Dasair

[A letter has been folded into the pages here.]

The nights have found me with so much to take in, it is difficult to know if I am straying, or making progress. Though, that cannot be true; each thing heard, observed, felt and found is a progress, an experience, and new knowledge~ [a few small blots, like a pen tapping] Still, I wonder. I yet seek a beach, to further study the water and the ocean, clearly from a tiny point, of course, but- well, I would just like to get closer. I remember looking at the map of Mist, and seeing a beach listed on it, so I think soon I will head that way. I am also contemplating between either attempting to find my own way to the Ruins of Nym, or- [streak, blot] Oh hells! I had completely forgotten about the small Conjurer training for Chachangi! Well, not completely, as I just recalled, but [a few more blots] That decides it, then. It was a choice between Nym or the Burning Wall, though I believe the latter is in order if I must head back towards Ul'dah. [a few spots] Perhaps I will attempt message by those.. Moogles. At least to know if he may be available, or even still wish to meet. While I do not mind the travel, it would be somewhat problematic to head all the way there for naught. It will give me more time to practice [a few blots]. There is so much I seek to do. Learn to cast that Arcanima spell Practice more with my own Aether Seek a place for more long term study (Nym / Burning Wall) Check to see if there is more the Family wishes transported Create a tome for / in presence of Lafiaht Test the Moogles Speak with both L'yhta and Eamont again Find a beach Contact Chachangi / Practice Conjury ... Everything It is hard to know where to begin, as everywhere I go, I see something more I may miss if not followed. Though, I will need to decide if I should find myself anywhere. [a few blots] I think I will attempt the following: Contact Chachanji by Moogle (attempt) Also send a letter to Lafiaht by them; I hope it would not upset her to receive, I should make it worth her while, though I am curious if it would reach her. I may never know the results if I only send by way of less-potential reply. - Perhaps enclose some nicer papers? I [spot] I do not know if she would be as excited about such a thing as I would, but she did seem very interested in book-binding and scribery, so it is possible. - I suppose this can also be a test of how Moogles fair with rolled letters and scroll cases. While waiting for any response, inspect the Mist beach. Practice spells about the Mist beach (it was said to be a good place for it) Remain in potential proximity to the Tower; I may catch the two I seek to speak with again who reside there. Explore Limsa further if I must continue to wait. - Soli will inform me if I've another task to complete for the Family - I would like to find my way to Nym, but there is no telling for how long I would be lost if I should try. Anything beyond will be considered later, or when it happens. ... Or when all of that planning goes entirely to the abyss~ I should begin with those letters now.

The Ivory Tower What the 'mage house in Mist' is named - not much of a tower - But I found it~ Man casting with large amount of Aether in the yard. - clarified for me Eamont Desormaux - Voice of the Tower - Calls others 'friend' frequently (or at least me) - Curious if I was a friend of L'yhta - "If you managed to impress her I am sure you are quite the adventurer." - Perhaps she is not easy to get along with..? I mentioned experiments. - He questioned what I meant. - Unsure if I offended him. Apparently not? - claimed to be overprotective, and apologized. - L'yhta is like a daughter to him. - Worries that she may end up in a thousand pieces, despite her intelligence We sat He asked what I do. - I listed the lot of things, asked in turn. Voice of the Tower - title given to the leader of the Tower - Organization of mages was once called Wizard's Choir Eamont - trained mostly in ways of conjury, knows some arcanima and thaumaturgey - Not entirely.. the same cross-spellery L'yhta mentioned. - "I study all aspects to the most direct end of manipulating , with the ultimate goal of improving, a person's health. I do not know if it is combination in the same respect but if an arcanima symbol can say, be placed on a person to heal them over time? I would be very interested in that." - also good at sensing Aether, moreso than controlling it. Looking into ways of removing "tainted Aether" - Tainted Aether = "things touched by the Void, for example." I asked about this. "Not very successfully I am afraid. However, if it was easy, we likely would have figured it out by now. I have been trying to use flows of aether, both elemental and my own, to...flood the tainted aether and sever its connection with the aether of its victim. 'Wash it away' so to speak." I mentioned the connectivity between ones self and their Aether, 'tainted' or otherwise, in which some sort of conversion may be necessary for outside Aether to be more readily accepted. He noted that was a sharp observation. - Effectiveness of the method depends on connection / perceived connection to tainted Aether - Ease with Eamont also appears to be a factor Asked if unaspected Aether has been considered, due to connection variance between elements - Eamont feels his own personal Aether is without aspect - Note: This makes me wonder; is it truely? From one's own Aether they can find a myriad of aspects, when manipulated a certain way. It is a question, in my consideration here, of if it is either 'all or none', where it may be Aether which holds all of the elements, or perhaps it is its own and holds none of them, whereas he would be correct. Eamont seemed tired. - It was during the night, I imagine that he would be. - Conversation was left there. "Well a second opinion is never a bad idea. I would surely like to speak again in the future. However, for now I think I must find my bed. It is good to have met you friend. I hope to speak with you again soon."

