A silly project idea I had where my Grey Warden from DAO Ayla Aeducan winds up in Eorzea. It's basically just a retelling of the events of FFXIV and right now it only goes through ARR and some part of the patches, but maybe someday I'll do more.

Please note that the following document may contain potentially triggering content. This is not Ao3 and I will not be tagging everything but this content could range from sexual assault, sexual situations in general, lots and lots of kinks, talk of killing people or dead people such as family members, and more. If you are triggered by these things to a point that reading them would be detrimental to your physical and/or mental health I suggest you skip reading anything I have written in this document or others for your own safety. If you are the sort who reads something you disagree with/that offends you/whatever and you feel the need become the Purity Brigade please don't bother - I've been down that road enough to know not to engage, so you will get nothing out of me except a block and a report for harassment.

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Those who become Grey Wardens when there isn't a Blight often die of age before the Taint kills them. I knew...I knew I would never be that lucky. Dealing with a Blight, being so close to the Darkspawn all the time, being a dwarf, and fighting the Archdemon all were factors that quickened things and meant I would be lucky to see a few years past what happened in Denerim.

Even when the Archdemon died, there was no room for rest. The Grey Wardens in Ferelden and Orlais needed to be rebuilt, and my knowledge of politics from growing up as part of the dwarven royalty was invaluable. Zevran was by my side through it all, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner. Tia...Tia was our miracle. Between the differences in our race and the Taint she shouldn't have been possible, but I gave birth to a healthy baby girl. It's a shame she won't remember me, she was barely two years old when...Well, when I knew. I was turning, and the best thing I could do was head for the Deep Roads in traditional Grey Warden fashion, to fight the Darkspawn until I was killed.

Or at least that's how it will be told out there. The reality is knowing what I know about how Broodmothers happen I had no intention of that. I was going to walk the Deep Roads far enough that my body would not be found and I intended to kill myself by jumping from some high place, or perhaps slitting my own throat. I would not suffer what they would do to me, I would not become some mutated abomination spewing out more Darkspawn.

So Zevran brought Tia and I back to Orzammar, and to the entrance to the Deep Roads. He promised to keep her safe, to raise her right to...to tell her I love her, and when she's old enough to ask to tell her I died a hero. I know he'll keep that promise as much as he can. I held her in my arms one last time and kissed her goodbye, and I took in the scent of the man I loved as we embraced. I kissed him with all the fire and passion we've always had for one another, and we both tried not to cry.

By the Stone I will never forget how Tia cried when I handed her back to Zevran and turned to leave. Even being so young, she knew something was wrong. I had to turn my back on her and go, because if I didn't...if I tried to stay I would just become a Darkspawn, and I'd threaten everyone around me. What if it happened while I was alone with her? What if Zevran had to be the one to kill me? I couldn't put him through that, that wasn't fair to him. No, it was better to go out the way of the tradition.

And that's what I thought would happen as I walked into the Deep Roads. Like I said before I...I intended to find a place to end my own life. But in those depths I found an odd looking mirror, ones that reminded me of the stories of the Eluvian, these old mirrors that the Dalish used to use to get around. I heard about them when we were dealing with the Dalish in the Brecilian forest, and more again when I was helping rebuild the Grey Wardens during the years after the Blight.

I thought that if I stepped through, maybe I could end things there and my body wouldn't be desecrated by the Darkspawn. I don't really know why that made sense to me in the end, but it did so I stepped through the mirror and found myself in a forest. I don't know what I was supposed to find on the other side, and as I looked behind me the mirror was gone. Then I realized I couldn't hear the Darkspawn anymore. That constant whisper in the back of my mind was just...silence.

Just as I was wrapping my head around this I was attacked. Some kind of...human-like lizard creature with gangly limbs and a body way too thin. But it wasn't Darkspawn, and I killed it with ease even though it snuck up on me; archery may be my formal training, but being in love with a master assassin taught me a trick or two for close range combat too.

Then I saw elves approaching, carrying some rather primitive looking lances and wearing masks on their faces. They called themselves Wood Wailers and asked where I had come from. I told them I was in the Deep Roads and had stepped through what I thought was an Eluvian and asked where I was, and they told me that I was in the Twelveswood. While that name isn't familiar to me, I also admit until I became a Warden I was relatively sheltered in the ways of the world and thought perhaps I was in Tevinter or Nevarra, maybe even the Free Marches.

But...Well, it became very clear very fast I was in none of those places. When I called them elves they referred to themselves as Elezen, and called me a...I think the word was 'Lalafell'. When I tried to explain that I'm a dwarf they had no idea what I was talking about. The creature I killed was called an Ixal, and they've been a threat in the area for a while. These Wood Wailers saw that I was armed and can clearly fight and suggested I head for a nearby city called Gridania to sign up to be an adventurer.

I thought my 'adventuring' days were over. But with the Taint seemingly no longer in me and finding myself in an unfamiliar place the best I can do is head for this Gridania. It sounds like this might be a major city, and perhaps there I can get some answers. I was lucky enough to be able to get on a cart with some others; some younger looking elves and an older gentleman, and apparently the creatures pulling this cart are called Chocobos. They're some sort of large bird, and the man driving was kind enough to let me pet them a little before we were under way and they are so soft.

So now we are on our way. I miss...I miss my family, and my friends. But I know as far as they are concerned I am dead, I walked into the Deep Roads and they made peace with my death. I don't think I will make my way back there, or if I do it wouldn't be fair to them to suddenly just show up again after everything that happened. I've always been like that, I guess - sacrificing myself, my happiness, for the happiness of others.

Will I find new happiness here? Maybe. I can hope, at least. So here we are, Ayla Aeducan on another adventure. I went from royalty to Grey Warden, and now I start over again with...whatever is here.

******

I guess I didn't realize just how much what was happening affected me, as I found myself dozing off in the back of the cart. As I slept I had a dream in which I saw an enormous blue crystal and it spoke to me, saying "Hear, Feel, Think" in a voice that was actually somewhat soothing. As a figure in a dark robe and red mask appeared I was bathed in light and took a shot at the them, defeating the darkness.

I woke as the old man seated across from me called out. He said I was having a nightmare, and that it was something called 'aether sickness'. He said something else, but I found myself unable to pay attention as these small furry creatures with tiny bat wings showed up. When they realized I was staring they called themselves Moogles and told me that normal people can't see them and because I could I was special. They said they lived in the Twelveswood, and asked if I knew anything as the woods have been restless. Because I had just arrived I did not, and one took a swig of the old man's wine before the pair left.

As if to prove he had not seen them the old man picked up the wine bottle to drink and found it empty where he was sure there had been at least one more drink in there. Rather than go for another bottle he turned to me and introduced himself as Bremondt, bored since the other two in the cart (a pair of elven children) didn't seem in the mood to talk. Bremondt was a trader, and asked if I was an adventurer. I said yes, for lack of a better way to explain what was going on, and he warned me that especially these days adventuring was a dangerous business. I told him that it was a good way to make a living, and he responded with "ain't no profit in being dead" which is surprisingly good advice.

Before we could have more conversation we were stopped by more of the Wood Wailers, and an arrow shot into the cart that barely missed Bremondt. The Wood Wailers said a skirmish had broken out between them and the Ixal and we'd need to stay put, though that quickly changed as it was clear holding them ahead wasn't working and more Ixal appeared. I rushed to the edge of the cart and stood as the cart began to take off, nocking an arrow and firing one shot before we were out of the the fight; a shot that struck an Ixal square in the head and felled it before it could swing at the Wood Wailers.

Bremondt seemed impressed, at least, and while I wanted to jump the cart and run back into the fight I knew I'd just be putting myself in harm's way so I sat back down. Bremondt asked if I had ever been to Gridania, and when I told him no he saw fit to enlighten me. The area was called the Black Shroud, a huge forest in the heart of Eorzea. Something called the Calamity had laid waste to the land about 5 years ago, however, and in the aftermath the Ixal had moved in among others and were causing problems. As he said that we pulled to a stop in Gridania, and this was where we were to part ways as he was off to the markets to deliver his goods. We said our goodbyes and I headed up to the Adventurer's Guild. The place was called the Carline Canopy, run by an elven woman who called herself Mother Miounne and it wasn't hard to see why as she appeared to be a nice older woman who was eager to help me get started as an adventurer and seemed to be just as good with everyone else who stopped by while she was explaining things to me.

In essence the exchange was that I would sign up for the guild and they would do what they could to help me and in turn I would help the people of Gridania. Apparently between bandits and poachers, the Ixal, something called the Garlean Empire to the north and the events of the Calamity the city was suffering. As she explained the Calamity to me, how a creature had emerged from a moon and rained destruction down upon them, it wasn't hard to see why. But one thing stood out to me; the way she talked about how no one could remember exactly how the Calamity happened. One thing everyone agreed on was that a group of adventurers had saved them, though no one could recall their names or faces and people had simply come to call them the Warriors of Light. Not that she was asking me to be one, of course, just to help where I could which sounded fine by me.

So I signed the registry and used my real name. It was so clear that I wasn't anywhere in Thedas that I knew, and the way Mother Miounne reacted to my name told me that as I suspected the name of Aeducan meant nothing to her so I had no reason to hide. Just as I was thinking on that more Wood Wailers came by, insulting adventurers. Mother Miounne lived up to the 'Mother' aspect by fiercely defending the name of adventurers with a verbal venom I would not have expected from someone who seemed so kind. Most notably she said that someone called the Elder Seedseer had told them to welcome adventurers and asked if the Wood Wailers meant to defy her on that point. The Wood Wailers said it was not their fault if outsiders brought doubt upon themselves and told me to behave before going about their way, and Mother Miounne apologized on their behalf saying that some suspicious individuals had been moving about the Twelveswood as of late and the Wood Wailers were being cautious. The people of Gridania lived in relative isolation until the Calamity and as such were prone to mistrusting things they didn't fully understand; words I had to try not to smile at, since they reminded me so much of home.

Still, she said if I did good work the people would come to trust me and I was sent off on my first set of tasks; first to visit the aetheryte plaza and learn how the aethernet worked, second to visit the markets and speak to a man named Persemontret (and give him an eel pie if he refused to cooperate), and third to visit the Archer's Guild and speak with a woman named Athelyna to sign up with them so I could continue honing my skills as an archer. The first task didn't make much sense at the time, and the third seemed unnecessary, but I had to remind myself that here I am not the Hero of Ferelden or even a Grey Warden anymore. The people don't know me and I would need to prove myself again which I found oddly comforting in a way. I had no weight of expectation upon me for what I had done, I was free to just start over.

I began with the aetheryte, which was a large crystal not far from the Carline Canopy. Another Wood Wailer there offered some advice, speaking about how the aetheryte tapped into one's aether energy and it could be used to travel swiftly from one place to another. There were many in the world; big cities like Gridania would have a central one and smaller shards around the city and then other major settlements in various areas would have a central one. Attuning to them would be crucial to getting places quickly, and I decided to start with that by attuning to the central aetheryte and then making my way through the city to attune to the shards and get to know the area.

Once that was done I headed back to the markets to speak with Persemontret. An older elven gentleman, and he seemed disinclined to cooperate until I handed him the eel pie Mother Miounne had made. He told me he could smell the pie and that the fact I would even speak to him was clearly Mother Miounne's handiwork. As a supposed master merchant he spoke of things I already knew; the importance of ones arms and armor for combat, purchasing items such as potions, things of that sort. Boring, but at least I was always good at pretending I'm paying attention to things I'm really not. Thankfully he was short with me, and after a brief explanation said that there was substitute for practical experience and sent me on my way.

Thus my final stop was the Archer's Guild, where I spoke to Athelyna. She knew Mother Miounne had sent me, like Persemontret, and explained how the current archery came from a mixture of the longbow techniques of the Elezen and the shortbow techniques of the Miqo'te (which I had learned in the course of exploring the city were the human-looking individuals with cat ears and tails) as both came to call the Twelveswood home and learned from one another. While it had started as something for hunting, a group emerged based on perfecting the art of archery and that was how the guild had come to be. She spoke of a group called the Gods' Quiver (which sounded quite important) and how many of theirs had spent their early days training at the guild as well, so there was greatness to be found in the art.

This talk of archery as an 'art' I found quite interesting. I spoke to Luciane, the elven woman who ran the guild, and while I didn't disagree with her that archery has its advantages in terms of being able to take down enemies from a distance, how a well placed shot can disable an enemy, how we're perfectly positioned to assess the battlefield better for ourselves or our allies, I've always seen archery as a form of combat and survival than anything else. I don't understand seeing it as an art, or finding beauty in one's technique; so long as it fells foes and keeps one alive, little else matters.

Luciane wanted me to prove I was an archer worthy of the guild and sent me beyond the city walls to slay enemies. A simple enough task, though I finished just as a storm was rolling in and the distant cracks of thunder threatened to open the sky. In fact I made it inside the Archer's Guild just as it began to pour outside, though I had the proof with me and Luciane seemed happy enough with that. She gave me something called a Hunting Log to track down enemies to slay and bring back proof to her, so I took it for later and headed out.

Braving the rain I made my way back to the Carline Canopy to Mother Miounne to tell her I had visited the places she wished me to and had even done some work for the Archer's Guild. She gave me some coin, the currency here being called gil, and gave me my next mission; to head to see a man named Galfrid in the Bannock, a training ground just outside the city used by the Wood Wailers and other groups. He might have some work for me, but for now it was late and I realized all I'd eaten all day was rations that I had originally brought with me for my trip into the Deep Roads so I wouldn't die of starvation. Thankfully the Carline Canopy had food and an attached inn where I was welcome to stay, so I ordered dinner and a room.

Part of this was written while waiting for food, the rest once I had retired to my room for the evening. Looking back this was quite the eventful day, and I think I will sleep well this evening. I am a no-name adventurer, and if I remain that way for what time I have here I think that will be just fine. But something tells me my vision of the crystal and everything that happened there will lead me down another 'heroic' path in this world too. At least I have the previous experience to handle it if that becomes the case.

******

I woke up early, something that...I guess I'm used to. The sounds of the city waking to go about their business as well were familiar enough to rouse me from slumber. As I headed for the aetheryte to head to the markets I ran across a woman named Echo Menace and she invited me to her Free Company. Mother Miounne told me about them yesterday, basically groups of adventurers that form to help each other out. I didn't see a reason to decline as Echo seemed nice enough and getting the help of other adventurers couldn't hurt. She came with me to the markets while I picked up some new equipment, then headed off to meet someone else. But we could still communicate with one another by being part of the same Free Company, a sort of telepathic communication that persisted even though they were far away which I find very interesting.

Afterwards I headed back to the Central Shroud and out to the Bannock. I had been sent to this side of the city to slay things yesterday at the behest of the Archer's Guild so it wasn't too unfamiliar, and thankfully the Bannock was not far. There I spoke with Galfrid, a man responsible for training recruits for a group known as the Twin Adder. It seems to me that there are several groups at play in Gridania; the Gods' Quiver and Wood Wailers are mostly concerned with defense of the city, while the Twin Adder is more akin to their military organization in case of invasion and such.

Galfrid said that the people of Gridania felt it was their sacred duty to restore the forest, especially after so much was destroyed in the Calamity, and the hope was that adventurers would be helpful. Feeling that I had sufficient gear to be sent out into the forest, Galfrid entrusted me with a mission; the activity of the Ixal was on the rise, and it seemed to have coincided with the first spotting of a mysterious robed figure in the Twelveswood. They were having trouble chasing him down, however, as it seemed like any time they got close he escaped and it was almost as if he knew their movements. The hope was that a lone adventurer with no connection to the Adders might have more luck, and so he directed me to something called the Lifemend Stump where many of the recent sightings had been reported to see what I could find. I was also warned that I was on my own; if the Adders got involved it could out me as working with them and make tracking the stranger more difficult. I assured Galfrid I'd be fine and set off for my destination.

As a warmup along the way I was able to slay some monsters listed in the Hunt Log I had been given by the Archer's Guild, and soon enough I found myself traveling up a path near a waterfall and into a small area behind it where the Lifemend Stump was located. The stump itself had been beautifully decorated with stones, pinecones, leaves and other things from the forest and among them stood a sword thrust into the center of the stump. As I looked at the sword three more individuals showed up; a human woman, a dwarven man, and a Moogle. The woman said the sword was bad, and that it didn't take much to incite the wrath of the forest these days while the Moogle assured the dwarf I was not the 'dark stranger' they were seeking. In fact the Moogle recognized me from the carriage ride, though I remember the two I saw were identical to my eyes so I'm not surprised I could not have picked this one out as one of them.

The pair spoke of a disturbance in the aether, a word which I'm starting to understand the more the people around me use it. The woman said that ever since the Calamity the forest had been quite sensitive and it wouldn't take much to disrupt things - including the sword in the stump, which seemed to trigger the very trees to attack us. Thankfully I was more than prepared, and I watched as the woman was clearly trained in self-defense arts while the man was using magic. A dwarf using magic of course seems impossible to me, but I do have to accept that here things might be different.

When the last of the trees fell I spotted a small blue crystal and went to pick it up, blinded by the light it emitted. Once again I saw the large crystal that had spoken to me yesterday when I fell asleep in the cart, and it showed me a vision of fire raining from the sky before it spoke to me again. Its name is Hydaelyn, and it spoke of how there was once light everywhere but the light had dimmed, allowing the darkness to rise as the light faltered. It begged me to deliver the world from this horrible fate, bidding me to seek out the Crystals of Light to banish the darkness. I assume the blue one I found that triggered the experience was one such crystal, and as I thought on that I woke up to the splashing of raindrops on my face and the Moogle looking down at me.

The dwarf said I fainted, and once again mentioned something about aether. If aether can make me pass out like that then I'm quickly realizing I want little to do with it aside from using the aetherytes because those are actually quite helpful. In any case they had spotted a dead Ixal nearby, some kind of chieftain by the looks of things. An Ixali chieftain deep into what for them was enemy territory was almost unheard of, and the pair were sure that the Ixal were now acting on orders of some kind.

The woman checked in on me while the dwarf spoke to someone I couldn't hear, I assume magical conversation not unlike what I encountered with Echo and the Free Company this morning. I couldn't hear what he said as I told the woman about the giant crystal I had seen when I 'passed out' and it was clear by her response that she thought I was dreaming or something else. I shrugged it off as I heard the dwarf tell the Moogle to take word to a Brother something who sounded quite important, and as the Moogle took off so to did the pair. The woman told me to take the sword from the tree stump and deliver it to the Bannock as it might provide some answers. I had planned on doing as such anyway, so I removed the sword as carefully as I could and made my way back to Galfrid in the Bannock.

For his part, Galfrid was glad to see me alive; a patrol had seen me in combat with the treants (as he called them) and he had been worried. I gave him the sword and told him about the dead Ixal, and he confirmed that the sword was of Ixali make and that it was extremely risky for them to come into the Central Shroud so something had to be going on. When I brought up the odd pair I had encountered he said their names were Yda and Papalymo, and that they were scholars of some kind who had been allies to Gridania by aiding the Wood Wailers and Gods' Quiver. While the mysterious individual causing all the problems continued to elude the Adders, I had provided good intelligence on the Ixal and for that Galfrid was thankful.

He also asked for my help with more mundane tasks; several of his men were injured, leaving them unable to complete a job regarding slaying fly-like creatures known as chigoe and acquire their eggs. He asked if I would do so, and take the eggs to a man named Monranguin at Gilbert's Spire just outside the Bannock. It seemed an easy enough job, and I remembered Mother Miounne saying that if I helped people would come to trust me in time. So I set out, slaying the chigoe and acquiring their egg sacs before delivering them as requested. Monranguin said they were going to the Trappers' League, who would use the eggs to check for signs of a disease known as the Creeping Death. Chigoe were one of the few creatures that could transmit it, and in the past outbreaks had wiped out a large portion of the population. While the advent of medicines meant the disease wasn't as deadly as it had once been they still wished to keep an eye on potential outbreaks, which is something that after dealing with the Blight I can fully appreciate.

