalymo frowns, looking at Bertram. "Do you see what I have to put up with?"     Pointing past the bridge, he resumes: "Anyroad, the Aether near the Sylphlands has been spiking recently. Someone or something has agitated the Sylphs that deny Gridania's want for peace and an alliance, and knowing them it won't be long before they call down the thunder. At least, that is the theory. We are here to ascertain this. To that end we must stride in deeper, and find out what they are doing."     Yda slams a fist into her opposite palm. "And we'll take a whole bunch of them out, too! Maybe they'll rethink their course of action."     Palapymo FROWNS, turning to look at Setsuko instead. He lifts his large, weird, mechanical, bulky visor-glasses up to his face, looking at her. "Power indeed. It is different, but also not. Had we time I would ask you to study you, but it will have to wait."     He turns to look at the group. "Questions? And by the way, Yda, all of that was important, so don't forget any of it, you'll be tested." It's her turn to frown. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Sanary grunts lightly as she looks up at the fleeing Sylphs, furrowing her brow for a moment before re-strapping her gear to free up her hands again. "That was... Fast." She almost sounds disappointed, but it's dismissed with a quick shrug, and the healer keeps her boot pressed against the unconscious Sylph's face while turning to the Scions and the rest of the group.      "Right... Uh. Sanary Rondel. Healer, Ally of the Confedracy-" That's certainly not going to cause any potential trouble down the line. "-and healer slash security for the Murasame Zaibatsu. Also an offworlder like... Setsuko, you said? Heard there was some work, though, so. Good meeting all of you."      She grins briefly and brushes her nose off before scooping that Sylph up, cradling the creature surprisingly gently considering how savagely she had beat it just a few seconds ago. "What do we do with this guy? I... Think it's still alive?" She's careful not to shake it too much, though, keeping a fairly firm cradlehold on it just in case. She laughs lightly at Yda's plan of action, although she doesn't say anything on whether she approves of it or not.      Judging from the smirk, though, she probably approves. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "It is Tempered; unfortunately, killing it is the only way to undo the spell," Papalymo answers, somberly. Yda offers a more humane: "We could lock her up near our base. It's not much, but if we ever find a way to undo Tempering, or if we ever need a test subject..."     It's certainly not ideal but it's all they have for now. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason has been keeping bac for most of this on tear guard till this point and they deal with the Slyphs. She seems very concerned she knows where this might begoing and she odes not like it. "So you looking to solve the edlrich horror problem hummm?" She seems curious about the idea of people working on a long term problem. "I'd be willing to help with that if I'm able to." She does not bring up how she knows to deal with Tempered persons it's not pretty but ther's little that can be done right? "What do you want us to do with anyone ehose Tempered should that occur?" She also moving to fall iwnt With Sanary a bit for the moment. "A quick death is all we can do, or hold on to them for an attempt to free them somehow." She moves to set a hand on Sanary's shoulder 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "Yda, I think that would only make them more likely to summon Ramuh." Bertram objects patiently, folding his arms before explaining. "Those Sylphs tempered by Ramuh keep the unusually gentle attitude of Beastmen, they're just far more hostile to outsiders." He looks around the group, before pointedly adding, "Outsiders like us. As long as we don't intrude on their territory or attack them, they won't have any problem with us. Since we're already doing one, I don't think we should be doing the other, too." He takes a step further into the Sylphlands, "So while we investigate what has upset them, we really should try to make sure not to upset them more. We're trying to prevent the Lord of Levin's return, not to cause it." Then that last group of suggestion causes a deep frown, "While I don't object to fighting in self-defense, capturing or killing disabled Sylphs, even Tempered ones, is going to look like an attack, not self-defense. I don't think it's wise." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko's gaze turns to Papalymo briefly, and there is in her the faintest hint of mischief, for just a moment; she decides to tell the lalafell thaumaturge the truth. "I can save you the time: it's divinity. I'm half god." She takes a step or two further on the bridge, looking into the sylphlands with her superhuman sight, just to simply see what she can see. "Bertram is right," she adds absently. "Leave the unconscious one there, let it be. We're no longer defending ourselves when we start taking prisoners." She lets out a soft breath. "My magical senses are dull at best. I'm capable of flying, but I don't know what kind of defense the sylphs will have against airborne opponents, or what flies above the forest canopy here. It would be easier to go on foot, but they'll know we're coming." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha's eyes flick back and forth and he's just sorta watching all of this before... something clicks.     "Oh. OH. Bertram, were these the friends you were talking about? I... Hallo! Again!"     A look at Setsuko, and the Miq murmurs. "Considering the sylphs and Ramuh command the power of the thunder and lightning, I'd... maybe taking flight might not be the wisest course of action, ma'am." 

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''     Mirielle looks at Yda. Tank? Mmm, brawler at the least. Someone who punches things. Of the 'easygoing' variety. Then, Papalymo. Mage. Powerful? Almost certainly. Instead of a support caster, he seemed to be a direct offensive caster. Potentially a Black Mage?     She goes on analyzing the two, off in her own little world of numbers and data points. Outwardly she just seems to drift off, staring at the Scions with an unfocused gaze, one finger seeming to tally in the air.     Finally, she snaps out of it. "Oh, ah... Yes, that sounds doable." She murmurs, probably entirely out of context. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Another brow-furrowing. What's Sanary to do? "If... Betram, you said? If you're right about that, we'd probably have an agry Ramuh or... Whoever coming after us. But if we leave it here, it'll might come after us anyway. Hn..."      At least there's another familiar face around. She nods towards Lyria at the touch to her shoulder before staring at the Sylph again, a low hum escaping the healer. "Way to put me on the spot. Mm... Probably don't want to be walking around with it, either."      And then her eye lights up! Figuratively, that is. Coincidentally, it happens at the same time Mirielle speaks up. Still holding onto the Sylph carefully with one arm, she reaches into her pocket before stopping and turning to N'raha.      "What about a low flight? Or... If that's no good, we could bury it halfway so only the head's sticking out. Then we can pick it up or release it later." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Both Yda and Papalymo take a moment to confer, and then nod. Yda is the first to speak up. "Sounds fine. Just make sure she's REAL sleepy," she says towards Sanary. "Or tie her up. Or bury her, sure. They'll come for her eventually."     Papalymo speaks next, to Bertram. "My apologies, it's been a while since we've had to deal with the Sylphs very much. To be honest, I'd much rather we didn't need to come here at all."     But that's not really a choice they were given. He looks next at Setsuko, surprised. "Half-divine, you say? That must come in handy, but pray mind your manners in our lands. It would be easy to misunderstand your power."     Yda is the one to say hi to N'raha specifically. "Hello cat!" Headpat. She's... yeah she's... yeah. Yda. Papalymo brings a hand up to cover his face.     "Let us get moving," he says. "Please, before she embarasses me to such a degree I throw myself off this bridge."     The path ahead isn't too treacherous, at least. In the woods one can see the wildlife of the Larkscall; Malboros, Ochus, giant trees and mushrooms. Purple Sylphs seem to flutter between tree trunks, watching the group but not acting on it. As they reach a large archway into the Sylphlands, the fog covering the upper layers of the forest turns purple slowly, eerie but safe. Large natural constructions are present, likely the Sylvans' homes or outposts, glowing purple and orange from the magical lighting.     MAGICAL SENSES: Those who can see magic can feel larger quantities following a path to the left. Scattered clusters of concentrated magic are present near the 'housing'. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "It's already been misunderstood at least once," Setsuko replies to Papalymo. "I was here a short while back to help with a poacher problem. I put my power on display, and I was mistaken for a Primal. I try to avoid causing problems if I can, but it was necessary. They were planning to kill captive people and animals."     When they do finally proceed, she opts to take a place at the head of the group, acting as the damage sponge should anything come at them. Once or twice she closes her eyes briefly, reaching out with her magical senses, but... "The ambient magic here is fairly strong. I'm having a hard time telling one thing from another." There aren't many places with ambient aether as strong as Eorzea, and the Sylphlands in particular are home to a very magical race on top of the elementals. "Does anyone have an idea which way we should go?" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     CATTE. HEADPATS. Yda's hand will swat his celeta, but N'raha doesn't mind. He does murmur a bit though, to Papalymo as they walk. "Ah, Bertram says I'm suppossed to talk to you guys, ah, some time." He leaves it at that though, there's other present.     The place feels a little familiar from the other night when the Garleans showed up, and the Miq's hands slide to grip at his battered axe once again. It's a balm right now, a needed one. He was never good at feeling /magic/ perse, but the Aether here is oppressive, compounded with the group around them. This was... Mmmmm.     Setsuko's back out in front, and N'raha dutifully takes up a spot next to her, maybe a little behind. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "I'm definitely sensing a lot of aether." Bertram adds, and being more familiar with the capabilities of Eorzeans than those of offworlders, he instinctively asks them for aid. "Don't you guys have those Sharlayan devices that let you track aether? Maybe those would let us see more." As a warning he adds on, "Everyone, pray don't move for the center of this aether when it's been noticed. Odds are it's their crystal stockpile, and they might believe we're trying to steal it if we do." He overheards N'raha's murmer, and adds on in his own soft voice. "Based on what he's told me, he may have something in common with both myself and the Antecedent." A subtle thing to say that should tell the Scions enough without being quite transparent to others. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      That's all Sanary really needs. She sets the Sylph down briefly to dig out a slightly less than Sylph-sized hole fairly quickly, then sticks it right in before filling that hole up with only the Sylph's head visible from the hole. Even weird purple lettuce need to breathe, after all! Maybe.      Just in case, though, she packs that dirt in nice and tight before following the group once more, sticking close to Lyria and Mirielle. Co-workers and students need to stick together, after all!      "So these Primals... They're the godlike beings around here, right? Tempering things, making 'em all crazy?" Grunting lightly as she keeps a hand on her weapons again, Sanary glances around at the group's surroundings a few times before chuckling and glancing at Setsuko. "Probably wouldn't hurt to keep that sort of thing hidden, yeah. Hn... Think I see some houses that way."      Looking over at the housing, the axe cleric squints a bit before gesturing in the direction of it, an uncomfortable groan escaping her moments later. "Kinda... Getting some weird feeling from that way, too. Kinda... Heavy." 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason is honestly glad for the moment Sanary is here. She is however taking in this world's different after all and the nobles know more for the moment. aT the mention for someone mentioning they are half divine? Gets a slight eyebrow raise. However she's aware of people like Arthur so she doesnt' freak out. she's also more concerned about the monsters on the path. Well near hte past if they don't come after here? She does not pick a figh with them. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Is that so?" Papalymo questions Setsuko, unsure if he should frown or smile. "A noble reason to use such powers for certain, but I'm not sure if I can endorse knowing use of such a fear amongst residents of Eorzea. Were the Scions found to agree to the use of powers similar to Primals to frighten the masses, even criminals, t'would be a reputation we could not shake off."     Yda shrugs, smiling. "Who cares? It keeps bad people from doing bad stuff. Long as we tell the city-states not to worry about it and that it's all fake, no harm no foul, right?"     Both of them lower their glasses to take a look, before shaking their heads. "There is too much Aether here. It is like staring at a light while trying to decide where to go. There are places where the light is stronger, but..." But, their equipment isn't fine-tuned for this yet. Oh, if only they had access to a white-haired Garlean defector superscientist. But what are the odds of something so specific happening?     Yda nods to N'raha, as well. "Bertram's friends are our friends, so sure!" Arranging a meeting with the Scions wouldn't be too difficult, sometime.     Papalymo hands his pair of glasses slash visor to Bertram. "See for yourself, if you'd like. I must concede this technology has yet to fail us, but as time passes it feels more and more like we are behind the times. I hate to say it, but we may need to see about expanding the Scions' resources and aid."     To Sanary, Papalymo answers: "To some people, I suppose they may be called gods, just like the Twelve and Hydaelyn. I can assure you they are not our gods, however. The Garleans seem to think the whole of Eorzea worships the Primals, but in their blind zeal they do not see how hard we fight them. What is a god, though? How powerful must a being be to earn the moniker? History is filled with lone, heroic adventurers who took the Primals down by themselves. Are they, too, gods?"     At Sanary's behest, Yda grabs N'raha and drags him forward towards the large, glowing 'building'. "Come, then, let's check that direction out!" As soon as they get close, the sight of crystals, about the size of a fist, littering the ground here and there in the grass is difficult to miss. Each is glowing, charged with various amounts of Aether. Obviously, this is a secondary stockpile they mean to move to the primary one.     "WALKING ONES! They would steal our thunder from us!" comes the sharp cry of a Sylph, as a flock of about six suddenly appear. Their attention turns to Setsuko, and anger seems to swell. "The rival one! She comes to steal our forest!" "Kill the walking ones!" "The glasses ones are their guides! Blind them!"     Sparks of purple and dark lightning fly between the creatures; torrents of electricity fly towards BERTRAM and YDA, the ones currently holding the devices. Setsuko likewise gets focus, as a single, but very large, bolt of lightning is hurled in her direction, with enough impact to hit everyone else around her, if it isn't stopped. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' As soon as the group draws enmity, Bertram is already acting. Proshell should still be active, so instead he starts by Medica, the timing such that the wave of healing energy should spread from him right after the Sylph's attacks hit. He's still hit, of course. Beyond hurting him, the electricity's aftershocks have the nasty side effect of occassionally rippling through and making him spasm briefly, interrupting his casting should that be allowed to linger. "May Rhalgr stike down the one who riled them up." The Ala Mhigan curses, a somewhat unusual occurence usually reserved to matters involving the Garleans. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     There is a faint smile on Setsuko's face, just briefly. "Then it's good that I'm not a Scion. If I need to speak to people in positions of power about myself, I'm perfectly willing." For the most part, she remains silent, although there is one moment where she feels the need to speak up. "...A god is more than just power. Having power does nothing but make you powerful. To have godhood is to be something... More."     Whatever else she might have to say, however, is stifled by their discovery of aether crystals - and the Sylphs guarding them. Angry shouts prompt her to draw Zanjintou into a ready position, but something in what they say...     'Rival one'.     "...gods." She's the reason they've gotten riled up.     There's a snap and a sound of rushing air, and Zanjintou grows out to its full size... only to be held aloft in the position of a shield, eating the lightning bolt directly. It passes right into and through her, drawing a fierce hiss of pain, but the demigod stands her ground, and... does nothing else. "I am no threat to you! I am not here to steal or conquer, and I have no need of your aether crystals!" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     There's planning and talking all around and N'raha is smiling and trying to keep up, really, he is. But a lot of this is way over his head. Maybe he should have paid more attention when he was trying out for the arcanis-     Oh gods he's being dragged by Yda. The miq catches his own feet, thankfully, the padded leggings he's wearing catching a bit on bramble as he trucks his way alongside the monk. "Well, I suppose that would work out, in the future, wouldn't it? I mean, the talki-"     MORE LIGHTNING! The miq barely has time to register the idea that this was a proper crystal storage dump before the sylphs start to blast at them with Lightning spells. Nothing for it now. He grunts and moves to interpose himself as best he can, the Protect holding for a moment before the barrier crumples and he gets zorted right through his metal armor. There's a sudden wash of numb, but he recovers and hefts the axe again, picking a bunch of the casters and swinging his axe downward, a shockwave lancing out to try and goad the bunch into aiming at him. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Well things were going well enough right? "I see where your going with that it would posion the water for good." She was relaxed somewhat but not entirely so. If there was one incident with Tempered natives there were likly more. She pause as a group of Sylph com for them. She looks up pulls her cutlass and is going to go to work as she attempts to get clear of the blast. She's also drawing a pistol in her other hand and starting to shoot. "More poor wretches whose souls have been devoured." Lyria comments as she joins the battle. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      "So it's not that, then... Hm. Ever try talking to 'em about that? The Garleans, I mean. Unless you're fighting them for... Some other reason." Sanary strokes her chin as Papalymo speaks, keeping herself from grinning too much at being so much taller than the tiny, tiny man. Boy. Probably a man of his race. Still. So, so tiny.      She doesn't have quite that much time to wait for a response, though, as more Sylphs begin their attack! Getting that shield ready in front of her again, she braces herself for the shock and... Still buckles over at the sudden jolt.      Having armor that's susceptible to lightning probably isn't helping much. Still, standing in the back has its advantages, at least, and she's quick to switch her focus to draw energy out of herself to start healing Bertram while also providing him with a boost to his natural recovery. She's not charging in just yet, though, watching for the Sylphs' response to Setsuko first. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     It's funny that Bertram should say that.     What with Setsuko being right there.     With the swordswoman taking the hit straight on, the impact is lessened for those around her; it doesn't seem to stop the Sylphs, though. Their replies range from "The rival one, she lies!" "Judgment will be passed on all outsiders!" "JUDGMENT!" "JUDGMENT!" "JUDGMENT!"     N'raha shields Yda, although she's not entirely helpless either. Where some of the bolts slam into the Protect spell, others are straight up punched out of trajectory by the girl, as she takes a more defensive stance up. "PAPALYMO, IT'S CRYSTALS!"     In the back rows, the smaller mage frowns. "As we feared. They've begun working to call the Lord of Levin to them. It could take them weeks, or months, but we'd best not hope for the latter and prepare for the former!"     Lyria's shots will at least disable one of the Sylphs, sending her crashing down. Hopefully not dead, more likely just unconscious unless Lyria was aiming to kill.     To Sanary, Papalymo shakes his head. "The Garleans listen not. Obsessed by conquest and power as they are, all they can see is that we are savages, good only to conquer, enslave or worse. Frankly, they are no better than the Primals they so detest. Is fanatism to a cause not the same as Tempering, in the end? The Garleans may as well serve a Primal, but his name is a title, passed on to successors. Would that they could be convinced to leave."     Heals from Sanary will come in handy for Bertram, too; not to mention if Sanary uses her shield for more than herself.     Finally, Papalymo decides: "We should leave. We have found what we came here to do; to slaughter them even in self-defense would only make matters worse. We will have to come back and keep an eye on the situation from the shadows; when they have gathered enough crystals that we can locate their main cluster, we will have a brief window to act before it is too late."     In the meantime though, MORE LIGHTNING.     The Sylphs are very good at that; everyone gets their share, while they chant for JUDGMENT and DEATH TO THE RIVAL ONE. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The expert has called for a retreat. "Everyone, fall back! I'll cover your escape!" Wielding Zanjintou as a shield, Setsuko takes another step away from the group, deliberately setting herself as, for lack of better terms, a lightning rod. Taking as many of the lightning bolts as she can herself, no matter how painful it gets; and even though every instinct screams, 'they're trying to kill you, do what you have to', there still lingers a vain hope in the back of her mind that by refusing to attack them, she'll demonstrate that she isn't a threat.     Even if her regeneration's going to be working overtime after this. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "Let's go." Bertram agrees, and then he starts spamming the mightiest spell in the white mage's inventory. Repose. Magical energy to drive the sylphs to harmless and temporary sleep. Between casting he takes steps back, increasing his distance from the hostile sylphs. "Papalymo, N'raha, Yda, if you could stop by the Hawthorne hut, say..." He lists a series of suggested dates, "We can walk to my cottage, and have a discussion about that other thing, I think it would help N'raha." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Gods, this is bad. Well, not unexpected at this point, given what they'd seen, but still bad. N'raha staggers at the force of the lightning, but just blinks to see Yda parrying spells like that. How did she do that? A little thought to ponder as the retreat is called. This is a bungle alright, all the way bad-ish.     The Miq sees Bertram calling out those reposes, and starts backing up safely away from the drowzy Slyphs, still trying to keep himself between them an the group as he goes. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      "I dunno.. Crazy stubborn, maybe, but..." Grunting and twitching as another blast of lightning jolts her even through the shield and armor, Sanary redoubles her focus on the more immediate threats. "I'll... Gotta talk with some people later."      She'll have more time to consider the strange world discrepancies later. Stomping once to try and shake off the pain, she nods at Papalymo before stepping forward again. "R-right. We'll keep you guys covered!" Moving closer to Setsuko to try and cover whoever the lady of war's not in front of, Sanary start directing some of that energy from herself into the Setsuko to help pump up her natural regeneration and energy recovery even further!      "Would be a lot easier if we just shot 'em, but... Hell, this is working, right?" She laughs while bracing the shield in front of her, all keeping her other hand raised towards Setsuko to help direct the flow of the energy into the one acting as the primary lightning rod. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason had not been shooting to kill well this time. She listen for a moment as the Garleans come up and she tils he rhead for a moment. She now is trying to shoot at the others that are still spamming lightning at them. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     On one hand, Setsuko's refusal to fight is certainly a point in her favor. On the other hand, it's also a show of power; she is withstanding their best, and the teamwork of the invaders is nothing short of commendable. Healers doing their job, most of all.     Alwyn (I totally haven't forgotten I'm at my own scene) protests as N'raha is invited for tea, chirping in with: "Hey, I like tea too! And cottages! And talks. I have no idea what you two are going on about but it sounds better than cleaning stables for pocket change!"     Papalymo would stare at Sanary if they weren't mid-run right now, so she mostly gets a confused statement. "I don't know who you mean to speak to about this, but if it's Garleans you consort with, miss, what you'll get is self-righteous speeches about their superiority and right to rule all of the land. We've tried, believe me! And we've witnessed them killing heaps of innocent people just to establish ground in Eorzea."     That, though, isn't really his specialty.     It won't be long, though the careful healing and redirection of attacks to the people who can take them to the face, before the Sylvans stop chasing the group and return go their abode. Past the wooden bridge, Papalymo will come to a stop, exhausted, and Yda will pick up him (despite struggling and complaining at the fact) to sit him on her shoulder.     "Great! That went better than it could have!" she says.     "It could have gone even better if you hadn't called one of them... what was it you said again?" Papalymo asks.     "I said I should have thought to bring weed killer."     "Yes, that. Sigh. Anyroad, thank you for your assistance, all of you. I'll pay you when we're back at the hut. It won't be much but it should cover your time." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The healing from Sanary leaves Setsuko in much better condition than she'd expected to be. Nevertheless, by the time they finally hit the sylphs' leash distance- I MEAN escape across the bridge to safety, she's showing burns in a fair few spots of open skin. But they can relax at last, and these burns won't take long for her body to regenerate. "I don't need payment," she replies to Papalymo, shaking her head. "My military position already pays me far more money than I actually use. I came to help an ally, nothing more."     Of course, this provides a chance for the lalafell scholar (but not Scholar) to get a better look at her, and in particular her sword; the demigod hefts it up, and with a snap and a /fwoosh/ the four-yalm blade dissipates and the hilt collapses back in on itself, restoring the weapon to a more normal-looking katana. This she returns to its sheath in a smooth, practiced motion. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh man, nope N'raha doesn't have anything that fancy in the slightest, not even a little bit, not at all. The Miq's breath is coming easier now though as he posts up aross the Bridge, looking to Alwyn and Bertram and the Scions.     A little faint grumble of assent. "...I'll take her money if she doesn't want it." 

}}

2716/Leve: Sylph-Management

2015-08-17T05:38:08Z

Lightmage:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/02
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Diplomacy with the Sylph turns into dancing and fighting Garleans. This one gets tired of typing like these ones very quickly.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 627, 747, 787, 815, 819, 826
|Tinyplot=The Six Crystals of Light
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:''' Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)! Leve: Sylph-Management Location: Little Solace, East Shroud Type: Investigation Urgency: High Difficulty: Unmarked Enclosed Message: Under leadership of Scarlet Everille and Setsuko Kaminagi of the Union, the three Seedseers of Gridania seek a small group of adventurers capable of handling negotiations with the Sylphs of Little Solace. As the Sylphs are currently distrusting of outsiders, you will be meeting with their de-facto elder, Komuxio, and he will do his best to put you in the Sylphs' good graces. This will likely require locating the Sylphs' elder, Frixio, who has gone missing, but saving him will doubtlessly go a long way here. Find out what the Sylphs know and follow the last known trails of the elder, keeping in mind it is entirely possible the Tempered Sylphs are to blame-- not to mention there have been Garlean sightings in the area as well. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     For those who are new: welcome to the Twelveswood, a great, magical forest filled with giant trees, walking mushrooms, assorted wildlife, and more ambient mana than you can shake a stick at. It's all very nature-y and pure, though one gets a sense of unrest and lingering corruption and chaos of some nature.     The weather tonight is fairly cloudly; occasionaly, bright purple and blue lightning bolts lit the sky, thunder echoing close and far alike, but never striking within sight. A storm has been building, locals say; it returns every other day now, a little bit stronger each time. At least it's not raining, but the clouds are thick enough they hide any sunlight, if there was any to be found tonight.     Your destination is Little Solace, a small village but a dozen minutes from the Hawthorne Hut-- another village slash fortified Gridanian position, that one with an Aetheryte Crystal and a Warp Gate.     Little Solace is essentially a mess of tents-- large, single-person tents, some with tables and wares to show on them. Traders' caravans are stationed to the side, and Elezen and Hyur/human traders are bartering and chatting with the Sylphs, some near campfires, some by their tables and tents. Above the tents, suspended to the trees by ropes, are bulb-shaped houses with small doors and windows, fit for the Sylphs.     The Sylphs are small, green creatures of leaves and flesh, looking more like nature spirits than anything else. Their clothes, if they are clothes at all, are dresses made of leaves, with long sleeves and a glowing jewel encrusted in their chests. The color varies from Sylph to Sylph.     Komuxio, the Sylph you are to meet, is waiting at the entrance of the village. His gem is a soft pink-red, but he's also put a bright rainbow hairpin in his... err, well, hair, if you can call it that, and you've been told that's how you'll recognize him.     Because these guys really, really look alike. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram is going straight for Komuxio, though he seems to know some of the other Sylphs by name, and is able to tell them apart. "Hey Tonaxia, Ponnixia." He greets cheerfully as he passes them. In what appears to be rather uncharacteristic, Bertram is dancing more than walking, especially when he gets close to Komuxio, finishing his dance in a bow. "Hello Komuxio. How are you doing today?" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA has arrived without his armor, and without his Inferno Axe. No, he was specifically informed to try and tone down the gear today, because Sylphs are touchy about armed bipeds. Something something Garleans which was enough reason for the Miqo'te to respond favorably to that request. So he's here in his off-duty clothes, looking smart-ish at least.     He too is dancing a little bit, or trying to. He's got the grace for it, at least, but the training he hasn't got. And instead of following Alwyn, today he's following Bertram, making sure to take direction when need be. He's a catsbody today. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The building storm above makes Setsuko uneasy, for lack of a better term. Not quite 'unwell' or 'nervous'; since her transformation, and especially since discovering her full power, the swordswoman has felt a certain affinity for stormy weather. But even though part of her feels content with the storm something about the thunder bothers her, in some corner of her mind. Perhaps it's her battlesense, nudging her on a subconscious level about a battle too distant and small for her to properly take notice of. Perhaps it's simply the thought that the thunder could represent the presence or arrival of Ramuh. Perhaps it's all those things.     But her unease is irrelevant to their mission. A mission, for once, of peace. By now the demigod is becoming familiar enough with the Hawthorne Hut and its surrounding section of the Twelveswood, so it's a simple matter for her to step off the ground and fly straight towards Little Solace. Once she lands, however, Setsuko stops, to look at Komuxio - and the other Sylphs in general. It's peculiar to see them, for one who knows them better as hostile little purple plant-people, so green and so not-attacking-anyone.     But for the moment she will leave the diplomacy to those who are better at dance. Since that seems to be a requirement. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji arrives on scene to engage in fact-finding with the Sylphs. The natural environment seems to be gathering towards something, a tension in the air like the hour before a storm strikes. Considering the situation, he finds it eminently appropriate. He seems completely comfortable in the threatening weather, himself. Ramuhan clothing is all water-repellant, if nothing else... On a tip from Bertram, Souji arrives on foot, moving with a stately dancing motion as he moves along with the delegation. Since Bertram knows the most about the Sylphs, Souji has him take point. Judging from their whimsical nature, Souji probably would not be the best negotiator anyway. He gives a sweeping bow. "Komuxio, a pleasure to meet you." He states. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     There's only been one occasion for Scarlet to go into a real forest like this before. The kind that feels like a living, breathing thing. That one had been old, magically active, and frankly unnerving to even those without heightened senses too, but in a completely different way. This one doesn't seem as if it intends to hide its secrets or its hostility. It can be plainly felt building in the background, its ominous atmosphere essentially omnipresent, not helped by the distinctly "off" quality she can sense in its ambient magic.     Good thing they're not staying for long then. It seems a little surreal that people are still living, chatting and trading here, but they're probably used to it by now. What's more surreal is seeing Bertram dancing his way over to someone just to talk to them, followed by N'raha. She'd heard the Sylphs preferred people who could dance, but she had assumed that meant in the actual time and place for it, not just to get around. Now it seems she refuses to make herself look that ridiculous just yet, instead watching them with a hint of disbelief. "Is he supposed to be doing that, or greivously misunderstanding." She really hopes it's the latter. 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     DANCING IS FOR CHUMPS, REAL TALK THO'.     Arriving without fanfare, because she had to tromp along through the stupid boring forest through the stupid boring monsters that didn't do any stupid boring things, yawning and blinking and being grumbly, is POOPSTINK SCRUBLO--wait, no, EPICEA CHELID. Ignore that first part.     Arriving at the meeting place. "Oh my god did Sarah stand me up? I don't know whether to be proud, frustrated, or just annoyed." She grumbles, looking at the sprite. "Yo. So we're supposed to..." She rubs her eyes. "Do something? Save the damsels? Sarah usually knows all of this stuff. Just point me towards the action. Or a sweet sun-spot, I could totally get my nap on." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "This one welcomes the helpful one!" Komuxio states to Bertram, doing a brief twirl-- the Sylphs, while small, float in the air, around head-level, so at least having a conversation with them isn't TOO awkward. "These ones are worried about elder one still. Walking ones with machine ones have been seen nearby lately. These ones hope elder one is found soon."     The dances won't go unnoticed; however poor or out of shape their dancing may be, N'raha and Souji get a few looks from the idle Sylphs, who seem content with the display. Komuxio himself gives a smile, taking an elegant bow mid-air. "This one greets the dancing ones, and hopes the walking ones change their minds about dancing. These ones truly appreciate walking ones willing to humor these ones. It lightens these ones' day."     He nonetheless looks at Setsuko, Scarlet and Epicea, giving a nod. "Elder one has been missing for some time now. Elder one went for a stroll in the forest and never returned. These ones thinks he may not be far. Walking ones with large machine ones and many weapons are camping nearby. These ones prefer not to disturb them, but tempered ones have been fighting walking ones sometimes. This one believes it is an acceptable strategy of walking ones to let enemies fight each other, yes?"     Translation: there's a Garlean camp nearby, and Tempered Sylphs have been skirmishing with them. Probably a good place to start looking?     "But please, first, these ones would like to see walking ones and dancing ones show their determination. Walking ones would like us to help with Lord Ramuh, yes?"     Suddenly, all Sylphs cease activity. They gather around newcomers, forming a circle of small, floating plant creatures who stare intently. There is no hostility to be felt, but--     "Please, walking ones, dancing ones, won't you honor these ones' request and show us how to stand together as one? A grand dance, uniting many kinds of walking ones!" Translation: you all look and feel different from one another, can you dance together? 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     OH HEY! A dance that's easy to do, in large groups, and can be taught easily. EVEN N'RAHA KNOWS THIS ONE. "Okay sure! We've got a pretty common dance around here, meant to give thanks to Nophica and the Elementals for their generous bounty at Harvest Time!"     And then he gets into it. He and Bertram can at least lead the group at this. There's hand waving, and side stepping, and kicking of legs forward and back and side to side and a little bowing motion at the end!     IT LOOKS VERY SILLY. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram definitely has no objections to dancing as a group, he just starts dancing a ... somewhat clumsy but perfectly acceptable version of the traditional Gridanian Harvest Dance. To the left, to the right, forwards, backwards, repeat. Fancy leg and arm movements included. He doesn't really seem to care about choreography or matching the others, he's just dancing as though he was the only perosn to dance. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji listens, considering what he is to say next. However, his potential insights and questions are interrupted with a ring of Sylphic interest. He pauses, an eyebrow arched as he wonders what he is to be asked to do. Dance together? Souji considers it for a moment. It's certainly not the worst thing they could have asked... And then he looks over to N'raha and Bertram as they do the Nophican harvest dance. His expression twitches... but he watches it intently. After watching one or two cycles, he falls in with the others, doing his best to mimic the dance steps. It's not the first time he's had to pretend to know a specific dance on the spot. Despite Bertram's assurances that coordination or even competence isn't necessary, Souji does his best to remain in sync with N'raha and perform as best he can. Which, considering his source material, might not be the best teacher. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     'We want to see you dance together.'     Setsuko has faced gods and demons. She has stood against armies and advanced calmly. She has crossed blades with some of the most dangerous and frightening beings in the Multiverse.     Apparently, being asked to dance is more alarming than all these things.     "I..." The demigod begins, then trails off. Is she... embarrassed? Yes. Yes she is. Treasure this moment. The Union's own demigod of War is flustered.     But Bertram and N'raha dance to the rescue, and there have been few times Setsuko has looked more relieved. With her superhuman senses, agility, and body control, she can at the very least mimic such simple movements. And so she does, watching N'raha for a moment before falling into perfect step with him. To a casual observer, her mimicry is airtight; only the keenest of eyes will see the little imperfections in her dance, the way it feels as if she's following a set of instructions rather than flowing through learned movements. Nevertheless, she is dancing. 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     The /hdance is complex! Shuffleshuffle left, shuffle shuffle right, handwave, twirl, snore, fall over, take a nap, roll left, roll right, hit a rock, wake up, be dirty, handwave your face clean, still be dirty, forests are the worst.     "Nailed it." Epicea notes, wiping dirt and grass off her now terribly stained sweatpants. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     For a moment, Scarlet is actually relieved. Having an actual occasion to dance shouldn't wind up making her look like an idiot. She knows how to do it. She's had practise before. Snooty practise. Then Bertram goes and ruins it by immediately leaping into the most embarrassing shuffle she's ever seen in her life, and it's all she can do to withhold a despairing, irritated groan. She'd come here hoping for something vaguely high-society, not an even more awkward kind of backwoods hoedown.     She has to crank the magic way up for this as she slides into line with the group, watching for a couple of brief cycles before joining in herself, committing it to memory almost instantly. Despite how distinctly unenthusiastic about it she is, the minimum amount of effort manages to look downright sincere, and in fact, much prettier than everyone else, by virtue of casual altering of the concept of perception. Probably the lamest use of Circle Ceint that has ever been found, but if it works, it works. She still manages to slip Souji a Look though. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     It's true; they don't need to dance WELL. They just needed to show they could dance together, regardless of where they came from. The Sylphs circle the group, dancing themselves-- rotating, catching every angle of the assorted heroes' dances, whether good or bad.     Magic or no magic, the Sylphs seem content, whispering among themselves with happy looks in their faces. Finally, Komuxio claps. "Dancing ones have proven their unity! Walking ones from many tribes and places fight for peace. But many walking ones fight for war still. Dancing ones have proven desire for peace. These ones will agree to lend air if Lord Ramuh is summoned. These ones would not dare face the Levin One, but these ones may have a token that would help dancing ones appeal to Lord Ramuh."     He twirls happily, and the other Sylphs go back to what they were doing-- trading, idling, chatting, cooking. "But first," Komuxio says, "Elder one must be found. This one cannot grant dancing ones the token. This one lacks the authority to speak for these ones whole. Only elder one can. Will you go see if elder one was taken by the walking ones?" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     It's at this point that N'raha looks over at the others, his dance dying off as he just /beams/ at people trying the Harvest Dance. Amazing and wonderful, yes. He snickers a bit, ears flicking in joy as he coughs and tries to cover his glee.     "Right ahaahhhrm. So, do you have any idea where he might have wandered off? I mean, the Shroud is a really big place and so is Larkscall. Would you know if the Elder ran into the... ah, the metal ones?" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The very instant dancing is no longer necessary, Setsuko stops. She stands as still as a stone statue, as if she had not been dancing at all and any inkling otherwise is a false memory. You saw nothing.     "We will," she replies to Komuxio, bowing her head slightly. "And not just because we need your help - that your Elder has disappeared is worrying, and you're a peaceful people. I would offer my aid regardless." They suggested that the Garlean encampment deeper in Larkscall might be worth a check; she'll head that way, assuming no one stops her. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram has made sure introductions went well, and is more than willing to let others take the lead from there. Instead, he goes to hand in some things he had promised Tonaxia he'd pick up. Makes a little chat with Tonaxia, and then gets ready to follow the group. 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     "Wow what a bum rap. You made us all look super lame doing highly synchronized dance moves which were funky-freshwater, and then you don't even have the authority to grant us what we want in the first place?" Epicea wonders, drawling slowly and looking angry.     Then she fingerguns. "Sick middle management plays." She laughs. "Right, so, off to go... Tromping around big dumb forest to find the actual person we need to dance for? Sure, cool, gotcha." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji attempts to regain his dignity after the dance, though it seems to be strained for CERTAIN REASONS. He nods and looks to the others. "Let us proceed. There's only so many places a group of the size that they have intimated could be without triggering a full scale response from the Wailers. Mr. Silent, N'raha, if you can identify those locations, we can check them first." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Oh thank goodness. That's over. Now they can talk like normal people. People and weird, floating leaf things. Well the Sylphs are far from the weirdest thing Scarlet's seen overall, but the strangest to make houses and dance at the very least. She briefly adjusts her collar and pushes her fingers back through her hair, approaching Komuxio at the front of the group, and yet sparing just a moment to shoot Epicea a split second, "blink and you'll miss it" glare. Well, glare doesn't quite do it justice. It happens too quickly and too vaguely to really get a good look at whatever that expression might have been, but the barest glimpse of it gives the overwhelming impression of sharp, cold, disapproving hostility, enough to make one momentarily dizzy.     And yet she's nothing but smiles as she approaches the Sylph, bowing formally before speaking. "That is our plan. Anything you can do to help would be appreciated, and so in return, we'll make every effort possible to disturb these woods as little as possible. I can't guarantee that there won't be conflict if the Garleans really are involved, but I can certainly promise that your elder will be returned unharmed." She produces her "acquired" map of the region, holding it up at head level for the Sylph. "Does any of this look familiar to you? If so, could you point to a general indication of where you think he might have went? We have a lot of ground to cover." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "These ones have been wary of a camp walking ones set up to the east. These ones lack the strength to oppose walking ones with machine ones, but dancing ones would be able to assist!" Komuxio answers. "Walking ones aren't far. Walking ones think these ones have not discovered the camp, but these ones saw through the trees, and machine ones are very loud."     Clearer instructions would be given; but the short and sweet of it is, go east, through the trees, off the path.     "Dancing ones won't need to repeat the dance for elder one; this one will ensure elder one is told all about dancing ones' unity for peace. Please bring elder one back alive, these ones can't stand another night of worry!"     Scarlet gets a reply on the matter of the forest: "These ones don't mind if dancing ones need to fight. Fighting unfortunate, and very sad matter. But these ones understand why dancing ones seek battle. These ones won't be offended." Or at least, as long as nothing especially awful is done. Komuxio would point on the map, a location somewhere to the east and slightly north, essentially matching instructions.     Going there is a trivial matter; few obstacles, the wildlife isn't especially hostile right now. Avoid the occasional giant, walking tree or frog, and eventually you'll come across-- warmachines. Well, two of them.     A small cohort of six Garleans in black and red uniforms, two of them standing inside of Magitek Reapers-- those are the classic, walking suits of armor, essentially a sort of two-legged black walker with a cannon on its chest and an open cockpit in the head-- stand guard by a few cages. There's a number of Sylphs in them, green and purple alike. One has an especially large haircut and glasses, inspiring a feeling of 'elder' or maybe 'just very old'. Each Garlean is armed with a gunblade and shield, even those in the Reapers.     Their camp is rudimentary, but large crates indicate they plan to stay, and have been here a few days already. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram gets out his old imperial uniform, and starts putting it on. He approaches the Garlean troops with that uniform on, and salutes them. "Sir! I'm my unit Medicus. Suspicious elements have been seen up north, my unit tried to intercept, but we were overrun. We need immediate assistance." He lies, using his knowledge of Imperial military protocals and the fact imperial helms obscure faces to try to get them distracted. "I'm too wounded to fight." Now let's just hope this works... 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji is quiet as they move on from Little Solace towards the Garlean camp. He frowns at the sight of the enemy group. He looks back to the others, gesturing. "This seems too small for a dedicated assault team... Or those walkers are more dangerous than I thought. They will need to be prioritized. N'raha will lead the attack while we move in. Prioritize the machines unless one of them..." He goes quiet as Betram breaks off and attempts deception. Souji nods. He can appreciate a good bit of misdirection. He immediately revises the plan. "If they break off, wait for Bertram's signal and then we overrun the camp, then ambush the other group when they return. Standard priority. If they attempt to arrest Bertram..." He looks to N'raha. "You know what to do." Do what angry axe cattemann does best. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsko is silent, waiting a short distance away; she'd planned to begin with a lightning-fast attack to sow general discord, but this might serve just as well.     But just in case, she carefully slips herself behind a particularly thick tree, then floats upward - her plan is to get up into the canopy, then make her way over their heads, so that if things go pear-shaped she can drop down from above. 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     Settling in for AMBUSHARINOS is pretty easy! You let someone else do all the hard dangerous stuff and you bust out a cliff bar and chow down!     This is the loudest wrapper in the universe, it's like opening sunchips in a fucking library. But Epicea crouches down - sits, really - and opens up her food bar, before cramming it in her toothy, fangy face and starts chewing loudly.     "'fo. Whaf's 'fa plan?" She mumbles around the bar, drooping and looking sleepy again already. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "I just explained the plan." Souji replies, watching Epicea. What an odd person. "Are you normally this tired?" He asks. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     There's a subtle shift in N'raha's frame as he approaches the camp, and from one glance to another his heavy armor has clinked itself properly into place from his Adventurer's gear.     More importantly, that Aetherial Inferno Axe rests neatly in his hands as he stares down into the Garlean camp. The miq's tail lashes quietly in the rumbling tension of the Larkscall, as he listens to 'the plan' from Souji and watches Bertram head down into the camp. Is he growling? It's a very feline-ish noise from the Marauder. "Sure, Mr. Murasame." 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     Epicea, being asked if she's normally this tired, is already snoring quietly, face down on the ground, making soft burbling sounds.     Yep. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Well, that makes things pretty easy and pretty obvious. "At the very least, the Tempered don't have anything to do with this. That's preferable. The Garleans are already essentially at war with the Eorzean Alliance anyways. I'd still rather not get involved with..." she waves her hand towards the reapers. "Whatever those are." Fortunately Bertram seems to have an idea, and at his urging to wait for him to try it, Scarlet sits back and waits, immediately getting the gist of it just from the sight of the uniform. She likes the idea, but doesn't have a whole lot of faith he can pull it off by himself.     Which is why she decides to help. Playing the role of the unsung hero, she settles in to watch, directing the use of Circle Ceint into an active effect centered on Bertram. Rather than working on herself for a change, she uses it on another, tweaking here and there to better fit the Garlean impression of a soldier. A little bigger, more imposing, a better accent, straighter posture, a more confident and serious tone. It's all the kind of thing she's done a million times before, and as a result, gotten very good at. Feeling satisfied, she takes a moment to kick the food bar away from Epicea's sleeping form, off into the brush where she hopefully won't find it again. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Bertram starts conversing with one of the Garleans, bolstered by Scarlet's illusion magic. The soldier seems to buy it; after all, Bertram wasn't high-ranked enough that his face, as a traitor, would be EVERYWHERE. No, it's entirely possible for this small remote cohort section to not know who he is. Not to mention if that was an issue, Scarlet may have just slapped a new face on there. And Garleans? They don't have magic, at all. They're at the mercy of it.     "Bloody hells. Is it the savages or the sylphs? Oh, like it damn matters. Take one of the Reapers and-- you two--, that'll be enough." The pilot of one Reapers makes his machine advance, volunteering, while the other two soldiers were pointed at pretty clearly. "Try not to ruin the paintjob on it, we just got it redone for this mission."     This will allow Bertram to guide one of the Reapers and two soldiers away from the group. It'll leave three in the camp.     One of the Garleans watching over the cages seems to hear the ruckus of the other adventurers gathering nearby, and thinking it must be wildlife, decides to check. You've got one of the soldiers coming up on you, with only leaves and bushes to hide you! 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram leads them away, and once he's at a comfortable distance, he says "Over there, not too far from here. I'll support from the back!" And then, once they start going in, he'll start casting spells. Not spells that will kill, no far more subtle. Gentle energies that will, ideally, overwhelm the reaper pilot first, and the others second, allowing them to fall into a gentle repose. Then, he will make his way away from them and return to the group, putting his mage's robes back on while moving. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     For the moment, Setsuko remains in the trees above. There is nothing else to report in this pose, but a minimum wordcount must be met. Oh hey, is that a B-rank hunt mark over there? 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Plan A seems to have worked fine, but unfortunately Epicea didn't seem to get the hint and has managed to force a plan B anyways. Fortunately, that proves to be pretty easy as well. Inflicting simple auditory stimuli on a single target is incredibly easy, and so Scarlet does the efficient thing and causes the suspicious Garlean to hear the same noise again, louder, 45 degrees off from them and deeper into the forest. She provides no explanation for this, simply watching him wander off apparently of his own accord as if she knew it would happen.     "Whatever you're going to do, do it now." She states plainly over the radio, already beginning to move herself." She edges around the clearing towards where the cages are, and more importantly, away from the remaining reaper's primary sight cone, readying a something from her pre-inscribed deck for the moment the others act. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     YESSSSSSSSS.     And like a coiled, heavy duty spring, N'raha unleashes himself like a red bolt of thunder, that axe swinging up and around into the air, as he LEAPS at the Garlean soldier, the business end coming down in an overhead chop.     It is not subtle. It is not clean. It is not precise. It is mean to hurt this man while he dies. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' As soon as N'raha moves, Souji bolts forward, his hands seething with Magic Particles as he shapes them into the proper Pattern. The time for action has come. He doesn't call for anyone to follow him. apparently he expects them to just do it because it's what makes sense at the moment. Bertram did his job, it's time for the rest of them to do theirs. "Take them! Quickly!" And then he finishes the Pattern. "Thunder-2." He calls out, throwing his hands forward and targeting the remaining soldier and his ally in the Magitech Reaver. There is a crackle of lightning, and the air shears with a powerful blast. Not the clinging shock of the Thaumaturge, but a deadly bolt. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Once they're far enough, Bertram opens up with offensive magic right away. Water bubbles around them and brings them to a gentle sleep, and the three soldiers just fall to the ground (or rather, one falls face first into his cockpit's control panel, the others on the ground). The Reaper keeps walking until it slams into a tree (taking almost no damage) and then stops there, jammed.     Scarlet's spell causes the Garlean to change heading, following the noise. Bloody squirrels, even this deep in the forest.     N'raha leaps at him from the bushes, and plunges back with him into another bush. The axe would cut his throat open, and he'd choke on his own blood before long.     This leaves a Reaper and a soldier in the camp. Souji engages by firing a thunderbolt at the both of them-- the man on foot is shocked, hard, forced to one knee immediatly. The one in the Reaper slams the panel and a blue, hexagonal shield forms around the war machine, absorbing most of the damage.     The front of the Reaper opens, revealing a large cannon. It glows a brilliant gold for a second, and then fires an orb of magic straight for Souji's location. Upon impact, with anything really, it would detonate-- and it's pretty nasty. The sort of explosion that'd ruin your house. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     It happens without warning.     A swordswoman in grey and black drops out of the canopy high above, the tall trees of the Black Shroud giving her ample room to make her move. The simple blade in her hand expands to the size of a massive sword, held high above her head, and her descent goes far faster than gravity alone could account for - her own power of flight, employed to add yet more momentum to her attack as she plunges towards her target. The Magitek Reaper represents a clear, significant threat, and she intends to deal with it by simply cleaving it in half, with all the strength and force she can bring to bear through her divine weapon.     As if on reflex, Setsuko roars as she descends, a singular kiai to focus both her will and her attack.     "CHEEESUTOOOOO!" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Well, he would have choked on his blood, if N'raha hadn't just finished the man off. There's a bloody snarl from that bush again, as the Miqo'te youth comes tearassing out of the underbrush, charging the Magitech reaper along with Setsuko. Granted, he's probably not going to get there in time to do much, but he needs this.     But. it's the sight of those cages that tempers his wrath slightly, and he changes his tack to head for them instead to investigate. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     That's about what Scarlet suspected. The Reaper's escort seems to have been more or less dealt with, though the one she had lead off will come running back at the sound of that explosion. For that reason, she sends one of her usual familiars loping off into the forest, passing noiselessly through the treets and brush in its incorporeal state. Specifically, the "hunting dog", as if it could be compared to anything so mundane and wholesone as a canine. The full complement would have killed it pretty quickly, but a single stranded soldier in the deep woods should be an easy target to subdue.     She's not about to get in the way of that cannon though, nor give it any reason to turn her way. Instead, she abuses hidden magic one more time to blast the pilot's senses with the hallucinatory equivalent of a flashbang, not going for any kind of subtelty or believability so long as it prevents him from shooting straight at anything. She ducks out from the tree cover in the distraction, running over to the nearest cage and kneeling behind it, pressing a premade transmutation circle to the bars and holding a finger to her lips at the Sylphs inside. The metal around her hand begins to boil annd froth, sloughing off like water soluble paint. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' There is a flash of light as a singly tiny object intercepts the incoming plasma sphere - A thrown Gil coin from Souji. The erupting blast of the cannon, nevertheless, throws Souji backwards, his suit and body smouldering from the backwash. The quick retaliation might have reduced the incoming damage, but he's going to be feeling that one for a big. "Tch. It's as I feared." He grimaces. "But then, if they were total pushovers, it would bode ill to Eorzea's capabilities. KAMINAGI!" He calls, as the deific swordsman drops down and cleaves into the Reaper. He looks to the others, noting some are already moving to free the captives. He nods, rushing forward towards the location of the other soldiers. If he can bind them before they recover from Bertram's spells, perhaps they can find the tables turned upon them... 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko comes down on the Magitek Reaper; her sword starts cutting through, but abruptly stops halfway in. This thing is TOUGH-- she's strong, though, and cutting that deep is a feat in and of itself. The size of the cut, even if it can't cleave the armor in twain, is enough to seriously damage its systems and disable its main gun, however. Not to mention make the pilot PANIC.     N'raha's axe finds much lesser purchase, but smashes into one of the legs and badly damages one of the knee joints.     And with Scarlet's flashbang, that pilot isn't going to have the Reaper firing on anyone else. He stutters, panics, and falls out of his ride, next to the disabled and paralyzed soldier. Is that a surrender?     Scarlet's dog will find the second pilot well asleep, thanks to Bertram. It could eat the sleeping soldiers trivially.     The cages have Tempered Sylphs and normal ones alike-- it may be best not to open the cage full of purple Sylphs. But the one that contains green ones contains Frixio, the Sylph's elder. You can tell because his hair is as tall as he is and he's got old man glasses on. He immediatly greets Scarlet and Souji with a dance-like bow. "This one thanks walking ones. This one is called Frixio, eldest of these ones from Little Solace. Pray forgive this one's need to be rescued." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     There is some degree of surprise in Setsuko's expression when the weight of the Zanjintou doesn't cleave all the way through. But impressed though she is, it's a bad place to stop moving for any reason, so she does not. Instead, she disengages the weapon's full-sized form, freeing it by dint of the large blade no longer existing, and backflips away into a ready stance... only for the man to stumble right on out of his armor. She relaxes, somewhat, adopting a simple, guarded stance. "...I was swinging fairly hard. I'm impressed by your machine's durability." Worth bearing in mind for later.     For now, however, she... wanders over to the cage containing the tempered Sylphs, looking into it with a simple, calm stare. "I'm sure all of you realize who I am. I'm here to tell you that I have no quarrel with your kind. I am not a god, and I was not summoned to challenge you or Lord Ramuh. If I free all of you, do you swear to return straight to the Sylphlands without attacking us?" 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Well the familiar isn't going to eat the poor man. For one, because Scarlet isn't the kind of person to kill for no reason, even secondhand, and there's certainly nothing to gain from doing it. For two, because it doesn't have a mouth. Besides, she's busy dissolving enough of the cage for a Sylph to fit through, the card burning up after roughly half of it has been rendered into formless metallic slag. She takes the little elder's hand in her own like a dance partner's, lifting him up into the air with a little flourish where presumably he'll be more comfortable being able to float.     "A pleasure to finally meet you~ I've been looking for you and your friends. It's not my place to admonish you even if I wanted to, so I'll merely express my gratitude that you're unharmed." She looks pointedly to the purple Sylphs. "That said, we have no association with the Sylphs under Ramuh. I don't think there's a need to do much if they weren't the ones at fault here, but if you have any specific requests for where they should be taken next, please voice them now." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji takes some time to bind the disabled Garleans. Capturing these alive might be... useful. He looks back to the elder and performs a bow as well. "IT is no matter, Elder Frixio. What is important now is that you and the others are safe. Quickly, we should return to Little Solace after the other matters are settled." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA TOTALLY KILLED THAT ONE GUY CAUSE FUCK GARLEANS.     That said people are being diplomatic now, and N'raha busies himself with trying to calm the fuck down over near the downed Reaper. 'Trying' being the operative word here. His blood is racing. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko gets a reply. It's roughly as expected.     "Of course our machine is durable! It's made of cermet, nothing you damn savages could ever reproduce!" Glorious nippon steel, folded 100 times. Pardon, glorious Garlean cermet, folded 1000 times. He's not entirely wrong-- Eorzea's blacksmiths could try as hard as they want, their forges don't have the conditions needed to reproduce cermet easily. But that's like saying you couldn't commission a medieval blacksmith to make you a space shuttle. It's kind of unfair.     And that aside, cermet still manages to be inferior to properly magical metal at times anyway.     The Tempered Sylphs look at one another. There's a lot of muttering and name-calling in there, but one finally turns to answer. "These ones will not attack rival one and walking ones in exchange for freedom. But these ones will not carry rival one's false words home with them."     Probably the best you could expect.     Frixio nods to Scarlet; his movements are still graceful, though they look exhausted at the same time. "This one is saddened to learn the tempered ones have resorted to summoning Lord Ramuh. These ones from Little Solace have an agreement with walking ones from Gridania not to summon the Levin One. This one will be happy to talk with walking ones once Little Solace is reached."     Garleans are captured, if needed/wanted! They are in no position to offer much resistance. Those that are awake will cuss and swear because they really don't seem to like people who aren't Garleans. Not much of a surprise. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     In the blink of an eye, Zanjintou has cleaved off the top of the cage; Setsuko calmly reaches up, and tosses it aside. "Go. And ask yourselves on the way back - why would I release followers of Ramuh, lending him more strength, if I intended to fight him?"     The sword returns to its sheath, and she turns to walk away from the tempered ones, over towards Frixio. "We would appreciate that. If there is any way we can bring this to a close without fighting Ramuh, I would be glad to hear of it." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Eventually, the group will return to Little Solace.     HAUL: 6x Garlean uniforms, gunblades and shields     1x intact Magitek Reaper     1x damaged Magitek Reaper     The Reapers are activated and piloted using identification keys, kind of like large keycards. The exact specifics of the technology involved can be explained as needed if anyone intends to mess with them or use them.     Once back to town, or along the way, Frixio will explain:     "This one believes it may be possible to appeal to Lord Ramuh with a token. These ones have long guarded a crystal given to these ones by Lord Ramuh a long time ago. If walking ones or dancing ones presented the crystal to Lord Ramuh, it may serve as proof that walking ones intend to live in peace with these ones and have earned the respect of this one."     But, he would add, "This one cannot entrust these ones' crystal to walking ones on a whim. Saving this one is not enough. Walking ones have told this one that the forest is in pain. Elemental ones no longer in agreement, because walking ones are performing dark magic in its depths. When undead ones are put back to sleep, then this one will confer with these ones about the crystal."     Translation: well, you saved me, that's cool, but it's not really enough. When you guys clear the Tam-Tara Deepcroft we'll have a Sylphy meeting and discuss the good you can do for the forest. And then we can give you the crystal. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Frixio handing over this "token" right from the start would have been nice, but Scarlet hadn't been expecting it to play out that way. In fact, things seem to be going exactly the way she had planned around. A smile of smug satisfaction is carefully represented as one of appreciation towards the elder Sylph, and then followed, by a brief curtsy of the kind one would expect of a young lady leaving the presence of her father's high ranking friend.     "Be reassured with the knowledge that I'm aware of the issue, and already have plans in motion to deal with it. It was my intent to deal with it before seriously approaching you about this matter, but your safety was more important." Sure is a lot of "I" and "me" and "my" here, and yet somehow it tends to fly under the radar. "Next we meet, your single, sole worry will be The Lord of Levin, after which I'm sure we'll be able to work something out." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha... well. The 'I', 'Me' and 'My's aren't getting past him and as he peels off his bloody helmet and lets his hair out again, those ears flick a little bit in frustration.     The word 'crystal', though, that gets a reaction. Like, a very visceral reaction as the Miqo'te's eyes slacken again. A hand clenches a little bit in a ball, and he looks around to the others, murmuring. "We /really/ need to get that crystal, guys. It's... well. It's really important, s-somehow. I... ah."     He's coming back to the here and now again, and he's looking slightly embarassed for some reason. The ears and tail droop a little bit. "Probably. It's probably really important." 

