Spoiler
“My perceptive friend,

You could smell the letter from a distance? That’s amazing!My father used to claim that I was particularly gifted, in part because I am his daughter and that is what doting fathers do and perhaps believe, and in part because I do seem to have particularly keen eyesight and hearing. My sense of smell, however, has always seemed somewhat dull to me. This comes as a blessing at times, I believe, as I’m often in situations where I do not think that having a great sense of smell would be of any real benefit to me (the smell of death, for instance, does not need to need to smell stronger). Other times I really regret it. For instance there are a number of lovely flowers in Gridania and if I could just open my window and smell them on a breeze I think that would be really wonderful. I would also find it fun to use a sense of smell to treasure hunt for more hidden letters! I think it is a really incredible skill that you have; did you have to hone that ability or were you born with it?

You’re right about nature. I’ve studied conjury a fair deal and those are a lot of the lessons that are taught there, but I actually believe that your one sentence said it much better than an entire book I read on the matter once! Perhaps you should consider teaching or writing your own book!

How far would I go? Well, you’re right that I can’t know until I’m in the situation. Of course I want to say: “Anything and everything!” and at the moment I actually believe it. But I look back on ways that I have sometimes treated both my friends and my family and I can’t help but feel somewhat guilty and doubtful of my convictions. Still, I want to believe that I’d sacrifice it all for them.

Or maybe I want to believe that I’d do everything in my power to help them while staying alive. Sometimes it seems to me that saying “I’d martyr myself” is almost too easy. Sometimes it’s much harder to say “I’d save them all and stay alive in the process”.  When someone dies that is sort of the end of their responsibility, isn’t it. The burden of living is then left on the people they left behind. If I just casually threw myself to the flames as my first thought for saving them, they might go on living and blaming themselves for my decision. I’m maybe getting too philosophical to your question.

Would I defy the Twelve? I don’t know the answer to this either. But I do wonder what lengths I wouldn’t go to for love and my beliefs. If the extent of my love and convictions far outweighed my devotion to the Twelve… well, there might be a problem there right from the start, but yes, I’d probably defy them.

As for fighting against my environment? It’s much too long a story for now (and perhaps too dull?) but I feel like I’ve already done that. And, yes, I’d continue to do so. There are moments at night when I’ve extremely lonely and I feel very small and sad and I wonder “should I have done that?”, but my determination to keep moving on and living my life the way I chose is far louder than the regrets. I think I made the right choice.

I do want to become stronger. It’s nearly an obsession tome. I’ve studied to become a paladin as well as one who casts white magic and I do it because I want to push myself. I want to be someone who not only talks about how things need to be done in this world to make it better, but because I want to do something about it. I want to be a shoulder to lean on for the weary. I want to help people in pain. I want to bring optimism back to the world. They’re very lofty goals, but I’ve always been the ambitious sort.

And I can’t say if it’s stronger to love one’s gods more than one’s family or vice verse. I think the strongest thing is to know yourself and live by your own convictions, moral compass and compassion. If you can leave this world knowing, “No matter what, I fought for what I believe in” I think that is the strongest and noblest thing there is.

Your questions have really put me in an introspective mood!What are your answers to these questions? What do you believe in? I’d really like to know! And if you have poetry… I’d like to know that too! The truth is, I am a real sucker for stories, poems, music, art, any of that! People are always commenting on how spaced out I look. It’s probably because I am daydreaming all the time. Or maybe it’s just my face…

I hope to hear from you again!
-Saachi
 

Spoiler
Saachi,

If your father is alive, then value him every moment you can. If he is no longer with you then it is good to know you remember so much about him. My father taught me many things I needed to know, and even some things that I should not known. He saved my life, and eventually lost his. I will never forget a gods damned thing about him.

As for my sense of smell... I am a Moon-keeper. My name is Kiht. All Miqo'te are born with the potential to have a strong sense of smell, but many of the ones who no longer live the traditional lifestyle never hone their sense of smell, and often come to ignore it altogether. The nose is like a muscle; you must use it, or it will never be very strong.

Me write a book? I can hardly write a letter! But I have learned much about nature by simply living in it.

