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Character Concept (and my own Intro post) - Alastair Helyous - 05-18-2017
Hello people! I've been lurking around this forum for a while now but only today I gathered the courage to make an account and post a thread. I never had an opportunity yet to RP in FF XIV but I play D&D and Cyberpunk 2020 for a long time now. I'd like to know what do you think of my character's backstory, input feedback, etc etc...
PART 1 - THE LOUSY THIEF
Alastair Helyous wasn't named as such at first. When he was born in a poachers family of Keepers of the Moon Miqo'te in the South Shroud, he was named Hee'li Mkhaylc; "the third son of Hee" as most of you may know. He was scrawny, small and had one of the worst eye sights his family had ever seen. While most Keepers had moved away from their burglary, poaching ways, his family in particular took pride in "not making, but taking" ways of life. Male or female, if he was to be fed, he had to learn how to steal.
At the age of nine, Hee'li himself and all around him knew he was entirely unfit to the life of thievery or hunting. His arrows never landed on the proper target, his hands were clumsy and he was overall slow. With the spear he proved to be more dangerous to his allies than those he was meant to threaten.
"My worst mistake was making 'Li" was all Hee Mkhaylc could say about him, with a sigh of disappointment as she watched the child trying to poke a short spear on a Microchu, only to have it become beyond enraged and chase it all the way to the seven hells. A facepalm would then follow and with an accurate shot of her bow, an arrow would slay the seedkin.
The hopes of his family were placed on the young Miqo'te's puberty. "Maybe as a teenager he'll finally learn how to do it" they whispered. But the boy never grew much - probably due to being underfed most of his childhood - and his body remained scrawny and short. One could argue that the smaller frame would make him better fit for a more stealthy approach, but his noisy steps would prove otherwise.
But of course, when the matters of the will of the gods are placed on the destiny of a man, one can only argue the most unlikely event may begin a chain of occurrences that are sure to deliver one to their fated destination. During an evening, Hee'li saw a man traveling with a wagon pulled by a pair of chocobos. He seemed ot be traveling towards the ruins of what once had been the city of Amdapor. Not that 'Li or any of his family members knew - or bothered to know - about. To him, that was a perfect opportunity to fetch something of worth. As the man prepared a small camp near some fire, 'Li hid inside his wagon and as silently as he could - and it wasn't very silent at all - he searched. Jewels, gold, maybe crystals or an impressive weapon. He had seen Ul'dahn traders traveling in those wagons. He knew they were supposed to be filled from the bottom up with all sorts of riches he probably wouldn't see in a lifetime. But instead all he could find were books. Tomes, grimoires, journals, a scroll or two. Some bottles filled with foul, thick liquids he dared not try to figure out what they were.
'Li was beyond disappointed. Even when he finally succeeded on getting inside somewhere unseen, he still failed on finding anything worth to be stolen. In anger, he decided to just stuff his bags with some of the books he found. Maybe they could be used for some nice fire, he thought.
But the only fire those books lit were the flames of his curiosity. He was literate. After all, it could prove to be of benefit for a thief to tell a vial of "poison" from a vial of "potion". But a book was something else entirely. He read of places were water never fell from the sky. That this "Ul'dah" he heard about was a massive bed of fine grains of sand that glittered against the unforgiving sun like the gold it was known for. He read of distant lands that fought against dragons and many wonderful things much beyond the limits of the area his family controlled in the South Shroud. He then read of spires of white stone where a nation of pirates was built! A nation where the arts of thievery had been refined beyond anything his fellows could imagine.
"If... this land of pirates... This... Limsa Lominsa has thieves unlike any other... Maybe I should visit this place one day."
PART 2 - THE STORYTELLER
For the following years, 'Li spent his time trying to make money. Any coin, any gil could help him. Happily, those books had filled his mind with many tales unheard of on those parts. He begun telling "tales for a dime, in these so difficult times" as he said to any traveler who passed through. With a wide smile he boasted his stories, of how a massive man in a desert fought in an arena until he was by the side of his beloved monarch. Stories of how a king and his knights killed vicious dragons. Tales of wizards and elementals, of torrents and death. But all ended in hope and happy endings as their purses became empty, from donations and pick-pocketing both.
"Who knew a babbling chattybox such as him would be so profitable" Hee thought to herself. For the first time she was proud of her third son.
