Jessika Saphir

The caravan traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping at smaller settlements here and there as it continued to Camp Drybone. The region was familiar to Jessika, in the borderlands of the Shroud and Thanalan. They’d passed many adventurers on the road, trading and repairing gear. Every night seemed to be another cause for celebration and a feast, though not of the same extravagance as that first night. Familiar with the surroundings, Jessika would go hunting when they stopped, bringing fresh meat for the evening meals. Every night she’d slept under the stars, curled up next to Sani. The last town they had camped near was now half a day behind them, and the next was still several bells away. Jess and Sani were resting, riding in a wagon instead of walking along with the mercenaries as they had for most of the morning. “I think you’d be fine with a bow, love.” Sani smirked. “Oh love, I’ll pick up a bow if you pick up an axe. How about that?” Jess opened her mouth to reply when a sharp whistling sound caused her to stop. She glanced around in alarm. Sani looked confused for only a moment before a scream rang out. Both girls jumped from the wagon in a rush, following the sound. One of the men in the caravan, a leather-worker, was lying on the ground gripping his arm and clenching his teeth in pain. An arrow with black fletchings stuck out from his forearm, and blood rushed from the wound as a healer came running to join him. Without any orders the caravan halted, the wagons immediately circling to form a wall around the rest of the party. Drivers unhitched their chocobos while sellswords and a few of the caravan members retrieved their weapons and moved outside the barrier. Jessika watched, impressed by the quick reaction. She felt a tap on her arm, and looked down to see Sasanecco offering her her bow and quiver. “Jessika, it’s time to see if you’re as good with your bow at taking out an enemy as you are at supplying us with a good meal,” Sani’s father said, always one to break the tension with a joke. Behind him, Jess saw Sani buckling on bracers and leg guards, her war axe leaning against the wagon she had pulled it from. She checked her armor one last time and picked up her giant axe. Her father was by her side, hefting a greatsword out of the wagon. Sani looked at her father and grinned. “It’s been a good long time since we’ve played together, Papa. Think you can keep up with your little girl?” Her father took one last look at her, smiling tauntingly. “You think I taught you everything I know? The master must keep some back in order to remain the master.” He moved out from behind the protection of the wagons and charged at the bandits, leaving Sani and Jess staring at each other in surprise. Jess finally shrugged, letting a small smirk play on her lips. “Love you.” Sani grinned wide. “Love you, too.” The girls moved out from behind cover and joined the fight. The sellswords earned their pay and then some, but the caravan would tell the story after of how the leader, his daughter, and her lover defeated the horde. The movements of the tall Elezen were near impossible to follow, as Jess fired arrow after arrow into the fray, some coming within inches of those holding back the horde. Her aim was true, her confidence and skills honed from over a decade of practice. When a hole would be opened in the line, Sani would jump into it, bashing one here, cutting another, leaving a trail of dead or dying behind her. Her father was not holding back either, every slash of his sword relieving another attacker of an extremity. The two small dervishes rolled through the enemy, a rain of arrows combining with the storms. As the battle waged on, the enemy began to relent and finally broke, turning to make their escape back into the safety of the Shroud. Their archers covered their retreat as a rain of arrows fell to hold the advancing sellswords at bay. Sani and her father had seen the tactic before and held their ground, anticipating another attack; if the losses were too great, the raiders would likely abandon the attack, searching for easier prey. Looking at the mass of dead or dying on the ground, it was a safe bet that they would not be returning. Sani turned once more to her father, still smiling, “You didn’t do half bad, old man.” She giggled as she teased her father. “Look here, you young pup! You know I can best you any day!” Sasanecco smiled wide. “It’s good to see you’ve been keeping with your training at least. You did well today, as did your lady friend.” He pointed at Jess as she fired another volley after the fleeing bandits, felling another. “She’s a keeper, little one: you did well in choosing her.” They waited to ensure the battle was truly over before Sani and her father made their way back to the wagons along with the remaining mercenaries, stopping from time to time to end the suffering of one of the enemy who hadn’t yet passed on. They piled the bodies of the attackers and burned them, saw to their own wounded, and moved on, hoping to make the next settlement by dusk.

I started building Jess's DRK transformation long before any of us knew what DRK was going to be, and aside from the fact that I am basing her powers on voidsent (it's not...quite that simple, but it is an accurate enough grouping to lump me into for this discussion) it is eerie how well things have been playing into it. Either way, I know I've been enjoying playing as a DRK, and I can't wait to start actually being one IC.