You are training to be a paladin?! Then your gift with magic is far greater than my simply strong sense of smell. I do not have quantity of aether needed to be a disciple of magic. I know of another aspiring Paladin... She is a kind and beautiful Hyur woman with glorious red hair. If you are anything like her then Menphina bless you.

You have a point regarding the value of staying alive while protecting loved ones. You are no good to anyone while dead. However, I have seen many of my kin see a weapon flying towards a loved one, and them preferring to take that weapon blow instead; rather than suffer the greater pain of watching someone they love get slain before them. It is a horrible choice to make, and I am absolutely done with watching it happen.

You wish to know how I would answer the questions I ask you? I have broken laws, stolen food, been imprisoned, killed all manner of creatures, fought Ixal, journeyed to many dangerous places in Eorzea and now take on deadly assassins all for the survival of my friends and family. So, the question isn't what I would do for the ones I love; the question is what -wouldn't- I do for them?

As for defying the twelve. I worship the gods, so I am fortunate that I have never had to answer that one question.

Much like you, I feel compelled to be ambitious. Oh how I wish I could wander the Black Shroud with my kin and live the life we use to live, but those days are done! I can not form enough aether at once to cast a spell. I can not be a healer or a Paladin. I only know how to scout, hunt and kill. I have recently sought out an old mentor. He brought with him the skills of the Lancers from a far-away land to the North. He has began teaching me these skills! I may not be able to protect or heal my loved ones, but I sure as hells plan to destroy the ones who would do them harm!

And since you mentioned poetry twice now... I will leave you with something similar. It is the only thing I can think of. When the sun sets every cycle, I make this prayer that was taught to me by my kin.

We watch the Moon.
We worship love.
We love freedom.
We see through darkness.
We prowl the night.
We are the Keepers.

At the beginning of every dusk, this simple prayer reminds me of what I am no matter what I go through, or what I end up becoming.

If you wish to respond further Saachi, just do the same thing you did last time with your response letter.

SpoilerI will definitely love my father every moment I am alive,but there might be some debate on rather I value him. I ran away from home, you see, and didn’t tell him anything about where I was going. I left him a note, but it was a small one, and I think it hardly counts. I wonder if I had been left such a terse note if I would be happy to know that my daughter had not been kidnapped, but instead ran away, or if I would be insulted by the brevity of the note’s contents. Probably it would be both.

I believe that somewhere inside him is the wonderful fatherwho raised me, but he’s changed so much and I don’t believe it was good for me to stay there. I talk big about being a hero and helping those in needs, but I fear I ran away from the person who needed saving the most. But I don’t feel like this is a time to spill my regrets onto paper! I just met you! I should talk about happier things!

Ah, so you did have to hone your ability to smell. I’llreveal a part of my identity here: I’m a Wildwood elezen. At least I think I am based on appearance. My father (who I assume adopted me though he claimed differently) is a hyur man and I was not raised among the elezen. I am mostly grateful for the life I’ve lived, but I do wonder sometimes what I might have been like had I grown up in the elezen culture. What skills would I have learned then? What values would I have? Certainly I can still learn the skills, but it’s fascinating to me to think about how I might have been different in a different environment.

Growing up I didn’t do much but read. I read and read andread and read and… you get it. Most of the books were children’s tales: epics of great heroics and beautifully illustrated fairytales. It is because of those books that I read voraciously that I so desired to become a “hero” (which I translated as “paladin” but could really be any person who struggles to be the best that they can for the sake of others). Yes, I’ve been told numerous times and have slowly also come to the conclusion that there might have been something a little naïve about that goal, but it’s still very much ME and I refuse to let that dream die. Had I grown up in a different environment perhaps I’d have read different books and had a different motivation! What if I grew up reading How To scrolls and books on becoming a villain instead (Do such things even exist?)! I’d wear dark armor, brood, scheme and smile, no, smirk! in  secretive, plotting, wicked manner. That’d be a lot different from the current me!