}}

The Six Crystals of Light

2015-08-17T05:36:20Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{TPPage |Summary=The Six Crystals of Light: The Scions of the Seventh Dawn have found within Alwyn Highwind, Bertram Silent and N'raha Tia the new Warriors of Light, people g..."

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-08-09T07:45:40Z

Lightmage: /* Dungeons */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.
* The adventurers have captured Captain Madison's pirate ship!
* The Syndicate of Ul'dah now employs [[Souji Murasame]]'s magitechnology.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Leve Plate
| A plate made of glass and steel, which identifies the bearer as being on a Leve, Duty or other.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
* The Murasame Zaibatsu has been recognized as an independant Free Company for political purposes.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]
* [[2716/Leve:_Sylph-Management|Leve: Sylph-Management]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Ul'dah===

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* [[2679/Duty:_Sastasha_Seagrot|Sastasha Seagrot]]
* [[2740/Duty:_Halatali|Halatali]]
* [[2761/Duty:_The_Tam-Tara_Deepcroft|The Tam-Tara Deepcroft]]

2761/Duty: The Tam-Tara Deepcroft

2015-08-09T07:42:05Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/08/08 |Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR> |Synopsis=Adventurers head into the Tam-Tara Deepcroft to stop the ritual being cast by the Lambs of Dal..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/08
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Adventurers head into the Tam-Tara Deepcroft to stop the ritual being cast by the Lambs of Dalamud, and encounter Avere Bravearm's party again. Also Setsuko cuts off someone else's arm for a change.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 626, 670, 675, 747, 789, 791, 815, 819, 826
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:''' Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)! Duty: The Tam-Tara Deepcroft Location: The Tam-Tara Deepcroft, Central Shroud Type: Dungeon Urgency: Medium Difficulty: Medium Enclosed Message: Whether or not the Sylph elder is saved, it is time to do something about the local wildlife. A cult of Dalamud worshippers, known as the Lambs of Dalamud, have tampered with the seals of the Deepcroft and broken in. They have reanimated the bodies therein for their ploys and likely seek to bring about great chaos and destruction. The Seedseers of Gridania would request able-bodied adventurers to enter the Deepcroft, put the poor souls back to rest, and deal with the cultist concerns-- permanently. Their magicks cannot be allowed to continue, for it warps even the simplest creatures of the Black Shroud into aggressive beasts. Or so that is their belief. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     If you're new: welcome to Eorzea, more specifically to the Black Shroud, a very large forest that covers a good part of the continent. If you have any magical senses at all, this place is bursting with magic-- everyone, everything, is made of it, connected to the world like one big unified magical whole. As concerns the forest specifically, the trees are massive, and multiple, powerful forces seem present within-- to the EAST, a growing, thunderous force, aligned with lightning, and to the SOUTH, a sleeping pressure aligned with battle. EVERYWHERE in general, nature itself seems to be 'alive', not in the sense plants are alive but in the sense the forest watches after itself. Deeper probing reveals discord, corruption and weakness that can't be quite pinpointed, as though the elements of the forest were infighting, or otherwise wounded.     The WARP GATE is located next to an AETHERYTE CRYSTAL (think giant blue glowing crystal with a lot of decorating and magical setup) out in the Central Shroud, in a small barely fortified village slash camp known as Bentbranch Meadows. You won't be staying here very long, though, as you'll be guided by assorted parties (whether Scarlet, Setsuko, Bertram or N'raha) south on the road towards what is known as the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, what used to be the royal tombs of Gridania. If you were Gridanian, and you mattered, you were probably buried here.     Reaching a large clearing in the forest, the Deepcroft becomes immediatly visible-- it's a large grassy area, with old ruins and one very big hill in the center. Dug into the front of the hill is the catacombs entrance, which is a single large, round room with stairs leading down near the back. Four bonfires are in each 'corner', unlit, and both gates, the one leading into the room and the one barring access to the stairs going down, have been torn open despite being solid metal. The leftovers of magic seals that were bruteforced are present in the form of half-faded runes.     PAIYO REIYO, a small Lalafell in blue mage robes with a hood, is standing by the stairs leading down. He looks injured, exhausted, and his staff is broken. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' BERTRAM SILENT, a tall Hyur in white mage robes with a good, is arriving alone. He hasn't picked up anyone else, trusting others to take care of that. Instead, he's brought what looks to be some kind of huge folding lunchbox, made out of solid wood. Once he's at the site, whether first or not, he starts unfolding the lunchbox into a table, several kinds of food are placed on top. Then he starts healing Paiyo. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA, looking somehow more refreshed than usual, is already inside the first bit of the ruins themselves, before you actually go in any deeper. There's a sheen on his old armor, and in his demeanor as he busies himself with battering some stubborn skeletons and crap that just keep trying to wake up.     That axe of his is getting some work.     Also he is throwing very dirty looks at the Thaumaturge every so often. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko has been to the East Shroud a fair bit, but not to other parts of the Twelveswood; so for her, this is something of a branching out.     She keeps her pace calm and steady, walking alongside Bertram and N'raha... at least, until Paiyo Reiyo is spotted. At that point, she rushes ahead to check on him; he's the only member of Avere's group she felt had any kind of sound judgement by the end of their foray into the Sastasha Seagrot, so her concern is instant and noticeable. "Paiyo Reiyo. You're hurt. What's happened?" Bertram is a fine healer; he's got the wounds covered, so she'll cover the 'what'. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Given the nature of this particular Duty, Kyra appeared to be especially eager to join. As had become commonplace when she went on the missions in Eorzea, she's come fully equipped with her usual medical loadout (CURE-ALL included) and a full stock of explosives and utility potions. Her gear is clearly visible, the front zipper of her hoodie jacket pulled down to allow her easy access to her gear. Held in both of her hands is a hunting rifle, already pre-loaded with hipotion-filled darts. The healing bases are definitely covered today with contingencies in case she has ANOTHER Wild Magic incident.     (Like the last TWO TIMES she's been here. Maybe there was just something about this place that stirred her magic particles wrong.)     "Hey." she greets Paiyo as they arrive, "What's the damage down there?" Bertram beats her to healing the Lalafell but that doesn't stop her from trying something else out.     She gestures to the staff. "Heal! The scar of the burning sun!" she intones, tapping on the white magic (though closer to time magic) that Orphen taught her. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason is here once more she was finding it was quite a good experiance to help out Alwyn and his friends with the various job postings from their world. The Gil also didn't hurt much either, Lyia muses. Still it was less the gil and more starting to help out new friends. Well that and being on an adventure with said friends as well. The Galendian Machinist was just stepping out of the WArp Gate not as she made note of the Aetheryte crystal near the gate. She's not going to be staying here too long eithere as she's going to move to form up with everyone else and soon enough She's a bhit behind Kyra as she arrives a bit after she looks to Paiyo however she doesn't act as several people far better at healing are already on it. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     The honest truth is that Izzy Hyland hadn't actually been paying attention to what he was doing on his iWear, and had accidentally accepted a mission on the mission boards. It seemed rude to accept it and then not go do anything about it, so he'd decided that he may as well do it. It would probably be fun! Truth be told, Izzy is kind of clueless a lot of the time, despite his general demeanor of being in control of the situation regardless of what happens. Unfortunately he got here a little bit (a lot) early, got hungry, and wandered off for a little while.     Right now, he's RETURNING to the entrance of the catacombs, where everyone has long since been.     Izzy is carrying what appears to have been one of the local squirrels, which he killed, cooked, and is now most of the way through eating on a hand-carved spit he skewered it on. He's actually holding a second one in his left hand, which has been entirely untouched so far.     "HEY, DOES ANYBODY ELSE LIKE SQUIRREL?" He asks, waving the spare squirrel-on-a-stick around. "WHAT ABOUT YOU?"     Izzy jabs the freshly cooked squirrel-on-a-stick towards the wounded Lalafel. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet's been here before, and so she's relatively familiar with the setup, the distant presence of what can only be Ramuh's gathering set aside. That also means she has the proper context to frown at the sight of the flames out and the seals undone yet again, mere weeks after she'd personally seen the issue resolved.     Though she looks the same as she always does due to her magic's extreme bent of subtelty, she's done the equivalent of coming loaded for bear this time, knowing full well how this particular brand of adventuring goes and having swapped the bulk of her wards for ones concerned with personal defense and narrowed her familiar selection down to a much smaller entourage of more dangerously combat focused ones, currently occupying such a low level of phase that anyone with any kind of magical inclination might be able to catch glimpses of phantom movement in her vicinity.     Of course the lalafel immediately demands her attention, in that she is obligated to at least ask "Forgive me for asking you in such a state, but if you've already been down there, could you tell us exactly what happened? How far did you get? Who else is still there? And when did you find this place like.. this?" She gestures nonspecifically at the snuffed fires. Most of her attention is really focused on assessing the battered old seals to see how long ago they were broken, yet again, and if there's even enough left of them to be fixed once more, even temporarily, or whether they'll have to be rewritten from scratch. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra's been to Eorzea before, briefly. But not the Black Shroud, and she has to admit she doesn't think theres anywhere on Galianda that gives off the same... living vibe.     The judge is dressed...as a Judge, but there aren't too many of those in Eorzea, (not good ones anyways) but her silver and bronze coloured armor with the big horns gets a few looks from passersby. She stops just left of Kyra and looks at the burial mounds through her red visor and hnns. "I'm suprised the local authorities wouldn't deal with an undead uprising. But hopefully there isn't a Vampire involved." Vampires on Galianda make people reach for the scorched earth buttons, but it seems in other worlds they're approached more subtly, something about a stake through the heart, or was it head...?     "Kyra. Do you think your white magic can disrupt the animated bodies?" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Avere happened, I'm afraid," Paiyo explains. "He got a hint a big group of adventurers was coming here. He decided if we went ahead and did your work for you, we'd become rich and famous. I can't terribly fault him, if it worked we'd be rather well-off right now." Thankful for the heals, he rises, dusting himself and sighing.     "Patience isn't his strong suit, as you likely figured out last time. He ran ahead. Edda and Liavinne actually kept up with him, somehow, but barely. I feel behind, and then the undead surrounded them... well, here I am, having run for my life." He doesn't seem very proud of the fact.     He takes Izzy up on his offer-- when you're an adventurer you eat what you can. Squirrel's... not five-star cuisine exactly but they're big enough around here you can feel two Lalafells with one squirrel.     "I'm sorry to place this burden on you, but could you... go find them? They're tough, they'll have lasted until now... I'm sure." To Cirra, he answers: "No vampires. Cultists, from what we saw, and skeletons. A lot of skeletons. Some imps, some bugs." And to Scarlet: "Not very long ago. Twenty, thirty minutes? I lost track, amidst the running. We didn't get far-- we took a path overtaken by vegetation, rather than the straight one the cultists are using. A bad decision in hindsight."     He also thanks Izzy, if a bit late due to having to explain some things.     HEADING DOWN: As you walk down, and down, and down the stairs, for what seems like five minutes, you eventually reach a massive, open cavern, with pathways and levels built around a deep, hollow... well, hole. Destroyed brick roads and bridges indicate the catacomps may have once been much more claustrophobic, and perhaps not so open.     To your RIGHT, a path overtaken by vegetation seems to head to the level below the one you're on, via stairs and ramps. To your RIGHT, as you walk closer to the edge of the hole, the path continues, hugging the wall and forming a circle around the central area. The area is large enough that this circular road around the hole would take a good ten minutes to walk across and return to your starting location, at a walking pace.     In the center of the hole is a large platform of stone built atop a massive tree trunk reaching a fair distance down. It is protected by a bright purple forcefield, powered by an orb hovering over the platform, itself tethered to FOUR altars. Two of them are on the level you're on, and two seem to be down below. Each altar has numerous men in dark robes around them, accompanied by skeletons and imps-- and the road to the altars themselves has quite the number of skeletons patrolling, too.     It seems a given that accessing the central platform will require dealing with all four altars. Rather than magic, the air here is abuzz with darkness and necromancy, not unlike the pendant Scarlet may still have. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     There's a reason N'raha had been glaring at the Lalafell, and there it is. This whole place stank and it wasn't just the undead that were the problem. He shoulders his axe again, and with the idea that he's always been placed there so far, takes up the lead of the party as the head downstairs, likely flanked by Setsuko. That's how it's been, and he's getting comfortable with that.     The Miqo'te, looking over the mess below, looks to the rest. "I'll make sure the butts up top are handled. Someone come on with." He pulls out the axe again, and also a big piece of jerky which he shoves into his mouth to chew on to maye get rid of the smell of this place. Bluh. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Unfortunately for N'raha, Setsuko does not walk. Once she has heard what Paiyo Reiyo has to say, with a muttered oath she comes up to her feet and /runs/. Far ahead of the group, probably in an ill-advised dash, she skids to a stop right on the edge of the huge, open space, and closes her eyes. Straining. Listening. And then, after only a second's pause, she turns and heads RIGHT, towards the LOWER LEVELs.     She's already got Zanjintou at hand, ready to hack away at any vines (or enemies) that happen to get in the way. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' After a quick discussion, and another encouragement of the food, Bertram follows his own advice and consumes bits and pieces of the food on offer, then grips Yagrush firmly and follows Setsuko, getting ready to heal a lot. As by the looks of it, Setsuko isn't going for small pulls. He sprints, fortunate enough not to rely on physical exercise to do his job, and makes sure to cast protect and swiftcast stoneskin 2 before the fighting starts. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     It's actually a little bit surprising to Izzy that people take up the food he offered, but he seems reasonably pleased by it. Consequentially though, Izzy isn't really paying all that much attention to what's being said. Seems like there's a lot of backstory here that he didn't have anything to do with, and no reference point for. He smiles kindly and just sort of nods along, pretending to understand exactly what's happened. Then, Setsuko takes off in one direction with at least one or two people racing after her pretty much immediately.     He looks out after them, shrugs, and then heads towards the UPPER LEVEL.     "OKAY. I GUESS I'LL GO THIS WAY, THEN. THERE'S PROBABLY SOME PUZZLES THAT NEED TO GO DOWN BEFORE WE'RE DONE HERE ANYWAY, SO SPLITTING UP MAKES SENSE." Evidently Izzy is an optimist who doesn't believe that splitting the party is too much of a bad thing. He finishes off HIS squirrel-on-a-stick and captchalogues what's left for later disposal.     No sense in defiling tombs with squirrel remains.     Then again, maybe it would just be particularly respectful to the dead squirrel? 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "I'm pretty sure my white magic is very good at disrupting undead bodies." Kyra grins fanatically. Undead were one of the few places a white mage could really shine in offense where she was from, after all.     As Paiyo starts up: "Oh, this again." Kyra palms her face. "You know, the Shroud is pretty big, aren't there enough adventures for everyone...? Hey Izzy, glad to see you out and about. Where's everyone else, though?" She seems confused. Weren't they supposed to work as a team too...? Kyra swipes some of the food offered by Bertram before heading up top, splitting healing duties and heading for the UPPER LEVEL. There, Kyra wastes no time.     "HELLO EVERYONE!" she greets cheerfully before promptly hitting skeletons with healing magic. Which she expects will kill them. If they don't, she'll feel quite silly. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason looks to Paiyo as they make the request to finf thier friends she looks to Paiyo for a moment nodding. "Wee'll do what we can to try and find your friends." She gets why they were trying to make names for themselves and she can't fault them for trying. She's going to get her pistols ready and keep to the upper level. "I'll do what I can up here." She notes ash she moves to remain top side and fall in with those who do. As Kyra starts to heal bomb, Lyira starts to give her covering fire frm her pistols, which are tuned to the fire element right now. "I got you back Kyra, N'raha! Izzy if you need anything just call out! I got a few gadgets with me that might help out." 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra watches Setsuko turn for the exit going RIGHT. She shrugs her shoulders, and can't very well let her run off on her own. She turns and heads down the RIGHT path for the LOWER LEVELS. Summon the Judge Blade to her hand as she descends downwards.     She isn't familiar with this other group of adventurers that being admonished, but perhaps by the end of the night, she too will have reason to bash on them. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet is just going to ignore someone eating a cooked squirrel on a stick. Gross.     All said, Paiyo's description of events isn't far from what she'd expected just from first laying eyes on him in his current condition. Were she the more heroically pragmatic sort, the sigh of frustrated worry and the shake of her head she replies with would be completely sincere. As it is, rescuing the rest of the adventuring party is more or less a bonus objective for extra points. There are more than enough able bodies present to accomplish that as well, right? "It's a good thing you did at least. Otherwise, we'd have no idea where to start, or maybe if you were even here. We might have just assumed nobody showed up." She smiles reassuringly at the lalafel before turning to the stairs, shuffling through her bag.     Setsuko running off is about as to be expected, and there's no point in trying to keep up with the demigoddess of war. Likewise, the men in robes are what the "adventurers" are for. She's surrounded by enough hired muscle that she shouldn't have to try and deal with them directly. As usual, what has her interest is the area's magic. Specifically, the forcefield, the orb, and how it is linked to the altars. It seems pretty elaborate for an elevator control mechanism, and so there must be a reason for it.     She finishes fishing the medallion out of her bag, standing aside as the armed Elites come rushing through, finding a quiet spot off to the side. She sends off a couple of obligatory, bottom level scout familiars, little more than remote eyes and ears, to keep track of them, but busies herself instead with inscribing the correct circles for a proper, in-depth analysis of the area and comparison to the voidsent energies of her token artifact, focusing on discerning any details she can of the orb, forcefield, altars, cultists, and minions in that descending order.     With any luck, by the time everyone else finishes killing (or re-killing) everything in sight, she might have a more permanent solution for this. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' If you thought you would be spared the noob brigade, think again. DUMBFACE MCGLOOMYPOO- I mean, SARAH PARSLE has scurried onto the scene. LATE. The fact Izzy is on site and active instead of living in his hippieland is even more motifaction than normal. As she clambers over the broken rocks and looks over the smashed area, she frowns at the central pit-like environment. "What the crap is this." She says aloud to no one in particular, because she hasn't CAUGHT UP yet. As she surveys all the BEAMS OF EVIL shooting at the ORB OF OMINOUS POWER, she observes, similarly to no one in particular, "This smells like evil asshole power." Turning, she zips along through the tunnels, following the trail of what mauled evil things and bugs and undead there might be until she reaches Paiyo. "Oh, hi, smart guy." Sarah says, waving to said Lalafell. "Sorry I'm late. Looks like everything went straight past hell and into some kind of double hell." She nods. "Don't worry, the forces of overkill present will help clean everything up. I'm going to go supervise." Sarah gives the lalafell who is only slightly shorter than she is a wave, and then she putters along, figuring Izzy is going to take the most direct path like usual, which means the upper levels. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     The upper level, the simpler of the two options and more straightforward path, being just a very large ring around the central platform and hole, is also the one with the most enemies. N'raha takes the lead, followed by Kyra and Lyria who immediatly turn things hostile as they rampage towards one of the altars. Though many skeletons immediatly charge, they're bombed down by gunshots and Kyra's magic right away; the imps, however, aren't so vulnerable to healing magic. The half a dozen of flying creatures charge the group, flinging ice spells left and right. Three cultists are at the first altar; one immediatly starts channeling a powerful spell upon seeing the untruders, while the other two fire volleys of lightning and void-y magic. One such spell misses N'raha but smashes the ground out from under him, causing a collapse! N'raha might find himself falling towards the altar down below (see next pose segment) if he isn't careful.     GENERIC INFO: Each altar has a bright purple-ish orb on it, which is what seems to be feeding power to the magical sphere and forcefield. The orbs seem to be siphoning nearby magic to gather it in one place, and there are many runes and inscriptions on and around them, indicating a complex spell.     LOWER LEVEL:     Unlike the upper level, the lower level is more contained, the caverns and tunnels still standing. Massive roots seem to hold the place together, as though the plantlife had grown specifically to support the tunnels.     Heading down reveals traces of fighting-- broken skeletons, a few dead Yarzon (think five foot tall six-legged granddaddy longlegs-- yeah, you can hate me for that description)-- and the likes. A great many side-rooms are empty, with tombs, graves and sarcophaguses that have been forced open. There are many riches here for the taking, if it interests you at all. Ancient armor and weaponry not made for combat but made to look pretty, plenty of gil, that sort of stuff.     Ahead, one can see the bright purple and blue hue of one of the altars feeding power to the orb now far above the group. Around it are three men in dark red robes, with a number of skeletons and imps with them. Three adventurers are in their midst-- Edda, the Conjurer in white and beige robe, clutching her backpack tightly as she sits on the ground, Liavinne, the Archer in green and brown leather, quiver empty and held at swordpoint by one skeleton, and Avere, flat on the ground next to Edda. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA IS MIGHTY AND POWERFUL AND CHARGING RIGHT IN AFTER THE OTHERS AAAAAH I'M A TANK FACE M-     Wait no, now we're falling and the catman flails in midair as he goes, flailing his axe a bit to right himself at at least try to land on his feet. "UWAAAHHHH!"     And it's not on his feet that he lands, but on top of one of the sword-wieling cultists, like some great red Mario. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The skeleton in front of Liavinne is Setsuko's first target.     Or rather, its sword is. The divine sharpness of Zanjintou is enough to split even ordinary metals easily, and she means to remove the danger with a quick downward slash through the sword itself, followed by a reverse cut up through the skeleton. Without missing a beat, she lunges in a bid to shoulder-tackle her way /through/ that skeleton, hurling herself over towards Edda and Avere. She means to plant herself directly above and in front of Edda, sword at the ready, in a defensive posture that puts her in position to respond to any of the cultists, imps or skeletons that might move to attack. But her gaze falls solely on the cultists themselves.     "I will give you one chance and one chance only. Leave, or all of you will die. I promise you, you do not have enough demons or undead to stop me. And I'm not alone." For pure effect, she allows her aura to begin simmering around her faintly, a subtle haze of blue divinity... and then down comes a catman from above. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     "YOU KNOW, NORMALLY I DON'T LIKE TO LABEL THINGS THAT WAY, BUT THEY MAKE IT REALLY HARD WHEN IT'S THIS OBVIOUS THAT IT'S EVIL ASSHOLE POWER." Izzy replies to Sarah, looking unamused at this fact. He shakes his head, whipping his hair from side to side in the doing. Like Sarah, he's somewhat behind the others, albeit with something of a head start on /her/. These weirdos aren't going to talk with them, as evidenced by all of the spooky skeletons and obviously demonic beings that start revving up.     This is a time to increase his armor class.     Izzy whips off his shirt and ties it around his waist. This absolutely makes sense in context, but probably just makes him look even weirder than he already does here. Not at all coincidentally, this kid is fucking built. He moves in with the kind of reckless confidence that only youth can conjure and decides to try something quite risky! Riskier than taking your shirt off in a fight. He ponders aloud, "I WONDER IF I CAN JUST..."     Then he tries to punch one of the volleys of voidy magic that got launched at his group. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Imps are not undead!" Kyra announces, "Those being shot as normal would be really helpful! I don't think the cultists are undead either!" Kyra says the word cultist with disdain, especially as their magic crumbles out the ground from N'raha, dropping him down deeper into the dungeon: "N'raha!!" She starts to advance only to be struck by a void-flavored spell from one of the cultists and sent sprawling.     She growls as she hauls herself up to her feet, immediately taking steps to wreck the magical onslaught. "SHELLGA!" she starts with, casting it on everyone still remaining on the upper level, imbuing them with the protective spell that will reduce the magic damage done when they get hit by spells.     Izzy personally is singled out for the next trick, knowing that the fighty tanky guy would certainly appreciate it as he'll no doubt get up close with the magic users.     "Reflect!" A blue barrier flickers around Izzy, not impeding him but most likely making cultists cry. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     The general flow of magic is useful information, and the runes on plain display will be once Scarlet has the chance to take pictures of them, but she needs to know a little more than that. She can sense the ambient magic is charged with the same kind of negative energy that the amulet recovered previously is, and so she attempts to find out where exactly it is, whether it's simply just what the cultists are using, whether it's radiating from the crypt itself, whether it's the orb artifacts individually, or whether it's what the orbs just happen to be siphoning in from one of the other sources.     Secondly is the forcefield itself. Specficially, what it's meant to block out, what means there are of bypassing it other than cutting off its power supply, if any, and if it really is just there to block off the use of what is probably a lift downwards simply to protect the burial site itself, in which case, why are the cultists tending to it? If it really is a harmless barrier, there is an immediately obvious use she has for it. If it's something more sinister, there's an equally immediate means of dealing with it. If it's neither, well then it's still an extra piece in her personal project.     "When you have the opportunity, could one of you try removing an orb from one of those altars for a few seconds, please?" She asks quietly over the radio while she focuses. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra skips over the vendor trash, only so many incventory slots after all.     When setsuko dashes out, the Judge hangs back for a just a moment, long enough for the cultists to draw their focus on SEtsuko, then rushes out. The Judge Blade is not a true holy weapon, but with Cirra strength and speed behind it it can rend bond. She slashes upwards into the back of one of the skeletons then spins around, brining the tip of the weapon low to the ground as it cuts directly across an imp.     The Judge, despite her plate mail style armor is contantly in motion, leaping up to spin around and bring a heavily amrored knees directly to one cultist's head and then tucking and rolling closer to the alters, springing up to take position near Setsuko...     and theres a cat-man falling from the ceiling.     "Maybe they don't have enoguh to stop you, but I think theres enough to inconvience us." 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' "Yeah, well, you can be all understanding and nonjudgemental and accepting while I just call it like I see it, Izzy." Sarah replies laconically to their now-tank since they lost catte-tank. "That's a whole lot of evil asshole, to boot. I'm surprised they're not full of horrorterrors while we're at it." Kyra provides useful information whole Sarah shimmies off to one side, using her inoffensiveness as a shield as usual. A few Blizzard blasts strike towards her, but the Shell flares, cutting the damage down to managable levels. "Bluuuuuh." She mutters. "Someone kill the stupid imp things, they're biting my style." While she offers that bit of advice, she tries to shimmy over to the stands of EVIL ORBS and tries to engage in a bit of YOINKING, attempting to remove it as per Scarlet's request. "This is probably going to explode in my face." She predicts with her standard fatalism. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' When N'raha drops down, Bertram responds on instinct. A quick cure followed by an immediate regen, which should hopefully top him off. Bertram then goes right for Avere, kneeling down next to the fallen adventurer, and checking for a pulse, then notices something rather upsetting. He makes one loud, angry statement, before switching his internal mana flow. "Rhalgr's wrath upon you!" Oh yeah, he's not happy, and he doesn't give the cultists the opportunity to respond to Setsuko, weaving energies and calling upon the energy of earth to summon rock spikes to launch up from right below the nearest one. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason had missed the bit about talking when she saw the undead? Well she kinda just acted like her training at school had taught her. She's mostly focusing on the undead to take them down. There's a lot of them, but the Imps? The imps are not really effected by the healing attacks. It's too late to do anytthing else now as she attemps to keep fiting with the imps and she's getting hit by ice spells and it's clearly hurting he as the icey magic claws at her body. Worse N'raha has gone falling into the depths and there's nothing she cna do. "N'raha!" She staggerss back a bit and she's aware of th alters but she's too tied up with the imps at the moment. Then Izzy gets a reflect spell from Kyra things might improve a bit now. She also trusts that Scarlet will be able to figure out things hera dn she makes note of her request if she gets a chance she will very much do this. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     One can't blame Izzy for the logic, this has evil ritual written all over it. And to answer his question: yes, he absolutely can. The black bolt of magic is punched, right back at one cultist, who practically chokes on it and falls over gasping for air. That must have been some sort of disease spell or something.     Kyra does reach the proper conlusion that Voidsent are not undead. Just evil. The protection spells she shoots will help! And so will that Reflect spell. A cultist is shocked by his own lightning bolt trying to fry Izzy with it. Izzy is either very lucky or the cultists are very unlucky.     Scarlet's analysis reveals the following: the orbs are siphoning magic in general, but the place being so tinted by death is REALLY helping the matter. It's also aligning the magic heavily with darkness and death, allowing such easy control of the undead. The massive orb above the forcefield is pretty much pure Aether, some sort of cocoon. The cultists use very similar magic, but the orbs are more complex and powerful in nature, the trade off being they must have required quite some time to set up correctly. The forcefield is linked to the cocoon, and seems to be present to keep things off the central platform. Within it one can see shadows and shapes gathering, as though being summoned.     Sarah loots one of the cultist orbs. It is overcharged with dark, Void-aligned magic, specialized to summon and empower Voidsent. It's about as comfortable as trying to hold a Palantir while Sauron is watching, but without the horrible mind intrusion. The removal of the orb from the altar does cause it to stop feeding magic to the cocoon though.     This angers the remaining cultist-- while imps are busy killing themselves on Izzy's Reflect, he slams his staff down, and a portal to the Void opens. A large Voidsent carrying a scythe walks out, a sort of demonic gargoyle. It charges for Izzy, swinging the weapon in a wide arc threatening Kyra and Lyria too!     LOWER LEVEL:     N'raha makes the most of his fall, landing atop one of the cultists. Some bones sound broken there, and they're not the catman's.     A one-two from Setsuko cleaves the skeleton's blade and then the skeleton himself, freeing Liavinne from its threats. As she steps closer, she may notice that Avere is... well, not an adventurer anymore. He's missing his head, and is fairly beaten up besides, many of the skeletons' weapons bloodied. This is likely what has Bertram so upset now. Edda is just kind of tightly hugging her backpack while still grounded.     Holy sword or not, Cirra's blade cuts through imps and skeletons with ease, and then her knee smashes one of the cultist's jaw in. The remaining one frowns.     "Your threats mean nothing! Dalamud grants us strength!"     Before he can say anything else, he's smashed in the face repeatedly by conjured rocks from Bertram, falling on his ass and writhing in pain. The remaining few skeletons and imps that didn't get offed by Cirra engage the group-- Liavinne pulls a knife out to help, but Edda just keeps hugging her backpack.     "WILL YOU STOP HUGGING THAT AND HELP US?" she shouts.     Edda doesn't answer.     Three skeletons make for Setsuko with spears and axes, two for N'raha both wielding swords, two imps fire blizzard volleys at Cirra, and Bertram is beset by one firing a mix of darkness and lightning. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Right this is shitty, everything is shitty, this has already gone to hell. N'RAHA manages to stumble up to his feet, kicking the man underneath him several times to encourage him to STAY DOWN. The healing spells help quite a bit. That said, there's Skeletons again! OH NO!     Actually fuck everything right now. The miqo'te's TEENAGE ANGER flares at this whole situation and he lashes out at the approaching skeletons, a Tomahawk blast of energy getting their attention properly as he steps in with a wave of anger and aether roiling off his axe. "SETSUKO DEAL WITH HER LATER, We've got more problems! He's already dead, Bertram can't fix headlessness!" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko's gaze is turned briefly over her shoulder. "You put your faith in a power that has fallen. Had I room to criticize, I would. But my blade makes me little better, I suppose."     She comes around just in time to cleave the head right off a spear, then lunge forward into a slash on the skeleton that launched it, followed by a quick turn; she grabs the second spear thrust at her and stops it cold, then uses her inhuman strength to simply lift the skeleton off the ground with that spear, and toss it over the edge. This gives the axe-wielding skeleton an opportunity to swing its weapon, and the demigod whips around - just in time to have the blade bury itself on her left shoulder, biting deep enough to draw plentiful blood.     The silver-haired glares fiercely at the skeleton, but the words that come out are for someone else. "I'm perfectly aware that he's already dead," she replies to N'raha, her voice coming out in a dangerously wintery tone. "You can all finish the job here if you like. I have faith that you can manage it. But vengeance is useless against enemies like these, and the dead are beyond help. /I intend to save those who still live./"     Zanjintou whips up, then down, a slash meant to completely bisect the skeleton whose axe is stuck in her shoulder. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Setsuko's words may have been meant for N'raha, but they reach Bertram, and he calms down. Somewhat. He's still calling upon the elements to smite his foes, but he does so in a more controlled manner, one more conducive to achieving goals rather than enacting vengeance. He draws upon the wind, trying to tear the skeletons apart through the harsh erosion of magic-enhanced air as he tries to make his way towards the altar. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     Technically speaking, the concept of luck doesn't really apply to Izzy. He's just getting convenient buffs applied to him at the right time and happens to be specialized in dealing with void-flavored juju. Which this is completely made of. Really, it's mostly just a happy coincidence, but not one that he's going to do anything -less- than ruthlessly exploit it. Speaking of which, if you think he's not going to ruthlessly exploit it against this voidsent, you've got another thing coming to you.     "HEY. WHOA NOW, THAT'S NOT HOW YOU USE THAT." Izzy declares, as the Voidsent comes at him with a scythe. He doesn't use tools if he can help it, but Izzy is in fact familiar with a scythe and gardening in a general sense. A war scythe is used quite a bit differently.     The Prince of Void demonstrates this by stepping in close to the charging voidsent so that it CAN hit him. Here's the problem with that, and the criticism that Izzy is laying forth: A scythe can essentially only be used in a limited number of ways. Swiping at multiple opponents essentially requires that it be swiped in a great horizontal sweep. Ideally the blade would mow through the targets, but in this case Izzy steps forward past the blade and into the path of the shaft, so it's lined up with his right side. There's no way it could possibly miss, but the blade has nowhere to go but behind him.     Consequentially, it'd also be incredibly difficult for the scythe's area-effect attack to take place.     If this wasn't ENOUGH, Izzy also snaps his elbow down and his knee up with abrupt and significant force, trying to catch the shaft of the scythe as it strikes him and break it. It won't stop the weapon from striking him, he's just hoping to break it before the voidsent can recover. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra's pleasure with her handiwork of buffing quickly fades as she hears an update from the lower level team. Sure, that Avere guy was kind of a jerk but he didn't deserve /that/. Wordlessly, she reaches under her left arm and pulls her Galiandan-style handgun out of its holster. She swings the weapon to point at the remaining cultist, firing upon him with the gun. But it's too late, he opens a portal to the Void and summoning a Voidsent.     Thanks to that, though, she flings herself aside, her shot missing, but she is not caught in the arc of the scythe. She doesn't pick herself back up fully, remaining crouched as she chants, calling forth more white magic. In particular, she turns her attentions to the Voidsent now tangling with Izzy. White light surges down her outstretched hand. "Banish!!" 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet's expression of distant concentration intensifies at her findings, though it doesn't waver as she multitasks with the radio and maintaining her circle. "Change of plans. Destroy the orbs, leave the altar if possible, but destroy them too if the first course of action has no effect. Main priority. We may be on a time limit." Normally something that barbaric wouldn't be her first choice, but the amount of aether being gathered on the main platform makes her doubt she has the time to try and defuse something like that by hand in what could well be a very short period of time. If breaking the orbs halts the process but doesn't cause it to collapse, she can try later.     On the off chance it does, she drops the spell, smudges out the circle with her shoe, reshoulders her bag and hurries over to the first altar on the upper floor where Sarah has already removed the orb, trying to reaquire a visual of the battle down below. As soon as she arrives, she begins quickly snapping as many shots as she can of the ritualistic runes and engravings with her collar and quickly examining the physical structure of the altar itself for relevance. She just has to know one last thing... 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason has thanks to Izzy gets some breathing room and can recover from the Imp's assaults upon her and she's going to make the best of it hnow with the cults thankfully she's got allies who are quite skills with to hopefully figure out just what's going on with the ritual here. Well then comes a gargoyle she's force to let one pistol go and pulls her cutlass as the last moment to parry the incoming strike she pulls back and leaps up attempting to land down and launch into a combo of strikes even as she turns some geomancey of the earth against the beast causing a spike of earth to attempt to rocket at the creature even as she engages it. If she's lucky she can keep it off Scarlet and let her get the information she needs to and thankfully with Kyra here she's after the Voidsent, wait what the deep six are those things?! 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' Sarah gets the news about Avere. She frowns, but doesn't seem to freak out like many others might. Being raised in Death Game High results in certain... psychological habits. the orb is something entirely different. Picking up the orb, she shudders at the power flowing through it, yelling out eloquently, "Eeyaaaaahagauuuurgh." As she wobbles back, her young body trembling. "Fffffffffffblllluuuuuuuuuuh!" She yells, about to reflexively hurl it at the ground... But instead, she pulls out a Captchalogue card and dumps it in there, the card getting summarily locked down and shuffled into her ENIGMA MODUS. Surely this is going to have no terrifyingly horrible effects later on. In her current state, she can't do much about the Voidbringer or the cultist. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Well, these cultists are deffinatly at the very least accessories to murder. Cirra purses her lips as the imps start up their spell casting. "Hmph." She's Shivan, but that kind of ice spell exceeds her ability to shrug off a drop in temperature.     The Shivan Judge does not flinch or look to run away though. Instead, she charges directly ahead. She drops down in a slide kick and skids directly across the stone floor with one hand proping her up as the Blizzard spells go off over her head, smashing into the floor where she was moments ago. The Judge hops up, and spins around, grasping at one of th eImp's necks.     "Begone."     Then, with black curls of smoke leaking out of her armor seams, she tosses the imp with enhanced strength at the other Imp, then grasps the Judge Blade in both hands, and aims to skewer through both their stoma hes in one go. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     Izzy abuses the logistics of swinging a scythe to have it smash into him shaft-first, and then shatter the weapon. This does spare Kyra and Lyria from the weapon's wrath entirely, though Izzy might be learning this thing is while not quite AS strong as him, not a wimp either. The shaft hit might leave a red mark! Either way, the gargoyle is now only wielding a scythe shaft for a weapon.     Kyra's banish spell smashes into the gargoyle, almost shredding it out of existence. It struggles, vainly, to remain materialized, but Lyria's cutlass rips the last of its strength away. The Voidsent disappears, and the group is no longer coming under fire.     Remains on the upper level one altar feeding power to the orb, and two on the lower levels.     Scarlet also acquires many pictures! It becomes clearer and clearer the spell was made to summon something, or feed something large quantities of power.     You can either walk to the next altar by going around the ring, or find a way across the hole that's more direct if that's available to you. Either way, that last altar is guarded by two more cultists, six imps, and another one of those large, summoned gargoyles with a scythe.     LOWER LEVEL:     N'raha just swings his axe around wildly, trying to carve absolutely everything up. There's certainly worse plans out there, since that does a number on the skeletons and imps he catches in the axe's shockwave. If the cultists could reply, they would shout about how Dalamud hasn't fallen at all and Setsuko just doesn't understand, but one has a broken jaw and the other two are in horrible pain. Thought that counts?     With a cool and cold attitude, Setsuko cleaves skeletons and states her intent to protect the living; Liavinne would express thanks, if she weren't busy cramming that knife in a skeleton's skull. Also a way to express thanks, really.     Harsh winds from Bertram slice apart skeletons and imps as well; predictably, he far outclasses them.     Cirra's maneuver allows her to skewer multiple imps in one flourish of the blade, and then silence falls on their section of the maze. The ALTAR glows ominously, blue and purple, as the orb on it continues siphoning magic above. Down the hallway and much further away is another altar and orb, with only one cultist guarding it. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko falls still for a moment as Cirra finishes the last of the skeletons, and then finally returns Zanjintou to its sheath. With a brief shrug of her shoulder to test it - and both a wince of pain and a fresh flow of blood from the wound in response - she then turns to the remaining two adventurers. Her words for the archer are simple. "Liavinne. Come here. I'm getting both of you out of here." However, when she addresses Edda, it's with a much gentler tone, and a light touch on the shoulder. "Edda. Come on. We have to go, it isn't safe here."     Unless Edda fights it, Setsuko will loop her right arm around the Conjurer's waist, and then her left around Liavinne's - that arm still hurts, but she can at least carry the elezen with it. With both of them in arm, she intends to fly them both all the way back outside through the tunnel the group came in, and while she can't manage her full speed in that closed space without endangering the both of them, she can still move fairly quickly. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     RIGHT. That's handled, and N'RAHA kicks one of the cultists again on the way past, as he shoulders his axe. There's cuts and slashes in his armor and he's bleeding in places, but he'll... you know, maybe notice that at some other point.     He's been asked nicely not to break the thing, but the Miqo'te looks to Setsuko dashing off with the fallen adventurers, and Bertram and Cirra with him. Hmph. Well. Brusers and a doc, what could go wrong?     He reaches up to the orb, and with a concentration of aether, tries to pull the thing off the pedestal without it scorching his hands with antimagic or void or whatever the crap this stuff is. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' With all the cultists taken care off, Bertram returns his internal aether patterns back to normal, spreading the lovely healing energies of Medica to help with whatever wounds have been taken during the fighting. "I hope we don't need to find out what these orbs were doing, but anyone in fighting condition should stay around just in case. We must needs respond if something demands our attention." 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra leaves the Judge Blade in the stomaches of the Imps as she turns back towards the altar. Then the blade dissappears, reappearing in her hand, and letting the blood that coated the blade to fall to the floor. Good guy or not, this young woman is clearly a stone cold combatant herself.     THe Judge tilts her head at Setsuko as she passes. "Go, I can handle one Cultist."     The Judge proceeds first to the nearest Orb, ungaurded as it is, and begins to search for a way to deactivate it. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Rather than Kyra circling around to the final altar, she waits for others to do that (well, save for Scarlet whom Kyra knows will not be engaging in dirrect combat if she can avoid it). She hangs back, electing to pick herself up off the ground and standing fully. From on the other side, she was at least fairly safe, she felt.     This won't stop her from trying to shoot one of the cultists with her gun, though. "So..." she says to Scarlet conversationally, "What are you picking up from those orbs? All I can sense is Void but I can feel it even without a Scan spell. It's very intense and very...hm, is evil the right word for it? It feels evil. Chaotic." 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     Izzy Hyland makes a loud grunting sound as the shaft of the scythe slaps against his side. He wouldn't be all that surprised if it cracked something, but his training has been extreme enough that he can ignore the pain that's started radiating out from his right side. There's going to be a hell of a bruise, and it's already red and swollen-looking even now. He shakes his head, "MAYBE NEXT TIME I SHOULD JUST WAIT UNTIL ITS RIDICULOUS SWING RANGE WAS ALREADY DONE AND PUNCH IT AFTERWARDS. OH WELL." He glances over towards the EVIL ORB on the opposite end of where he's at.     Then towards the hole in the middle of the room, and back towards the opposite evil orb.     "WHY IS THIS PLACE LAID OUT LIKE THIS?" He asks nobody in particular, moving on to try to find a way around the pit to the other side. He'd like to try and rocket jump over, but he's pretty sure he can't take on all of those guys by himself once he gets there. Also, it'd hurt him on the way in.     Rocket jumps really aren't that smart when you're made of meat.     "SUMMONING VAGUELY DEMONIC THINGS IS USUALLY PRETTY EVIL." He asides to Kyra, scratching at the back of his head. "ACTUALLY I WONDER IF THEY'D JUST TALK WITH ME ABOUT THEIR RELIGION. PROBABLY NOT, HUH?"     Izzy is the sort of person to entertain Jehova's Witnesses. It's not good for his popularity. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "No." Kyra comes her extremely quick, terse reply, "They're cultists, they're bad news. I bet they're fanatics too." She sounds Very Opinionated about this particular matter. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     LOWER LEVEL:     Liavinne shakes her head. "Nah, it's fine. You guys cleared the way in, right? I'll take her out, and then I'm done being an adventurer. This is nothing like what Avere said, you know? Glory, riches. What've we got instead? Just a dead guy and a creepy girl hugging his--" She frowns, yanking Edda by the arm since she hadn't stood up yet. Setsuko's certainly free to grab them both anyway. "Will you lose the bloody thing anyway, that's BEYOND creepy. Come on, let's get out.     Edda mutters a weak thank you towards Setsuko-- assuming she does not impose herself, Liavinne will see Edda out. If Setsuko does impose herself, though, neither will complain. Liavinne just figures Setsuko might prefer to finish the business here.     N'raha successfully removes the cultist orb from the altar.     TWO AETHER TETHERS REMAIN.     Bertram provides some medical care.     Cirra approaches the final altar, going down the hallway. OCTAVEL THE UNFORGIVING turns to face her, grinning under his hood. "A small adventurer party? I will use your Aether to fuel our ritual! Watch, O Dalamud, as I perform your will!"     He taps into the orb's power and then-- something shakes, rumbles. He glances around nervously. "What?"     Before he can benefit from INCREDIBLE COSMIC POWER, gigantic tree roots surge out of the catacomb walls and tunnels, ripping him to shreds. A large, bulbous, plant-like head emerges from the ceiling, glaring with anger and-- pain? Is that pain?     The roots surge for Cirra now, flailing about violently.     Bertram might remember, before the Calamity, of the way the elementals of the Black Shroud kept their eye on the Deepcroft. THE CARETAKER, a massive, singular tree larger than any other in the forest. That massive hole in the catacombs? The tree used to be there. That platform is built on its destroyed trunk. It's in agony, in confused anger, like the corrupt elementals of the Shroud. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason sees Izzy abuse the issue with the scythe, good. He works fast, and saves her from getting hit by something really nasty. Thankfully this opens things up for her own attacks she sees the voidsent vanish and she hopes that's the end of it for the moment. She looks about to make sure nothing else is threatening them, with that confirmed she holste4rs one pistol and recovers the other, she remains armed for the moment, just looks to the next pack of enemies. Scarlet seems to have not been bothered by them, good, very good. She'll make ready to head in and deal with the new enemies s she looks over to Kyra for a moment she then raises her own pistol to try and do much the same as her. She thinks about what she knows and wonders, Scarlet's going to likely know more at this point she lines up the shot and pulls a trigger. "I'm pretty with Kyra on this given what they are trafficking in I doubt they are going to want to talk things out, but if you can prove us wrong, do so." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha... Stops. Right in his tracks at the sight of the Caretaker. He's not a religious Miq by any means, but this is the sort of thing that makes even jaded young assholes take notice. "Twelves..."     And then Nice Lady Judge Cirra is gettign assaulted by roots and vines and crap and the Marauder... well, he just so happens to have an axe. He's knocked out of his awe induced stupor and turns to start hacking at the stems, aiming to keep Cirra free from Offending Tentacles. "DOC, THAT THING IS YOUR SIDE OF BUSINESS!" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko relents, though there is concern in her eyes; there might still be lingering Voidsent or undead or cultists. But perhaps it is better to let them go on their own. She does, however, stop them briefly before they go, with a hand on Liavinne's shoulder this time.     "Liavinne. Please, if you have any decency as a person, watch after her. If you can't or won't take care of her yourself, find someone who can. I've seen too many like her. This is going to shatter her - make sure someone is there to help her pick up the pieces."     That much said, she turns - just in time to see The Caretaker come after Cirra. In an instant, she has her katana in hand, and darts in to start hacking away at the roots alongside N'raha. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram is in a temporary state of shock as he realizes what's going on. N'raha's shout gets him out of it, fortunately, and he says out loud what he realizes. "It's the Caretaker. They mutilated the Caretaker; and I don't think it knows the difference between us and them." He starts casting regens on those present, including the -- hopefully -- departing remnants of the failed adventuring group. No offensives just yet. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra looks up at Octavel the Unforgiving. She stands ready with her sword up as her taps the Orb. "I don't have any-" The roots break through the walls, taking Octavel is torn to shreds by the roots.     It is a /hair's breadth/ that cirra leaps backwards, away from the mass that destroyed the cultist and is only caught in a wave of vines thick enough to bowl her over in sheer weigh, grabbing arond her body and arms and slamming her against the wall, forcing air out of her lungs in a rush. "Haa!" That hurts. She can't summon her Dark Knight strength after that. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     As the group starts to converge on the fourth and final altar, Scarlet gathers the last of her notes and finally drops the inquisition, having all the information she can realistically obtain for the time being. She doesn't have a totally conclusive picture of the ritual, but enough to know what's going on. Now glad that she'd asked specifically to preserve the altars, she drops to her knees by the first one, unbuckling her bag and getting out the handful of neatly tagged regeants labelled by AR display in their identical canisters she needs for her next task. One of two.     "That much is correct. The whole area's ambient magic has been tainted with it, probably deliberately. The orbs are siphoning it to power an elaborate summoning ritual, but the forcefield is there mostly just to keep people away from it. That's why I want those orbs destroyed or neutralized as soon as possible. By now the ritual could very well have been set up to run without any further input from a magus. It might still activate without the cult present." Her tone addressing Kyra is considerably more businesslike in its seriousness.     She's no scholar in Eorzean magical languages, however Scarlet feels fairly confident that she can at least identify the vital components in the physical guides for the spell written down on the stones with her experience in various kinds of magecraft. Picking out which pieces of the script appear to be crucial to both gathering and focusing energy, she begins carefully overlaying them with a small arsenal of abjuration circles of her own, jabbing it with various kinds of magic cancelling and deconstruction until one kind or another appears to be effective.     Her second objective proceeds without her direct guidance. The fourth altar is abruptly assaulted by the winged teeth and claws that fade from out of the inbetween, abruptly landing on the congregation of minions and masters in a thrashing whirlwind of bone-white chitin and burning embers. There's no real finesse to the attack, just the element of surprise followed by uncontrolled berserk violence from a kind of familiar she had used previously, forbidden only from using its breath weapon. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     Kyra has a gun, so range is meaningless. With accurate shots she can take a cultist out early!     Izzy finds that the stony platforms and road continue on all the way around; if he minds his footing a bit, he won't fall down or cause a collapse, and he'll reach the other altar just fine. If he doesn't hurry it looks like Lyria and Kyra are just going to gun all the things though, because another few gunshots from Lyria take the second cultist and an imp out. Remains a Voidsent and a few imps now.     Scarlet's familiar starts shredding imps, and soon there's only the Voidsent left, the gargoyle actually going the long way around to meet Izzy halfway-- just faster, since it has wings. This one swings its scythe too, but downward and from above, trying to make an abrupt landing on the Prince of Void.     The ORB is still on the altar.     LOWER LEVEL:     Liavinne gives Setsuko a shrug as she begins escorting Edda out. "Not my problem. I warned them she was creepy and I didn't like her. Avere was a dumbass for running ahead so much but--" She bites her tongue, if only because Edda is RIGHT THERE. "Whatever. I'll get her back to Gridania's inn and then I'm out. I hear they're looking for workers in Vesper Bay, I think that'll be more up my alley." PRAY RETURN TO THE WAKING SA-- okay no not yet. But soon.     Setsuko and N'raha dive right ahead, clipping the Caretaker's roots away. Each one cut is replaced by another, which tears through the stone foundations of the Deepcroft to reach at them. With the aid of Bertram's regeneration spell, the roots probably can't cause much harm individually, though together it's another matter. Cirra had it much worse, being part of the initial flailing.     The 'head' of the Caretaker glares, that weird, large bulb with strange eyes and no other features. Earth magic flows from it, sending quakes along the ground, trying to prevent people from dodging the roots quite as easily.     The ORB is still on the altar.     CENTRAL PLATFORM: Something stirs within the forcefield, as magic begins flowing from the cocoon into it. A large, very tall shape, somewhat bulky, evidently in robes of some kind. It's preparing to break free-- dealing with the last two orbs may be a bigger priority than finishing the chaff off.     Modifications to the spell by Scarlet seem to be causing one of the remaining two tethers to shift from purple-blue to red-yellow. This is very obviously damaging the spell and scattering the Aether across the crypt rather than into the cocoon or forcefield. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Elaborate summoning ritual?" Kyra thinks back to Diabolos sealed in that city. "Maybe there was some Primal they were trying to call forth? That seems like a dumb thing to do but these are cultists we're talking about and Primals here might be able to temper people. That is brainwash them into servants. We might want to ask about that later, see if that's still a thing." She tells Scarlet, "Can you figure out anything else about this ritual?"     Since they want the orbs destroyed and, frankly, walking and platforming is for people with non single-digit STR scores, Kyra turns the aim of her gun to a different target now that all of the cultists have been shot. Strangely, here she doesn't seem too disturbed that she probably killed those guys even though direct killing of sentinent races was not something she indulged in.     She's aiming for the remaining orb, of course. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Liavinne receives a positively glacial glare. But Setsuko doesn't take it further than that.     Instead, she's got something else to worry about; namely, Cirra. The quakes aren't much trouble for Setsuko, whose feet simply lift right off the ground. But in doing so, amidst all her slashing and slicing, her head turns in just the right way to notice the bulb up above. It seems to be the source of all this... and, if she can trust her dim supernatural senses, one of the Elementals. Unfortunate. But it needs to be done, and the Elemental seems to be suffering.     Up she goes, soaring through the air past the aethereal cocoon and straight at the bulb high above. "My apologies for ending your existence, but it will be best for you and us both-!" For the first time since entering the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, the swordswoman awakens Zanjintou fully, growing it out to its full twelve-foot length and bringing it around in a mighty slash meant to cleave the 'head' in half. And then another, and then a third. She's being thorough. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' Sarah isn't even bothering to fling JENGA BLOCKS at the monsters, the rest of TEAM MURDERFACE is all over Strifing these guys into the ground. Instead, she seems to scurry along at the periphery, running from point to point in order to try to beat people to these DARK ORBS OF EVIL MAGICS and captchalogue them. After all, she's got one already, she can just stack them. Efficient, albeit perhaps worrying to people who care about potentially hauling around terrifying manifestations of death and destruction in one's inventory system. It might be a race to see if she can beat Kyra's aim to one of those. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason turns her gun's attention on the imps now as she contiunes to try to clear out the remaining parts of the pack to make Izzy's life easier when he gets there hopefully she will be able to do this well enough. Information comes out and she thinks for a moment about it. "So they might be summoning one to try andf chain it? That doesn't bode well." She keeps trying to keep the remaining monsters off balance with her shots as she sees Kyra line up her shot. Hopefully she can pull this off, but it seems now Scarlet has the information that they need, right? Things are looking up. "Well if we need to do anything else Lady Everille. Just tell us what we need to do we can ask questions about the ritual once it's fully shut down!" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     "These are tough bastards to cut!" Chop chop chop, goes that axe, N'raha busy trying to free Cirra from the roots as he watches the exchange and Bertram and all of it. The din of battle rings in his ears as he spins in place, stepping into the mass of vines and surging with power.     There's a palpable sense of energy as he feels all of his wounds just fade into the background, his swings becomes more focused, his body thrilling with battle. All of this is a grand adventure right now.     But even over his own rushing blood, he can sense Setsuko awakening again, and... and there's a twinge of worry in his core, as she unleashes herself. He can hear the execution of the great tree up above and it's just... it's a lot to take in. He puts himself back to the vines, growling to Cirra. "We may need to run here. That tree holds much of this place, or what's left of it, intact." 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' This isn't going too well by the looks of it, and Bertram adds on a few cures for Cirra before throwing an aero at the caretaker. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve this." He says, though it's not clear to who he's speaking. He makes sure to try to avoid standing near anything too dangerous. "Setsuko, I'll see what I can do for her when we're done here. Conjurers are healers of the spirit as well as the body." He then quickly throws a stoneskin on N'raha to help with his survival. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     The Judge catches her breath by focusing on breathing, instead of letting her abused lungs try to suck air in greedily. The Judge's armor starts to leak black curls of smoke again as she strains against the vines, it is slow but eventually she manages to get her Judge Blade free and drops it from her hand.     The blade flips through the air as it falls. The Judge breaks apart the weaker viens holding her legs, and grabs the Judge Blade between her feet, and with another outpowering of dark knight power, kicks her feet as hard as she can, releasing the blade to send it flying.     She van feel the anger from the plant monster, normally she wouldn't pick up on it so keenly, but it's angry at /everything/ and the corruption...     THe Judge blade flies straight and true, for the orb. Aiming to either knock it off it's pedestal, or shatter it.     The Judge herself slips her arms out of her armor and lurches forward, trying to grasp the bulb with both hands. A Dark Knight for Galianda feeds on their own pain to make themselves stronger. This is why they have a reputation of being loners, misfits and miscreants.     The truth is, a lot of them can't bear other's pain. "STOP." she tries to command the plant. She can't controll it, she can't even take away pain or anguish. But she can show that other people are in pain too, if it's receptive. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     "ALRIGHT. I GUESS YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT ABOUT THEM ANYWAY." Izzy asides to Kyra with a shrug, and since they spoke on the same issue, he doesn't bother to address Lyria directly. He doesn't really feel a need to prove anybody wrong! And these guys keep coming at him with scythes. Unfortunately for him this one gets the drop on him, by breaking off from its group and also using its mobility advantage. He gets slashed pretty good, from head to about halfway down his waist. It traces a shallow path across the center of his face at a slight angle, losing contact momentarily before continuing in a semibroken line down the front of his chest. It's shallow, though he bleeds quite profusely along his head for fairly obvious reasons.     "GOD DAMN IT," He swears, circling to one side of the scythe and unable to actually assess the damage. But, he doesn't forget the weaknesses of scythes. They're simply not configured to be swung that way, which is part of why that wasn't a fatal blow. If it had been an axe, or perhaps even a hacking blade, it could've killed him.     This time, he just uses the relative slowness of recovering from a swing like that -- particularly with an unbalanced thing like a scythe -- to execute his own offensive motion without actually checking the voidsent's location. One hand rises open palmed, aiming to strike the voidsent in the chin and force its head upwards, continuing on until fully extended and then drawing back, trying to drag the voidsent's head down.     Preferably towards the ground, but he's doing this one-handed and can't really see what he's doing that well. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     "Not much else without further examination, which we really don't have the time for" Scarlet replies urgently to Kyra, glancing pointedly at the "cocoon" of aether beginning to take definition on the main platform. "Right now, the reason why or the specifics of what are less relevant than stopping it before either becomes important." She seems to be pointedly ignoring the caretaker, not being her problem for the moment, and presuming that as violent as it is, it should probably be less threatening than whatever might be brought into existence at the completion of the ritual. The tragedy of what it represents slips right by her.     The moment the altar is free of pressing obstruction, the familiar carries out the remainder of its orders, snatching whichever orb the others are unable to get to immediately and trying to simply crush it between its exagerrated, xenomorph jaws, obviously heedless to how suicidal that could potentially be. Should that not prove adequate, it will simply stretch its massive, reverse swept wings again and launch itself across the chasm, back to its master, dropping the artifact off where she can isolate it with directly applied wards, and ready it for later disposal. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     UPPER LEVEL:     Kyra's shots screech through the air and impact the orb. It doesn't break or shatter outright, though it does crack and start leaking Aether slowly. This seems enough to stop it from feeding any more magic to the ritual.     Sarah can snatch the cracked orb no problem. It's still quite charged with magic, just leaking it quickly. If she stuffs it in her inventory the leaking will stop, at least.     Izzy tanks the scythe slash and once more abuses the logistics of swinging such a weapon around to smash the Voidsent into the ground; perhaps because the cultist that summoned it isn't around anymore, or maybe it's just Izzy's affinity for messing with Void-related matters, the gargoyle does not get back up, dissipating into Aether, leaving just its blade behind.     LOWER LEVEL:     Setsuko's massive blade cleaves into the Caretaker's would-be head, causing not blood but corrupt, purple-tinted Aether to flow out. As the roots begin to slooooow, the ambient magic in the air causes BERTRAM and N'RAHA to suddenly just completely lose focus and stare ahead for half a minute, as soon as they're done axing and healing.     Through THE ECHO, the elements address them both. The message is confused, unclear and difficult to translate in a spoken language, but they understand it clear as day. The forest apologizes. The Caretaker was the watcher of the dead, there to protect Gridania's ancestry. But a flow of images shows them the coming of the Lambs of Dalamud shortly after the Calamity, using their fell magicks to break the Caretaker and build atop him. It shows the falling ashes of the Calamity landing on the grass of the Deepcroft, each flake draining the life around it. And it shows the great, majestic tree the Caretaker used to be, and it simply says 'thank you'.     They will come to again to see Cirra's blade smashing through the fourth orb, scattering the Aether in the air. As the final tether disappears, the final, still-moving roots of the Caretaker forms a ramp so that those of the lower level can climb to the central platform now.     CENTRAL PLATFORM: The forcefield and the Aether cocoon both burst, causing a gust of wind in the catacombs. In the center of the platform stands GALVANTH THE DOMINATOR, a very large (10ish feet) Mindflayer-- essentially a humanoid in robes with a squid face. Cthulhu's lesser known and younger brother. Wielding a scepter with a blue orb at the end, the Mindflayer immediatly falls to one knee, seemingly weakened by Scarlet's messing with the spell and the cancellation of the ritual.     "WHO DARES SUMMON ME IN THIS CRUDE VESSEL?" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko could, strictly speaking, weather that rush of corrupt aether without issue. But it would be extremely unpleasant, and she somehow realizes this on pure instinct; Zanjintou comes up and becomes a barrier to protect her from it, and for a few seconds that's all she does. That, and to close her eyes, and extend her senses outward, reaching out to offer wordless apology to the Elementals in general.     And then a Mindflayer appears below them.     That thing needs to die. And, imagine that, Setsuko is in perfect position for her signature attack. She doesn't have nearly the altitude she'd usually like for it, but this much will be enough to at least cause a fair degree of harm. So the swordswoman allows herself to fall, brings Zanjintou around, and then uses her power of flight to PUSH herself the last fifty or so feet down towards Galvanth the Dominator - and whips her colossal blade around to parley all that momentum into a single, vicious falling strike.     "SHIPPU... DOUTOU!!" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA... well. The Echo speaks to him, the land speaks to him. The world speaks to him, and there's a sense of ease that slides into his being, easing through the pain and theanger that had been pouring through him before.     In its place, though, is something more righteous, as he takes up that Inferno Axe once more, stepping up the platform to the central spire. He growls, a very low and predetory noise, at the Mindflayer. "Well, as it turns out a bunch of crazy people tried to do that. But Dalamud /fell/. It's over, and you aren't sticking around long enough to find out anything more, Voidspawn."     The blunt edge of the axe scrapes on the old stone tile, as he steps in close, charges in, and looks up at the Demigoddess taking the first shot. There's something deep inside him that aches seeing this. Why did they need so much help from the outside? He should be able to do this. He should...     The miqo'te calls out. "SETSUKO, LET ME TAKE THIS." The axe falls, and he /slams/ into the creature with a aether powered shoulder tackle, following up with a heavy swing of that axe. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' To some it may look like the corrupt aether has made Bertram ill, he half-collapses as the Echo starts doing its job. After the visions dissipate, Bertram looks around to see what happened while he was stuck in the Echo, and responds the best way he knows how while he tries to assess the situation, healing energies flow forth, spreading around to help knit tight wounds and close future wounds as they come. 