Since I had proved myself helpful, Monranguin asked for my help in a task as well; a recruit had been helping with a surveying mission but ran at the first sign of trouble and left the equipment behind. He asked me to retrieve the equipment and take it to someone named Hearer Pauline at the nearby Gabineaux's Bower. Once again a simple enough task, I slew some spider like creatures and found the cave partially flooded due to the rain, but neither stopped me as I picked up the equipment and took it to the Bower. I was also glad to be inside, soaked through from the rain and feeling a little gross. I explained everything to Hearer Pauline, and she explained that the recruit had at least done his job before fleeing and leaving the equipment behind. Since the Calamity the Twelveswood had changed quite a bit, and they could no longer rely on their past knowledge of the area. To that end the Conjurers had asked the Adders for help, and the higher ups saw it as an opportunity to train inexperienced recruits. An actually smart move on all ends, which I was somewhat surprised at.

Having proved myself capable, Hearer Pauline also asked for my aid. Anoles had come down from their usual habitat because of the changes, now hanging around an area where the Conjurers went to commune with the forest guardians and disrupting that communion with unprovoked attacks. She wished for me to kill some to help drive them away by proving the area was dangerous, and break the population cycle by taking some of their eggs as well. The anoles were on my Hunting Log to top it off, so I went out and took care of it. After that Hearer Pauline asked me to take the eggs tot he Bannock, as they were quite edible and the soldiers would be happy to see the eggs instead of their usual rations.

As I returned and handed the eggs over Galfrid noticed and asked for my help with a sensitive matter. Nearby was a place known as Spirithold, a dungeon that was pretty much destroyed in the Calamity. A Hearer had gone in with some guards to perform something called the Rite of Returning, to the best of my understanding it was a ritual to offer the space back to the forest as they were no longer using it due to its decayed state. Word had arrived just before I did that the Hearer had been attacked, and while Galfrid would have sent guards most of his men had been sent off minutes before to help with an Ixal incursion in the West Shroud. Galfrid was sure this was no coincidence, and that the Ixal had planned this to interrupt the Rite and help further disrupt the relationship between those living in the forest and the Elementals.

So I went to Spirithold. I found the guards and helped them escape, then found the Hearer and a golem. I was somewhat reminded of Shale, as odd as that was, but also golems were something I could fight well. In fact I made oddly quick work of it, hearing a mysterious voice at the end. I thought I saw something but it was gone, and before I could turn back Yda and Papalymo came running in and my head began to hurt. I saw the two of them walking through the Twelveswood and hiding as an Ixal patrol came past. Something about trying to 'summon a Primal', and then the vision changed to the two of them looking at a stream before looking at a large mass in the sky that they called Dalamud; I remembered this to be the moon from which all the destruction of the Calamity had been wrought. I heard them say the Garleans would have much to answer for, which has more or less solidified for me right now that they are not good people.

Finally a third vision, which seemed more present as Yda mentioned it had been five years since the Calamity. They spoke of the Ixal and someone named Garuda, and a group called the Sylphs and an entity called Ramuh. I assume Garuda and Ramuh are Primals, and the Ixal and Sylphs are the ones who would summon them respectfully. I don't understand what a Primal is or why these groups would summon one, but I assume I will in time. Regardless, after that vision I was brought back to the present. The Hearer remained unharmed, but Papalymo explained that the forest was the domain of guardians known as the Elementals, and it was only by their allowance that people could live there. Spirithold was meant to be given back to them via the Rite, and while it was not the Hearer's fault this attempt failed the Elementals might still consider it a slight and the people of Gridania had no desire to make the forest angry. They would see the Hearer to safety and send others to finish the Rite now that the area was safe.

The pair introduced themselves as they left, unaware that I already knew their names, and I took a moment to let them go ahead before following suit. I returned to the Bannock to tell Galfrid what had transpired, and then I returned to Gridania to tell Mother Miounne. She had heard the whole story already and was quite proud of me, and though she mentioned something about an upcoming festival I found myself too tired to listen properly. Seeing this and knowing the late hour, Mother Miounne told me to get some rest.

I feel as if I can't properly sleep until I make sure this journal is kept, however, so as before I did some while waiting for food and the rest after retiring to an inn room. Unfortunately whatever this crystal is, and whatever these visions are, I feel as if I have not escaped the weight of responsibility by being here. Instead I have jumped into a new realm of something where I will end up important, as much as I don't want that. But I know better than to fight it, the more I try to run from this the worse things are going to get. At least I know I'm prepared for it after being the Hero of Ferelden and everything that came with rebuilding the Grey Wardens so I feel I can step up when the inevitable time comes.

******

I spoke to Mother Miounne this morning but as she had nothing aside from some basic jobs I told her that I would prefer to spend today getting to know Gridania a little better. I figured if Galfrid or anyone from the Adders needed me they would be able to track me down or at least have sent word to Mother Miounne, and without that kind of business to attend to I was looking forward to a more peaceful day.

I returned to the Archer's Guild to show Luciane the proof of what I had killed yesterday for the Hunt Log. She was impressed, and sent me on a test of observation; practice butts had been set up throughout the city, so I was to destroy them. An easy enough task, and once complete she saw fit to give me something more challenging. Outside the city were creatures they called opo-opo and microchu, the first being able to throw things from a distance and the second armed with a toxic gas it could spew in self defense. The lesson was meant to be one about knowing how an enemy operates and devising effective strategies, but again these are things I know from my years fighting Darkspawn among other creatures. As the area has plenty of trees I simply found packs of the creatures, climbed my way up, and made my shots. The opo-opos were easy, a quick and clean shot to the head was all it took and while the others scrambled to figure out where the ambush was coming from I was easily able to take them down. On the other hand I wasn't quite sure where to aim on the microchus but I observed that their spray had a limited range so climbing high enough to be out of said range before firing was effective enough.

Trophies in hand as proof I returned to the Archer's Guild, and there Luciane asked two others their opinions of me; one a Miqo'te woman named Leih and the other an elven man named Silvairre. Leih recognized my power as an archer, including citing that she had been watching me the whole time and was impressed with my ability to quickly assess an enemy and make smart moves in regards to the best way to counter them. Silvairre, on the other hand, proved to be quite difficult. He criticized my technique, and said that outsiders could not be trusted to understand or master the 'noble art' of archery. Even going so far as to say to Luciane that I should not be allowed in the guild, nor should Leih.

As he left Leih said he was like that with everyone, and Luciane agreed that he was 'prideful to excess and intolerant of other races', which is a polite way of saying he's racist. Not the first time I've dealt with racism, of course, but over something so simple as how one practices archery? That just seems...well, let's just say I have no kind words for it.

Regardless, Luciane put Leih in charge of my next trial which was to go destroy targets outside of the city gates. Unlike earlier I would need to be much more mindful of my surroundings as the practice butts had been placed in areas where there were hostile monsters. Thankfully my small size meant I was easily able to slip around them, shoot, and come back without engaging in a single fight. Leih was quite impressed, and as the last part of the trial sent me to slay some tree slugs and vultures in a settlement outside the main city. Normally this would be something the Wood Wailers or Gods' Quiver would do, but with the Ixal threat rising they could not spare the men for it and the Conjurers could not take care of the problem themselves because both creatures could cause quite the problem for magic casters in their own ways.

While I initially failed to see how this could be the case, I went out to do what was requested and saw first hand what Leih spoke of. The tree slugs were almost as big as I was and when threatened (tested by throwing a rock at one after I had safely climbed a tree) they spewed a rather foul smelling liquid, and the vultures reacted to threats by flapping their wings to create strong gusts. What I have learned so far of magic in this world is that any casters need a second or two for the spell to charge before it is unleashed, and interrupting that process causes it to fail, so both creatures would be able to interrupt casters quite easily hence the inability of the Conjurers to handle their out of control populations.

I slew a decent amount of them for good measure and returned to the Archer's Guild, barely getting a word in to Luciane before Silvairre rudely asked if I was the one who had slain the creatures. When I told him yes he was upset that Leih had entrusted the safety of his people to the hands of a stranger, calling her reckless among other names I wish not to repeat. Thankfully Luciane was quick to shut that down by praising my skill, though that was soured as she said that he would be the instructor for my next trial when I was ready. She also gave me permission to join other guilds and would pass that along to the relevant guildmasters, and rather than continue to deal with Silvairre I went off to see what else Gridania had to offer.

Honestly? I've never been one for crafting or gathering beyond what was needed or what could be done on the road. But I also know it's good to have hobbies to keep from going crazy when things aren't always in 'go mode' so to speak. For me that's always been playing an instrument. Much to the dismay of my family back in Orzammar I used to practice the lute all the time, and was good with several other instruments besides. I think that was the worst part about being in the Deep Roads with Duncan back in those days, when we made camp for the night I had nothing to practice with and I remember pacing around at a complete loss for what to do with myself. First thing he did once we exited and found a village was buy me a simple ocarina to practice with, not an instrument I was used to but one I became quite good at over time. I kept it with me through everything, and even when we were neck-deep in the Blight at night when we made camp I'd play.

Zevran...He always loved it. Alistair was annoyed at first but I think it just became ignorable, same for Morrigan. Leliana taught me how to play songs she knew how to sing and we'd do that sometimes. I never knew what Sten or Shale thought of it, but I know Wynne told me once that the first time I was away from camp for a night she had a hard time sleeping without the soft sounds of my practice that

 she had grown so used to.

Anyway, while I could acquire an instrument here as well I figured I should also look into more practical matters. Gridania had guilds dedicated to leatherworking, carpentry, and botany and while none were areas I would consider myself anything more than a basic novice at I figured it couldn't hurt to spend the afternoon introducing myself to them.

Geva of the leatherworkers was a harsh woman, but I could tell it came from the love of her craft. Unlike archery, I know crafting is about technique and appearances. Though the leather she had me craft was of horrid quality I do have the will to learn and the tenacity to pull it off, so she agreed to let me practice some and come back when I am more capable.

Next I went to see Fufucha of the botanists. Another dwarf like me, which just seemed odd as dwarves aren't usually associated with plant-growing. A kind woman, however, who wished only to look after plants and use them for good; to help others by providing aid, building materials, and anything else required of them. While my skills at identifying plants are a bit lacking, the ability to cut down a tree or uproot a shrub isn't one that requires much learning. She was pleased with the sap I brought back at her request and agreed to help tutor me in the ways of the botanist. And Fufucha is nice, I could see myself wanting to spend more time with her.

Finally I went to see Beatin of the carpenters. Like Geva he was somewhat harsh, but unlike her he was capable of jokes. He takes his craft very seriously as well, but was not as harsh in the judgement of my technique as Geva even though I'm sure I deserved that and more. Beatin sensed in me the want to learn, and also agreed to allow me to join the guild. Like Geva I am to practice first, then return to show my work when I feel I have made significant improvement.

While neither craft is one I can do without a workshop and some specialized tools, I did borrow a book on botany from the Adventurer's Guild so I can at least study and read in my spare time for now. I'm sure the information will stick eventually, or at least I will have some recollection of the illustrations in certain situations that I'm sure will be helpful while I am adventuring...and to show Fufucha just how much I have learned when I see her next.

******

Rather than sleep at the Adventurer's Guild last night I was invited to sleep at the home the Free Company kept. Eros, their leader, set up some spare bedding on a couch on the second floor for me and promised they'd get me a room soon. When I woke this morning some clothes had been left for me, apparently made by another member of the Free Company named Frederick. I'm given to understand he and Eros are brothers, which I suppose makes sense. I left a message with the mender for him as thanks since he didn't seem to be around, though I will be sure to thank him when I see him as well.

After that I returned to Gridania and spoke to Mother Miounne. She sent me off to Bentbranch, saying they could use some help and I should speak to Keitha at the Chocobo stables. When I arrived Keitha said she had heard good things about me, and that she used to doubt adventurers could help but as she'd been proven wrong so many times she knew that anyone Mother Miounne sent could be trusted. She asked me to help out with the Chocobos, something that I was more than happy to do because I really do think these oversized birds are adorable. People here use them as mounts the same way we did with horses back home, or how the Dalish used the Halla.

Apparently some sort of creature had been in the stable attempting to steal an egg, dropping and breaking it when it was caught. Though the stablehands had tried to chase it, three more of its kin showed up and it became too dangerous to pursue so they gave up. Keitha bid me go speak with a woman named Roseline at the nearby Matron's Lethe, so I headed that way. Roseline said the creatures were a nuisance at best usually but now they had crossed the line to trespassing and thievery and needed to be dealt with. I was tasked with heading to where the creatures nest and slaying four of the creatures to make an example of them. Thankfully they nested under a cliff by some massive tree roots so I was able to climb up and rain death down from above without them even knowing what hit them.

I reported back to Roseline, and then she had a slightly more mundane task for me. She saw how nimbly I had been able to climb the exposed tree roots and asked me to remove some fungus growing along them. While this would normally be the job of a man named Theodore he was afraid of heights, and removing the fungus was important because if left unattended it could destroy the root which was now a means of travel for most people. I picked the fungus and stored it for later, thinking Fufucha might like to have some samples, and then reported to Theodore as well to let him know it was done so he didn't have to.

In return the man told me he had seen something but wasn't sure what it was and had been trying to bring up the courage to go tell Roseline. I went down for him, and Roseline said she had seen it too but suspected it was one of the creatures I had slain and probably nothing. I decided to check it out regardless, finding a fresh campsite with a fire that still had embers and a leather bag left behind in haste. The bag contained things to help look after the Chocobos, which Roseline thought must belong to a stranger that had been messing with the Chocobos as of late. She quickly penned a letter and had me take it to the various sentries around Bentbranch including Eylgar at the stables.

The aforementioned man also needed my help afterwards, saying a merchant who had come in claimed to be attacked by winged beasts. There should have been nothing in the area like what the merchant described, but I was asked to check it out and tell a nearby sentry named Lothaire to actually patrol his area. Of course I found a vulture nest and some eggs, and after taking them out I went to find Lothaire but also found the spire under attack by diremites. After I helped drive them off I spoke to Lothaire and he seemed surprised there were vultures, promised to do a better patrol job, and asked me not to tell Eylgar.

Of course I intended to tell Eylgar as soon as Lothaire asked me not to. I think I'm still bitter about what Silvairre said yesterday about entrusting the safety of his people to strangers, and the fact that his own were too lazy to do proper patrols and keep the roads safe was something I intended to remedy and rub in his face later. Not that I said any of this to Lothaire as he asked me to head to the Hedgetree and find someone named Hearer Leonnie. She was supposed to board a boat from the nearby docks and return to Gridania but had missed the boat entirely, though as she was prone to getting absorbed in her work he wasn't worried for her safety.

So I headed down there and found the Hearer, who said that the task she had come out to do was done but said that the elementals were whispering of a disturbance in a place nearby called the Tam-Tara Deepcroft. She wished to stay a bit longer and attempt to figure out the situation, and so sent me to tell the boat captain she would be even later in returning to Gridania. And it was just one thing after another as the captain asked me to pick up some cargo on the road nearby after the cart had been attacked by a forest creature; the merchants were all fine, but as an adventurer I was in a unique position to slay the creature and take the cargo back to Keitha at the stables. When I did she was thankful, saying that she saw new horrors every day and wasn't even sure if they were safe in the Twelveswood anymore.

I went to speak to Eylgar and tell him what I had found, as well as the fact that Lothaire had asked me to lie for him. As Eylgar assured me this would be taken care of I heard someone in the stables cursing and went to find a man named Luquelot distressed over a stolen Chocobo egg. He had turned his back for a minute and it was gone, and he asked me to go see what anyone else might have spotted. There wasn't much until one of the guards said he had noticed a man running towards the Tam-Tara Deepcroft but hadn't thought anything of it at the time. I returned to Luquelot to tell him, and he suspected that the thief had to be from his native home in Ishgard and well versed in Chocobo breeding to take an egg from a Chocobo named Leia and ignore all the others - Leia came from a special bloodline of some kind, so there was no way that this was the work of a random thief.

Keitha pointed out that Tam-Tara was in the opposite direction from Ishgard (to my understanding Ishgard is in Coerthas, which is north of the Black Shroud while Tam-Tara is to the south) but that didn't matter, what mattered was getting the egg back. None of them were equipped to do it, so I chased the thief into the forest and found a Moogle defending the egg. They had been asleep in the stable and saw the thief making off with it, so they stole it back and had been trying to return when they were ambushed. The primary thief was not working alone, but it made no difference as a few key shots made short work of them. The Moogle vanished and I returned the egg to Luquelot.

Just when I thought perhaps I could have a peaceful day after that point, maybe finally take those mushrooms to Fufucha, Luquelot mentioned something that was troubling him. The Ixal had flying machines and had been near something called the Guardian Tree, a supposedly super sacred area so it was puzzling that the elementals would do nothing about the Ixal being in its area and possibly defiling it as well. The stranger that had been seen as of late might be responsible, so to be safe Luquelot gave me a letter to give to Mother Miounne and sent me on my way.

As much as I would have loved to stop there for the day I knew that if time was of the essence I would never forgive myself for delaying delivering the letter. So I returned to Mother Miounne, and of course things only got worse from there. She told me the Guardian Tree was the oldest living tree in the Black Shroud, and that every forestborn citizen of Gridania held it sacred. If it were to be harmed the wrath of the elementals would be as bad as the Calamity, if not worse, so she sent me to a man named Lewin who headed the Gods' Quiver.

I fully admit I did not want to go. I do not understand this business with the elementals, why people would choose to live here when they spend their time in fear of angering these forest guardians for things that are not their fault. The more time I spend here the less desire I have to stay in the long term. But Fufucha...I understand how the Black Shroud would be good for botany, and she as well as many others are innocent in this and don't deserve to suffer for my inaction. I don't want the weight of that responsibility on me, but I also can't ignore it. I'd never be able to live with myself if I did.

So I went to Lewin and told him the relevant information. He was about to send men to investigate when one of his own came in saying that the Ixal were amassing at the Guardian Tree, so it was time to head there and help defend it. Oddly enough as we were getting into position I was listening to the conversations of the Ixal; they spoke as if the Gridanians were invaders in their land and how the Guardian Tree held a crystal that they would take and make an offering to Garuda.

We started the fight, and while some kind of creature joined them it was an easy enough victory. Lewin took some others to another position to help fight, and asked I stay in position just in case. Of course as soon as I was alone a mysterious robed figure showed up and tried to fight with me. I had him, but I didn't turn down help from Yda and Papalymo when they showed up as well. As the man died he muttered something about the Paragons, and Papalymo elaborated by saying that they were also called the Bringers of Chaos but their proper name was Ascians. At least they knew what they were dealing with and it was clear the Ascians were manipulating the beast tribes which made sense.

As Lewin returned he apologized for leaving me on my own, but I told him it was fine and I could handle myself. As Yda and Papalymo went on their way and the Gridanians made their way back to the city I saw a dark crystal on the ground, though it vanished when I approached. Still the Guardian Tree seemed fine, so I also made my way back to Gridania and to Lewin as well. He rewarded me for my help, and then came the Elder Seedseer. I was correct in my earlier observation that she is essentially the head of this place, and quite pretty as well. Her name beyond the title is Kan-E-Senna, and she was quite kind. She mentioned a ceremony called Greenbliss to take place the day after tomorrow, and gave me the role of Emissary so I was to return to Mother Miounne and prepare. Again not a role I wanted, but I also saw no need to offend the Elder Seedseer by turning it down.

Mother Miounne impressed upon me just how important this was; as the Emissary in the Greenbliss Ceremony I was to serve the role of conduit between man and elemental. The choice of Emissary was not one the Elder Seedseer made lightly, and rarely had it been someone not forestborn. I went to see Timbermaster Beatin to fetch a mask to wear for the ceremony, made of lumber from naturally fallen branches of the Guardian Tree, and Mother Miounne said she'd hold onto it until the ceremony so I could come see her the morning of to get ready.

Tired though I was, I went to see Fufucha and give her the mushrooms I had gathered. She gladly took them, saying that often the Wood Wailers simply picked and discarded the fungus and it was hard to get them to bring it to the Botanist's Guild as there were more pressing matters for them to attend to. Which I understand, but I was also glad to see Fufucha smile as she explained some specifics about the mushrooms I didn't quite pick up on. When she was done I bid her a good evening, and returned to the Free Company house to sleep. Eros is a very good cook as well, and always makes sure there's food about.

The house is almost too quiet and it seems strange. I almost miss the sounds of the inn, but I know in time I will grow used to this just as I have grown used to other situations in the past. Perhaps it will settle once I have my own room? We'll see, I guess.

