Goodfellow

The Sharlayan colony west of Dravania was abandoned 20 years ago after the fall of Ala Mhigo and peace negotiations between Sharlayan and Garlemald failed. I thought I remembered that being the case. That's why reference to "ancient" Sharlayan ruins confuses me. I don't know when the colony was founded, but if it was only abandoned 20 years ago I'd hardly call that ancient. So, either the colony was founded very, very long ago and was riddled with older architecture that was already "ruined" before the Sharlayans decided to abandon it or that wasn't the first Sharlayan colony and other far older colonies preceded it. Does that make sense? Is there something I'm missing?

Right. That's true and possibly confuses my question somewhat, but I'm not asking anything about the island nation of Sharlayan, just the timing of their defunct Eorzean colony.

Okay, I don't have the info in front of me, but I thought that the Sharlayan colony on the Aldenard mainland was more recently abandoned (within the last few years, a couple of decades at the most), but the above quote makes it look like the Eorzean Sharlayan is ancient history. Anyone able to clarify?

As someone who really doesn't go in for the concept of fate/destiny, but who is really interested and invested in AST, I have a different take on it. And I know they use the word "fate" in the description, but I'd argue that it's something of a misnomer, because "fate" and "fortune" are not the same thing. In Medieval astrology, "Fortune" and the heavens were not necessarily indicators of "fate" or "destiny" as such, they merely exerted an influence. So, someone born under Saturn could reasonably be expected (so went the theory) to exhibit saturnine qualities (that is to say melancholy, contemplation, etc.). They would have a natural tendency toward the saturnine. They were not of necessity permanently or exclusively saturnine. Someone born under Saturn could absolutely be jovial, it just wasn't assumed to have the same probability. In the same way, in an opportune time for decision-making under the sign of Jupiter, a ruler could still make a poor, unwise, or ill-advised decision. Jupiter was propitious, but did not preclude bad decision-making. And that's my take on astrologian right now. They deal less in fate/destiny and more in fortune; said another way, they influence likelihood, probability, chance, possibility. They are not altering a deterministic framework, simply modifying an influential flow, so to speak.

With every new detail he learned, Styrm wanted to yell. What in th'ells 'ave ye got yerself into, Jozzie? he thought in silent lament. "There's a lad ye'll be wantin' t'corner," he heard the barman say and his hands clenched reflexively around his mug. In a quieter room, a quiet crack would have been heard; not so much as to shatter and spill, but the glass would leak. Styrm took a swig and wiped his wet hand on his pants. He had littler money than he'd like after Solitaire's fleecing, but he removed what remained to him and slid it across the bar. "Aye? Who's 'at an' what hole's he hidin' in?"

My alts will typically be all the bizarre, inhuman colors that I don't get to see in everyday life, but my mains tend to (tend to, mind you) be a sort of darker olive which, incidentally, is my skin color. I'll almost never play regular "human" races (no offense, hyurs; I still love you), and don't necessarily gravitate toward characters of my own sex, but skin (and to a lesser degree hair) do resemble my own more often than not. I don't know if it's simply what I most identify with or that that's what I find most pleasing, aesthetically speaking (no offense, friends of other colors, shades, and hues; I really, really love you), but there it is.

"Oh thank the gods," Styrm muttered. Here was another man without the patience for all the slinking and the bullshit that one waded through in lowtown. He'd have to come back another night to get properly drunk with the old codger, but tonight wasn't the night. "Lookin' fer the girl, heard tell she's not unknown t'this lot. Trouble loves her, he does, an' it's better I'm the one what finds 'er first." He nodded at the space before him at that. The man looked like to talk, so he'd have that drink. Deal's a deal an' drink's a drink.

So I'm pretty late to this party, but I read your post a couple of days ago and left a tab open so I wouldn't forget to respond. From your description and your wiki, I think that Reima and Lolotaru would have quite a lot in common. My actual time in-game is a little wonky, but I am around and I'm more than happy to play things out on these here forums as well, so feel free to hit me up in-game or PM me. Other than that, welcome!