It’s taken me awhile to conclude that helping others whilehelping myself is the worthier and, often times much more difficult, goal. I’ve felt a bit nervous sharing that viewpoint with others because part of suspects that the assumption is that we should say, without thought, “I’d die for you!” It was actually someone declaring that for me, saying that their purpose would be to die for me and my cause should it come to that, that made me realize just how horrifying a statement that is. I do not want people to die for me. I want people to live for me or, better yet, live for themselves. I worry what might happen to my convictions if I discover that other people are dying for them. Will it make them stronger or weaker? Once I realize that people are dying for my cause, I worry that I am not strong enough to consider that a sign of my right and will instead become weak from constantly mourning the loss of loved ones. I think this might mean that I’d be terrible in a position of power where such sacrifices are common place…

You said such nice things about my being a paladin. And mademe curious about this woman with red hair! Does she have a name? Wait, of course she does and of course you have no obligation to tell me it. But now I will look at every female paladin I meet and if she has red hair I will think, “Is it you?” which is sort of a fun game all on its own. Thank you for that gift!

I am fascinated with Dragoons! To tell the truth, a part ofme very much wants to be able to study such an art but I am much too cumbersome. I’m a bit slow and heavy on my feet, so I think I’d be absolutely terrible at it! I have a pathetically small hop… I’d be not much good at legitimate jumping.

That prayer was absolutely beautiful. Thank you! I don’thave anything remotely similar to share with you. I guess I can tell you another secret, an artistic one, in place of that. I do not have the skills required to be a bard, but I do love music. 

Some time ago I bought a harp and alute and I have been practicing nightly on them in hopes that someday I might be brave enough to perform something on my off days (not that I get many of those). I’ve been working on composing my own song and while it’s not much yet, I believe one day it could be! I think of strength and loss as I write it, but I have not been able to think of a name yet. Perhaps I’ll call it “Keeper of the Moon”.

You’ve made me want to turn this into a game! I’m going todab this letter with the same cologne and hide it somewhere nearish the Blue Badger Gate, but not at all right next to it as last time. This one you’ll find high up in a tree nearby! If it is still there in a few days I will move it of course…


-Saachi

Between drams from her tankard, she writes...Saachi,

I apologize for ignoring your first request of not offering my name, as I am not one to forego manners for a stranger's letter.  To that point, you are reading a response from Stahlwilf Haemrstymmwyn, or Steel Wolf if that is easier on you to read and write.

To say that your letter is a surprise is an understatement, but I hope that this finds you in reasonably good spirits and good health.  My spirits, since they were asked of me, are not particularly good, as I have had a very trying day at forge.  I am a journeyman Armorsmith...though today was a setback, to say the least.  I'll not bore you with the minutae, but know that what should have been a simple task was made more complex by my lack of planning.

In addition to being an Armorsmith, most times I roam the land among the Free Paladins sanctioned by Ul'dah.  I should mention I am no servant of the Sultana, but I do offer my sword and shield to the services that benefit the whole of Eorzea, regardless of how meager or dangerous they be.  It's not my first choice of vocation, but it fills my gilpurse to continue my funding in my apprenticeship at Naldiq and Vymelli's.  Recently, however, I have felt a sense of being lost in the world.  My strength is useful to many, and thanks are given in earnest...still, there is something missing to it all...

Forgive me....perhaps I am boring you.  Perhaps I am too morose to consider being approachable right now.  Perhaps I need to vent and you are the unfortunate target.  Regardless, I appreciate you taking the time to read this far.  I don't anticipate a response, but should you feel the compulsion to respond, you may leave it with the innkeeper here at the Drowning Wench.  I tend to take my board here on most days, and I expect to remain in Limsa Lominsa for another few days.

Spoiler        “Steel Wilf,

           I amvery sorry that your day was so bad. It is one of life’s most regular dissapointeddisappointments that these sorts of days get tossed in the year alongside all the goode ones”.

Spoiler My spirits are low now too. Rather,the spirits in my cup are just fine, but my moode is not so goode. But onethinge we can take comfort in is that it might be that the seate I am in nowe is the same seate you were in when you wrote your letter to me! I can imagine you as a ghoste in the past here experiansing going throughe the same things I am nowe, but then you got bettere so that means I will too. It makes snese. It maks me smile!”