:'''{{#var:791|Izzy Hyland (791)}} has posed:'''     "THERE ARE ALREADY WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THAT MELEE." Izzy decides aloud, looking down at the fight from his possition at the UPPER LEVEL. They clearly don't need him in the thick of things. So, he decides, he's going to use his big gun. There's a faint flickering above his shoulder as a BAZOOKA appears over him. He grabs it one-handed and kneels down at the edge of the platform, raising a hand to wipe the blood out of one of his eyes and hold it in place to prevent the blood from getting -back- into his eye. Temporarily, at least. It'll just pool on his hand instead for now.     Somebody gave this shouting, vaguely irresponsible teenager a bazooka.     Just think about that.     Speaking of, Izzy fires his bazooka at the Mindflayer's back. He's not really aiming that well, he just has to get it in the splash damage. Or so he figures. He may also be banking on that thing's sheer size causing it to absorb any collateral that might otherwise occur.     "FIRE INCOMING." He calls, possibly as an afterthought. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     With the Caretaker retreating, Cirra shuts her eyes briefly...     Until squid face McJerkass appears. "Why is it never easy?" She grabs her armored gauntlets and straps them back on, summoning the Judge Blade back to her hand. The Judge gives N'raha a shake. "Keep moving." She turns and heads up towards to wehre she cans ee the central platform.     "Establishing battlefield control." The judge draws a card from some invisible pocket at her side. "The. RAMPART!" she slaps the card into the ground. Spikes begin to jut up from the platform, pointing towards the Mindflayer type thing, but with a pattern of free movement within for the party members to get through. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     The tone of Scarlet's radio chatter abruptly changes as the ritual manages to complete, deliberately truncated as it may have been. It doesn't take someone as experienced and talented in magic as her to recognize that whatever the thing on the central platform it, it's been badly weakened by their combined efforts.     "New plan. I've worked enough countermagic on the ritual that...whatever that thing is should have left a significant portion of its power behind in where it was summoned from. I was hoping to cancel it completely, but we'll have to take what we can get. Kill it now. If we let it run off, it'll regain its power and become much more difficult to deal with. Take advantage of the opportunity and coordinate fire. Anyone using long distance attacks, circle so that you're not firing directly across the roots, they're the only real way the melee fighters have to get up there. Stick to the lower level if you need to stay out of the way. I'd like it if someone were to position themselves towards me so we can prevent it from escaping if it tries to run. We'll get nothing from the Sylphs if it vanishes off into the forest only to reappear and resume causing them trouble later."     Bandits, primals and magitech soldiers aren't things the magus normally concerns herself with, however containing and terminating a rogue summon is well, well within her area of expertise. In her own world, a closed room with one exit filled with a coordinated and experienced kill team with all angles of fire on a single target are the ideal conditions for cleaning up a botched translocation, which, fortunately, more or less appears to be the scenario they have on their hands here.     Her rehearsed role in this situation is simple. Recall her familiar to herself while she moves for the exit and drops a high-level, pre-prepared, multi-layer ward on top of it, consuming the extremely expensive regeants used to inscribe on the pre-written talisman to erect a short lived, yet highly effective barrier tuned to prevent the passage of translocation magic, roughly translating to "summoned creatures and teleportation" in this world. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' Sarah's not all that useful in the grand melee, sticking back on the UPPER LEVEL. She knows her specialties lie elsewhere compared to the mass of head-biting tooth-gnashing instant hell murder that is present in the area. Thus it is that she sits back to one side, staying out of the grand melee as she waits for the inevitable twist. There's always a twist. That, and helping Izzy aim by standing beside him and sort of tilting him to help compensate for the fact that he's apparently half-blind from blood getting in his eyes. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason seems to have handled the last of the inps from the looks of things, well the rituatl may still be an issue right? She looks about the level keeping her pistol level. She sees the Mindflayer and there's a feeling of fear in the pit of her stomach and she's wishing she'd brought Remora along for this. Still she now goes for her other pistol again and starts to look forth at the thing down there. She's going to take care with her shots as she sets them to non elemental shots, she doesn't want to make things harder for the close combat types with the party. "I understand Lady Everille." She then opens fire trying to supress the thing giving her allies a chance to get close. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     The extremely weakened Mindflayer is not exactly up for a fight. Setsuko leaps up and down, cleaving downward with her massive sword. She cuts one of Galvanth's arms straight off, as it barely manages to move aside.     As N'raha taunts the Voidsent, it replies: "Dalamud's message will ring through the ages! Its descent was a sign, one these little Lambs have followed through on. Syrcus lay unpowered, unprotected-- Darkness shall devour all."     Darkness with a capital letter, there.     It obviously refers to an entity.     N'raha slams into Galvanth, knocking him back a few feet, but it seems much more alert now, not so easily cut into pieces.     Bertram's healing, as usual, is sure to be invaluable.     Izzy fires a BAZOOKA at Galvanth. Hopefully people in melee duck out, although it's true the sheer size of the Mindflayer prevents the collateral from being too great as its body shields people from the explosion, which scorches and sears the fishman.     Cirra's Judge magic creates spikes and obstacles preventing Galvanth from moving about, if it could at all; and numerous spikes skewer through him, locking him further in place.     Lyria's gunshots put numerous holes in the beast's chest, and then Scarlet's spell takes effect. It starts to strike at Galvanth's presence and stability-- and with a roar of rage, dispels the summoning. Galvanth's scepter falls to the ground, the weapon topped by a blue jewel that seems fairly charged with water-aligned Aether. No doubt this could be used to strongly amplify water spells or effects, or with some creativity and retooling could be used for other purposes. There's only one, though, so you'll have to decide who wants it most.     With that, the Deepcroft falls silent. The clattering of bones resounds through all of it, as undead fall to the ground, no longer animated. It'll take time for the Aether to heal, but at least it's not being polluted by cultists anymore.     It's unfortunate, but Edda won't be found in Gridania after the fact. Mother Miounne (the Adventurers' Guild innkeep) will certainly report both she and Liavinne arriving, but shortly after Liavinne left, Edda did too. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The instant Setsuko hears N'raha's words, she hurls herself back and out of the way, keeping Zanjintou at a low ready position. She'll let the catman take things unless her blade proves necessary.     And thankfully, it doesn't. The swordswoman finally returns her sword to its smaller state and sheathes it, looking from the dead Mindflayer, up to the ceiling, and then over to where Avere's body lies.     She finds it difficult to call this any sort of victory. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra lets her sword vanish again, the crystal blade seemingly deconstructing itself. She looks over at Avere's body, she didn't know him but gets the sense of loss from others. "..." she walks back to the lower sectin and picks up one of the cultsists by the back of the hood.     "You and I are going to have a long conversation." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     But as the others look to Avere and the cultists and everything... N'raha just sinks to the floor in the central platform, catching his breath and trying to find a calm place again.     A glance is tossed at Setsuko as she heads out and he feels a pang of...     Something. Right now, sorting out individual emotions is rough, and the Miqo'te is just trying to put himself all the way back together. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Questioning of the cultists will reveal that the Lambs of Dalamud believe that the scent of blood will call down something called Menphina's Loyal Hound, Menphina being the Eorzean goddess of love (AKA one of the Twelve) and the keeper of its formerly twin moons (now only one). They don't feel in the slightest their cause was lessened by Dalamud's fall, but rather take it as a sign of impending success.     Some of the cultists have taken straight up to worshipping Bahamut instead of Menphina as a result of Dalamud being brought down and revealed to contain him, and they call upon denizens of the Void to assist them.     For reasons unknown, Voidsent have willingly been helping the Lambs of Dalamud since its fall, but prior to that were significantly more difficult to command. Something about 'Syrcus' and 'Darkness' capital-D, but the questioned cultist doesn't know more. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra brings the cultist back from the side room she went to have this 'conversation' with, still dragging him by his hood. She lifts him up and dumps him back at the feet of the group, allowing him to babble on about the same information she just heard so she doesn't have to repeat it.     "He was cooperative..." she turns and begins walking. "...Once I asked him /properly/." 

}}

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-08-07T19:42:12Z

Lightmage:

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.
* The adventurers have captured Captain Madison's pirate ship!
* The Syndicate of Ul'dah now employs [[Souji Murasame]]'s magitechnology.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Leve Plate
| A plate made of glass and steel, which identifies the bearer as being on a Leve, Duty or other.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
* The Murasame Zaibatsu has been recognized as an independant Free Company for political purposes.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]
* [[2716/Leve:_Sylph-Management|Leve: Sylph-Management]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Ul'dah===

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* [[2679/Duty:_Sastasha_Seagrot|Sastasha Seagrot]]
* [[2740/Duty:_Halatali|Halatali]]
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft

2740/Duty: Halatali

2015-08-07T19:38:40Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/08/05 |Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR> |Synopsis=A request to meet the Syndicate of Ul'dah by the Murasame Zaibatsu and their allies turns into..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/05
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=A request to meet the Syndicate of Ul'dah by the Murasame Zaibatsu and their allies turns into an opportunity to clean the training grounds and holding pens of Ul'dah's coliseum.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=627, 667, 672, 714, 815, 823
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     The Murasame Zaibatsu sought to meet the Syndicate of Ul'dah; being all about using their time efficiently, the Syndicate accepted... but not to meet Souji and his men in Ul'dah, oh no.     You see, long before the Calamity, the colisseum of Ul'dah grew to such an extent that they built a series of large underground caves, much like a dungeon, to store the many contenders and creatures that participated in the blood sports of the city. Unfortunately, the Calamity shook and broke many of the gates within, and monsters overran those caverns. They barred the gate leading into them from the colisseum... but let's face it, wrestling control of them back from the monsters would be a GREAT asset to Ul'dah's ability to generate MONEY. And thus, please the Syndicate.     So the Syndicate would not have you meet them over a table for dinner, no no no. Not at all. WELCOME TO UL'DAH, FRIENDS! Land of business and opportunity.     The Warp Gate is located next to the main, massive Aetheryte Crystal of the city, a large blue jewel enabling teleportation between others of its kind. The city is a large, round one, fortified heavily and built entirely of stone. Traders and kiosks selling all manners of rare, and typically expensive, goods are more common here than bricks in a house, giving the city a very busy air at almost all times.     TL;DR visual: http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130623151911/finalfantasy/images/7/7d/Uldah_ARR_04.jpg     An envoy from the Syndicate, wearing the uniform of the Immortal Flames (blue, brown and green, a sort of heavy raincoat in design, but reinforced like armor), a female Miqo'te judging by the cat ears sticking out of her hat, awaits your arrivals; she will direct you to the colisseum, where you are to ask to be led to the Halatali gate. The Syndicate is waiting inside, she'll say. You have all the time you need to move equipment in with you-- enter when ready.     Once you are, the large metal gate slowly rises, rusted and creaking with each turn of the levers by colisseum keepers. It gives directly into a massive arena, another set of gates keeping you from continuing deeper in. All seats are empty; you have no audience.     Arena ref: http://192.249.56.196/images/screenshots/ffxiv-1925.jpg 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Halitali is a suitable location. A boardroom is a boring place for a demonstration of the products of the Murasame Zaibatsu, a live fire exercise is much more... interesting. Additionally, he understands what the Syndicate is doing here: Getting more for their money. He can appreciate such a thing. With a nod to the Immortal Flames envoy, Souji leaves Ul'Dah, using the local Aetheryte Crystal to travel to Camp Drybone It's on the outskirts of Drybone that Souji makes his first demonstration. He had made arrangements with the Flotilla to provide more... subtle transport of a specific production model. with a flare of amorphous red from the teleportation systems of the Flotilla, a massive construct appears, crimson and multilegged, similar to an arthropod of some kind with a humanoid torso grafted to the front as well as a massive spiked tail. Souji leaps onto the machine and stands on the back, crossing his arms instead of making use of the cockpit as MP surges around him and flows into the machine, bringing it to life with a start and whirr of systems. It promptly acts as a mount for Souji as they travel down into Halitali. His associates have been instructed to show off their /salable/ products. There's no point in advertising things that people have no capacity to buy, after all. Once they reach the arena proper, Souji stands there, the MA-11 'Guard Scorpion' battle drone awaiting the appearance of an enemy. He glances at the empty stands, considering for a moment, but saying nothing, yet. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Well this was kind of a pain.      Putting on shows like this instead of spending that valuable time locked away in her lab building machinery and making breakthroughs. Alas. Work was work. And thankfully she did finish something that could be sold not too long ago.      It's simple. No fancy machinery or larger than life constructs. Rather, the scientist herself can be seen floating through the air seemingly on her own. A closer look would reveal that a pair of anklets she was wearing was the cause of her ability to fly. Encased in black metal and crested with a jewel to serve as a conductor, MP flowed into it, producing the flight effect.      Oh right. A show. A show. Smirking to herself, Xiao spun in the air, tucking and turning this way and that. Flitting about like a fairy as she made her way down to their destination. After Souji arrived, she was soon to follow, landing into the ground softly. Her anklets ceased their glow and she stood, awaiting what was to come... 

:'''{{#var:667|Grant Mason (667)}} has posed:'''     Well of course non-custom varients of the Golem armor are for sale, which is why Grant Mason has brought the armor to bear. Heavy armor on a damage dealer is not unheard of, but for the time being the berserker is wearing the full set. The magitek powered armor moves rather smoothly for something it's size, and he carries himself with a purpose. There was one directive that he got before the mission began. Put on a show. They were here to sell these people on the equipment, or at the very least, the services provided by KIRIN.     Smaller than the Guard Scorpion, the Golem armor is no less threatening thanks to the weapon that is, at present, still on the armor's back. No need to break out the big gun until the fun starts. Instead, Mason has opted to bring both of his axes, holding one in either hand, each weapon big enough to be considered a two handed Marauder's axe, were he a normal sized man. The dual bladed axes look heavy, but he weilds them like they were sticks of wood.     "I thought there was supposed to be an audience." He mutters, looking at the empty stands. He was expecting people to put on a show FOR, not an empty arena for the sounds of battle to echo around inside of. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     THE STARBOUND FLOTILLA is here! They've not come wearing their usual ARMOR, at least not conspicuously. Their internal inventories can handle much of what needs handling. Their arrival, of     "cxterm15">Absolutely not."     "Lighten up, dude."     "I'm not riding in it. We need secure military equipment."     "And you need to not be so stuck up about every fuckin' thing."     "It would be a good demonstration vehicle."     "It would be a good way to be assassinated."     "Exasperated. Get in the car, Albert."     "Ye scurvey dog, quit makin' out with yer boyfriend and /get on the road/!"     "Fine."     What comes along behind Xiao Li Yu and Souji's own Guard Scorpion is odd. Those from Galianda might find its appearance uncannily familiar. A light-blue Cadillac-styled open-top luxury car that features, prominently, a glowing prototype engine's supercharger-esque arrangement at the hood, with its center displaying a circular glowing apparatus that spins light within it. It's mana-powered! Those sensitive to such things will be able to see that the car is using the Zaibatsu-patented MP batteries for long-term sustained use for the vehicles.     Moonfin and Albert occupy the car, though the latter seems incredibly grumpy about that. Alongside, in a formation of two at the side and one behind, chocobo-yellow sleek motorcycles with a bird-like design feature similar engines at the sides. The ones at the side, ridden by George and Pavo, are clearly meant for law enforcement use, featuring sleeker, authoritative designs and road-adapted speed potential, while the ones behind are clearly intended as off-road mounts for cavalry soldiers, having obvious apparatuses there to hold heavy cavalry equipment that Biteblade and Seft both lack, and having much more of a 'steed' design to them. Luxury, law enforcement, and military uses all on display. Each vehicle hums with light that glows beneath its key plates as internal magitech systems work independently. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     They do, of course, park the car OUTSIDE the arena, because that would be stupid. Both inhabitants get in on foot; the four on the motorcycles slowly roll in as well. This arena looks about large enough to abuse vehicular cavalry tactics. Moonfin takes a position near Souji's vehicle, his hand at the side, while Albert moves to be near Xiao Li Yu. The remaining four distribute themselves in a circular pattern around the group; Biteblade is REVVING AGGRESSIVELY every so often. The nature of the magitech means that this produces an intimidating display of gushing light and crackling lightning. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     A massive machine, the ability to fly, power armor and weaponry, VEHICLES-- the Syndicate certainly won't be found wanting in further demonstrations today. As the Zaibatsu employees (slash allies) roll in, the members of the Syndicate appear together in the spectators' rows of seat, having selected the area directly above the entrance to watch from. The first two to appear are Raubahn Aldynn and Nanamo Ul Namo, a large dark-skinned man in partial black armor, worn over yellow and white clothes, carrying the Sultana of Ul'dah on one of his arms and shoulder-- Nanamo being a small Lalafell in royal white, red and pink robes, pale-skinned compared to her carrier.     Behind them come Lolorito and Teledji, two more Lalafells, the former in white and red clothes, with a black visor over his eyes, and the latter in green and red. Lolorito has a killer mustache, to make up for his non-visible eyes.     Behind THEM, another combination of a small female Lalafell and a taller dark-skinned man, Dewlala and Fyrgeiss. She wears yellow robes with a cone of a white pointy hat, while he wears fairly standard brown, black and white trader garbs.     And finally, the lone final member of the Syndicate, a man hidden entirely in black robes with a white hood. At best, one can catch a glimpse of his short white beard, and red shades over his eyes.     Once they all find seats, it's Lolorito who steps forward, placing his hands behind his back and smiling. "Welcome, Murasame Zaibatsu! Welcome, Souji Murasame. I'll be brief. We've stationed soldiers at the other end of the caverns. They'll be releasing poison gas down Halatali, forcing the monsters to come towards this end. Don't worry, the poison gas shouldn't reach us." Raubahn, in the back, frowns. A lot. Lolorito continues. "We would ask to see what this technology can do. Survive the monsters and we'll give serious thought to your business proposal... and your fair cut of the colisseum's profit for the next month, since you'll be the reason it can function again. We may have questions for you after the demonstration. Well, are you ready? Any questions?" 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     There's a shining burst of light from each Starbounder. The first comes from Moonfin; the heavy shockwave that blasts over his body as he equips the SPELLSWORD ARMOR is probably familiar to some. Like Grant, he has almost GOLEM-esque armor, styled after a samurai's and covered in heavy, sleek plates that project an almost holography-styled shielding over them. Heavy gushes of purple steam scream out of the armor as he draws a massive Heavy Power Katana. "The path is clear; all that remains is to walk it, I need no further mapping. Send the beasts to us; waves shall not break the shore." 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Squad prepared." Albert says, gruffly. His own heavy armor is more dysopian and cyberpunk, with much harsher and more layered shielding than Moonfin's. The heavy powered armor, like Moonfin's, gives him a height of seven, maybe eight feet, and a precise grace of movement. He hefts a massive Heavy Power Warhammer in both hands, grunting heavily as his suit purges depleted Erchius in gushing steam and he takes a ready stance somewhere around Xiao Li Yu's floating form, ready to tank alongside Grant. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji suddenly turns to face the members of the Syndicate as they arrive on site. The leaders of Ul'Dah, these are the people Souji has to impress in order to get his foot into the door of large scale military industrial contracting with the Eorzean Alliance. Their responses so far are promising. With precision, Souji bows to each member of the Syndicate as they arrive, the deepest reserved for the Sultana and her loyal man Raubahn. A cursiry look over the group confirms many of the rumors that run on the streets about the members of the Syndicate. He smiles faintly. This is going to be a challenge worthy of his people. "It is an honor, Master Lolorito. We will be up to the challenge of meeting the opposition you wish to set against us. Your terms are... acceptable." There is a glance towards the Starbounders and Xiao at the mention of poison gas. Grant should be fine and Souji carries his own means of dealing with potential exposure, but Xiao is a wildcard and the Starbounders keep their own counsel. "Everyone, prepapre for combat operations." He gestures, pointing towards the area he expects the monsters to come from, and the Guard Scorpion rises, preparing for combat. "Let us make sure this is a demonstration to remember." 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Xiao watched as the Syndicate members filed in and took their seats. How utterly shady. Not that they really had that much room to talk about being shady, but hey. The explanations of the task at hand give her pause.      "Poison gas, hrm...?" Well, she'd be fine. Mostly. No need to worry! ...Probably. After that Demon Wall debacle, it would have been prudent to keep a few antidotes in stock. Just in case.      "A demonstration to remember...well, there's only one way to make sure it does." Her anklets lit up as MP was channeled into them, causing the scientist to rise up into the air, somewhere by Albert. Additionally, she reached into her sleeves, producing a pair of black metal gauntlets. Her usual weapons. Not for sale, of course.      "Ready! And no questions!" 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Biteblade and Seft, on their more military-styled bikes, both glow more briefly. The armor that they have on, suddenly, is a bit more like the Empire's stormtroopers, clearly designed for vehicular operations, keeping the user dextrous and holoprojecting a wide variety of tactical awareness data. Seft's variant features a short cavlary-lance type weapon, with a tip that's lit up with some sort of glowing blue energy emission. It looks like it may function as a projectile as well! "Alert. Prepared for combat. Initiate when ready." She says in her usual synthetic monotones. Her own armor has finished resolving over her body; it takes the form of cavalry knight stylings to the space-infantry armor, especially around the medieval-styled helmet. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Biteblade's own Galactic-Empire-styled armor equips, as does the weaponry system for her bike. The GALACTIAN PROJECT weaponry features a pair of shotgun-style energy weapons on each side of the front wheel, and her armor is tribalized, covered in bone charms and wood carvings to go along with its motor-rider design topped off with a half-helmet that mostly focuses on the broad, glowing goggles. "You have monssster for hunt, Floran gonna /eat/! You watch! Sssmoke out meat prey, Floran hungry!" REV REV again, aggressively. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Pavo's variant of the Galactian armor features a longcoat and a bit of a tricorn styling to the helmet, but otherwise, her pirate fantasy isn't injected too hard into things. Her magitech police-bike is quickly equipped with some sort of heavy grenade-launcher turret sort of weapon at the back, almost cannon-like. "Aye, cap'n, ye give yer word and ye have yer show." She seems EXTREMELY eager for the profit this is going to bring! 