... While my character has precisely no amicable ties to the governments in Eorzea, and is definitely not of the sort to repress anyone, he is still decently well off, and can totally be robbed. Xavarian is a nocturnal duskwight, also a mage, who not only appears (and is) decently wealthy, but might often be seen carrying around a number of packed bags full of artifacts, relics, books, materials to make books, and various other things in that general category. He's a scribe and book-binder by trade, but deals with retrieving artifacts and items of Aetherical power when he can. On the other hand, he dislikes crowds, is hardly ever in cities other than Limsa, and is.. pretty new to 'the surface'. He'd likely be found on the road instead of in the city. To someone unaware, he might seem like a good target to 'get back at the man'. Really, he's not at all associated with any of the wealthy beyond the deep caverns in Eorzea, and is pretty clearly a duskwight. So, in his case, it entirely depends on if you want your character to actually pick an appropriate mark, or potentially make a half-mistake with her intended target instead (since Xavarian's actually likely to just give someone something, or help them find an equivalent, if they ask). ... If robbed, he also might attempt to come after her later. Maybe. Depending on what she took. But I figure it would be fun RP all the same. :> If not, though, that's fine too! He doesn't quite fit the bill of what your character is looking for, just might appear to on the outside.

Though I agree with the 'trying to be as realistic as possible' thing, there are actually a lot of time discrepancies when Rping in a game. The first most obvious one is the passage of time. Days last only a number of minutes in Eorzea. Time is sped up in the game so players can experience both day and night, instead of having the game set in any timezone so players who log on at consistent times are always logging in the night/morning/whatever. Now, this can be taken further, and somewhat expanded upon, if someone wanted to compare the length of an In-Game day to the length it would take one to travel from one place to another, then they could always use that sort of determining ratio. And yes, it wouldn't be followed by everyone, but hey, someone would have a 'system' considered to be realistic with a base in the world beyond their whim. But the thing that people often forget to take into account in terms of time and RPing, is that typing out, and reading replies take a lot longer than the time it would take for someone just speaking words. Likewise, some actions take a lot shorter to type out than they would actually take to perform; or longer, such as a simple gesture, or a hand flick, or something. And that said, no matter what you do, your RP isn't going to be fitting any real-life sort of time frame. RPs that take a few hours might only have a small conversation take place; reading only the dialogue outloud afterward may take mere minutes, which would have been closer to the time it took to speak, and what it would have been for the characters. So because of this, since text / MMO RP is already somewhat of a medium with a degree of separation from time, I stick with the whole 'do what makes for the best story' or 'what makes most sense for the players involved' kind of thing. And basically support all the points already made for it. It's up to you how you want to go about it anyway, since, try as you may, getting a realistic timeframe on anything in this kind of RP, by its design, is likely to be difficult unless you're LARPing.

ICly, Xavarian is basically never in bars, and rarely in the cities, unless he has to be. The most likely city to find him in would be Limsa, as he finds it actually more fascinating than it makes him uncomfortable. But usually, more than he's in cities, he's out wandering around ~in the world~, and can be found various places in La Noscea, the Black Shroud, or Thanalan. Lately he's been wandering around Lower La Noscea, but he may get himself lost in the other parts of La Noscea soon enough. OOCly, he's all over the place when I try to finish main story quests, or level other classes. If he's in those generic robes killing stuff, or any class other than BLM, he's probably OOC, and that's me just playing the game. But as far as RP goes, I'm always up for an OOC whisper for it, OR perfectly fine with walk-up RP if you find Xavarian wandering about and talking to his bird emoting.

Greetings~ I've been wanting to get into an RP FC for a while, and am considering a few (looking at you, Mysterium), but every one I've looked at has struck me with a few things that might not work well with my character for one reason or another. ... Especially since I've begun to realize he might be more questionable than I initially was thinking he'd be. So instead, I just decided I might ask here, to see if anyone knows if something like this might exist. I'm specifically looking for a mostly Mage-centric, or at least Aetherical research focused, FC on the morally-grey spectrum. Those that may get into the more shady side of things (FOR SCIENCE), but aren't inherently evil either. That said, it's very possible they could get involved with some more 'evil' (or good!) inclined scenarios, and may (or may not) handle them for better or worse, but they don't necessarily lean one way or the other as a rule. I've seen some good aligned mage groups, some more villainous ones, and a lot of neutral / grey crime groups that don't have a focus on Aether, but I haven't crossed something that stood out as a grey mage society. Or even a grey research group. Unless I'm wrong! Which is entirely possible. So I'm curious, are there any of these around? Are some of the FCs I saw here actually more grey than they come off to me? Are any of you recruiting? I'm kind of looking to get out of the leveling FC I'm in currently, and would really like to join something on the heavier RP side. :>