******

Rather than resting yesterday I just ran errands for Fufucha. It was helpful to expand my botany skills more than the books I had been studying, and it made committing the different plants and other things to memory easier as well when I could see them instead of staring down sketches. It was nice to just have a day exploring the Black Shroud and seeing Fufucha smile when I brought her the things she sent me to fetch.

I stayed in Gridania for the night just to be close for Greenbliss, waking in the morning and going to see Mother Miounne. She handed me the mask and sent me to see Estaine at the amphitheater to get ready. Thankfully my job was basically to stand there and try to look dignified, the rest was up to the Elder Seedseer and others. So I went to see Estaine, put the mask on, and got up on stage.

Never have I been more thankful for a mask because I swear I probably wasn't hiding my expressions well. Yda and Papalymo were there, I spotted some Moogles, and even Fufucha came out to see the ceremony. I shouldn't have been surprised at that all things considered with what I had heard about how big and important Greenbliss is, but I felt myself blushing as I saw her in the crowd. And thankfully my part in the ceremony was indeed easy, Kan-E-Senna gave a speech and I somewhat zoned out and before I knew it the whole thing was over.

The crystal I had began to glow as I went to leave, and Kan-E-Senna stopped me for a moment. She recognized it as a Crystal of Light and asked if something called the 'Mothercrystal' had revealed itself to me, if I had been suffering from aether sickness as of late. I told her yes, and she spoke of the Calamity and the Warriors of Light, though like Mother Miounne she spoke of not being able to remember their names or faces. Then she said something about the power of the Echo, and I felt my head hurt like it had before with Yda and Papalymo.

I saw the Calamity. The fire that rained from the skies, the creature that emerged from the moon, Kan-E-Senna and others that I presumed to be the leaders of other cities. The same robed figure I had seen in the forest. But most of all I felt it. I felt the fear, the uncertainty, the pain as every soul on that battlefield died. In Thedas dwarves don't dream, we can't. I haven't had a dream since coming to Eorzea so I'm not sure if I can, but if the Echo is like dreams then I don't want them.

When I awoke Mother Miounne was tending to me, having agreed to do so after I passed out on the stage. The whole thing was being blamed on the fact that for the past week or so I've been going almost nonstop, and the exhaustion must have caught up with me. I didn't dispute Mother Miounne on that point, I just let her return to her duties after she told me Kan-E-Senna wanted to see me.

After a few more minutes to let myself mentally prepare I headed off to see the Elder Seedseer. I was reminded again of how kind she is when she said she had a favor to ask but only if I was rested and well. Once I assured her I was she said that she would appoint me as her personal envoy should I agree, and deliver letters to the other two leaders of the surrounding city-states Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa. It has been five years since the Calamity happened, with the Warriors of Light missing the best thing for the people was hope, and they could foster that with a memorial service for those who died in the Calamity. So Kan-E-Senna bid me to take the messages of this to the others via an airship. Something about how they had once been common but now the risk of being attacked by the Garlean Empire among other threats meant they had to restrict them to only the most emergent of uses.

I was honestly more surprised by learning this place has ships that can fly! They really do seem to have many different things here, and though I was hesitant about how stable a flying ship could be I took the airship pass and the letters and returned to Mother Miounne to say goodbye before I headed for the city of Limsa Lominsa. She was so proud of me, and made it clear that an outsider being declared the personal envoy to the Elder Seedseer was a big deal, much like my being chosen for Greenbliss. This wasn't the first time she said "You've made Mother proud" but those words hit a little closer to home today with the idea that I was going to be leaving Gridania for who knew how long.

A trip that could have taken days by land took only hours by the airship, and I arrived in Limsa Lominsa in the early evening. I went straight to see the Admiral; a woman I found to be quite intimidating in appearance but kind in personality. She thought over the idea of a memorial service, saying that it was because of the Garlean Empire that the city-states of Eorzea had reformed the Eorzean Alliance and their various Grand Companies. In the wake of the Calamity the nations were still recovering and faced a slew of problems and she thought the service was exactly what they would need to be stronger than ever.

I rented a room at the inn for the night and decided to stay in Limsa instead of moving on to Ul'dah. The airships are not built for comfort; there is a deck to stand or sit on, and little else as everything inside them is what they need to stay functioning. I wouldn't be able to sleep that way, and even if I could I would not ask the pilot to put themselves in danger by ferrying me through the night. Better to fall asleep to the sounds of the waves on the nearby shore and depart for the desert in the morning.

I wonder if Fufucha has been out there, or to the desert? I'll have to return and pick up some things for her, especially here in Limsa; a large port like this is likely to get merchants from all over the world, I'm sure the merchants here would have something she hasn't seen before or gets to work with rarely...

******

This morning I boarded the airship for Ul'dah. Seeing it on the horizon even before we docked I thought of Antiva and all the times Zevran would talk about his home city. Another jewel in the desert, though this one I got to see with my own eyes. Beautiful in its own way, and a testament to the fact that people will find ways to settle anywhere.

After disembarking the airship I went straight to the General, who I had also seen in my vision about the Calamity. Despite being a large and clearly intimidating man I could tell he had a good heart under all that, and in a way he reminded me of Sten. He spoke of the Garlean Empire, giving me a little more information than I had before; some 50 years past the Empire began to conquer the territories surrounding them and had tried to take Eorzea twice. They'd been quiet since the Calamity, but that was because the current emperor is elderly and in failing health and apparently has failed to name a successor so there's no clear line of succession so that's likely where the Empire's resources were going for now.

However there were still members of the Empire in Eorzea acting under the command of the Legatus Gaius van Baelsar. The Empire was the biggest threat, even more so than the beast tribes, and the General said that despite being called the Eorzean Alliance they were united in name only so he hoped that the memorial service would be something that could bring back the unity they needed. He sent a letter to Kan-E-Senna just as the Admiral had, and I was sent on my way.

Seeing no need to return to Gridania straight away I spent my afternoon in Ul'dah seeing what guilds they had to offer. Adalberta of the Miner's Guild was interesting to talk to, she said that new technology meant they could reopen old ore mines and they were always looking for new miners. Adventurers made good ones due to being hardy and well traveled, and with profit in it for them as well the deal would be mutually beneficial. I don't wish to spend my days aching from swinging a pick, however, so that's one I think I'll pass on for now. Same with the Weaver's Guild; much like Geva of the Leatherworker's Guild it's clear that Redolent Rose views his craft as something to be perfected. Which I can understand, and I appreciate the artisans that strive to master the craft, but that's not something I wish to spend my time on. Severian of the Alchemist's Guild was...well, let's just put it at 'interesting' and leave it there. Alchemy is another art for which I have no talent and the man's behavior did nothing to endear me to it so I think I'll be staying out of that as well.

Serendipity, or Sera, of the Goldsmith's Guild was much more to my liking. A down to earth woman still getting her feet under her as guildmaster, and something about the dwarf in me likes the idea of goldsmithing as well. Stereotypical, I know, but even if I objected and would prefer to look like a warrior I always did like wearing pretty things. I have found that here, through magic imbued in certain objects, I can make some things I wear look like other things which means I don't have to sacrifice practicality for beauty and that is something I intend to take full advantage of; if I can have the benefits of a full suit of armor while having it look like regular clothes, why wouldn't I do that?

Anyway, I settled in to Ul'dah for the evening and was delivered a letter, the contents asking me to return to Limsa Lominsa and seek a man named Baderon at the Drowning Wench. He had a job for a capable adventurer and heard about me through Mother Miounne and thought I might be up for the task. Though I now have access to all the aetherites and could teleport to Limsa and attend to the business straight away I opted not to. It didn't seem urgent or life-threatening, so it can wait for the morning when I had intended to return to Limsa anyway and get a better sense of the city and their guilds. I heard fishing and cooking, neither of which I'm very good at, but I figure introducing myself to them and getting a sense for the guilds couldn't hurt.

I also need to make my way back to Gridania and bring Fufucha some of what I've gathered out here. I think she would be proud of how far I've come as a botanist in terms of skill, and I get the sense she does not get to travel much or get access to things outside of Gridania so I think she will be pleased to get some things from La Noscea and Thanalan too for a change.

******

Having some time on my hands as Baderon's request didn't seem overly urgent, I decided to check out the Heavensturn event in Limsa I had heard so much about in the past week. Apparently this is a celebration of the new year (it appears I came here on what for them was the first day of a new year), and some people had come from lands outside of Eorzea to share their traditions with the Eorzean people. I was asked to help spread word of the tradition of drawing a fortune for the new year, and in turn was given a fortune of my own as well as a decent set of armor. Metal and tough, but flexible enough not to impede my movement.

My fortune, on the other hand...Well, I'm not keen on what it said about relationships. "From a foreign land cometh a kindred soul. Embrace them without reserve."

Could this be talking about Fufucha? No, I think not.

After that I took the liberty of looking around the guilds Limsa had to offer. Blacksmith and armorer were in the same place, with the first being run by a man named Brithael that I quite liked and the second run by a woman named H'naanza who reminded me more of Geva and Redolent Rose in that she viewed armor making as a craft that needed perfection. This I understand perhaps more than the others, as bad armor can get someone killed so it is a craft one must take seriously.

I headed to the culinarians and met with Lyngsath, though I have never been a good cook and I don't think I impressed him but I also don't think that's a route I would seriously pursue anyway. Finally the fisher's guild, run on paper by someone named Wawalago but in reality by a woman named Sisipu. While I respect people who fish it's another that I just don't think is for me but I am happy I tried at least.

After lunch I went to see Baderon, who informed me that the job was to go check out a nearby area known as the Sastasha Seagrot; in the past few days several suspicious individuals had been seen there, so he wanted me to go investigate. As I turned to leave a man approached, introducing himself as Commodore Reyner of the Yellowjackets and the head of the investigation Baderon was sending me on. To my understanding the Yellowjackets are basically Limsa's city guard, and as Commodore of the Yellowjackets that put Reyner in charge of them much like a guard captain.

As the Commodore put it, they had seen a ship off shore in recent days that they didn't quite like the look of. They had searched Sastasha already and found no cause for concern, but now the ship was giving them second thoughts. As much as he wished to send in his own men, the Commodore said that they were stretched thin due to the Sahagin threat so they had thought to hire an adventurer to go in and see what they could find.

A few others who had also been asked to go along were waiting for me by the entrance, and together we braved the depths. We found pirates, but most notably and perhaps most disturbing the pirates were under the control of more Sahagin. Still we dealt with it, and as we returned to tell Baderon the job was done there was another group of adventurers that had come to take the task. They didn't seem upset that they had missed their chance, however, and in fact were quite supportive saying that their time would come. The leader even gave me some words to think about; "Goals are as arms and armor for the spirit."

He's not wrong but...Well, I find myself thinking that I don't actually have goals here beyond surviving from day to day. I should find something, but it's hard when I'm still getting used to life in Eorzea and how everything here works.

Regardless, we filled Baderon in and he said he would relay the information to the Commodore. The others left once that was done, and when they were out of earshot Baderon bid me return to Gridania to take a quest from Mother Miounne. The chance to see Fufucha again was also something I was thinking of, as well as checking in with the Archer's Guild, so it didn't seem like a bad idea. I booked a room at the inn and I will sleep before using the aetheryte to return to Gridania in the morning.

******

I made my way back to Gridania, but as Mother Miounne's request didn't seem overly pressing I saw Fufucha first. She had no real work for me, but said that the Archer's Guild had been asking after me and I should go see Luciane. Unfortunately it was only because the guildmaster had heard about my deeds in Sastasha and wished for me to train with Silvairre. Not how I wanted to spend my time, but I obliged her regardless.

Of course Silvairre talked about how archery is an art that belongs to elves who had spent generations over centuries defending their homeland. He spoke of things I already know how to do; recognizing subtle signs that an enemy is about to strike, observing first and predicting movements, and basically the bare bones of being an archer. And then he had the audacity to say that these are things I do not know, and that I cannot learn them as I know nothing of his people and his traditions.

I swear I have never met someone with their head so far up their rear about something so stupid. Archery is not an art unless you're doing it for the sake of competitions. When you are out defending yourself or others no one cares if your back was a little off or you didn't use full draw weight, and if they do notice or care then they weren't focusing enough on the fight and their opinions are not to be valued.

Still I took the trial Silvairre gave me, to head into the East Shroud and find targets hidden among hostile enemies and destroy them. Similar to what Leih had sent me on before, but he made it very clear that this would be much more difficult. If I could even find the targets (which he seemed to doubt my ability to) he said that I would need to navigate around the enemies to shoot them.

Either Silvairre didn't try or I am that good, as the targets were not at all well hidden and the enemies were not at all hostile. I returned to Silvairre after finishing that business, and he told me it was "passable for an adventurer but the bare minimum for an archer" and that since he had "generations of tradition" I could not possibly understand or master the art of archery.

Then he sent me to deal with some Ixal, most notably their leader. He said that if I could kill the leader and come back alive he would cease attempting to drive me out from the Archer's Guild. At this point I was running on pure spite so I said fine and I went out after the Ixal. Zevran taught me much and more about the art of sneaking, and with my small stature I was more than able to move by the bulk of the Ixal without notice and make it to their leader. He went down easily and while the others scrambled to figure out where I was I was able to hide and watch the chaos. They eventually fled when they couldn't find anything and I made my way back to the guild without difficulty.

Of course Silvairre heard from the scouts who watched the whole thing first hand, but he still said it was nothing more than luck. Yet he would keep to his word and stop trying to get me to quit the Archer's Guild, sending me back to Luciane for my reward for completing his trial. Leih was rightly upset, stating that it wasn't training and Silvairre had thrown me into danger hoping I wouldn't come back and when I had he still refused to acknowledge my skill. For her part Luciane saw things differently, that he had covered his mouth when he said it was luck and this was a tell for when the words coming out of his mouth were not in line with how he was really feeling. Also that she wouldn't have let him send me to the Ixal if she didn't think I could handle it.

I was fine with that for the day, but Luciane said she had an urgent job for us. A man named Buscarron down in an area called Buscarron's Druthers wanted some help investigating poachers and the guildmaster sent myself, Leih and Silvairre to handle the job. Not looking forward to doing a job with the racist, especially after he insisted he could do the job himself and that Leih and I would only hold him back, but Luciane told him enough was enough and we were to go together.

When we arrived Silvairre got us off to a bad start, of course. He stated to Buscarron that poachers were just a fact of life in the Twelveswood and if this wasn't worthy of the attention of the Gods' Quiver or the Wood Wailers then why was it worthy of the attention of the guild. Thankfully Buscarron wasn't offended, stating that a gang operating under someone named Pawah had been seen in the area and as he'd made a pact with the local bandits to stay out of their business so they wouldn't cause trouble in his place, because if he called in the Gods' Quiver or the Wood Wailers (assuming they would deem it worthy of their attention, throwing Silvairre's words back in his face which I approve of) it would cause a lot of problems. So the investigation was best kept to a small group of unaffiliated archers for now.

Silvairre was suddenly very serious at the mention of the name Pawah, and sent us off to scour the area as a thunderstorm rolled in. Not the worst weather I've been in, and while the rain hid our presence it also made finding the evidence that much more difficult as well. Still I managed to recover an arrow, a leg trap, and some empty bottles. As I returned to meet up with Leih and Silvairre the elf spoke of Pawah; a fantastic archer in her own right, and she had decided to form a gang of Miqo'te poachers in the Twelveswood. Apparently she had been caught once and then tricked a sentry into releasing her, which I was not at all surprised at. I am of a mind that people like Pawah don't deserve to be 'brought to justice' - you kill them on sight, end of story, or else that's what happens. They bribe or trick people into being released, break out, or even if they are behind bars they continue to cause problems and they are better off just plain dead.

I agreed with Leih when she said it was time to alert the Gods' Quiver and Wood Wailers and let them deal with it as this did not concern the Archer's Guild, and I swear it took everything in me not to bust that elf's knees in when he said he concerned all of Gridania but he wouldn't expect a vagrant like her to know about duty to one's homeland. He had also called her a savage back at the guild before Luciane shut him down, and at that point the only thing stopping me was not wishing to get in trouble with Luciane or the guild for hurting him.

Eventually I steered the conversation back to the clues we had. While the leg trap proved poaching and the arrow was indeterminate, I knew something had to be up with the mead bottles. They were old yes, and possibly predated the Druthers, but they still smelled of mead and the insides were fairly clean which meant they had to have been opened recently. Silvairre said that Buscarron had served as a sentry and even in those days was brewing private stock and spoke of opening his own tavern. It was likely some had survived at the man's old outpost and if so the poachers may have been drinking it. Even if it wasn't Pawah we needed to check it out.

Of course we found them, and while Leih went after Pawah on her own Silvairre and I had to deal with the other poachers. By the time we got to Leih to help Pawah ran, having thoroughly kicked Leih's rear and leaving her dejected. Silvairre gloated, as I expected, and I helped Leih back to Buscarron to tell him what happened. He said now that we had proof it was Pawah he would tell the Gods' Quiver and Wood Wailers and get them involved, and then tell the bandits that the proper authorities were only there after Pawah's gang and hope it was enough to keep the peace.

This was not how I wanted to spend my day, but I suspect I will have several days like this in the future. I didn't even get to Mother Miounne, spending all day dealing with Silvairre wore me out and I decided to retire a bit early. I did some gathering of basic ingredients just outside the gates and delivered them to the Botanist's Guild just for some extra coin and try to relax, and soon I will sleep as the hour is late. My room at the Free Company house is ready, of course, but I don't see a need to leave Gridania tonight when I'll just be back in the morning. And as I've said before, I do kind of like the sounds of staying at an inn versus the quietness of the house for now. Hopefully tomorrow can be better.

******

I made my way back to Gridania to see what Mother Miounne had to say. She knew that Baderon had asked an adventurer to come talk to her and was quite surprised it was me, but she said that it made things easier as well. Because of the Calamity, the Ixal and everything else going on right now the Adventurer's Guild was overwhelmed and there was no end to jobs for any adventurer who wanted to work. Unfortunately that lead to those without the requisite experience taking on jobs that were above them and the predictable outcome of such. She motioned to a group of three individuals nearby where it seemed like two of them were yelling at a third. Mother Miounne explained that they had gone into a dungeon and the man acting as their front in the heaviest armor had died, and the woman being yelled at had healing magic at her disposal but hadn't been quick enough to save the man from death. The other two were trained in ways meant to do as much damage as possible, and were leaving the healer behind because they were interested in self-preservation and didn't trust her to keep them alive in future endeavors.

I feel bad for that healer, but at the same time I understand. I thought of Wynne, who despite her age was always able to use her magic to heal us. Yes she had years of experience, but at the same time it was all inside the Circle and her first forays into true combat were after she joined us and never once did I think I was ever in danger of dying while she was there. If I had I would have left her at the camp most of the time and taken Morrigan with me, even if Wynne would have objected. Those with healing magic have a special place in a party but their lack of experience or ability can cause deaths as happened in this case.

Mother Miounne was about to start explaining the actual job when Bowlord Lewin showed up asking if she had found someone to help her. She actually motioned to me, and Lewin seemed relieved to see me as well. He explained that the nearby Tam-Tara Deepcroft had once been a settlement but the Gridanians had been using it as a burial ground for many years. In recent days they had seen some shadowy figures moving around the Deepcroft and knew them to be the Lambs of Dalamud, some kind of cult that had risen up before the Calamity. They were sadly zealots who had proved in the past they were quite dangerous so Lewin wanted me to deal with them as the Calamity and the Ixal and everything else right now meant he didn't have enough men to go around and feared further thinning of his ranks by asking his men to investigate. With that in mind he sent me to speak to the guards closer to the Deepcroft, so off I went.

In speaking to the guards who were posted nearby I learned that the Lambs of Dalamud were a cult that believed the lesser of this world's two moons, Dalamud, was a god that would deliver them from the destruction of the Calamity. Of course since the moon exploded before it made touchdown on the star one would think it would deter them but instead somehow it only gave them fuel. Apparently they now thought that the so-called heretics (everyone that wasn't one of their own) were responsible for interfering with the return of their god and now they needed to avenge him.