Spoiler“Stahlwilf,

I really like your name. I like the way it looks when it’s written, I like the sound of it, I like that, to simplify things, you call yourself “Steel Wolf”. Honestly, what an amazing name! My name is just Saachi. I can’t even think of a cute, or powerful, nickname to go along with it. I don’t think it invokes any impressive imagery or really registers as anything particularly noteworthy at all. My lastname is even worse. You’ve told me your whole name, so I’ll tell you mine: Saachi Medvyed.
       Isn’t that a horrible last name? It’sjust random, harsh sounds smashed together. Saying it makes the mouth move funny, like food is stuck on the roof of the mouth. 

        Steel Wolf is much, much, much more impressive.

      Your letter didn’t bore me. It might be a strange thing to confess, but it actual brought me some comfort. When I received your letter I was having a very rough day and choosing to drown out its memory in alcohol. Sometimes when I have a bad day, it’s almost as though I forget that other people have them, too. It’s just me and my self-made island of despairing. It feels oppressive and lonely which, I confess, are not my favorite ways to feel. But the truth is: lots of people have days like that. For me, it felt strangely nice to know that someone else HAD been feeling down before, perhaps even in the same location, and that the moroseness I felt wasn’t unique to me.

      I’m not sure if any of that made sense. I’m sorry; I tend to ramble.

      I’m not an armorsmith myself, nor,actually, any sorts of craftsman. But I certainly understand the upset that comes with messing a task up because of poor planning! That is one of the most frustrating experiences because it makes you confront and ultimately be responsible for a mistake you made and could have avoided… which is a very hard thing to do.

      Yesterday, I suffered from the opposite which almost felt worse to me. I’d be given a mission to break up this particularly violent cult that had been… maybe I shouldn’t go into details here. In short, they were hurting people. I was supposed to do whatever I could to stop them from doing that, but ensure that some survived so that local governments could question them and learn about other branches of the cult. I planned and planned and planned how I’d go about getting in there, freeing some people and taking down others. I won’t get into all the plans and secondary plans and tertiary plans I made because ultimately they didn’t matter. I spent an entire day coming up with them and when I got in there I screwed it all up. Nearly every single way that I could mess up a plan, I did it. I was a little (as far as elezen can be little) ball of plan destroying chaos. I messed up the entire mission and I didn’t have anyone to blame but myself. My planning was quite good but my follow through was almost laughably horrendous. I won’t be getting accolades for that performance and I might not even be getting paid.

      Plans often go wrong. Sometimes it amuses me to realize that. The same way that if I am holding a pen and put it down for just a SECOND to do something else I’ll find that I have somehow misplaced it, I find that no manner of planning that I do actually accounts for what will really happen when I go out into the field. Sometimes I say to myself: “Here is the plan: work with that until whatever unaccounted for thing happens and then improvise!” and it’s fine with me. And sometimes it makes me go crazy and wonder what the point of planning for anything is anyway!

                Ah, I bypassed an important point: I’m a free paladin too! I also work with them learning to protect others, but I don’t like to tie myself to one person, one idea or one location. I feel like there’s too much I could be doing to help out in the world for me to feel comfortable keeping my skills beholden to one government. I try to pick up missions from different locations when I can. The great thing is that this allows me to help a greater number of people and really consider what I’m doing. The bad this is that it allows me to upset a number of governments and people looking for mercenary work rather than just one.  I’m sure you can relate!

                I also feel like I’m lost in the world. That’s why I reached out with the letters. It’s just this sense that something is missing and I’ve considered, that in my case, it’s companionship. I don’t necessarily mean romantic companionship (I suppose I wouldn’t be opposed to it though), but more like friends that I can form a bond with. I want to tell people about my day and for them to want to listen to it… or for them to politely listen to it anyway even if it bores them because they know that sometimes I’m NOT so boring. When I go through something hard, I want to sit by someone comforting rather than sitting by myself on a barstool. 

The letters are sort of a way for me to do that, to reach out and know that there are people out there, even if I never see them in person, who might consider me a friend. I’m always on the move so it’s hard to have regular connections and to meet up with people when I happen through their town, but having these letters means that we can connect with one another whenever we have the time.

                Knowing that there are a handful of people in any given area that might be thinking about me enough that they’ll stop what they’re doing to write to me makes me feel, perhaps selfishly, very happy. I hope that the fact that I am dedicated to doing the same for them makes any similarly lonely people feel just as much at ease.