:'''{{#var:667|Grant Mason (667)}} has posed:'''     Listening to the explanation of what their challenge is, Grant can't help but grin under his helmet. This is what he used to do for a living in the mines, but he'd have to go in after the monsters. Now they're going to send them to him? Don't make it too easy.     He twirls both of his axes and then looks up at the rest of the group, "I'm always ready for combat operations boss." He replies to Souji, as he turns towards where the monsters will be coming in from, "I assume we're going to meet them halfway." 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "You got it, boss dudes, I'm ready to get this show on the road." George says, flipping down the visor of the rather standard motorcyclist helmet he's got on in place of more standard space-infantry type helmets after his armor resolves over his body. He casually stretches as his Matter Manipulator equips his bike with a wide array of tools that don't seem to be weapons at all! Towing apparatuses, some kind of blinding flash system, static field generators, and all sorts of similar riot control tools. Like the others, this is linked to his armor, rather than the power source of the MP battery, but still ought to show off what the Zaibatsu has to offer. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Squad, sound off."     "Alert. Ready."     ""Aye, cap'n."     "Floran hungersss!"     "Mine is a blade that is sharpened for this task."     "Readied up."     "Starbound squad prepped for demonstration, sir." Albert reports to Souji, seconds after his order is given to prepare. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Lolorito grins at Moonfin's confidence. "Good! Very good. And of course, likewise, it is an honor to meet you as well, Master Murasame. Perhaps you'll be joining us at the table afterwards? You would be the first outsider to join the Syndicate. Quite the honor, if I do say so myself!"     No questions though! Good. Lolorito reaches for his ear, as though speaking into a radio. "They are ready. Deploy the gas and open every gate." A click, and then rumbling.     The whole of the Halatali caverns shake for a moment as old rusted mechanisms are activated, gears turning and gates opening. The one behind the Zaibatsu closes, while the one at the other end of the arena opens. It gives a clear few of the network of caves and rooms that make up this training ground-- and monster holding pens network.     Though there's no trace of any poison gas, it isn't long before monsters start pouring out the gate, evidently in a hurry. The first wave consists in one very large fire elemental, a sort of rotating symbol made of fire. With it, half a dozen Bombs, a number of smaller fire elementals that look like glowing wisps or orbs, and two large, headless suits of armor with giant swords. The latter two entities clearly feel undead in nature, haunting spirits of a sort. Dead gladiators, maybe.     Predictably the temperature in the room climbs upon the arrival of the fire elemental and its accompanying Bombs and smaller fire sprites. This seems to agitate Raubahn, who immediatly gets into an argument with Teledji over putting the Sultana into such a position. Business as usual up there.     The Bombs, for the most part, make a beeline for the Guard Scorpion, and a number of them puff up like they're ready to explode. FIREMANE (the fire elemental) sends bursts of flames at Grant. The legion of smaller elementals surround Xiao, Pavo and George, producing sparks and flames in their directions from all angles. The Dullahans split, one going after Biteblade with its giant sword, and the other charging straight for Seft. Albert and Moonfin have no aggro yet, and can choose to spread themselves where they want!     Looks like wave one will be to see how you handle a large amount of heavy-hitting targets zerg rushing in all at once. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Moonfin moves in to help Souji's vehicle. The heavy weapon can handle way more bombs in total than Moonfin can at any given time, so Moonfin focuses on dashing in to strike at the Bombs that look like they're getting ready to explode! "Fifth Sea Hylotl Style: Jaw-Piercing Urchin." His strikes are intense jabs; his ELEMENTAL EFFECT of choice is obviously going to be ice, using Xiao Li Yu's advice, which saturates his blade with a chilling mist and intends to slow the targets of his thrusts. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji can practically hear the 'if you survive' in Lolorito's speech, but he's accustomed to such things. The behavior of the Syndicate thus far reminds him a great deal of politics back home. Idly, he wonders if that means they're just as lethal. The answer comes quickly when the Firemane emerges. He narrows his eyes, his Moogle Glasses immediately flickering information as he tries to look up information on the enemy. It seems concerned with Grant, however, and Souji is sure the heavily-armored member of ADAMANT can handle the initial assault. More important to him tactically are the Bombs. While individually no threat, the combined potential damage here could be devastating. He makes a snap judgement as he sees several of them prepare to self-destruction,and weaves his hands in the air. "Haste-1." He calls out, the Guard Scorpion glowing bright orange as it is temporally accelerated. The powerful mounted MZ-66 Ashura Rotary Cannons spin up on the Scorpion as targeting designators appear on the plumping Bombs, and the machine leaps backwards, trying to buy a few moments as it slams into the side of the Arena and anchors against the wall. The Bombs have to die first. With a gesture, Souji supplies more MP as well as the firing command, and the air shreds with the sound of hundreds of needle-like projectiles shearing through the air to punch towards the Bomb mass, coordinating with Moonfin to ensure their ally is not struck by the rain of firepower. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Albert goes for the smaller elementals. His heavy shielding will likely deal with the brute force of the dangerous creatures, but any flame attacks will still leave him very obviously on fire. Unfortunately, the Starbounder engineering flaw will rear its head again; they can't productively resist status effects! With heavy EARTH-TYPE strikes, he intends to create shockwaves that will disorient any of those elementals looking like they're about to attack Xiao Li Yu, as well as working to leap in and take any damage directed to their mage-ish type unless Grant has it covered. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Pavo and George suffer the effects of fire more obviously. With the attacks already starting, they'll quickly be lit aflame, requiring support, but both are resilient enough to handle that for a while. Despite cooking in her armor a bit, Pavo gets right into combat, disengaging from Xiao Li Yu and tearing off in a circular path trhough the arena, trying to kite more of those elementals away from her so that she can lay down a series of launched grenades from her cannon-turret, which soon explode in a brutal gush of kinetic energy! "Aye, ye bilgerats, look over 'ere! Why don't ye come on and chase me, aye, AYE, COME GET YER PAY!" She calls out to the swarm. Even if they're not following, she can fire grenades to force their dispersal. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      "Oh my," Xiao mumbled, smirking as the first wave of enemies came out in force. Mostly fire elemental. What a silly move, lining them all up like this with one clear element. That made it far too easy.      Slamming her fists together, her body immediately began to take on a chilly, blue aura. "Blizzara." She uttered, causing the energy surrounding her to funnel into her gauntlets. There was no way they would simply /let/ her prepare for this long however. Xiao found herself needing to weave through the air, back and forth, up and down, to avoid any errant attacks from the smaller foes attemping to surround her. "Whoops! Sorry! Not quite~"      And once she found an opening, the girl spread both arms around and pivoted her body, spinning in midair. The movement caused the energy gathered in her gauntlets to release, creating a small blizzard that enveloped the elementals surrounding her in a freezing cold. Upon contact, ice would immediately and rapidly begin to build up, damping the flames at a staggering rate if left unchecked. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Wow, ow, WOW I am on fire." George says, tearing off as well. Unlike Pavo, his path is less deliberate. His moto-rally sort of tactic is to begin zipping back and forth around the crowd that chose to surround him; his RIOT CONTROL gear features things like local static field stuns and stun flashes, so as he darts through, his bike emits brilliant blinding flashbang effects and targeted static discharges against broad groups. He's trying to set them up for extreme damage from Xiao Li Yu's AoE ice attack! Which he hopes to use, in part, to help extinguish him, because he is still /on fire/. 

:'''{{#var:667|Grant Mason (667)}} has posed:'''     The fire elemental seems to be focusing on Grant, which is something that the Golem was hoping for. With his armor able to take the incoming fire blasts, he rushes towards Firemane, both axes ready to swing. He has no idea if a fire elemental is weak to melee damage, but he's going to try.     First blow coming down with the right hand axe, and then he'll swing around in a circle, his left axe following as he wheels around, so he would follow up with the momentum of the blow. He is pretty sure the armor is not on fire, but it very well might be soon, with the rare that the fire elemental is attacking him. For now he's trying to keep it's attention. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "You're metal! Not meat! Not fresh! Floran want fresh! Floran kill you, make room for meat!" Biteblade calls out at the dullahans go after her. With a screeching burnout, her bike launches head on towards the headless armor, blasting laser shotgun blasts at the torso. As soon as the creature swings at her, though... Biteblade will manage to suffer only a grazing strike, because she activates the HOVERING function of her bike! The wheels suddenly jerk sideways and shift, transforming into a hovering apparatus briefly, long enough for Biteblade to slide UNDER and AROUND their attacks, and essentially "drift" her hovering bike around to fire shotgun blasts into her foe's back before quickly re-engaging the wheels and resuming more traditional bike combat. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Seft meanwhile tries to take advantage of superior range afforded to her by her large energy lance. She levels it straight and essentially tries to joust the shit out of the Dullahan going after her. If she can do this right, it'll be a one-hit-kill. If not, the impaled armor will have a free counterattack. But, hopefully, trying to send an energy lance through the chestplate of the haunted armor, with all the force from a magicycle charge, will be enough to disable it. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Moonfin's icy attacks strike at the Bombs-- cleverly, it slows their detonations down by cooling them off. He'd only need to tag each one once to really have the effect stick and buy enough time to kill all of them cleanly. They're not THAT sturdy though, and two already fall.     The Guard Scorpion's cannons open fire, breaking two of the semi-frozen Bombs apart before they can detonate. Having gotten up on the wall, it's become less of a priority for the Bombs too! This means the remaining two bombs attempt to charge at Moonfin to detonate.     Albert, Pavo and George focus on elementals, blasting and shredding them, dispersing their Aether into the air. Slain elementals sometimes leave behind small elemental crystals, which contain elemental magic ripe for use by magitech. Pavo in particular seems to have their attention, but Albert still has a few on him himself! They continue producing sparks and bolts of flames, but a few are trying to kamikaze charge at them now, exploding if they hit.     Xiao's own attack immediatly freezes and shatters the brunt of the elementals; there are still a fair number pursuing Pavo though!     Grant charges in, as the Syndicate watches the performance of his armor. It's taking that big elemental head-on, not minding the flames? That IS impressive. And Grant finds out melee works just fine; his blows pass through, disrupting the Aether and physical form of Firemane, causing damage. The numerous strikes do mean he's up close and personal now though, and Firemane suddenly heats up, producing a powerful heat wave.     The upset Biteblade will be happy to learn she won't have to wait too long for a real meal, but for now, that Dullahan is taking her hits well. It can't keep up with her vehicle, but the lumbering brute tries nonetheless, even as shotgun blasts tear through its heavy armor. Slowed and damaged, it heaves an arm up, and then hurls its blade in an intercepting trajectory with Biteblade's bike!     Seft, finally, plows right through the ghostly suit of armor, causing it to collapse to the ground. That was was easier to take down.     But you're not out of the woods yet. More monsters flow in! This time, lightning arcs along the walls of the arena, causing Raubahn to reach for his blade before being told to stand down by Lolorito. "No, no. Please, Flame General. Let them handle it," he insists.     Out of the door, a large, glowing purple reptile with scales overcharged with electricity breaks in, sending arcs of electricity in every direction. With it, a dozen lightning elementals, floating orbs of purple lightning that are charging for Xiao, Albert and Pavo, risking to overwhelm the latter two, who are still dealing with fire elementals. There are also small, floating imps, dark grey little demons shooting orbs of darkness and ice. These seem to be pincering Moonfin with the two Bombs, and Biteblade with her Dullahan too.     The Guard Scorpion is aggro-free! 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Everything works even better than planned. That's a pleasant surprise. Souji looks over the battlefield and analyzes the current tactical situation. It currently reads as 'Maybe we should have brought Sanary too'. While the horde of monsters might not be individually threatening, the last thing Souji wants to see is an embarassing failure on any of their fronts and they're being pushed significantly. It's when the Thunderclap Guivre arrives that Souji cuts through the air. "Wide attack." He orders, and the Guard Scorpion leaps off of the wall, slamming down into the middle of the arriving enemies and unleashing a wide spray of gunfire, focusing heavily on the swarms of minor enemies in order to pull some of them off of his allies. But then Souji calls out, "Guardian Mode." The machine raises its guns, using the articulated gunpods as shields as the tail behind it lifts, humming ominously. Optimally, the maneuver will get some monster attention, which will play precisely into the most interesting feature of the Guard Scorpion... 

:'''{{#var:667|Grant Mason (667)}} has posed:'''     The sudden increase in heat does make Grant back off, heat sensors inside of the armor spiking out and making him retreat. He decides to swap weapons and keep some distance, as he folds the axes up and slides them away in the back of the armor. It's time for the big gun.     The big gun is the Dragon cannon, which is unlocked from the armor's back and brought up into both hands. A weapon almost as long as he is tall, the auto cannon gets MP channeled into it, as he racks one of the rounds into the chamber, and angles the weapon towards Firemane.     "You think you're hot? I'll show you some real heat." Squeezing the trigger, the weapon ignites, firing off explosive rounds towards the fire elemental, the intent being to blast apart it's aether and dissapate it. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Moonfin takes a ready stance, prepared to receive the explosions and tank for the others... But not for long. As they approach, he'll suffer only the physical blastwave and whatever physical strikes they use; unlike the others, he has BLINK TECH! Recently worked out, the short-range teleport lets him quickly escape the blast radius, albeit with his shield systems mostly overloaded and some heavy damage on his front side. He'll need a few moments to recover! 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Oh boy.      Now she had some choices to make. Focus on the lightning elementals, or help Albert and Pavo with the remaining fire elementals. Well, as much as she would love to do the latter, the former too precedence. But she had an idea...      "Albert! Pavo! Hold on just a bit longer! I have an idea! Try to spread them out as much as you can!"      After saying that, Xiao flew back, narrowly avoiding arcs of electricity and weaving through the air, playing cat and mouse with the lightning elementals, looking for the right opening... 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Pavo has WAY too much aggro! Yikes! She activates her own hover functions to attempt to jump her bike clear of them and onto the walls of the arena. She has the creatures vulnerable, but she can't afford to take many hints. "Aye lass! Can't keep 'em off me tailfeathers long, ye best be plannin' quick!" She calls out, still lobbing grenades urgently and only barely avoiding being taken out of the fight with the swarm after her. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Albert's not in any position to speak; he's currently on fire and spasming from electrification. He's working on drawing whatever fire from Xiao Li Yu that he can, intent on giving her whatever opening she needs to execute her plan! 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Biteblade's bike is taken out! One of the guns is knocked off and it spins out, tossing the plantgirl off of it while she tumbles and scrambles to get to her feet, skidding over the ground but mostly protected due to her armor's specialization against this sort of thing, helping to lock up and cushion where it is needed. She goes prone and vulnerable, needing a brief moment to recover as well! 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     The Dullahan that attacked Biteblade will shortly have to deal with Seft, though; the robot girl discards the crumpled scrap from her lance and goes in to strike at the Dullahan that just took out Biteblade! She's going for a repeat of that sure-kill strike if she can land it! 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Eventually, Xiao does find that opening, and she speeds to a stop in mid-air, away from everything. Her eyes sweep the battlefield, counting up all of the enemies assailing her, Pavo, and Albert. "..2....5....9.....12....14...18....Okay."      And then she brought a hand up, grasping her heart. Several plumes of darkness formed from within, emanating outwards as DARKNESS was activated. Wincing a bit, but proceeding nonetheless, shadowy weapons began to form in the air about her. Two, four, nine, twelve, sixteen, eighteen...      Eighteen phantom swords made of darkness suspended in midair. Quickly assessing the number of enemies one more time, Xiao gave the mental command, causing all eighteen of those swords to fire forward with the velocity of an armor piercing bullet. Each sword aiming for a single fire or lightning elemental, aiming to take them all out in one single, precise shot. 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      There's fashionably late, and then there's... The opposite of that. She had something for this.      Well, whatever. In Sanary's mind, the important thing is that she didn't miss the demonstration completely. The timing could certainly be worse, at least, as she runs along with a massive shield strapped to her back and a bell in hand.      "Sorry I'm late! So what's the-oh." Definitely late. But better late than never, right? Weighing her options, it doesn't take her long to decide on her own plan of action and make a beeline for Albert. He could certainly be in better shape with the whole electrified burning thing, and so she'll focus her healing magic on him to try and keep him better situated to... Be electrocuted and on fire some more, probably! 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     George calls out to Xiao Li Yu. "I'm on it, kid, hit 'em with what you got!" He rushes into the swarms and begins overcharging that riot-control stun-static, trying to spread them out so that they aren't caught in sudden bursts of low-scale stunning electrical discharge! His tactic is harassing and focused on hit-and-run, of course. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     The Guard Scorpion engages the second boss! The wide spray of gunfire clears a few of the lightning elementals, and gets the Guivre's full attention. As the large machine raises its tail, the lightning-aligned creature unleashes a breath of lightning towards it, unaware of its fancy features-- though with enough punch behind the breath that taking it head-on won't be pleasant business either.     Grant fights fire with fire, blasting Firemane's form and causing so much damage to it that it breaks, and never reforms. A large fire crystal is left behind, charged with Aether.     Moonfin avoids the Bombs as they explode and... well, explode. RIP the Bombs. They're not really dead, they'll reform sooner or later. Not anytime soon, though!     Xiao plays cat and mouse with the elementals, zipping between and around them; they continue trying to shock her, pursuing her with notably speed in the air. They're not as fast as, say, wind elementals or Xiao are, but they're not slow either.     Pavo, going so quickly, won't have any trouble outrunning fire elementals. The issue is mostly that they're firing fireballs at her nonstop, so she'd best watch where she drags that line of fire! Grenades do well to lighten the pressure at least, but a sudden appearance from lightning elementals right in front of her might change the game!     Albert toughs it out! He will continue toughing it out.     The Dullahan pursuing Biteblade, now swordless, moves in for her as she falls, but not before Seft can reach it. Given its weakened armor from the shotgun blasts, it's a trivial matter for Seft to pierce right through, and just that quickly, the armored beast falls to the ground and dissipates.     Sanary arrives just in time to fix Albert up, though she does indeed wash up a few of the loose fire and lightning sprites, which discharge sparks, flames and lightning bolts in her (and Albert's!) general direction.     Xiao's strategy pays off, as she eliminates en-masse the swarm of lesser elementals. Crystals fall to the ground inert but still alive with Aetheric energy. What few remain are stunned by George as he rushes in, greatly reducing the pressure on the group.     But the arena shakes, and you're not done yet.     Breaking through the gate is a massive, ox-like creature, Tangata-- black and brown, armored by scales, the large demon-like humanoid is riding atop a Peiste, a large four-legged snake-like lizard of beige color. It's charging straight for Grant, as the frontliner, and its presence is causing bonfires to lit up at random points in the room, eerie flames starting to move towards the creature as though trying to reach it.     What's WORSE, green gas starts glowing in from the gate! Raubahn immediatly reaches to grab Lolorito by the clothes and lift him up, but the small Lalafell keeps his cool. "Come now, Master Raubahn, we all knew it was a risk. Let us see how they handle that as well, hm? Monsters are not the only thing that threaten lives, why only judge them on that?"     The Flame General growls, but sets the smaller man back down.     Teledji laughs. It's not subtle at all. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' The lightning breath blasts towards the Guard Scorpion, the cascade of electricity fountaining over the barrier. As it does so, a glowing light builds on the tail. Despite some of the electrical damage getting through and wounding the Guard Scorpion, Souji seems confident... And then comes the incoming assault. When Tangata breaches the gate with the snakelike monster, Souji looks over, narrowing his eyes at the green gas. His gaze flicks upt to the stands, where Raubahn menaces Lolorito and the laughter of Teledji. His read was correct. He grunts, and raises a hand. "Avoid the firing line to the mounted beast!" Souji calls. "Prepare for incoming gas! Beware the poison!" He focuses, and engages a line designator to warn the others of the firing line. It will go through the Thunderbolt Guivre and towards the Tangata. His HUD flashes, and Souji nods. He thrusts his hand forward, pouring more magical power into the mecha. "TAIL LASER! FIRE!" There is a whirring noise as the glowing tail flares brightly... And then fires a thin beam that traces down the exact path designated. A moment later, there is an eruption of explosive force, ripping upwards in a wash of blue-white light. Hopefully, the Zaibatsu members listened to his warning and evacuated the firing lane. 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Xiao watched as her handiwork took care of the lion's share of the enemies that were still running wild. The remnants could be picked off at their leisure. But what the big problem now was...well, the gas. The two monsters too, but the gas first and foremost. Some radio conversation set her onto the new task at hand and Xiao immediately set forth.      Flying forward through the air, A cold current of air began to build up around her. "Blizzaga." The current grew colder and and faster, Xiao flew straight for the gass funneling into the arena.      Veering down, she spun in mid air, directing the air current surrounding her body spin in a rapid spiral and drawn in any oncoming gas into it. Being in the 'eye' of the storm, she attempted to avoid inhalation as much as possible, but still caught a few fumes.      She'd deal with that after. Landing on the ground and skidding, Xiao thrust both arms forward, forcing the freezing air current to fire forward, back into the tunnel it came from. With luck, she would have sent most of it back to where it came from. Grant and George were given looks after. "Okay, your turn!" 

:'''{{#var:667|Grant Mason (667)}} has posed:'''     It seems that with his target down, Grant has immediately shifted priorities. He was going to move to get the door closed, but the giant ox thing with it's battle mount is sort of drawing his attention at the moment.     Shifting targets, he begins to fire and move, trying to circle around towards the gates that are letting the monsters and the gas in. If he can get them closed, he can try to make sure that the others can seal them. But he'll need to deal with this big monster first and foremost, "Come on ugly! Come and get me!" He taunts, trying to keep it's attention. At least if it charges again he can roll out of the way. He hopes. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Gotcha kiddo!" George calls out. As he zooms into the stream of icy air, he follows up with Grant! "Fire in the hole!" He calls out, and there's a tremendous blast after he lobs a grenade at the door! Grant has made sure that most of the opening is closed, and George can handle the gaps. His grenade explodes in mid air, turning into a mass of METAL FOAM that quick-dries over the surface of the tremendous gate. It's designed to swiftly and temporarily repair hull breaches! it can PROBABLY handle this.     He is still on fire slightly, and still very burnt, so he'll head on over to Sanary next, needing to get out of the fight before he his wounding takes a more lethal toll on him. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Pavo is unable to avoid the lightning elementals in time. Crying out in surprise, she barrels right into their form, electrocuted heavily and launching off the wall. Like Biteblade, her armor keeps her safe as her high-speed ride comes to a close, but she'll be out of the fight momentarily as well, as she suffers the burns and stunning of those lightning elementals! 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Albert, healed up effectively, moves to intercept any fire towards Sanary. He stands firm between her and the enemies, and though he's lit on fire and electrocuted AGAIN, the status effect is the only thing that gets through his heavy, partially rebooted shielding. The DoT is the only thing that can function on him practically for now, but since he lacks ranged attacks, all he can really do is be a meatshield! 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      The good: Sanary coming in fresh means Albert's getting a hefty amount of healing energy pumped into him in a very short amount of time! The bad: Coming in all ready and raring for the fight clearly isn't doing her any favors in terms of keeping a low profile. Drawing literal fire and lightning from the sprites, she hunches over to try and let her shield take the brunt of their discharge.      "Really shoulda brought my armor for this, huh?" Despite the spasming she's doing from some of that shock going through her shield, the healer still manages a brief laugh before swinging herself around to cover George with her shielded back next. Taking note of his mild on-fire state, she gathers up some healing energy into her hands before starting to bat at those flames to try and put them out while healing him up at the same time.      "So how much did I miss, anyway? This.. Ah. Ice should put out a fire, yeah?" Without waiting for a response, she draws an old smart phone out from her coat's inner pocket. She takes another moment to fiddle with it, the air next to her distorts and glows faintly before a giant flying manta ray with a crown seemingly materializes out of nowhere!      "Alright, Forneus. Take care of the flames. And don't hit any of our own guys, got it?" The creature addressed as Forneus gives her a quick nod before flying/floating upwards several feet. It flaps its wings once before using some magic of its own, sending out chunks of ice at the flames converging towards the ox creature. Noticing that Albert's still moderately on-fire, meanwhile, Sanary divides her own attention between channelling that rejuvenating force into both Albert and George simultaneously!      She can afford to be tired later. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Biteblade is back on her bike and rushing in towards those imps that previously missed Moonfin! She's still got one shotgun on her damaged bike; she's going to try to shotgun them down and get a solid MEAL to use! She needs to charge up some of her own regenerative energy after that, and unfortunately she can't eat crystals, so she has to get a few bites while they're still alive!     If that works, she'll mostly be spraying at the first reptile creature, rather than the Tangata. Still abusing that hover-drifting! 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Seft, of course, takes what Souji is doing as an opportunity, as does Moonfin. His TAIL LASER attack means a clear path! Seft's going to try to take it and Moonfin blinks in, dashing beside her. By blasting down that firing line as the explosions clear, they intend to rush forward through the path. "Sixth Sea Hylotl Style: Harpoon Borne Upon Waves."     While Moonfin attempts to leap in a tremendous jump over the electrical enemy and slam his sword down upon the fiery one, still using that ICE-aligned energy, Seft intends to rush the reptile down and use her increased resistance to pain to let her JOUST into its main body without fear of the stun that comes from electrification! Just the IMMENSE burning damage. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     The Guard Scorpion unleashes its TAIL LASER, which drills through the Guivre and towards the Tangata, still atop its Peiste. The damage is immediate and severe, with the Guivre practically being cut in two and Tangata's mount being killed by the blast. The creature hops off, growling and glowing with flames.     Xiao's magic manages to push the poison gas back for the time being, buying others time to set plans in motion! It does also cool the arena quite a bit from the built up heat so far.     Predictably, Grant's maneuver causes the large oxen creature to stomp its foot and attempt a charge. Whether truck luck or planning, the beast smashes into one of the gates, the wooden and metallic door shutting itself quite loudly-- on the other hand, this means that the creature passes through several of the flames that were trying to get to it. Each one he does creates a bright blast of fire, washing over the entire arena. It's not too threatening if it's just one, but that was more like three or four.     On the other hand, George's grenade seals the door shut. The poison gas stops glowing in, or at least, if it keeps at it, it's only just a bit. Just don't hug the small vents and you'll be fine.     Pavo and Albert play the role of tank, willingness or not-- they have healing, at least, so it's not too bad. Most of the elementals left are small fry.     Thanks to Sanary's sudden summoning, the eerie flames are taken care of-- no more risks of explosions.     Biteblade shotguns imps down; the little buggers are fast, but not durable. They're not a very good meal, but they're better than going on an empty stomach for sure. They taste kind of... voidy? Empty? They're only minor Voidsent, so it's not pronounced.     Seft charges in last, using the wound caused by the Guard Scorpion's attack to severely injure-- and kill-- Tangata. The oxen demon falls to the ground, its glow and heat dying down.     What few elementals or imps might be left will easily be round up and killed, and Lolorito will applaud with a wide grin on his face. "Marvelous! You see, Flame General? There was nothing to worry about." Some arguing occurs between the large black man and the two shady Lalafell there, which we'll spare you.     The one who speaks up next is the sixth member-- the robed old man, who stands up and asks: "'Tis wonderful technology indeed, but what will we do if it breaks? Would we not be beholden to you the same as to the Garleans if we opted to use their Magitek instead? Hmm. Jobs, yes. If you could train some of our men and teach them to repair and maintain the equipment, it would sweeten the deal."     The Sultana herself seems busy trying to calm her 'bodyguard' down right now, while the other two members of the Syndicate are glaring unhappily at the usual song and dance. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' And then as fast as it began, it's over, a stunning display for the Zaibatsu. Souji moves the Guard Scorpion to the center of the arena, letting it idle there proudly as he bows to the Syndicate members once more. "The battle is won and you should have no further..." He glances over to Lolorito and Raubahn fighting. "Troubles." The question from the robed man causes Souji to nod. "A salient point, though I am fairly sure the Garleans are not interested in trading to you their technological advantage. Perhaps if you had a group that was already versed in working with magitechnology at your disposal, the process of training and cooperative effort would become easier. I would additionally be most interested in working with the Alliance's research and development teams should you have any of note. Perhaps we can develop more customized materials for your needs as well." Souji then gestures. "Do note that I have one additional benefit: Our technology does not run on Ceruleum, but by simply providing it with the magical power any of you in Eorzea possess. Aether will undoubtedly work the same as the Magic Particles of my homeland, and you possess such power in abundance." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Experts..." The man muses, crossing his arms. "There was a man willing to lend us knowledge of Magitek, once. I'm afraid his colleagues are looking for him as we speak. And no, the Garleans would not, lest we accepted surrender."     Raubahn breaks from his dispute with Lolorito and Teledji to field that one. "Something the Sultana will not stand for. Ul'dah will not end like Ala Mhigo. That technology of yours could bolster our fighting chances up a lot. If you're willing to work with us on adapting it and helping our own craftsmen understand it... I vote in favor."     Teledji frowns, crossing his arms. "Now now, let us not so be hasty. What say these men won't turn on us once they've gotten inside? A group we've never heard of shows up with their own brand of Magitek and wants to sell it to us? Foul play, I say! I vote no."     Fyrgeiss, the trader of a dark man, shakes his head. "I disagree. The business opportunities are endless. We cannot let this slip by. I vote yes, especially since we won't have to dig around for Ceruleum anymore."     Dewlala, the Lalafell witht he pointy hat, sighs. "We would consort with someone who uses the same technology as our enemy? What will the people think? Their faith in us will diminish and our coffers will lighten. I say no."     Lolorito smiles wide. "What a hasty decision you all make to discard such an advantage. I vote yes... provided we're supplied with an expert. Why, I'll even supply you the workshops myself, on my land of course. Can you think what would happen if the other two city-states said yes and we said no? We cannot take that risk."     The robed man sighs. "Ever my duty to make the final vote. I vote... yes, but your men will be working with those of the Garlond Ironworks until we find their leader again. He will decide whether or not your technology is all you claim it is, in absence of another expert."     Teledji objects. "Ridiculous! The Ironworks aren't sided with any of the city-states, you would place OUR power in THEIR hands?"     Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo finally rises, speaking in her soft voice. "Master Teledji, I find those terms agreeable. If Master Murasame agrees, we can return to Ul'dah and finalize the exchange while the Flames come clean these caverns up." 

:'''{{#var:823|Xiao Li Yu (823)}} has posed:'''      Once it was all said and done, Xiao took a few steps back and sighed deeply. "That was...something." She'd have to thank Albert, George, and Pavo later. She'd probably have gotten a lot more hurt, if not for them. For now though, she produced a potion from her sleeves and down it, saving Sanary some trouble.      An antidote followed, just in case, and then she turned to listen to the testimony of the council.      "...?" Were they arguing? She wondered why. Well, no matter, they did their part. Now it was time for their audience to follow up. Souji answered the questions asked rather perfectly. She felt no need to follow up. Lest they get weird looks and then burned at the stake for being a technowitch! She hadn't forgotten that! 

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''      Panting a bit as the adrenaline wears off, Sanary's glances around slowly before focusing her gaze on the unfamiliar group that Souji's talking to. A blank stare settles on her face not long after she starts, however, diverting her attention isntead towards the more familiar faces. "W-well! Good work, then, I think. Now who needs healing...?" 

:'''{{#var:667|Grant Mason (667)}} has posed:'''     "Well that was interesting." Grant says, as he looks around at the rest of the group, though when Sanary asks about healing he raises a hand, "I could definitely use some healing." He says, as he moves towards her, "That was nuts, huh? Didn't think they'd have that many monsters crammed in one place..Like some kind of monster party."     He switches his weapon back onto his back and pulls the helmet of the armor off, "I think we might have something going with them. Dunno why they'd say no after that little demonstration." 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Reminds me o' core fleet votin'." Pavo says, with a tone of amusement as she slowly gets to her feet. Looks like she's survived, as has George. Both will be thanking Sanary and collecting their bikes.     "They are not saying no." Moonfin says, to Grant, as he disengages from his damaged armor, and slowly begins working the pieces back into his Matter Manipulator. "They are like us, of the Starbound Flotilla's Core Fleet. They must move in unity to achieve great power. Those who wish otherwise are disregarded. It is the way we achieve great things in this world."     "Floran think, isss fun either way. Get money anyway! Maybe a little, maybe lotsss. Alwaysss bet on hedge tribe. That isss how meat wordsss sssay it, right?" Biteblade says, regenerating and already at work on buffing out dents on her bike. 

}}

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-08-03T16:22:24Z

Lightmage: /* East Shroud */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.
* The adventurers have captured Captain Madison's pirate ship!

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]
* [[2716/Leve:_Sylph-Management|Leve: Sylph-Management]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Ul'dah===
* Of Zaibatsus and Syndicates

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* [[2679/Duty:_Sastasha_Seagrot|Sastasha Seagrot]]
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft

2716/Leve: Sylph-Management

2015-08-03T16:21:47Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/08/02 |Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR> |Synopsis=Diplomacy with the Sylph turns into dancing and fighting Garleans. This one gets tired of typi..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/02
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Diplomacy with the Sylph turns into dancing and fighting Garleans. This one gets tired of typing like these ones very quickly.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 627, 747, 787, 815, 819, 826
|Tinyplot=
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:''' Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)! Leve: Sylph-Management Location: Little Solace, East Shroud Type: Investigation Urgency: High Difficulty: Unmarked Enclosed Message: Under leadership of Scarlet Everille and Setsuko Kaminagi of the Union, the three Seedseers of Gridania seek a small group of adventurers capable of handling negotiations with the Sylphs of Little Solace. As the Sylphs are currently distrusting of outsiders, you will be meeting with their de-facto elder, Komuxio, and he will do his best to put you in the Sylphs' good graces. This will likely require locating the Sylphs' elder, Frixio, who has gone missing, but saving him will doubtlessly go a long way here. Find out what the Sylphs know and follow the last known trails of the elder, keeping in mind it is entirely possible the Tempered Sylphs are to blame-- not to mention there have been Garlean sightings in the area as well. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     For those who are new: welcome to the Twelveswood, a great, magical forest filled with giant trees, walking mushrooms, assorted wildlife, and more ambient mana than you can shake a stick at. It's all very nature-y and pure, though one gets a sense of unrest and lingering corruption and chaos of some nature.     The weather tonight is fairly cloudly; occasionaly, bright purple and blue lightning bolts lit the sky, thunder echoing close and far alike, but never striking within sight. A storm has been building, locals say; it returns every other day now, a little bit stronger each time. At least it's not raining, but the clouds are thick enough they hide any sunlight, if there was any to be found tonight.     Your destination is Little Solace, a small village but a dozen minutes from the Hawthorne Hut-- another village slash fortified Gridanian position, that one with an Aetheryte Crystal and a Warp Gate.     Little Solace is essentially a mess of tents-- large, single-person tents, some with tables and wares to show on them. Traders' caravans are stationed to the side, and Elezen and Hyur/human traders are bartering and chatting with the Sylphs, some near campfires, some by their tables and tents. Above the tents, suspended to the trees by ropes, are bulb-shaped houses with small doors and windows, fit for the Sylphs.     The Sylphs are small, green creatures of leaves and flesh, looking more like nature spirits than anything else. Their clothes, if they are clothes at all, are dresses made of leaves, with long sleeves and a glowing jewel encrusted in their chests. The color varies from Sylph to Sylph.     Komuxio, the Sylph you are to meet, is waiting at the entrance of the village. His gem is a soft pink-red, but he's also put a bright rainbow hairpin in his... err, well, hair, if you can call it that, and you've been told that's how you'll recognize him.     Because these guys really, really look alike. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram is going straight for Komuxio, though he seems to know some of the other Sylphs by name, and is able to tell them apart. "Hey Tonaxia, Ponnixia." He greets cheerfully as he passes them. In what appears to be rather uncharacteristic, Bertram is dancing more than walking, especially when he gets close to Komuxio, finishing his dance in a bow. "Hello Komuxio. How are you doing today?" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA has arrived without his armor, and without his Inferno Axe. No, he was specifically informed to try and tone down the gear today, because Sylphs are touchy about armed bipeds. Something something Garleans which was enough reason for the Miqo'te to respond favorably to that request. So he's here in his off-duty clothes, looking smart-ish at least.     He too is dancing a little bit, or trying to. He's got the grace for it, at least, but the training he hasn't got. And instead of following Alwyn, today he's following Bertram, making sure to take direction when need be. He's a catsbody today. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The building storm above makes Setsuko uneasy, for lack of a better term. Not quite 'unwell' or 'nervous'; since her transformation, and especially since discovering her full power, the swordswoman has felt a certain affinity for stormy weather. But even though part of her feels content with the storm something about the thunder bothers her, in some corner of her mind. Perhaps it's her battlesense, nudging her on a subconscious level about a battle too distant and small for her to properly take notice of. Perhaps it's simply the thought that the thunder could represent the presence or arrival of Ramuh. Perhaps it's all those things.     But her unease is irrelevant to their mission. A mission, for once, of peace. By now the demigod is becoming familiar enough with the Hawthorne Hut and its surrounding section of the Twelveswood, so it's a simple matter for her to step off the ground and fly straight towards Little Solace. Once she lands, however, Setsuko stops, to look at Komuxio - and the other Sylphs in general. It's peculiar to see them, for one who knows them better as hostile little purple plant-people, so green and so not-attacking-anyone.     But for the moment she will leave the diplomacy to those who are better at dance. Since that seems to be a requirement. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji arrives on scene to engage in fact-finding with the Sylphs. The natural environment seems to be gathering towards something, a tension in the air like the hour before a storm strikes. Considering the situation, he finds it eminently appropriate. He seems completely comfortable in the threatening weather, himself. Ramuhan clothing is all water-repellant, if nothing else... On a tip from Bertram, Souji arrives on foot, moving with a stately dancing motion as he moves along with the delegation. Since Bertram knows the most about the Sylphs, Souji has him take point. Judging from their whimsical nature, Souji probably would not be the best negotiator anyway. He gives a sweeping bow. "Komuxio, a pleasure to meet you." He states. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     There's only been one occasion for Scarlet to go into a real forest like this before. The kind that feels like a living, breathing thing. That one had been old, magically active, and frankly unnerving to even those without heightened senses too, but in a completely different way. This one doesn't seem as if it intends to hide its secrets or its hostility. It can be plainly felt building in the background, its ominous atmosphere essentially omnipresent, not helped by the distinctly "off" quality she can sense in its ambient magic.     Good thing they're not staying for long then. It seems a little surreal that people are still living, chatting and trading here, but they're probably used to it by now. What's more surreal is seeing Bertram dancing his way over to someone just to talk to them, followed by N'raha. She'd heard the Sylphs preferred people who could dance, but she had assumed that meant in the actual time and place for it, not just to get around. Now it seems she refuses to make herself look that ridiculous just yet, instead watching them with a hint of disbelief. "Is he supposed to be doing that, or greivously misunderstanding." She really hopes it's the latter. 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     DANCING IS FOR CHUMPS, REAL TALK THO'.     Arriving without fanfare, because she had to tromp along through the stupid boring forest through the stupid boring monsters that didn't do any stupid boring things, yawning and blinking and being grumbly, is POOPSTINK SCRUBLO--wait, no, EPICEA CHELID. Ignore that first part.     Arriving at the meeting place. "Oh my god did Sarah stand me up? I don't know whether to be proud, frustrated, or just annoyed." She grumbles, looking at the sprite. "Yo. So we're supposed to..." She rubs her eyes. "Do something? Save the damsels? Sarah usually knows all of this stuff. Just point me towards the action. Or a sweet sun-spot, I could totally get my nap on." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "This one welcomes the helpful one!" Komuxio states to Bertram, doing a brief twirl-- the Sylphs, while small, float in the air, around head-level, so at least having a conversation with them isn't TOO awkward. "These ones are worried about elder one still. Walking ones with machine ones have been seen nearby lately. These ones hope elder one is found soon."     The dances won't go unnoticed; however poor or out of shape their dancing may be, N'raha and Souji get a few looks from the idle Sylphs, who seem content with the display. Komuxio himself gives a smile, taking an elegant bow mid-air. "This one greets the dancing ones, and hopes the walking ones change their minds about dancing. These ones truly appreciate walking ones willing to humor these ones. It lightens these ones' day."     He nonetheless looks at Setsuko, Scarlet and Epicea, giving a nod. "Elder one has been missing for some time now. Elder one went for a stroll in the forest and never returned. These ones thinks he may not be far. Walking ones with large machine ones and many weapons are camping nearby. These ones prefer not to disturb them, but tempered ones have been fighting walking ones sometimes. This one believes it is an acceptable strategy of walking ones to let enemies fight each other, yes?"     Translation: there's a Garlean camp nearby, and Tempered Sylphs have been skirmishing with them. Probably a good place to start looking?     "But please, first, these ones would like to see walking ones and dancing ones show their determination. Walking ones would like us to help with Lord Ramuh, yes?"     Suddenly, all Sylphs cease activity. They gather around newcomers, forming a circle of small, floating plant creatures who stare intently. There is no hostility to be felt, but--     "Please, walking ones, dancing ones, won't you honor these ones' request and show us how to stand together as one? A grand dance, uniting many kinds of walking ones!" Translation: you all look and feel different from one another, can you dance together? 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     OH HEY! A dance that's easy to do, in large groups, and can be taught easily. EVEN N'RAHA KNOWS THIS ONE. "Okay sure! We've got a pretty common dance around here, meant to give thanks to Nophica and the Elementals for their generous bounty at Harvest Time!"     And then he gets into it. He and Bertram can at least lead the group at this. There's hand waving, and side stepping, and kicking of legs forward and back and side to side and a little bowing motion at the end!     IT LOOKS VERY SILLY. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram definitely has no objections to dancing as a group, he just starts dancing a ... somewhat clumsy but perfectly acceptable version of the traditional Gridanian Harvest Dance. To the left, to the right, forwards, backwards, repeat. Fancy leg and arm movements included. He doesn't really seem to care about choreography or matching the others, he's just dancing as though he was the only perosn to dance. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji listens, considering what he is to say next. However, his potential insights and questions are interrupted with a ring of Sylphic interest. He pauses, an eyebrow arched as he wonders what he is to be asked to do. Dance together? Souji considers it for a moment. It's certainly not the worst thing they could have asked... And then he looks over to N'raha and Bertram as they do the Nophican harvest dance. His expression twitches... but he watches it intently. After watching one or two cycles, he falls in with the others, doing his best to mimic the dance steps. It's not the first time he's had to pretend to know a specific dance on the spot. Despite Bertram's assurances that coordination or even competence isn't necessary, Souji does his best to remain in sync with N'raha and perform as best he can. Which, considering his source material, might not be the best teacher. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     'We want to see you dance together.'     Setsuko has faced gods and demons. She has stood against armies and advanced calmly. She has crossed blades with some of the most dangerous and frightening beings in the Multiverse.     Apparently, being asked to dance is more alarming than all these things.     "I..." The demigod begins, then trails off. Is she... embarrassed? Yes. Yes she is. Treasure this moment. The Union's own demigod of War is flustered.     But Bertram and N'raha dance to the rescue, and there have been few times Setsuko has looked more relieved. With her superhuman senses, agility, and body control, she can at the very least mimic such simple movements. And so she does, watching N'raha for a moment before falling into perfect step with him. To a casual observer, her mimicry is airtight; only the keenest of eyes will see the little imperfections in her dance, the way it feels as if she's following a set of instructions rather than flowing through learned movements. Nevertheless, she is dancing. 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     The /hdance is complex! Shuffleshuffle left, shuffle shuffle right, handwave, twirl, snore, fall over, take a nap, roll left, roll right, hit a rock, wake up, be dirty, handwave your face clean, still be dirty, forests are the worst.     "Nailed it." Epicea notes, wiping dirt and grass off her now terribly stained sweatpants. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     For a moment, Scarlet is actually relieved. Having an actual occasion to dance shouldn't wind up making her look like an idiot. She knows how to do it. She's had practise before. Snooty practise. Then Bertram goes and ruins it by immediately leaping into the most embarrassing shuffle she's ever seen in her life, and it's all she can do to withhold a despairing, irritated groan. She'd come here hoping for something vaguely high-society, not an even more awkward kind of backwoods hoedown.     She has to crank the magic way up for this as she slides into line with the group, watching for a couple of brief cycles before joining in herself, committing it to memory almost instantly. Despite how distinctly unenthusiastic about it she is, the minimum amount of effort manages to look downright sincere, and in fact, much prettier than everyone else, by virtue of casual altering of the concept of perception. Probably the lamest use of Circle Ceint that has ever been found, but if it works, it works. She still manages to slip Souji a Look though. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     It's true; they don't need to dance WELL. They just needed to show they could dance together, regardless of where they came from. The Sylphs circle the group, dancing themselves-- rotating, catching every angle of the assorted heroes' dances, whether good or bad.     Magic or no magic, the Sylphs seem content, whispering among themselves with happy looks in their faces. Finally, Komuxio claps. "Dancing ones have proven their unity! Walking ones from many tribes and places fight for peace. But many walking ones fight for war still. Dancing ones have proven desire for peace. These ones will agree to lend air if Lord Ramuh is summoned. These ones would not dare face the Levin One, but these ones may have a token that would help dancing ones appeal to Lord Ramuh."     He twirls happily, and the other Sylphs go back to what they were doing-- trading, idling, chatting, cooking. "But first," Komuxio says, "Elder one must be found. This one cannot grant dancing ones the token. This one lacks the authority to speak for these ones whole. Only elder one can. Will you go see if elder one was taken by the walking ones?" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     It's at this point that N'raha looks over at the others, his dance dying off as he just /beams/ at people trying the Harvest Dance. Amazing and wonderful, yes. He snickers a bit, ears flicking in joy as he coughs and tries to cover his glee.     "Right ahaahhhrm. So, do you have any idea where he might have wandered off? I mean, the Shroud is a really big place and so is Larkscall. Would you know if the Elder ran into the... ah, the metal ones?" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The very instant dancing is no longer necessary, Setsuko stops. She stands as still as a stone statue, as if she had not been dancing at all and any inkling otherwise is a false memory. You saw nothing.     "We will," she replies to Komuxio, bowing her head slightly. "And not just because we need your help - that your Elder has disappeared is worrying, and you're a peaceful people. I would offer my aid regardless." They suggested that the Garlean encampment deeper in Larkscall might be worth a check; she'll head that way, assuming no one stops her. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram has made sure introductions went well, and is more than willing to let others take the lead from there. Instead, he goes to hand in some things he had promised Tonaxia he'd pick up. Makes a little chat with Tonaxia, and then gets ready to follow the group. 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     "Wow what a bum rap. You made us all look super lame doing highly synchronized dance moves which were funky-freshwater, and then you don't even have the authority to grant us what we want in the first place?" Epicea wonders, drawling slowly and looking angry.     Then she fingerguns. "Sick middle management plays." She laughs. "Right, so, off to go... Tromping around big dumb forest to find the actual person we need to dance for? Sure, cool, gotcha." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji attempts to regain his dignity after the dance, though it seems to be strained for CERTAIN REASONS. He nods and looks to the others. "Let us proceed. There's only so many places a group of the size that they have intimated could be without triggering a full scale response from the Wailers. Mr. Silent, N'raha, if you can identify those locations, we can check them first." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Oh thank goodness. That's over. Now they can talk like normal people. People and weird, floating leaf things. Well the Sylphs are far from the weirdest thing Scarlet's seen overall, but the strangest to make houses and dance at the very least. She briefly adjusts her collar and pushes her fingers back through her hair, approaching Komuxio at the front of the group, and yet sparing just a moment to shoot Epicea a split second, "blink and you'll miss it" glare. Well, glare doesn't quite do it justice. It happens too quickly and too vaguely to really get a good look at whatever that expression might have been, but the barest glimpse of it gives the overwhelming impression of sharp, cold, disapproving hostility, enough to make one momentarily dizzy.     And yet she's nothing but smiles as she approaches the Sylph, bowing formally before speaking. "That is our plan. Anything you can do to help would be appreciated, and so in return, we'll make every effort possible to disturb these woods as little as possible. I can't guarantee that there won't be conflict if the Garleans really are involved, but I can certainly promise that your elder will be returned unharmed." She produces her "acquired" map of the region, holding it up at head level for the Sylph. "Does any of this look familiar to you? If so, could you point to a general indication of where you think he might have went? We have a lot of ground to cover." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "These ones have been wary of a camp walking ones set up to the east. These ones lack the strength to oppose walking ones with machine ones, but dancing ones would be able to assist!" Komuxio answers. "Walking ones aren't far. Walking ones think these ones have not discovered the camp, but these ones saw through the trees, and machine ones are very loud."     Clearer instructions would be given; but the short and sweet of it is, go east, through the trees, off the path.     "Dancing ones won't need to repeat the dance for elder one; this one will ensure elder one is told all about dancing ones' unity for peace. Please bring elder one back alive, these ones can't stand another night of worry!"     Scarlet gets a reply on the matter of the forest: "These ones don't mind if dancing ones need to fight. Fighting unfortunate, and very sad matter. But these ones understand why dancing ones seek battle. These ones won't be offended." Or at least, as long as nothing especially awful is done. Komuxio would point on the map, a location somewhere to the east and slightly north, essentially matching instructions.     Going there is a trivial matter; few obstacles, the wildlife isn't especially hostile right now. Avoid the occasional giant, walking tree or frog, and eventually you'll come across-- warmachines. Well, two of them.     A small cohort of six Garleans in black and red uniforms, two of them standing inside of Magitek Reapers-- those are the classic, walking suits of armor, essentially a sort of two-legged black walker with a cannon on its chest and an open cockpit in the head-- stand guard by a few cages. There's a number of Sylphs in them, green and purple alike. One has an especially large haircut and glasses, inspiring a feeling of 'elder' or maybe 'just very old'. Each Garlean is armed with a gunblade and shield, even those in the Reapers.     Their camp is rudimentary, but large crates indicate they plan to stay, and have been here a few days already. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram gets out his old imperial uniform, and starts putting it on. He approaches the Garlean troops with that uniform on, and salutes them. "Sir! I'm my unit Medicus. Suspicious elements have been seen up north, my unit tried to intercept, but we were overrun. We need immediate assistance." He lies, using his knowledge of Imperial military protocals and the fact imperial helms obscure faces to try to get them distracted. "I'm too wounded to fight." Now let's just hope this works... 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji is quiet as they move on from Little Solace towards the Garlean camp. He frowns at the sight of the enemy group. He looks back to the others, gesturing. "This seems too small for a dedicated assault team... Or those walkers are more dangerous than I thought. They will need to be prioritized. N'raha will lead the attack while we move in. Prioritize the machines unless one of them..." He goes quiet as Betram breaks off and attempts deception. Souji nods. He can appreciate a good bit of misdirection. He immediately revises the plan. "If they break off, wait for Bertram's signal and then we overrun the camp, then ambush the other group when they return. Standard priority. If they attempt to arrest Bertram..." He looks to N'raha. "You know what to do." Do what angry axe cattemann does best. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsko is silent, waiting a short distance away; she'd planned to begin with a lightning-fast attack to sow general discord, but this might serve just as well.     But just in case, she carefully slips herself behind a particularly thick tree, then floats upward - her plan is to get up into the canopy, then make her way over their heads, so that if things go pear-shaped she can drop down from above. 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     Settling in for AMBUSHARINOS is pretty easy! You let someone else do all the hard dangerous stuff and you bust out a cliff bar and chow down!     This is the loudest wrapper in the universe, it's like opening sunchips in a fucking library. But Epicea crouches down - sits, really - and opens up her food bar, before cramming it in her toothy, fangy face and starts chewing loudly.     "'fo. Whaf's 'fa plan?" She mumbles around the bar, drooping and looking sleepy again already. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "I just explained the plan." Souji replies, watching Epicea. What an odd person. "Are you normally this tired?" He asks. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     There's a subtle shift in N'raha's frame as he approaches the camp, and from one glance to another his heavy armor has clinked itself properly into place from his Adventurer's gear.     More importantly, that Aetherial Inferno Axe rests neatly in his hands as he stares down into the Garlean camp. The miq's tail lashes quietly in the rumbling tension of the Larkscall, as he listens to 'the plan' from Souji and watches Bertram head down into the camp. Is he growling? It's a very feline-ish noise from the Marauder. "Sure, Mr. Murasame." 