People being over zealous in their faith is something I know all too well having dealt with the Chantry. I'm actually glad someone was willing to deal with a religious group like this before they became this world's version of those fools. Intolerant jerks who force people to do things their way and try to destroy those who don't, no one needs that. So I was more than happy to go, finding of course cultists in the Deepcroft but also more. I have learned since I came here that there are creatures called Voidsent which I am mostly treating much like the Darkspawn - kill on sight. I am not sure I fully understand their origins and for now it doesn't matter, what matters is that they are dangerous and need to be eliminated. So of course there were Voidsent in the dungeon as well; including a large one with some tentacles on its face that seemed more or less to be the 'leader'. Still it was no match for me and I was able to kill it and the cultists without difficulty. I returned to Mother Miounne when I was finished and of course she was proud of me for being so reliable. So much so that she said the woman running the Adventurer's Guild in Ul'dah had a job she thought I was suited for.

Figuring it'd be another situation that could wait since Mother Miounne didn't mention it being potentially overly threatening I took the afternoon for myself. I saw Fufucha again, ran some small jobs for the Botanist's Guild, and turned in for the night. I think I deserved that much, at least. During the Blight I didn't have time for myself; we were on the road or doing something important all the time, an hour or two could make the difference between a battle being won or lost, between people being alive or dead. But now? Now I do. I will take the time I need to relax, to do things for myself. And it's nice to help out locally, to know that Gridania is safer because of me. I have my problems with them, of course, but I don't blame the everyday citizen for those issues and I know they are the ones need the help the most. So I am happy to help when I can, especially at the Botanist's Guild.

******

I headed for Ul'dah to see the woman known as Momodi who ran the Adventurer's Guild in the city. She said that Mother Miounne told her I was coming, and had called me 'the adventurer of the moment' which is apparently some pretty high praise. As she was about to explain what I had been called in for a man called Papashan showed up, apparently the one pressing Momodi to find someone to help.

This job was about a place called the Copperbell Mines. A company called Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern had been mining there, for though the mine closed some three hundred years ago new advances meant they could reopen closed mines and get at ore veins previously untouchable. The problem was that the mine had been closed due to a band of giants known as the hecatoncheires enslaved by the rulers of the time who had broken free of the magical bonds that held them and went on a rampage. No one thought that the creatures could survive three centuries down there but apparently they had and were once again rampaging through the mines.

On the one hand, I feel bad. Those giants didn't do anything wrong, and I've always thought that killing things simply because they encroach upon or endanger the lives of humanoids is incredibly stupid and short-sighted. If a wolf is eating your sheep you don't kill it, you drive it off, because it has as much right to live and hunt as you do and just because you don't like it doesn't mean it should be killed for having the misfortune to cross your path. But in this case the giants had no where to go, and if they exited the mines they would go after the nearby settlements. There's nowhere to drive them off to that's safe, and they can't be reasoned with, so of course they had to be killed.

There were more than giants in the mines, but it was still a relatively easy job. I returned to Momodi when it was done, but before I could speak to her I heard a scream outside and went to investigate. A merchant was accusing a woman of stealing, though she swore she had done no such thing. He was insistent, however, and I didn't think it my place to interfere until he said that he should turn her over to the authorities but should she 'agree to serve him in any capacity he required' he would let it go.

With no actual authorities around at the moment and everyone else gathered refusing to step in like cowards I moved to defend her. After beating up his bodyguards I had another Echo vision of the woman actually buying what she was accused of stealing, and as I said so others chimed in saying the same and the merchant scattered. The woman thanked me and I gave her some of my own coin to help her along the way, for she was poor and had just been trying to treat her children to a decent meal for a change. She hugged me and cried, and thanked me for my generosity before running off.

Of course as she did so Yda and Papalymo showed up, saying they had been keeping an eye on me since Gridania. My willingness to help, even if there was nothing in it for me, meant that I was perfect for their organization - The Scions of the Seventh Dawn. They could help me understand the Echo by introducing me to their leader, who also had that power. And of course there was plenty in it for me as well; the organization had many connections, and I could take advantage of that for my adventuring career.

There was no downside to this on any level so I said sure. They told me to talk to Momodi to get the location of their headquarters, kept secret so that their enemies would not have an easy time finding them. I went to do so, but before she gave me that information Momodi directed me to a young woman who wanted to talk to me. The healer I had seen in Gridania being yelled at, who introduced herself as Edda. She said that the leader of their group had been named Avere, and he idolized me as an adventurer - strong, taking on jobs to help people, always being professional no matter the circumstances. After his death because of her mistakes she had almost given up adventuring, but decided to keep on because I inspired her. So she just wanted to make some introductions since we were in the same area, and I told her that it takes a lot of work to be an adventurer like I am but if she kept her head up and did the work she would be fine. I honestly saw no reason to discourage her, because this world needs more adventurers like myself and I hoped she could go on and become that.

Afterwards Momodi told me where the Scions were located, joking that she tried to warn me off and if she put 'danger' and 'riches' on doors most adventurers would chose the first. She's not wrong as most other adventurers I've met aren't in this for the money. The money is nice, of course, but even if they had enough to retire they wouldn't; the thrill of a fight, the want to help others for as long as they can, and a hundred other things drive those who call themselves adventurers.

I just feel bad for Edda, because...Well, she and Avere had no idea who they idolized so much. A broken dwarven woman, so far from home she doesn't know what to do with herself except jump headfirst into danger to stay distracted from everything eating her up inside. I only look so professional because I grew up in politics and a lot of that has just stuck with me all these years even after I left. I only look strong because I've spent most of my life fighting. It's not a life I'd want for anyone, and I don't think it should be idolized. But I know there's no dissuading her, and that letting her live in that ignorance is better. I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt her someday.

******

It was late last night when I heard about the Waking Sands, so I slept and headed out this morning. I accidentally startled the poor receptionist, but once that was cleared up she sent me to see Minfilia, their leader. She was happy to introduce herself, and explain that the Scions were not political and worked independently to help preserve the future of Eorzea. The Primals were the biggest threat, everything else had to take a back seat to stopping them from being summoned and dealing with them if they were summoned. She also backed up with Yda and Papalymo had told me; that the Scions had connections, and they could use that to help me with adventuring or other business if I wanted to as long as it didn't endanger the Scions themselves.

With that out of the way Minfilia made some introductions; Yda and Papalymo I already knew, in charge of the Twelveswood. Another man named Thancred was in charge of Ul'dah, and a woman named Y'shtola was in Limsa. Urianger was basically a day to day manager (something I understand all too well), and the receptionist was Tataru. Their leader had died during the Calamity at Carteneau, and the rest aside from Tataru bore the title of Archon.

With formalities done Minfilia redirected me to Thancred for my first job with the Scions. I went to talk to him, and he spoke of a cart full of crystals being robbed and people going missing. This could have been coincidence, but the crystals contained vast amounts of aether and the Amalj'aa, known worshipers of the Primal Ifrit, had been active in the area as of late. As the mining company had put up more security around their shipments to prevent another theft Thancred suggested we start with the disappearances. Most recently they had been around an area called Camp Drybone, so we headed out there. Thancred of course spent the entire time hitting on me, but I also got the impression that he's very much just like that. He...It honestly reminded me of Zevran.

Anyway, we made it to Camp Drybone and spoke to a man named Isembard who was the unofficial leader of the camp. Thancred went to do his own thing while I spoke with Isembard, who bid me to head out and recover some bodies. They had been attacked on the road and Isembard didn't want to leave them to rot, but as he feared Amalj'aa involvement he didn't want to send just anyone to recover them. I headed out to do so, finding what he feared - that the Amalj'aa had camped nearby and were waiting in ambush. But they were easy to defeat for me, and I was able to bring the bodies back to the camp. Isembard said he'd have them taken care of, but also thought that there were more than the Amalj'aa at work here.

With that in mind he had me speak with a man named Ungust who had been born and raised in the area. Just my luck that it was the merchant from yesterday who had been threatening that poor young woman, I almost shot the man on the spot. I still have a mind to when this is over, he is potentially useful for now however. In speaking with him he noted that the people of Camp Drybone were skittish at the best of times and it was worse now with the disappearances. I went to speak with a few and found out that he was right, not only would no one speak with me but they almost actively ran when I approached before I could even say a word.

I returned to Isembard to inform him, and he said that if nothing else people might speak to those at the nearby church and I should go see them. As the hour was approaching dinner I told Isembard I would do so in the morning, and I went to the inn to get a room and some food. Thancred was there and we had a lovely chat over dinner. As the rooms are basically two beds with a divider we'll be sharing one for the night, which somehow makes me feel safer all things considered.

******

Despite my better judgement, Thancred and I slept together last night. It started when I found myself unable to sleep and innocently asked if we could share a bed, and ended with what is for now a one night stand. I couldn't stop myself, he reminds me so much of Zevran and it's been almost two weeks and I...I've felt so lonely. I didn't realize how much I missed everyone until now. We both agreed to keep it professional, however, and it's clear that he just had fun with it and there's no real feelings involved which is fine by me.

After breakfast I visited the church while Thancred took off to keep chasing his own leads. I spoke with someone named Marques, but as he didn't know anything he directed me to speak with Sister Ourcen. As a member of the Order of Nald'thal and of the church she was close to many of the people in Camp Drybone but also wasn't sure she had any pertinent information. Which was fine by me as she agreed to pass along anything she found, and I firmly believed she would do so.

I've come to learn that Nald'thal is one of the deities the Eorzeans call The Twelve - he is considered the patron deity of Ul'dah, and a twin god of commerce and the dead. The more I find out about how Eorzean worship works the more fascinated I am. Nophica is considered the patron of Gridania, a deity of bounty, harvest, and fertility among other things. And Llymlaen for Limsa, the goddess of navigation and the sea. Remembering how we dwarves worship the Stone, the Chantry had the Maker, and even the Dalish had their own pantheon of gods it's just an interesting point because I know the more I study and understand what people believe here the easier it will be for me to connect with them and help in the future.

Anyway, I went back to Isembard and Thancred was there as well. He seemed to think that Sister Ourcen was either responsible or involved, and though I doubted him I also knew that I couldn't let feelings cloud my judgement. He sent me off to another nearby camp where orphaned children lived and asked me to speak with them regarding Sister Ourcen, so I headed that way to do that. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get much out of the kids as they were worried about Sister Ourcen; one of them had lost a shiny thing, and she had gone out to get it but they feared the monsters would get her.

I made my way out and found monsters and the Sister, dispatching them easily before helping the Sister up. What she had come out to find was a ring given to one of the orphans by his mother before she died, and she said she would return it to the kid before making her way back to Drybone. I went ahead of her to speak to Isembard and Thancred, pointing out that if she was willing to risk her life to search for the mementos of orphans I highly doubted she was involved in this.

Thancred agreed, and had a lead from a nearby Amalj'aa encampment. He wanted me to sneak inside and see what I could find, so I made my way in. Thankfully Amalj'aa are built big and dumb, and they don't really look down. Sneaking by them was probably some of the easiest sneaking I've ever done, and inside the encampment I found some papers advertising giving work to the poor. I took them back to Thancred and together we returned to Drybone to speak with the Sister. Both agreed that the flyers did not look like anything the Order would have made, and Sister Ourcen said there was a theft a few weeks ago of garments from the church. We all came to the conclusion that someone was probably posing as one of the priests, using the flyers to lure in the poor for the Amalj'aa to capture.

The investigation into who that might be would take time, however, and for now there was nothing more I could do at Drybone. I made my way back to Gridania to report to the Archer's Guild, and of course there was plenty of drama ensuing. I spoke first to Silvairre, who said that he was going to leave the Archer's Guild to track Pawah since the Wood Wailers and the Gods' Quiver were ignoring his warnings on the matter. He also admitted to being the sentry that let Pawah go before, and that's what had cost him his position within the Gods' Quiver.

He sent me to talk to Leih, and it was clear she was depressed that Pawah had beaten her. She said she was also leaving the Archer's Guild and wanted to meet me outside the city to talk. I went to see her, and she made it clear that Silvairre's racism had been what drove her off. She was going to join Pawah's gang to have a sense of belonging, and asked me not to tell Luciane or Silvairre. In that moment my emotions caught the better of me and I told her no way, and of course Pawah threatened to kill me over it. Leih begged her not to and we were both let go, though it was clear that Pawah didn't want Leih at all after that point because they considered her 'useless'.

As we made our way back Leih asked me how I could do it, how I could put up with how they treated me as an outsider. I told her that I just didn't let it bother me, that those who were so close-minded they couldn't see past their grudges weren't worth my time. Life is a battle every day, but picking which ones to fight and which ones to ignore makes things easier. It's why I didn't talk to Silvairre unless I had to, usually instructed by Luciane, and whenever I did have to I kept it short and if he made comments I ignored them.

I told Leih that I grew up in a place rife with politics, and I know it's not that easy for everyone. But it would be worth it for her if she wanted to continue at the Archer's Guild. I also told her if nothing else she could keep going out of spite, because quitting meant they won and it wasn't worth giving the bigots the satisfaction. It seemed to lift her spirits, and I promised I would say nothing about her attempt to join Pawah if she would keep going. Luciane seemed to know anyway, but told me she wouldn't say a word to Leih, and Leih's return seemed to have settled Silvairre for the time being.

Truth be told while I've always seemed to have a natural knack for people, it's exhausting and I can't do it for long. So dealing with Leih and Silvairre meant retiring a bit early, though I did reach out to Thancred to ask how the investigation was going. When I signed up with the Scions I was given a linkpearl, a form of communication, so I could talk to people long distance. He said it's going well, though I could hear a bit of frustration in his voice so I assume not. I told him to call me if he needs my help, and otherwise I'll likely be in Gridania doing local jobs. Which is the truth, I will be staying here until he calls me and says there's a break in the case. I'm sure Fufucha could use some help, and it won't hurt me to spend some time increasing my botany skills.

******

There wasn't much to report yesterday, I did as my last entry said and just spent time in Gridania helping the Botanist's Guild. Of course that kind of bliss couldn't last, as I was eating breakfast Thancred called and said he finally had a lead so I finished my meal and headed back to Camp Drybone.

It was less of a 'lead', however, and more of a plan; he and I would borrow some clothes and go about the camp asking for work to make it seem like new vagrants had come into the area so the false priest would hopefully catch wind and approach us. Isembard had some, so we changed and set about our job.

I made a right nuisance of myself (something I'm particularly good at, if I have a mind for it) and learned that north of Drybone was another camp of refugees set up around a natural wellspring in the desert. The authorities stayed out of it because it wasn't an official encampment, which made it a wonderful place to kidnap people without the guards noticing. So we made our way there, still in disguise, and set up to wait.

No surprise that the false priest turned out to be Ungust, and though he tried to plead with us Thancred was having even less of his groveling than I was. It was one thing to make a deal with the Amalj'aa to save his own encampment, to agree to slip them shipping routes and lure people in for them, but when he said the coin was good that was enough. He was selling innocent people into slavery to line his own pockets, and were he still not useful for information I would have shot him on the spot.

Thancred told me he had it in hand and asked me to return to Minfilia to apprise her of the situation, so I did. She made it clear that the priority was rescuing the captives, said she'd get the proper authorities involved, and sent me back to Thancred. By the time I returned he had picked up some more information, mostly that Ungust was going to meet with the Amalj'aa and since they didn't know Ungust was compromised it was a good time to bring the Immortal Flames along to ambush them.

A great plan, in theory. But I wasn't as cautious as I should have been; I assumed the reason Ungust had been getting away with posing as a priest and the kidnappings was due to a combination of several factors that made sense to me at the time. The missing were refugees camping out in a place where the authorities didn't bother to patrol, the Immortal Flames, the Brass Blades and other proper Ul'dahn authorities were busy with the threat of the Amalj'aa and the Garlean empire and while they looked into the hijacked caravans they might not have connected the dots if they even knew or cared about the missing at all, and Ungust was a trusted individual around the camps around Drybone so his movements between them wouldn't have been suspicious.

As we went into the ambush, however, we were ambushed in return. Ungust made it clear that how he had avoided being captured for so long was because he had insiders in the Flames, which made me want to smack myself in the head for not seeing it sooner. We tried to fight back, but the Amalj'aa had the upper hand and easily overwhelmed us. I was hit with some kind of spell and knocked out, and when I awoke I found myself captured by the Amalj'aa. They set me and the other captives before Ifrit, and my only solace here is that Ungust was caught up in it too. When Ifrit appeared it seemed to exert some kind of mind control over everyone else, but it failed to control me. The Amalj'aa said something about how my soul must have belonged to another, and Ifrit said he could not smell another on me and that the Paragons (the Ascians, most likely) had warned that one such as myself could not be suffered to live.

Thankfully Ifrit insisted on taking me on by itself, and even for a being as powerful as it was I was able to defeat it. As the fire died down and the Amalj'aa fled Thancred showed up, apologizing and saying that he had been held up by zealots. We made our way back to Camp Drybone and he kept apologizing until I finally punched him in the leg to make him shut up.

At the very least with their 'god' dead the Amalj'aa won't be a bother for a while. Thancred did say that unfortunately everyone who had fallen under the thrall of Ifrit had to be killed, which included Ungust. Basically they could no longer help but worship Ifrit, and would do anything to help pull in more crystals to power it and more people for it to enthrall, they were no longer in their right minds and it was safer for everyone if they were dead.

I can't help but feel like this is very similar to being possessed by demons. No one here would understand, but this is the Arl's son all over again. We could have gone into the Fade and defeated that demon, but even if we had the boy had willingly accepted the possession and would likely do so again without strict instruction from the likes of the Circle, who of course would rather just kill him so we did it in a more merciful fashion than they would have. In that same vein, I am certain that there is a way to help those enthralled to a Primal but either they haven't discovered it yet (as discovering we could go into the Fade and defeat the demon was new information at the time) or they have but whatever the fix is it's difficult and/or has a low survival rate so they just go the messy route of killing the enthralled instead of attempting a fix.

I understand now what drives them to stop this. They don't want to lose any more people to the Primals. I know what it's like to look at someone you have a relationship with and need to put them down because they can't be saved, and I can't imagine the toll it must take on the people who have to do that over and over and over again.

While I was asked to return to Minfilia, I told Thancred that it was late and I was tired and I was going to go back to the Free Company house and get some sleep and I would speak with her in the morning. He agreed and said he would meet me at the Waking Sands after breakfast, and I returned to the house to set up my room and see if I could get some sleep.

None of this has been easy. I feel that weight slowly settling onto my shoulders once more, the constant whisper that I need to carry it all again. I don't...I don't know if I'll survive that a second time, but I have to try. I'm finding things here that I want to fight for, people I want to help. So even if it kills me I'll keep going one slow step at a time. It's all I can do.

******

After breakfast with Eros, the Free Company leader, I returned to the Waking Sands. Thancred was already there, having filled Minfilia in on what happened, and I felt a little better with the coffee Eros had given me in a canteen as Minfilia saw fit to explain more about the Primals.

As she put it, once a Primal is summoned they must consume aether in order to remain in physical form and the more powerful they become the more aether they need. Now aether is in everything from the food we eat to the air we breathe, but it's ambient and will not sustain a Primal which is why they needed the crystals as a more concentrated form of aether. This was why incidents involving the theft of crystals or amassing of them in general could often be traced back to the summoning of a Primal.

On top of that, the best way for a Primal to become stronger was to amass followers and allow their belief in it to give it power. That was why they would Temper mortals, to force them to serve. Minfilia made it clear that I am immune to this Tempering process because of the power of the Echo, though no one knows why but it was obvious why being immune made me and others with this power valuable in dealing with the Primals.

Knowing this, and taking it in with what the Amalj'aa and Ifrit said yesterday I can't help but think it's either not a coincidence I walked through that Eluvian and ended up here, or if it is then as soon as I came through Hydaelyn marked me. I think it is Her power that keeps us touched by it from being Tempered.

Before Minfilia could continue, however, we were interrupted by representitives of the three Grand Companies; the Twin Adder of Gridania, the Immortal Flames of Ul'dah, and the Maelstrom of Limsa Lominsa. All three wanted me to join them, and Minfilia told me that serving a Grand Company had its advantages as well.

The various remembrance ceremonies were scheduled for the afternoon, however, so Minfilia bid me to attend them and see what the leaders had to say before choosing which Grand Company I would serve with. I thought that was a wonderful idea, so I headed off.