Oh Sounsyy, we can always count on you. I figured details were scant, so I'll play the waiting game, but thanks for all the info you were able to offer. A follow-up: would those Northern Isles be the same as the Sea Wolf homeland? Not Sharlayan specifically, but would it be a part of the same island chain or archipelago that gave us our big salty roegadyns?

Alright, I know everyone is at a fever-pitch regarding the paucity of concrete lore around Heavensward and the new jobs...and so am I. I have no judgment or counsel to offer. But I at least would like to get as much of it in one place, for myself, as I'm able. As I see it, there are two (maybe two-and-a-half) major (major!) lore areas where I'm uncertain/foggy when it comes to what little we know about astologians. 1) Sharlayan: Astrologians aren't Ishgardian! Who knew? I know very little of Sharlayan's history beyond a vague idea of where the island is and that it is, more or less, the academic center of Eorzea, possibly Hydaelyn and the homeland of the Archons. 2) Astrology: What's an astrologian without an understanding of the stars in the sky? What's the cosmology of FFXIV? We all know a little about different planes/dimensions, namely the Void, Thal's Realm, etc., and we know that Hydaelyn is referred to not just as a "world", but as a "planet" as well. That being said, what do we know about the universe? I assume Hydaelyn is in a solar system of some sort, but is it Ptolemaic (concentric spheres, geocentric) or Copernican (the modern conception, heliocentric)? Furthermore, are all the stars in the sky other stars with their own planets and corresponding systems? 2a) We know the source of aether on Hydaelyn (Silvertear), but is aether a planetary (exclusive to Hydaelyn) or a universal phenomenon? In other words, something aetheric is clearly going on with the astrologians' magic, but is it star- and planet-focused aether in some way? Is it simply stellar geometries (planetary positions, constellations, etc.) that provide for some aetheric manipulation akin to arcanima, or do the stars and planets in the sky/universe also produce, have, or otherwise influence aether? 2b) On that subject, what do we know about the Eorzean Zodiac? Do we know specific constellations or the names of individual stars or planets? I can't imagine I'm the only one with these sorts of questions and I apologize if you've all discussed all of this ad nauseam and I've somehow managed to miss all of those threads. From what I've read, I didn't think that I was starting a redundant thread, but what do I know? Thanks, folks.

Styrmsthal Tyrbsyn neither knew nor cared what the hour was when he walked into the plank into the open berth of the Highness. He glanced around, taking in the none-too-thin crowd. There were all sorts, nothing unexpected, no one stood out. Old bald-pate codgers spitting rough words through missing teeth under bulbous noses red with drink; hard men safe for a night from the sea, flush with coin; whores full and flat, young and not-so-young, ripe and sour. Hells, one boy to the side held his ribs like they'd fall out otherwise. Fresh beaten, that 'un. He couldn't fathom where to start, so he started where they all must: the bartender. "What'll it be?" the man asked him. "A drink, so long as there's summut fer listenin'," he responded. The barman grunted. "'Bout what?" "'Bout Kink." He served Styrm a drink.

Styrm knit his brow, exerting himself to commit each location to memory. When the man put his hand out, he stared at it in confusion. He pushed the bag on the table forward and rose to leave. "Ye best 'ope I find 'er, man. Like it or not, an' I certainly don't, yer the best lead I've got, ye are." He patted the man on the shoulder none too gently and moved to take his leave. He wondered, out and about or tucked in somewhere? It was late, but this Kink didn't sound the sort to avoid the late hours. The Highness, the man had said. He'd start there.

"Shiva's icy teats, ye shite! Ain't fleeced me full enough fer one night?" he whined. He waved his hand dismissively, resigned. "Fine, 'at's not why we're jawin', anyroad. Stay er go, ye've wasted enough o' me moonlight an' I'll be takin' direction an' me leave, soon as ye unbutton that slobbery smirk ye're wearin'." He painted on a smirk of his own, droopy with exasperation.

