So I've come up with a few creative ways to be / become a White Mage without breaking or ignoring the lore. Just by bending it some.
Can start off with the two in-game methods for becoming a White Mage:
1. You are born of the Padjal line in one of the many Padjal families. Padjal were created by the Elementals for the specific purpose of being bearers of the Succor because they are pure, innocent, and incorruptible. They do not grow up, they do not go through puberty, they do not lust.
2. You are a person deemed by an Elemental to be pure of soul and purpose. Incorruptible by evil.
"Gentle child of man... Thy heart knoweth no vice, thine intentions being righteous from the first."
-Oha Sok; The Wheel of Disaster
"O child of gentle heart... My kindred acknowledge thy fervent wish for peace. Thine is a heart that brimmeth with compassion - a compassion that knoweth not fear, and favoreth not friend o'er foe. It is to that compassion that my kindred and I shall trust. Of their own free will, they would fain give themselves unto thy garb of Succor. Thy hopes and dreams, they take to be their own."
-Oha Sok; The Chorus of Cataclysm
Then you can get creative:
1. In the 1.0 CNJ storyline, an Elemental takes an Ishgardian boy lost in the Wood and turns him into a Wildling. When the boy awakes besides Amber Scale Rock, he can no longer remember who he is or where he came from. He is found by the Conjurers of Stillglade Fane and taken to Gridania where he is given a name and trained as a Conjurer. But the boy can already speak freely with the Elementals because of his connection to them. This in-game story can be used for inspiration for your own. Any character, living any life, can easily be taken by an elemental and given a purpose to the Wood. Perhaps one takes your character and breathes the light of succor into them.Â
2. There existed an eccentric Padjal by the name of A-Towa-Cant in the early days of Gridania. It is said he left the Twelveswood to travel the world. It is also said that he has an apprentice. But it is never said that that apprentice is also a Padjal. Perhaps A-Towa-Cant's teachings were passed down from apprentice to apprentice, then eventually to you.
3. In a similar vain, perhaps A-Towa-Cant was not the only Padjal to leave the Twelveswood. Very few Padjal appear in the actual game, but it is given to believe that several more exist. (A couple from 1.0 haven't yet shown up in 2.0)
4. Elementals do not just live within the Twelveswood. They exist everywhere. They are the physical manifestation of the Aether of Nature. Just as they are the wind, the water, the trees, and the earth of the Shroud, they are also these things in other places. Perhaps not as clustered as in the Twelveswood, but present none-the-less. Your assistance to one of these Elementals may go rewarded?
5. Play around with the idea of being the servant of an Elemental. Wildling or other.Â
6. You can RP a Padjal. I got a lot of flak about this on another thread but don't really care. Not all RPers roleplay in game. Some perform forum-based RP only. Or a mix of. Therefor, Padjal doesn't have to be a race choice to RP one. And I'd say you can play as a Padjal in game even so. A good many RPers I've run across have very young characters. ( <30 years old) Knowing that Padjal's horns grow with age, and considering we have no basis for knowing just how long a Padjal can live, I'd wager that the horns on a 15-25 year old character would be quite short. Even hide-able with hat, helm, or hair. If you want long horns, just say "Hey, this is my character but with Padjali horns." I've seen RPers give more farfetched descriptions of how their characters differ from in-game models...
7. Play around with the idea of being an Elemental taking the physical form of a child of man. Elementals take many forms, why not as one of us? It's as taboo as playing a White Mage, so why not? No one has to know ICly.
8. I've had this insane theory (that I stand by) that Sylphie, the girl in the ARR CNJ quests, has access to Succor that she does not realize, and E-Sumi does not wish to be exposed. Conjury is the manipulation of the Aether around the caster, it does not drain ones own Aetherial stores. Yet Sylphie's magic does. Sylphie has little interest and proficiency in typical Conjury skills like Wind or Water, but has a natural-born affinity to healing. (Succor) And E-Sumi is quick to discourage, forbid, and chastise the use of this magic. Perhaps because he fears she will get herself killed with it. Perhaps because it is a forbidden magic that only Padjal are supposed to wield or even know about...
I am an avid believer in following the lore to the best of your knowledge. It's why we RP in this world right? Because we love the story. While I will always recommend caution when RPing a White Mage, I believe so long as you have an interesting and plausible explanation that does not break lore you will be just fine. So hope this helps!