Xavarian's name is an approximation given the old, original, side-character he's based off of.. who's name is much worse. That character's name is Xsaiav'lairnn (Ks-save-el-air-nn), his last name being Mystrif, when he had one. There is a lot of crazy involving how the much older (both IC and OOC) base character got his name (there was a world full of naming lore, in which various letters and combinations meant various things, and everyone was named based on certain criterea, with names changing as people grew, and whatnot; aka, crazy business.) BUT Xavarian is a lot more simple. First I checked the lore on Elezen names. Which was basically 'French sounding'. I went through a bunch of lore-friendly name generators, expecting to keep none of the names, but just for examples of lore acceptable ideas. Then I looked up a bunch of French names for general approximations. I actually wanted to keep the feel of my character's original base name as close as possible, and knew I wanted it to start with an X, so when I found the expected name 'Xavier' and the name 'Varian', I stuck the two of them together. What's even better to me about 'Varian' being in there is that it was said to be based on the word 'variable', and the concept of this character has always had very strong connections to 'endless possibilities', the Unknown, riddles and puzzles, and logical / scientific deduction. With Mystrife I just stuck an e on the end of Mystrif because I don't know French at all, but I figured they have 'Mystique', which is close, and seems lore compliant to me (or at least I hope it is, X-Men aside). The name Mystrif itself actually came from a combination of Mystery and Mischief sort of stuck together when I suddenly and unexpectedly needed to give Xsaiav'lairnn a last name on the spot. ... Though the nickname given to my character by other characters (due to his crazy first name) became 'Myst' so the last name kinda grew on me as pretty important too; and something else I wanted to keep. Now, in FFXIV, I suppose it's more like 'Mystique' and 'Strife' which. Is still pretty accurate, all things considered. *sweats* Mashing things together, man.

So this took a while. But it was fun! The problem of having a shifty neutral character arises yet again. Xavarian Mystrife Rating Scale: 1 - 10. 1 as complete Sin. 10 as complete Virtue. 4 near the middle, closer to the Sin. 5 near the middle closer to the Virtue. Lust vs Chasity: 2.5 Gluttony vs Temperance: 5 Greed vs Charity: 5 Sloth vs Diligence: 9 Wrath vs Patience: 6 Envy vs Kindness: 8 Pride vs Humility: 8 Does your character lean more towards the Sins or the Virtues? ... Apparently Virtues (which I honestly think is pretty weird, especially once you read through all that), though most can easily flop back and forth given the situation at hand. A few likely won't change. Everything else is a barely-skimming neutral. Which Sin does your character most emulate? Lust. To Xavarian, what he's after is everything; it is growth, experience, what drives sentient life itself, and what will lead him to even more intriguing sorts of it. It won't end, till it all ends, and till then, he'll keep on wanting. Which Virtue does your character most emulate? Diligence. It goes hand in hand with his Lust, in that he is constantly working towards what he wants, and feels all paths lead there, it's just up to him to take in all he can with each twist of the road. And, of course, to let nothing get in his way. Which of these Sins or Virtues do you and/or your character believe they need to work on the most? Pride, weirdly. Mostly because, despite Xavarian's unstoppable will to do what he wants to do, he thinks very little of himself as a person. He needs more confidence, to think that he is worth something, not just his endeavors, because if he can get that, maybe he can start getting how other people matter too, and that there's more to it all than just his goals.

Wandering La Noscea Lower La Noscea - head.. right. There is a path. - Hoping I may find 'a beach'. Then a small outpost Large Bridge - large drop - No way back up from water there. Go further Looks to be a place where a blast from the calamity struck? - I was correct, one studying the formations claims that they appeared due to Bahamut. The Salt Strand (by map) Theories - There are a number of these formations, it seems, thoughout Eorzea; many taking the form of a blast, or explosion frozen in time. They all look like a sort of solid impact of sorts, be them in the form of crystals, or like this. I wonder if the.. destruction from the Calamity was so intense that it had a sort of 'melting' effect on the Aether that got caught in the explosions, and yet, because such a thing would create vast imbalances in our reality, perhaps the Aether rapidly 'cooled' to heal itself.. almost like a scab? Forming these odd.. solid explosions of crystal or otherwise. This place is interesting - Not devoid of creatures though - Giant crabs - Qiqirin - May be problematic at attempting to [blot] explore the water Docks nearby (Candlekeep Quay by map) - One of the few places still operational right after the Calamity - Grew expanded due to use and necessity. Nearby town (Moraby Drydocks by the map) - up the hills. - fairly large - Atheryte here. - Haven't yet looked it over thoroughly

Attempt at Ruin Attempt 01 - Horrible failure. Method - Copied the geometry onto a separate page from my book. - I thought I may be able to send unaspected Aether from myself into the page, specifically the geometry. It didn't work. At least that time. - Possible I sent it into the entire page instead of merely the geometry. - Possible it wasn't the right sort of Aether. - Possible Arcanima's power comes from a source that is not the self. Results - The page began to warp and curl. - [blot] I panicked and set it on fire. - ... then put it out by freezing it. - I am uncertain if I can use it again. Thoughts - Perhaps I was considering it too much like Scathe? Attempt 02 - A less horrible, but eventually just as horrible, failure. Method - Recopied the geometry to its exactness on a new page. - Attempted to.. will its working. That didn't work. - Attempted to fill only the geometry with gentler, unaspected Aether. Results - First, nothing in particular. - Then the page started to.. wave? As though there was a small force acting on it. I attempted then to 'cast' the spell at a target, but the target instead fell asleep. - Tried to make it more forceful, and the page lit on fire once more. - ...This one is unusable. [There is a blot and a streak here like something else was to be written, but the writer became focused on something else]

[The next page only seems to contain a riddle.] By twos they twine from simple line Till left with what is tangled. Though threes can play; for fours will stay, But some may think that mangled. Or one can run as simply spun As any of other thereafter. No matter the spatter of number that's gathered There's always a coming together. These Ends 'round Bends to form what sends A Distance bound closer than ever; What's wrought, held taught, a bind oft fought Is the nature of this tether.