                Writing letters is great fun for me! I’d rank it right up there with flying kites, looking for treasure, lying in the cool grass on a hot day to look up at the sky and make shapes out of the clouds and eating fresh tomatoes as far as enjoyability goes for me.     

                Basically,if you write me: I will always write back.

-Saachi

Spoiler
To the one who obviously thinks she's cute,

I found your letter in a tree... If you cannot jump well then you certainly can climb. Fortunately, I can do both very well!

After reading about your past with your father, I find myself a bit upset. I have a hard time imagining having problems with any of my family that would be bad enough to make me want to leave them. You and I must have grown up in very different cultures. If you cannot value him, and he cannot respect you, then I suppose love is enough. I have no right to judge.

I find it quite hilarious that you are unsure if you are an Elezen. Do you find yourself feeling the urge to be arrogant? Do you often look down on people literally and figuratively? Do you have long, pointy ears?

I jest Saachi, I jest! I no longer have problems with Elezen. Actually, my mentor is an Elezen. I cannot reveal his name to you because his identity must remain a secret for now. However, I would risk my life to help him.

You say that you wish to help people. You say that you think people should live for themselves rather than die for others, or even live for others. This leads me to believe that you choose to help others because you see it as living for yourself?

To me, this means you are innately noble. Even more like the red-haired Hyur woman I mentioned! However, there are many people who do not have this naturally charitable aspect of their personality. I am afraid to see what this world would be like if people only lived for themselves.

My Matriarch, the leader of my group, often tells me something that I think I should relay to you. She says "Nature demands things from us. If we choose to deny it, we die. It is that simple, and that strict. We must kill to eat, we must accept that we are never fully clean and we must be selfish at least part of the time." This means that we cannot live as polar opposites of true evil. We cannot deny the selfish aspects of ourselves, or we would die. However, there -is- a way to live our lives, and be good people in the process...

The key to being a good person is not pretending that we wouldn't harm a fly, or that we are selfless. The key is killing only when necessary, following a code of conduct and learning to commit occasional acts of -charity-. Beyond that, people can do nothing more without putting on a falsehood.

Some people who live only for themselves would do nothing to aid others if it required the risk of their lives. People need to be reminded that, sometimes, an act of selfless charity will make the world a better place.

It is interesting you mention skills with the harp and lute! I have a Moon-sister by the name of Rinette who is skilled with music as well. However, her shyness has denied me the honor of hearing her play thus far.

I am very honored by your consideration of naming a song after me and/or my kin. My eyes hadn't felt tears like that in many Moons. Recently, I have helped another Moon-sister by the name of Merri find her lost group. She has reunited with them, and is with family once again. To celebrate, we are planning to take a pilgrimage to Menphina's stone in the Coerthas Highlands. I will add you to my prayers.

By the by, feel free to put a response letter in a new challenging place if you wish. It is a good practice of my skills so far to hunt and find these letters of yours!

She writes....Saachi

First off, I don't put terribly too much stock in names. The Roegadyn tradition of names to carry the legacy of my parents and their wishes for me is a gift, to be sure, but it's up to the bearer of the name to make it something to remember.  For what it's worth, however, your name is very pretty, and it rolls off of the tongue.  A damn sight better than the butchering my birthname can receive, at any rate.

I would like to start by offering my condolences for your most recent mission going as wrong as you described.  I would agree that having a careful plan disintegrate before your eyes is significantly worse.  In moments like those, I tend to try to take stock in the smaller victories.  Specifically, you are still alive, and those who stood before you as enemies met justice.  It is easier to write than to do, but I hope that those words can carry some measure of solace.

Additionally, your words invoked in me many nods of understanding and agreement.  Indeed, we appear to be cut from a same cloth...lost and seeking, trying to make a difference in what measure we can...and perhaps more mournful of our failings than should be considered healthy.  Still, I try to recall that we are needed--we are the swords, the shields and the succor that this land requires.  Our decisive actions and willingness to charge forward into whatever dangers may fall is needed in these cold times.  Eorzea needs women like us.  A strong arm at need and a gentle touch at respite.

I suppose the long and short of it is that you are not alone...and for what it's worth, our meager time together has instilled in me the sense that we should fight aside each other sometime.  I understand wandering can make this difficult, but we share a mutual need and a mutual battle.  A battle that numbers could never stand against.