:'''{{#var:787|Epicea Chelid (787)}} has posed:'''     Epicea, being asked if she's normally this tired, is already snoring quietly, face down on the ground, making soft burbling sounds.     Yep. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Well, that makes things pretty easy and pretty obvious. "At the very least, the Tempered don't have anything to do with this. That's preferable. The Garleans are already essentially at war with the Eorzean Alliance anyways. I'd still rather not get involved with..." she waves her hand towards the reapers. "Whatever those are." Fortunately Bertram seems to have an idea, and at his urging to wait for him to try it, Scarlet sits back and waits, immediately getting the gist of it just from the sight of the uniform. She likes the idea, but doesn't have a whole lot of faith he can pull it off by himself.     Which is why she decides to help. Playing the role of the unsung hero, she settles in to watch, directing the use of Circle Ceint into an active effect centered on Bertram. Rather than working on herself for a change, she uses it on another, tweaking here and there to better fit the Garlean impression of a soldier. A little bigger, more imposing, a better accent, straighter posture, a more confident and serious tone. It's all the kind of thing she's done a million times before, and as a result, gotten very good at. Feeling satisfied, she takes a moment to kick the food bar away from Epicea's sleeping form, off into the brush where she hopefully won't find it again. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Bertram starts conversing with one of the Garleans, bolstered by Scarlet's illusion magic. The soldier seems to buy it; after all, Bertram wasn't high-ranked enough that his face, as a traitor, would be EVERYWHERE. No, it's entirely possible for this small remote cohort section to not know who he is. Not to mention if that was an issue, Scarlet may have just slapped a new face on there. And Garleans? They don't have magic, at all. They're at the mercy of it.     "Bloody hells. Is it the savages or the sylphs? Oh, like it damn matters. Take one of the Reapers and-- you two--, that'll be enough." The pilot of one Reapers makes his machine advance, volunteering, while the other two soldiers were pointed at pretty clearly. "Try not to ruin the paintjob on it, we just got it redone for this mission."     This will allow Bertram to guide one of the Reapers and two soldiers away from the group. It'll leave three in the camp.     One of the Garleans watching over the cages seems to hear the ruckus of the other adventurers gathering nearby, and thinking it must be wildlife, decides to check. You've got one of the soldiers coming up on you, with only leaves and bushes to hide you! 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram leads them away, and once he's at a comfortable distance, he says "Over there, not too far from here. I'll support from the back!" And then, once they start going in, he'll start casting spells. Not spells that will kill, no far more subtle. Gentle energies that will, ideally, overwhelm the reaper pilot first, and the others second, allowing them to fall into a gentle repose. Then, he will make his way away from them and return to the group, putting his mage's robes back on while moving. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     For the moment, Setsuko remains in the trees above. There is nothing else to report in this pose, but a minimum wordcount must be met. Oh hey, is that a B-rank hunt mark over there? 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Plan A seems to have worked fine, but unfortunately Epicea didn't seem to get the hint and has managed to force a plan B anyways. Fortunately, that proves to be pretty easy as well. Inflicting simple auditory stimuli on a single target is incredibly easy, and so Scarlet does the efficient thing and causes the suspicious Garlean to hear the same noise again, louder, 45 degrees off from them and deeper into the forest. She provides no explanation for this, simply watching him wander off apparently of his own accord as if she knew it would happen.     "Whatever you're going to do, do it now." She states plainly over the radio, already beginning to move herself." She edges around the clearing towards where the cages are, and more importantly, away from the remaining reaper's primary sight cone, readying a something from her pre-inscribed deck for the moment the others act. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     YESSSSSSSSS.     And like a coiled, heavy duty spring, N'raha unleashes himself like a red bolt of thunder, that axe swinging up and around into the air, as he LEAPS at the Garlean soldier, the business end coming down in an overhead chop.     It is not subtle. It is not clean. It is not precise. It is mean to hurt this man while he dies. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' As soon as N'raha moves, Souji bolts forward, his hands seething with Magic Particles as he shapes them into the proper Pattern. The time for action has come. He doesn't call for anyone to follow him. apparently he expects them to just do it because it's what makes sense at the moment. Bertram did his job, it's time for the rest of them to do theirs. "Take them! Quickly!" And then he finishes the Pattern. "Thunder-2." He calls out, throwing his hands forward and targeting the remaining soldier and his ally in the Magitech Reaver. There is a crackle of lightning, and the air shears with a powerful blast. Not the clinging shock of the Thaumaturge, but a deadly bolt. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Once they're far enough, Bertram opens up with offensive magic right away. Water bubbles around them and brings them to a gentle sleep, and the three soldiers just fall to the ground (or rather, one falls face first into his cockpit's control panel, the others on the ground). The Reaper keeps walking until it slams into a tree (taking almost no damage) and then stops there, jammed.     Scarlet's spell causes the Garlean to change heading, following the noise. Bloody squirrels, even this deep in the forest.     N'raha leaps at him from the bushes, and plunges back with him into another bush. The axe would cut his throat open, and he'd choke on his own blood before long.     This leaves a Reaper and a soldier in the camp. Souji engages by firing a thunderbolt at the both of them-- the man on foot is shocked, hard, forced to one knee immediatly. The one in the Reaper slams the panel and a blue, hexagonal shield forms around the war machine, absorbing most of the damage.     The front of the Reaper opens, revealing a large cannon. It glows a brilliant gold for a second, and then fires an orb of magic straight for Souji's location. Upon impact, with anything really, it would detonate-- and it's pretty nasty. The sort of explosion that'd ruin your house. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     It happens without warning.     A swordswoman in grey and black drops out of the canopy high above, the tall trees of the Black Shroud giving her ample room to make her move. The simple blade in her hand expands to the size of a massive sword, held high above her head, and her descent goes far faster than gravity alone could account for - her own power of flight, employed to add yet more momentum to her attack as she plunges towards her target. The Magitek Reaper represents a clear, significant threat, and she intends to deal with it by simply cleaving it in half, with all the strength and force she can bring to bear through her divine weapon.     As if on reflex, Setsuko roars as she descends, a singular kiai to focus both her will and her attack.     "CHEEESUTOOOOO!" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Well, he would have choked on his blood, if N'raha hadn't just finished the man off. There's a bloody snarl from that bush again, as the Miqo'te youth comes tearassing out of the underbrush, charging the Magitech reaper along with Setsuko. Granted, he's probably not going to get there in time to do much, but he needs this.     But. it's the sight of those cages that tempers his wrath slightly, and he changes his tack to head for them instead to investigate. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     That's about what Scarlet suspected. The Reaper's escort seems to have been more or less dealt with, though the one she had lead off will come running back at the sound of that explosion. For that reason, she sends one of her usual familiars loping off into the forest, passing noiselessly through the treets and brush in its incorporeal state. Specifically, the "hunting dog", as if it could be compared to anything so mundane and wholesone as a canine. The full complement would have killed it pretty quickly, but a single stranded soldier in the deep woods should be an easy target to subdue.     She's not about to get in the way of that cannon though, nor give it any reason to turn her way. Instead, she abuses hidden magic one more time to blast the pilot's senses with the hallucinatory equivalent of a flashbang, not going for any kind of subtelty or believability so long as it prevents him from shooting straight at anything. She ducks out from the tree cover in the distraction, running over to the nearest cage and kneeling behind it, pressing a premade transmutation circle to the bars and holding a finger to her lips at the Sylphs inside. The metal around her hand begins to boil annd froth, sloughing off like water soluble paint. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' There is a flash of light as a singly tiny object intercepts the incoming plasma sphere - A thrown Gil coin from Souji. The erupting blast of the cannon, nevertheless, throws Souji backwards, his suit and body smouldering from the backwash. The quick retaliation might have reduced the incoming damage, but he's going to be feeling that one for a big. "Tch. It's as I feared." He grimaces. "But then, if they were total pushovers, it would bode ill to Eorzea's capabilities. KAMINAGI!" He calls, as the deific swordsman drops down and cleaves into the Reaper. He looks to the others, noting some are already moving to free the captives. He nods, rushing forward towards the location of the other soldiers. If he can bind them before they recover from Bertram's spells, perhaps they can find the tables turned upon them... 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko comes down on the Magitek Reaper; her sword starts cutting through, but abruptly stops halfway in. This thing is TOUGH-- she's strong, though, and cutting that deep is a feat in and of itself. The size of the cut, even if it can't cleave the armor in twain, is enough to seriously damage its systems and disable its main gun, however. Not to mention make the pilot PANIC.     N'raha's axe finds much lesser purchase, but smashes into one of the legs and badly damages one of the knee joints.     And with Scarlet's flashbang, that pilot isn't going to have the Reaper firing on anyone else. He stutters, panics, and falls out of his ride, next to the disabled and paralyzed soldier. Is that a surrender?     Scarlet's dog will find the second pilot well asleep, thanks to Bertram. It could eat the sleeping soldiers trivially.     The cages have Tempered Sylphs and normal ones alike-- it may be best not to open the cage full of purple Sylphs. But the one that contains green ones contains Frixio, the Sylph's elder. You can tell because his hair is as tall as he is and he's got old man glasses on. He immediatly greets Scarlet and Souji with a dance-like bow. "This one thanks walking ones. This one is called Frixio, eldest of these ones from Little Solace. Pray forgive this one's need to be rescued." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     There is some degree of surprise in Setsuko's expression when the weight of the Zanjintou doesn't cleave all the way through. But impressed though she is, it's a bad place to stop moving for any reason, so she does not. Instead, she disengages the weapon's full-sized form, freeing it by dint of the large blade no longer existing, and backflips away into a ready stance... only for the man to stumble right on out of his armor. She relaxes, somewhat, adopting a simple, guarded stance. "...I was swinging fairly hard. I'm impressed by your machine's durability." Worth bearing in mind for later.     For now, however, she... wanders over to the cage containing the tempered Sylphs, looking into it with a simple, calm stare. "I'm sure all of you realize who I am. I'm here to tell you that I have no quarrel with your kind. I am not a god, and I was not summoned to challenge you or Lord Ramuh. If I free all of you, do you swear to return straight to the Sylphlands without attacking us?" 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Well the familiar isn't going to eat the poor man. For one, because Scarlet isn't the kind of person to kill for no reason, even secondhand, and there's certainly nothing to gain from doing it. For two, because it doesn't have a mouth. Besides, she's busy dissolving enough of the cage for a Sylph to fit through, the card burning up after roughly half of it has been rendered into formless metallic slag. She takes the little elder's hand in her own like a dance partner's, lifting him up into the air with a little flourish where presumably he'll be more comfortable being able to float.     "A pleasure to finally meet you~ I've been looking for you and your friends. It's not my place to admonish you even if I wanted to, so I'll merely express my gratitude that you're unharmed." She looks pointedly to the purple Sylphs. "That said, we have no association with the Sylphs under Ramuh. I don't think there's a need to do much if they weren't the ones at fault here, but if you have any specific requests for where they should be taken next, please voice them now." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji takes some time to bind the disabled Garleans. Capturing these alive might be... useful. He looks back to the elder and performs a bow as well. "IT is no matter, Elder Frixio. What is important now is that you and the others are safe. Quickly, we should return to Little Solace after the other matters are settled." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA TOTALLY KILLED THAT ONE GUY CAUSE FUCK GARLEANS.     That said people are being diplomatic now, and N'raha busies himself with trying to calm the fuck down over near the downed Reaper. 'Trying' being the operative word here. His blood is racing. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko gets a reply. It's roughly as expected.     "Of course our machine is durable! It's made of cermet, nothing you damn savages could ever reproduce!" Glorious nippon steel, folded 100 times. Pardon, glorious Garlean cermet, folded 1000 times. He's not entirely wrong-- Eorzea's blacksmiths could try as hard as they want, their forges don't have the conditions needed to reproduce cermet easily. But that's like saying you couldn't commission a medieval blacksmith to make you a space shuttle. It's kind of unfair.     And that aside, cermet still manages to be inferior to properly magical metal at times anyway.     The Tempered Sylphs look at one another. There's a lot of muttering and name-calling in there, but one finally turns to answer. "These ones will not attack rival one and walking ones in exchange for freedom. But these ones will not carry rival one's false words home with them."     Probably the best you could expect.     Frixio nods to Scarlet; his movements are still graceful, though they look exhausted at the same time. "This one is saddened to learn the tempered ones have resorted to summoning Lord Ramuh. These ones from Little Solace have an agreement with walking ones from Gridania not to summon the Levin One. This one will be happy to talk with walking ones once Little Solace is reached."     Garleans are captured, if needed/wanted! They are in no position to offer much resistance. Those that are awake will cuss and swear because they really don't seem to like people who aren't Garleans. Not much of a surprise. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     In the blink of an eye, Zanjintou has cleaved off the top of the cage; Setsuko calmly reaches up, and tosses it aside. "Go. And ask yourselves on the way back - why would I release followers of Ramuh, lending him more strength, if I intended to fight him?"     The sword returns to its sheath, and she turns to walk away from the tempered ones, over towards Frixio. "We would appreciate that. If there is any way we can bring this to a close without fighting Ramuh, I would be glad to hear of it." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Eventually, the group will return to Little Solace.     HAUL: 6x Garlean uniforms, gunblades and shields     1x intact Magitek Reaper     1x damaged Magitek Reaper     The Reapers are activated and piloted using identification keys, kind of like large keycards. The exact specifics of the technology involved can be explained as needed if anyone intends to mess with them or use them.     Once back to town, or along the way, Frixio will explain:     "This one believes it may be possible to appeal to Lord Ramuh with a token. These ones have long guarded a crystal given to these ones by Lord Ramuh a long time ago. If walking ones or dancing ones presented the crystal to Lord Ramuh, it may serve as proof that walking ones intend to live in peace with these ones and have earned the respect of this one."     But, he would add, "This one cannot entrust these ones' crystal to walking ones on a whim. Saving this one is not enough. Walking ones have told this one that the forest is in pain. Elemental ones no longer in agreement, because walking ones are performing dark magic in its depths. When undead ones are put back to sleep, then this one will confer with these ones about the crystal."     Translation: well, you saved me, that's cool, but it's not really enough. When you guys clear the Tam-Tara Deepcroft we'll have a Sylphy meeting and discuss the good you can do for the forest. And then we can give you the crystal. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Frixio handing over this "token" right from the start would have been nice, but Scarlet hadn't been expecting it to play out that way. In fact, things seem to be going exactly the way she had planned around. A smile of smug satisfaction is carefully represented as one of appreciation towards the elder Sylph, and then followed, by a brief curtsy of the kind one would expect of a young lady leaving the presence of her father's high ranking friend.     "Be reassured with the knowledge that I'm aware of the issue, and already have plans in motion to deal with it. It was my intent to deal with it before seriously approaching you about this matter, but your safety was more important." Sure is a lot of "I" and "me" and "my" here, and yet somehow it tends to fly under the radar. "Next we meet, your single, sole worry will be The Lord of Levin, after which I'm sure we'll be able to work something out." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha... well. The 'I', 'Me' and 'My's aren't getting past him and as he peels off his bloody helmet and lets his hair out again, those ears flick a little bit in frustration.     The word 'crystal', though, that gets a reaction. Like, a very visceral reaction as the Miqo'te's eyes slacken again. A hand clenches a little bit in a ball, and he looks around to the others, murmuring. "We /really/ need to get that crystal, guys. It's... well. It's really important, s-somehow. I... ah."     He's coming back to the here and now again, and he's looking slightly embarassed for some reason. The ears and tail droop a little bit. "Probably. It's probably really important." 

}}

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-26T14:59:59Z

Lightmage: /* Changes */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.
* The adventurers have captured Captain Madison's pirate ship!

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]
* Leve: Sylph-Management

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Ul'dah===
* Of Zaibatsus and Syndicates

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* [[2679/Duty:_Sastasha_Seagrot|Sastasha Seagrot]]
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-26T14:57:30Z

Lightmage: /* Dungeons */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]
* Leve: Sylph-Management

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Ul'dah===
* Of Zaibatsus and Syndicates

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* [[2679/Duty:_Sastasha_Seagrot|Sastasha Seagrot]]
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-26T14:56:58Z

Lightmage: /* Things That Have Been Run */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]
* Leve: Sylph-Management

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Ul'dah===
* Of Zaibatsus and Syndicates

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* [[2679/Duty:_Sastasha_Seagrot|Sastasha Seagrot]]
* Duty: The Tam-Tara Deepcroft

2679/Duty: Sastasha Seagrot

2015-07-26T14:07:09Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/07/25 |Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR> |Synopsis=Adventurers clear the Sastasha Seagrot of pirates, and acquire a pirate ship. |Thanks= |Cast o..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/07/25
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Adventurers clear the Sastasha Seagrot of pirates, and acquire a pirate ship.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 626, 737, 742, 756, 789, 815, 819, 826
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:''' Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)! Duty: Sastasha Seagrot Location: Skull Valley, Western La Noscea Type: Dungeon Urgency: Medium Difficulty: Low Enclosed Message: Following the investigation in Skull Valley and the interrogation of the captured pirates, Baderon Tenfingers has delivered information regarding the Serpent Reavers to the Maelstrom's upper command. Scouting parties have determined that the pirates have fortified their location in the secret caverns under La Noscea, and the forces needed to clear them would make Limsa Lominsa too vulnerable to an opportunity strike by its enemies. The Maelstrom would have adventurers enter the Sastasha Seagrot in their stead and slay or capture this Captain Madison. While the strike wouldn't end the Serpent Reavers completely it would significantly reduce their threat. Adventurers will be joined by another party of adventurers led by one Avere Bravearm, who has volunteered to lead the strike against the Serpent Reavers. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     For newcomers: WELCOME TO EORZEA. Land of magic, adventure, and mostly some more adventure. Most of everything here feels magical and connected to the world in some fashion, especially inhabitants; can't throw a rock without hitting some source of magic, whether it's someone or just the grass.     Your destination today is one of the entrances of what the locals call the Sastasha Seagrot, a series of tunnels and underground streams that cover most of the region of La Noscea. Needless to say, having bandits and pirates use these tunnels for their work makes their job much easier, and local authorities' much harder.     The closest Warp Gate (and Aetheryte for that matter) are in Aleport, a fortified port village maybe half a mile to a mile south of this particular cave entrance. It's evening, and the sun is setting. You were supposed to meet the other group of adventurers here, but a Yellowjacket (local militia dressed in yellow) will have informed you they, uh, got impatient and ran ahead. They seemed underequipped, he notes, so if you could hurry it up, that'd be swell.     And thus we skip right to your destination. A large cave entrance in the hills and mountains, which would be easy to miss under most circumstances. About a dozen pirate bodies are scattered here and there, and it seems Avere Bravearm and his three companions have cleared a way in for you already. Though visibility is initially poor due to fading daylight, a few meters into the caves and it goes right back up. Large, glowing blue crystals and plant formations are located here and there, providing a nice view of the caverns. Paths of stone and platforms form a path deeper, following one of the streams of water.     You have been given a map, but scouts couldn't find the pirates' camps in the cave at all. They suspect it's hidden, so you'll have to do some searching.     ALWYN is with you, naturally, spear out and all.     AHEAD: Caves, water.     To the sides: Caves, water.     Back: Caves, no water.     A trail of dead wildlife (large crabs, stingrays, menacing jellyfish) does pave a sort of trail to follow at least. 

:'''{{#var:742|Dorotea Grahn (742)}} has posed:''' Some people can't just stay away from adventure. Dorotea hasn't gotten to spend much time in this world yet, but she loves adventure and exploring and that's why she's even affiliated with the Syndicate Network. And so perhaps it was no surprise that she volunteered for such a thing. Without even checking to see if anyone else she knew was coming, even! Sometimes you just have to cope with the hand you're dealt, and that includes coworkers. Dorotea fully understands getting impatient and running ahead. She's exactly the sort of person who would do that. She sort of /did/ in coming here with no preparation - though she takes the map, presumably to fix that. (She may even look at it at one point.) And so she went from Aleport to the Seagrot at a jog. It's not that far; she's gone further, certainly, at faster speeds. It gets her there fairly un-tired, at least. She slows down once she gets there because she half expects something to jump out and immediately tackle her. Nothing does, though possibly because all the wildlife has already been killed. "Huh," she says, scratching the back of her head, near one of the tails. She comments to one of the other temporary groupmembers, "I figured they'd be louder." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Well if you were looking for N'RAHA to shy away from this, you'd be dead wrong. He might be just as ill-equipped as those other adventurers who went in, but he's got heart, he's got spirit, and for those who have seen him recently...     There's a bit more steel in his spine at being with the rest of the offworlders who've been showing up.     The Miqo'te is in his best ratty brone armor, carrying a hefty axe over his shoulder and looking like he's ready to fight All The Pirates. At least his tail is swishing awful excitedly. He is looking at that map though. "Honestly, if it was me, I'd be looking for some sort of underground bay or lake or rails or something. You need either water or steel to move a decent amount of stuff around." He taps the haft of that axe against his armor and hmmmms. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Familiar with Eorzea now, Kyra traverses the Aetheryte with few issues. She'll likely wait a little bit to travel along with someone and she can keep up perfectly fine, opting for using her Chocobo summon matrix to get from Aleport to the mouth of the cave. Geared up as usual, it should be no surprise to anyone now to see that she's packing the alchemized CURE-ALL healing gun on her back. The front of her hoodie is already unzipped, her other weapons and mixtures easily accessible. There's also an empty-looking messenger bag with her.     Kyra also has a curving, fleshy horn growing from her forehead. It points up and peeks outside of her Moogle-eared hood.     "...hm. Should we split up? It might take less time but with fewer it'll be harder to take on the pirates." Kyra speaks up as she moves to the dead wildlife. She cuts pieces and parts off of them liberally, stuffing it into plastic baggies that are in turn put in her messenger bag. The white mage seems inclined to follow the trail of dead random encounters, if only so she can loot their corpses for alchemical materials. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Because he's getting a feeling that this Kyra who keeps showing up might want to do the honours of healing. Bertram has left his staff within his armoury chest. Instead, he has brought with him a dusty old time filled with arcane writings. "That doesn't sound good. We must needs make sure they don't get themselves in any more trouble." His advice said, he starts reading an incantation from the tome, and soon enough a large glowing cyan critter forms out of the aether. Like a living, crystal squirrel with three tails. "Ready to go in when you guys are." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     For a second time, Setsuko Kaminagi steps through the Aleport warp gate, and for a second time she finds herself worried about the quartet under the leadership of Avere Bravearm. Hearing that they've gone on ahead puts a scowl on her face, and without even waiting for most of the rest to alive, she's off at a swift run herself - bringing her to the entrance to the caverns rather quickly.     "Right now, what we're looking for is the adventurers," she responds to N'raha, walking past without skipping a beat. Already, her blade is coming out of its sheath. "I distrust the wisdom of that fool with a sword." She turns her head slightly to address Kyra, offering a simple, "If you do, be careful. They seem to have slain a fair few creatures, but there could still be more lurking. Or pirates lying in wait after all the commotion. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin really ought to get one one of those fancy horse birds he sees people riding all the time around these lands, considering how often he has to leave his bike behind and hike around these days to avoid damaging it. Then again, a Chocobo is a lot of responsibility and he's kind of a flake. He might also be holding out for the day his protaginatory ventures net him an airship or something.     Either way, he's here, and with a backpack across his back. It's looking sorta dirty and beatup by now, because he's been on a lot of crazy ventures by this point, but it's still in one piece and he is pretty amped to be on yet another adventure in Eorzea. The guy running these posts seemed pretty cool and it was one of the few times he felt pretty useful.     "Hey heeeeeeey, I've arrived," Shin declares to people present, waving around to everyone, even the slim number of people he hasn't met yet, "Shin Tokuyama, Combat Vagrant, is on the case once more in Eorzea. I'm ready to bust some pirates in the mouth." 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     Vivio Takamachi looks excited! It might have been the large sense of magic on this world. It might have been the charming port town she arrived in. It mostly definitely was probably the sight of Chocobos, which was accompanied by cute squeals of joy and requests of 'Can I ride one!?' and exclamations of 'I want to ride one!' But ultimately she's excited for the chance to fight some pirates!     So Vivio stands with the group in the entrance to the cave system. She holds the straps of her backpack as she wanders forward with the others, wondering out loud, "So do these pirates have a pirate ship too?" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     As combat vagrants, arcanists, white mages and assorted adventurers gather, Alwyn distributes LINKPEARLS of a shiny blue color, granting access to his Linkshell as long as it's on you. Handy! (+radio/init NAME=20132.0 and then use that +radio/key I pasted earlier in +ooc)     To Vivio's enthusiasm, Alwyn (with his tiny pet dragon on his shoulder) grins and answers: "There might be a larger section of the cave where they have a ship, or where it opens up to the ocean. They wouldn't be pirates without one, I'm sure we'll find it."     AHEAD, following the trail of dead bats, crabs, jellyfishes and... giant fish?, one can start hearing what sounds like bickering. Loud bickering, and occasional electric shocks.     "Will you QUIT touching that, Avere?" asks Paiyo Reiyo.     "Hahaha, but it's hilarious!" answers Liavinne.     "EDDA, STOP GAWKING AND HEAL ME!" shouts Avere.     "I-I'm exhausted, and we're out of potions and ethers..." stutters Edda.     "Well maybe if ye'd bloody pitched in to buy some too," retorts Avere.     "S-Sorryyyy..." comes Edda again.     The group crosses shallow water to reach a larger stone platform and a dead end. There are three large crystal structures, a BLUE, a GREEN and a RED. Avere is by the BLUE one, and touches it again as people arrive, receiving a shock for his trouble. (Avere is a man in leather and brass armor, Edda a young woman in beige-white robes with a pointy hat, Paiyo is a Lalafell in dark blue robes, and Liavinne is a woman in brown and green leathers, quiver on her back.)     "This bloody puzzle! I know the pirates be hidin' behind it!" argues Avere, while Liavinne is practically rolling on the ground laughing everytime Avere takes a shock. Paiyo is just kind of super frowning, and Edda seems to be shouldering all the blame. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "I KNOW HOW TO SOLVE THIS!"     Shin declares this as he walks up the group of other adventures and starts popping his knuckles, "Really, the answer was in front of you all along."     He proceeds to explain, dusting his hand off, "See, Red means stop. Blue means you're in violation of the red light and can get a ticket or something. But GREEN means go. So obviously, you pick the green one," He says in a 'You should have guessed this' tone.     And then he triumphantly puts his hand on the green orb with a big smile on his face. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' SARAH PARSLE is here and she's expecting everything to be terrible. Pursuant to this, she is wearing WATER WINGS and a LIFE JACKET. She already has her JENGA STACK out, working on trying to keep it balanced as she proceeds into the caves with the others through the area. "These guys are industrious, at least. Getting all the work done for us. Of course, they've probably taken all the loot too." Sarah comments. "Sword guy, in front. Combat vagrant, flank and murder anything sword guy doesn't instantly cut in half. Guy with the glowing rat, you're with me, I like the nightlight motif." Apaprently done grabbing party members, Sarah advances on the scout team. "Maybe if it hurts when you do it, you should STOP DOING IT." Sarah yells. "Anyway, hey look, it's an obtuse puzzle meant to keep out people who don't belong here, big surprise." She looks around. "Anyone see any clues? These pirates look dumb so they probably have an obvious clue as to which one is the right one. Or if you want to do it the other way, just poke a different one until we figure out which one works." 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     Vivio ooooohs quietly in antitipation of pirate ship. She's heard stories about pirate, seen shows about them on TV, but she's never actually met one... Not that she knows of.     Vivio continues further into the cave with the rest of the group. Following the trail of dead animals seems like it'll lead them somewhere... Though Vivio is a little sad at the sight of the dead creatures. Though she understands that animals in this world tend to be a little more aggressive than normal.     Upon hearing voices, Vivio goes on alert and tenses up a little bit... Pirates? As they get closer, Vivio blinks as the words become clearer. Not pirates? Vivio walks through the shallow water and stops at the edge of the platform. Those people don't look like pirates... So Vivio raises her hand to wave at them and says cheerfully, "Hello!"     Meanwhile, from one of the pouches of Vivio's backpack, a little plush bunny pokes its head out. It then climbs out and rises into the air. It looks around curiously for a moment, before sighting the RED crystal. It floats over to it, experimentally reaching its pointed plush arm out to touch the crystal. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Well, if you really wanted to get N'raha grumpy at people, this would be a good way to do it. They're looking for these people and they sure found them, bickering and fighting and yelling at each other.     The catman sighs, and looks over at Setsuko and the others before clonging his axe against the ground, the noise ringing in the depths.     "OY! What the hell's the matter with you lot? I..." And then there's an explosion of activity from the off-worlders and the Miqo'te settles in to watch a bit. They're the ones with the greater combat experience in here right now. All he's got to do, really, is keep between them and the danger, for the most part.     He does glare at Paiyo and the archer though, those green eyes narrowing a bit. "That's hardly a way to treat your conjurer, you know. They ain't just people what dispense Cure." That axe taps against the ground again, as he watches the rest of /his/ party fan out. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "My name is Bertram Silent, and the 'rat' is an Emerald Carbuncle." Bertram says with no rancour, just a gentle correction. The ... adventurers who went in before them, well... Bertram decides it's better to say nothing and let the others handle it. Instead, he starts casting a spell on Avere, who seems to need it. He channels his aether through the arcane inscriptions in his arcanima tome, creating a curative energy to flow into Avere. "Physick." 

:'''{{#var:742|Dorotea Grahn (742)}} has posed:''' Other people arriving get Dorotea to introduce herself, too, triggered by Shin doing just that. She thumps herself with a fist. "Dorotea Grahn!" she says, with good vigour. "I'm from Alexander Academy." Which may explain why she looks at Kyra with a little worry. It looks like she's going to go over and talk to her, in fact, but apparently decides not to, picking her way through the caves. But she still looks worried! She looks worried right up until the point that she sees the other group failing. Then she snickers. "Just push 'em all!" she suggests, looking from one to the other as she identifies each one in turn. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Shin! Great! You get up front again!" Kyra waves him ahead of her as she carves up some kind of giant stingray.     "Well they sure are making a lot of noise up there." Kyra says to Setsuko. "They're all going to alert the pirates for sure if this was the right cavern. THough it probably is-" Kyra finishes packing up a few scales and gestures at the crystals. "-that looks like a puzzle and puzzles usually mean you're on the right track in a dungeon or secret base. So he does have a point about pirates hiding behind it. As for solving it, hmmm..."     Kyra looks thoughtful. "Absent of any other clues, if I had to guess, maybe you touch them in the order of descending wavelengths of visible light for colors. That is, you would touch them in rainbow order: red-green-blue. But that's just a guess." She doesn't move to touch the crystals since Shin and Vivio are already touching them-Vivio in particular starting with the one she would have poked. "-though, hmmm..." she digs through her bag and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper, "...a lot of those pirates had this note on them about the captain liking his wine red after a grin. That's redd with two d's by the way. I don't know if that's significant or pirate literacy." 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' "Bertram, awesome, nice to meet you. I'm Sarah. Is that a carbuncle like a gem, because it sure doesn't look like a water parasite." She snorts at Kyra, however. "Spectrums? Seriously, it's pirates. They're probably too brain-rotted from grog to know what waveforms are, let along what order to do them in." 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Hey, their captain might be smart enough to think about it. Pirate captains are usually the smarter, charismatic, dashing ones, right?" Kyra chimes in cheerfully, putting the piece of paper away, "At least that's what they're like in romance books. Er. Not that I read them. But red before a grin. So...." 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' "/Red/, then /green/." Sarah supplies. "And you have NO idea how real pirates work, do you? It's not all Jack Sparrow and sexy men swinging on ropes. It's harsh, brutal, and evil." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko likely hears the sounds of the bickering group long before most of her own does; it prompts her to move more quickly, at least until she ascertains that they're not in any immediate danger. Then she relaxes, at least long enough for the group to reach the room with all the crystalline, coral-like things. Shin seems to have the puzzle-solving down pat. So she advances right alongside Sarah, towards the fool in the brass armor - but while she only yells at Avere briefly, Setsuko takes the time to walk right up close. Right into his personal space, in fact. And her voice is probably a fair bit more icy than those who know her are accustomed to. "I tolerated your beratement for your healer's perceived shortcomings. Barely. But if you verbally abuse her again over a situation that /you yourself/ caused, you and I are going to have an issue. /Are we clear?/"     She doesn't wait for an answer. She doesn't particularly care to hear it, nor can they afford it in the middle of a hostile area. She's more concerned with what seems to be some sort of puzzle, and how people are working on the solution. "Everyone, be on your guard. Even solving this properly may bring them down on our heads." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Shin touches the GREEN CRYSTAL(coral). It chimes.     Vivio's Device triggers the RED CRYSTAL(coral). It chimes.     Something clicks ahead.     "I was going to try that next!" Avere argues to Shin.     "She's right, you know," Paiyo says, in response to Sarah.     "S-Stop! Avere was just trying to help us progress..." Edda mutters.     "Man it's CREEPY how obsessed you are with him," Liavinne comments.     "It's called love!" Edda shouts at Liavinne.     "Stay out of this, cat!" Avere barks at N'raha.     He's healed by Bertram! He's too busy yelling to thank him.     "This is child's play! She should be able to keep me up," Avere grunts, evidently defying Setsuko in her stance. Edda interposes herself between Avere and Setsuko though, frowning.     "Leave him be! It's okay, it really is." she says.     Suddenly, the dead end of a cave wall rumbles and parts ways like a secret door. Unfortunately, a MASSIVE Coeurl (think giant leopard with supreme body-length monowhiskers) comes out of it. Chopper is its name, not that it's going to introduce itself.     The beast (eyeballing it, about eight foot tall and three times that length) immediatly leaps for SHIN and VIVIO, being the two closest to the secret door. Electricity is shooting out of its whiskers too! That's a bit more dangerous to everyone in general, while Shin and Vivio just have the claws and teeth to worry about.     The discord amidst Avere's company does mean the lot of them are shocked by the Coeurl's paralyzing blast and relegated to standing to the side. Are they arguing amongst themselves exclusively now? It mostly seems to be Avere yelling, Edda defending him, and the other two passing assorted comments. Oh well! 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     CUE THE MUSIC!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSSPqzuT_rI     Bother. Well this went sideways awfully fast. N'raha is about to start shouting at Avere again, before CHOPPER shows up. Right then. The Miqo'te snarls a challenge to the Coeurl, bellowing in anger as his axe flashes over in a massive red flare, and he brings it smashing down on top of the ELECTRO CAT with a sundering force meant to REALLY GET ITS ATTENTION.     And then he's yelling at the other party. "SHAKE IT OFF, YOU LOT AND GET TO YOUR FEET." 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Woo! Dadada da da da dun dun DUUUUUN!" Shin says, holding his arms up triumphantly as they accidentally open the doors! His triumphant little tune doesn't last too long before his hands come down and he dusts them off, walking away from the coral. His victory is short-lived, however, since a big cat monster is charging out of the newly opened door towards himself and that little girl, "LOOK OUT!"     Shin's first instinct is to put himself between the monster and Vivio, trying to take the brunt of its attack (though probably not all of it) as claws cut deep into his suit and open up some pretty big wounds on his chest, which stain his red suit a deep ruby from blood loss, "Ow! Damnit!" He's at least accidentally following the 'take front row' suggestions from Sarah and Kyra.     His follow-up is pretty simple, because he's a simple man with a simple dream. He curls his right hand into a fist. It glows with a red aura and then comes streaking down towards the throat of the Coeurl, trying to catch it right in the larynx and crush it with a martial arts strike. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "If you're going to hurt yourself over and over on purpose, you-" The demigod glances downward to Edda briefly, her expression softening at the conjurer's intervention-     A wave of electricity passes over the demigod's body, prompting a hiss of surprised pain. It doesn't even slow her down, however. Indeed, she's around in a heartbeat, charging in towards the massive coeurl at full speed. In a cave like this, the full-sized version of Zanjintou would be dangerous. So for now it remains small, a simple katana - more than enough, in her hands, to lay open the hide of a beast like this, especially when she darts past along its length so that she can take a long swing at its side. 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     Vivio blinks and looks around as she realises her Device has gone off to do its own thing. She spots it touching the crystal and says, "Chris! What are you doing?" Vivio runs over to grab the plush bunny but it's too late and there's a click... And some rumbling... Followed by the sounds of big footfalls.     Vivio slowly turns around, spotting the Coeurl. She ehehes quietly, then asks, "Nice kitty?" Vivio instinctively raises her arms as the Coeurl leaps towards her and Shin. Thankfully Shin takes the brunt of the assault, leaving Vivio with just some somewhat torn sleeves.     Looking again, Vivio sees Shin go for Coeurl's throat. Moving pretty darn quick, Vivio dashes around Shin and beneath the monstercat's large head. Irridescent light forms and surrounds her right hand, which she closes into a fist and launches an uppercut to the Coeurl's chin, striking in concert with Shin. There's a blast of magic light when said fist makes contact. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' "Look guys, you're all almost as crazy as my own adventuring team and that's a problem. Thankfully, it's not our job to fix it. I do like you though, you're actually smart." She points to Paiyo. "Make sure you don't die." They open the door! "What the crap, that's the reverse order." Sarah objects. "That's bull-" RAWR. "Oh crap, giant doom cat. Of course, some kind of massive guard... cat." She stays at range, since she's not stuck with melee DPS, smoothly withdrawing and hurling Jenga blocks at the cat. "Hit the cat hard, watch out for the lightning whiskers. Shin, tie them in a knot or short them or something." She suggests, horribly dangerously for Shin but hey, that's what he's getting paid for. 