And his fame grew, and with fame wasn't unheard of to the Elder Seedseer. When he was seventeen, at long last the Twin Adders finished for once and for all the circus of thievery 'Li's family was putting on. As a bait, they hired a Lalafell merchant to travel through those regions. The moment the Miqo'te begun telling their tales, they were ambushed, captured and sentenced to prison. 'Li was somewhere else, trading animal skins for gil with smuggler goblins when it all happened.
His home had been reduced to ashes.
With tearful eyes, he grabbed the gil he had made and decided to travel to Limsa Lominsa.
PART 3 - THE GOBLIN, THE CONFUSION AND THE CARBUNCLE
His journey to Limsa Lominsa was far more complicated than he thought. One thing was reading about the unforgiving sun of Ul'dah. Another was actually living through it. He traveled South, to Eastern Thanalan. Then he rested in Highbridge before going to Central Thanalan, then Western and, finally, after walking without sleeping, he arrived in Vesper Bay where he rented an Inn Room. His ship, gladly, would depart in the morning.
Limsa proved to be much different than anything he had seen. It was unlike the blocky, angular sandstone buildings of Ul'dah, or the simple wooden houses around the Black Shroud. They were majestic, carved on the white, salty stones that towered over the sea. The place had many people from all races and accents coming and going. An unique environment doubtlessly.
He knew this was the perfect spot to learn about thievery, with the very masters of the art. But... Where to find them? He asked at the tavern of the Drowning Wench but all he received was laughter. Laughter too he received at his tales that, apparently, weren't as special or unknown as he thought they would be. What would he do next?
For a few days, he merely explored, eyeing everything on that strange city as he tried to figure out what to do with his own life. His gil would end soon, after all. That's when he stopped at the Mealvaan's Gate and saw a large commotion. A completely confuse and beyond lost Goblin apparently needed some proper documents to remain in the city but, due to not understanding them and they not understanding the Goblin, he begun threatening to bomb half of the city.
"Uplanders give no hand landing to Muchfix, Muchfix gobbie goboom uplanders' live gathering!" he said between stomps of anger as tossed his backbag on the red carpet to prepare for his act of terrorism. 'Li' then witnessed as a female Miqo'te opened an old book whose pages were covered in cryptic patterns. It glowed as she wrote something and suddenly a blue squirrel-cat-rabbit hybrid emerged, only to blow the Goblin away from his possessions.
"W-What manner of conjury is that!?", 'Li inquired.
The Miqo'te smiled at him and with a grin she replied. "This is no conjury, silly. This is Arcanima. Welcome to the Arcanist's guild"
His mind was blown harder than the Goblin had been from the carbuncle's gusts.
"How... Do I enroll?" he inquired.
PART 4 - LIES
'Li wasn't aware of how much he was wanted, or even if he was wanted at all. Besides, if all this went well, he wouldn't need to steal again. It would be a better future, which required a new name.
"I'm... A..." he said as he quickly scanned a banner, "last..." and, seeing the row of stairs descending to the basement, "...stair".
The receptionist blinked thrice before saying, "Excuse me, sir. Your name is A Last Stair?".
"No! Not that, its Alastair, yes!", he replied. "I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous, I just arrived from... Sharlayan", he spoke as the name popped from the bottom his mind. "It was a stressing trip."
She simply rose her eyebrow, seeing his obvious blatant lie. "He may be a spy sent from a pirate. Let us see how far this takes us", she thought. "I'm sure it was, Mister Alastair...?"
"Alastair...?" he asked, sweating so much he felt like someone had thrown on him a water bucket.
"You have a last name, I suppose. All Sharlayans are known for their traditional last names, after all."
"O-Of course!", he replied forcing a smile. "Uhm... Many of them have names that end in 'us'", he reminded himself. "My name is Alastair Hee'lius!"
"Oh, a Hee'lius!", she said faking surprise.
"Yes, ma'am! The very traditional family!"
"Fantastic, I'm sure you are a very traditional family. So traditional I have never seen a Miqo'te family, Sharlayan or not, named as such."
'Li froze. She knew his lies, she would call the authorities. He would be deported back to Gridania and probably face the rest of his life in prison. But Nymeia had better plans for him. A tall Roegadyn woman approached him as she noticed the strange behavior of both.