First to Gridania to hear Kan-E-Senna speak, both as the leader of Gridania and the head of the Twin Adder. The elven twins I originally met over two weeks ago on my first day here were there, introducing themselves afterwards as Alphinaud and Alisaie. They were scholars of a sort, traveling Eorzea. Alphinaud seemed to do more of the talking than his sister, mentioning how Gridania had the Ixal and the Sylphs to worry about as well as proximity to the Garlean Empire and the Twin Adder could benefit from my presence among them.

Then I went to Ul'dah, listening to a speech offered by General Raubahn of the Immortal Flames. There was also a speech from Nanamo, the sultana of Ul'dah. This is the only one of the three city-states where the leader of the city is not also the leader of their Grand Company and both speeches were quite compelling, and I saw the twins once more. Alphinaud spoke of the Amalj'aa and the Garlean Empire as Ul'dah's greatest threats but also given the city's reputation for prosperity they had the influx of refugees to deal with as well and the city still did not have a clear policy on dealing with them which was causing problems. On top of that Ifrit is apparently the most commonly summoned Primal, and the Flames lose men every time they had to deal with it.

Finally was the address the Admiral gave in Limsa, representing the Maelstrom. A band of former pirates now organized into a military organization, and of course another talk with the twins. Limsa faced the Sahagin and the Kobolds as well as the Garlean threat, and the pirates were prone to infighting. My presence might help to unify them in a way that was desperately needed, and with two beast tribes to contend with that hadn't had their Primal put down by me I could be helpful there as well.

I took some time to think on it over dinner after the ceremonies were done, but in reality the speeches were nothing more than the political bullshit I'm more than used to hearing and none of them would make any real long-term difference. In the end I chose Gridania and the Twin Adder; all three cities have their problems, all three have policies I disagree with, and all three could equally use my help. But Gridania is where I started, and I have my loyalty to the Botany and Archery guilds plus Mother Miounne as well. If I can help ease their troubles then I'm all the happier for it. So I returned to Gridania and signed up, and then turned in for the night. We'll see what this brings, but hopefully it'll be another way for me to help the community.

******

I was woken this morning by an Adder officer knocking on my door. An airship had crashed in the Shroud close to where the Garleans had settled in. It likely had civilians on board, and they wanted my aid in helping rescue those individuals as well as recovering the airship. I dressed quickly and we headed out, finding one survivor who claimed to be an engineer working for something called the Garlond Ironworks. The airship, called the Tiny Bronco, was the first airship the Ironworks had built since their namesake, one Cid Garlond, had gone missing just after the Calamity.

The maiden voyage was going well until the Garleans shot them out of the sky, and while there were already troops surrounding the airship the other Adders with me made it clear that the ship could not fall into Garlean hands. There was also a second engineer on board we'd need to rescue, so we rushed in for an ambush and put the soldiers down. The airship itself was relatively undamaged but would need some minor repairs before it was fit to fly again, and the others said they would keep an eye out for more patrols while I went back to report in.

The commander seemed impressed that my first job as a soldier for the Twin Adder had gone so well, but also that they had expected nothing less from me. In return they said I could obtain my own Chocobo, giving me an issuance from the Grand Company to take down to the stables. There I was granted a very friendly Chocobo I named Alistair as a reminder of home. I thought about naming him Zevran, but I think that might have brought me to tears so I opted against that.

I spent some time with Alistair getting to know him, and then Minfilia called me back to the Waking Sands. There the two engineers, Biggs and Wedge, were waiting. As Minfilia put it the engineering that went into the aircraft was vital to many parts of Eorzea, and as a neutral political party it was decided that the Scions would be the keeper of the Tiny Bronco for now and to keep it in working order they needed the pair on hand so they would be joining the Scions as well.

Introductions aside, Minfilia also had another job for me. Yda and Papalymo had been looking into the Sylphs, one of the two beast tribes in the Twelveswood. Despite being called a 'beat tribe' they were open to peaceful communication, which gave the Scions a chance to learn from them about the Primal Ramuh and its potential threat to Gridania. There was also the hope that earning their favor might help mitigate that threat entirely, and getting the opinion of those not yet Tempered by Ramuh about those who were Tempered could be invaluable.

To this end I was sent to the Hawthorne Hut, an Adder outpost near the Sylph village of Little Solace. I spoke to an officer there who informed me that the Sylphs were normally a friendly bunch but since the Garlean Empire had taken up residence in the Black Shroud they had been a bit wary. In asking around about Sylph culture at the behest of said officer I found out that they're considered tricksters and dancing is considered a traditional greeting among their kind, and also that it would be best to bring them something called milkroot. I tracked some down and it was disgusting, but apparently to the Sylphs it's an intoxicant and bringing them some will earn me good favor with them. Hey if it works it works and I'm not going to complain honestly.

As the hour was late I opted to sleep at the Hawthorne Hut and head for Little Solace in the morning. I am to meet with one named Komuxio who had been serving as an intermediary between the Sylphs and the Gridanians and was known to their elder. I was also handed a letter for the elder vouching for me and stating again that the Gridanians want peace, so I'll take that too.

It's different sleeping out here in a tent with a few other Twin Adder soldiers, but they are personable enough and don't treat me any different because of what I am or my comparatively green status compared to them. I may be new to the Adder ranks, but they whisper that I am a Primal slayer and that means more than years of experience serving with the Twin Adder. I had hoped for a peaceful life here, but I also can't say I'm mad about having something to do with myself to keep my thoughts occupied.

******

After breakfast I went to see Komuxio and did my best to dance as directed to introduce myself. Things seemed to be going well aside from their speech patterns that took me a moment to get used to...Until I handed over the milkroot and the letter as Papalymo and Yda showed up, and the pair's presence as envoys from Gridania seemed to set Komuxio on edge.

Yda was confused as envoys had always been welcome among the Sylphs, but Komuxio failed to explain and made it clear he wanted nothing to do with us. Thankfully Yda had an idea about earning their trust, so I went about to the others and did the traditional dance to introduce myself and express interest in the culture of the Sylphs. I also offered my help in any endeavors they might need, finding that they had been driven from their home because of their refusal to worship Ramuh.

There was a Hearer that lived in the village as well, helping act as an intermediary. He told me that Little Solace was meant to be temporary, and as such it wanted for many things including a decent defense. Because of that creatures could just wander in and threaten people. He bid me slay some monsters and gather a few herbs that the Sylphs had trouble getting their hands on with the creatures lurking. That was a relatively easy task, and with that in mind I returned to Komuxio.

While untrusting at first, after having proven myself willing to help Komuxio finally let us in on what was happening. The Garlean empire had been causing drastic problems in the area, so I went to investigate. After defeating some soldiers I found papers near a crate, papers that contained the names of things that were normally found in the Sylphlands and they would have no way to know that without having someone in the area working for them. While this was a concern, Komuxio had a bigger one for me; finding someone named Claxio. The Sylph had left Little Solace on their own and it wasn't safe out there.

So I went to find Claxio, but when I did they made it very clear that they didn't want to be in Little Solace. They were not happy that the Sylphs there were relying on us non-Sylphs for help and claimed that made them no better than those that have been Tempered by Ramuh. He said he wanted to be left alone and fled again, so I went back to Komuxio to tell him. Understandably Komuxio was worried that the Tempered Sylphs would take Claxio and sent me back out.

While I'm normally of the mind to let people be when they do stuff like this, I also knew that once Tempered there would be no cure for Claxio and he'd end up in a position worse than staying safe in Little Solace. So we set back out and found Claxio, and as he tried to flee once more the Tempered Sylphs showed up. We defeated them quite easily, and as the last Sylph fell Komuxio came running as he had heard the fighting and worried about Claxio. The two went back to the village and I took a moment to breathe before following them back.

Of course things just...couldn't be that easy. Komuxio wanted to let me see the elder, but the elder was missing. He had gone down to Buscarron's Druthers and not come back, and as the Sylphs of Little Solace would not be safe until their elder returned to them I agreed to head down there and see if the man had information. Buscarron was glad to see me after the business with Pawah, and said that he'd heard rumors of a Sylph in the druthers but he hadn't seen it himself. He did, however, point me in the direction of said rumors. I found instead Garleans, and upon returning to Buscarron he said that the only way the Empire would have soldiers in that part of the woods was if they had an insider - the same thing I had heard in Little Solace. They would have to know how to avoid guard patrols and whatnot, and Buscarron had an idea as he was telling this to me.

There was a Wood Wailer he had as a regular customer who used to sip his tankard as he could rarely afford a second one and his dinner would be thin, cheap soups. But recently he had been ordering choice cuts of meat and expensive wines, and while Buscarron had originally thought the change was due to the man getting some kind of promotion there was now reason to suspect the man might be the source of the leaked information to the Garleans.

I set out to confront him, and of course found out that he was indeed leaking patrol routes among other things to the Empire. He flat out said that the Wood Wailers do not pay enough for all he does for them and summoned nearby soldiers to take me down. But even there I was not alone; the Redbelly and Coeurlclaw groups showed up to aid me. I remembered that Buscarron said that he has a deal with them, that if they don't hassle him or his customers he won't report them to the authorities. Also they might have been conducting illegal poaching and the like, but that didn't mean they had any love for the Empire in their territory so it was in their best interest to help.

Once the soldiers were defeated the Wood Wailer begged for mercy, saying he'd turn himself in to the Twin Adder but I didn't trust him. I walked up and put an arrow between his eyes because I knew better. Men like him do not change. He had betrayed his country and his people once to line his own pockets, and if given the chance he would do it again. The Adders would either kill him themselves, or most likely imprison him and that left room for him to escape and continue to be a threat. As cold as it might have seemed, it was better for him to be dead at my hand in this instance.

After that I went to fetch the Wood Wailers while the others fled to avoid detection. With the bodies of Garlean soldiers there and plenty of proof on the body of the dead Wood Wailer they knew that I had killed a traitor and I was commended for it. I returned to Buscarron and he had information on the Sylph elder. There was a place nearby that was called the Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak, built into a natural cave system and used until recently was used by the Gridanians as a jail until the completion of one closer to the city caused it to be abandoned. The Garleans has chased the elder there, and it was likely he had gone inside to try and escape them.

In I went after him, and in the deepest layers there was a man similar to the one I had defeated at the Guardian Tree. An Ascian who introduced himself as Lahabrea, and as Hydaelyn decided to speak to me I had to ignore Her as Lahabrea imbued a nearby diremite with some kind of dark power, causing it to be bigger and nastier - and a distraction so he could get away. Which worked for him, but also for me as the Sylph elder was there and I was able to free him. Though of course doing so triggered an Echo vision of the Garleans in Little Solace, seemingly looking for Ramuh. As the Sylphs of Little Solace did not summon him, however, he wasn't there and their attempts to force captured Sylphs to summon Ramuh were not bearing fruit so they were leaving for now.

As I recovered from the Echo the elder said we should leave. He was willing to discuss Ramuh back in the safety of Little Solace. As we left the caves, however, it was clearly dark out and quite late. I told the elder I would spend the night in the Hawthorne Hut and meet with him in the morning, and as that was agreeable I returned to settle in for the night.

So much has happened today, but I'm glad the elder is safe even if I dislike dealing with the Sylphs. I'm hoping tomorrow I can simply get the information I need and leave to deal with other things. Being this personable all the time is just...exhausting.

******

I met with Frixio, the Sylph elder, this morning. He explained that they had only summoned Ramuh to protect the forest from the Garleans; it wasn't what he had wanted, but some of the others had done it anyway. Now the 'touched ones', their words for the Sylphs Tempered by Ramuh, are around and while the non-Tempered Sylphs want to help they don't know how while the Tempered ones wanted to turn everyone and know exactly how to do it. That was why Little Solace had been built, a refuge for those who didn't want to become Tempered.

Frixio assured me that Ramuh is not cruel, however, and we have no need to fear him as long as we stay out of the Sylphlands. Papalymo explained that those Tempered take on personality traits related to why the Primal was summoned in the first place. In this case Ramuh was summoned to help keep the Sylphlands safe, and thus the Tempered Sylphs are fiercely protective of their home and by capturing the remaining Sylphs to Temper them they're attempting to protect them too. A reminder that the challenges posed by each Primal are unique, and we need to be prepared for anything.

Assured that we had no reason to worry about Ramuh for now, the elder also gave me a letter to deliver to Kan-E-Senna. Yda and Papalymo headed off to inform Minfilia, and as I turned to deliver the letter Frixio gave me a crystal he obtained from those who had summoned Ramuh. Another one of the crystals I needed, interestingly enough. I thanked him and made my way back to Gridania, delivering the letter to a Twin Adder captain.

Minfilia called almost as soon as I stepped away from the captain and asked me to return to the Waking Sands. As I walked in Alphinaud was leaving, and once the doors were shut discussion turned to the remaining Primals the the Scions knew of. Levithian wasn't answering calls as the Sahagin did not have the crystals needed to summon him, and the Kobolds and Ixal had been quiet on the front of Titan and Garuda respectively. All three were being monitored by the Grand Companies in their areas and the Scions would have news if anything happened. It was a lot of ground to cover and caution was needed in case of a return of Ifrit or if Ramuh became a threat, but there wasn't anything to do actively.

Once everyone departed to continue patrols, research and whatever else they were up to I told Minfilia about what I had seen at Toto-rak, including Lahabrea. She said that before the Calamity the Ascians had gone to great lengths to stay hidden and it was not a good sign that they were being so open now. With nothing to do in terms of the Primals for now Minfilia set herself to investigating the Ascians and Lahabrea.

A Sylph came to help as well, which was quite interesting all things considered. His insight and experience could only be helpful to the Scions so Minfilia went to get him set up, and with my afternoon before me I returned to Gridania and the Archer's Guild. I could hear the yelling from outside as Silvairre argued with Luciane. He said Pawah's gang had been spotted again and he wanted to go after them alone, knowing he could work quicker and quieter on his own. Leih spotted me approaching and said we should go with him, and the elf decided to spout more racist nonsense about protecting one's home and how Leih and I could never understand. In showing how much she had grown since our last run-in with Pawah, Leih said she understood. Silvairre, however, made it clear that he didn't think so and more than that he did not, and would not, consider us more than individuals working for the Archer's Guild - something that wouldn't even be the case if he had a say in it.

He left on his own but after a brief conversation Leih and I agreed to go after him with Luciane's blessing. Even though we weren't far behind Silvairre he had managed to get himself in trouble and we swooped in to save him. The way Leih and Silvairre spoke after that point is between them, but to me it sounded like she has a crush on him which I can't say I understand because of the way he talks to her but to each their own I suppose. Regardless, Silvairre had gone to take down a smaller poacher group because all the gangs used bone whistles to communicate and his intention was to take theirs and use it to set a trap for Pawah.

With Leih and I helping the trap was set and as I blew the bone whistle Pawah came. Between the three of us she and her gang were defeated, but Pawah made it clear she would rather die than surrender. When she drew a dagger and tried to go after Leih I shot her without hesitation, watching the arrow pierce her neck and kill her. I hadn't tried to aim for her arm or her leg, there is no point in being nonlethal with people like her. Not only that but Pawah had escaped custody once and she would likely at least try again, and if she was successful that would be worse. She took the life she had been given and used it to illegally poach in the Twelveswood, endangering not just her and those in that live with her but all of Gridania as a whole by upsetting the elementals which was not helping the current problems with the Ixal and everything else. Death was too good for her, she should have suffered for every life she negatively affected with her selfish actions, but I did what was best for everyone by putting her down.

While Silvairre and Leih gathered the bodies to bring to the Wood Wailers I returned to Luciane. She wasn't happy I had killed Pawah but she understood. By bringing down one of the most elusive poachers I had made the guild proud, and Luciane knew that was worth celebrating. I told her that I didn't require anything, and went on my way. Though I only had a few hours left in the day I went to see if the Botanist's Guild needed anything and spent that time helping them out.

Why am I always drawn back to Fufucha? I have no particular talent for botany, and certainly had no interest in it back in Thedas, but I find myself wanting to practice and become better and help to earn her praise. She's so cute when she smiles, and I can see the wealth of knowledge in her but also the understanding of concepts such as how the bounty of nature can be present one day and gone the next that makes her such a good guild master. And she...She always seems happy to see me, saying how quickly I'm improving and how much potential she can see in me. Coming here has changed so many things that I'm still coming to terms with, and I can't tell if I'm just clinging to her for a sense of stability or if there's real feelings there...

******

With no word from Minfilia yet I was hoping to have a quiet day. Instead I heard from Luciane, who asked me to come see her. I made my way from the Carline Canopy over to the Archer's Guild, and she spoke of a man named Jehantel that many called the Godsbow. Once a member of the Gods' Quiver and legendary even then, he was now in his older years and had returned to the Twelveswood. This of course sent many archers seeking to study under him, but he had turned each one down.

He claimed the title of bard now, having put down his bow for poetry and song. He wished to teach those things, not archery, and as none from the Archer's Guild or Gods' Quiver or anywhere else seemed to understand this. The way Luciane spoke of him I couldn't help but be reminded with Leliana; her skill with a bow was unmatched and she even taught me much in our time together, but at night around the camp fire she would sing and her voice was always a welcome one.

So I went to seek Jehantel in the South Shroud, and his words matched that of Luciane. I recited for him a poem Leliana had taught me once, and that seemed to impress the man. He said that with all the things going on in the world there were too few who would devote themselves to the art of the song instead of more tangible endeavors, something I understand perhaps far too well.

With that little foothold, Jehantel asked me to go find a Moogle and present myself to them, to see what they think. I found the Moogle, but they were in some trouble as a charm they had wished to give to Jehantel had been stolen by the nearby poachers. Easy enough for me to sneak in, steal it back, and return it to the Moogle who had nothing but praise for me including saying that he could see the potential in me to surpass even Jehantel someday.

At the Moogle's behest I returned to Jehantel with the charm, and was told that the charm was actually meant for me. Such stones were gifts from the Moogles to those they deemed worthy of being bards as they contained memories of all those who had held it - and in turn after I was gone the stone would contain my memories too for whoever would hold it after me. As I gained experience as a bard those memories would take form and help, a concept I find very interesting. While I believe I would continue to be an archer worthy of the guild's praise and at least a passable bard without the stone's power I don't doubt that it will help me achieve greater heights in both regards and honestly right now I'll take that.

As Jehentel wanted me to go get some practical experience in combining the two arts before returning to him for further instruction, I took the afternoon to just rest. I didn't even do work for the Botanist's Guild, I just went back to the Free Company house and holed up in my room for a while. Eros was nice enough to bring me a pot of tea and some cookies, and I spent a bit of time with him as I helped make dinner. It was nice to have an afternoon of just...no fighting, no expectations, no nothing. Letting my body rest, and my mind catch up to all that has happened.

It's wild to think I've already been here almost three weeks. I've settled in but also it's been almost nonstop, I haven't had time to just...think and process. But after how this afternoon went, I don't think I want to. I swear I heard Leliana calling my name at one point, and this overwhelming sense of guilt because I love and miss Zevran and I regret that one night of weakness with Thancred and how much it seems I've become attached to Fufucha out of a sense of her being one of the people to show me kindness in my first days here. How far have I fallen for that to be the case? And because I can't talk about it, because no one here would understand, it's all just building up. But I don't know what to do...

******

I called Minfilia yesterday morning, but as there was still nothing for me to do I spent the day keeping busy with crafting endeavors. Having no desire to feed into the stereotype of my people as dealing with rocks and metal I leaned into leatherworking, which I seem to at least be somewhat good at. I also have a high respect for Geva, and it was a pleasure to help do some work there for the day.

This morning Minfilia called, saying that she heard word a few members of the Immortal Flames had seen a masked and robed individual in the desert and I should head to Ul'dah to speak to one of the higher officers and see what he had to say. There was indeed a witness but he had been slain by Qiqirn a few days ago. However his area of patrol was called High Bridge and there were merchants and plenty of others in the area who may have seen something so I headed there to ask around.

They didn't have many answers, but with the Qiqirn raids happening pretty much everyone but the merchants who had set up near the bridge and those needing to traverse it for travel gave it a wide berth. It seemed like the attacks might be orchestrated but they had no proof, and finally I was directed to a merchant who had actually seen something. Smoke, to be specific, and as he went to check it out he had seen a robed and masked figure meeting with some Qiqirn. The man had a thought if I could go to the same location and stoke the signal fire I might find answers, so off I went.