:'''{{#var:742|Dorotea Grahn (742)}} has posed:''' "Ha, see? Easy puzzle," Dorotea says, with the attitude of someone who didn't even try to solve it because there are brainiacs on the team that aren't her. Dorotea starts to stride forward toward the wall even as it opens up. Unfortunately, this means she is right there when it /does/ open up and disgorges a couerl. She has a vague idea of what they are and throws herself dangerously to the side; she ends up slamming into some of the coral, so hopefully it's sturdy enough to take a teenager slamming into it. She springs back to her feet remarkably quickly. Dorotea focuses on the monster - monster. Couerl. Yeah, she can use this. "Hey, monster! Catface! Cat...whisker...thing!" Dorotea slams her hands together repeatedly; the gauntlets make a hell of a racket when she does it. "C'mon, over here! Yeah, nice and easy." She is edging around so that, if the couerl does face her, it's facing directly away from the paralyzed crew - the other side. "C'mon, do your zappy thing over here, c'mon, c'mon!" Blue mages, man. But to get its attention, Dorotea does more than just pound her gauntlets together. The air around her flickers blue, condensing into a series of diamonds, and Dorotea throws what looks like a pinecone at the monster. This is because it is a pinecone. Pinecones, however, do not normally explode in a spray of shrapnel pine-pieces as soon as they hit something. At least it smells good. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "Like the gem. There's another Carbuncle I can summon which is based on topaz." And then, challenge to experiment with new strategems. Right after the paralyzing blast, Bertram starts to walk right towards the Coeurl, his tome lighting up as the arcane designs are used to bring forth a sickening spell known as 'Bio.' The Carbuncle starts flinging gusts of wind at the beast, and Bertram closes his tome briefly to give it a firm 'thwack.' Right after, the time lights up once more as Bertram goes for even more magibiological weaponry in the form of Miasma. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "It's...not?" Kyra frowns, looking extremely disappointed. "No, I've never met any real pirates before. Unless software pirates count, heh heh."     Meanwhile, Kyra feels warm fuzzies inside as the rest of the group here chews out the other group for being jerks to their healer.     The other party continues to bicker and Kyra rubs her head. "Man, seriously, give it a rest." She waits, electing to lead up the rear of the group so she has a good idea of who's getting hurt and who isn't should they run into trouble. Good thing too because trouble quickly arrives. "Coeurl! Watch out for its Blaster! ...it can do that here, right?" Kyra starts casting, readying a Shellga spell with a quick mutter. She lifts a hand, directing at the party when the white glow turns purple. "-oh shit! Oh shit, get out of my way! MOVE!"     Abruptly, Kyra shoves her way up to the front of the party, even putting herself in range of the lightning and getting hurt to do so. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt her own party.     Again.     It would have happened to anyone still between her and the coeurl too by the time she gets up there. She thrusts her purple-glowing hand in front of her and unleashes what turns out to be a massive gravja spell, slightly reminiscent of their last encounter with Diabolos. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Shin intercepts Chopper! It's a big clawed dino-cat-thing, but it's not exactly on Shin's level. If he intentionally takes a hit, maybe, but one assumes he won't do that twice! The punch to the Coeurl's throat sends it reeling back.     N'raha's unable to distract the beast off Shin, but taking his axe to the beast's skull pierces halfway through its... for a lack of better term, chitin, or maybe that's scales? Either way, the axe puts a gash into the cat's head.     Setsuko darts past Chopper, cleaving into its side with her katana. Though she can't open it outright, the red streak is still indicative of a deep wound.     Vivio MAGIC UPPERCUTS the Coeurl, exhausting it rather than wounding it outright. It crashes back a few more feet, almost right back through the opening it surged out of.     Dorotea goads Chopper. This'll pay off momentarily.     Horrible magical sickness flows into the Coeurl courtesy of Bertram, weakening it. This may make Sarah's orders easier to carry out for Shin, since it seems to slow down!     And then Kyra SLAMS the beast with a gravity spell. It whimpers, loudly-- it seems very badly hurt. It considers retreating, before a voice speaks up behind it.     "Yarr, intruders!" yells Captain Madison, a man in black and red leathers with a captain's tricorn on, a sword and a shield. Oh, and a parrot.     "Intruders, introders, squaaack!" the parrot says.     "Ye'll never get me alive! Attack, ye survy dogs!"     From the secret door opening, a dozen large, feral black jackal-like dogs surge out, with red pirate bandanas around their necks. The beasts attack EVERYONE, no exceptions! Captain Madison stays back to watch.     Chopper, the Coeurl, turns its glare towards Dorotea now, despite its heavy injuries. Its whiskers spark, and it fires a deadly blast of magic straight towards her! That's worse than paralysis, that's Blaster! It can hurt like HELL. And paralyze. Or kill. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA snarls again as he catches the outside edge of that Gravja, feeling his axe being sucked into the well. He plants his feet but still gets dragged forward into it a bit. But he's not dumb. You gotta bend before breaking and he uses the motion to his advantage, or tries to.     Those green eyes narrow and he lets go of his hold, dancing forward and into the attack, which brings him into a shoulder tackle on CHOPPER< trying to interrupt that Blaster attack by belting the Coeurl in the face with his axe and then swinging to break something in one of its legs.     Oh wait, now there are dogs. N'raha knows this because one knocks him flat on his face, and starts trying to rip through his bronze armor with teeth and claws and biting. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' "That's near. Hope it works out with that." Just when you think they can just tank and spank this, Chopper prepares to nuke the hell out of Dorotea. "Someone tank that. That's going to blow her in half!" She calls out, moments bfore the parrot calls out. "Wait. Parrot." Sarah looks up. "Oh hell, it's the captain... And dogs. It's always dogs." Sarah hisses, and turns to try to run away, a Scurvy Dog snapping at her heels and back as she tries to desperately hurl Jenga blocks at it, running in circles and desperately trying to keep it balanced. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Injured though he may be, Shin has the presence of mind to go, "Dude yeah! Sick uppercut! Much props, yo. Ten pounds of TNT in a five pound bag. Dap that shit!" The martial artist extends a closed first towards Vivio, expecting a fist bump from the tiny girl as if she was another bro. He has a bright smile on his face as he watches her with that heterochromatic gaze of his.     Of course, he doesn't get to take too long to shower the girl with praises for her Belkan Punch style of Magic Kung Fu. Instead, the SCURVY DOGS are coming out. He cracks his knuckles as they close in and then dash-steps forward. There's a flare of Ki around him as he shouts, "Tetsuzakou!"     He collides shoulder-first into the side of one of the dogs. A blast of red energy erupts upon imact and tries to propel the dog into one of its friends, or outright into a wall with a pretty immense force. The specific dog that he tries to target is the one chasing Sarah Parsle.     "Yo! Radio Girl! Come over here and I'll run interference! You did hire me for that!" He shouts to her while she runs. 

:'''{{#var:742|Dorotea Grahn (742)}} has posed:''' Dorotea got Chopper's attention. "That's what I'm talking about!" she yells, banging her gauntlets again. "C'mon, kitty kitty monster. You guys get the dogs and the pirates, I'll handle this!" Not that Dorotea doesn't have a dog too. She kicks at it as it bites at her leg, then bends down, grabbing it. She flings it at Chopper, half to get it out of her way and half to see if cats and dogs really do fight in dungeon ecology (she can write an essay on that). It also frees her up so she can run toward Chopper. She's still trying to make sure the Couerl fires that electrical discharge at her - Wait, Dorotea thinks, blearily, halfway through her forward run. That's a /different/ electricity. The Blaster slams into Dorotea. She /tries/ to memorize it, to internalize that flow of energy, but she's not entirely sure she manages it; the energy literally picks her up and throws her back across the room, where she ends up sparking for a few moments. Yeah, she's probably paralyzed. But not completely, because she manages to stick one hand up well enough to give a thumbs-up. A really, really off-angled thumbs-up. She's still sparking. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Nobody else /seemed/ to be hurt by that at least, right? Kyra seems relieved that the effects were mostly directed to Chopper. She herself starts to retreat to the back of the groupd where she feels more comfortable when the captain appears. "-oh jeeze, you really aren't kidding, Sarah. This guy isn't dashing at all." Kyra draws her gun as she moves backwards and the pirate talks. It's a good thing she does, too, because a dog is lunging at her.     Kyra unloads her entire clip from the Galiandan-style handgun into the lunging beast. Killing it or not, the momentum is still there and it knocks her over onto the ground. With the beast on top of her, she quickly tries to scramble out from underneath the monster. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' "Let's try to use standard strategem seven forty eight." Bertram says as he gets clawed in the face by scurvy dogs and sucked into a gravja, even if only mildly. "Everyone hide behind the tough, sturdy combatant, in our case N'raha. Conjurers to keep him standing, and then everyone else optimizes offense for multiple adversaries." He sounds like he's quoting someone, it doesnt' feel like him at all. He starts casting Bio on each dog, smacking the Coeurl when he has the opportunity. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' When Shin yells to Sarah, she looks up and skids, banking as she executes a YOUTH ROLL, lunging past the Scurvy Dog in an attempt to keep it from pouncing on her. There is a long gash put into her side for her effort, but eith a yell of pain, she runs past Shin, hoping he can pick up the aggro. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko stops on the other side, bringing her blade back around in preparation for a second attack along Chopper the Coeurl's side. The captain's voice stalls her, however, and that's enough time for a jackal to close distance and sink teeth into her thighs. "Ghh-!" Her response is simple, and pragmatic; she whips her sword down, making a fast and precise cut with a blade that can carve through steel, right through the neck of the creature attempting to shred her leg off above the knee.     By that point, Chopper has turned itself away, putting it just out of reach. All Setsuko can do after taking a hard bite to her leg like that is bring Zanjinto around in a high diagonal swipe, unleashing an arc of impossibly sharp, blue-white divine energy towards the coeurl. 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     It's an impressive sight to see all the fighters here make their attacks against the large monstercat. At least until there's a sudden blast of gravity magic from out of nowhere. Who would have thought the Coeurl was capable of that!?     Vivio quickly jumps away from the monster to get clear of the Gravja spell. Landing again, she watches the Coeurl, hoping it'll give up soon. Her attention is briefly drawn by Shin, to which she grins and returns the fist bump!     Vivio spins around at the words from the pirate captain. Oh hey, an actual pirate! He even has the parrot! Vivio grins in anticipation, "About time you showed up!" The young girl reaches out to grab the plush bunny floating in the air beside her. Holding it up she calls, "Sacred Heart! Set up!"     Irridescent light flares into life around Vivio, mostly hiding her from view. The silhoutte of the girl inside begins to grow in size, filling out into the form of a young woman. The light vanishes with a flash and light burst of wind, leaving behind the older looking Vivio in her fancy Barrier Jacket outfit.     Banging her fists together in excitement, Vivio shifts into an attack stance and smirks towards Captain Madison, "You're mine!"     Vivio begins to charge forward at high speed, straight towards the scurvy dog that's likewise charging her. Just as they're about to meet, Vivio jumps. Her foot comes down on the head of the dog, likely knocking it into the ground as Vivio uses it for footing to jump higher into the air. Though it's probably a move that may come back to bite Vivio later as it's likely not enough to stop the dog.     Vivio arcs over, soaring towards Captain Madison as magic gathers around her fist. She begins, "Axel..." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Unfortunately, N'raha is too late to interrupt the Blaster! But not too late to belt the Coeurl in the face some more with his axe. The weapon digs in, drawing blood and an eye! It blinds the Coeurl on its left side.     Shin punches a dog into another dog! Namely, this protects Sarah and himself from scurvy dogs. They're called scurvy dogs because they actually have scurvy, by the way.     But also, pirate puns.     Kyra's handgun puts one of the poor dogs down.     Sickness flows out of Bertram into each of the dogs he can see and tag, his magic weaving poison into each one. Their health ticks away!     Setsuko's shockwave will manage to tag both dog and Coeurl; the dog is slain, while the Coeurl, now wounded to the point it can barely stands, has actually stopped its assaults completely.     Also: Dorotea may or may not have learned Blaster!     (Consent is certainly given.)     Vivio charges straight for Captain Madison. The man panics, taking a step back. "I said ye'll never catch me!" And then he BOLTS. He's actually pretty fast on his feet (like most Eorzeans, he has access to magic), but what probably helps more is the fact behind him were hidden half a dozen pirates, all archers, who raise their bows and fire a volley towards the magical girl! There's a fire arrow, a poison one, and the rest are laced with concussive water. These guys aren't exactly top-tier, though. But if all they need is to buy their captain half a minute, they might manage.     Chopper, the Coeurl, has ceased movement for now. It isn't dead, but it's whimpering and curled up in a corner. Some scurvy dogs remain, but nothing that can't be cleaned up quickly. Dorotea might need help if she's still disabled, on the other hand. 

:'''{{#var:742|Dorotea Grahn (742)}} has posed:''' Dorotea will figure out if she learned Blaster properly later, when she thinks to try it. Right now she's trying to get to her feet despite lingering disablement. Under ordinary circumstances she is pretty sure she could fight all the dogs coming after her and come back for more; right now she's sluggish and occasionally sparking. "C'mon, you - stupid dogs! Someone get the pirates!" She missed a lot of what happened (she is, for instance, definitely going to ask where Vivio went and who the new girl is later). Dorotea gets up, but one of those sparks arcs across her boots as she starts to move, and she nearly stumbles right back down. She forces herself to stay up via sheer stubbornness, and channeling power into another Blue Magic, she - - punches one of them right in the snoot. The Goblin Punch doesn't seem to have any special effect when leveled at them, but it stings and it makes an impressive blue flash when she does it. But, injured and debilitated, she really /could/ use the help... even if she'll never ask for it. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra rolls the dog body off of her with a considerable amount of effort to her white mage muscles. Wearily, she picks herself up, seemingly much less chipper now that she had to contend with a magical misfire. Silently, she switches her weapons, exchanging her handgun for her dartgun. From one of the bandoliers on her chest, she withdraws a dart with an orange liquid filling its glass resevoir.     "I'll handle the status cleanup. You guys run ahead and catch that guy! I'll catch up!" Kyra announces as she loads the dart into her dartgun. With little hesitation, she fires the Remedy-filled projectile at Dorotea to hopefully spare her of being a paralyzed sitting duck for a bunch of vicious dogs.     Another dart is immediately loaded, more of the remedy variety, and aimed and shot preemptively at Vivio. Should she actually get hit with the poisonous arrow. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     "GET. OFF. ME."     N'RAHA the Maurauder rolls a bit, kicking up at the dog which has its teeth locked around a piece of that bronze armor, until he can roll all the way around and kick the damn thing in the face.     And then treat it like a boulder, and we all know what sort of enmity that axement have for boulders, rocks and other such things.     His chopping overwith, he rolls his neck, feeling blood dripping down his back from where the dog got through that armor, and mostly from his tail which is now limp behind him. He'll feel that eventually.     The miq shuffles around to orient himself towards where the captain ran, and then runs forward. Bertram's Tactical Planning sinks in, and he's moving to cover Vivio who is no longer a little girl but again he'll have a better chance of processing all of this once he's not in the middle of battle lust. "PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SPEED, YOU SALTY ARSEHOLES."     Clearly, not directed at Vivo, as N'raha spins in place and launches a blast of aggravating energy at one of the archers. "COME ON THEN! LET'S SEE THE FIGHTIN' SPIRIT THE SAHAGIN PUT IN YOU." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "Vivio, fall back-!"     That's all Setsuko can do from here. The dog has released her thigh in death, but the captain and Vivio are too far away for her to do much. Most of the dogs are handled, but a couple remain, and the demigod chooses to focus her time on those. The nearest in fact, one that Dorotea isn't already dealing with. She pushes her body to the limit for just an instant, just long enough to cross the short distance with inhuman speed, and unleashes a simple, lethal upward slice at the remaining hound.     "I'm staying behind. Everyone else move on ahead when you can," she calls out. "...Except Avere's group."     Her blue eyes fall on the presumably-still-paralyzed Avere, and the look she gives him makes it clear that's not a request, but an order. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' Sarah gets saved from the sick canine assault! "Thanks Shin, you're the best conbat vagrant." Also the only combat vagrant she knows, but she's not sharing that for the moment. Everyone more or less agrees when the Captain bolts with incredible speed. "Okay people, move. Let's not give him enough time to prepare something." She points, trying to direct people forward. "Hit them hard, don't give them a chance to regroup." She orders. The catte is altready on the job, which pleases her too. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin will forever remember the day he fistbumped a 10 year old girl with some sick beats maneuvers. He will also utterly not recognize Vivio if she ever takes her older form, so that will lead to comic mishaps later on that are gonna be great. FORESHADOWING!     "Thanks! Trying to do what you asked me to!," He says to Sarah, spotting a sulking Kyra as the Adventure Lass starts directing people to go on after the fleeing coward pirate. He decides to take a minor detour while they travel, "Yo! Heal lady! My friend here needs a patch up and some of that good, good prescription-grade healin' you're dealin'!"     Kyra gets a punch in the shoulder upon arrival. Not a hard one, more of a tap to get her attention with a closed fist, because Shin can see she's sulking a bit, "Hey. You know. There was this Chinese philosopher, Zhuangzi, smart guy," Shin stretches a bit. Despite directing Kyra towards Sarah, he's pretty beat up himself, though seems somewhat unphased by the injuries for whatever reason. Ostensibly, adrenaline. Actually: ???.     "Anyway, not much of a thinker, myself, but that guy once said 'Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.'." He points at Kyra with a finger gun gesture, "Can't fight what's already happened. Roll with it instead of dwelling."     Otherwise, though, he's mostly content to follow after wherever Sarah deems fit to go. 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     Crap. Vivio's spell is cut short as she finds herself in need of defending. The magic dissipates as Vivio brings one hand around, knocking an arrow to the side. Then another with her other hand. The third arrow, one of the concussive water ones, strikes Vivio in a blast of water, more arrows flying into the mess.     Coming short of her intended landing point, Vivio lands in a crouch. There's a cut on her cheek and the girl struggles a little as she feels the poison beginning to pulse through her body... At least until something else strikes her. Vivio feels her strength returning thanks to Kyra's dart. She briefly calls out, "Thanks!"     Standing up again, Vivio calls out in response to Setsuko, "I'm fine!" Returning her attention to the Pirate Captain, she sees him booking it and leaving his men to fight. Wow, he's not much of a Captain...     As more arrows are unleashed, Vivio shifts her stance and pushes off with her feet. She speeds forwards towards the group of archers at high speed, literally ducking around the flurry of arrows aimed at her or any of her allies behind her. She quickly closes the distance to an archer, a fist coming around towards the side of the archer's head, a small blast of magic lighting up on impact.     Then in a flash, Vivio speeds towards another archer, leg coming around in a kick to the archer's side as she calls, "Revolver Spike!" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Goblin Punch takes a dog out! It really helps Bertram just went and spread awful poison to each of them, because they've not got much life left to them.     Kyra provides status effect cleanup!     N'raha pretends the dog is actually a boulder for a moment there and applies his axe to the beast. This works exactly as well as expected because seriously fuck boulders. With that done, he charges for the archers! They turn out not to be all that great at defending themselves up close, once the catte actually closes the distance, so he'll be at an advantage.     Vivio brings her fist to one of the archer's heads, knocking him out instantly. No injury! Just very unconscious. That leaves five (four if N'raha charges in), but let's be honest, these guys won't last. You may as well consider them already down.     On the other hand, Captain Madison has booked it.     YOUR OPTIONS: Stay behind with Avere's group and try to sort their shit out. Or pursue Madison into the depths of the Seagrot.     Those who pursue the captain pass through wood-reinforced tunnels and constructions, until they reach what looks like a hub. To your LEFT, the deckhands' quarters and The Hole, which looks like a prison. To your RIGHT, the rowers' quarters, the navigator's quarters and a large locked and barred gate. Ahead, the captain's quarters. In the middle, seats, counters, and drunk pirates. It seems this place is called the Dead Man's Drink. None of the pirates bother with the intruders, perhaps because they have alcohol.     Meanwhile, Avere grunts. "Well, here we bloody are now. Wasn't enough y'had to just show up 'n suddenly become the stars, now you gotta take our glory too. If you two'd just killed faster," he shoots a glare at Liavinne and Paiyo. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko stands to watch her allies retreat for several seconds, before turning around to regard Avere's group. Her first words are towards Edda - with a hint of gentleness to her tone, a certain degree of sympathy for the girl. "Edda. I know it's your instinct to stick up for him, to defend him, but he needs to speak for himself. I want to hear his own words and reasoning. This is important."     Next her gaze turns on Avere, and all emotion drains from her visage. Chilly and stern, she fixes him with a look for several seconds, before asking a simple question. "Avere Bravearm, do you care about the lives of your comrades?" 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Who has time to deal with pubbies who spend more time complaining about eachother's faults than getting the job done? Bertram doesn't, so he chases, ignoring the pirates as much as he can to find himself at a locked gate. "A barred passage. Should we use strategem four oh two: Acquire key or strategem three fourteen: Brute Force." He muses aloud, seemingly going over lessons that he has been taught. "What do you guys think?" The cute little emerald arcanima construct decides to sit on Bertram's head during this. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     "AVAST YOU ARSEHOLES." N'RAHA belts one of the archers in the gut.     "NEXT TIME PERHAPS-" He swings the flat of his axe into another's head.     "YOU OUGHT TO FIND A BETTER LINE OF WORK." This as he kicks another in the kneecaps and then brains him with the pommel of the axe. He will graciously leave one for Vivio, as he growls and stalks towards the bar. The Miqo'te's got a full head of steam now. He's full of aether and he's FEELIN' IT. Is this how these off-worlders feel all the time that they're fighting? Is this normal? This is new and exciting for the Miqo'te and he still hasn't noticed the blood or the fact that he can't feel most of his tail. The bits he can move thrash happily though.     Drunkard pirates. Amazing. This is their quarry now. Well. N'raha happily axes the nearest barrel of something, spilling it open loudly as he howls. "YER COUERL IS DEAD AND YER CAPTAIN'S TURNED TAIL AND FLED, BOYOS. I GOT FIFTEEN OF THE HARDEST ARSEHOLES I EVER MET AND THEY'RE ALL COMING TO KILL THE LOT OF YOU, IF YOU DON'T CLEAR OUT AND TELL US WHERE THE CAPTAIN WENT."     Let's give Bertram some cover. Or, you know, let the fighting go to your head, one of the two. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "At least that worked." Kyra mutters dejectedly as she loads up another shot, this time filled with hipotion. Before N'raha runs off, Kyra fires at the Miq. A few extra hipotion rounds are kept on hand just in case someone else needs healing of that kind. She, naturally, seems rather reluctant to use her own magic now. Additionally, she continues to linger behind the group, waiting through the cleanup as she replaces the empty clip of bullets in her handgun with a fresh one.     "Huh?" Kyra looks up, moving slightly after the punch, "Sure, of course, combat vagrant guy. Hold still for a moment, Sarah." She pulls out the needlegun again and shoots at her with it. There are no apologies for the unpleasantness of being darted. It's either that or crushing hell gravity today, apparently.     Shin offers some words of encouragement. Kyra tries to smile but comes up short. "I can't accept not being in control of my own magic like that." she says quietly, "It's too dangerous. If this keeps up, I won't be welcome on missions."     About to follow, she hears Avere start shouting at the rest of his party. Rather than follow, she whirls on him and jabs a finger into his chest aggressively. "Listen you ungrateful little shit, I don't know if you've noticed but this mission isn't being televised. And you're damn lucky I forgot to livestream this or else your crappy behavior would go /Multiversal/. The way I see it, you've got two options: this behavior towards us and your fellow party stops here and nobody else outside of this cave learns about it. Or you continue acting like a jerk and you'll suddenly discover you have a /very/ hard time getting help from anyone in the future."     She steps back, her arms crossed, "Now answer Setsuko's question." 

:'''{{#var:742|Dorotea Grahn (742)}} has posed:''' Dorotea Grahn gets bailed out. She isn't sure she's going to thank them for it, because she's the kind of girl who has enough pride to not /want/ the help, but perhaps she picks up on Kyra's current mood. Or maybe she just knows when she oughtn't push her luck. "...thanks," she says, kicking one of the dogs (it doesn't need to be kicked anymore). "Ha, we showed /them/." She's still pained, but this is Dorotea - she won't admit it and will keep on trucking just as long as she can. And at least she's moving more or less freely again. Self-confidence is something she has never lacked in. "Hey, Kyra!" she calls, just in time for Kyra to give Avere the third degree. Honestly, Dorotea agrees with most of what she's saying. "You were supposed to wait for us anyway! So you come with us, or - or I'm just going to leave you next time you get stuck behind a /puzzle/. I got that thing's attention so it wouldn't hunt the paralyzed! The last you could do is stop accusing us of stealing your glory. You practically left it all lying around." "Now c'mon, we can do this as a team or we can leave you here and just do it ourselves. Your choice!" Dorotea has her arms crossed. 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     Vivio takes a moment to recover after the fight. As she does so she glances back at the other group, particularly their apparent leader who is berating the others for no reason at all. She considers interupting, but Setsuko and Kyra to get it before she does... They seem like they can handle it. Vivio decides its better she back up the others.     Vivio makes her way into the so-called tavern and looks around at all the pirates. She grins in excitement of fighting them all... But then they all seem to be distracted by their alcohol. Vivio doesn't understand the attraction herself. But then she is only ten, even if she doesn't look it right now! Still, a battle avoided is probably a better thing.     Vivio ehehes as N'raha attempts to interupt the Pirates' fun, "You sure that's a good idea?" 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Edda uncomfortably stands back when told to.     She fidgets a lot. You can tell she's out of her element now.     Avere just shrugs at Setsuko. "'course I do. What's a bloody adventurer without a crew? Ain't my fault Liavinne drinks more than she nocks 'em arrows, and Edda couldn't cure th'cold."     As Kyra approaches him, he frowns, and Edda frowns even more, struggling with the urge to come to his defense. "We ain't ask for yer help. T'was supposed t'be OUR glory hour. We'd have been famous, 'n rich. The adventurers' that done saved La Noscea from th'Serpent Reavers. But 'course not, y'had to all come in."     Finally, it's Edda who answers Dorotea, unable to stay back any longer. "P-Please, he's just doing what he thinks is best for us."     Liavinne rolls her eyes.     Paiyo sighs. "Truth be told, we're likely too exhausted to pursue the captain now. You lot should go ahead, if you intend to finish this." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Bertram proposes brute strength to open the gates.     N'raha insults the drinking pirates.     Alwyn facepalms. (Yes he's totally still here, shut up.)     One particularily large pirate steps forward, a large keyring on his belt. "Wot, y'think you so tough? C'mere kitty, I'm gonna make a new fur coat!" Cue large pirate lifting a very, very large mace and trying to bring it down on N'raha, with surprising speed for a man his size and muscle mass. The other pirates cheer and watch on, as if this were entertainment rather than a threat to their lair. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Yeah well, it's easier to lean out from a punch than lean into it. You might learn to control it better if the prospect doesn't cause you to mood dump right after it happens," Shin comments as he sets down his backpack and sighs a bit. He starts to peel off the stained white shirt and suit coat, stripping to the waist with a bored manner about him. He's got a ton of scars, but even the coeurl claw marks are already starting to heal. They'll leave marks along with the bullet holes and some other wounds from his time in the Multiverse.     Averre's group intrigues him, though. Of course, Kyra and Setsuko are already already laying into the others. So Shin's wisdom is much more blunt, "You're all a buncha slapdicks. Like... seriously. I'm amazed you even made it into the dungeon, so there's that," He grins and then, still shirtless, snaps both fingers and gives the entire group a set of finger guns, "Luckily for you, I need practice at this evil minion gig."     He picks his backpack up off the ground and upends it. Apparently, at some point, he enchanted it to be holding. Because a ton of stuff falls out. Among them are: A dozen vibroblades, a ton of assault rifles, some laser guns, some laser gun cartridges, no less than 6 bags of Gil, two bags of dragon gold coins, about six thousand dollars split among 12 separate currencies, and a Garlean Gun Sword.     "You can't go fight ahead, cool. I'll be your dungeon boss. This pile of crap is your loot table. Team up, beat me, and it's yours. Gotta use that sweet, sweet teamwork, though." Lv. 20 Shin Tokuyama - Kung Fu Boss Fight Has Appeared 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "I don't want to hear excuses or blame-passing," Setsuko replies firmly to Avere. "Just your answers to my questions." She remains silent for a moment, turning to glance Kyra's way with a faint nod, and then to speak simply to Dorotea, "I'm not letting them leave until I've said my piece. The problem here is deeper than just bickering and childishness."     She reaches down to her belt, unclipping Zanjintou's sheath, so that she can plant it vertically on the stone and rest her hands on it. Her eyes fall on Edda once again, and while she's not as harsh as she's being with Avere, neither is her voice as soft as it was. "Edda. Avere is, unless I'm sorely mistaken, the leader of your group. That means that he bears the responsibility for giving you directions, and for what happens if the directions he gives are poor ones. I know you want to help him, but making constant excuses for him, trying to protect him from the consequences of his behavior, is doing the exact opposite. You're /hurting/ him. He's just going to keep making the same mistakes over and over, until those mistakes get one of you killed. Get /him/ killed. You need to let him face the truth of his behavior if you want what's best for him."     And now it's Avere's turn again. "And that /is/ the truth of your behavior, Avere. Every time you make an excuse, every time you blame a mistake on your archer's drunkenness or the limits of your healer's abilities, you're diverting responsibility for your own shortcomings." Quiet fervor begins to creep into her words. "As a leader, it is your /job/ to know the limits of those under your command. It is your /job/ to know when a task is too much for them. If you keep dragging them off into more than they can handle because your eyes are too clouded with 'glory' to see that you're pushing them beyond their limits, then the next time you hurl blame at Edda for her healing not being where you think it should be, you're going to be blaming a /GRAVESTONE!/ And then what will you do?!"     It's something even those close to her have almost never seen. Setsuko is angry. She is very nearly furious. She finally picks up Zanjintou again, clipping it to her belt, and continues after a second or two in a slightly calmer voice. "You won't find glory in a grave, Avere Bravearm. You won't find fame and happiness amidst the corpses of your comrades. So I want you to look right now at each of your allies - look at Paiyo Reiyo, look at Liavinne, look Edda /right in the eyes/ - and ask yourself if your glory is worth their lives."     Only now does she finally turn aside, out of the way, leaving their path to Shin clear. "If you continue acting like a child, Avere Bravearm, I will pick you up and carry you out of here myself, because this is no place for children. Lives are at risk. If you want to start behaving like an adult, if you want to start acting like a leader who is worth the respect of his subordinates, this is your chance. Show me you're capable."     She glances Shin's way, and says simply, "Don't go easy on them." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh shit that's a big dude. He's big even for a Roegadyn. That mace comes down and N'RAHA barely has time to bring his axe up in a cross block and... dammit, he hears the haft of his shoddy gear start to splinter. Not good not good at all. This poor old thing isn't going to take much more.     That said, he can hear more people going on in the background now, and it turns out those Fifteen Arseholes are not in fact coming to back him up. Right.     The miqo'te grins up at the Big Guy, and snarls. "I think it'd be a little small on your big fat head, scab." He ducks in and forward, and... Well, remember that he's wearing heavy armor, he's just about the right size for this, and it's a vital tactic one forgets about when they wade in like this.     There's a flutter ofmotion from the Miqo'te as she steps forward with a dash, and knees the pirate right in the nuts. With his plate mail on. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "...hmm." Kyra makes a thoughtful noise for a moment. "Well I certainly haven't thought of that before. Or of even...controlling it if I can't /stop/ it. I just wish it wouldn't..." briefly, she flashes back to that moment in that security shack. With the guard she tried to heal. A haunted look overcomes her face. "...hurt others."     She offers an unfired dart to Shin in case he wants to stick himself with it and full heal before his apparent boss fight.     "I'm going to go catch up with the others." she says as she pulls out her handgun again, "Since me talking with these guys doesn't seem to be helping either of us. Catch you in a bit." she murmurs as she runs off after the others off into the pirate tavern. 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     Vivio watches the large pirate stand up... Wow that's a big person. Even more so for Vivio, who even in her adult form is only about five foot two. Still, she does actually have a look of amusement on her face. Perhaps if this giant pirate gets beaten, the rest will be more cautious about opposing the group.     And if they still choose to be stupid, the probably brief match will give Vivio a moment to charge her magic.     Vivio watches N'raha block the blow and then cheers, "Go cat-person whos name I can't remember!" 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Bertram has a slight problem. Certainly, his arcanima are well-suited for combat, they're less good at destroying obstacles. So, he asks for help on the radio even as he utilizes a cross-class skill. In but a moment, the emerald carbuncle jumps up and dissipates into the aether, which is channeled through Bertram's grimoire into a new carbuncle. The topaz carbuncle may look identical in all but shade, but it is not. More aggressive looking, it takes up stance between Bertram and any pirates, ready to intercept anyone who tries to sneak up on him. At the same time, Bertram's limited carpentry skills are used to try to find a weak point in the gate. 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' Sarah gets needled by Kyra. She yelps from the surprise, but it's HEALING NEEDLES, so she deals with the poking. Healing is good, much better than what would probably be an infected dog bite or whatever. Sarah approves (+.25) Shin goes to flex and get muscular, while Sarah goes to back up Catte and Ratte. Hey, that's a good team name. She lets N'raha brawl whils Topaz Tanks, continuing to simply rack up JENGA COMBOs from her increasingly delicate-lookign stack of balsawood. "This is stupid," She says simply. "Keep focused. We can get this while everyone else seems intent to play relationship doctor. What the hell, people, that's not our jobs." She grumps. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Paiyo shakes his head at Shin (who is definitely not an Infernal Exalted called Yuri), the small Lalafell disagreeing with his challenge. "We are beat. Both Edda and I are exhausted and out of magic, Avere is still injured, and Liavinne..." he glances towards the Elezen woman.     She's drinking a bottle of pirate booze now.     "Well, it is as you see," Paiyo tells Shin (who is STILL not Yuri).     Avere just kind of grunts at the admission they're spent.     But it's true, it wouldn't be much of a challenge right now.     At Setsuko's words, Edda seems to panic. Is she hurting him? She's hurting him? No, that's wrong. That can't be right. But it's also completely right. She's not a very good Conjurer.     Avere takes it all with his usual level-headedness, that is to say he spits-- at Setsuko. "Don't you go'n tell me how t'do my job. Yeah, s'true I want t'be better. I want t'be like you folks, storming in, killin' everyone in your way like it ain't nothing. I don't need help for that."     Paiyo frowns. "This is most unproductive. We should go. You have a pirate captain to kill and a bounty to claim; we have wounds to lick, and an archer who needs water and rest."     Liavinne frowns. "Heeeeey, I'm not drunk yet, you know?"     Paiyo shakes his head. "But you will be by the time we get to town."     The Elezen grins. "W-Weeeeell that's true."     Edda shakes herself out of her shock to bow politely to everyone. "I'm sorry you had to see all this. Please don't worry, next time you see us we'll definitely be real adventurers too! I'll make sure of it!" 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "Then you're doomed to never find the glory you seek," Setsuko replies in a cool voice, opting to ignore Avere's... expectorant response. "Because all of us got where we are by first knowing our limits." She turns to give Shin something of an apologetic look - they don't seem to have taken him up on his offer, regrettably - but then stops to regard Edda for a moment. "...You have nothing to apologize for. But please. For his sake. Don't cover for his mistakes. Try to make him correct them, so that he can get better. So that he becomes a better leader. Otherwise, one of these days, he's going to get one of you killed. Including possibly himself."     Hopefully, 'covering for him might get him killed some day' will shock some sense into her.     But she has no more to say, so she turns, breaking into a jog with intent to catch up to the others. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Laaaame, but fine," Shin says as he reaches deep into his backpack, about up to the shoulder, and pulls out a fresh shirt and jacket. The shirt is slipped on and slowly buttoned up, "I was hoping to get some character acting in for my evil subordinate gig coming up, but fine. I guess if you're going to mutually agree, that works too," He grumbles, slipping the fresh jacket on over the coat and digging out a new tie.     "Still," He comments, starting to shove stuff back into the backpack, "Bruce Lee once said that to know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person," He sits down on the floor of the cave and starts sliding gear back into the backpack, "Think about that. You guys need to learn how you work with eachother or something like that, I guess. I dunno, I'm not here to lecture you or whatever," He murmurs as he rummages around in his backpack some more, sticking his head and shoulders into it to look around.     When he comes back out, he's got a big bottle of Pocari Sweat in his hands, which he unscrews and starts to drink from. He also unapologetically jabs himself in the thigh with the dart from Kyra as he hangs out drinking his sports drink, "I'm sure they'll get it eventually or whatever."     He might be internally sulking that he doesn't get to be a boss fight. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     N'raha knees a pirate in the crotch.     He crumbles onto the wooden floor like so much dead weight. The other pirates burst out in cheer, and a female Roegadyn even offers N'raha a drink. A Roegadyn-sized drink. Might want to turn that one down. Still, that is the sight anyone who runs to catch up with the forward group comes back to.     The GATE can now be opened with the keys dropped by the big, drunk asshole. Or you can blow it open by asking Vivio, that's still on the table.     SKIPPING TO: PAST THE GATE.     After unlocking, breaking or otherwise bypassing the large gate, the group comes across more caves and wooden structures, but ahead they can see that the cave opens up, completely; a massive opening, and indeed, a pirate's ship! The ocean! Water! Truly a real pirate lair now.     CAPTAIN MADISON, far ahead, bolts the moment he needs the gate breached or opened. Towards the wooden docks, towards his ship. And as he reaches it, something surges out of the water. A large Sahagin, about ten foot tall to the captain's six. The humanoid, fishy reptile man wields a large polearm-- and evidently, he and Madison have a disagreement, because he plunges it into the captain and then tosses his body aside.     Your problem may have just fixed itself, excepting the presence of a large Sahagin you now have to deal with when you reach him.     BACK AT AVERE & CO: Edda nods slowly to Setsuko. She seems completely uncertain and lacking in confidence, but she figures nodding so this stops and they can go home is the smartest thing to do right now. Paiyo gives a more respectful bow to Shin, and nods as well. "I've heard such wisdom but not phrased quite like that. If nothing else, consider it to have gotten to me." 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' Sarah, by now, has perched on N'raha's back like some kind of Jenga Turret. Also, it gives her some visual range. Once she spies the fishguy, she points, her bored almost-apathy becoming actual anger. "Hey! I KNEW WE WERE TAKING TOO LONG! THAT GUY JUST STOLE OUR KILL! Catman, beat the crap out of the fishguy!" 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     'Oh god why are you on my shoulders' would be N'RAHA's normal response, if not for the fact that he just floored a Reaver, hald haf a glass of ale, and was STILL FEELIN' IT. Sahagin or not, he's charging in. Though now he's got the Big Dude's Mace instead of his sadly broken axe. He'll get a proper maurauder weapon once he's out of this place.     With Sarah on his shoulders like that, she'll get the clear sound of him cracking his neck as he steps into the chamber, and helpfully kneels down to let Sarah off. "HELLO FISHMAN. We're here for the Seagrot and I guess you think the bloody place is yours. NOT ANY MORE." He SLAMS the mace into the dirt and scrapes it back up and around until it's on his shoulder. "COME ON, THEN!"     His open is much like the one for the Archers, because it works and dammit that's how he's trained. He lashes out, a bolt of energy slapping into the giant fishman, and he roars a challenge as he comes out swinging. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The sound of fighting up ahead, particularly what sounds like a rather drastic change in the enemy forces to judge by radio chatter, prompts Setsuko to go from 'jogging' to 'flying at full speed'. If she didn't have the reaction times she does, she'd probably break her neck on a cavern wall. As it stands, she skids to a stop right before the gate leading into the docks. That... is a very large fishman. And it looks rather angry as well. But as imposing as he looks, there's an upside to this, Setsuko realizes.     This is a wide-open space. Plenty of room for a twelve-foot blade.     The demigod takes a short hop to the fore, and her blade snaps out to its full size. "N'raha, help me flank-" And the catman is off. Well, at least he's enthusiastic. A few seconds later she's off at a run, vaulting right past Denn the Orcatoothed and then coming back around to pin the fishback between herself and N'raha. Around that tremendous blade of hers whips, coming in for one slash, a second, a third. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' The Maurauder is already on the Sahagin, so a quick combination of magical theories, and Bertram's Topaz Carbuncle makes way for the Emerald, who immediately starts flinging wind at the nasty Sahagin who interrupted this already unpleasant dungeon experience. Bertram flings magical biological poisonous junk at the boss while he gets into range to give the Sahagin a solid thwak with his grimoire. Then, he starts summing highly unpleasant Miasma. 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     "-BUSTER!" The gate is blown open by a large blast of magic and Vivio walks out of the dust. Oh wait, they had a key? ... Ah well.     As the tunnel opens into a wide cave, Vivio's eyes go wide at the sight of the awesome pirate ship. Now that's what she's talking about!     Things get a little less awesome though as Vivio sees the fishperson stab the Captain and proceed to throw away his body. Vivio's eyes go wide... What? Why? Why did it do that? What is it? Vivio turns to look at the others questioningly... But they're already launching there attacks against the fishperson. Vivio guesses she should do the same.     Vivio sweeps her hand out to the side, a triangular spell circle appearing on the ground beneath her. She starts, "Sonic Shooter..." Vivio isn't risking getting in close with that giant sword Setsuko is swinging. Several orbs of irridescent light appear in the air around her, the sound of energy humming growing in volume. Vivio finishes, "... Assault Shift!" The magic orbs burst, beams of energy streaking towards the Sahagin to explode on contact! 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra passes through to the others pretty quickly, thankfully ignored by boozing pirates long enough to get by. She can also tell none of the other pirates here are captains because NONE of them are dashing or smart-looking. Wisely she does not comment on this.     Kyra shows up just in time to see the Sahagin toss the now dead captain into the water. While the others move to engage, Kyra does two things:     First, she picks a dart off one of her bandoliers and hurls it at N'raha. The mixture inside of it imparts an effect roughly equivalent to a haste spell.     Second, she heads for the body of the pirate captain, very quick to loot the thing before something comes along and does it before them. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Well, if I reached one person, that'll be enough for me today," Shin says to Paiyo as he holds out the bottle of Pocari Sweat. If Paiyo takes a sip, it's basically a japanese sports drink that tastes lightly of electrolytes and is very delicious. It also exists in real life, look it up. Anyway, Shin takes the bottle back after a few moments.     There's a pregnant silence as he thinks. He finally has the group relatively to himself, so he can try to make his own statement while he stays behind. He moves to stand up and throw the backpack over his shoulder, "Look. I'm not gonna baby you, I'm not gonna be that hard either. I'll be direct about this."     He stares at the gathered party, "You're gonna, each and as a group too, eventually hit a point where shit hits the fan. Happens in everyone's life, and the speed of the fan and the viscosity of the shit varies from person to person."     Shin scratches his head slightly, "But if you're together, between the four of you, I'm sure someone can remember to bring some paper towels and an umbrella. Then it won't be so bad, yeah?"     He waves his hand, "Shit, I dunno. I don't really do heroic speeches. It's something I should work on, probably, since I'm not really a silent protagonist." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "OUTSHIDERSSSSSH!" Denn the Orcatoothed replies, because he is immediatly engaged. Then again, a Sahagin doesn't look very friendly to start with, so it was a pretty solid bet he was going to be hostile. "Firsht thish ushelessh captain deshecratesh our shpawning groundsh, and now he'sh allowed intrudersh into our lair! I will feed your shoul to the Lord of the Whorl myshelf!"     The bolt from N'raha slams into the Sahagin and he flinches, but he responses by slamming his polearm down, sending a shockwave of water for the catte.     Setsuko is met by the clang of steel against steel as the fishman's polearm crashes into her blade; for a brief moment it seems as though he will be able to match her strength, but then he bucks, and with a roar compensates by becoming wrapped in a bubble of water. Setsuko's blade crashes into it instead of the weapon now, shattering the bubble explosively. This is bad for her! And bad for Denn, because her blade cuts into his fishy flesh too.     Horrible poisons seep into Denn courtesy of Bertram, but he does not allow it to slow him down. Instead, the Sahagin points his polearm at the would-be Arcanist, and a lance of water guns out for him, while he still has his strength.     Vivio's exploding blast sends Denn off his feet, crashing into a wooden crate behind him. It seems full of coins and gold. As he rises to his feet, the polearm is pointed at the magical girl-- water forms around her, trying to trap her in a bubble! It'd be harder to break from the inside than the outside, if it works, demanding one of her allies help.     Kyra will find, on Captain Madison, an Aetheryte Crystal. It is attuned heavily to the element of water, and has the Sahagin's symbol engraved into it. It's half the size of a fist, at most. Otherwise he's got a nice quantity of gil on him, and a tricorn.     Sarah isn't ignored; she might notice there are holes in the wooden floor, where water has started bubbling. There's locks the metal grates that haven't been slipped into place, namely! Might be useful, because that looks like movement under the water. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Paiyo will take a sip, but just a sip. It's more likely that Liavinne, if Shin won't withhold it from her, will reach for the bottle and chug that down like it's soda.     "Perhaps that is true. In the end, each of us is here because we sought glory. Adventuring parties have one thing in common, and it is their temporary nature. Once we cannot cooperate any longer, our paths will split. It is unfortunately how most adventurers end their prime," Paiyo answers.     Avere just sort of makes an angry noise.     Edda and Liavinne both swoop over to him to calm him down. Oddly one might notice the two eye each other uncomfortably as well. Jealousy? Something like that.     "No matter, thank you for your words. I hope you and your friends find what you came here to. Perhaps the next call to arms will be our moment instead," Paiyo says. 