Can start off with the two in-game methods for becoming a White Mage:
1. You are born of the Padjal line in one of the many Padjal families. Padjal were created by the Elementals for the specific purpose of being bearers of the Succor because they are pure, innocent, and incorruptible. They do not grow up, they do not go through puberty, they do not lust.
2. You are a person deemed by an Elemental to be pure of soul and purpose. Incorruptible by evil.
"Gentle child of man... Thy heart knoweth no vice, thine intentions being righteous from the first."
-Oha Sok; The Wheel of Disaster
"O child of gentle heart... My kindred acknowledge thy fervent wish for peace. Thine is a heart that brimmeth with compassion - a compassion that knoweth not fear, and favoreth not friend o'er foe. It is to that compassion that my kindred and I shall trust. Of their own free will, they would fain give themselves unto thy garb of Succor. Thy hopes and dreams, they take to be their own."
-Oha Sok; The Chorus of Cataclysm
Then you can get creative:
1. In the 1.0 CNJ storyline, an Elemental takes an Ishgardian boy lost in the Wood and turns him into a Wildling. When the boy awakes besides Amber Scale Rock, he can no longer remember who he is or where he came from. He is found by the Conjurers of Stillglade Fane and taken to Gridania where he is given a name and trained as a Conjurer. But the boy can already speak freely with the Elementals because of his connection to them. This in-game story can be used for inspiration for your own. Any character, living any life, can easily be taken by an elemental and given a purpose to the Wood. Perhaps one takes your character and breathes the light of succor into them.Â
2. There existed an eccentric Padjal by the name of A-Towa-Cant in the early days of Gridania. It is said he left the Twelveswood to travel the world. It is also said that he has an apprentice. But it is never said that that apprentice is also a Padjal. Perhaps A-Towa-Cant's teachings were passed down from apprentice to apprentice, then eventually to you.
3. In a similar vain, perhaps A-Towa-Cant was not the only Padjal to leave the Twelveswood. Very few Padjal appear in the actual game, but it is given to believe that several more exist. (A couple from 1.0 haven't yet shown up in 2.0)
4. Elementals do not just live within the Twelveswood. They exist everywhere. They are the physical manifestation of the Aether of Nature. Just as they are the wind, the water, the trees, and the earth of the Shroud, they are also these things in other places. Perhaps not as clustered as in the Twelveswood, but present none-the-less. Your assistance to one of these Elementals may go rewarded?
5. Play around with the idea of being the servant of an Elemental. Wildling or other.Â
6. You can RP a Padjal. I got a lot of flak about this on another thread but don't really care. Not all RPers roleplay in game. Some perform forum-based RP only. Or a mix of. Therefor, Padjal doesn't have to be a race choice to RP one. And I'd say you can play as a Padjal in game even so. A good many RPers I've run across have very young characters. ( <30 years old) Knowing that Padjal's horns grow with age, and considering we have no basis for knowing just how long a Padjal can live, I'd wager that the horns on a 15-25 year old character would be quite short. Even hide-able with hat, helm, or hair. If you want long horns, just say "Hey, this is my character but with Padjali horns." I've seen RPers give more farfetched descriptions of how their characters differ from in-game models...
7. Play around with the idea of being an Elemental taking the physical form of a child of man. Elementals take many forms, why not as one of us? It's as taboo as playing a White Mage, so why not? No one has to know ICly.
8. I've had this insane theory (that I stand by) that Sylphie, the girl in the ARR CNJ quests, has access to Succor that she does not realize, and E-Sumi does not wish to be exposed. Conjury is the manipulation of the Aether around the caster, it does not drain ones own Aetherial stores. Yet Sylphie's magic does. Sylphie has little interest and proficiency in typical Conjury skills like Wind or Water, but has a natural-born affinity to healing. (Succor) And E-Sumi is quick to discourage, forbid, and chastise the use of this magic. Perhaps because he fears she will get herself killed with it. Perhaps because it is a forbidden magic that only Padjal are supposed to wield or even know about...
I am an avid believer in following the lore to the best of your knowledge. It's why we RP in this world right? Because we love the story. While I will always recommend caution when RPing a White Mage, I believe so long as you have an interesting and plausible explanation that does not break lore you will be just fine. So hope this helps!