"Jus' shy of, feels like," Styrm said as he slumped back into the chair across the table and laid a bag on it, kicking up dust already settled in his absence. "Now, let's go meet Jo--" He ran his hands across his face then stared at the hyur. "Kink. We're off t'meet Kink. An' if we don't turn 'er up, we'll visit this Yaya-whosit character." He caught a glimpse through tired eyes of the man's fraying patience. "'Ey, chin up, man." He tapped the table. "Gil's tradin' hands an' t'night looks to be excitin'."

Dark and dusty, the room. Broken slats formed stained walls and middling rugs were tossed soggily over ever damp spots on the cold stone floor. At the back of the room sat a table and on the table sat a candle. Its pale flame was the only illumination in that dark corner of the ruined room; nonetheless, the shadow it cast was a long one, and a dark one. The tabletop was strewn with parchment, crumpled or otherwise, all scarred with scribbles, indecipherable symbols, apparent nonsense. His small hand trembled slightly as it traced charcoal scratches over dry, thirsty paper, edges baking and curling up in the proximate heat of the candle. The lines, the waves, they were indistinct, as though that hand struggled to reproduce the motion of ripples in a pond on a particular day. From memory. "Big loads o' talk 'bout town, sir," spoke a man toward the front of the room. "Aye, sir, whole big loads o' talk. Folks all 'cross town are turnin' out their book bags." The hand paused, the charcoal pencil rested. The hooded head turned to listen more closely. The man swallowed and opened his mouth to continue, then closed it again. Then opened it, only to close it once more. He didn't know how to talk to the little man at the table. His sort traded in dirty, broken rooms like that one, but the man at the table, drawing by the dim light of candle and memory, he didn't belong in that sort of room. He belonged up, up, up with the folk that got fleeced when they stumbled into dirty, broken rooms. Robbed and beaten and left to drag themselves back to the orderly world they knew. But the seated man was comfortable here, and the cut of his robe and the poise of his bearing were not dragged down by his lowly environs, rather the room had an august atmosphere, a permeating feeling of heavy drama. But it was darker, too, and the darkness seemed richer. He hadn't found the book. He hadn't found the girl. Why'd I come? he asked himself. Got nothin' to say, so why'd I come? "Won't waste no more o' yer time, sir. I'll jus' be goin'. Soon as somethin's worth sayin', I'll be right back. Yessir." He turned his hunched frame and took a step toward the door. The slow, deliberate sound of the charcoal pencil resumed. The nervous man stopped. "Jus' one more thing. A big roe's lookin' fer a girl, too. Same one, seems like. Makin' noise." The man at the table once again half-turned toward the other man. His head shook, almost imperceptible beneath the hood, and he turned back to his work. He crumpled the page before him in a fist and tossed it to the side, then waved his hand. "Yessir," he said, hoping in vain to fill that horrible silence. "We'll find 'er first, no doubt. First thing, it is. And the book! The girl and the book! First thing, we've got 'em. Yessir, we do. Yessir..." he droned on as he left. The hooded figure's pencil set to cutting and bruising the off-white surface of a fresh sheet of parchment. Those figures too would disappoint. How many thousands of times had the book been read? Countless. How many times had its pages been reproduced? None. ----- Styrm had hurried, but scrounging together the gil he'd promised took longer than he'd hoped. Longer than he had. Still, it would be several hours yet before the sun tried to peak through the city's foggy veil. More folk seemed to be scurrying about that night. Or maybe fewer. One or the other. "Ruttin' mess..." he murmured as he stepped through the door and turned up his gaze to the table he'd left hours before.