:'''{{#var:826|Bertram Silent (826)}} has posed:''' Blast! The water attack sends Bertram flying, and through a stroke of poor luck he lands against a rock and hits it. He's Knocked-Out, and bleeding. But, at least, he's still breathing. The Emerald carbuncle fires one more gust of wind before dissipating into the air, its supply of aether cut off. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'RAHA gets knocked off his feet by the rush of the water, which gives him enough time to duck under a sweep of that polearm, and get back to his feet. But then shit's kicking off all around him, and there's bubbles and katana and trapped magi and all of it and THIS BASTARD "ISN'T PAYING ATTENTION TO ME LOOK AT ME, DAMMIT." Yeah that all sorta started coming out after a few moments, as he snarls and dashes in again, aiming the end of the mace at the fishman's gut, coming around with it again in a wide arc aiming to crush its kidneys or whatever a Sahagin's got in the general area.     He calls out though, looking over his shoulder. "GET VIVIO OUT OF THERE BEFORE SHE DROWNS. AND WATCH THOSE GRATES."     And then Bertram's down. "KYRA, GET HIM UP OR GET HIM SAFE, WE NEED YOUR HEALING." 

:'''{{#var:789|Sarah Parsle (789)}} has posed:''' N'raha has driven her closer and now it's time to make use of the one time she can measurably contribute to the things an adventuring group does: Kill things. As she prepares her assault, however, she notices the bubbling behind them. There is only one solution for this. "Dammit. Of COURSE he has reinforcements! Someone, go lock those grates on the far side or we're going to get a bunch of friends! I'll get these!" She turns, leaping from N'raha's back and scurrying over to the grate, fiddling with the lock to jam it closed. Once she's done that side, she runs to the other one she didn't tell someone to deal with. And then Bertram goes down! "Crap. This is going horribly." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko takes a bursting water bubble to the... well, not so much 'face' as 'entire front'. But it slams her hard, knocking her back a good several steps. She drops into a cautious ready stance, and is about to go back on the attack when Bertram takes a hard hit. "I'll cover him!" Setsuko's ability to fly is incredibly useful at times - like needing to reposition to cover a downed ally. She lifts off the ground without a second thought, going high over Denn and taking the chance to slash downward at him on the way by. Her intended path puts her on the ground right between Bertram and the sahagin warrior, standing guarded and ready. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Or," Shin says pretty respectully, looking around the group as his drink is hoisted by Liavinne and drank all at once, "And I'm just throwing it out here," He notes with a gentle smile on his face as he looks between them.     "You could use being adventurers as a spring board to something more," He explains, putting his hands in his pockets, "I find it impossible you guys can dislike eachother this much," He notes, looking at them all.     "Have you tried to bond? Tried to become friends first?" He inquires as his rocks on his feet, "I met my best friend because I liked doing stuff like this. But if you don't bond more than 'We all want glory', of course you're not gonna succeed."     He shoots em fingerguns, "Sit down at a table. Talk about your hopes, your dreams, your hobbies. Become friends. Might save your lives one day," He gves a thumbs up. 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     Vivio was charging up for another volley of beams when water begins to surround her. Before she can realise what's happening, she's suddenly engulfed inside the bubble. She holds her breath as she bangs on the inside of the bubble a few times... It doesn't seem to be working. This could be a problem!     Vivio closes her eyes, keeping herself calm as she begins channeling mana to her hand. If she plans to get out of this, she'll need something a little stronger! 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra is merrily looting away when probably the worst possibly thing happens right now: they lose their other healer. "Wait-what!?" Kyra hadn't been paying too much attention at the moment, having been pawing around Madison's body in search of loot (and honestly clues as to why this is suddenly happening). She didn't see what took Bertram down specifically and technically she doesn't really need to.     Kyra makes a face of dismay and murmurs somehing quickly. It's a lot more elaborate and complicated-looking than a simple cure spell it turns out:     "Life!" she calls out with a final word, directing the restorative magic to Bertram. Shortly afterwards, she reaches onto her back and pulls out the CURE-ALL. It's fortunately already set to restoration over remedy so that makes her so much more faster as she uses the weapon to follow up with more traditional healing. Though Life was good at restoring from unconsciousness, it didn't really do all that much to help wounds that were left before it happens. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Between Setsuko and N'raha's continued blows-- to the gut, and then nasty cuts-- and Bertram's lingering diseases and poisons, Denn the Orcatoothed eventually falls. Battered, broken, poisoned, the last of his life slips away.     The steel grates, after being locked, bang loudly as Sahagin attempt to pass through, and fail. Eventually they catch on that their leader is down, and withdraw. Healing from Kyra is no doubt appreciated at this point, although it does seem like the figting is over for now.     The PIRATE SHIP is yours. It does not have a name. It is a fairly generic wooden Final Fantasy boat, although with pirate aesthetics. It doesn't seem to have been stolen from Limsa Lominsa, lacking any such markings; and for that matter, you weren't told of a stolen boat either. Finders keepers, right?     Onboard, a number of fancy magically-charged weapons and clothing sets can be found. Loot stockpiled from adventurers killed, no doubt; simple weapons, reinforced clothes, stacks of gil and backpacks full of assorted qualify of life belongings. Something definitely lingers on all that equipment; it would be incorrect to call it haunted, it's more like... the leftover experience and magical residue from their prior owners?     Mostly it just serves to make the gear a bit better than what you could buy from a store.     To Shin, Avere replies: "Don't have time for that. Got adventures to go on. Ain't no adventurer ever become famous by sittin' an' talkin'. Gotta go out an' kill stuff fer the right people. S'all there is to our job."     Edda and Liavinne pass on commenting, but Paiyo just sort of frowns. "It would be much nicer to find a just middle, but perhaps I can convince him in time." 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "You're right. Adventurers become famous by succeeding," Shin comments as his foot hooks behind him and he taps his toe on the ground awkwardly, looking to Avere. He sighs a bit, looking to Edda and Liavinne. Paiyo gets his point, he's sure the other two at least understand, but this guy seems hard. Like a more stubborn version of himself.     "The story of an adventurer who dies prematurely is a tragedy. It leaves a scar on the story of everyone he associates with," He scowls a bit, "You try to play it hard, but think about that. You die, how does it affect everyone around you? You can take one step now to bond with you team, or you can take a six foot plunge under the ground," He crosses his arms.     "Your story, the one people tell about you? It should be something people shout and cheer over, with beers and shit. Not a tragedy men tell while drunk and need a sobering thought," He concludes, picking up his backpack and walking towards the exit. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Loot? Setsuko does not need your silly newbie loot.     Although she does stare briefly at the ship, quietly pondering something. More concerning, however, is Bertram's health, and she'll make sure that's seen to before she does any kind of exploring, or leaving. She does, however, intend to explore. To clear out any other lingering pirates, and ensure the Sastasha Seagrot is no longer hospitable for the Serpent Reavers. After that, she will be leaving. 

:'''{{#var:737|Vivio Takamachi (737)}} has posed:'''     Vivio says something in her bubble of water, pulling her arm back. She then swings and with a large blast of magic the bubble explodes into a cloud of water and steam.     Dropping to the ground, Vivio takes a few deep breaths before standing again. She looks around for the fishperson that killed the Captain... Only to see that it has already been defeated. Well...     Vivio walks up to the others, squeezing the water out of her long ponytail. She looks around at the group and starts, "So," She looks at the pirate ship, "what do we do with that?" 

}}

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-23T03:41:39Z

Lightmage: /* Gridania */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* [[2667/Leve:_We_Come_In_Peace|Leve: We Come In Peace]]

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* Sastasha Seagrot

2667/Leve: We Come In Peace

2015-07-23T03:41:04Z

Lightmage:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/07/22
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Adventurers meet the Seedseers of Gridania and discuss assorted matters. Also Alwyn sucks at spelling their names consistently and correctly.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 627, 747, 815, 819
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:''' Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)! Leve: We Come In Peace Location: Gridania Type: Meeting Urgency: High Difficulty: None Enclosed Message: The Elder Seedseer of Gridania would meet those adventurers and assorted heroes willing to assist with the issue posed by the imminent return of Ramuh, the Lord of Levin. She would discuss options with you, as well as diplomacy, and by the same token answer any questions you may have, not just on this matter but on Eorzea itself. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji Murasame is present. Establishing communications routes with the leadership of a member of the Eorzean Alliance is quite useful for someone like him, even if he already has plans to get his fingers into Uldah. He waits patiently beside Nophica's Altar in Old Gridania, looking about at the lush landscape, general pastoral serenity, and most importantly... The absolute boatload of conjurors present. He adjusts his glasses, folding his arms as he waits for a signal that the Seedseer is prepared to receive guests. He doesn't seem particularly talkative, but then, he has little to say at the moment. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     If you had ever told N'raha he would be meeing the Seedseer in person... maybe last month, even last week, he'd have laughed and asked you to pull his tail again. Maybe this time it would take.     That said, the young miq is now here in his finest armor, still looking slightly dingy despite the shine he's put to it this morning. Hat's off too, letting his roughly brushed hair slick back along his ears. That tail swishes in a rather distracted manner as he waits for that time to come forward. Goodness. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Welcome to Gridania, the city in the forest.     A Warp Gate is located by the main Aetheryte Crystal of the city, its blue light currently feeble compared to the bright light of day. A city built amongst rocky hills and trees, it feels very connected to its surrounding nature, wooden buildings built simply but standing firm, while a river cuts through the city.     TL;DR: http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130623115955/finalfantasy/images/thumb/0/08/New_Gridania_Aetheryte_Plaza.jpg/1024px-New_Gridania_Aetheryte_Plaza.jpg     You've been invited, specifically, to the Lotus Stand, where you will be meeting the three primary Seedseers. Taking you there will be a small escort of two men, one Elezen and one-- Garlean, judging by the white dot/third eye on his forehead?-- from the main Aetheryte. Located in the back of the city, the Lotus Stand is a tranquil clearing at the base of a slow, calming waterfall, platforms of stone shaped like lilypads present in the middle of the water. Onto the central one, a large table and three chairs.     TL;DR: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eFiH-DMG3JU/VFCFLReTMtI/AAAAAAAADVc/n6R5xXTk5IU/s1600/ffxiv_10282014_225639.png     After a moment's wait, the three Seedseers arrive from the opposite direction; Kan-E-Senna, the oldest of the three, is a blonde woman dressed in white with a white staff. The other two, Raya-O-Senna and A-Ruhn-Senna, are a few years younger, a boy and a girl with red hair. They are all dressed in a variety of whites, though the two 'twins' also mainline red (Raya) and green (A-Ruhn). They all have white horns sprouting out of their hair, looking like very fancy head ornaments.     TL;DR: http://img01.3dmgame.com/uploads/allimg/130730/153_130730152017_1.jpg     Kan-E-Senna will be the one to address what few adventurers came (Alwyn is here, chatting up one of the royal guards to the side) first. "Welcome to the Lotus Stand, Gridania's seat of power. I'm glad a few of you were able to make it to address our concerns and help form a plan." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh shit, right, bowing.     N'raha does that too, though in a thoroughly uncultured not-quite-right Ul'dan bowing. "Ah, N'raha, ma'am. Adventurer's Guild." The voice is strong and firm, much firmer than his manner would suggest right now. He doesn't belong here. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' All too soon Souji stands in the Lotus Stand. He looks like he could belong here, perhaps... If there were perhaps some other affectations to the incredibly natural surroundings. Souji steps along the stones and gives a deep bow to the Seedseers. "It is a pleasure to meet yoo all. I am Souji Murasame ,of the Murasame Zaibatsu. We have many interests in the progress of the Eorzean Alliance and would see them flourish." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     More than simply wishing to offer her assistance, one of those attending the meeting with Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna is here because she feels an obligation. It is, after all, her fault that the tempered Sylphs of the Sylphlands feel the need to summon their Lord of Levin to protect themselves. Her exercise of power was performed in ignorance of the world's political and metaphysical situation, and as a result, Setsuko Kaminagi has caused this city problems.     It's only right that she helps to mitigate them.     And Gridania is a city worth protecting. Natural and beautiful, filled with life and energy. The demigod cannot help but feel a certain sense of calm... and, for the first time, perhaps a hint of discomfort at her own presence. The way her inherent aura of 'significance' keeps drawing eyes, especially of Conjurers, leaves her feeling a touch out of place. But allowing herself to dwell on it will solve nothing; arriving at the Lotus Strand means getting down to business.     It doesn't mean discarding manners, however. This is no less than the leader of a city-state. Already bucking her usual trend by arriving in a pure white, far more formal outfit than she's usually seen in, Setsuko further steps out of her usual behavior by dropping herself to one knee and lowering her head deferentially. "Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna, it's an honor. Major Setsuko Kaminagi, Union Armed Forces. I bear responsibility for the situation at hand - it's only right that I lend my aid to its solution. I'm thankful that you were willing to reach out."     Only then does she rise to her feet again. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Please, rise," Kan-E-Senna asks.     A-Ruhn-Senna snorts impolitely, evidently at N'raha.     Raya-O-Senna tugs onto one of his horns. "Brother, be polite."     "The Sylphs have told me that those Tempered by Ramuh had been stirring for a while. That you were what made them go from plan to action should not be held against you, bearing in mind it was a matter of time in the first place. Perhaps it is providence we must deal with this matter before the Garleans become active again, rather than at the same time."     N'raha gets a shorter: "And any adventurer brave enough to assist in the matter of Primals is welcome in my company. Most would avoid it."     Souji gets a curious glance, as Kan-E-Senna motions towards the chairs. "Please, sit. You are our guests today. I'm afraid the Eorzean Alliance isn't as strong as it used to be; before long I must personally see to reestablishing our strong bonds again. Pray forgive my ignorance, but won't you explain this 'Murasame Zaibatsu' to us?"     Raya-O-Senna chimes in with, "We don't leave the forest very often, and the amount of news that has been pouring in from the Adventurers' Guild link to the Syndicate Network is pretty overwhelming." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Those kind words from Kan-E-Senna give N'raha at least some comfort as he does take a seat and dusts at his armor needlessly. He's going to be self-concious the whole time here, deal with it.     "Well, it's not as if... I could ignore it, right? What sort of hero would I be if I did?" He blinks, and thinks a moment. Yep, those words did just come out of his mouth in front of the leader of Gridania. Good. A start. "And Miss Kaminagi shouldn't feel... too bad about it, really. That was really a lot of the off-worlder's first time to the Shroud... or really Eorzea. They wouldn't have known that would have been a problem."     The Miq looks at the twins behind the Seedseer and frowns a bit. "But I'm pretty sure they're all trying to help, at least." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "We wouldn't judge a hero harshly for running from a Primal," Raya-O-Senna answers N'raha, although A-Ruhn-Senna gives a sort of dismissive snort again.     "I absolutely would," he says, before he gets tugged aside again by his sister. The two have a mild argument off to the side, before returning. "My apologies. What I meant to say was 'foolhardy the hero who does not know his limits'."     Raya-O-Senna still glares at him funny but it'll do. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko gives both Kan-E-Senna and N'raha a small, grateful nod, before moving to take her seat. "Nevertheless, my blade and my word are yours until there is a resolution to this situation, one way or the other." She is careful to tilt her sword so that it doesn't interfere with her seated position, and laces her fingers together on the tabletop for a moment or two before proceeding. "Is there any means by which this might be resolved peacefully? We joined the Scions of the Seventh Dawn on a venture into Sylph territory recently, but they seemed... uninterested in parley. Particularly with me present." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji sits when bid to do so, and nods. "The Zaibatsu is a collection of mercantile companies who all work together under the control of our Family. It bears some resemblance to what I have heard of the Syndicate of Uldah. Murasame is the name of my family, and I bear the name proudly." He smiles faintly. "I have had some experience with the Garleans. Their behavior has assured me that they are not the way forward for Eorzea." He folds his hands. "I am also very curious about the situation that has arisen in the Shroud. The actions of a few appears to threaten events in the Shroud." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     'Know your limits'. If only N'raha could figure that one out. His luck had held out so far, for sure. But...     The talk of the Scions gets N'raha's ears to perk up. "We also work with Master Silent, who's with the Scions. He's been a big help too. Though... yeah, the Tempered Sylphs really didn't like us even being there. The Garleans in the woods didn't help either. Too many bad memories for them, I suppose, to pick most of us out."     He does look over at Souji. "Thing is, the Forest, the Shroud, has a Long Memory and the place is still healing. The forest is mad, and stuff is mad and it's really not helping to have the Empire skulking about." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "It is unlikely we can convince the touched Sylphs that we mean no harm, but the Lord of Levin himself is said to be wise and protective. If nothing else, we must hope we can appeal to his judgment. Failing that, we will need to defeat him, a grim but necessary second plan." Kan-E-Senna answers Setsuko.     Raya-O-Senna steps forward, adding: "I think we might have found a solution for that. My brother and I investigated the Sylphs, those still siding with Gridania. Their elder has gone missing, and they are wanting for a show of good faith from us. I believe that you could be sent as envoys to Little Solace, and convince the Sylphs to side with you against their Lord. Such a token would surely help sway Ramuh's fury in your favor, to see some of his children at peace with us."     A-Ruhn-Senna completes, "Those untouched by the Lord of Levin refuse to summon him. They value their alliance with us and the elements over the benefits of having their Primal out. It shouldn't be hard to convince them by... doing assorted tasks." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     To Souji, Kan-E-Senna nods. "That does indeed sound like Ul'dah's leadership. To be perfectly honest, I never understood it, and so I don't judge it." A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "Anymore." Both Kan-E-Senna and Raya-O-Senna give him the mean older sister glare this time.     "Nonetheless you are correct. While not all Garleans are evil," she motions towards one of her royal guards, the one with the third eye on his forehead, "Most are misguided and misinformed on Eorzea. Savages and barbarians, they call us, in fear of our magic. I cannot fault them, given what we have done with it in the past."     A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "Speaking of, I must thank you for your journey into the Lost City. The knowledge we will gleam from it will be invaluable, though the elements have expressed discomfort at our looking into it. It would seem they were the ones to hide the city from us, but now that it has been found, would have us be careful instead." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "The elements can be a little bit scornful and unreasonable at times," Raya-O-Senna answers N'raha, shaking her head slowly. "The Calamity has clouded their judgment and vision. Poachers roam the forest, the Garleans slowly take steps in, and corruption lingers, harming the elements directly. Bertram Silent is one of our best hopes into calming the elements and purging their corruption. It is very rare the elements will welcome Ala Mhigans, but he's blended in perfectly." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet arrives just a little bit late due to unavoidable circumstances, but fashionably so. If Eorzeans don't have a concept of "fashionably late" then she'll just have to teach it to them.     That said, she is anything but disrespectful, despite Gridania's thoroughly rustic charms. A certain method of information gathering she had circulated through the region on her first mission here is enough for her to know of the city-state's economic and political relevance and general reputation. It also doesn't take a genius to figure out a Seedseer's general position of authority within the heirarchy. She greets the three with a very refined, deliberately culture non-specific bow as seems to have been indicated to be the practise before introducing herself properly shortly after.     "It's a rare case that any one group of people can really be called wholeheartedly evil. Regardless, it doesn't seem as if that demonization is going to leave cultural memory any time soon, and so we'll have to bear it in mind either way while going forward. I think we probably already agree that facing off against a Primal, this Lord of the Levin, would be a last resort at best. That said, doesn't there seem to be a possibility that the Slyph's elder may have been taken by the Tempered? Suppose it were a deliberate ploy to have us provoke them in the process of recovering him or her, do you believe it would be worth it?" It's mostly busytalk while she stealthily assesses the Seedseers. She wants to know whether they're purely political figures or equivalently powerful mages. It won't change how she addresses them (much), but it'll certainly change how she thinks of them. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Hmm. So Ramuh is considered a wise being. Perhaps he will be willing to listen if she, the reason they finally chose to summon him, speaks with him directly. Moreover, there is a chance for her to demonstrate to un-tempered Sylphs that their purple-leafed bretheren are mistaken about humans and humanlike people. Ordinarily, she isn't very inclined towards politicking and diplomacy, but in this particular case... "I'll have to see what I can do for Little Solace, then. If we can sway the Lord of Levin, that would be preferable for all involved. If not... I am a soldier. I will fight whatever battles I must."     There is a pause in which the demigod listens to Raya speaking on the topic of the Elementals, and then she adds, "Ah... another thing I should offer apology for. When I first set foot in the Black Shroud, I sensed these 'Elementals', and offered them apology and explanation for my presence. They haven't seemed to take issue with me, but if they've been more difficult as a result of my presence, you have my sincere apologies." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Indeed. Social stigma is difficult to erase," Kan-E-Senna answers, as Scarlet finally joins them. She would motion for her to seat herself, but the table only has three chairs. An oversight, but on the other hand, the Lotus Stand is only rarely used for large gatherings anymore.     "While we don't doubt in our ability to overpower the Lord of Levin, if at great cost, we would very much enjoy peace with the Sylphs, and their Tempered cousins as well. If we could but convince Ramuh to order his children to be at peace with us, we would stand that much stronger for it."     On the matter of the ploy, it's Raya-O-Senna who answers. "That's possible. They don't have any solid leads yet, but they've suspected a number of their disappearances lately were linked to the Tempered ones. It's possible they mean to have them Tempered as well. If that's the case, then speed and haste will be needed in our search." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha looks up at Miss Everille steps into the conversation as well, waving a little bit. It's that nice-ish lady from the Deepcrofts!     That said, Setsuko also gets a murmur. "It could be worse. Ifrit and Titan are conquerers and lead their tribes on... well. That's never any good. Ramuh is less... well. I don't think he's gone crazy and tried takin' stuff over. I know the Brass Blades and the Immortal Flames have their hands full with the desert when the Kobolds and Amalj'aa start getting antsy and angry."     He rubs at his nose and looks to Kan-E-Senna. "Who should we be looking for at Little Solace? Who's in charge withthe Elder gone... or is that one of the problems?" 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "So you would have us liason with the as of yet uncontaminated Sylphs in hopes that we can still broker some form of... de-escalation of temsions before they go out of control." Souji states. "This is a reasonable course of action." We'll see how reasonable he sees it when they go meet the Sylphs. "In the meantime, I and the rest of the members of my organization are pleased to be of service to Gridania." He nods to N'raha. "We'll simply have to work with what we have. It's all we can do, correct? We have insufficient information on the ground to make definitive plans. We do not know if Ramuh has truly been summoned, nor the last known state of the Elder of the Sylphs. We will need to determine these facts before we can truly examine our chances of de-escalating this situation." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Raya-O-Senna glances towards Setsuko, offering a sort of shrug. "It's hard to tell what upsets them these days. Sometimes, the sun rising at all angers them. An adventurer steps on a moth or flower by accident and an elemental quakes in fury. They fight amongst themselves, and those of them that have been corrupt border on the uncontrollable."     A-Ruhn-Senna summarizes it as, "It's kind of a coin flip."     Kan-E-Senna says nonetheless, "That you sensed them and offered that upfront may have calmed them rather than angered them, as well. The elements have never had much faith in outsiders, but gave us their blessings years ago to open the Shroud's borders. Since then adventurers and heroes have been proving them right and wrong both. Seeing more people prove them wrong helps our cause, in the end."     Rare the times she'd say she's glad people are proving the elements wrong, but that's one subject she'll be glad if people do. 'Outsiders are awful and mean us harm'. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "That would be Komuxio, a delightful little Sylph, that one," Raya-O-Senna answers N'raha, though A-Ruhn-Senna immediatly adds: "Not sure we can really talk of leadership though. They seem disorganized and confused right now."     Kan-E-Senna adds, to the catte's first remark: "We had not seen Ramuh manifested in a long time. We only have the legends to go by; pray they are correct." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     "Out of curiosity, when was the last time anyone met Ramuh? Anyone besides a Sylph, that is." Scarlet asks, for all the world apparently just that, curious. In reality, she has serious reservations about plans that base themselves around the alleged character and personality of a god-entity someone might not have even seen in decades, centuries, millenia, or whatever unfathomable span of history might have passed in this world. The idea of god figures being active in day to day life in any real capacity is still something of a new concept to her, and she has a long and storied distrust of those that claim to speak for them word for word.     "In any case, Tempering of the elder would most likely be an even less desirable outcome. That said, I would like to request a certain level of time and information to attempt a prepatory search myself before we all go storming into the forest. If they're really as ornery as you say, a lighter touch to begin with might smooth things out considerably." She spares a moment to wave sidelong at N'raha, though coyly. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Correct," Kan-E-Senna answers Souji, though she adds, "But in truth, it is more to increase our standing than establish it. The Sylphs are already allies of Gridania, but we have been neglectful of that alliance due to the Calamity's damage to our lands. We have no excuse for this, and thus we must send envoys. The Sylphs are peaceful, if untrusting. They have always been considered the weakest of the Primal worshippers, and it is only through Ramuh's protection that they were able to break free from the other tribes. Still, it should not be difficult to sway them."     His other observations being correct, the Elder Seedseer simply nods. "We have not felt the presence of Ramuh yet; we must assume we still have time. Primals are... not subtle."     She decides to ask Souji about himself, now; "This Zaibatsu, tell me. What would you bring to the Eorzean Alliance? With the Garleans rallying, it may be that we are in no position to turn down help." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     The Miqo'te settles in again, questions answered. And then he looks a bit pensive at the whole thing for a few moments. Well, at least he appears to be pensive, if you could call 'staring off into space while in thought' pensive. His ears twitch a few times as he tries to piece information together in his head.     "...How much does this have to do with the increased... angry monster activity in the Shroud? We had to deal with a big grumpy water elemental the other day, and I've heard some of the local critters are getting big in their britches." Scarlet touches on the point and he gives her a thumbs up as well. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Having already answered Scarlet's first question, her second (or rather, the assorted concerns and guesses) are answered by Raya-O-Senna. "Tempering of anyone at all isn't a very desirable outcome. I'm sure in time they would find a new elder, but it would certainly set us back if they succeeded. Not to mention that if the Tempered Sylphs grow in numbers, that directly threatens us."     A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "I like this one, she's wise. Yes, a lighter touch would probably be better. If we sent two dozen adventurers out as envoys to the Sylphs, they'll feel overwhelmed. Half a dozen well-intentioned, mannered people should be enough. They'll no doubt have all manners of tasks to make you do, so you'll want enough pairs of hands present. Probably." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji nods when the talk turns to what he can offer the Alliance. "I have noticed that the Garleans make use of magitech to make up for, I hear, their inability to use magical power. Our organization also manufactures magitechnological weaponry of various forms. I am interested in either observing if the Alliance is interested in making use of my products, or perhaps establishing a mutual research initative in order to advance your own projects should you have an existing corps." There is a pause. "I understand if such a proposal will take some time to negotiate. Perhaps together we can show that the Garleans hardly would have a monopoly on mechanized warfare." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     'Well-intentioned, mannered.' N'raha's ears droop.     'All manners of tasks, pairs of hands.' N'raha's ears perk up. He can help! 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko bows her head in response to the Elder Seedseer and her siblings. "I'm grateful to lend strength to your arguments. I'm not quite the same as most adventurers; I've grown accustomed to my presence causing issues. So I try to neutralize them ahead of time where I can." Sadly, they're in one of those situations that happens when she doesn't neutralize an issue ahead of time. But there are ways out of it, it would seem. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Kan-E-Senna looks at N'raha, shaking her head. "The wildlife in the deeper sections of the forest has always been... large and aggressive, but not this much, you're correct. How much of it is due to the Calamity, how much is due to the elements' reaction to it, and how much is caused by other parties, we could not say. Though that would bring me to another subject."     A-Ruhn-Senna steps forward, presenting a dark medallion, picturing the red moon Dalamud.     "I believe you met Lothaire. He says his men found this near the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, and that the seals had been tampered with again." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     The Miqo'te picks up the trinket, and looks over at Scarlet. She'd been there too. The warrior flips it around a few times in his hands, looking at it. It's not that fancy, really, but something about it feels... Wrong. Ugly. Like it was staining his fingers.     "Well, that's rude, but I guess... if the seals were messed with last time and they've been messed with again, we might have a rude person trying to properly wake the dead inside." He's not entirely dumb. He does hand the medallion over to Scarlet for inspection as well. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     At Souji's questioning, Kan-E-Senna motions for one of her honor guards to step forward. The man with the Garlean mark upon his forehead does so, and nods. "That's right. Us pure-bloods can't use magic, at all. We can't sense or connect to Aether. That's why you're all so frightening to us. Why the average citizen and soldier thinks you savages. Your powers are no different from a Primal's, and to the Empire's eyes, the Twelve and Hydaelyn are just more Primals, not proper divinities. I'm lucky the Elder Seedseer saved me and taught me wrong rather than have me executed."     As for the other matter, Kan-E-Senna eyes Souji more closely now, considering. "We only use minimal amounts of Magitek in our lives, and that is for our airships. The technology Garleans use is... forceful, invasive. It does not coexist with the Aether or Lifestream, it subdues it. If yours is anything like, pray forgive Gridania's refusal of it, though I am certain the other two city-states would consider the tactical advantage above all else." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Raya-O-Senna smiles at Setsuko. "Most adventurers who come to Gridania or the Shroud are just looking for quick jobs anymore. Most of the jobs posted by the Adventurers' Guild are ones that should please the elements, like dealing with the poachers, but to have one come and pay their respects to them so openly, I'm sure they must have noticed."     A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "So, you said you were kind of a Primal. Or I've been told. Of what? Primals have natures, elemental affinities. Concepts. What's yours, that it upset the Sylphs so much?"     Raya-O-Senna yanks on A-Ruhn-Senna's horn. "Brother! That is rude. Or at least, it is a very rude way of phrasing that. Pray forgive him, sometimes I feel he lacks the maturity to be Seedseer."     A-Ruhn-Senna frowns. "And you the talent, but you don't see me telling strangers that." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "It's alright," Setsuko replies to Raya-O, her expression showing traces of amusement. "Time will temper his choice of phrasing well enough, with such well-spoken siblings. And his curiosity is well-founded."     She reaches down to her side, in a slow, deliberate movement, making it obvious to Kan-E's bodyguards that she's not drawing her blade - rather, she unclips it, and sets it sheath and all on the table. "I'm not a Primal, although given my nature, I'm not surprised that people of this world would have that impression after exerting my power. This sword is called 'Zanjintou'. It belonged to a previous, now-dead God of War from my world; a 'God' in the sense of 'a being with divine authority over a concept', rather than simply 'a being of power'. As the current owner of Zanjintou, its divinity has intermingled with my humanity, rendering us one entity, neither mortal nor god. 'Demigod' would be the closest term for it." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji shakes his head. "Not the same, no. Ours functions on Patterns, much like the world we live in is shaped through these patterns. Our Magic Particles... Not dissimlar to your Aether, flows through these patterns and provides us with gravity, rain, the thunderstorms our city depends on for power, and more." He pauses, and gestures. "Anyone who is capable of using Aether can simply invest a small amount into it and it will function. Unfortunately, this means that as your associate has mentioned, it would be difficult for a pureblood Garlean to use our wares unless they were to adapt their own power systems to them. We spend our lives working with magic, we have no need to force it to do what we want when it will simply flow through a channel provided for it like water through a riverbed." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Then to the uninformed eye you must seem as a Primal of war. No wonder the Sylphs reacted so strongly," A-Ruhn-Senna notes, while Raya-O-Senna frowns a bit as she adds, "Yes, considering the Sylphs' ancestry, that they would fear war, any war, isn't surprising."     Kan-E-Senna considers how best to phrase her addition, before settling on: "Us Padjal are not too different. These horns are the sign that we were blessed, in a way, by the elements. We can speak to them, relay their word, commune. I would not be so boastful as to claim us a step between Eorzeans and presences such as the elements of the Twelveswood, however." For one, they lack the raw firepower to make such claims. But for two, she's too humble for that in general. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "So your technology works with Aether, not against it? Interesting," Kan-E-Senna notes, though quickly covers her bases with: "I must admit I know little of technology; such has always been the strong suit of the Maelstrom and the Flames. And Garleans are not so eager to share their secrets, and us, not so equipped to decrypt them. If your technology truly works as you claim, it may be an advantage the Eorzean Alliance cannot pass on, though many are the eyes that will be wary. Ware the stranger bearing gifts."     She says that with no accusation or hostility, rather she assumes such a saying must be commonplace no matter the world.     "Were I you, I would seek an audience with the Sultana or the Flame General to start with. With their approval, contacting the Admiral of the Maelstrom to set up a meeting that you may demonstrate your wares to all of us at once should prove a trivial matter. From there, perhaps you may find your place amidst the Alliance." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko can only nod towards the younger Seedseers. "It's understandable, yes. War... isn't a pretty thing. It isn't kind, or gentle. It leaves orphans and widows, ruins and barrens. I was raised under a soldier's creed of drawing my blade only so that others can live their life in peace. So I'm very careful about how and when I apply my abilities. That use of my power frightened the Slyphs so..." She shakes her head, finally taking her sword from the table and returning it to her side. "Though I myself dwell on the battlefield, I would never drag someone else there. If we can settle this without bloodshed, I would be deeply gratified. And either way, I have a responsibility to help you and your people." A demigod of War, pushing for peace. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "That is my hope," Kan-E-Senna nods towards Setsuko. "We must pray the Lord of Levin is as the tales say, and perhaps we may for the first time in Eorzea's recent history reach a peaceful ending with a Primal. Though it is not unheard of to negotiate peace with the Beast Tribes, to do so with their Primal directly is a dangerous prospect. Pray allow me to come with you, when the time comes, if only to observe. As you are the ones who will be interacting with the Sylphs, it would not be for me to speak with Ramuh, but you." As for the matters of war, well, she doesn't feel the need to mirror agreement. It's a very strong given. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     It isn't Scarlet's first time hearing of the subjects up for discussion here, but most of it is new. What her allies, temporary or official, have to say on the issue is equally as informative as what the locals do, if towards other ends. It is indeed the medallion is what immediately catches her interest though, and to which she has to feign a little bit of additional ignorance. "You are correct. Deliberately so as well. I'm a little curious what makes you mention that in the same breath however. I have an idea of course, but if you would, please spell it out for me."     She pauses just a little to quickly juggle two topics with different members of the family. "You've mentioned specific tasks the Sylphs would have us perform. How will this relate to the recovery of their elder? Do you have reason to believe it won't be sufficient evidence for them of our intentions?" More importantly, she wants to know what level of "tasks" these are going to be. It's unlikely she'll get to pick a team, but she'd at least like to organize around it. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "I mention it," A-Ruhn-Senna says, "Because this adventurer inquired on the state of the wildlife. We have reason to believe a cult worshipping the fallen moon of Dalamud may be making its home in the deeper levels of the Deepcroft. That medallion all but proves it."     If examined, the medallion would be quickly revealed to be Void-touched. Rather than Aether, it is charged with... well, anti-existence, essentially. Dark magic. It doesn't seem to be enchanted to do anything much beyond... dispel something? Something specific, of similar nature. A dark medallion that dispels something equally dark.     "We would have you adventurers go in and... well, need I really lay that one out?" The boy asks, in his ever-so-humble tone.     Raya-O-Senna chips in about the Sylphs. "A number of Sylphs have gone missing lately, in separate trails. It's likely they'll ask you to find them. I've also heard they're fond of... dancing. Perhaps it is a diplomatic tradition for them. And lastly, the local wildlife has been giving them trouble, and so they may ask you to deter the beasts away from Little Solace." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "Were I one of your bodyguards," Setsuko replies, giving them a brief glance, "I would object for the sake of your wellbeing." There's a trace of amusement in her voice again. "But I don't imagine you easily deterred. So I will say only, don't get too close to Ramuh. I'm fairly certain I am at no risk of tempering, but I wouldn't want to put the Elder Seedseer of Gridania under the same test. Beyond that, I have no objections." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha looks at Raya and murmurs. "Well. I'll see what I can put together, I suppose. That's not... not something you just jump into." 'Know your limits'. The adventurer slides his thumb over the medallion again, catching...     A man in a mask. Watching. A familiar man in a mask. Why is he familiar? W-why does he feel like he should know this person?     The Miqo'te comes back to the here and now, seemingly shaking off another one of those bouts of 'stare at the wall and think'. "Buh. That's weird." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet outwardly displays no reaction to the young male Seedseer's tone, being generally far too experienced. Instead she manages to look interested but unsurprised, as if happy to have someone confirm something she already knew in their own words, though it's the first time she's had the specifics put to this particular thread of intrigue. "No, it's more or less as I thought. That particular cause is almost linked to the grievances of the Sylphs, and so should be held until after our first objective is seen to, so we can hand it over to maximum effect. They won't thank us for it if their elder is still missing, or worse, comes back Tempered."     She doesn't even so much as blink at the mention of dancing though. "Humouring those kinds of traditions is a trivial affair really. I think I can construct a priority list going forward." She stops to deliberately look thoughtful. "An ideal sequence of objectives. Yes, I definitely think this is well within our collective ability." The real meaning of the word "our" there is anyone's guess. "Will you be wanting an official update on this, or are you hoping to just fire and forget on this one?" She manages to refrain from using her computer just yet, committing it to memory instead. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     The Garlean standing by Kan-E-Senna shakes his head. "Stubborn to her dying breath, yeah. It's usually been to her advantage." He beams her a grin, and the dignity and posture of the Elder Seedseer falters for all but a moment until she shakes her head and smiles.     "What a leader I would be if I but sent adventurers to take care of all my problems and never at least attended to one or two with them," she offers, more or less confirming both her guard and Setsuko's say.     ENJOY YOUR AWFUL ASCIAN ECHO, N'RAHA.     Though, that medallion has equal parts masked man and equal parts Bahamut worshipping crazies in it. They've got a cult! It's cool, they have punch and all. Lambs of Dalamud. They've been around since before the Calamity, but their numbers have kind of dwindled since. Not their crazies, though. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     A-Ruhn-Senna actually smiles for the first time this meeting, the boy definitely enjoying Scarlet's business attitude. "We'd like to hear about major breakthroughs, but you sound like you have this figured out already. Just keep in touch with the Adventurers' Guild if you need to recruit help, and tell them you're working on something for the Seedseers. They'll give you priority one treatment."     Raya-O-Senna comments, idly, "That's a good idea, though. We think we can keep what the cultists are doing in the Deepcroft contained for now, while you address the Sylphs. Once that's done, we can get you a map of the Deepcroft and... well, you can do your adventurer thing." Murder, mostly. Of undead, wildlife, cultists. 
}}