I've seen Qiqirn before as they seem to be almost everywhere so I thought I knew what to expect - I was wrong. I was attacked by a man, not a Qiqirn, and after I killed him I searched his pocket for clues. I found a scroll that seemed to contain a prayer and I called Thancred to see what he had to say. After reading the prayer for him he told me that it was to one of the Twelve gods, in this case one named Rhalgr. He was the patron of Ala Mhigo, and it was highly uncommon for people outside that area to worship him so it was likely that my attacker was Ala Mhigan. Thancred said that wasn't surprising; not too far from where I was sat a settlement called Little Ala Mhigo, home to those who had fled the land since it was under Garlean rule. He told me to find a man named Gundobald who ran the place and speak with him, so I made my way to Little Ala Mhigo.

Unfortunately Gundobald was not inclined to help, the settlement had enough problems. As I was taking a walk around to try and familiarize myself with the place and think on my next move I was approached by the resident Immortal Flame captain. He asked me not to blame the refugees, they had been through so much and were more concerned with keeping their own alive and well. As I was there to investigate the mysterious figure the captain bid me to deliver some tea for his men out in the field - a job he was going to do anyway, but it afforded me the opportunity to speak with them and see if they knew anything.

An easy enough task, and one that at least had some benefit as one of the soldiers said he had seen a man in a robe and mask speaking to some of the Ala Mhigans. Sadly without the cooperation of the refugees I was at somewhat of a dead end, so I called Minfilia to inform her and ask for help. She said that there was an Ala Mhigan among the Scions and had me call him. His name is Haribehrt, and he joined the Scions to help liberate his homeland from the rule of the Garlean Empire but sadly for it his countrymen in Little Ala Mhigo had branded him a traitor.

He told me to head to Quarrymill and speak to a woman named Albreda, so I did. It seemed she too considered him a traitor but she was willing to help. She sent me to a nearby man named Meffrid, who was the leader of the Ala Mhigan resistance in the area. One of his men was wounded and dying, and no one in Quarrymill would help because it was against the will of the elementals. They had not been granted permission to partake of the wood's bounty, as Albreda put it. But I'm not one to give up so easily, especially not when a man's life is on the line. No one would help them for fear of angering the elementals and they could not take anything from the forest without pissing off the locals, but I absolutely could.

And for once my botany skills had some practical use. I asked to see the injured man, and after inspecting his wounds I told them how to care for him while I went off into the forest to get what I needed. With the right herbs I was able to make a paste to help his wound and some herbal medicine for them to feed him to help him heal. Once I was done I wasn't even thinking about getting back to Gundobald, I had been so focused on helping the man I hadn't even thought to ask for Meffrid's help in that matter. But he had spoken to Albreda, suspicious of my intentions at first, and she had told him that I was hoping to find an in with Gundobald. But upon seeing the way that I didn't even think to ask for his help first and jumped straight in to aid them he knew that I didn't care about if they were Gridanian or Ala Mhigan or anything else and that earned me some points with them. So he wrote me a letter to Gundobald that would hopefully convince the man to speak to me, but given the late hour I opted to stay and finish that task in the morning. I camped with the Ala Mhigans, listening to stories of their homeland and their culture while carefully guarding my own. I don't yet know enough of this world to make a convincing cover story and I cannot tell them the truth, but they didn't seem to mind.

Aside from those keeping guard through the night everyone is asleep now. But this...was nice. I felt a connection to these men, so far from their homes in unfamiliar situations. I hope that Gundobald will speak with me, and that once I am done with this Ascian business perhaps I can spend a bit of time helping them as well in whatever capacity I can.

******

I returned to Gundobald with Meffrid's letter, and he seemed pleased to know the man was alive and well. Anyone Meffrid thought worthy of drafting such a letter for was worthy of his trust, and so he agreed to help. A masked stranger had indeed been spotted around Little Ala Mhigo in recent days, and it seemed as if the younger generation were meeting with him. Gundobald bid me to go speak to these youths and so I did, but they were all very tight lipped and unwilling to talk to me even knowing that their leader had sent me.

As much as I hated to return to Gundobald empty handed, I had nothing. He explained that the young ones were angry, and he understood. They were either born outside of Ala Mhigo or were too young when the invasion happened to remember anything of their homes, their whole lives had just been moving from one place to another trying to find a place to settle...Being rejected by everyone, because Gridania won't let them in due to the elementals, Ul'dah is overrun with refugees from the Calamity, and Limsa has limited space and is still full of pirates. It's not a sentiment I understood, but one I can empathize with.

Beyond that, Gundobald was worried that the anger would blind the young ones and they would do something stupid. So I went poking around the camp some more to see what I could find, only to be approached by a young man and told to meet with one named Wilred - some sort of unofficial leader amongst the younger members of the camp. I went to meet with him in the desert, and he asked if I was working for the Empire and why I was poking around in their business. Before I could defend myself he and some others attacked me. I killed many of them in self-defense, though Wilred escaped.

I ran back to camp and to Gundobald, telling him everything. He had found out in the meantime that their intention was to raid a nearby Amalj'aa encampment and steal a large quantity of crystals from them. But the younger ones had no real combat experience, there was no way they could take on Amalj'aa veterans and they would only get themselves killed. So we ran after them but...we were too late. Aside from Wilred and two others the rest were dead and the Amalj'aa were coming. Thankfully with actual skilled warriors present defeating them was an easy task.

Afterwards Wilred explained; the masked man had spoken to them of summoning Rhalgr, Ala Mhigo's patron deity. He said they needed the crystals the Amalj'aa had to do it, and if they did then Rhalgr would surely help them liberate Ala Mhigo from Garlean rule. Gundobald pointed out the Tempered that we had fought, asking Wilred if that was what he wanted; to be a slave to a false Primal Rhalgr the way the Amalj'aa and those they captured were slaves to Ifrit.

Back at camp Gundobald thanked me, saying it was nice to know there were outsiders who cared about him and his people. Perhaps foolishly I told him that if he needed anything all he had to do was reach out to me and I would do anything I could to help. I feel for him and his people, I want to help if I can you know?

With that settled I returned to Minfilia, who of course knew all about everything that had happened at Quarrymill and Little Ala Mhigo. I filled in some of the gaps, and she agreed to do some more digging into the matter and let me know if anything came up. I returned to Jehantel for the afternoon, eager to show what I had learned and see if he could teach me more. A good way to hone my skills, if nothing else. Then I returned to Gridania for the evening, Mother Miounne always makes some of the best food and I like falling asleep listening to the sounds of the water and wind through the leaves. Hopefully it means I will be refreshed in the morning for whatever is next.

******

Minfilia called during breakfast, saying that the Sylphs had delivered information about a masked individual seen in the Black Shroud and some mysterious deaths. So I traveled to Fallgroud Float to meet a man named Medrod, who quite frankly was traumatized after what he had seen. A bit of patience, kindness and sharing stories with him and I finally got him to calm down enough to tell me what he saw.

A man with a robe and a mask, being followed by a fiend carrying a woman's corpse. He was sure that this was a minion of Thal come to take her soul for his realm - I have come to understand that Thal is one of the Twelve like Rhalgr, and that Thal's realm is the underworld where souls go to rest when they pass. I'm sure seeing such a creature could make him think that so I didn't dispute it, but I did tell him that I was investigating what was going on in the area.

From him and a few others who overheard I managed to ascertain that all the victims were beautiful young women who had their faces completely mutilated. I got a good map of the sightings and went to investigate myself, finding the corpse before I found the fiend that went with it. After defeating said fiend I hauled the body to the local guardhouse for the Twin Adder soldiers there to deal with. They found a button with a lily engraved on it on the corpse and asked me to take it to Mother Miounne to see if she knew anything.

Sadly she didn't, but she did note that the work was quality and it wasn't the sort of thing you'd see the average person wearing. There was an older elven man that had been in town a few days with similar buttons on his jacket, so Mother Miounne gave me directions on how to find him and I went to have a chat. As luck would have it he was connected to this whole thing; he used to be a manservant for a family that kept a house called Haukke Manor. The Calamity had left the lady of the house disfigured, forcing her to lock herself away until she began receiving guests with long robes and masks who instructed her to begin performing rites to restore the beauty she once had.

These rites were innocent at first until she tied a handmaiden down and killed the poor girl by mutilating her face. He had disposed of the body, but knew that he could not return and instead made his way to Gridania seeking some sort of help or answers. As an adventurer he asked if I could head there and put an end to this, and I agreed to do so.

The manor itself sat out in the Black Shroud, away from Gridania. And good thing too, as the whole outside was swarming with more of the fiends like that one I had slain. I dealt with them and then made my way inside, clearing the manor room by room until I found my way to the bedchamber of the lady of the house. She too had become some kind of fiend, and I made sure that she was dead and would stay as such. Robed figures appeared afterwards, saying that they didn't want to fight and where there only to judge my strength. They were also clearly responsible for what had happened in the manor, but as they fled I could do little except return to the manservant and tell him it was done. Together we went to the Twin Adder headquarters and he told them everything, and I told them that they should keep watch over the manor to ensure no fiends returned.

With the hour growing late once more I called Minfilia and told her everything. She was concerned that the Ascians had openly shown themselves to me and said they were testing my strength. There weren't enough Scions to go around, and Minfilia said she would have the other city-states keep a more careful watch. She also agreed to call me if anything happened, so I'm just staying here for the night again. Nice to sleep in a proper warm bed and have good food, better than the days I spent on the road during the Blight, that's for sure.

******

When Minfilia called me this morning it was with urgent news; the Kobolds had managed to summon their Primal, Titan. One we knew very little about save that the last time it had appeared a group called the Company of Heroes had been the ones to put Titan down. The group itself was long disbanded, so while they did further research and reached out to contacts Minfilia had me meet Y'shtola in Limsa to see if the Maelstrom had anything to offer.

I quickly made my way there, and to my surprise the Admiral herself was present as well. Sadly mostly to tell us that there was nothing in their records we didn't already know. Y'shtola pointed out that this was likely happening because the Lominsan people had broken their promise and were encroaching into territory that had been delegated to the Kobolds. They were responding to the threat at hand by summoning Titan, which was understandable given the situation. While the Admiral admitted this was her fault, she was also correct in saying that right now assigning blame would do no one any good and this could be handled later.

Thankfully Minfilia called and said she had found a member of the Band of Heroes. He was working as a miller, probably looking for something easier after all the fighting. So Y'shtola and I went to find him, but honestly I could tell the man was no warrior. As he spoke of the Company of Heroes and such I knew he was lying as well, and when I confronted him about it he sent me off to do some mundane chores with the promise of more information if I did.

When I got back the owner of the mill was yelling at him, knowing he had sent me to do his chores. Thankfully after a good lashing the man proved to be of some use, saying that he knew where a real member of the Company of Heroes was. We went to Costa del Sol to find him, and I could tell right away that he knew how to fight. It's all in the way someone carries themselves, it can really show if they've had training, have actually been in a fight, and even if they've killed someone before if you know what signs to look for.

Time was of the essence, but the man had some understandable demands. He knew the dangers of Titan first hand, and wanted to make sure I was up to the task. So he sent me first to slay a monster, which was an easy enough task. Then he sent me to the South Shroud to speak with an elven man, who in turn gave me the task of slaying a giant adamantoise and stealing one of its eggs. Again easy enough, and I was sent on my way to Southern Thanalan and one of the Miqo'te tribes that lived there. So far he has been my favorite, a man who knows what it is to be a leader. He got to his position by being smart and calculating, and waiting for his chance to strike.

While so far my tasks has been displays of brute force, he sent me first to slay an Amalj'aa and prove that I knew when I was ready to challenge something and when I was not. When that was successful he sent me after a large, predatory worm that lives in the desert. I lured one out and slew it with ease, and the next stop on the journey is a return to Costa del Sol to gather the last ingredient.

With the late hour I decided instead to head to Ul'dah. I know every hour we let Titan stand is another that it gains strength, another that it and the Kobolds could crash on the gates of Limsa. But I also know that I am no good to anyone if I am exhausted, it is better for me to eat and sleep and head to Costa del Sol in the morning to sort the last bits of this out with a clear head.

******

Returning to Costa del Sol I was sent on my last mission; to get some cheese from friendly goblins up in Raincatcher Gulley. An easy enough task, though not the last one like I was led to believe as I also needed to go track down some wine for the occasion. Which should have been easy, but not everything can be I suppose.

The last member of the Company of Heroes I dealt with was blind now, and because of that had started his own wine making business but he was still just a novice and didn't have anything suitable. He had tried asking another local winemaker who had been in the business for some years, but the man was rather disinclined to help. While the blind one figured out what to do he bid me to take some wine to a homeless man who had apparently rescued him after he lost his sight and nursed him back to health.

The man in return asked me to take some of his own wine back to the winemaker; a rather simplistic wine made by steeping ingredients in coconuts and letting them chill in the cold running waters of a river for a few hours. But the winemaker noticed he had wrapped the coconut shells in a leaf that had a very specific odor to it, one that belonged to a species of grape thought extinct since the Calamity. I was able to track down wild cuttings and bring them back, and he offered them to the man we had been trying to get wine from. As he had more money, land and resources he was in the best position to nurture the cuttings and revive that particular variety of grape for wine making.

In return he gifted us a very special wine, and that meant everything was ready. I returned to Costa del Sol one last time, and of course had already figured out this wasn't about a feast. The Company of Heroes was testing me to make sure I was ready to face Titan; I walked into danger despite several warnings it could have killed me, I proved that I was a smart and patient hunter, and I had shown myself to be kind and generous by tracking things down even though there wasn't anything in it for me.

The feast was on, and the Company of Heroes had decided that I was ready to face Titan. So we ate, drank, and made merry knowing that in the morning I was going to face down another Primal. But honestly? I think this was all unnecessary. And I know...I know that they don't understand everything I did before coming to Eorzea. But to accomplish taking down Ifrit and preparing to take down Titan having been here for less than a month...Well, I think that should count for something.

I can also feel myself growing stronger. The last years of my life in Ferelden were spent slowly growing weaker as the Taint festered inside me. That day when I walked into the Deep Roads I was prepared to die because I couldn't even draw my bow back enough to fire an arrow with enough force to be a threat. But over these past few weeks I've been rebuilding my strength, and more than that I can feel something else empowering me from within. I'm learning new techniques for fighting, and I know that the more time I spend here the more all of that will build. To what I don't know but...We'll see, I guess.

******

Over breakfast the Company of Heroes told us what they knew about Titan. Specifically that as the mines that the Kobolds lived in were the size of a city it makes sense that they would use an aetheryte much like we do. That was how the Company of Heroes had managed to take down Titan; using the aetheryte the beastmen did to get deep into the mines. There was some kind of specialized process to this I still don't understand, but it meant that Y'shtola would need to stay behind to stabilize the aetheryte.

Fighting Titan was...something. But if there's one thing training with Sten and Shale taught me, it's that my small size can be my advantage against larger foes. If you watch now they swing you can use their momentum to trip them up enough to get some shots in. Even when I ran out of arrows I still had the daggers...the ones that Zevran gave me. Titan swung, I took the chance to run up his arm and make the finishing blow. Y'shtola showed up just in time to help me get out, and thankfully I wasn't too hurt so I was able to make my way back to Limsa and give my first hand account to the Maelstrom.

And after everything was said and done...All I wanted was to go see Fufucha. I did a few jobs for her, but when she noticed me flagging more than I usually would she insisted we sit down and talk. There were some choice words for the fact that I would want to do the back-breaking work of botany after such a major fight without resting first, but she appreciated my help regardless. She confided in me that the war was hurting her, and she hated that most of the orders that kept the guild running were coming from the various groups fighting against the Ixal and the Garleans. Was the bounty of nature only meant to ensure fewer of our number died than that of our enemies?

Fufucha is such a peaceful woman, she has no love for fighting and it seems that knowing all her skills are only being put to use to help the war effort is wearing on her. I admit I don't know her that well and perhaps it isn't my place to say, but I did tell her that without her influence I wouldn't have taken up botany. I know in times of war it can be hard for those who desire peace, and I told her if she needed anything I would help if I could.

Strangely, when I told her that I would be staying at the inn tonight she asked if she could join me. After dinner she fell asleep, I think everything is just weighing on her and she's exhausted. I'll be joining her after I finish here, and hopefully we can both get a good night's rest.

******

Today...It's taking everything in me to write this. I called Minfilia yesterday but she said things were well and she'd let me know if there was anything I could do. She said I was injured after fighting Titan, and I deserved a day of rest. I took Fufucha out to just help get her mind off of things; we went out to gather some ingredients, and took them back to the Free Company house. I had called Eros and he agreed to make dinner for us, though I did my best to help because I really should learn how to cook all things considered.

I had such a good time yesterday, but today it all seems like a distant memory. I tried to call Minfilia and didn't hear anything when I got up, so I saw Fufucha back to Gridania and then made my way to the Waking Sands. What I found was absolute carnage, dead Scions and...poor Noraxia. Barely alive, having clung to life until I made it back there. I saw through the Echo what happened; the Garleans had invaded the Waking Sands, killed most of the Scions, took Minfilia and a few others prisoner, and left Noraxia for dead.

They...were looking for me. And I wasn't there. I wasn't there! All that blood is on my hands, and more as Noraxia died in my arms after delivering a message from Minfilia that I should seek sanctuary at the church near Camp Drybone. I went there quickly to inform the priest, who kindly allowed me to take shelter within those walls. He also sent people to collect the bodies for burial, and when they were brought back one of the Sisters asked me to take Noraxia's body back to Little Solace so they could be buried in Sylph tradition surrounded by friends and family.

The Sylphs were understandably upset by the death of one of their own, and I knew no amount of apologizing could make it better. All I could promise them was that if we needed their help against the Garleans we'd call upon them, and then I returned to the church. Oddly enough Alphinaud showed up, claiming to want to revive the Scions of the Seventh Dawn but to do so he would need the help of Cid Garlond - the man the church had been calling Marques. I remembered him from before, he had lost his memory in the wake of the Calamity and the church had taken him in. But apparently he was some kind of technical genius, and Alphinaud saying his name and reminding him that he had an airship was enough to get him at least some of his memories back.

The news, however, continued to be grim; the Ixal had summoned Garuda, and in her current form she was set to be the strongest Primal I had faced yet. However if we could bring her down it would serve as a warning to all the beast tribes that even their strongest could be killed, so that was something. But Garuda was also smart, and had put a barrier of wind up around herself as protection. Which meant that we needed Cid's airship, the Enterprise, that had last been sighted over Gridania just before the Calamity. Given my general familiarity with the area I offered to go ask around while Alphinaud tended to Cid.

I eventually had it on good word that the airship had headed towards Coerthas, and if it wasn't destroyed outright it would likely still be there. But that meant dealing with the Ishgardians, who during the Calamity had closed their borders and were a relatively insular people who were distrustful of outsiders. Still we had to try, so I opted to stay here in Gridania for the evening. I'll head to Coerthas in the morning and see what I can find, though I'm not hopeful we will uncover anything useful given what I've heard.

******

I didn't sleep last night. Every time I closed my eyes all I could see where the faces of the dead Scions, their eyes staring at me asking me why I wasn't there to save them...

Anyway, I bundled up and headed for Coerthas. I was supposed to head to the Observatorium, but the guard nearby would not let me in until I proved that I was a friend to the Ishgardian people. He sent me to locate a missing knight, which was easy enough to do, and then I was allowed inside. Between the way their names work and their inherent racism these people overall remind me of the Orlesians but worse.

I wasn't allowed to see the records, as apparently the people in the tower use them to help chart the movements of the dragons and were convinced I would use that information against them if given access to it. One with the title of Inquisitor showed up, and as we parted he gave me a warning; something about how snowstorms come quickly in Coerthas, one minute everything is clear and the next a blizzard could show up and erase all sense that you know what you're doing or where you're going. It clearly sounded like a threat, but honestly? I'm not scared of him.

As I was leaving one of the younger ones cornered me and asked for help. A friend of theirs had gone out near the Ixal camp and hadn't returned, and they worried for his safety. With the promise of aid from the young one I went to find their friend, though he was an ungrateful bastard and said that he could not be seen in the company of an 'unbeliever'. Returning to the young one, they told me that in rescuing him I had actually helped my cause; the knight from earlier and the rescued man were members of House Durendaire, and in helping them twice they were now honor bound to help me in return. They said I should ask for introductions to the other High Houses, and I might find some sympathetic people in their ranks.