"What is happening here?", she asked.
"Oh I'm glad you are here, Mrs. Thubyrgeim. Mr. A-Last-Stairs Hee'lius here is mistaking us all for fools and is trying to deceive us with a fake identity."
The Roegadyn woman stared at 'Li. Her glare from behind her glasses was stern, but not vicious.
"Come with me", she told him. Thubyrgeim guided him to the basement where he saw many arcanists training with each other combat with their carbuncles. She made him tell everything. His family of poachers, the scholar whose books he stole, the tales...
"Listen, Hee'li. I understand what you have done and yes, I am supposed to send you to the authorities."
He sighed in surrendal.
"However, I also understand you wish to change your ways. I... Think Alastair Helyous may be a good name. A new name for a new life, perhaps. Just keep this between us."
"But what about the receptionist?"
"I'll talk to her later. Don't worry about it."
He couldn't help it. Thubyrgeim gasped as he leapt on her to hug her. He had never seen anyone being so kind, so understanding. He thanked her deeply and she patted his back.
PART 5 - THE SCHOLAR
Helyous rose quickly in the guild. Where he was absurdly inept in anything related to physical abilities, his mind was sharp as a recently-forged blade. Â He was skilled in forming stratagems, some more exquisite than others. All he demanded for payment was a room inside the guild tower, food and books. History books, in particular. He spent five years working under the Mealvaan's Gate, catching smugglers, defeating pirates and thieves, all the very same people he once wished to become.
"The very same people 'Li wished to become", he would tell himself.
Just like his skills in Arcanima, his knowledge of the ancient people was equally vast. Nymians, Mhachi, Amdapori, Gelmorran, Allagan... He cared not. His brains simply absorbed everything, always greedy for more knowledge. But eventually books alone wouldn't suffice.
"Mrs. Thubyrgeim", Helyous said. "There's something I need to talk with you."
"Oh? What is it, Alastair? Have you been eating properly?"
"Yes, ma'am. I have been keeping myself well fed. It is not my health what I wish to speak about."
"Then what is it?" she asked as she placed her hand on her chin.
"I require an expedition in Outer La Noscea. The Wanderer's Palace, in particular."
"Why do you wish to visit those ruins?"
"The Nymians. Their disappearance is... unexplained. I'm writing a tome on the subject of their people and I will need the Maelstrom to provide me with an exploration team."
"I-I will see what I can do. It is quite an unusual request indeed."
In the following days, Helyous begun explorations on the ancient ruins along a team composed of 3 marauders, two Roegadyns and a young Ala Mhigan.Â
Inside he found - and sadly couldn't help it but kill - odd green skinned creatures he once read about on a dusty tome. "Tonberries" were what they were called. Mysterious creatures whose presence inside the ruins he couldn't quite explain.
He brought back all sorts of devices, from clockwork machinery to a gem - similar to the emeralds used to summon carbuncles. It took him over a year to decypher what kind of equation was it meant to be calculated with. When he finally succeeded, a fairy-like construct emerged.
Unfortunately, he still struggles much to understand, decypher and control the Nymian style of arcanima magic. Through special devices he designed and requested to be built by Garlond's Ironworks - something he calls Aethercells, based on Allagan blueprints he found in a rare lexicon bought in Mor Dhona - he now seeks to completely understand the nature of this magic.
RE: Character Concept (and my own Intro post) - Impstatus - 05-18-2017
Hello fellow lurker and oh myyy, I'm feeling bit drowsy already as I write this comment (so my ability to really get written detail through my thick skull may not be at it's peak), Â but after reading and rereading your character concept I can't but applaud a bit. The amount of care you have put into developing Alastair shines beautifully through your text, and makes him interesting and genuine feeling character in my mind.
RE: Character Concept (and my own Intro post) - Alastair Helyous - 05-19-2017
(05-18-2017, 05:39 PM)Impstatus Wrote: Hello fellow lurker and oh myyy, I'm feeling bit drowsy already as I write this comment (so my ability to really get written detail through my thick skull may not be at it's peak), Â but after reading and rereading your character concept I can't but applaud a bit. The amount of care you have put into developing Alastair shines beautifully through your text, and makes him interesting and genuine feeling character in my mind.
Aw thank you! I'm glad you liked what you read ^////^