Scales of Balance [Omega]

[R'nella Eren]

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A note is placed on various job-posting boards in Gridania but would over time also show up in Limsa Lominsa and Ul’dah. It would appear to be random gibberish at first glance but closer inspection by those with a decent amount of intelligence will be able to decipher it.

 

“Long will be our path.

And never done.

Ver is not to be undone.

End is but a new beginning.

Nothing should be hidden.”

 

“Do not heed the words of the Bibliothec

Eorzea in the now is what we love.

Rise up now, fight and wander.

Before the land is thrown into Shadow and torn asunder.”

 

“Even those that walk the Shadow.

Do come hither.

Surely you do not wish to burn away in the Light and wither.”

 

“For it is the balance that we seek.

For the truth is not bound to Light nor Shadow

For the scales of balance is what binds us.”

 

[align=center]TL;DR:Imagine the events of Patch 3.4 but a third group saying: Light nor Shadow isn’t the path, it’s Balance! They operate from the shadows, using a pawnshop in Gridania as a front and their base. [/align]

 

Introduction and Concept

Scales of Balance is a new RP Linkshell (with the potential to grow into a Free Company) that seeks to combine various aspects regarding the current state of the MSQ into a new original storyline for its members from a completely new and unique angle.

 

Masquerading as an organisation owning a pawnshop located in Gridania named ‘Checks & Balances’, the actual goal of the ‘Scales’ are to keep Eorzea in a ‘Status Quo’. An example of this would be to avoid the Eorzean Alliance, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and the Warrior of Light itself to grow in power to the point where it would ‘overpower’ the side of shadow and make the Eorzean Alliance too powerful in the world. On the other hand, the Scales would also work actively against forces that would seek to completely overthrow Eorzea such as the Garlean Empire and the Ascians.

 

This means that the group essentially doesn’t have any allies as they tend to act according to a completely unique agenda that is often hard to follow for those not deeply ingrained in the Scales way of working. As such, to cover their personal finances, the group will often be seen working for both the ‘official authorities’ such as the Adders but doesn’t shy away from taking contracts of questionable intend and origin.

 

Because the Scales have such a strange view of Eorzea and trying to violently keep it as it is now, their deeds aimed against the side of ‘Light’ and thus the Eorzean Alliance would be considered as acts of treason meaning that the organisation often operates from the shadows. Meanwhile, the Scales are also at odds with the Garlean Empire and since Eorzea is riddled with their spies, the group also needs to keep their true intentions a secret to them. All of this means that membership is kept on an extremely tight leash and every member is expected to keep their ties to the group a secret. Failure to comply with these rules is almost surely to be met with a violent end. That doesn’t mean no one can leave: Long as someone promises not to speak of their time in the Scales, they’re free to leave.

 

Finally,the Scales aren’t ‘evil’. Although they may work against the Eorzean Alliance for 50% of the time, they won’t kill any innocents or folk who have nothing to do with the task at hand just to cause ‘chaos’. However, if soldiers of the Eorzean Alliance are standing between the Scales and their goal to keep the Status Quo intact, they won’t shy away from violence.

 

What sort of characters would be a good fit?

Characters who can keep a secret. The organisation can eventually make a name for themselves, but at this point in time, it would be completely unknown who it's members are. Secrecy would be the most predominant requirement any member would have in the Scales. Apart from that, the following ideals a character would have are a good fit for the group:

• A character who believes that neither the Path of Light (White Magic) nor the Path of Shadow (Black Magic) are the paths to follow but instead seeks balance in what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'.
  
• A character who wishes to share knowledge, even if it's not a popular move for the Eorzean Alliance, Sharlayan, The Garlean Empire, etc.
  
• A character who wishes to share the truth about many secrets to the greater world and public.
  
• A character who wants to defend innocent bystanders while also making Gil.
  
• A character who fervently believes that any magical and technological progress in study should be shared with the greater world.
  
• A character with a Neutral and Educated view of the world, who doesn't take 'no' for an answer but wants to know the nitty gritty about many different topics.
  
• Characters should also not be squeamish and be willing to get their hands dirty though they will never be forced to kill innocents. They need to fervently belief in ‘the cause’ for it will take them to the very depths and heights of Eorzea and beyond, including the possibility of criminal record if their involvement in the group gets leaked out. 
  

What sort of players would be a good fit?

It is expected that certain plotlines will take us to grounds thread by mature rated novels, movies and games. As such it is better that squeamish folk don’t apply. On the other hand, if you like to immerse yourself into a cause that often explores the questions: “What is good? What does it mean? Is evil really evil? Are the ‘good guys’ actually the ‘good guys”...you’re in the right place.

 

It is also advised that the player is of a certain mature age with at least a couple of years of mature life experience under his or her belt to better appreciate the content of the stories and to best fit in with the theme of the group.

 

Finally, since we're just going to be starting out, players who like to create their own RP are encouraged. Although I'll strive to create roughly 2 to 3 events each week depending on demand, most of the interaction will be aimed at 'random RP' out in the world or in the Headquarters (the Checks and Balances shop). Updates regarding the storyline will be posted in Discord to avoid that players who can't attend all events are missing out on the plot at hand.

 

What is the expected path the Linkshell or Free Company will take?

We’re going to start off on an extremely small scale, imagine less than a handful to get the initial start going. Once we’ve had a while to mature the concept and really get our bearings and RP traditions ingrained in our characters, we’ll take a decision with regards to keeping the concept a Linkshell but let it sprawl out to a larger group of members or to mature it further to an actual Free Company + housing.

 

Want to help out and join?

Feel free to throw me a friend request on Discord (Angry IT Guy#6937), contact me in-game on Kisha Taluun or Doyi Kha, or simply send me a DM here on the forums! 

 

You can also hop straight into our Welcome Mat in our Discord channel using the following invite code: https://discord.gg/4dfdBHe

 

Once we've had a talk and a short RP session, I'll invite you to the rest of our Discord chat and Linkshell which are our main avenues of communication.