This seemed as good a route as any and so I did, though the guard captain told me there were three other High Houses outside of House Durendaire, and so I should do a third deed for them by going out and recovering some missing cargo that belonged to House Haillenarte. In doing so he would provide me with introductions, and I would endear myself to House Haillenarte by helping them out as well. Again an easy enough task, and as I brought the cargo back the merchant looked them over. He saw that one chest, marked as the personal property of one Lord Francel of House Haillenarte, looked to have been tampered with. The lock was still intact but the merchant wished to check the contents against his manifest regardless.

Inside was a necklace that they said belonged to the heretics that worked with the dragons the Ishgardians were always fighting, marking this Lord Francel as a heretic as well. Because of that my introductions to the High Houses were postponed while they investigated this, so I turned to leave and try other avenues. One of the guards stopped me, having worked for House Haillenarte for years and knowing that Lord Francel was no heretic. He asked me to go and warn the young lord, and I figured with nothing else to do for the moment I could at least entertain doing that.

Thankful for the heads up, Lord Francel told me to go speak to someone named Haurchefant of House Fortemps. The man was nice enough and willing to help, promising to send some inquiries to the other High Houses and pointing me to some people I could talk to in the meantime. Disappointingly none of them had anything of use to say, as all the gossip right now was around House Haillenarte and Lord Francel. I returned to Haurchefant to see what he had uncovered, and there was both good news and bad news - the good news was that some people remembered seeing the airship flying over Coerthas just before the Calamity and might know its location, the bad news was that I had been seen with Lord Francel and those people were now hesitant to talk for fear that he might be declared a heretic. If that happened then his association with me, and thus these people's associations with me, could get them in trouble.

Frustrated and with the hour growing late, I was going to return to Gridania before seeing what could be done in the morning. But Haurchefant offered me a place in his bed after dinner, and I said yes. I could honestly use the stress relief, and he is quite cute. I hope that perhaps also a good night's romp will wear me out enough that I can sleep, I could tell how much I didn't last night was affecting my overall personality today because I was tired and cranky and I'm sure that did little to help my case in trying to deal with the Ishgardian people. Hopefully tomorrow will be better...

******

Haurchefant and I had a conversation over breakfast about what to do next. He said that if I could clear Lord Francel then I would be cleared by association, and the best way to do that would be to figure out where along the supply line the items were being planted. As cargo was inspected at checkpoints and it was unlikely that knights or Inquisitors would be responsible I went to check out the porters and searched their parcels. One was for House Dzemael and two were for House Haillenarte, and only those of House Haillenarte had the rosaries.

The porter claimed that they had been searched at their last stop and all was well, he wasn't responsible and he had no idea how they got there. On top of that the porter wasn't stupid; if he had been responsible he wouldn't have let me search the cargo, which tracked.

Regardless I returned to Haurchefant and this was proof that someone was planting evidence. He sent me to ask for a delay in Lord Francel's trial while he got some things in order, but of course I found out that the trial had begun as Lord Francel had been taken to a place called Witchdrop. I swear I thought the Chantry could be barbaric, but this was just insane; the accused jumped or were pushed into a deep ravine and if they died they were deemed innocent, their house redeemed, and they were said to walk in the halls of their god. However if they rose as dragons then they were heretics and were slain on the spot which just...I cannot even fathom this, honestly.

Still, Haurchefant had me run out to stop the trial while he did what he could on his side with the legalities of it. The Inquisitor, however, said that the trial was 'lawful and sanctioned' and would not stop so I said fine and shot his guards. One of said guards summoned a dragon and transformed into one himself, and of course a heretic in the ranks of the Temple Knights had some grave implications including meaning that the framing of innocents as heretics was likely.

Word spread quickly, and with Lord Francel's name cleared people were finally willing to talk to me. Through this I found out the Enterprise had been taken to Stone Vigil when it landed in Coerthas just before the Calamity. Stone Vigil, however, was in the charge of House Durendaire and had since been overtaken by dragons. Haurchefant wrote me a letter of introduction to one Lord Drillemont and I went to Lord Francel for the same, which he was more than happy to give all things considered.

Things were going quite well with Lord Drillemont until the Inquisitor showed up. As House Durendaire was preparing a force to retake Stone Vigil the Inquisitor pointed out that it was potentially nefarious that someone claiming to be the missing (and presumed dead) Cid Garlond and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn (which were well known to have been destroyed now) wanted access. I found it strange that the man had been telling me to find the airship and leave, but now he seemed intent on standing in my way.

The Inquisitor's words held more weight than ours, so we had to find out another way. Mostly we tried to help out around the camp to earn some goodwill but once again the Inquisitor seemed to sabotage our every effort. Alphinaud did some poking around and then asked for my help to prove the Inquisitor was a fake, which we were able to do, but of course by this time he had taken someone else out to question them as a heretic and would likely kill them. We rushed to stop this from happening, and while Cid took the innocent woman back to camp we fought the false Inquisitor.

After the Archdemon there isn't much that scares me, especially dragons. I saw fear in the men beside me but I stood tall and fought back with all the rage and ferocity I had brought to bear against that corrupted dragon. Eventually the false Inquisitor was slain and all his allies as well, and we left their bodies for the scavengers before returning to camp. Drillemont gave me permission to enter Stone Vigil, and I saw in his eyes that same fear. He said he had never seen anyone, not even the most hardened knights, stand up to a dragon without hesitation. Honestly? The look on his face when I told him that I had fought a reanimated undead dragon easily ten times the size of any of the dragons I'd seen in Coerthas so far was absolutely priceless. He knew I wasn't lying, and I think that made him almost more scared of me than he was of the dragons.

The hour is late, and I enjoyed my time with Haurchefant last night. He invited me again and I said yes, and I will be joining him once I am done here and done with dinner as well. He is a good man, a kind man, and he reminds me so much of Zevran. It's not the same, but it's at least helping keep me from going entirely crazy in this place for now.

******

I am a little worse for wear, but I did manage to completely clear Stone Vigil after hours of fighting. We even located the Enterprise, though I had to fight a particularly nasty dragon for it. Lahabrea showed up as well and seemed to awake and empower the dragon but its defeat gave me another Crystal of Light and I will take my victories where I can find them.

The ship would fly, but barely and it was a miracle she bore us back to Gridania. In fact had Cid not been with us I am unsure if she would have, but we made it safely and were given permission to dock the ship for as long as she needed repairs.

Being physically injured after my fight I was told to spend the remainder of my day resting while repairs were being done. It's something I welcome, and I hurt to the point I don't even think I will return to the Botanist's Guild to do work because that is often intensely physical and requires travel and I wish to do neither.

Mother Miounne brought me food and some tea, and I think I will spend my hours relaxing before I sleep. Just physically let myself recover, because the fight with Garuda is coming and I need to be at my peak as much as possible for it. My body has not taken this kind of beating since the days of the Blight, and after years of helping Ferelden recover afterwards and not doing any hard fighting I am a bit on the rusty side and I can feel the toll that age is taking on things as well. But I hope that I have enough to make it through whatever this world will throw at me...

******

I stopped by this morning to see what was happening with the airship. Cid was certain he could repair her, but even if she was fully fixed she might not survive the whirling vortex Garuda set up to protect herself. But to help with this he had a plan; if we could find a corrupted crystal of earth aspected aether then we could disrupt the vortex and get us through safely.

To this end he sent me to a professor out at Camp Drybone who had spoken to him when he was still Marques the priest. The professor sent me on two dead-end chases, one to the Burning Wall and one to the Isles of Umbra, before I was finally directed to Gridania for the crystal I sought. I had to dig through spriggan entrails for it, but that didn't even make the top twenty most disgusting things I've done since I've been here so I didn't mind.

With the crystal in hand it didn't take long for Cid to attach it to the ship. He did posit there was some small chance for things to go wrong, but we took to the skies anyway because we had to try. Thankfully the Enterprise flew, and we made it through the vortex just fine. I fought Garuda and while I should have been able to easily take her down she was just...too strong. She even tried to Temper me, but when that failed and I pulled a Crystal of Light from her body she still insisted on trying to fight me.

The Empire had to make a mess before I could finish, though. There were also Kobold and Amalj'aa prisoners, and as Garuda tormented them they called to Ifrit and Titan for help. The two Primals manifested again, and we had to leave before we were killed. But as the airship was leaving we saw some kind of machine the Empire had that...well, it made the Primals look like easy fights. It managed to kill them all and seemed to absorb their aether to make itself stronger.

Whatever they had managed to get their hands on, it's bad. We made our way back to Gridania, but once again I need to rest. Alphinaud and Cid are doing what they can in terms of research and finding the next steps, but I...Am overwhelmed. I might go back to Haurchefant tonight, if he will see me. It's selfish, I know, but...I don't know. I don't know.

******

This morning I snapped. Alphinaud called me early and asked me to return to the Waking Sands. As soon as he said that I cried, and I had to hang up on him. Bless Haurchefant, he took the day from his duties to help calm me down and didn't ask what had upset me so much. After lunch Alphinaud showed up in person and at least had the grace to apologize to me.

I was very blunt with him; he hadn't seen the carnage in the Waking Sands. He hadn't helped haul and bury the bodies of the dead. And after everything that had happened it was insensitive of him, at best, to ask me to go back. At least that seemed to get through to him, and he didn't ask me to leave Coerthas for now.

Instead he told me that Yda and Y'shtola were safe, having been elsewhere when the attack happened. As Minfilia, Papalymo, Thancred, Urianger and Tataru were not among the dead we were sure they had been captured, though no one really knew why. Well, save Minfilia anyway as it was clear the Empire wanted to understand the power of the Echo and how it granted those that had it immunity from Primal influence.

Minfilia, Papalymo, Urianger and Tataru were seen being taken into Castrum Centri in Mor Dhona, which was a relief though I admit I worry for Thancred since he wasn't seen among them. On top of that an Imperial airship had been seen in Coerthas so rather than wallow in the memories I went to help investigate. We rescued Biggs and Wedge from the snow, finding out that they too had been taken captive when the Waking Sands was invaded and had been put on the airship to be taken back to Garlemald where it was likely they would be killed. Being the smart men they are they sabotaged the ship to force it into an emergency landing, knowing that if the ship crashed they might survive and if it landed they maybe could escape and even if either one killed them it was better than what awaited them in Garlemald where they would be considered traitors.

With that done we returned to Mor Dhona, but I made it very clear to Alphinaud and Cid; when it came time to invade the Castrum and attempt a rescue I was absolutely on board, but all of the preparation work for that was on them. I am still physically hurting and need to rest, and this morning's incident is still making me feel ill. I would also just be useless in most of the work I know they need to do because of everything else going on, as much as I want to help. The Empire was looking for me when they slaughtered everyone at the Waking Sands, my face is known to them so staying hidden until it's time to go is just in everyone's best interest.

I just hope we're able to do something before it's too late. But Alphinaud is at least well-educated and Cid is all around smart, and with Biggs and Wedge helping too I know we'll be fine.

******

Today we started our assault on the Empire. We stole disguises and a magiteck reaper and invaded the Castrum. While Biggs and Wedge distracted the guards I freed Urianger and Papalymo so they could help with the battle, and once the guards were down I set about unbinding Tataru and Minfilia as well but there was still no sign of Thancred. Even Papalymo was worried, assuming he had been with us and hearing otherwise, but we had no time to think on that as we had to flee.

Despite being shot at (and me taking a hit) we made it to the Enterprise and made our escape...In time to see the Ultima Weapon flown in. A machine used by the ancient Allegan Empire to absorb the power of the Primals to defeat their foes, and now the Garleans have their hands on it. Worse yet we finally saw Thancred, but it was clear Lahabrea was possessing him. Alphinaud blamed himself, of course, because he had set Thancred to investigate the Ascians and none of us had seen it coming. It was no wonder the Ascians knew the moves of the Scions when they had an insider.

Pushing aside my emotions is something I'm used to, though. It sucks, but we had to head for the Council of the Alliance Leadership in Ul'dah to let them know the Scions of the Seventh Dawn had returned. Kan-E-Senna, Rhauban, and Merlwyb were all given an ultimatum to either surrender to the Empire or be crushed by the power of the Ultima Weapon. Minfilia reminded them that they could choose to surrender but that wouldn't save them as Primals are summoned when people are desperate and nothing would make them more desperate than being crushed under the Garlean Empire.

With that we managed to convince the leaders not to give up, but to fight. And Minfilia said she had a way to save Thancred, though I could see the guilt in all the Scions as she spoke about it. Ascians apparently do not have a physical form and must possess someone to exist effectively here, but to do so they must keep a special kind of crystal on the body they're inhabiting. If we could find and destroy it then Lahabrea would be forced to give up Thancred's body and we would get our friend back.

So we went over a plan; I would head to Castrum Occidens and take out Rhitahtyn, and while that was happening the Maelstrom would attack Castrum Occidens and Castrum Marinum, the Adders would take out Castrum Oriens with the help of the Sylphs, and the Flames would head to Castrum Meridianum and provide a distraction to allow me inside. From Castrum Meridianum I could get to the Praetorium where they were housing the Ultima Weapon. The Adders would also block Castrum Centri to prevent reinforcements from coming in from Mor Dhona while all that was happening.

If I could destroy the Ultima Weapon that would be the end of it. On paper it seemed so easy but I knew it would not be, facing down the Ultima Weapon after watching it literally eat Garuda, Titan and Ifrit was a scary thought. I know I'll need to sleep tonight to be ready to go in the morning for everything, but...Lahabrea and Thancred, and...If I mess this up, the whole world is in danger. When it came to fighting the Archdemon I had more than a year to fight, practice, and come to terms with what would happen if I failed. Here? I've had...a little over a month, by the calendar count. I don't want this. I don't fucking want this. But what choice do I have?

******

By the Stone, what a day. I killed Rhitahtyn, but at too high of a cost; he told his men to flee and leave him but they wouldn't so I had to kill them too. And it was so obvious he cared for them, because few people in the world are truly evil. I may have even liked the man, had we been on the same side.

We invaded Castrum Meridianum and I killed Livia too. Her emotions regarding Gaius were taken too far, but I could understand them. A few things different in my life and I could have been her, or very similar. As she lay dead and Cid took a magiteck reaper to breach the barriers and allow entry into Praetorium I cried over her body. I wept for a woman I could connect with, who died unnecessarily.

Cid didn't say anything, and I know he won't tell anyone. I walked into the Praetorium with tears streaming down my face and fought the Ultima Weapon with everything I had in me. One by one the various Primals were pulled out, and the weapon was destroyed. Gaius lay on the floor dead, and then I had to go fight Lahabrea. I was battered and bruised, emotionally drained, and then I had to fight still. Saving Ferelden from the Blight was easier than this.

But in the end, it was done. The leaders threw a celebration, rededicated themselves to the Eorzean Alliance, and all was well. I smiled through it all, but Thancred saw right through it. When everything was said and done he pulled me aside and we just walked.

In Gridania, to appreciate nature

In Ul'dah, to grab some new clothes

In Limsa, to eat at the Bismarck as the sun set

It was so nice to just rest. To not need to talk, I think we exchanged maybe a dozen words. We just enjoyed one another's company. Now we're at the inn, and Thancred is running a bath while I write. It'll be nice to just have a long, hot bath and an intimate evening with him.

******

It's been a while, huh? By the Stone, I was so blessed to have time to myself. Apparently in the second month there is an event called Valentione's Day, a day dedicated to love. Thancred took me out for a lovely evening, he's been so wonderful to me this past month.

I spent time working on crafting and gathering, and spent time with Fufucha too. She's amazing, I've really come so far as a botanist thanks to her.

Not that it's all been rest, I've been helping out with some small jobs for various people and dungeon delving. None of that is as difficult as what I faced, of course, and I couldn't let my skills get rusty just in case. I know this world has more for me, and I just....I want to be ready.

Unfortunately, Alistair was hurt along the way. Poor bird tripped and broke a leg, which isn't deadly for a Chocobo but did mean he needed to rest for a while. I left him in the care of professionals and had hoped to get another only to be surprised as Minfilia had made arrangements for me to get a griffin. I have spoken before about wanting one as a mount (though I never said why) and as I reached up and ran my hands through the feathers of the creature I broke down again. Thankfully Minfilia understood, and she gave me space to spend time with him.

He's about a year old, bred to be a bit on the smaller side for Lalafell versus the larger varieties for the taller races. His name is Soren, and he's beautiful. Alistair will recover, and as much as I love him I think I'll be leaving him at the Free Company house once he's better and let him lead an easy life for a bit. Soren and I have become so close, and I've never had a more beautiful and perfect mount. Most nights if I'm not otherwise engaged I find myself sleeping in the stable or outside with him, just curled up while he drapes a wing over me and we are at peace.

Such things could not last, alas. Minfilia called just after dinner and said that things had become complicated politically speaking and we needed to talk. I promised to meet with her in the morning to discuss the details, and that gave me the incentive to return to this journal. I have a feeling I'm going to need to begin chronicling my adventures again. Looking back, it was the only thing that kept me from going entirely insane. I truly think I wouldn't have made it through all that if I didn't sit down at the end of most days and write out what happened and how I felt about it.

How many times did I cry? How many nightmares did I have? How many more would have occurred if I hadn't been able to find an outlet for my feelings?

Whatever is next I am not looking forward to it. But with Soren to bear me upon his wings, the might of the Scions at my back, and friends to help I feel I can get through this. I have to.

******

For the first time in what feels like forever I returned to the Waking Sands today. Minfilia was quick to fill me in on the details; after the defeat of Gaius and the Ultima Weapon and driving the Garlean Empire out of Eorzea again the Scions had been receiving much in the way of attention. This was a bit of a double-edged sword as those offering support to the Scions now also did so with strings attached. Some were open about their intentions and others hid them, but in the end it boiled down to the same thing all around, that if we would help them then they would help the Scions. Of course the point of the organization had been to operate with neutrality, to help everyone equally, but that was being made more and more difficult as time went on. Minfilia also confided in me that such offers were tempting, because if they but accepted such offers how much good could they do in the world? How many more people could they help with such financial backing?

This is a dilemma I know all to well, and I told her as such. However I was unable to offer further advice as I am still not as familiar as I would like to be with Eorzea and its politics. So Minfilia asked me to speak to the others and see what they had to say on the matter, and perhaps from there she could come to a decision.

I spoke first with Y'shtola, who spoke of Titan. Of how the Admiral and the people of Limsa Lominsa had broken their deal with the Kobolds and with no options left for defending themselves they had turned to summoning their Primal. We were expected to intervene in a conflict that the people of Vylbrand had caused themselves, and only agreed because Titan threatened everyone so it did not threaten the neutrality of the Scions to help out in such an endeavor. However, should Minfilia give in to the wishes of the Syndicate and begin intervening in their affairs in exchange for monetary backing it would be the end of any claim to being neutral the Scions still held.

Thancred said that fortune and power go hand in hand, and rumors had been going around of late that Ala Mhigo could finally be liberated from Garlean rule if the Scions would lend their aid to the Resistance. However that was just one of many causes the Scions could lend themselves to, and while each one had a road made of good intentions the end of it all was unclear and so they had to carefully tread the line between what they chose to support and what they chose to stay out of.

Unsurprisingly Yda was more concerned with the gifts the Scions had been sent, and that Papalymo made her send them back. Many were apparently quite fancy and expensive and she could see why it was tempting to give up the idea of neutrality for them.

Papalymo knew that abandoning the principles the Scions were built upon for support was a bad idea, it was tantamount to selling their services in exchange for gil and it would only compromise things down the line.

Urianger said that the powerful often attracted the needy, but also individuals who might covet that power. Therefore we needed to be ready to help where we could but also exercise caution and be ready to fight as there was just no time to dig into the hidden agendas of those petitioning the Scions when our time and energy was better spent elsewhere.

On my way back to talk to Minfilia I ran into Alphinaud, and when I told him what was going on he wasn't surprised. He also said he had another plan and accompanied me to speak with Minfilia. I will admit for someone so young he is quite skilled in many ways, including politically, as his plan was the same as the advice I was intending to give her; leave Ul'dah. Thankfully being far more familiar with various aspects Alphinaud was also more persuasive, pointing out that the reason Vesper Bay did not have an aetherite was because the Syndicate would not let the Scions as a faction remain in their territory uncontrolled. We had proven ourselves too powerful, too dangerous, and the withholding of building something that could offer us convience was basically flying a big flag that said they controlled us. While we could petition to have one built it is likely the Syndicate would hold that, and other favors that could help us, hostage in exchange for helping them first.