By the hells, what an absolutely exciting endeavor! There was simply so much- I [blot] Well I mostly noted it all down, but hells~ I really hardly know how to contain my excitement to words. The trip was better than expected, though if up to me, I would say too short! There was so much to see, and barely any time to inspect any of it! Though that means more is soon to come~ I cannot stop grinning~ While there is much that is unfavorable, there is so much more Above that is simply incredible. And that she invited me to go with her! And enjoyed it~ I suppose to one on the surface, who can see such things when they please, I must seem quite ridiculous~ But I hardly care, it is godsdamned exciting! I realize my directions are... insufficient in order to get from here in Limsa to there without the use of the Aetheryte. Soon, though, I will attempt to make my way. ... I'll need a number of survival supplies, because I would be Godsblessed if I didn't find myself lost on the way. [spot] I always find myself lost on the way. Instead, perhaps I will practice this spell~ Or.. attempt to~ Lafiaht never actually showed me the spell, just the geometry... is that all one needs? I don't know, but I will surely find out~ And by the hells, she was so incredibly excited herself to learn that I was a scribe. I know that they are oft in high demand, even Above, but I don't think I have ever seen someone else so excited about the prospect of it. [blot] Well, beyond myself, I suppose~ She seemed quite interested that I create books as well, which.. given her clear interest in Arcanima, perhaps that, in part is why. But even still. Though I.. wasn't sure what she was going to do with me, just seeing her light up was [blot] I really didn't think I would ever see such excitement in any from my own words~ She has shown me so much, perhaps more than she realizes, so I really do hope that I could give her something close in-kind sometime~ ... It would be only fair, afterall, considering how ridiculous I must look towards all she says~ Hells. It is terrible, but in the best sort of way~ I must stop myself from grinning, I am going to set my book on fire~ I should also really do us both a favor and get out to explore more. Well, assuming I see her again, that is. I hope I do~ And should I actually hold more knowledge of what things are around here, perhaps I can spare her whatever sort of goofy faces I make. Not that her face was goofy! Not at all, it was [blot] I wonder, though, when she'll stop worrying about me getting eaten by something~ What does she think I do when she's not around~? Certainly not getting into all sorts of trouble, apparently~ ... The irony of it would be if I do end up getting eaten by something, wouldn't it? May Nymeia be on my side with this one, I'd really rather avoid that fate~ But I am not going to help it! Not in the least, when next I wake, mark my words, trouble will be had, one way or another~ How can I sit idle with so much to learn~?

Journey to Nym Ruins with Lafiaht~ Lafiaht - Obtained a chocobo - Said I wouldn't need Vathen. Vathen came anyway Used the Aetheryte to Bronze Lake Bronze Lake - A number of ruins, structures, and springs. - Shops and citizens around too. - Lafiaht claims many aren't interested in its historical value. - That's a shame. - Also claims the waters have healing properties. - Return here to investigate it more carefully. Outside - trails made of stones in water - a grand number of ruins in view - the entire area appeared like a courtyard of ruins amidst water - Noted some Mamool'ja, salamanders, various other wet-dwelling creatures Lafiaht's Chocobo - Larger than the average chocobo, even considering the exceptional ones. - Had white tipped plumes on tail and wings. - Yellow in color. - Sufficiently armored. - Impressive bird, seemed a bit haughty at times. - Wouldn't say where she found it~ Took a Ferry Heading to Outter La Noscea - Likely to be unsavory creatures. Rumor of being able to get into the distant ruins there - yet would need more than two people. - I will need to see if I can make enough alliances with similar interests to do this some time... Directions - Aetheryte to Bronze Lake - Outside city, go left, head towards ruins, find Ferry - Cross on Ferry - Find huge skeletons - Go up the ramps leading to more huge skeletons - Keep going (???) - Nym ruins are there These are terrible directions. Ruins of Nym Aetherical crystals everywhere - beggining to corrupt on the bottoms (orange), stable on the tops (blue) - Theory: Perhaps this particular aspecting has a part in how they are able to float? They float! - Should have mentioned that first. There are 'chunks' of land attached to crystals that float in the air. The 'chunks' occasionally have ruins on them. They seem to still sustain plant life. The large crystal formations are always found hanging from the bottoms of the 'chunks'. Theory: As such, it seems clear that the crystals are connected. The way they are aspected may have something to do with how they are able to remain aloft, in addition to any particular spells placed and weaved among them. Lafiaht wondered of a connection between these crystals and those at the Burning Wall. - Uncertain if it was time that caused the crystals to be corrupted or not. - Thus, corruption may not be a factor in the reasons why they hover, though it would be a logical one, considering the over-saturation of energy. Theory: It's possible that they could work almost like 'opposing poles'. With the corrupted side down, perhaps the land below repells the corruption? Perhaps they even wove spells into the land itself in order to cause such repulsion of forces. The 'stable' side of the crystal, then, would be the neutralizer of the effect, leaving the floating isles mostly stable, almost like a cover to a book's pages. I would very much like to head out there to a higher degree soon. (The Burning Wall) - Comparisons could be made as to the orientation of corrupted crystals. Nymians more magically advanced than many Lafiaht thinks there are connections in Arcanima Arcanima - Branch that originates in Nym - People are tight lipped about it. - Not something that anyone could do. This seems to be a goal of hers. - Wants to get inside the ruins. - Wants also to go into the place near Bronze Lake. - “I know people have gotten into the place by Bronze Lake. Not sure what’s inside though, never been. Never felt ready. But ah. . . once I get through there. . . Once I get through I’m gonna fashion a way to fly over to these. I want to be out there.” Ruins are all connected. Theory: It is possible, should they be all connected, that there are central points on each, that allow them to be part of a greater networked whole; by their means of connection, almost like the web of a spider, perhaps it would be possible to move one to another by means of the very interconnection that holds them, due to manipulating the Aether. - Note: There is the possibility though, if this is the case, that it may move the 'entire web', so that not just one of them moves, but a number of them. That could be problematic. Lafiaht doesn't think there is a main point of power for them. - thinks they would all fall if one did. - I don't think there is such a thing either. Arcanima - cannot place geometries under a single point and "expect" it to stretch outwards to multiple points. - Well, not without it potentially having a weak foundation - if something were to be tampered with all would fall. Lafiaht thinks there is something on each isle - I thought as much as well. Arcanima - Like words - "You place down symbols hoping you'll get something concise and coherent." - Lafiaht - Lafiaht doesn't think many of her spells are practical for use without harming something. [There are a couple small, quick diagrams that have a likeness to a geometry. They seem fairly hasty, more impressions than exact recreations.] [On the next page, there is another diagram of a geometry. It appears to be Ruin II, though there are a few minor errors; however it is much more precise than the first pair, as though an effort were placed in this.] [On the page after, there is another copy of the geometry. It also seems to be the spell of Ruin II, but it appears exact and precise, with only tiny errors, if any. It was likely written by the same hand as the others.] [On the page afterward, the notes begin again with text.] Ruin II Quickest spell Lafiaht knows "Using a higher command aetheric energies Ruin is able to create a nonelemental energy force to attack a chosen target." - She placed this on her gloves. - Also showed me a more articulate version in her tome. “Acanima is fairly lax. There’s a lot of things you can do with it if you know what to apply. The only thing is that there’s a high percentage something will go wrong if it ain’t exactly right. See that triangle? It’s gotta be exactly where it is on the circle. No farther to the left. No farther to the right. And were I to say, flip it over? It’d be directed in the inverse of where I want it to. I’d lose my hand.” - Incredibly interesting Could be used for many things (speculation) - to trap those less wary with a faulty geometry - to experiment and modify spells for particular affects given various situations - to set up various components for a much larger ritual - to be set as 'points' to be activated on a trigger - ... I need to learn this. Lafiaht - believes all is viable in a battle - vague on how she considers those with or without knowledge. Says I would take well to the art~ - "You've got a keen eye and a steady hand." Scribery I mentioned I was a scribe Lafiaht looked at me.. entirely different. - she seemed really excited - “You’ve gotta be rollin’ in gil, yeah? You don’t just—just become a scribe as some kid off the streets. Damn near impossible to find one in the Shroud who wasn’t worth somethin’.” I mentioned I was also a binder of tomes as well She grabbed onto my coat - her tail got all floofy - her eyes were also quite large She wished to "watch" - I assume she means watch me bind a book? - What a familiar sentiment~ I agreed - She seemed quite excited, it was.. endearing - Furthermore, I could give her some Knowledge she may not already have! - How exciting is this? Quite, I should think. She asked a number of questions. - Where I learned - If I knew alchemy - If I plan on writing a book of my own Hardly answered the first, but did so the rest - not sure if I did well enough though. - She looked like she was about to jump on me. She wanted to read anything that I write in the future. We headed back soon after - she didn't want to leave me there - She also didn't want me to thank her She enjoyed the outing - As did I~

I'm too much of a nub to actually have any of this kind of gear yet, but eventually, there are some things I fully intend to make IC that are of higher tier gear sets if I can ever obtain them. For me, though, it's entirely for fashion purposes; my character's aesthetic is, and has always been, 'very fancy black (or dark colored), gold, and maybe red robe-like clothing'. ... the High Allagan coat for instance, is perfect, but merely because it happens to be a dark color robe-coat with fancy gold accents. That said, if I ever get my hands on the thing, and I stick my character in it, it'd most definitely be a replica, or something 'inspired by the style'. I am all for the 'fashion first, unless a character makes something out of it' way of thinking. The only thing that my character would likely think, if seeing others with more elegantly designed clothes, is that they are likely well off, or had access to a lot of gil once (knowing full well he could be wrong; they could know a guy, or be a theif, or have made it themselves, etc). In my character's case, it would be the same scenario (as he is fairly well off), but that would be the extent of his guesses about clothing unless anything more was explained about it.

I actually use the elezen pants as part of my RP gear pretty regularly, but it fits the character and looks good with the rest of the stuff I use for him. Considering he's a caster, it's not too farfetched that he could also use it for battle as well, since most pants mages seem to get are.. basically very simple pants with little armor value to speak of. (At least from what I've seen so far.) In general, I think using parts of the starting gear, or even all of it, for RP makes perfect sense, and considering aesthetics, it's one of the things that does have a lot more design elements in it should it fit the character well. My only cringey thing about the starting gear is the lack of stats on it; but that's entirely from a fear in previous games (though a little, this one too) where your gear is the source of all a character's 'strength', and if I should be caught by a high level monster out RPing somewhere, I'd be murdered. Currently, this fear is pretty unfounded; in fact, I've beat on things forgetting I was in RP gear for a while, so unless I go into a higher dungeon unawares, this is just something I need to get over. Doesn't stop me from using the gear for RP though. (Plus there are always glamours!)

Professor Jigumundo Darkbore Lalafell - Man - Silver hair - Teal eyes - Light skin - Had a fair amount of Aether - Speaks at though he knows it well Nearly tripped over in the Quicksand Wished to speak with me - I coaxed us to do so outside. - Wished me to calm down. Created a bomb - an experiment - smaller than average - Apparently confidential until conclusion of experiments Testing to see the amount of stress it could take before exploding. - Doing so in crowds - claimed they worked well - Seemed to care little for if it exploded in such a crowd - Note: I really can't blame him. Able to sense my Aether - said "I can sense a humongous aether concentration in your person... It's intriguing. I see a lot of potential here." - Also said I would be an excellent Thaumaturge with more control~ Asked for my name - Only gave my first... for now. Claimed I was lucky - Unsure if this is by Aetheric Propensity or for meeting him - I suppose either may have its merits... The Professor - Subjects of Study: Aetheric Manipulation, Aetheric Anomalies, Aether-Science, little bit of Magitek Offered that I could be a student~ - Apparently the third. Of course, I accepted~ Asked about an Exchange of Knowledge - Though I am not entirely sure if this is the norm Above, so it stands I would be willing Wasn't sure exactly - Said he will likely find a use for me. - Settled on hearing of Aetheric Anomalies that I might cross. Looking for a way to predict Aetherical Anomalies Aetherical Anomaly Speculations (by Prof. Darkbore) Many facets - Agreed that there are likely too many factors to result in simple solution - Probability = result in failure Thinking of something more abstract If Theory is correct, could create an Aetherical 'map' to view fluxuations Theory - Miqo'te can possibly predict such occurrences - Believes they have some forgotten 'sixth sense' of sorts - Realizes it may sound ridiculous - "They have some organoleptic points that are able to sense changes in the flow of Aether." - "The sensation is weak, but if we're able to find where the points are, and find a way to - let's say - tweak them. We could be able to predict anomalies. Or at least be a step closer to do so..." - Note: This sounds somewhat unusual, insofar as what 'tweaking' would consist of. Though I figure only those willing would choose part in whatever that entails. - Note: Also curious on what this is based. Goal - Seek to predict where anomalies of Aether will happen - Due to the massive release of energy that takes place when one appears, seeks to 'collect it' - Thus having access to a large amount of Aetherical power My Thoughts - Curious if this Aether Sense can be 'trained'; I have known some elezen capable of such a thing, 'feeling how Aether moves', though I am not sure the scale that is being considered. - Regardless of outcome, the Family would be interested in the results of these attempts. - Curious how the Aether would be collected and used; most Anomalies I have encountered are tears and ruptures within the dimensional 'fabric'. Collecting that sort of unstable energy might have warping results, unless somehow converted or modified. The Professor - Seems rather intrigued by gaining large amounts of power. Gave me a Book - "Aether Theories" - Though a simple title, a surface-tome I've not yet read - Will definitely look it over. - Wishes the book returned, so remember to make a copy for myself. The Professor - Often found about the Quicksand - Contact: Moogle delivery, apparently they often know his location. - Note: I wonder if Moogles find a way to learn the location of all who would send letters by them... [blot] Notes he will figure out a way to communicate with all of us later. Doesn't teach in crowded places - which is excellent. Apparently isn't fond of groups of people either. - Learned to adapt when necessary. Mentioned a Miqo'te man that approached within the Quicksand - Apparently knows Deli (another of his students) - The Miqo'te claimed to be an "incarnation of calamity" - Unsure what that means, or if there is any validity to it beyond boast - Though apparently had some dense, constant Aether, according to the Prof. Deli (by Prof's description) - Miqo'te woman - Open minded - potentially really silly - Apparently has.. surprises? - Likely to meet her eventually The Prof - believes cooperation is important. Will contact me - "when the time is right."

Hello, and welcome. :> I can understand your sentiments about wanting to know someone a little bit before jumping over. Not all the time, but some of the time, people like little whispers or in game 'pokes' before RP, and that sort of thing also occasionally makes me nervous (even though I am also one of those people who likes a poke!). But anyway, there are a bunch of neat RP groups / players around, so you should be able to find something over here. :> I can't help but be curious, do you have any ideas for your character yet, or what they're like? That often time sparks some potential connections with people who might make some interesting RP with a like personality. And, as for the naming conventions, here is that link: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/491-Lore (As was mentioned in the post above me! I'm just slow, it seems.) Basically, the conventions are in the lore as how the different races tend to be named. It's followed in the game with the NPCs and so forth, so people wishing to create a believable character within the world often follow the conventions for their appropriate race, or, at times, deviate if their character story is appropriate (such as being raised by a different race, for example). Some of the parameters are neat (such as denoting first or second sons within a name, denoting clan, or being similar to a particular real-world language such as French or German) but are also kind of hard to 'wing it' and manage to get it right without looking first at what the norms are. There are also some player-made lore friendly name generators out there too! (Though I personally always like to come up with names myself.)

Currently I'm on the West Coast, but 'home' to me is on the East Coast, actually pretty close to Mass (as in, right below it). :> I travel a fair amount though, but am usually back home in the EST zone around Christmas / New Years, and during the summer.

I always thought Garuda was based off of the mytholocal creature- the Harpy. And I think those creatures WERE female. Though I understand in FFXIV lore they'd asexual. I'm just going to sneak in here and mention something, since I saw this quest a ton of times, and while it doesn't directly apply, it might be some shred of.. something to potentially support the possibility that Garuda embodies an Ixal ideal of sorts. Even though the Mamool'ja aren't the Ixal, there is a particular FATE around Bronze Lake where a Mamool'ja seeks to get into the springs, but is essentially denied for unruly behavior and oogling women in the past. It's not entirely clear if the offender actually did these things, or if it's just prejudice, but supposing it was to be considered true, it's actually possible that some of the beast tribes (or at least Mamool'ja) could find a more human-esque female form appealing. If the Ixal are in the same camp that could explain it. But it also might not be anything either, since the Mamool'ja and the Ixal are entirely different. I just always thought it was interesting that a member of one of the beast tribes would potentially find the more humanoid races appealing. (Though I also agree with the harpy thing, considering Garuda's fury almost all of the time, and how SE likes to grab things from mythology. The harpy equation might be missed otherwise, if they felt it was important, unless stated.) That said, I'd honestly think it'd be great if Garuda were some sort of entirely non-humanoid kind of creature and/or more like an Ixal in design, yet still have it be considered female if they wanted that aspect, instead of potentially doing the whole 'you can tell it's female because breasts' thing. Because, gods, we have enough of the whole ' it's a different race, they have entirely nothing to do with humans, but look, the ladies have boobs' stuff to last forever.

Thanalan Instance where a (young?) Lalafell was chased into some rocks by a hornet - mid day - bright and difficult to see clearly Hornets are singular in Thanalan - For now. Lalafell was unharmed Mentioned 'Gegenji gear' - sounds sturdy by description Lalafell: Chachanji Gegenji Male Seems young Purple eyes Armor clad Seeks to be 'a hero' - wishes to protect those who cannot protect themselves - also wishes to help people - and swing swords at things. Very excitable - makes faces - gestures often - has somewhat of an accent Loses wits when an aggressor approaches Lack of fighting experience (apparently) - seeks training 'Papa' = a crafter of shields and blades (at least) - Chachanji can also, apparently, create these. Has a purple pig of sorts called Gran Hyur: Warren Castille Male Just a bit shorter than I (Highlander, perhaps?) 'Free Paladin', serves Thanalan. - Seems rather bound to notions of 'good' and 'goodness' - Potentially also bound by laws; note what is said near this one Knowledgeable in ways of martial arms Promotes Shield for protection, and sword coming last. Speaks of the lives of hornets Chocobo Rider Offered to help Chachanji Chachanji - Spoke of a 'Ms. Artemis' who sounds like she is teaching him. Warren - suggested Chachanji go to the gladiator's guild I spoke only of my first name. Chachanji - literate - knows how to write - was told by Ms. Artemis to write down the names of friends - Wrote down myself and Warren (in theory) - Salutes Ms. Artemis - 'very smart' - likely a Scholar of Grimoire - said to have a kitten and a fairy - also knowledgeable in magic and swordsmanship - told Chachanji to learn about Conjury Gogo - Chachangi's brother - taught Chachanji a little of conjury - also apparently quite knowledgeable in magic - However, appears to be missing - Apparently would love me. Chachanji - Wishes me to teach him Conjury Noted that I know little - Didn't matter, still wanted to learn - I accepted, since I would not wish to stop a search for knowledge Conjury Teaching - Only to occur if Chachanji promises to find a better teacher later - To occur at a later evening. Leave word at the Hourglass - Chachanji has a room there for helping about Ul'dah Note: Practice some before contacting. - Most interested in protecting and helping others - However, elemental prowess important for seeking borrowed power - Come up with some lesson plan or list of things to cover at some point.

Peered into a bar for a moment An odd.. occurance took place there - Didn't appear to be a fight - Yet several surfacers were on the ground.. grappling? - Something to do with a boot happened. - Boots were exchanged. - People were rolling around the floor. Apparently this is not unusual behavior here - Or at least, nothing was prevented or interfered with. - I wonder if it is some sort of custom? Seemed to be in good spirits afterwards. Another approached - then the gathering grew hostile. - A Hyur called the approaching Miqo'te a 'stray', to which she took great offense. - By appearances they knew each other, though weren't friendly. - The Miquo'te eventually left. - Afterwards the entire group splintered.

I am quite excited about this, about actually being able to travel with Lafiaht to the Ruins of Nym. We have plans! Which isn't to say that they may go unheeded, unchanged, or un-completely-annihilated in one way or another, but! That they are in place, moreso than by vague winding of words into a potential possible future, but by mention of a place to go, a place to leave word, and a word left to meet and set off, that. That is exciting~ Especially since much else I have done outside of learning has been by chance of finding where I need to go. Exploring is excellent, but having a destination that I may or may not ever find is.. well, it requires patience. There is no time to be expected, much lower chance of getting there, and while it will never be something I want to lose, it isn't [blot] so new. An outing with plans, even if the plans be thrown to Thal, is somehow more solid of a thing. [spot] Perhaps I am so excited because none would have ever cared to take me with them unless necessary on other engagements. Never would they offer without pleading either! I am so grateful, and surprised that she would even care to. And even should her mind change, that she entertained the notion for more than a mere moment. It [blot] It is just really exciting! I've set up everything to head off, I will be [blot] keeping everything I wish to keep at Limsa, should any rooms be of avail, and [spot] I will make sure it has windows~ Once the excess is left, I will double back towards the drop-point for all artifacts and otherwise, potentially leaving what is more sensitive and easily carried behind for Soli to find herself. And once that is done, and all is in order, I will return to Ul'dah and leave word for meeting~ [a few small blots here] I do hope that this will take place, I will need to refresh my recollection on Nym in the meanwhile~

Xavarian couldn't help a small snicker at the advice, though took notes on what the hero-to-be had said about residing at the Hourglass. The light pat on the leg would feel to the Lalafell as though he had momentarily touched something like a heating-pad (or any Eorzean equivalent that may exist), insofar as it wouldn't burn, but would be much warmer than one otherwise might expect from a brief touch. The Elezen himself, however, didn't seem to be particularly bothered by this, really. Maybe it was just the sunlight on the dark clothes... "I will, and thank you~ It may be several nights time, depending on.. other arrangements, but I will leave word when I can~" Finishing up his writing, the temperature around him cools a moment as he waves a hand over the ink, before snapping the book shut. Not without a wide stretch, and a rub of his eyes does he stand, stepping back to be out of the way of the pair. He shuffles around once upright, sticking his tome back on to his belt just so and getting all the dust off of his robe and backside. "It was nice to meet you both, and good luck with your swords training, hm~? May Th-" A small pause. "the Twelve watch over you~" He amends with a raise of a hand, and an amused smile. Not all might take well to his usual goodbyes, he couldn't help but think, but at least he caught it. This time. Xavarian then crossed his arms and turned to Vathen, still sprawled out in the sand. "Well, you look like you're enjoying yourself there~ Though time to go, up, unless you'd rather just roll about out here~ In the sun." The bird looked up at the Elezen, almost indignant for a moment, as though quite content where he stopped, before eventually rising and nudging the Elezen lightly in protest. Xavarian huffed back, an unspoken conversation taking place between the duskwight and his companion while leaving a moment to dust the chocobo off too, brushing sand from the bird's feathers carefully. He gets dirty enough out here with the dust storms, who could figure all that sand would be comfortable? Though it wasn't long before the dark duskwight was satisfied with the brief cleaning, and hoisted himself up into the equally dark saddle. For just a little while the training pair had Xavarian's attention, thoughts that couldn't be seen on his features trickling through his mind, though he then squinted in the direction of the city, gave a small murmur to his bird, and the dark duo took off towards Ul'dah. Certainly an interesting end to an interesting night.

Xavarian huffed, though with amusement more than anything, and brought a hand to his face with a grin. "I cannot argue with that~ I will help you then, but only if you promise to find a better teacher than I, later~ Knowing how little I know, I cannot merely leave you to thinking that my tiny experience is all there is~" He gives a somewhat warmer, though tired smile before scribbling down more in his tome. And that warmth was reflected in a subtle shift in temperature around the Elezen. "Though, it won't be this sun. I- Well, I am the sort that may do things strangely to those of you who live on the- er, 'above', here, and I sleep during the sun's hours~ Right now it's.. quite late for me, and I am truthfully exhausted. Any teaching now would be dreadful at best~ But!" A finger is held up in emphasis at the pause in his deep, lilting tone. "Where might I leave word for you, or meet you again? I do not live in the city, and... travel quite frequently, but if you know an evening you would be willing to hear and try what little I've to say and show, then I will return to teach you. Should you want it, of course." The Duskwight couldn't help a dorky sort of pursed-lip smile at that. And meanwhile, Vathen, who had been resting most of the conversation, peered over at the exchange between Gran and Victory. Only a low coo came from the observing chocobo.