I hope that our paths cross soon....or, failing that, our missives continue.  I'll be sure to keep our shared barstool warm.

SpoilerWorthy Challenger!,

I want to say: “Oh, I’m the most well-trained climber youwill ever meet” and “I have studied the art of tree climbing for years”, but that’d be a lie. I try to keep my lying to a minimum and I already met my quota for it when I tried and complimented a sandwich that a little girl I helped today made for me as a thank you present. I’ve recovered from the stomach ache and think I have room in my belly for food made of more than…whatever that was. But I don’t have room in the day for more fibbing so it is with a heavy (or at least amused) heart and flimsy pride that I admit: I fell out of that tree twice! I must have been a real spectacle to behold! The first time took me entirely surprise as the branch was unable to maintain my weight and I went crashing to the ground. But I am the stubborn sort and got right back up there. The second time I tried to maneuver myself so that I’d land on my feet and look “cool”. Nope. I still landed on my butt. 

My stomach is feeling better now, butmy tailbone is less enthusiastic about its current condition! Gridania must have been terrified. “Is it raining elezen now??” That would be a very awkward and ungainly weather event…

About my father… There is no doubt in my mind that we loveone another. But that’s really the problem. Ew, that’s not to say there’s some sort of weird, incestuous thing going on there: there definitely is NOT. It’s just that as I grew older he became, I feel, far too over-protective. Without going into too many details about this, I ran away. Sometimes I feel excited that I did. I think: Finally! I’m living the life I chose for myself and there’s nothing to keep me down! And other times I am wrecked with guilt and wonder how I could have done that to the person I love most. I don’t know what the answer to that conflict is. For now, I’m still just going to keep trying to be my own person. Maybe one day I’ll be able to face him again and explain. But I won’t be able to blame him if he does not forgive me.

Do I find the urge to be arrogant while I loom over people?Hmmm… Let me consider that! Ah, yes, you know… I think you may have helped me out here! Just the other day I recall towering over some person or another (the race is not of note as it was not an elezen as myself). I remember pointing out my various talents and mocking their religion. I said something like “Blah blah dragons, blah blah outsider blah”. Does that sound about right? God above! I AM Elezen after all!  Haha. Just kidding, of course (about the arrogance… I’m still fairly sure I’m elezen.)

Yes! I never knew how to phrase that before. But, yes! Theway I choose to live for myself is by giving back to others. I want to live my life helping others live the lives they want as well. That’s very important to me. I want the world to see all the opportunities there are and if it’s not enough I want to show them they can make more of them. I want to believe we have everything we need to make sure this the world we want it to be… and I stubbornly want to believe that more of us want that world to be a good thing than a terrible one.

I can’t tell you just how much your Matriarch’s wordsresonated with me. I’ve been struggling lately with myself and this internal conflict I’ve had between killing and sparing lives. I’m fairly good with a sword. I LIKE fighting. I want to get stronger and better at it. But every time I kill someone that I think I could have defeated in some other way, I find myself horribly depressed. “Victory”, after all, shouldn’t just be the end of someone’s life. It should be, in my mind, something that makes a difference. If you can spare someone’s life and convince them that living a different life where they do more for the world is a more worthwhile endeavor then you’ve added something to the world. The story ends when you kill someone. You may have saved the community from one life that was harming it, but you haven’t added anything back. But I’m not so naïve as to believe that every life can or should be saved either. Sometimes killing IS the right answer. I struggle with figuring out, situation to situation, which is which. I’ve never been someone to just choose to take the easy way out. If I were I would have given up on climbing that blasted tree!

…I am very touched that you will add me to your prayers.Having met someone new that I can share my thoughts and feelings with, honestly, through letters has meant so much to me. One day if we meet I will play the song for you! Hopefully you like it, or, if you have not yet met YOUR quota for lying you can pretend you like it more than you actually do!

I’d love to learn more about your culture. It soundsbeautiful.

I wonder how long it will take you to find this letter? Imade sure to dab more cologne on it this time than the last few times because I hid it further away. I am sorry for what that might have done to your sensitive nose once you had it in your hands! I am imagining you now holding it far, far away from your face like a far-sighted old woman, your nose in your shirt as a makeshift mask and your brow furrowed with irritation at me! Still, I’m having fun with this game and I hope you are too!