2667/Leve: We Come In Peace

2015-07-23T03:39:18Z

Lightmage: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/07/22 |Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR> |Synopsis=Adventurers meet the Seedseers of Gridania and discuss assorted matters. Also Alwyn sucks at s..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/07/22
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=Adventurers meet the Seedseers of Gridania and discuss assorted matters. Also Alwyn sucks at spelling their names consistently and correctly.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=255, 627, 747, 815, 819
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:''' Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)! Leve: We Come In Peace Location: Gridania Type: Meeting Urgency: High Difficulty: None Enclosed Message: The Elder Seedseer of Gridania would meet those adventurers and assorted heroes willing to assist with the issue posed by the imminent return of Ramuh, the Lord of Levin. She would discuss options with you, as well as diplomacy, and by the same token answer any questions you may have, not just on this matter but on Eorzea itself. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji Murasame is present. Establishing communications routes with the leadership of a member of the Eorzean Alliance is quite useful for someone like him, even if he already has plans to get his fingers into Uldah. He waits patiently beside Nophica's Altar in Old Gridania, looking about at the lush landscape, general pastoral serenity, and most importantly... The absolute boatload of conjurors present. He adjusts his glasses, folding his arms as he waits for a signal that the Seedseer is prepared to receive guests. He doesn't seem particularly talkative, but then, he has little to say at the moment. 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     If you had ever told N'raha he would be meeing the Seedseer in person... maybe last month, even last week, he'd have laughed and asked you to pull his tail again. Maybe this time it would take.     That said, the young miq is now here in his finest armor, still looking slightly dingy despite the shine he's put to it this morning. Hat's off too, letting his roughly brushed hair slick back along his ears. That tail swishes in a rather distracted manner as he waits for that time to come forward. Goodness. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Welcome to Gridania, the city in the forest.     A Warp Gate is located by the main Aetheryte Crystal of the city, its blue light currently feeble compared to the bright light of day. A city built amongst rocky hills and trees, it feels very connected to its surrounding nature, wooden buildings built simply but standing firm, while a river cuts through the city.     TL;DR: http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130623115955/finalfantasy/images/0/08/New_Gridania_Aetheryte_Plaza.jpg     You've been invited, specifically, to the Lotus Stand, where you will be meeting the three primary Seedseers. Taking you there will be a small escort of two men, one Elezen and one-- Garlean, judging by the white dot/third eye on his forehead?-- from the main Aetheryte. Located in the back of the city, the Lotus Stand is a tranquil clearing at the base of a slow, calming waterfall, platforms of stone shaped like lilypads present in the middle of the water. Onto the central one, a large table and three chairs.     TL;DR: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eFiH-DMG3JU/VFCFLReTMtI/AAAAAAAADVc/n6R5xXTk5IU/s1600/ffxiv_10282014_225639.png     After a moment's wait, the three Seedseers arrive from the opposite direction; Kan-E-Senna, the oldest of the three, is a blonde woman dressed in white with a white staff. The other two, Raya-O-Senna and A-Ruhn-Senna, are a few years younger, a boy and a girl with red hair. They are all dressed in a variety of whites, though the two 'twins' also mainline red (Raya) and green (A-Ruhn). They all have white horns sprouting out of their hair, looking like very fancy head ornaments.     TL;DR: http://img01.3dmgame.com/uploads/allimg/130730/153_130730152017_1.jpg     Kan-E-Senna will be the one to address what few adventurers came (Alwyn is here, chatting up one of the royal guards to the side) first. "Welcome to the Lotus Stand, Gridania's seat of power. I'm glad a few of you were able to make it to address our concerns and help form a plan." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Oh shit, right, bowing.     N'raha does that too, though in a thoroughly uncultured not-quite-right Ul'dan bowing. "Ah, N'raha, ma'am. Adventurer's Guild." The voice is strong and firm, much firmer than his manner would suggest right now. He doesn't belong here. 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' All too soon Souji stands in the Lotus Stand. He looks like he could belong here, perhaps... If there were perhaps some other affectations to the incredibly natural surroundings. Souji steps along the stones and gives a deep bow to the Seedseers. "It is a pleasure to meet yoo all. I am Souji Murasame ,of the Murasame Zaibatsu. We have many interests in the progress of the Eorzean Alliance and would see them flourish." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     More than simply wishing to offer her assistance, one of those attending the meeting with Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna is here because she feels an obligation. It is, after all, her fault that the tempered Sylphs of the Sylphlands feel the need to summon their Lord of Levin to protect themselves. Her exercise of power was performed in ignorance of the world's political and metaphysical situation, and as a result, Setsuko Kaminagi has caused this city problems.     It's only right that she helps to mitigate them.     And Gridania is a city worth protecting. Natural and beautiful, filled with life and energy. The demigod cannot help but feel a certain sense of calm... and, for the first time, perhaps a hint of discomfort at her own presence. The way her inherent aura of 'significance' keeps drawing eyes, especially of Conjurers, leaves her feeling a touch out of place. But allowing herself to dwell on it will solve nothing; arriving at the Lotus Strand means getting down to business.     It doesn't mean discarding manners, however. This is no less than the leader of a city-state. Already bucking her usual trend by arriving in a pure white, far more formal outfit than she's usually seen in, Setsuko further steps out of her usual behavior by dropping herself to one knee and lowering her head deferentially. "Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna, it's an honor. Major Setsuko Kaminagi, Union Armed Forces. I bear responsibility for the situation at hand - it's only right that I lend my aid to its solution. I'm thankful that you were willing to reach out."     Only then does she rise to her feet again. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Please, rise," Kan-E-Senna asks.     A-Ruhn-Senna snorts impolitely, evidently at N'raha.     Raya-O-Senna tugs onto one of his horns. "Brother, be polite."     "The Sylphs have told me that those Tempered by Ramuh had been stirring for a while. That you were what made them go from plan to action should not be held against you, bearing in mind it was a matter of time in the first place. Perhaps it is providence we must deal with this matter before the Garleans become active again, rather than at the same time."     N'raha gets a shorter: "And any adventurer brave enough to assist in the matter of Primals is welcome in my company. Most would avoid it."     Souji gets a curious glance, as Kan-E-Senna motions towards the chairs. "Please, sit. You are our guests today. I'm afraid the Eorzean Alliance isn't as strong as it used to be; before long I must personally see to reestablishing our strong bonds again. Pray forgive my ignorance, but won't you explain this 'Murasame Zaibatsu' to us?"     Raya-O-Senna chimes in with, "We don't leave the forest very often, and the amount of news that has been pouring in from the Adventurers' Guild link to the Syndicate Network is pretty overwhelming." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     Those kind words from Kan-E-Senna give N'raha at least some comfort as he does take a seat and dusts at his armor needlessly. He's going to be self-concious the whole time here, deal with it.     "Well, it's not as if... I could ignore it, right? What sort of hero would I be if I did?" He blinks, and thinks a moment. Yep, those words did just come out of his mouth in front of the leader of Gridania. Good. A start. "And Miss Kaminagi shouldn't feel... too bad about it, really. That was really a lot of the off-worlder's first time to the Shroud... or really Eorzea. They wouldn't have known that would have been a problem."     The Miq looks at the twins behind the Seedseer and frowns a bit. "But I'm pretty sure they're all trying to help, at least." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "We wouldn't judge a hero harshly for running from a Primal," Raya-O-Senna answers N'raha, although A-Ruhn-Senna gives a sort of dismissive snort again.     "I absolutely would," he says, before he gets tugged aside again by his sister. The two have a mild argument off to the side, before returning. "My apologies. What I meant to say was 'foolhardy the hero who does not know his limits'."     Raya-O-Senna still glares at him funny but it'll do. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko gives both Kan-E-Senna and N'raha a small, grateful nod, before moving to take her seat. "Nevertheless, my blade and my word are yours until there is a resolution to this situation, one way or the other." She is careful to tilt her sword so that it doesn't interfere with her seated position, and laces her fingers together on the tabletop for a moment or two before proceeding. "Is there any means by which this might be resolved peacefully? We joined the Scions of the Seventh Dawn on a venture into Sylph territory recently, but they seemed... uninterested in parley. Particularly with me present." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji sits when bid to do so, and nods. "The Zaibatsu is a collection of mercantile companies who all work together under the control of our Family. It bears some resemblance to what I have heard of the Syndicate of Uldah. Murasame is the name of my family, and I bear the name proudly." He smiles faintly. "I have had some experience with the Garleans. Their behavior has assured me that they are not the way forward for Eorzea." He folds his hands. "I am also very curious about the situation that has arisen in the Shroud. The actions of a few appears to threaten events in the Shroud." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     'Know your limits'. If only N'raha could figure that one out. His luck had held out so far, for sure. But...     The talk of the Scions gets N'raha's ears to perk up. "We also work with Master Silent, who's with the Scions. He's been a big help too. Though... yeah, the Tempered Sylphs really didn't like us even being there. The Garleans in the woods didn't help either. Too many bad memories for them, I suppose, to pick most of us out."     He does look over at Souji. "Thing is, the Forest, the Shroud, has a Long Memory and the place is still healing. The forest is mad, and stuff is mad and it's really not helping to have the Empire skulking about." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "It is unlikely we can convince the touched Sylphs that we mean no harm, but the Lord of Levin himself is said to be wise and protective. If nothing else, we must hope we can appeal to his judgment. Failing that, we will need to defeat him, a grim but necessary second plan." Kan-E-Senna answers Setsuko.     Raya-O-Senna steps forward, adding: "I think we might have found a solution for that. My brother and I investigated the Sylphs, those still siding with Gridania. Their elder has gone missing, and they are wanting for a show of good faith from us. I believe that you could be sent as envoys to Little Solace, and convince the Sylphs to side with you against their Lord. Such a token would surely help sway Ramuh's fury in your favor, to see some of his children at peace with us."     A-Ruhn-Senna completes, "Those untouched by the Lord of Levin refuse to summon him. They value their alliance with us and the elements over the benefits of having their Primal out. It shouldn't be hard to convince them by... doing assorted tasks." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     To Souji, Kan-E-Senna nods. "That does indeed sound like Ul'dah's leadership. To be perfectly honest, I never understood it, and so I don't judge it." A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "Anymore." Both Kan-E-Senna and Raya-O-Senna give him the mean older sister glare this time.     "Nonetheless you are correct. While not all Garleans are evil," she motions towards one of her royal guards, the one with the third eye on his forehead, "Most are misguided and misinformed on Eorzea. Savages and barbarians, they call us, in fear of our magic. I cannot fault them, given what we have done with it in the past."     A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "Speaking of, I must thank you for your journey into the Lost City. The knowledge we will gleam from it will be invaluable, though the elements have expressed discomfort at our looking into it. It would seem they were the ones to hide the city from us, but now that it has been found, would have us be careful instead." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "The elements can be a little bit scornful and unreasonable at times," Raya-O-Senna answers N'raha, shaking her head slowly. "The Calamity has clouded their judgment and vision. Poachers roam the forest, the Garleans slowly take steps in, and corruption lingers, harming the elements directly. Bertram Silent is one of our best hopes into calming the elements and purging their corruption. It is very rare the elements will welcome Ala Mhigans, but he's blended in perfectly." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet arrives just a little bit late due to unavoidable circumstances, but fashionably so. If Eorzeans don't have a concept of "fashionably late" then she'll just have to teach it to them.     That said, she is anything but disrespectful, despite Gridania's thoroughly rustic charms. A certain method of information gathering she had circulated through the region on her first mission here is enough for her to know of the city-state's economic and political relevance and general reputation. It also doesn't take a genius to figure out a Seedseer's general position of authority within the heirarchy. She greets the three with a very refined, deliberately culture non-specific bow as seems to have been indicated to be the practise before introducing herself properly shortly after.     "It's a rare case that any one group of people can really be called wholeheartedly evil. Regardless, it doesn't seem as if that demonization is going to leave cultural memory any time soon, and so we'll have to bear it in mind either way while going forward. I think we probably already agree that facing off against a Primal, this Lord of the Levin, would be a last resort at best. That said, doesn't there seem to be a possibility that the Slyph's elder may have been taken by the Tempered? Suppose it were a deliberate ploy to have us provoke them in the process of recovering him or her, do you believe it would be worth it?" It's mostly busytalk while she stealthily assesses the Seedseers. She wants to know whether they're purely political figures or equivalently powerful mages. It won't change how she addresses them (much), but it'll certainly change how she thinks of them. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Hmm. So Ramuh is considered a wise being. Perhaps he will be willing to listen if she, the reason they finally chose to summon him, speaks with him directly. Moreover, there is a chance for her to demonstrate to un-tempered Sylphs that their purple-leafed bretheren are mistaken about humans and humanlike people. Ordinarily, she isn't very inclined towards politicking and diplomacy, but in this particular case... "I'll have to see what I can do for Little Solace, then. If we can sway the Lord of Levin, that would be preferable for all involved. If not... I am a soldier. I will fight whatever battles I must."     There is a pause in which the demigod listens to Raya speaking on the topic of the Elementals, and then she adds, "Ah... another thing I should offer apology for. When I first set foot in the Black Shroud, I sensed these 'Elementals', and offered them apology and explanation for my presence. They haven't seemed to take issue with me, but if they've been more difficult as a result of my presence, you have my sincere apologies." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Indeed. Social stigma is difficult to erase," Kan-E-Senna answers, as Scarlet finally joins them. She would motion for her to seat herself, but the table only has three chairs. An oversight, but on the other hand, the Lotus Stand is only rarely used for large gatherings anymore.     "While we don't doubt in our ability to overpower the Lord of Levin, if at great cost, we would very much enjoy peace with the Sylphs, and their Tempered cousins as well. If we could but convince Ramuh to order his children to be at peace with us, we would stand that much stronger for it."     On the matter of the ploy, it's Raya-O-Senna who answers. "That's possible. They don't have any solid leads yet, but they've suspected a number of their disappearances lately were linked to the Tempered ones. It's possible they mean to have them Tempered as well. If that's the case, then speed and haste will be needed in our search." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha looks up at Miss Everille steps into the conversation as well, waving a little bit. It's that nice-ish lady from the Deepcrofts!     That said, Setsuko also gets a murmur. "It could be worse. Ifrit and Titan are conquerers and lead their tribes on... well. That's never any good. Ramuh is less... well. I don't think he's gone crazy and tried takin' stuff over. I know the Brass Blades and the Immortal Flames have their hands full with the desert when the Kobolds and Amalj'aa start getting antsy and angry."     He rubs at his nose and looks to Kan-E-Senna. "Who should we be looking for at Little Solace? Who's in charge withthe Elder gone... or is that one of the problems?" 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' "So you would have us liason with the as of yet uncontaminated Sylphs in hopes that we can still broker some form of... de-escalation of temsions before they go out of control." Souji states. "This is a reasonable course of action." We'll see how reasonable he sees it when they go meet the Sylphs. "In the meantime, I and the rest of the members of my organization are pleased to be of service to Gridania." He nods to N'raha. "We'll simply have to work with what we have. It's all we can do, correct? We have insufficient information on the ground to make definitive plans. We do not know if Ramuh has truly been summoned, nor the last known state of the Elder of the Sylphs. We will need to determine these facts before we can truly examine our chances of de-escalating this situation." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Raya-O-Senna glances towards Setsuko, offering a sort of shrug. "It's hard to tell what upsets them these days. Sometimes, the sun rising at all angers them. An adventurer steps on a moth or flower by accident and an elemental quakes in fury. They fight amongst themselves, and those of them that have been corrupt border on the uncontrollable."     A-Ruhn-Senna summarizes it as, "It's kind of a coin flip."     Kan-E-Senna says nonetheless, "That you sensed them and offered that upfront may have calmed them rather than angered them, as well. The elements have never had much faith in outsiders, but gave us their blessings years ago to open the Shroud's borders. Since then adventurers and heroes have been proving them right and wrong both. Seeing more people prove them wrong helps our cause, in the end."     Rare the times she'd say she's glad people are proving the elements wrong, but that's one subject she'll be glad if people do. 'Outsiders are awful and mean us harm'. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "That would be Komuxio, a delightful little Sylph, that one," Raya-O-Senna answers N'raha, though A-Ruhn-Senna immediatly adds: "Not sure we can really talk of leadership though. They seem disorganized and confused right now."     Kan-E-Senna adds, to the catte's first remark: "We had not seen Ramuh manifested in a long time. We only have the legends to go by; pray they are correct." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     "Out of curiosity, when was the last time anyone met Ramuh? Anyone besides a Sylph, that is." Scarlet asks, for all the world apparently just that, curious. In reality, she has serious reservations about plans that base themselves around the alleged character and personality of a god-entity someone might not have even seen in decades, centuries, millenia, or whatever unfathomable span of history might have passed in this world. The idea of god figures being active in day to day life in any real capacity is still something of a new concept to her, and she has a long and storied distrust of those that claim to speak for them word for word.     "In any case, Tempering of the elder would most likely be an even less desirable outcome. That said, I would like to request a certain level of time and information to attempt a prepatory search myself before we all go storming into the forest. If they're really as ornery as you say, a lighter touch to begin with might smooth things out considerably." She spares a moment to wave sidelong at N'raha, though coyly. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Correct," Kan-E-Senna answers Souji, though she adds, "But in truth, it is more to increase our standing than establish it. The Sylphs are already allies of Gridania, but we have been neglectful of that alliance due to the Calamity's damage to our lands. We have no excuse for this, and thus we must send envoys. The Sylphs are peaceful, if untrusting. They have always been considered the weakest of the Primal worshippers, and it is only through Ramuh's protection that they were able to break free from the other tribes. Still, it should not be difficult to sway them."     His other observations being correct, the Elder Seedseer simply nods. "We have not felt the presence of Ramuh yet; we must assume we still have time. Primals are... not subtle."     She decides to ask Souji about himself, now; "This Zaibatsu, tell me. What would you bring to the Eorzean Alliance? With the Garleans rallying, it may be that we are in no position to turn down help." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     The Miqo'te settles in again, questions answered. And then he looks a bit pensive at the whole thing for a few moments. Well, at least he appears to be pensive, if you could call 'staring off into space while in thought' pensive. His ears twitch a few times as he tries to piece information together in his head.     "...How much does this have to do with the increased... angry monster activity in the Shroud? We had to deal with a big grumpy water elemental the other day, and I've heard some of the local critters are getting big in their britches." Scarlet touches on the point and he gives her a thumbs up as well. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Having already answered Scarlet's first question, her second (or rather, the assorted concerns and guesses) are answered by Raya-O-Senna. "Tempering of anyone at all isn't a very desirable outcome. I'm sure in time they would find a new elder, but it would certainly set us back if they succeeded. Not to mention that if the Tempered Sylphs grow in numbers, that directly threatens us."     A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "I like this one, she's wise. Yes, a lighter touch would probably be better. If we sent two dozen adventurers out as envoys to the Sylphs, they'll feel overwhelmed. Half a dozen well-intentioned, mannered people should be enough. They'll no doubt have all manners of tasks to make you do, so you'll want enough pairs of hands present. Probably." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji nods when the talk turns to what he can offer the Alliance. "I have noticed that the Garleans make use of magitech to make up for, I hear, their inability to use magical power. Our organization also manufactures magitechnological weaponry of various forms. I am interested in either observing if the Alliance is interested in making use of my products, or perhaps establishing a mutual research initative in order to advance your own projects should you have an existing corps." There is a pause. "I understand if such a proposal will take some time to negotiate. Perhaps together we can show that the Garleans hardly would have a monopoly on mechanized warfare." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     'Well-intentioned, mannered.' N'raha's ears droop.     'All manners of tasks, pairs of hands.' N'raha's ears perk up. He can help! 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko bows her head in response to the Elder Seedseer and her siblings. "I'm grateful to lend strength to your arguments. I'm not quite the same as most adventurers; I've grown accustomed to my presence causing issues. So I try to neutralize them ahead of time where I can." Sadly, they're in one of those situations that happens when she doesn't neutralize an issue ahead of time. But there are ways out of it, it would seem. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Kan-E-Senna looks at N'raha, shaking her head. "The wildlife in the deeper sections of the forest has always been... large and aggressive, but not this much, you're correct. How much of it is due to the Calamity, how much is due to the elements' reaction to it, and how much is caused by other parties, we could not say. Though that would bring me to another subject."     A-Ruhn-Senna steps forward, presenting a dark medallion, picturing the red moon Dalamud.     "I believe you met Lothaire. He says his men found this near the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, and that the seals had been tampered with again." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     The Miqo'te picks up the trinket, and looks over at Scarlet. She'd been there too. The warrior flips it around a few times in his hands, looking at it. It's not that fancy, really, but something about it feels... Wrong. Ugly. Like it was staining his fingers.     "Well, that's rude, but I guess... if the seals were messed with last time and they've been messed with again, we might have a rude person trying to properly wake the dead inside." He's not entirely dumb. He does hand the medallion over to Scarlet for inspection as well. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     At Souji's questioning, Kan-E-Senna motions for one of her honor guards to step forward. The man with the Garlean mark upon his forehead does so, and nods. "That's right. Us pure-bloods can't use magic, at all. We can't sense or connect to Aether. That's why you're all so frightening to us. Why the average citizen and soldier thinks you savages. Your powers are no different from a Primal's, and to the Empire's eyes, the Twelve and Hydaelyn are just more Primals, not proper divinities. I'm lucky the Elder Seedseer saved me and taught me wrong rather than have me executed."     As for the other matter, Kan-E-Senna eyes Souji more closely now, considering. "We only use minimal amounts of Magitek in our lives, and that is for our airships. The technology Garleans use is... forceful, invasive. It does not coexist with the Aether or Lifestream, it subdues it. If yours is anything like, pray forgive Gridania's refusal of it, though I am certain the other two city-states would consider the tactical advantage above all else." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     Raya-O-Senna smiles at Setsuko. "Most adventurers who come to Gridania or the Shroud are just looking for quick jobs anymore. Most of the jobs posted by the Adventurers' Guild are ones that should please the elements, like dealing with the poachers, but to have one come and pay their respects to them so openly, I'm sure they must have noticed."     A-Ruhn-Senna adds, "So, you said you were kind of a Primal. Or I've been told. Of what? Primals have natures, elemental affinities. Concepts. What's yours, that it upset the Sylphs so much?"     Raya-O-Senna yanks on A-Ruhn-Senna's horn. "Brother! That is rude. Or at least, it is a very rude way of phrasing that. Pray forgive him, sometimes I feel he lacks the maturity to be Seedseer."     A-Ruhn-Senna frowns. "And you the talent, but you don't see me telling strangers that." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "It's alright," Setsuko replies to Raya-O, her expression showing traces of amusement. "Time will temper his choice of phrasing well enough, with such well-spoken siblings. And his curiosity is well-founded."     She reaches down to her side, in a slow, deliberate movement, making it obvious to Kan-E's bodyguards that she's not drawing her blade - rather, she unclips it, and sets it sheath and all on the table. "I'm not a Primal, although given my nature, I'm not surprised that people of this world would have that impression after exerting my power. This sword is called 'Zanjintou'. It belonged to a previous, now-dead God of War from my world; a 'God' in the sense of 'a being with divine authority over a concept', rather than simply 'a being of power'. As the current owner of Zanjintou, its divinity has intermingled with my humanity, rendering us one entity, neither mortal nor god. 'Demigod' would be the closest term for it." 

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:''' Souji shakes his head. "Not the same, no. Ours functions on Patterns, much like the world we live in is shaped through these patterns. Our Magic Particles... Not dissimlar to your Aether, flows through these patterns and provides us with gravity, rain, the thunderstorms our city depends on for power, and more." He pauses, and gestures. "Anyone who is capable of using Aether can simply invest a small amount into it and it will function. Unfortunately, this means that as your associate has mentioned, it would be difficult for a pureblood Garlean to use our wares unless they were to adapt their own power systems to them. We spend our lives working with magic, we have no need to force it to do what we want when it will simply flow through a channel provided for it like water through a riverbed." 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "Then to the uninformed eye you must seem as a Primal of war. No wonder the Sylphs reacted so strongly," A-Ruhn-Senna notes, while Raya-O-Senna frowns a bit as she adds, "Yes, considering the Sylphs' ancestry, that they would fear war, any war, isn't surprising."     Kan-E-Senna considers how best to phrase her addition, before settling on: "Us Padjal are not too different. These horns are the sign that we were blessed, in a way, by the elements. We can speak to them, relay their word, commune. I would not be so boastful as to claim us a step between Eorzeans and presences such as the elements of the Twelveswood, however." For one, they lack the raw firepower to make such claims. But for two, she's too humble for that in general. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "So your technology works with Aether, not against it? Interesting," Kan-E-Senna notes, though quickly covers her bases with: "I must admit I know little of technology; such has always been the strong suit of the Maelstrom and the Flames. And Garleans are not so eager to share their secrets, and us, not so equipped to decrypt them. If your technology truly works as you claim, it may be an advantage the Eorzean Alliance cannot pass on, though many are the eyes that will be wary. Ware the stranger bearing gifts."     She says that with no accusation or hostility, rather she assumes such a saying must be commonplace no matter the world.     "Were I you, I would seek an audience with the Sultana or the Flame General to start with. With their approval, contacting the Admiral of the Maelstrom to set up a meeting that you may demonstrate your wares to all of us at once should prove a trivial matter. From there, perhaps you may find your place amidst the Alliance." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko can only nod towards the younger Seedseers. "It's understandable, yes. War... isn't a pretty thing. It isn't kind, or gentle. It leaves orphans and widows, ruins and barrens. I was raised under a soldier's creed of drawing my blade only so that others can live their life in peace. So I'm very careful about how and when I apply my abilities. That use of my power frightened the Slyphs so..." She shakes her head, finally taking her sword from the table and returning it to her side. "Though I myself dwell on the battlefield, I would never drag someone else there. If we can settle this without bloodshed, I would be deeply gratified. And either way, I have a responsibility to help you and your people." A demigod of War, pushing for peace. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "That is my hope," Kan-E-Senna nods towards Setsuko. "We must pray the Lord of Levin is as the tales say, and perhaps we may for the first time in Eorzea's recent history reach a peaceful ending with a Primal. Though it is not unheard of to negotiate peace with the Beast Tribes, to do so with their Primal directly is a dangerous prospect. Pray allow me to come with you, when the time comes, if only to observe. As you are the ones who will be interacting with the Sylphs, it would not be for me to speak with Ramuh, but you." As for the matters of war, well, she doesn't feel the need to mirror agreement. It's a very strong given. 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     It isn't Scarlet's first time hearing of the subjects up for discussion here, but most of it is new. What her allies, temporary or official, have to say on the issue is equally as informative as what the locals do, if towards other ends. It is indeed the medallion is what immediately catches her interest though, and to which she has to feign a little bit of additional ignorance. "You are correct. Deliberately so as well. I'm a little curious what makes you mention that in the same breath however. I have an idea of course, but if you would, please spell it out for me."     She pauses just a little to quickly juggle two topics with different members of the family. "You've mentioned specific tasks the Sylphs would have us perform. How will this relate to the recovery of their elder? Do you have reason to believe it won't be sufficient evidence for them of our intentions?" More importantly, she wants to know what level of "tasks" these are going to be. It's unlikely she'll get to pick a team, but she'd at least like to organize around it. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     "I mention it," A-Ruhn-Senna says, "Because this adventurer inquired on the state of the wildlife. We have reason to believe a cult worshipping the fallen moon of Dalamud may be making its home in the deeper levels of the Deepcroft. That medallion all but proves it."     If examined, the medallion would be quickly revealed to be Void-touched. Rather than Aether, it is charged with... well, anti-existence, essentially. Dark magic. It doesn't seem to be enchanted to do anything much beyond... dispel something? Something specific, of similar nature. A dark medallion that dispels something equally dark.     "We would have you adventurers go in and... well, need I really lay that one out?" The boy asks, in his ever-so-humble tone.     Raya-O-Senna chips in about the Sylphs. "A number of Sylphs have gone missing lately, in separate trails. It's likely they'll ask you to find them. I've also heard they're fond of... dancing. Perhaps it is a diplomatic tradition for them. And lastly, the local wildlife has been giving them trouble, and so they may ask you to deter the beasts away from Little Solace." 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "Were I one of your bodyguards," Setsuko replies, giving them a brief glance, "I would object for the sake of your wellbeing." There's a trace of amusement in her voice again. "But I don't imagine you easily deterred. So I will say only, don't get too close to Ramuh. I'm fairly certain I am at no risk of tempering, but I wouldn't want to put the Elder Seedseer of Gridania under the same test. Beyond that, I have no objections." 

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''     N'raha looks at Raya and murmurs. "Well. I'll see what I can put together, I suppose. That's not... not something you just jump into." 'Know your limits'. The adventurer slides his thumb over the medallion again, catching...     A man in a mask. Watching. A familiar man in a mask. Why is he familiar? W-why does he feel like he should know this person?     The Miqo'te comes back to the here and now, seemingly shaking off another one of those bouts of 'stare at the wall and think'. "Buh. That's weird." 

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''     Scarlet outwardly displays no reaction to the young male Seedseer's tone, being generally far too experienced. Instead she manages to look interested but unsurprised, as if happy to have someone confirm something she already knew in their own words, though it's the first time she's had the specifics put to this particular thread of intrigue. "No, it's more or less as I thought. That particular cause is almost linked to the grievances of the Sylphs, and so should be held until after our first objective is seen to, so we can hand it over to maximum effect. They won't thank us for it if their elder is still missing, or worse, comes back Tempered."     She doesn't even so much as blink at the mention of dancing though. "Humouring those kinds of traditions is a trivial affair really. I think I can construct a priority list going forward." She stops to deliberately look thoughtful. "An ideal sequence of objectives. Yes, I definitely think this is well within our collective ability." The real meaning of the word "our" there is anyone's guess. "Will you be wanting an official update on this, or are you hoping to just fire and forget on this one?" She manages to refrain from using her computer just yet, committing it to memory instead. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     The Garlean standing by Kan-E-Senna shakes his head. "Stubborn to her dying breath, yeah. It's usually been to her advantage." He beams her a grin, and the dignity and posture of the Elder Seedseer falters for all but a moment until she shakes her head and smiles.     "What a leader I would be if I but sent adventurers to take care of all my problems and never at least attended to one or two with them," she offers, more or less confirming both her guard and Setsuko's say.     ENJOY YOUR AWFUL ASCIAN ECHO, N'RAHA.     Though, that medallion has equal parts masked man and equal parts Bahamut worshipping crazies in it. They've got a cult! It's cool, they have punch and all. Lambs of Dalamud. They've been around since before the Calamity, but their numbers have kind of dwindled since. Not their crazies, though. 

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''     A-Ruhn-Senna actually smiles for the first time this meeting, the boy definitely enjoying Scarlet's business attitude. "We'd like to hear about major breakthroughs, but you sound like you have this figured out already. Just keep in touch with the Adventurers' Guild if you need to recruit help, and tell them you're working on something for the Seedseers. They'll give you priority one treatment."     Raya-O-Senna comments, idly, "That's a good idea, though. We think we can keep what the cultists are doing in the Deepcroft contained for now, while you address the Sylphs. Once that's done, we can get you a map of the Deepcroft and... well, you can do your adventurer thing." Murder, mostly. Of undead, wildlife, cultists. 
}}

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-21T05:36:35Z

Lightmage: /* Magitek */ Added Allagan Magitek to list, herp.

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships. And Allagan Magitek, despite being several thousand years old, could do such miracles as cloning, create completely autonomous mechanical beings, take landmasses to the skies, and imprison even powerful Primals to use them for power.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* Leve: We Come In Peace

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* Sastasha Seagrot

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-20T15:31:23Z

Lightmage: /* The Calendar of Eorzea */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. Ascians trick <spoilers> into summoning <spoilers>. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* Leve: We Come In Peace

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* Sastasha Seagrot

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-20T15:21:12Z

Lightmage: /* The Calendar of Eorzea */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians. 

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilizations of Amdapor and Nym and their powerful White Mages, Scholars and Black Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. The Nymian civilization falls prey to a terrible magical plague. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* Leve: We Come In Peace

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* Sastasha Seagrot

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-20T15:18:25Z

Lightmage: /* Theme Info */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Calendar of Eorzea===
While Eorzeans do measure the passing of years, they group them in arbitrary periods of history called Astral Eras and Umbral Eras. An Umbral Era marks a dark time, heralded by a great cataclysm, apocalypse or calamity, to one or more major forces of the world, while an Astral Era marks a time at which the world can be said to have fully recovered from the previous Umbral Era and built onward. These have no fixed duration, and they can be declared on a whim by the combined rulers of Eorzea and future historians.

'''The First Umbral Era:''' The Twelve leave Eorzea to the hands of the warring beast tribes. 
'''The First Astral Era:''' The beginning of the Age of Man. 

'''The Second Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Second Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Third Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Third Astral Era:''' The era of the Allagan Empire. The greatest technology on Eorzea is invented in this era, and Bahamut is imprisoned within Dalamud by the Allagans to power their Crystal Tower. Roughly 5000 years ago. 

'''The Fourth Umbral Era:''' Heralded by the fall of the Allagan empire and the loss of almost all of their technology. Roughly 4000 years ago. 
'''The Fourth Astral Era:''' ??? 

'''The Fifth Umbral Era:''' ??? 
'''The Fifth Astral Era:''' Discovery of magic by Eorzeans, founding of the civilization of Amdapor and its powerful White Mages. Magic is brought to its absolute heights of power. Roughly 3000 years ago. 

'''The Sixth Umbral Era:''' The War of the Magi erupts between White Mages and Black Mages, and an arms race of magic leads to disaster. Black Mages summon the Voidsent Diabolos to destroy the capital of Amdapor and its White Mages. Abuse of magic, especially of White Magic, causes global cataclysms and the waters of Hydaelyn swallow and reform much of Eorzea. White Magic and Black Magic are mostly lost or marked as forbidden, only their lesser spells remaining as Conjury and Thaumaturgy. Roughly 1600 years ago. 
'''The Sixth Astral Era:''' The rise of most of the currently known powers and city-states of Eorzea, assorted small wars, the rise of the Garlean Empire (only ~100 years old at most), etc. Covers the last 1500 years. 

'''The Seventh Umbral Era:''' Current era. Heralded by the fall of Dalamud, the awakening of the Elder Primal Bahamut by Nael van Darnus, and the Calamity that reshaped Eorzea. Marked by the war against Garleans. Current year: 5 

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* Leve: We Come In Peace

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* Sastasha Seagrot

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-20T14:47:40Z

Lightmage: /* Garlean Naming Conventions */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: soldier.
* nan: chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* Leve: We Come In Peace

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* Sastasha Seagrot

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-20T14:46:08Z

Lightmage: /* Garlean Naming Conventions */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: Legionaire.
* nan: Chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/lux/kir/jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
</div></div>

Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* Leve: We Come In Peace

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* Sastasha Seagrot

Archived: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1

2015-07-20T14:45:01Z

Lightmage: /* Garlean Naming Conventions */

{{CastPage
|Desc=It is the Seventh Umbral Era. Five years have passed since the Calamity, the falling of Dalamud, the unleashing of the elder Primal Bahamut, and the victory of the Alliance over the Garlean Empire. But the events of that day are clouded, and no one quite remembers just who it was that saved Eorzea. In the time that has passed, the three nations of the Alliance have reopened their borders, trade has resumed, and the world is trying to put itself back to normal.

But the dark places where evil springs forth are ever there. The beastmen plot and hoard and scheme to bring forth their Primals. Rumbles of discontentment are percolating among the nation states. The class warfare of old is returning, and the old status quo will bring Eorzea back into the open conflict it once held before the Garleans ever arrived in the first place. And while the Garleans pose a threat, much more sinister men are tugging those strings, waiting to reveal themselves.

But where there is dark, there is always light. Hope springs anew as adventurers once again ply their trade, working to better the people, bring hope back to the land and maybe help piece everything back together. Heroes banished to the future during the final moments of the Calamity find themselves in this new Eorzea, while new Warriors of Light rise to meet the challenges before them, armed with the gift of Hydaelyn, the mysterious Echo.

Welcome to Eorzea, land of adventure, magic, intrigue and crystals. May Hydaelyn shine on you always.
|Cat=Themes
}}
==Theme Info==
Coming soon. When it's relevant.

===The Twelveswood & Gridania===
Before the Calamity, it could have been said that those living in Gridania and the Black Shroud were much more protective of nature and the balance between man and elemental; indeed, at the time, man only lived in the Twelveswood through the blessing of the elementals, which were overall distrusting of outsiders and those who disrespect nature. Through the Seedseers (leaders) of Gridania, they spoke to those wishing to live within the forest and imposed upon them rules and rituals to follow.

Over time, the elementals warmed up to outsiders and adventurers. Through their blessing, Gridania's borders were opened fully; unpopular at first, this decision greatly helped Gridanians, and allowed the introduction of minor technology (including Magitek) like airships.

When the Calamity struck, the elementals were greatly affected; their harmony was crippled, and they have become unable to act as one, disagreeing and fighting amongst themselves. Their ability to target and stop specific threats vanished, and replacing it is corruption and anger, causing small scale disasters like roaring rivers or rampaging manifested elementals needing to be put down by adventurers, or mended and healed by the specialists of Gridania.

As a result, neither Woodsin nor Greenwrath are active threatening mechanics of A Realm Reborn; there is no penalty whatsoever for outsiders coming to the Black Shroud, nor for the introduction of technology, so long as it doesn't intentionally destroy nature. Nonetheless, the destruction of nature by numerous parties (poachers, Garleans, etc.) has caused a number of elemental rampages, nothing able to crush settlements, but enough to kill unfortunate wanderers who accidently stumble across them.

Likewise, Gridanian xenophobia is a myth, although it is true Gridanians enjoy their old ways and traditions and would prefer not to welcome major changes to their lifestyles if it can be helped.

It is however true that in order for one to acquire citizen status within Gridania, one must first seek the approval of the elementals. This is not usually a problem unless one has a history of disrespecting or destroying nature, and those individuals may be required to perform a cleansing ritual in good faith, with assistance from the Seedseers.

This decision isn't just based on lore from A Realm Reborn, but also on the fact that we have no desire to generate drama over things like "a technological character attended a scene in the Black Shroud". Unless you are intentionally out to destroy nature, there will never be consequences; and even if you do destroy nature in sufficient quantity to trigger their wrath, the elementals lack the ability to target you specifically. There may be vague rampages in surrounding areas, but they are too splintered to do more than that.

===Bahamut & Dravanians===
Due to <significant spoilers> revealed in Heavensward, it should be noted that Bahamut, and his followers, have no authority or control over the Dravanian dragons and heretics.

If you're interested in hearing the explanation you can page or @mail Alwyn on MUSH.

This section will be updated with the explanation at such a time that it would not be considered significant spoiler material.

Additional note: anyone looking to apply for an Ishgardian or Dravanian, or otherwise related character, is strongly recommended to clear through the Heavensward story first, or at least read all about it. There's a lot of really good candy in there.

===Magitek===
Magitek is common in Eorzea, though its forms vary by culture. The Garleans specialize in war machines, weaponry and technological advancements that emulate and replace the need for magic, whereas Eorzeans by and large only use Magitek to power their airships.

Magitek is fueled by Ceruleum (see Lexicon). Equivalent materials (Final Fantasy VII's Lifestream/Mako, for example) could work as a replacement for the Ceruleum, provided they're magical enough. The key qualifier for whether a fuel can power Magitek or not is that it needs to roughly be the liquefied magical essence of a world. Generic liquefied magical essence may work, but it would be far less effective.

No attempts have currently been made to tinker with or modify Magitek. Players are free to try these things if they get ahold of any.

It is worth noting that Magitek weapons are '''not''' superior to conventional weapons. A bow in an adventurer's hands is ten times more effective than a gunblade in a Garlean mook's hands, and vice versa. Magitek weapons exist because Garleans are powerless without them; they equalize the playing field, but that's it. This is not a theme where firearms beat swords by default.

Typical Magitek weapons are gunblades but may be more specialized. Their usual use (beyond being a gun and a sword in one) is to fire blue energy blasts, or to become coated in the energy for hitting someone with it.

===The Echo/The Gift & Sample +Advantages===
The Echo is what allows someone to view memories, to speak with Hydaelyn, and in very rare instances, to travel through time itself in predestined timeloops. It also grants immunity to most (but possibly not all?) forms of mind control, or at the very least, the Primals' Tempering. Many characters in the setting have the Echo; it isn't THAT unusual on its own. Some characters even figure out how to do unique things with it, like the isolated case of Shiva's summoner. 

The Gift, however, is something unique to the Warriors of Light (and some few NPCs). The Gift, also called Hydaelyn's Blessing, is a more direct intervention from Hydaelyn herself in the hero's life and personal power. At times of great need, the Gift may bolster their strength significantly, or allow them to survive an otherwise deadly situation. It's a plot device. 

Both of these things are appable exactly as they exist in A Realm Reborn. 

Click below to see the offered sample +advantages you can copypaste into your application if you are either a bearer of the Echo, the Gift, or both. (Warriors of Light will typically have both.)
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
* The Echo: A special brand upon _____'s soul, marking him as one of Hydaelyn's chosen champions. He is prone to visions, flashbacks and lore dumps being crammed directly into his skull as concerns his own world. The Echo also immunizes him to all forms of mind control or similar effects. Finally, _____ may dive into the memories of someone he touches, though this ability is not under his control and only manifests when dramatically appropriate. (Consent may be required. TP-Only Adv: during Final Fantasy XIV: ARR-1 TPs exclusively, the Echo can sustain very minor time loops, allowing _____ to view or participate in events from his world's past, in accordance to how it was recorded to have happened in the first place.)
* Hydaelyn's Blessing: In times of dire need, a powerful blessing shields _____ from certain death and can bolster his strength and ability to tackle impossible odds. (With consent, the blessing can perfectly shield _____ from an attack. As a TP-Only Adv: the blessing, at the cost of being used up entirely for the fight, can accomplish such miracles as disabling a powerful dark force, like an impenetrable barrier preventing a boss from being fought.)</div></div>

===Garlean Naming Conventions===
Garleans typically have Latin/Roman names, with a title between the two. This title is written without a capital letter despite being in their name, for example "Gaius van Baelsar" or "Nero tol Scaeva". Here is a list of these titles for easy reference as explained in the Heavensward expansion, and what rank they correspond to (Garleans use Larin/Roman ranks!):
* zos: emperor.
* yae: member of the royal family in line for succession.
* wir: member of the royal family with no claim to the throne.
* deus: self-appointed title, unique to Nael deus Darnus. Likely means 'god'.
* van: Legatus/general.
* tol/sas: Tribunus under a Legatus, tol > sas.
* rem: Primus pilus (high officer).
* quo: Centurion (mid officer).
* pyr: Optio, Decurion, Tessarius (low officer).
* oen: Legionaire.
* nan: Chief engineer or specialized engineer.
* mal/Lux/Kir/Jen: Medicus or Magitek technician, in order of rank.
* iyl: Dictator, senator.
* het: Praetor, Consol, a number of mid-level public official positions.
* goe: Censor.
* fae, Eir: Unknown.
* dus: Lictor.
* '''ban: Citizens of the Empire without a greater title.'''
* cen: Respected artisans.
* '''aan: Given to citizens of annexed territories, indicating lack of rights.'''

==Changes==
As the FFXIV:ARR-1 theme evolves on MCM, things are bound to change and progress differently than they have in the game. Here are what could be considered non-canon changes to the themelisting which contradict the canon of the game, or at least contradict the way certain things were meant to happen.
* Due to [[Setsuko Kaminagi]]'s actions in the South Shroud, Sylvans have begun gathering Aetheryte Crystals early.
* Heavensward character classes and jobs are available already, as are Rogue and Ninja.
* The Tam-Tara Deepcroft has been sealed temporarily. An excursion into its depths is being prepared.
* The Coeurl King has been captured rather than killed. This will have an impact at a later time. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Aulus rem Vulso has been captured rather than killed. Currently a prisoner of Gridania.
* Lahabrea uses an iOS smartphone with Siri. Yes this is totally serious.
* As per the Japanese version, Nael van Darnus was actually female all along. This is however a fact only known to those who helped to slay her at the time Dalamud fell, and to the Scions and rare associates.
* Diabolos has been captured by Master Therion in a crossover scene with the [[Project C]] TP, using an Allagan Magitek device given to him by the Ascian, Lahabrea.

==Lexicon==
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| style="width: 15%;" | '''Term'''
| '''Definition'''
|-
| FATE
| Full Active Time Events, just called FATEs by the Adventurers' Guild, are emergencies that come and go in the various regions of Eorzea. These are usually things that need to be handled right away and which only surfaced in the last few minutes.
|-
| Leve/Guildleve
| A Leve, on the other hand, is a bounty, a quest, a job, something predetermined and that might have been there for a while, without being urgent. A Guildleve, as a distinction, is a repeatable quest, essentially "we'll pay you for each 10 skeletons you kill" rather than "kill 10 skeletons". These are fairly common in monster-infested areas, and an adventurer can earn quite the trust from a Grand Company grinding Guildleves.
|-
| Duty/Guildhest
| A Duty is a difficult task, asking for groups of adventurers specifically to delve into dungeons, ruins, or even to help contain a larger threat, such as a Primal. A Guildhest, like a Guildleve, is something more repeatable and always open, allowing groups of adventurer to do good for the Grand Companies.
|-
| Levemete
| Someone from the Adventurers' Guild responsible for collecting and distributing the various tasks adventurers can do.
|-
| Guild
| A guild is an organization that oversees a particular discipline or aspect of life in Eorzea. The Adventurers' Guild handles adventurers, the Lancers' Guild handles training Lancers, the Archers' Guild trains Archers, etc. Most things have a guild, whether it's a combat path, a crafting or gathering profession, or even the various people who handle transportation across Eorzean, from airships to Chocobo.
|-
| Aether
| The life force of the world. The magical energy that connects most beings in Hydaelyn. See also: The Force, Lifestream, etc.
|-
| Ceruleum
| A liquid, refined form of the Aether. Highly explosive and fairly rare in Eorzean. See also: Mako.
|-
| Magitek
| Catchall term for technology (usually Garlean or Allagan) which strives to emulate magic, or which is powered by magic.
|-
| Primal
| A powerful being formed from faith, worship and the raw energies of the Aether itself. Typically malevolent or at least aggressive and willing to enslave and mind control followers. When killed, they return to the Aether until they are summoned again.
|-
| Temper
| To Temper someone is to brainwash them into blind worship and servitude to a Primal. This is a powerful form of mind control; though no cure exists in-setting, immunity is possible through the Echo, the Gift, or just being strong-willed (i.e. an Elite). A cure could be developed by interested parties.
|-
|}</div></div>

==Linkshells, Linkpearls and Free Companies==
Linkshells are seashell shaped objects, magical in nature and linked to the Aether of Hydaelyn. A Linkshell is essentially two things: the physical object used to distribute Linkpearls, and a private communication frequency. By handing people Linkpearls, small jewels produced from a Linkshell, the owner of that Linkshell can allow people to speak on the frequency telepathically, as long as they're carrying the Linkpearl. This form of communication is extremely difficult to crack, but not foolproof. Linkshells are trivial to purchase and establish. Since a Linkpearl is needed to speak on a Linkshell, only the owner can grant access to theirs.

Linkpearls also double as Multiversal radios because magic.

A Free Company, meanwhile, is essentially a group or guild of adventurers and assorted people, given resource backing by one of the city-states or Grand Companies as they grow. Though they start as little more than groups of sellswords with a recognized name and brand across Eorzea, an active Free Company can eventually acquire assorted weaponry, armor or other physical backing from their supporting, chosen Grand Company, and past a point, they can hold real political weight in the world. It is not impossible for a Free Company to grow so large and famous that they could threaten one of the Grand Companies. Upon founding, a Free Company is given a Linkshell if they don't have one.
===Established Linkshells===
* IC: 'The Nameless Linkshell', frequency 20132.0. '''This radio frequency has an encryption key.''' Only people who attend FFXIV: ARR-1 scenes or interact with [[Alwyn Highwind]] will receive a Linkpearl for this Linkshell (and thus the encryption key). It is a Linkshell dedicated to those who seek to help Eorzea (or at least pretend to) and assorted heroic adventurers, and is maintained by Alwyn himself.
* OOC: General FFXIV: ARR chatter, frequency 4772.0. This frequency is to move conversations regarding the FFXIV: ARR-1 themelist off public channels if they become too spammy, or if people want to discuss character concepts.

===Established Free Companies===
None yet.

==AQ==
This is an FAQ, but without the F, because we haven't actually been asked these things frequently yet!
 
<div class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="background-color:#AAAAAA;">Click to expand.<div class="mw-collapsible-content" style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">
'''Q. Can I app? '''
A. Yes! Yes you can.
 

'''Q. Anything? '''
A. Anything that's in A Realm Reborn or that can be put into it from other Final Fantasy games or Heavensward without disrupting stuff. This includes Warriors of Light, people with the Echo/Gift, people with jobs instead of classes, etc.
 

'''Q. What about Heavensward content? '''
A. Non-plot Heavensward content can be apped once it's out, like the Dark Knight, Machinist and Astrologian jobs. Spoiler or plot content should wait at least one month, but inclusion of Heavensward's plot while still in the early stages of A Realm Reborn might need discussion first.
 

'''Q. Can I have a Chocobo even if I'm not in the cast? '''
A. Why not? It's just a big riding bird. They're not especially rare, and there's even books and guides on caring and feeding for one easily available. Please note if you want it to be combat capable in any way, you'll need to upgrade app. FFXIV:ARR-1 Chocobo, like their Final Fantasy Tactics counterparts, have access to healing and damage spells of varying potency, but only if trained and adventured with for a long time. Otherwise, they're really just mounts. Also: Chocobo change their plumage color by eating fruits. They can be any color whatsoever, as long as you feed them the right fruits. Color does not impact their performance or stats.
 

'''Q. How do the Soul Crystals work? '''
A. They let you bypass the training which would normally be needed to have a job instead of a class. Example: to become a Dragoon you'd normally have to train in Ishgard. Or you could just be a really good Lancer and get a Soul Crystal. Both are valid ways of attaining the job, but one requires a specific backstory while the other doesn't.
 

'''Q. What changes were made to this theme? '''
A. You can consult the changes section up top to see what notable changes have occured in this setting so far. Otherwise, assume everything remains true to A Realm Reborn canon.
 

'''Q. Do I need to know 1.0 stuff? '''
A. Only if it appears in A Realm Reborn directly or you're apping a character who REALLY REALLY needs the extra lore.
 

'''Q. Can I GM stuff once I app? '''
A. Absolutely. FATEs, dungeons, leves and quests are there to be run. Beastmen, Garleans, pirates, whatever, that stuff is there for you to use, you really don't need to check with anyone first. A list of what's been run so far is at the bottom of this page.
 

'''Q. Does X work like it does in the game? '''
A. Probably, yeah. So leves, Materia crafting and spiritbonding, FATEs, the Grand Companies, Linkshells and Linkpearls, the Aethernet and Aetheryte Crystals, Soul Crystals (for jobs), magical RPG inventory space, all that stuff is intact.
 

'''Q. How powerful are the Primals? '''
A. No more than a single Warrior of Light for the most part. What makes the Primals dangerous is not ridiculous firepower, it's the fact even when defeated they'll keep coming back. And the mind control! Can't forget the mind control. The Elder Primals are a bit more dangerous, but their threat really isn't enough one powerful hero can't save the day if it becomes necessary. Primals have a lot of HP if they need to boss up, but that's about it.
 

'''Q. So the Garleans/Bahamut aren't the big bads? '''
A. It isn't currently clear who the big bad of FFXIV will be, and we likely won't know until the game shuts down. By the time this happens it's unlikely this theme will still exist, so you'll never see us impose our belief of who we think the theme 36 should be. Using standard MMORPG PL rules as discussed by Reliant once, it's likely that an end of expansion boss would be 35, a lot of significant characters would be 33-34, and there flat out wouldn't be a 36.
 

'''Q. Can I RP in your cast room? '''
A. Go for it. The only thing we ask is that if you're going to do something significant like try to occupy an area, try to cause significant damage, or generally do something that would have lasting effects (like giving technology to a city-state, trying to crossover a theme with ours) then please consult with the cast first. The cast doesn't need to be around if you want to have social or fight another player in our cast room, we just want to know if you're planning something more substantial.
 

'''Q. Can I loot Garlean Magitek or other special stuff like that? '''
A. Yes, but you may be required to field an upgrade application if you want to loot an object of great power instead of a random gunblade. For more info consult the theme info section near the top.
 

'''Q. How much effect can we have on your theme? '''
A. As much as you're willing to put effort into it, within common sense, and as long as it creates RP instead of destroying it. An extreme example of something that could be pushed is giving the city-states better technology, better equipment and just more resources than the Garleans. On the other hand, permanently destroying or sealing a Primal, while not impossible, is unlikely to be considered too early on since it shuts down future RP.
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Questions, concerns, comments, drop the cast an @mail and we'll discuss it together!

==Things That Have Been Run==
Although FFXIV: A Realm Reborn has a very high number of quests, they're not infinite in supply! This means that it's important to keep an eye on what's already been run, both from the perspective of what lore people have learned about and to prevent repetition.

===Gridania===
* Leve: We Come In Peace

===East Shroud===
* [[2547/FATE:_Below_his_Station|FATE: Below his Station]]
* [[2585/Leve:_Levin_an_Impression|Leve: Levin an Impression]]

===Central Shroud===
* [[2509/Leve:_Skeletons_in_my_Deepcroft|Leve: Skeletons in my Deepcroft]]
* [[2645/FATE:_Something_in_the_Water|FATE: Something in the Water]]

===North Shroud===
* [[2564/FATE:_Dschubba_Snacks|FATE: Dschubba Snacks]]

===South Shroud===
* [[2496/FATE:_The_Coeurl_King|FATE: The Coeurl King]]

===Western La Noscea===
* [[2616/Leve:_It's_Probably_Pirates|Leve: It's Probably Pirates]]

===Dungeons===
* [[2650/Duty:_The_Lost_City_of_Amdapor|The Lost City of Amdapor]]
* Sastasha Seagrot