To that end Alphinaud proposed we head to a place called Mor Dhona, and specifically the settlement of Revenant's Toll. Mor Dhona itself wasn't controlled by any of the city-states despite being relatively central to them and that made it the perfect place to set up as it was also a hub of trade and adventurers we could use to our advantage. Minfilia disagreed, saying that leaving Ul'dah would be reckless as the Scions had many ties to the community. Further attempts to persuade her were only met with dismissal and saying she would think on it, which frustrated both myself and Alphinaud.

Thankfully he had some insight into this matter as well. Minfilia's adopted mother, a Miqo'te woman named F'lhaminn, had supposedly died in the Calamity. She was a very popular woman, some calling her a Goddess made flesh with song, and thus had her share of fans who refused to believe her dead as no body had ever been found. The rumors were once more circulating that she yet lived, and one of the informants for the Scions said a woman fitting the description of F'lhaminn had been seen recently in Costa del Sol. Alphinaud was sure that if we could find this woman and prove her one way or another it could help convince Minfilia to leave Ul'dah, so we made our way over to the resort and spoke with Master Gegeruju, the man who owned the area. Upon describing F'lhaminn he says it was likely her and made some quite disgusting comments that I am not overly surprised at when we told him who she really was. He also said she went west, so Alphinaud headed for the docks and bid me head to Wineport to see if we could find her.

Soren sped me along as always, and upon making it to Wineport we asked around. Some had seen her and said her perfume was quite strong, directing me to the Lalafell Shamani who I had helped what seems like a lifetime ago when we were unknowingly aiding what was left of the Company of Heroes. As he is blind his sense of smell was more acute, and he was able to tell me that the perfume smelled strongly of local flowers. In fact she had come asking where she could find some, and he had directed her to Raincatcher Gully where the flowers grew. After thanking him for the information I set off in hopes she might still be nearby and I could catch her, only to arrive just as a goobbue was lumbering into the area. I shot it down before it could hurt her, and in the ensuing conversation she seemed less than happy I knew her name.

Before things could go further Alphinaud showed up. The boy does have an uncanny knack for being just in time for things, I admit, and he was able to talk down her aggression by saying Minfilia was looking for her. Except he called her Ascila for reasons that even now have not been explained to me. He also made a point of saying that since most of Eorzea thought her dead despite her being alive and well that had to be intentional and asked her why, to which she gave the obvious nonanswer that not everyone seeking her had the best of intentions. She also said she would reveal herself to Minfilia when the time was right, but that said time was something only she could decide. I think Alphinaud could sense I was getting quite frustrated with her refusing to give more than short and obvious answers and he suggested we return to Wineport where it was safer to have such a conversation. He bid me fly ahead and wait for them, he would escort F'lhaminn back on foot.

For as young as he is I will credit Alphinaud for his smarts. In many ways he reminds me of myself when I was younger, well versed in politics and actively trying to help everyone. Unfortunately I also remember that the Blight knocked much of that second part out of me, and I fear that such an event will come to pass for him as well. The world will show him just how cruel it is and repay his kindness with betrayals and petty squabbles where it's clear people care for little but themselves, and even if slowly it will break him. I just hope he has the support he needs to endure it, and perhaps come out the other side better off than I did.

In any case, the flight back was exactly what I needed. I gave Soren some attention while I waited, and by the time the pair returned Alphinaud had talked her into returning to Vesper Bay and revealing herself to Minfilia. Once again Alphinaud asked that I just go ahead of him and he would see F'lhaminn there himself. Which honestly was fine by me as the return flight gave me more time to clear my head.

The reuniting between mother and daughter did test my ability to control my emotions, though. For her part Minfilia never truly thought F'lhaminn was dead and asked what kept her, to which the woman made it clear that the Garleans had been chasing her and she had faked her death and fled to avoid leading them to the Scions and endangering Minfilia and the work she was doing. She said she was proud of her daughter and presented a bottle of perfume made from the celsettia flowers from Raincatcher Gully, something Minfilia had always worn as a child that wasn't really made anymore which explained why F'lhaminn had been seeking the flowers to make the perfume in the first place.

She also presented Minfilia with a little cats eye stone and explained that Minfilia's father had been part of the Ala Mhigan Resistance, fleeing to Ul'dah when Minfilia was a child. He died shortly afterwards in an accident and F'lhaminn had raised Minfilia as her own daughter ever since. That included teaching the young girl everything she needed to survive and mining had been among those lessons with the cats eye the first stone Minfilia had ever dug up. There was nothing wrong that was making her return that stone to her daughter now, but rather she hoped it would be a reminder of how far Minfilia had come and how far she could still go. She also made it clear that the next step was to leave Ul'dah, and they could start over in Mor Dhona with F'lhaminn's help. She finally felt it was safe to return, and she would be staying.

So finally, finally, we talked sense into Minfilia and convinced her to move the headquarters of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. There was much to do to help make such a move possible, however, and the first step would be to secure the cooperation of the Adventurer's Guild in Revenant's Toll as they helped establish the town. The ongoing construction efforts and lack of resources would mean the Scions would need to give something in exchange for being allowed to set up there, but that was the one time she was willing to entertain such requests as we needed their help more than they needed ours.

Once again Alphinaud showed up seemingly right on time, having seen F'lhaminn safely into the Rising Stones and then taking off to talk to the Guild members in Revenant's Toll. Bringing along two emissaries, they made it clear that they respected the Scions greatly and they thought it best to begin the negotiations as soon as possible. My presence was also a welcome one, as one of the emissaries said it was quite the feat that I had been able to defeat the Garleans by stealing their own machines and infiltrating one of the Castrums. "A feat few would dare to attempt and that even fewer would survive", I believe he said.

With their confidence in the Scions and myself made clear, Alphinaud took the pair off to begin talks. I was actually quite glad that I was not part of that, as the hour grew late and a day spent dealing with the frustrations had left me quite cranky. Even Minfilia could see it and she bid me get some sleep and return in the morning to see how the talks were going and if there was anything else I could do to help. I was glad to return to Gridania, to the shade of the trees and the familiar sounds of the forest. Perhaps one of these days I will get a place here, have a permanent home to return to instead of staying at the inn...

******

In the morning Minfilia called bright and early, as apparently the talks had gone on through the night and finally had come to a conclusion. I returned to the Waking Sands to good news; the Adventurer's Guild in Revenant's Toll would give the Scions the space and support they needed so long as they agreed to help with the defense and development of the town. A simple enough exchange, and one that would be to the benefit of everyone there.

The new home for the Scions would be called the Rising Stones, and there was more good news as Minfilia had spent the night informing the leaders of the Eorzean Alliance and they too had pledged their full support for the move. And while the Scions had once operated in secret those doors had been blown wide open during the defeat of the Garleans so it was time to make that particular announcement formal. On that I couldn't have agreed more, as I remember being told to conceal my identity as a member of House Aeducan secret in my early days of being a Grey Warden but I refused to do so. It was better to let the people know exactly who they were dealing with, and so too Minfilia said it was best to affirm the identity of the Scions and let everyone know what they stood for. This would, hopefully, lead to more people beginning to trust the Scions and show that they had true neutrality away from any higher power that might seek to control them.

Announcements made, Minfilia dismissed everyone but asked to talk to me alone. She had some musings on how Alphinaud always seemed to have such an uncanny sense of timing and knowing exactly what we needed, but those were thoughts for another time. For now she wanted me to deliver some documents to Slafborn in Revenant's Toll and make sure everything was in order with the Rising Stones so the Scions could make their move. I did as she asked and thankfully all appeared to be in order, and Slafborn offered me a tour of the Rising Stones. Before I could say yes Tataru called and I could tell she was frantic as she asked me to return to the Waking Sands claiming Gridania needed our help.

Upon my return Tataru said she didn't know the details, but she had seen Minfilia's face and she knew it was bad. Was it Garuda again? Had the Garleans somehow returned? Both were valid concerns but if it was truly that urgent there was no time to indulge the woman in her panicked imaginings. I went straight to the solar to speak with Minfilia, finding Urianger there as well. There was no mistaking that the aetheric signature coming from the Twelveswood was a Primal, but it wasn't Garuda. Yda and Papalymo had been sent ahead to scout things out and I was advised to seek out Vorsaile at the Adder's Nest and see what he had to say.

Kuplo Kopp, the moogle that I had run into during my first days here, had come into Gridania panicked and asking to see the Elder Seedseer. He was saying something about a threat to all of mooglekind that would also endanger the entirety of the Twelveswood, and while Vorsaile didn't know any further details he mentioned that since I had been an ambassador between Gridania and the Sylphs they hoped I would do the same for the moogles. Before I could make a comment to that effect he bid me head to the Lotus Stand to see the Elder Seedseer and find out more.

I won't lie, I am quickly tiring of this. I had no idea what the moogles were up to but it was so tempting to tell them no, that they could solve their own problems for a change. Every single time so far we've dealt with a Primal it's not the fault of the beast tribes; they are only reacting to the betrayals of the more 'civilized' races so they can save themselves and, like with the Sahagin, preserve their species. But I also knew in that moment I had to at least get more details, I couldn't leave Minfilia and the Scions to have a loss of reputation because of my selfishness.

So I went to the Lotus Stand. Kuplo Kopp was frantic, and after a moment to calm him down Kan-E-Senna said that the moogles had summoned an entity known as Good King Moogle Mog XII. They weren't sure if it was the actual historical figure from moogle lore or something closer to a Primal, for while Kuplo Kopp believed the former everything was pointing to the latter. The moogle saw fit to fill us all in on a bit of moogle history, saying that the moogles once served the gods in the heavens but over time the gods began to fight amongst themselves in a way that threatened the moogles so they were forced to leave. Their king, this Good King Moogle Mog XII, said that the realm of men would be a wonderful home for them but as the two realms were so far apart the moogles could not fly down so the king fashioned a rope and held onto it as his subjects climbed from the heavens. He could not follow, however, as there was no one to hold the rope for him, and so he remained behind and the moogles revered him for his sacrifice that allowed them to continue on in the realm of men.

Now he had returned, but seemingly summoned like we know the Primals are. A myth made manifest through belief and crystals. Papalymo wondered why, for with Garuda dead and the Garleans driven out there was nothing to threaten them. I was quick to point out that's exactly the problem, for twice in recent memory the Twelveswood as a whole had been threatened. We had the power to stop it, but what if we didn't? Or what if we had decided not to help, just as we are deciding not to help liberate Ala Mhigo? The moogles are likely afraid that next time no one will come to their aid, or that the aid will not be enough. They are looking to a stronger entity to protect them from the next thing that is likely coming.

As soon as those words left my mouth I had regrets. So far as anyone is concerned I am but a simple Lalafell, born and raised in Ul'dah with nothing special except some skill with a bow and the Echo. I revealed too much of myself with those words, and I could tell by the way Kan-E-Senna looked at me that she knew I was hiding things now. Papalymo too, the expression he had made it clear he did not expect such words from me. It is knowledge gained from my lifetime spent in politics, a situation I have seen all too often and that there is little remedy for save organizations like the Scions earning trust and showing they are willing to help.

Thankfully Yda soon changed the conversation, saying that while the moogles may wish only to protect their homes if this is a Primal the moogles are likely Tempered and will get carried away. So it was up to me to go speak with them now and see what was happening. The way into the moogle home of Thornmarch was concealed, however, so Kan-E-Senna bid me go speak with E-Sumi-Yan in the Conjurer's Guild to find out the best way to get through. For his part E-Sumi-Yan said that the moogles were not naturally warlike the presence of their king would likely soon change that and we had to act quickly before any lasting damage was done.

The wards around Thornmarch could only be undone by special keystones, and we were in luck now as Kuplo Kopp had a set of them meaning no one would need to hunt down guards carrying a set to get in. Kuplo Kopp, however, was hesitant to betray his people and had asked us to find another way but with time being of the essence there was just no safe way to find another solution. So I went to speak with the moogle, and made it abundantly clear that if he wanted our help in any capacity we would need his keystones. He agreed, I think not least of all because he could tell I was getting quite angry and all this runaround, but said that only a moogle could operate them so he would meet me in the Twelveswood.

I took a small amount of time to gather necessary things and then went to meet him - just in time to see him ambushed by members of the moogleguard who seemed to have caught on to what he was up to. They accused Kuplo Kopp of treason against the crown, stating that he was just as bad as everyone else, and it was clear that they were Tempered and would not listen to reason. When I stood in defense of Kuplo Kopp the mooglesguard left, and when they were gone the moogle informed me that the king was planning a purge of the Twelveswood; Ixal, Sylph, and Gridanian alike would not be safe from what was coming.

We had to move quickly so I began to escort Kuplo Kopp to Thornmarch. The mooglesguard had placed down traps, lures for beasts, and other things to deter passage as well as hopefully eliminate anyone who wasn't so deterred. Thankfully none if it was any match for me, and soon enough we reached Thornmarch and Kuplo Kopp opened the way for me. The ensuing fight against the moogle king was a rough one, but more because my combat skills had grown rusty during my downtime. Everything came back as naturally as it had my whole life and soon the king was dead and the baffled mooglesguard scattered.

I returned to Gridania after to inform Kan-E-Senna and recount the events while they were still fresh in my mind. But we had a problem on our hands, for while the king sounded like a Primal based on most of the accepted definition of one there was no aspect of him being a god or being worshiped as one by the moogles. I pointed out that so far what we had seen was that crystals containing vast amounts of aether and the belief in an entity was all that was required, and while the king lacked the 'worship as a god' aspect everything else fit including the fact that upon his defeat there was no corpse, just his aether scattered into the surrounding area. I made a mental note to bring up with Minfilia that our definition of what is a Primal may need to be adjusted now that we know this, for surely others of the same ilk will crop up in time.

However this did seem like the Ascians might be involved, and upon Papalymo saying so Kuplo Kopp said the moogles were talking about a masked man who had taught them how to bring back the king. However as Gridania had its share of masked individuals (such as the Wood Wailers who all wear masks) he had not connected the dots to the Ascians. There is still so much we don't know, and much yet I need to discuss with Minfilia about this, but once again the hour grows late and I grow weary. A formal report to Minfilia can wait for the morning, tonight I am staying in Gridania once more and finding comfort in the Twelveswood.

******

I returned to the Waking Sands this morning. I didn't know it at the time, but it would be my last visit there for quite a while. Feels weird to say that after all the time spent there...

Regardless I spoke to Minfilia and told her everything from yesterday. She agreed that it sounded like a Primal, including the involvement of the Ascians, and that we might need to rethink our definition of Primals as a whole. But for now the incident was over, we would keep an eye on the Moogles just in case, and the whole thing reminded Gridania and the Elder Seedseer that the Scions still had their use.

With that said, Minfilia was ready to leave the Waking Sands and finally establish the new base of the Scions in Mor Dhona. Because the Scions had been attacked once leaving in one large caravan would only be an invitation to attack so instead the people who weren't attuned to the aetherite in Revenant's Toll would leave in small groups of three or four at irregular intervals with Minfilia leaving last. I have to say I'm impressed she thought that far ahead. So far much of her leadership skills have left me questioning why people look up to her, and I feel the only reason she is in charge at all instead of Alphinaud is because he's young and by my understanding has not been around much.

Before she left Minfilia asked me to see Urianger and make sure everything was complete. The Waking Sands would be given to his care rather than leaving the hands of the Scions entirely, which was quite fitting. I accepted her request and went to speak with him, but of course the man speaks so strangely understanding him is always a challenge. He was going on about how so many are eager to leave the past behind and move on to better futures, forging into new lands only to find the marks of their ancestors there faded with time but still clearly existing.

I paid attention as best I could to his ramblings, which were cut short as Minfilia screamed. I rushed to her aid and found her on the floor, and the Echo kicked in. It showed me an Ascian in white robes, claiming to be an emissary. Tataru came in but couldn't see him, and he spoke of how perception meant everything and those who lacked the skill were blind to their presence unless they wanted to be seen. The Echo was both a skill and a gift, one that if we who possessed it could learn to master would mean the Ascians would have no reason to keep attacking.

I'm not sure how much I believe that, but I do know that I watched Minfilia try to stop him and he rightly defended himself. As the vision faded and I helped Minfilia up off the floor Tataru and Urianger finally came in. She was fine, knowing that if the Ascian had meant to hurt her he could have. She told Urianger to contact the Students of Baldesion and have them look through their archives for any references to an Ascian wearing white robes. My understanding is that the Students are a group of scholars, and if anyone might have information they were willing to share it would be them.

White robes seemed strange, however, and Urianger said he remembered seeing someone dressed in white leaving just moments before. Why the Ascian would be so brave as to be out in the open was beyond us but Minfilia sent me after him and I obliged...but not for her. If this Ascian was willing to be so open as if he wanted to be followed then I wanted to follow, and I wanted to talk to him. And sure enough I found him outside in the open, and he said that he was headed north and if I wished to follow him I could but I would be waylaid.

Bring. It. On.

Monsters aren't any match for me, even Voidsent, and when I was done fighting he was quite impressed with me. He reiterated that he is an emissary, and that he only attacked Minfilia in self defense. His disdain for Lahabrea was quite clear, including saying that even among the other Ascians he is...aggressive. That makes sense all things considered, and then the white robed one introduced himself as Elidibus. He left before I could ask more questions, and I was forced to return to Minfilia with no answers. More research could be done from the safety of the Rising Stones, however, and I couldn't have agreed more.

Minfilia passed me a journal from her father, who was a spy for the Ala Mhigan Resistance inside the Garlean Empire. He wrote down much during that time, including that the Empire thought the Primals were the greatest threat to not just Eorzea but the world at large and they had been looking into a way to get rid of them for good. But much else that he noted even Minfilia hadn't been able to decipher over the years and she asked me to entrust the journal to Urianger before she left. I did so and then teleported out to Revenant's Toll to speak to Tataru and Slafborn. Everything was in order and the Rising Stones officially belonged to the Scions.

Tataru remarked on the unfamiliar faces, and Slafborn said that since the town was built by adventurers there were plenty of new faces coming and going - though these days mostly coming, as the nearby Crystal Tower was being investigated more in the recent days. I had seen the tower off in the distance on some previous visits, and my understanding is that it's a relic of the Allegans so I'm not surprised there's a group or two looking into it. For now, however, I went to see the Rising Stones  and meet with everyone.

Now outside territory controlled by the Eorzean Alliance the Scions could keep true to their mission of helping everyone without having the political side of things be an influence. After that meeting but before I could truly go investigate Urianger came with troubling news; the Students of Baldesion were not answering his attempts to contact them. Minfilia tried but was met with silence as well, which left only one thing; they had been attacked. It seemed impossible as Minfilia said their primary headquarters was well warded and if they had fallen under siege someone would have raised an alarm, but I could see she was thinking the same thing I was; Tataru had not been able to see Elidibus while he was standing right there, she didn't even sense his presence. Without knowing how many Ascians existed and assuming all of them had such power...well, it didn't look good for the Students.

Urianger went off to contact any field agents and see if they knew something, and in the meantime Minfilia said she would look into others who might have information on the Ascians and specifically Elidibus. She still sought a way to destroy the Ascians once and for all, and in the meantime bid me to get some rest while she and the others did research. I opted to stay at the Rising Stones for the evening but...

I can't help but think of Elidibus. An emissary, among the Ascians? We may not understand their motives, and to us is seems destructive and everything fights against being destroyed in its own way but that doesn't make them bad. I wish I could speak with him more, to ask him questions, to have him explain. I would at least be open to hearing him out - something I can't tell the Scions. They are so convinced the Ascians are evil incarnate and would rather fight instead of trying to understand. I fear what they might think of me, their Crystal Blessed Warrior, if they knew that I might be willing to parley with the Ascians if they would just be open instead of being so cryptic. But at the same time I understand their position; they view whatever they are doing as being of the utmost importance, and giving away too much to a group that is openly hostile to them could prove dangerous...

In the morning I will look into this Crystal Tower business. Give myself something to do as I wait, if nothing else. I don't know this world well enough to understand how to help with the Students of Baldesion, I'll leave that to the others and hope that it isn't as bad as we think it is.