<< there is a mediocre drawing here of Saachi on topof a roof, looking down at the ground below and thinking: “…Falling off here is going to hurt…”>>

-From: Your friend who KNOWS she’s cute: Saachi  <<she draws a messy picture of hergrinning face>>

Spoiler

Willful one,

your determination is admirable. Because I actually do have a tail, and I do not think I would like falling on it. Perhaps you leaving that letter in the tree was more a test for you than it was for me? I do not see it being in a Paladin's nature to be good at tree-climbing... I now just pictured my red-haired Hyur friend climbing a tree. I do not think she would fair well either...

If you are like the typical Paladins, you bear the sword, shield and heavy armor. You learn to root yourself to the ground and brace and block. You would probably want to be like a rock. Well, rocks do not slash with swords or cast helpful magics. Maybe a better comparison would be a golem. A friendly golem... I wonder if my other Paladin friend would like the golem comparison? Mayhaps a Treant? Probably not...

Anydusk, I understand you wanting your personal freedom. If your father was making that impossible then I can see why you would want to leave. Mayhaps he was too afraid of loosing you? Mayhaps he had already lost someone dear to him, and you were all that was left? You do not have to answer those questions. I ask them simply to offer a perspective you may not have considered.

I am not saying you should go back to your father. It is unlikely that I know enough about the situation to advise you either way. It is something I think you should decide for yourself. However, any father who loves his daughter would forgive her. I do not know him, and I still do not not know much about you. But if the man calls himself your father then, by Menphina, he -will- forgive you.


I must say I am rather amused by your ability to take a small jest and turn it into a much more complex piece of humor. You seem to have an interesting mind Saachi. Mayhaps it is all those books you read. I should read more books, but I fail to tolerate remaining still for any length of time while I am awake.

I am glad you do not find everything I told you annoying. I oft wonder if I come across as preachy, or lecture too much. The truth is, I am not trying to do either. I oft have to explain myself to people who do not understand me. I have developed a way of explaining things that also reveals my reasoning. I believe this can seem like a lecture to some people.

Deciding when to kill and when not to kill can be very difficult in a tense situation. I wish I had answers or advice for you on this. All I can say is be careful. Do not give those who attack you the opportunity to harm you by showing them mercy. If you fight in self defense, or the defense of others, I hardly see any reason to hold back, or feel guilt for the fallen attackers. They made their choice when they tried to use deadly force on you or someone else.

On a lighter note, I would love to hear the song you make. Mayhaps one day. But you have a point; if you are to make a song about Keepers or even just me, you should know more about my culture.

I was raised in a small semi-nomadic group that many might call a tribe, but I prefer to call it a clan. Unlike Seeker tribes, we do not have a widely recognized tribe name. My group is made of only two families, so a tribe name seems overly zealous. However, we are oft referred to as the Shriekshroom clan. This is based on our origin as hunters and gatherers of beastkin and seedkin resources. We always had shriek shrooms to trade. We are a matriarchal group that is made up of mostly female individuals. Males are just not born as often as females. This means there are always many more Moon-sisters than Moon-brothers.

My family (the Jakkya family) specializes in a time-honored form of spear combat, and the hunting of dangerous wildlife. We also brought leather-working to the group. The other family is called the Kaatah family. They specialize in skills with the short bow. They hunt faster, smaller game. They brought botany to the group. Our two families work together to support each other. That is why family is so important to me. In my group, I am a huntress, scout, crafter and protector. I am a big part of why they survive, as is every individual.

However, in the massive Eorzean society at large, I am nothing but another Miqo'te. They would make me a dancer, a bar wench or a servant. I will prove to everyone watching that this female Miqo'te CAN be something greater than what society would otherwise deem me.

My group faces many problems now. Mayhaps I will tell you about it later if you are interested. But I now feel like I have written enough. My head aches from the scent of the smelly fluid you seem to enjoy soaking the letter in! My nose will not stop with the burning. It just burns and burns like the Seven Hells..... My nose is not the Seven Hells Saachi; It is just a nose. A nose that you seem to hate...

Menphina guide your heart Saachi.