I've had the pleasure of meeting almost none of you directly, so, my list would necessarily be wide open. -There are members of my own FC that I've not really met IC (I still love you, Wizards!). -I'd love to interact with Zhavi in-game, but we're already in a serious time bubble (which I love and which will never die ahahahahaha!). -That being said, I'd also love for Lolo or Styrm to actually meet some of the other individuals in Zhi's pool of forum RPers, what with our names popping up in each other's stories. -And Lolo and Kinono will have to meet eventually; they can't just remain pen pals forever. -Several wikis/character concepts have me intrigued, among them Titor, Ilwe'ran, any and all of the Hipparions (I've even got a K'alt!), Clover (you're even on my friend list somehow!), etc., etc., ad infinitum... My schedule is super inconsistent, but if anyone ever sees Lolo in-game and would like to meet him, just shoot me a /tell and we can try to make it happen. Barring that, I've only got the one ongoing forum RP running, so I'm open and free for a few more if anyone is interested. And if you're not a Lolo fan, but somehow still want to interact with me (Goodfellow) in some way, well, my altoholism may already be way ahead of you...

Styrmsthal rubbed his eyes and sighed, a great gusty exhalation. Finally he'd caught a thread, but he was unnerved by the dark places it surely lead. "Aye, aye, 'pay afore play' an' th'like. Ye'll wait fer me, an' ye'll wait right 'ere," and he jammed his finger against the creaking, whining table. "I come back t'an empty chair, an' I'll be tearin' this 'ole town down aroun' yer godsspitin' 'ead, I will." He tapped the side of his head then and said, "Yers ain't a face I'm like t'be forgettin'." He stood up and stomped outside, disappearing back into the foggy dark like a mountain in the rain.

"Godsdammit!" he barked as he slapped his hands against the table, cracks suddenly appearing and worming their way through the wood, dust and splinters clouding the air between them. "I ain't tryin' to con ye, ye jackal," he growled, a rolling rumble after the thunder-crack against the table. "I say I'm good fer it an' I mean it. Now, you can be gettin' yer money tomorrow or I can drag yer thrice-damned arse 'cross town with me an' pay ye tonight, but one way or another yer tellin' me what's what!"

Oh, I really like this idea. I'll see if Lolo can make it. That's usually around the time I'm logging off, but I may be able to stretch it to attend a little while at least.

Shite he thought. Shitin' shite on a shite. He wants the coin now? "I ain't fool enough t'go cartin' so much coin 'round 'ere, but ye'll be gettin' it sure enough." He paused a moment then slowly loosened his grip, releasing the hyur's hand. "Now, laddie, tell me somethin' I can use. Pretty please." He held his breath.

Great!

Seeing the man's trapped wiliness, feeling his pulse through his clammy hand, Styrm almost smiled; a sardonic thing, crueler than the wry look he usually wore. Then he stopped. He didn't like where this was going and he didn't like what he was doing. He'd worked dirty business before, but he wasn't a face man. His interactions were simpler, more honest: hit back.Dancing like this required finesse and cleverness. Taru'd handle it better. His grip tightened. He regained his composure. "Ne'er planted one on a lass so flat an' foul an' ain't lookin' t'start now," he intoned mirthlessly. "Now, deal's a deal," he said, releasing Solitaire's left hand to grip the right in a dangerous exaggeration of a handshake, "so start talkin'."

Don't worry about the wait. When do we need to supply more details? In a PM now or later on when you're ready to start working on the piece?

Everything looks full up but I'd love to go on the waiting list for the waiting list. I love your chibi lalafells. Really great work, and creative.

Aye, they were talking about the same girl. Styrm didn't know whether to feel relieved or more worried. He didn't care what the man knew about Joz, only where he could find her. But then again, maybe knowing more about her would help him find her. But where would he come up with the gil? With Taru missing, he couldn't come up with that sum on short notice. He considered bluffing, then thought better of it. "Can' pay ye seven-hunnerd, ye git, but I can promise to meet ye half way on the coin...an' not t'go breaking your hands--," he said as his own shot forward, seeking to close around the smaller hyuran pair.