Over the years since the Calamity, although she didn't initially realise it, Claire has slowly formed a small company from the ashes left in the wake of Bahamut's fury. At first, there were just two people working together - one dealing with the mundane paperwork the one in the field generated; unfortunately, that one man paperwork machine was terrible at housework, so a pair of Lalafell housekeepers moved in to keep the rest of the place in order. Neither of them were good with the grounds, and after an incident with a rampaging plant, a Roegadyn gardener was brought on board. Then a familiar face from the past arrived, and began making connections for the group in other city-states, just as she had for another organisation before the Calamity.
Not long after Lane Ealdwine's arrival, it became clear that the creatures that Claire was hunting were becoming more than one well-trained woman could handle. For a time, Lane joined the swordmaiden out in the field, but it wasn't long before their targets were becoming almost too much for two well-trained combatants to deal with. Finally, Lane was able to convince her friend that perhaps it was time to admit that they had reached the point where the group needed to officially branch out, and after an unsuccessful attempt to rejoin the organisation the pair had been a part of before the Calamity, Dark Embers rose from the ashes of that disastrous meeting.
Lane Ealdwine began travelling between the three city-states, not only to keep their connections with the Grand Companies and militias alive and well, but to start scouting for talent. Claire wanted skilled hunters to continue tracking, incapacitating and scanning, then eliminating creatures that were severely twisted by aether along with researches to evaluate the data so it could be sent off to various organisations they had contracts with in a more timely manner.
It was not long after this that Lane discovered N'aoma Tierell, the defacto leader of a small group of adventurers who had recently broken ties with their former company after finding its leader refused to let go of the past, resulting in his own death and nearly costing a few of them their lives as well. Tierell was a season hunter, having survived the Battle of Carteneau as a member of the Twin Adders, who spoke highly of her when Lane questioned them about the Miqo'te woman.
At Lane's behest, N'aomai met with Claire, and the two worked out an agreement that brought the remnants of the other adventuring group into Dark Embers; to ensure the merging of the two parties went smoothly, Claire made N'aomai her equal so that both groups would feel that they had equal representation.
The free company continued to expand, taking on some members who stayed on for longer term contracts, and some who were only temporary workers. Currently, there are around twenty full time company members, and six part time company members aside from the staff who keep the company hall and paperwork in order. While there have been some rough patches, the company has overcome a number of challenges, including facing down four Primals and a number of unexpected enemies, as well as the personal conflicts that have come back to haunt its members.
Despite their successful growth, the company still seeks to expand, as Lane and others reach out to find new members who might call the company home...
We currently have two strong plot arcs for the free company in place, so we're also looking for role play allies to do joint free company events with. From small scale, relaxed events to plot-focused, long term role play events, we're interested in spreading our wings and joining the community as a company. Role play allies can join us as individuals, linkshells, or free companies.
Currently, individual RP allies can just apply through our recruitment application, just like someone applying to join the free company; the application will adjust when the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Ember Alliance option is selected. Linkshells and Free Companies interested in the Ember Alliance will need to send an Enjin message to Darkfae or Lin Celistine to discuss alliance options.
ACW tab Wrote:We use an interesting feature for company called the Advanced Character Workshop. While the Workshop itself is available for anyone to view, a key component to the Workshop is exclusively for Dark Embers members - the Advanced Character Worksheet.
The Worksheet has a two-fold purpose. The first is to help members bring more depth to their character by asking both common and uncommon questions about the character itself. The second is to give the storytelling staff character information that can be worked into the over-arching Company plot lines, making them more personal for our members. These story hooks can work hand in hand with personal plot progression the player is already advancing, and give other characters more chances to discover things about their fellows they might not otherwise find.
Only the storytelling staff has access to the completed Worksheets. The Worksheet itself is a form page on our site that members fill out and submit, in a similar fashion to the application to join the guild. Once submitted, members can make updates to their Worksheet in the Player Comments section, while the storytelling staff can discuss each Worksheet in the ST Comments section. Should a member feel there have been too many significant changes to their Worksheet, we can discuss archiving their original Worksheet so that they may fill out a fresh one.
Even if one doesn't decide to join the Dark Embers Free Company, we welcome everyone to take a look at the Workshop, as it has a lot of links to helpful articles and sites that even the veteran role player may find useful.
About Us tab Wrote:
Dark Embers was established during the beginning of winter of 2013. Many of the members had been gaming online via MMOs and platforms like Steam for several months to several years prior to the group's formation, while some had even been gaming offline via table top RPGs and LARPs for several months to several years. Everyone in Dark Embers loves games in all their different forms, in all different kinds of mediums, so expect to hear us geeking out about that variety.