SpoilerSteel Wolf,

You’re absolutely right about names! It’s up to us to makeour names memorable. We can be given any name under the sun, but it’s how we interact with others and the world that ultimately makes a difference. I might be sad right now that my name, to me at least, sounds so plain and unremarkable. But I also believe that I do possess the ability to at least LIVE remarkably!

…Even so? Thanks for the compliment on my name!

I will confess something strange here as confessions, of anytype, were one of the things I said would be acceptable in these letters. When I was growing up my father told me that he was once an adventurer, a hero, of some renown. He said that around the Limsa Lominsa area that people would call out to him by name and that he never had to buy his own drinks in any tavern. He bought me many books, but the ones he brought me the most were these tales of daring heroics and epic adventures, fairytales and the like, and so I grew up feeling very strongly that I wanted to be a “hero” too.

I understand that that’s a fairly naïve life goal. When Isay “I’d like to be a hero like in the stories!” to people as my life goal they are unsurprisingly taken aback and say “helpful” things like “That’s not very realistic” and “Ok…or maybe you could do something more tangible!” I’m chuckling about that now because neither one of us in the conversation walk away from it feeling too terribly satisfied. It’s as though one of us was a sheep and the other a colibri and we just spent a significant amount of time making noises at one another, not understanding why nothing seemed to be getting through.

But I got off track here! I always do. My last name,Medvyed, I thought it might carry some weight in Limsa since my father said he was a hero himself. It would have been many years back, I think, but if he were so heroic obviously if I introduced myself I might be able to make some real connections.

But nope. Nothing. There have been a few people here andthere that have recognized the name as belonging to a noble family. There were a few that remembered him being a particularly good businessman. And, regrettably, there were many still that apparently believe that he owes them a significant amount of money and that I, as a result, owe it too. There were no accounts of his daring, protective spirit. I’ve been rather let down…

But there is good news in that as well that hang onto withthe fierce optimism that only a girl who read a hundred old books on adventuring heroes could maintain! This means that I have a chance to, like you said, make a name for myself. If now my lastname doesn’t mean much except that my family has money (and subsequently seems to owe it to debt collectors), it’s absolutely in my power to change that story. If I go around and do all the things that I believe I should do to help others, to fix things, to make each place I walk into a better place to be before I walk out of it… perhaps the story attached to my lastname will become something better! 

If I can actuallydo good, real good, in the places I travel and I hear someone exclaim something positive about Medvyeds I’ll know it was because I’VE done something right—not because of any legacy before me. And that feels good to me. I’ve thought about dropping my last-name in the past and just being “Saachi” everywhere I go (since the name still sounds unpleasant to my ears), but I haven’t done it because I like the idea of making the name something positive. I don’t know; maybe that’s just as naïve as anything else. But it cheers me up!

Do you know what else cheers me up? I’m about to tell you:cheesecake! 

Someone I helped a few days back had a cheesecake sent to my innroom. That’s so exciting to me! It’s extremely good, but it’s a bit messy. And now I’m really thirsty…. But, ultimately, I think those two minor downsides are still worth it! 

<there is a bit of a smear here from cheesecake that fellonto the paper and she hastily tried to brush off>

Honestly, just knowing that someone like you is out therefeeling as lost in the world as I am sometimes, looking for some kind of a connection to hang on to, really bolsters my spirits! You’re right that Eorzea needs more like us. Everywhere you look you can see people who have just sort of given up. They assume that the way things are now is the way that they’re just going to keep on being. I don’t believe that. And it doesn’t like you do either. What is so encouraging about this is that if there are two of us who feel that way there must be more as well. And if everybody who feels the strength and conviction to fight back against oppression and apathy does so… there’s no WAY a change for the better isn’t being made! I don’t know… just realizing that makes everything that was feeling so heavy and hard a few days ago feel so worthwhile now.

I wrote this letter to you while sitting on our sharedbarstool and grinning like a fool (some would say that’s the only way I grin).

Write back to me if you have the time or inclination! Itdoesn’t have to be about anything heavy. You can write an entire letter devoted to cheesecake if you like (…though I suppose cheesecake still counts as ‘heavy’, just a different kind). It feels nice just to have another friend to reach out to!


-Saachi