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ckingch · **01-03-2017, 07:16 AM**

H'lo, folks. So, my character is a monk of the shadow sect. It wasn't just some random thing, however, as he has been taken in by a master of the shadow sect to be trained and taught thier culture, religion, and the discipline required to follow the path to this lifestyle, which was something my character needed badly at that time, as he was in a very rough spot and floundering.Â

ANYWAY! As much as I have enjoyed my time with my character, the player who played my character's spiritual mentor on this journey has lost interest in the game and has stopped playing altogether (though, we still talk outside of the game). My character is affiliated with a small group of monks. However, as time went on, people have been leaving the game due to boredom, or have been RPing elsewhere. The shadow sect monks in this group have all but disappeared, and senior and masters of this sect have definitely went elsewhere, leaving this group, who I see regularly, all light sect and 'lil ole me.

I am asking if there are any players out there who's characters are shadow sect masters and are interested in taking my character under thier wing as he continues on his journey into the monkhood. Here are a few things about my character:

He is now in his mid 30s

While not religious before, he is now dedicated to the worship of Rhalgr, and engages in prayer and meditation often; you can find him by the stone several times a week when he is not working his day job

While he is built like a Highlander, he is not Ala Mhigan born and raised. As such, he is trying to learn more about the Ala Mhigan culture and society, and is very willing to learn anything that is taught to him.

However, he is a native Ul'Dahn, and runs his business out of the Goblet. However, profits and donations are forwarded to both the poor Ul'Dahns, and the Ala Mhigan refugees.

He is a former military commander and combat veteran who has been fighting with his hands and weapons since he was a child living on the Ul'Dahn streets. He already knows how to fight and does not necessarily require combat training, but more specifically the spiritual guidance and discipline to further his journey into the monkhood.

Through his training with his former guide, he has unlocked four chakra; however, he still awaits the day he can formerly earn a cyclas from a master, if they allow it.

Due to the in game quests showing the WoL gaining his shadow sect chakra by beating up shadow sect monks, a lot of us who RP the shadow sect didn't have much to go on in regards to how they natively unlock thier chakra. I admit that I have not been able to look at the lorebook in reference to the shadow sect, so if anyone has any information they'd like to share about that, I am all ears. Before that came out, we usually used these types of websites for reference concerning the shadow, or lower half, of the chakra:

http://veda.wikidot.com/the-chakras
http://derekosborn.accountsupport.com/thelibrary/id72.html
http://www.chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com/en/index.php/Tala_Chakras

If anyone is interested in RPing with me as a spiritual guide and mentor, feel fre to contact me here, in PM, or contact my character in game, Worren Tigre. Thanks.

Tyndles · **01-03-2017, 08:17 AM**

I'm not sure that those sites are the best reference, because the chakras in FF are all aether powered and stuff. Jojo is an old Shadow monk, but he's not really up to teaching or mentoring right now, the primary reason is that there is so little lore on Shadow Sect atm, that I might botch it and have major retcons come Stormblood.

ckingch · **01-03-2017, 08:21 AM**

Yeah. At the time we that, and those in game cutscenes were all we really had to go on. I'm expecting a good bit of reconning and handwaving come Stormblood in some fashion. Even so, at least having some sort of mentor figure offering spiritural and cultural guidance would be wonderful.

Virella · **01-03-2017, 08:48 AM**

Hope this helps, I'm going to keep this brief and just give loredumps for yourself.

TLDR: Shadow sect lore: Same as Light sect, except they got booted out out of the main Temple and forced into obscurity due to a disagreement over the royal house. Shadow and Light sect split is a political thing. Not an evil vs good thing. Also chakras don't make you behave you in a certain way as far as we know. Shadow sect and Light sect employ the same techniques. More on that in the links below.

Your chakras are aspected in both Light and Shadow sect side (probably Umbral and Astral, but that's a guess. Not lore). They are valves in your body, and Monks claim all living beings have them.

Sounsyy lore on Chakras and Fists

Chakra Lore
More Chakra Lore
Opening Shadow Sect chakras - Same as Light really

Anyhow, not telling you how to roleplay; seeming we both disagree massively on the way we roleplay our Monks to begin with, but hopefully it clarifies a few things for you regardless.

Best of luck.

ckingch · **01-03-2017, 09:33 AM**

Thanks, gonna give these all a good read. Makes me wonder what exactly makes the two sides different if they're the same.

Valence · **01-03-2017, 10:32 AM**

The aspect of their chakras make them different (opposites actually), even if their technics are the same. What exactly makes monks of a sect open a shadow aspected chakra instead of a light aspected chakra and vice versa is quite obscure as far as I know and we lack info on that.