Jess’s smile faded quickly, and she instinctively tightened her embrace a little. She had only known Sani a month now, maybe even a little less, but the thought of being without her - even for just a few days - filled her with dread. If Sani was aware of Jess’s feelings, she didn’t immediately show it. After another pause, she looked up again, an impish grin spreading over her face. “He wants me to bring you with me. He wants to meet this raven-haired beauty who stole his little girl’s heart.” Jess blushed, and looked a bit surprised at this comment. "I...I'm...speechless love...He...what?” She blushed and squeezed Sani again. “However,” she continued, “I regret nothing about stealing, though you were the thief in the night.” Sani giggled and pulled Jess' arms around her a little tighter, "There was no theft, I gave it freely. And,” she continued,tapping Jess’s hands to get the other woman to let her go, “he wants you to come along with me. It's kind of twofold really." she added nonchalantly. She hopped down to the floor and moved quickly to the fire, turning the now charred kabobs in an attempt to salvage the meal. Jess, still a little flustered at the thought being introduced to Sani’s parents stammered, “I...wow, I don't know what to say…” Sani giggled. "You should probably start with something like 'I'll ask Garry if I can go.'" Jess laughed and nodded. "I guess that's a start...wow, hon, I'm...this is a surprise." "It's not just a 'meet the parents' kinda thing love. Well, it sorta is. But it's also to provide protection for the caravan. Your ability with the bow will come in handy where we’re going, anyway.” Sani turned her attention back to the kabobs, still explaining to Jess. “We will not only be meeting father, but we will also be providing support and security as they travel from Horizon, through the deserts, and over to Camp Drybone.” Jess laughed teasingly, “I've never been on a caravan before. It sounds as if you're bringing me to work!” Sani smiled "The caravan is so nice and relaxing, for the most part. And yes, there may be some work, but only if we get attacked." Jess wrapped Sani in a hug, happy, but still a little apprehensive. “Are you sure?” she asked. Sani looked up into Jess’ eyes, “Sure about what love?” “That you want me...to meet your parents?” Sani beamed with delight, “Well...yes, I’m sure. This trip you'll meet father for sure.” Sani paused and looked down, still holding Jess’ hands tightly. “And...I guess we can go see mom, I...I want her to meet you.” Sani nodded, looking back up at Jess with renewed confidence. “Yes, I absolutely want you to meet them. Will you come with me? Your company will mean a great deal to me. Besides,” she added with a squeeze of the hand, “it will give us a chance to be out of the house for a few days.” The pair enjoyed what was left of their meal, Jess giggling at their forgetfulness while Sani looked mortified about the ruined meal. They discussed when they would be leaving, how’d they be traveling, what to pack, what to wear. Jess was familiar enough with the region - she had grown up in the borderland area between the Shroud and Thanalan - but she listened intently as the Lalafell spoke. “It’s a very rough part of the desert adjacent to the Black Shroud, and many caravans are attacked there. Ours lost an entire section back before the Calamity.” Sani took another bite of her burnt kabob, washing it down quickly with a gulp of juice. “We lost family with that one; our cousins, Sai and Fif, their parents were part of it. An advance scouting party for the Garlean empire found them and killed the whole caravan.” Sani shook her head, pausing for a moment. She finally took another bite of meat before continuing. “Because of this, Sai and Fif felt like they were to blame for what happened. They trained even harder and battled on the fields of Carteneau against the Garleans, to make them pay for what they had done to their parents. “A few years ago, during another raid, our mother got pinned under a carriage.” Sani paused again, biting her bottom lip. She sniffled a little, and finally worked up the courage to continue. “She survived the wreck, but died a few days later due to complications.” Jess gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “Oh love...I’m so sorry…” “Sari and I were in Limsa at the time: there was nothing we could have done. It was...a freak accident, but I promised myself that no one that I cared about would ever die again on that trek as long as I was alive. So, a couple years ago, Sari and I were out with them, we were attacked,” Sani paused her story, reaching up and touching the scar on her shoulder that Jess had seen a few times, and continued on. “We all survived and made it to Drybone. I’ve made the trek there and back every year.” She looked up at Jess, smiling wide now. “I’m glad you will be there to watch my back this year.” They continued talking into the night, talking and laughing, before finally making their way to bed. They fell asleep, curled up in each others’ arms, dreaming about the adventure that awaited them.

Either of my characters would be willing to help, but if this deals with Ul'dah, you can count on Zezewai to be against it. Zezewai Lalawai, look me up!

That was one of their big "ads" in the pop up Start Menu is back.

From what I understood, wasn't 3.0 starting only a few weeks after the events of 2.5?

Star Trek Online had a major issue with this...it was 2409 for the first 3 or 4 years of the game, and it finally hit 2410. Despite that, many people have taken different approaches. I've been forwarding the timeline each year, so that now it's 2414 for my characters. Other people go strictly off the in game canon. The biggest thing is for you to choose what you want to reflect, and if it's important for your rp partners/group, make sure you agree on similar timelines. But yeah, it really comes down to what you want to do.

This was a lot of fun to work on, thanks for letting me play around! I e-mailed it to y'all! [align=center][/align]

I think...just learning about the calamity and the aftermath of that would terrifying enough. But looking at the future future self (I have two possible directions for Jess's character to take with Heavensward) would be truly terrifying, a nightmare come true. It'll be interesting just to get her reaction IC already to the events, let alone her younger self's.

Jessika and Sasani! :blush: :love::love::love:

Ideas are percolating, should have a rough concept later tonight. ?

This was kinda fun! Thanks for the link!

I'm in the same boat. Though Jess's homecoming is more for...revenge, of sorts, and less a desire to actually visit Ishgard, lol

I'm debating a race change for my main, but it's not to Au Ra. She'd be changing to something either draconian or demonic, but just happens to look Auri. It'll require a lot of OOC clarification, really no idea if I'll do it.

Welcome! It's a wonderful community here, hope to bump into you sometime!