While we do have an interest in a number of different games, we have chosen to have a single primary game as our focus. Currently, our primary game is Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, where we have a role playing progression PvE free company. We are keeping an eye on EverQuest Next, and some of us have been tooling around in Landmark off and on as a side game to get a better idea of what EQN might be like, though there's a question of how many systems are going to be shared by the two; eventually, we may transition from [i]FFXIV to EQN if that's what the majority of the group wants to do. We're also planning on playing Star Citizen as a side game whenever it releases - Chris Roberts is taking his time to do it right, so we're okay with waiting for it.
In the meantime, whenever the FFXIV servers are down, some of us tend to play Steam-based games like Path of Exile, Borderlands 2, and Civ5 together. There are a lot of games available on Steam, so we sort of just play whatever the people online at the time have; we just want to have fun while they work on the servers. A few of us also play Flight Rising, a browser based game by Stormlight Workshop.
Free Company Staff tab Wrote:
Edur Attwater Â
Edur is Claire's brother-in-law, and he manages some of the more menial, non-research related paperwork for the free company. This includes any permits the company needs from the three city-states, the various bills the company needs to pay concerning the estate in the Mist, and whatever project is being worked on in the closed wing of the free company house.
While he's usually an easy going, Edur will get a bit hot tempered if anyone tries to head into the upstairs area that has been closed off to the majority of the free company and public. He'll sternly remind people that Claire's ordered the whole upstairs to be off-limits with very few exceptions, and become a bit more forceful with each subsequent pressing - especially in the same altercation; if someone really won't take his warnings seriously, he will use physical force to ensure they don't go down the hallway, and report the incident to Claire or whichever company officer returns to the building first.
Lane Ealdwine   Â
Lane is an associate of Claire's from the Path of the Twelve. Lane was essentially Claire's contact within the Path, and would often travel Eorzea with her prior to the Calamity. While many of the Path remained with the organisation, some left Ul'dah to check on their friends and contacts; that's when Lane and Claire were reunited.
Lane's current job is to handle contact/paperwork between Dark Embers and the three Grand Companies, and to recruit new talent for the company, which causes her to travel between the three city-states and is why no one really sees her all that often at the company house.
She's a generally energetic, outgoing individual who tends to be more optimistic than not, which makes most people wonder how she and Claire get along at all; a few people believe that Lane's public personality differs from that she uses behind closed doors, but if asked about it, she just rolls her eyes.
Damimi Dami  Â
Damimi is a Plainsfolk Lalafell that basically keeps the interior of the house clean and in order. While Edur can manage paperwork, cook decently, and take care of certain projects, he's not exactly good with housework. So Damimi does all of that sort of work with another Plainsfolk woman, Selala Sela. Damimi always helps Edur cooks, or handles the cooking when Edur is busy.
She is an incredibly bubbly, cheerful Lalafell who speaks with a very happy, prim and high pitched voice that's a bit more rapid fire than most people can handle ((think a higher toned, faster speaking Mrs. Doubtfire)). Once she gets talking, it can be a bit difficult to get Damimi to shut up, and often times Selala must intercede on behalf of whatever poor soul has been waylaid by the excitable housekeeper.
Selala Sela  Â
Selala is the second Plainsfolk Lalafell that helps keep the interior of the house clean and in order. She's less talkative than Damimi, but works just as hard. She is also more handy than Damimi, and does more in the way of repairs, being particularly skilled in carpentry.
She is quiet, speaking in a rather low and somewhat husky voice. She refuses to raise her voice, and will simply glare at anyone who talks over her until they quiet; her stare is quiet intimidating, and most people swiftly get the hint.
Unlike Damimi, Selala is apparently part of whatever project is taking place in the closed off level of the free company house, though she claims she only goes upstairs to clean - mostly just dusting and sweeping, changing furniture covers and such things. She also takes food back to Edur whenever he's working to long back there, and whenever the conjurers show up to provide whatever assistance they give, she will lead them back there.
Frydanbluom BylgfaeldsynPeaceful Flower, Son of Fertile Field Â
Frydanbluom is a Roegadyn Sea Wolf gardener who is the grounds keeper for Dark Embers. Frydan is a very calm, almost shy individual who likes spending his time amid the plants more than he does out in the field or on the seas. His father died during the in fighting between pirates when he was very young, and his mother was a gardener for an Elezen household in Gridania; he ended up taking after his mother, clearly.
His voice is very soft, with a very heavy Lominsan accent, which is almost contradictory, given his history and his mannerisms. If people are too loud, he will simply clam up, and not speak again until they all calm down; he'll usually encourages them by handing everyone present some sort of pretty flower that has calming aromatherputic qualities.
Mister Attwater
As the company expanded, Edur found himself drowning in the ever increasing paperwork that came with a successful free company. His father, once the manager of a successful shipping company, stepped in to help manage the day-to-day aspects of the company, as well as help keep the armour and weapons of its members in repair; although he doesn't really say much, it seems Mister Attwater is a man of many talents.
Edur says his father used to be some sort of adventurer, however Mister Attwater just claims he's paid attention to a great many things over his long life - if he'd been an adventurer, he'd more than likely be dead by now than be a dad, he often says.