It would seem though that once you have started opening your chakras, be them light or shadow, you seem more or less locked into the same aspect for the rest of your chakras. This is why opening the chakras of the opposite aspect is so arduous and central to the shadow/light conflict as seen in the lvl 60 classquests.

Melkire · **01-03-2017, 11:13 AM**

I'd offer to help out, but my shadow sect character's still an adept in many ways. Putting aside that he's no master, I'm pulled in enough directions as is to make any further long-term commitments. Feel free to hit me up in-game, though, for the occasional scene. Osric and Worren have met over other matters, it wouldn't be a stretch to take it further.

Quick detour because I want to address something I've been seeing both here and on other sites.

(01-03-2017, 08:48 AM)Virella Wrote: TLDR: Shadow sect lore: Same as Light sect, except they got booted out out of the main Temple and forced into obscurity due to a disagreement over the royal house. Shadow and Light sect split is a political thing. Not an evil vs good thing. Also chakras don't make you behave you in a certain way as far as we know. Shadow sect and Light sect employ the same techniques. More on that in the links below.

The bolded is fundamentally in error given that it glosses over the following lore cited in the posted links:

Quote:And yet, though the techniques they employed were identical, the manner in which they harnessed energy was opposed in nature.

It's that tidbit, coupled with the in-game existence of fourteen chakras which mirror the real world's seven major and seven minor chakra, that's led some roleplayers to regard shadow-aspected chakras in a certain light. But no, neither sect is good or evil, and being of the shadow wouldn't make anyone behave differently or do evil things. Pretty sure that'd be misconstruing and misreading both others' roleplay and the concepts on which said roleplay scenes are biased... but then again, I can only speak for myself.

Virella · **01-03-2017, 11:23 AM**

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ckingch · **01-03-2017, 02:30 PM**

Eh, we can all only work with what we know, y'know? I see a lot of entries saying the two halves are the same, but also different. They never say how, except for a snippet saying they differ in how it's user gains that power, buuut it's not elaborated on how that comes about to separate who is what.Â

Ah well, it's no big deal, I will adjust accordingly as more information and lore comes out. I think a lot of people latched onto the Bhuddist and Hindu forms of chakra mainly because even with all the cutscenes and whatnot, there's still enough holes left open to fill in the blanks somehow and that's what people have been doing, myself included.

Getting off track here, though. Senpai, pls notice me... ;_;

Valence · **01-03-2017, 03:43 PM**

The only thing we know for sure is:

- The body holds 7 chakras, each of them divided in two (one light aspected and one shadow aspected)
- 6 of those are lesser chakras, and the 7th is the Seventh Chakra, the ultimate, that makes a monk master his full power and earn their title.
- Once you have mastered the 7 Chakras of your sect (light or shadow), you can start to open the 7 other mirrored chakras of the opposite sect, a priori the most common method being, directly fighting and confronting their members.
- As it is always the case with the 7th Chakra, the mirrored 7th (so, the mythical 14th) is incredibly arduous to unlock and is something of legend.
- Chakras are valves regulating internal aether. The more you open them, the more powerful you get (enough to give you a decisive edge even against someone with just one less than you).
- The monks technics are not linked to the aspect of their sects. Both sects basically teach the exact same thing. They just don't open the same aspected chakras.
- We know how light aspected chakras are opened: through old battlefield sites and places filled with turmoil, rich in aether traces from such events.
- We don't know how shadow aspected chakras are opened. Maybe the same way, maybe not. But if the same way, there must be something different somewhere obviously.

ckingch · **01-03-2017, 03:54 PM**

That's pretty much where I've been stuck at as far as identifying the differences. So far my character's chakra has been opened the same way as the light, through combat and absorbing the aether from an aether rich battlefield. I could have had him go light, but at the time I was all "look at this shiny new thing, I wanna be special" lol. That, and with my character's serious mental and emotional issues going on back then before he started, we were still looking at those sites I listed in the OP and sort of linked them. If seen at that angle, it kinda made sense back then. Again, as time goes on and the more I learn, the more I will subtly adjust accordingly.

Valence · **01-05-2017, 04:33 AM**

As long as you remain the more vague and evasive on how he got to open his shadow chakras, I mean, I'm sure you are pretty much covered honestly.

ckingch · **01-06-2017, 05:45 AM**

No one really seems to be biting, and my search in game has also proved fruitless. I would also accept anyone willing to teach my character more about Ala Mhigan society and history; more than he already knows. Or have him around more folks with Ala Mhigan ties. If push comes to shove, hell, I'll just have to have him written as learning through NPCs and various reading materials. If anyone is able and willing to pass this on in some way ICly, that'd be cool, too. I just want him to progress in some way in this path, and I don't want to magically handwave it, either, but it's looking like I'm at a brick wall otherwise.

[Balmung] Shadow Sect monk LF new spiritual mentor/master

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes